MONDAY, MAY 19, 2025
What Dr. Durrani said: For the record, Dr. Aqsa Durrani is a board member of Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières). The leading authority on the group offers this overview:
Médecins Sans Frontières
Médecins Sans Frontières, known in some English-speaking settings as Doctors Without Borders, is a charity that provides humanitarian medical care. It is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) of French origin known for its projects in conflict zones and in countries affected by endemic diseases...In 2019, the charity was active in 70 countries with over 35,000 personnel; mostly local doctors, nurses and other medical professionals, logistical experts, water and sanitation engineers, and administrators. Private donors provide about 90% of the organisation's funding, while corporate donations provide the rest, giving MSF an annual budget of approximately US$1.63 billion.
MSF was founded in 1971, in the aftermath of the Biafran famine of the Nigerian Civil War, by a small group of French doctors and journalists who sought to expand accessibility to medical care across national boundaries and irrespective of race, religion, creed or political affiliation....
All the way back to Biafra! And so on, at length, from there.
Dr. Durrani is "a physician and epidemiologist specializing in public health emergency response and health in fragile settings." As noted, she's a member of the MSF board.
(She graduated from NYU in 2006. After that, she earned her M.D. at the University of Illinois. She holds a master's degree in Public Health from the University of Pennsylvania.)
Dr. Durrani appeared on Morning Joe last Wednesday morning. "She just returned to the U.S. from an assignment in Gaza, working at a field hospital," Mika Brzezinski said.
"Thank you so much for coming on the show," Mika said. "Can you tell us what you saw in that hospital?"
You can watch the entire segment (ten minutes) simply by clicking this. Within the context of American news, Dr. Durrani's testimony was unusual but also quite striking.
At roughly the five-minute mark, the unusual statements begin. Dr. Durrani describes conduct she regards as "criminal"—conduct in which he accuses one major entity of using "aid as a bargaining chip" and "starvation as a weapon of war."
We weren't there to see what she saw in Gaza. In the main, we were struck by how rare it is to see someone on a major news program describing the kinds of experiences Dr. Durrani has recently had.
Through the use of chyrons, Morning Joe linked her appearance to a news report in the New York Times, a report which started like this:
In Private, Some Israeli Officers Admit That Gaza Is on the Brink of Starvation
Some Israeli military officials have privately concluded that Palestinians in Gaza face widespread starvation unless aid deliveries are restored within weeks, according to three Israeli defense officials familiar with conditions in the enclave.
For months, Israel has maintained that its blockade on food and fuel to Gaza did not pose a major threat to civilian life in the territory, even as the United Nations and other aid agencies have said a famine was looming.
But Israeli military officers who monitor humanitarian conditions in Gaza have warned their commanders in recent days that unless the blockade is lifted quickly, many areas of the enclave will likely run out of enough food to meet minimum daily nutritional needs, according to the defense officials. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to share sensitive details.
Because it takes time to scale up humanitarian deliveries, the officers said that immediate steps were needed to ensure that the system to supply aid could be reinstated fast enough to prevent starvation.
And so on from there. In print editions, the report appeared on the Times' front page that day.
What's actually happening in Gaza? Within the context of American news, an obvious question comes to mind:
Is Dr. Durrani allowed to say the things she said?
Apparently, the answer is yes. Having said that, we'll also ask this:
How often do you even see such topics get discussed?
We've seen no follow-up discussion. Under somewhat familiar rules of the game, Dr. Durrani's testimony basically came and went.
Someone should have warned Biden to not to run again. Then we wouldn't have this scandal casting a shadow over Democrats for the next ten odd years.
ReplyDeleteThere's a long podcast out about this.
DeleteWhat Pentagon Signal leak?
DeleteNo, the collapse of the American dollar as the world's currency. Thieves , vandals, and bigots - the whole lot of them. And nothing but the weirdest fascists in history. Sad.
DeleteIt was about Biden's age-related decline that was hidden from the public and ultimately was responsible for Trump's election.
DeleteBigots were ultimately responsible for the orange turd election. Especially the low IQ bigots. These are the worst. And the smelliest. Shocking how many of them Neanderthals are grunting about pretending to be human.
DeleteOf course it wasn't about the Pentagon Signal leak.
DeleteI was just musing on the mainstream "press corps" and the american discourse.
Hamas should end the war and return the hostages and end the starvation. Shouldn't Hamas, the elected governent of Gaza, be more concerned about taking care of Gazans than Gaza's enemies?
ReplyDeleteAny other government responsible for the situation in Gaza? (hint: starts with an 'I').
Delete@5:09 - I don't see how one can blame Israel for the brutal Oct 7 attack. Israel left Gaza entirely alone for 20 years. Israel allowed Gazans to choose their government. Gazans received large amounts of aid throughout this period. Gaza has an ideal location on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea. Gazans had every opportunity to build a peaceful prosperous community.
DeleteNetanyahoo's stated goal is to drive Palestinians out of Gaza -- or starve them. He is fine with everyone starving. Pretty sure Bibi doesn't care about hostages either.
DeleteIsrael left Gaza entirely alone for 20 years? I don't think that's true.
DeleteBy the way, starvation of civilians is never an acceptable war practice. Netanyahu's Israel is competing to be about the worst government on the face of this planet.
DeleteAnd yet Trump has cut funding that is resulting in the starvation of children and adults in various countries, and he isn't even doing it to conduct a war. If anyone is competing with Netanyahu, it is Trump. Look at the cuts to Medicaid and food stamps he wants to impose on his people!
DeleteIlya, Trump doesn't care about the immigrants and greencard holders he is holding hostage either.
DeleteA peaceful, prosperous community requires freedom of movement, access to markets, a functioning infrastructure, political stability, and security from violence. Gaza has not had those conditions.
DeleteAnon@7:31: Trump is there with the worst of them. And it's not clear how we are going to be able to extricate ourselves from this bog of iniquity.
Delete"Israel left Gaza entirely alone for 20 years."
DeleteWikipedia disagrees with you. I present the following, not to take sides, but simply to show the falsity of the quote above:
"In September 2007, Israel declared Gaza "hostile territory." The declaration allowed Israel to prevent the transfer of electricity, fuel, and other supplies into Gaza.
On 28 February 2008, Israeli aircraft bombed a police station near the Gaza City home of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, killing several children.
The Gaza War (2008-2009) started when Israel launched a large military campaign in the Gaza Strip on 27 December 2008, codenamed Operation "Cast Lead" with the stated aim of stopping Hamas rocket attacks on southern Israel and arms smuggling into Gaza.
During the second week of March 2012, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) initiated Operation "Returning Echo". It was the worst outbreak of violence covered by the media in the region since the 2008–09 Operation "Cast Lead"
n 2014, fighting intensified between Israel and Hamas, leading to another full-scale Gaza War, this one far deadlier than the previous in 2008–2009."
Trump should give Hamas leadership more money to kill Israel's and GI Joes.
DeleteThanks to David in Cal, I now know ethnic cleansing of entire populations is the main tenet of the Jewish faith.
DeleteThere is an article saying that Hamas attacked Israel on 10/7 to prevent the Saudis from normalizing relations with Israel, as Biden had convinced them to do. I do not understand why Trump is so friendly with Hamas supporters, other than the bribery.
ReplyDeleteGrift and bribery explains most of Trump's behavior. If you start with bribery as default assumption, you won't go wrong.
DeleteHere is a fascinating rundown of the health issues of various presidents from FDR forward, including the impact on their performance and what was and was not revealed to the public at the time. Yastreblansky explains that FDR's doctors restricted him to 4 hours per day of work (due to serious heart problems) while he was in the middle of prosecuting WWII and thereafter. Biden, working between 10 and 4 pm, had an additional two hours and no war to deal with, and he got plenty done.
ReplyDeletehttps://yastreblyansky.substack.com/p/to-the-presidents-health
The issue is that Democrats lied about it. They said he was fine. Fit as a fiddle. They said he was conjuring miracles. Their coordinated deception has led to a lost of trust on the part of the public. These Democrats should have contacted Yastreblansky. He could have told them there was no need to lie. Not being able to function after 4 pm is normal for a president.
DeleteThe issue is the President of the United States is a demented way too old idiot making "policy" on the fly.
DeleteNot being able to go five days without golfing two is not normal for a resident. Unless you are a convicted felon who couldn't even organize an autogolpe during a pandemic
DeleteTrump didn’ work after 4 during his first term.
DeleteThat's why it didn't make sense for Biden's team to lie to Americans about it repeatedly.
DeleteIt never made sense to treat the Republican Party like a political party, and not a crime syndicate.
DeleteBoth parties are parts of the same crime syndicate.
DeleteBut Democrats more so, obviously. No one could sincerely believe any of the retarded shit Democrats pretend to believe.
9:57,
DeleteLike black people being equals to whitey?
"President Donald Trump has repeatedly characterized the $400 million luxury Boeing 747 the government of Qatar offered him as a "gift" — but according to CNN, it turns out the Trump administration asked them for the plane first.
ReplyDeleteSpecifically, reported Alex Marquardt, Kristen Holmes, and Natasha Bertrand, administration officials "first approached Qatar to inquire about acquiring a Boeing 747 that could be used as Air Force One by President Donald Trump, four sources familiar with the discussions told CNN.
"After Trump took office in January, the Pentagon contacted Boeing and was told the company would not be able to deliver the new jets it was building to replace the aging presidential planes for another two years, the sources said," the report continued. However, administration officials didn't want to have to wait that long, and "At the same time, Trump tasked his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff with finding a list of viable planes, a senior White House official told CNN."
The Defense Department ultimately reached out to Qatar, proposing that they supply the aircraft originally, with the thinking that it could be a lease arrangement, but the idea quickly evolved into Qatar simply giving over the jet.
All of this stands in contrast to Trump's characterization of the arrangement, as he "repeatedly described the potential deal as a 'gesture' or 'contribution' from Qatar’s royal family," noted the report. "A 'GIFT, FREE OF CHARGE,' he wrote on his social media site Truth Social. He said it would be a temporary replacement for Air Force One and given to his presidential library after he leaves office but denied he would fly in the plane then."
Amid even some members of Trump's party feeling uneasy about the transaction, particularly as it came at the same time Trump was headed to the Middle East to ink diplomatic and business deals, the president has defended his actions, saying he would have to be a "stupid person" to turn down a "free plane" from a foreign government." [Rawstory]
A plane that will take five years and many billions to strip for bugs, refurbish, and add defensive systems. No way ready before 2028. Every time you get into the details with these fascist crooks and weirdos you find there is no there there. Bunch of nasty goofballs stuffing their greedy pockets. Fck 'em
DeleteAnybody figure out why the orange Jesus decided he needed a new plane while simultaneously gutting scientific research?
DeleteIt is very odd the way Somerby keeps asking whether certain people are allowed to say certain things, when we have a president who says any outrageous, idiotic, childish and stupid thing he wants to say, in public on Truth Social.
ReplyDeleteI expect that there will soon be restrictions on speech, already happening the ICE persecution of people for their free speech, but when that happens, Somerby's excited exclamations about what people can say will make sense. Right now, Somerby's questions make even less sense than Trump's declarations.
Trump’s approval is up 9 points with Democrats. They can’t buy a break.
ReplyDeleteBut the felon can get paid off by Midwest terrorists. What could go wrong?, says the cult freaks.
DeleteEither you don't read very carefully or you think you can fool us:
Delete"Trump reduced the Democrats' lead among voters aged 30 to 44 by 9 points between 2020 and 2024, from 12 points to 3. However, since the beginning of his second term, polls have shown signs of waning support for Trump among millennials. However, a new poll shows his approval rating among this demographic may be creeping up again."
Democrats have a lot of work to do to find their way out of the mess they put themselves in.
DeleteThe Right are the snowflakes they warned us about.
DeleteAt least 50 Venezuelan men who were sent to a notorious Salvadoran prison by the Trump administration had immigrated to the U.S. legally, a review by the Libertarian Cato Institute found.
ReplyDeletehttps://thehill.com/policy/national-security/5308025-venezuelan-migrants-el-salvador-prison-legal-migration-cato-institute-southern-border/
"had immigrated to the U.S. legally"
DeleteCato quote in The Hill is that they "came legally to the United States". Not that they " had immigrated to the U.S. legally".
There's a huge difference between immigrating and merely crossing the border. The Brendan admin (whoever was boss there, we don't know) may give them green light to enter, but accepting them as immigrants seems unlikely. So The Hill is full of shit in this case, and Cato may or may not be also.
"There's a huge difference between immigrating and merely crossing the border."
DeleteThere's also a huge difference between 'merely crossing the border" and coming 'legally to the United States.'
No, there is no difference between crossing the border and coming to the United States. It's exactly the same thing. And it can be legal or illegal.
Delete(whoever was boss there, we don't know)
DeleteMost people think it is Stephen Miller currently.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/R232XMf9A18
New Trump job approval
ReplyDelete🟢 Approve 55% (+11)
🟤 Disapprove 44%
Insider advantage #A - 1000 LV - 5/19
I give up.
Same make-up of the Republican voting base.
ReplyDelete# of Republican voters who aren't bigots:
11/ 2024= 0.
05/ 2025 = 0.