I watched the video of the Active Duty Serviceman, Aaron Bushnell, who self-immolated in front of the Israeli Embassy. The man was blurred/censored in the video I saw as soon as he lit himself on fire but you can see the flames obviously and the audio is clear.
I will not share the video here. You can find it yourself if you wish. But I will share his final words. Very few people in history have done this (most often buddhists, I wonder if he was buddhist) extreme act of self-sacrifice for a cause. Bushnell is the second I know of to attempt this about the current #IsraelGaza war. The first, I believe, to perish. Here are his words from the video:
"I am an active duty member of the United States Air Force and I will no longer be complicit in genocide. I am about to engage in an extreme act of protest but compared to what people have been experiencing in Palestine at the hands of their colonizers, it's not extreme at all. This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal.”
— He places his camera/tripod on the ground pointing towards the embassy fence, puts on his uniform cap, douses himself in fuel, takes a deep breath, says "Free Palestine”, and lights himself on fire. —
He screams Free Palestine a couple more times.
RIP sir.
I won't describe how the rest unfolds, his act should stand alone.
Thanks to @msquebanh for the idea and example. Here is the rough outline of #gaza (perimeter 110km and area 636sqkm) superimposed on #VancouverIsland, facing the City of #Vancouver#yvr. It runs from Lantzville (North #Nanaimo) to Chemainus. Imagine the people of Vancouver ‘facing' that horror, that deseruction, that genocide, within sight across the Salish Sea.
“Music, art and academia,” he wrote, “is about crossing borders not building them, about open minds not closed ones, about shared humanity, dialogue and freedom of expression.”
Thom Yorke on why it's cool to play in Israel while they're doing a genocide.
Edit: also Elton John.
"I have always believed that music inhabits a world set apart from politics"
At this point it's easier to assume everyone's pro-Israel unless stated otherwise #IsraelApartheid#FreePalestine#Music https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2024/3/16/play-in-israel-just-dont-pretend-you-didnt-know
"I am personally proud of the ruins of Gaza, and that every baby, even 80 years from now, will tell their grandchildren what the Jews did".
Stated May Golan, the Israeli Minister for Equality and Advancement of Women, during her speech in the Knesset, advocating for the expulsion of a member who showed compassion with Palestinians and opposed the Israeli war in Gaza.
Israel's president:
“We care. It is painful for us that our neighbours are suffering so much,” he said.
“But how else can we defend ourselves if our enemies decided to entrench themselves in an infrastructure of terror of unbelievable size and scope?” he said.
Sounds legit. I'm sure they weren't tortured or anything 🤬
Axios: " A senior Israeli official said the Shin Bet and Israeli military intelligence provided information that pointed to the active participation of UNRWA staffers and the use of the agency's vehicles and facilities ... A lot of the intelligence is a result of interrogations of militants ... "
Quds Network: "Former mayor of an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, Daniella Weiss, was interviewed at the "Return to Gaza" conference, where she affirmed the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza when asked about the current situation.
We don't give them food. We don't give the Arabs anything, they will have to leave. The world will accept them."
I honestly don't know what the fuck this is even about, but tweeting it out when you've prevented another 1.4 million people from murdered, and bombed four different countries in a week, and are still sponsoring genocide, it's so utterly revolting I can't imagine how he's expecting this to be received.
Two more #US officials resign over #Biden administration’s #genocide in #Gaza, accusing the administration of lying about Israel’s obstruction of aid to Palestinians
“The report also stated that the IDF emphasized to the Egyptians that from now on the IDF would not be responsible for the security of Egyptian forces in the area, while the IDF is attempting to occupy the border area, and emphasized that the military operation in the area will continue whether Egypt agrees or rejects it.”
I'm about to reach out to a pro-palestine group to encourage them to set up a #mastodon presence. What would be a good instance to recommend? Pls :boostplease: for visibility.
After 25 weeks, the Guardian's finally found the right verb. Unsurprising it's a piece by Arwa Mahdawi, one of the few respectable commentators still working there.