How Your Love's Affecting Our Reality?

by C.A. Matthews

Have you ever experienced an “earworm” or a “sticky tune”? An earworm is a song or melody (or part of one) that gets stuck in your mind that you can’t seem to shake for days on end. You keep hearing it over and over again during the quiet parts of your day. You’re not even sure how or why it happens, but somehow it does. There’s nothing you can do to shake it loose, either. I know—I’ve tried!

I was infected with an unusual ear worm this past week. It’s from the chorus of a pop hit from 1999 that I must have heard playing on my car radio recently. What makes this earworm even more unusual is that it’s not from a song that I particularly like. I’m not even a fan of the group that recorded it. In fact, I don’t think either one of my daughters were a fan of the group or the song back when. So why are these words repeating constantly in my head?

All you people, can't you see, can't you see
How your love's affecting our reality?
Every time we're down, you can make it right
And that makes you larger than life

Chorus from the 1999 Backstreet Boys’ song Larger Than Life, written by Brian Littrel, Kristian Lundin, and Max Martin.

The one line that really haunts me is Can’t you see how your love’s affecting our reality? Yeah, it’s part of a catchy lyric and tune, but there’s something about that question that keeps bugging me. I really want to know what the answer to it is. It’s driving me crazy.

How is your love affecting our reality?

According to the song lyrics, we can’t see it. We can’t actually see or know how our love (and this could mean anything from romantic love to neighborly love to compassion and empathy for all humankind and the earth itself) affects the reality of the universe itself. But the next lines show us that our love does indeed hold tremendous power: Every time we're down, you can make it right/And that makes you larger than life.

Deep stuff, huh?

All I can guess at this point is this earworm is the universe’s way of telling me that all is not lost. So, when it comes to how we can end the horrible genocide in Gaza, all is not lost, even if it looks like it is. I don’t know why I’ve come to this conclusion, but I feel it in my bones. Call it intuition or a gut instinct. Even when things seem down (or impossible) for us, we can make them right (or at least better). Perhaps that’s what makes us all larger than life—we have more power than we could possibly dream of.

We need to start using our power for good and to save lives. Right now.

A lot of Substack commentators embrace various creeds and belief systems and tell us to think positive, but I’m not going to assume anything I write here will change your mind. Others are much more persuasive and eloquent than I am. But I implore you to keep an open mind for just a little while longer...

 

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How Can We Make Reparations to Palestine?

by C. A. Matthews

There will come a day when the genocidaires of Israel and its mostly Western allies will be forced to make reparations to the Palestinian people. Justice demands that fair and proper restitution be made to the victims of Israeli war crimes. But what will these reparations look like? How will they be enacted? Who will oversee the implementation of these reparations?

I’ve pondered these questions and came up with an outline of what all should be covered in a reparations plan. I believe reparations should be made to the Palestinian people in the following categories:

1. Financial-Material Reparations

2. Cultural-Historical-Educational Reparations

3. Political-Judicial Reparations

4. Spiritual-Physical Reparations

Israel will have to make reparations to Lebanon, Syria, and Iran in addition to Gaza and the West Bank. In this article, I’m concentrating on reparations to be made to the Palestinian people, although this outline could be used as a pattern to help develop a reparations plan for other peoples Israel and its allies have committed war crimes against.

Financial-Material Reparations

Financial-material reparations are the most obvious ones that Israel and its allies will need to make. All buildings Israel has destroyed in its genocide of Gaza, as well as in its attempt to takeover the West Bank, must be repaired or replaced. This includes public edifices such as hospitals, schools, universities, churches, mosques, and community centers. It will also include restoring parks, beaches, tourist attractions, museums, theaters, and other public gathering places. Bridges, roads, port facilities, utilities, water treatment plants, power plants, and any other infrastructure damaged or destroyed will also need to be repaired or rebuilt and paid for by the war criminals.

Private homes, apartment buildings, business offices, shopping areas, and individual stores or kiosks must also be repaired or rebuilt in a timely manner. And because Israelis have deprived Palestinians of their livelihoods and homes, they would need to make good on the income Palestinians have lost during the commission of their war crimes. Israelis must continue to repay all Palestinians lost income during this period of rebuilding Gaza and the destroyed and stolen homes and villages of the West Bank.

I know what’s going through your head at this point: How will the state of Israel be able to afford the restoration of all the buildings and infrastructure it has destroyed? How will it afford to give financial support to the Palestinian families it has harmed? Who will be the workers to fulfill this plan?

I will discuss the worker situation later, but for now notice that I added “and allies” at the start when I mentioned who all have committed war crimes against the Palestinian people. Israel won’t be the only country that will be making good on these reparations. All of Israel’s allies that have provided funding, bombs, jets, tanks, munitions, mercenaries, military support and surveillance, etc., to attack Gaza will need to make restitution as well. No country that aided or abetted Israel’s war crimes gets to walk free under this reparations plan. All who are guilty will pay to restore the damages their activities and support of the state of Israel have caused. No exceptions...

 

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Francesca Albanese: Boldly Speaking Truth To Corporate Power

by C.A. Matthews

Serving as the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Territories of Palestine is a tough job, and Francesca Albanese knew when she took on the position that she was bound to make her share of enemies. However, the vile things coming out of the mouths of genocide-enabler Donald Trump and his boyfriend, genocide-instigator Benjamin Netanyahu, about Albanese’s recent work reporting on the economic conditions of the genocide in Gaza are unbelievable.

Even US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had to get in on the feces-slinging by “sanctioning” her for standing up for the Palestinian people’s human rights. He posted on X:

Secretary Marco Rubio @SecRubio

Today I am imposing sanctions on UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese for her illegitimate and shameful efforts to prompt @IntlCrimCourt action against U.S. and Israeli officials, companies, and executives.

Rubio, a former “human rights attorney”, is coming down heavy on a fellow human rights attorney? Is this a Monty Python sketch or am I just dreaming? If it is a dream, it’s a nightmare, that’s for certain.

Will Francesca Albanese suffer personally from US sanctions simply for doing her job? I hope not...

...In spite of the pressures and threats from bullies such as Trump and Rubio, Ms. Albanese carries on. She even calmly explained why she’s under fire for exposing state and corporate complicity in Israel's genocide:

It's a sign the system is cracking; it is punching back. But it will only win if we are scared, if we stop standing with one another.

Good advice. We need to stand with each other and not let the bullies shut us down.

The system is cracking, but it’s possibly not quite the system most imagine...

 

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The Goal Is An Endless War

 

Not all the power and money, not all the weapons and propaganda on earth can any longer hide the wound that is Palestine. The wound through which the whole world, including Israel, bleeds. --Arundhati Roy

Random thoughts about the current state of the world while a cat sits on top of my head while I lie awake in bed during the dark hours before dawn. Happy "Independence" Day, USA. 

The Goal Is An Endless War (Not A Successful War)

By C.A. Matthews

Wikileaks publisher Julian Assange once said “The goal is an endless war, not a successful war.”

Whatever did Assange mean by that? Surely, the goal of warfare is to beat your opponent(s) and achieve the results you wanted when you began the fighting, right? Otherwise, what is the point of war? It can’t simply be about endless death and destruction and if-I-can’t-have-it-neither-can-you, can it?

The endlessness is what really gets to me. Who comes up with the concept of endless war? Only persons who see a need for endless growth and endless chaos would even consider endless war as beneficial—or possibly even necessary—to their side of the conflict.

Endless growth of the economy, endless chaos of competitors, endless hoarding of wealth, endless destruction of the environment and the Earth’s ecology… Hmm, all that sounds oddly familiar.

Could it be it’s capitalists who have behind all this endless warfare in the last hundred+ years? 

 

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KISS: Keep It Simple, Sociopath

by C. A. Matthews

It’s been really hard keeping up with what’s been happening recently in Syria and the rest of the world. Then I remembered a wise old saying, and I sat down and started listing the facts, just the facts. Here they are as simple as I can explain them:

First off, the US and its Western allies once called the group now in charge of Syria “terrorists”, but now we’re calling them “moderates” and forgiving them for all the torture and extrajudicial killings that they did. Their leader, Muhammad Al-Jawlani, used to have a $10 million reward on his head for being a terrorist with an organization formerly known as Al Qaeda. (Never heard of them before, have you?) But now we’re supposed to ignore his past because he turned in his turban for a Western-styled suit…

Yeah, that’s it. It’s sort of like a woman becoming a virgin again after twenty years of marriage and several children.

Second thing, we’re told that this recent invasion of Syria is not a land grab. Pay no attention to the Israeli military (using American provided weapons) bombing Syria 480 times in 48 hours because (in their words) the “moderates are terrorists” and can’t control their own people to Israel’s satisfaction. (But Al-Jawlani wears a suit now—doesn’t that make everything all right?) 

 

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Codependent Conspirators

Codependent Conspirators

Or 

“Any Excuse To Bomb, Starve, Maim, Torture, or Rape Will Do”

by C. A. Matthews

Once upon a time there was a violent and spoiled brat named Benji. Benji lusted after his neighbor’s things. He wanted to play in his neighbor’s yard any time he wanted to without asking permission. He longed to beat up and terrorize his neighbors any time he felt like it, particularly one neighbor. Benji held a long held grudge against this neighbor because he coveted this neighbor’s yard and things the most. But he couldn’t go it alone—he needed help in doing so with minimum injury to himself.

So Benji went to his mother, Usa, to ask for her help.

Benji: I need more bombs to blow up the neighbors. Give them to me!

Usa: Okay, just give me a moment to gather them up. Now, don’t do anything foolish with those bombs that could reflect badly on either me or you.

Benji: I will do whatever I want. I’m special. Anything I want, I get.

Usa: Yes, I know, but you have to give a little in return. You have to let me have access to your room from time to time for my purposes and—

Benji: Yeah, yeah, whatever! Where are the bombs? I need them now.

Usa: Hold on, hold on… [The phone rings. She answers it.] Hello. What’s that, Mrs. Icici? Benji has a what out on his head? A warrant for genocide? He’s been allowing his gang to do what to the neighbor’s kids? Rape? Torture? Maiming? Stealing their pocket money and bombing their lunch boxes?

Benji: Hurry up! These people don’t just kill themselves! You’re cramping my style.

Usa: (Still on the phone.) All right, Mrs. Icici. I’ll let him know. But I’ll have you know that I don’t appreciate your tone. Benji and I have a perfectly respectful relationship. I can’t believe all the lies you’re saying about him. You’re just trying to blame him for everything that goes wrong in the world. It’s all the other kids’ fault anyway. They’re all terrorists and monsters. Good-bye!

Benji: Finally! Give me the bombs and then get back to doing what you do best.

Usa: (Handing the armaments to him.) What’s that, dear?

 

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The Writing's On The Wall

The Writing's On The Wall

by C.A. Matthews

Some days it feels like this nightmare will go on forever. It’s overwhelming. When you can’t even have a reasonable, adult conversation with others for risk of being labeled “antisemitic” simply because you support the rights of Palestinians to live and not be ethnically cleansed, it does feel like this is it... The End Times. 

The end of Western civilization perhaps.

Maybe the death of Western civilization isn’t such a bad thing after all. Who needs a society which continues to deny basic human rights to people based upon the “superiority” or “inferiority” of skin color, race, religion, politics, social status, or ethnicity? The writing is on the wall. We’re already seeing the signs of the end of this sick world approaching in various ways. It’s time to accept this truth so we all can live together in peace and harmony.

Already the “stenographers for the oligarchs” are starting to fold. Mainstream media outlets are beginning to soften their original hard line, pro-Zionist/anti-Palestinian stance. Why their sudden change of heart? It probably has a lot to do with so many independent journalists outing them for the propaganda mouthpieces for Israel and the military-industrial complex of the West that they are.

by Mark Taylor, DeMOCKracy Ink

Even CNN has changed its mind, revealing how it didn’t do its job properly when it came to reportage on the “Flour Massacre.” Seems the IDF were at fault all along. Israeli snipers shot at helpless starving Gazans as they gathered to get food aid off of the trucks, the opposite of how many a Western headline read. The food aid itself didn’t kill them. They didn't kill each other in the rush. The IDF did so. Deliberately.

Funny how the truth has a way of eventually leaking into the world of Western journalism. Apparently these stenographers for the oligarchs don’t like being embarrassed by Palestinian journalists who got things right the first time. They don’t enjoy being caught in the act of regurgitating Israeli lies one too many times by independent podcasters. It makes them look stupid. It makes them look like paid-off shills.

Well, they are shills for Israel and the military-industrial complex, aren’t they? But they don’t want to look that obvious. They don't want everyone who watches them to think, "These so-called journalists love bloodshed and violence. Great for their ratings, right?" So, they’ve kept up their front and pretended that they’ve never repeated the hasbara (translation: storytelling) of the Israelis on behalf of their corrupt Western governments. They'll pretend they've never once lied even when they’re forced to make corrections to their stories later. 

But it’s too late. Intelligent and insightful people question everything they hear and read. They look for and find alternative sources of news and double check the facts. Darn those smarty pants! They're making CNN’s and their compatriots’ propaganda spinning that much harder.

The writing is on the wall. Mainstream news outlets will either return to an approximation of “fair and balanced” journalism, or else they’ll be laughed off the planet. When push comes to shove, their CEOs will want to stay in business. They’ll probably accommodate the public’s need to know the truth, rather than continue passing on the false narrative spin of Western governments' propagandists.

Speaking of Western governments… The writing’s on the wall there as well.

“Genocide Joe” Biden and his administration are slowly but surely circling the drain. Trying to sell a geriatric with memory issues and a vicious streak of hatred against non-white peoples has been an extremely difficult sales job for Biden’s campaign workers. Promoting the lesser evil voting argument doesn’t hold up when making such statements as, “Trump would start even more genocides than Biden already has!” 

Nah, it doesn’t work. It exposes the fallacy of lesser evil voting even more than it already has been exposed. It's all just a nasty voter shaming technique. The duopoly and its candidates are just uniformly evil no matter how they care to label themselves, as either ”Donkeys” or “Elephants”. Both groups work for the military-industrial complex and do as they're told. They're both full of crap.

Stories about how President Ronald Reagan picked up the phone in 1982 and called Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and told him to stop bombing Lebanon, and twenty minutes later, Israel stopped the bombings, have been unearthed recently. Repeating Reagan's tough stance against Israeli bombing makes things look even bleaker for "Butcher Biden" and his genocide-enabling administration. 

White House briefings by smooth-talking spokespersons hinting at how “upset” or “angry” or “frustrated” Biden is with P.M. Netanyahu’s actions do nothing to change the facts of the matter.  A genocide is being committed by Israel using US provided bombs and arms. What do Biden's feelings really got to do with anything unless they've been telling him it's the right thing to do, funding a genocide, for the past six months?

Biden continues to send bombs to Israel who uses them to ethnically cleanse even more civilians in Gaza. If US presidents have the power to pick up the phone and call Israeli prime ministers and get them to shut down military operations, why hasn’t Joe Biden picked up the phone and demanded an end to the bombings? The answer is simple: He doesn’t want to stop supplying bombs to Israel. He doesn’t really care if Israel is ethnically cleansing the Palestinians. Biden’s war machine donors’ wishes and profits are infinitely more important to him that breathing, happy Palestinian children ever could be.

The most recent polls show that the vast majority of Americans want the US to stop sending bombs to Israel. If Biden continues to ignore the public’s opinion on this matter, he has set himself up for a big fall come the November presidential election. With this stubbornly short-sighted attitude, one wonders if he really wants to keep his job. Maybe not.

The writing is on the wall: Biden is going down for the count. No doubt about it. And good riddance! 

With Biden knocking himself out of the race, the odds for an alternative party candidate such as the Green Party's Jill Stein winning have increased exponentially. In a crowded field of two wannabe presidents and two former presidents, Dr. Stein needs only 26% of the Electoral College vote to win. 

Of course, the crap-filled Donkeys and Elephants will pitch a fit and kick and scream “election fraud!” if Dr. Stein does win, but every time the duopoly pulls their dirty tricks, the more voters become wiser to how corrupt the American system of voting truly is. If they block the people's choice, the US will be revealed as the oligarchy it is and not the "democracy" it pretends to be.

The writing's on the wall for the wealthy, white, male settler-colonialist class who created and perpetuated this travesty called the United States of America. Let's hope they realize this soon and surrender peacefully to the people.

Perhaps the best news of all is that six months after starting their genocide of the Palestinian people the writing is on the wall for the ethnostate of Israel.

Things have gone too far, too fast. The moral stench of the murders of innocent children and babies in incubators in Gaza has convinced many countries to stop supporting Israel. Some like Spain are calling for the recognition of the Palestinian state. Colombia is calling for all nations to break diplomatic ties with Israel. The South African genocide case made against Israel at the International Court of Justice has picked up more supporters. Many countries are calling for United Nations' sanctions against Israel and for the UN to treat Israel as a pariah state.

If there ever was any hope for a “two state solution” between Israel and Palestine, recent actions of the Israeli government, military, and its bloodthirsty civilian population have pretty much killed its chances. The writing’s on the wall. The only chance for peace in the region is to permanently shut down the white settler-colonial, apartheid, racist-Zionist government of Israel and build a democratic secular state that doesn’t make one ethnic group superior to the other. All people are to be treated equally. No exceptions.

Six months of daily images of children lying crushed in the rubble, dying slowly of starvation, and dying trying to scrounge up food while being shot at by IDF snipers is grueling and disheartening. But there is a glimmer of hope when we realize that the writing is on the wall. I predict that the end is coming soon for these heartless bastards in both Israel and the Western governments. My only wish is that I live long enough to see all of them punished for their crimes against humanity.

Peace and morality can be restored to the world. We the People can take our rightful place in the governance of ourselves. We can lock away the warmongering narcissists and their minions in the prisons they've built to torture those who resisted their tyranny. When we do, we will write the best and last thing on the wall: Good-bye to the war machine forever!

Related Articles and Other Interesting Links

BREAKING: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announces Spain’s readiness to recognize the state of Palestine and encourages other European countries to follow suit. pic.twitter.com/egt9FcgJj9

— sarah (@sahouraxo) April 10, 2024

Will Israel Drag the US Into Another Ruinous War? https://www.thenation.com/article/world/israel-hamas-hezbollah-iran/

Gaza is a test of the absolute bare minimum requirements for someone to be worth listening to about anything at all, because if you got this one wrong then there’s just something wrong with you as a human being.  —Getting Gaza Right Is The Absolute Bare Minimum Requirement https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/getting-gaza-right-is-the-absolute

"If something like this can happen in plain view of everyone, and the people in charge not only do nothing but actively facilitate it, then you have to start wondering if everything about your entire nation is deranged, and if everything you’ve been told about the world is a lie." —Gaza Asks Us A Question About What Kind Of Future We Want To Have https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/gaza-asks-us-a-question-about-what

Israeli Suffering Is Not Comparable To Palestinian Suffering https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/israeli-suffering-is-not-comparable

Biden declares “ironclad” commitment to Israel as death toll mounts in Gaza https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2024/04/11/tnmf-a11.html

Iran Strikes Back https://julianmacfarlane.substack.com/p/iran-strikes-back

Biden Administration Won't Say Whether They Support Federal Shield Law For Journalists https://thedissenter.org/biden-white-house-wont-say-whether-backs-press-act/

Israel's killing of aid workers is no accident. It's part of the plan to destroy Gaza https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/war-gaza-killing-aid-workers-israel-plan-destroy-gaza

West votes against rest of world, supporting illegal sanctions in UN Human Rights Council https://geopoliticaleconomy.substack.com/p/west-votes-rest-world-un-sanctions

CNN Finally Tells The Truth About The Flour Massacre After Previously Shilling For Israel  https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/cnn-finally-tells-the-truth-about

Ralph Nader: The Mutually Reinforcing US and Israeli Empires https://scheerpost.com/2024/04/09/ralph-nader-the-mutually-reinforcing-us-and-israeli-empires/

Israel Has Formed a Task Force to Carry Out Covert Campaigns at US Universities  https://scheerpost.com/2024/04/10/israel-has-formed-a-task-force-to-carry-out-covert-campaigns-at-us-universities/

It Can't Be Fun Defending Israel These Days... https://youtu.be/guxkmRPSTlI?si=iaM2puQPdz8fBo4B

Aid Flotilla Heading To Gaza To Break Siege https://popularresistance.org/aid-flotilla-heading-to-gaza-to-break-siege/

Establishment SUDDENLY Turns Against Israel! https://youtu.be/ExQM25IwFd4?si=wC0zhVp5hX6nVm0C

Tucker Carlson and Palestinian Priest on Israel’s Oppression of Christians https://youtu.be/n2_4uI-lcv4?si=dq1R8GxL-hkrUwr2

Empire Managers Keep Acting Like Iran Is About To Attack Israel Without Provocation https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/empire-managers-keep-acting-like

Meet Centuria, Ukraine’s Western-Trained Neo-Nazi Army https://scheerpost.com/2024/04/08/meet-centuria-ukraines-western-trained-neo-nazi-army/

Sales of Palestinian land are happening around the US  https://therealnews.com/illegal-real-estate-sales-of-palestinian-land-are-happening-around-the-us

Last Year, You Spent More Than a Month’s Rent on Pentagon Contractors https://otherwords.org/last-year-you-spent-more-than-a-months-rent-on-pentagon-contractors/

47 years later, Leonard Peltier is still not free https://therealnews.com/47-years-later-leonard-peltier-is-still-not-free

A great album now on Bandcamp:
Notes From A Holocaust by David Rovics
https://davidrovics.bandcamp.com/album/notes-from-a-holocaust 

Active Duty Airman Larry Hebert refuses to eat while Gaza starves.
 

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The Elephant In The Room

While you were shopping, bombs were dropping... on Gaza.

Toledo area peace activists took a tour of a local shopping mall sharing their concerns over the genocide happening in Gaza. You can see their march here:

https://www.facebook.com/bbop.toledo/videos/1074727953942628 

The holidays aren't supposed to be about death and destruction, but this year that's what's happening to the Palestinian people. It's difficult to remain quiet and talk about children's toys and games when a child is killed in Gaza every ten minutes. An innocent child who will never be able to celebrate a birthday or holiday ever again.

Sometimes, you have to face up to reality and discuss the "elephant" in the room...

The Elephant In The Room

 by C.A. Matthews

 

On a snowy December evening, a twenty-something couple park their small sedan in a crowded, long driveway of a large suburban home somewhere in the American Midwest. Cheerful holiday lights and decorations adorn the front of the house. As they get out of the car and stroll toward the front door, she explains the situation to her date that he is about to encounter.

Kayla: Remember Kev, if at any time you feel uncomfortable around any of my family members, and you want to bail, just give me that look of yours with the rolling eyes and nod. I'll rescue you from the conversation and get you into a safe place like the laundry room or pantry. Okay?

Kevin: No problem! I'm sure I'm going to love your family if they're anything as special as you. (He gives her a kiss on the cheek as they step up to the front porch and head toward the door.) Ready to introduce the new boyfriend to the clan?

Kayla: Well, ready or not, here we come--or should I say my cousin Emily has already spotted us.

Emily: (Laughing as she opens the door and invites them in.) Welcome! Come in, come in! You must be Kevin. Kayla has told us absolutely nothing about you.

Kayla: Ha ha. Very funny, Em.  Here, take our jackets.

Emily: (Winking at Kevin.) She just doesn't want me to flirt with you right off the bat. I can take a hint. (Emily takes their coats and whisks them away to another room.)

Kayla: Now you see what I mean about my extended family being a bit too...forward. I hear the crowd partying in the den, so let's go on in and face the music. (She leads him through a large foyer and down a long hallway.)

Kevin: So far, so good. I don't know why you're so worried about introducing me to your family. Your parents seemed very nice when I talked to them last month at homecoming.

Kayla: You only chatted with them for a few minutes in the middle of a crowded college football stadium. When my family is in their own "habitat" things can be quite different. For instance, beware of Uncle Bill. Just keep him away from the spiked eggnog and the rum punch.

Kevin: (Nodding.) Oh, I see. I understand what you mean. In spite of his...problems, I'm sure he's a great guy.

Kayla: Only when he's sober. And then there's my two male cousins who got caught peddling drugs at rock concerts--don't bring them up around my mom. She really gets upset about them. They're the current black sheep of the family. Fortunately, they're not able to attend this year since they didn't get early parole.

Kevin: (Flashing a concerned look.) I didn't realize the drinking and drug use sort of runs in your family. I'll be careful not to bring it up.

Kayla: Thanks. It's not uncommon nowadays, but it is a...touchy subject around the holidays. And then there's my crazy Great-Aunt Sally. We've just got to stay as far away from her as we can help it.

Kevin: Understood. Sort of like Uncle Bill?

 

Kayla: Worse!

They reach the large family room crowded with people drinking, snacking, and loudly chatting over festive holiday music while a roaring fire blazes in the fireplace. Kayla nudges her boyfriend over to the smorgasbord where they fill their plates.

Uncle Bill: Hey, it's my little Kayla all grown up! My favorite niece! (He throws an arm around her and then notices Kevin.) Is this the new man in your life?

Kayla: (Flinching from his breath.) Yes, it is. Seems like you started celebrating early, Uncle Bill. Why don't you go and sit by the fire and enjoy your liquid supper?

Bill frowns but takes the hint and moves away. Kayla guides Kevin to a quiet place in the corner with a couple of chairs behind a huge Christmas tree so they can eat in peace.

Kayla: Whew! We'll be safe here. My parents seem to be busy talking with some distant relations who flew in from the Bahamas, so we'll have a chance to eat and relax a little before the interrogations begin.

Kevin: You really have to stop downing your family, Kayla. They're not all that bad. You need to meet mine sometime.

Kayla: I will. I promise. It's just not been convenient to get into the city... Oh, dear. Here comes Aunt Sally. Don't make eye contact--don't make eye contact! 

 

A woman in a brightly colored tie-dyed caftan approaches and smiles widely.

Sally: Hello there, Miss Kayla! (They hug.) You're so grown up now. A senior in college, right? And this young man is...?

Kayla: This is Kevin. He's my boyfriend. Now, if you'll excuse us we need to go speak with--

Sally: Say, Kevin, would you like a button? I made them myself, and I'm giving them out as gifts in the spirit of the season. 

 

Kevin: Sure, thanks.

 

Sally reaches into a tie-dyed bag and pulls out a printed badge and hands it to him.

 

Sally: How about I give you this one: "All I want for Christmas is for Israel to stop bombing babies."  And here's one for Kayla. (She reaches in and retrieves another badge.) "Peace on Earth for ALL Humankind Not Just The Rich with Guns." I thought you might like that one, being a business major and all.

Kayla: Oh, yeah, thanks a lot, Aunt Sally. We've gotta go and--

Sally: (Interrupting.) What do you think about your button, Kevin? Do you agree with it?

Kevin: It's...very interesting. I mean, why should Israel be bombing babies? Isn't Christmas about the birth of a baby there long ago who would bring peace to the entire world?

Sally: You are so right! That's why the carpet bombing of Gaza and the slaughter of thousands of innocent Palestinian children is such an abhorrent act. A child is killed in Gaza every ten minutes on average. And they've turned off the water and electricity so illnesses and infections from wounds caused by these bombs are made even worse. Can you imagine a toddler having to have all his limbs amputated because there's no antibiotics, and it's the only way to save his life?

Kevin: A friend showed me some photos and videos from there on his TikTok account. It's horrible. It's downright criminal.

Kayla: (Pulling on his arm.) Come on, Kev, we've got to move along now and--

Sally: So, would you two be interested in attending our "Peace in Palestine Caroling Event" tomorrow night since you both are in town? We'll be singing familiar carols with an emphasis on peace and a permanent ceasefire in that part of the world. What do you think?

Kevin: The caroling sounds really nice. We don't have anything else on our schedule tomorrow, do we, Kayla?

Kayla: (Sighing.) No, we don't, but--

Sally: Great! I'll give you the details. Want a flyer? I put them over there by the cheese balls, let's go check it out...

Kevin follows Sally over to the food table, smiling and chatting animatedly about the caroling. Kayla crosses her arms and frowns. Emily approaches.

Emily: Seems Great-Aunt Sally has stolen your boyfriend away, cousin. That's two for two at these holiday get-togethers, isn't it?

Kayla: Yeah, I don't know how she does it, but she has a talent for hooking people into her crazy causes and getting them to do stupid things with her. At Christmastime, no less! (She shakes her head sadly.) Kevin and I should be out and about drinking and eating and shopping like normal folks, and here Aunt Sally has roped him in to sing carols for peace in some backwards part of the world. Sheesh!

Emily: (Nodding.) Well, at least she didn't get him going with the "People, Planet and Peace" of the Green Party schtick like she did with your last boyfriend. I remember how excited he was to learn that Greens believe in free college tuition and reparations. He dropped you faster than a hot potato after he spotted the Biden/Harris sticker on your car bumper on campus, didn't he?

Kayla: Don't remind me. Damn! Why do I keep picking these overly sensitive types? 

 

Emily: (Checking out Kevin talking with Sally and others.) Well, if it's any consolation, he is kind of cute. 

Kayla: Yeah, but I keep picking guys who believe dumb brown kids in the Middle East are worth saving. Next thing I know, Kevin will want our families' stock portfolios to tank by divesting from Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrup Grumman, General Dynamics, and Raytheon. And both our families have been making good money recently on those bombs Aunt Sally gets all in a huff about falling on top of poor people.

Emily: That's Aunt Sally for you. Such a bleeding heart she has.

 

Kayla: For sure. She has an "Eat the Rich" sticker on her electric car. You can't get anymore loser than that, caring about others more than your own family.

 

Emily: (Glancing over at the food table.) It seems Kevin and her are getting on like a house on fire.  Still, it's better to find out about what he's really like now before your parents' big mimosa brunch on New Year's Day for the County Democratic Party candidates' fund. He just wouldn't fit in with that crowd. At all.

Kayla: (Sighing.) No, he wouldn't. I suppose I'll have to let him down gently tonight.

Emily: Yeah, or just drop a bomb on him like Israel does to the Palestinians. Shuts those complainers right up after they've been buried under tons of rubble. It's probably the easiest way to solve your problems. A peaceful world only works for those who have the biggest bombs, right?

Kayla: (Smiling wanly as she takes her cousin's arm.) You're right. Let's go get some of that punch before Uncle Bill drains the punch bowl dry.

 

The Nativity Scene at Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem

 

 As the US vetoes a United Nations Security Council resolution for a ceasefire...

... The global charity Save the Children warned that at least 7,685 children under age five in Gaza are now so malnourished—a result of Israel's total blockade of the enclave that began in October and the delivery of just a small fraction of the aid that is needed—that they require "urgent medical treatment to avoid death."

"The repeated failure of the international community to act signifies a death knell to children," said Jason Lee, country director for Save the Children. "I've seen children and families roaming the streets of what hasn't been flattened in Gaza, with no food, nowhere to go, and nothing to survive on. Even the internationally-funded humanitarian aid response—Gaza's last lifeline—has been choked by Israeli-imposed restrictions."

"Gaza's children are being condemned to further bombardment, starvation, and disease," said Lee. "We must heed the lessons from the past and must immediately prevent 'atrocity crimes' from unfolding."

The intensifying opposition to Israel's U.S.- and U.K.-backed bombardment of Gaza was made apparent by an estimated 15,000-20,000 people who marched through London on Saturday to demand a cease-fire. --from

'Moral Insanity': Biden Admin Bypasses Congress to Rush Tank Shells to Israel

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Seen on X/Twitter:

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