Biased US media

As long as the strong continue to oppress and tyrannize the weak and vulnerable there is a role for militants/guerillas.

For how else can the victimized win/regain their freedom from those with superior arms?

Remember, it was militants, also dubbed terrorists by the well-armed oppressors and their powerful supporters, who brought the fight and eventually justice in the United Kingdom (the IRA), South Africa (the ANC) etc.

Freedom fighters should never lose their humanity in their struggle though, and that is what HAMAS, under the leadership of Mohammed Deif, did on October 7^th, when they invaded sections of Israel, killed, maimed, and kidnapped innocent women and children, instead of those who had their heels on their necks.

I had no idea the so-called free press in the USA which influences so much of the world, was so biased until they started to report on this bloody tragedy. For if you had just come from Mars, you could be excused if you thought this latest flare-up in that region happened in a vacuum. For, the main media houses seemed to be in competition among themselves to determine who could sound more like the official spokespeople of the Israeli government! As to News Nation, which was only launched in 2020 as a cable news station, they in my book, have the most unhinged reportage on the Gaza affair.

In the USA, where press freedom is supposedly held up as being sacred, suddenly all criticism of the Israeli government’s actions which led to the inexcusable actions by HAMAS, are condemned by the traditional media organizations as either anti-Semitic, taken out of context or simply censored.

This despite the fact that the Israeli government comprised of Likud and other far-right malevolent parties and led by Netanyahu since 2022, is extremely unpopular and has been facing massive resistance at home.

For it is not all Israelis inside and outside of the Zionist state who support the oppression and the campaign by settlers operating under the protection of the Israeli Defense Force, to murder and terrorize Palestinians to steal their land, as is the regular practice in the West Bank.

So, while HAMAS has to be condemned for the brutal attack on civilians on October 7^th which left some 1200 civilians dead and more than 240 taken hostages, the vicious retaliation on all civilians in Gaza by the Israeli army which killed almost 7000 children in 40 days is beyond the pale.

Interestingly, in the US, most of the voices that condemn Putin for his brutal attacks on civilians in Ukraine saw little wrong with what could only be described as the start of a genocidal campaign against innocent Palestinians in Gaza.

In this latest campaign, the Israeli government has not only relentlessly bombed over a million civilians, destroyed their homes, all possessions, even bombing hospitals carelessly but also, later deprived those who managed to survive, of food, water, and electricity.

 This is simply beyond evil.

 “When war is declared, truth is the first casualty' declared by Samuel Johnson and what we were told by most of the mainstream media in the USA,  is the most blatant evidence of this I have ever seen.

You know, the US and Israel had long boasted about Israel being the only democracy in the Middle East but what the world is now getting full evidence of is that what really exists there, is a vicious apartheid system.

As I write, there is a temporary respite from the bombing as some Israeli hostages are being released as well as Palestinian ‘prisoners.’

This exposes is the truth behind the popular perception that Gaza is the largest prison in the world. For we now understand the trivial grounds they had been using to create prisoners there. For prominent among these ‘prisoners’ are women and children who were detained and locked up indefinitely without due process, for ‘crimes’ as trivial as tweeting or throwing stones at Israeli soldiers guarding settlers who stole their lands after killing and maiming their parents and relatives!

According to well-respected Dr. Gabor Mate in an interview with Piers Morgan,  ‘a poll in 2005, found that the most traumatized children in the world were to be found in Gaza.’ 

That was long before the unconscionable bombing in Gaza since October 2023, he emphasized.

Dr. Mate is a child of Holocaust victims and is one of the many Israelis worldwide, who are vocal and passionately opposed to the continuing vicious treatment of Palestinians by the Israelis.

The US media tells us how traumatized Israelis are, and the Israeli government insists that this pause in the bombing is only temporary and they will resume the campaign shortly.

The world cannot sit by and allow that country with the backing of the powerful USA, to continue this vicious and unconscionable campaign against women and children in Gaza. (Thank goodness they fired Israeli Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahuy who flippantly suggested using nuclear weapons on the Palestinians!)

For murder, destruction, land grab, and brutality can only lead to the creation of more HAMAS.’

Dare I remind them that it was Einstein who declared that ‘the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”!

Link; https://youtu.be/CMtMFg4LTho. 

 

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KARURA FOREST, A VERY SPECIAL PLACE

I think my special attachment to the Karura forest, stems from the fact that on a recent visit to Kenya, that was my first exposure to their great outdoors.

This 1063 hectare (2627 acres) open space, is right in the middle of a residential area in Nairobi and is a dream location for residents.

A section of the forest

Luckily, I became a 'resident' for a while and this healthy, open, green space was virtually next door to where I was staying with my hosts Kelly and Denis. So on my very first day, we went on a 7 km hike.

Nothing could beat the welcome we received from a family of friendly Sykes monkeys that my 'guide' Denis had never seen before, despite his many visits to the area.

I don't know why this family was so welcoming, since we did see others when we continued the trek and they fled immediately at the sound of our footsteps.

Apart from the natural beauty of the area, this forest is a place for all sorts of activities and on the very day we were leaving, we returned there for a yoga session.

Our hosts at lunch

As it was also Mothers day and there were three mothers in our group, we headed to their lovely restaurant for a delicious mothers day lunch followed by a muddy hike to the  Karuru waterfall. 

I am happy that I was loaned a pair of water boots, though heavy, to do that trek through the mud, as it had rained all night.

Apart from the waterfall we saw some of the caves in which Mau Mau rebels (the resistance lasted from 1952-1960) hid out from the British in their struggle to liberate their country from those oppressive colonialists. 

With friends in front of one of the caves

For the benefit of those not familiar with that struggle, it occurred, because under British rule, the invaders grabbed the best lands, took away the rights of the Kenyan people who they used their superior arms to dominate in their quest for cheap labor. 

(Visitors to Kenya should visit the Nairobi National Museum where through photographs and paintings, they graphically display the murder of civilians and the brutal slaughter of the Kenyan freedom fighters during that period.)

The savagery of the British  (including at the Chuka and Hola massacres) however, only motivated more Kenyan people to put their lives on the line to gain their freedom. 

This determination to die for liberty and the condemnation the murderers received from the international community, so ratted the well armed British, that in 1963 they had to agree to give independence to the Kenyan people.

Walking through this scenic gorge, brought back memories of a hike I did along our own Cuna Cuna trail in Jamaica, where National Hero, Nanny, and her freedom fighters, hid out in the caves as they waged their own guerilla war for freedom against the same savage colonizers.                                         

They too, as home grown strategists, caused the well-armed bullies to give them the concessions they fought for.  

It was therefore a personal pleasure for me to take in the natural beauty of this side of the Karura forest while recalling the struggle of the Kenyan people for freedom. 

However, while in Jamaica, we are accustomed to waterfalls and rivers in which we can swim and frolic, as the mighty Nairobi River raged through the area, there was no swimming allowed. For although the water is 'clean,' the recent heavy rains had caused it to take on the red color of the soil. 

Anyway,  that raging river did look a tad too dangerous for me to to frolic in, even during the dry season.