burnitbuilditbetter

[burnitbuilditbetter]

Good to know.

Anyway, I did some personal research, and I came up with the following.

I will reiterate that you are right, most western media has a very obvious bias towards Israel when it comes to this conflict, but I just wanted to see if you had any suggestions.

The Pew Research center, while it doesn't report on current news, it is very good at providing impartial statistics .

You can also just search for news in languages such as Arabic and translate it using web translators.

But yeah, thanks for the response. I think? Always appreciated.

americans be like "only trust information that comes from multiple reliable sources when it comes to the israel/Palestine and russia/ukraine war !" and their 'reliable' sources be like illinois.gov, bbc, cnn, the new york times. cia dot com.

[burnitbuilditbetter]

You definitely have a point with media bias, but I'll ask you what I ask anyone else who has this statement, do you have any other sources? If you're going to argue against American and Western media, then I think everyone would appreciate you providing an alternative (specifically one not Russian or Chinese, as both of those nations already have rampant issues with media freedom).

I'm genuinely wondering, as I'm always looking for other sources that I can look for in order to find news. It doesn't even have to be English, I just want to know.

(if you want any sources, then I'll give you these)

americans be like "only trust information that comes from multiple reliable sources when it comes to the israel/Palestine and russia/ukraine war !" and their 'reliable' sources be like illinois.gov, bbc, cnn, the new york times. cia dot com.

[burnitbuilditbetter]

(coughs awkwardly in the background)

For further information:

Information accessed October 19th, 2023

Also, I'd appreciate it if nobody says that the U.S. reaps what it sows and that this was a long time coming. Sure, but I'd just rather not debate that tonight.

[burnitbuilditbetter]

Pt. 1 (this is going to take a bit)

Cuba

(most of this will be linking in other articles)

It is widely accepted by the Western world that Cuba's track record in terms of human rights is not good, to say the very least. While those critiquing the nation oftentimes have their own skeletons in the closet, Cuba's treatment of journalists and reporters that oppose the regime and state is nothing to turn a blind eye at.

A report by the U.S. Department of State from 2021 goes further into depth on this subject (which I will link below). The report notably discusses government responses to peaceful protests, the suppression of fair elections, treatment of incarcerated people, and unlawful killings.

The United Nations branch for Human Rights has also recognized this fact, strangely enough. In 2021 the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights called on Cuba for the release of protesters unlawfully arrested, the OHCHR stating the following in an article detailing the subject:

"GENEVA (16 July 2021) – With numerous protesters reportedly detained in Cuba since Sunday, including some held incommunicado, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Friday called for the prompt release of all those who have been detained for exercising their rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, or freedom of opinion and expression.

“I am very concerned at the alleged use of excessive force against demonstrators in Cuba and the arrest of a large number of people, including several journalists,” Bachelet said. “It is particularly worrying that these include individuals allegedly held incommunicado and people whose whereabouts are unknown. All those detained for exercising their rights must be promptly released.”"

The United Nations has released several similar statements in past years, including in 2015 in this statement:

"GENEVA (15 December 2015) -- The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said Tuesday that he is concerned at the extremely high number of arbitrary arrests and short-term detention of individuals, including human rights defenders and dissidents in Cuba in recent weeks.

“There have been many hundreds of arbitrary arrests and short-term detentions – which in my view amount to harassment – in the past six weeks alone. These often take place without a warrant and ahead of specific meetings or demonstrations, and seem to be aimed at preventing people from exercising their right to freedom of expression and to peaceful assembly,” Zeid said. “I was particularly shocked that a number of people, including members of the Ladies in White NGO, were arrested on Human Rights Day, on 10 December. This shows an extraordinary disdain for the importance of human rights on the part of the Cuban authorities.”"

As recently as July of this year, 2023, Cuba has been put under investigation for torture by the Committee of Torture of the OHCHR, as seen in the following statement.

"The Committee against Torture today adopted reports on follow-up to concluding observations, individual communications and reprisals under the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment."

"Bakhtiyar Tuzmukhamedov, Committee Rapporteur on follow-up to concluding observations under article 19 of the Convention, said since the last progress report to the Committee during the seventy-sixth session, follow-up reports were received from Iraq, Cuba, Montenegro, Uruguay, Iceland and Kenya. The willingness of these States parties to provide information regarding measures taken to implement their obligations under the Convention was welcomed and appreciated."

While it is important to note that nations should not be defined by their history, these reports were all very recent, all things considered, and I find myself questioning how exactly Cuba went from under investigation for torture to on the Human Rights council of the United Nations in a matter of months.

For more information, I urge you to go through the following articles regarding the matter, primarily the first:

All information was accessed October 17th, 2023.

Good grief. It seems like human rights violations are a requirement for membership.

[burnitbuilditbetter]

Let's go through this one by one, because why tf not?

"After the ballots were cast and counted, Assembly President Dennis Francis announced Albania, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundi, China, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Dominican Republic, France, Ghana, Indonesia, Japan, Kuwait, Malawi, and the Netherlands were elected to serve for three years, beginning 1 January 2024.

China, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, France, and Malawi were re-elected for their second terms."

"UN General Assembly elects 15 new members to Human Rights Council", UN News, https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/10/1142112, published October 10th, 2023 (accessed October 17th, 2023)

Good grief. It seems like human rights violations are a requirement for membership.

[burnitbuilditbetter]

Credit where credit is due, so I'd like to point out that (well certainly not 100% of the time) the Allied forces did warn civilians of impending attacks, the United States reportedly even warning civilians in Japan of the nuclear bombs in leaflets known as the LeMay Leaflets.

"Through much of World War II, Allied bombers would sometimes drop leaflets warning of impending bombing of a city. The leaflets often told civilians to evacuate, and sometimes encouraged them to push their leaders to surrender. In August 1945, leaflets were dropped on several Japanese cities (including, supposedly, Hiroshima and Nagasaki). The first round, known as the “LeMay leaflets,” were distributed before the bombing of Hiroshima. These leaflets did not directly reference the atomic bomb, and it is unclear whether they were used to warn citizens of Hiroshima and Nagasaki specifically. The second round features a picture of a mushroom cloud and a message about the Soviet invasion (which commenced on August 9). The historical record is unclear, but it seems as though these leaflets did not make it to Nagasaki until after it, too, had been hit by an atomic bomb. Later leaflets informed the Japanese populace about their government’s surrender before the emperor’s official announcement. "

"Several days earlier, much of Japan, including Hiroshima, was showered by American forces with millions of leaflets, each containing a seemingly humanitarian plea to evacuate the citizens of twelve cities named on the leaflet’s reverse side."

Zack Sigel, "The Leaflets Dropped Before the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb", Hyperallergic, https://hyperallergic.com/216234/the-leaflets-dropped-before-the-hiroshima-atomic-bomb/, published June 22nd, 2015 (accessed October 13th, 2023)

Whether or not these leaflets actually did anything to help the civilians in the end is questionable, and they were as much propaganda meant to cause worry as they were assistance meant to help (if not moreso), however Allied forces still did provide some warning.

Humanity in war Even under immense pressure, during this war, Israel is sending messages to Palestinian civilians to leave their homes before bombing them. Does Hamas send any warning before sending their bombs to Israel? Does Hamas ask permission from residents before using the apartment block or mosque or hospital before using it to launch rockets? Israel continues to follow the rules of war and is showing amazing restraint when bombing Gaza. England and Allied forces didnt ask civilians to vacate before bombing Germany or Japan. Credit where credit is due. Blame where blame is due!

[burnitbuilditbetter]

IDK if you're going to see this, but I feel the need to point it out anyway.

So, op, this isn't meant to be rude, and I apologize if it comes across as such, but what do you suggest that people read instead? The majority of news available on the web in English is from Western news sources. A study done by Statista from January earlier this year showed that a whopping 58.8% of web content was in English, followed by Russian (5.3), Spanish (4.3), French (3.7), German (3.7), and Japanese (3). With everything Putin's government has done in terms of press in Russia*, I can't exactly find articles written in that language reliable either. Would it be best to translate articles originally written in Arabic, only 0.9% of content found on the web, or Persian, 2.3%? Or rely of off social media posts from people living in the regions these conflicts are taking place (which are rather far and few between)? Taking out Western media takes out a lot of what's available in general, and leaves most people living in the west with almost nothing.

So yeah, do you have anything? Any particular site at all? Because I'm willing to give whatever you've got a read.

*Ani Petrosyan, "Languages most frequently used for web content as of January 2023, by share of websites", Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/262946/most-common-languages-on-the-internet/, published February 24th, 2023 (accessed October 12, 2023)

**Maya Vinokour, "Russia’s Media Is Now Totally in Putin’s Hands", Foreign Policy, https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/04/05/russia-media-independence-putin/, published April 5th, 2022 (accessed October 12th, 2023)

people on here are pretty chill but i need to reiterate to my fellow usamericans DO. NOT. BELIEVE. THE MEDIA. ABOUT. ISRAEL/PALESTINE. the coverage is so so so biased, so blatantly acting as puppets (as usual) to the gov pro-israel agenda. they REFUSE to report on the circumstances that pushed palestinians to the absolute brink. desperate people were exploited by iran/hamas into treating israel how israel has treated palestinians. OBVIOUSLY, the violence is unconscionable and the actions themselves are horrific, but it’s exactly what israel has been doing to palestine. utterly ignoring what pushed people to this is inexcusable and evidence of US involvement/compliance

[burnitbuilditbetter]

If anyone wants more of the story, I recommend looking here:

There was also a movie on this, released in 2018, by the name of Balloon. It's an incredibly interesting read to check out.

On This Day In History

September 16th, 1979: Eight people successfully escaped from East Germany into West Germany via a hot air balloon.

[burnitbuilditbetter]

Context/Fact Checking Pt. Two:

"It has been a turbulent few months in the Baltics. If you know history, it shouldn’t be surprising that Baltic publics are worried about Russia and the tumult in the post-Soviet region. The Baltics—Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania—were occupied by first the Russian Empire and then, after a brief period of independence between the world wars, the Soviet Union. Revanchists in Moscow have clung on to the idea that they have a right to the Baltic states, even after more than 30 years of independence."

"The migrant crisis sparked by the Russian-backed dictator Aleksandr Lukashenko on the Belarusian borders (especially with Poland but with Lithuania and Latvia, too), the potential of escalation of conflict in Ukraine, and even the chaos and brutal crackdown happening in Kazakhstan right now serve as a grim reminder that “business as usual” just isn’t a valid survival strategy for the Baltic states at this point. Focusing on collective security in the region, taking threats seriously, and taking care of military budgets are necessities."

"On a state level, this concern is clearly noticeable. In its annual report, the Latvian State Security Service concluded that the No. 1 security threat for Latvia in 2021 was the Russian secret services, with the corresponding Chinese and Belarusian agencies taking second and third place. At the same time, on Dec. 21, 2021, the defense ministers of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania—Kalle Laanet, Artis Pabriks, and Arvydas Anusauskas, respectively—issued a joint statement after a meeting in Kaunas, Lithuania. There, they called for a joint approach “to counter Russian and Belarusian attempts to destabilize European security.”"

"The Baltic ministers were also critical about the Russian attempts to “establish spheres of influence in Europe and deny sovereign countries’ right to determine their own future,” especially referencing the shared history of the Baltics and how it turned out last time that something like this was happening. The statement noted that the Baltic states are greatly concerned about “Russia’s concentration of military forces on the borders of Ukraine.” Most importantly, they concluded their statement by saying that the Baltics are standing with Ukraine: “Given the urgency to strengthen Ukraine’s defence capabilities, [the ministers] expressed readiness to provide immediate support for Ukraine, including all available non-military and military instruments of power, including lethal weapons.”"

"Statements like this are nothing new. The Baltic states have been worried about their relationships with their eastern neighbor—and former occupier—since forever. The only states on Russia’s border with which it has warm relationships are those that have large issues with corruption and democracy themselves. That’s not surprising; the crushing of the Prague Spring in 1968 and the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 is burnt into the memory of Russia’s neighbors. In the Baltics, Soviet-era suffering is still remembered: the mass deportations to gulags, the brutal crackdowns on the postwar resistance movement, and the ever present threat of being abducted on the street by a KGB van that looked like a bread or mail delivery truck."

Kristaps Andrejsons, "Baltic Citizens Worry They’re Next on Russia’s Menu", Foriegn Policy, https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/01/11/baltics-russia-aggression-collective-security-ukraine/#cookie_message_anchor, published January 11th, 2022 (accessed October 12th, 2023)

I remember like it was yesterday how many people wrote "soviet siblings" fanfiction, and how the same people started saying "omg what is going on in Ukraine is horrible" after russian invasion. Nowadays, the same people keep writing russia/any Baltic or russia/Belarus fanfiction, although real russia is THREATING THESE COUNTRIES WITH INVASION AND OCCUPATION. I am not gonna just silently ignore this behaviour anymore. I really, really don't want to lose my third home because of russia again.

You don't want horrible things to happen? Don't spread russian propaganda.

[burnitbuilditbetter]

Context/Fact Checking Pt. One:

"An official in the Ukrainian region which Moscow claims to have annexed has said Russia should try to take territory that was formerly part of the Russian Empire "through the might" of weapons."

"In September 2022, Zaporizhzhia was one of four Ukrainian regions that Vladimir Putin claimed to have annexed, the others being Kherson, Luhansk and Donetsk, although Moscow does not fully control any of them."

"But the top Kremlin-installed official in the oblast, Yevgeny Balitsky, said Russia should also have its eye on the Baltic states, as well as Poland and Finland, all five of which are NATO countries."

"Balitsky described how "all of the Baltics" were "all our lands, and our people live there," noting the Russian-speaking population in those countries."

""They were turned into a voiceless heard, they became trembling beasts," he said. "We have to correct this…through the might of Russian weapons."

"He said that Russia can "get our people back, the former subjects of the Russian Empire" so that the "whole world does not turn into Sodom and Gomorrah like it is happening in Europe.""

"Moscow has justified its full-scale invasion of Ukraine as a bid to curb the expansion of NATO and "denazify." But there is rhetoric from Kremlin propagandists about restoring the Russian Empire, with many Western analysts framing the war within the context of Putin's imperial ambitions."

Brendan Cole, "Russian Official Proposes Invading Five NATO Countries", Newsweek, https://www.newsweek.com/russia-zaporozhzhia-nato-invade-balitsky-1832236, published October 5th, 2023 (accessed October 12th, 2023)

I remember like it was yesterday how many people wrote "soviet siblings" fanfiction, and how the same people started saying "omg what is going on in Ukraine is horrible" after russian invasion. Nowadays, the same people keep writing russia/any Baltic or russia/Belarus fanfiction, although real russia is THREATING THESE COUNTRIES WITH INVASION AND OCCUPATION. I am not gonna just silently ignore this behaviour anymore. I really, really don't want to lose my third home because of russia again.

You don't want horrible things to happen? Don't spread russian propaganda.

[burnitbuilditbetter]

I am begging internet leftists to understand that, while Palestine deserves to be free and Israel deserves to be held accountable for what they’ve been doing to them for decades, Hamas is absolutely unequivocally not some freedom fighting organisation working to liberate the Palestinian Everyman.

It’s a terrorist group that not only has a goal to exterminate all Israeli citizens, but has also caused indescribable suffering for Palestinian people. They are extremists. They’re brainwashed by corrupted religious dogma. They do not care about freeing Palestine, they only care about killing Israelis and keeping Palestinians under their control.

If we really want an end to Palestinian suffering, we need to oppose both Israel’s government and Hamas.

[burnitbuilditbetter]

[burnitbuilditbetter]

Verdict:

Trump was involved in disclosing Israeli information to Russia. However, it is unconfirmed if Trump 'bragged' about such an act. It is also unconfirmed that Russia gave this information to Hamas for usage against Israel. It can be assumed, given Russia's track record, response to the Hamas attack, and overall history in international diplomacy, that the Russian Federation played some part in this. However, statements regarding this should be taken with a grain of salt or ten.

All this carnage in Israel and Gaza has Trump and Putin fingerprints all over it.

[burnitbuilditbetter]

Fact Checking Pt. 2:

"Hamas has long been funded, armed and trained by Iran, as one of the Islamist militant organizations—alongside Islamic Jihad also in Gaza, Lebanese Hezbollah, the Houthis in Yemen, and a litany of Shia paramilitary formations in Iraq—leveraged by Tehran in its strategic confrontation with Israel and its Western backers."

"There has also been speculation on social media of Russian involvement in the Hamas operation, though there is no evidence indicating Moscow's alleged role. Newsweek has contacted the Russian foreign ministry by email to request comment."

"Regardless, there is no evidence of direct Russian involvement in the weekend attack. Hamas has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007 and has a long history of infiltration operations into Israeli territory. The militants appear to have used their traditional mixture of indigenous and Iranian weapons for the assault."

"Oleg Ignatov, the Crisis Group think tank's senior Russia analyst, told Newsweek: "I haven't seen any evidence; I haven't seen it in public, I haven't heard anything about this from my conversations. It's difficult to imagine that Russia participated in the planning of this attack."

""Of course, we live in a world where we can't exclude anything. But I haven't seen any evidence.""

"Russia has long maintained a close working relationship with Iran and its network of partner militant organizations—especially Hezbollah in Lebanon—across the Middle East, seeing them as an alternative power base capable of challenging regional American and allied interests. Moscow has drawn closer to Iran since the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022."

"Such diplomatic channels should not be confused with direct support, Ignatov said. "Russia has very good connections with Hamas, and everybody knows about this," he said. "But I think that was part of the policy in the Middle East that it was advantageous for Russia to have the ability to communicate with everyone.""

David Brennan, "Is Russia Behind Hamas Attack on Israel? What We Know", Newsweek, https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/is-russia-behind-hamas-attack-on-israel-what-we-know/ar-AA1hUqHa, published October 9th, 2023 (accessed October 11th, 2023)

All this carnage in Israel and Gaza has Trump and Putin fingerprints all over it.

[burnitbuilditbetter]

Fact Checking Pt. One:

"Donald Trump's sharing of alleged classified intelligence to Russian officials in the White House has come under scrutiny amid a large-scale attack by the Hamas Islamist military group against Israel.

In May 2017, the former president defended his actions after he was found to have discussed sensitive details about an alleged Islamic State (ISIS) plot with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in the Oval Office. Trump said he had an absolute right to do so. The intel was said to have been provided to the U.S. from Israel."

Ewan Palmer, "Donald Trump's Israel Intel Leak Under Scrutiny After Hamas Attack", Newsweek, https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/donald-trumps-israel-intel-leak-under-scrutiny-after-hamas-attack/ar-AA1hVsVO, published October 9th, 2023 (accessed October 11th, 2023)

"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump disclosed highly classified information to Russia’s foreign minister about a planned Islamic State operation, two U.S. officials said on Monday, plunging the White House into another controversy just months into Trump’s short tenure in office."

"The intelligence, shared at a meeting last week with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak, was supplied by a U.S. ally in the fight against the militant group, both officials with knowledge of the situation said."

"“The story that came out tonight as reported is false,” H.R. McMaster, Trump’s national security adviser, told reporters at the White House, adding that the leaders reviewed a range of common threats including to civil aviation."

“At no time were intelligence sources or methods discussed. The president did not disclose any military operations that were not already publicly known…I was in the room. It didn’t happen,” he said."

Jeff Mason, Patricia Zengerle, "Trump revealed intelligence secrets to Russians in Oval Office: officials", Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia-idUSKCN18B2MX, published May 15th, 2017 (accessed October 11th, 2023

"President Donald Trump revealed highly classified intelligence information to Russian officials during a meeting at the White House last week, The Washington Post reported Monday. The New York Times later said it had confirmed the report."

"The intelligence information came from a country that was a partner with the United States on anti-terrorist efforts, and it hadn't been shared with allies because of how sensitive it is, the papers reported."

Andrew Rafferty, Ken Dilanian, "Report: President Trump Revealed Classified Information to Russia", nbc News https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/report-president-trump-revealed-classified-information-russia-n759846, published May 15th, 2017, updated May 16th, 2017 (accessed October 11th, 2023)

All this carnage in Israel and Gaza has Trump and Putin fingerprints all over it.

[burnitbuilditbetter]

Innocent civilians are being slaughtered. Women and children are separated and kidnapped. People watch as their family members are taken or murdered. There are more than 600 confirmed dead and 2000 injured, and it's only going up. Hundreds of missing people. Dead bodies are shown on trucks as some kind of sick parade. People find out about their loved ones through these videos.

Im here to say that the fact that you are pro-Palestine or have criticisms of the Israeli government (and believe me so do I) shouldn't prevent you from being horrified, raising awareness, and condoning these acts of inconceivable violence and cruelty. If you consider yourself someone who cares about human rights, than care about human rights.

This is not some resistance to be glorified, this is not war against an army, it's the worst kind of terror and slaughter against innocent people that you can imagine in your worst nightmares. * I chose to not put here all these terrifying photos and videos, as i am too anxious to watch them myself. but they're all over the internet if you really wanna see.

[burnitbuilditbetter]

How much you want to bet that stuff on Israel’s defense was among the stuff he took with him? And it went from Trump to Russia to Iran to Hamas…