Evil Penevil

I read books each and every day, but almost always on Kindle, Project Guttenberg or another Internet source. I haven't bought or borrowed a physical book in years except as a present to give to someone. It's just a hell of a lot easier to carry my library on my Kindle reader and laptop.

It's unfortunate non-combatants were killed in this or any other airstrike, but Israeli airstrikes against hospitals have to be put in context: Hamas uses hospitals for military purposes and they therefore become legitimate targets. Israel targets Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar in hospital strike in Gaza, sources say CNN — Israel has targeted Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar in a strike on a hospital in southern Gaza on Tuesday evening, according to a senior Israeli official and two sources familiar with the matter. He became the militant group’s de facto leader after the Israeli military killed his brother, Yahya Sinwar, last October. Tuesday’s strike killed 28 Palestinians and injured more than 50, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, which does not differentiate between military and civilian casualties. https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/13/middleeast/israel-targets-hamas-leader-mohammed-sinwar-hospital-strike-gaza-intl

Jews 1, Antisemites 0 on Lineker's Own Goal

Surprisingly, Israeli entrant and Nova massacre survivor Yuval Raphael came second in the 2025 Eurovision competition. She got more public votes than any other contestant.

Apparently the pressure on Lineker is mounting from within the BBC. That's a bit surprising, since Lineker is not the worst antisemite on the BBC, although he may have the highest profile (and salary!). It would be an enormous change if the BBC i9s finally cracking down on staff members who hate Jews. Gary Lineker on the brink of BBC exit after Zionism 'rat' post Lineker’s £1.35m position is said to have become untenable after the latest controversy that angered BBC colleagues, insiders say Gary Lineker is on the brink of exiting the BBC after facing days of pressure over a social media post, The i Paper understands. Lineker is facing the end of his 26-year relationship with the BBC prematurely over the post, which was considered to be an antisemitic slur. https://inews.co.uk/news/media/gary-lineker-brink-bbc-exit-zionism-rat-post-3696849

It's about time Gazans reject Hamas. Gaza without Hamas is the first crucial step in achieving lasting peace. In Gaza, Long-Suffering Palestinians Are Directing Their Anger at Hamas As the Gaza war nears its 20th month, pressure is building on Hamas from different fronts—not least of which is the growing anger among ordinary Palestinians who have had enough of the hunger, sleeplessness and the ever-present threat of airstrikes from Israeli forces. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/in-gaza-long-suffering-palestinians-are-directing-their-anger-at-hamas/ar-AA1EWeJW?ocid=msedgntp&pc=W230&cvid=dddfc703a205427a8d676599e1788c0d&ei=36

That was heavy-duty violence, far beyond the usual Pattaya fights and confrontations. Either "Mr. Andrew" pissed off criminal accomplices or he's Pattaya's most unlucky tourist victim.

Another horrible tragedy for Israel. Hamas Celebrates Shooting That Killed Israeli Mother en Route to Deliver Baby After the shooting in the West Bank, doctors were able to save the baby, a boy, who was taken to a neonatal intensive care unit. An Israeli woman on the way to a hospital to give birth was shot and killed in the West Bank on Wednesday, in an attack that Hamas applauded as a “heroic act.” https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/15/world/middleeast/west-bank-shooting-pregnant-woman.html

Circumstances and pressure forced him to take down the repost and offer the apology. He wouldn't have done so if there hadn't been a huge outcry. I don't want to hang him, only see him fired for being an antisemite, not for being rich. I brought in his pay because a high salary is usually the result of high regard, high skill or high popularity. Lineker has an abysmally low knowledge of modern history and doesn't deserve high regard or popularity.

It will be interesting to see if scandal finally sticks to Lineker or he continues as the "teflon" sportscaster, able to shrug off yet another stupid post or utterance. The rawest and youngest BBC intern could be expected to know you can't portray Jews or Zionists as rats without causing a huge negative reaction. For the BBC's highest paid presenter not to realize rats have been long used by antisemites as a comparison to Jews speaks to the depth of his ignorance or hatred of Jews. In either case, it makes him unsuitable as a presenter with a huge following. If he had reposted a comment on Kemi Badenoch that included an emoji of a white hood or noose, would he be allowed to plead ignorance or failing to notice it? It least he was forced to withdraw the repost and make a humiliating apology for it.

Here's a screenshot of the video Lineker reposted, complete with rat emoji. The rat emoji was apparently added when the video posted on an Instagram account named Palestine Lobby. I couldn't find any information as to whether an individual or group is behind it. Most of the posts on that account are standard pro-Palestine stuff, but there are some heavy duty antisemitic posts, including one which claims Israel controls the U.S. government. Read the details in the link below: Gary Lineker shares anti-Zionist lecture from account that claimed Israel ‘controls the US government’ A copy of the video has since been flagged in relation to X’s ‘hateful conduct’ regulations Match of the Day’s Gary Lineker has come under fire after sharing a video of a lecture condemning Zionism from an account which has previously claimed that Israel “controls the US government”. https://www.thejc.com/news/uk/gary-lineker-anti-zionism-lecture-rat-kcz1d3ei The woman in the vid is Dianna Buttu, a Canadian lawyer with Palestinian parents. She was formerly a spokesperson for the Palestinian Liberation Organization and took part in negotiations with Israel on Palestine's behalf. She now works as a "political analyst" for a Palestinian advocacy group. She has refused to condemn Hamas for the Oct. 7 attacks. Some AN BMs need to better understand the role of the rat image in Nazi propaganda. Jews were compared to rats in graphics and print to convey the idea Jews should be exterminated. The graphic from Der Stürmer shows a Nazi party member using poison gas to kill Jewish rats which live in the "German oak." The dead rats don't look terrible, but are close in form to the cartoon rat in the vid Lineker posted. The middle cartoon came from an Austrian newspaper in 1939 and shows Jewish rats being swept out of Germany but refused admission by democratic countries. The third illustration is a poster used by Nazis to persuade Ukrainians to hate and betray their Jewish neighbors. Moreover, the infamous Nazi propaganda film Der ewige Jude [The Eternal Jew], depicted Jews as disease-bearing rats. In the film's final scene, Hitler spoke of "the annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe.” https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/der-ewige-jude It's far-fetched to think whoever added the rat to the Palestine Lobby post wouldn't have understood the symbolism. The image of Jews as rats is still widely used in Arab and Muslim countries,

From the analysis piece cited in my previous post (my bold text): [Mohammad Sinwar] was among the top operatives behind the October 7 attack and has since shown no signs of moderation or willingness to compromise. On the contrary, he has shown a ruthless willingness to sacrifice tens of thousands-or even hundreds of thousands-of lives if it means preserving Hamas’ hold on Gaza. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/r1qb0qz11gx

The death of Hamas hard-liner Muhammad Sinwar could facilitate the release of the remaining hostages, Eliminating the most dangerous man in Gaza is not the end of Hamas From the analysis piece: Mohammed Sinwar has long been one of the hardest-line figures in the Hamas leadership—arguably even more extreme than his brother Yahya. ... He has repeatedly been an obstacle to any deal with Israel or a ceasefire. If he was indeed eliminated, it may open the door for more pragmatic voices within Hamas’ leadership, such as Khalil al-Hayya and others currently involved in negotiations with Qatar and the Americans. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/r1qb0qz11gx

Violent campus antisemitic protest, this time at Columbia U in NYC. Skip to 2.54 if you want to do directly to the good part. You can see clearly this has little to do with Constitutionally protected free speech or the right to protest.

Edan Alexander's identity as an IDF soldier with U.S. citizenship must have made an extreme object of hate for Hamas. He was often held without light and given only starvation rations. It's a wonder- and testimony to his physical and mental strength- he survived 584 days. US hostage ‘held in a cage and tortured repeatedly by Hamas’ Edan Alexander, an IDF soldier who was freed on Monday, says he was routinely abused by the terror group during his captivity A US hostage freed on Monday in an American deal with Hamas has said he was held in a cage and repeatedly tortured. Edan Alexander was shackled by his hands and feet for long periods, and was routinely abused by the terror group, he reportedly told Israeli officers. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/05/13/us-hostage-idf-edan-alexander-cage-tortured-hamas-israel/?msockid=22c6161a5ddf6bba08b203c95c006a5a

It depends on the insurance company and type of policy. I have no idea about UK insurance companies, but American Express offers USD 100,000 medical coverage (THB3.33 million) for USD32 for a month-long trip. https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/insurance/travel/trip-details/?linknav=en-us-AETI-Home-Top-GetQuote MSIG out of Singapore has policies with up to SGD1 million (THB25 million) in medical coverage. https://www.msig.com.sg/personal/traveleasy

This is an important point that too many tourists fail to realize: travel insurance doesn't apply if you are injured while engaged in an illegal or extremely risky activity. Here's another example. The 20-something backpacker son of a friend of mine broke his leg while "urban exploring" in a deserted building in Bangkok. His insurance company refused to cover his medical bills or repatriation back to the U.S. It cost his family $30,000 to pay his medical and legal bills in Thailand and bring him home. His father tried suing the insurance company but the case was thrown out because the son had clearly violated the terms of the policy.

You should have cited the BBC article properly and in line with board rules. It is by Jeremy Bowen and reads more like an opinion piece than a news article. Israel denying food to Gaza is 'weapon of war', UN Palestinian refugee agency head tells BBC How do you measure misery? For journalists the usual way is to see it, to feel it, to smell it. Beleaguered Palestinian colleagues in Gaza are doing that, still doing invaluable reporting at great risk to themselves. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx27dzv7znpo Everyone should read the full article to judge for themselves how impartial Bowen is. A new low for the BBC.

He's been released!

I agree. I'm particularly thankful the admin and mods react quickly to purge antisemitic posts. Very commendable!

That wasn't a brawl but an assault on individual who posed no threat to the attacker. Totally uncalled for violence. I'm a bit surprised the Thai cops let the punch-thrower off so easily. He deserved jail time.

Universities in the UK are suffering the same wave of antisemitism as the US. Report details ‘terrible,’ normalized antisemitism at UK universities Jewish university students across the United Kingdom are facing unprecedented levels of antisemitism, with many reporting being attacked, threatened and intimidated on campus, according to a new report by StandWithUs UK presented to the UK Parliament’s House of Lords on Wednesday night. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/report-details-terrible-normalized-antisemitism-at-uk-universities/arAA1EoFt1ocid=msedgntp&pc=EDGEESS&cvid=ce6b1d9821e145eb89f56c73e4b5a415&ei=53 A separate report, based on a survey of 4,078 British Jews by the Campaign Against Antisemitism, indicated that "Most British Jews believe they don’t have a long-term future in the UK." The survey revealed half of community has considered leaving Britain due to antisemitism, with overwhelming majority saying authorities are not doing enough. "The Campaign Against Antisemitism study found that a majority of British Jews (58 percent) hide their Judaism due to antisemitism, and less than half (43%) feel welcome in the UK." https://www.timesofisrael.com/most-british-jews-believe-they-dont-have-a-long-term-future-in-the-uk-survey-finds/ Those are shocking figures. If Jews don't feel safe in Western democracies like the US and UK, where can they feel safe? That's why a Jewish-majority homeland is so important for the world's Jews and why the state of Israel must survive, even if some Palestinians are displaced.

I'm reminded of the famous quote from Ian Fleming's Goldfinger: “Mr Bond, they have a saying in Chicago: 'Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action'.”

Causing $1million in damages to a university building is not a protest but an attack. The group which led the occupation was literally acting on behalf of Hamas. Here are the first two sentences from the explanation of their actions they posted online (my bold text): "We are taking this building amidst the current and renewed wave of the student Intifada, following the uprising of student action for Palestine after the heroic victory of Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7th, which shattered the illusion of zionist-imperialist domination and brought Palestine to the forefront for all justice-loving people of the world. We respond to the call made by the Palestinian student movement in Gaza to 'raise the pace and ceiling of your struggle and your honorable stances, quantitatively and qualitatively, against the institutions, corporations, and governments that participate in the slaughter of our children, our students, and our people.'" https://medium.com/@super.uw.seattle/we-demand-uw-will-no-longer-be-complicit-in-genocide-0099dc761f92 Here's the link to the call by Palestinian student groups for "escalation of the global intifada:" https://samidoun.net/2024/05/a-call-from-the-palestinian-student-movement-in-gaza-time-for-revolutionary-escalation-of-the-global-intifada/ The mistake the U of Washington made, just like in the past, was to not prevent the occupation. Instead of removing occupiers after they have done the damage, the university admin should have ordered campus police to use whatever force was necessary to keep the protestors out of the building. I doubt very much the protesters would have stood against nightsticks and pepper spray. Moreover, the university and local officials need to insist the protesters are prosecuted for their crimes to the full extent of the law. Any students should be kicked out for life. Until those in power show some background, such violent protests and waves of destruction will continue.

It all goes back to supply and demand. It seems there is more demand for a mosque than a pub and that is, at the very least, unusual for what had previously been a thirsty, Christian Anglo-Saxon country.