Podcasts, videos, books and tweets of the week 88

Hello again,

Podcast will drop this week.

I hear John “Concrete Lego Ghetto Builder” Spencer, a man who is unlikely to ever vist Iraq again because he might be smothered with the love the people have there for him, is advising the IDF. Good to see him keeping his hand in after winning the war in Ukraine for Ukraine.

Let’s hope he goes

And in the Israeli corner,as the students stop being the news and megadeath in Gaza becomes it again:

Netanyahu is blinded and cornered by the gathering of increasingly dark clouds.

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The Turbulent World with James M. Dorsey

PS the fascist assaults by militarised cops and the morons who think a Very Short Introduction to Terrorism is a terrorism guide are a sideshow. An attack on democracy but a sideshow.

Man with Middle East experience

Saudi Arabia, Israel and the risks of peace

With a terrifying 33,000 dead and much of Gaza destroyed, Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has come with an awful human cost. But even at this cost it isn’t achieving the Israelis’ objectives. Israel set out to “crush and destroy Hamas” but in spite of the horrific civilian death toll it has yet to kill the most senior leadership of the group in Gaza,…

Not all doom

Not about academic freedom, finally

I have said that the students and academics cannot be the news and Parallax Views has returned to his coverage of the Middle East and Jewish&Arab voices, which is excellent when it’s an academic describing the horrors of campus invasions like they’re a sole survivor five year old whose family has been immolated alive in Gaza. Reminds me of the terrible narcissist who wanted peace in Ukraine (on any, aka Russian, terms) so New York wouldn’t be bombed and had panic attacks like they were living in Mariupol.

Khalil gives a crash course in the Palestinian perspective on Israle/Palestine in the course of our conversation starting with a discussion of his own background and experiences as a Palestinian who grew up in Gaza. We also end up discussing issues related to how the Palestinian cause, the quest for Palestinian self-determination, can advance forward in these turbulent, uncertain, and grim time of war and bombardment.

Speaking of Russian bombardment

At a time when the unbreakable city of Kharkiv faces untold destruction and sustained bombardment by Russian forces it was a privilege to speak to Dr Jade McGlynn, a scholar of Ukraine and Russia, who is based there. We discussed the situation in Kharkiv and across the wider front and also the vital work she is involved with to raise funding for new technologies to support Ukraine's defence. You can find more details of it here https://uscc.org.ua/en/

I’m not as optimistic as Ms McGlynn is about the ability of a city to survive Russian murder artillery. Kharkiv was taken multiple times during WW2. Grozny was taken by Russia recently. So was Mariupol.

Before you mention Stalingrad, I want to reserve that for a talk with Christopher Bellamy - the mistakes Germany made with Stalingrad (not encircling it, feeding infantry and tanks into a meat grinder instead of obliterating it) and the resources Russia had then, that Ukraine does not in the defensive (massive artillery, hordes of soldiers, possibility of a pincer) and the resources Russia has now (artillery, disregard for civilians and drones - Mariupol).

Pig is back

Speaking of LazerPig, where is WarGonzo? And the ugly terrible man LazerPig debated last year and I can’t be bothered to find? The one who lived in Ukraine, was a Russian influencer, got arrested, got bail, ran and got arrested again? I remember, Gonzola Lira.

Oh, he dead.

Ukraine - not good.

Our book is still out

Phil has a new book coming out soon