Haviv Rettig Gur

Haviv Rettig Gur discusses "hunger and the Gaza war" ...

The narrative of starvation

From Newsweek ...

How a Viral Image Is Fueling the Fight over Reports of Starvation in Gaza

Photographs of a young Palestinian child appearing to suffer from severe malnutrition have emerged over the past week as a new symbol of the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, where the war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement is grinding on amid repeated failed ceasefire initiatives.

But the images have also set off a firestorm of controversy, with a number of sources arguing that one-and-a-half-year-old —photographed being cradled by his mother, Hidaya—also suffered from underlying conditions contributing to his emaciated state, and that his "non-emaciated" brother was cropped out of the photos ...

The New York Times has had to correct its recent story, Gazans Are Dying of Starvation, which featured a photo of an emaciated Gazan child, who turned out to actually have cerebral palsy ...

From The Wall Street Journal ...

Gaza Starvation Photos Tell a Thousand Lies

[M]ohammed al-Mutawaaq. Those who don’t know his name will almost certainly recognize his face. Pictures of him, gaunt and fragile, staring vacantly into the camera, were plastered across the homepages of major media outlets last week, from the New York Times and Politico to the BBC. Mohammed, more than anyone else, was made the face of a devastating allegation: that Israel is deliberately starving Palestinian children.

That wasn’t the truth about Mohammed, nor is it the truth about what’s happening in Gaza. Mohammed suffers from cerebral palsy, according o British investigative journalist David Collier, who uncovered a local charity’s May 2025 report mentioning the boy’s condition. CNN, for its part, briefly noted in an offhand comment during a broadcast that Mohammed suffers from a “muscle disorder,” before dropping the point from later reporting. Another notable omission from virtually all media coverage were the photos of Mohammed being held by his mother with his older brother standing nearby. Both mother and brother appear healthy and fed ....

Rewarding terrorism

UK will recognise Palestinian state in September unless Israel agrees to Gaza ceasefire and other conditions

Starmer is sabotaging ceasefire talks because he’s giving Hamas a reason NOT to end the war. People will die because he’s turning British foreign policy into student politics. https://t.co/MxSsPhmmyx

— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) July 29, 2025

The Eagles

Eagles 🎶 Take It Easy

Rhythm Guitar: Don Felder
Drums & Backing Vocals: Don Henley
Lead Vocals & Rhythm Guitar: Glenn Frey
Lead Guitar: Joe Walsh
Bass Guitar & Backing Vocals: Randy Meisner pic.twitter.com/MZjMtuvJf5

— 🎶Lurdes (@sedrul08) July 10, 2025

Eylon Levy on BBC Radio 5

Gaza is the only war zone in the world where the international community says civilians can't leave active combat zones.

That's insane. And it makes Gaza the world's most difficult humanitarian challenge, I told BBC Radio 5: pic.twitter.com/clcb7gXRj1

— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) July 28, 2025

More on aid

In the news, Israel is going to allow aid to be distributed by air, though that kind of distribution is a drop in the bucket, and Israel has opened up more crossings into Gaza for aid trucks to enter, though piles of aid lies untouched inside Gaza, undistributed by aid organizations like the UN and the World Food Programme (Cindy McCain).

Israel had hoped that those international programs would cooperate with the American/Israeli GHF to distribute food, but they wouldn't. In fact, I think many people have the impression that the UN and WFP have not been allowed to operate in Gaza since the GFH came online ... that's not true. And now, again, there are reports of starvation in Gaza.

I remember months ago seeing McCain declare that there was a famine in Gaza on Meet the Press in May ... there wasn't. Also saw in a video someone asking her what conditions were like in Gaza ... she had to admit that she had never actually been there ...



And now, although aid groups like the UN and the WFP are still allowed to distribute food, their food stores just sits inside Gaza, waiting for distribution. But they are not distributing that food. Why not? I can't find any explanation in the news, though I've looked ... not a mention by the UN or the WFP on why their aid already in Gaza goes undistributed.

Dear @cindymccain: Where do you get off? pic.twitter.com/iXN4Anz6r3

— Eitan Fischberger (@EFischberger) July 27, 2025

There’s an endless sea of bottled water among the aid the UN refuses to distribute. I alone stood in front of about 15,000.

It was 104°F today in Gaza. The people could’ve really used that water. pic.twitter.com/9dezWHUgNs

— Eitan Fischberger (@EFischberger) July 27, 2025

Literal tons of baby food that @unicefchief refuses to deliver to the babies of Gaza.

This one was particularly infuriating, given the heartbreaking images we've all seen. pic.twitter.com/WyYElVZXTh

— Eitan Fischberger (@EFischberger) July 27, 2025

JD Souther

Thinking of JD Souther today - he died almost a year ago at age 78. I first noticed him when he had a small part in the tv series Thirtysomething, but he was mostly known as ...

an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was "a principal architect of the Southern California sound and a major influence on a generation of songwriters". Souther wrote and co-wrote songs recorded by Linda Ronstadt and some of the Eagles biggest hits, including "Best of My Love", "Victim of Love", "Heartache Tonight" and "New Kid in Town". "How Long", which appeared on the Eagles' Long Road Out of Eden, came from Souther's first solo album. He recorded two hit songs in his solo career: "You're Only Lonely" (1979) and "Her Town Too" (1981), a duet with James Taylor ...

Macron

- The French territory of New Caledonia

Am I wrong to wonder if Macron is creating this Middle East flurry of recognizing Palestinian statehood in order to distract from the news story that his wife is really a man (French president sues Candace Owens over claims his wife is a man)?

If Macron wants to recognize the independence and statehood of someplece, maybe he should start with New Caledonia.

Hamas has now thanked France twice this week. If France does not say thank you back, it would be extremely rude. pic.twitter.com/ggMW0pwUQp

— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) July 25, 2025

Follow the money. pic.twitter.com/5CmfPRI5On

— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) July 25, 2025

Aid

In the news ... More than 100 aid groups warn of 'mass starvation' in Gaza amid Israel's war with Hamas

But ...

Before demanding more aid enter Gaza, the UN can start by unloading the 950 trucks already waiting INSIDE Gaza.

Blaming Israel is a way to deflect from the UN’s own failures, I told @SkyNews. pic.twitter.com/9UnmuY2O1v

— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) July 22, 2025

What you need to know about humanitarian aid for #Gaza:

➡️Since May 19, and in accordance with the directive of the political echelon, aid enters Gaza through two primary channels:

1. Distribution sites operated by @GHFUpdates, where weekly food packages are provided to… pic.twitter.com/eLIQ1ELY6M

— COGAT (@cogatonline) July 22, 2025

Ghislaine Maxwell

This seems like an obvious attempt by Trump to get Maxwell to exonerate him of having sex with minors, thus winning a presidential pardon for herself.

How anyone, even Trump's base, could trust a convicted liar and pedophile like Maxwell is beyond me.

Both sides

Every day when I look at the "world" news, I see stories about Gaza, all stating that the IDF is killing innocent civilians at aid distribution sites, and more recently, that the IDF attacked a Catholic church in Gaza, killing people. All the information in these headlines comes from one source ... the terrorist group of Hamas (aka: the Gaza Health Ministry, Gaza Officials, etc).

If anyone out there does want to hear both sides, The Times of Israel's daily briefing today discusses the striking of the Catholic church and the Palestinians said to have been killed every day at aid sites. They also discuss what's been happening with the Druze in Syria.

Klein on the conspiracy

Ezra Klein on the whole Epstein/MAGA/Trump/QAnon situation which has existed for years but is now reaching a boiling point. A really good and detailed discussion.

At the zoo

Everyone, hold your horses! The Zoo is thrilled to welcome not one, not two, but FOUR new foals at our conservation facility in Front Royal, Virginia. Keepers are celebrating the births of a Hartmann's mountain zebra filly, a Przewalski's horse colt and two Persian onager colts.… pic.twitter.com/Me2gKbZghe

— National Zoo (@NationalZoo) July 17, 2025

What could go wrong?

The UK will lower its voting age to 16. Could the U.S. follow suit?

I think letting 16 year olds vote is a pretty bad idea. Remember, it was young voters who helped Trump win the last election. There are reasons why minors haven't been allowed to vote, or to enter into contracts or own property or buy alcohol, etc ....

Understanding the Teen Brain

It doesn’t matter how smart teens are or how well they scored on the SAT or ACT. Good judgment isn’t something they can excel in, at least not yet.

The rational part of a teen’s brain isn’t fully developed and won’t be until age 25 or so.

In fact, recent research has found that adult and teen brains work differently. Adults think with the prefrontal cortex, the brain’s rational part. This is the part of the brain that responds to situations with good judgment and an awareness of long-term consequences. Teens process information with the amygdala. This is the emotional part.

In teen’s brains, the connections between the emotional part of the brain and the decision-making center are still developing—and not always at the same rate. That’s why when teens have overwhelming emotional input, they can’t explain later what they were thinking. They weren’t thinking as much as they were feeling ....

The Druze

Syria's Sharaa vows to protect Druze as truce strained by Bedouin offensive

So who are the Druze? ...

[...] The Druze faith is one of the major religious groups in the Levant, with between 800,000 and a million adherents. They are primarily located in Lebanon, Syria, and Israel, with smaller communities in Jordan. They make up 5.5% of Lebanon's population, 3% of Syria's and 1.6% of Israel's .... As a religious minority, they have often faced persecution from various Muslim regimes, including contemporary Islamic extremism ...

And why did Israel strike Syria when the Druze were attacked? ...

Is #Israel sending a message to #Damascus? Eylon Levy, former spokesperson for the Israeli government, shares his thoughts. #GNT pic.twitter.com/Xw3bzUIWku

— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) July 16, 2025

Why did Israel intervene in Suwayda? Eylon Levy, former international spokesperson for the Israeli government, responds. pic.twitter.com/e3AnT1ag15

— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) July 17, 2025

And in more detail ...

On twitter

Seen in my twitter travels today ...

🟢 𝗗𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝗟𝗘𝗦 𝗝𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗦 ❯ Saviez-vous que la famille des orchidées compte 25 000 espèces, réparties en 850 genres ? 🌺 😯

👉 Vous pouvez en admirer dans le jardin bouquetier et profiter de la brumisation 💦 pic.twitter.com/OkEbxknVk1

— Château de Cheverny (@Chateaucheverny) June 28, 2025

Recent flooding has led to devastation in Texas, as seen in this video taken at Llano River on July 4th and shown at 100x speed. Flash floods aren't just sudden—they're getting stronger, faster, and more deadly. pic.twitter.com/jdCVJT8jLa

— National Geographic (@NatGeo) July 11, 2025

Fière d’annoncer le lancement du concours international d’architecture pour le projet “Louvre – Nouvelle Renaissance”, porté par la volonté du Président de la République @EmmanuelMacron.

Une ambition forte pour le premier musée du monde et pour #Paris : près de 10 millions de… pic.twitter.com/Wwl6Bpedfb

— Rachida Dati ن (@datirachida) June 27, 2025

If you're having a bad day just remember baby pudus ✨exist✨ pic.twitter.com/a2lurDTE3P

— San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance (@sandiegozoo) July 2, 2025

It's day 645 of the October 7 Hostage Crisis.

50 hostages are trapped in the dungeons of Gaza.

20 are presumed alive, at imminent risk of death. 30 have been murdered and Hamas is ransoming their bodies.

The Hamas terror state must #LetThemGoNOW🎗️ pic.twitter.com/ojiapVcf1E

— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) July 12, 2025

The Nordic model

Listening to a podcast from The Wall Street Journal that asks if the "socialist" progressives will take over the Democratic party. But the more basic and important question they ask is "how can the Democratic party concretely answer the legitimate concerns of voters who are being financially crushed?".

They see the two alternative answers as (1) a Mamdani kind of socialism, or (2) a Republicanism disguised as progressive Democracy created by former Obama aides at Pod Save America and detailed in the repellant book, Abundance.

I think neither one of these options is the right one, but I do have an alternative that I think is much better than either of those, and we can see how well it is working in real time - the Nordic model ...



Movers and shakers of the Democratic party, if you really do want to be sucessful in upcoming elections, and more to the point, if you really do want to help people in need, than stop trying to be socialists or Republicans, and embrace the Nordic model instead.

Jeffrey Epstein's client list

Like Lawrence, I think that the recent leaks from the DOJ about investigations into former head of the CIA, John Brennan, and former head of the FBI, James Comey, are just a way to distract Trump's base from Bondi's refusal to make public an Epstein client list.

We know Epstein died while in a prison that was overseen by Bill Barr, whose father had (maybe) hired Epstein to teach high schoolers. Seems suspicious. From the Wikipedia page on Donald Barr ...

He was headmaster of the Dalton School from 1964 to 1974. For a brief time, at the end of his tenure as headmaster, disagraced financier Jeffrey Epstein was employed as a math teacher. It is unclear whether Barr hired Epstein. In 1973, Barr published Space Relations, a science fiction novel about a planet ruled by oligarchs who engage in child sex slavery. It has been noted that the plot of the novel anticipates the crimes of Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell ...

You can't make this stuff up.

Anyway, did Epstein kill himself in that prison or was he mysteriously murdered? The situation was hinky ... Wikipedia has a whole page on his death.

And who were his "clients"? We know Trump was his friend for years. We also know Bill Clinton and Bill Gates both hung around with him. Ick :( Who else might have been close to him? Will we ever know?

Grocery stores

- my local Whole Foods Market

One thing that Zohran Mamdani has said he would do as mayor of New York is to open stste-run grocery stores ... Zohran Mamdani wants to build government supermarkets. America already has them

Reminds me of when I was a kid and my grnadparents shopped at the airforce base commissary. But, just because we Democrats know that people need more help, why re-invent the wheel, or try to turn the US into some modern version of the Socialist Republic of Romania?

We already have a government plan to help struggling people buy food ... food stamps (which I myself receive). It would be more efficient to make that a better program: expand the number of people who can qualify, expand the items that can be bought (adding non-food items like soap, TP, etc), and expand the amount of money given to people.

In this way, people could use their food stamps (or EBT cards, actually) at any grocery store they like, from Target to Whole Foods, and they wouldn't be limited to whatever the state government provides.

Why not Pete?

I've got to ask ... why not Pete? Why do the people behind the scenes in the Democratic party overlook him as a future candidate but instead grab on to a really problematic candidate like Mamdani?

Coming to a theater near you

Project Hail Mary ... an upcoming American science fiction adventure film .... based on the 2021 novel of the same name by Andy Weir. The film stars Ryan Gosling (who is also a producer on the film), Sandra Hüller, and Milana Vayntrub.

If you're interested, I wrote about the book here in 2022.

The Times of Israel on Zohran Mamdani

Today, The Times of Israel's daily briefing weighs in on Zohran Mamdani's winning of the Democratic primary election for mayor of New York, as his frequent attacks on Israel have raised concerns ...



One can see from my recent posts that I am worried about my party, the Democrats, seemingly falling in love with Zohran Mamdani. Just the other night, Chris Hayes of MSNBC waxed eloquent over his wonderfullness ...



I hope the Democrats eventually realize Mamdani is a bad candidate, an extremist who will not be able to bring along the average Democratic voter, much less Independents. He is not our salvation, he is what one should have expected when running almost anyone against flawed candidates like Cuomo and Adams.

An ideologue?

The Democratic party, my party, is desperate to find someone to lead us out of the wilderness so that we can win again, hopefully in 2028. I think the party has grabbed hold of Zohran Mamdani in that desperation because even as an almost unknown he did so well in the primary. I'm worried he's just the wrong guy to save us.

An example ... in my internet travels today, I came upon a 2021 interview with Mamdani from a Young Democratic Socialists of America Conference. It gives a view of his political priorities ...