The scale and brutality of Hamas’s grisly attack on Israel last Saturday, in which at least 1,300 Israeli men, women, and children were brutally murdered, has understandably triggered a massive outpouring of sympathy and solidarity with Israel from around the world, particularly in the United States, Europe and other western nations.
Dehumanization, Lack of Empathy for Palestinians Is Alarming—and Dangerous’ (archive)
Reports suggest that Israeli forces have employed white phosphorus, a substance internationally banned, in densely populated areas in the northern Gaza Strip, as stated by Palestinian media.
Israeli Forces Accused of Using White Phosphorus in Gaza’s North (+Video)
Related:
Palestinians in Gaza fear the worst as Israel bombs fall
The Israeli army struck with fighter jets and drones, and also from the sea. Local sources in Gaza report the use of phosphorus bombs. On numerous occasions, Israeli planes bombed without warning. On Saturday night, 18 members of the Shabat family were killed in a bombing raid in the northern town of Beit Hanoun, while 12 members of the Kouta family perished under the rubble of their house. On Sunday evening and Monday morning, 19 members of the Abu Quta family and 19 people from the Abu Hilal family, including women and children, were killed in Rafah, in the south of Gaza.
ASWAN, Egypt (AP) — Sudan’s two warring generals sent their envoys on Friday to Saudi Arabia for talks aimed at firming up a shaky cease-fire after three weeks of fierce fighting that has killed hundreds and pushed the African country to the brink of collapse, three Sudanese officials said.
Sudan’s warring sides send envoys for talks in Saudi Arabia
Related:
Role of US troops in Sudan to shift as Biden administration sees no quick end to fighting
H/T: Emil Cosman
Who is Prime Minister Apollinaire Joachim Kyélem de Tambèla?
Burkina Faso cheered and celebrated at the news of Apollinaire Joachim Kyélem de Tambèla’s appointment to office as prime minister on October 21st, 2022. While there are many new faces and figures in Burkinabé politics right now, Kyélem de Tambèla is a familiar face to many Burkinabé who have known him for decades. In other circumstances this label may be given out too freely but, Kyélem de Tambèla has rightfully earned the title of Sankarist as demonstrated by his own background.
The Homeland or Death: Accomplishments of the Traoré Government in Burkina Faso
H/T(YouTube): Traoré & Burkina Faso oust the West for a Pan-African & Multi-Polar Future
BEIRUT (Reuters) – A top U.N. humanitarian official said damage to roads, fuel shortages and harsh winter weather in Syria were hampering the agency’s response to an earthquake on Monday that killed more than 1,200 in the country and left millions in need of aid.
Quake Response in Syria Faces Obstacles, Says Top U.N. Aid Official
Previously:
Western selective humanitarianism, Syria earthquake falls on deaf ears
The report says a prolonged war in Ukraine hampers the US ability to focus on its ‘competition with China’
New RAND Report Says a Long War in Ukraine Is Against US Interests
Previously:
RAND: Avoiding a Long War – U.S. Policy and the Trajectory of the Russia-Ukraine Conflict
*Russian use of nuclear weapons is a plausible contingency that Washington needs to account for and a hugely important factor in determining the future trajectory of the conflict
*Although a Russian decision to attack a NATO member state is by no means inevitable, the risk is elevated while the conflict in Ukraine is ongoing.
*Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley reportedly kept a list of “U.S. interests and strategic objectives” in the crisis: “No. 1” was “Don’t have a kinetic conflict between the U.S. military and NATO with Russia.” The second, closely related, was “contain war inside the geographical boundaries of Ukraine.”
*It is clear why Milley listed avoiding a Russia-NATO war as the top U.S. priority: The U.S. military would immediately be involved in a hot war with a country that has the world’s largest nuclear arsenal. Keeping a Russia-NATO war below the nuclear threshold would be extremely difficult, particularly given the weakened state of Russia’s conventional military.
*Since neither side appears to have the intention or capabilities to achieve absolute victory, the war will most likely end with some sort of negotiated outcome.
*Since avoiding a long war is the highest priority after minimizing escalation risks, the United States should take steps that make an end to the conflict over the medium term more likely.
*A major source of uncertainty about the future course of the war is the relative lack of clarity about the future of U.S. and allied military assistance to Ukraine.
Avoiding a Long War – U.S. Policy and the Trajectory of the Russia-Ukraine Conflict
Related:
Avoiding a Long War – U.S. Policy and the Trajectory of the Russia-Ukraine Conflict
One human rights campaigner said the military’s failure to provide a timely response to Democratic lawmakers’ questions “does not bode well for the U.S. government’s expressed commitment to transparency and accountability.”
Pentagon Blows Deadline To Explain US Role in Nigerian Airstrike That Killed 160 Civilians
Ukraine risks being locked into endless war in bid for perfect peace
Ordinary Ukrainians on the front lines are divided on a ceasefire and negotiations. My Ukrainian colleague Karina Korostelina and I surveyed the attitudes of both residents and displaced persons in three Ukrainian cities close to the southeast battlefields this summer. Almost half agreed it was imperative to seek a ceasefire to stop Russians killing Ukraine’s young men. Slightly more supported negotiations with Russia on a complete ceasefire, with a quarter totally against and a fifth declaring themselves neutral. Respondents were torn when considering whether saving lives or territorial unity were more important to them. Those most touched by the war, namely the internally displaced, were more likely to prioritise saving lives. Other research reveals that those farthest from the battlefields have the most hawkish attitudes.
H/T: Truthteller CLARE DALY on the LiveLine!
One-sided reporting, obviously, but interesting statistics.
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 
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