sharon zhang

This is what you get when billionaires own the media. Support grassroots, independent media like Truthout if you can. truthout.org/donate/

I am standing behind a counter with a black long sleeve dress on. In front of me are a lot of different toppings in different bowls: green onion, cilantro, tea eggs, pork and impossible meat, fried shallots, youtiao (Chinese fried dough), fried tofu, peanuts, seaweed, sesame oil, chili oil, and chili garlic sauce

congee topping bar!!

Me sitting on the couch with a white t shirt that has a little deer with a 3D bow on it. It’s cute. And my dog, a German shorthaired pointer, who is staring into the middle distance

happy holiday y’all 🤎

Cohn has written a lot of great analyses for us but this one blew my hair back!!

Soldiers Must Disobey Unlawful Orders Under Trump — It’s Their Legal Duty I have been called to testify at courts-martial as an expert witness on servicemembers’ duty to disobey unlawful orders.

This is a must-read from legal scholar Marjorie Cohn, who lays out times that she *personally* testified on behalf of soldiers who disobeyed unlawful orders. Very thorough account of how the Trump admin's assertions w/r/t Sen. Kelly and co. are wrong.

truthout.org/articles/sol...

GOP Blocks Bill to Ban Arms Sales to UAE Until It Stops Arming Sudan Genocidaires Darfur’s governor said this week that 27,000 people were killed in the days following RSF’s el-Fasher siege last month.

Sen. Joni Ernst blocked a bill by @vanhollen.senate.gov yesterday to suspend arms shipments to the UAE while it backs the slaughter of tens of thousands of people in Sudan
truthout.org/articles/gop...

Huckabee Welcomed Man Imprisoned for 30 Years for Spying for Israel Into Embassy “I wholeheartedly embrace an ‘Israel first’ doctrine,” the spy, Jonathan Pollard, recently said in an interview.

Trump’s ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, reportedly welcomed a man convicted of spying on the Navy for Israel into the U.S.’s Jerusalem embassy for a “friendly” meeting this summer. The spy, Pollard, was sentenced to life in prison in 1987 for selling a huge cache of military secrets to Israel.

The Right Funds Its Media. Can Progressive Philanthropy Meet the Moment? Rigorous, principled, independent journalism is an essential part of movement building.

"Decades ago, far-right investors and philanthropists committed to a long-term, risk-taking investment in media and narrative infrastructure. Meanwhile, progressive philanthropy has largely ignored progressive and left media, relying on the continued operations of traditional, profit-driven media."

Union Blasts Condé Nast for Firing Labor Leaders Who Sought Answers on Teen Vogue Layoffs The firings and gutting of Teen Vogue come amid a hard right pivot by media companies under Trump.

No less a part of the media's hard right pivot than the Kimmel cancellation -- Condé Nast firing union leaders who dared to speak out against the gutting of Teen Vogue.

truthout.org/articles/con...

War Criminal Dick Cheney Dead at 84, With Blood of Millions on His Hands Cheney’s legacy more than outlives him; he reshaped the very structures of war and authoritarianism at home and abroad.

Much like those who continue carrying out his wars today, Cheney enjoyed impunity for his imperial crimes. He lived out his life as part of the 1 percent, availing himself of luxuries funded by atrocities so vast they are almost impossible to describe in full.

truthout.org/articles/war...

Trump Flouts Constitution With Caribbean Strikes: “We’re Just Going to Kill” “I don’t think we’re going to necessarily ask for a declaration of war. I think we’re just gonna kill people,” he said.

"We're just going to kill people."

"We’re going to kill them. They’re going to be, like, dead."

truthout.org/articles/tru...

to recap the past couple of hours:
- we determined the bullets had trans ideology on them
- local pd releases pic of the suspect
- nvm

In this context, violence doesn't just mean shootings. It also means killings by economic deprivation, psychological warfare (i.e. anti-trans legislation), imprisonment and deportation, the list goes on. Republicans just passed a bill that will kill an estimated 51k people a year. That's violence.

The right's entire ideology is built on violence. There is nothing to valorize about that.

One of the only things uniting the various factions of the right is their commitment to violence. Kirk and Fuentes, for instance, had differences in that they disagreed who that violence should be done to.

The fact is, Israel kept Gaza on the brink of famine for over a year. These people are bragging about keeping Gaza *just starving enough* to not trigger a famine declaration. Which is almost worse.

It marks the grim milestone of a humanitarian situation in Gaza that has only deteriorated since President Trump came into office. But as the situation has worsened, many of the former officials NPR spoke with shared a common refrain: Did we do enough to prevent this? It's a question that David Satterfield, a special envoy for Middle East humanitarian efforts under President Joe Biden, said he and other senior officials got asked many times throughout his tenure. "Our answer was no, we're not doing enough, we were never able to mobilize a sustained adequate response to all of the humanitarian challenges faced by 2 million civilians in Gaza, in full honesty and modesty. But we prevented famine and starvation," Satterfield said, referring to the current situation under the Trump administration. "And while that may be considered a low bar, that is not an insignificant achievement."

Biden officials keep patting themselves on the back saying "at least we prevented famine!"

But famine is just a regulated word. You need huge swaths of starvation, built up over a long period of time, to reach famine. And starvation preceding famine isn't magically better.

Remembering Mariam Abu Daqqa, my strong, beautiful friend killed by Israel Youmna ElSayed writes about the disbelief and shock of losing her friend, killed in Israeli air strikes on a hospital.

"When I saw the news about Mariam, I was in such disbelief that I kept calling my colleagues in Gaza and asking one question: Is Mariam alive?

When they said no, I just hung up and called someone else to ask the same question."

www.aljazeera.com/features/202...

Former Top Biden Spokesperson Admits Israel Sabotaged Ceasefire Deals as US Blamed Hamas The former State Department spokesperson effectively admitted he and the president repeatedly lied about negotiations.

Early in the genocide, the US told Netanyahu he'd be "fighting this war for...decades to come,” Miller said.

“The prime minister said, ‘You’re right. We are going to be fighting this war for decades to come. That’s the way it’s been. That’s the way it’s going to be.’”
truthout.org/articles/for...

It disgusts me that Ezra Klein & co sit around in their cushy homes hand wringing about the WORD genocide when Palestinians' lived reality is hell on earth. I want to force them to look at the photos of kids killed in Gaza every day. I want to glue the pictures to their glasses so it's all they see.

UN Experts: Israel Killed Journalists in “Deliberate Attempt to Silence” Witnesses Israel struck the home of another prominent reporter in Gaza City just after killing six journalists on Sunday.

After killing 6 journalists on Sunday outside of al-Shifa Hospital, Israeli forces targeted another well-known journalist, Motasem Ahmed Dalloul, on Monday.

Cuomo: “I’ve build more airports than you’ve passed bills” Someone with a hostage ribbon in their user says: “built more airports” - great line!! He responds: thank you 🙏🏻

Cuomo; my new video team has been reprimanded for stereotyping me. Cannoli privileges revoked, with a video attached. Someone responds: leave the cannoli, take the Cuomo! Cuomo says: new slogan unlocked

Cuomo predicts DSA won’t last through November because Mamdani said “I’m not sure” about defunding the police and they support BDS but Mamdani is from Uganda (correlation…????)

Cuomo’s campaign has clearly been trying to Mamdani-fy his social media presence and literally every single tweet is incredible. They all sound like robots trying to emulate Elon Musk’s sense of humor

I had to mute something I posted critical of kamala and twitter still gave me notifications about racist replies 👍🏻 great

Really astonishing how getting even the smallest bit of engagement on Twitter is a hellish experience now

It is genuinely hard to imagine anything more abhorrent for her to do right now, as ICE is ravaging the US, public health is being completely destroyed, and Trump is literally setting humanitarian aid aflame.

oh, were we talking about cory booker speeches again

Mamdani’s Support for Palestinian Rights Was Instrumental to His Win, Poll Finds A separate poll has found that Americans’ support for Israel’s genocide has hit an all-time low.

Zohran Mamdani’s staunch support for Palestinian rights was a major boon to his campaign and served as one of the top motivations for voters to cast their ballot for him, new polling finds, as establishment Democrats scratch their heads over Mamdani’s historic campaign and popularity.

“No Other Land” Contributor’s Killer Released as Israeli Soldiers Raid Mourners A judge deemed Awdah Hathaleen’s killer, who reportedly said “I’m glad I did it,” as not dangerous enough for detention.

Israeli soldiers raided a tent set up for mourning Palestinian activist Awdah Hathaleen on Tuesday as his killer, an Israeli settler infamous for terrorizing Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, was released by an Israeli court.

Former Gaza Humanitarian Fund Worker Says Aid Sites “Designed as Death Traps” “The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation needs to be defunded, shut down,” former contractor Anthony Aguilar says.

"I do not call this my story. I call this the story of the oppressed, the story of the Palestinians in Gaza who are dying at the hands of starvation and violence."

If you only read or watch one news story today, make it this:
truthout.org/video/former...

Activist Who Helped Film “No Other Land” Shot and Killed by Israeli Settler Israeli violence in Masafer Yatta has intensified since the film won an Oscar.

A Palestinian activist who helped film the "No Other Land" documentary, Awdah Hathaleen, was shot and killed by an Israeli settler on Monday. Locals identified the killer as Yinon Levi, who was sanctioned by the U.S. and the EU for “regularly leading groups of violent extremists” in the West Bank.

Getting to a point where there are more public pics of Trump and Epstein than I have with some of my closest friends