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   Amir E. Aharoni (aharoni@wikis.world)'s status on Sunday, 21-Jan-2024 03:48:39 JST Amir E. Aharoni

   For people reading English mainstream media about Palestine and Israel issues... I'd like to say that a lot of it is actually OK! I'm mostly for mainstream media, and you should be, too.

   But then there's Thomas Friedman, who is, like, the heart of the mainstream and who is taken seriously by lots of people for reasons I can't comprehend. Some of the things he says are sensible and some are mind-blowing malarkey. If you don't live in the Middle East, telling the two apart is probably too hard.

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     Evan Prodromou (evan@cosocial.ca)'s status on Sunday, 21-Jan-2024 03:48:36 JST Evan Prodromou

     in reply to

     @aharoni I was just listening to his interview on The Ezra Klein Show. It was cold-blooded; they talked about the death and destruction in Gaza primarily in terms of how it affects global perception of Israel, rather than recognizing the impact on real human beings. What specific malarkey have you disliked lately?

     https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/19/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-tom-friedman.html

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     Evan Prodromou (evan@cosocial.ca)'s status on Sunday, 21-Jan-2024 07:27:01 JST Evan Prodromou

     in reply to

     @aharoni there were a couple of other things that got me. Criticizing the South Africans for not also bringing a case against Russia for the invasion of Ukraine seems like crazy whataboutism. The idea that Palestinians in Gaza should march peacefully to the border was either ignorant or ghoulish. I thought it was interesting that he brought up recognition, though, since I just had a poll about it.

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     Amir E. Aharoni (aharoni@wikis.world)'s status on Sunday, 21-Jan-2024 07:27:03 JST Amir E. Aharoni

     in reply to

     • Evan Prodromou

     @evan That's certainly one example (relevant, but one sided). The comparison of Benny Gantz to Joe Manchin is another (if anyone really insists on comparing Gantz to an American politician, maybe I'd suggest Mr. Biden, but even that is *far* from perfect). Talking a lot about Israel-U.S. connections (which are true) and not mentioning Palestine-Russia connections (which really shouldn't be ignored). And so much more, not just in this in this interview, but in everything he writes.