The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 11.12 The BlueAnon Problem is Getting Worse... & Today's News

Episode Date: November 12, 2024

Join Me @ https://Twitch.tv/DeFrancoLive 10AM ET Every Morning this week! (You're still getting your regular Daily PDS as well) Kickstart your passion project with a free trial today: https://www.Squarespace.com/Phil  & enter offer code “Phil” to get 10% off your first purchase!  Go to https://saily.com/Phil and use the code Phil to get an exclusive 15% discount on Saily data plans! ⛵  – ✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩ – 00:00 - Liberals Spread Conspiracies that Trump and Musk Rigged Election 04:36 - Fired FEMA Employee Speaks Out After MAGA Controversy 07:56 - Bluesky Adds 700,000 Users in Week After Election 11:15 - Sponsored by Squarespace 12:37 - Harassment Towards Women Surges on Social Media After Trump Win 17:42 - Officials Condemn Racist Texts Sent to Black Residents Nationwide 20:32 - Sponsored by Saily 21:34 - UN Says Israel Missed U.S. Deadline to Boost Aid in Gaza ——————————   Produced by: Cory Ray Edited by: James Girardier, Maxwell Enright, Julie Goldberg, Christian Meeks, Matthew Henry Art Department: William Crespo Writing/Research: Philip DeFranco, Brian Espinoza, Lili Stenn, Maddie Crichton, Chris Tolve, Star Pralle, Jared Paolino ———————————— For more Philip DeFranco: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-philip-defranco-show/id1278424954 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6ESemquRbz6f8XLVywdZ2V Twitter:   https://x.com/PhillyD Instagram:   https://instagram.com/PhillyDeFranco Newsletter: https://www.dailydip.co TikTok:   https://www.tiktok.com/@philipdefranco?lang=en ———————————— #DeFranco #Hasanabi #NickFuentes ———————————— Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is the left starting to go partial or full QAnon? Blue Anon, if you will. That is what some are asking right now because election-related conspiracies are starting to become popular among Democrats who are still reeling from Kamala Harris's loss. The thing is, just like we saw in 2020, there are a lot of different theories,

but the most important thing to note is that before diving into this whole thing, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency have already said, we have no evidence of any malicious activity that had a material impact on the security or integrity of our election infrastructure. Security and Infrastructure Security Agency have already said, we have no evidence of any malicious activity that had a material impact on the security or integrity of our election infrastructure.

But as far as what some are flagging as suspicious, you have one thing being voter turnout this year compared to 2020. Or with people saying that in 2020, Biden got 81 million votes to Trump's 74 million. But now this year, and keep in mind, votes are still coming in, it shows Trump at 75 million and Kamala at just 71.

It's currently a drop of around 10 million democratic votes. And so you have people saying, you know, millions of votes, quote, don't disappear on their own. Or writing things like, if anyone could fund a massive election fraud scheme, it's Elon Musk. He also has motive. But the thing is, the 2024 vote tally that people are using

only reflects the vote so far. Like, yes, we have enough to know whether Trump won the presidency, but ballots are still being counted. And in the end, you have the AP right now estimating that the number of votes cast will only actually be around 700,000 less than in 2020, with Steve Kornacki, for example,

also breaking it down on NBC News' TikTok. There's still a lot to come here. So you're adding those two numbers together and you're saying it's a lot less than 20. Well, keep in mind, gigantic states like California, there's millions more votes to come in from California. Washington too, there's more coming in to come in from California, Washington too. There's more coming in from Illinois,

all across the country. By the end of this, there's probably gonna be a turnout about 10 million or so more than what you're seeing right here. And even with all that aside, voter turnout fluctuates cycle to cycle anyways. These are also fact checks that the conservatives should keep in mind as well,

because tons of people on that side have also been using preliminary voter turnout data to try to prove that the 2020 election was stolen, that millions of votes then must've been fake, but no. Or the numbers people have been using and what 2024's turnout is expected to grow to is a significant difference. Also, another big conspiracy theory

that people have been throwing out there has to do with Elon Musk's Starlink, with some claiming here that the Starlink internet provider manipulated vote counts. But as PolitiFact noted, major swing states like Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, the list goes on, they have protocols ensuring that voting equipment

is never connected to the internet during ballot tabulation. And just kind of generally speaking, voting machines usually are not internet connected anyways. With the outlet also adding, even if Starlink had somehow been used to modify the vote count, there are systems designed to catch tabulation discrepancies. And PolitiFact finding little evidence

that Starlink was widely used in elections in the first place. Also with this, it's worth noting that there are some differences in the misinformation we saw this election compared to last. In 2020 and even this year, Republicans were really setting the stage to call for fraud, though after their victory,

their fraud concerns just somehow disappeared. Also a big difference is with 2024, it's largely just civilians online spreading theories and not politicians, right? Like when you had Trump, people in his administration and elected members of his party claiming it was rigged. But so far, I haven't seen Kamala Harris out there holding a press conference at a landscaping company

demanding a recount, which is also why you have a ton of people on the left saying just stop before it gets too deep. People like activist Olivia Juliana saying, the election wasn't stolen, we lost, you sound insane, stop it. And the likes of Hassan Pike are also reacting to a bunch of the theories and saying these people are doing the same exact that Republicans do, which is not understanding a process. And then because of

your own personal inability of understanding how this like regular process works, you are now imagining like an alternative, an alternate scenario. And personally, I will say there are a number of people out there that have me concerned right now. And if anything it's given me, and it feels weird saying it because a lot of those people are just, would say horrible things to me right now. It gives me a lot of empathy and more understanding

for people who believed election lies back in 2020. Like imagine being shocked by the result. You're like, but I saw the rallies. There were so many people there. There was so much energy. Everyone around me thinks like I do. The election was obviously stolen. And then rather than being given time to go, oh, well, no, the world is not my bubble. The vote went a different way. The politician you support goes, no, it was stolen. How fast would so many people flock to that? Because they want to think that's true. That's the only way that everything makes sense.

I mean like I saw a huge viral post of like people in their bed going, did you see AOC what she said in that video? They're dropping something huge tomorrow, get ready. And a lot of people are just misconstruing things that she's saying. You know, we'll see how things play out from here. Does it involve an increasing number of people going down conspiracy holes, or is this something that's kind of short-lived? It's people in their bargaining stage of grief, and or the denial part. But also, hey, with all of that said, I gotta pass the question off to you. What are your thoughts here? But then we gotta talk about the updates and additions to the Washington-FEMA situation. And that because Marnie Washington actually gave her side of the story to

the Washington Examiner, an interview that forarnie Washington actually gave her side of the story to the Washington Examiner. An interview that for some reason wasn't covered by any of the other mainstream news sources. But you know, it's important that we talk about it so you can hear both sides, make up your mind, especially as we wait to see what comes from the investigations. Right, and so this piece starts by saying

that she said that the language in the screenshots published by the Daily Wire, that they were shorthand. With her then trying to give context, telling the Examiner that she had warned her supervisors that there were streets that her team weren't able to complete because of, quote, hostile political encounters. With Marnie then going on to claim that those hostile confrontations included threats to the lives of FEMA workers. And adding, the running trend of those encounters just so happened to be at houses that have Trump campaign signage. The notation that was leaked had nothing to do with their political stance, saying it was with the objective of safety.

You know, that wouldn't be coming out of nowhere, right? I mean, as a few of you pointed out, a few weeks ago, we covered the threats the FEMA workers were facing amid a storm of misinformation and conspiracy theories. I mean, we were talking about serious threats from a number of people all the way up to an armed militia, even forced to pause in some aid efforts. I mean, in some counties, federal workers even needed to pull out entirely because of the threats to their lives, which is why you have Marnie demanding the FEMA turn over the incident reports saying that they will show the hostility her team faced That led to her making this choice Which according to the examiner was backed by Marnie's supervisors who encouraged and supported her decision to skip certain streets in the name of safety

Washington then went on to say that the real issue at hand here is that FEMA isn't giving its employees enough resources and protection to Safely provide help to every household and adding there everybody deserves a chance at disaster relief and they have not figured out a way to Accomplish that without subjecting their teammates to hostile work environments. With then Marnie also saying that when this story broke, FEMA promised that they would take care of it, but they told her not to talk to the media. But instead in this situation, you have Washington saying

they then ghosted her and quote, "'Used my silence and allegiance to subject me "'to more scrutiny and to use me as a scapegoat "'for what's going on.'" And so whether you believe her or not, I thought it was important that we share this story. And actually, as I was recording today, Marnie appeared in a segment of Roland Martin's live stream

where she dove deeper into her side of the story, saying that FEMA preaches avoidance first and de-escalation second, and this particular situation of homes being skipped isn't isolated. And rather than find a solution for the hostility their workers experience, she says that FEMA is using this opportunity

to ally themselves with Trump, saying, Instead of just saying, "'Hey, this is how we're going to mitigate it "'to protect our people,' "'they decided to fire me "'and make sure Donald Trump knows "'that they are loyal to him "'because they fear retribution.'"

She then went on to say to Roland that, "'Yes, if homes with Trump signs on a certain street "'are causing problems, "'they are going to avoid other homes "'with Trump signs on that street.'" Then also saying the same can be said for homes of a different or no political affiliation, which has happened.

Have you ever noted any hostility from people who had Biden-Harris-Harris wall signs or did you report any hostility for people who had no signs in their yards? There you go. Yes, that is the whole point. On both counts? Yes, on both accounts.

With Washington then detailing the impact that the situation has had on her personally, saying she lost not only her position with FEMA, but also her other job. And then with that saying she's gotten threatening calls and emails and had to move out of her house. But for now, we're gonna have to wait to see what happens next.

Because obviously there are the investigations, but then also, you know, the Washington Examiner, they filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Department of Homeland Security to obtain what happens next. Because obviously there are the investigations, but then also, you know, the Washington Examiner, they've filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Department of Homeland Security to obtain those incident reports. Because if those things prove that what she's saying is accurate, I mean, that drastically changes what we were looking at yesterday. But for now, we'll have to wait to see what happens. But then let's talk about people dumping Twitter slash X after the election. With right now, a lot of people now choosing Blue Sky as their new home. The platform COO telling The Verge

that just in the last week, Blue Sky has gained over 700,000 new users, with the majority of these new users coming from the United States. And this is right now when it comes to Twitter alternatives, you know, Thread still has more users than Blue Sky, but Blue Sky has really gotten this rapid growth in recent weeks.

I mean, back in September, they had just 9 million users. Now they have 14 and a half. With them seeing that people really started to flock over back in October after Twitter modified its blocking feature. And now what they're seeing is the election has started another big move. For example, social media researcher Axel Bruns telling The Guardian, it's become a refuge for people who want to have the kind of social media experience that Twitter used to provide, but without all the far-right activism, the misinformation, the hate speech, the bots, and everything else. And all of this, as you probably know,

Twitter is owned by Elon Musk, whose super PAC actually spent over $200 million to elect Trump to the presidency. And this, as reports are coming out saying that he's stuck close to Trump ever since the election to influence major transition and administration decisions. Which is why you had one historian who recently joined Blue Sky also telling The Guardian,

"'I'm still on X, but after January, "'when X could be owned by a de facto member "'of the Trump administration, "' its functions as a Trump propaganda outlet and far-right radicalization machine could be accelerated. So you have all of that, and then just a lot of people just feel that Twitter has become a more angry and hostile place. With the likes of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, for example, saying she won't even announce her presence on Blue Sky to Twitter because she doesn't want to inadvertently cause an influx of all the worst accounts on the internet. With her then also adding, good God, it's nice to be in a digital space

with other real human beings. And a thing I like here is it's okay to have moments of happiness in public without being broadly scolded. And I believe that sustaining this kind of humanity will be very important as we resist fascism. Though it's not just political accounts that have been making the move.

Taylor Swift fans have actually gotten a lot of credit for moving the party to blue sky. With tons of them even posting about what they're calling the great Swifty migration. And actually with that, you had one Swifty explaining to Wired, "'After the election, the timeline was full of Swifties "'getting DMs from Trump supporters threatening rape

"'or sexual assault and making sexually violent comments "'gloating because Trump won. "'And I love the idea of building a new community here "'and would love not to have to support Elon in any way.'" Though all of this is notably right now, the person they're most hoping will join them in this migration is Taylor Swift herself as she's still not on blue sky. Though you have some saying she could be making the jump as she's using Twitter less and less these days. With folks

noting that she used to post eras tour roundups there, but she stopped earlier this year and now only puts them on Instagram, which, you know, could just be a strategic choice. It could also be a response to Elon's weird comments or jokes about giving her a child and that he will guard her cats with his life. But in the meantime, I'll ask those of you who have already made the jump, how are you liking it over there? We actually looked at the situation a little bit during the morning live stream

over at twitch.tv slash DefrancoLive, and a surprising number of people mentioned they had made the jump. I didn't have an account, but I just made one, so you can follow me right here if you want. You know, for now, we'll have to wait to see, is this actually anything meaningful? You know, is this just a temporary blip

of Twitter losing some of these users and nothing really comes from it? Or is it the start of something new that will initially start as an alternative and then blow up? At minimum, nine out of 10 times you see something like that they fail, but to flip things on its head, you know, people used to say that about sites like Rumble,

for example, right? A number of people flocked to that because people were like, I want a right wing alternative to YouTube. And of course, nothing out there compares to the level of success of YouTube. Growth is growth and you know, just because you're not YouTube doesn't mean you're not meaningful in some capacity.

But hey, time will tell. But then taking a quick break from the news, you know, how many of you kicked off 2024 promising to finally turn a passion project into profit? You know, launch a business or a lucrative side hustle or hobby. For me, I wanted to launch a book club for years. And all that procrastination ended in a random afternoon

in like an hour, thanks to our friends and sponsor at Squarespace. In less than an hour DeFranco's book club was born, which you should also check out, I just dropped November's book. But for your thing or your thing, Squarespace has the tools that you need to create and sell content, courses, products,

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And don't forget to use code phil for 10% off when you're ready to launch at squarespace.com slash phil. But then let's talk about how being a woman on the internet just seems consistently awesome. And if you can't tell, even though it is dripping with it, that is sarcasm. I know that a small percentage of people out there do not understand that.

But I say that because since the election, sexist attacks and hate speech against women have dramatically increased on social media platforms. And if you happen to be active on TikTok in America, you may have at least seen some of this or at least seen people responding to it. And in particular, it's the phrase, your body, my choice, that has gotten thrown around a lot."

Well, generally, as well as on videos posted by women discussing what the election means for them and their bodily autonomy. Right, and all of this really started to gain traction after the white nationalist Holocaust Nine podcaster, Nick Fuentes, posted this video on X. The feel when you're totally not pressed, the feel when we control your bodies.

Hey, if we control your bodies, guess what? Guys win again, okay? Men win again. And yes, we control your bodies. It's your body, my choice. And men, women again, men win again. There will never, ever be a female president. Never! There will never be a female president, ever! We will keep you down forever. You will never control your own bodies. You will never be the president of the global empire. Never gonna happen, sweetie. Your body, our choice.

Right, and as of recording that video, it's gotten more than 19 million views, but also apparently Fuentes didn't feel like the message was clear enough, so he then went on to write another post saying, "'Your body, my choice, forever.'" With that getting more than 90 million views. And since then, that exact phrase,

"'Your body, my choice, forever," it's been shared all over social media. Now with all this, it's since been reported that Fuentes was doxxed and his address was leaked after making those posts. With, for example, Hacker Collective Anonymous tweeting over the weekend, "'Nick Fuentes Fuentes was doxxed and his address was leaked after making those posts. With for example, Hacker Collective Anonymous tweeting over the weekend, "'Nick Fuentes has been fully doxxed

and is being shared to millions of women across every social media platform." You also have people on X saying that his house has been blurred on Google Maps and some people claiming that he had to flee to his parents' house because of the doxxing, but none of that has been verified. And this is Fuentes for his part,

has not addressed the doxxing or anything else as of recording, but he did retweet a post by Candace Owens that referenced another story that's been circulating X about Fuentes pepper for his part, has not addressed the doxing or anything else as of recording, but he did retweet a post by Candace Owens that referenced another story that's been circulating X about Fuentes pepper spraying a woman who showed up at his house. And regarding that story, we've also seen a 57 year old woman

who goes by the name Marla Rose on Facebook, claiming that she was the person Fuentes pepper sprayed. Claiming she rung his doorbell after another woman showed up in front of Fuentes' house and egged her on. Adding there, I cannot back down from anything that even smacks of a dare. And adding, so I rang the doorbell, he immediately swung the door open

like he was at a damn Waco, sprayed me with a burning liquid, pepper spray, mace, and pushed me down the stairs onto his sidewalk. After that, according to her account, the cops showed up to question everyone and throughout the post, Marla Rose really digs into Fuentes while also sharing what she said was his address. Now notably here, that post has since been removed,

presumably because it included the address. But also, as I was recording, Marla Rose posted a video on Facebook that appears to show the incident in question. Hi. Oh my God, what are you doing? Wendy's most important deal of the day has a fresh lineup.

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So, what should we talk about? No sugar added? Neutral. Refreshingly simple. But with all that said, right, this whole situation of sexist abuse and harassment online, it goes way beyond just Nick Fuentes. And this isn't just like anecdotal. There's actually data to back it up. For example, research from the Institute of Strategic Dialogue, ISD,

showing that during the 24-hour period between last Thursday and Friday, there was a 4,600% increase in the mentions of the terms, your body, my choice, and get back in the kitchen on X. Also during that time period, your body, my choice started trending on Facebook with at least 52,000 posts. And then to make shit extra concerning, the organization also reported that the phrase appears to have made its way offline, specifically into school, saying young girls and parents have used social media to share instances of offline harassment. They include the phrase being directed at them within schools or chanted by young boys in classroom.

With the ISD also reporting increases in other similar misogynistic language. There have also been big increases calling for the repeal of the 19th Amendment, which of course gave women the right to vote. And all of this is the ISD says that the attacks that we're seeing right now are fundamentally different from similar harassment

they documented after the 2020 and 2022 election cycles. But this report explaining that, you know, while this content has kind of always flourished in the so-called manosphere, we're now seeing kind of an unprecedented magnitude and spread of this content. Something they say appears to be connected to bad actors emboldened by Trump's re-election, which they say is something they might view as a broad endorsement of their beliefs. And this, you know, because of general things that he says, whether it be reportedly calling Kamala Harris a bitch or other things.

As well as, you know, just during this election cycle alone, he was indicted and convicted on charges of sexual abuse and defamation in E. Gene Carroll's legal case against him. And I guess also, because he won't stop bragging about appointing the three Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade. Now, as far as what happens from here on social media, I mean, on X, it'll, I guess, kind of just continue forever.

Though this is, you know, TikTok, meanwhile, has told reporters that multiple phrases flagged by the ISD reportedly violate their community guidelines for hate speech, with that including, "'Your body, my choice, get back to the kitchen and repeal the 19th." With a spokesperson saying that content that includes those phrases is removed from the platform

unless they're speaking out against that kind of language. Though I will say, while they're saying that, we just went to the site really quick and we easily found videos with, "'Your body,, my choice comments on them. And that includes other videos defending and promoting the phrase. But it's also not just women fending off these attacks.

Because right now there's a nationwide campaign targeting countless numbers of black Americans and telling them to get ready to become slaves. With people getting texts like this saying, "'You have been selected to pick cotton "'at the nearest plantation. "'Be ready by 12 a.m. November 13th sharp "'with your belongings.

"'Our executive slaves will come get you in a brown van. "'Be prepared to be searched down "'once you've entered nearest plantation. Be ready by 12 a.m. November 13th sharp with your belongings. Our executive slaves will come get you in a brown van. Be prepared to be searched down once you've entered the plantation. You are in plantation group D." And there are little differences here and there, usually with the date, the color of the van, or the plantation group. One of the most disturbing things here is that

a lot of these texts include the recipient's name at the top. Some of the senders even seeming to hint that they know the recipient's general locations because they list local sites where the recipient needs to report. And if all that wasn't freaky enough, these messages aren't just being sent out to adults. Reportedly, kids are even getting them. For example, this one mom who spoke to CBS Mornings furious after her eighth grade daughter got one of these texts. They didn't say they're coming to get all of us,

they're saying you talk about coming to get my child, right? Removing my child from me to bring her back to something that's not even legal, never gonna happen. And how dare you even send it to her? How dare you even think that that's something that would be funny to anybody? But then also one mom in Santa Monica, California, taking matters into her own hands. But they're saying that she's spent the last five days uncovering dozens of black students in Santa Monica High School alone that have received the texts. And so now she's calling for increased security for black kids in Santa Monica schools. Meanwhile, activists from neighboring communities in LA are now even reportedly demanding that a state of emergency be called for black students. But then also it turns out this is much more

widespread than just LA, right? Because you have CBS news saying the black Americans across 32 states, as well as in DC, they have gotten these texts since Wednesday last week, once it was clear Trump had won the election. And also at around the same time, the FBI released a statement saying it was aware of the texts and is working with the DOJ and federal authorities. But as far as where these texts are actually coming from, there seems to be a mix of opinions. Louisiana's attorney general saying some of the messages appear to have been sent from emails

routed through VPNs in Poland. Though understand that doesn't mean that the senders are necessarily in Poland. Meanwhile, CBS is reporting that some of the numbers came from TextNow, which allows people to create free phone numbers. With TextNow also confirming with several outlets that have shut down accounts sending these messages.

And a similar service, TextSpot, telling CNN its AI actually prevented at least one of these messages from getting out. You also had CBS claiming it spoke with a person who sent one of the texts, with that person reportedly telling the outlet that it was a prank before then quickly hanging up. And then yeah, there's also likely a number of people

who saw this as a trend and thought it would be funny to also send some texts as well. But then also with that, we've seen a software professor telling the AP that an initial more coordinated effort involving the relatively cheap purchase of heaps of personal data is likely to blame here. Right, and explaining with that, that quote,

when combined with other data, such as places of residence or past purchases, it can be easy to use machine learning algorithms to infer demographic information. And adding, all of this means it might be easier than most people realize to make a really good guess about the race or ethnicity of the person attached to that phone number.

But then the thing being that unlike Textbot for better or worse, the US doesn't have a filtering system in place that would have flagged any of these messages as suspicious or unwanted. You know, with all that said, I know we covered some different things there. I'd love to know your thoughts

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sent a letter demanding Israel take steps within 30 days to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza. And specifically, among other demands, the administration called on Israel to allow a minimum of 350 truckloads of aid in every day, open a fifth crossing into the territory, allow people in Israeli-imposed coastal tent camps to move inland before the winter,

and ensure access for aid groups to Northern Gaza." And with that, also without getting too specific, the administration suggested that Israel's failure to do so could threaten the provision of American military aid. And now, 30 days have passed, and the Biden administration is saying enough progress has been made to keep that from happening. Though notably, that's also as aid groups are saying

that Israel has failed to meet the US's demands, claiming that conditions are worse than at any point in the war. With eight international aid groups working in Gaza releasing a report today finding that Israel had failed to comply with almost all of America's demands, and the report saying, Israel not only failed to meet the U.S. criteria that would indicate support to the humanitarian response, but concurrently took actions that dramatically worsened the situation on the ground, particularly in northern Gaza. And so with that, let's talk about the specifics.

The amount of aid reaching Gaza has actually dropped to its lowest level in almost a year. And to be clear here, that is according to official Israeli figures. My statistics from the military authority responsible for coordinating aid to Gaza show that only around 25,000 tons of food aid entered the territory in October.

That's less than in any full month since December of 2023. Also, according to the Israeli stats, only 57 trucks a day on average were allowed to cross into Gaza in October. to the Israeli stats, only 57 trucks a day on average were allowed to cross into Gaza in October. Obviously, very short of the 350 trucks a day demanded by the U.S., as well as the 600 a day that aid agencies say are really needed. And this is it doesn't seem like things have gotten any better in November. I mean, so far, only 624 trucks have entered this month. And that number may or may not include more than 170 trucks and fuel tankers that were allowed in on Sunday. but either way, it's still far from enough.

And also with that, for the surge in deliveries this weekend, it's believed by some that it might be part of a last minute push by Israel to look like it's trying. Right, and with this kind of thinking, for example, on Monday, Israel announced a small expansion of its coastal humanitarian zone, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been sheltering in tent camps.

And today, after the aid groups published their report, the Israeli military announced the opening of a fifth crossing. So with that, you have some saying, "'Hey, they're doing some of the things.'" So you have others saying, "'It's too little, too late.'" Especially as you have people also saying

that Israel has been at the same time making it harder to get aid in. Because in the situation, you have Israeli officials rejecting the claim that they're deliberately holding up aid. Instead, you see them blaming aid groups for failing to organize its distribution and Hamas for stealing shipments.

The aid groups, however, they say that coordinating with the Israeli military is difficult and time consuming with many requests getting turned down. And in October, for example, aid agencies say that Israeli authorities directly denied or impeded 58% of aid movements. And since May, only a 10th of more than 300 requests to issue permits to individual drivers have been granted.

And then finally, the fact that Israel is still waging war after obliterating most of the territory makes these things kind of difficult, with the UN saying that it's Israel's responsibility as the occupying power to facilitate the safe passage of aid inside Gaza. And this also is they say they cannot distribute aid if Israel's military operations mean it's too dangerous.

And with that, you know, we've seen dozens killed in just the past couple of days. You know, you have Palestinian medics saying that Israeli strikes killed at least 37 people in several parts of the Gaza Strip overnight and into this morning. And then later today, an Israeli strike reportedly killed 11 Palestinians in Rafah. And this is four Israeli soldiers

were killed in Northern Gaza yesterday. And you know, with that, like I mentioned before, Northern Gaza is where a lot of the attention's been lately. Right, Israel just launched a major offensive last month in Northern Gaza and the operation has killed hundreds of people and displaced tens of thousands. Also, Israel has allowed almost no aid to enter the area where tens of thousands of civilians have stayed

despite evacuation orders. With that, a UN-backed panel has warned again that famine is imminent in Northern Gaza. And this notably the same part of the territory that got slammed after Hamas killed 1,200 and took more than 200 hostages in October of 2023. And so now you have a situation where Israel has, yes, eliminated a bunch of Hamas's senior military leadership,

killed thousands of its fighters and collapsed many of its tunnels, but also they've shown no sign of letting up. And so then all of this then ties into the discussion of, you know, what are Israel's real aims here and what will it take for this to end? Right, because as you've likely seen, there are concerns that what's taking place

is ethnic cleansing. And just to sum up the situation, more than 80% of Gaza's population of 2.3 million have been displaced and more than two thirds of buildings have been destroyed or damaged. Most Gazans, they face extreme hunger and the medical system has been devastated. And overall, nearly 70% of the 43,500 people killed in Gaza have been women or damaged. Most Gazans, they face extreme hunger and the medical system's been devastated. And overall, nearly 70% of the 43,500 people killed in Gaza have been women and children.

And in fact, as someone pointed out in the comments yesterday, that number may very well be a huge underestimate, especially when you factor in deaths linked to those other consequences of the war, like hunger, healthcare, and what have you. There even being one rough estimate this summer putting the true potential death toll close to 200,000.

And so all of that, along with past comments by officials, have led to activists, Israeli academics, and the ICJ saying that it's the very least plausible that Israel is committing genocide. So this, of course, is many out there disagree. But in any case there, right, this is all the reason for so much criticism of the Biden-Harris administration. Which then brings us back to the deadline. I mean, just a couple of weeks ago, you had a State Department spokesperson, Matthew Miller, conceding Israel was getting a fail grade on improving aid to Gaza.. I mean, just a couple of weeks ago, you had a State Department spokesperson, Matthew Miller, conceding Israel was getting a fail grade on improving aid to Gaza. But of course, despite that,

the US is not changing its policy. And with that, you have some people saying that it would have made little difference anyway at this point, thanks to the results of the election. Trump has a big history of supporting Israel. We're already seeing Israeli officials excited about his victory. You have people like Israel's finance minister

suggesting that Trump winning the election means that the time has come to annex parts of the West Bank, specifically saying the current administration chose to interfere in Israeli democracy and personally refused to cooperate with me. And adding Trump's victory also brings an important opportunity. And then finally claiming the only way to remove the threat of a Palestinian state is to apply Israeli sovereignty over the entire settlements in Judea and Samaria. Well, that's just one guy. We've seen signs that that's not just empty talk. Netanyahu, for example, announced

that Israel's next ambassador to the US will be someone who has advocated for annexing large parts of the West Bank and argued against Palestinian statehood. The same could also be said for Israel's new foreign minister. Raymond, you have him saying that the issue was discussed with Trump before

and will likely be discussed again, and adding, "'It is important to state that Israel sees what we call Judea and Samaria and others call the West Bank not as occupied territories, but as disputed territories. And to be very clear there, the West Bank is occupied territory according to the UN and virtually every other country on earth, including the United States. Israel has occupied the territory since 1967 and in the decades since it has expanded illegal settlements there. And in fact just over the past year while Israel has been waging war in Gaza, it's also been overseeing a major escalation of violence in the West Bank.

I mean more than 700 Palestinians have reportedly been killed there since the war began. Also, you had Israel approving massive land seizures and major settlement construction, escalated demolition of Palestinian property, and increased support for settler outposts originally built in violation of not only international, but also Israeli law.

And notably, some of this led to the Biden administration saying Israel's expansion of settlements is inconsistent with international law, which actually was a return to what had been longstanding US policy until Donald Trump. We had also seen the Biden administration stepping up sanctions on Israeli settlers, including by putting them in place

against two entire outposts for the very first time. Whereas Trump, on the other hand, is expected by many to lift those sanctions. But for now, we'll have to wait to see what happens. That is the end of today's show. Thank you so much for watching. For more news, you need to know this is what YouTube thinks you're most interested in.

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