‘Neo-Marxist Kool-Aid': Southern Poverty Law Center puts youth group on hate map
Newsweek Senior Editor-at-Large Josh Hammer reacts to the Southern Poverty Law Center putting conservative youth group Turning Point USA on their hate map.
'They've paid up a lot of money in defamation lawsuits over the years for things exactly like that,' Mr Hammer told Sky News host Rita Panahi.
'This organisation, to put it mildly, they have lost their way.
'The problem is that, like so many once liberal institutions, they drank the woke identitarian identity politics neo-Marxist Kool-Aid with every ounce of their being.
'They have turned into the very monsters that once upon a time, very long ago, they opposed.'
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SBS Australia
4 hours ago
- SBS Australia
Three killed, dozens injured after Israeli forces open fire near Gaza aid site, medics say
At least three Palestinians were reportedly killed and dozens wounded by Israeli fire near an aid site in Gaza. The Israeli military said it fired warning shots to deter suspects approaching troops but denied shooting civilians. The alleged shooting is part of a series of deadly incidents near distribution sites. Israeli fire killed at least three Palestinians and wounded dozens of others near an aid distribution site operated by the US-based Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, local health authorities said. The alleged shooting reportedly occurred at the same location in southern Gaza where witnesses say Israeli forces fired on crowds of aid-seekers a day earlier. The Israeli military said it was aware of reports of casualties and the incident was being thoroughly looked into. It said in a statement that troops had fired warning shots "to prevent several suspects approaching them" about 1 km away from the aid distribution site. The GHF, a private group sponsored by the United States and endorsed by Israel, claimed there had been no fatalities or injuries at its distribution site or the surrounding area. The latest incident in a series of reported shootings of civilians seeking food aid has underscored the volatile system of aid delivery into Gaza, following the easing last month of an almost three-month Israeli blockade. On Sunday, Palestinian and international officials said at least 31 people were killed and dozens wounded near the same site, one of four operated by the GHF in Rafah. At Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, relatives of Hussam Wafi, a 37-year-old father-of-six, who was killed near the aid site on Sunday, arrived to pay their last respects before burial. Wafi's brother Ali said the victims were driven by hunger. 'The US and Israel, what do they tell us? Go and get your food and water, and the aid. When the aid arrives, they hit us. Is this fair?" Wafi told Reuters. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Monday he was appalled by reports of Palestinians killed and injured while seeking aid in Gaza on Sunday, and called for an independent investigation. The Israeli military denied firing at people gathering to collect aid, and the GHF said Sunday's distribution was carried out without incident, describing reports of deaths as fabricated by Hamas. The GHF said Monday's deliveries raised the number of meals it has distributed since it began operations to nearly six million. The United Nations has said most of Gaza's 2 million population is at risk of famine after an 11-week Israeli blockade on aid entering the strip. The GHF launched its first distribution sites last week and said it would launch more. Its aid plan, which bypasses traditional aid groups, has come under fierce criticism from the UN and the organisation's own former executive director, who all claim the GHF does not follow humanitarian principles. The Palestinian NGOs Network urged a boycott of what it called the "US-Israeli aid mechanism" in protest over the killings on Sunday.
News.com.au
7 hours ago
- News.com.au
UN chief calls for probe into deaths near Gaza aid site
UN chief Antonio Guterres called Monday for an independent investigation into the killing and wounding of scores of Palestinians near a US-backed aid centre in Gaza the day before. Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli gunfire killed at least 31 people and wounded 176 near the aid distribution site in the southern city of Rafah on Sunday, with medics at nearby hospitals also reporting a deluge of gunshot wound victims. The Israeli military denied firing at people "while they were near or within" the site. But a military source acknowledged "warning shots were fired towards several suspects" overnight about a kilometre away. "I am appalled by the reports of Palestinians killed and injured while seeking aid in Gaza yesterday. It is unacceptable that Palestinians are risking their lives for food," Guterres said in a statement, without assigning blame for the deaths. "I call for an immediate and independent investigation into these events and for perpetrators to be held accountable." The Israeli government has worked with the group running the site, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), to introduce a new mechanism for distributing aid in Gaza that has bypassed the longstanding UN-led system. The UN has declined to work with the group out of concerns about its neutrality. - 'Bullets were chasing people' - One 33-year-old who was present on Sunday told AFP it was "around 5 or 5:30 am, before sunrise" when the gunfire broke out at a spot known as the Al-Alam roundabout, where a crowd had gathered from the wee hours of the morning to wait before heading to the GHF centre about a kilometre away. "Of course it was the Israeli army who shot live bullets," said the witness, who declined to be named for fear of Israeli reprisals. "Thousands of people were waiting at Al-Alam roundabout... but the army fired and everyone ran away. There was fear and chaos. I saw with my own eyes martyrs and wounded in the area." Another witness elsewhere in the crowd, 35-year-old Mohammed Abu Deqqa, said "at first, we thought they were warning shots". "But it didn't take long before the shooting intensified. I began to see people lying on the ground, covered in blood. That was around 5:30 am," he said. "People started running, but many couldn't escape. The bullets were chasing people even as they tried to flee." AFP photos taken around 5:40 am showed civilians loading bodies onto donkey carts shortly after sunrise. Gaza civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said teams of rescuers arrived around 6:00 am and began assisting with the dead and wounded, though civilians and other paramedics had already taken some to Nasser hospital and a Red Cross field hospital. - 'Warning shots were fired' - The military on Sunday said an initial inquiry indicated its troops "did not fire at civilians while they were near or within the humanitarian aid distribution site", and urged "media to be cautious with information published" by Hamas. But according to an Israeli military source, "warning shots were fired towards several suspects who advanced towards the troops" overnight. The incident took place "approximately one kilometre away" from the GHF distribution centre, outside of operating hours, the source said. Army spokesman Effie Defrin said Sunday that "Hamas is doing its best, its utmost, to stop us from" distributing aid, and vowed to "investigate each one of those allegations" against Israeli troops. A GHF spokesperson also accused Hamas of circulating "fake reports", saying: "All aid was distributed today without incident." In a video message from Nasser hospital later Sunday morning, visiting British surgeon Victoria Rose described a scene of "absolute carnage", saying "all the bays are full, and they're all gunshot wounds". The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said that its field hospital in Rafah received 179 people, including 21 pronounced dead on arrival. The ICRC reported that all the wounded "said they had been trying to reach an aid distribution site", adding that "the majority suffered gunshot or shrapnel wounds". - 'Intense force' - GHF said that as of Monday, it had distributed more than 5.8 million meals' worth of food from its centres. Israel has come under increasing international pressure to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza following a more than two-month blockade on aid that was only recently eased. The UN has warned the entire population is at risk of famine, and has also reported recent incidents of aid being looted, including by armed individuals. Talks aimed at reaching a ceasefire have so far failed to produce a breakthrough. Civil defence spokesman Bassal said 14 people were killed on Monday in an Israeli strike on a house in Jabalia, in the north. The Israeli military also issued an evacuation order for several western parts of Khan Yunis in the south, warning residents it would "operate with intense force" there. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says at least 4,201 people have been killed in the territory since Israel resumed its offensive on March 18, taking the war's overall toll to 54,470, mostly civilians. Hamas's 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, also mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
SBS Australia
a day ago
- SBS Australia
Israel to investigate after Palestinians killed trying to access aid
TRANSCRIPT Israel to investigate after Palestinians were killed and wounded trying to access aid in Gaza Mourning in Sydney after an Alice Springs Aboriginal death in custody Daria Kasatkina secures her spot in the fourth round of the French Open The Israeli military (IDF) says it will investigate every incident linked to its food distribution efforts in Gaza, after at least 31 Palestinians were killed and more than 170 wounded while trying to access aid. Witnesses claim Israeli forces opened fire on a crowd about a kilometre from an aid site in Rafah run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a private group which uses armed American security contractors. The IDF denies firing on civilians, saying only warning shots were used against what it calls suspects approaching troops. Speaking from Rafah, Brigadier General Effie Defrin says Hamas is obstructing the aid process. "Hamas is doing his best, his utmost to stop us from doing so. He's spreading rumours, fake news. He's trying bluntly and violently to stop the people of Gaza from reaching those distribution centres. I urge you not to believe every rumour spread by Hamas. We will investigate each and one of those incidents and each and one of those allegations." The deadly incident is the worst since Israel launched a new aid system less than a week ago. Mourners have gathered in Sydney to mark the death of a 24-year-old Aboriginal man who died after two plainclothes police officers restrained him. The incident occurred last week in the vicinity of Coles in Alice Springs, after an alleged shoplifting offence, and is being investigated as a death in custody. Vigils were held on Friday in Alice Springs to mourn the passing of 24-year-old Warlpiri man Kumanjayi White, whose family says he was vulnerable and had disabilities. The Federal Minister for Indigenous Australians has requested independent oversight of the investigation into his death, but Acting Commissioner of Northern Territory Police, Martin Dole, has rejected the idea. Advocate Lizzie Jarrett told mourners in Sydney the death in custody has hurt the whole Aboriginal community. "Put your heart and put your mind in the soul of a black mother right now, because our people, if you touch one of us, you touch all of us. So that young boy is my son, my nephew, my little brother. That's how we hold our people. So thank you all again for being here to hold space with us, it means really, really so much to us." The Prime Minister says Australia will determine its own defence policy, in response to a push from the United States to increase spending. Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, US defence chief Pete Hegseth called for countries in Asia to increase defence spending to levels similar to the 5 per cent of GDP that NATO members are pledging to spend. He said increased military capabilities will be necessary to combat what he characterised as Chinese aggression in the region, an accusation China says is unwarranted. In a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the talks, Mr Hegseth raised the question of increased defence spending with Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles. Mr Albanese says Australia will make its own decisions, and this will include bolstering diplomatic relationships in the region. "What we'll do is we will determine our defence policy and we've invested an additional 10 billion dollars in defence. What we'll do is continue to provide for investing in our capability, but also investing in our relationships in the region." Ukrainian drones hit Russian airbases in largest single-day attack since the war began, targeting strategic bombers. It comes ahead of peace talks due to start in Istanbul on Monday. The Russian Defence Ministry says Ukraine launched drone strikes targeting Russian military airfields across five regions, causing several aircraft to catch fire. No casualties have been reported. Officials say some individuals involved in the attacks have been detained. Meanwhile, Donald Trump's special envoy for Ukraine has described the war between Russia and Ukraine as a proxy conflict involving NATO, reflecting Russian President Vladimir Putin's long-held position. Speaking on Fox News My View with Lara Trump, retired lieutenant general Keith Kellogg says President Putin views NATO's support for Ukraine as direct involvement in the war. "Putin has made those comments - well, if you're going to supply them with weapons, we continue with the part of the aggressor. And he considers this a proxy war by NATO as well. Right now, and frankly, in a way it is. You look at what European nations have done with support. I mean it's clearly, Putin sees that. So everybody's got to be willing to step back a bit. They've got to be willing to give a little bit." In tennis, Daria Kasatkina has defeated world number 10 Paula Badosa in the French Open, securing her spot in the fourth round. Kasatkina, who became an Australian citizen earlier this year, took the first set 6-1, before sealing victory in a second set tie-break. The win means that in a 37-year-first, Australia will have both a men's and women's player in the last 16 of the French Open, with Kasatkina joined by fellow compatriot Alexei Popyrin. Kasatkina will next be up against her 18-year-old Russian friend Mirra Andreeva.
