John Oliver took a moment to share his thoughts on the Israel-Hamas war at the start of HBO‘s Last Week Tonight. In a rare move, the host addressed the audience before the title sequence aired on Sunday’s show.
“Without all the music and the lights and — at least theoretically — the laughter, I wanted to briefly talk to you about what has clearly been a terrible week,” he began. “The immense suffering in Israel and Gaza has been sickening to watch, and we’re not gonna be covering it in the main body of our show tonight for a couple of reasons. First, it’s horrific. I don’t really want to tell jokes about carnage right now, and I’m pretty sure that you don’t want to hear them. And second, we’re taping this on Saturday afternoon and you’ll be watching it Sunday night ….
He went on to note that due to the timing of the taping, “a lot could change” between then and the episode’s premiere.
“But I do have a few broad thoughts that I think will still apply, and they have to do with sorrow, fear and anger,” he said. “Now, sorrow is the first and most overwhelming feeling, the images that we’ve seen this week from last Saturday onwards have been totally heartbreaking — thousands now dead in Israel and Gaza. It would be devastating, not just to those in the region, but to diaspora communities across the world. Whatever thoughts you have about the history of this region or the current state of affairs … it should be impossible to see grieving families and not be moved. So there’s been sorrow this week, a lot of it and also fear — understandable fear of further attacks in Israel and for those taken hostage and fear of what is to come in Gaza, as Israel’s leaders seem intent on embarking on a relentless bombing campaign, mass displacement and a potential ground invasion.”
Again noting the time gap between when the show is recorded and when it airs, he continued: “I don’t know where things stand in Gaza as you watch this right now. But all signs seem to be pointed toward a humanitarian catastrophe. Israeli officials announced plans to cut off food, water, fuel and power. Hospitals are running on generators. This has all the appearances of collective punishment, which is a war crime. And I think many Israelis and Palestinians are feeling justifiable anger right now, not just at Hamas, whose utterly heinous terrorist acts set this week’s events in motion, but also at the zealots and extremists across the board who consistently thwarted attempts at peace over the years. Israelis and Palestinians have been let down by their leadership time and time again. And I don’t have a great deal of faith in the leaders currently in charge to steer us toward peace.”
Oliver said he still has some hope given the number of ordinary citizens, both Israeli and Palestinian, who have “called for restraint this week and not revenge.”
He played an interview between CNN’s Jake Tapper and Noi Katzman, whose brother Chaim was killed last weekend in the Hamas terrorist attacks. Katzman ended his interview by saying he didn’t want his brother’s death to “be used to kill innocent people. … I don’t want anything to happen to people in Gaza like what happened to my brother, and I’m sure he wouldn’t have any either. So that’s my call to my government to stop killing innocent people. And that’s not the way that brings us peace and security to people in Israel.”
Oliver agreed.
“People want and are entitled to peace, and I’m not going to tell either side how to get it — certainly not in this [British] accent, which has frankly done enough damage in that particular region to last a fucking lifetime,” he said. “But just know in the long term, all the people who want to live in that region are going to keep living there. So peace is not optional and will require some tough decisions. And I can’t say where a peace process ends, but it just has to start with that kind of ability to recognize our common humanity.”
in addition to coverage, this one included some viewer responses:
Meanwhile the Trump/Jordan/Hannity fascist takeover of our House of Representatives is moving right along.
Deadline – whose deadline? Hannity’s? Bwhahahahah. I wonder how many “Watch the vote if you want to see how Rep **** will vote. And tell Sean to fuck off.”
I think there are enough gop who realize, like Liz Cheney, that the Magatism has to be entirely schmushed.
“You have evolved from worm to man, but much within you is still worm. Once you were apes, yet even now man is more of an ape than any of the apes.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra
I mean….it’s hard to look at Hannity and not think, “worm”
F Fox Noise. Deadline? Pffft. Let’s hope there are enough old-school Republicans to keep MAGAts like Gym Jordan out of speakership. I’d love to see enough if them vote for Hakeem and tell tRUMPsky to suck it. Here’s hoping Poo-tin has a relapse of whatever ailed him and he shuffles off his mortal coil very, very soon.
if only low-info voters were aware of how uninterested in governing republicans are
i am compelled to snort every time i read one of the political arsonists say they’re “focused on the people’s urgent business”
😆😆😆
smushed worm…. ewwww
smushed (or even unsmushed) magatworm …. mega ewww, but then there is an upside
they’re self-smushing according to today’s ‘toonists
Attribution: GOP, Ukraine, and Israel-Hamas by Jeff Koterba,
and
Attribution: Chainsaw Instructions by Rivers, CagleCartoons.com
What will the judge do when the Orange one violates this mild gag order.
“Mr. Trump is a criminal defendant. He’s facing four felony charges,” she said. “He must comply with conditions of release. He does not have the right to say and do exactly as he pleases.” And of course, Lauro comes back with: “B-b-but Joe Biden won’t be barred under such an order!” And the judge replies: “[Biden] is not a party to this case. He’s not subject to conditions of release.” And Lauro replies that enforcement of the order would be “impossible”… Because no one can control Donald John Trump. Do your best, counselor.
Trump has two speeches in Iowa coming up today. That’s plenty of chances to violate gag order
Response to gag order. Awww, no more threatening to execute witnesses
Non-scripted events, eh, he’s gonna do himself in.
It sounds like some Republicans are caving for Gym. Threatened? Family threatened? We need them to be brave and put an end to tRUMPskism.
Fascist Takeover Watch
CNN: Jim Jordan has won over Vern Buchanan and Ann Wagner as he starts to get closer to 217 votes.
Here’s what they were saying on Friday.
Buchanan faulted Jordan for not closing ranks behind Scalise more aggressively last week.
Wagner: “There should be” another candidate
That’s 2 of 55 (as of Saturday).It only takes 6 to say no.
Jake Sherman (MSNBC): Jordan “has made great strides toward the speakership in the last 12 hours” obtaining several former Scalise votes. “He is on the verge of becoming speaker tomorrow”
Pogo, don’t forget the power of voicemail death threats from MAGA crazies. That’s how Jordan got 148 Republicans to vote to overturn the election
“Jordan was a terrorist as a legislator…A legislative terrorist…I just never saw a guy who spent more time tearing things apart—never building anything, never putting anything together.”
— John Boehner autobiography ‘On The House’
Trump just now in Iowa, staying out of trouble so far: “Today a judge put on a gag order. I’ll be the only politician in history that runs with a gag order where I’m not allowed to criticize people. They put a gag on me and I’m not supposed to be talking about things that bad people do. We’ll be appealing very quickly”
Those emails and phone calls should be recorded. Who is threatening them and with what?
This is a test: Stand up to the schoolyard bully and his little, pack of creeps. Do not run from your duty. The MAGAts will own your butts forever if you let a traitorous scumbag like Gym Jordan take the gavel.
“Joe Biden’s 2024 re-election campaign has joined Truth Social, a rightwing social media platform created by the Republican former president Donald Trump.”
“Using the handle @BidenHQ, the account says it is a “project of Biden-Harris 2024” and includes a banner image that says “the malarkey ends here”, referencing the president’s signature colloquialism.”
“The campaign wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that it joined Truth Social “mostly because we thought it would be very funny”.
OK, who’s gonna take one for the team and report back?
How exactly does the narrow order issued by Judge Chutkan that “prohibit[s] all parties from statements “publicly targeting” special counsel Jack Smith, his staff, [the Judge’s] staff or “any other court personnel.” or “Statements about the families of those individuals ” when he “’can argue that this prosecution is politically motivated,’ the judge said, but he cannot disparage the prosecutor by calling him a thug or ‘vilify and implicitly encourage violence against public servants who are simply doing their jobs.’” and “barring Trump and all parties from making statements about witnesses in the case.” infringe upon his campaign to steal the 2024 presidential race?
Quotes from WaPo.
Pardon me for asking, why in the fuck are we telling the world that Joe Biden is going to visit Israel on Wednesday? Is there anyone else that sees that is probably an imprudent announcement?
I didn’t think it was a done deal. And, I think he’s not going to dissuade Israel from making any military decisions, despite how it impacts civilians, which sounds like a big reason he wants to go. He can show support with military aid to Israel, if others in the region have any doubt about where the US stands. It’s a dangerous and pointless trip. He should stay home.
Gym is really going to claw his way to SOTH now. I hope we can trust the Secret Service currently in place to protect the VP, because I sure as f/ck don’t trust MAGAts.
Dems just had to be clever with McCarthy and will end up with someone worse 🤮
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so are others, but in a different sense
The Hollywood Reporter
in addition to coverage, this one included some viewer responses:
John Oliver addresses Israel-Gaza crisis in somber “Last Week Tonight” opener: “Peace is not optional” (yahoo.com)
Meanwhile the Trump/Jordan/Hannity fascist takeover of our House of Representatives is moving right along.
Deadline – whose deadline? Hannity’s? Bwhahahahah. I wonder how many “Watch the vote if you want to see how Rep **** will vote. And tell Sean to fuck off.”
I think there are enough gop who realize, like Liz Cheney, that the Magatism has to be entirely schmushed.
“You have evolved from worm to man, but much within you is still worm. Once you were apes, yet even now man is more of an ape than any of the apes.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra
I mean….it’s hard to look at Hannity and not think, “worm”
F Fox Noise. Deadline? Pffft. Let’s hope there are enough old-school Republicans to keep MAGAts like Gym Jordan out of speakership. I’d love to see enough if them vote for Hakeem and tell tRUMPsky to suck it. Here’s hoping Poo-tin has a relapse of whatever ailed him and he shuffles off his mortal coil very, very soon.
if only low-info voters were aware of how uninterested in governing republicans are
i am compelled to snort every time i read one of the political arsonists say they’re “focused on the people’s urgent business”
😆😆😆
smushed worm…. ewwww
smushed (or even unsmushed) magatworm …. mega ewww, but then there is an upside
they’re self-smushing according to today’s ‘toonists
Attribution: GOP, Ukraine, and Israel-Hamas by Jeff Koterba,
and
Attribution: Chainsaw Instructions by Rivers, CagleCartoons.com
What will the judge do when the Orange one violates this mild gag order.
Trump has two speeches in Iowa coming up today. That’s plenty of chances to violate gag order
Response to gag order. Awww, no more threatening to execute witnesses
Non-scripted events, eh, he’s gonna do himself in.
It sounds like some Republicans are caving for Gym. Threatened? Family threatened? We need them to be brave and put an end to tRUMPskism.
Fascist Takeover Watch
CNN: Jim Jordan has won over Vern Buchanan and Ann Wagner as he starts to get closer to 217 votes.
Here’s what they were saying on Friday.
Buchanan faulted Jordan for not closing ranks behind Scalise more aggressively last week.
Wagner: “There should be” another candidate
That’s 2 of 55 (as of Saturday).It only takes 6 to say no.
Jake Sherman (MSNBC): Jordan “has made great strides toward the speakership in the last 12 hours” obtaining several former Scalise votes. “He is on the verge of becoming speaker tomorrow”
Pogo, don’t forget the power of voicemail death threats from MAGA crazies. That’s how Jordan got 148 Republicans to vote to overturn the election
“Jordan was a terrorist as a legislator…A legislative terrorist…I just never saw a guy who spent more time tearing things apart—never building anything, never putting anything together.”
— John Boehner autobiography ‘On The House’
Trump just now in Iowa, staying out of trouble so far: “Today a judge put on a gag order. I’ll be the only politician in history that runs with a gag order where I’m not allowed to criticize people. They put a gag on me and I’m not supposed to be talking about things that bad people do. We’ll be appealing very quickly”
Those emails and phone calls should be recorded. Who is threatening them and with what?
This is a test: Stand up to the schoolyard bully and his little, pack of creeps. Do not run from your duty. The MAGAts will own your butts forever if you let a traitorous scumbag like Gym Jordan take the gavel.
Poobah, I hope you and Jake Sherman are wrong.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/oct/16/biden-campaign-joins-truth-social-trump
“Joe Biden’s 2024 re-election campaign has joined Truth Social, a rightwing social media platform created by the Republican former president Donald Trump.”
“Using the handle @BidenHQ, the account says it is a “project of Biden-Harris 2024” and includes a banner image that says “the malarkey ends here”, referencing the president’s signature colloquialism.”
“The campaign wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that it joined Truth Social “mostly because we thought it would be very funny”.
OK, who’s gonna take one for the team and report back?
How exactly does the narrow order issued by Judge Chutkan that “prohibit[s] all parties from statements “publicly targeting” special counsel Jack Smith, his staff, [the Judge’s] staff or “any other court personnel.” or “Statements about the families of those individuals ” when he “’can argue that this prosecution is politically motivated,’ the judge said, but he cannot disparage the prosecutor by calling him a thug or ‘vilify and implicitly encourage violence against public servants who are simply doing their jobs.’” and “barring Trump and all parties from making statements about witnesses in the case.” infringe upon his campaign to steal the 2024 presidential race?
Quotes from WaPo.
Pardon me for asking, why in the fuck are we telling the world that Joe Biden is going to visit Israel on Wednesday? Is there anyone else that sees that is probably an imprudent announcement?
I didn’t think it was a done deal. And, I think he’s not going to dissuade Israel from making any military decisions, despite how it impacts civilians, which sounds like a big reason he wants to go. He can show support with military aid to Israel, if others in the region have any doubt about where the US stands. It’s a dangerous and pointless trip. He should stay home.
Gym is really going to claw his way to SOTH now. I hope we can trust the Secret Service currently in place to protect the VP, because I sure as f/ck don’t trust MAGAts.
Dems just had to be clever with McCarthy and will end up with someone worse 🤮