"Those who own land would be offered a digital token by the trust in exchange for rights to redevelop their property, to be used to finance a new life elsewhere..."

"... or eventually redeemed for an apartment in one of six to eight new 'AI-powered, smart cities' to be built in Gaza. Each Palestinian who chooses to leave would be given a $5,000 cash payment and subsidies to cover four years of rent elsewhere, as well as a year of food. The plan estimates that every individual departure from Gaza would save the trust $23,000, compared with the cost of temporary housing and what it calls 'life support' services in the secure zones for those who stay.... [T]he trust plan 'does not rely on donations,' the prospectus says. Instead, it would be financed by public and private-sector investment in what it calls 'mega-projects,' from electric vehicle plants and data centers to beach resorts and high-rise apartments. Calculations included in the plan envision a nearly fourfold return on a $100 billion investment after 10 years, with ongoing 'self-generating' revenue streams...."

From "Gaza postwar plan envisions ‘voluntary’ relocation of entire population/The Trump administration and international partners are discussing proposals to build a 'Riviera of the Middle East' on the rubble of Gaza. One would establish U.S. control and pay Palestinians to leave" (WaPo).

What is the token worth? The plan says when the rebuilding is done, the token may be exchanged for a new 1,800-square-foot apartments worth $75,000 — right in this alien, gleaming place, rebuilt in the style of your enemy. Will the returnees gratefully toil in the new restaurants and hotels or will they see an opportunity for a glorious new era of destruction?

"We urge that the resolution of the Iranian crisis leads to a broader de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza."

 That's the official statement, quoted in "Trump leaves G-7 meeting early to deal with Mideast; signs group statement/Trump signed the G-7’s statement backing Israel and criticizing Iran after discussions with other leaders and changes to the initial draft, a U.S. official said" (WaPo).

There's something off about that sentence, and I don't think it's just that "leads" should be "lead." (Subjunctive, right?) I think "urge" seems wrong. 

Who is being urged? Isn't the right word "hope"? We hope that the resolution of the Iranian crisis leads to a broader de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East.... But to hope in this situation is too passive, and yet, what is going on here except passivity?

And what disturbs me most is that it seems as though they want to urge that there be a "de-escalation," but they are not urging the belligerents to de-escalate now. There's a precondition, "the resolution of the Iranian crisis." So it seems that they are urging that the crisis be resolved, and then hoping that when — if? — that happens, hostilities will de-escalate. That makes the most sense, but it says nothing about what the "resolution" is. The Iran crisis could be resolved through a complete military victory for Israel.

Finally, what is a "broader de-escalation of hostilities"? Hostilities have been escalating. The de-escalation has yet to begin. It's nonsense to speak of something that doesn't exist getting broader. And escalation and de-escalation are metaphors of height, not breadth. Pick one. "Broader de-escalation" also absurdly asks simultaneously for more and for less: We want wider shortness.

This sentence feels as though it began with many different words that have been swapped out for awkward substitutions. We're told Trump wouldn't sign the original draft. I'll bet that was better written, but the edited version we see won Trump's signature. Perhaps he wanted it to say nothing specifically discernible (other than "including a ceasefire in Gaza"). And perhaps he wanted to endorse military victory for Israel — AKA "the resolution of the Iranian crisis" — and didn't want or need to say it outright. He did get the others to sign onto that. 

Trump posts a mindbending video — "Trump Gaza."

I know A.I. can easily make video like this, it's just amazing that the President of the United States is passing it along:

ADDED: NPR is making a big play for the Althouse link with this headline: "Trump's social media video garners pushback from Arabs and Muslims in U.S. and Gaza."

Garner is a silly word, but "garners pushback" is a particularly bad combination. The idea of "garner" should be more about collecting and storing something that you want. The original meaning is a place to store grain. So it ought to be something that you want to amass for your benefit. Politicians are always "garnering" votes and endorsements. It shouldn't be something you don't want, like "pushback."

"King Abdullah cannot go along with it. He cannot survive the idea that he’s colluding on the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. It’s existential for him and his government."

Said Paul Salem, vice president for international engagement at the Middle East Institute, quoted in "Jordan’s King Faces a Bind as He Meets With Trump/King Abdullah II, a close U.S. ally dependent on aid from Washington, is confronting the president’s demands that he take in Palestinians from Gaza, a step the king’s domestic politics will not allow" (NYT).

Mr. Trump has reiterated his intention to expel Palestinians from the Gaza Strip as part of his plan for the United States to “own” the territory, and on Monday he suggested he could consider slashing aid to Jordan and Egypt if their governments refused to take in an estimated 1.9 million Palestinians from Gaza.

"Emilia Pérez & The New Gaza."

I tried to quote something from this, but it's impossible, and that's how it should be. Live inside it — inhabit it — or skip it altogether. You know which is right for you.

"President Donald Trump on Tuesday proposed moving Gazans to a 'good, fresh, beautiful piece of land' in another country, offering a vision..."

"... of mass displacement likely to inflame sentiments in the Arab world as he welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House. Trump’s proposal was likely to provoke a furious reaction from many Palestinians as well as their Arab allies in the region, since it suggested permanently removing Gaza’s 2.2 million residents from Palestinian territory and settling them outside of their land. In saying that the Palestinians would not return to Gaza, Trump did not specify who would ultimately control the territory. But an annexation of Gaza has long been a goal of Israel’s far right, which has sought to fully expel Palestinians from Palestinian territory...."

From "Trump proposes permanent displacement of Gazans as he welcomes Netanyahu to White House/The two leaders were set to focus on the tenuous ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, relocating Palestinians, rebuilding Gaza and normalizing relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia" (WaPo).

"Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians were walking toward their homes in northern Gaza on Monday, nearly 16 months after they were forced to flee..."

"... at the start of Israel’s military offensive. A column of people that stretched for miles marched north along Gaza’s coastal road, many carrying their few possessions on their heads, on makeshift carts and in plastic bags slung over their backs.... As they began arriving in Gaza City, in the north of the territory, they confronted a wasteland of rubble after the Israeli military destroyed whole neighborhoods and Hamas booby-trapped many buildings. Many of those returning had spent the war sheltering in tents.... On Monday, some used bikes, wheelchairs and trolleys to carry their belongings. One man attached wheels to a plastic box, turning it into a makeshift stroller for a baby...."

The NYT reports.

"How's everything going? Good? Everybody happy? You're getting a little bit more access to your President than you did the last time. Slightly. Like by about 5,000 percent."

Our tireless President, on Air Force One last night:

 

It's hard to listen through the plane noise, but let me pick out a few things. Responding to a comment that he'd been "so nice" to Governor Newsom ("you know, 'Governor Newscum,'" he said:

I decided to be nice. It was nice that he came to the plane, honestly... and in the end you know we have the same goal. We want to take that catastrophe and make it as good as possible. We disagree on some things I guess he's not so set on water. I like water for putting out fires. I find it to be extremely good. A little old fashioned, but about the best thing that God has ever created for putting out fires....

Asked about the First Lady, who "seems to be taking a more public facing role," he said:

She felt badly about North Carolina. She felt very badly about California. Los Angeles. Got a lot of friends. I have a lot of friends in North Carolina and both, and she has a lot of friends in California, so she wanted to be with me.

 About TikTok:

As you know, I have the right to sell it or close it depending on what I think is best for the country....

Pushed on "a report... that you are putting together a deal with Oracle and outside investors to help them buy TikTok," he said:

"Everybody is talking about the hostages who are being held so violently, inhumanely, and against the will of the entire World, in the Middle East..."

"... But it’s all talk, and no action! Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that if the hostages are not released prior to January 20, 2025, the date that I proudly assume Office as President of the United States, there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against Humanity. Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW!"

Writes Donald Trump, at Truth Social.

Harder than anybody has been hit in the history of the United States? Harder than Japan in WWII? Is this a threat to use nuclear weapons? A transparent bluff?

WaPo's mild response: "It was not immediately clear whether Trump was threatening to directly involve the U.S. military in Israel’s ongoing campaign against Hamas in Gaza. Trump allies have said he hopes there will be a ceasefire and hostage release deal before he returns to office early next year."

NYT, similarly mild: "It was not clear what tactic Mr. Trump might take that has not already been taken already by Israel....  [A]t the Republican National Convention in July, he said that he wanted the hostages returned and that captors 'will be paying a very big price.' His latest warning came after Hamas released a propaganda video showing the American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander, 20, pleading with Mr. Trump to secure his release."

"HAMAS LEADER IS DEAD."

A barrage of headlines in The New York Times:

 

From the obituary:

"After a year of the terrible, terrible conditions he has suffered, I don’t know if he will want to continue living as he did before. But if he does, it’s all waiting for him when he comes home."

Writes Idit Ohel, in "A Year Ago Today, Terrorists Stole My Son/My oldest child went to a music festival. Then Hamas murdered his friends—and dragged Alon into Gaza" (Free Press).

"I have a message for the tyrants of Tehran: If you strike us we will strike you."

"There is no place in Iran that long arm of Israel cannot reach, and that is true of the entire Middle East.”

Said Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking to the U.N., quoted in "Netanyahu Gives No Ground in Address at U.N./The Israeli leader made no mention of moving toward cease-fires in Lebanon, where conflict with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia has spiraled, or in Gaza" (NYT).

He also criticized the U.N. itself as a “swamp of antisemitic bile” and said its members concern for Gaza was motivated not by humanitarianism but by dislike of Jews.

“It’s not about Gaza,” he said of criticism over the last year of his government’s handling of the war. “It’s about Israel. It has always been about Israel. About Israel’s very existence.”

"Hamas’s reasoning is simple — winning simply means surviving and, at least for now, the group has managed to do that..."

"... even if it is severely weakened... In the interview, Mr. Meshal made clear that Hamas officials are not in a rush to conclude a cease-fire with Israel at any price, and will not give up on their main demands for an end to the war and an Israeli withdrawal. Independent analysts have made similar assessments about Hamas’s priorities. 'They completely feel time is on their side,' said Ghaith al-Omari, an expert on Palestinian affairs. 'They think they’re the only game in town.'...At the war’s start, President Biden expressed a similar position to that of Mr. Netanyahu — that Hamas needed to be eliminated. But Mr. Biden no longer speaks of its eradication, and both the United States and Israel have taken part in indirect negotiations with Hamas. Mr. Meshal said he took that to mean that the United States was acknowledging Hamas was not going anywhere...."

"Hamas Is Surviving War With Israel. Now It Hopes to Thrive in Gaza Again. Khaled Meshal, one of Hamas’s most senior officials, said in an interview that the militant group expects to play a decisive role in the enclave when the war is over" (NYT).

"How the f*** do you start this tweet with 'I've worked tirelessly?'"

How the f*** do you start this tweet with "I've worked tirelessly." https://t.co/FlRiOC2F60

— Isaac Schorr (@isaac_schorr) September 1, 2024

"Pro-Hamas and pro-Hezbollah demonstrators staged an anti-Israel protest near the White House on Saturday, calling for 'jihad'..."

"... and voicing anger at US President Joe Biden’s management of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. Thousands of protesters chanting 'From DC to Palestine, we are the red line' held a long banner scribbled with the names of Palestinians killed in the ongoing fighting.... Reports on social media appeared to show masked demonstrators chanting slogans urging Hamas’s military wing to 'kill another soldier now' and calling on Hezbollah to 'kill another Zionist now.' Protesters also held signs calling for 'Intifada'....

I'm reading "Pro-Hamas, pro-Hezbollah protesters cheer ‘jihad’ at anti-Israel rally in DC Demonstrators near White House protest Gaza war in terror group attire, burn US flags; in London, thousands march against Israel amid chants of ‘From the river to the sea’" (The Times of Israel).

The article embeds this X post ("Protester holds up a bloody mask depicting President Joe Biden. Another protester burns American flag behind him as statue is sprayed with "FJB" outside of the White House during Pro-palestine protest"):

DC: Protester holds up a bloody mask depicting President Joe Biden. Another protester burns American flag behind him as statue is sprayed with 'FJB' outside of the White House during Pro-palestine protest.

Video by @yyeeaahhhboiii2 Desk@freedomnews.tv to license pic.twitter.com/viHOfVToDq

— Oliya Scootercaster 🛴 (@ScooterCasterNY) June 8, 2024

Here's the NYT article about the protests, "Protest Against Gaza War Draws Thousands to the White House/The demonstration included ringing the White House grounds with a red banner showing the names of the more than 36,000 Palestinians killed during the war."

"Four Israeli hostages have been rescued alive from Gaza, the Israeli military said Saturday."

"Israeli forces rescued Noa Argamani, 26; Almog Meir Jan, 21; Andrey Kozlov, 27; and Shlomi Ziv, 40, from two locations in Nuseirat, in central Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement. A Gaza Health Ministry spokesman said at least 55 dead and 'tens of wounded' had arrived at a hospital nearby....Video showed that Netanyahu also spoke to Argamani shortly after she arrived at the hospital. 'We never gave up on you for one moment,' Netanyahu said. When he asked how she was feeling, she replied, 'I’m very excited. I haven’t spoken Hebrew for so long.'"

WaPo reports.

Noa Argamani receives a call from President Herzog:

Noa Argamani? This is President Herzog on the phone. pic.twitter.com/AwzPbp4ZO7

— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) June 8, 2024

You can't make an event out of feeling good about anything anymore. How dare you celebrate?

"Prior negotiations ran aground after Hamas insisted that it be able to include dead hostages, as opposed to just living ones, in the number required by the agreement’s first phase."

"In his speech, Biden indicated that Israel had now acceded to this previously rejected stipulation. 'Some remains of hostages who have been killed will be returned to their...families,' he said, 'bringing some degree of closure to their terrible grief.'..."

Writes Yair Rosenberg, in "Biden’s Bold Gaza Cease-Fire Gambit/The president has pushed events as far as he can, but even American presidents have their limits" (The Atlantic).

Another flag to interpret... perhaps...

When I grow up I want to become Cate Blanchett, and have the subtlety to think the carpet is already red, so I can just wear a black & white dress with green lining to make such a strong point. #cannes2024 pic.twitter.com/5OiJRBOZ5D

— Dr Zahira Jaser (@ZahiraJaser) May 21, 2024

"And yet the relentlessly wholesome story that Jill Biden tells about herself, and possibly to herself, doesn’t quite add up."

"She hitched her wagon to a man who, even when she met him in the 1970s, had world-historical ambition and was angling to become president. (Joe and his siblings openly discussed this plan, and his two brothers took Jill to dinner to be certain she was on board with it.)... In American Woman, Katie Rogers, a reporter at The New York Times, sees Jill Biden as a one-woman force sniffing out her husband’s political enemies, bearing the Biden family grudges, and weighing in on everything from campaign strategy to cabinet hires. More recently, Jill, seventy-two, was reportedly crucial in urging her eighty-one-year-old husband to run for a second presidential term.... Jill Biden has done all this without ever seeming calculating or ambitious.... Rogers depicts a harmonious codependence between the president and his wife: the couple typically spend evenings together in the White House residence reading their briefing books. She’s a confidante and gut check, though her influence has limits. 'Stop it, stop it now, Joe,' he recently said she told him about the slaughter of Palestinian civilians in Gaza."

From "Dr. B/Jill Biden is a barrier-breaking national figure. What are we to make of the wholesome, at times bland story she tells about herself?" by Pamela Druckerman(NYRB)