Washington Post guild doesn't want folks to read Post stories Thursday out of 'respect' for 24-hour walkout. Mockery ensues.



The Washington Post guild sent a message this week seeking widespread solidarity, asking folks not to read Post stories Thursday out of "respect" for its planned 24-hour walkout.

More than a few social media users mocked the guild's request.

What are the details?

Reuters said the daylong "strike" is a protest against staff cuts and what unionized journalists at the paper said is management's failure to bargain in good faith in regard to contract talks that have "stretched on for 18 months."

Here's a video the guild posted Tuesday to X:

— (@)

The guild also posted a message on X to the "dedicated readers" of the Post:

— (@)

"On Dec. 7, we ask you to respect our walkout by not crossing the picket line: For 24 hours, please do not engage with any Post content," the message reads. "That includes our print + online news stories, podcasts, videos, games and recipes."

Uh oh

As you might imagine, quite a number of folks hit social media to mock and ridicule the guild's request. Here's a sampling:

  • "My contempt for the @washingtonpost is rivaled only by my contempt for its employees," one commenter wrote. "So maybe I'll check out the 'Style' section Thursday."
  • "We're laughing at you, not with you," another user quipped.
  • "I will be clicking on every WaPo article I can," another commenter shot back before adding, "Learn to code."
  • "This is not going to be difficult for me. At all. Ever," another user added.
  • "I'll do better than that: I promise to not read any WaPo content ever again," another commenter promised.
  • "This legitimately might be the only time I intentionally read the @washingtonpost," another user revealed.
  • "I guess this means I'll be unblocking the @washingtonpost for a day," another commenter shared. "I despise the fascist 'journalists' more than the paper itself."

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UC Berkeley instructor allegedly offers students extra credit for attending pro-Palestinian protest; left-wing school quickly goes into damage-control mode



Students at the University of California, Berkeley, were offered extra credit for attending a pro-Palestinian walkout against "settler-colonial occupation of Gaza," according to a purported email from a Ph.D. student instructor circulating online, Business Insider reported.

Victoria Huynh, who's with the Department of Ethnic Studies, allegedly also offered extra credit for watching a documentary on "Palestine" and contacting "your local California representative," the outlet said.

The outlet said Huynh didn't immediately respond a request for comment.

— (@)

Fox News said Dan Mogulof — UC Berkeley's assistant vice chancellor at the Office of Communications and Public Affairs — indicated the school moved quickly to ensure the extra credit options were "changed."

"The situation has been remedied, the assignment has been changed, and there are now a number of options for extra credit, not just one," Mogulof said, according to the cable network.

Mogulof added that students can attend any local event they want for extra credit as long as it's relevant to the course content, Fox News said.

"Students can attend any local event they wish — such as a book talk or a panel discussion — related to the course’s subject … or they can watch any documentary they wish about the Middle East," he noted to the cable network.

The below news video covers a Wednesday pro-Palestinian walkout at UC Berkeley:

UC Berkeley students walk out to support Palestinians but fear repercussionsyoutu.be

How are folks reacting?

A number of observers weren't too happy with the extra credit offer:

  • "@UCBerkeley, how should any Jewish/Israeli student feel safe in your campus?" one commenter wondered. "Would you approve providing extra credit for an 'all lives matter,' anti- immigration, or a KKK rally? Probably not as it would be discriminative toward black or Latin American students. Don't Jewish student deserve the same? It's also concerning that a professor cannot perform a simple Google search to educate herself that Gaza has not been occupied since 2005. @StopAntisemites."
  • "I feel so bad for the Jewish students who are subjected to this," another user said. "Teachers who think indoctrination like this is okay should never teach."
  • "They are sick," another commenter stated. "Please leave America and move to Gaza."
  • "Unbelievable…. I STAND WITH ISREAL!" another user declared.

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Video: Texas high schoolers chant infamous slogan viewed as call to wipe Israel off the map amid Muslim Student Association walkout



Texas high schoolers were caught on video chanting the infamous slogan "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!" amid a Muslim Student Association walkout last week. The slogan is often viewed as a call to wipe Israel off the map.

Here's the clip showing the chant outside of McMillen High School, which is part of the Plano Independent School District. The students also chant, "Free, free Palestine!"

— (@)

The same video as of Tuesday afternoon was still available to watch on the "Official Account" for the McMillen Muslim Student Association, which is on Instagram. The clip is the second-to-last piece of media embedded in a post showing images and video of the walkout.

In a separate post advertising the walkout, the MSA added text to the comments section that refers to the "apartheid regime that is occupying [the Palestinian people] unjustly."

"Join us in our walkout tomorrow 10/19/2023 with your kuffiyehs and posters in support of the Palestinian people and against the humanitarian crisis caused by the apartheid regime that is occupying them unjustly," the text reads. "Palestinian stickers will be distributed. Please be respectful and orderly throughout the whole demonstration. Free Palestine from the river to the sea!"

Another MSA post dated Oct. 10 — just three days after Hamas terrorists launched its deadly surprise attack against Israel — indicates the Muslim Student Association is "standing with Palestine."

'From the river to the sea ...'

The Anti-Defamation League characterizes the "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" chant as a call for "a Palestinian state extending from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, territory that includes the State of Israel, implying the dismantling of the Jewish state."

Just days after the Hamas surprise attack against Israel, police in Vienna, Austria, banned a pro-Palestinian protest that was to coincide with a pro-Israel event, noting that "from the river to the sea" was mentioned in invitations and saying it was a call to violence, Reuters reported.

Gerhard Puerstl, head of the city's police force, was asked what he meant by "codes" in the invitations to the pro-Palestinian protest, and he replied, "Fundamentally it is this 'From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free' — a [Palestine Liberation Organization] slogan that has been adopted by Hamas," the outlet added.

Puerstl said police interpreted the slogan as a "clear call to violence" and that it meant wiping Israel off the map, Reuters also reported.

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Woke protesters storm and disrupt debate, chant against San Francisco's new district attorney who's up for reelection — and she walks out of room



Woke protesters stormed and disrupted a debate between three San Francisco district attorney candidates Thursday — but aimed their vitriol at Brook Jenkins, who currently sits in the DA's chair.

Holding signs and chanting "No Justice! No peace!" in a venue at San Francisco State University, KTVU-TV reported that the demonstrators even walked on the stage where Jenkins sat with the other candidates, Joe Alioto Veronese and John Hamasaki.

Protesters held signs with the names of two men shot and killed by San Francisco police, the station said.

KTVU said Jenkins departed the stage a few minutes after the protesters arrived.

\u201cIt\u2019s infuriating to see @BrookeJenkinsSF walk out of a debate when youth activists demanded her to respond to her anti-youth / anti-BIPOC policies & actions. \ud83d\ude21\ud83d\ude24\n\nWe need a DA who isn\u2019t afraid to listen to young people & uphold true justice for all. \u270a\ud83c\udffc @HamasakiLaw @joeavero\u201d
— Joshua Rudy Ochoa \ud83c\udf39\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 (@Joshua Rudy Ochoa \ud83c\udf39\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08) 1666317031

The station said Hamasaki and Veronese stayed.

What has Jenkins been up to?

Jenkins — who quit her job in former DA Chesa Boudin's office in 2021 to join the recall effort against him — was appointed DA by San Francisco Mayor London Breed in July. The special election she's running in will determine who will complete Boudin’s term through 2023.

After taking office Jenkins fired 15 staffers who worked for Boudin, the city's controversial progressive DA who was ousted in an historic recall election last month.

"Today, I made difficult, but important changes to my management team and staff that will help advance my vision to restore a sense of safety in San Francisco by holding serious and repeat offenders accountable and implementing smart criminal justice reforms," Jenkins said in a statement at the time, according to SFGate.

Boudin — a socialist who's the son of violent radicals — was elected in 2019 amid a national wave of progressive prosecutors running for office and promising to stop tough-on-crime policies they said disproportionately affected minorities.

Several key progressives such as Vice President Kamala Harris and socialist U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) supported Boudin's candidacy. Radical anti-Israel activist Linda Sarsour claimed she cried tears of joy after Boudin won.

Within his first two days in office, Boudin fired seven tough-on-crime prosecutors. He also vowed to not prosecute cases involving quality-of-life crimes, such as public camping, prostitution, public urination, and blocking a sidewalk.

But Boudin's soft-on-crime approach left the city's overwhelmingly liberal voting base with bad tastes in their mouths: They overwhelmingly supported Boudin's recall by a vote of 60% to 40%.

Diplomats stage walkout during Russian foreign minister's video address to UN Human Rights Council in protest of Ukraine invasion



More than 100 diplomats staged a walkout Tuesday during Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's video address to the United Nations Human Rights Council in protest over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Reuters reported.

What are the details?

Diplomats from the United States, Britain, Japan, the European Union, and others exited the room while diplomats from Syria, China, and Venezuela — as well as Russia's ambassador to the U.N., Gennady Gatilov, a former Lavrov deputy — remained, the outlet said.

Lavrov addressed the U.N. remotely after canceling his visit over Russian claims that EU states blocked his flight path, Reuters said, adding that in his speech Lavrov accused the EU of "Russophobic frenzy" in giving weapons to Ukraine amid his country's invasion. The outlet added that Russia said its "special military operation" that began last week is aimed at removing "neo-Nazis" ruling Ukraine.

What did the diplomats have to say?

"This Russian war of aggression will have profound implications for human rights in Ukraine and Russia, and the leaders of Russia will be held accountable," Michele Taylor, the U.S. envoy to the Human Rights Council, said in a statement, Reuters reported.

Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly and Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod — both of whom walked out — joined Ukraine's ambassador, Yevheniia Filipenko, behind a large Ukrainian blue and yellow flag, the outlet said.

Image source: YouTube screenshot

"It is a remarkable show of support for Ukrainians who are fighting for their independence," Filipenko told reporters, Reuters said. She added that Kharkiv — Ukraine's second-largest city — suffered "massive destruction to civilian infrastructure" and that the "maternity wards are being attacked, civilian residential buildings are being bombed," the outlet also noted.

Russia denies targeting any civilian sites, Reuters reported.

"Minister Lavrov was giving his version, which is false, about what is happening in Ukraine and so that's why we wanted to show a very strong stance together," Canada's Joly said, according to the outlet.

Human Rights Council diplomats walk out during Sergei Lavrov speechyoutu.be

Anything else?

A dozen Russian U.N. diplomats accused of espionage are being kicked out of the U.S., according to the U.S. Mission to the U.N., in a move that reportedly has been in the works for months.

And 70% of U.S. adults believe U.S. troops should get involved if Russia invades a NATO nation, according to a recent Quinnipiac University poll.