Nina-Bytes: Our Genocide and the Limits of Pretend
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Colonialism, Genocide, and Murderous Clowns
At this point I confess that I no longer have any idea what it’s going to take for a pro-Israel, pro-colonialism, pro-genocide American establishment to give up the charade and just admit we’re absolutely the final boss behind Israel’s atrocities in the Middle East, including and especially the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Between Trump openly announcing his intentions to ethnically cleanse Gaza of Palestinians, US participation in a sham humanitarian aide operation that’s actually a shooting gallery, and the Trump regime’s extraordinary efforts to silence critics of the genocide, it is already ludicrous to pretend that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is conducting a livestreamed baby holocaust in Gaza all by his lonesome. To further demonstrate the point I’d like to take a look at an important story from last week because I think it exposes the degree to which it is functionally impossible to separate Israel’s ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza from the US regime’s support for and facilitation of that genocide. Indeed, although I use the term “Israel’s genocide” for convenience, the reality is that given the indispensable material, political, and legal support our government is offering, for what remains an American client state, committing crimes against humanity in full cooperation with US corporate interests (particularly weapons system manufacturers and surveillance technology companies,) the genocide in Gaza is very much America’s genocide.
Of course “Very Serious People” in the American media discourse will vehemently disagree with that analysis, but at what point is it okay to stop taking those denials seriously? I contend that once Marco Rubio and Trump’s State Department are issuing sanctions against the UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur and Palestine expert Francesca Albanese, while expressly admitting it’s because her work exposing those responsible for the genocide in Gaza threatens US business interests, it’s probably okay to give anyone denying America’s responsibility for the greatest crime against humanity since the Second World War a wedgie and ignore their sophistry. For more information, let’s check out this July 9th, 2025 article by Brett Wilkins, writing for Common Dreams.
In ‘Lawless, Vile Act,’ Trump Admin Sanctions UN Expert Critical of Israeli Genocide in Gaza
“In a post on the social media site X, Rubio said he is imposing sanctions on Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, “for her illegitimate and shameful efforts to prompt International Criminal Court action against U.S. and Israeli officials, companies, and executives.”
“Albanese’s campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel will no longer be tolerated,” Rubio added. “We will always stand by our partners in their right to self-defense. The United States will continue to take whatever actions we deem necessary to respond to lawfare and protect our sovereignty and that of our allies.”
First of all, it should go without saying that the Trumpenreich’s allegations against Francesca Albanese are unquestionably political, punitive, and false in nature. Albanese is one of the most respected legal scholars on the planet, and the foremost authority on Palestine and the living conditions of Palestinians under Israeli occupation, in the international community. The Trump regime on the other hand are a bunch of white supremacist crooks, liars, and open nazis who owe at least a portion of their political power to a Christian Zionist lobby that wants “greater Israel” to exist so they can kick off the apocalypse and bring Jesus back. The idea that a delusional, corrupt McCarthyite pig like Marco Rubio has the credibility to stand in judgement over Albanese’s excellent investigative work is farcical nazi funhouse mirror bullshit all on its own. Finally it should of course be noted that this isn’t the first time the Trump regime has issued sanctions against folks seeking to hold Israel accountable for the US-backed genocide it is conducting in Gaza; the Trumprenreich previously issued sanctions against International Criminal Court officials, including Prosecutor Karim Khan after the court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
So why Albanese, and why now? Unfortunately Wilkins’ write up buries the lede here, but the background information you need to know is that Francesca Albanese recently released a report detailing the various (Pig Empire) corporate interests helping Israel to illegally annex the (Palestinian) West Bank in slow motion, which is why Rubio is more or less accusing her of economic terrorism now. Speaking more broadly however, this is a blatant attempt by the US government to sideline one of the most dedicated and effective critics of the Israeli-American joint genocide in Gaza and the larger ethnic cleansing project being conducted against Palestinians in the region. Furthermore, while in the days since the sanctions were announced Albanese has indicated that she has no intentions of halting her work to expose these crimes against humanity, the truth is that this is going to make it harder for her to work with other scholars and investigators from Pig Empire aligned nations. And for what? Investigating and reporting on genocide profiteers who have friends in high places? The Trump regime could not more clearly articulate if they tried that they unequivocally support the genocide, and are happy to corpse farm Palestinian children for profit.
Before we wrap up, I’d also like to take a moment to expand on a point made by award-winning author, foreign policy expert, and human rights activist Dr. Trita Parsi in this article:
“Trita Parsi, co-founder and executive director of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, noted that the Trump administration this week removed al-Qaeda-linked militants who toppled the regime of longtime Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from the U.S. list of foreign terrorist organizations, but is sanctioning a U.N. human rights official.
“Let that sink in,” Parsi said.”
Well that kind of puts the cherry on the bloody sundae, doesn’t it? While there is no denying that supporting the US-backed genocide in Gaza by any means necessary is a bipartisan position in the US ruling class establishment, I think it says a lot that in Gaza and Syria by themselves, Donald Trump has essentially violated every foreign policy promise he was originally elected on back in 2016. He promised his supporters no more forever wars, yet here we are funding and perpetuating a nearly two year old militarized genocide in Gaza; with plans for further ethnic cleansing and development efforts still on the horizon. Trump also promised to root out the War on Terror era National Security ghouls who worked with Al-Qaeda to conduct regime change operations in Syria, and yet here his State Department is normalizing former Al-Qaeda brigades in Syria in the precise way Downmarket Mussolini went after the Obama regime for. You can certainly point out that Trump’s foreign policy is simply a continuation of longstanding US imperialism in the MENA, but you can’t deny that it was the Swine Emperor himself who promised it wouldn’t be.
I guess the more things change, the more they stay the same. It would be nice however if greed, American exceptionalism, and institutional amnesia didn’t consistently prevent the sacred keepers of Pig Empire discourse from remembering that at some point. The rest of the world certainly won’t forget.
– Nina Illingworth
Anarcho-syndicalist writer, critic and analyst.
You can find my work at ninaillingworth.com, and on Mastodon.
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