"I want my legs back," the girl cried in Arabic.
"I want my legs back."

You can't have your legs back, little girl.
They have been eaten by a hungry machine
who needs them for fuel to power its gears.
The machine needs your legs to keep the sky raining bombs
and to make its death robots fly.
Your legs power the bulldozers digging mass graves
and the tanks blowing holes in the hospitals.

A glorious kingdom is held together
by the amputated limbs of children.
A pentagon-shaped castle is built from the bones
of the amputated limbs of children.
Wall Street werewolves and bank boys dine
on the amputated limbs of children.
Movie stars treat their wrinkles with creams
made from the amputated limbs of children.
Suburban families prop up their smiles
with the amputated limbs of children.
The news man lies and in his eyes
you see the amputated limbs of children.
The podium man smirks and between his teeth
are the amputated limbs of children.

And the little girl cries,
and the news man ignores her,
and the podium man smirks at her,
and the bank boy bites her,
and the machine rolls on,
limbs fed into its furnace with pitchforks,
crushing houses and blackening the sky,
poisoning the oceans and bloodying the earth,
while the air fills with the crying of children,
for limbs that will never come back,
for homes that will never come back,
for mothers that will never come back,
for childhoods that will never come back,
for brightness that will never come back,
for innocence that will never come back,
for dreams that will never come back,
for joy that will never come back.

And we are here,
eating cheesy meatcarbs and watching funny haw-haws
and gossiping and prattling and wishing we looked better
and trying not to think about all the tiny arms and legs
we see covering the earth
whenever we step outside.

Reading by Tim Foley.

The Amputated Limbs Of Children

So as things stand right now it looks like the cycle of escalation between Iran and Israel has thankfully ended or at least paused, which means now all we have to worry about is a horrific massacre in southern Gaza. The Times of Israel reports that Washington has agreed to go along with Israel's planned assault on the city of Rafah so long as Israel doesn't launch a large attack against Iran in response to its unprecedented retaliatory drone and missile attack on Saturday, according to an Egyptian source speaking to a Qatari outlet. A White House spokesperson has denied this, but you'd expect them to.

Reading by Tim Foley.

Escalation With Iran Seemingly Over; Now We Have To Worry About Rafah

The US doesn't support a two-state solution, the US only supports saying the US supports a two-state solution. We know this because the US just vetoed Palestine's bid to become a full UN member state, after lobbying other countries to vote against the resolution - despite continually saying it supports the foundation of a Palestinian state. Washington's words say one thing, but its actions say the opposite.

Reading by Tim Foley.

The US Doesn't Support A Two - State Solution, It Just Supports Saying It Does

We're not SUPPOSED to be unaffected by this sort of thing. We're not SUPPOSED to be able to find a state of psychological comfort with genocide. It's not natural, and it's not right. Man-made nightmares unleashed upon the waking earth are SUPPOSED to disturb us.

Reading by Tim Foley.

Don't Let Them Numb You To What's Happening In Gaza

They're hunting civilians with armed quadcopters in Gaza.
The drones play recordings of crying babies and women screaming in distress in order to lure people out into the open, and then shoot them.

Reading by Tim Foley.

In Gaza The Sniper Drones Are Crying Like Babies

Stopping the slaughter in Gaza is more important than your feelings. Your feelings don't matter.

Stopping the slaughter in Gaza is more important than playing along with the persecution-LARPing of Zionist university students.

Stopping the slaughter in Gaza is more important than some privileged Ivy Leaguers pretending to feel "unsafe" or "unwelcome" on campus.

Reading by Tim Foley.

Stopping The Slaughter In Gaza Is More Important Than Your Feelings

All the frenzied shrieking about pro-Palestine protests at universities these last few days makes it clear that our civilization is so twisted and insane that it sees protesting a genocide as far worse than committing one. Which is about as backwards as any society could possibly be.

Reading by Tim Foley.

In This Dystopia, Opposing A Genocide Is Considered Worse Than Committing One

I mean, you kind of have to wonder what they're thinking. "Yeah, that's it. Violently quash pro-Palestine protests at universities, ban TikTok to ensure the suppression of pro-Palestine content, and saturate the boomer media with obvious propaganda. That'll make the kids love Israel."

Reading by Tim Foley.

Quashing University Protests And Banning TikTok To Make The Kids Love Israel

Empire managers and propagandists are losing their minds about student protests against the genocide in Gaza on university campuses, so naturally we're seeing a mad push to frame this as the result of interference by Russia, China, Iran and Hamas.

Reading by Tim Foley.

Empire Managers Say Russia, China And Iran Are Tricking Students Into Opposing Genocide

The Biden administration has reportedly canned its plans to issue sanctions on an extremist IDF unit for human rights violations in the occupied West Bank, following backlash from Israel and its high-powered supporters within the US government.

Reading by Tim Foley.

Biden Wanted To Sanction An Israeli Battalion But He Didn't Because Israel Said No

Kids are taking over university campuses around the world for the noblest possible reason anyone could do such a thing in 2024. There are so many reasons to feel pessimistic, but Gen Z's fierce opposition to the Gaza genocide is a massive reason to have hope for the future.

Reading by Tim Foley.

Gen Z Just Might Save The World

Readings of all Caitlin Johnstone's articles, usually by her co-writer Tim Foley.