🍝 THE DAILY SITDOWN 🍝

So, listen to this… this whole Al Jazeera thing, right? Five of their guys – journalists, they call ‘em – got smoked. Right near that Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza. A fucking *hospital*, you understand? These guys weren’t exactly in the thick of it, setting up IEDs or anything. They were in a *tent*, for chrissakes. A *press* tent. Like they were setting up a goddamn lemonade stand, not a sniper’s nest. This Al-Sharif fella, the big name, 28 years old, they say he was the head of some Hamas cell. Hamas. You know, the guys who make those… *interesting* rockets. Israel says he was directing attacks. Right. They always have some bullshit excuse. Like a waiter explaining why the lasagna’s cold after an hour in the window. “Oh, it’s been under duress, see? We tried our best.” Bullshit. The IDF, these Israeli boys, they admit they nailed him. Targeted assassination, they call it. A “targeted assassination” in a press tent, next to a freakin’ hospital. Sounds like a job for Paulie Walnuts, except Paulie's usually more discreet. This CPJ outfit – some kind of journalist protection racket, I guess – they’re all bent outta shape. They say Israel didn’t even show any real proof. Said it’s a pattern. Yeah, I’ve seen that pattern before, too. It’s like when you owe somebody money and they ask about it - they'll have "proof" magically appear. They’ll suddenly remember those little details. You get the picture. Al Jazeera’s managing editor – this Moawad guy – he’s screaming bloody murder. Says Sharif was their only voice inside Gaza. And he’s right, to a point. Israel ain’t exactly rolling out the red carpet for reporters these days. They keep ‘em locked out, so they have to rely on these local guys. Like trying to get a decent cannoli outside of Little Italy – you’re taking a gamble. Now, Moawad says this is unprecedented. Unprecedented? I’ve seen things, things you wouldn’t *believe*, that would make this look like a Tuesday afternoon. But this is pretty low, even by *their* standards. Killing a journalist in a freakin’ press tent? That’s beyond even what Richie Aprile would’ve done, and that guy was a total animal. So, what’s the takeaway here? Besides the obvious – don’t trust anyone, especially the ones with the biggest guns – it’s another example of how this whole thing is a goddamn mess. A bigger mess than my mother’s gravy. And we all know how messy that can get. It's a war, sure, but it's also a media war. They’re trying to control the narrative. To dictate who gets to tell the story. And that's just as dangerous as any rocket. Capisce?