What a lot of people don’t know is that the aid ship Greta was on wasn’t the first ship sent. The last one didn’t get to Israel either, but since there were no major celebrities on it, most people who aren’t 24/7 news or Gaza obsessives don’t know it even existed.
This aid ship was never expected to be able to deliver food and medical supplies. Everyone knew Israel would stop it. It was meant to highlight the fact that Israel is has created a deliberate famine in Gaza.
Because Greta, in particular, was there, it succeeded. That was her job. She wasn’t required to die, or to wind up in prison, though both were possible, she’s just a lightning rod. I’ve seen at least half a dozen op-eds, most of them negative, about Greta and the relief ship.
But negative is fine. Neolibs and right wingers love to hate Greta. They can’t shut up and not talk about her, which is what they should have done. Instead they have to take their potshots, and so far more people know that a ship full of food was hijacked in international waters and that Israel is starving Palestinians to death.
Celebrities, and Greta is a celebrity, have one main job when it comes to whatever causes they champion: to get press. That’s what Greta did and good for her.
As for all the haters, well, Greta’s right that genocide is bad, and she’s right about the environment, so hating her most likely means someone wants mass death, or that they’re stupid and think environmental issues aren’t real.
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Duncan Kinder
Greta is being followed by a mass overland procession from the Maghreb
Maghreb to Gaza Procession: Overview
A large-scale land convoy, known as the Maghreb Resilience (or Resistance/Steadfastness) Convoy, has set out from North Africa toward Gaza to protest Israel’s blockade and deliver humanitarian aid.
Key Details:
• The convoy departed from Tunisia on June 9, 2025, gathering activists, trade unionists, doctors, lawyers, and civil society members from Tunisia, Algeria, Mauritania, Morocco, and Libya.
• Over 7,000 participants are involved, with convoys converging from multiple North African countries.
• The route passes through Tunisia, Libya (with stops in cities like Zawiya, Tripoli, and Zliten), and Egypt, aiming to reach the Rafah crossing into Gaza.
• The convoy is supported by major Tunisian organizations, including the General Labour Union, Bar Association, and Red Crescent.
• The initiative is timed to coincide with the interception of the Freedom Flotilla ship Madleen by Israeli forces, highlighting a shift from sea to land-based solidarity actions.
Goals and Impact:
• The main objectives are to demand the lifting of the Gaza blockade, deliver humanitarian aid, and express solidarity with Palestinians facing famine and ongoing conflict.
• Organizers acknowledge that entry into Gaza is unlikely but emphasize the convoy’s symbolic value as a message of defiance and determination.
• The convoy has drawn significant attention and support throughout North Africa, with public rallies and widespread media coverage.
Current Status:
• As of June 10, the convoy has reached Libya and is proceeding eastward, planning to gather in Cairo before attempting to reach Rafah on foot.
• Participants are prepared for political and logistical obstacles, including potential border delays and security risks in Libya and at the Egyptian border.
This procession marks one of the largest grassroots, cross-border mobilizations from the Maghreb in support of Gaza during the ongoing crisis
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NR
I expect you’re going to get a lot of flak for this, Ian, but it’s the correct take. Greta Thunberg was never going to be storming any barricades, and she was taking a risk just by going, so I give her credit for this.
miss jennings
‘Neolibs and right wingers love to hate Greta’
Hate is a strong word.
I posted information about Greta that came from largely sources on the right though Vanessa Beeley certainly isn’t.
There are many left criticisms of Greta Thunberg if you care to look for them. And if it’s a requirment that the criticism only come from comrades or something.
As for me: Homey don’t play that.
Ian, you ever see that quadrant thing that shows the overlapping of political tendencies?
Leftist-centrist Bernie signed onto right-winger Ron Paul’s ‘Audit the Fed’ legislation.
‘more people know that a ship full of food was hijacked in international waters and that Israel is starving Palestinians to death’
Because of Greta Thunberg?
I think most people already know and it’s hard to imagine Greta reaches any new audiences.
I don’t personally know anyone who cares for Greta Thunberg. She is a very silly personage who garners more eyerolls than curiosity, let alone instilling a desire to act further. This is across the political spectrum.
Mary Bennet
Thank you for this. I am not a celebrity watcher, but I have nothing against Greta. Sometimes good people do good things and they don’t have to be perfect people. I wonder how perfect the Greta haters are, or even if their private lives and personal histories could stand scrutiny.
I add that the unnecessary intervention into Los Angeles demonstrations is, in part, intended to distract public attention from ongoing Israeli atrocities. In part it is a pre-2026 election trial run to see how much this admin can get away with and what orders the military and national guard will obey.
Oakchair
I hate Greta because she’s a child who has accomplished more for what she believes in than I have. The audacity of her to rub it in my face while I’m trying to focus on watching reruns of Ancient Aliens. Hold on, I gotta reload the bong since it’s so god damn unbelievably infuriating.
bruce wilder
Just so.
publicity and getting reactionaries to react.
one detail that was in many reports was that the Israelis tried to require activists and crew alike to watch their October 7 docuporn propaganda film, which the Israelis apparently think will enlighten the gentiles about the horrors that justify still more horror. the cluelessness of the moral calculus of that malignant narcissism will be revealed to everyone who reads that far.
miss jennings
Looking into a person’s background isn’t ‘hating’ on that person. Being inquisitive and skeptical and daring to research and draw one’s own conclusions isn’t hatred.
As has been shown, Greta Thunberg is a celebrity with wealthy backers. The idea that she should be mentioned in the same breath as a regular old joe or sally – let alone be compared to one of us such that we are seen as somehow less worthy than her – this is just absurd.
Here is a good example of how things might have been reported without all the ridiculous celebrity fanfare:
As it kills Gazans, Israel kidnaps int’l humanitarians including Greta Thunberg – War on Gaza Day 611
You see, it’s not about one person unless you need it to be.
We miserable failure commoners do have some valid insights into ‘our own’ from time to time.
I’ll be in Atlantic City later schmoozing with the lessers such as myself. I’ll read this to them and see what they think. I don’t think – given the background – that Greta will appeal to them much if at all.
You see, ‘street people’ are pretty good at sniffing out the BS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5VYBPb3d9c
‘We need more angry women blah blah blah…’
Here’s a very recent NC thread delving into this very theme:
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2025/06/links-6-10-2025.html#comment-4227717
I will say that if the flotilla was intended as a distraction so that other aid could get through then that is an admirable tactic. I don’t know that it fooled Mossad et al, but I hope so.
Oh yeah: Hedges has given up. Here’s his goodbye to Palestine:
https://consortiumnews.com/2025/06/10/chris-hedges-the-last-days-of-gaza/
Geez Chris.
mago
Interesting. I always thought Greta was a distraction rather than an attraction. Nordic rich kid leads parades, receives prizes and praise.
The same media sources that tossed her flowers six or so years ago now smear her name. So I guess she’s done her job as Ian suggests.
A publicity stunt is a publicity stunt just as a duck’s a duck and a pig’s a pig. If it works to awaken, I support it.
anon
Greta at only 22 years oldhas done more for the causes she cares about than 90% of people on this earth. Her critics do little to nothing to stop climate change and genocide as they attack her from the comfort of their house or a news studio. Greta can make a lot of money solely devoted to climate change for the rest of her life. She didn’t have to risk her safety to bring attention to the genocide in Gaza. Good for her for bringing attention to Israel’s crimes.
Seattle Resident
Given the relative indifference to politics shown by most young people, I think Greta is fabulous breath of fresh air for putting words and deeds into action, as well as putting her body on the line for human kind and wish there were more young activists like her, particularly in the U.S. There are likely some out there similar to her, but don’t have the access to major media platforms in the U.S., platforms which will never cover such political activism as long as it is contrary to the interests of the elites.
Some Guy
Well said Ian
Purple Library Guy
I’ve read a fair number of things that Greta Thunberg has said. I never disagreed with any of them. Sure, she’s a white kid from a well off country. I’m a white from a well off country too, last I checked. If all the white kids from well off countries acted like her, the world would be a FAR better place.
And yeah, she drew attention to an issue that needs attention drawn, and which the media have been increasingly trying to ignore. Good on her. Also, I’m glad she didn’t get hurt–it wasn’t all that likely because it would have been REALLY stupid for them to harm her, but you never know with Israel and the IDF these days. They do NOT like being defied, and their reactions are not always rational. She could have had an “accident”. She’s got guts.
edwin
@purple library guy: I have certainly disagreed with Greta’s position on Ukraine/Russia/NATO. The rest of your statement I would agree with.
Israel has killed people who have sailed to Gaza to provide relief. I don’t think she was too likely to die – that’s for Turkish folks and not nice white kids – usually. Still the risk was real. She put her life on the line.
Like & Subscribe
Obviously I agree, Ian. Thanks for this. I appreciate it. I just wish they didn’t accept the sandwiches. I noticed several of them refused the offering. I know I would have been reluctant. I couldn’t be sure it wasn’t laced with Polonium-210 or Novichok.
Now Bono, well, that’s another story altogether.
Mark Level
I’m with Mago and Edwin, even agree with L&S on the sandwiches, someone like Greta should know how the Narrative works better than most of us.
She showed bravery, she is generally right on the Environment, she became an activist when still a child, so naturally she has some very stupid takes. And she saved other people’s lives this time, and as Duncan K opens the thread with, her good example is being followed by others so that is a real, lasting achievement that continues in real time.
Celebs generally have extremely stupid takes because of the rarefied world they live in. See Sean Penn, Stephen King, Dr. Oz, Dr. Phil and too many others to list. There are exceptions, see Roger Waters, Noam Chomsky (okay, he was a famed linguist and activist before he became a celebrity) and a few others. I recently heard Rob Schneider (who I never thought much of) say something good against the genocide. Hey, every small contribution builds a consensus over time.
Jerry Seinfeld, Sarah Silverman have forever tarnished their reputations with racist and eliminationist rhetoric about exterminating the subhumans. I stopped listening to Harry Shearer’s podcast, which I enjoyed for decades, when he falsely claimed that the first hospital the IDF bombed was actually bombed by Palestinians. Since the Zionist entity has repeatedly bombed every (or all but 1?) Gaza hospital along with destroying all the Universities, many mosques, bombed the Christian world’s 3rd oldest church, bakeries, schools tents, homes . . . well, such things don’t age well.
Greta is still only 22 years old. She could become a real fighter for justice or just another online distraction. But respect overall at the moment, I will continue to stay tuned.
Z
I never understood the Greta Thunberg hatred from a logical or humanitarian perspective. Even if one doesn’t agree with her, why would one hate on someone so young, especially when the issue she is primarily associated with, climate change, has the potential to negatively impact hers and so many others’ quality of lives and lifespans? If one doesn’t believe in human induced climate change, it’s still irrational to deny that there might be some substance to it, especially since no one knows what the future holds. And if so many other people didn’t believe in it before she came along, she never would have gotten the traction and attention that she did on it so laying the blame on her for the movement is ridiculous, at best.
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The notion that her mission to Gaza was a narcissistic venture is also absurd. No one personally benefits from taking on the Jewish Supremacist Zionists; they make sure to exact a price from anyone with any substantial influence who defies them in order to intimidate others from doing the same.
However, we live in a finite universe and even their capacities are limited so the more folks who stand up to them …. and women, by the way, are overall taking the lead on this (Francesca Albanese, Ms. Rachel, Rima Hassan, Greta Thunberg, Caitlin Johnstone, etc.) by spearheading the international resistance to Israel’s butchery of the Palestinians and not backing down an equivocating inch on it … and articulate their positions in the face of the often ridiculous accusations of antisemitism, the more work it lays upon the Jewish Supremacist Zionists to discredit them and the more naked the falsity of the Jewish Supremacist Zionists’ arguments become until, hopefully, their power collapses and they are finally forced to pay a price for their psychotic selfishness, inhumanity, and immorality.
Z