The F*ckin' Newsletter: September 30 - October 6, 2024

Welcome to The F*ckin’ Newsletter. I’m your host Kellerman, and a lot of sh*t happened this week…

Lots of devastation this week. But what else is new? Yemen, Israel, Beirut (and other part of Lebanon), Thailand, Vuhledar/Ukraine, Nigeria, DR Congo, Haiti, and in the United States: Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Oklahoma all made it into the F*ckin’ News. You can watch a recap of it all here:

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 (Click here to watch on TikTok)

After a week away I had planned to do a catch-up video, but honestly there was just too much going on and I am but one man. So Monday’s report included the devastation left in the wake of Hurricane Helene in the South Eastern United States, a fire at a chemical plant in Georgia, a judge overturning the six-week abortion ban in Georgia, and Dock/Port-workers going on strike across the east and gulf coasts of the United States.

NOTES/UPDATES: 

• Hurricane Helene has absolutely devastated the east coast of the United States, and rewatching the video just now, I realized I failed to mention South Carolina. Though areas of South Carolina were also hit hard by the hurricane, I find them not mentioned as much as the other states in the media coverage. Still, I meant to include them and somehow… didn’t. Here was Helene’s path:

• I have very dear friends in Asheville, North Carolina - one of the areas hit hardest by Helene so this news was close to home for me. They are alright luckily, though they still do not have power and only recently got their running water back.

• The death toll has risen to over 230 now and I can’t find any numbers about the number of people who have been displaced but I know that MANY have lost their homes and must either pick up and start their life over elsewhere or rebuild when it’s safe. Here are a few more videos of Helene’s aftermath:

• Also I keep hearing this hurricane get mispronounced. it’s pronounced ‘HELEEEEEEN’. Not ‘Helen’, not ‘Helena’.

• Rockdale County (Atlanta, Georgia) - the area affected by the chemical plant fire - is still under on-again-off-again shelter-in-place orders. The fire reportedly resulted from a faulty sprinkler head leaking water into a chemical that reacts to water. (Why that chemical would be in a room with a sprinkler at all is beyond me, but I’m not a chemist.) Here’s the eye witness video of the fire I had playing behind me in full:

• You can read what the Georgia Department of Health says about it HERE.

• While Pro-Life Georgia lawmakers are working hard to restore the state’s six-week abortion ban, there are reports that abortion clinics have seen increased activity as women seek help during this window that may end up being temporary.

• The ACLU has a complete timeline of court documents and proceedings that led to this ruling. You can read them if you like, by CLICKING HERE.

• Some background on the Dock/Port worker strike… They are all unionized. So the International Longshoremen's Association, which represents 45,000 port workers, is negotiating with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) for a new six-year contract.

• This link totally sucks, but I can’t find an official public document outline the Longshoremen’s demands, so if you want to know more about what they’re asking for, you can get some of those details by CLICKING HERE but the gist of it is that they want to protect themselves from the automation of cranes and other heavy machinery, and a pay increase. (Their opening offer was a 77% increase, but of course, that’s a high number that they expect to come down through negotiations.)

• I had said in the video that the shutdown could cost the US economy billions of dollars a day and someone commented asking for a more specific number. Analysts have since estimated the cost to the economy was about $5 Billion Dollars per day as imports and exports backing up creates a compounding problem, as there’s really no way to make up the lost time for businesses that rely on daily shipments.

KELLERMAN’S FAVORITE COMMENTS:

It is always so fascinating when people close to the events I report comment on the post!

For whatever reason… criticism is much more common in my comments section than empathy. So I appreciate it when I see it.

… this is actually a good question.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1 (Click here to watch on TikTok)

After Monday’s all-United States report, Tuesday was an all-Middle East report that included the Houthis taking responsibility for drone attacks on U.S. ships in the Red Sea and on Israel, to which both militaries responded by striking sites across Yemen. I also reported on the escalation of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah with multiple high-ranking Hezbollah commanders being targeted and killed in strikes on Beirut, including one that was staffed at the U.N. Also that morning Israel launched a ground incursion into Lebanon, entering a new phase of battle and Iran’s plan to launch an attack on Israel in response.

NOTES/UPDATES: 

• Here is the official video of the Houthi spokesperson claiming responsibility for the drone strike that hit Tel Aviv the week prior as well as drone strikes on U.S. naval ships in the Red Sea:

• Here’s a short video that shows a map of the area and some footage of the U.S. and U.K. strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen:

• Here’s a video of the aftermath of the initial Israeli bombardment on Beirut in Lebanon:

• The number of casualties from these air raids on Beirut is currently just under 500, with over a million people displaced. A number of Hezbollah commanders were killed… The Associated Press provided a good round-up of some of the major ones - you can read that by clicking HERE.

• A Hamas operative was also killed in these air raids and it turned out… that he had been staffed at the UN body for Palestinian refugees… but what does that mean exactly? Does it mean that there are members of Hamas that are good and working with the government to really help refugees? Or does it lend credence to Israel’s claim that Hamas has UN insiders… and that perhaps some of the information we were getting from this particular official was steeped in propaganda? I truly don’t know, what do you think?

• And while Lebanese media (weirdly) claimed that it was a lie… Israel’s military DID cross into Lebanon on foot, beginning a ground incursion that is now expanding.

• I was able to find one video with footage and no commentary… but NBC news made a pretty good, short round-up of the incursion as well. You can see them both below:

• Iran’s missile attack on Israel lead to no casualties and SEEMS to have been mostly a gesture of solidarity with Hezbollah/Lebanon. Officials said they are not planning further action. This is what that attack looked like from the ground:

KELLERMAN’S FAVORITE COMMENTS:

I think this is the most hateful comment of the week! And like… call me biased all you want, but I don’t do anything “to get likes”.

I too am sometimes surprised by the hate. Sometimes.

This person gets it.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2 (Click here to watch on TikTok)

On Wednesday I covered a deadly school bus crash in Thailand, Donald Trump visiting Georgia, followed a few days later by Kamala Harris visiting Georgia and Joe Biden visiting North Carolina, and an update on Hurricane Helene relief. This episode was SUPPOSED to have a segment about Israel, however Instagram would not let me edit or upload the segment.

NOTES/UPDATES: 

• For the school bus story, I used footage of the aftermath but didn’t show the video of the bus actually burning… since it it’s very likely that the bodies of the school children are still in there as the video is being taken. That said… if you want to see it, you can watch below:

IF YOU PAY FOR THE NEWSLETTER!

SORRY, BUT FOR THE REST OF THIS WEEK’S UPDATES, VIDEOS, AND POLLS, YOU GOTTA BE A PAID SUBSCRIBER! (AND I KNOW THAT SUCKS BUT ALSO, LIKE, GIVE ME A BREAK. THIS TAKES A LOT OF TIME!)