Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills): James Darren

Tuesday, September 03, 2024

James Darren

That's Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "The Convicted Felon and Miss Sassy Variety Hour" and it went up a little while ago. Also, Sunday I did another album review "Kat's Korner: After a dull musical summer, Vanessa Williams emerges as much more than a SURVIVOR,"

Singer and actor James Darren has passed away. Natalie Oganesyan (DEADLINE) reports:

James Darren, Gidget teen idol actor who rose to fame in the 1950s, has died at 88, according to Nancy Sinatra, who counted him among her closest friends.

“One of my dearest, closest friends in all the world, of all my life has passed away,” she wrote on Instagram. “Godfather to my daughter, AJ.l (@aj.lambert). Wishing him a fast and beautiful journey through the Universe and beyond. Godspeed, sweet Jimmy. My heart is torn but full of love for Evy, Christian, Anthony and Jimmy, Jr. 💔 @jameswdarren,” alongside two images - one featuring her daughter’s baptism and the second of her and Darren side-by-side.

GIDGET was a TV series starring Sally Field. It was also one of the first female franchises -- along with the Masie series starring Ann Sothern, the MEXICAN SPITFIRE series starring Lupe Vélez and the Nancy Drew series starring Bonita Granville. (That's not a complete list, it's just three that came before Gidget that popped into my mind.) James Darren played Moondoggie in GIDGET in 1959. Having been in the first film, he then returned for GIDGET GOES HAWAIIAN (1961) and GIDGET GOES TO ROME (1963). In 1965, Sally starred in the TV series and he wasn't in that. He wasn't in any of the TV movies that followed or the TV series from the 80s.

For me, the best of the three is GIDGET GOES HAWAIIAN. Deborah Walley had real chemistry with James -- Gidget was played by Sandra Dee in the first film and by Cindy Carol in the third film. And James got more to do in that film including performing my favorite beach party song from a film with the title track.

His voice is great on that song. It did not chart; however, James did make the singles charts repeatedly. Five of his songs were top forty hits, five more made the top 100 and two more made it into the top 130.

5 top forty hits 5 songs made the top 100 and 2 more made it into the top 130. His biggest hit was "Goodbye Cruel World" which made it to number three. Those are his pop hits. On the US adult contemporary chart? Some of his pop hits crossed over; however, the following were only hits on the AC chart: "Because You're Mine" (number thirty) and "Didn't We" (number thirty-six) -- so that's two more top forty hits on the ac chart. Combine it with the pop hits and he had 7 top forty hits. He had at least 12 studio albums (and one live album).

As an actor, he made 23 films. After the Gidget movies, my favorite is 1964's FOR THOSE WHO THINK YOUNG with co-stars Pamela Tiffin, Paul Lynde, Tina Louise, Bob Denver and, in her first film role, Nancy Sinatra. He guest starred on many TV shows including THE DONNA REED SHOW (he and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen from THE DONNA REED SHOW recorded two albums together), THE FLINTSTONES, LOVE AMERICAN STYLE, SWAT, POLICE WOMAN, CHARLIE'S ANGELS, HAWAII FIVE-0, ONE DAY AT A TIME, VEGAS, THE LOVE BOAT, etc. He did five episodes of the original MELROSE PLACE. In that show, his character mainly interacted with Heather Locklear's Amanda. He and Locklear were also regulars on TJ HOOKER (James did 66 episodes, Heather did 84). And he starred in 30 episodes of the sixties series TIME TRAVEL which, along with the other adventure-fantasy sixties show LAND OF THE GIANTS, has never stopped playing. (Both are currently on METV.) He also did eight episodes of STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE. From 1977 to 1982, he hosted the talk show PORTRAIT OF A LEGEND focusing on one legend an episode -- people like Olivia Newton-John, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Tina Turner, Sly Stone, the Bee Gees, Dionne Warwick, etc.

That's quite a career and achievements that many of his original peer group cannot match: Guy Madison, Troy Donahue, etc.

Pat Saperstein (VARIETY) notes:

His son Jim Moret said that he had been able to express his love for his family while being treated in the cardiac unit. "He was a good man. He was very talented," Moret said. "He was forever young."

Moret said he was grateful that his father had been able to embrace his signature role as Moondoggie in the "Gidget" movie and that he continued to interact with his fans.
Born in Philadelphia, he studied acting with Stella Adler in New York and was signed to Columbia Pictures, where his first role was in "Rumble on the Docks." He went on to appear in films including "Operation Madball" and "Gunmen's Walk" before being cast in the 1959 teen movie "Gidget," starring Sandra Dee and Cliff Robertson. Darren also sang the title track for the hit movie, which was based on the experiences of a teenaged surfer girl in Malibu and later became a popular TV series.

Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

Tuesday, September 3, 2024. Junior sends out an e-mail blast asking others to help him get a job, Donald Trump's insult at Arlington only feeds more outrage with each passing day, polio vaccines start in Gaza, Israelis go on strike and protest Netanyahu and much more.

Yesterday was Labor Day in the US so naturally Robert Kennedy Junior showed up begging for a job. The e-mail was entitled "This Labor Day: A Call for Change" and though the address was still info@teamkennedy.com, he put his name to it as the sender and as the signer.

What followed was one the bleakest pictures in the world. Well, we can deal with photos first. Junior led the e-mail with a large photo of himself imposed upon the US flag and he'd been photo shopped to smooth out the facial tones and to take off some wrinkles. If he did that work himself, it was way too much for him because it left him wiped out. If he paid someone to do it, they quit after from exhaustion. That's the only explanation for the second photo that ends the e-mail -- a photo 12 years old. Junior is seventy-years-old and needs to deal with it. He can continue to abuse steroids -- or, as he insists, testosterone replacement therapy -- but they're not going to make him any younger (and they don't make him look younger). As Steve Kettmann noted last May at WASHINGTON MONTHLY:

But despite Kennedy’s explanation of his supplements, it’s not quite that simple. As someone who authored a 2000 New York Times lament about steroid use titled “Baseball Must Come Clean on Its Darkest Secret,” reported for The New Republic from Berlin on the legacy of the East German doping freak show, and helped write Juiced, the memoir of steroid slugger Jose Canseco, I politely call bullshit on the independent presidential candidate.

Steroids and synthetic testosterone are two names for the same thing. Allow me to quote from the Drug Enforcement Agency: “Anabolic steroids are synthetically produced variants of the naturally occurring male hormone testosterone that are abused in an attempt to promote muscle growth, enhance athletic or other physical performance, and improve physical appearance.”

The DEA lists the variations on the same basic molecule: Testosterone, trenbolone, oxymetholone, methandrostenolone, nandrolone, stanozolol, and boldenone. Put simply, it’s all about dosage. Think of the late broadcaster Rush Limbaugh on opioids: Take a modest dose, as prescribed by your doctor, and it’s health care; gobble pills like candy, and you’ve become a drug abuser. To this observer of the steroid scene, Kennedy gives every indication of being in the latter category and expecting the prestige of his last name, age, and wealth to shield him from scrutiny. He may be proved correct. Despite a few stories about how he came by that weird physique, the media hasn’t shown much interest. Perhaps they will, now that The New York Times has reported Kennedy’s claim that a parasitic worm was eating at his brain.

Get it? He's a juicer. And he's gone around in a roid rage which might explain his lies in Monday's e-mail about the US and the "American nightmare." Is it just steroids or is he back on the cocaine like the whispers say?

A heavy coke addiction would certainly explain his telling people they need to vote for Donald Trump but this passage from the e-mail explains it as well:

With your support, I will be able to yield significant influence in a new administration that cares about YOUR economy—not the war economy, the bank economy, the finance economy, or the Wall Street economy, and not the theoretical economy on charts and graphs.

Vote for Trump, Junior argues because Trump promised him a job if he'd get him re-elected.

The only thing sadder than being a joke? Being a dirty joke. Junior's achieved that.

Meanwhile, the object of his affection continues to bleed support from veterans. Ben Blanchet (HUFFINGTON POST) explains:

A progressive veterans group went after “disgusting” Donald Trump this past week following the GOP nominee’s controversial stop at Arlington National Cemetery that included campaign staffers’ altercation with cemetery officials.

“Now, maybe the greatest insult of all, turning a military cemetery visit into a political stunt with cameras in tow,” said a narrator in a scathing ad from political action committee VoteVets.

The ad arrives after an Arlington official during Trump’s visit to the cemetery (at the invitation of some family members of military service members killed in the 2021 Kabul airport attack), was allegedly “pushed” aside by campaign staffers after informing them not to film part of the cemetery where recently fallen U.S. troops were buried.

Federal law prohibits “political campaign or election-related activities” within Army National Military Cemeteries, according to a statement from the cemetery.

Trump has since shared a campaign video featuring footage from his visit while a campaign spokesperson has denied that a staffer pushed an official, claiming they were “clearly suffering from a mental health episode.”

Vice President Kamala Harris, on Saturday, declared that Trump “disrespected sacred ground” for a “political stunt” during the visit.

At THE TIMES OF INDIA, Chidanand Rajghatta notes Donald's long history of insulting people who have served in the military and Donald bragging about avoiding Vietnam (with bone spur claims). James Bickerton (NEWSWEEK) observes:

Donald Trump has over the past few weeks found himself embroiled in a number of controversies involving military veterans, a community that, according to one expert, he has developed a "complex relationship" with.

Earlier this month Trump was criticized by a prominent figure within Veterans of Foreign Wars, a group that provides support to former service personnel, after he suggested the Presidential Medal of Freedom is "better" than the Medal of Honor. Trump was also accused of "politicking" on the "sacred ground" of Arlington National Cemetery by the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) after reportedly filming a video in an area reserved for America's recent war dead.

[. . .]

In response [to the Medal of Honor comments], the Veterans of Foreign Wars commander Al Lipphardt hit out at Trump commenting: "These asinine comments not only diminish the significance of our nation's highest award for valor, but also crassly characterizes the sacrifices of those who have risked their lives above and beyond the call of duty."

[. . .]

In an interview with Newsweek IAVA chief executive Allison Jaslow said: "When I visit Section 60, it is to honor the fallen and remind myself that I was one of the lucky ones who made it home. There are plenty of places appropriate for politics—Arlington is not one of them.

"Any aspiring elected official, especially one who hopes to be Commander-in-Chief, should not be confused about that fact. Nor should they hide behind members of our community to justify politicking on such sacred ground."

Following Trump's visit, Charlotte Clymer, a veteran and former member of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, known as "the Old Guard," who was formerly stationed at Arlington National Cemetery, wrote in a blog post that Trump "cannot extend proper respect to our military."

And at MSNBC, Brandon Friedman writes:

Serving in a unit like the 101st Airborne Division can feel like a job. It’s a normal, everyday thing. Even in combat. It’s not until after you leave a famous unit like that — after you leave the Army, in fact — that you realize it is a privilege to lead and serve alongside such soldiers.

It’s not until much later, among the regular people at the office, that you realize how unlikely it is that anyone around you would ever grab three guys and come running if you were pinned down or out of ammo. In the Army, you take those things for granted because everybody does it. They do it. They don’t question it. They don’t all survive.

I survived and I’m old now. Not truly old. I’m 46. But old in the Army sense. I’m no longer carved out of wood. My left hamstring groans at the thought of running more than a mile. Doctors have taken an interest in my colon.

But I realize this is a privilege. It’s a gift. Being old, I mean. Aging out. For once, I’m finally aware of the privilege in the moment. I am old. But I have friends who are still in their 20s. Friends who should be in their 40s. Some of them are buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

That is what makes Arlington a special place. And for those of us who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, Section 60 — the burial site of hundreds of service members killed in those wars — is the inner sanctum. It is the most sacred plot among more than 600 hallowed acres. When I lived in Northern Virginia during Barack Obama’s administration, I avoided Section 60 studiously. It was too much, and still too close. There was always that looming sense that it could’ve been me. Maybe it should’ve been me.

So I didn’t visit until I was about to move back to Dallas. An Army buddy told me I had to go before I left D.C. So I did. Finally.

All of this is to say that, to combat veterans, Arlington National Cemetery has the same power that all holy places have. And that is why Donald Trump’s recent behavior is so repulsive.

Trump was so eager to use Arlington’s Section 60 as a backdrop for a campaign event this week that he may have broken federal laws against politicizing the burial ground to do it. Trump’s staff also shoved aside a cemetery official trying to stop them. He even posed for a photograph over a U.S. Marine’s gravesite, grinning and giving a thumbs-up. The moment was jaw-droppingly crass and vulgar, as all of Trump’s are. It defiled sacred ground.

And it is not going away.

There are stumbles, mistakes and even grave errors you can make on the campaign trail. And, if you're lucky, something else emerges that takes away attention. That's not the case here. This is an insult to the fallen. It weighs heavy on many Americans across the land. It does not just go away.

The outrage over his actions and words will simmer and continue to simmer and they'll reach a boil. His offense can't be smoothed over. He's not just running for president, he's a former president so he damn well should have known better.

America's seeing the real Donald Trump who, like Junior, looks around this country and finds nothing to take pride in but manages to dub it "America's nightmare."

Turning to Gaza, over the weekend

In other news, Lawahez Jabari, Rebecca Cohen, Hayley Walker and Sarah Dean (NBC NEWS) reported:

Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an Israeli American taken hostage in the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks, is among six hostages whose bodies were recovered Saturday.

"With broken hearts, the Goldberg-Polin family is devastated to announce the death of their beloved son and brother, Hersh. The family thanks you all for your love and support and asks for privacy at this time," a family representative said.

President Joe Biden said the bodies of Goldberg-Polin and five other hostages held by Hamas were recovered in a tunnel under Rafah.

The other five discovered were Carmel Gat, Alexander Lobanov, Eden Yerushalmi, Oren Danino and Almog Sarusi. Would the six be dead if War Criminal Benjamin Netanyahu had worked on an actual cease-fire instead of prolonging the assault on Gaza? It's a question more and more Israelis are asking themselves. Lauren Izso, Raja Razek and Kaanita Iyer (CNN) reported:

A group representing the families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza has called for the public to mobilize after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported finding “a number of bodies” in the war-torn territory.

The demands by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum came as thousands rallied across Israel on Saturday demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sign a ceasefire-for-hostages deal.

The IDF said in a statement Saturday that it had “located a number of bodies during combat in the Gaza Strip,” but it has not confirmed whether any of the bodies are those of hostages and asked the public to “refrain from spreading rumors.”

However, many Israelis have taken the statement to mean that more Israeli hostages have been found dead and it has amplified calls for the government to secure a ceasefire-for-hostages deal.

THE NATIONAL noted:

The Hostages Families Forum, which has confirmed their deaths, has organised nationwide rallies and hit out at Prime Minister Netanyahu for failing to secure a ceasefire deal.

"Today, the entire nation will stand alongside the hostages' families to protest the cabinet's ongoing neglect if the hostages," it said, calling on the public to join a demonstration "demanding a complete halt of the country and the immediate implementation of a deal to release the hostages."

"If it weren’t for the saboteurs, the excuses, and the spin, the hostages whose deaths we learned of this morning would probably be alive,” the forum said on X.

The anger and outrage only increased. Sunday, THE GUARDIAN reported, "Israel is braced for its first nationwide general strike since the Hamas attacks of 7 October, amid widespread public anger at the government’s handling of the war in Gaza after the discovery of the bodies of six hostages at the weekend. Israel’s largest trade union, Histadrut, ordered a nationwide general strike from 6am on Monday that is expected to bring large parts of the economy to a halt. Government and municipal offices were due to close, as well as schools and many private businesses. Israel’s international airport, Ben Gurion, is due to shut down at 8am local time (0600 BST) for an unknown period." A cease-fire could have delivered the hostages home safely; however, War Criminal Benjamin Netanyahu did not want a cease-fire for numerous reasons including it would allow the criminal case against Netanyahu to move forward. He's a corrupt politician who's in deep trouble and the assault on Gaza has allowed him to distract from that. We'll include this from WIKIPEDIA:

On 21 November 2019, Netanyahu was officially indicted for breach of trust, accepting bribes, and fraud, leading him to legally relinquish his ministry portfolios other than prime minister. Netanyahu's trial in the Jerusalem District Court began on 24 May 2020, with witness testimony starting on 5 April 2021. The prosecution listed 333 witnesses.^[1] As of June 2024, the trial is still ongoing.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]

Saturday's discovery of six dead hostages has only inflamed anger at Netanyahu who should not have taken nearly nine months to bring the hostages home. BBC NEWS noted, "The mayor of Tel Aviv says the municipality will join tomorrow's strikes, he says in a post on X, external. Ron Huldai goes on in the social media post to say the Israeli government 'abandoned' the six hostages whose bodies were recovered from an underground tunnel in southern Gaza." Holly Johnston and Taylor Heyman (THE NATIONAL) added, "Israel's Ben Gurion Airport will be closed for take-off and landings from 8am, the country's Trade Union Federation said, and schools would only open until 11.45am. Nurseries would be closed all day, the Teachers Union, a branch of Histarut, said." And ALZEERA reported, "Tevel Dan, the company that operates light rail services, in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area said train services will “operate in a reduced format” and that there may be disruptions and delays, according to YNet. In West Jerusalem, Cfir said the city’s light rail system will not operate until 12:00pm local time (09:00 GMT) because of the strike called by the Histadrut, the country’s largest labour union."

Sunday did see strikes and massive protests across Israel. THE JERUSALEM POST offers a photo essay here. Dearbail Jordan and Alice Cuddy (BBC NEWS) note, "Protesters - many clad in Israeli flags - descended on Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and other cities, accusing PM Benjamin Netanyahu and his government of not doing enough to reach a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages taken by Hamas during the 7 October attacks." Josef Federman and Melanie Lidman (AP) explain, "The mass outpouring appeared to be the largest such demonstration in 11 months of war and protesters said it felt like a possible turning point, although the country is deeply divided." And how were the protesters recognized by the police? CNN reports, "Police in Tel Aviv used stun grenades to disperse protesters on Sunday night, according to video footage and Naama Lazimi, a member of Israel’s parliament who was present at the demonstration. In video footage verified by CNN, police are seen throwing stun grenades at protestors blocking Tel Aviv’s Ayalon Highway, who were calling for the release of hostages in Gaza."

ALJAZEERA adds, "The protesters chanted 'Now! Now!' and demanded that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reach a ceasefire with Palestinian group Hamas to bring the remaining captives home. Many Israelis blocked roads in Tel Aviv and demonstrated outside Netanyahu’s office in West Jerusalem." IPS analyst Phyllis Bennis tells ALJAZEERA, "Clearly the best way to bring all the hostages home, to get the Palestinian prisoners released -- some 10,000 of them who are being held illegally inside Israeli prisons, 6,000 of them without any charges, and stopping this genocidal war that Israel is waging in Gaza -- the best way to do that is for the United States to stop sending weapons."

Barak Ravid (AXIOS) notes, "White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Sunday told families of U.S. hostages held in Gaza that President Biden is considering presenting Israel and Hamas a final proposal for a hostage-release and ceasefire in Gaza deal later this week, two sources with direct knowledge of the meeting told Axios." What's holding it up? ALJAZEERA notes, "Senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya told Al Jazeera that the Palestinian group has been ready to sign a ceasefire agreement for Gaza, but Netanyahu has prevented that from happening." Again, the minute the assault ends, Netanyahu has to deal with the criminal charges he faces for his corruption. BBC NEWS reports, "Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant is urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to negotiate a ceasefire with Hamas to bring the remaining hostages home from Gaza"

Sunday also saw the Israeli government has bombed another school in Gaza. AFP quotes a Palestinian government spokesperson, Mahmud Bassal, stating, "Eleven people, including a woman and girl, were killed when an Israeli air strike struck the Safad school in Gaza City sheltering displaced people.

Monday did see protest and strikes. Kim Hjelmgaard (USA TODAY) reports, "Protests and general strikes swept Israel on Monday as frustration and anger mounted over the failure of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to secure a cease-fire deal with Hamas that would free Israeli hostages held by the militant group in Gaza for nearly 11 months." The strikes were announced on Sunday. David Gritten and Robert Plummer (BBC NEWS) explain, "Israel's biggest trade union has said hundreds of thousands of people joined the general strike it called to put pressure on the government to agree a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal with Hamas. Businesses, schools and transport were disrupted before a court ordered everyone to return to work, ruling that Histadrut’s strike was largely political." Haley Ott (CBS NEWS) adds, "While many private sector businesses were open as usual on Monday, municipal services as well as services at Israel's main air transport hub, Ben Gurion Airport, were at least partially disrupted. Banks were closed and hospitals were only partially operating, the Reuters news agency reported." Khaled Yacoub Oweis (THE NATIONAL) notes, "Thousands of people chanted 'free them now' at a rally near the Ministry of Defence in Tel Aviv on Monday night, demanding the release of hostages in Gaza."

Nadine Yousif (BBC News) reports, "Joe Biden has said Benjamin Netanyahu is not doing enough to secure a hostage deal and ceasefire with Hamas, amid reports suggesting a new proposal would be sent to the Israeli prime minister as 'final.' The US president and Kamala Harris, his vice-president, met negotiators in the Situation Room to hammer out a proposal, as protests engulfed Israel on Monday over the weekend deaths of six hostages in Gaza." Eugenia Yosef and Lauren Kent (CNN) note, "The Hostages and Missing Families Forum praised US President Joe Biden’s comment that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not doing enough to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas" and quote this statement, "The Hostages Families Forum commends President Biden and his administration for their actions and determination to secure the release of all 101 hostages. We urge Prime Minister Netanyahu to demonstrate similar resilience, determination, and commitment to the lives of the hostages,"

In the face of the anger and fallout, War Criminal Netanyahu has issued an apology. I'm sorry? That's supposed to cover it?

CNN's Nic Robertson offers this take:

Gripped by swelling protests and labor union strikes, the weeks ahead for Israel are unpredictable. These well-tested democratic tools of change have toppled governments before, but it’s best to remember that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a political survivor extraordinaire.

Even now, Netanyahu and the hard-right nationalist members of his cabinet are working to shut down the legal protests and strikes through a court order, that seemed in the short term at least to have been successful.

Gaza remains under assault. Day 332 of the assault in the wave that began in October. Binoy Kampmark (DISSIDENT VOICE) points out, "Bloodletting as form; murder as fashion. The ongoing campaign in Gaza by Israel’s Defence Forces continues without stalling and restriction. But the burgeoning number of corpses is starting to become a challenge for the propaganda outlets: How to justify it? Fortunately for Israel, the United States, its unqualified defender, is happy to provide cover for murder covered in the sheath of self-defence." CNN has explained, "The Gaza Strip is 'the most dangerous place' in the world to be a child, according to the executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund." ABC NEWS quotes UNICEF's December 9th statement, ""The Gaza Strip is the most dangerous place in the world to be a child. Scores of children are reportedly being killed and injured on a daily basis. Entire neighborhoods, where children used to play and go to school have been turned into stacks of rubble, with no life in them." NBC NEWS notes, "Strong majorities of all voters in the U.S. disapprove of President Joe Biden’s handling of foreign policy and the Israel-Hamas war, according to the latest national NBC News poll. The erosion is most pronounced among Democrats, a majority of whom believe Israel has gone too far in its military action in Gaza." The slaughter continues. It has displaced over 1 million people per the US Congressional Research Service. THE NATIONAL notes, "Israel's war on Gaza has killed at least 40,819 Palestinians and injured 94,291 others since October 7, the enclave's Health Ministry said on Tuesday. The latest toll includes 33 people killed and 67 injured in the past 24 hours, the ministry added." Early on, Jessica Corbett (COMMON DREAMS) pointed out, "Academics and legal experts around the world, including Holocaust scholars, have condemned the six-week Israeli assault of Gaza as genocide." Months ago, United Nations Women noted, "More than 1.9 million people -- 85 per cent of the total population of Gaza -- have been displaced, including what UN Women estimates to be nearly 1 million women and girls. The entire population of Gaza -- roughly 2.2 million people -- are in crisis levels of of acute food insecurity or worse." Months ago, AP noted, "About 4,000 people are reported missing." February 7th, Jeremy Scahill explained on DEMOCRACY NOW! that "there’s an estimated 7,000 or 8,000 Palestinians missing, many of them in graves that are the rubble of their former home." February 5th, the United Nations' Phillipe Lazzarini Tweeted:

April 11th, Sharon Zhang (TRUTHOUT) reported, "In addition to the over 34,000 Palestinians who have been counted as killed in Israel’s genocidal assault so far, there are 13,000 Palestinians in Gaza who are missing, a humanitarian aid group has estimated, either buried in rubble or mass graves or disappeared into Israeli prisons. In a report released Thursday, Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said that the estimate is based on initial reports and that the actual number of people missing is likely even higher."

Polio is a threat in Gaza now thanks to the continued assault. We'll note this from NPR's WEEKEND EDITION (Saturday):

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Polio, which has been gone from the Gaza Strip for decades, is back as the war there continues. But there is the possibility of good news. Tomorrow, the United Nations will begin to vaccinate children in Gaza against that preventable and highly contagious virus. It'll be an enormous effort, one that NPR international correspondent Aya Batrawy will follow from her base in Dubai. And she joins us now. Aya, thanks for being with us.

AYA BATRAWY, BYLINE: Thank you, Scott.

SIMON: Tell us about how this vaccination campaign's being rolled out.

BATRAWY: Well, the U.N. has really big aims here. They want to reach more than 640,000 children across Gaza to give them two courses of the polio vaccine. It will be given orally in droplets, but it needs refrigeration at every step, and pretty much Gaza has no electricity. They're just running on generators and fuel that's in short supply. Another logistical challenge here is that the whole population is displaced, and so it's not easy for them to reach U.N.-run clinics. But the U.N. groups leading this vaccination effort, which is UNICEF and the World Health Organization, they say the most critical factor is a pause in airstrikes so that the vaccines can reach all these children. Now, Israel says it's agreed to short pauses. Basically, it won't attack for about eight hours a day in specific parts of Gaza for the few days that this campaign is being rolled out, and Hames says they'll also cooperate.

SIMON: How did the polio spread there in the first place?

BATRAWY: Doctors tell me this was a combination of factors. You know, you have children, Scott, that haven't had access to vaccines, but also most of Gaza's hospitals have been destroyed or closed. You also have wastewater treatment plants and desalination plants that have been bombed, so people have been drinking dirty water to survive. And we know from the Gaza Health Ministry that more than 40,000 people have been killed by Israeli fire in this war, but we don't have a tally for people who've died from illness. However, we know there's been a huge spike in kids with infections and diarrhea. Children are hungry. They are malnourished. They're living in these overcrowded shelters or in the open in tents and with weak immune systems.

SIMON: And do we know how widespread polio could now be in Gaza?

BATRAWY: Well, there's already been a case confirmed in a 10-month-old baby boy who was active and crawling, and he's now paralyzed in one leg after contracting polio. And he is the first case of polio in a quarter-century in Gaza. Now, it comes after the Gaza Health Ministry and the World Health Organization - they sounded the alarm on this in July when they announced that the polio virus had been found in sewage water flowing in the streets around the tents of displaced people. And there are now at least two other suspected cases as well. Now, the symptoms for polio show in one out of every 100 to 1,000 people. So the doctors I spoke with say this means thousands of people in Gaza likely already have contracted polio. It is spreading, and one doctor called it a powder keg.

Yolande Knell (BBC NEWS) notes, "To be effective, the World Health Organization (WHO) says at least 90% of children under 10 must be immunised in a short time frame. It follows the discovery of the first confirmed case of polio in 25 years in Gaza, with a UN expert saying more children are likely to be infected and that there could be a wider regional outbreak if the virus is not dealt with." Amr Mostafa (THE NATIONAL) reported, "Teams will be based at the health centres affiliated with the ministry and international organisations, including the UNRWA, in addition to mobile teams that will tour the enclave including the camps of the displaced people, Mr Dahir said. Another round will start on September 17 and will revisit the same areas. Yousef Abu Al Reesh, Gaza's deputy minister of health, said vaccination teams would try to get to as many areas as possible to ensure wide coverage but he said only a comprehensive ceasefire could guarantee enough children are reached." The roll out depends on a level of safety and it's a level that the Israeli government is unwilling to ensure. THE NATIONAL reports this morning:

The Palestinian Health Ministry said on Tuesday that more than 160,000 children in central Gaza have received a first dose of polio vaccine, as part of an inoculation campaign that started on Sunday.The vaccination drive will continue in the centre of the enclave until Wednesday evening, the ministry said in a statement.

Vaccine doses will on Thursday be administered in Khan Younis governorate in southern Gaza for four days, the ministry added. It will then move to northern Gaza on Monday, with doses to be given out for another four days.

Kat's "Kat's Korner: After a dull musical summer, Vanessa Williams emerges as much more than a SURVIVOR" went up Sunday. The following sites updated: