The answers on Israel you have not articulated are:
1. There is some talk that the device bombs were on the verge of discovery. If true, that would explain the timing
2. Post-Oct 7th, Hezbollah has successfully shifted the buffer zone from southern Lebanon to northern Israel, displacing many Israelis. Nothing Israel has tried so far has altered that, and it is a strategic imperative for the country.
Re: the Trumpy evangelicals. I’ve gathered from listening to some that they justify their support by viewing “the left” (which includes Biden 🙄) as =Satan.
You ask tough and relevant questions. What I always wonder about is why mainstream journalists aren't all over the insanity that comes out of Trump's mouth along with why the majority of Republicans keep supporting him? We do live in crazy times!
Hezbollah had it coming and my understanding is that the civilian casualties were low. Correct me if I am wrong. The Lebanese need to stand up to them or they may have a war on their hands. OTOH, Nutandyahoo needs to GO!
and yes, the American press has been shameful. They will end up getting tRump elected.
Puzzle, Epstein’s files were released in May and trump’s name is listed multiple times in the Epstein log book and there are multiple photos of trump together with Epstein, why is there never any media questioning trump about his relationship and his social activities with Epstein?
Nutandyahoo wants Trump to win so he is creating chaos. The Nova "festival" was staged so close to the border with Gaza the conservative Muslim locals could hear the rock music. Check out the Nova website, it was a rave. The organizers advertised drugs, sex and rock n roll so extreme most Israelis were offended. Was Nova an intentional provocation of the Gazans? Possibly. Jared Kushner's comment was revealing. He said that the Gaza strip was valuable waterfront property that would be very valuable if "cleaned up". What kind of cleaning did he envision. And, by the way, a huge gas field was discovered offshore Gaza. That property was very valuable in many ways.
I have debated the question you pose about Israel’s indiscriminate attack on Hezbollah by exploding their comm devices. I will offer my modestly informed opinion.
I credit Israel’s military intelligence apparatus for knowing the supply chain well enough to intercept those comm devices for dubious but effective tactical purposes. I would never condone the indiscriminate killing of civilians in the zealous pursuit of an unlikely victory over an idea, which is what Hezbollah is. Now Hezbollah has a new problem to consider: compromised supply chains. If Israel can intercept comm devices, what else can they intercept and weaponize? I think the IDF had a definite strategy of getting into Hezbollah’s head to let them know there is no safe haven. If this doesn’t put Hezbollah on a cautious defensive posture, then I fear they, but not their idea, may be a terminal terrorist organization.
To survive, Israel has developed a very good record of playing whack-a-mole, although their indiscriminate attacks that kill many civilians may negatively impact their reputation on the world stage. Sometimes a nation’s strength is shown through restraint rather than an outward demonstration of its strength. Alas, Netanyahu is too far down the strength ‘rabbit hole’ to switch to diplomacy now.
Ugh, read the questions and who jumps to mind is Brett Stevens of NYT fame on Bill Maher. He exemplifies all the questions you asked. (Sorry not the porn part but as an RNC apologist, he gets some ick on him too!!). Seen two minutes of him and yup, enough. He claims to be anti-trump but can't vote for Harris because she won't do sit down interview and won't kiss ass Netanyahu's ass. Meanwhile the orange Caligula is about as coherent as a enima hose. He complains about that with a straight face. Trump couldn't sit down for 10 seconds without right wing cover of Fox etc to spoon feeding him questions. What a f****** disconnect !!
The media is complaints are like a Monty Python skit coming to life. The parrot, the steeple chase for upper class morons and many others. They were funny because they were ludicrous. Now i laugh in a snarky disbelief.
Internal US political divisions are distracting from a robust foreign policy. US shouldn't be the world's policeman, how about the world's big brother where you smarten the fuck up or get "one". Worked for my old man. he never spanked us. His hands were the biggest bear paws and you didn't want to find out what the "one" felt like.
David, there is no reason for the Israeli bombardment of Lebanon other than to keep Bibi out of prison. He clings to office because he cannot be arrested for corruption under Israeli law. Stoking wars is the oldest trick there is for politicians who face being forced out of office.
That's not to mention what would happen to the thousands of H2-A workers who are employed on U.S. farms for a few months a year or the 10s and 20 thousands of migrant workers who harvest most of the fruits and vegetables consumed in the U.S. If those people are deported you can kiss a good part of U.S. agriculture goodbye along with a good part of the food supply. Probably neither Trump nor Stephen Miller or any of the other minions has the sense to organize such a project. But it sounds good to people who never take five minutes to stop and think through any of Trump's grandiose ideas.
"Project Wetback" was an effort to remove farm workers who were in the US without documents and were pushing down the wages of legal entrants. The name is unfortunate and racist. Californian farms would not survive without Mexican labor. The legal part of the tradeoff was good for the US, for Mexico, for the farmers, and for the migrant laborers. I imagine that there were some prosperous farmers who sent trucks to places where the undocumented gathered in order to find workers who would accept a sub-minimum wage. America accepted almost all immigrants until about 1890. Then there was a developing backlash which culminated in the US all but closing its borders to immigration in the 1920s. I am really glad that my grandparents made it to the US from Italy before 1910. BTW, did I mention that the FBI sent agents to my Grandfather's convenience store in 1942 to take the tubes out of his shortwave radio? They were afraid that he'd get coded broadcasts from Mussolini. He was 62 years old and working in an American defense factory.
I was a life-long active evangelical until the pandemic hit and I gradually began seeing how evangelicals support and excuse all sorts of evil behavior if they can get their own way politically. One of my recent theological reversals is that I now understand that a God who loves all God has made would be incapable of consigning humans to unending torment.
The answers on Israel you have not articulated are:
1. There is some talk that the device bombs were on the verge of discovery. If true, that would explain the timing
2. Post-Oct 7th, Hezbollah has successfully shifted the buffer zone from southern Lebanon to northern Israel, displacing many Israelis. Nothing Israel has tried so far has altered that, and it is a strategic imperative for the country.
Re: the Trumpy evangelicals. I’ve gathered from listening to some that they justify their support by viewing “the left” (which includes Biden 🙄) as =Satan.
You ask tough and relevant questions. What I always wonder about is why mainstream journalists aren't all over the insanity that comes out of Trump's mouth along with why the majority of Republicans keep supporting him? We do live in crazy times!
Wonderful points! Thank you. I'm reposting in the hopes it gets read and reposted again and again.
Hezbollah had it coming and my understanding is that the civilian casualties were low. Correct me if I am wrong. The Lebanese need to stand up to them or they may have a war on their hands. OTOH, Nutandyahoo needs to GO!
and yes, the American press has been shameful. They will end up getting tRump elected.
Puzzle, Epstein’s files were released in May and trump’s name is listed multiple times in the Epstein log book and there are multiple photos of trump together with Epstein, why is there never any media questioning trump about his relationship and his social activities with Epstein?
Nutandyahoo wants Trump to win so he is creating chaos. The Nova "festival" was staged so close to the border with Gaza the conservative Muslim locals could hear the rock music. Check out the Nova website, it was a rave. The organizers advertised drugs, sex and rock n roll so extreme most Israelis were offended. Was Nova an intentional provocation of the Gazans? Possibly. Jared Kushner's comment was revealing. He said that the Gaza strip was valuable waterfront property that would be very valuable if "cleaned up". What kind of cleaning did he envision. And, by the way, a huge gas field was discovered offshore Gaza. That property was very valuable in many ways.
I have debated the question you pose about Israel’s indiscriminate attack on Hezbollah by exploding their comm devices. I will offer my modestly informed opinion.
I credit Israel’s military intelligence apparatus for knowing the supply chain well enough to intercept those comm devices for dubious but effective tactical purposes. I would never condone the indiscriminate killing of civilians in the zealous pursuit of an unlikely victory over an idea, which is what Hezbollah is. Now Hezbollah has a new problem to consider: compromised supply chains. If Israel can intercept comm devices, what else can they intercept and weaponize? I think the IDF had a definite strategy of getting into Hezbollah’s head to let them know there is no safe haven. If this doesn’t put Hezbollah on a cautious defensive posture, then I fear they, but not their idea, may be a terminal terrorist organization.
To survive, Israel has developed a very good record of playing whack-a-mole, although their indiscriminate attacks that kill many civilians may negatively impact their reputation on the world stage. Sometimes a nation’s strength is shown through restraint rather than an outward demonstration of its strength. Alas, Netanyahu is too far down the strength ‘rabbit hole’ to switch to diplomacy now.
Ugh, read the questions and who jumps to mind is Brett Stevens of NYT fame on Bill Maher. He exemplifies all the questions you asked. (Sorry not the porn part but as an RNC apologist, he gets some ick on him too!!). Seen two minutes of him and yup, enough. He claims to be anti-trump but can't vote for Harris because she won't do sit down interview and won't kiss ass Netanyahu's ass. Meanwhile the orange Caligula is about as coherent as a enima hose. He complains about that with a straight face. Trump couldn't sit down for 10 seconds without right wing cover of Fox etc to spoon feeding him questions. What a f****** disconnect !!
The media is complaints are like a Monty Python skit coming to life. The parrot, the steeple chase for upper class morons and many others. They were funny because they were ludicrous. Now i laugh in a snarky disbelief.
Internal US political divisions are distracting from a robust foreign policy. US shouldn't be the world's policeman, how about the world's big brother where you smarten the fuck up or get "one". Worked for my old man. he never spanked us. His hands were the biggest bear paws and you didn't want to find out what the "one" felt like.
Thanks for letting me post my rant
Thank you so much for this.
David, there is no reason for the Israeli bombardment of Lebanon other than to keep Bibi out of prison. He clings to office because he cannot be arrested for corruption under Israeli law. Stoking wars is the oldest trick there is for politicians who face being forced out of office.
It’s also great for the economies of your weapon suppliers. Alas.
"omnidisgusting".
Now, that's a word you don't see every day. True to a "t".
Nice.
I think I made it up.
Astute even in language creation. It's why I am a fan.
That's not to mention what would happen to the thousands of H2-A workers who are employed on U.S. farms for a few months a year or the 10s and 20 thousands of migrant workers who harvest most of the fruits and vegetables consumed in the U.S. If those people are deported you can kiss a good part of U.S. agriculture goodbye along with a good part of the food supply. Probably neither Trump nor Stephen Miller or any of the other minions has the sense to organize such a project. But it sounds good to people who never take five minutes to stop and think through any of Trump's grandiose ideas.
I have the same questions. Thank you for this. *shakes fist at sky*
"Project Wetback" was an effort to remove farm workers who were in the US without documents and were pushing down the wages of legal entrants. The name is unfortunate and racist. Californian farms would not survive without Mexican labor. The legal part of the tradeoff was good for the US, for Mexico, for the farmers, and for the migrant laborers. I imagine that there were some prosperous farmers who sent trucks to places where the undocumented gathered in order to find workers who would accept a sub-minimum wage. America accepted almost all immigrants until about 1890. Then there was a developing backlash which culminated in the US all but closing its borders to immigration in the 1920s. I am really glad that my grandparents made it to the US from Italy before 1910. BTW, did I mention that the FBI sent agents to my Grandfather's convenience store in 1942 to take the tubes out of his shortwave radio? They were afraid that he'd get coded broadcasts from Mussolini. He was 62 years old and working in an American defense factory.
I was a life-long active evangelical until the pandemic hit and I gradually began seeing how evangelicals support and excuse all sorts of evil behavior if they can get their own way politically. One of my recent theological reversals is that I now understand that a God who loves all God has made would be incapable of consigning humans to unending torment.