October 29, 2023

The Decolonization Narrative Is Dangerous and False

A very long article, but very worth reading (just slip into "reader view" in your browser to see the whole thing).

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/10/decolonization-narrative-dangerous-and-false/675799/

So many good parts that can be excerpted, but one that is particularly salient to here, I think.

Of course, some protesters chanting “from the river to the sea” may have no idea what they’re calling for; they are ignorant and believe that they are simply endorsing “freedom.” Others deny that they are pro-Hamas, insisting that they are simply pro-Palestinian—but feel the need to cast Hamas’s massacre as an understandable response to Israeli-Jewish “colonial” oppression. Yet others are malign deniers who seek the death of Israeli civilians.

The toxicity of this ideology is now clear. Once-respectable intellectuals have shamelessly debated whether 40 babies were dismembered or some smaller number merely had their throats cut or were burned alive. Students now regularly tear down posters of children held as Hamas hostages. It is hard to understand such heartless inhumanity. Our definition of a hate crime is constantly expanding, but if this is not a hate crime, what is? What is happening in our societies? Something has gone wrong.

In a further racist twist, Jews are now accused of the very crimes they themselves have suffered. Hence the constant claim of a “genocide” when no genocide has taken place or been intended. Israel, with Egypt, has imposed a blockade on Gaza since Hamas took over, and has periodically bombarded the Strip in retaliation for regular rocket attacks. After more than 4,000 rockets were fired by Hamas and its allies into Israel, the 2014 Gaza War resulted in more than 2,000 Palestinian deaths. More than 7,000 Palestinians, including many children, have died so far in this war, according to Hamas. This is a tragedy—but this is not a genocide, a word that has now been so devalued by its metaphorical abuse that it has become meaningless.

I should also say that Israeli rule of the Occupied Territories of the West Bank is different and, to my mind, unacceptable, unsustainable, and unjust. The Palestinians in the West Bank have endured a harsh, unjust, and oppressive occupation since 1967. Settlers under the disgraceful Netanyahu government have harassed and persecuted Palestinians in the West Bank: 146 Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem were killed in 2022 and at least 153 in 2023 before the Hamas attack, and more than 90 since. Again: This is appalling and unacceptable, but not genocide.

October 27, 2023

"From the River to the Sea" pops up at UC Berkeley

And "Long live the Intifada" for the bonus round.

Everyone just really wants peace, y'all. Totally. Not. Antisemitic.

October 23, 2023

For those who doubt Hamas attitudes toward civilian sacrifice

Excellent interview by a Al Arabiya journalist with a Hamas spokesman. You might have to gather yourself after witnessing actual challenging journalism. We're not very used to it anymore. How is it she's going harder than many journalists in the West? That's weird.

Transcript of the Hamas spokesman's reply after the journalist berated him for civilian deaths.

Dear Sister, nations are not easily liberated. The Russians sacrificed 30 million people in WWII in order to liberate it from Hitler’s attack. The Vietnamese sacrificed 3.5 million until they defeated the Americans. Afghanistan sacrificed millions of martyrs to defeat the USSR and then the US. The Algerians sacrificed 6 million martyrs over 130 years.

The Palestinian people are just like any other nation. No nation is liberated without sacrifices.

Hamas will fight the Jews to the last Palestinian. A high civilian death count is just the price of their genocidal business.

So, who wants to start negotiations with them?

https://twitter.com/arash_tehran/status/1715354932595847322

October 22, 2023

Orionid meteor shower this weekend

Tonight and tomorrow night will be the best viewing. This is probably the easiest annual shower to locate, because most people are able to find Orion in the sky with the three star belt. That's the radiant and all the meteors will travel out from that direction.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/heres-how-to-watch-the-orionids-meteor-shower-this-weekend-180983108/

The Orionids will be best visible in the hours after midnight to anyone in the world with clear skies and minimal light pollution. You won’t need any special equipment to view this shower, but NASA recommends finding a dark place and setting up a sleeping bag, blanket or lawn chair for comfort.

If you’re located in the Northern Hemisphere, lie down with your feet facing southeast. If you’re in the Southern Hemisphere, your feet should face northeast. You’ll see the most meteors if you look to the lower half of the sky, unless the sky near your horizon is brightly lit, per the International Meteor Organization (IMO). You should allow at least 30 minutes for your eyes to adjust—avoid looking at your phone or a flashlight, otherwise your night vision will need another 30 minutes to kick in.

The Orionids travel at about 148,000 miles per hour into Earth’s atmosphere, often leaving spectacular glowing "trains" that can last several seconds to minutes. They can also sometimes turn into fireballs, or very bright meteors, per NASA. Usually, stargazers watching the Orionids can expect to see a meteor every few minutes, though in rare cases, observers have seen three times as many. Stronger activity is not expected this year, per the IMO.

October 19, 2023

UC Davis professor threatens Jewish journalists, families

Good thing she's at a university. It's "the place for making mistakes"

Otherwise there could've been a problem. People who want her fired just have no sense of intellectual curiosity.



https://www.mediaite.com/online/uc-davis-professor-under-fire-over-posts-threatening-zionist-journalists-and-their-families/

Edit: Eesh, another one. What is going on in academia?

https://13wham.com/news/nation-world/chicago-art-professor-under-fire-for-calling-israelis-irredeemable-excrement-in-wake-of-hamas-invasion-school-institute-mika-tosca-israel-palestine-terrorism-terrorist-middle-east-conflict-chicago-illinois

October 15, 2023

Spotted some "From the River to the Sea" signs at S.F. Gaza protest

What a treat for everyone.

"I am very against genocide. Sometimes. Subject to Terms and Conditions, not available in all ethnicities."

It's going to be verrrry difficult to claim to be anti-Nazi while this is allowed to go on so permissively.

October 13, 2023

Kaiser strike settled

CNN link below. I have it from some upper sources that it's a 21% increase over a 3 year contract with new minimum wage at $23/hr.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/13/business/kaiser-permanente-strike-deal-reached/index.html

October 11, 2023

Harvard student groups issued an anti-Israel statement. CEOs want them blacklisted.

Oh hey, it's the dildo of consequences, on schedule and unlubed.

The CEOs want the students blacklisted. But some of those students have since distanced themselves from the letter.

“One should not be able to hide behind a corporate shield when issuing statements supporting the actions of terrorists,” Ackman said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

If the members support the letter, the names of the signatories “should be made public so their views are publicly known,” Ackman said. The CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management said he wanted to ensure his company and others don’t “inadvertently hire” any students belonging to Harvard groups that signed the letter.

Following a backlash to the statement, some of the student groups have since withdrawn their endorsements.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/11/business/harvard-israel-hamas-ceos-students/index.html

I strongly suspect the people signing that letter are used to being leaders and participants of social media mobs - not the targets of them.

This must be a completely unforeseen turn of events for them.

October 10, 2023

"But" is the strongest word in the English language

It does an awful lot of lifting.

October 5, 2023

The migrant crisis has reached a critical point - it's angering the NIMBYs

And that's why it's a serious political problem.

It's easy to be blithely unconcerned about the border when the problems arising from failed policy only affect distant border regions. Ensconced in comfortable suburban or city environments, the impact has largely been minimal for a lot of people for a long time.

That's changing.

And the NIMBYs are not happy.

NIMBYs vote, btw.