They're using the USA as the example on how things should work.
The USA has a lot more resources and a lot less on the line. We fight optional wars far away from our own cities. Sometimes we give up and leave rather than make a bigger body count.
None of that has anything to do with Israel. WW2 is a much better comparison.
More importantly, Israel isn't going full out (especially by WW2 standards). Afaict, Israel is trying to follow the actual rules of war, however Hamas isn't.
Hamas not following the rules SHOULD mean Israel gets a pass on issues created by Hamas' various crimes.
For example Hamas using ambulances as troop carriers means Israel gets a pass on killing people in ambulances if it suspects that they're a troop carrier.
First, presumably the things that are normally illegal or banned are still illegal or banned so no, unlike in the Hunger Games they won't be killing each other.
2nd, humanizing immigrants would be a good thing. Game show logic suggests half of the contestants will be very attractive and so on.
So this could be either a good thing or a bad thing depending on who is running it.
The Gulf Kingdoms' leadership hate Hamas (i.e. the Muslim brotherhood) and correctly view it as a proxy for Iran. Their people don't like the war and Israel, but they don't write checks big enough to matter.
We should expect much anti-Israel rhetoric from the Gulf States but no actual action, including bribes to go easy on Hamas.
How much aid did we give Japan and Germany during WW2?
It's a war. The normal ethical rules of war mean Israel shouldn't be sending fuel, funds, and food to Hamas. What Israel should be doing is letting the civilians flee the war zone and get aid in other places.
I am a big believer in "the normal rules apply". There is no "Jewish" exception when it comes to threatening random people, calling for genocide, supporting terrorism, and so on.
That also means Israel is expected to go to war over things we'd go to war over. And that after you're in a war, war time ethics apply.
The Protesters call for genocide, threaten random Jews, support terrorism, and occasionally shut down the college. That guy in the link occasionally makes social media posts where he says he doesn't trust Jews.
So yes, the "protesters" are crossing lines he isn't and engage in behavior well past "protest". That wouldn't require the Feds to do anything if the college administration weren't determined to shield them from law enforcement and allow them to continue because Jews don't count.
The mistake was hiring him. He's doing things which are NOT compatible with his current job/role nor even compatible with his current organization.
This seems to be a deliberate move on his part. His explanation on what he's doing and why changes with every conversation. He's a firebrand, not because he believes in anything but because he wants to start fires.
This is self promotion at the expense of everyone else and I seriously doubt he's actually interested in young/old issues (or even issues in general) even if he's framing it that way this week.
He got into this by promoting gun control above all else, but that issue has apparently been dropped. Then he did anti-old-age, but his written explanation on what he was doing and why dropped that.
He simply wants power and attention and is throwing a big stunt to try to skip up several rungs of power.
Firing him is a forced move, he's going to burn stuff down until he's happy with his current level of power and that's never going to happen.
Syria is complex but my impression is the US backed groups aren't in charge.
The big group that did win used to be an ISIS offshoot. There are 7+ armed groups there and it's very possible that we'll see a new civil war start now that the previous civil war is over.
The right has plenty of anti-Semitism of it’s own that it hides up.
It has small hate groups which identify as Right. What does it have at an institutional level?
The problem with left anti-Semitism for the Democratic Party and mainstream liberals is that most of it comes from forces outside the Democratic Party.
We are currently trying to remove anti-Semitism from college policies and administration. How did "outside forces" create that? My strong impression is the Left faction which views the world as "white oppressors vs black victims" has decided Jews are white and therefore should be thrown under the bus in the Palestinian conflict(s).
The right and the left can’t make any positive arguments...
The Right wants to support Israel to prepare the way for Jesus coming back. IMHO this is a foolish reason but they're committed to it. In theory at that point Jews (and everyone else) will convert or die, but you should agree to disagree until after he actually shows up.
The Right is also forcing Colleges to deal with antisemitism. That's a rare good thing that Trump is doing even if he's being crass about it.
First term it was a "blink and you'll miss it" thing, but yes it was on the RoR.
I can't google up a link because Trump proposed again the Palestinians not have a right to return back in Feb but that was in the context of the Gaza war.
I interpret a "Right to Return to Green Line Israel" (and rejections of that lack) as "Israel can't be a Jewish state". The clearest black letter summation of that stance was their bottom line in the 2000 peace talks.
In practice that means the Jews would be forced to live as minorities in an Islamic state gradually, with a transition over the course of decades.
The RoR (i.e. the right to destroy Israel) is the rock that keeps destroying a negotiated deal.
they’re not even offering the second [a negotiated deal]
If the Palestinians were to offer to match the last deal in 2007 or something like that including a RoR to a Palestinian state, then we'd see the Jewish peace wing re-elected to take it.
As recently as Trump's first term they've made it clear the Right of Return can't only be to a Palestinian state, it needs to destroy Israel as a Jewish one.
As long as they're still fighting over whether or not the Jews get a state, they also have to take ownership on not being able to negotiate a deal.
Palestinian leadership should negotiate with the Israeli government rather than go on quixotic quests to destroy Israel.
Why? There's nothing to negotiate.
As recently as in the first Trump term, the Palestinians have made it clear their bottom line is "Israel is destroyed as a Jewish state". The Jews obviously aren't going to agree to that.
The Palestinians are trying to terrorize the Jewish state until their citizens flee the area.
That means engaging in either large scale terrorism or lots of small scale terrorism.
They don't need to actually destroy the state of Israel in [this push] for them to be successful long term.
The status quo is fine. Israel gets stronger, the Palestinians choose to not.
If things really get out of hand Israel won't kill all of them but it will make them flee. We might see that happen this time if Israel empties out Gaza and then levels it.
And no, it won't be "a moral atrocity". It's a war. Normal rules apply, even with Jews.
Afaict, by normal military ethics Israel is doing fine adjusted for the situation they're in.
Compare what they're doing to what we did in WW2. If we get a pass on all that stuff because we're fighting Na.zis and a Japanese death cult, then so does Israel.
Just because it's Jews fighting Islamic Na.zis and an Islamic death cult doesn't mean the rules change.
Palestinian terrorism causes poverty. Not on Israel, but on the Palestinians. Ditto these wars.
They're not going to learn until they're allowed to actually lose one of these wars, but part of "poverty" is "can't build an army functional enough to destroy Israel".
The Palestinians and their allies seem to think that a negotiated deal with Israel is too horrible to contemplate.
The negotiated part is fine, it's Israel being allowed to exist as a Jewish state which is the problem.
The closest we got to a peace deal was in 2000 where the Palestinians formal suggested Israel could be destroyed slowly over the course of decades.
If we stop substituting wishful thinking for facts, we end up with the conclusion that
they're serious. Their actions, words, charters, and negotiation stances all line up.
That doesn't mean they're stupid, or that they don't understand that Israel is stronger. It just means their first priority is getting rid of the Jews, not doing good things for their children and economies.
Different people can have different mindsets and different priorities that we do. It's a mistake to think they secretly think the way I do or that they haven't thought it through.
You take a few hours off and take over the library. That doesn't have to affect your studies at all. It's no different from hanging out with your friends or whatever.
A zero on the final is the wrath of god. An "E" (60%) might drop you a rank or two but a zero probably means you fail the entire class.
There aren't supposed to be consequences to this.
*Comment archive for non-registered commenters assembled by email address as provided.
On “Weekend Plans Post: The Last Graduation”
We have a thousand plus in my kid's graduating High School class.
I think we're going to have them all walk across the stage. I'll moan about it in two or three weeks.
On “Open Mic for the Week of 5/12/2025”
That means people expect them not to go full out.
They're using the USA as the example on how things should work.
The USA has a lot more resources and a lot less on the line. We fight optional wars far away from our own cities. Sometimes we give up and leave rather than make a bigger body count.
None of that has anything to do with Israel. WW2 is a much better comparison.
More importantly, Israel isn't going full out (especially by WW2 standards). Afaict, Israel is trying to follow the actual rules of war, however Hamas isn't.
Hamas not following the rules SHOULD mean Israel gets a pass on issues created by Hamas' various crimes.
For example Hamas using ambulances as troop carriers means Israel gets a pass on killing people in ambulances if it suspects that they're a troop carrier.
"
it’s war logic hasn’t applied since World War II.
Russia v Ukraine (or Russia v anyone).
ISIS v anyone.
Various other Middle East Wars.
Various African wars.
Israel stands out as the exception in terms of our expectations.
"
Fair point. I did a more detailed read on them and they've been for and against ISIS (etc). A good summation is "it's complicated".
"
First, presumably the things that are normally illegal or banned are still illegal or banned so no, unlike in the Hunger Games they won't be killing each other.
2nd, humanizing immigrants would be a good thing. Game show logic suggests half of the contestants will be very attractive and so on.
So this could be either a good thing or a bad thing depending on who is running it.
"
Unfortunately, those definitions either assume Hamas won't behave like Hamas or they have special carve outs for Jews.
Under normal rules fought be normal countries, one side doesn't need to supply it's enemies. We didn't put in special ethics for Jews nor should we.
"
The Gulf Kingdoms' leadership hate Hamas (i.e. the Muslim brotherhood) and correctly view it as a proxy for Iran. Their people don't like the war and Israel, but they don't write checks big enough to matter.
We should expect much anti-Israel rhetoric from the Gulf States but no actual action, including bribes to go easy on Hamas.
"
U.S. troubled by Gaza humanitarian situation
How much aid did we give Japan and Germany during WW2?
It's a war. The normal ethical rules of war mean Israel shouldn't be sending fuel, funds, and food to Hamas. What Israel should be doing is letting the civilians flee the war zone and get aid in other places.
"
I am a big believer in "the normal rules apply". There is no "Jewish" exception when it comes to threatening random people, calling for genocide, supporting terrorism, and so on.
That also means Israel is expected to go to war over things we'd go to war over. And that after you're in a war, war time ethics apply.
"
The Protesters call for genocide, threaten random Jews, support terrorism, and occasionally shut down the college. That guy in the link occasionally makes social media posts where he says he doesn't trust Jews.
So yes, the "protesters" are crossing lines he isn't and engage in behavior well past "protest". That wouldn't require the Feds to do anything if the college administration weren't determined to shield them from law enforcement and allow them to continue because Jews don't count.
"
...just made a raging anti-Semite a refugee to the United States
By that Logic we can "prove" that Biden is a member of a M13 or whatever that gang is.
"
The mistake was hiring him. He's doing things which are NOT compatible with his current job/role nor even compatible with his current organization.
This seems to be a deliberate move on his part. His explanation on what he's doing and why changes with every conversation. He's a firebrand, not because he believes in anything but because he wants to start fires.
This is self promotion at the expense of everyone else and I seriously doubt he's actually interested in young/old issues (or even issues in general) even if he's framing it that way this week.
He got into this by promoting gun control above all else, but that issue has apparently been dropped. Then he did anti-old-age, but his written explanation on what he was doing and why dropped that.
He simply wants power and attention and is throwing a big stunt to try to skip up several rungs of power.
Firing him is a forced move, he's going to burn stuff down until he's happy with his current level of power and that's never going to happen.
"
Syria is complex but my impression is the US backed groups aren't in charge.
The big group that did win used to be an ISIS offshoot. There are 7+ armed groups there and it's very possible that we'll see a new civil war start now that the previous civil war is over.
"
He's claimed his job as DNC Vice-Chair is to primary sitting Democrats based on [something].
The definition of that [something] changes every conversation.
"
Pretty sure these are the same Islamists we were told were "inclusive" and "should be given a chance" just last month.
"
Batteries require scarce minerals which make building anything at the needed scale a problem.
"
The right has plenty of anti-Semitism of it’s own that it hides up.
It has small hate groups which identify as Right. What does it have at an institutional level?
The problem with left anti-Semitism for the Democratic Party and mainstream liberals is that most of it comes from forces outside the Democratic Party.
We are currently trying to remove anti-Semitism from college policies and administration. How did "outside forces" create that? My strong impression is the Left faction which views the world as "white oppressors vs black victims" has decided Jews are white and therefore should be thrown under the bus in the Palestinian conflict(s).
"
The right and the left can’t make any positive arguments...
The Right wants to support Israel to prepare the way for Jesus coming back. IMHO this is a foolish reason but they're committed to it. In theory at that point Jews (and everyone else) will convert or die, but you should agree to disagree until after he actually shows up.
The Right is also forcing Colleges to deal with antisemitism. That's a rare good thing that Trump is doing even if he's being crass about it.
On “Open Mic for the Week of 5/5/2025”
First term it was a "blink and you'll miss it" thing, but yes it was on the RoR.
I can't google up a link because Trump proposed again the Palestinians not have a right to return back in Feb but that was in the context of the Gaza war.
I interpret a "Right to Return to Green Line Israel" (and rejections of that lack) as "Israel can't be a Jewish state". The clearest black letter summation of that stance was their bottom line in the 2000 peace talks.
In practice that means the Jews would be forced to live as minorities in an Islamic state gradually, with a transition over the course of decades.
The RoR (i.e. the right to destroy Israel) is the rock that keeps destroying a negotiated deal.
"
they’re not even offering the second [a negotiated deal]
If the Palestinians were to offer to match the last deal in 2007 or something like that including a RoR to a Palestinian state, then we'd see the Jewish peace wing re-elected to take it.
As recently as Trump's first term they've made it clear the Right of Return can't only be to a Palestinian state, it needs to destroy Israel as a Jewish one.
As long as they're still fighting over whether or not the Jews get a state, they also have to take ownership on not being able to negotiate a deal.
"
Palestinian leadership should negotiate with the Israeli government rather than go on quixotic quests to destroy Israel.
Why? There's nothing to negotiate.
As recently as in the first Trump term, the Palestinians have made it clear their bottom line is "Israel is destroyed as a Jewish state". The Jews obviously aren't going to agree to that.
The Palestinians are trying to terrorize the Jewish state until their citizens flee the area.
That means engaging in either large scale terrorism or lots of small scale terrorism.
They don't need to actually destroy the state of Israel in [this push] for them to be successful long term.
"
The status quo is fine. Israel gets stronger, the Palestinians choose to not.
If things really get out of hand Israel won't kill all of them but it will make them flee. We might see that happen this time if Israel empties out Gaza and then levels it.
And no, it won't be "a moral atrocity". It's a war. Normal rules apply, even with Jews.
Afaict, by normal military ethics Israel is doing fine adjusted for the situation they're in.
Compare what they're doing to what we did in WW2. If we get a pass on all that stuff because we're fighting Na.zis and a Japanese death cult, then so does Israel.
Just because it's Jews fighting Islamic Na.zis and an Islamic death cult doesn't mean the rules change.
"
Palestinian terrorism causes poverty. Not on Israel, but on the Palestinians. Ditto these wars.
They're not going to learn until they're allowed to actually lose one of these wars, but part of "poverty" is "can't build an army functional enough to destroy Israel".
"
The Palestinians and their allies seem to think that a negotiated deal with Israel is too horrible to contemplate.
The negotiated part is fine, it's Israel being allowed to exist as a Jewish state which is the problem.
The closest we got to a peace deal was in 2000 where the Palestinians formal suggested Israel could be destroyed slowly over the course of decades.
If we stop substituting wishful thinking for facts, we end up with the conclusion that
they're serious. Their actions, words, charters, and negotiation stances all line up.
That doesn't mean they're stupid, or that they don't understand that Israel is stronger. It just means their first priority is getting rid of the Jews, not doing good things for their children and economies.
Different people can have different mindsets and different priorities that we do. It's a mistake to think they secretly think the way I do or that they haven't thought it through.
"
You take a few hours off and take over the library. That doesn't have to affect your studies at all. It's no different from hanging out with your friends or whatever.
A zero on the final is the wrath of god. An "E" (60%) might drop you a rank or two but a zero probably means you fail the entire class.
There aren't supposed to be consequences to this.
*Comment archive for non-registered commenters assembled by email address as provided.