“The scary socialist madman” accompanied by the Democratic Party apparatus? A presidential candidate Sanders along with a moderate liberal VP would have gotten both the traditional Democratic vote (as long as the party collaborated with him, rather than giving him the Corbyn treatment, which I don’t trust liberals not to do) and a considerable chunk of the electorate who doesn’t feel represented by either party. The day you guys understand that you don’t have to fight the Republicans in traditional terms, but rather, to change the coordinates of the fight, you’ll force Republicans to choose between evolving or getting buried. But the real problem by this point is whether it is too late.
South Korea spotted another 350 North Korean balloons “presumed” to be carrying waste on Monday, reigniting a tit-for-tat exchange as tensions on the Korean Peninsula continue to heighten....
From the construction industry to the tourism sector, Greek employers cannot find the staff they need. The government’s solution: longer working hours. A new law enables employers to implement a six-day work week...
Historically, Greece was a poor country in Europe because it was the periphery of the Ottoman empire and therefore barely received investment.
Through the 20th century, the country went through pretty corrupt governments (one of them being a dictatorship).
When they joined the European market, it was already a very unproductive country in relative terms, which tends to force you into remaining in the periphery under normal market conditions; and their most educated citizens saw a very easy and profitable opportunity in just migrating out.
On top of that, the only sector of the Greek economy that had any sort of strength was tourism, which very rarely provides good wages.
By the 2007 crisis, they already had a dangerously high debt. Because they were, again, a tourism-focused economy, when the countries that had the most tourists going to Greece entered into recession, Greece’s income plumetted as well, and the debt just soared.
A little bit later, Greeks elected Syriza, which had simply accepted that they were in a debt spiral that would ultimately crush the country. Syriza’s leaders told the other European governments that their debt had to be renegotiated (annoying for Greece’s creditors, but at least it would be possible for them to pay in some capacity), or they’d leave the Euro-zone and just declare bankruptcy (thus they wouldn’t pay back anything) (terrible for Greece, but perhaps not as terrible as the alternative).
The rest of Europe told them to fuck off for a variety of reasons (plenty of German newspapers had chosen Greece as their sacrificial lamb, often calling the people of Southern European countries lazy, the Spanish president back then wanted to crush Syriza because they had been associated with a growing Spanish opposition party, generally a lot of them were into fanatical fiscal conservatism).
Then Syriza chose not to leave the Euro-zone anyway (which provoked Varoufakis to leave the government, out of principle), and just stick to managing the country’s misery. It has only been shit year after shit year for Greece since then, as any possibility of steering into a different direction was shot dead. It’s just a country without hope at this point.
Do you recognize being invaded by a foreign country is a legitimate problem a country might have to face? If you do, and you oppose private military industry, that means you support public military industry, right?
By “crossing the red lines” do you mean ex-Eastern block countries joining NATO? Those countries joined out of their own free will BECAUSE they feared Russia might want to attack them. And, oh surprise, Russia did attack the one country not sucking up to them that didn’t join NATO. Why should Russia’s security be sacred above that of all its neighbours?
If by red lines you don’t mean that, then they’ve clearly not been crossed. Russia and US or EU troops have not directly fought each other, and no country has used nuclear weapons so far.
I took a good look at Skyrim’s Creation Club content after getting the latest release on Steam. I will, in an extremely polite manner, just say that it was underwhelming. I could accept paid mods if it was passion projects of people making DLC-sized content, such as Beyond Reach or Enderal. But that’s obviously not what this is all about. It’s just about further privatizing and exploiting whatever spaces of free community efforts do exist in an increasingly commodified world.
If there’s one thing worse than getting ruled by Hamas, that’s Hamas unconditionally surrendering to Israel. What do you think would happen to Gaza’s borders if Netanyahu could do whatever the hell he wanted without insurgences nor opposition?
All my support to Gazans for them to regain their own self-determination and democracy, but this might be the worst possible moment for Hamas to disappear from existence.
Sure, but in the meantime, Israel would have the capacity to do absolutely anything they want, which would permanently cripple Gazans. If you want proof, look at the settlers in the West Bank, who have been eating Palestinian territory uninterrupted because the Palestinian Authority plays nice with them, even though they’re criminals.
Are you daft? “Well where is the UN on Xinjiang protecting the Uyghurs if it’s about protecting human rights?” Not all organizations have the means to achieve their goals. Think for two seconds before posting shit.
I’m not attacking the UN, I’m establishing the comparison that explains why neither can do all they want so that you can understand why the argument makes sense. My mistake, because I assumed you did actually have working brain cells.
It’s incredible, because by the looks of it, Macron’s party seems to be the one that’s reacting the worst to Macron’s own move, the fascists haven’t been caught on the wrong foot, and the real surprise is the leftist coalition that has been pacted in record time after they were at each other’s throats during the European elections, so Macron might actually be the most fatal victim of his own strategy if he doesn’t even make it to the second round.
However, even when the project had been given the go ahead, Klindžić said the team was “set up to fail from the start”, due to not having been allowed a pre-production period. “Whenever we raised concerns about this and expressed we needed more writers if the deadlines were to be met, we were accused of not wanting to do our jobs,” Klindžić said.
“Pretty much from the moment the writing team’s pitch was approved in August of 2022, the other teams started production,” Tuulik added. "We didn’t even really know what the story or the characters were gonna be, when art teams were already making first character and environment concepts. I’m sure you can see how this is a big problem, when you’re making a narrative-led game.
“Essentially, the writing team had to work double-time from day one to supply other disciplines with work, whilst trying to write the first dialogues and sketch out the rest of the game at the same time. The writing team consisted of myself and Dora at the time.” Another developer added: “I don’t know if Dora and Argo ever felt in control.”
Yeah, I’m going to go ahead and call the headline bullshit. It should also be noted that Disco Elysium had 8 writers, on top of Kurvitz, and Kurvitz himself still argued that he went through crunch. Current ZA/UM’s management is a disaster and nothing good is going to come from it unless a brick falls upon their heads, and they magically learn that making good games requires a lot of work, or if you’re a capitalist, a lot of investment.
Let’s cross fingers so that the two sides of the French left compromise on taking the good side on Ukraine, and the good side on Gaza, and not the other way around 🤞
Absolute bullshit move. If we’re going to help Ukraine, it shouldn’t be by forcing them to take a loan when they’re at their lowest, at their moment of highest need. They should just be given the Russian assets and be called a day.
In case anyone wants to argue we aren’t “forcing them”: if your only options are living amongst the rubble for years and selling your future, you are going to have to sell your future in order to be able to eat today.
“A couple of dudes amongst widespread protests across the country have done one reprehensible thing. This means the whole protest is illegitimate. Stop complaining about genocide and go back to work.”
I didn’t downvote, but I would argue that you can’t call someone a freedom fighter if their ideology or political position fundamentally opposes freedom, just because they are fighting for the cause of one particular oppressed group. To put a comparison: some Ukrainians that fought against the Soviet Union during WWII could have seen themselves as freedom fighters who were fighting for the right of self-determination of their nation (as they were fighting a dictatorship, and that was probably their main intention), but you absolutely cannot call yourself a freedom fighter when you’re helping the nazis occupy half of Europe.
Murdering and kidnapping civilians with the purpose of enacting their political goals does fit the label of terrorism. Then again, Israel does also murder and kidnap Palestinian civilians (and I mean kidnaps, because they don’t have the legal grounds to imprison people at the West Bank) for the sake of their political goals, and they don’t get called terrorists. So I call both Hamas and Israel terrorists, but a good general corollary is that there’s always political motivation behind someone using or not using that label.
If you want a general ethical position on the issue that I have found consistent so far:
Hamas is fundamentally different from other liberation groups, in that Hamas doesn’t intend to integrate the descendants of colonizers into the country they want Palestine (the whole of it) to be. For instance, the ANC saw the white South Africans as South Africans - they were colonizers, sure, but they would be citizens of the country they intended to rule, so instead of targeting civilians, they attacked military targets and infrastructure.
We see everyday what the Israeli government does on this sub, any person who isn’t predisposed in their favor can easily understand that they’re a few steps away from going full nazi.
The vast majority of civilians on both sides are innocent, and don’t deserve to be brutalized.
So it isn’t really a matter of whether you prefer Israel or Hamas, it is first and foremost, a matter of making sure civilians aren’t subject to abuse, and are capable of living their lives freely and in peace. Of course, it also needs to be understood that the construct that is the political system of Israel-Palestine (this is, only Israel exists as a sovereign country, while “Palestine” is a couple of not too self-governed territories over which Israel practices sovereignity) provokes a continued abuse and misery that will ignite further conflict sooner or later. So while the first priority is getting a cease fire now, aiming for a real, practical 2 state solution or 1 state solution where both Palestinians and Israelis are free citizens without being subject to the whims of the other party is needed if we don’t want to have a similar mess in 5, 10 or 20 years.
The ANC repeated its position that the armed struggle against the country’s white-ruled government, which began in 1960, was a just war and that civilians had not been deliberately targeted.
But the ANC statement said some of its guerrillas weren’t sufficiently trained and “were never thoroughly under the discipline of the ANC.”
Avoiding harming civilians was a deliberate modus operandi of the ANC, the same way that Hamas deliberately kidnapped civilians. They cannot be blamed for attacking military bases - they should be blamed for attacking that which was neither military bases nor infrastructure.
Following the UN Security Council vote to approve a three-phase ceasefire in Gaza, U.S. officials and other international allies of Israel are cynically placing blame on Hamas for a stall in current ceasefire negotiations — even as Israel has insisted on indefinitely continuing its massacre in Gaza and Hamas has said its main...
Regardless of whatever changes each side wants, stopping the shooting and bombardments would be a gesture that would represent actual intent in reaching a real ceasefire.
If you understand the extent to which Israel has been harming Palestinians through history, framing the current conflict as:
[Hamas are] the ones that pushed Israel for so long that it finally snapped
is brutally dishonest.
You know that you don’t have to support terrorists just to condemn a genocide, right?
I don’t support terrorists. In a fair world, the Hamas leaders who ordered attacking civilian population should rot in prison. But I’m going to fight fake narratives that pretend that the Israeli government doesn’t have the lion’s share of responsibility in this situation or that they aren’t even worse terrorists than Hamas.
“Oh shit, we’re finally getting backed into a corner to end the conflict I was using to remain in power. Now, hold on a second…”
Someone should tell Netanyahu that picking fight after fight to solve your own domestic issues has an ever growing chance of you ending up in the hospital. Or the morgue.
Hamas’ reason for their attack on October was very likely to blow up the negotiations between Israel and other Arab countries to normalize diplomatic relations. Even if they also wanted the conflict to legitimize themselves in front of Gazans, I doubt Gazans need any more bombs to fall upon their heads to get the message.
I don’t think it’s impossible for them to tense the cord and try and get more out of the negotiations, but they don’t really have anything to gain from extending the hostilities.
The fact that I’m mostly using Western media to support my claim that: “Hamas isn’t at the endless levels of monstruosity to gleefully wish for more deaths of their own people” isn’t the negative you think it is. But when you were born you had already lost the plot, so no surprises here.
Furthermore: we shouldn’t care too much about the speed at which Earth heats or cools down on its own. If we know we’re a significant factor alongside its natural processes, we should still contribute to the NET temperature being one that’s appropriate for human life. If the Earth was heating up this fast naturally, we should still try to cool it down by artificial means, if possible.
If there’s a silver lining to this, is that the people of one of the most populous countries in Earth are going to become far more likely to support policies against climate change.
The Israeli government insists that Hamas formally sanctioned sexual assault on October 7, 2023. But investigators say the evidence does not stand up to scrutiny. Catherine Philp and Gabrielle Weiniger report on eight months of claim and counter-claim...
To any zionist who’s found their way into this comments section. Do you think that Israeli soldiers and leadership should be judged for the sexual assault of Palestinians with the same severity as Hamas members who committed, allowed or promoted sexual violence against their captured prisoners? Who should conduct the appropriate investigation and trial?
I mean zionists specifically because I see some from time to time justifying the extreme damage Israel has committed against civilians, some making a lot of effort to paint Hamas as a bunch of barbarians to further support that position. I only remember seeing you in this thread, and from your posts in it, you don’t seem to be doing that.
That’s, honestly, my whole point in getting all up in arms about “let’s not worry about that rape because of which side is doing it” narratives like OP’s.
Bit off-topic in this comment chain (it would fit yours better) but: whenever I’ve seen someone or an organization pushing positions such as OP’s article, there are a few valid reasons:
Some media did rush to claim sexual violence far before they had any evidence of it, especially soon after the 7th of October, which should be scrutinized.
There are differences between: A) Sexual violence committed by an individual or a few, B) That violence being tolerated by their superiors, and C) That violence being supported by their superiors. This distinction is important, since a very large organization having monsters in its ranks isn’t statistically strange (and modern, well-run organizations make sure to punish those monsters and bringing them to one form of justice or another), but that organization not taking measures against those monsters or even promoting their behavior is far more serious.
Plenty of media has ignored and continues to ignore the previous differences, and now that there is evidence of A, they use it to claim C.
Those bad journalistic practices get used to promote violence against innocent Palestinians and support jingoistic horror.
Personally, I had no doubt that there would be monsters in Hamas who would abuse the prisoners in their captivity, but the organization itself has an interest in making sure that the prisoners who make it out alive say that they were treated humanely (as we’ve seen with some of them). Attacking civilians and taking them hostage is already really terrible to start with, but noting what’s being done out of logical political goals and what’s being done out of sheer sadism is important. If we compare Hamas with the Israeli government and army, we do currently already have evidence that the latter do at the very least tolerate abuse of Palestinian prisoners, apparently with gleeful support from much of Israel since they celebrate that violence by sharing it in social media.
Could there be people taking positions aesthetically close to mine who are, however, defending them in bad faith, as they just want to shield Hamas? There must be some, but the environment is heated enough that anyone who doesn’t take a nuanced enough position is going to be called out sooner than later. Although figuring out the most reasonable positions is far more important, in my view.
From her words, it looked like the conditions were terrible, but they made efforts to try and minimize the harm. It’s likely that the treatment they gave the hostages varied wildly.
Honestly, like I say, to me it’s not super complicated. Punish the guilty (which in large part means stop shielding Israel from prosecution for their crimes; certainly no one is making much of any attempt to shield Palestine from the consequences of Hamas’s crimes.) How to do that and how to arrive at peace is complex, but “is this war crime that whatever people did, a war crime” is a lot simpler: The answer is yes.
<<An agent of the CIA and an agent of the KGB are together at a bar, chatting after taking what’s probably too much alcohol given their occupations.
The CIA agent tells the Russian: “You know, I must admit that you guys are really good at propaganda. The way you paint capitalism is great. People swallow it everywhere!”
The KGB agent replies: “Thank you, thank you, we put a lot of work into it, but American propaganda is something else. It is so good that you guys think you don’t have propaganda!”
And the CIA agent says: “But we have no propaganda.”>>
A separate thread about that would have been appreciated. It’s something terrible that should be called out, but posting it as a response to this is like replying: “Ok, and??? Some people of the country they’re invading are horrible anyway.”
The Israeli military had US support in rescuing four captives from Gaza in a “complex daytime operation” in Nuseirat that killed over 200 Palestinians....
90% of Gazans have been displaced from the homes they did live one year ago due to Israel’s invasion of Gaza, which is why the person you’re talking to says they’re refugees. Please get informed because flaunting your ignorance.
To all you outside of the US... (lemmy.world)
Lemmy is the best social media
South Korean military says 350 waste balloons detected from North Korea overnight as tensions flare (www.cnn.com)
South Korea spotted another 350 North Korean balloons “presumed” to be carrying waste on Monday, reigniting a tit-for-tat exchange as tensions on the Korean Peninsula continue to heighten....
Greece introduces the six-day work week (www.dw.com)
From the construction industry to the tourism sector, Greek employers cannot find the staff they need. The government’s solution: longer working hours. A new law enables employers to implement a six-day work week...
Members of Britain’s richest family get jail terms for exploiting Indian staff at Swiss mansion | The Straits Times (www.straitstimes.com)
Israel ready for ‘all-out war’ in Lebanon (www.aljazeera.com)
The Israeli military says its Northern Command has approved operational plans for war with Lebanon....
Ukraine rule (lemmy.world)
As Starfield Steam Reviews Plunge to ‘Mostly Negative,’ Todd Howard Responds to Paid Mods Backlash (Confirmed plans to look again at Bethesda’s pricing for Creations content.) (www.ign.com)
As War Drags On, Gazans More Willing to Speak Out Against Hamas (www.nytimes.com)
In Snap Election, French Left Forms Alliance To Counter Far Right and Neoliberals (www.commondreams.org)
Cancelled standalone Disco Elysium spin-off would have been "most hardcore Disco since Disco" (www.eurogamer.net)
French election descends into madcap reality TV (www.politico.eu)
The French political class is tearing itself apart with feuding and backbiting ahead of this month’s vote....
Happy Pride! 🏳️🌈 (lemmy.world)
No, Yevgeny Prigozhin Didn’t Suddenly Come Back From the Dead: Why Russian Twitter Thinks Prigozhin Just Came Back From the Dead (www.thedailybeast.com)
G7 agrees to loan Ukraine $50 billion from the interest on frozen Russian assets (www.npr.org)
Hezbollah and Hamas flags waved during pro-Palestinian demonstration in New York (today.lorientlejour.com)
French left agrees to form new 'Popular Front' in parliamentary elections (www.lemonde.fr)
List of the coalition’s members on Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Popular_Front#Members
Hamas Wants Guarantees Ceasefire Will Actually Happen, While US Says Hamas Is Rejecting the Proposal (truthout.org)
Following the UN Security Council vote to approve a three-phase ceasefire in Gaza, U.S. officials and other international allies of Israel are cynically placing blame on Hamas for a stall in current ceasefire negotiations — even as Israel has insisted on indefinitely continuing its massacre in Gaza and Hamas has said its main...
Netanyahu warns Israel 'prepared for very intense action' as IDF weighs Lebanon offensive (www.nbcnews.com)
Israel says Hamas rejects key elements of US ceasefire plan for Gaza (www.reuters.com)
India under its longest-ever heatwave, with worse to come (www.straitstimes.com)
Israel says Hamas weaponised rape. Does the evidence add up? (www.thetimes.com)
The Israeli government insists that Hamas formally sanctioned sexual assault on October 7, 2023. But investigators say the evidence does not stand up to scrutiny. Catherine Philp and Gabrielle Weiniger report on eight months of claim and counter-claim...
Russia mocks Macron following EU election defeat (www.politico.eu)
Russia was definitely watching the results of the EU election....
It's not just convicts. Russia is forcing its African migrants and students to fight for them in Ukraine. (www.businessinsider.com)
Russia is replenishing its troops with an unlikely source — African migrants and students....
Gay adult content creator USSRboy has been arrested in Russia (www.advocate.com)
Inside the Base Where Israel Has Detained Thousands of Gazans (www.nytimes.com)
US involved in Israeli operation in Nuseirat that killed over 200 Palestinians (www.middleeasteye.net)
The Israeli military had US support in rescuing four captives from Gaza in a “complex daytime operation” in Nuseirat that killed over 200 Palestinians....