This is unintelligible.

I want to take a big step back and ask what the point of this conversation is.

Personally, I think we should study history to learn from it.

I think you should – as a mental exercise – imagine that although Biden objected to the optics, he fundamentally believed that the only way for Israeli Jews to be safe was to teach Palestinians the lesson that armed resistance will always elicit an unfathomable cost in their children’s blood. And that meant that an unrestrained total war on the civilian population was an unfortunate necessity.

If he believed this, but also found the glorification of racial hatred despicable, and recognized that politics and law required him to publicly disavow crimes against humanity…

… what do you think he would do?

Really try to answer this question. And then ask how his real world choices differed.

The cost of Biden’s mistakes has been unbearable. So we had better learn lessons and make sure these mistakes are never repeated. And that requires an honest accounting.

I think this is 100% correct.

I have no illusions that Harris and her advisors would like to see Iran’s leadership attacked, and would look for ways to support Israel. But as you said, they’d be at least smart enough to explore ways to justify it, and would avoid direct involvement.

I could absolutely see them holding talks, then Israel attacking and them wringing their hands about how disappointed they are in the “breakdown of diplomacy” while also justifying Israel’s attacks, and then sending weapons and support and troops to “assist” while insisting that they’re not at war.

This war is so dumb that I remain actually surprised Trump fell for it. I have no illusions about how stupid he is, but this is jump-off-a-shed-onto-a-bike-rack-directly-on-your-nuts-dumb. I remain amazed that even he would fall for this.

I’m unclear what this means.

Do you think Biden and Trump are different with regard to Palestine?

I’m not one of those people who equivocates between Democrats and Republicans, but on this issue I’m genuinely unclear what someone would point to as a difference in policy between Biden and Trump.

This bodes well.

I see a lot of doomerism on the left, but I’m happy to hear that Thiel and I agree on this one thing: his project is not going as well as he had hoped.

Ulghhhh.

The ceasefire is dead. Stop describing it as “strained” or “shakey”.

They’re continuing to cleanse and depopulate it in preparation resettle it.

Disgusting.

I remember this incident.

Words don’t do justice to the depravity.

Pollard was released on parole at the age of 61 from US prison in 2015 after serving 30 years for selling military secrets to Israel for money. He and his wife, Anne Henderson, were arrested in 1985 after Pollard passed a huge volume of classified documents to Israeli intelligence – enough to fill a 10ftx6ftx6ft room, by Pollard’s own calculation. In return he received cash and jewels.

Marion Bowman, a Pentagon lawyer who assessed the damage to US national security by Pollard’s espionage, told NBC News in 2014 the spy had been motivated by money as much as allegiance to Israel, and alleged he had provided highly classified materials to two other countries.

This guy is propogating antisemitic tropes by fulfilling them. Truly fuck this guy very much.

The courage it takes to sail into that hell is inspiring, but also I worry so greatly for them.

I would like to see this information break out further.

I have so much admiration for everyone involved in this. The stories of loss are unbearable.

But what is really, clearly unbearable, for Zionists, is to see that it’s possible to be scared and angry and still recognize the humanity in everyone, and seek peace over vengence.

It’s no wonder Zionists hate this event so much. Can you imagine seeing others demonstrate the courage and moral integrity you’ve abandoned? And knowing that it’s proof that contrary to your constant claims, you have no entitlement to your cruelty: you’re just a hateful, selfish monster?

It’s an incredible display of the power of unbreakable hope. May we all find peace and success soon, soon, soon.

As sick as all this is, I think of it as a positive development that it’s out in the open now.

Things were already terrible when Israeli society concealed this kind of behavior. At least now the ugliness is exposed to the world.

You’re welcome to your opinion, but what’s funny is that I live in Oakland in a household of three on a joint income of $160k. We live in a two bedroom apartment near Lake Merritt that costs $2500 per month. And we’re pretty comfortable.

It sounds like you and I are neighbors. If you’re having a harder time than I am I don’t want to invalidate your experience. But not everyone who feels financially constrained is poor, imo.

I saw it, and it said that a household of eight living on an income of $200k would be “low income”.

First, “low income” is not poor, either legally or in the informal definition of the word. Even according to the chart you’re referencing, $200k is far above the poverty line. It’s more than twice the cutoff for “extremely low income”.

Second, this is also based on an absurd qualifier: It’s only “low” if you’re trying to support seven dependents.

By this logic, $300k a year is poor too (if you’re supporting a household of 12), and a million a year is also poor (if you’re supporting a household of 40 in San Francisco).

This is silly. If your monthly income is $16k you aren’t poor.

You can still be broke. You can be in debt. But no: you are not poor.

I’m not saying that you can’t run out of money if you make $200k. I’m saying that it’s not poor.

If earning well above average in an area with a high concentration of high earners can be poor, the word means nothing.

$200k is not poor in San Francisco.

It’s still significantly above average, even in San Francisco.

I mean no offense, but I don’t think this is true.

I don’t think anyone who makes $200,000 a year is considered poor under legal definitions or under the casual common use of the term.

You could make $200k and be in debt. You could make $200k and be in a precarious situation. But I don’t think you can make $200k and qualify as in poverty, either legally or in the court of public opinion.

Okay, but that’s not what poor means.

No?

This question makes no sense.

I mean, the inputs into his decisions are simple, but also such a jumbled mess that it’s hard to be sure. But my hopeful guess is that he is finally looking for an overdue exit strategy, and his goal now is to agree to as many of Iran’s terms of ceasefire while obscuring the defeat as best as possible.

I’m hopeful this is a blustery move to look tough as the US forces capitulate and leave.

This story is wonderfully written.