Global politics

[DJChameleon]

So I got into a discussion with this lady that's super Pro-Israel and I wanted to understand and have her explain to me what's the end game. I told her that even if they eliminated every single Hamas solider. There would create a void that would end up being filled by another group. Also while they are trying to wipe out every single Hamas solider the collateral damage of innocent Israelis AND Palestines will continue to rise.

[Saulaac]

Thanks @Jwb

I know about being scapegoats for Jesus' murder, being money lenders in a time when christians weren't allowed to, conspiracy theories blossoming in WW2 Germany and elsewhere, but I'm definitely surprised if anti-semitism is increasing - possibly by a lot - in the younger demographic today. Of course there's the ongoing conflict, but it might be fueled by rhetoric outside of that and it's worth poking around in. I'm sure some sociologists are trying to do just that.

I'm asking about the US because Jadis brought up numbers from the US. I don't know if a current trend with anti-semitism among young people is a universal trend for universal reasons, though it might be.

Interesting points you bring up, Guybrush. As you say, it IS worth poking around in.

I like watching Thomas Sowell on YT, and he opined that Jews are probably disliked because they are "successful". Well they may well be (along with other successful non-Jewish peeps), and one must ask oneself if it is fueled purely by monetary jealousy, or other spiritual and cultural drivers upon which the West currently pulsates?

I'm christian (not very practising mind you) and I'm sure I partook in my school years in banter about the stingy long noses, whilst they fought back with "why wasn't Jesus born in Ireland?, because they couldn't find a virgin and three wise men", that sort of thing.

EDIT: There are occasional tensions in SW France in the cities, but I'm still convinced they are down to socio-economic factors, not religious or cultural.

[jimmy jazz]

whilst they fought back with "why wasn't Jesus born in Ireland?, because they couldn't find a virgin and three wise men", that sort of thing.

Haven't heard that in a long time but lolol.

[Mindy]

[Mindy]

[Mindy]

[DJChameleon]

[tristan_geoff]

[Nimbly9]

The WEF is whack ya'll.

[Psy-Fi]

Speaking of the WEF...


'The Western world is in danger': Argentina's Milei, a self-described 'anarcho-capitalist,' urges Davos elite to reject socialism

Argentina's president, Javier Milei, on Wednesday called on business and political leaders to reject socialism and instead embrace "free enterprise capitalism" to bring an end to world poverty.

"Today, I'm here to tell you that the Western world is in danger," Milei said in a special address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, according to a translation.

"And it is in danger because those who are supposed to have to defend the values of the West are co-opted by a vision of the world that inexorably leads to socialism, and thereby to poverty," he added.

[Mindy]

[Jwb]

I wanted to respond to this post from jadis like a couple weeks ago in the 2024 primary thread but it seems like a discussion more fit for this thread. So I'll reply in here.

Basically I think Rettig Gur answers most of this. The normalization with the Gulf states is not just a strategic alliance against Iran, which it obviously is. It is also and more crucially a statement by the Gulf elites that the Muslim world doesn't have to be stuck in its retarded resentment against Israel. That they are better than that.

I too used to think that the campaign to subsume the Palestinian issue under Iran was disingenuous (and to the extent it's coming from Netanyahu it kinda is*). But as I see it today, Palestinians are merely the tip of the spear of Arab/Muslim resentment against the existence of a Jewish state: once the Palestinians decide that their main goal is acquiring a state for themselves, as opposed to annihilating the Jewish one, resolving the territorial issue shouldn't be too difficult. On these points I recommend the work of Shany Mor and Hussein Mansour Aboubakr. Specifically, this is the best and most lucid thing I've ever read on this conflict. If you don't have the energy to read it, he lays out his argument here. I like this essay so much I also listened to him discussing it with Rettig Gur and Mansour Aboubakr on this podcast. Obviously one doesn't have to agree with everything or anything they say but that's what makes sense to me today.

*What I mean here is that this man doesn't have Israel's best interest at heart. The thing with Obama over the Iran deal for example: if he cared about Israel as opposed to appearing big dicked to his base, he would've gotten something tangible from the Americans once it was clear that the deal is going to be signed. For example, to get Iran out of Syria, something along these lines. He could've gotten some concessions. Instead he went for optics and severely compromised Israel's standing with Democrats.

Yeah so I listened to your first link. I found it interesting but fundamentally it doest't change my calculus at all.

First off I'm not nearly as convinced as he is that the Saudis are in fact "better than that." As I have detailed they have ample reasons for being motivated to pursue military and economic relations with Israel. I think these reasons are much more what is at play than any sort of serious ideological commitment on the part of the Saudi regime.

What's kind of funny is that we started this conversation talking about Bidens legacy in the Middle East. Biden started his presidency by taking a uniquely hostile tone with MBS and the Saudi government, which had just gotten itself into hot water for all the world to see when they murdered and dismembered a famous US based journalist who had been critical of the Saudis. Biden responded by calling them a repugnant regime and indicating that he wants to take a tougher stance with them and stop lending so much undue legitimacy  to what is truly a backward regime.  Fast forward 2 years later and we're literally in negotiations with them to possibly assist them along the path to developing nuclear energy (which we all know they would never use for anything else) as one of the conditions for the normalization process with Israel.

So which Biden was right about the Saudis? The one who called them a repugnant regime or the one who reluctantly came to terms with their vital strategic role in what he thought would be a foreign policy W? I would say that they were both right. Saudi Arabia is in fact a key strategic ally. They're also the kind of savage desert monarchy that not only holds mass public executions via beheading, for certain heinous sex crimes they crucify the beheaded corpse.  Which is always a good sign that a society is forward thinking and looking to embrace modernity.

In addition to this, not only 8 months prior to Oct 7 they were entertaining a possible deal with Iran to normalize relations, brokered by China, much to the chagrin of both the US and Israel. Because ultimately they are interested in winding down the brutal and failed war effort in Yemen. If a peace with Iran were possible the Saudis wouldn't necessarily rule it out. But the extent to which they've been driven into Israel's arms is largely contingent on the extent to which they become convinced that such a solution isn't really available. That's my assessment of the situation.

Might the Abraham accords and the normalization process go on anyway? Sure.  It wouldn't be that surprising, let's put it that way. But even so I see it once again more as an emerging alliance against Iran than a path to peace or a new Middle East or anything of the sort. We can already see what the new Middle East looks like and it's giving a lot of old Middle East vibes atm.

[Psy-Fi]

Former rebel leader arrives in Haiti's capital as protests against prime minister gain momentum

Guy Philippe — who played a key role in the 2004 rebellion against former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide — was briefly spotted in the upscale community of Pétionville in Port-au-Prince, where he shook hands with Haitians at a park in front of a police station before he left. It wasn't immediately clear where Philippe was going, but dozens of motorcycle drivers, clearly his supporters, tried to track him down across streets blocked by burning tires.

[Jwb]

Aren't we supposed to be sending Kenyan troops funded by the United States to go instill order in Haiti? It's basically a failed state at this point.

[Mindy]