Aesthetics, plus the seductive appeal that pre-modern, pre-liberal-democratic societies (when the governments were authoritarian, the women were submissive, and the men “were men”) have for reactionaries, incels, and cryptofacists.

I think by “support” they mean “send billions of dollars in US military hardware, which both funds the military-industrial complex and furthers wars and conflicts on the other side of the world”. Not everyone thinks that is a good idea.

Could you share any specific examples? I haven’t seen or read any instances of him being that off the mark.

All true, but that doesn’t disprove my point. The risk was non-zero, so it was still worth investigating.

Yes but the difference is that there were reasonable grounds to suspect that prolonged exposure to RF waves might possibly cause some harmful effects. The WHO didn’t categorize radio frequency radiation as a potential carcinogen based on no evidence at all:

https://www.iarc.who.int/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/pr208_E.pdf

The possibility of there being a link was not absurd, per se.

To be fair, the evidence about a link between cell phone radiation and cancer has been inconclusive for quite some time. After all, a series of inconclusive or null results doesn’t mean there is categorically no link – it could equally mean that more research is needed.

That said, I do agree that if there were a casual link in this case then it would have made itself apparent by now, given the huge increase in cell phone usage over the past few decades.

1. Israel primarily needs bombs, and lots of them. No other country could provide Israel with bombs and planes on the scale that the US currently supplies them. A US arms embargo would force Israel to use up its current stockpiles, and could seriously affect their war effort.

2. Israel has initiated all of the recent military strikes in Iran, Syria, and Lebanon and despite this, none of Israel’s neighbors, not even Iran, want escalation to a full scale conflict. The idea that they would all suddenly attack Israel following a US arms embargo is sheer fantasy.

3. The US State department is imposing restrictions on Israel’s use of US weaponry? Uh, since when? They are not currently imposing any restrictions, even though they should be under the Leahy Laws, so imposing an embargo would not change Israel’s behavior in this regard whatsoever. All this talk of being “in compliance with international humanitarian law” when it comes to Israel is a total PR farce.

Sure, because our current economic system creates governments and laws that protect private capital and short-term exploitation at the expense of the natural world.

I do see hope in the book, though. Once you look beyond the human scale, it shows us that trees are always going to outlast us, no matter how hard we try to destroy our environment. The question is - can we learn from their patience and adaptability before we screw ourselves beyond the point of no return?

I haven’t finished it yet, but so far the fatalism seems to be balanced by the reminder that we are intrinsically linked to the natural world, and that it is never too late to seek solace in it.

They allowed the family of an Israeli hostage on stage. Why not afford Palestinian Americans the same courtesy to have one of their own represented? Hell, they could have stood alongside the hostage’s family to show solidarity and hope for peace in the future.

The Uncommitted movement did everything the “right way” – they went through the official channels and offered the DNC a list of speakers and gave them permission to vet the speech however they wanted. But apparently that was still too big of an ask.

It’s a perfectly good source. Is there anything about their argument that you find unsound, or is it simply because it makes you uncomfortable?

I’m not advocating either way, although the horrors I’ve seen committed in Gaza are on a whole other level than anything I’ve witnessed before.

I wouldn’t blame anyone who votes third party, or even sits this one out.

I’m not advocating either way, although the horrors I’ve seen happening in Gaza are on a whole other level than anything I’ve witnessed before.

I wouldn’t blame anyone who votes third party, or even sits this one out

Sorry, that’s completely wrong. Israel is still extremely reliant on the US military hardware – tanks, planes, missiles, guns, you name it. The vast majority of the bombs being dropped on Gaza come from the US, also.

https://www.npr.org/2024/04/04/1242911786/a-closer-look-at-u-s-military-support-for-israel

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/11/us/israel-gaza-bombs.html

Also, the Biden administration merely delayed one shipment of 2,000 lb bombs. Netanyahu claimed that the Biden administration was holding back more, but this was just a PR move. The US is still happily sending tank engines, planes, guns, and smaller bombs to Israel.

Al in all, the Biden administration has done very little to effectively restrain Netanyahu. The “bear hug” strategy has been an unmitigated failure.

Huh, not paywalled for me but here’s an archived version anyway:

https://web.archive.org/web/20240821013836/https://theintercept.com/2024/08/20/dnc-harris-gaza-uncommitted-protest/

Oh, I agree. I think the last six months have really disabused me of the notion that working to effect meaningful change within the US system as it currently stands is even remotely possible.

Smacking a muslim woman protesting a genocide on the head with a WE LOVE JOE sign is a very specific type of irony.

Did any of the main news channels in the US even cover this panel? I haven’t seen any.

The media and online punditry seem far more happy to obsess over a few Hamas-flag-waving protesters outside than to listen to experienced doctors relay the horrors they saw in Gaza. What a shocker.

An arms embargo in some form is literally the only leverage the US has that could change Netanyahu’s mind, at this stage. Personally, I don’t think Kamala has the guts for it.

Yeah, fair play. I’ve been something of an apologist for AOC for some time, but her full transformation to mainstream Democrat is disappointing.