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Andy

@ andrewrgross @slrpnk.net

Posts
90
Comments
780
Joined
3 yr. ago

  • Egypt proposes 14-day ceasefire in Gaza, Hamas to release 40 hostages - report

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  • I hope, I hope, I hope.

    The abandonment of the hostages is devastating to me. They are a backlight that reveals who doesn't care about human life at all, and unfortunately almost everyone on every side is glowing.

    End the war. Release the hostages. Bring everyone home and negotiate a permanent path to peace. And while I'm wishing, I'd like the leaders on both sides charged with war crimes.

  • Hamas Police Officer Fatally Shoots Boy Approaching Humanitarian Aid Truck to Keep Others Away:

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  • This is a weird story, just because it takes place in front a backdrop of widespread child death and social collapse.

    The thing is, it's STILL a tragedy. It just feels odd. Like reporting "American soldier from Illinois drowns during operation in Normandie" or "Woman killed in vehicular accident outside Bartertown".

    Like... that's terrible, but they're in the midst of complete social collapse. There's no food or water, and also a kid dies in Gaza every 15 minutes. So again, it's really heartbreaking that this kind -- Ahmed Bracha -- died. It's just hard to figure how one writes an article about this particular child dying while apparently trying to get food among so many corpses of children trying to get food.

    There needs to be a ceasefire. The siege must end. Hostages on both sides need to go home. This is truly atrocious.

  • Can Flow Batteries Finally Beat Lithium?

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  • That'd be cool.

  • Tesla hiring Nordic policy expert as 'WWE-like standoff' with unions intensifies

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  • I genuinely don't understand what Musk considers his leverage here.

    It seems like he has... none?

  • Polish Hackers Repaired Trains the Manufacturer Artificially Bricked. Now The Train Company Is Threatening Them

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  • That's awesome. Man, fuck that company. Bricking a train? Outrageous.

  • Pope Francis' Israel Remarks Spark Fury

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  • How so?

  • Pope Francis' Israel Remarks Spark Fury

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  • He couldn’t have made a more milquetoast remark about this war. For fuck’s sake…

    He's the voice of moral leadership for millions of people. He's not the CEO of Pepsi. Being frank about this is kind of his job.

  • Israel, Hamas agree deal for release of Gaza hostages, truce

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  • This is so dumb and reductive, though.

    First, that goal is like trying to drink the ocean. It's obviously impossible, so it's not useful as an indicator for what they'll agree to.

    Second, we hear this over and over, but the only citation is their founding document over thirty years ago. And in 2006 they went through a moderate rebrand, and then a lot of people in the org died, and Sinwar spent two decades in Israeli prison, so... that doesn't really tell us where they're at in this moment.

    Folks act like they're orcs. Just mindlessly evil. They're definitely completely ruthless, but the stuff they do isn't that different from what the IRA did, and they still made peace. So what does Sinwar want? Has anyone thought to ask?

  • Israel, Hamas agree deal for release of Gaza hostages, truce

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  • This is such good news. Now the challenge is to keep both sides from reigniting.

    I don't really know what Hamas and Haniyeh and Sinwar want, so it's hard to speculate what they'll do, but I know that Netanyahu is trying to reignite the war as hard as he can, and will be desperate to see the ceasefire ended prematurely under circumstances he can blame on Hamas.

    For those who haven't followed his career (and his actions in the least week in particular) this seems abundantly clear. The absolute worst thing that could happen to him would be a deescalation that leads to an political negotiations. I really hope the US antiwar movement is prepared to increase their pressure, because I believe it's made the difference in getting us this far. As furious as I've been at Biden's response, I have read multiple reports that the US was far more involved in hostage negotiations than Israel, so I will give Biden this sliver of credit if people actually come home. But he really needs to stop propping up Bibi if he wants to land this plane for real.

  • BBC goes inside Al-Shifa hospital with the Israeli army

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  • This is bizarre and macabre.

    First, I want to say that I don't care if they find tunnels in the hospital or not. Cutting patients off of electricity and medicine is not justified even if they find the massive bad-guy secret base that they say is underneath the hospital.

    But on top of that, if the tunnels aren't there... what then? Do we get an apology? Do they bring back the patients?

    I'm shocked that they're touring journalists and showing off rifles and BOOKS as evidence that this was a legitimate military target.

    I want a ceasefire. I want the hostages back. And I want Gaza to have the freedom to select leadership that represents them to engage in a peace process that gives them the right of movement, education, food, and safety.

  • Israel Takes Fight Underground to Hamas’s Vast Gaza Tunnel Network

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  • You pick up the phone and negotiate a hostage exchange.

    You say, meet us at this spot tomorrow with 10 of the oldest and youngest hostages you've got and we'll do the same. If it goes well, we'll talk about doing another exchange the next day.

    That's what Hamas wants. That's what they've usually taken and returned hostages for. Hamas released two hostages so far in the weeks this has been going on. How come someone negotiated for 2 and then stopped there?

  • Israel Takes Fight Underground to Hamas’s Vast Gaza Tunnel Network

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  • I don't understand what you're asking. Can you rephrase it?

  • Israel Takes Fight Underground to Hamas’s Vast Gaza Tunnel Network

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  • The whole argument about whether they are or aren't in any given spot is moot. Israel isn't differentiating between Hamas and civilians, and none of this is an actual defensive operation.

    If Netanyahu wanted to actually protect Israelis, the obvious ways to do so are to:

    1. Staff the Gaza boarder crossings. They were largely unmanned, as they troops were relocated to assist in illegally annexing the West Bank.
    2. Replace Hamas. Netanyahu repeatedly supported Hamas because he said that their rule in Gaza prevented the PLO from negotiating for peace.
    3. Stop trying to ignite terrorism in the West Bank. The whole point of all of this is to TRY to create violence that justifies land theft. He's literally not trying to keep Israeli's safe.
    4. Just negotiate peace. He's been in charge for nearly a generation, and his primary legacy has been eroding civil rights for both Israelis AND Palestinians.

    It's just maddening how we get focused on the trees instead of the forest: Netanyahu has been an authoritarian war criminal for decades, and under his control this situation will never lead to peace or security, because that's never been the goal.

  • Israel’s military claims it has cut Gaza in half, surrounded Gaza City

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  • It seems to me that they're planning on squeezing the people from the north into the south, then closing off the north from any return. This is consistent with a plan of annexing and depopulating Gaza.

    If so, this would be ethnic cleansing. This strategy appears to be genocide.

  • Gaza hospitals ceasing to function as water and fuel run out

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  • I've been very cautious to reserve the word "Genocide" because I didn't want to devalue it with hyperbole. For years, I've said that Israel is ethnically cleansing historic Palestine. But reading this article... I think this is the point where it becomes genocide, full and proper.

    It's shocking to bear witness to.

  • Pro-Palestinian views face suppression in US amid Israel-Hamas war [The Guardian]

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  • This guy says a few very sane things, and then just totally loses connection with reality.

    He's right that there a huge risk to our while civilization, and that we need to deescalate both sides. He's right that there will never be peace or security until Palestinians have a future.

    And then he says that the peace treaty with Saudi Arabia was a step forward: it is not. It is a deal between authoritarians to further legalize Isreal's ethnic cleansing program.

    He says that Hamas should release the hostages without conditions. I wish they would, but that is as sensible as suggesting that they should all turn over their weapons and turn themselves in to be scheduled for execution. How is that anything other than a further embrace of the current Israeli peace plan, which is displacement, conquest, eradication? That's not acceptable.

    The international community needs to demand that Israel afford Palestinians living under permanent occupation full civil rights as Israeli citizens (including displaced Palestinian refugees) in exchange for security measures and a staged binational reintegration.

    It's this or continued gradual genocide.

  • Reuters videographer killed in southern Lebanon [by Israeli strike], other journalists injured

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  • Geez. The article doesn't mention until paragraph six of seven:

    "Separately, The Associated Press reported that an Israeli shell landed among a group of international journalists killing the Reuters journalist and injuring six others."

    It's crazy that it's not even news that Israel is launching shells at journalists.

  • IBM CEO in damage control mode after AI job loss comments

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  • I just want to say that this is absolute clown-level CEOing.

    Let's just set aside the naked antipathy for labor concerns. Let's pretend we're heartless investors.

    If I heard a CEO say this, my first thoughts would be:

    • Why the fuck are you declaring an intention to remove people BEFORE the replacement is ready? If the technology is so ready, then deploy it and cut the workers after you've implemented it. Do you have any idea what you're talking about? This is sophomore level business shit. You sound like a 14 year old on Twitter.
    • Why the fuck are you generating this kind of press? Particularly for a company with a FAMOUS history of loyalty to its workers? Even if it's now bullshit, you're pissing on the brand, asshole.
    • Wasn't Watson a big famous over-hyped public embarrassment? Did you learn nothing about managing expectations?
    • The work you say you're excited to replace is the core business services you sell, and I don't know what product you're talking about. OpenAI has a product. Explain why they're not about to devour your business while you're out here talking nonsense.

    This guy sounds like a moron.

  • The mother of tattoo artist Shani Louk who was paraded semi-naked on a Hamas truck makes a public plea for more information

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  • Look: I'm a very vocal critic of the way media covers Israel and its far right ruling party, but I feel like this is a terrible place to go to reading this.

    War is hell. Terrorism is hell. What happened to this woman sand others is tragic. I hope this woman is alive and is recovered, I hope hostilities end as soon as possible, and I hope the treatment of Palestinians improves, and that Hamas and the Israeli far right are both disempowered of their ability to cause harm.