This, I believe, is the only issue with our form of gov. Lack of referendums. In the US, much of the current unpopular issues (Abortion ban, support for Israel's genocide using American taxpayer's taxes, lack of regulations on data harvesting) could be circumvented. I believe the optimal way to avoid these is 1) an educated populace and 2) referendums. The people who were given objective facts, free of propaganda and private interests, decide accordingly. If the majority believes in something, then we the people decide. Congress and the senate have been too bought up by private interests, that starts with campaigning (you receive x millions, from a lobby group (AIPAC for instance), and every legislation that affects their interests has to go through them). I dated a girl who was a lobbyist in DC, and relocated back home. It is unbelievable what goes on behind the scenes. Much of us do not recognize for instance the extent to which fossil fuels or car dealerships dictate how we live our lives. We may be aware of it, but there is a bureaucratic apparatus built in DC, at least 50x the size of congress, that strips We the people of power.
Is it just me or is color saturation a huge deal with iphones? I take a pic of myself, and it literally makes it portrait like and changes my skin (makes it smoother and more transluscent). I take a pic of the outdoors, and if there is text somewhere far away, it mangles it. I get iphones are mostly sold for social media influencers these days and beauty standards matter, but damn it I just want it to scan stuff and take photos of my family. There is a big problem with image fidelity.
That is true. Not sure why you are being downvoted. In fact, many of their victims were British citizens since it was under English mandate. It is impossible to reason with Israel apologists, for they are genocidal actors. It is what one would expect.
This is utter misinformation. Israeli apologists pin everything on Palestine. However, I recently sat down and wanted to look at as many videos as possible on this topic. The videos I saw coming out from Palestine, in particular children getting mutilated, made me question everything. Israel took out Chef Andreas's volunteers, clearly labeled vehicles of aid. They then exerted an effort to discredit the man, whose medal was taken by POTUS. Israelis post on tiktok videos that are reminiscient of Nazis descriptions of the Jews. They refer to Palestinians as animals, and joke on babies getting killed (and raped). Tiktok's web interface shows the ip address of OP, which means everything I saw was indeed coming out of Israel. Coupled with their generals calling for the cleansing of Palestine, and people like breppp will close their ears while barking at the command of their masters. I have lost any confidence in Israel, and I have no doubt their propaganda is being lost (including by apologists like breppp). Israel today is not a Western country (as an American, I reject that label). It is an apartheid, genocidal state, reaping our hard earned taxes to mutilate children and aid workers with impunity. The difference is AIPAC and the president's Jewish daughter regard it as the Holy Land, and would excuse Israel if it took out facilities inside our country. They are traitors to everything America stands for, and I urge everyone here to reach out to your representatives, and make it known. Do not allow bad actors and foreign actors like Israel to destroy the beacon of hope that we stand for. America is NOT and will never be an ally of Israel regardless of what Bill Ackman and rich Israelis want you to believe. Every American (left, or right, Sam Seder or Tucker Carlson) should agree on this. There are forces (in particular, Jews and Evangelicals, like Ben Shapiro for instance), that believe and make it known, that America's purpose (our taxes, our soldiers' blood) is for Israel's security. Reject this with all your might. I called my representative this mroning, and gave their office a clear piece of mind. I will continue to do so. But again: Israel is apartheid. It is a genocidal state, that steals and dislocates families. They have a goddamn program called Aaliya here in the US, where they practically admit it! You get a piece of Palestinian land, the IDF will escort you and the gov will pay you! Absolutely repugnant nation. Finally, we must ask ourselves. When ICJ, Unesco et al., find Israel a genocidal state, are they all wrong? I think you will find our politicans are complicit, because AIPAC and Propaganda has worked so well for Israel. It is only when we stand up to genocide and tyranny that cowards like Bibi bend the knee. We have also come to accept them blowing up Syrians who just achieved liberation and Iran. It is normal to mutilate children. It is normal to have a problem with everyone of your neighbors, including those that just achieved their freedom (and allowed you to use their airspace in a recent war). It is normal to kill Americans (USS Liberty, Rachel Corrie, most recently an American in the West Bank). It is normal to hunt American aid workers in clearly labeled vehicles and discredit the man helping others. It is normal for two political parties that disagree on most things, to suck up to one foreign nation. It is normal for the richest nation on earth to send billions to a nation with healthcare, so they can build a dome and call us when they need to hit bunkers. It is normal for America to serve a master. That is sarcasm, that I bet is lost on Israeli apologists.
Another hit against science. But Christianity and Judaism and their nationalistic arms are what our hard earned taxes should fund. Texas just killed science in public schools as well, and will funnel that money into private Christian schools and Yeshivas that emphasize religion.
Yea, this isn’t about “government efficiency" or any such excuse. They simply hate science and what it has to say about the damage we are doing to the environment that sustains us. Can’t have trivial things like clean air interfere with the profit motive. It is quite alarming.
Completely different. American culture is immigrant centric. I am an American, and I refuse the biblical indoctrination that some wish would represent "our" culture. Why should conservatives get to dictate what America's culture is? As far as I am concerned, we are a nation of immigrants, and no one should assimilate to certain ideas. In particular, because these ideas can be weaponized. The Church can mangle with the state, because America is mostly evangelical. Free speech can exclude criticism of foreign nations (like Isra-l), because America's most affluent are Jews. Services can be refused on the basis of one's romantic inclinations. Some people end up as more free than others. So I reject this culture claim that you are defending and do not accept that these conservatives have America's best interests in their heart. They are merely choosing the rhetoric that resonates most with lower classes (as history has taught us is a strategy that worked with peasants in the days of yore), because a critique of upper classes or billionaires or those that profit from our toil is them biting the hand that feeds them.
> Free speech can exclude criticism of foreign nations (like Isra-l)... So I reject this culture claim that you are defending and do not accept that these conservatives have America's best interests in their heart.
Do not pretend like liberals were on a different page than conservatives on that issue before the election. Support for Israel was happening under Biden and would have continued under Harris; Trump's the one who did a bait-and-switch with pretending he'd be more neutral until he got in. And conservatives have been called antisemitic by liberals far more than the reverse.
> American culture is immigrant centric.
What does this mean? Because to me, it means we don't have a culture and never will have one. What does immigrant-centric mean to people who are born not immigrants, besides getting out of the way for the next generation on its way in?
It was only under the current admin that permanent residents were detained, and American citizens were doxxed openly (I agree that deans of colleges were fired and students at Ivies doxxed by Ackman and his cronies during the previous admin). All because criticism of Isr-el. And sure, both parties are pro-Isra-l and always will be (at least until lobbying is eliminated or America-first lobbies are the only ones allowed). Hell, an op-ed written by a lady got her detained a la Gestapo. As to your second point, much of America continues to be defined by immigrants. Tesla is the best selling auto maker, and Elon an immigrant is behind it (who overstayed and was illegal for some time as a matter of fact). Chobani yogurt. Nvidia was founded by an immigrant. I could go on. I'd argue conservatism is getting in the way of the next generation, by hindering growth. Tourism in the US is down 22%. Those hurting are American businesses, and small ones in particular
Great question. I have a PhD. People forgot the purpose of a PhD. Hannah effectively achieved what many with a PhD fail to do, and that is contribute novel research. A PhD in the US (only place I can comment on) has lately been focused first and foremost on a) preparing for academia, which entails teaching and a lot of courses, and b) research for industry positions (many students in my cohort were from China or India and this was their segway into a job in the US). I agree a PhD should be purely focused on research and extending human knowledge. In practice, it is a business where students go to conferences to promote their PI's work, where Universities get cheap lecturers in the form of TAs, and where many mediocre students write incremental papers to secure an RnD position (change this by a little and see how it affects your results. This is your paper). I am very impressed by Hannah's work though and she embodies the selfless nature of research that is very much missing. I see too often people seeking to advance their own career and pick a PhD route of least resistance. While they are entitled to maximize profits, and oftentimes do not want to go to academia where solving the impossible is admired, we must remember discoveries often hinge on challenging problems and a selfless pursuit of the impossible. This is just my opinion based on what I saw in my cohort and at 30+ conferences
I do not think there is "one" purpose for a PhD, and not everyone gets the same thing from it - it depends on what are a person's strong and weak points. I have seen very smart people not able to explain at all their work and during a PhD they were forced to improve. I have seen very good presenters that were forced to do some actual work. I have seen people that were convinced they can solve anything (as in some parts of the world the bachelor and master focus to much on solvable problems) understand that sometimes there just isn't a clear, nice solution to a problem.
On average someone that does have a PhD will have a wider set of skills, like understanding of the complexities of the field, resistance to frustration, capability to do research and ability to communicate.
Europe is very pro-Israel. You act as if you have been champions of human rights and a subjugated people like the Palestinians. As far as I know, Ireland is the only exception. Israel could have executed Greta on camera and the Swedish embassy would have sent a strong worded letter. Europe has no power whatsoever in any of this
1. Jimmy Carter mentioned in his biography that Obama asked him not to speak at the DNC because he acknowledged Palestinians deserved a right to live peacefully in one of his speeches. I revisited that speech, and it was by all accounts tame. He explicitly mentioned Obama's Jewish chief of Staff describing AIPAC as opposing this, and Carter was denied a speech at the DNC for this very reason (including his support for a two state solutions, which the American jewry by all accounts opposes through their actions, despite their rhetoric). A US President was shunned from US elections because he was slightly critical of Israel. Let that sink in.
2. Nixon describing AIPAC influence and Pelosi describing how the US capitol could burn while ensuring Israel thrives:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53x_zrkJwDs
The point of the above is American sitting Presidents or influential politicians describe the pressure they face of subjugating US interests to Israel's because America's economy is dominated by Jews and Evangelicals, who believe Israel must survive at all costs (including to the detriment of American interests). I understand how religiosity can lead to undermining America in favor of Israel. I cannot comprehend how Americans can defend this in good faith. Being America first is incompatible with the conduct of Israel, including its founding, for it is a colonial apartheid state that was founded on the murder and dislocation of families. I think it is difficult for most of us to imagine that the victims of a Holocaust, an abominable crime, can in turn be filled with so much hatred that they resort to the very crimes they were the victims of. I believe we went into Iraq and we fund Israel because powerful forces in these United States wish for us to do their dirty work, including when this work harms American interests, and most importantly, the values most of us hold dear: that every human being has the right to life, liberty and the security of his person.
That's worthwhile context, however I don't think it dents the point I'm trying to make. Many US presidents have been supportive of Israel, I'm just making the point that I interpret Donald Trump to be _friendly_ as opposed to simply supportive.
There is a difference between being friendly to Israel, and putting Israel's wellbeing above US interests. When American elected representatives state the American capitol can burn as long as Israel flourishes, do you believe these representatives have our best interest in their heart, or are they answering to rich donors (AIPAC) who could destroy them whenever they so choose? A subjugated slave may think highly of his master as Voltaire used to say, it does not alter the fact he is a slave with a master. There are those who wish to believe America gains from Israel (whether it is intel, or a satellite in that region of the world, etc), which justifies funding it. That is the greatest lie ever told. America is a slave to Israeli interests, nothing more. There could be a million USS Liberty and Rachel Corrie incidents, and it does not alter the hierarchy of the status quo: America serves Israel. We can put a spin on it to sleep warmly at night, but make no mistake of who is the master in this relationship, and who is the subjugated servant.
In the video you linked, I think she was being hyperbolic in order to stress the level of support that the US has for Israel. I don't think she meant it literally.
If the US's support for Israel ever hurt the USA in places that it genuinely cared about, then I think you'd see its support for Israel diminish or even dissipate. As it stands support for Israel is very convenient for the US industrial military complex and the USA's long-term strategic objectives in the Middle East which IMHO are large factors in its willingness to support it.
I disagree. She was speaking to an Israeli lobby and was being truthful (her legislative work has been as pro Israel as they come). I think it is important for the rest of us to recognize that Jews are very attached to Israel, and while they may be fine Americans (and are a major part of our country), it is also important to recognize when decisions advocated by rich and powerful forces (such as recent arrests of college students exerting their first amendment rights) are alien to who we are and our values. If we are unable to object to actions that harm these United States, then we have failed to serve our country. I have read a lot of non-fiction relating to Carter and Nixon (autobiography and secondary sources), and they both highlight the pressure they faced to serve Israel, taking actions that were not favorable to the US at the time because of powerful lobbies. Ignoring this problem will continue to do America great harm, for it is American soldiers that serve in these wars (Israelis have bunkers we have funded through our taxes and free healthcare), American blood that gets spilled (Iran and Iraq are examples), and American values that are sacrificed (the maiming of children is not an American value, and I define American to be that view the founding fathers had, not the recent view that has been stained by these very lobby efforts).
I don't entirely disagree with your perspective but the idea that Israel is more important than the USA to American politicians just sounds absurd. It makes me worry about an overly Israel-centric view of the world where all issues stem from one bad guy. I feel like the world is usually a bit more complicated than that with multiple competing interests contributing to outcomes.
