Check your headline! Mark, not Mary Carney. 😁

Looking forward to today's shitshow over the Levant.

The Hamas supporters actually think the university will sever ties with Boeing?
Once again, leftists engaged in useless performance art.
Tariffs on foreign movies?
OK.
It’s not as though there is anything worth shelling out the money to go see.

Mark Carney is not coming to WA.

@2 not to disappoint:

from Axios:

As the IDF occupies parts of Gaza, it will flatten all buildings and work on destroying tunnel networks, as it did previously in Rafah and in the northern Gaza Strip.

The IDF is planning to displace close to 2 million Palestinians to the Rafah area, where compounds for the delivery of humanitarian aid are being built.

The Israeli Cabinet decision is highly controversial domestically, especially because it entails the mobilization of 70,000 reservists, most of whom have served for more than 300 days since the Oct. 7 attacks.

The IDF is concerned that 30-50% of the reservists won't show up, officials say.

Most of the families of Israeli hostages vehemently oppose the operation, which they say will endanger their loved ones.

Recent polls showed 60-70% of Israelis oppose a major operation to occupy Gaza and support a deal to end the war and free the hostages. The polls showed a majority of Israelis think Netanyahu is continuing the war for political [bibi’s keep-the-Fuck-outta-Prison gambit] reasons.

--by Barak Ravid

tonnes more:
https://www.axios.com/2025/05/05/israel-gaza-destroy-trump-deal

“but but butt it’s NOT GENOCIDE!!!”

ok, wormmy.

A full Israeli takeover of Gaza was inevitable after Trump won, he said he wanted it to be turned into a new Monaco last summer and outright supported it, much less express any interest in exerting pressure on Israel not to. All of those nonsensical false equivalence folks in Dearborn and elsewhere during the campaign continue to look like clowns.

@3a

conflating Hamas supporters
with Pro-Palestinians is a
typical, counterfactual
Schmear by those on
the so-called 'right'

and not unexpected
by this poster.

" SUPER UW demanded the university cut all financial ties with Boeing, stop repressing pro-Palestinian activism on campus, and turn the building into a “community-controlled space with pro-people education.”"

The UW is not going to cut ties with Boeing, nor will it allow the performative seizure of buildings. However it might, hopefully, cut ties with these students. Then they'd be free to look for a school that doesn't allow its buildings to be used in the anti-people practice of interdisciplinary engineering.

"It's a museum now, believe it or not." Really, President Obvious?

Prediction: Alcatraz will not be re-opened.

@6, The protesters are supporting Hamas aims and demands. E.g. That attacks against Hamas in Gaza stop, allowing Hamas to reorganize and re-equip for the next 10/7 type attack, or whatever new strategy Hamas comes up with.

@5 there's no reason to think Biden or Kamala would have stopped Israel doing whatever it wanted in Gaza either given that, when they had the chance, they didn't stop Israel doing whatever it wanted in Gaza

https://www.democracynow.org/2025/5/1/headlines/israeli_news_investigation_confirms_biden_administration_did_not_try_to_end_genocide_in_gaza

While there are important differences between Democrats and Republicans, Israel policy is not one of them. Those who don't recognize this are who "continue to look like clowns."

@6, To be truly pro-Palestinian requires being anti-Hamas as much as being anti-Israeli invasion.

It would help the City's defense of the lawsuit against them over Denny Blaine of the users of the park would refuse orders to dress, get arrested, go to court, and be exonerated of a crime.

The City would be able to defintively point to that to prove they tried to stop nakedness at the park and were slapped down.

SUPER UW's 'manifesto' had some very positive things to say about Hamas, which feels like a highly relevant portion of the story:

“We are taking this building amidst the current and renewed wave of the student Intifada, following the uprising of student action for Palestine after the heroic victory of Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7th.”

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/uw-protest-occupation-end-with-30-arrests/

"Al-Aqsa Flood," to be clear, was the codename for Hamas's terror attacks on October 7. So the "heroic victory" is the murder of more than 1,000 people.

@6 do you have any facts that indicate Palestinians do not support Hamas? They still enjoy strong support every time there is a poll: https://www.pcpsr.org/. While an occupation is terrible for a number of reasons it still does not constitute a genocide.

@7 I'd be interested to know how many of them are actual students. I would suspect if their identities are made known it would be a lot of the usual crowd who joins in any demonstration around the city.

thirteen12 @10: I think that Rumeysa Ozturk, Mahmoud Khalil, Badar Khan Suri, Leqaa Kordia, Alireza Doroudi, and just a few others are noticing a bit of a difference at the moment.

But hey, since there's really no difference, I guess everyone can stop caring about it, since nothing we do matters.

I love how the Stranger begins this post with the helpful description, "A group called Students United for Palestinian Equity and Return UW (SUPER UW)...", as if SUPER UW wasn't already well-known, for threatening violence against UW students, and defacing UW student artworks at the HUB:

'"While covering the sit-in, I was subjected to harassment intended to humiliate me by weaponizing my race, ethnicity, and family history. I will never forget the experience of being told that I am a “disgusting person of color” and that my ancestors would be sickened by the person I am, among a slew of other dehumanizing statements.

'One protester called us “coward-ass press reporters who are pathetic and have nothing better to do” and asked how we could live with ourselves. Their harassment and intimidation tactics went on for hours when we refused to comply with their demands that we leave the occupied building.

'Protesters succeeded in the end at preventing Daily photographers from documenting the protesters trespassing on and vandalizing university property through physical intimidation and threats to smash their gear.'

(https://www.dailyuw.com/news/statement-from-the-news-editor-regarding-thursday-s-protest-in-the-hub/article_2538cb6a-f545-11ee-88d7-3b41f5bbc769.html)

Lovely company our local "progressives" continue keeping...

Hopefully the Israelis can pull it off this time. It sounds like they are coming in with a better strategy this time, but I’m still worried they won’t be able to field a large enough force for long enough to finish Hamas completely. Hit ‘em hard! 💥💥💥

KOMO literally ate up most of their 11pm broadcast last night on this one UW and Pro-Palestinian story. So unduly excessive.

@10 Of course Biden and Harris would have worked to stop a full Israeli takeover of Gaza and permanent displacement of 2 million, that’s the only reason Israel hadn’t already done it until now. Biden and Harris supporting the two state solution and ostensibly being onboard with Israel’s initially stated goal of dismantling Hamas is not even close to the same as Trump’s vision of rebuilding Gaza as an Israeli playground and the permanent ejection of all Palestinians. Thinking in histrionic “oh they’re all the same” nonsense is not only not true, it undermines harm reduction.

Those kids at UW sure showed Killmala and Genocide Joe! And I expect the press release from UW announcing the severance from Boeing any minute now!

@7, @20: The UW College of Engineering continues to operate the Boeing Wind Tunnel, which was given to them by Boeing. Not by the Boeing company, but by Bill Boeing himself -- on the condition his new airplane company could use it when they had a need. Aviation historians credit this wind tunnel with supporting the R&D needed to give Boeing aircraft superior aerodynamic performance to competitors' aircraft. (https://www.aa.washington.edu/about/impact/wind-tunnels)

UW ain't cutting ties with Boeing anytime soon.

@6
Disagree.
The protesters condemn Israel’s actions, but not Hamas.
That makes them Hamas supporters.
How would you react if someone did to a member of your family what Hamas did to Israelis on 10/7?

@19 an Israeli media investigation found Biden exerted no pressure on Israel to stop any of its actions in Gaza, but you say "of course" he and Kamala would have stopped Israel. Don't be stupid.

@15 immigration policy is one area where the parties are different, true

@9 well we can't have them regrouping. They might kills tens of thousands of women and children and destroy millions of people's homes if they have the chance!

@7: demands to create "community-controlled space(s) with pro-people education" are code words movement organizers use when they mean "hire us as advisers and give us this building."

@23: "Israeli media investigation found Biden exerted no pressure on Israel to stop any of its actions in Gaza"

"No pressure" to stop "any of its actions," you say? Uh-huh. 😂 Any chance of a link to this "Israeli media investigation" in which these claims are set forth? 😉

It's super that SUPER UW can't seem to learn from experience and just doubles down on the policies that have completely failed in the past.

Kind of like the Palestinians themselves who, since 1972, have only attempted terrorism and hostage taking, which has completely failed.

Tensorna dear, I was being facetious. I am well aware that UW will never cut ties with Boeing. It’s laughable of the students to request that and shows how non-serious they are.

Are you referring to the wind tunnel at Boeing Field, or is there one on campus as well?

Only 1,354 more days until the Trump shit show is over.

The damage is apparently pretty extensive. Graffiti everywhere inside, equipment damaged, doors pulled off and thrown down stairwells. It is a nearly complete new building. The repairs are going to be several hundred thousand.

I'll be surprised if these are actual UW students. If so, they just got expelled.

Dream on @29. He will never cede power. Once he's succeeded in dismantling civil society, the rule of law and congress gives him dictatorial power, it'll be 5000 days, or his death, whichever comes first. Then he'll be succeeded, just as Mao and Stalin were, but probably by his next of kin, if they're not killed in the post-mortem power struggle. That's All, Folks! America as a republic is already over.

@28: My apologies; I know you were being facetious, dear. Only after I clicked on "Post Comment" did I understand you could rightfully interpret what I wrote as me taking you seriously.

"Are you referring to the wind tunnel at Boeing Field, or is there one on campus as well?"

@21, I provided a link to the one on the UW campus, which was indeed originally given by Bill Boeing himself to UW's College of Engineering. The Transonic Wind Tunnel at Boeing Field (where I have worked, BTW) is a completely separate entity.

Thank God for the fine men and women at SPD who endured attacks throughout the night from these "Peaceful" protestors. In addition to jail time, any UW students involved deserve to be expelled. And any foreign students should have their VISAs revoked and be deported promptly.

It makes sense to remove the Palestinians from Gaza since they refuse to govern their enclave with the generally accepted rules of society (don't attack innocent civilians or use them as hostages.) It's kinda like sweeping a giant homeless encampment of people who refuse drug treatment. 👍

Trans people sure seem to get off on being caught naked in public. Weird.

Sayonara to woke housing programs. Are you an American citizen? Do you make less than the cutoff to receive benefits? Those should be the only things that matter in assigning public benefits.

The Alcatraz thing is admittedly stupid. We should want to operate our prisons as cheaply as possible. But if costs a couple hundred million bucks to make a point that the Feds are taking crime seriously again, that works for me. We can find other places to cut.

Mifepristone has ten times the rate of complications than does surgical abortion. But at least a surgical abortion comes with lifesaving medical care if needed. Now you know I don't support either but it's obviously time to ban Mifepristone, especially by mail.

@26 https://13tv.co.il/item/news/hamakor/season-24/episodes/csqug-904557783/

https://x.com/DropSiteNews/status/1916889129771577847

@34: ha ha ha, video shows US officials encouraging Israeli government to negotiate an end to the war, criticizing Israeli officials and Israeli decision-making both in public and in private, and both threatening to and actually withholding the delivery of certain munitions.

Video does not show US officials saying that they "exerted no pressure on Israel to stop any of its actions in Gaza," which was your claim @23.

Looks like you got ahead of your skis on this one. 😂😂😂

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2a8TB-tvuM

@11. Finally you say something that is true. The vast majority of Progressives condemn Hamas in equal or greater terms than the fringes of the Knesset who have disenfranchised their own people in order to subject them to policies they despise and that will only lead to greater insurgencies and war. Progressives have opinions on policy matters, it is not an identify of Pro or Anti-Palestine/Israel, but how American spend our tax revenue on just or unjust causes. Every American who believes in free speech and expression has the civic duty to speak their peace on violations of justice.

Trolls can only lob them all together as antisemites, because they cannot see past their black and white inertia on the issue because to give up all they have stood for is too heavy in cognitive dissonance. They can only make it a question of racism or identify or self defense instead of policy or problem solving by other means. And the most antisemitic Hitlerphiles in government have scapegoated and projected their own vile racism unto Progressives because that way they can get away with more antisemitism and scapegoating Jews for the elimination of the Bill of Rights and academic freedom. It is so vile and heinous on its face.

The so called supporters of Israel in our government truly wish its destruction due to their eschatological madness. There is no room for anyone to be raptured when The King Separates the flock east from west for those who did not speak against this madness.

War is Hell, but we should not simply declare it as such and turn a blind eye to atrocities we enable. After 10/7, there were some student organizations that were hijacked by extremists who did support Hamas, and they deserve to be rightly condemned, especially those who supported taking hostages and wanton violence against civilians. It was clear where this would go, but from the beginning the extremists who are in power in Israel never cared more about the lives of the civilians than achieving their conquest of Gaza and the ethnic cleansing of the territory. It's all well documented for all to see.

Equating Progressives with Hamas because they had a policy disagreement with the establish Democrats is absurd. You really think they wanted to keep starving kids? It is a movement on the principle of international law and how war should be waged. Isolating yourself from the UN, the ICC, and disregarding all precedent since WW2 on how to wage war justly is worth protesting against. When you allow the human rights of the most vulnerable to be dismantled, you lay the infrastructure for your own oppression.

Our country stands for more than this if we are truly a Christian nation, as all these sycophants who bow to Trump with their golden calf false piety can attest. Those who support the slaughter of innocents, of newborns, of pregnant women, of the elderly and sick, of the torture and mutilation and incalculable cumulative suffering of innocents, will never know the Kingdom of Heaven. For it is written:

"For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. 43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’

44 “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’

45 “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’

46 “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”

Also:

"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you."

@35 "encouraging" and "criticizing" huh. They threatened to withhold one specific munitions shipment, then did--for two weeks before they caved. The bottom line is the Biden admin levied no real or lasting consequences on Israel for anything they ever did. They may have asked nicely for Israel to please stop committing war crimes, but they never "pressured" them as any reasonable person would define the word.

@31, The U.S. military could not stop an armed insurgency in Iraq without the help of about 2/3 of the Iraqi population.

They couldn't stamp out the Taliban insurgency in Iraq.

They won't stamp out a U.S. insurgency if Trump tries to remain in power. The population is much larger with an extremely high percentage of them being armed.

Government in this country can't exist without the consent of the governed.

@37: No pressure other than threatening to withhold munitions, actually withholding munitions, allowing a UN Security Council resolution to be adopted demanding an unconditional ceasefire, canceling a meeting with the Israeli prime minister, making public statements condemning aspects of the Israeli operations as indiscriminate, and issuing sanctions against named Israelis. 😂

I don't know what you would call all that, but I call it pressure. 😂 President Trump was impeached for applying far less pressure than that against Ukraine during his first term! 😃

Besides, weren't you supposed to deliver a video in which US officials admitted to applying "no pressure on Israel to stop any of its actions in Gaza?" You've been talking about it for two days. What you delivered instead was an hour-long video of US officials talking about all their attempts to put pressure on Israel to stop various activities in Gaza! 😛

@36: "The vast majority of Progressives condemn Hamas in equal or greater terms..."

This entirely unsupported claim comes in response to SUPER UW, who most certainly did not condemn Hamas at all, but instead celebrated 10/7, including Hamas' murders of over a thousand civilians (@13).

"Equating Progressives with Hamas because they had a policy disagreement with the establish Democrats is absurd."

We equate Progressives with Hamas due to statements such as SUPER UW provided, and because Progressives at the Stranger constantly combine extremely strident criticism of Israel with little to no mention of Hamas at all.

"Our country stands for more than this if we are truly a Christian nation,"

"As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion..."
Treaty of Tripoli, Article 11, signed by President John Adams and ratified unanimously by the US Senate, 1797.

@37: What's better -- your absolute determination to deny that Biden/Harris used some of the legal means at their disposal to restrain Israel in Gaza, or your absolute refusal to admit candidate Trump wanted Palestinians cleared from Gaza, and only after his election, the Israeli government has started taking steps to do just that?

“In the old days young people went to university to learn from people who were perhaps three times their age and had read an enormous amount. But nowadays they go in order to tell those older people what they should be thinking and what they should be saying.”

Perhaps some enterprising young people can establish their own "education camps" to enlighten their benighted elders. The Khmer Rouge could serve as a model.

@36

"Equating
Progressives
with Hamas because
they had a policy disagreement
with the establish Democrats is absurd.

You really think
they wanted to keep
starving kids? It is a move-
ment on the principle of inter-
national Law and how war should be waged.

Isolating yourself from the UN, the ICC,
and disregarding all precedent since
WW2 on how to wage war justly
is worth protesting against.

When
you allow
the human rights
of the most vulnerable
to be dismantled, you lay the
infrastructure for your own oppression."

BRAVO, CD.
thank You.

@31: I think Donald really wants to only sever to 2028. He'll have billions by then, and if he's pretty sure he won't go to jail after leaving office he'll leave. He never really liked administrate aspects and demands of it all.

@36, "Isolating yourself from the UN, the ICC, and disregarding all precedent since WW2 on how to wage war justly is worth protesting against."

How effective have the UN, ICC, and other international bodies been at insuring just war is practiced? How successful have they been in bringing those accused of waging unjust or unlawful (international law) war to justice? How many people have they saved from "unlawful warfare"?

Since Nuremberg, you could probably count those brought to justice by an international body for violations of laws of armed conflict on both hands.

What gets non-combatants out of the line of fire (and/or being unlawfully targeted or treated) is ending the f*ing conflict. When do conflicts end? When one or more sides decides they don't have the means or will to continue, or that the cost is too high.

So if we gave a rats ass about the people of Gaza we would put our thumb on the scale to make sure one or both, sides suffers overwhelming military defeat, as quickly as possible (e.g. the Balkans where NATO accomplished that in 12 days in Operation "Deliberate Force")

Pragmatically, ending the war is what saves the most non-combatant lives and saves living non-combatants the most atrocity. Overwhelming force to end the conflict quickly, counterintuitively saves non-combatant lives, while limousine liberals, debate the finer point of international law and who should be brought before the ICC. If they wanted to save lives, they would do what NATO did in Kosovo to end the fucking war.

@39 look dude nothing the Biden admin did in any way prevented Israel from doing anything they wanted in Gaza. In that video there is an Israeli government official explicitly saying as much. To be honest I'm not sure why you're arguing against this given you also fully support Israel's right to do whatever they want in Gaza and actually get excited about the prospect of them killing more Arabs.

@40 I'll readily admit Trump supports Israel clearing all Palestinians from Gaza, just like Biden supported Israel killing 50,000+ Palestinians in Gaza. Neither President or their parties give a single solitary fuck about any Palestinian. That's my whole point.

https://www.patriciarobertsmiller.com/2025/04/22/make-politics-about-policies-not-high-stakes-tug-of-war/

@40. Let me know when you learn to make an argument in good faith by actually reading an entire paragraph to digest its meaning, rather than cherrypicking in bad faith to avoid any actual discussion, especially when the point you conveniently gloss over what addresses the next point you make. Until then, you are not worth anyone's time.

@44. So by your logic, ending the war quickly with maximum damage to civilians is moral. Therefore, nukes are the highest form of just war. Go take a hike.

Whelp, it turns out the Seattle judge who said "it is not an especially close question" when granting a temporary injunction against Trump's military transgender ban was wrong.

The ban is constitutional and the Supreme Court just gave it the official go-ahead.

MAGA!

Also we only criticize Israel more frequently than Hamas because we are criticizing how our tax dollars are spent on 2,000 lb bombs that are inherently indiscriminate. We are not selling bombs to Hamas. We have no agency over Hamas and condemn their actions in the highest terms. They should be removed from Gaza, as they poison their peoples' minds and torture their own to maintain order. There is corruption from without as well in order to keep them as a proxy force for Iran and Qatar. But, again, we are not selling them bombs, and no same general would approve of their use in the way the Israeli military has used them in Gaza since 10/7. There is no strategy for anything but total annihilation in order to keep the corrupt administration of Israel clinging to power, to the further endangerment and suffering of the Israelis and Gazans alike.

@45: "I'll readily admit Trump supports Israel clearing all Palestinians from Gaza,"

That took only a few days! You're improving.

But only if you can pound away at one of your favorite lies, that there is no difference between the two parties.

"Neither President or their parties give a single solitary fuck about any Palestinian."

Biden/Harris cared enough to want Palestinians to remain in Gaza after the war. Trump wants them all expelled. There's your difference. The magical world, where American voters obsess like you do over a tiny territory infested with terrorists, simply does not exist, and no amount of your bitching about the Democrats will change that.

Still, maybe we can eventually get you along to the whole cause-and-effect thing regarding Trump's election and Israel's decision to conquer Gaza. (Hopefully Gaza will still have some Palestinians in it by then.)

@45: "In that video there is an Israeli government official explicitly saying as much"

Not true. The video shows Israeli President Herzog saying that President Biden did not demand an immediate Israeli ceasefire. But I mean...even the International Court of Justice didn't demand an immediate Israeli ceasefire? 😛

You seem to have conflated the notion that "Biden didn't demand an immediate, unilateral ceasefire from Israel" with the notion that "Biden agreed to let Israel do whatever it wanted." But those two notions aren't the same thing! 🤣 One them is true and the other one is false! 😆 Your own video shows you the difference! 😜

The Trump Administrations stance on the mifepristone lawsuit has absolutely nothing to do with abortion.

It's about forum shopping.

"Rather, echoing the argument that the Biden administration made shortly before Mr. Trump took office, the court filing asserts that the case does not meet the legal standard to be heard in the federal district court in which it was filed."

Trump doesn't like that a District Court Judge based in Seattle can rule his attempt to overturn birthright citizenship is unconstitutional. So he is cynically using the same argument here against this District Court Judge in Texas, hoping to establish a precedent.

I think this Texas judge is the same one who overturned numerous Obama and Biden policies.

@49"We have no agency over Hamas and condemn their actions in the highest terms."

Who the fuck is "we?"

It ain't the lefties on SLOG. It ain't SUPER. The lefties couldn't wait to run out into the streets shouting "From the River to the Sea" after 10/7. SUPER just issued a "manifesto" praising Hamas.... (hahahahah... jeez, that is so fucking pretentious...."oh, we wrote a manifesto!" Congrats... so did the Unabomber).

There wasn't and hasn't been any condemning going on from the far lefties because they don't condemn any of Hamas' actions, they 100% support them.

-

@53. You appear to be lacking in intelligence and reading comprehension. May I recommend The Little Engine That Could?

@50 "a tiny territory infested with terrorists"

Wow you really said "infested." You and thumpus don't even try to hide the fact you don't consider Palestinians to be human beings.

@55: yes, the correct progressive formulation is “graced with terrorists.” 😂🤣😂🤣

Sounds like this protest just got escalated to felony malicious mischief. UW saying over $1M in damage done to building including some expensive equipment.

https://x.com/chrisdaniels_tv/status/1919877810413318611?s=46&t=kOVzxj1J1zTCbS0ClWZq4g

Malicious Mischief in the First Degree:
This is a Class B felony, meaning it carries the most severe penalties. It involves property damage exceeding $5,000 or other serious actions like tampering with public safety equipment. The maximum penalty is 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.

@56 when the guy who constantly cries antisemitism apparently doesn't know the sordid history of using "infested" to describe people...

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/07/29/trump-baltimore-infest-tweet-cummings-racist-227485/

@58: ha ha ha, “rat-infested” is racist speech now, according to your link? 😂 Gosh, you better go warn Martin Luther King:

“In this America millions of people find themselves living in rat-infested, vermin-filled slums.”

-Martin Luther King, Stanford University, April 14, 1967

@55, @58: For those users of language who do not let Trump completely define our words for us, “infested” need not refer to living creatures of any kind, as this recent use by an actual writer nicely demonstrates:

“Bad behavior, bad ideas and bad policies are infesting themselves in public life, the economy and markets — to the surprise of many ardent supporters of Trump.”
—Mike O'Sullivan, Forbes.com, 25 Apr. 2025

But if you want Trump’s usage of a word to define it for you completely, none of the rest of us can stop you, now can we? All we can do is refuse to follow your example.

(What did George Orwell write about allowing political leaders to define our words for us?)

Look at you guys trying so hard to pretend your whole Israel stance isn't primarily motivated by anti-Arab bigotry

Slog is infested with arguments about something the participants have no influence over whatsoever. Enjoy!

@61: lol OK antizionist! 😆🤣😆🤣

did someone
say Antizionist?

put Me on that
List too and to Hell
with the terrorizers of
Gaza aka fucking Hamas.

apologies. for. not. Condemning.
them. with. every. single.
fucking. post.

no, I don't.
fuck you.

and Terrorists.
of BOTH Sides.

@47, We had roughly 42,000 dead in Gaza (that doesn't count IDF and Israeli civilian deaths in the conflict) 1 year in.

That's 3,500 per month. It was pretty evenly spaced over the 12 months. So a higher-intensity conflict that ended in three months could have had 4 times the higher deaths per month, and a six month conflict 2 times the death rate per month. But that isn't what happens.

The higher the intensity the combat doesn't correlate 1 for 1 with higher casualties. I'll spare you the technical details and physics of the bombs and artillery that kill 70% of the casualties on the battlefield (meaning soldiers with rifles and grenades are the smallest part of the killing).

The enemy infrastructure and personnel get hit more severely than the non-combatants and non-combatant infrastructure the more you intensify the violence against military targets, even ones shielded by non-combatants (a feature of Hamas).

Let's say the intensified conflict is delivering 5,000 non-combatant deaths a month but ends the conflict in six months, that is 12,000 less casualties than 3,500 a month for 12 months.

Nukes you suggest in your hypothetical would not work. Once at or below ground level the blast radius and blast pressure of a nuke is exponentially reduced. For example, a 1 megaton blast (500 times that of Hiroshima) has to get with 500 meters of a U.S. missile silo, when air-burst at optimal height for effectiveness, to take out the silo. Israel nukes are believed to be no more than 300 kilotons because the largest aircraft they have to carry them are jet fighters, that if loaded with a device that large would carry nothing else. Most of them are much smaller so they can fit on missiles with much lower payload capacity. The nuke is most effective as a counter-value (cities and the people in them that get employed to manufacture weapons and birth new troops) rather than counter-force weapon (missile silos, military bases).

More importantly, exponentially more radio active fallout is created by ground, or below ground bursts, to irradiate Israel, Jordan, Egypt and parts of Saudi Arabia. Israel would be irradiating themselves. Israel would use nukes as a last resort, only if the Arabs got on the same page and threw human wave attacks at them until they ran out of bullets, conventional bombs, and artillery. Israel nukes make it so their adversaries will have to sacrifice the metro areas of Cairo, Riyadh, Damascus, Baghdad, Beirut, and every other major metro if they drive Israel into the sea (which is well within their capability because of their overwhelming population advantage). Israel goes nuclear only if they have Arabs swarming all over their territory. It's the last thing Israel does before they die.

@65: Your numbers are wrong. In particular, the monthly casualty rate has not been constant. The actual rate is significantly right-skewed, owing to Israel’s initial surprise on October 7, followed by Israel’s early reliance on air power and artillery over infantry operations during the war’s first weeks.

The casualty rate subsequently declined owing to several factors: first as infantry operations increased in prominence relative to indirect fires in the Israeli scheme of maneuver, second as increasing numbers of civilians reached the designated humanitarian zones, and third as Hamas’s combat units were attrited in both numbers and effectiveness.

You’re perhaps “directionally correct” to suggest that a more intensive but shorter campaign might have resulted in fewer casualties, but reality is never quite so simple. I’ve argued many times here that Israel is either unwilling or unable to sustain a large enough ground force for long enough to deliver a decisive result in Gaza. I’m not sure the kind of clean, mechanical universe you posit is even available to the Israelis, even assuming you had your numbers right in the first place. What we’ve seen so far might have been the best they could do, unfortunately! 😅

We’ll see what happens with the current mobilization. It doesn’t look any bigger than previous mobilizations, which weren’t nearly enough. I don’t know, maybe against a weakened Hamas, and maybe with the need to invest so much in the north against Hizbollah, maybe this time they’ll be able to clear and hold. But I doubt it. I think they’ll come in too small and too briefly, just like before. Oh well, at least it keeps the grass short! 😁

@61: Look, if big long fancy (i.e. two-syllable) words are simply beyond your comprehension, then you'll just have to stop reading my comments.

Back to the original point, just because you want an America where tens of millions of Americans agree with you on Gaza (or anything else), doesn't mean you'll get it, no matter how many false equivalences you make between our country's two major political parties. Obsessive focus on Gaza, combined with such false equivalencies, helped get us more Trump, who wants all Palestinians expelled from Gaza. That's very different from what Biden/Harris wanted, and again, no amount of your bitching about the latter will alter that difference in the slightest.

Let's keep it Simple, Simon:

‪ Gaza must be Freed from Hamas

Israel Must be Freed from Nutyahoo

Ukraine Must be Freed from Russia

America Must be Freed from trumpf.

oh, and it wouldn't Hurt
if Schlogg were Freed
from its Reich
Wing Trolls.

@67

the Wormtongue
at, possibly, it's
Finest:

"Look,
if [MY!] big long
fancy (i.e. two-syllable)
words are simply beyond your comprehension..."

The
Biggest
Brain in ANY room?

just Ask it.

@46

"Let me know when you [the Wormtongue]
[aka Tentsores] learn to make an argument
in good faith by actually reading an entire
paragraph to digest its meaning, rather
than cherrypicking in bad faith to avoid
any actual discussion, especially when
the point you conveniently gloss over
what addresses the next point you
make.

Until then, you are not
worth anyone's time."

worrmy's
really got a
Way with Words,

doesn't he? a More
Manipulativee Liar
you'll likely never
ever Meet. Very
Well Put, CD.

Bravissimo.

Thank you, Swiftress dear. Your point is well taken.

Back to the original issue - the mob that stormed the UW building in a supposed protest, and their stupid, completely unrealistic demand that the University cut ties with Boeing: If one wants to bring attention to the deplorable situation in Gaza, that is noble and appropriate. But leave it at that. One wins no friends and wins no hearts by destroying state-owned property. The Boeing aspect of it dilutes the core message and sparks fear and mistrust in a region that is, like it or not, heavily dependent on the aerospace industry and the US military.

This incident, and ones like it, play into the hands of the right wing in this country, and we have enough of that already.

@71: "One wins no friends and wins no hearts by destroying state-owned property."

This is not the first time SUPER UW has occupied a building on the UW campus, made demands, and then damaged property when those demands were not immediately met. This begins to look less like a matter for UW, and more like a RICO case against SUPER UW. If they want to act like mobsters, then maybe we should treat them like mobsters.

@64, etc.: If you want readers to believe you don't condone terrorism, then perhaps you should not quote often, extensively -- and always approvingly! -- from someone who wrote:

"You can disagree with the decisions Hamas made on that day [10/7]. You can say they should have used other means to pursue justice. You can denounce them, hate them, do the whole public ritual necessary for mainstream acceptance in western society."

So, Johnstone's claiming your (only-after-called-on-lack-of-it) denunciation of Hamas amounts to nothing more than a performative, "public ritual necessary for mainstream acceptance," and why should we doubt her? You've quoted her many times, and she clearly believes 10/7 was a "means to pursue justice."

@71 "The Boeing aspect of it dilutes the core message and sparks fear and mistrust in a region that is, like it or not, heavily dependent on the aerospace industry and the US military."

I would say the fact people prefer maintaining financial comfort over doing anything at all to save lives in Gaza is a devastating indictment of the American public. But I'm also sure you're correct.

@73: What, exactly, do you propose the good citizens of the Seattle area do, with regard to Boeing, that would constitute, "doing anything at all to save lives in Gaza"? And if your honest answer is, "repeatedly vandalize buildings at the UW," then please say so.

@74 I propose you sit on a nose-up model 747 and spin. With regard to the good citizens of Seattle, those who happen to be UW administrators should divest from Boeing and the rest should call and email their representatives to demand an arms embargo with Israel.

@68, Who's army is going to free Gaza from Hamas? Force is the only way they are leaving.

You don't like the IDF's use of force, that's fine. Who's force are you going to substitute to end Hamas control of Gaza?

It's an organization whose charter has them dedicated to taking on any Arab or Israeli group that stands in the way of ridding the Holy Land of infidels, even if they have to die trying.

@75: I see you listed them in order, with one far most likely to save lives in Gaza first. ;-)

Then, of course, "vandalize buildings at UW" for second, and demand illegal action for third.

I think we're beginning to see why you're not getting any traction on this issue...

@75, So we can embargo arms. How well did the global arms embargo leading up to 1947 do in preventing the Nakbah?

As long as Gazans die with arms from elsewhere, you are OK with the deaths apparently.

How did the arms embargo on Hamas that started after 2007 do in preventing 10/7 and the current slaughter of non-combatants caught in the resulting post 10/7 crossfire?

You like the performative over that which will actually save non-combatant Gazans don't you?

@75: "...UW administrators should divest from Boeing..."

Which will save lives in Gaza how, exactly? What do you imagine for that causal relationship?

@78 just like an addict will get fentanyl somewhere so their dealer doesn't need to feel bad or responsible or stop selling to them, and arresting dealers is purely "performative" right?

@79 if you think divestment will have no impact you must not be opposed to the BDS movement, unlike all the other Zionist stooges who are up in arms about it?

@80: In fact, I cannot recall having expressed an opinion on BDS, other than perhaps to note it seems to have little (if any) effect. If you're looking for a poster child for divestment, you should really look elsewhere.

Be that as it may, BDS is about general divestment from Israel; our subject is UW specifically divesting from Boeing. Again, what, exactly, is the causal link between UW divesting from Boeing, and lives saved in Gaza?

Here, I'll save you the trouble of writing so much. Just fill in the form:

UW divests from Boeing.
???
Gaza!

@80, How we "feel" doesn't matter. Regardless of where the someone gets the drugs that kill them from doesn't change the outcome of the drugs.

Ending or bringing the addiction under control is what changes outcomes for people.

So why are you opposed to changing the outcome for Gazans? Why would you feel any different about the death of a non-combatant Gazan depending on where the weapon that killed them was manufactured? Why spend finite bandwidth on something that won't change a single tragic outcome for a Gazan, when the same bandwidth, employed on something evidence-based, could reduce tragic outcomes for Gazans?

@72 fuck off.

I've condemned Hamas
Numerous Times, None of
which've been "performative."
had you a fucking Gram of Credibility
I'd dig thru my comments at toss them in
your odious pie hole, but you Don't so I Won't.

let the Reader decide:
https://www.thestranger.com/users/25419161/kristofarian

oh and you can Shove that

"Everything Johnstone writes
YOU AGREE WITH!" up your Arse.

have a
'nice'
day.

@83: Please take your beef to Johnstone. She explicitly wrote all condemnations of Hamas are nothing more than "...public ritual necessary for mainstream acceptance in western society." You praised that very post, and urged everyone here to read it.

"I'd dig thru my comments at toss them in
your odious pie hole, but you Don't so I Won't."

That last word should be, "Can't," because you already tried at least once, and you completely failed to find a single example of your having "condemned" Hamas.

'"Everything Johnstone writes
YOU AGREE WITH!" up your Arse.'

So, give us an example of your disagreeing with something she wrote. (See how this works?)

@82 to be clear, can you confirm you believe arresting fentanyl dealers is pointless and performative because the addicts will just get their fix elsewhere?

@85: To be clear, can you confirm you believe a causal relationship exists between UW divesting from Boeing, and saving lives in Gaza?

when the USofA
Leader of the Free World
quits Exporting WMDs and
small 'arms' too we set the Ex-
ample the Leader of the Free World
needs for Humanity to Move the Fuck
on from Blowing Each Other the Fuck Up.

granted, it Will fuck up a Lotta Porfolios
but unless we all wanna Die in a
Nukular Hellscape, what other
Choice do we Have?

and, No,
the Socio-
and Psycho-
Paths, Knealists
and batshit Crazy
won't fucking LIKE it

but they can All
Fuck off to Mars
with MUXXY in a
Fleet of Muxmobile
Cyberpanzer Swistkartruks

and NO,
the Wormtongue,
I do Not have Citations
for your sorry, Creepy ass.

you'll
just hafta
Imagine them

@75, @80: Any word on how your proposed divestment of UW from Boeing would save lives in Gaza? (Note: NOT just "have an impact" on, um, whatever?)

Thanks to SUPER's trashing of the IEB, we know this divestment will not happen, but you do like hypotheticals, right?

@87: "I do Not have Citations"

That's not news, but thanks for the confirmation.

"you'll
just hafta
Imagine them"

While I must do nothing, I'm glad to read you're starting to acknowledge how the evidence needed to support your beliefs is always completely imaginary. Baby steps!

@88

Whilst the Evidence's
neither imaginary
nor Lackimg"

the 'power' of your
Compulsions to
"Prove it!" is.

fuck Off,
Trolly

and go
Back under-
neath your bridge.

*let's let the Reader decide:
https://www.thestranger.com/users/25419161/kristofarian

@89: Again, your not being able to cite even so much as one single example of what you claimed to have written is neither news, nor anyone's problem. Your repeatedly asking readers to sift through literally thousands of comments doesn't lift any of the burden of proof from you. (Neither will repeating your verbal abuses, all of which became tedious a very long time ago.)