Lemme Get This Straight
Progressives are complaining about the US not putting brakes on Israel destroying Hezbollah. This is a terrorist organization with American blood on its hands and your position is that we should help it survive? That we should be ashamed of building the bombs that Israel used against them?
I guess their argument is that Hezbollah will just disappear on its own if we do nothing. Feel like that tactic has been tried for 30+ years. Did it work?
This Argument
That Israel created Hezbollah and Hamas by its actions is bizarre. It'd be like saying the Northern states caused the KKK by defeating the South in the Civil War.
APAIC
Re: the claims made by folks like Macaes and Taleb that APAIC controls Congress, etc. If this were the case, why wouldn't the Arabs have formed a similar group to influence Congress in their favor? Lack of money? Doubt it. Nobility? Doubt it. They just can't accept the reality that Americans aren't going to be persuaded by suicide bombing campaigns and invasions of Israel. Sorry. Just go visit a 2nd grade classroom, they'll tell you all you need to know.
Is It Just Me
Or does Israel seem like they're handling all family business.
To all the naysayers and Jihadist apologists: the receipts are all on twitter.
Terrible Ideas
Both candidates have terrible, disqualifying ideas toward the center of their campaigns. For Trump and Republicans - its these tariffs and trade wars. Bad idea with a lot of unintended consequences. For Kamala, reparations and taxing unrealized capital gains. Can you think of a more polarizing idea than reparations? Can you think of a more clumsy and burdensome procedure than taxes unrealized gains?
Spending Money
When CA spends money on homelessness, we are giving money to people and organizations who "work" with the homeless -- not, actually, the homeless.
Must Watch Clip
On why parents of trans children will fight to death on the issue. She is right. They will never accept what they have done which is irrevocably harmed their own children.
They Have A Name for this in the US
It's called the suburbs.
Right wing dude moves family to Budapest in order to discover Montessori schools. Loony.
It’s just very difficult to end a series. For example, ‘Seinfeld,’ they ended it with them all going to jail. Now that’s the ending we should have had. And they should have had ours, where it blacked out in a diner.
Logging
Film: Godzilla: King of the Monsters
I've never heard anyone talk about the Godzilla and Kong cinematic universe, but this has managed to pay many bills for some decent actors and keep the trams at WB working, while at the same time showing the total lack of imagination and exhaustion of Hollywood. This is what you get for trying to make movies for 1 billion Chinese people you've never met or care to meet.
Agree
Call me old fashioned, but I prefer the old school tech industry of navy blue suit / red tie IBM yes men and pocket protector autistic worker drones in beige cubicles. At least they didn't try to convince themselves they were cool visionary hippies
Also, they didn't feel the need to "change the world." They kinda sort of happened to (although are things so different, really?) but didn't go on and on about it.
Random Memory
On 9/11, I was in central California at a PG&E office on a consulting assignment - my first post college job. For all intents and purposes, this was like being in a red state. They had set up a tv in the conference room where we were working. Everyone from my consulting team and the office were in and out all day watching the news. I remember an older white women was watching it unfold and she said "we gotta bomb them." I said "bomb who." She looked at me and said, "you know who."
The Case Against AI
Ladies and gents: an American politician:
In comments made on the forum of a porn website between 2008 and 2012, Mark Robinson called himself a "Black Nazi," said he supported reinstating slavery and -despite a recent history of anti-transgender rhetoric - said he enjoyed watching transgender pornography.
and
On the porn website Nude Africa, Robinson also graphically described his own sexual arousal as an adult from the memory of secretly “peeping” on women in public gym showers as a teen, recounting the story as a memory he said he still fantasized about.
AI will never be able to come up with stuff and that's why there is a future for us.
Rules Based Order
The same people who are saying the Western "rules based order" is dead because of the way Israel is fighting Hamas and Hezbollah also claim Israel stole land from Palestinians in 1948. So - I'm confused -when did this "rules based order" die. It seems like it never quite existed in their minds and yet, it has suddenly just died. They act as though there was some fair system before (that they of course, rejected) and now that fair system has somehow become worse? Incoherent people.
Ugh
Watching some of these Republican Senators grilling Maya Berry - ugly. I have zero tolerance for Hamas apologists, but the hyperbole about Jewish students being in danger on campus is out of control. I agree the pro-Hamas stuff is gross, but what the hell are Lindsay Graham and Josh Hawley gonna do about it? Nothing but blow hot air. Do Senators need to be involving themselves in this? Cannot the campuses resolve these issues? Are Hawley and Graham gonna go around reading all the protest signs and distinguishing between free speech and hate speech. Don't they have more important things to be doing? This just furthers my suspicion that the vast majority of our so-called elites just enjoy their status and like pretending to be doing their jobs. What they should actually be doing is figuring out how to sort out this new world order that's growing in front of our eyes. Instead, they want to pick the low hanging fruit.
Man...I don't know...
Logging
Film: Rebel Ridge
Rather enjoyable all things considered. Conceit of the action hero who wants to do no harm worked in the end. Casting all around not terribly exciting for me, though.
Book: Life's Work by David Milch
Fascinating he could write this thing while losing his mind. Tons of nuggets about life and writing along with some decent gossip. Quite a candid discussion of professional and personal failures. At rare moments, I get exhausted by his weighty approach to drama. Still, a singular voice and person - unlikely to have another like him.
Think For Yourself
The crazier the world gets, the more important it becomes to think and for yourself. Parent listened to the internet and the doctors and pretty is responsible for mutilating their child. Heinous. Tropes are often tropes for reasons - they are true.
"Putin Warns"
NATO will be at war with Russia if Ukraine uses long range weapons. But according to Putin, he started the war to prevent NATO expansion into Ukraine. So...is anyone double checking his strategy...
Tyreek
Unpopular opinion over here...the issue isn't that Tyreek is a criminal or the cops are terrible racists...he's just dumb. Like really dumb. He's driving too fast, he gets pulled over. Why? Not because the world is racist, but the world doesn't want people driving 60 mph in a 40 mph zone. The community is going to want/have some type of police to enforce basic safety laws. He interprets this as racist, because he's dumb. And somehow doesn't understand that other people aren't cool with crazy drivers. So he starts protesting, acting a fool because he thinks he's a victim when in fact, he's being mildly irresponsible. Cops overreact because they are dumb too, just not quite as dumb as he.
Logging
Film: Predator 2
In honor of the heat wave in LA, decided to rewatch. Not a stand alone classic as the original film, yet holds up as a maniacal genre exercise. Gary Busey and Bill Paxon are both in this film. Also, the film deserves quite a bit of credit of expanding and elaborating the so-called Predator mythology.
Could pair well with Marked for Death as entries in the Jamaican gangs as villains sub-subgenre.
Israel-Hamas War
I'd be sympathetic to the so-called pro-Palestinian position if they proposed neutering the Iranians and starving Hamas financially rather than taking it out on the Palestinian people. But I never hear such ideas or proposals.
Georgia School Shooting
Boy does this sad story have something for everyone. It's like a Rorschach test.
Liberals can point blame at gun laws and trans/homophobia, two of their favorite topics.
Conservatives can point blame at the public schools and radical trans-ideology brainwashing the kid.
One thing we can probably all agree on...I would guess...the father is freaking nuts for giving a gun to the kid.
America can probably to a 75-80% degree agree with what makes good parents. I wonder if that's a starting point.
No Change
Hamas murders seven innocent hostages, violating every single international and moral law known to man. But it changes nothing to the ceasefire crowd. It only reconfirms their priors. I would like to understand how one is expected to make a ceasefire with such a group? All those who want to stop the war, should join along with the coalition to end Hamas as quickly as possible so that the war will stop. And stop it will when Hamas loses the will and support to fight.