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Joined 2 years ago
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Cake day: July 4th, 2023

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  • Systems that have voting mechanisms result in hive minds. It’s an inevitable result.

    1st someone is much more likely to vote something up or down depending on how positive / negative it is. So it snowballs sort of like compounding interest

    2nd the simplest most common denominator takes bubble to the top. Precisely because more people can understand and therefore vote.

    It’s why you’ll always see some screenshot of Twitter much higher than a long in depth article. Even though the article has infinitely more value.





  • but_what_about_.jpg

    whataboutism isn’t some magical phrase that you can utter every time someone brings up hypocrisy

    if we’re going to support sanctioning civilians based on their countries breaking international law, then we should not have double standards. otherwise it’s very clear to anyone paying attention that this is a geopolitical issue and not a moral one.

    and that’s what this is actually about. the US sanctions on Russia are a geopolitical tool meant to make the Russian re-subjugation of Ukraine more expensive. that’s it. US doesn’t actually care about Ukraine- neither this administration or the last.

    to me, that doesn’t justify banning individuals from participating in OSS projects. anybody that wants to contribute should be able to.



  • Research has shown it has historically had very little to no impact on policy. What it does do is harm the lowest rungs of society.

    For example a 2019 report on Trump’s Venezeuala sanctions estimate up to 40,000 people died. Mostly poor people who went without healthcare and medicine because the US froze all of the government’s funds and access to credit.

    In my opinion, I’d prefer if we just bombed civilians in the countries we sanction. It’s more honest. It really is a form of low level warfare. Something akin to a medieval raiding party





  • What was fascinating, or perhaps horrific is a better word, about the article that I didn’t know about is the brief mention of “The Canary Mission”

    Here’s from their about page:

    Canary Mission documents individuals and organizations that promote hatred of the USA, Israel and Jews on North American college campuses and beyond. Canary Mission investigates hatred across the entire political spectrum, including the far right, far left and anti-Israel activists.

    Canary Mission is motivated by a desire to combat the rise in anti-Semitism on college campuses. We pursue our mission by presenting the words and deeds of individuals and organizations that engage in anti-Semitism, racism and bigotry on the far right, far left and among the array of organizations that comprise the anti-Semitic Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.

    Essentially they gather dossiers on private individuals that they claim are anti-semitic. So, I looked up the woman that was taken off the street like a Ukrainian draft-dodger.

    https://canarymission.org/individual/Rumeysa_Ozturk

    Rumeysa Ozturk engaged in anti-Israel activism in March 2024, in the wake of the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israelis on October 7, 2023.

    Ozturk is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.

    What was the anti-Israel activism, you ask? I figured it was some sort of protest. Sort of like the one in New York where they occupied a building.

    Nope

    On March 26, 2024, Ozturk co-authored an op-ed published in the Tufts Daily newspaper titled: “Try again, President Kumar: Renewing calls for Tufts to adopt March 4 TCU Senate resolutions.” The authors urged “President Kumar and the Tufts administration to meaningfully engage with and actualize the resolutions passed by the Senate.”

    The op-ed referred to the passing of anti-Israel resolutions by the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate, which demanded the University “…acknowledge the Palestinian genocide, apologize for University President Sunil Kumar’s statements, disclose its investments, and divest from companies with direct or indirect ties to Israel.”

    At Tufts university, the Community Union Senate (not really sure what this is. a student council or something) passed a 3/5ths majority resolution urging the president of the university to

    1. acknowledge the Palestinian genocide

    2. apologize for some statements, I don’t know what

    3. disclose its investments

    4. divest from companies with direct or indirect ties to Israel

    She co-wrote an op-ed essentially demanding the president follow the resolution that was passed. That’s the “anti-Israel activism” she’s guilty of. I suppose that’s enough to be deported. Be careful out there guys. If you aren’t a citizen, shut up about your political views until you are. Because there are eyes out there watching everything you do. Even if you are… consider what you are doing. You may be making an enemy of a vindictive state that is willing to break the rules.

    Here’s the op-ed, in case you’re interested: https://www.tuftsdaily.com/article/2024/03/4ftk27sm6jkj

    These resolutions were the product of meaningful debate by the Senate and represent a sincere effort to hold Israel accountable for clear violations of international law. Credible accusations against Israel include accounts of deliberate starvation and indiscriminate slaughter of Palestinian civilians and plausible genocide.

    Lock 'em up, I guess. If you believe that Palestinian civilians have a right to life then you are a terrorist-sympathizer in this administration’s opinion.


  • They blockaded all of Gaza and destroyed the only airport in Gaza with bombs.

    They wouldn’t allow construction materials in. Limited lumber, steel, concrete, glass.

    In order to leave Gaza, Palestinians needed to apply for a special ID with the Israeli government and needed a “valid reason” which essentially only meant leaving for business.

    Israeli supreme court ruled in early 2000s that Gazans did not have the right to visit West Bank.

    Not even if they left through Egypt, flew to Jordan, and tried to enter from Jordan. They would be denied entry.

    Gaza and West Bank are part of the same country. Yet they did not have the right to visit family in their country.

    Virtually all legitimate organizations, including the EU and the UN considered Gaza to be occupied during the blockade.

    Israel never left. Stop spreading propaganda online. Israel never gave up control of Gaza. They controlled what went in, they controlled what came out. They controlled what buildings can be built and which buildings would be destroyed by bombs. They controlled where Gazans could fish and they controlled what items were considered “legitimate”