Nwallins
Finally updated my bookmark
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User ID: 265
Nwallins
Finally updated my bookmark
6mo ago
I've seen many claims of Hamas militants being drug- or meth-fueled, along with some healthy skepticism of such. Based on what, exactly?
Hamas terrorists who carried out a surprise attack on October 7 were found to be under the influence of Captagon, a synthetic amphetamine-type stimulant that has been clandestinely produced in southern Europe and trafficked through Turkey to the consumer markets on the Arabian Peninsula, as reported by Nir Dvori of Channel 12.
The pills were recovered from the pockets of many terrorists who lost their lives on Israeli soil.
Captagon belongs to the amphetamine family and was initially developed to address attention disorders, narcolepsy, and depression. Despite its highly addictive nature and potential for inducing psychotic reactions, it continues to enjoy popularity in the Middle East due to its affordability and ease of manufacturing. In poorer countries, the drug can be purchased for a dollar or two, while in wealthier nations, it may cost up to 20 dollars per pill.
Its primary effects include arousing feelings of euphoria, reducing the need for sleep, suppressing appetite, and providing sustained energy.
According to medical professionals in Lebanon and Syria, Captagon is not only prevalent among fighters but is also frequently used by desperate civilians residing in conflict zones.
Once a source of revenue for ISIS members through drug smuggling, Captagon has now become a major source of income for Syria and is actively supported by Hezbollah.
Around two years ago, an investigation conducted by The New York Times revealed that individuals associated with Syrian dictator Bashar Assad, including family members, had established a thriving industry for the production of Captagon.
Nwallins
Finally updated my bookmark
6mo ago
Homeboy, throw in the towel
Your shit got fucked by Sidney Powell
Apologies to The Beastie Boys
Nwallins
Finally updated my bookmark
6mo ago
I wish your first link was something other than a google search result, which will of course change drastically over time, complicating any analysis or discussion.
It looks like Israel bombed a neighboring residence (I would expect an apartment building but the current results refer to a "house"). It seems strange that the Israelis would bomb a single family residence (aka "house"). And the damage extended, presumably unintentionally, to the church.
I suppose we'll see if there is a characteristic Israeli crater or not. And at this point, maybe Israel can drop the equivalent of small barrel bombs as a false flag to implicate Hamas, etc.
I doubt Israel intentionally bombed a church unless it was a legitimate military target, which is entirely possible given the defensive strategy of Hamas, etc. I tend to defer to Arnold Kling's reasoning for this type of situation: https://arnoldkling.substack.com/p/the-gaza-hospital-tragedy
Nwallins
Finally updated my bookmark
6mo ago
Wellllllll...
Her agentic boost, the ability to overturn a prior decision, comes from the outside, not from within, premised upon her supposed lack of agency. Affirmative action, if you will. An outside finger on the scale to mask weakness is not actual strength.
Nwallins
Finally updated my bookmark
6mo ago
St Pierre and Miquelon are islands off the coast of Newfoundland. It seems misleading to call that a border.
Nwallins
Finally updated my bookmark
6mo ago
Rhabdoviridae
Interesting, is this related to the rhabdo that Crossfitters get? Rhabdomyalysis? Something to do with kidneys and hydration?
The article is ungated for me, FYI
Nwallins
Finally updated my bookmark
6mo ago
Europe is certainly capable of turning back migrants. They choose not to.
Nwallins
Finally updated my bookmark
6mo ago
Wow, so Europe can stop illegal immigrants from taking boats across the Mediterranean simply by refusing a port pass? Why haven't they thought of this?
I dunno about a port pass, but yes, they can. They have thought of this.
It's sometimes referred to as "turnback policy" under international maritime law, as I understand.
Foreign vessels have a right of innocent passage in a state’s territorial sea (up to 12 miles from shore) under article 17 LOSC. If passage is not innocent, such as when domestic immigration laws are breached, states can take necessary steps to prevent passage. For seaworthy vessels, this is generally unproblematic. It may be that the UK government expects to rely on some iteration of this principle.
But if a vessel determines and justifies that it is in distress, it can enter the state’s territorial sea, according to an exception in article 18 LOSC. The duty to render assistance is also still applicable, even where the state believes that migration offences have been committed by those in peril.
For this same reasoning, multiple trips to Iranian port will be denied. And when the first trip is denied, the boat remains full and unable to take on additional migrants.
Nwallins
Finally updated my bookmark
6mo ago
Do you know why IV fluids fail to hydrate? I am only going off wikipedia here, and maybe errantly...
Nwallins
Finally updated my bookmark
6mo ago
I just re-learned about rabies, in the last 10 days:
- if you're symptomatic, you're a dead man walking
- symptoms take weeks to months to present
- symptoms include hydrophobia, which is an intense thirst combined with your musculoskeletal system refusing to accept water (via the nervous system)
- IV fluids for some reason do not ameliorate
- "foaming at the mouth" is related to increased saliva production combined with an inability to swallow said fluids
- zombie-like symptoms including an instinct to bite others
- transmitted primarily via saliva
- zoonotic reservoirs are mostly bats and rodents, with dogs as the bridge to humans
- very few canine or human cases in countries like USA
- a really shit way to go
- less prevalent but more scary than I thought
Nwallins
Finally updated my bookmark
6mo ago
I don't disagree. They could have been overwhelmed in a full engagement, but recon is a thing. Run the border, run away, report back, and engage when advantageous. I'm thinking about a SWAT team as multiple vehicles and maybe 20 personnel.
Maybe this stuff was going on, but only the Israelis know.
Or you need 100 boats with 1000 person capacity if each one takes 10 trips.
Multiple trips are not realistic. I'm happy to explain why, but that shouldn't be necessary.
As I see it, Israel + USA.
Good luck with gaining access to Iranian ports.
Yes, Iran certainly does have the ability to shoot guns at boats full of Palestinian refugees while the cameras broadcast videos of innocent women and children dying to the world.
Refusing port does not imply shooting guns.
Getting from the Meditterranean to the Persian Gulf is a far simpler logistical problem than Persian Gulf to America
The destination is rhetorical. Iran can perform the same maneuver at any port of their choosing.
Your reply here is mostly fantasy.
Nwallins
Finally updated my bookmark
6mo ago
As of December 2021, there were 323 cruise ships operating worldwide, with a combined capacity of 581,200 passengers.
Nwallins
Finally updated my bookmark
6mo ago
You'd need 1000 boats with 1000 person capacity to move a million refugees. Among the refugees would almost certainly be terrorists and crypto-militants. Obviously no weapons would be allowed on board, despite a small chance of smuggling efforts succeeding. So you will need a sizeable police force. And can you trust all of the police to maintain control of their weapons and populace, and not support some kind of mutiny?
Food and water could probably be handled.
Who is paying for this, and in charge? Israel? The UN? Someone will have to take responsibility for the Iran destination, and that will prove quite contentious. Iran can reasonably blockade and/or refuse port. Eventually conditions onboard deteriorate. Maybe the crew abandons ship? Iran could commandeer the ships and park them at the Port Authority of NY/NJ.
It's whimsical but seems quite unrealistic to me.
The Comanche and Apache, at the very least, felt the same way about the Americans, and other tribes, and behaved accordingly.
Nwallins
Finally updated my bookmark
6mo ago
Related, I think nothing less than total destruction of all known tunnels should be a, if not the, primary strategic objective for Israel. Or at least how they frame it. They can't count on UN support for killing Hamas, but they could probably muster international support for eliminating the tunnels.
In the process, Hamas gets wiped along the way.
Nwallins
Finally updated my bookmark
6mo ago
Agreed, but once you're in, you should be inside the network. No doubt there are segments and isolated clusters, but all it takes is one entrance per segment.
Nwallins
Finally updated my bookmark
6mo ago
What's a good anti-tunnel strategy for the Israelis? A few things immediately come to mind:
- Blowing them up / collapsing them
- Flooding with water
- Sealing / flooding with concrete & rubble
- Attacking clean air with smoke / toxins
- Occupation / patrol / drones / auto turrets
I think the tunnels are the main infrastructure advantage for Hamas, and Israel will need to confront them directly somehow.
Nwallins
Finally updated my bookmark
6mo ago
I don't disagree. But some prominent examples would really buttress this crux, and I do think it's the crux of this position. Do they really advocate and celebrate Hamas-style barbarism?
The overwhelming majority of conservatives and right wingers are firmly on the side of civilization, on the civilization-barbarism axis.
Nwallins
Finally updated my bookmark
6mo ago
the BAP sphere, which openly celebrates murder, rape and death.
Citations needed. I highly doubt they are celebrating Hamas style barbarism, or else we are nutpicking.
The long border with Israel is about 25 miles, the length of the overall strip. Was the short border (closest to Tel Aviv) breached? Total border is 32 miles.
Surely they could dispatch the equivalent of 5 SWAT teams to run the border within an hour or two.
I am sure they have realtime satellite surveillance as well as tripwires, cameras, and other detection mechanisms. The level of incompetence on display suggests they tacitly allowed this to happen for the sake of casus belli.
Nwallins
Finally updated my bookmark
6mo ago
While I can imagine how Hamas was able to get multiple vehicles across the border to Israel, it baffles me that they could take hostages and somehow just drive back. When a sensitive border like that is penetrated, shouldn't there be a 3 alarm fire type of response?
Like, if I was a Hamas gunman, I wouldn't expect to be returning home. Perhaps there is a special strategy for the hostage takers? How are we characterizing the border breach, and for how long did it remain unsecured?
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