dukeleto
1yr ago
I think you’re completely missing my point which is that it’s questionable that giving Israel a lot of money to destabilize the Middle East is a good idea (not the least of which is because you are mostly propping up Netanyahu). The us needs to be preparing to compete with China, not wasting our energies on regional fights in the Middle East and
As for Israel’s alleged strategic importance, every example you have was of Jews working in america. Israel itself is not particularly productive or important.
I’d also encourage you to look at the domestic Israeli political situation, before advocating American political involvement.
dukeleto
1yr ago
Fundamentally I think issues l should be viewed in the following light:
- Israel and Israel’s supporters (primarily American Jews and evangelicals), want the us to give Israel 15 billion dollars.
- This will enable Israel to expand their activities in the Gaza Strip and possibly invade Lebanon again and could easily end up involving the us in the region again.
I and many other Americans who don’t have any affiliation with Israel are asking if this is in our national interest. Many more democrats than republicans do not think it is and Democratic support is required to make this pass. Rather than debating this issue on its merits the adl and other Israel supporters are doing their best to make it a conversation about anti semitism. In my opinion suggesting that universities are antisemitic places is even more preposterous than suggesting that they are racist places and anyone who cares a wit about freedom of speech should should be concerned that the wealthy donors have this much influence over public institutions (by which I mean u penn.). I can’t believe that I am actually in support of something Harvard is doing (this is probably the first time ever), but it sort of refreshing that their endowment is so big that they can ignore these kinds of donor demands.
dukeleto
1yr ago
Thank you that is very interesting and was completely absent from my understanding of the situation. Shame no one has written a book on this.
dukeleto
1yr ago
Can anyone recommend any good books about the 1980’s and early 90s with a focus on what caused the Soviet Union to collapse ? I have just finished reading the Walter isacson Kissinger biography, and while Nixon/kissenger effectively curtailed Soviet influence in the 70s, I’m still amazed at how completely the Soviet Union collapsed by 1991. The usual story is that the ussr was unable to compete with the west and this somehow led to its collapse. I’m sure economic decline contributed to their decline, but would love to learn more about the other external and internal pressures which brought it about.
dukeleto
1yr ago
The part where we station 2 aircraft carriers to prevent Iran or another Arab power from responding to Israel or the part where we are now going to give Israel another 15 billion
dukeleto
1yr ago
I think that’s good news, anyone who thought it was appropriate to launch an 80 billion dollar startup under the auspice of a “non profit” belongs in jail for abusing non profit status.
dukeleto
1yr ago
I’m not motivated enough to write a detailed response so I’m linking to a news story if you’re interested: https://www.timesofisrael.com/for-writer-who-broke-epstein-case-a-rumored-mossad-link-is-worth-digging-into/amp/
I’ll also point out that I find it really suspicious that Israel suddenly has so much less influence than they did just 5 years ago. This could Just be a case of Bibi being incompetent.
dukeleto
1yr ago
As for # 6 there was a lot of speculation that Epstein had been employed by the mossad or some other intelligence agency (or agencies), specifically to get blackmail material. In which case he was killed to bury that connection.
dukeleto
1yr ago
How is the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam (I assume it’s open again)? Its the primary reason I would want to visit Amsterdam again
dukeleto
1yr ago
So if I’m reading that correctly it was us owned ammunition that was stored in Israel not a donation
dukeleto
1yr ago
They are now, but this nonsense about either deporting all of the Palestinians or maintaining a status quo in which the palestians are not Israeli citizens is basically a form of apartheid
dukeleto
1yr ago
I don’t know, I think that the time has come for them to decide: is Israel a democracy or not? If they want to continue down the pathway to become an apartheid theocratic state, then that’s their business but they should be called out for it or and shouldn’t continue to receive foreign policy deference and foreign aid in abundance. If they are going to remain a democracy that is excellent, and I believe will ultimately be revealed as the correct choice.
dukeleto
1yr ago
I wonder if fentanyl is ultimately bad for the cartels? Its primary advantage over traditional opioids is the extremely small dosages that users require. They’re so small I assume you could simply impregnate a letter with the stuff, mail it and almost certainly get away with it. This has to undermine the cartels business model which is predicted on smuggling relatively large quantities of drugs across international borders.
dukeleto
1yr ago
If you value reliability over performance then you should probably get a Honda or Toyota. If you care about having an electric vehicle they make plug in versions of many of their cars which I think gives you the best of both worlds in that you can have an ev for most regular driving but can still take road trips easily.
I currently drive an older rav4 hybrid, if I were getting a new vehicle I would likely buy the plug in version of the current year model.
If cost were a bigger concern I would just get a plug in Prius (or non plug in Prius). I had a 2004 prius for years while in grad school with over 300k miles on it (I don’t know how many miles were actually on it because the odometer quit working at 299,999). Minimal maintenance, and only real downside is if you get a bad battery pack.
Also you should do some research on hybrid vehicles post lithium switch over. Older nicad Toyota hybrid battery packs could be reconditioned fairly easily (and cheaply). I doubt this is true on newer hybrids/plug in hybrids with lithium battery packs, which might impact the calculus a bit.
I think that sounds very compelling, I would also add a little to the government employment aspect (especially with respect to large # of very well compensated scientists working at sandia and Los Alamos), is substantial, but who knows, the hard sciences are usually split more evenly.
dukeleto
1yr ago
It makes me wonder what the governor’s motivations are. I don’t know anything about New Mexico politics (besides the fact the the state is inexplicably left wing). This seems like a totally bizarre thing to do in an off election year for a politician who can’t possibly aspire to an office outside of New Mexico. I wonder if she is trying to get ahead of a scandal or something.
dukeleto
1yr ago
Do you know if it appreciably better or different than bing chat? I know they have a partnership with Microsoft but I don’t know the particulars. I use bing chat all the time at work (since it is free)
dukeleto
1yr ago
Spotted the electrical engineer. I do the same thing every time I see blm (I think bureau of land management first).
dukeleto
1yr ago
I had a similar experience when I was in grad school, I’m a white guy with middle/lower middle class parents. invariably the people whom were getting (I assume, i didn’t see their records) affirmative action benefits were overwhelmingly attractive women from more privileged backgrounds. It was one of the lived experiences which completely turned me off on the left and on academia more generally
dukeleto
1yr ago
Could you elaborate a little More on the effects of materials? Does it work at all in wet soils which I imagine absorb microwaves very efficiently?
dukeleto
1yr ago
He clearly needs to lower his testosterone dose, it’s turning him into an asshole.
I assume it has a lot to do with the private universities, I mean Berkeley is basically a public ivy and they have 45k students.
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