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Culture War Roundup for the week of March 9, 2026

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a literal spooky doomsday clock

Did you just...add a word to my quote? I don't know if that's against the rules or not, but it's definitely poor form.

Their official stated policy goal is to leave the fate of Israel up to a democratic referendum which includes displaced Palestinians

I genuinely don't know what this is based on. I've Googled around and all I can find are articles about Iranian proxy war strategy. That is, a war with guns and bombs and rockets. Nothing about referendums. Indeed, I'm curious how exactly invading Israel and destroying its military could lead to a peaceful referendum?

Israel has been waging a proxy war upon much of the Middle East through her greatest proxy America

Iran is not the Middle East, Iran is Iran. And the Iranian regime has been dedicated to the destruction of Israel since it took power in 1979. The idea that Iran is standing up on behalf of the greater Middle East seems like a stretch, given that Iran is currently bombing every Middle Eastern country it can reach, and has spent years funding paramilitaries in them.

https://www.newsweek.com/iran-plan-israeli-palestinian-conflict-vote-1887056

In the statement, Amir-Abdollahian said the first such occasion to be held since the war in the Gaza Strip began "provides an opportunity for thinking [of] a viable, responsible and real solution" to the conflict and its underlying causes. “Emphasizing the natural and inherent right of the Palestinian nation to legitimately resist oppression and occupation," the minister said, "the Islamic Republic of Iran has responsibly presented a democratic initiative for the Palestinian issue which has been registered in the United Nations. "Iran believes that the oldest and most painful crisis of the present century in the region and the world can be resolved through a referendum, with the help of the United Nations among the original inhabitants of Palestine, including Christians, Muslims and Jews," he added.

Iran is not the Middle East, Iran is Iran

Poland is Poland, not Europe or Ukraine, and America is America, not Europe or Ukraine, but they’re both funding Ukraine to defend against Russian aggression in Europe. Surely if Iran lacks the right to fund defensive groups against Israeli encroachment, then Israel lacks the right to encroach on land for around 80 years. The majority of UN member states consider the Golan to be Syrian and demand it to be returned, but Israel occupies it with American approval. Isn’t it strange that Iran, the supposed “international pariah”, is not encroaching on any new land, not once in the past fifty years?