Open Thread – 1 May 2024

Happy May Day to those who celebrate. I fondly remember those celebrations and so many others in the cities and towns of Bavaria. Beer always flowed freely, except for the Glühwein at the Christkindlesmarkt.

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71 Responses to Open Thread – 1 May 2024

  1. scott s. says:

    May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii.

  2. James Nawrocki says:

    No Tag der Arbeit here in the US. kind of a shame,really. Since the call for an 8 hour work day occurred here in Chicago in 1886.
    But it is Law Day.

  3. condottiere says:

    I remember back in 2010 when there was a small riot on BIAP. A group within the TCN camp picketed, damaged some buses, and burned down a shack over employment grievances. Idiots in G2 and G3/PMO were too dumb to realize it was May Day. A favorite (communist) day for marches, rallies, and rioting all around the world.

    Another time there was a mysterious fire at one of the AAFES trailers. It was smack dab on Summer Solstice; some pagans use fire on this day for esoteric reasons. Burning Man started off as a Summer Solstice fire celebration on Baker Beach in San Francisco for this reason too. Most of the gay pride (pagan sodomy) parades around the country seem to fall on or around the summer solstice week as well.

    I also remember a PPT slide at BIAP showing the incidence of mortar attacks on the base clustering on both waxing and waning moons. The G2 idiots said it had to do with visibility to work and lack of visibility for protection or some nonsense. Nope, the Islamic faith is a lunar religion and is based on lunar cycles. They did it for divine assistance.

  4. drifter says:

    I didn’t recognize Mother’s Day as a kid. Others around me may have, but as my mother rightly said, every day’s a kid’s day if you’re a mother. When I was a kid, I treated Mother’s Day as yet another holiday – for me.

    For those of you who have gotten older, advertising pulls guilt out of you.

  5. Fred says:

    Happy Victims of Communism Day everyone. I wonder how the FBI is doing in figuring out who is co-ordinating all those spontaneous riots on campuses?

    • TTG says:

      Fred,

      This would be an appropriate day for Victims of Communism Day. However, 7 November is still the official Victims of Communism Day, the anniversary of the bolshevik takeover of Russia. The anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was also another suggested day, But both those days miss what Mao did to China.

      I doubt there’s anyone coordinating all those campus riots. Specific activities at specific campuses may be coordinated by outsiders. Those arrested who are not students should be looked at closely. They clearly don’t belong. Probably should look at who’s behind all those social media accounts pushing this as well.

      • condottiere says:

        Outsiders like Jill Stein, a front runner to a third party that Russia indirectly supports for racial/environmental/class agitation. She was arrested at WashU in St Louis last weekend while protesting the school’s affiliation with the Boeing aircraft and munitions plant there. While she was interlocking arms with protesters, the local cops jammed a bicycle in her face, skull drug her 73 y/o ass onto the concrete, ziptied, and tossed into the paddy wagon. I could watch that video in loop for hours.

        • gordon reed says:

          I’m not sure what to call this with regards to Jill Stein, illogical, propaganda? This is the type of smear campaign that was used against Trump accusing him of being Putins puppet and a Russian agent. I don’t even like Trump but these types of accusations are unfair ang illogical.

          • Condottiere says:

            She wasn’t protesting Israel, she was assisting and agitating a riot on campus to disrupt the schools’s affiliation with our defense industrial base. Prior to this she was arrested for sabotaging heavy equipment used on building one of our oil and gas pipelines. She pushes agitprop and her followers are all degenerate blackblock rioters and communists. Putin must be so proud of her direct action attacks on our Critical Infrastructure. Vote for me, I attack America!

      • Stefan says:

        May Day LONG pre-dates communism, it pre-dates democracy as well. Its origins are in pagan Europe.

        Much too hot in May for Glühwein. In my trips to England and Iceland this winter, however, mulled wine kept me very warm.

        In Germany Walpurgisnacht co-opted the much older May Eve festival. The Catholic Church had a long history of taking pagan holidays and co-opting them into Christian practice.

      • Yeah, Right says:

        ” They clearly don’t belong. ”

        Why, exactly?

        If they feel strongly about Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza then they are going to go where the protests are taking place.

        Why wouldn’t they? And why shouldn’t they?

        This is a classic chicken-and-egg question: are the protests taking place on those campuses BECAUSE those “not students” are there? Or are those “not students” appearing on campus BECAUSE that’s where the protests are taking place?

        I would be more inclined to think it was the latter rather than the former.

        • TTG says:

          Yeah, Right,

          Those non-student and non-faculty protesters have plenty of public places to protest. They should be at state houses and in front of federal buildings in DC. Mingling with the student protesters is casting doubt on the spontaneousness of those student protesters whether those outsiders are just joining in or are actually agitating for more violent confrontation.

          • Yeah, Right says:

            “Those non-student and non-faculty protesters have plenty of public places to protest.”

            Is that right? Really?

            “Mingling with the student protesters is casting doubt on the spontaneousness of those student protesters whether those outsiders are just joining in or are actually agitating for more violent confrontation.”

            There is such a thing as “critical mass”, and that is to be found on those college campuses, and is not going to be found ” at state houses and in front of federal buildings in DC”

            This is not 1969, TTG. This is not the same America that existed in the height of the Vietnam War protests.

            But this remains true: if Americans want to protest then they have a right to do so. And if they want to protest on college campuses then they have a right to do so. And if people want to join those college campus protests then they have a right to do so.

            It isn’t up to you or I or the mainstream media to tell them that they can’t, or even to tell them that they shouldn’t.

    • TTG says:

      Fred,

      As to your question of who’s coordinating all those campus riots, I saw this random quote this morning. Smacks of another conspiracy theory, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it proves true.

      “It will be revealed in the coming months, as it was done in Brexit, ‘16 US Election, Charlottesville, US Pandemic Response, etc. that at least 50% of content on social media- competing narratives for Israel/Palestine is a psyop done by Russian & Chinese Intelligence.”

      • Fred says:

        TTG,

        “Conspiracy theory” sounds so much better to the dying MSM old fuds who inhabit and orbit the Swamp. They “craft narratives out of words because there are no facts” was a recent pronouncement of Morning Joe’s latest melt-down with Mikka.

        This is the same leftist crap from the same summer of George Floyd people who want to fundamentally transform America. Social media isn’t the causation of tenured professors, faculty and staff being side by side with Anti-American rioters on multiple college campuses. The FBI, when done with finding the J6 “insurrectionists”, will maybe find the pipe bomber or people who burned St. John’s Church, etc. But meanwhile “conspiracy theory” and oh would you look at that another China based bird flu coming our way just in time for mail in ballot harvesting season.

        • Eric Newhill says:

          The termites have a queen, to be sure.

          Stupid insects cannot organize themselves on their own.

      • Yeah, Right says:

        Marxists, all of ’em. Every last one, commies all.

        I’m reading that line of argument more and more and more in the US mainstream media: the college campuses are up in arms because all the students are Marxists, or are “fellow travelers” of Marxists.

        Seems a bit of a stretch to me, to the point of self-parody on the part of the media.

        But, heh, “shooting the messenger” has been a staple of American propaganda since, oh, 1919. So maybe it’ll work.

        Doubt it though.

        • TTG says:

          Yeah, Right,

          I also doubt they’re all Marxists or Jew haters. Those are labels used to discredit those who are protesting the actions of the Netanyahu government and the IDF.

          • Eric Newhill says:

            NYC Mayor Eric Adams – hardly a right wing type – says that the termites are organized from the outside and are part of a larger global movement.

            NYC Police Dept has a fairly advanced intelligence unit. I tend to believe Adams knows whereof he speaks – unlike some commenters here that may be a part of that global movement as dupes, drones, or even fully aware operatives.

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ME1YJ5jwZA

          • TTG says:

            Eric Newhill,

            Adams was referring to the brief presence of 63 year old Nahla Al-Arian, a retired teacher and wife of Sami Al-Arian, a former computer engineering professor and prominent Palestinian activist. He was charged in 2003 with supporting Islamic Jihad, but never convicted. He was subsequently deported to Turkiye. Nahla only made a brief stop on the Columbia campus. She didn’t speak with the students, but clearly supported the Palestinian cause. She was far from being one of the nefarious outside agitators.

            The NYPD probably identified others. There was at least one “professional” protester in the mix giving tips to students. Adams may also have gotten word of outside agitators supporting Netanyahu and the IDF as well. None of those outsiders agitating for either side belong on campus. Students and faculty are fully capable of organizing their own protests and counterprotests. Nahla Al-Arian doesn’t fall in any of those categories and unless the Columbia campus is closed to the public, she can hardly be categorized as an organizer of termites by the NYC mayor.

          • Yeah, Right says:

            To my mind it is a mark of how much the powers-that-be have been rattled by these protests that they have knee-jerked their reaction: Marxists! Godless Commies!

            The alternative is to say to the protesters that, yeah, we actually agree with you: Netanyahu has gone way too far and we are trying to rein him in.

            But I guess they can’t really say that, not with a straight face.

            So, yeah, better just to shoot the messenger instead.

          • Eric Newhill says:

            TTG,
            Adams never mentioned Al-Arian. You just made that up.

            “I know that there are those who are attempting to say, ‘Well, the majority of the people have been students.’ You don’t have to be the majority to influence and co-opt an operation. That’s what this is about,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

            The mayor added, “We’re going to protect our city from those who are attempting to do what is happening globally. There is a movement to radicalize young people and I’m not going to wait until it’s done and all of a sudden acknowledge the existence of it.”

          • TTG says:

            Eric Newhill,

            The Al-Arians are very real. Nahla Al-Arian was photographed by her daughters at Columbia. Her husband shared the photo on Twitter and right wing Twitter posters ran with that photo. Her husband was arrested for rhetoric supporting Islamic Jihad in the 80s and 90s. At his trial, he was acquitted of all charges, but was still deported. Adams ran with the false story about Nahla Al-Arian’s husband being a convicted terrorist.

            In an appearance Wednesday on “CBS Mornings,” Adams, a Democrat, said that the NYPD’s intelligence division had identified people among the protesters “who were professionals, well-trained. One of them was married to someone that was arrested for terrorism.” Pressed for details, he declined to name the woman, but suggested reporters could figure it out by looking at social media.”

            Speaking on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Adams also said his suspicions about external influences on the students had been confirmed after police identified a woman in the protest “organization” whose “husband was arrested for and convicted for terrorism on a federal level.”

          • Eric Newhill says:

            TTG,
            “In an appearance Wednesday on “CBS Mornings,” Adams, a Democrat, said that the NYPD’s intelligence division had identified people among the protesters “who were professionals, well-trained. One of them was married to someone that was arrested for terrorism.”

            One of them. You’re trying to say that Adam’s entire statement was based on Al Arian. It wasn’t.

            This effort on your (and others’) part is pretty humorous considering how insistent you were that the Russians were behind Trump’s election victory in 2016. Sure, 2016 that REALLY REALLY was outside interference, but a bunch of stupid kids chanting “from the river to sea”, who have no idea what river or what sea, that is just organically arising because TRUTH is self-evident even to stupid kids. You’re a real corker, TTG, I’ll give you that.

          • TTG says:

            Eric Newhill,

            I have no doubt that there is plenty of outside influence on the campuses through social media. Some of it is likely to be orchestrated directly by Hamas propaganda organs. IDF propaganda organs are doing the same. Chinese and Russian efforts to accentuate the division on the campuses and across our society are also there. These stupid kids and equally stupid adults are necessary for all these propagandists to ply their trade.

            Adam’s effort to conflate the presence of Al Arian on the Columbia campus into a cadre of well trained, professional agitators was another piece of propaganda. At least that effort at shaping the narrative was openly domestic and locally grown.

          • Eric Newhill says:

            BTW,
            Says here that Al Arian pled guilty to one of the charges and the jury was deadlocked on others.

            I would not characterize the result of his trial as an acquittal.

            https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sami_Al-Arian

    • Keith Harbaugh says:

      One of the more kinetic confrontations was at UCLA.
      Steve Sailer has an MBA from UCLA, so he may have some insight into the student politics there.
      He writes about that here:
      https://vdare.com/articles/ucla-riot-a-battle-between-the-diverse-and-the-jews
      He doesn’t go into the physical aspects of this attack (it wasn’t a “counter-protest”, it was a brutal physical attack
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_University_of_California%2C_Los_Angeles_pro-Palestinian_campus_occupation ),
      but he does discuss sociological aspects of the situation.
      (A tidbit for one of our more prolific commentators:
      “A friend who was at UCLA around 2000 says that in his day the big student government war was Mexicans v. Armenians.
      I know a current UCLA student politician, and the tribal passions elicited by these student elections are stunning.”)

      • Fred says:

        Keith,

        As Lee Kuan Yew pointed out long ago, in multi-cultural societies one votes your race and religion first and foremost. That’s all that is going on here. The America second + fake Americans + foreigners are simply proving his point.

    • Keith Harbaugh says:

      Alastair Crooke gives a very interesting 30-minute discussion of the Gaza protests with Judge Napolitano:
      https://youtu.be/jkAZVzEdA2U
      Crooke discusses the international spread of these protests, and the nature of the desire to suppress them.
      “We [European leaders] will repress them [the protests] as forcefully as we can, and we will prevail.”
      https://youtu.be/jkAZVzEdA2U?t=2m45s

  6. leith says:

    We call it Loyalty Day up here in Washington State. Promoted by Ike and Congress during the Red Scare. Ike got it from the VFW who started it several years prior to his pronouncement. But it’s actually much older here in the NW, dating back to a reaction to the IWW Wobblies.

    Our town hosts a parade on the first Sunday in May to commemorate Loyalty Days. Not necessarily for patriotism by the town fathers, as after all it does bring a lot of tourists. I’ll be carrying a neutered 03 Springfield in a VFW Color Guard in our 74th Annual. I march but I’ve mixed feelings on the superpatriot aspect of some other members. My Grandmother’s brother Doug was in the IWW and he was a good person, and probably where I got my politics.

    On a side note: US is sanctioning Chinese firms that support Putin’s war on Ukraine.
    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-05-01/us-sanctions-firms-in-china-uae-for-support-of-russia-s-war

  7. Christian J Chuba says:

    Student protests

    The student protests are a momentous failure. All of the attention is on the behavior of them rather than the inhuman, suffering inflicted on the people living in Gaza. They drew attention to themselves rather than their cause.

    • Eric Newhill says:

      CJC,
      What would those stupid kids know about Gaza? How could they possibly call attention to anything worthwhile? Who doesn’t know that there is fighting in Gaza? How would anyone outside the region really understand the situation? Youtube propagandists? MSM half-baked two minute segments? Feelings?

      The purpose of the rebellious students is to show the US that its young people are under the control of marxist and terrorist entities and can be called into rebellion at the whim of those organizations. They are a threat, not ever intended to be a moral force. I am proud of the other students who are opposing the”Death to America” mob. There is hope.

      Sorry that your insurrection has failed. You can always go read Sonar21 and enjoy some more anti-civilization porn as LJ goes down on his knees for Hamas.

      • Eric Newhill says:

        Why was Yassir Arafat from Egypt and spoke with an Egyptian accent, dying with something like $4 billion in his bank account, but somehow representing the Palestinians? How many intifada supporters in the US know that? How much was each dead Palestinian worth to Arafat? Why are the current Hamas leaders playing the same get rich quick con? Who are the real bad guys here? Why do college kids and adults believe the wealthy con men’s narrative?

      • Christian J Chuba says:

        Eric, Israel has committed unspeakable acts of atrocities, and retributions killings.

        1. They beat, starved, dehydrated and killed Palestinians who were already in jail and obviously had nothing to do with Oct 7.

        2. They killed over 34,000 Gazans, 25,000 of whom were women and children.

        I was going to say more but will stop here. So what is your solution, kill them all?

        • Eric Newhill says:

          CJC,
          You know all of that to be fact exactly how?

          IF Israel was trying to kill everyone in Gaza, there’d be a hell of a lot more casualties.

          How many of the dead were killed by Hamas bobby traps? How many b/c Hamas was set up in the room next door? Why do you assign no responsibility to Hamas?

          What do you suggest Israel do about terrorists like Hamas? Oh that’s right, you simply deny they are terrorists or a threat. Simple. Meanwhile, in the real world……

          • Christian J Chuba says:

            The 35,000 dead is recorded by the Palestinian Health Ministry. If you dispute that number then please correct it with ‘valid’ IDF numbers or the Jerusalem Post. Oh wait, they don’t have an alternative number because Israeli officials don’t care about Palestinian deaths.

            Here is one report regarding he treatment of already incarcerated Palestinians. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68780112

            Even FOX reported that Netanyahu announced, ‘no food, no water, or fuel until the hostages are freed’ the day after 10/7. This should give us all a hint that he is punishing the civilian population of Gaza correct?

            Regarding what I would do, sure, go after Hamas but this is in well excess of that.

        • Eric Newhill says:

          CJC,
          You might want to watch this video. It is the son of one of Hamas’ founders and a former Hamas follower himself. Actually, I think everyone should watch the interview. There are several others and he appears on debates and podcasts, but I think this one is the best partly because Jordan Peterson is a great interviewer.

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5VPFw0vI6U

          You won’t like what he has to say and will probably accuse him of being brainwashed by the evil Jews.

          Anyhow, he makes it clear that Hamas frequently tortures and kills Palestinians in Israeli prisons for various reasons. he has been there himself.

          • Eric Newhill says:

            Here is one more video featuring Mosab Hassan Yousef. This is the one in which I discovered him. The guy is courageous and articulate – and you can’t call him an “Archie Bunker”, though he says what I do re Islam and Jews (and other “infidels”)

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9s02-7a-oM

            Once again, 35K dead who? How many were Hamas? How many Islamic Jihad? How many supporting Hamas? How were they killed? What was Hamas’ involvement/responsibility? Does “children” = teenagers totally capable of fighting and killing?

            What is your point with 35K figure? How Ukrainians have Russians killed? More than 35K. That doesn’t seem to be a problem for you. many dead from Fentanyl? How many killed by all manner of unpleasantness? Why has 35K become a magic number all of the sudden? It’s a war. Hamas said they would launch more Oct 7th scale attacks. Israel should just sit there and hope they could stop it at the border? What about all the rockets fired into Israel?

            BBC? So everything they report is 100% accurate unadulterated truth? Wow. Ok. I’ll keep that in mind.

            If the Israelis wanted to “kill everyone” by now there would be a million+ dead by now.

          • Barbara Ann says:

            Still pushing the Hamas-is-evil-therefore-Israel-is-justified-in-exterminating-the-Palestinians line, eh Eric?

            No need to accuse this guy of being brainwashed, he was presumably well paid as an undercover Shin Bet agent. Also, whoever runs the hasbara bots on YouTube really needs to get more creative with their random commenter username algorithm and AI generated stories. Here are the top two:

            @lotanron8449
            6 days ago
            I am a 16-year-old Israeli boy. Hamas shot my mother, burned my house and murdered my best friend. I will never be grateful enough for Mossab’s words.
            6.6K

            @lanarise1437
            2 days ago
            As an Israeli from Jerusalem I agree with every single word of this brave, kind and intelligent man, Mosab Hassan Yousef. Thank you, Sir, for your great work
            245

            lotanron8449 and lanarise1437 are joined by a host of other formulaically named ‘ex Muslims’, ‘Iranians’ and assorted other troll farm creations all with similar testimony and messages of support. No wonder Jordan has over 1M views.

          • Eric Newhill says:

            Sure Barbara Ann,
            Got it. Anyone who disagrees with you is a paid Israeli agent with no free will and only lies.

            But Hamas, pure truth tellers. Yep. I’m convinced. No bots on any pro-Hamas publications. Nope. No siree.

            Still pushing the Palestinians are being exterminated lie? How many Palestinians live in Gaza? How many have been killed? How many of those were terrorist fighters or supporting terrorists? How many died b/c terrorist fighters were in positions right next to civilians (deliberately for the purpose of causing the collateral casualties)? None of you want to even think about those questions, let alone have answers for them.

            Come on. Answer the questions. I challenge you.

            But yeah sure, Mosab Hassan Yousef left his family and people behind and lived – and still lives -under constant, and very real, death threat for a few bucks. A mercenary traitor in your mind. Cognitive dissonance is a bitch. Makes you come up with all kinds of embarassingly weird ideas.

            How about trying to dispute what he says, with a factual cogent argument, instead of just slandering the man and, thus, summarily dismissing his message?

            What is it with you people? You have no idea of what you’re talking about, living safely in a totally different culture, thousands of miles away, yet are so damn certain that a terrorist population is actually comprised of poor innocent victims and your sources, whatever they may be, are correct and all others are lies? Frankly, it is obviously low grade thinking.

            Yesterday I posted a video from South Front that showed a bunch of poor troops who were blasted to bits by artillery fires. South Front said they were Ukrainian. TTG came back at it and said that his source said they were Russian. I’ll admit that they could be Russian dead after all after all. I don’t know. That is not so hard to say. Try it some time. Because you don’t know.

            Can you ever admit that maybe you’ve been swayed by propaganda? Can you admit that maybe you’re merely reacting emotionally and then retro-fitting some story to appear intellectual?

            You are making the grave mistake of applying your world view and culture to understand a people and a situation that have nothing in common with you and your world. Seriously.

            And yes, I do know something about this despite whatever straw man image of me you and fellow travelers have erected. You know as much about me as I allow you to – and some of what I have put out there for you to see is misdirection.

            You’re another wannabe great white bwana carrying your white [person’s] burden to foreign lands and f’ing them up worse than they already were.

            You people always want to blame the CIA for creating Bin Laden (false, btw) and now you want to create another monster by buying into Hamas story telling. Incredible. There is no end to your hubris. Bin Laden, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, ISIS, ISISK etc. – they are all the same ideology. The Palestinian people are raised from birth to identify with that ideology. Few buck the indoctrination. You call those few Israeli agents. Just F’ing mind blowing. Your abilities would be better utilized focusing on US domestic issues.

          • Christian J Chuba says:

            Eric, you have posted 1 – 2 hr videos. I’m not going to watch them. If you extract 10 – 15 minute segments, I will watch them out of respect for you but what is your summar?

            Not saying that Hamas is good only that Israeli officials have hijacked the agenda just like the U.S. did after 9/11 but Israel has taken it to extremes because they do not have a friend who will pull them back from the ledge.

            I am heavily influenced by antiwar.com because they actually report stuff in a reasonable manner.

          • Eric Newhill says:

            CJC,
            Well there’s your problem. You want to speak with authority concerning an extremely complex situation, in a far away place, with more than a century of direct history and a millennia of related events, but you can’t be bothered to spend a few hours a day learning different perspectives on it.

            Thanks for being honest, though. Seriously.

          • Eric Newhill says:

            CJC,
            One more point and then I really am going to give it a rest.

            When you guys toss out that 35K dead Gazans figure, it has the opposite effect on me than it does on you. Having an understanding of historic civilian deaths in war as well as the nature of urban combat, the 35K figure tells me that the Israelis are exerting remarkable restraint and caution – and that rather than committing “genocide”, the Israels are going to great lengths to do exactly the opposite. When the allied forces landed in Normandy (“D-Day, June 6, 1944) some 11,000 French civilians were killed on the first day, mostly by allied ordnance. By the end of the Normandy campaign, something like 20,000 civilians, caught in the crossfire, had died. That was in a far less dense population environment than Gaza. Is anyone going to accuse the allies of wanting to commit a genocide on the French?

            Check out civilian casualties in war. A quick Google search will result in “hits” that should provide ample context. The numbers are staggering. While many deaths are from ordnance, many are from starvation and disease contracted in situations of destroyed infrastructure and stress. The comparative casualties in Gaza are actually small; much smaller than we’d expect based on historic conflicts. Again, of the 35K, some material percent are terrorists. The Palestinians don’t parse those out (for ideological reasons as well as practical challenges).

            Now, you might respond that Israel shouldn’t be in Gaza at all. So none of the deaths are reasonable. To which I would answer that Oct 7th had to be addressed, *especially since Hamas stated they would do it again*.

            The IDF has been methodically reducing terrorists in Gaza. Driving them into ever smaller areas. They’re doing it by the book. The IDF cannot let up now. That is the military reality.

            The hope would be that once Hamas is eliminated, some other group can govern Gaza and, with aid money being used properly this time, rebuilding of that society can occur.

        • Stefan says:

          We can go back and forth on these issues all day. We all know Eric is a “kill them all and God will send all them nasty Muslims to hell type of guy”. This is embedded in his DNA. Nothing will never change that. He is the mirror image of the Islamic extremists he hates. Kill them all, men, women and children.

          You cant talk sense to people like this. Their hatred blocks any sort of reason, rationality or compassion they have.

          So I wont even try with Eric anymore. Blind hatred. You just cant change people like this. Neo Nazis, KKK, Hamas, Islamic extremists, Jewish and Christian extremists and racist genocide fan boys like Eric. Dont even bother.

          One thing is clear to all and sundry. Israel used to control the media representations about the conflict in the region. With the invention of social media, everyone with a phone having the ability to record video and live stream events, they have completely lost the PR media battle. Even with their banning of the foreign media, people are getting out live events, filmed in real time, that completely disprove the Israeli narrative.

          They have no counter to actual pictures and videos of what they are doing. It is so bad that they are pimping young female members of the IDF to make sexy videos and pictures trying to distract people. Yes, their complete route in the modern media is so absolute they are reduced to using young girls to try and change the narratives. It is pretty pathetic.

          What we are witnessing now is a complete change in the way the world views Israel. Even in the US the majority of people are NOT supporting what Israel is going in Gaza and as the sliding age scale goes younger in age, support for Israel goes down and down. It isnt just young Christian and Muslim kids, Israel is losing support amoungst younger Jews in massive numbers. Watch the school protests and you’ll see how many Jews are involved in them, even leading the protests.

          If, as seems likely, there is an attempt by the international community to issue arrest warrants for Israeli leaders and try them for war crimes, the support will plummet even further.

          Israel, as a project, cannot stand on its own. It only works as a client state to a powerful single state, or collection of states. Give it 20-30 years down the road when the younger generation controls the reigns of power, then Israel is truly screwed.

          I support the right of the Jewish people to have a state. But it is becoming more and more clear they are likely to destroy that for themselves, not anyone else. Why? Because they cannot live in harmony with their neighbours. No state, as small as Israel, so dependent on aid and other states, cannot exist like this. They cant live in peace with themselves. Before 10/07 there was serious and credible talk of a civil war in Israel.

          They either find a way to give the Palestinians their state and make a durable peace with their neighbours or they will cease to exist at some point in the future. Sad.

          I know Eric will come back with some attacking response, full of hate and anger, expressing that righteous rage so common with extremists like himself, Hamas and extremist settlers.

          It is a waste of time to deal with such people. They need to be sidelined and ignored. So I come to make my point and will not get into a back and forth with his naked hatred.

          • Fred says:

            Stefan,

            What a wonderfully polite ad hominem. Perhaps you and Eric could agree to a ceasefire on these pages.

          • TTG says:

            Fred,

            What a brilliant suggestion. I second the motion. Eric Newhill has already said he’d give it a rest. Everyone else should follow suit. There’s little new that can be said on this subject for the time being.

          • Eric Newhill says:

            Thus speaks a termite who pretends all wood is the same as it gnaws at the roots of the tree of life while sparing the thorn bushes.

          • Eric Newhill says:

            TTG & Fred,
            Peace it shall be because I respect you two and myself.

          • TonyL says:

            Hi Stefan,

            Thank you for your post.

          • F&L says:

            Ever since TTG decided to give Eric Newhill free rein to be an advocate for genocidal murder I rarely comment here. It’s demeaning to argue with a human butcher, as though you need to explain why mass murder and starvation are deeply objectionable. The only thing to do with someone as crude and cruel as Eric is to either ban him or ignore him but the influence on me of his comments is debilitating. Turcopolier dot com has turned into a sewer.

          • TTG says:

            F&L,

            You’re free to ignore Eric Newhill’s comments. For your mental well being, perhaps it’s best if you do so. Some of what he says is beyond crude and cruel. It is both ugly and wrong. But his comments are just as often insightful and contribute to the understanding of how someone supporting Netanyahu’s and the IDF’s actions against the civilians of Gaza thinks. Others here challenge him on his comments and I’m glad to see the pushback. It also contributes to understanding. However, as Fred recently noted, it’s becoming counterproductive. Eric Newhill has already agreed to cease this conversation. We’ll see if others follow suit.

          • F&L says:

            Fred,
            Did Kristi Noem agree to a ceasefire regarding her poor pooch?

    • F&L says:

      It’s the media’s fault for not reporting on the ongoing massacres while instead focusing on the student protests.
      https://x.com/sahouraxo/status/1786502619646636407

  8. Keith Harbaugh says:

    Getting away from all the military war news, here’s non-lethal “war” that is talking place:

    ” ‘A step back in time’:
    America’s Catholic Church sees an immense shift toward the old ways”

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/step-back-time-americas-catholic-040718410.html

    It was the music that changed first.
    Or maybe that’s just when many people at the pale brick Catholic church in the quiet Wisconsin neighborhood finally began to realize what was happening.

    The choir director, a fixture at St. Maria Goretti for nearly 40 years, was suddenly gone.
    Contemporary hymns were replaced by music rooted in medieval Europe.

    So much was changing.
    Sermons were focusing more on sin and confession.
    Priests were rarely seen without cassocks.

  9. mcohen says:

    Should put under ttg oak story.From the ney

    Does the moon have an effect on trees?
    When the moon is waxing, the trunks expand. When the moon is waning, they shrink again. The diameter of the trees grows and shrinks in rhythm with the ebb and flow – only by a few hundredths of a millimeter but measurable nonetheless

    Just think about the vast scale of this happening every day.Oh man.

    Hey sister moon,said brother tree
    You come shining through
    Down on me
    When midnight hands meet
    Light their way
    So they may see

    Hey brother tree,said sister moon
    Take my light unto thee
    For darkness comes too soon

    • TTG says:

      mcohen,

      Thanks for that. I enjoyed it.

    • Eric Newhill says:

      mcohen,
      Very nice. I like that one a lot. I like the love the moon has for the tree.

      Everything touches everything
      as the breeze caresses the tree
      the tree makes the moon’s light dance and sing

  10. optimax says:

    Here is a funny May Day prank.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNneIyKuL0w

  11. Christian J Chuba says:

    This is beautiful and the only reason I cling to Christianity.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbPKaIozS-c

    There has to be beauty in this world.

  12. leith says:

    BTW, Sunday 5 May is Easter in the Orthodox Church. Let’s hope there will be more prisoner exchanges. But there is some angst in Ukraine that Putin will conduct another missile and drone attack on Easter Sunday.

  13. Keith Harbaugh says:

    AF Secretary Frank Kendall has actually flown in an AI-controlled F-16:

    https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/04/an-ai-controlled-fighter-jet-took-the-air-force-leader-for-a-historic-ride-what-that-means-for-war-00156147

    The AI-controlled F-16, called Vista, flew Kendall in lightning-fast maneuvers at more than 550 miles an hour that put pressure on his body at five times the force of gravity.
    It went nearly nose to nose with a second human-piloted F-16 as both aircraft raced within 1,000 feet of each other, twisting and looping to try force their opponent into vulnerable positions.

    • Keith Harbaugh says:

      This issue is sufficiently important that a follow-up is needed.

      First, one more paragraph from the AP story on Kendall’s flight (emphasis added):

      Vista flew its first AI-controlled dogfight in September 2023, and there have only been about two dozen similar flights since.
      But the programs are learning so quickly from each engagement that
      some AI versions getting tested on Vista are already beating human pilots in air-to-air combat.

      Second, a report from The War Zone (2024-04-17) on this project:
      https://www.twz.com/air/ai-is-now-dogfighting-with-fighter-pilots-in-the-air

      “2023 was the year ACE [Air Combat Evolution] made machine learning a reality in the air,”
      Air Force Lt. Col. Ryan Hefron, the ACE program manager, says in the newly released video, seen in full below.

      https://youtu.be/VZSuCgVpfkQ

  14. jld says:

    Well, well, well…
    With a few exceptions this thread is still full of the usual nasty haggling as in “ordinary” threads.
    What about something completely different?
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oos4ojutOMM

  15. Fred says:

    Nice to see a continuation of the deliberate effort to “poison the well” for all conservative and middle-of-the-road commentary and social media sites by having agents provocateur putting up offensive, obscene, or personally directed invective so as to allow declarations of those as “extremist” or “racist” or something like that – in other words, providing justification for TPTB to throttle sites or shut them down.

  16. Eric Newhill says:

    Interesting discussion on the nature of urban combat in Gaza with a couple of IDF troops who have been in the thick of things. Drones, tactics, etc. but not politics.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdQS97fJY4Q

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