Aesthetics, plus the seductive appeal that pre-modern, pre-liberal-democratic societies (when the governments were authoritarian, the women were submissive, and the men “were men”) have for reactionaries, incels, and cryptofacists.

A translation of the top caption says

The last Iron Swords survey was conducted between the dates 07-11.8.24 led by the data collection and analysis desk at the Institute for National Security Studies. The fieldwork was carried out by the “iPanel” Institute, during which 772 men and women were interviewed on the Internet and by telephone in the Hebrew language and 200 in the Arabic language, which constitute a representative sample of the adult Israeli population in Israel aged 18 and over. The maximum sampling error for the entire sample is 3.5% ± at a 95% confidence level.

He won’t need to nix anything - Hamas will not agree to a deal that does not actually hold Israel to a lasting ceasefire:

“After being briefed by the mediators about what happened in the last round of talks in Doha, we once again came to the conclusion that Netanyahu is still putting obstacles in the way of reaching an agreement, and is setting new conditions and demands with the aim of undermining the mediators’ efforts and prolonging the war,” Hamas said.

More specifically, Hamas objects to the fact that the proposal doesn’t include a permanent ceasefire or comprehensive Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

Source

All this talk of a ceasefire deal is a PR stunt that allows the US to pretend like it’s trying to make progress while still funneling weapons to Israel.

Shame you’re being downvoted, but you’re right. While Maduro’s regime is certainly autocratic and corrupt, the US has been interfering in Venezuela for decades in order to gain access to its oil reserves (the largest in the world).

This article in The Intercept is a good overview of the history, which includes two failed coup attempts.

Any claims that this latest ploy is being carried out for the sake of “democracy” should be viewed with the utmost skepticism.

Not just in the 80s - US government actors and proxies have tried to overthrow the government in Venezuela twice since then - in 2002 and in 2020.

Then there’s also the crippling effects that US economic sanctions have had on several countries in South and Central America, which has led to the deaths of thousands and many refugees fleeing those countries. The surge in the number of people trying to cross the US-Mexico border is in no small part driven by the US’ own policies on Latin America.

Several genocide scholars seem to be convinced on the matter, though:

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/what-we-are-seeing-in-gaza-is-a-repeat-of-auschwitz-says-genocide-expert/3202869#

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2023-11-19/israel-hostages-gaza-bombing-civilians-genocide-holocaust-studies

https://www.npr.org/2024/03/29/1241576419/u-n-expert-says-israel-has-committed-acts-of-genocide-in-gaza

Designating something as a genocide is not a matter of opinion – it’s a legal definition.

But as I noted above, the average UK citizen is not in favor of strict immigration controls (legal or otherwise) and certainly not supportive of the recent riots.

Of those who are, the majority comes from lower-income areas that suffered the most under years of Tory austerity, which is understandable. But even then it’s really a case of the socioeconomic elites pointing the finger at immigrants rather than themselves.

As for the Muslim community, again there is good evidence to suggest that a lot of the fears you mentioned are unfounded. Surveys have shown that most feel that they belong in Britain and have no objections to integrating with the culture.

Again, the problem you tend to find is that extremists like Anjem Choudary are amplified by the press, giving the impressions that the Muslim community is incompatible with British values, when in fact the vast majority disagree with that statement.

It’s ironic you mention ‘reality’, since the hysteria surround immigration is largely based on misinformation and xenophobic propaganda being spouted by right-wing politicians and media for well over a decade. This has led to a highly distorted view of the scale and severity of the issue.

First off, the mass migration of peoples seeking refuge from war and other geopolitical disasters is a global issue rather than something that is unique to the UK, but even then the UK has taken in far fewer asylum seekers relative to other EU countries.

For instance:

• When measuring the number of asylum applications per 10,000 citizens, the UK only ranks 20th when compared to other EU countries.
• In terms of migrants arriving by boat, the UK is well behind other EU countries like Italy, Greece, and Spain.
• Despite the obsession with small boat crossings, they represent only a tiny fraction of overall arrivals. The vast majority of immigrants still come through official channels for work, study, etc.

Also, the UK population is actually pretty positive when it comes to immigration:

• In a global survey, 55% of UK citizens said immigration was a net positive, and only 30% were in favor of strict limits.

The paranoia about immigrants causing higher crime rates is also based on a myth:

• The overall rates of violent crime has been steadily falling for decades despite a steady rise in the number of foreign-born citizens.
• There is no evidence that an increase in the rate of foreign-born citizens even correlates with a rise in burglaries, thefts, and other property crimes.

All this is to say that a lot of the anger inflaming these racists riots come from a combination of political and media misinformation and many people’s innate prejudice towards non-Europeans.

Same.

I’ve seen the photos of the aftermath of this airstrike – the bodies of men, women, and children so obliterated that there is no hope of identifying them. The poor souls having to clear the area today have to sort the lumps of human remains into trash bags and hope all the parts belong to the same person.

There’s no justification that anyone can give that would ever justify it, and yet it will just be brushed under the rug by the US State Department, just like the last time.

I’ll add UN Watch to the list.

MBFC rates it as “highly credible” despite it publishing laughably bad hit-pieces on UN officials who openly criticize Israel.

I did a debunk on one of their articles that was removed from this very community due to disinformation, but I’ve posted a screenshot of my critique here for anyone who is interested.

I have another one - MBFC rates a site called UNWatch as “highly credible” when in fact they run trash-tier hit pieces on UN officials who criticize Israel. Their articles have been removed from [email protected] for disinformation.

I debunked one of their articles last month. If you want to see the kind of crap they publish, see a screenshot of my critique here.

This assassination is an assurance that countless more Gazan citizens are going to die. It’s not an either/or situation.

👨‍🚀🔫 Always has been.

Pretty much. Netanyahu never wanted a ceasefire to begin with. My guess is that any talk of a path to a two-state solution or a ceasefire has just been a stalling tactic used by the US to deal with any criticism of Israel’s war crimes. I wonder how long the State Department can keep this charade going, quite honestly.

Of course. Who else would be providing the requisite military hardware?

The slavish display that we witnessed at Netanyahu’s speech in Congress makes it clear that the US is going to back Israel no matter what.

Lol talk about a rhetorical question. Israel just assassinated the political head of Hamas. This should serve as proof that that any talk of a deal or a ceasefire over the past six months has been a sham. This means months or even years of war and thousands of more deaths, which is what Netanyahu wanted all along, while the US argues weakly in support of Israel’s “right to defend itself”.

If you define “good” as 1) a dangerous escalation that could spark a regional war and 2) effectively killing all hope of a ceasefire in Gaza, then I guess so?

As if there were any doubt about the Israeli government’s disregard for human rights, you have members of the Likud party openly saying that anyone held in detention (without trial) in the Sde Teiman concentration camp is a terrorist and therefore “anything can be done to them”, including torture and rape.

Twitter Link to Video

I assume the US State Department will surely note this as evidence of war crimes and take appropriate action…

Defecting to the party whose own canvassers openly drop the word ‘Paki’ when think no one is listening is certainly… a choice.

The odds of a face-eating leopard moment are pretty good all round.