I have sympathies for this argument, taking into account the awful history of Saddam’s regime and its murder of hundreds of thousands of Kurds, Shiites and opponents. But that wasn’t why the US went into Iraq, killing many innocent people and destabilised it before leaving.
I say this as someone who read all his columns for Vanity Fair and his arguments in support of the war in Iraq. He seemed to invest in the war on terror rhetoric, as part of his opposition to mindless religion. His argument about Iraq has more in common w/ a responsibility to protect argument
I’m watching and listening to Christopher Hitchens talking about his book on Orwell. It’s curious that he became a neo-con in the 2000s.
I had an impromptu lunch invite from a friend yesterday. It ended up being lovely. I met a new person with similar politics and interests. I also seem to be in the era of broadly talking about my childhood trauma baggage and having others share theirs. It is kinda cool.
Maybe the Democrats can focus on developing policies that address the concerns of voters, like the increasing costs of housing and living, the broader failure of neoliberal economic policies to maintain acceptable wages for workers etc.
Hey @ezrakleinbot.bsky.social. It concerns me that your argument is to keep pushing the Democrats to the right and have pro-life candidates in red states. Despite many voters in red states voting to preserve abortion rights. You want to throw women under the bus to preserve a “least worst” option?
It’s unbelievable that Klein seems to think politics is about discussion and doesn’t include political violence. He doesn’t see that politics is about control of power and the distribution of wealth. Political violence is a constant reality for many in the US.
There is so much great points that came out of Ezra Klein’s recent podcast with Ta Nehisi Coates. All of it comes from Coates. Klein only shows that he has some incredible blind spots. Coates ran rings around Klein’s arguments.
Watching commentary on the evangelical Christians in the US who reckon the rapture is going to happen this week. Remembering the childhood fear that resulted from all the hellfire and brimstone church sermons I heard. Also, adult me has a lot of questions about for those who believe in the rapture
Mr N seems to think that it is easy to find pre-made block out curtains that don’t have eyelets in the top. Apparently the eyelets move with the wind and give him a headache. I think this may be a him problem that he is responsible of resolving
This also misses the violence and murder that the US has inflicted on many other countries since WWII. It’s about time that the violence that the US does in Latin America and the Middle East ends up at home too.
This forgets the long history of political violence that has always been part of American politics. MLK, JFK, RFK, Lincoln, the many protestors and ordinary black people killed during the civil rights era. The list is endless. Let’s not pretend that this is unprecedented. Historical context is vital
That makes much more sense than for babies
Mr N has decided I’m responsible for doing all the official paperwork. He kept acting like it was super easy and I should have done it already. I ask him for the docs I need, he suddenly understands that it is not an easy and simple process
I believe that. Maybe there is a niche audience there in the AFL dominant states
Ultra trail is on this weekend in my area. Poor buggers are running around in constant drizzle and fog.
Israeli historian Ilan Pappé on how the media ‘obfuscates reality’ in the Gaza war.
www.prospectmagazine...
The big true crime audience is women. Is there an alternative niche for a male audience? There must be since Tom Clancy has sold a lot of books. 🤷🏼♀️
The historians I know will not be more charitable to him than the legal profession has been. On a serious note, Ben RS is learning the lesson that a big risk of suing for defamation is a court finding its true and making adverse findings against you in doing so. Same lesson Lehmann got
Are there enough dudes into true crime type things and AFL to be the audience? Genuine question. Maybe there is an audience and I just don’t realise it
It blows my mind that international law developed significantly after WWII and the Holocaust to punish those responsible. Yet the state that is doing the most to undermine that international law regime is Israel, who claims to be the Jewish state.
I finally switched my default browser to DuckDuckGo. I should have done this years ago. It’s so much better
I hope more progressive ALP voters are realising that the ALP isn’t standing for policies they want. The only way to change that is to vote 1 Greens or for progressive independents. Voting 1 for the ALP doesn’t change anything
There are so many older people with dementia. It is incredibly hard to care for them, especially as it progresses.
Got a notification last week for an elderly lady who went missing. Turns out I know her daughter and she was found alive and well. Poor elderly lady has dementia and went for a wonder.
It’s cold today. (There is an icy wind that means it’s time to pull out the warmer clothes.) I was in a rush to leave the house. I ended up leaving in my slides. Not a great choice for the day.
The older I get, the more it becomes apparent that I’m a lot like a cat and my love of cactuses also fits my personality.
"I had not touched a cat in 15 yrs when an orange kitten wandered over to sit w/me in the grass one day. I was left without adequate words to describe that experience. It reminded me that I am alive. It instilled in me a raw, unbridled happiness that I had never felt before, not even as a child."
The Fox Hollow Murders documentary is amazing. It is one of the best true crime documentaries. It is victim focused and throws important light onto how law enforcement in the mid west treated the LGBTI+ community.
Even if he was foolish enough to take on the challenge of trying to annex Greenland, he should at least try to successfully do it by using an argument that at least resonates within international law. It gives being all talk and no real action