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The New [MENA] Thread - Israel / Gaza, and everything else notable in the region.
zagdrob
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Since the old thread is well past 100 pages, here's the new one to continue conversation in.
Same OP as JusticeforPluto's previous page mostly.
This is the thread where we discuss this region:
(I'd include Turkey, but it really goes to show the borders of what the "Middle East" are not exactly nailed down)
Current goings on include the resumption of Israeli bombing of Gaza in retaliation for the October 7th terror attack after a brief pause.
The War in Yemen continues, as does the civil war in Sudan.
Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan continue to deteriorate.
Turkey continues the "fun" slide into autocracy.
US defenses continue to intercept drones and missiles from Yemen.
If you feel some needs to be included in the OP please message me.
Try not to be jerks to one another.
Same OP as JusticeforPluto's previous page mostly.
This is the thread where we discuss this region:
(I'd include Turkey, but it really goes to show the borders of what the "Middle East" are not exactly nailed down)
Current goings on include the resumption of Israeli bombing of Gaza in retaliation for the October 7th terror attack after a brief pause.
The War in Yemen continues, as does the civil war in Sudan.
Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan continue to deteriorate.
Turkey continues the "fun" slide into autocracy.
US defenses continue to intercept drones and missiles from Yemen.
If you feel some needs to be included in the OP please message me.
Try not to be jerks to one another.
Organichu on
+14
Posts
- This is my elected representative. He's a freshmen representative so I didn't actually have many expectations for him. Given that he seems to style himself as a more centrist Democrat I am glad he excercised his own judgement rather than the broader house decision. Regardless he is almost certain to be replaced by a Republican next election cycle thanks to NC GOP gerrymandering.
2nd NC District Rep: Deborah Ross: Not Yes
-This isn't surprising. Deborah Ross is not my favorite democratic rep but she has a professional background in the ACLU specifically in relation to 1st amendment. She is not going to mistake what is and is not hate speech and she is going to almost always side against censuring political speech that is not unequivocally hate speech.
4th NC District Rep: Valorie Foushee: Not Yes
-She is also a new rep so I have less expectations for her behavior. Given her public stance as a progressive this is not really much a surprise compared to Davis. Very unlikely to be reelected if she runs due to districting changes again. (Gerrymandering)
6th NC Distric Rep: Kathy Manning: Yes
-The first yes here. But not super surprising. You might hope being on the house foreign affairs committee would mean she'd know better but she has shown a fairly consistent trend to fall into the "bipartisanship" trap from how she tends to present herself and what I know of her voting history. (She's a 2nd term rep.)
13th NC District Rep: Wiley Nickel: Yes
-The most foregone conclusion here despite being a freshman rep. He's the not the most conservative democratic NC Rep (that's probably Manning) but he is more into bipartisanship and "healing divides" than any other democratic rep. That's why he was picked in a calculated super close race for his district. He ain't great but he explicitly nominated and elected specifically just to prevent his insane republican opponent from winning. Probably tied with Davis to be the absolutely least likely to have a chance of reelection thanks to GOP gerrymandering.
14 NC District Rep: Jeff Jackson: Not Yes
-Again not super surprising. Jackson is pretty middle of the road of the center-left divide among democrats in the house so from that you might think he could go either way. But while I don't agree with many of his political stances he has shown what appear to be a higher than average amount of integrity for Democratic rep. He not an idiot, genuinely just votes his conscience more than mos,t and he doesn't truck with most Republican nonsense. So it isn't surprising he wouldn't take the bait or confuse their behavior for good faith actions. Also will probably be not coming back to congress next election cycle due to gerrymandering.
I don't actually know their specific detailed stances on current affairs in Gaza for any of them but for any North Carolinian who wants to write or contact reps I think the three North Carolina reps most likely to be willing to put pressure on their colleagues to more firmly push back against the GOP's weaponization of antisemitism campaigns are Deborah Ross, Jeff Jackman, and Valorie Foushee in that order from most likely to third most likely. I'm not sure if any of them could be convinced to do it in a very public fashion. Maybe Ross. Maybe. The percentage of Palestinians and Muslims living in NC is well below the national average, and the people in NC who vote Democrat care a lot less about foreign policy on average than like, your average democratic voter in my thinking.
I hate these people so much.
It'll be slow enough that its unlikely to drown people, except for anyone unfortunate enough to have a building collapse under them. Will seriously fuck up the Gazan water supply though. Real two-fer for the IDF
I've seen a lot of accounts that there isn't actually a tunnel system and the existence of one is IDF propoganda. Much less a series of tunnels housing Hamas and their hostages.
Any major city, of which Gaza qualifies has significant underground areas that are interconnected for utilities so that is probably what is being flooded?
If it was an actual resistance tunnel system it would be designed to be nearly impossible to flood, but since as we've been told Hamas tunnel systems are IDF fiction its bizarre.
H.R. 6578 To establish the Commission to Study Acts of Antisemitism in the United States is a bi-partisan bill (20 R, 4 D cosponsoring) proposed by Iowa Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R). The text of the bill literally says you don't have the right to plead the Fifth.
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
The 5th thing is a non issue because one paragraph later it grants immunity.
No, the committee still gets to compel you to say things that they can use against you, they just are saying that others can't use what you're compelled to testify against you.
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
I haven't taken government classes since high school but I'm pretty sure that isn't something they can do.
That is actually not only an existential threat to the possibility of reducing the violence in Gaza but is also a direct threat to American Democracy. And like especially to the Democratic Party as an institution. Fucking yikes that even four democrats were willing to cosponsor that shit. Fucking hell.
Goddamn Debbie Wasserman Schultz is one of them, why am I not surprised?
It also shows that the democratic cosponsors are doing this for a political fucking stunt. Or they're fucking stupid enough to think they can solve antisemitism in America in four months. I lean towards the former. Those four fucking clowns.
Everyone out there looks somali and speaks it with a french accent
Edit:
To be specific, the collection of Nations ethnically made up of Somali tribes.
Somalia, puntland, Djibouti, etc.
Hell, its economy relies on being an economic gate to Africa
How are you defining North Africa?
If you're simply going by every country above a certain line it could qualify, sure. But it isn't a country that falls into the Wikipedia entry on North Africa. Or the Britannica article on North Africa. It isn't at all crazy for someone who is from that region to question why Djibouti is being considered part of North Africa.
Also, fuck khat addiction
Honestly it's just the map JusticeforPluto used in his previous OP that I copied wholesale for this one. I have no idea where it came from originally.
I'd say what Pluto noted about the Middle East also would apply to North Africa, and there will always be some debate over what is / isn't included or relevant.
I guess if someone isn't sure if something goes here or in the Sub-Sahara Africa thread its probably fine to ask?
I'd argue that to post in the Sub-Sahara Africa thread if whatever it is vaguely sorta fits just because the MENA one has been overtaken by events and there's a good chance that anything that's not related to Gaza will get buried under a few hundred posts.
https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2023/11/10/corpses-on-streets-sudans-rsf-kills-1300-in-darfur-monitors-say
Muslim-Americans start #AbandonBiden movement across 6 battleground states
If denying Biden votes is the only lever we have then people are going to use it.
You can't give someone a pirate ship in one game, and then take it back in the next game. It's rude.
Plenty of warnings from the Biden admin and all of that, but by then it will not matter, the deed will be done by next month. So the question will be what happens then.
Which implies that what Israel is doing is not narrowly targeting Hamas militants and leaders; but we all knew that and I'm not sure the people being quoted meant it that way.
Thats explained in the note that you probably didnt read.
It establishes a committee to write a report, it's an absolute nothing-burger of a signaling bill
This is an unbelievably absurd overreaction
Trump is just as bad or worse but fuck that guy is at least an understandable reaction for people directly impacted
I think it’s stupid and short-sighted. But it’s understandable
You have never heard of candidates trying to win over certain voting blocks? I am confused by what you think is happening here. If they wanted to just piss off Biden they could quietly not vote. By loudly telling him they aren't voting he has an opportunity to try and win them back. This is a clear attempt to influence his current policy decisions around arming Israel to bomb the shit out of Gaza. If those votes are key to winning then they have leverage. If they are not then what impact does it have on you?
I'm curious if there are any ties to Bannon / Stone ratfucker types.
Even if that's not the case here, I absolutely would expect a decent amount of astroturfing coming from the right. At the very least signal boosting of people with legitimate grievances to drive division and antagonize Biden.
Which is something we've already seen and definitely are going to see more of - I saw posts about huge boosts in viewership of far-right / Nazi channels that have been vocally Pro-Palestine getting the twofer of getting to be anti-Israel and anti-Biden. Not that they give a shit about Palestine, but won't pass up the opportunity to get some easy shots in.
Jesus christ, you dont have to be ignorant on purpose, you could have read the incredibly short note before eating your foot, shoe and all.
From the note "A recent poll showed Biden's support among Arab Americans has plunged from a comfortable majority in 2020 to 17%."
These are people that alread VOTED for Biden, who are withdrawing their support if Biden keeps being shit.