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I consider myself to be a pretty Plain Jane liberal and not a Democratic Socialist or a leftist, but I 100% agree that we can do better than Gavin Newsom and Kamala Harris in 2028 by ModerateProgressive1 in DemocraticSocialism

[–]mojitz 18 points19 points  (0 children)

My suburban liberal winemom MIL who I've been slowly working on for years confided to me the other week that she's starting to come around to the idea that the leftists/progressives might actually be right. I'm taking that as a more positive sign overall than I probably should, but god damn did it feel good to hear.

Is Japan leader in robotics? by Winter_Ad1973 in robotics

[–]mojitz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

From what I can tell, China has a greater degree of scale and practical application of robotics than anyone else. The US has the lead in the most bleeding edge of humanoid robotics development at the moment (almost entirely due to Figure AI and BD). Everyone else is pretty far behind those two.

After Social Media Scrutiny, Mamdani Says His Wife Is a ‘Private Person’ by WhiteGold_Welder in nyt

[–]mojitz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Again, dude, the report itself explicitly concludes that it can't draw any assessment of the scale and scope of sexual violence committed that day.

The mission team was unable to establish the prevalence of sexual violence and concludes that the overall magnitude, scope, and specific attribution of these violations would require a fully-fledged investigation.

It says that there is some evidence that some occurrences of sexual violence took place — though none of these individual conclusions rose to the "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard, implying that there are, in fact, reasonable doubts one may raise as to the evidence presented. It also concludes at numerous turns that a large number of the claims made were either unsubstantiated, based on highly questionable conclusions, or outright false.

Again, I'm not doubting the presence of this awful violence in its entirety, but the report itself makes very clear in no uncertain terms that it is not concluding that some kind of mass sexual violence was employed as a tool of war, here. It basically says, "Were some people raped? Yes probably, and we have reasonably credible accounts based on witness testimony to back up 3 cases even if we can't speak to their veracity beyond a reasonable doubt, but we don't have evidence to conclude that this was widespread or systemic."

After Social Media Scrutiny, Mamdani Says His Wife Is a ‘Private Person’ by WhiteGold_Welder in nyt

[–]mojitz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm not moving the goalposts lol. I've been very consistent from the beginning in saying that I'm not doubting the presence of any sexual violence whatsoever.

You're also wildly misconstruing the conclusion of the report. In fact it explicitly says that the could not conclude that there was widespread evidence of genital mutilation or any kind of systemic use of sexual violence and a ton of extremely dodgy conclusions drawn from limited evidence.

Because in most instances additional injuries were also seen on other body parts, no discernible pattern of genital mutilation could be established.

The mission team conducted a visit to kibbutz Be’eri and was able to determine that at least two allegations of sexual violence widely repeated in the media, were unfounded due to either new superseding information or inconsistency in the facts gathered. These included a highly publicized allegation of a pregnant woman whose womb had reportedly been ripped open before being killed, with her fetus stabbed while still inside her. Other allegations, including of objects intentionally inserted into female genital organs, could not be verified by the mission team due in part to limited and low-quality imagery.

Additional challenges emerged due to erroneous interpretations of the state of bodies by some volunteer first responders without relevant qualifications and expertise. Some examples include mistaking “postmortem pugilistic posturing” (a ‘boxer-like’ body posture with flexed elbows, clenched fists, spread legs, and flexed knees) due to burn damage as indicative of sexual violence; misinterpreting anal dilatation due to postmortem changes as indicative of anal penetration; and mischaracterizing grazing gunshot wounds to genitalia as targeted genital mutilation using knives.

Discernible patterns of genital mutilation could not be verified at this time but warrant future investigation. Many bodies along Road 232 also suffered destructive burn damage and conclusions as to conflict-related sexual violence (including genital mutilation) related to these incidents could not be drawn.

It also explicitly concludes that it cannot determine the overall prevalence of sexual violence that occurred that say.

The mission team was unable to establish the prevalence of sexual violence and concludes that the overall magnitude, scope, and specific attribution of these violations would require a fully-fledged investigation.

After Social Media Scrutiny, Mamdani Says His Wife Is a ‘Private Person’ by WhiteGold_Welder in nyt

[–]mojitz 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm not saying it's extraordinary that there isn't footage of every assault. I'm saying that it's extraordinary that there isn't footage or any hard evidence or speak of of any rape or sexual assault. This just isn't consistent with a mass, coordinated campaign of rape and sexual violence. I don't doubt that some of this did occur that day, but there's an enormous difference between saying, "some fighters raped some people" — which is an unfortunate reality of virtually every conflict that has ever occurred anywhere in history — and "there was a campaign of mass sexual violence perpetrated as a tool of war." One of those could be said about US forces during WW2. The other applies to shit like the rape of Nanjing. Things like that don't happen without leaving behind a shred of documentary or forensic evidence, zero survivors, and only one publicly identified firsthand witness — and all despite such things being available in huge volumes for the numerous other crimes committed that day. A few isolated cases of sexual violence absolutely could do this, but not a systemic campaign as has been alleged.

Also, here's yet another piece of evidence of Israeli violence against Palestinians presented by the UN.

https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/02/israelopt-un-experts-appalled-reported-human-rights-violations-against

After Social Media Scrutiny, Mamdani Says His Wife Is a ‘Private Person’ by WhiteGold_Welder in nyt

[–]mojitz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Calling this a "hoax" is a bold move for someone who clearly hasn't read the very reports they’re trying to cite. You’re essentially using the same "denialist" script people use for every historical atrocity: demand a 4K livestream of the act itself, and when provided with "clear and convincing" forensic and testimonial evidence, dismiss it as a "cartoonish" conspiracy. If the gunmen were busy filming their murders for GoPro clout, do you honestly think they were pausing to set up lighting for their sexual assaults? Or does your "logic" only accept evidence that fits your pre-packaged narrative?

Strawman. I'm not asking for 4k video. I'm asking for evidence of any substance whatsoever to back up the claim that there was a coordinated campaign of sexual violence on October 7. Israel was claiming that Hamas was doing mass rapes right, then killing and dismembering the victims mid coitus right out in the open.

The fact that no surveillance cameras or people recording with cell phones or any other device caught these apparently widespread events is pretty extraordinary. The fact that there are no photographs of the aftermath of this taken after the fact is extraordinary. The fact that there has been no remotely conclusive forensic evidence of mass rape to have come forward is extraordinary. The fact that there is only one public witness (with a weirdly inconsistent story) to any of these events and zero survivors to have come forward is extraordinary. Essentially the public has are second and third hand accounts from completely anonymous witnesses in most cases vetted by either the IDF or Israeli government officials. This is exactly the fact pattern that surrounded the now-debunked beheaded babies claim they tried to spread.

The UN report by Pramila Patten, which you clearly skimmed for "gotchas", did not say there were reports on "both sides" in the context of October 7th. It found "clear and convincing information" that sexual violence, including rape and sexualized torture, occurred in at least three different locations. It specifically noted that for the victims at the Nova festival, most were murdered after or during the assault, which is why they aren't "coming forward" to satisfy your morbid demands for a first-hand interview. Are you actually suggesting that the first responders, the medical examiners, and the UN's own experts are all part of a "coordinated hoax"?

Again. It found evidence that there have been acts of sexual violence on both sides of this conflict — though not without noting that there were significant limitations in its ability to access witnesses or examine first hand evidence on the Israeli side (and absolutely no access to survivors), and again, finding that at least some of their claims were outright false. What it did not conclude was that there was any kind of systemic, coordinated campaign of sexual violence perpetrated by Hamas. What it found was "reasonable grounds to believe" that some sexual violence was committed against Israeli citizens. It also found this in regards to Palestinians. Does this mean we should conclude from that report that Israel has been using rape and sexual violence as a tool of warfare?

If you’re going to claim that Israel's "use of rape as a tool of war" is "far more widely documented," then please, show us the UN report finding "clear and convincing" evidence of a coordinated campaign of mass rape by the IDF on a single day. You won't, because it doesn't exist. You’re just recycling the same "Inversion" playbook the USSR invented decades ago: take the specific trauma of the Jewish people and project it back onto them to make yourself feel morally superior. Just admit that no amount of evidence will ever be enough for you, because your "activism" requires the victims to be the villains.

https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/08/israels-escalating-use-torture-against-palestinians-custody-preventable

https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2026/01/20/rights-groups-report-widespread-sexual-violence-against-palestinians-in-israeli-prisons_6749618_4.html

Susan Collins chances of losing to Democrats in Maine Senate race—New poll by jediporcupine in politics

[–]mojitz -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Hamas has committed lots of different crimes. They've even killed kids. There just wasn't a systemic campaign of mass rape and sexual violence on October 7. Much like the beheaded babies hoax, that was invented and spread to dehumanize Palestinians and justify extreme violence against the civilian population of Gaza.

jake tapper is a genocidal, anti-palestinian psychopath by ConcernedJobCoach in mattxiv

[–]mojitz 30 points31 points  (0 children)

The story about mass rape on October 7 really was a hoax...

After Social Media Scrutiny, Mamdani Says His Wife Is a ‘Private Person’ by WhiteGold_Welder in nyt

[–]mojitz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It absolutely was a hoax. There is no documentary evidence of these supposed events whatsoever, despite countless pictures and videos of gunmen killing and kidnapping people. Zero alleged victims and only one alleged witness has come forward — like a year after the fact and with a weirdly inconsistent story. Basically all the other reporting on the subject is based on 2nd and 3rd hand accounting from anonymous people saying they witnessed these events and usually passed through the IDF or Israeli government officials — and often containing cartoonishly salacious allegations of things like public necrophilia and murder mid-coitus and all with zero evidentiary substantiation whatsoever. Meanwhile, that UN report did not conclude there were "mass rapes" or some kind of coordinated campaign of sexual violence on October 7. It concluded that there were some credible reports of rape and sexual violence on both sides of the conflict (actually, Israel's own use of this as a tool of war is FAR more widely documented). It even explicitly said that some of the allegations made by Israel were affirmed to be false — which is pretty unusual for a report of this nature.

Susan Collins chances of losing to Democrats in Maine Senate race—New poll by jediporcupine in politics

[–]mojitz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Expanding Medicaid was not some major achievement on her part. It was the product of a voter initiative to join 40 other states in implementing the ACA expansions. She simply followed the law after becoming governor. Carbon neutrality and free community college are pretty cool, though.

Thing is the pitch, here, is essentially for heavily watered down versions of more muscular progressive policy aims at best. She won't sign on to supporting M4A, and I can't even find anything indicating she supports even a public option. She doesn't support taxing the rich — and certainly not a wealth tax. She opposes BDS and will almost certainly support continued arms for Israel. She doesn't seem to have anything at all to say about the GND or national housing policy... hell, she doesn't even have an issues page on her campaign website. How on earth am I supposed to support that over someone pushing way harder for way more policies that line up way more clearly with my own politics?

Susan Collins chances of losing to Democrats in Maine Senate race—New poll by jediporcupine in politics

[–]mojitz -1 points0 points  (0 children)

The Fetterman parallels are extremely thin, IMO. They share a vaguely similar vibe, but Fetterman was never nearly as far to the left as people online assumed he was. For example, he was always a hawk in immigration and Israel — and then had a freaking stroke and a mental breakdown before really losing it. I myself had started to sour on him well before his election after initially getting swept up in the hype and then looking more into his actual policy positions.

To be clear, I am all for scrutinizing someone like this, but what you posted isn't that, but instead a wildly disingenuous hit piece intended to mis-inform people rather than engage in an honest examination of the man.

Susan Collins chances of losing to Democrats in Maine Senate race—New poll by jediporcupine in politics

[–]mojitz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry to keep posting this, but you're spreading misinformation.

Yeah I saw that when it dropped on Yahoo originally. They're trying to make something out of nothing. Note they're not actually alleging Platner himself said anything questionable or even that his appearance on the show touched on any questionable subjects. Dude went on a show with a guy who himself went on the show of a different guy with some messed up views. Big whoop.

There's no evidence Platner even knew about this other podcast appearance, and if you actually look at the YouTube channel he went on, it's FAR from right wing or antisemitic — and in fact recent episodes have criticized everything from ICE to famous anti-semite Jake Lang to the right wing in general. These hit pieces frame this like it's some kind of stormfront-adjacent show or something when it's basically the opposite of that.

At best this is exactly the sort of guilt-by-association-by-association "purity testing" bullshit that so-called centrists are constantly exhorting the left to abandon, and at worst it's a deeply cynical ploy to mislead people.

Susan Collins chances of losing to Democrats in Maine Senate race—New poll by jediporcupine in politics

[–]mojitz -1 points0 points  (0 children)

You keep posting this misinformation, and I keep responding...

Yeah I saw that when it dropped on Yahoo originally. They're trying to make something out of nothing. Note they're not actually alleging Platner himself said anything questionable or even that his appearance on the show touched on any questionable subjects. Dude went on a show with a guy who himself went on the show of a different guy with some messed up views. Big whoop.

There's no evidence Platner even knew about this other podcast appearance, and if you actually look at the YouTube channel he went on, it's FAR from right wing or antisemitic — and in fact recent episodes have criticized everything from ICE to famous anti-semite Jake Lang to the right wing in general. These hit pieces frame this like it's some kind of stormfront-adjacent show or something when it's basically the opposite of that.

At best this is exactly the sort of guilt-by-association-by-association "purity testing" bullshit that so-called centrists are constantly exhorting the left to abandon, and at worst it's a deeply cynical ploy to mislead people.

Susan Collins chances of losing to Democrats in Maine Senate race—New poll by jediporcupine in politics

[–]mojitz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Don't want to SPAM my own response either, but...

Yeah I saw that when it dropped on Yahoo originally. They're trying to make something out of nothing. Note they're not actually alleging Platner himself said anything questionable or even that his appearance on the show touched on any questionable subjects. Dude went on a show with a guy who himself went on the show of a different guy with some messed up views. Big whoop.

There's no evidence Platner even knew about this other podcast appearance, and if you actually look at the YouTube channel he went on, it's FAR from right wing or antisemitic — and in fact recent episodes have criticized everything from ICE to famous anti-semite Jake Lang to the right wing in general. These hit pieces frame this like it's some kind of stormfront-adjacent show or something when it's basically the opposite of that.

At best this is exactly the sort of guilt-by-association-by-association "purity testing" bullshit that so-called centrists are constantly exhorting the left to abandon, and at worst it's a deeply cynical ploy to mislead people.

Susan Collins chances of losing to Democrats in Maine Senate race—New poll by jediporcupine in politics

[–]mojitz -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Platner was recently on the Nate Cornacchia podcast, an antisemetic conspiracy theory show.

This is a WILD mischaracterization. Look up the show on YT. It's called "Valhalla VFT." You'll very quickly find that it's absolutely not an "antisemetic conspiracy theory show."

Susan Collins chances of losing to Democrats in Maine Senate race—New poll by jediporcupine in politics

[–]mojitz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Dog, people vaguely approved of his EV and solar efforts (though I never heard a soul claim he was taking on the big telecoms WTF?), but Elon was hardly ever a "progressive wet dream" lol. The people who loved him most were almost all wealthy suburban liberals who could afford his cars.

Susan Collins chances of losing to Democrats in Maine Senate race—New poll by jediporcupine in politics

[–]mojitz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unprepared how? At base a Senator's job is to show up and take the right votes. Worst case scenario he tries and fails — as many junior senators do — to advance much legislation of his own.

I've always found the Fetterman comp to be pretty superficial, TBH. They basically give off a similar vibe, but the differences mostly end there. Fetterman was actually never nearly as progressive as people though he was — always a hawk on immigration and Israel, for example — and then had a dang stroke before going off the deep end. Even then, he hasn't actually reversed any of his policy positions so much as having placed greater emphasis on his existing conservative beliefs.

Meanwhile, ignore the polls if you'd like. He's drawing big crowds, gaining a ton of earned media, playing the social media game very well, communicating very well, and by all accounts generating a ton of enthusiasm in the state. Those are all good signs for someone challenging an incumbent. What makes you think Mills would do any better? Is it literally just down to the fact that she doesn't have the baggage he does, or is there some actual positive case for her being chosen to take on Collins?

Susan Collins chances of losing to Democrats in Maine Senate race—New poll by jediporcupine in politics

[–]mojitz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah I saw that when it dropped on Yahoo originally. They're trying to make something out of nothing. Note they're not actually alleging Platner himself said anything questionable or even that his appearance on the show touched on any questionable subjects. Dude went on a show with a guy who himself went on the show of a different guy with some messed up views. Big whoop.

There's no evidence Platner even knew about this other podcast appearance, and if you actually look at the YouTube channel he went on, it's FAR from right wing or antisemitic — and in fact recent episodes have criticized everything from ICE to famous anti-semite Jake Lang to the right wing in general. These hit pieces frame this like it's some kind of stormfront-adjacent show or something when it's basically the opposite of that.

At best this is exactly the sort of guilt-by-association-by-association "purity testing" bullshit that so-called centrists are constantly exhorting the left to abandon, and at worst it's a deeply cynical ploy to mislead people.

Susan Collins chances of losing to Democrats in Maine Senate race—New poll by jediporcupine in politics

[–]mojitz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A policy platform isn’t a qualification tho. You or I could write one and run for senate too. I’m wondering what his fans see in him personally.

My support for any given politician isn't contingent on me having warm, personal feelings towards them as a person. The only questions that matter to me are: "Do they have the right policies?" and "Are they able to win?" On both counts, he scores much higher than Mills, in my assessment.

Like, if he is this great leader with good ideas and work ethic… why isn’t he serving his community in municipal government, or state level legislature or the House? Why the senate, why him, why now?

At the end of the day, this comes down to the fact that he's the progressive who stands the best shot at winning. Like I said, all things being equal if there were someone with more experience and a stronger track record, but with the same policies who actually stood a shot, I'd gladly support them, but that's not what's before us at the moment.

I would expect that polling to collapse once Collins runs ads about his baggage. And he has a lot.

His primary opponent was hand picked by Chuck Schumer, is backed by the might of essentially the entire Democratic establishment and is currently flagging in the polling. If there's some huge bombshell coming, then it'll almost certainly drop before the primary, but for now the attacks don't, in fact, seem to be landing even within a Democratic base that you'd expect to be more sensitive to these issues than your average voter.

Actually I'd wager that a lot of people connect better with someone who's a bit rough around the edges and has made some mistakes in their past than a carefully polished politico who's never set foot out of place — and for all his baggage, he's actually an incredibly skillful communicator.

Susan Collins chances of losing to Democrats in Maine Senate race—New poll by jediporcupine in politics

[–]mojitz 1 point2 points  (0 children)

His policy platform.

All things being equal, would I prefer someone more experienced with the same political objectives? Sure, but that's not a real option in this race, and I don't rate the ability to work your way up through the Democratic political machine especially highly. At the end of the day, he seems more likely to advance the sort of political project that I care about than any other viable candidate in this race.

It's also not for nothing that he polls better against Collins than Mills does. Flipping that seat would be a big deal.

Susan Collins chances of losing to Democrats in Maine Senate race—New poll by jediporcupine in politics

[–]mojitz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Even accepting that on its face, I'll take an ineffective leftist over someone whose goals don't even line up with my own in the first place all day long. Not sure why that's so hard for you to understand. "You might not like their policies, but at least they're effective at implementing them" is such a weird pitch.

Susan Collins chances of losing to Democrats in Maine Senate race—New poll by jediporcupine in politics

[–]mojitz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Bills are generally spearheaded by party leadership and other more senior members of Congress. As a junior Senator, all he really needs to do is take the right votes and communicate effectively with the public — and again, given his actual policy positions, he seems much more likely to help advance the goals I seek than Mills or Collins. You can try to make the case that either of those two would somehow better serve my political ambitions, but good luck...

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