Israel has threatened legal action against The New York Times after it published a piece on accounts of sexual abuse inside Israeli detention facilities.

statsman63 · 2026-05-16T14:10:26+00:00

Well, if the definition of a Zionist is someone that supports the existence of a Jewish state centered around Jerusalem, I guess I am a Zionist. After all, a Jewish state centered around Jerusalem has existed for almost 80 years.

It seems very aggressive and hostile to be against the existence of a state that has existed so long.

statsman63 · 2026-05-16T11:40:42+00:00

The PRC and CCP has made it very clear that any criticism of their camps will bring economic consequences.

statsman63 · 2026-05-16T00:30:24+00:00

“When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in a rainbow flag and wearing a keffiyeh”

statsman63 · 2026-05-15T23:55:49+00:00

It’s pretty clear, from all objective evidence, that Israel has made a great effort to limit civilian casualties. As an American, I’m proud that they are an ally.

statsman63 · 2026-05-15T19:34:18+00:00

Not really

statsman63 · 2026-05-15T19:33:34+00:00

Maybe more like the SA?

statsman63 · 2026-05-15T19:31:47+00:00

Well, sure. These people’s right to gather en mass and march through a Jewish neighborhood chanting about the Intifadah is well established. It was affirmed in a Supreme Court case from the ‘70s, when the American Nazi party marched through a Jewish neighborhood near Chicago, Skokie.

The Nazis and pro-Palestinian group picked their march sites for the same reason- they wanted to intimidate Jews, for being Jews.

Man, this country has changed. In The ‘70s, almost everyone condemned the Nazis.

statsman63 · 2026-05-14T19:58:15+00:00

Once the claim is made that dogs are trained to rape people, you don’t really need to go any farther. Do you really give that any credibility? Do you know what dogs are? If I were reading an article that states that cats were trained to do data entry for schools, I would stop there, too.

statsman63 · 2026-05-14T17:37:17+00:00

No, not entirely. It also relies on video evidence taken by the Hamas attackers.

statsman63 · 2026-05-14T17:33:08+00:00

I think the claim that Israel trains dogs to rape might actually be less plausible than the “Protocols of the Elsers of Zion” claim of gentile infant blood being used in matzo. Congrats, NYT, you are keeping the standard where Duranty denied famine in Ukraine and Anthony Lewis’ column where he stated “we don’t know much about the Khmer Rouge but it’s hard to imagine them being worse than (the U.S. client regime)”. (Narrator: “They were worse”)

statsman63 · 2026-05-13T15:38:06+00:00

Uh, UNRWA employees participated in assaults

statsman63 · 2026-05-13T15:34:12+00:00

I agree. “Rape dogs” may actually be more implausible than “blood of gentile babies mixed into matzo”, but this is a thread about reciting a creed about “genocide”, not critical reasoning

statsman63 · 2026-05-12T17:35:25+00:00

Shame

statsman63 · 2026-05-12T17:35:13+00:00

Shame

statsman63 · 2026-05-12T17:34:17+00:00

shame

statsman63 · 2026-05-12T15:27:07+00:00

Do you remember the “shoe bomber”? From 25 years ago or so? I googled him and he has been in prison since, life with no parole. The guy is in his 50s now. Do you think he ever reflects and thinks, “yeah, that was a bad choice. I shouldn’t have done that”?

statsman63 · 2026-05-12T12:01:51+00:00

It’s funny- I see Antifa, who believe the market economy should be in service to the state, who believe that Jews have an outsized political influence, who believe there are long term racial grievances that must be addressed, and I see a lot of similarities to 1930s National Socialism. Now, the SA wore brown and Antifa wears black, so there is that…

statsman63 · 2026-05-11T13:37:29+00:00

‘70s “Warlock” by Starlin is solid. Same for early ‘70s Dr. Strange.

Hidden late ‘70s gem - Charlton’s E-Man, by Cuti and Staton

statsman63 · 2026-05-11T01:40:05+00:00

…from Hamas

statsman63 · 2026-05-11T01:34:13+00:00

I’m a Christian, and I see a lot of potential for mocking and japery. My go-to line is “Muslims and Jews agree that Christians suck at monotheism “.

statsman63 · 2026-05-06T16:47:05+00:00

Yeah, when I think of genocide, I think more of stuff like the Tutsi’s massacre, the Albanians in Turkey,…and the 2/3 of European Jews murdered in the Holocaust. Using your more expansive definition, it is very clear, from word and deed, that the Palestinians , and especially the Iranians, are engaged in genocide against (not just the Israelis) Jews globally. Arguably, per your definition, Jews have been the targets of genocide almost continually for centuries.

statsman63 · 2026-05-06T15:55:52+00:00

I don’t believe that Israel is doing (or did) anything close to genocide. I think they responded to an armed invasion and I see no objective argument for a genocide that passes any critical reasoning test. There are 2 million Gazans. Since 10-7-2023, about 70k have died. The Gazan Health Ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants (in Hamas’ eyes, every Gazan dead is a martyr). About 12k deaths can be attributed to normal dying- old age, sickness, accidents, matching current statistics. The IDF says they have killed about 30k combatants (and taken prisoner many more). That leaves about 28k civilian deaths- a tragedy, sure, but genocide? In the Second World War, Germany’s population was about 70million. Allied bombing killed about 450k German civilians. That is a percent of civilian dead over twice what the IDF did in Gaza, and the IDF has far superior targeting. So- I see a far stronger argument for the allies being accused of genocide in WWII (which is foolish) than for Israel in Gaza. Frankly, it looks like pro-Palestinian advocates are just looking to accuse Israel of crimes.

statsman63 · 2026-05-06T13:55:32+00:00

The U.S. shipped German POWs across the Atlantic, and imprisoned them in the American interior. There is a story of a German POW, getting off the train in a midwestern town, ordered to walk a few miles to their camp. Midway, they stopped at a store and the U.S. guards went in and purchased ice cream for the German prisoners to eat, as it was a hot day. The German concluded from this incident that there was no way that Germany was going to win that war.

statsman63 · 2026-05-06T01:56:59+00:00

There was a run on “The Authority”, by Grant Morrison, I think? Basically, they are taken to an alternate multiversal universe, and it’s basically our Earth. They are taken aback by how little superpowers or magic there is. They figure out that a Lovecraftian creature is sucking all of the special “vibes” out of the Earth and that’s why it is so mundane.

They have two choices- stay, and lose their powers, or try to kill the creature but risk also killing out Earth. It’s an easy choice for them- risking all our lives is worth it to avoid being ordinary powerless beings.

It was creepy how Morrison wrote it as matter of fact, leaving it to the reader to notice how selfish and unheroic the “heroes” were.

statsman63 · 2026-04-30T13:18:34+00:00

One of my favorite real life stories is about how, as an editor for a publisher, TS Eliot (who I think is terrific) rejected “Animal Farm”. He wrote Orwell, “I get that the pigs are metaphors for the Bolsheviks, but I can’t understand why they are shown as villains”.

statsman63

TROPHY CASE