Anyway, when some champion of human liberty in a Che Guevara T-shirt and Mao jacket was haranguing his audience with claims like “A single Hiroshima bomb set off downtown would annihilate this university and all of us in the blink of an eye”, what better way to burnish one's Strangelovian credentials than to whip out a handy-dandy nuclear bomb computer slide rule, whip—slip—slide, and interrupt, “Naaah…fifteen kilotons at five miles? Surface burst? Why, that's only a quarter to a third of a pound per square inch overpressure—it'll probably break some window glass but that's about it.” Flipping the slide rule over, “The flash isn't even enough to cause sunburn, and the immediate radiation is next to nothing.” For some unfathomable reason, this never seemed to either carry the argument or suitably impress chicks. //
My nostalgia for this particular relic of the Cold War was such that I've had a project to produce an online edition on my to-do list for more than five years. Like many items on this embarrassingly long and all too infrequently shortened list of unrealised ambitions, it's something I half expected someone else to do long before I got to it. This would be perfectly fine with me—I undertake these projects because I want to see them done, and crossing off an item without the wear and tear of doing it myself couldn't make me happier. In fact, scanning (and possibly OCR-ing) The Effects of Nuclear Weapons was an item on my list before the fine folks at Princeton got the job done.
Carey J Texas Vol Fan
12 hours ago
It will take Russia YEARS to rebuild what it has already lost, in Ukraine. Ukraine is wrecking the Russian Army for us, with our third-rate hand-me-down crap, and giving us an excuse to modernize our stuff. It's the best deal since the Dutch bought Manhattan Island for twenty-odd dollars worth of glass beads. //
Min Headroom llme Carey J
7 hours ago
Best deal: it certainly is, although Seward’s Folly was a pretty good deal too.
An unstated, but possibly beneficial side affect is that this spectacle might give Chairman Xi a little pause as well, although self deception might cause him to miss the lesson. //
Ready2Squeeze Min Headroom llme
an hour ago
Louisiana purchase should rate in there as well! //
Bryon Grosz
5 hours ago
Not for them, for us.
Opposing Russian aggression is in our interest just as opposing Chinese aggression or Iranian aggression. In a world full of evil, there are no good options, but you should still choose the least bad option.
Why us? Who else? It's us or no one. Some will follow our lead, but there is no one else capable and willing to lead in this regard.
My Glock is an ugly little monument to the historic threat facing my family, my neighbors, and all of Israel. //
Comments --
As a former soldier who has been to war in your region, Matti, I call upon the notion of self defense; when your government fails to protect you as seen throughout the world, you need to defend yourself regardless of the weapon. The last thing rational People want to do is morph into a killer of others, but when another man puts a gun to your face you have two choices...
The Men Who Wanted to Be Left Alone
“The most terrifying force of death comes from the hands of Men who wanted to be left Alone. They try, so very hard, to mind their own business and provide for themselves and those they love. They resist every impulse to fight back, knowing the forced and permanent change of life that will come from it. They know that the moment they fight back, their lives as they have lived them, are over. The moment the Men who wanted to be left alone are forced to fight back, it is a form of suicide. They are literally killing off who they used to be. Which is why, when forced to take up violence, these Men who wanted to be left alone, fight with unholy vengeance against those who murdered their former lives. They fight with raw hate, and a drive that cannot be fathomed by those who are merely play-acting at politics and terror. True terror will arrive at these people’s door, and they will cry, scream, and beg for mercy… but it will fall upon the deaf ears of the Men who just wanted to be left alone.”
– Author Unknown
As a former soldier who has been to war in your region, Matti, I call upon the notion of self defense; when your government fails to protect you as seen throughout the world, you need to defend yourself regardless of the weapon. The last thing rational People want to do is morph into a killer of others, but when another man puts a gun to your face you have two choices...
The Men Who Wanted to Be Left Alone
“The most terrifying force of death comes from the hands of Men who wanted to be left Alone. They try, so very hard, to mind their own business and provide for themselves and those they love. They resist every impulse to fight back, knowing the forced and permanent change of life that will come from it. They know that the moment they fight back, their lives as they have lived them, are over. The moment the Men who wanted to be left alone are forced to fight back, it is a form of suicide. They are literally killing off who they used to be. Which is why, when forced to take up violence, these Men who wanted to be left alone, fight with unholy vengeance against those who murdered their former lives. They fight with raw hate, and a drive that cannot be fathomed by those who are merely play-acting at politics and terror. True terror will arrive at these people’s door, and they will cry, scream, and beg for mercy… but it will fall upon the deaf ears of the Men who just wanted to be left alone.”
– Author Unknown
I was trying to focus on the historian Michael Oren, who was talking to me not about the war raging around us but about Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, a Roman general who walked the world 500 years before Jesus was born, some 200 kilometers from the spot we were standing.
“Cincinnatus was a farmer. All he wanted was to be at his plow,” Oren told me as the winter rain poured down. “But every time he went back to his farm the Roman Republic came to him and said, ‘We need you to come back. We need you to lead an army.’ ”
“The Cincinnatus myth was the foundational myth for the American Revolution, specifically for Washington himself,” Oren said. “It is also the most foundational Israeli myth. It is David Ben-Gurion. It is Moshe Dayan. It is Ariel Sharon. These people just wanted to farm. But they were called to pick up arms and defend their country. Israel is the Cincinnatus nation.”
Many have never heard the name Cincinnatus in Israel, where the Romans are remembered more as the empire that destroyed the Second Jewish Temple in Jerusalem in the year 70, slaughtered and sold its inhabitants, and renamed the land Syria Palestina. But the Jewish people—who long outlived that empire and reconstituted the Jewish national home in the land the Romans had once conquered—are also democratic heirs to Cincinnatus. //
There was not a single conversation that I had in the week I spent in Israel where the person did not say a version of the following: There was an October 6 version of me and an October 7 version of me. I am forever changed. I am a different person.
And that is another sense in which the story of the ancient Roman requires modification. The binary of war and peace, the pastoral and the military, is a retrospective luxury of powerful nations or empires. A small democracy, whose very existence is contested by populous autocracies, does not have the privilege, as Cincinnatus did, of going from the field of battle to the field to till. Israel’s citizen-soldiers are scientists, artists, and farmers, just as they are mothers and fathers, husbands and wives. Israeli citizens, whether they serve or not, are not—as one Hamas leader said of Gazans—someone else’s problem. //
Israel’s founding fathers and mothers, having known a period when Jews didn’t have a state—a period in which six million Jews were murdered—understood the difference between statelessness and sovereignty in their bones. The paradox of their extraordinary achievement is that modern Israelis, who might appreciate the distinction intellectually, could dismiss the dread alternative even when presented with visible evidence of a fragility they consigned to the past. Or at least they could until October 7. On that day, the thought exercise became real.
If Israel, in other words, is currently fighting a second war of independence—an existential war necessary for the survival of the state, as everyone here believes—then the young men and women of this country are more than soldiers. They are latter-day Ben-Gurions. They are a new generation of founders. Indeed, as Gadi Taub told me in Tel Aviv, one of the slogans of this war is lo noflim midor tachach! Which loosely translates to do not fall short of the ’48 generation. //
And yet before October 7, despite the country’s universal draft, many Israelis say they, too, believed that history and heroism were things that belonged to the past. Theirs was a nation, like ours, that was addicted to likes and to TikTok, hopelessly unserious, run by an elite with all of the noblesse but none of the oblige.
That Biden would prop up Russia and throw Israel under the bus is just about as shocking as George H. W. Bush trying to keep the Soviet Union from imploding. These decisions are made by small men with inflated egos who are desperately afraid to do what is right because the new security paradigm will render their experience useless.
Macron was asked about the prospect of sending Western troops to Ukraine, which he publicly raised last month in comments that prompted pushback from other European leaders. "We're not in that situation today," he said, but added that "all these options are possible."
Macron said that responsibility for prompting such a move would lie with Moscow – "It wouldn't be us – and said France would not lead an offensive into Ukraine. But he also said, "Today, to have peace in Ukraine, we must not be weak."
He said that the continent's security was "at stake" in the conflict which he said "is existential for our Europe and for France." He added that "if the situation should deteriorate, we would be ready to make sure that Russia never wins that war."
He said there had been "too many limits in our vocabulary" since the Russian invasion in February 2022. "Two years ago we said we would never send tanks. We did. Two years ago, we said we would never send medium-range missiles. We did," he said. "Those who say 'let's not support Ukraine' do not make the choice of peace, they make the choice of defeat," he added. //
Inadvertently, Putin admitted what I and others have said all along. The only way to bring Putin to the negotiating table is to dangle the specter of a military defeat in front of him. This bullsh** of worrying about "off ramps" and "escalation" when Putin is clearly not interested in the first and unable to credibly do the second has increased the length of this war and its destruction. While Putin bears all the responsibility for the start of this war, Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz have much to answer for in how it has been conducted.
We constantly hear from pro-Russian voices on social media (like David Sacks) and in Congress (looking at you, JD Vance) that all that is needed to stop this war is for negotiations to begin on how much of Ukraine has to be surrendered to make Putin feel good about himself. We have the answer. There is no limit on the amount of territory that Russia declares to be its own.
In this speech by Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of the Russian Security Council, he flat out says that Ukraine does not exist. //
As Lithuania's minister of foreign affairs noted:
Gabrielius Landsbergis🇱🇹 @GLandsbergis
·
Some people say NATO is no longer necessary while the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia stands in front of a huge map of the planned imperial conquest of Eastern Europe 🤷🏼♂️
1:03 PM · Mar 4, 2024 //
Again, a war that was conceived to dismember Ukraine and reduce the rump state to a Muscovite satrapy has expanded NATO and anchored Ukraine more firmly to the West than anything possible without the war.
Soviet dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn described the relationship between the citizens of the USSR and the government in this way.
We know that they are lying, they know that they are lying, they even know that we know they are lying, we also know that they know we know they are lying too, they of course know that we certainly know they know we know they are lying too as well, but they are still lying. In our country, the lie has become not just moral category, but the pillar industry of this country. //
As I've said many times, a stalemate tends to help Putin because his only strategy is to convince the West to accept defeat in Ukraine. It doesn't matter how many men Russia has available for conscription; Russia's ability to arm, train, and supply troops is limited, as is its ability to get them to the right place on the front at the right time with the right equipment. Ukraine's strategy is to continue to convince the West that it has the will to win. When you throw in Zelensky's relief of a popular commander-in-chief, you have a political imperative to chalk up a win somewhere.
In the words of Sir Arthur "Bomber" Harris, "The Nazis entered this war under the rather childish delusion that they were going to bomb everyone else, and nobody was going to bomb them. At Rotterdam, London, Warsaw, and half a hundred other places, they put their rather naive theory into operation. They sowed the wind, and now they are going to reap the whirlwind."
Trey Yingst
@TreyYingst
·
Follow
Hamas and Islamic Jihad have reportedly rejected an Egyptian ceasefire proposal that would end the war.
The Palestinian factions are unwilling to consider a proposal that sees new leadership in Gaza.
The Israelis have been clear that Hamas will not control Gaza after the war.
9:16 AM · Dec 25, 2023
This plays into something I've mentioned before, which is that the "Palestinians" want to have it both ways. On the one hand, they pretend to be oppressed victims who just want a peaceful utopia, a claim that is often repeated by intellectuals within Western circles. On the other hand, they refuse to make the slightest concession, even in the face of utter defeat, that would ensure some level of peace. How many deals over the years have various Palestinian leaders rejected that would have produced a two-state solution? How many ceasefires have they broken for no other reason than to continue their delusional intifada?
Yet, most of the international community hand-waves all that away, pretending that it's Israel that is the biggest stumbling block to peace. It's not Israel that's running United Nations schools in Gaza teaching kids to be terrorists and to hate Jews. It's not Israel that's hijacking billions of dollars in aid to build useless terror tunnels while funneling the rest of that money to wealthy leaders in Qatar. Hamas is not a viable peace partner and never has been. If they don't step aside and allow new leadership, there can be no end to the hostilities.
How quickly would this have all ended had the international community stood up and demanded Hamas surrender following the October 7th attacks, with a threat to cut off aid if it didn't do so? How many lives would have been saved?
What is the suggestion here? If Israel bombs Hamas, they are bad. If they shoot them during a ground offensive, they are bad. Now, we are being told Israel can't even take prisoners lest it humiliate the poor terrorists. Do the math there. These spoiled Western intellectuals who constantly infantilize Hamas simply want Israel to tie its own hands behind its back and wait for the knife. That's what they are suggesting. //
To be clear, no "innocent civilians" have been identified in the photos. All of those detained were taken prisoner after they came out of the tunnels. Among them are supposedly some "journalists" and "academics" of the pro-Hamas variety. Whether they were direct fighters or not is irrelevant. No one gets to walk out of a terror tunnel from an evacuated area without being treated as a POW.
This is the idiocy Israel has to put up with. In any other war involving any other country, no one would claim the taking of prisoners is inhumane. Certainly, no one would cry about a "journalist" being detained if they walked out of one of Osama Bin Laden's tunnels. Common sense goes out the window when it comes to Israel, though. Antisemitism is a heck of a drug. //
Joseph K
9 hours ago
Someone should remind these idiots that under the laws of war; a combatant fighting without uniform or insignia can be executed on the spot.
The Times of Israel reported:
The Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement that Hamas “violated the framework, did not meet its obligation to release all hostage women, and fired rockets at Israel.”
“Amid the return to combat, we stress the government of Israel is committed to achieving the goals of the war — releasing our hostages, eliminating Hamas, and ensuring that Gaza can never again threaten the people of Israel.”
Hen Mazzig @HenMazzig
·
The IDF has created and published a map splitting the Gaza Strip into evacuation zones to notify Palestinian civilians of active combat zones and provide safety instructions.
Hamas uses their people as human shields.
The IDF is doing everything it can to protect them.
7:15 AM · Dec 1, 2023 //
“Israel seeks to kill Hamas leaders hiding abroad after war ends,” the Newspaper Israel Hayom reported Friday. “Israeli officials have openly stated that the goal of the ongoing war is elimination of Hamas, and its leaders residing across the Middle East are no exception.” //
David Collier @mishtal
·
Classic @bbcnews headline. Main item on their site.
"Israeli strikes" - no mention of Hamas breaking ceasefire. Along with image of grieving Palestinian mother and young child.
95% of people won't read the article. Israel blamed. Palestinians are victims. The BBC job is done. //
Eylon Levy @EylonALevy
·
Let’s put this [NY Times] headline in chronological order: FIRST Hamas “fired a projectile” from Gaza, THEN the truce expired, then Israel resumed the military campaign. The order is 3,1,2.
7:26 AM · Dec 1, 2023
Bonchie @bonchieredstate
·
Hamas: "We will continue to kill Jews until Israel no longer exists."
Global Left: "So what you're really telling me is that you want a secular two-state solution where everyone lives in peace."
8:14 AM · Nov 1, 2023 //
Disclose.tv @disclosetv
·
NEW - Hamas official Ghazi Hamad says they will repeat October 7-like attacks until Israel is annihilated.
6:40 AM · Nov 1, 2023 //
Marina Medvin 🇺🇸 @MarinaMedvin
·
Hamas leader says October 7, the torture and slaughter of Israeli families and children, is ”justified” and there will be more such attacks on Israel because their goal is to annihilate Israel. The Palestinian nation is one of “martyrs,” he says, proud to die for their cause.
7:37 AM · Nov 1, 2023 //
This is why, despite the tragedy of lives lost, Israel is not going to stop until Hamas is destroyed. All the arguments about a two-state solution have been scuttled by Hamas, who has made it clear they do not want one. It's long past time for pampered Westerners to believe them. //
LW
4 hours ago
"The Palestinian nation is one of “martyrs,” he says, proud to die for their cause."
Show the world you're a man of conviction and honor.
You go first.
Hamas has commanded a network of tunnels and terror infrastructure in the Gaza Strip since it took control in 2007. The Iranian-backed Palestinian terrorist organization uses civilian areas, including hospitals, to store and launch rockets and spread propaganda. In violation of international law, Hamas also uses hospitals to hide command centers and shield operatives.
Ever since Hamas took power in the Gaza Strip, the Iran-backed terrorists have been known for their barbarism, blood-thirsty attacks, and abysmal human rights record as the terrorist government prioritized the death of Israelis over the wellbeing of residents of Gaza. That includes, unsurprisingly, using hospitals as a key piece of their terrorist infrastructure along with a tunnel network and weapons production.
In Hamas' new bloody war against Israel, the use of hospitals has continued — if not increased — as they use the facilities that ought to be for care are instead used to kill. With an awful lot of Hamas disinformation being parroted by apparent terrorist sympathizers in the media, politics, and entertainment, it's worth setting the record straight.
The experts over at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) put together a quick list of "10 Things to Know About Hamas and Hospitals" that debunk anti-Semitic narratives about Israel's actions, lay bare the horror of Hamas terrorism, and make it clear that Hamas terrorists are war criminals, not some sort of liberating "freedom fighters" as some falsely and foolishly claim.
https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2023/10/30/10-things-to-know-about-hamas-and-hospitals/
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