I’ve put together a free magazine featuring neurodivergent writers and creators from across the globe. It was a labor of love and intense effort stymied by depression and a day job, but I hope you’ll take the time to check out this proof-of-concept issue.
GIFs showing part of Norman Finkelstein’s 2015 speech to the UCD Philosophy Society, University College Dublin, about Israel’s occupation of Palestine.
Transcript:
“My late father was in Auschwitz concentration camp My late mother was in Madjanek concentration camp Every single member of my family on both sides was exterminated. Both of my parents were in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. And it is precisely and exactly because of the lessons my parents taught me and my two siblings - that I will not be silent when Israel commits its crimes against the Palestinians.”
One time I did that thing where you try to commune with your ancestors by getting insanely sleep-deprived and doing a shitload of drugs at a place that was sacred to them, which in my case was the parking lot where they used to dump the frogs after they injected them with piss. And obviously I was hoping to get given a revenge quest, like a relatively-recent one that I could conceivably still track down and kill somebody’s descendent over?
But I guess I should have used different drugs because the wronged ancestor I got was this I think neanderthal who was around when they invented bags. Like, to carry shit in. Before bags they just carried everything like, in their hands and arms and stuff.
And she was still mad about the bags! Like, absolutely furious that some other biped had done that. Total disrespect to the craft of carrying items, in her opinion; ruined a whole generation’s balance and arm strength. And she personally had been *so* good at balancing fruits and dead animals in her arms stably and over lengthy walks. Which she demonstrated to me.
And she was like “you know why you have back pain. It’s those fucking bags.” And I went, “oh yeah I know my doctor told me my fucking high school backpack did permanent damage.” Then I had to tell her about backpacks, and you have never SEEN a neanderthal or whatever she was that fucking mad. She asked if I could find a descendent of whoever was responsible for *those* to kill, and I had to say no, I’m sorry, but the backpacks were also a really long time ago, I cannot trace guilt in blood on that one either.
So she was really pissed off and went like “I don’t think you really even want an ancestral revenge quest.” And I was feeling kind of defensive at this point and asked her why she didn’t kill the bag lady herself with a spear when she wasn’t looking. And then I had to explain spears, too. I guess the bags came first?
But anyway, apparently one of my ancestors died trying to drown the inventor of the bag, and as a result I agreed to kill the dean of my high school (a compromise). I wrote to Ursula K. Le Guin about this but she never responded.
As impressive as these hits are, none of these clips continues past the point of impact long enough to see the actual effect.
It’s entirely possible that an Active Protection System firing off increased the apparent explosion size, while neutralizing the RPG warhead. It’s entirely possible that each of these armored vehicles continued trundling along.
Until you see actually destroyed or abandoned tanks and heavy APCs, don’t assume a hit is a kill.
In all of these clips they’re immediately ducking back into cover to avoid getting shot back at. Hamas has already demonstrated that the trophy system can be overcome with incredibly close range shots, or multiple shots in quick succession.
I’d agree that some of these longer range ones probably didn’t kill.
Yeah, but even getting past Trophy isn’t necessarily enough to down a Merkava. Though frankly even if all they do is set off the APS and run away I’d wager Hamas is costing Israel significantly more than they’re investing. The Israeli war machine is ridiculously expensive, and the faster they need to beg for more American money the more US gov’t resolve to support them will be eroded.
In any case, I primarily want to point out that this is more highlight reel (complete with slow-mo reversals) than something you can draw meaningful inferences from.
state department ghouls and sentient lanyard dem staffers are bailing on this administration like rats leaving a sinking ship, like even the most soulless careerists see this administration’s position as untenable, but the centrist-to-progressive professional-opinion-having crowd and their audience are still convinced the only way forward is acting as Biden’s personal Sardaukar
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