All purpose news and politics thread part VII: News & Politics Total Landscaping

[CaptainEurope]

The naive idiot in me just hopes Iran's satisfied with the face saving and will calm the eff down.

I saw some analysis on German TV that they are probably praying that Israel just sees it as face saving, as they have so many problems at home (ISIS attacks, young people protesting against strict Islam, poverty) that they have no interest in an actual war.

[Zelena]

The naive idiot in me just hopes Iran's satisfied with the face saving and will calm the eff down.

The naive idiot in me just hopes Israel’s satisfied with what has been done and will calm the eff down.

[Zelena]

Polls Show Broad Support in Israel for Gaza’s Destruction and Starvation

Over 27,000 Palestinians have died (including 11,500 women and 8,000 children), over 8,000 are missing and over 66,000 are injured (cf. Al Jazeera). According to the Norwegian Research Council, 1.9 million people — more than 80 percent of Gaza’s population — have been internally displaced. The damage to the enclave’s infrastructure has been devastating — over 360,000 residential units (more than half of the housing in Gaza) destroyed or damaged, and 370 educational facilities damaged.

Nearly 58 percent of respondents in one poll said they think the IDF is using “too little firepower” in Gaza.

[hyped78]

Nearly 58 percent of respondents in one poll said they think the IDF is using “too little firepower” in Gaza.

That poll is from October, half a year ago and done just a few weeks after Oct. 7th. A bit misleading to use a poll from October alongside today's estimated accumulated casualty rates, no?

[hyped78]

So, Ashley Allison is getting ripped apart for calling O.J. Simpson a hero.

Except that's not what she said.

Allison is merely summarizing how race played a major factor in how this trial was perceived by the black community because of the LAPD's history of racism. She is not condoning the murders, let alone calling Simpson a hero to the media or anyone else.

She shouldn't have said that; even if the intention was good, it came out wrong

[hyped78]

Biden closes gap on Trump but third-party candidates pose danger, polls show
Multiple new polls show Joe Biden strengthening slightly in the US presidential election, but suggest third-party candidates could present a risk to his chance of carrying the White House in November.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...rd-party-polls

Polls are moving in the right direction, Biden is picking up steam

[Tendrin]

That poll is from October, half a year ago and done just a few weeks after Oct. 7th. A bit misleading to use a poll from October alongside today's estimated accumulated casualty rates, no?

https://en-social-sciences.tau.ac.il...rchive/2024-01

Similar to the results of the Peace Index survey from November 2023, even three months after the start of the war, the majority (53%) of respondents still think that the government has no clear goals in the war. The criticism of this lack of clarity expresses a deep divide between the voters of the opposition parties and of the coalition, with a large majority of opinion holders from among the former (69%) believing that the government does not have clear goals compared to a minority (38%) from among the latter. The main change from November 2023 is a greater consolidation of coalition voters in favor of the government's conduct, while opposition voters remain equally critical.
When examining the public's attitudes regarding the extent of the IDF’s use of force in Gaza and its results, the attitudes of the Jewish public are clearly different from those of the Arab public. A large majority of the Jewish public thinks that the IDF uses adequate or too little force in Gaza. Unlike the beginning of the war, now about half of the Jewish public (51% compared to 37% in November) believes that the IDF uses firepower appropriately against Gaza, compared to 43% (58% in November) who believe that there is use of too little firepower. An absolute majority (88%) also justifies the scope of casualties on the Palestinian side when considering the goals of the war. On the other hand, over half of the Arab public (55%) believes that the IDF uses too much firepower against Gaza compared to a fifth (20%) who agree that the scope of firepower use is appropriate. Further, about half of the Arab respondents (53%) believe that the extent of casualties on the Palestinian side is not justified. At the same time, alongside these deep disagreements, over half of both groups (59% among the Jews and 54% among the Arabs) think that the extent of casualties on the Jewish side is unjustified. A significant minority among the Arab public refrains from expressing an opinion regarding the extent of casualties on the Palestinian side (34%) and on the Israeli side (29%).

Moset recent I can find.

[Zelena]

That poll is from October, half a year ago and done just a few weeks after Oct. 7th. A bit misleading to use a poll from October alongside today's estimated accumulated casualty rates, no?

Oh, right… Thanks for the correction…

[Zelena]

https://en-social-sciences.tau.ac.il...rchive/2024-01
Moset recent I can find.

Thank you…

[CaptainEurope]

Far-right German politician arrested over 'drugs rampage on Thai island'

A far-right German politician has been arrested over an alleged drugs-fueled rampage on a Thai island.

Niels Foitzik, a member of the AFD, sparked panic when he allegedly began throwing food and pushing over plates in a restaurant on Koh Phi Phi in southern Thailand on Thursday night, April 11.

Police arrived but could not understand his ramblings. He was fined 1,000 Baht (25.73 Euro) for ‘disorderly conduct and inability to maintain consciousness while on a public road' before being released.

However, Niels, 32, from Berlin, was picked up again the following night.

He is seen in the video resisting while being bundled into an ambulance by four cops and three paramedics. He was then handcuffed to a stretcher and wheeled into the vehicle.

The tourist was checked over at the hospital before being held in custody while officials at the German Embassy in Bangkok prepared for him to be deported.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Wittaya Thongkong of Ao Nang Police Station in Krabi said officers received an emergency call from residents being irritated by the German.

[CaptainEurope]

Today, jury selection starts in the first ever criminal trial of a former US President. Not an easy task. I mean, even not having an opinion on Trump seems like a kind of bias, doesn't it?

[WestPhillyPunisher]

The naive idiot in me just hopes Israel’s satisfied with what has been done and will calm the eff down.

Yeah, that too. But, I worry Israel will feel emboldened because the bulk of the drones and missiles had been stopped and will launch an offensive war against Iran on the feckless premise of "defending themselves".

[CaptainEurope]

Yeah, that too. But, I worry Israel will feel emboldened because the bulk of the drones and missiles had been stopped and will launch an offensive war against Iran on the feckless premise of "defending themselves".

They didn't stop them by themselves. And it was only this successful because Iran basically didn't want a bloody escalation and sent a telegram first.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Today, jury selection starts in the first ever criminal trial of a former US President. Not an easy task. I mean, even not having an opinion on Trump seems like a kind of bias, doesn't it?

I've heard it could take as long as two weeks to seat a jury. Will Trump be in the courtroom every single day during the process? I find that hard to believe, and if he is, it'll make for a real circus. Yeah, not having an opinion on him is straight up impossible, I mean, people either love Trump or they hate him, with no shades of gray inbetween. My concern is that no matter how long and how hard the vetting process takes, at least one Trumper will fall through the cracks and make it on the jury, and one biased knucklehead is all it would take to wreck the trial and give him a get out of jail free card.

[CaptainEurope]

I've heard it could take as long as two weeks to seat a jury. Will Trump be in the courtroom every single day during the process? I find that hard to believe, and if he is, it'll make for a real circus. Yeah, not having an opinion on him is straight up impossible, I mean, people either love Trump or they hate him, with no shades of gray inbetween. My concern is that no matter how long and how hard the vetting process takes, at least one Trumper will fall through the cracks and make it on the jury, and one biased knucklehead is all it would take to wreck the trial and give him a get out of jail free card.

He does not have a choice in a criminal trial. He has to be there.

One hour before the trial, hie truthied this: