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

[Jack Dracula]

Exactly.

A ceasefire is the first step towards the end of the conflict.

The fact is Hamas isn't going to surrender nor can Israel wipe off Hamas without killing almost everyone in Gaza. This just isn't going to happen.

The Palestinians and the Israelis have to sit down and start talks. All the "extremism" of the two sides of the conflict really need to consider the long term interests of their people.

I’d argue that Israel could kill every last person in Gaza and Hamas will still be a threat.
They may gain some peace for a time but memories in that part of the world are long and while outside agitators exist Israel will never be entirely safe.

[Farealmer]

Isn't demanding that Hamas surrender before Israel will stop committing human rights abuses doing just that? It sounds like a variation on the abusive spouse narrative: "Sorry, kid, I have to beat you because your mom won't do as I say!"

If the mom is a murderer and rapist, sure.

I was going to say something similar but not as clever.

Maybe I misread the original quote but i am fairly certain that the analogy is about beating a kid for something the mother did. That would not be ok regardless of the mother's crimes. It's a bad analogy(like so many people are using for this conflict) but still I don't think either of you agree a kid being beat for something the mother did is acceptable.

[Gray Lensman]

Maybe I misread the original quote but i am fairly certain that the analogy is about beating a kid for something the mother did. That would not be ok regardless of the mother's crimes. It's a bad analogy(like so many people are using for this conflict) but still I don't think either of you agree a kid being beat for something the mother did is acceptable.

Pretty much this. Every time I hear "Hamas can end this any time with complete surrender" I wonder what that has to do with the civilians there? I won't weep for a moment about anyone from Hamas who gets killed, but I'm pretty sure that some kid who just saw his mother killed by an airstrike may well be the next Hamas recruit.

[Tami]

Former Nevada congressional hopeful accused in death of Chris Tapp, who served 20 years for murder he didn't commit

A former Nevada congressional hopeful has been identified as a suspect in the death last year of Chris Tapp, an Idaho man who spent two decades in prison for a murder he didn't commit and later became an advocate for the wrongfully convicted.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department on Wednesday said it had obtained an arrest warrant on a murder charge for Daniel Rodimer, 45.

Tapp, 47, died in Las Vegas after authorities responded to an Oct. 29 report of a "purported accident," authorities said in January.

Homicide detectives later discovered Tapp had been in a fight before the hospitalization, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said.

Tapp died from blunt force trauma to the head, and the Clark County Coroner’s Office ruled the death a homicide, the police department said.

Police on Wednesday did not provide any additional details about the death or Tapp's relationship with Rodimer.

Rodimer, a former wrestler and political candidate, was the runner-up for a seat in Nevada’s third congressional district in 2020, losing to incumbent Suzanne Lee by about 3%.

[Mister Mets]

I agree, but I believe that is exactly why the case was scheduled for the last day of the term. I bet it's going to be the last decision released as well. Even though they aren't willing to decide this in Trump's favor, they will play the schedule to his benefit.

This is a really fast development by Supreme Court standards, especially since it's a sensitive and complex question.

I wonder if the timing makes a difference. At this point, Trump won the votes in the Republican primary. The next big event is the RNC convention in mid-July, so that's the deadline. There is a separate question of the extent to which the Supreme Court should compromise to accomodate elections.

Perspective: Liberal cowards join in the Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling in favor of Trump
The unanimous ruling in favor of Trump, clearing the way for him to appear on the ballot in the 2024 US presidential election despite the fact that he led a violent coup attempt after he lost the 2020 election, is another milestone in the decay of American democracy and in the normalization of the far right.

Eh, I don't like the idea of the World Socialist Web Site pushing judges to make unconventional arguments.

Maybe I misread the original quote but i am fairly certain that the analogy is about beating a kid for something the mother did. That would not be ok regardless of the mother's crimes. It's a bad analogy(like so many people are using for this conflict) but still I don't think either of you agree a kid being beat for something the mother did is acceptable.

I think I made a mistake here, and read it quickly as a comment about what the dad would do to the mom; in this context Israel is the dad, Hamas is the mom and Gaza is the kid.

In that case, the metaphor doesn't make much sense. Hamas is so much worse to Palestinians than Israel is, and it's not about punishing Palestine, but about stopping Hamas.

One of the races to watch this year will be the race for Governor of North Carolina, where the state's Attorney General Democrat Josh Stein will face off against the Republican Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson. And WBE, if you are reading, you have my condolences on this gem, as Robinson:
- Is a Holocaust Denier, calling it 'hogwash'
- Wants a total ban on abortion
- Has called LGBTQ people filth and says that transgendered people should be arrested if they use the 'wrong' bathroom
- Is an election denier
- Has called teachers 'wicked people'
- Called the Civil Rights Movement 'crap'
- Said he owned an assault rifle in case the government got to big for it's britches.
- Has said that black people should be PAYING reparations

And that's just the high(?)lights.

This guy's a nutjob.

He also doesn't want women to vote.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/north...b0f9d26cacc002

That's probably his most damaging statement.

Exactly.

A ceasefire is the first step towards the end of the conflict.

The fact is Hamas isn't going to surrender nor can Israel wipe off Hamas without killing almost everyone in Gaza. This just isn't going to happen.

The Palestinians and the Israelis have to sit down and start talks. All the "extremism" of the two sides of the conflict really need to consider the long term interests of their people.

Why do we accept that Hamas will stick around?

Who is on Hamas's side? And what power do Hamas, or its supporters, have? I wonder if this gets to a different understanding on policy, with progressives being uncomfortable with the use of force. I can understand scared people surrendering to awful people who have more power. But why is there anyone outside of Gaza willing to help keep Hamas in power?

[zinderel]

One of the races to watch this year will be the race for Governor of North Carolina, where the state's Attorney General Democrat Josh Stein will face off against the Republican Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson. And WBE, if you are reading, you have my condolences on this gem, as Robinson:
- Is a Holocaust Denier, calling it 'hogwash'
- Wants a total ban on abortion
- Has called LGBTQ people filth and says that transgendered people should be arrested if they use the 'wrong' bathroom
- Is an election denier
- Has called teachers 'wicked people'
- Called the Civil Rights Movement 'crap'
- Said he owned an assault rifle in case the government got to big for it's britches.
- Has said that black people should be PAYING reparations

And that's just the high(?)lights.

Sounds like exactly the sort of Republican candidate we can expect to see more of, as they continue to devolve into bigoted insanity.

[Username taken]

This is a really fast development by Supreme Court standards, especially since it's a sensitive and complex question.

I wonder if the timing makes a difference. At this point, Trump won the votes in the Republican primary. The next big event is the RNC convention in mid-July, so that's the deadline. There is a separate question of the extent to which the Supreme Court should compromise to accomodate elections.

Eh, I don't like the idea of the World Socialist Web Site pushing judges to make unconventional arguments.



I think I made a mistake here, and read it quickly as a comment about what the dad would do to the mom; in this context Israel is the dad, Hamas is the mom and Gaza is the kid.

In that case, the metaphor doesn't make much sense. Hamas is so much worse to Palestinians than Israel is, and it's not about punishing Palestine, but about stopping Hamas.

This guy's a nutjob.

He also doesn't want women to vote.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/north...b0f9d26cacc002

That's probably his most damaging statement.

Why do we accept that Hamas will stick around?

Who is on Hamas's side? And what power do Hamas, or its supporters, have? I wonder if this gets to a different understanding on policy, with progressives being uncomfortable with the use of force. I can understand scared people surrendering to awful people who have more power. But why is there anyone outside of Gaza willing to help keep Hamas in power?

It's not so much a matter of anyone supporting Hamas, as much as it is stating the facts as is.

Groups like Hamas aren't eliminated, they tend to evolve and exist in one form or the other. Israel can't destroy Hamas nor will they surrender. Likewise, Hamas can't destroy Israel in a million years.

Like I mentioned earlier, even other terrorist groups like Isis and Al-Qaeda are still in operation but have only been degraded. The Taliban (i'm not sure about their designation anymore) is pretty much in charge of Afghanistan. The IRA evolved as well and even the ANC that was once labelled a terrorist organization by the US and the UK was never wiped off. Israel can degrade and weaken Hamas but they can't destroy them to the man.

[Farealmer]

Pretty much this. Every time I hear "Hamas can end this any time with complete surrender" I wonder what that has to do with the civilians there? I won't weep for a moment about anyone from Hamas who gets killed, but I'm pretty sure that some kid who just saw his mother killed by an airstrike may well be the next Hamas recruit.

I wasn't agreeing with the analogy. It was a bad one that doesn't make sense.

I think I made a mistake here, and read it quickly as a comment about what the dad would do to the mom; in this context Israel is the dad, Hamas is the mom and Gaza is the kid.

In that case, the metaphor doesn't make much sense. Hamas is so much worse to Palestinians than Israel is, and it's not about punishing Palestine, but about stopping Hamas.

The metaphor was a bad one to be sure.

[Tendrin]

Who wants to defund the police again?

Johnson: We also advanced cuts to some of the agencies that have been turned against the American people. We are going to cut 3% from DOJ, 7% from the ATF, 6% from the FBI, and 10% from the EPA.

This is, of course, a shot fired at these law enforcement agencies to warn them away from investigating Republicans.

[comictimes]

If the Palestinian government were competently run, the schools and public media didn't teach garbage about hunting Jews, and there was cooperation into criminal investigations whenever anyone launched a rocket, we would have a two state solution.

So the West Bank authorities are anti-Israel? How are they still on power then, even though they haven't held elections in like 20 years?

Besides, the authorities who have demonstrably taught garbage, hunt people and bombed and starved them, are from somewhere else, but you wouldn't find them with a map.

[comictimes]

New evidence confirms Israel’s full involvement in ‘Flour Massacre’ of starving Palestinian civilians

Another lie in a long series of Zionist spouted, media propagated, brainwashed consumed misinformation?

[CaptainEurope]

Retired wrestler and ex-congressional candidate suspected in Las Vegas killing surrenders to police

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A retired professional wrestler and former congressional candidate surrendered to police in Nevada on Wednesday after a warrant was issued for his arrest in the death of a man who died last year from a head injury at a Las Vegas Strip hotel, his lawyers said.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said earlier in the day that a warrant had been issued for the arrest of 45-year-old Daniel Rodimer on a charge of open murder in the death of Christopher Tapp.

Tapp, 47, was treated on Oct. 29 by medical personnel responding to a call for help after he was found at the hotel and taken to a hospital, where he later died.

Rodimer’s Las Vegas lawyers, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press that Rodimer was “voluntarily surrendering to authorities and will post a court ordered bail.”

...
Rodimer, a Republican, challenged Democratic Rep. Susie Lee for her seat in Nevada’s District 3 in 2020. He lost by around 13,000 votes.

He later moved to Texas, where he was among 23 candidates who ran in a special congressional election in 2021 to fill the seat of Republican Ron Wright, who was the first member of Congress to die after contracting COVID-19. He finished in the middle of the pack, getting less than 3% of the vote.

[CaptainEurope]

One of the races to watch this year will be the race for Governor of North Carolina, where the state's Attorney General Democrat Josh Stein will face off against the Republican Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson. And WBE, if you are reading, you have my condolences on this gem, as Robinson:
- Is a Holocaust Denier, calling it 'hogwash'
- Wants a total ban on abortion
- Has called LGBTQ people filth and says that transgendered people should be arrested if they use the 'wrong' bathroom
- Is an election denier
- Has called teachers 'wicked people'
- Called the Civil Rights Movement 'crap'
- Said he owned an assault rifle in case the government got to big for it's britches.
- Has said that black people should be PAYING reparations

And that's just the high(?)lights.

He also wants to take away women's right to vote.

[CaptainEurope]

Pretty much this. Every time I hear "Hamas can end this any time with complete surrender" I wonder what that has to do with the civilians there? I won't weep for a moment about anyone from Hamas who gets killed, but I'm pretty sure that some kid who just saw his mother killed by an airstrike may well be the next Hamas recruit.

Oddly that is not how it worked out for Germans who saw their parents killed by allied bombing. Maybe the difference is that fascism is not a religion with promise of a better life in the next world.

[CaptainEurope]

Retired wrestler and ex-congressional candidate suspected in Las Vegas killing surrenders to police

His victim was Christopher Tapp, who had spent decades in jail for a crime he did not commit:
https://innocenceproject.org/christo...p-exoneration/

(Idaho Falls, ID – July 17, 2019) Today, the District Court of the Seventh Judicial Circuit in Idaho Falls, Idaho, granted the Bonneville County District Attorney’s motion to vacate the 1998 murder conviction of Christopher Tapp based on actual innocence and to drop all charges. The court’s decision was based on new DNA testing which excluded Tapp from the crime scene evidence and identified Brian Dripps as the man who actually raped and murdered Angie Dodge in 1996. Dripps was much older than Tapp and had no connection to him. This is the nation’s first exoneration to rely on genealogical DNA testing.

“The system thought that I could be thrown away.”

“The system thought that I could be thrown away. They thought that I’d never amount to anything,” said Tapp. “They were wrong. I want people to know that I’m innocent. I’ve said it for the past 22 years. Finally, the truth is being revealed. I am appreciative and deeply humbled that this moment has finally come.”