So, Hamas 2.0. It’s exactly what they did with Fatah, armed Hamas, now they’re arming isis, who’s next?

Outside of Maga, does anyone actually believe a word that comes out of this idiots mouth?

I had a cat a while back, and when I travelled for a few weeks, my sister, who lives in the same building would make sure she’s fed and the litter cleaned etc and spend a bit of time with her. However, my sister told me that Pickett (cat) seemed depressed, and true enough when I got back she gave me attitude for a few weeks, and so I adopted Snowy for her. He basically taught her how to play again, since she’d been seemingly wanting to grow into old age and just sit on my lap and doze happily for hours.

But, I also had another cat in Dubai decades earlier, and she was quite happy being alone. In fact, she didn’t like anyone but me (she was a rescue).

I just finished “The Good Spy: The Life and Death of Robert Ames”. Ames worked for the CIA during the hayday of the Middle East issues (60’s onwards) and was a direct back channel to Yassir Arafat. I picked it up on the recommendation of my ex wife, and for anyone interested in ME politics of that era it’s an absolutely brilliant read. I’m now taking a gap with some much loved Terry Pratchett’s Discworld (Guards Guards to be precise).

He’s a prick at the end of the day, hence I said possibly ratings. I assume also he’s seen the vast swing in public opinion and wants to make sure he’s somehow on the “reasonable” side. In this specific clip though, he’s on the money.

I absolutely detest him, but at least he has the guts (even if it’s just for ratings) to ask these questions and make these genocidal maniacs look inept. The majority of “news” media just pander to them.

Ok, that made me laugh, the feathered equivalent of a honey badger. Bullies!

What astounds me is there are more foreigners like me who are so much more knowledgeable about US laws than the average Maga. It’s insanity the mental gymnastics they manage. Everyone has this information at their fingertips, sadly facts don’t seem to matter anymore.

People will die either way, Trump is gutting medical aid and social services across the board. People can either accept it meekly and just die, or try and fight and die. Honestly there are no good choices left for normal Americans who didn’t vote for this. But a choice has to be made.

“but it’s going to have to get significantly worse first.” Unfortunately given what we (the rest of the world are seeing) I think you’re right, but it just makes no sense to me (who comes from the middle east, had to flee civil war and lived in the west) how easily it seems to be for this administration to literally dismatle the US as we know it.

“but the average person is now more focused on their own immediate survival than anything else. People are losing access to life saving medicine. They’re worried about catching a life threatening illness, and food costs double what it used to” This, in hindsight has been a strategy that has worked brilliantly in controlling the general population.

Well done for getting out and giving yourself this peace of mind).

It is easy to say from the outside, however I say this as someone who took part in mass protests hoping to bring down a massively corrupt government who literally stole all the peoples money, I’ve been tear gassed, water cannoned and had rocks thrown at me. I mean no offense to you at all but yes, it is a defeatist attitude and unfortunately I can’t offer any options as to what to do, but doing nothing will enable your freedoms and liberties to be eaten away altoghether. I think people are more prone to react once it affects them personally and that’s understandable, especially how most American workers are held hostage by their jobs (paycheck to paycheck living, health insurance etc).

I wish you luck friend.

There is actually, unfortunately it’s a very hard choice and it will require sacrifice, be it jobs, etc, otherwise you’ll end up being the worlds riches failed state.

“It ultimately boils down to the fact that the vast majority of the country is unable to mount a general protest because we’re all wage slaves, and healthcare is tied to having a job here, so we’re all predominantly conditioned to be nice little worker lemmings for the most part.”

That’s the problem right there, right now you NEED action, no revolution was won and no government overthrown by people tweeting, and we all know how well “Thoughts and prayers” works.

It’s an extremely complex situation, and I will try and explain in briefly. During the 1950s onwards, South Lebanon (where the majority of the Shiites live) was long neglected by succesive central governments and were mostly menial workers and in poverty. Once the civil war started in the early 70’s, variuos sects all formed militias, and one of the last to arrive on the scene was Hezbollah, funded and set up by the Iranian revoloutionary guard. During that time, they provided schools, hospitals, jobs, and most other basic services that were never supported by the central government in the south. Now add to that Lebanon was under Israeli occupation for over a decade, and it was Hezbollah’s relentless resistance that finally drove them out in the year 2000 and at that point they enjoyed massive popularity among the entire population.

Several years later, they enter politics, miscalculate an attack on the border which leader to the 2006 war, and from there they lost their way. HOWEVER, they are still providing services to the poorest in the South, and the Shiite people are generally traibalistc and very loyal. So they will continue to show strongly in the polls.

(To add context, the leader of the Lebanese Forces group, a right wing christian group founded under a facist idelology, was convicted of war crimes, jailed, pardoned and is now again in politics, I make this example to show how fucked politics in Lebanon is, and every sect will hold onto dear leader regardless of the shit they’ve done. 80% of our political leaders were warlords during the civil war and they are still in power today).

Obviously Ive tried to simplify this as much as possible.

Hello to my Americans friends, and an outsider looking in, we have a very famous saying about the situation you’re currently in. It roughly translates to, “holy fucking shit, you guys are totally fucked”. Honestly I’m baffled by the seeming lack of tangible response from the general public, I understand 30 odd % voted for this and another 30 or so couldn’t be bothered. But the rest of you should be shutting down everything, how are you just holding these weekend protests and hoping for change. Cripple the bloody country! The longer you wait the worse it gets.

Sincerly someone who knows what Dictatorships are.

Well as long as they’ve expressed alarm that’s alright then. Once the IDF bring that down to toddlers, they’ll escalate to “Shock”. Pathetic timeline we live in.

I agree that your entire political system needs a massive overhaul. Far too many lobby groups are spending stupid money to make money, leaving the majority of Americans voices when voting redundant. I wish you luck but I can’t see an easy way out of this for you.

The Arab nations are a joke, pandering to whoever sells them weapons they don’t know how to use (looking at you Gulf states). I’m writing this as a Lebanese who’s sick of this non stop genocide. Strongly worded letters don’t work, and now there’s insanity in America, I can’t see anything changes unless Europe somehow decide to sanction Israel on their own and hope other countries follow suit.

Hello my American friends, as an observer from outside, it looks to me like you all need some of that “democracy” you’ve been bombing across the world for decades.

I don’t think it’s starting, I think the mask is just slipping off. Russia used violence, America has been using financial violence…