The Fora: A Higher Education Community

Some T1, some refereeing.

Iran seems to be considering Hamas as "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" and supplying them with weaponry, but other than that, is there any material assistance coming into Gaza from the Arab world?  If there are huge protests in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon or elsewhere about what is happening to their co-religionists I have not seen any mention of it.  It's not as if Egypt opened the Rafah crossing to let in any refugees.

It seems as if the protests are coming only from milk fed, middle class American college students at Ivy League schools brought up on a diet high in content about power, colonialism, and privilege.

My take on the whole situation is two-fold.

Hamas made a horrific miscalculation.  I think they figured that if they could provoke Israel into an all out shooting war, the Arab nations would come to their aid militarily.  That does not appear to have happened other than maybe some food aid air drops.

Second, Netanyahu completely buggered up the response to October 7.  I can't think of any example where a superior military power was actually able to dislodge a rag tag militia that can hide among the populace, take a few pot shots, and disappear back into the crowd.  Destroying Hamas was a fool's dream.  And now he has a tiger by the tail and is either too stupid or too afraid to let go.  Alternatively, he has the taste of blood in his mouth and has decided he likes it.

There are no good guys in this debacle. 

Quote from: Parasaurolophus on Today at 07:50:14 AMIs there a better word I should have used? Because it wasn't an accident, and it was a war crime (deliberately killing unarmed civilians and prisoners is forbidden by international law).

Hamas seems to be able to get the best of both worlds. It can be seen as "defending" the people in Gaza, but the atrocities it commits can be overlooked because it's not actually overseen by any government, (so pesky things like international law don't apply to it.)

Quote from: Ruralguy on Today at 07:28:00 AMAlso, sorry, but please be careful in using words like "murder." Murder implies intentionality. Although a soldier intentionally shot a weapon, they certainly didn't intentionally shoot a hostage from their own country.

I mean, they were unarmed, unclothed, waving a flag, and yelling in Hebrew, explaining that they were hostages. They wounded one who crawled into a building to hide, and they hunted him down and killed him. They may not have intended to kill three hostages, but they certainly intended to kill three unarmed people. It's a distinction without a meaningful difference. If I plot to murder my rival but the person I kill turns out to have been his brother, it's still counted as murder.

Is there a better word I should have used? Because it wasn't an accident, and it was a war crime (deliberately killing unarmed civilians and prisoners is forbidden by international law).

Certainly the families of the hostages are concerned that the Netanyahu government and the IDF aren't particularly concerned about the hostages. Although, due to how they were taken and by whom, I don't think freeing them en masse or even in multiple raids is a realistic expectation. Dealing for them seems to be about the only way to go, but that road is leading to nowhere at the moment. Sadly, many thought to be living may not be.

Also, sorry, but please be careful in using words like "murder." Murder implies intentionality. Although a soldier intentionally shot a weapon, they certainly didn't intentionally shoot a hostage from their own country.

Quote from: spork on Today at 05:11:09 AMI think it's fair to ask what the reaction of university administrations and local law enforcement would be if protesters on or off campus were shouting slogans advocating for the extermination of Black, LGBTQ, or other groups.

Are they actually calling for the extermination of Jews or Israelis? Because, if not, then no, it's not a fair question.

Quote from: marshwiggle on Today at 05:34:59 AM

Quote from: Parasaurolophus on April 23, 2024, 05:30:12 PMAnd even if you buy the IDF's numbers--which you shouldn't--the ratio of one dead child to one dead Hamas fighter isn't exactly a great look.

And for comparison, what ratio of Israeli *hostage to dead IDF member is a "great look"?

*or decapitated baby, raped woman, etc.

The smaller the better? Considering that the IDF straight-up murdered as many (escaped) hostages as it's rescued (three each), not to mention he dozens they've killed in the bombings, I'm not holding my breath. It's almost as though they don't actually care about the hostages.

Morning!

QBwH, last words unban, unman. Not sure why I didn't see them. LB has been tricky these days. I needed a nudge and made up a word for dustbowl-levin.

Happy solving!

Quote from: marshwiggle on Today at 05:34:59 AM

Quote from: Parasaurolophus on April 23, 2024, 05:30:12 PMAnd even if you buy the IDF's numbers--which you shouldn't--the ratio of one dead child to one dead Hamas fighter isn't exactly a great look.

And for comparison, what ratio of Israeli *hostage to dead IDF member is a "great look"?

*or decapitated baby, raped woman, etc.

Now that Gaza is being attacked as a whole by IDF, I daresay there are a lot more Gazans trying to defend their homes and families. So are they considered Hamas as well?

Quote from: fosca on April 23, 2024, 06:33:55 PMDid you know that the plural of "therapy" is "therapy's"?  According to a lot of my students, it is.

I've seen a number of examples of the plural 's.  Disturbingly, I've seen it more than a few times on articles published online.  There's some poor editorial work going on somewhere.  Whenever I see one of these I feel embarrassed for whoever was responsible.  It makes them look not entirely literate.

Quote from: Bbmaj7b5 on April 19, 2024, 06:30:55 PMI have been digging into the music of Jason Molina, limiting myself (for now) to his Songs:Ohia phase and his Magnolia Electric Co. phase. The man released 19 albums in 15 years before massive organ failure from alcoholism in 2013, so it will take a while.

Right now, my absolute favorites is Songs:Ohia's "Didn't It Rain" and Magnolia Electric Co's "Josephine."

There's a biography of Molina, Riding with the Ghost. I started it but didn't finish it. I might try again some time. His music has a lot of staying power and stands up well as the years go by.