I know a 5 year old who shoved a crayon up his nose.

Ah yes, “we did good but they messed it up, as usual!”

If the US cared enough about the well-being and the services the people have access to in the nations they invade, they would probably not do the invading bit.

Unless you’re saying bibi paid hamas to attack them

Bibi paying Hamas is common knowledge. I assume the attack on October 7th was really convenient, and I would assume they at the very least let it happen. I think there is also evidence to support that theory, but since I’ve only watched from the sidelines, I’m not going to try and build a case.

this should not be painted as Iran being the reasonable guys in contrast

Well, what would be reasonable for Iran to do when it is being encircled, attacked, and for years called out as the next target? I think they’ve shown quite a lot of restraint as it is.

Neither Israel nor prticularly Palestine benefitted from triggering Oct 7th.

Apart from Israel getting the excuse to do what they’ve always wanted to do, of course.

none of that refutes that Iran has been using Gaza, Hezbollah and the Houthis like chess pawns to strengthen their position in the middle east

Are they strengthening their position? Or is this a matter of survival? They’ve been under attack by the US and Israel for the past 2 decades. Framing their actions as some surreptitious plan to conquer the middle east is no different from describing Israel’s actions against Palestine as self defense.

It’s not so much that Iran is the voice of reason, but that they’re left with no other choice than to be the counterweight to what is happening. And if they had not done so covertly, they’d be putting their very existence in danger as well.

Crap I’ll never be able to slide that into a casual conversation.

I did not. That’s what I alluded to in my last sentence. But I believe the bigger picture is more important and that automation is a step towards getting out of consumerism, exponential growth and job creation just to keep the bar moving, which all ties in to why we’re in this situation in the first place. It allows us to reevaluate what’s important in life.

And what’s the alternative? Stopping progress and keeping menial jobs on life support just to pay people a wage is ludicrous. Automation has been replacing jobs since watermills and oxen, it is a form of liberation. The current rate will probably cause a lot of upheaval yes, but it’s a necessary evil.

Everything is becoming decentralized because it offers a fairer, more level playing field. Except in governance, where things move towards a consolidation of power under the guise of unity and progress with the net result being that the voice of the person becomes a distant cry.

That’s like blaming Jews during world war 2 for putting up resistance against their fascist rulers. It is such a mischaracterization of the situation that it is damaging to the Palestinian people.

The US hasn’t had a domestic war since the civil war. How many wars has Europe had domestically since then? Hmmm.

The US is a country, Europe is not, so “domestic” is a misnomer and the comparison doesn’t hold up. The issues Europe had with wars are a result of complex regional and historical issues, those things don’t really exist in the US because it is too homogenous on one side and too much of a military might to challenge on the other, not to mention geographically isolated.

You really need to reach to make Europe look like the bad guy when it comes to wars, not in the least because the US takes other countries to war all the time to throw it’s weight around and establish dominance.

The US reluctantly dragged into war.

By the brothers Grimm.

Jfc, to what end? All this retroactive cancelling of dead people is just diddling yourself for feel-good reasons. Get over it and be different instead of waving some flag that says you are different.

Israel and the Occupied Territories: Shielded from scrutiny: IDF violations … https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/mde151432002en.pdf

Palestinian children tortured, used as shields by Israel: U.N. | Reuters https://www.reuters.com/article/us-palestinian-israel-children-idUSBRE95J0FR20130620

I just thought I’d add this to counter the usual one sided view on the matter.