I’ve got young kids. Waking up early is the best time for me to be productive and enjoy solitude.

What are some of the harmful things that he’s attached his name to? I’m out of the loop…

And then bomb them

So what do you think is the reason why the US is giving so much advanced weaponry to Israel?

That’s how extremism spreads…

You seem to know a lot about US military activity. Which branch are you in?

That’s exactly my point. Israel is a US military base, from which it conducts a variety of operations in the region. It is very valuable to US foreign policy.

Unfortunately the Biden administration has accepted that sponsoring genocide is a fair price to pay in exchange for that advantageous position in the middle east.

OK. I apologize for treating this like a multifaceted issue.

If by “we” you mean America then I would say that America gets an ally right in the heart of the Arab world, which is frequently opposed to American ideologies. The strategic location is enough to justify the American government’s investment in Israel because it facilitates the US foreign policy, for better or for worse.

I’m not defending their’s or Israel’s actions. I’d just like to remind everyone that the whole region is tense and complex. It has always been. Oversimplification of the issues leads to even more conflict, in my opinion.

Israel is surrounded by a burgeoning bevy of enemies. The jets are for their defense against Iran and others.

I condemn the Biden administration’s indiscriminate support of Israel.

Damn. I’ve got the Mountain Dew drinkers riled up.

“Possibly causes cancer” is sufficient for me to never the touch the stuff. Please stop drinking these things. They’re literally addictive.

I never trusted the stuff. We use to say this matter-of-factly when I was a kid, about thirty years ago. I’m glad to see that my unfounded confidence and speculation turned out to be right!

There was a time when Muslim empires were powerful. Their so-called “golden age” from about 750 to 1250 ad produced so much of the culture, science and philosophy that we benefit from today.

Obviously there has been a dangerously conservative shift in recent centuries, and especially during the reform in the 70s.

I wish that “returning to former glory” meant reviving their intellectual prowess.

Yes. It wasn’t a uniquely German trend, although they applied it the most and thereby killed millions. The Americans also have their own gruesome history of human eugenics.

Probably because of Hitler. He was very inspired by eugenics and Darwin’s recently published seminal work on evolution. In his writings and speeches he frequently referred to Darwinism and human engineering via eugenics. Here’s a quote from Hitler’s Mein Kampf:

“In the struggle for daily bread all those who are weak and sickly or less determined succumb, while the struggle of the males for the female grants the right or opportunity to propagate only to the healthiest. And struggle is always a means for improving a species’ health and power of resistance and, therefore, a cause of its higher evolution.”

Not just Hitler, the whole of the Nazi party and their public propaganda was based on extreme Darwinism.

An important official Nazi Party publication, “Nationalsozialistische Monatshefte”, edited by Alfred Rosenberg, occasionally featured articles promoting evolution. In a 1935 article Heinz Brücher praised German biologist Ernst Haeckel for paving the way for the Nazi regime. In addition to mentioning Haeckel’s advocacy of eugenics and euthanasia, Brücher highlighted Haeckel’s role in promoting human evolution. Brücher reminded his readers that Haeckel’s view of human evolution led him to reject human equality and socialism. In 1941 Brücher published another article in “Nationalsozialistische Monatshefte” on evolution through natural selection. Several times he stressed that the principles of evolution were just as valid for humans as for other organisms. He closed the essay by explaining the practical application of evolutionary theory:

“The hereditary health of the German Volk and of the Nordic-Germanic race that unites it must under all circumstances remain intact. Through an appropriate compliance with the laws of nature, through selection and planned racial care it can even be increased. The racial superiority achieved thereby secures for our Volk in the harsh struggle for existence an advantage, which will make us unconquerable.”

In Brücher’s view human evolution is an essential ingredient of racial ideology, not a hindrance to it. In 1936 another author named Heberer launched an attack on antievolutionists in Nationalsozialistische Monatshefte. He praised Haeckel and stressed the affinities of Darwinism and human evolution with Nazi ideology.

The history is really quite fascinating and it’s rarely taught in your state-mandated evolutionary biology classes!

Thank you. This is exactly what I’m looking for.

Does anyone know what is the best way to send support to Gazans? Are there any institutions inside the strip that are actually operational?

I know a guy who attempted to enter the Rafah gate with a food relief group but he was denied entry and now I doubt any charity that’s collecting money for Gaza…

If I had a dollar for everytime I’ve read a similar story in the last thirty years…

Rendering 3d immersive AI generated deepfake porn is going to be so fucking fast

It sure seems like Netanyahu is on the “do whatever the hell I want with US taxpayers’ money” timetable, while Biden is on the “I’m only going to ask you twenty-seven more times to stop committing genocide” timetable…