Now ain't that somethin'. He must be an anti-Semite.
July 3, 2025
July 1, 2025
Gaza
Views on Gaza among Americans are tepid. Most do not support what Israel is doing, most support a diplomatic settlement. That’s about it. In Israel, the public opinion polls are abhorrent: most (by a lot) support ethnic cleansing—that is, relocating the population in Gaza elsewhere—and most (by a lot) take the view that there are no innocents in Gaza.
I am not comparing them, but when the Nazi Holocaust was happening, few cared. It was only in the 1980s that people developed deep feelings on the subject. We started filing into movie theaters, conducting anguished, fervent conversations afterward about “How did it come to that?” So sincere, so spirited, so profound.
What has been happening in Gaza is still happening every day. People (hungry ones) being shot like dogs while lining up for food aid. Children shot by snipers. We aren’t supposed to be concerned. Criticizing this is anti-Semitic? So, if I take issue with school children being shot by snipers, or school children becoming amputees, it reflects my feelings toward Jews?
There was recent talk about me visiting a university in Chicago (I won’t say which one), and the people on the committee or whatever began wringing their hands. Needless to say, I will not be giving a lecture on Gaza at that university. My speaking would constitute activism. And expressing concern for Palestinians has been deemed not in the interest of US foreign policy—deemed as such by the White House. (I thought universities were hotbeds of leftist thought.)
The university campus demonstrations last year were quickly condemned as anti-Semitic and violent (which they were not), so some guy in a wheelchair talking about children now in wheelchairs due to Israeli savagery? Can’t have that. Too sensitive. Best to keep quiet. The potential controversy!
Like I said, I’m not comparing them, but this destruction in Gaza will one day be viewed as one of those failures of humanity like the Holocaust. Israel leveled a territory it occupies. Then terrorized the population on a daily basis for years afterward. There will be documentaries. And while it won’t receive the attention of the Holocaust, there will be conversations—y’know, profound ones—about how this all happened. It’s quite simple really. It happened with American apathy and Israeli approval, that’s how.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest serving prime minister, has been charged with war crimes by the International Criminal Court. But his population seems no different than him in attitude. He is representative of what Israel has become.
Meanwhile, the doddering former US president gave Netanyahu green light after green light. Biden not only let this happen, he authorized it; no Israeli prime minister can commence operations on such a scale without authorization from the boss. But Joe Biden represented his population, too. Even the people chanting “F*** Joe Biden” at sporting events are guilty of complacence. It’s okay to dislike Joe Biden (I sure do), but the FJB crowd never seemed to find the right reasons to do so. Now 3-4,000 children are amputees in Gaza—probably more. So, right chant, wrong reason. Yes, Joe Biden, represents the American population. He represents indifference.
Just like the sentiment “All Lives Matter,” some still cling to what Hamas did on Oct. 7, 2023. The former dismisses racist police violence, the latter dismisses the situation in Gaza on Oct. 6. Yes, what Hamas did was truly ruthless. But, have you ever noticed why Denmark is not ruled by a resistance movement? Or Sweden? Hamas exists because of the situation in Gaza. I have been there and have seen it for myself. But I do not get the sense many of my fellow Americans understand what those people were living with on a daily basis. They sure aren’t informed on the matter by CNN or Fox.
Groups like Hamas emerge in a certain context. And Israeli intelligence understands that context. Many former heads of Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic intelligence service, have said (repeatedly) that Israel’s security concerns are due to the occupation. They’re due to the wretchedness and despair of the Palestinian people.
I have said it many times before, but I have heard numerous men (it’s always men) bellyache about where their tax money is going. It’s draining. “My tax money is paying for that??” However, I have never once heard someone complain about Gazan children becoming amputees. And yet, your tax money is going toward just that.
So, there are two possibilities: either (1) the tax-complainer approves of the murder and maiming of children, or (2) he’s unaware that it is happening. In the first instance, I think the discussion of psychopathology would be appropriate. And in the second, what might we say about someone who is indifferent to learning about what is going on in the world—especially when it involves the murder and maiming of children? What word might we use? I know what word(s) I would use. What do you think would be the appropriate judgment?
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/01/gaza-israel-iran-war-idf
June 28, 2025
June 26, 2025
June 25, 2025
Cupping!
This is how I spent my trip to PT today. They do cupping with stroke patients—and olympic swimmers—and they have decided to include MS patients.
It does have an effect, but I do not know as of yet what the broader implications are. It is promising, however.I apologize for my schnazzy Paul Smith drawers being visible. I do not, however, apologize for having good taste in drawers.
June 23, 2025
Iran
With the recent US attacks on Iran, folks probably have questions and concerns. So, I thought I would make some enumerated points and hopefully clarify some of this nonsense. I say nonsense because none of this is necessary.
1. Is the United States at war with Iran?
Technically, yes. We bombed them. That is an act of war. If Iran bombed our nuclear facilities, we sure as hell would interpret it as an act of war. So our chucklehead vice president saying we’re only at war with Iran’s nuclear program (more on that later) is utter drivel.
2. Then is the United States actually at war—or will it be at war—with Iran?
Doubtful. According to the Chatham House think tank in London, this was likely a one-off. Trump telegraphed his intentions, and the Iranians were forewarned. So there is an element of theater here. Just like when Iran and Israel go tit-for-tat. It’s mostly theater. As far as the White House is concerned, the guess is this will be followed by negotiations, then the US president can claim victory.
3. There is much talk of the Strait of Hormuz. What’s the significance?
The Strait of Hormuz is a major chokepoint for the world’s flow of oil. Some 20 percent of the global oil trade goes through the Strait of Hormuz. The strait is a small waterway between Iran and Oman that connects the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea. The Iranians are tinkering with the notion of closing it; but it remains to be seen if they will. Doing so will have global knock-on effects for inflation of oil prices; China will be hit hardest.
4. Why is this happening?
Since 1979 Iran has been a theocracy that does not cooperate with the United States. It used to, but not since the Islamic Revolution there in 1979. Ever since, Washington has been outraged at Tehran’s lack of obedience.
5. Iran sponsors Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis (in Yemen)—the “Axis of Resistance.” These are violent groups, no?
They are all resistance movements that also do not cooperate with US strategic designs on the region. Hamas and Hezbollah resist Israeli conduct, and the Houthis emerged in Yemen’s civil war. They all have poor human rights records, but to focus on their records and neglect the human-rights records of the United States and Israel is sort of comical. Short answer: If you don’t like resistance movements, stop giving them something to resist.
6. Does Iran have nukes?
Probably not—I would say no. Iran enriches uranium at high levels, but that’s it. According to the New York Times: “If Iran is truly pursuing a nuclear weapon—which it officially denies—it is taking more time than any nuclear-armed nation in history.” It takes enriching uranium to 90 percent to develop a bomb. Iran, which yes denies it's headed in this direction, is enriching uranium at 60 percent—which is high, well north of domestic needs (3-5 percent), but it’s not weapons grade.
7. Wasn’t there an agreement?
Yes. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was agreed to in July 2015. Signatories included the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States). The Iranians agreed to pursue only civilian research, such as medical and industrial development. Iran was complying with the JCPOA, but President Trump withdrew from it in 2018—because of course he did.
8. Is Iran a threat?
Not really. I'll let historian Juan Cole answer this: "... Iran is weak. It has lost control of its own skies and so is as helpless as Lebanon and Syria before the Israeli Air Force (and the American). Iran still has some drones and hypersonic missiles that can penetrate Israeli defenses, but although it is able to do some damage to Tel Aviv and Haifa, it isn’t anything the Israelis can’t survive."
See this article: https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-iran-nuclear-deal
Yes, this is all nonsense. The United States does not need strategic plans for the Middle East; it chooses to be there and spend trillions of dollars doing so. Does Mexico have strategic ambitions in the Middle East? Does Canada?
The Iranians have bad leadership, but they have few options. We also have bad leadership, and we voted for them. Bad leadership = bad results. So, I hate to say it, but some of this is our fault. We do have an option: stop voting for violent clowns.
1. Is the United States at war with Iran?
Technically, yes. We bombed them. That is an act of war. If Iran bombed our nuclear facilities, we sure as hell would interpret it as an act of war. So our chucklehead vice president saying we’re only at war with Iran’s nuclear program (more on that later) is utter drivel.
2. Then is the United States actually at war—or will it be at war—with Iran?
Doubtful. According to the Chatham House think tank in London, this was likely a one-off. Trump telegraphed his intentions, and the Iranians were forewarned. So there is an element of theater here. Just like when Iran and Israel go tit-for-tat. It’s mostly theater. As far as the White House is concerned, the guess is this will be followed by negotiations, then the US president can claim victory.
3. There is much talk of the Strait of Hormuz. What’s the significance?
The Strait of Hormuz is a major chokepoint for the world’s flow of oil. Some 20 percent of the global oil trade goes through the Strait of Hormuz. The strait is a small waterway between Iran and Oman that connects the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea. The Iranians are tinkering with the notion of closing it; but it remains to be seen if they will. Doing so will have global knock-on effects for inflation of oil prices; China will be hit hardest.
4. Why is this happening?
Since 1979 Iran has been a theocracy that does not cooperate with the United States. It used to, but not since the Islamic Revolution there in 1979. Ever since, Washington has been outraged at Tehran’s lack of obedience.
5. Iran sponsors Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis (in Yemen)—the “Axis of Resistance.” These are violent groups, no?
They are all resistance movements that also do not cooperate with US strategic designs on the region. Hamas and Hezbollah resist Israeli conduct, and the Houthis emerged in Yemen’s civil war. They all have poor human rights records, but to focus on their records and neglect the human-rights records of the United States and Israel is sort of comical. Short answer: If you don’t like resistance movements, stop giving them something to resist.
6. Does Iran have nukes?
Probably not—I would say no. Iran enriches uranium at high levels, but that’s it. According to the New York Times: “If Iran is truly pursuing a nuclear weapon—which it officially denies—it is taking more time than any nuclear-armed nation in history.” It takes enriching uranium to 90 percent to develop a bomb. Iran, which yes denies it's headed in this direction, is enriching uranium at 60 percent—which is high, well north of domestic needs (3-5 percent), but it’s not weapons grade.
7. Wasn’t there an agreement?
Yes. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was agreed to in July 2015. Signatories included the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States). The Iranians agreed to pursue only civilian research, such as medical and industrial development. Iran was complying with the JCPOA, but President Trump withdrew from it in 2018—because of course he did.
8. Is Iran a threat?
Not really. I'll let historian Juan Cole answer this: "... Iran is weak. It has lost control of its own skies and so is as helpless as Lebanon and Syria before the Israeli Air Force (and the American). Iran still has some drones and hypersonic missiles that can penetrate Israeli defenses, but although it is able to do some damage to Tel Aviv and Haifa, it isn’t anything the Israelis can’t survive."
See this article: https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-iran-nuclear-deal
Yes, this is all nonsense. The United States does not need strategic plans for the Middle East; it chooses to be there and spend trillions of dollars doing so. Does Mexico have strategic ambitions in the Middle East? Does Canada?
The Iranians have bad leadership, but they have few options. We also have bad leadership, and we voted for them. Bad leadership = bad results. So, I hate to say it, but some of this is our fault. We do have an option: stop voting for violent clowns.
June 22, 2025
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