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IDF calls on Gazans to leave additional Rafah neighborhoods as it presses operation
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 4: Opinion
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2 08:36 Grom the reflective [109] 
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14 19:13 swksvolFF [262] 
2 01:55 Grom the reflective [107] 
9 14:03 Grom the reflective [147] 
Page 1: WoT Operations
6 12:39 Elmaper+McGurque1612 [176]
10 16:37 Jan [373]
1 05:42 Skidmark [98]
14 19:40 NoMoreBS [281]
1 11:39 Skidmark [118]
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1 00:55 Grom the reflective [129]
3 12:22 Grom the reflective [246]
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Page 2: WoT Background
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4 13:56 Angstrom [103]
2 05:52 Grom the reflective [91]
6 13:51 trailing wife [148]
8 23:38 ACA JOE & Fuck the jews [162]
3 08:38 Grom the reflective [86]
3 07:05 Procopius2k [82]
1 02:02 Grom the reflective [59]
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3 01:20 Grom the reflective [83]
6 17:45 irish rage boy [137]
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3 09:04 Grom the reflective [120]
Page 3: Non-WoT
5 18:01 Bobby [130]
8 19:00 Crusader [166]
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2 14:57 NoMoreBS [187]
4 18:57 swksvolFF [237]
4 16:23 Besoeker [179]
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5 09:50 Deacon+Blues [134]
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3 16:01 Super Hose [130]
4 15:56 Super Hose [120]
Page 5: Russia-Former Soviet Union
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1 12:53 Elmaper+McGurque1612 [79]
3 12:14 Dale [71]
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3 19:13 badanov [87]
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Page 6: Politix
3 15:37 Super Hose [129]
3 15:40 Super Hose [142]
10 16:49 swksvolFF [205]
-Short Attention Span Theater-
The deadliest highways in America revealed - with the 'least safe' responsible for nearly 4.5K deaths a year
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news]
  • Texas is most dangerous state for highway driving with 4,500 deaths in 2021, followed by California, Florida, George and North Carolina

  • The safest state for collisions recorded 63 deaths in 2021; the five safest are Rhode Island, Alaska, Vermont, Hawaii and North Dakota

  • The study used data from National Highway Transportation Safety Association
Posted by: Skidmark || 05/12/2024 00:33 || Comments || Link || [262 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Article doesn't analyze deaths by individual highway. It reports on an analysis by Consumer Reports who looked at government data without apparently even understanding it.
Posted by: Lord Garth || 05/12/2024 8:34 Comments || Top||

#2  Hawaii among the safest. How far can you drive in Hawaii? Texas can take days to cross.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 05/12/2024 10:15 Comments || Top||

#3  Not even "Consumer Reports", but "Consumer Affairs", who 'analyzed' the data to score the points they wanted - seat belt use, speed limits, drunk driving laws (not enforcement). No per-mile data and no trend analysis.

Top notch!
Posted by: Bobby || 05/12/2024 10:35 Comments || Top||

#4  By the way - states use real data to determine where to pend their highway improvement money. In addition to the usual political considerations.
Posted by: Bobby || 05/12/2024 10:36 Comments || Top||

#5  How do the worst states compare in terms of raw or per capita or per road-mile illegal alien numbers versus the best states?
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/12/2024 11:12 Comments || Top||

#6  Total deaths or deaths per miles driven? There is more than one way to slice up a dataset.

Most accidents happen within 25 miles from home, so we should all move. Do it for the children!
Posted by: SteveS || 05/12/2024 11:18 Comments || Top||

#7  My experience in Texas is they maintain their freeways which is more than I can say for California.
Posted by: Spaviper Lumplump4797 || 05/12/2024 12:19 Comments || Top||

#8  What state is George?
Posted by: Beavis || 05/12/2024 12:41 Comments || Top||

#9  It’s meant to be Georgia, Beavis, but they don’t have any Rantburgers copy-editing. Fixed.
Posted by: Wholuper Trotsky5294 || 05/12/2024 13:45 Comments || Top||

#10  Whoops! Wholuper Trotsky5294 is me — I cleared my cookies and now have to do the work of resetting.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/12/2024 13:52 Comments || Top||

#11  George along the Garden Route. Nice little place 20 years ago. Hope it still is.
Posted by: Besoeker || 05/12/2024 16:30 Comments || Top||

#12  TW it’s the state of George in the article, you didn’t do anything wrong
Posted by: Beavis || 05/12/2024 18:48 Comments || Top||

#13  #7 Can confirm from recent road trip. The rest stops in Texas were top notch. CA are not much more than pit toilets.
Posted by: Rex Mundi || 05/12/2024 19:11 Comments || Top||

#14  Anything to do with uninsured drivers?
Posted by: swksvolFF || 05/12/2024 19:13 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
Biden Arms Threat To Israel Is Team Obama All The Way
[LI]
Posted by: Frank G || 05/12/2024 11:15 || Comments || Link || [39 views] Top|| File under: Tin Hat Dictators, Presidents for Life, & Kleptocrats


'That's what decades of reckless, hegemonic rule by The Uniparty™️ does': Mike Lee sounds off about US debt, spending
[BLAZE] Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah is sounding the alarm about the massive interest on the nation's debt.

"We're so screwed. And glued. Also tattooed. Interest will top $1.1 trillion this year. That's what decades of reckless, hegemonic rule by The Uniparty™️ does," Lee tweeted.

"It's time to clean house."

The senator made the comments in response to a post by E.J. Antoni, "Research Fellow in the Heritage Foundation's Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget," who had tweeted, "Interest on the debt is going to the moon: Treasury now projects it will cost over $1.1 trillion during the current fiscal year."
Posted by: Besoeker || 05/12/2024 07:13 || Comments || Link || [45 views] Top|| File under:


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
With Biden Stalling, Israel Announces They Will Just Get American Weapons From Taliban
[BEE] TEL AVIV — With Biden delaying shipments of U.S. weaponry, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced today they will just obtain it from the Taliban instead.

"The Taliban has over $80 billion worth, so no big deal," explained Netanyahu at a press conference. "Honestly, the transaction and shipping will be way more efficient than dealing with the American government."

Biden handed over $86 billion in American weaponry to the Taliban in 2021, but denied shipments to Israel last week over concerns that they might not be as responsible as the Taliban. "We just don't trust the Jewish nation, they're very sneaky," sad Biden spokesman John Kirby. "We in the Biden administration want to be extremely cautious about who we allow to have such sophisticated weaponry, which is why the primary people we give weapons to are Eastern European warlords and the guys who did 9/11."

With the weapons shipments on hold while the few living hostages remain under Hamas control, Israel decided to simply purchase American weaponry from the enormous store in Afghanistan. "There are tons of American weaponry stores all across Afghanistan, plenty to choose from," said an IDF commander. "My personal favorite is Muhammed's Army Surplus, very good prices. We'll be fine."

At publishing time, Israel had announced that if the Taliban ran out of American weaponry, they would start purchasing it from the dealer in Qatar next to where the Hamas leaders live.
Posted by: Besoeker || 05/12/2024 07:16 || Comments || Link || [109 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Too funny!
Posted by: Skidmark || 05/12/2024 7:50 Comments || Top||

#2  ^We all know Babylon Bee's record on prediction.
Posted by: Grom the reflective || 05/12/2024 8:36 Comments || Top||


Why Gaza and not the Uighurs?
[TheSpectator] The Babylon Bee, "the newspaper of record" for anyone with a sense of humor, posed a more interesting thought about the campus demonstrations than anything you can find in the New York Times or Washington Post. The Bee’s headline proclaimed, "Uighur Slaves Struggling to Keep Up with Demand for Palestinian Headscarves."

Dark humor indeed. The headscarves, like the masks, serve one obvious function: they hide the faces of demonstrators. That’s why bank robbers wear masks, too. Students know they are breaking the rules and professional agitators know they are breaking the law, so it’s smart to hide their faces.

But the scarves have one additional advantage that bank robbers’ masks don’t: the keffiyeh is a visible symbol of Palestinian identity. "Pardon me," they say, "my virtue is showing."
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Grom the reflective || 05/12/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || [107 views] Top|| File under: Hamas

#1  href="https://amgreatness.com/2024/05/10/watchdog-unrwa-staff-stealing-and-selling-gaza-aid-for-profit/">Watchdog: UNRWA Staff Stealing and Selling Gaza Aid for Profit

"It's all just business, nothing personal."
Posted by: Grom the reflective || 05/12/2024 1:54 Comments || Top||

#2  Ooops.

Watchdog: UNRWA Staff Stealing and Selling Gaza Aid for Profit
Posted by: Grom the reflective || 05/12/2024 1:55 Comments || Top||


After Biden arms freeze, Israel can still fight in Rafah. Lebanon is a different story
[IsraelTimes] Stuck in a long war against Hamas, Israel needs a steady US weapons supply to be prepared for a war on Hezbollah — which is now likely to be more aggressive

On October 10, three days after the massacre perpetrated by Hamas in the kibbutzim and cities of southern Israel, US President Joe Biden strode to the podium in the White House State Dining Room. Vice President Kamala Harris stood behind his right shoulder, Secretary of State Antony Blinken behind his left.

“We must be crystal clear,” said the president, seen as one of Israel’s closest friends in Washington. “We stand with Israel. We stand with Israel.”

“And we will make sure Israel has what it needs to take care of its citizens, defend itself and respond to this attack,” Biden pledged.
This is the gentile making promises that the Holocaust survivor warned Bibi against.
His well-received address included a clear warning to Hezbollah and Iran: “To any country, any organization, anyone thinking of taking advantage of this situation, I have one word: Don’t. Don’t.”

Seven months later, Biden issued another “Don’t,” but this time it wasn’t directed toward Iran and its proxies — it was a message to the very same country he pledged so unequivocally in October to back. In an interview with CNN, Biden announced that his administration would not support Israel or provide it with offensive weapons if it launches an operation against Hamas in populated parts of the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

“I’ve made it clear to Bibi (Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu) and the war cabinet: They’re not going to get our support if they go [into] these population centers,” said Biden.

This wasn’t the first time an American president has held up weapons shipments while Israel was fighting Hamas. In 2014, during Operation Protective Edge, the Barack Obama administration suspended a shipment of Hellfire missiles.
Another gentile who claims to be Christian making promises he had no intention of keeping.
But Obama never got in front of a camera to announce that he was holding ammunition back from one of America’s closest allies as it was fighting one of the world’s most dangerous terrorist organizations.

Biden did so, quite deliberately.

The IDF sought to downplay the significance of Biden’s decision, saying it has enough munitions for its planned missions in Rafah. That may be. Israel can still smash apart the Hamas units in Rafah if it decides to.

“The IDF might have to shift away from precision munitions in the south,” said Blaise Misztal, vice president for policy at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America. “It’s largely possible to do.”

The use of precision bombs has already dropped dramatically in Gaza, as IDF forces gain confidence in close artillery and drone support.
Making a virtue of necessity
But, in the wake of Biden’s move, the Rafah option becomes far more perilous than it was last week — because of the looming threat of all-out war against Hezbollah.

“Israeli leaders can’t decide to go into Rafah now unless they want to take a huge risk on the Lebanon front,” explained military theorist Eran Ortal.

WARS OF ABUNDANCE
Israel didn’t build its army to fight wars on multiple fronts that stretch on for the better part of a year, as is happening now.

Over the past two decades, Israel repeatedly took on an inferior opponent in Hamas. These relatively short “wars of abundance,” in the words of two IDF generals weeks before October 7, were fought primarily using airpower, and were surprisingly resource-intensive, relying on large numbers of precision-guided munitions and interceptor missiles.

They involved considerable amounts of other ordnance as well. In 50 days of fighting during the 2014 Operation Protective Edge, the IDF used some 35,000 artillery shells and 14,500 tank shells.

In 34 days in the 2006 Second Lebanon War, the IDF used almost 200,000 shells against Hezbollah, or almost 6,000 a day.

These campaigns ended with Israel looking immediately to the US for emergency replenishment, especially interceptors.

Israel’s dependence on US supplies is by American design, said Jonathan Conricus, senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.

“Pentagon officials pay close attention to Israeli stockpiles,” he said. “They don’t allow Israel to stockpile enough to have sufficient freedom of action for large-scale actions without American consent.”

One of the solutions the two countries settled on was that Israel could use American munitions prepositioned in Israel, known as War Reserve Stocks for Allies-Israel, or WRSA-I. Israel tapped into the stockpile in both 2006 and 2014.

But in January 2023, the US military began quietly shipping 300,000 artillery shells from WRSA-I to Ukraine.

Israel made moves to increase local production. In July of that year, the IDF signed a deal with Elbit for 40,000 shells a year, or 3,300 a month. Obviously, that isn’t enough.

Every bomb Israel uses in Rafah comes at the expense of its ability to take the fight to Hezbollah in Lebanon in the future
In order to keep up with the demands of destroying Hamas since October 7, the IDF has had to draw on its stockpiles saved for a potential fight against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Every bomb Israel uses in Rafah comes at the expense of its ability to take the fight to Hezbollah in Lebanon in the future.

A full-scale war in the north, which could erupt at any minute, would continue to be incredibly demanding on Israeli supplies. A 2021 exercise meant to simulate a fight against Hezbollah had the air force strike 3,000 targets in one day. The actual ongoing fight between Israel and Hezbollah keeps expanding as well. It began as exchanges of fire close to the border, but now features regular Israeli strikes deep into Lebanon.

“We are in overdraft in our supply of munitions for a war in Lebanon,” said Ortal. “There is nothing we have that can cover that gap.”

OPEN SEASON
Since October 7, Biden has prioritized keeping the war from escalating too far in the north. He has issued warnings like the one on October 10, deployed aircraft carriers and sent emissaries to try to hammer out a diplomatic end to the fight. But with his decision on Rafah this week, Biden has made more likely the outcome he fears the most.

“It is like declaring open season on Israel,” lamented Michael Oren, former Israeli ambassador to Washington. “Hezbollah is more likely to be aggressive.”

“It bolsters our enemies and provides them with a false sense of confidence,” said Conricus.

Even were Biden to change course if full-blown war breaks out in the north, it would take valuable time for the bombs to reach Israeli units from the US. Furthermore, an end to the cross-border strikes in the north depends on a ceasefire-for-hostage deal in Gaza — something made far more difficult because of the weapons halt.

“Why would Hamas release hostages now?” asked Oren, maintaining that Hamas sees a major Rafah operation as even more unlikely given the steadily stiffening US resistance.

And the more time passes, the worse Israel’s international standing becomes, not least of all in Washington. Hamas is sure to take notice. At this stage, a Rafah operation has become more dangerous to Israel than to Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, widely believed to be hiding around Rafah.

“Biden’s created an American diplomatic Iron Dome for Hamas,” quipped Oren bitterly.

Even if Israel does go into Rafah, as Netanyahu continues to promise, the White House will be watching closely for a mistake to prove to Israel that it knew better. One stray tank shell could turn Rafah into the next Qana, the Lebanese village where in both 1996 and 2006 Israeli strikes killed dozens of civilians, turning world opinion against the continuation of the campaigns.

Biden has made civilian deaths more likely to happen, argued Misztal.

“It’s counterproductive and ironic,” he said. “Biden is increasing the risk to civilians by denying Israel precision weapons.”

Not that Hamas minds. Misery in Gaza, whether from hunger or being caught in the crossfire, serves the organization. The more Gazans suffer, the more pressure is applied to Israel to stop the war and leave Hamas intact and victorious.

Biden has more cards to play if Israel pushes ahead in Rafah despite the warnings. He could stop opposing the International Court of Justice investigation of Israeli “genocide” in Gaza, and could stop vetoing dangerous resolutions at the United Nations Security Council.

Ultimately, such policies would likely make it harder for Biden to influence Israeli actions.

“In the long run,” Conricus predicted, “this will set into motion a chain of events that result in more independent military actions with less regard for American advice.”

But that long-term future will look bleak if Israel can’t finish the fight it’s in right now, on more than one front.
Posted by: Skidmark || 05/12/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || [147 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah

#1  Since Israel has WMDs, destruction of Israel - no matter how appealing to the hearts of Western "Elites" - cannot be accomplished through brute force. Therefore an alternative method of "Peace Process" where concessions lead to further terrorism, which is rewarded by further concession was adopted. After all, such methodologies mutatis mutandis worked perfectly well on turning the populace of Western (once) democracies into slaves.
Posted by: Grom the reflective || 05/12/2024 1:17 Comments || Top||

#2  Maybe not totally slaves yet:
Posted by: Grom the reflective || 05/12/2024 1:46 Comments || Top||

#3 
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/12/2024 1:58 Comments || Top||

#4 
Posted by: badanov || 05/12/2024 4:56 Comments || Top||

#5  What parts of Rafah are NOT civilian areas?
Posted by: Deacon+Blues || 05/12/2024 9:57 Comments || Top||

#6  What parts of Rafah are NOT civilian areas?

All of them - there's no such thing as civilian in Islam.
Posted by: Grom the reflective || 05/12/2024 12:10 Comments || Top||

#7  ^ Their own imams say it. It's time we started taking them at their word.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 05/12/2024 12:27 Comments || Top||

#8  This is the dodge. Biden gets points with his idiot friends for holding up arms for Rafah, but continues shipments labeled "For use in Lebanon only". At least that's what I assume is happening.
Posted by: Angstrom || 05/12/2024 13:54 Comments || Top||

#9  ^Assume makes ...
Posted by: Grom the reflective || 05/12/2024 14:03 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
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2Mob Rule
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1Palestinian Authority
1Pirates
1Govt of Iran
1Tin Hat Dictators, Presidents for Life, & Kleptocrats

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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.

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Two weeks of WOT
Sun 2024-05-12
  IDF calls on Gazans to leave additional Rafah neighborhoods as it presses operation
Sat 2024-05-11
  Israeli tanks encircle eastern half of Rafah
Fri 2024-05-10
  Report: Biden Admin Issued Sanctions Waiver on Arms Sales to Arab States Day Before Withholding Weapons From Israel
Thu 2024-05-09
  US says it didn't approve Israel's offensive in Rafah
Wed 2024-05-08
  Israeli army seizes control of Rafah's border crossing after a night of heavy bombing
Tue 2024-05-07
  IDF strikes Hamas terror targets in East Rafah
Mon 2024-05-06
   Biden administration puts hold on US ammunition shipment to Israel: report
Sun 2024-05-05
  A jury in San Diego has convicted two So Cal Antifa members of felony conspiracy to riot following a brutal attack
Sat 2024-05-04
  26 martyrs, 51 wounded on the 210th day of the Israeli Gaza operation
Fri 2024-05-03
  US says Hamas seized first aid shipment to enter Gaza via Erez crossing
Thu 2024-05-02
  Turkish police detain over 200 May Day protesters in Istanbul
Wed 2024-05-01
  Hundreds of NYPD cops storm Columbia campus to clear out anti-Israel mob
Tue 2024-04-30
  7 people, including child, killed in attack on Shia mosque in NW Afghanistan
Mon 2024-04-29
  Israeli foreign minister says hostage deal would defer Rafah operation
Sun 2024-04-28
  Pro-Hamas protesters crash White House Correspondents Dinner


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