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The way things are. (lemmy.world)
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[-] mozz@mbin.grits.dev 128 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

There was someone who worked in Washington who made a proposal that the nuclear launch codes should be printed on a little capsule that was surgically implanted inside a man who would travel around with the president, in kind of the same way that the briefcase or whatever-it-is travels around with him under the current system.

The deal was, if the president wanted to launch a nuclear strike, he had to take a big knife and kill the man to cut him open to get to the capsule. Kind of come to grips on an individual level with what he was dealing with, and what it meant on at least some level, instead of just pushing some buttons in an air conditioned office.

I don't think this was ever meant as a serious proposal. The person who invented it was just trying to make a point. But it did get relayed to at least one person who worked in the Pentagon who got very upset at the idea and started arguing against it. What if, he said, the president looks at what's in front of him and can't do it. That would be terrible.

[-] pivot_root@lemmy.world 60 points 5 months ago

What if, he said, the president looks at what's in front of him and can't do it. That would be terrible.

If the president can't kill one single man without a guilty conscience, he/she probably shouldn't be obliterating the entirety of our species.

[-] jaybone@lemmy.world 6 points 5 months ago
[-] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 4 points 5 months ago

How many nuclear bombs has Putin dropped since this war started?

[-] Agent641@lemmy.world 4 points 5 months ago

Putin would gut a fellow comrade for something to do while the launch codes were being retrieved from the briefcase.

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[-] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 18 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

The deal was, if the president wanted to launch a nuclear strike, he had to take a big knife and kill the man to cut him open to get to the capsule.

There are too many Presidents in history who would have done that gleefully for me to believe it would function as a deterrent.

What if, he said, the president looks at what’s in front of him and can’t do it. That would be terrible.

I'm less worried about the President who hesitates than I am the President who doesn't.

[-] RustyEarthfire@lemmy.world 9 points 5 months ago

This requirement is also the plot of the 2020 Hugo Award for Best Short Story, As the Last I May Know

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[-] Prunebutt@slrpnk.net 4 points 5 months ago

Sounds like a plot element from Metal Gear Solid.

However: I think this would weaken nuclear deterrence, wouldn't it?

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[-] OccamsTeapot@lemmy.world 69 points 5 months ago

Errr yeah but it doesn't count as genocide, it only went over a small fraction of the people. It's not genocide until it's all of them! I am very smart.

/s

[-] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 28 points 5 months ago

According to the trolley operator, one in three people tied to the tracks is Hamas.

Why would you sympathize with Hamas? They've been trying to blow that trolley up for years. If we don't run them over now, they'll just try to do it again.

[-] lugal@lemmy.world 18 points 5 months ago

My thought exactly. Instead of talking if it's right or wrong and if it should stop, be should focus on more important questions like is it genocide and is it antisemitic.

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[-] SatansMaggotyCumFart@lemmy.world 42 points 5 months ago

This is about student loans, right?

[-] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world 13 points 5 months ago

I studied your mom's loans last night, if you know what I mean 😉

[-] SatansMaggotyCumFart@lemmy.world 4 points 5 months ago

She’s a swamp donkey so it’s nice to see someone giving her some attention.

[-] kashifshah@lemmy.sdf.org 30 points 5 months ago

When will it be considered anti-Semitic to be Islamophobic?

[-] disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world 8 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Jew is both a genealogical ethnicity and a religious designation. Islam is a different religion. So, never?

[-] kashifshah@lemmy.sdf.org 17 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Semite: “a member of any of a number of peoples of ancient southwestern Asia including the Akkadians, Phoenicians, Hebrews, and Arabs” So, how is it anti-semitic to be pro-palestine?

[-] disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world 23 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Yes, that is the etymology. Queer no longer means odd, and literally now also means figuratively.

Antisemitism is the belief or behavior hostile toward Jews just because they are Jewish. It may take the form of religious teachings that proclaim the inferiority of Jews, for instance, or political efforts to isolate, oppress, or otherwise injure them. It may also include prejudiced or stereotyped views about Jews.

It is not antisemitic to be pro-Palestine if you ask anyone other than Netanyahu. I know many Jews that resent him for using that term in defense of his actions, and the actions of the IDF.

[-] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world 13 points 5 months ago

Queer no longer means odd

Yeah it does. It has additional meanings, but it also retains that one.

literally now also means figuratively.

Over my dead body! Just because an authority says something unacceptable is acceptable doesn't make it so. See also: the Israeli government committing genocide.

It is not antisemitic to be pro-Palestine

Correct.

if you ask anyone other than Netanyahu

Frustratingly, he's far from the only Zionist demagogue spreading that particular lie. It's become less effective recently, but it's been used to shut down any criticism of the apartheid regime for decades..

[-] Belastend@lemmy.world 4 points 5 months ago

literally now also means figuratively.

Over my dead body! Just because an authority says something unacceptable is acceptable doesn't make it so. See also: the Israeli government committing genocide.

Maybe this isnt the right place to interject here: but yes, it now also means figuratively. Not because an authority said so, but because a sizable portion of native english speakers use it to mean figuratively. Thats how language works.

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[-] kashifshah@lemmy.sdf.org 4 points 5 months ago

So, arguable, anti-semitism is also bigotry toward Arabs, we just have to wait for the language to catch up, got it.

[-] disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world 12 points 5 months ago

You have that reversed. Etymology is the study of the origin of words and the way in which their meanings have changed throughout history. The origin of Semite no longer applies to the word as it is used today.

The only reason it’s unique to Jews is because it’s both a form of racism and religious persecution. One can be genealogically an Ashkenazi Jew but not practice Judaism, or vice-versa.

[-] kashifshah@lemmy.sdf.org 4 points 5 months ago

You maybe missed the point that language evolved and eventually the definition may revert.

[-] disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world 7 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

It’s possible. Language evolves. You’re likely not going to get it to catch on with root awareness. That’s hardly how English has evolved for the last century.

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[-] kashifshah@lemmy.sdf.org 4 points 5 months ago

Final comment for ya (always happy to continue chatting in our deeper thread though - that was lovely).

A lot of people conflate Islam with Arab, nowadays (maybe you’ve heard of brown-folks be described as Islamics before, for example)

So, maybe someday?

if the dictionary ever updates Islam to mean also mean “a Muslim”.

[-] disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world 4 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Oxford defines a Muslim as a person who follows the religion of Islam. That’s accurate. The ethnicity of Palestinians would be Levantine, or Broadly Arab, according to genetics websites. Based on my comment, I think you may be comparing it to the ethnicity of Jews. There actually is a scientific difference, one is a religion, while the other is a religion and a genealogical ethnicity, and it absolutely can be confusing.

My ex and I both did DNA testing a few years ago. Hers came back as 99.8% Ashkenazi Jew. Her family emigrated from Russia when the Jews were chased out by the Bolsheviks. Some may consider that Russian ancestry. Scientifically, it’s not. She’s genealogically Jewish. It even has bearing on efficacy of certain medical treatments and hereditary health.

https://blog.23andme.com/articles/ashkenazi-ancestry-and-health

So someone could be genealogically Jewish and not practice Judaism, like 45% of Israeli Jews who are non-secular, or someone could practice Judaism without being of Jewish ethnicity. I hope that helps clarify some of the confusion.

Always down for a pleasant, healthy, and civil conversation. Sorry I fell asleep on you. Haha

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[-] gedaliyah@lemmy.world 4 points 5 months ago

When there is peace and cooperation between Jews, Arabs,and Persians.

[-] kashifshah@lemmy.sdf.org 9 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

That’s like saying that it will be stormy when there is lightning. Thanks.

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[-] PugJesus@lemmy.world 29 points 5 months ago

If you encourage the authority to pull the lever, though, you're complicit in the atrocities already committed, so you should definitely just sit this one out. /s

[-] SkyezOpen@lemmy.world 22 points 5 months ago

Uh oh, I just realized I haven't condemned hamas in the last 10 minutes. People are going to think I hate jews now.

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[-] HarbingerOfTomb@lemmy.world 19 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Incredibly oversimplified.

Edit: I was going to add more detail to my comment and speak to both sides but why should I have to? The cartoon endeavors to simplify the most complex issue of the last fifty years, why should I have to add more context to a comment on one post, on a small community, on a small social network?

[-] STOMPYI@lemmy.world 56 points 5 months ago

That's the point of a political cartoon...

[-] drmeanfeel@lemmy.world 52 points 5 months ago

You're right, the IDF has slaughtered far far far more people than appear in the cartoon

[-] Aceticon@lemmy.world 22 points 5 months ago

Not to mention that cartoon's lack of children.

A more realistic one would have at least 1/3 of the victims be children.

[-] Zehzin@lemmy.world 35 points 5 months ago

Yeah they missed the part where the cop beats up the guy

[-] Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world 24 points 5 months ago

Yeah. The person preventing the lever from being pulled is also screaming that the person who wants to pull it is a tankie and a trump supporter in addition to being antisemitic.

[-] Aceticon@lemmy.world 8 points 5 months ago

Saying "Trump would be even worse" whilst stopping people from pulling the lever.

[-] mannycalavera@feddit.uk 20 points 5 months ago

If you were expecting nuance and balance in a meme you might not exactly understand why you're here.

[-] TempermentalAnomaly@lemmy.world 16 points 5 months ago

Man... I hate when a meme fails to capture all the nuance of a situation and manages to tell a deeper truth at the same time.

[-] PiratePanPan@lemmy.dbzer0.com 15 points 5 months ago

Oh, shit. This hits hard.

[-] 96VXb9ktTjFnRi@feddit.nl 5 points 5 months ago

most of these should be children to be more accurate.

[-] KillingTimeItself@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 5 months ago

is the trolley named atrocity? Or is it actively committing an atrocity? Or is it's name atrocity, which is why it's committing an "atrocity" but actually it could be tongue in cheek so it may actually be both of them.

also what happens if you just pull it yourself, is that not antisemitism? Seems like a loop hole to me.

[-] Agent641@lemmy.world 5 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

If you pull it yourself, thats direct action, IE terrorism, and they super dont like that.

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[-] Semi_Hemi_Demigod@lemmy.world 4 points 5 months ago

trolley named atrocity

The sequel to "Streetcar Named Desire"

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[-] uis@lemm.ee 4 points 5 months ago

Don't forget who provides Putin with DPI.

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this post was submitted on 13 May 2024
1001 points (100.0% liked)

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