Everyone here should know, this is due to you and the conversations you've been having, media you've been supporting, and any actions you've taken to directly protest, letter write, etc.
Activism works. Being annoying af works. Simply changing the media you consume has an impact. Conservatives get what they want from their elected officials because they demand it. You too can demand things of your elected officials (so long as you can hold them to consequence, ie, the problem with bnmw).
And also kudos to Lemmy and Lemmy mods for keeping this place relatively free from bots.
I wouldn't count on that. I'm a dev, and I don't really know how you reliably do that. You can catch low hanging fruit, but it doesn't take much to evade.
This is due to Biden needing to go to Michigan, with its huge arabic population. His campaign people wanted to avoid loud and awkward protests from members of his own party, so they threw a tiny bone that they knew would make a big headline splash.
I hate to be this cynical, but listening to his campaign managers making the rounds on the political insider podcasts… they are overwhelmingly “professional” and entirely inauthentic.
Even if biden himself is earnest, this campaign is shaping up to have all the stage managed authenticity of Hillary’s 2016 run.
Lol if he comes to Michigan he's just gonna hide himself at the Ford plant where they get a select few line workers to attend his speech so they can post it on social media.
Dearborn would eat him alive if he so much as so stepped outside the property.
His 2020 campaign did as well. It was just placed against the previous 4 years. It probably would have been enough for 2024 if this hadn't happened too. In fact the reason I don't believe October 7th was an Iranian called shot is because they aren't dumb and game theory suggests they'd rather have Biden who they use as a political pinata than Trump who will start a war with them within 2 years of taking office.
I'd argue his observed positions on Unions, (as long as they're toothless), immigrants (a little human rights violation is fine), and supporting a literal genocide did that.
Also gaslighting the country about the economy while taking credit for it didn't help either. In fact that hurt him, a lot.
"The indivuals". Four. Four guys. That's all. Of all the Israeli illegal settlers, a whole total of FOUR are getting banned from buying US properties...which I doubt they wanted to, anyway.
thanks for the clarification as my country is banned from clicking on that link and I'm too lazy to shit my pants on another website.
Even if it's just lip service to get votes from the left, I'm happy to see the narrative manifesting itself in the white house. they obviously know that voters want.
unfortunately by the time any serious policy would be enacted, Palestine will be gone.
Four people is not doing something. Four people is doing the smallest possible amount so that cheerleaders like yourself can say "Hey, they're trying to do something" to Muslim-Americans in Michigan.
It's transparent and doesn't even do that, though.
Honestly, if he did nothing it would be a huge improvement. Instead, he's proactively sponsoring the genocide with his blank-check policy on military backing and endless exports of the latest in mass mutilation technologies into the hands of known killers.
When you've outflanked Ronald Reagan to the right, because you cannot conceive of curbing the flow of tanks, bombs, and other killing machines into the country, maybe there's a legitimate reason you're being criticized?
Firstly, positive to see more criticism and friction between Israel and US officials, and that resulting in unilateral action against extreme elements of Israeli society. I recognize that international and domestic politics are hard to balance, and its campaign season.
But holy shit this solves nothing. “It’s a start” certainly, but there shouldn’t even be settlers. Oslo II very clearly, with lines on the map agreed to by both sides, set out that the West Bank and Gaza is Palestinian, for Palestinians.
At what point does the US alliance with Israel cost us more than it’s worth, especially when this unlimited support is directly harmful to other regional allies like Jordan or Egypt?
It's optics, which are important. You can't demand the US unilaterally solve Middle East peace or nothing matters.
And you (not literally you I just mean people) can't get mad at "hugging Netanyahu" which also did literally nothing in reality, while dismissing this. They're both optics. Early after Oct 7th Biden wanted to show compassion for Israel after the attack, now he's showing that the US is not on the same page as Israeli leadership. Probably part of a top-level pressure campaign, starting small with private critiques, then public critiques, then actually sanctioning some extreme people, maybe next he threatens to withhold aid, we don't know.
You can still argue the process isn't going fast enough and you want whatever your proposed solution is, but it's not 'nothing' for the same reasons you mentioned in your first paragraphs.
When the house is burning down you don't start with the garden hose and wait for the structure to be fully engulfed before allowing the fire department to use just one hose. That's a fine approach for normal diplomatic problems. But the genocide response playbook is very clear. You need to act swiftly and decisively to protect the victim group. They will be dead by the time normal politics ramps up to the levels required to save them.
Interesting how you used Oslo II and not the failed camp David summit options that Israel tried. Palestine is in an even worse state than it was back then yet still fighting for the same thing.
You also bring this up without any thought of the Abraham accords which is more interesting. Israel might be digging it's own grave but the US needs them as they are a strategic ally deep in the heart of the OIC block. So people shouldn't expect the US's involvement other than support.
Oslo II was signed by the PLO on behalf of the Palestinian people. It’s the most recent document that both sides agreed to, dealing with partition of land. Israel has failed to do what it agreed to and slowly cede back the West Bank entirely - they have done the opposite and taken more land.
Camp David accords was between Israel and Egypt, decided without the Palestinians, and condemned by the UN and rejected as illegitimate by;
Resolution 33/28
Resolution 34/70
Resolution 34/65 B
And yes the rapprochement with the Saudis is a big development towards normalization and stability for Israel, and cements alliances between the region - but Israeli realpolitik is fucking up the juggling act US diplomats are doing.
Their shit disturbing at every opportunity is probably creating more problems than supporting them fixes. Every time Mossad goes off page and assassinates someone else, they're making more enemies.
We know it's because if there was ever peace accidentally made in that area, Israel would be out of a job and hence the money, so there's no fucking way they're going to let that happen. So destabilizing the area is in Israel's best interests.
I suppose better than nothing but 'better than nothing' is a low fuckin bar for intervention in ongoing genocide. Unless there's reprecussions on the state of Israel, who condones and empowers settelers, this seems like sanctioning the Houthis while simultaneously arming Iran.
It has been political suicide in the past to criticize Isreal. They are also an incredibly important strategic ally in the region, both militarily and commerce.
This move shows that the US is potentially willing to move away from unconditional support, which could be devastating to Isreal.
So, while the actual scope of the sanctions themselves is unimpressive, the meaning behind it is significant.
Sure, you're not wrong, but I'm really really tired of getting 'it's a start' action on issues like this and the irreversible change of the climate. There's a very real timer ticking on both these issues if nothing changes and based on history I'm really skeptical were getting anything but another 'its a start' on some other small facet of this issue, ad nauseam until it's not an election year.
Us sanctioning iran: "FUCK EVERY MAN WOMAN GRANDPARENT AND CHILD, OVERTHROW YOUR GOVERNMENT IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT BITCH"
Us sanctioning israel: "using satalites we have pinpointed 4 individuals in the west bank region and will enact targeted sanctions to curb behavior, thank you and god bless"
They get put on a list. They try to enter the US, they get detained. They won't be able to engage with the American banking system or buy real estate in America.
What scrambles my brain is he won't even do the most basic shit. Like okay Gazans are starving because Aid is being blocked. Why aren't we tying our weapons deliveries to the flow of Aid?
Even if you believe the IDF is the most moral military on the planet (laugh, snort) this is an obvious measure to make sure there isn't a famine. And the IDF could have pretended they did it willingly if they had done this in December when we knew it was a problem!
But nope. Is there a Biden pee tape? What in the actual hell is going on?
Why aren’t we tying our weapons deliveries to the flow of Aid?
Because the point of the weapons delivers is to kill Gazans, not save them. This isn't a bug, its a feature. Genocide and permanent depopulation of Arabs in the Gaza strip is the entire purpose of this military operation.
Is there a Biden pee tape? What in the actual hell is going on?
Biden has been an Israel die-hard since the 70s and he's only grown more intractable with age.
He scratched the back of the Jewish community enough to be able to argue for their vote. Now he's got to contend with all the people that actually don't want The US to support Israeli genocide against Palestine. Politicians be politicking.
You have to admit it is an interesting tactic. First he makes all people who are pro palestine hate him and now he also makes the people who are pro israel hate him as well.
They're 20 year olds and teenagers who probably don't have any Israeli assets let alone American. They're from the 0.01% of violent settlers with no clout who did something politically inconvenient enough to actually get arrested by Israel. One of them beat up a liberal Jewish activist so that's why they got in trouble. One of them was from the Huwara pogrom attack where high-ranking Israeli government officials and the IDF encouraged and facilitated it, and he's a random loser they arrested to deflect attention.
The US picked some people to sanction that Israel has already deemed expendable, and they're people Israel agrees did something bad, so Biden isn't offending Israel by listening to any Palestinian accusation against an Israeli.
Biden (I hope): "Gee, after the election, I don't have to worry about voters thinking I'm 'throwing Israel under the bus', and can do whatever I want. Gee, will I still be a zionist? Or will I follow what my party wants me to do? Here is a hint, Israel."
This isn't progress, this is a scam. The four people in question are already in trouble with the IDF or police, they're basically just some random street thugs.
It's literally just a piss poor attempt to gain support for elections, nothing more. They pull this typa crap all the time in every 3rd world country so its not exactly new or surprising.
If you did mean this sarcastically, the three dots may not be enough. As sarcasm often can be misunderstood, most people highlight it by adding "/s" to their post.
We can waste time lamenting the poor choices made yesterday, or we can make better decisions today.
Would you have preferred he didn't do this? Or did he need to go on tv and slap himself as he said "I'm stupid, stupid, stupid for not doing this sooner?"
What would you have rather he did today in a world where time machines don't exist?
When you vote for president, you're not voting for one man. You're voting on the supreme court, federal judges, heads of federal agencies, regulatory commission members, and much much more. Just want to remind you to also remember that a presidential vote will impact all that, whether you like the main candidate or not.
So he'll appoint judges that continue the ridiculousness of corporate personhood; breaking unions; abusing migrants; and protecting genocidal criminals.
I'm partial to a fuck around and find out approach. Forced disarmament, dissolution of the state of Israel, a combined Jewish/Arab government is enforced. Everyone is a citizen. It worked for Germany, it will work here too. They don't get to have an Army or anything again until they prove they're ready for it.