Lia's recent activity
-
Comment on I just installed a DNS based firewall (I think) for the first time in my life. Help me understand which addresses to block. in ~tech
-
Comment on I just installed a DNS based firewall (I think) for the first time in my life. Help me understand which addresses to block. in ~tech
Lia Link ParentThanks, IT Security Guy. I was unsure about the term firewall and I'm sure your definition is correct. I would edit the header but I don't think I can. It was helpful to learn a little about OCSP....Thanks, IT Security Guy. I was unsure about the term firewall and I'm sure your definition is correct. I would edit the header but I don't think I can.
It was helpful to learn a little about OCSP.
I wish you a fun day - go secure yourself some IT!
-
Comment on I just installed a DNS based firewall (I think) for the first time in my life. Help me understand which addresses to block. in ~tech
Lia Link ParentYay! Thank you so much for typing the response I was hoping to see. :) This got me started when it comes to deciphering some of those seemingly garbled names. If you don't mind my asking: why are...Yay! Thank you so much for typing the response I was hoping to see. :) This got me started when it comes to deciphering some of those seemingly garbled names.
If you don't mind my asking: why are people acting like my HD will catch fire if I happen to accidentally block something important? Is this an appropriately measured response / what would be an example of a worst case scenario? Would you say that it's easy to cause damage that can't be reversed simply by removing the block?
-
Comment on I just installed a DNS based firewall (I think) for the first time in my life. Help me understand which addresses to block. in ~tech
Lia Link ParentI'm sure you are right. I've selected an aggressive combination of lists to start with, as I can always just revert back to the basics if I get fed up. Thanks for your kind reply.these companies are likely also getting better at putting tracking and advertisement on the same domains as the real services.
I'm sure you are right. I've selected an aggressive combination of lists to start with, as I can always just revert back to the basics if I get fed up.
Thanks for your kind reply.
-
Comment on I just installed a DNS based firewall (I think) for the first time in my life. Help me understand which addresses to block. in ~tech
Lia Link ParentThank you for the information. Your grandpa was a smart man. I've been doing the same for as long as I can remember. Not removing system files, obviously, but folders that dictate how they should...AWS (an Amazon product) is THE biggest cloud computing platform in the world. That amazonaws.com url is most likely some non-Amazon application contacting its cloud service. Could be Keybase based on a quick search.
Thank you for the information.
Your grandpa was a smart man. I've been doing the same for as long as I can remember. Not removing system files, obviously, but folders that dictate how they should be used and other gimmicks that I have no use for. They seriously mess up my productivity and it's a shame that visually pleasing (also a requirement for me) operating systems always come with stuff like that - all of which can't be removed.
-
Comment on I just installed a DNS based firewall (I think) for the first time in my life. Help me understand which addresses to block. in ~tech
Lia Link ParentThanks for the link! Pi-hole seems more fully featured than my current choice. I might end up switching at a later time if I find myself grow more enthusiastic about this topic. NextDNS's browser...Thanks for the link! Pi-hole seems more fully featured than my current choice. I might end up switching at a later time if I find myself grow more enthusiastic about this topic.
NextDNS's browser based UI is displaying the last updated times for all lists, which made it a lot easier to edit down my choices.
-
Comment on I just installed a DNS based firewall (I think) for the first time in my life. Help me understand which addresses to block. in ~tech
Lia Link ParentI do, actually. I'm a bit weird that way. Of course I'm not going to do anything "based solely on guesswork", which is why I've posted to ask for info. Thanks for the link and sharing your...I want to second the advice here about not blocking domains based solely on guesswork (unless you enjoy tinkering with it...
I do, actually. I'm a bit weird that way. Of course I'm not going to do anything "based solely on guesswork", which is why I've posted to ask for info.
Thanks for the link and sharing your experience. I ended up with the OISD list plus the most aggressive Hazegi one and a few others as a starting point. Adding some tinkering on top of that should keep me happy for a while. :)
-
Comment on I just installed a DNS based firewall (I think) for the first time in my life. Help me understand which addresses to block. in ~tech
Lia Link ParentThank you for that link. Not sure how I missed it! Something to do with the enshittification of Google search, I'm sure. This answered most of my remaining n00b questions as well as gave me ideas...Thank you for that link. Not sure how I missed it! Something to do with the enshittification of Google search, I'm sure.
This answered most of my remaining n00b questions as well as gave me ideas on what to add to my personal block list. For example, there's a mention that xp.apple.com needs to be unblocked to receive device updates. Could this mean that as long as I'm blocking it, they can't force an OS update on me like they sometimes do out of the blue? Remains to be seen.
-
I just installed a DNS based firewall (I think) for the first time in my life. Help me understand which addresses to block.
For context: I'm a tech noob when it comes to cyber-security stuff in particular, and anything network related in general. My devices are a MacBook Pro and an iPhone. Before anyone cringes at...
For context:
I'm a tech noob when it comes to cyber-security stuff in particular, and anything network related in general. My devices are a MacBook Pro and an iPhone. Before anyone cringes at this, I buy all my Apple stuff second hand to dodge the brand premium. There, I hope that gives me some credibility in the eyes of all the techies around here. :DFor years I was more or less relying on Apple to do a decent job automatically when it comes to security, and granted, I haven't had any serious issues (that I know of). Some time ago it was brought to my attention that I'm most likely getting tracked even if I tick all the opt-out boxes on my device and browser settings. I hastily installed an open source app on my phone that prevents trackers and ad servers form connecting to it based on a list of addresses that the app provides. There was a long log of blocked domains already the next day. I made a mental note that I should probably look for something to do the same for my laptop, and then forgot about it, until last night.
When I went to check that log again on my phone, I found out that the app hadn't been functional in a while. A quick online search revealed that they aren't as open source as they claim to be, nor very reliable, so I embarked on a quest to find something else to do the job - this time for both devices.
I have managed to install and configure something called NextDNS on both of my devices and most browsers, even though the documentation seems to be made with more tech-savvy people in mind. So far so good. I turned on all the available blocklists, but a lot of strange looking (to me) traffic is still getting through. I'm assuming some of it is benign, but how do I evaluate which addresses I should block or not? I'll list some examples below.
init.ess.apple.com
init-p01md.apple.com
bag.itunes.apple.com
gsp-ssl.ls.apple.com
gspe35-ssl.ls.apple.com
pki-goog.l.google.com
For these, the service offers the following information: 'Provides advertising or advertising-related services such as data collection, behavioral analysis or retargeting.' Sounds like something I wouldn't want to enable. When it comes to the iTunes one, I don't use iTunes and don't even have it installed (don't ask how I managed to get rid of it - it took several days worth of trial and error..). One of these, pki-goog.l.google.com is listed as 'dangerously prevalent (tracks 21.23% of web traffic)'.Then again, the same general description is sometimes given to addresses that seem legit, such as:
time.apple.com
weather-data.apple.comSome are indecipherable to me and don't come with any sort of description:
fp2e7a.wpc.phicdn.net
init.ess.g.aaplimg.com
get-bx.g.aaplimg.com
ocsp2.g.aaplimg.com
ocsp.pki.googSome descriptions are kind of vague:
a2047.dscapi9.akamai.net
apis.apple.map.fastly.net
'Content delivery network that delivers resources for different site utilities and usually for many different customers.'Some seem to be doing tasks that are definitely wanted:
ocsp.digicert.com
'Digicert Trust Seal - Includes tag managers, privacy notices, and technologies that are critical to the functionality of a website.'Then there's an Amazon Web Service, go-updater-1830831421.us-west-2.elb.amazonaws.com, listed as very prevalent (tracks 5.5% of web traffic) that has been contacting my phone even though I haven't done any shopping or product related searches. What is this and should I block it?
And so on and so on. Is there any logic to these that I can follow? I tried google searching some to no avail.
11 votes -
Comment on What are the best websites/programs for creating mood boards / image collages / 'visual lists'? in ~tech
Lia (edited )LinkI just saw this but wanted to pitch in just in case you haven't yet looked at Obsidian. The native feature, Canvas, is already pretty great and user-friendly. You can simply drag and drop images...I just saw this but wanted to pitch in just in case you haven't yet looked at Obsidian. The native feature, Canvas, is already pretty great and user-friendly. You can simply drag and drop images on there, then resize and rearrange, and the working area expands indefinitely as you put more images in. Zooming in and out is easy and the user experience is snappy and reliable because the entire system exists locally on your HD rather than on some cloud somewhere.
But if you want to get seriously creative, there's a plugin for Obsidian called Excalidraw. It will allow you to insert any type of file on the canvas, not just static images, and to extensively stylize the content. I couldn't possibly verbally do justice to how versatile of a tool it is so I recommend just looking up some YouTube tutorials on it. You'll quicky get a general idea of what it's like.
I use many types of image-based boards for my work and I've been able to painlessly create them all inside this one system for the first time in my life. I also need structured data entries with attached images that I need to be able to look at in a board form. For that I'm using the Kanban plugin. I even use Excalidraw for creating quick sketches without having to switch to an image processing tool and import the result.
I'm also using Are.na, but its functionality is too limited for most purposes, and it is indeed quite pricey for what it is. To compensate for the lacking functionality there, I was using Notion but found it seriously limited and even annoying when it comes to making free form image collages. I was able to achieve the look that I wanted, more or less, but it took immense patience and toil and way too much time. The user experience is far from frictionless although some text layout options (columns) are a bit easier to accomplish. I wasn't ever really fully content with Notion. Now that I've seen how much more malleable and versatile Obsidian is, I'll never go back.
The main downside of Obsidian is that it takes time to get it configured to fit your needs - precisely because there are so many possibilities. I spent about two weeks working on it multiple hours a day, which may sound like a lot, but in the end I have a system that runs all my most important life management stuff (daily routines, task lists - automated and not - calendar, journal, project management, even part of the content creation I do for work). What's more: the user interface looks exactly the way I want. That gives a non-insignificant productivity boost for an ADHD person like me whose attention gets easily hijacked by visual clutter. I've never been this happy with any system that I've used, including paid ones. And Obsidian, the way I use it, is completely free!
If you're planning to use it only for the image collages and if you're happy with one of the existing available themes, then even the onboarding will be quick and painless. You can basically just download and install it and immediately start using Canvas.
Edit:
I reread your requirements and I think the Kanban plugin gets closest to fulfilling them, out of the things that I've used. Kanban does not make the cards square though. You can choose the width you want and the height will be whatever is needed to display the entire image without cropping. But there may be other plugins that do the cropping, or if you know some CSS, you can try to modify Kanban to do that (I modified mine to have slightly different scroll behaviour).Edit 2:
Actually, now that I think of it, Notion may have the best off-the-shelf functionality for your particular use case. It also has a Kanban board setup and it does crop the images automatically. You can also adjust which part of the image is inside the frame. -
Comment on One in four school-starters in England and Wales not toilet-trained, say teachers in ~life
Lia Link ParentIn my country (Northern Europe) we have this thing called children's books. For ages 0-3, they come with thick cardboard pages that are easy to turn, bright primary colours and large, simplistic,...Parents are unlikely to leave a child with a book until they're at least starting to learn to read
In my country (Northern Europe) we have this thing called children's books. For ages 0-3, they come with thick cardboard pages that are easy to turn, bright primary colours and large, simplistic, attention-grabbing pictures. Short texts are on each page, meant to be read to the child by the caregiver. Some have additional bells and whistles, such as a button you can push that makes a sound, but the basic version is popular as well.
I've never met a five year old who couldn't tell the difference between a digital device and a book.
-
Comment on HP wants you to pay up to $36/month to rent a printer that it monitors in ~tech
Lia Link ParentWhat stops them from jacking up the subscription price instead?the costs of consumables are wrapped into the subscription cost and can't just be jacked up separately.
What stops them from jacking up the subscription price instead?
-
Comment on Who are the pop stars, from any era, who have extraordinary skills? in ~music
Lia LinkAs far as multi-talented people go, Björk is right up there with her deep lyrical ability, composing, production, outstanding singing voice and expressive talent. What really sets her apart though...As far as multi-talented people go, Björk is right up there with her deep lyrical ability, composing, production, outstanding singing voice and expressive talent. What really sets her apart though is that the albums themselves form an ever-changing, evolving stylistic arc, rather than just being versions of the same expressive style as is usually the case for pop artists and bands. David Bowie and the Beatles are somewhat similarly evolving and I'm sure other examples exist, but they are quite rare indeed. Edit: oh, and Michael Jackson, of course.
I'm not acquainted with her latest three or so albums but the first seven are still fresh sounding, even Debut that was released in 1993.
Army of Me from the Post album, 1995
Hunter / Homogenic, 1997
Hidden Place / Vespertine, 2001
Who is it? / Medulla, 2004
Earth Intruders / Volta, 2007 -
Comment on Who are the pop stars, from any era, who have extraordinary skills? in ~music
Lia Link ParentGod damn it, I've listened to and admired Tetra-sync for years, and occasionally I've had the thought that I should find out who that orgasmically amazing bass player on it is. I'll see myself out.God damn it, I've listened to and admired Tetra-sync for years, and occasionally I've had the thought that I should find out who that orgasmically amazing bass player on it is.
I'll see myself out.
-
Comment on Shaun on Palestine in ~misc
Lia (edited )Link ParentThank you for reading, re-reading and responding even when the exchange doesn’t feel productive to you. I’m sorry that I’ve been unable to convey interest in your perspective and I won’t expect to...Thank you for reading, re-reading and responding even when the exchange doesn’t feel productive to you. I’m sorry that I’ve been unable to convey interest in your perspective and I won’t expect to see further responses even though they are welcome, of course.
I didn't get a sense from your reply that you acknowledge my moral stance on Israel, because I disagree (more accurately, I have uncertainty) with certain technical applications of international law.
This is likely because I was still trying to understand what your stance actually is. I am slow and uninformed on the basic terminology and definitions, such as what legally constitutes a war crime or not, so when you say you believe there can be legitimate ambiguity on whether or not those have been happening here, I wasn’t able to quickly evaluate if my definition for war crime is quite simply inaccurate/false, or if, as it seemed to me at first, you’re refusing to accept that the things illustrated in the video are actually happening (sorry).
If your initial criticism of the video had been ‘Needs fact-checking’, I would have embarked on that mission proactively. Saying instead that it’s one-sided, reductionist and too long seemed unfair to me, when the reason for it being one-sided has been justified in the video and a lot of the running time is dedicated to constructively taking in and processing the complex emotions that arise when we admit to having held beliefs that are in conflict with our values, and/or beliefs that do not align with reality. Something that is very valuable to the people who actually attempt to do this, but threatening to those who wish people would just stay in the trenches that have been dug out for them.
Those emotions and access to them are what keeps us from reverting to the short-sightedness of colonialist and ethno-fascist regimes. Criticising this work for falling short of something that it doesn’t try to provide did seem to me like an attempt to divert attention away from its value, and I could not legitimately tell whether it was intentional or not. People who verbally state having one opinion/perspective but whose actions show more alignment with the opposing ideals aren’t too uncommon, unfortunately. My apologies for whatever harm I may have caused by suspending judgment while gathering sufficient information to make that call.
Even in this thread I discussed with someone, an outsider to the conflict, who said that it had them questioning Israels right to exist as a state.
I’ve seen that. And is it not a completely normal response to what is happening, if indeed we allow ourselves to feel things? Our base level emotional reactions are not very sophisticated and they cannot be expected to comprehensively adapt to complex political landscapes. I myself have questioned Israel’s right to exist again and again, and I’ll probably continue to do so for as long as I live, provided that the conflict outlives myself, which I believe likely.
However, every time I do question it, I come to the same conclusion: I can’t legitimately deny some people’s right to exist on account of their doing the same to others. That would lead to a clearly worse outcome. This is a feeling that I occasionally have, but feelings are not always aligned with our desired long term outcomes and thus, they should not be blindly followed. The way I ensure I won’t end up being directed by that feeling is to allow myself to feel through it, as many times as needed, while suspending taking action until I’m again on top of myself. If I tried to shut down these feelings, they would start accumulating within and eventually burst out in a much more uncontrollable form than they are now.
My personal view is that by presenting the worst version of Israel and the past, he makes it easy for critics to dismiss his arguments or skeptics to bury their heads in the sand.
I agree that there are ways where this type of presentation may cause harm, and the same goes for any other type of presentation that I’ve seen, except perhaps for the ones that end up not saying anything at all. And to be fair, even those are harmful from the perspective of the affected people as they can come across as discounting their plight.
My personal strategy would be to present Israel in the best light, and then deconstruct how even in that version of events, what they are doing is wrong.
In my opinion, this would be absolute perfection in terms of concept! When you’re done, please send me a link and I’ll make sure to go easy on you on Tildes. :)
To conclude, I understand and accept that the video didn't do it for you, personally. You seem highly informed, discerning, independent, measured and multi-faceted in terms of your thought process, so excuse me when I say that there are swathes of people in the world who need videos on this topic more acutely than you do. Nevertheless, your criticism of its shortcomings, namely the superficial treatment of history and deliberately dropping nuance, is valid, and you are most likely correct in that for some people who indeed are in need of material, this isn’t a good fit for those reasons.
I very much appreciate your participation in this conversation. Rest assured, I have no doubt that your moral stance on Israel is at least as solid as my own, most likely more, and that there is little to no value-based contradiction in our opinions. The differences seem to be more on which perspective each person uses as a starting point (you: broad scale geopolitics and international law, me: intrapersonal psychology and self-leadership) and potentially what type of flow chart should be employed. I think that there’s room for several different types of those here, given the complex nature of the conflict.
Thanks again for your responses and all the references that will help me become more informed. Wishing you a great weekend too.
-
Comment on Shaun on Palestine in ~misc
Lia (edited )Link ParentThank you again for your responses. I’ll try to better describe what I felt was valuable in the video and why I think that the criticism regarding cherry-picking history is out of place. I’ve...Thank you again for your responses. I’ll try to better describe what I felt was valuable in the video and why I think that the criticism regarding cherry-picking history is out of place. I’ve bolded out the key elements for cursory reading.
Summary
From a system’s analysis point of view, this geopolitical situation is rigged to fail, given how it was brought about. We can’t reverse history, and personally I don’t think it’s realistic to believe that these governments as they are now could be convinced to play ball to the extent that a genocide would be averted while Israel could simultaneously continue to exist.
Logically, then, it’s about impacting how the governments themselves are. The one we culturally western-oriented people can more realistically impact is Israel and its Zionism. Up to a certain point, this can be done by engaging with people on an individual level, like Shaun is doing with the video. If the majority of the voters in Israel a) realise that their government is pursuing genocide and b) withdraw their support, then the government will inevitably change and the entire playing field along with it.
There’s a tipping point somewhere, where blind Zionism will have gained so much traction that the opposing voices will be silenced using any means possible even if it means violating the human rights of your own people, and the above mentioned democratic structure will cease to function. We all know the historical reference situation here. It’s alarming to see some signs of this in the video, but I’m nevertheless hopeful that this point hasn’t yet been reached. It is exceedingly important though to try to steer people away from facilitating that development, intentionally or unintentionally.
More broadly speaking
As a way to frame my perspective, an anecdote from a college professor who teaches an unrelated subject in the US. She said her course is in shambles because students who are unaffected by the conflict are trying to turn classes into rallies, while those students whose loved ones are in danger - or in some cases have already lost their lives - are doing the best they can to hang on to a normal daily routine and obtain their degree. They certainly don’t need daily reminders of the political opinions of the unaffected people taking the same class, but the constant voicing of those opinions has been difficult to curtail.
Becoming invested in some conflict as an outsider does serve a purpose psychologically. It allows us to process painful topics in a way that isn’t directly impacting ourselves, which makes it emotionally much easier, and we can use the resulting realisations and fresh ideas for developing our values and determining objectives for personal growth. Sometimes it’s a way for us to soothe our internal feelings of guilt (related or unrelated to the conflict itself). It’s important to realise, though, that this process is an exploitative one: we use another person’s severe situation as a tool to gain something positive for ourselves.
This is not always a bad thing. Where it becomes problematic is when the person who is acutely suffering is put in an even worse position so that we can keep extracting what we want out of the situation for ourselves. In the example case, it would be fine for the unaffected students to talk about the conflict among themselves, but it’s not okay that they bring it up in class where affected students are present (not to mention that it’s not part of the curriculum, but that’s not the point here).
How does this relate to Shaun’s video? I think it would be healthy for everyone who is very invested in this conflict, while practically an outsider, to consider their internal motives. Are we actually attempting to forge a path forward for these troubled nations from behind our keyboards? Or are we perhaps, at least partially, trying to soothe our own psyche and find a way to think about the events that would not too starkly conflict with our beliefs: that we’re the good guys, that our nations are fair and democratic, and so on.
I think what Shaun was saying was that he is just one regular person. So are we all. We don’t know all the ins and outs of any conflict, especially one that we aren’t directly a part of. Pretending that we do is patronising. What we can always do is hold ourselves accountable. When push comes to shove, that’s really the only thing anyone can ever do - and conversely, anyone who refuses to do that will lose the right to call himself a good guy. That is regardless of what the adversary is doing. When considering whether or not I’m living true to my values, it does not matter what the historical nuance and details are and if the other side is behaving worse than I. What matters is how I behave. I think Shaun wanted to focus on that point of view, given how little attention it’s been getting.
I’ve grown up to believe in values such as fairness, equality, honesty, transparency, etc. As a kid, I viewed these things in black and white. If someone lied or put another person down, or in any way failed to respect others, they were the bad guy. Adults have a more nuanced view, which you demonstrate in your response when you say that going all-in with accusations and blame isn’t effective. I agree with you. Even if someone lied to me, I can take a look at their background and see how the lying wasn’t designed to hurt me but rather a way to keep themselves safe - something they learned to do at some point in time, and that they can unlearn if they so choose. If they demonstrate willingness and ability to not lie to me again, they’re not necessarily toxic or someone I should permanently shut out. Not “the bad guy”, in immature terms. If I treat them as such, they will be less likely to come around.
However, there comes a point after which leniency becomes a way to enable someone’s bad behaviour, rather than a way to establish constructive collaboration. It’s entirely possible that you’re dealing with someone who will see your leniency as a weakness and an opportunity to extract as much benefit for herself as possible, with no intention to reciprocate or genuinely collaborate with you. Calling attention to nuance and details, for someone like this, is one way to temporally extend the other party’s graceful interpretation, so they can carry out their exploitation for as long as possible while the people around them are getting lost in the weeds, discussing ever smaller details that won’t actually make a difference when it comes to the big picture: that the abuser is an abuser.
I asked you (essentially) whether or not you believe the current Israeli government is one (with a deliberate colonialist cause), and you say you don’t know. To me it seems quite clear that they are. Intentionally targeting journalists and facilities for children and pregnant mothers, not prioritising saving hostages, their politicians openly saying online to a domestic audience things like ‘I do deny a Palestinian state. Always!’, and the government playing the DARVO game as soon as called out on any of these is enough evidence for me. Again, irrespective of what the other side may be doing.
When it comes to war crimes, I’m also not an expert, but I should hope that some of the above are unambiguously defined as such, and if they aren’t, they should be. When you deliberately target those who can’t defend themselves (children, pregnant people and their yet unborn children) and those who are in key positions to preserve their culture (journalists, teachers, intellectuals), it is clear that you aren’t simply just defending your physical/geographical safety. You are intending to tear down another culture. Of course a bad actor will attempt to carry this out in such a way that it would be maximally difficult for a court to deliberate on, but I personally do not need a court order to see that it’s happening and that it’s against my values.
Shaun’s video does seem to be impactful, not as an attempt to present a historically nuanced view of the events - which it was not intended for - but as a reminder that what looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck is most likely a duck. As we can see in the video's comments, there is a place for such content, because many people have gotten side tracked by the nuance avalanche, which is an understandable and tempting reaction to the looming realisation that human rights aren’t a given even in this ostensible moral high ground that many of us are lucky to have born into. Putting it simply: we feel guilty, and we look for ways to assuage the guilt, and focusing on nuance lets us turn away from the obvious oppression our ally is perpetrating with our blessing and support.
Facing reality is incredibly hard, and not everyone can realistically do so at all times. This is a fact of life and I'm not holding it against anyone to be human in this way. However, some of us are in the position to rise to the challenge, attain better moral clarity and change their views. That is the target audience of Shaun's video.
Here's a quote from someone whom the video served well:
I am Jew and I’m ashamed to say I used to be a zionist. It was never to a crazy degree but I believed some of the talking points and didn’t believe that the actions in Palestine were a genocide.
Ever since Oct 7 I rode the fence. I clung onto the dregs of Zionist talking points, tried to see the nuance, fixated on the people who maybe did perpetuate an anti-Semitic bias. I tried to see both sides so hard. I just didn’t want to believe that my own people were capable of doing what was done to my grandparents and great grandparents. But you can only bury your head in the sand for so long.
The last straw for me was Rafah. How could the IDF tell all the civilians to flee there? How could they tell them it was a safe zone? How could they do all of that and bomb them afterwards? There was not a thing I could think of to justify any of it. It was at that point I realized that this is a genocide.
This video could have not come at a better time. Reconciling my Jewish identity with what is going on right now is physically painful. I literally feel sick. This video helped a lot and I think was the final nail in the coffin for any Zionist views I was holding onto.
I hope that other Jews wake up to the reality of what’s going on. It can be so hard when your whole community are zionists. It’s very isolating. My own parents, who are normally very progressive people, have bought into all the Zionist propaganda. I hope that I can start to slowly change their minds too. It won’t be overnight but maybe if I start asking the hard questions I had to ask myself, they’ll come around.
To my fellow Jews going through the same painful process, you’re not alone and you’re doing the right thing. The guilt and shame is a lot to reckon with but be grateful that you feel it at all. It’s better to wake up late than not at all.
-
Comment on Shaun on Palestine in ~misc
Lia Link ParentThank you for adding necessary granularity to my question. This is what I intended to ask: Your response to that is that you don't know, and/or that proving intent is hard. I'm specifically asking...Thank you for adding necessary granularity to my question. This is what I intended to ask:
Do I believe that Israel is prosecuting this war to intentionally maximize Palestinian loss of life, or to the extent they can get away with on the international stage? Which would effectively be equivalent to the charge of genocide?
Your response to that is that you don't know, and/or that proving intent is hard. I'm specifically asking what you believe, not what you would be able to prove. So is your answer that you don't know what to believe, or that you believe the Israeli government is aiming to eradicate the Palestinian people but you don't know if it can be shown to be true following such standards that would ideally be to your liking?
One more question, if I may: in your opinion, can there be any reasonable justification for the US government publicly stating (through John Kirby) that the White House sees no indications of war crimes in Gaza?
-
Comment on Shaun on Palestine in ~misc
Lia Link ParentFair enough. I'd like to clarify that I wasn't dismissing history at all and I'm a little surprised that what I wrote has been interpreted that way. I was simply pointing out that beliefs in any...Fair enough. I'd like to clarify that I wasn't dismissing history at all and I'm a little surprised that what I wrote has been interpreted that way. I was simply pointing out that beliefs in any human being's pure objectivity are unrealistic - be they a historian or not. I do agree that it's still valuable to try to be as objective as one possibly can, and that some people certainly are able to achieve better objectivity than others.
As well, I was definitely not comparing the historians with Shaun. Like he said himself in the video, he isn't even attempting an accurate historical recount.
Wishing you a good day.
-
Comment on Shaun on Palestine in ~misc
Lia Link ParentTo be clear, neither do I. I’ll respond properly once I get the time, but would you mind clarifying whether or not you have any doubt that Israel is aiming to wipe out the Palestinians? Not what...I don't support the destruction of Israel as a practical remedy
To be clear, neither do I.
I’ll respond properly once I get the time, but would you mind clarifying whether or not you have any doubt that Israel is aiming to wipe out the Palestinians? Not what you think others believe and not whether it’s feasible or not. Do you believe it’s what they are trying to do?
-
Comment on Shaun on Palestine in ~misc
Lia Link ParentWow, thank you for enabling my procrastination regarding some challenging work tasks..! Without having yet read that, I'll take this as a 'No, an objective look at the actual unbiased history is...Wow, thank you for enabling my procrastination regarding some challenging work tasks..!
Without having yet read that, I'll take this as a 'No, an objective look at the actual unbiased history is not a thing'.
It would really not be "right" for me to foist my IT systems management on some online strangers (and let's be honest: you don't seem to think so either).
I don't see why anyone would assume asking for information means I'd be doing that, but this does make some responses easier to understand. Thanks for the explanation.