Adam Burnett

@briebriejoy Despite being a militant group with a political wing, they don't seem to be particularly good at war nor at governing.

Hamas *is* a thousand times better than the IDF. It's not even close.

@InvictusDr @Rainmaker1973 Driving from Vancouver to Whistler is the most beautiful drive in the world, though. You almost want it to be longer.

@Rainmaker1973 The mountains are so close to Van, yet it still takes 2hrs to get to Whistler 120kms away. Traffic is nuts. Beautiful city though. For comparison, Calgary's mountains are 100kms outside the city, which takes 45min on a crap highway.

The skyscrapers of Vancouver vs the mountains [📸 sgt_salt]

@fed_speak It may not be as bad as it seems. "YouTuber" is the GenZ-speak equivalent of: independent filmmaker, broadcaster, cartoonist, journalist, sketch comedian, science-communicator, talk show host, etc etc.

This is legitimately the saddest chart in the world. Worse than the worst of our awful politics.

@FrazJ Why aren't the Americans in period outfits, too?

The Rose Garden is lined with band members in period outfits as they await King Charles III and President Trump to walk the red carpet to the Oval Office

I guess my point(s) can be distilled down to: 1. "Greater Israel" is a fringe movement which, taken literally, is unrepresentative of wider Israeli sentiment and ambition in the region. 2. Israeli incursions into neighbouring states like Lebanon and Syria are much more about neutralizing security threats than they are about naked imperialism. The exception is the situation with the West Bank, which while also considered a security threat is also much more closely tied to Jewish cultural identity. Gaza appears to straddle both categories, but is more like the former than the latter. 3. Israel is a hyperdemocracy with too many opinions, perspectives, and political parties which in practice, as it attempts to form and maintain functional government coalitions, makes many of its actions (appear) irrational, inconsistent, and ambiguous, leading to the misunderstandings addressed in points 1) and 2).

@AdamBurnett @RobertL37046977 @KhalilJeries It’s complicated but if they took the whole thing like they wanna do then it would be insane and irrational. What’s your thesis here man? Whats your overall point here?

No other country feels the need to make propaganda like this. I wonder why?

@MegaRacist55232 @wybeka @MrBeast Thank you for your perspective, MegaRacist.

@AdamBurnett @wybeka @MrBeast Anyone picking the blue option is so dumb they are no longer innocent.

Everyone on earth takes a private vote by pressing a red or blue button. If more than 50% of people press the blue button, everyone survives. If less than 50% of people press the blue button, only people who pressed the red button survive. Which button would you press? BE HONEST.

@MigsOnThePerc @idfklol1034980 @_Prideful_soul_ @Melee1988 @RunRickyRun_34 @wybeka @MrBeast Blue is winning or has won every poll I've seen.

@idfklol1034980 @_Prideful_soul_ @Melee1988 @RunRickyRun_34 @AdamBurnett @wybeka @MrBeast Blue is winning the poll heavily. Thoughts?

Their present (and future) action in the West Bank is/will be the result of a complicated factoring-in of various competing interests and motivations being carried out by multiple people with different interests and priorities: regain control of historic Judea; provide security for Israel-proper; enable the violent settlers; restrain the violent settlers; pacify the international community; flip off the international community. It looks like a huge irrational mess because, like any major political decision in the world, it is the end product of thousands of peoples' competing interests and priorities meshing (and clashing) imperfectly (and explosively).

@AdamBurnett @RobertL37046977 @KhalilJeries So what they’re aiming to do in the West Bank is irrational. Gotcha glad we’re on the same page. They’re taking away territory little by little and they clearly want to take it even though it’s been widely condemned

@WMoralisSr @RobertL37046977 @KhalilJeries Oh, in the future, you me. I see. I misinterpreted your message. I think it's rational in the sense that that is a way to achieve a goal that many Israelis have, but not rational in the sense that it is unnecessary/harmful to do so if the reason comes from a religious text.

@AdamBurnett @RobertL37046977 @KhalilJeries ..the West Bank

@WMoralisSr @RobertL37046977 @KhalilJeries Are you referring to Gaza, or are you referring to 1948 or to something else?

@AdamBurnett @RobertL37046977 @KhalilJeries It wouldn’t unleash their irrationality. Doing an ethnic cleansing to get back to biblical boarder is irrational. If they did something that insane and it worked, why would they stop?

With respect, people with a duck for a profile picture and a fake name aren't in a great position to accuse others of not being real people. The accusation would hold more weight if you weren't hiding behind anonymity. Besides, I think I'm taking way too long to write my replies; a bot could do this much more quickly (and with fewer typos). I think Israel's actions in Gaza (if that's what you were referring to) was more about punishing and neutralizing Hamas for Oct 7 than it was about anything biblical. Oct 7 happened specifically *because* they were neglecting Gaza and had all their sights trained on the West Bank. They were perfectly capable militarily of doing to the West Bank what they did to Gaza, but they didn't. Why? If they were simply trying to expand their territory into places of Biblical significance, Gaza was a huge misallocation of energy and resources. (And, if there are magical math geniuses out there, Jews would be a good candidate, what with their making up a third of Fields Medal recipients.) As far being a rational actor, do you think they've been rational up to this point (in terms of achieving what they set out to achieve), but conquering the West Bank would unleash their irrationality? Or do you think they've been irrational (I guess not in the instrumental sense) and would continue to be post-West Bank?

@AdamBurnett @RobertL37046977 @KhalilJeries 2/2 starting to think you’re a bot

The borders are in the Bible, sure. Is it worth it? No. Even factoring in religious motivations these are humans who are capable of doing cost-benefit analyses (Israel is particularly good at these sort of analyses, it seems). There is a critical mass who think the West Bank is worth the risk. Greater Israel is not. Ukraine was a calculated risk. Taiwan will also be a calculated risk. There will be reward if they can pull it off, and they reason they will be able to weather the negative consequences. What's the reward for Greater Israel? I'm not see it. It's nowhere as clear as the reward for annexing the West Bank -- and even THAT isn't a sure thing! I think there are good odds that in 20 years the status quo will still be in place.

@AdamBurnett @RobertL37046977 @KhalilJeries 2/2 Russia took Crimea, then invaded Ukraine. China has Tibet and did that stop them from licking their lips over Taiwan? Nope. You already said that countries always want to expand. You know what the best argument for expansion is? The fact that you’ve already done it before.

I think they would stop because their aspirations to control the West Bank is because it's the historic Judea and Samaria. It's not just a blind imperial push for more territory for territory's sake. There is no comparably strong historical or liturgical argument for occupying parts of Jordan or Egypt or anywhere beyond that (they worked hard to achieve peace with those countries and I don't see them doing anything to risk that without compelling reason). Many Israeli can't wait to return to Judea, as evidenced by their settling it before it is even theirs. There is no similar yearning to live in Egypt or Jordan or beyond expressed by any significant segment of the population. If you think they would keep going because Fascists always want more territory and Israel are Fascists I think that is a overly simplistic model of the situation there.

@AdamBurnett @RobertL37046977 @KhalilJeries And I just think that’s crazy. If they illegally annexed the West Bank why would they stop? When has a fascists state every gotten more land and been like nah I’m good, I don’t need anymore

I interpret recent actions in Syria as their taking precautions around the former al Qaeda leader who is now in power there. Possibly a bargaining chip to get the Golan Heights officially recognized as Israeli territory and/or as part of negotiations to bring Syria into the Abraham Accords. I don't foresee the post-Assad encroachment being permanent, especially if relations normalize.

@AdamBurnett @RobertL37046977 @KhalilJeries 2/2 They expanded farther into Syria after the fall of Assad.

I am trying to listen. I think if they take all of the West Bank they might then either focus their attention on Gaza if it is still considered a threat (if it evolves into a stable and peaceful Palestinian statelet then there will be no pretext for aggression) or just be satisfied that they have complete control over Judea and simply continue to endure the occasional flare up Gaza. I don't see them compromising their safety and stability by taking aggressive actions against Jordan or Egypt after that point. If Hezbollah continues hostilities from southern Lebanon I could see the conflict continuing there, but hopefully not.

@AdamBurnett @RobertL37046977 @KhalilJeries Now I just think you’re not listening to the points I’m making. What happens when they’ve taken all of the West Bank? Why do you think they’re the one imperialist nation that will stop on their own accord? Not to mention that no, it’s not just from defense wars 1/2

"Why do people always downplay Israel and support them despite the fact that they clearly are too" - I think it's fair to say that Israel, at least a plurality or possibly a majority of the population (depending on the poll), have long-term ambitions on the West Bank. Less so Gaza (but still significant). Where you start to lose that support base is on, say, Syria and Lebanon, parts of which they are occupying as a consequence of defensive rather than imperialist motivations (yes there are some Israelis saying "hey, we should totally settle southern Lebanon!" but again those are fringe). But ambitions on Egypt and Jordan, with whom they have peace deals? No. Saudi Arabia with whom they want to bring into the Abraham Accords? No. Iraq? Turkey? Kuwait? No. No. No. The vast, vast, supermajority of the Israeli population have less than no interest in any of that. The problem I think is you are conflating all of these -- that genuine ambitions to permanently annex the West Bank is a few short steps away from conquering half of the Middle East. I think you need to provide a lot more evidence than you have to make that leap.

@AdamBurnett @RobertL37046977 @KhalilJeries 2/2 I don’t care if people getting rolled over by tanks have bigoted opinions of their own. Israel is doing the ethnic cleansing here and now and that’s bad. The west supporting them in this endeavor is bad. The fact that they clearly don’t intent to stop is… take a guess.

It's not about looking virtuous for me -- I'd rather convince the red pushers than uselessly signal my virtue to the blue pushers who already see things my way. Virtue signaling is unpersuasive. My goal is collective survival rather than individual survival. Pressing the blue button and pressing the red button have identical performance up to 50%, after which blue is the better performing option. The challenge then is convincing the red pushers that collective survival is a worthy goal. I have attempted to do that by pointing out that certain people, children and the elderly for example, might effectively be pushing the buttons randomly.

@AdamBurnett @wybeka @MrBeast Nah, this has nothing to do with immutable characteristics. Only genuinely displayed intelligence. Everyone can GUARANTEE life here, but some would rather look virtuous to others, for the selfish reason of appearing virtuous. Red is the only truthfully honest answer here.

@WMoralisSr @RobertL37046977 @KhalilJeries Sorry, I missed this post.

@AdamBurnett @RobertL37046977 @KhalilJeries Also I am worried about China invading Taiwan. Looking at the state of the world and how China is moving militarily and rhetorically I think you could easily make the case that it could happen practically any day now

I guess I'm unmoved by the mere presence of "imperial" ambitions within a population unless it rises to a certain threshold. I think there is a baseline that we need to compare things to. Every country that Greater Israel would have to take territory from has within its own population certain individuals, including individuals in government, with territorial ambitions of their own. At what point is it a cause for concern? I'm not interested in a threshold so low that every single country meets it. Can you specify what you think that minimum threshold should be? Abstractly, though. Give me the rules and conditions that can be applied to any state.

@AdamBurnett @RobertL37046977 @KhalilJeries 2/2 It’s not about greater Israel existing, it’s just indicative of the fact that they intend to keep taking land and waging war.

@Cobesssss @wybeka @MrBeast If my goal was to kill all the dumb people, I'd vote red. I dislike dumbness as much as the next snobby intellectual elitist, but even that is a bit too eugenics-y for me.

@AdamBurnett @wybeka @MrBeast If you're not intelligent enough to save yourself here, the world might actually be better without you.