Alon

Alon, 1 month ago to random

The commander who gave the order to fire on the WCK convoy, Colonel (res.) Nohi Mendel, was a graduate of Ateret Kohanim, an extremist religious organization. His reasoning for ordering the attack: "if they've already delivered food, they're no longer under humanitarian protection." John Brown/Sebastian ben Daniel's point that the war criminals all turn out to be right-wing and religious strikes true again. https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/hypzdd3ya

Alon, 7 months ago to Israel

1. In the #Israel hashtag, I'm seeing people repeat a conspiracy theory about Israel and Hamas. So, here's the history: in the 1980s, most global terrorism was far left, inspired by the Soviet model or directly funded by the USSR: Fatah, the IRA, Carlos the Jackal, etc. A belief emerged in the West that trad-religious groups would not do this and strengthening religious institutions would block terrorism. In MENA it meant they looked favorably on Islamists, figuring they were less violent.

Alon, 5 months ago to random

Pedestrian Observations: The United States Learned Little from Obama-Era Rail Investment https://pedestrianobservations.com/2023/12/10/the-united-states-learned-little-from-obama-era-rail-investment/

Alon, 6 months ago to random

Some remarks on bad media that people in my feed share:

• Politico is Axel-Springer, which has a hard right bias in Germany (except on EU-level matters). It's more balanced in the US, since Axel-Springer is pro-NATO and dislikes Trump, but in Europe it is untrustworthy.

• Al-Jazeera is Qatari state media. They're usually high-quality, but not when the Qatari state is involved - and Qatar shelters the leadership of Hamas.

• Turkish state media (TRT, AA) toes the AKP line. Don't rely on them.

Alon, 2 months ago to random

The Case Against the Case Against YIMBYism https://resnikoff.substack.com/p/the-case-against-the-case-against?r=33dt2a&triedRedirect=true

Alon, 1 month ago to random

Short explainer: the expression "Alles für Deutschland" that Björn Höcke is being prosecuted for is a Nazi slogan. It's not well-known globally unlike the swastika, but it's known here and Höcke would have known.

Höcke himself is the leader of the Flügel, an AfD faction that pushes the party to be neo-Nazi, rather than just right-populist. AfD was Europe's most moderate far right party alongside UKIP 9 years ago; today it's our most extreme and became like the Flügel.

https://mastodon.de/@ErikUden/112230577133086319

Alon, 9 months ago to random

I'm happy to report that the digital NIMBYs who want to preemptively #fediblock the BBC are not too popular in my feed - the toots calling for doing so get maybe 50 boosts, the toots welcoming the BBC to the Fediverse or pointing out that blocking the Beeb is stupid (separate people, separate toots) get hundreds each. The people who abused journalists at the end of 2022 are slowly getting swamped by those of us who don't want this to be a kibbutz.

Alon, 3 months ago to random

Do I need to start Googling the names of all the participants in the Gaza resettlement conference and see how many of them are actual terrorists? Ben Gvir is a convicted terrorist and there have to be a bunch of others there.

For people who haven't seen, here are links to the nutjobs in question:

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-01-28/ty-article/ministers-from-netanyahus-party-join-thousands-of-israelis-at-resettle-gaza-conference/0000018d-512f-dfdc-a5ad-db7f35e10000
https://www.timesofisrael.com/12-ministers-call-to-resettle-gaza-encourage-gazans-to-leave-at-jubilant-conference/
https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-784131

(Netanyahu won't condemn them on the record because he needs them to stay in power and avoid prison for corruption.)

Alon, 5 months ago to random

There's a ceasefire deal. For only 50 hostages out of 236, it's not even that bad (still not great, but the time to attack to get a good deal was about three weeks before Israel went in on the ground). https://www.timesofisrael.com/cabinet-approves-deal-for-return-of-50-hostages-in-exchange-for-multi-day-ceasefire/

Alon, 5 months ago to random

Good piece about why small modular reactors don't work and yet American VCs keep plugging them, with a mention of the ideology of Michael Shellenberger and Breakthrough: https://cleantechnica.com/2023/11/30/what-drives-this-madness-on-small-modular-nuclear-reactors/

Alon, 4 months ago to random

1. Thread about starvation in Gaza, Israel's reluctance to provide care, lessons from Algeria, and why Israel needs to make day-after plans leading to two states.

The starting point is Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib's account of a conversation among anti-Hamas Gazans: https://nitter.net/afalkhatib/status/1747850334066937896#m

Alkhatib is a Palestinian-American from Gaza, who says the IDF engages in war crimes, and, for not endorsing the Hamas line, is called a traitor by pro-Palestine Twitter. He writes about the war in The Forward.

Alon, 4 months ago to random

Pedestrian Observations: Cost-Plus Contracting is Good https://pedestrianobservations.com/2023/12/29/cost-plus-contracting-is-good/

Alon, 5 months ago to random

Pedestrian Observations: The MTA Sticks to Its Oversize Stations https://pedestrianobservations.com/2023/12/09/the-mta-sticks-to-its-oversize-stations/

Alon, 3 months ago to random

Pedestrian Observations: The Need for Ample Zoning Capacity https://pedestrianobservations.com/2024/01/24/the-need-for-ample-zoning-capacity/

Alon, 3 months ago to random

1. Update on what's going on with Rafah: the basic picture hasn't changed - Israel is mulling attacking it and may or may not do it, with different elements pushing in different directions (the IDF wants more war, Bibi doesn't want to make drastic changes).

The bigger issue is that Israeli actions in Gaza are constrained, above all, by Israel's own credibility gap. This constrains Israeli COIN even more than its own unwillingness to provide care to Gazans, especially if it's in the open.

Alon, 3 months ago to random

The IDF is now practicing a scenario for how to respond in case a religious settler kidnaps a Palestinian youth. The settlers are livid that the IDF might portray them as people who would do that. They might commit pogroms, lynch Palestinians, massacre tens of people at a time, and burn families, but they have not taken Palestinian hostages yet.

Alon, 2 months ago to random

Per Haaretz, the US is saying Israel said yes to the hostage deal: 40 days of ceasefire, one hostage released per ceasefire day, release of Palestinian prisoners by a formula that depends on the hostage - the seven women who were included in the November ceasefire but weren't released because it was 10/day and there were only seven of them are at a 3:1 ratio, the others at higher ratios going up to 10:1, with female soldiers to be exchanged for actual Hamas terrorists. Ball's in Hamas's court.

Alon, 6 months ago to random

"I’m calling from Israeli intelligence. We have the order to bomb. You have two hours" - a piece in the BBC interviewing Gaza dentist Mahmoud Shaheen, who was called by the IDF repeatedly and told to organize civilian evacuation of residential areas to be bombed in what is effectively a dehousing campaign.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67327079

Alon, 1 month ago to random

Normalize seizing vehicles that are used in riots. You want to protest, do it on foot like normal people.

CelloMomOnCars, 4 days ago to thailand

Indonesia is moving its capital to Kalimantan island. And now,

"#Thailand may have to consider relocating its capital #Bangkok because of rising sea levels.

Bangkok’s city government is exploring measures that include building dikes, along the lines of those used in the Netherlands, he said.

But “we’ve been thinking about moving”, Pavich said, noting that the discussions were still hypothetical and the issue was “very complex”."

https://borneobulletin.com.bn/climate-change-could-force-bangkok-to-move-official-warns/

Alon, 1 month ago to random

At a demonstration where tens of thousands of people protested Netanyahu and demanded a hostage deal, a couple of Likud activists drove into the crowd, injuring five people, one of whom is in critical condition. https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-04-06/ty-article-live/reports-irans-armed-forces-in-high-alert-u-s-prepares-for-significant-iranian-attack/0000018e-b159-d50a-a9ff-ff5ff4c30000?liveBlogItemId=755182171#755182171

Alon, 6 months ago to random

I should blog about these projects today on the train, but nearly all of this program by cost is terrible - either things that go against future high-speed rail (like the Connecticut River bridge replacement - that bridge has to be bypassed either way) or are cost-ineffective (like the Baltimore tunnels, named after Frederick Douglass; it's a good $1 billion project and a terrible $6 billion one). The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds are being rapidly wasted.
https://media.amtrak.com/2023/11/amtrak-awarded-federal-funds-for-12-projects-of-national-significance-totaling-nearly-10b-across-americas-busiest-rail-corridor/

futurebird, 23 days ago to random

More seriously, can someone steel-man the case for executive power being less effective if subject to future evaluations and constraints?

I don't think I've ever looked at any singular leader of any organization and thought "the problem is they can't do what they want easily enough"

When I was younger I might have said that the director of a film or play can do better work if they are an unquestioned dictator... but I've grown to even reject that idea.

capntransit, 26 days ago to random

RT @streetsblogkea Having feelings about the secretary of transportation applauding "America's first high speed rail project" not for providing alternatives to driving/flying, but for … giving people who work on it money to put "a new car or truck in the driveway."

Feeling #1: I get, politically, this kind of framing is sometimes necessary to get rail projects funded. Feeling #2: makes me nervous for future projects that might more meaningfully challenge automobility.

https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/secretary-buttigiegs-remarks-historic-groundbreaking-las-vegas-brightline-west-high