Israel vs Hamas War

[ferdmonger]

Woke up with a bone sticking out of the top of my right foot. Must be getting old, slept through the eruption.

What a pisser.  Of all the things that have happened to me so far in this life, waking up with a bone sticking out of my foot isn't one of them.

[Unbeliever]

I don't even understand how that could happen. 🤔

[ferdmonger]

I would estimate the probability of Hezbollah launching a sophisticated missile strike from Lebanon at Israel at 90%, sometime after an Israeli ground attack on Gaza. I would then estimate the probability of a US air strike on Hezbollah at 100%, from the carrier groups. Hang on to your butts.

Certainly possible. What's also possible is that since Iran is supplying large amounts of drones and missiles to Russia, why would they not have supplied Hezbollah with the same?  Those furtive 'preparing the battlefield' comments could be construed as waiting to see if Israeli tanks start burning along the border with their slow-motion invasion.  Gotta sniff out the capabilities.  Don't know what the Israeli command is thinking, but 20 burning Israeli tanks and APC's would not be good look.   

[Hydra009]

Some developments today:

Israel appears to be ramping up its military operations in the Gaza strip

State department tells Americans to leave Lebanon immediately  Though imo this is one of those "no duh" things: don't drink the water in Mexico, don't frighten a skunk, don't make fun of pooh bear while you're in China, and just say away from the Middle East (no offense to Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, and Bahrain)

Some wackjob senator from *rolls tide* Alabama says that the Democrats are to blame for Ukraine and Israel crises, which imho overestimates their competence and initiative by several orders of magnitude.  But I guess when you live in Alabama, it's psychologically important to find someone else to blame.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I don't even understand how that could happen. 🤔

I thrash a bit in my sleep. Foot hit a post at the end of the bed. I had that bedstead delivered to Goodwill. Need to have a talk with the boojums.

[Mr.Obvious]

But I guess when you live in Alabama, it's psychologically important to find someone else to blame.

Most of the times, you could blame your parents for that.

[Hydra009]

Israel recalls its diplomats from Turkey after odd/accusatory comments on the Gaza situation from Erdogan

Fun times for American diplomats trying to maintain alliances with both countires.

[ferdmonger]

Israel recalls its diplomats from Turkey after odd/accusatory comments on the Gaza situation from Erdogan

Fun times for American diplomats trying to maintain alliances with both countires.

No shit.  I hope we can keep this genie in the bottle.

[Unbeliever]

That's one genie I don't dream of...

[Hydra009]

Israeli forces have recently made deep incursions into Gaza and reportedly have been in fierce combat.  Israel says it killed another Hamas leader

American commandos are in Israel helping the IDF find hostages

Houthi forces in Yemen reportedly fired missiles at Israel, which were intercepted by some combination of Saudi, Israeli, and potentially also Jordan air defense (a missile landed in Jordan, presumably from Yemen and possibly may have been intercepted in Jordan airspace).  I don't know about you guys, but 4 countries having their air defense actively shooting down missiles in one day is far too much for me.  Some people are going to have to cool it and wait in line for a while.

[Cassia]

Yes, the killing must go on in this endless game of holy and bloody tic-toc-toe. Of course, all of the praying comes with blood sacrifice. Yemen is such a peaceful oasis.
Bobby says the jihadists must hate Jews more than they love their kids and the koran is full of antisemitic vile. Islam need to be flushed down the toilet. And then we have christians who just want to secure the old city from the Muslim horde. These are all such great people. Shining examples of devotion to the lerd. As if life isn't challenging enough without all this nonsense. Violent morons, the lot of them.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Israel recalls its diplomats from Turkey after odd/accusatory comments on the Gaza situation from Erdogan

Fun times for American diplomats trying to maintain alliances with both countires.

Diplomats loved dumbassery, it keeps them employed.

[Hydra009]

Diplomats loved dumbassery, it keeps them employed.

That's like saying that candy holidays keep dentists employed.  That's just the (metaphorical, I think) cherry on top of an already pretty heavy workload.

There's actually a ton of work just hammering out treaties about normal mundane things like climate change, fishing rights, dealing with trade disputes, and just managing relations.  It's a daunting undertaking with a lot on the line and it's largely thankless.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I've taken classes on government at Purdue. I understand how it works.

[ferdmonger]

The red heifer will soon appear, and then we can all sleep easy knowing the end of times are upon us. (Bought a case of beer just in case.)