DL Open Thread: Thursday, January 16, 2025

Netanyahu Gonna Netanyahu.  Holds up deal:

Last-minute disputes appeared to hold up an expected Israeli cabinet vote on Thursday that could formally ratify a cease-fire deal with Hamas that has raised hopes that the devastating 15-month war could be coming to an end.

By the afternoon, Israel had yet to convene ministers to discuss the proposal, citing disagreements with Hamas. The holdup prompted fears of further delays in implementing the cease-fire agreement, which was announced on Wednesday by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, who collectively brokered the deal.

On Thursday morning, the office of Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, accused Hamas of reneging on parts of the agreement, without specifying which ones. Izzat al-Rishq, a senior Hamas official, said the group was committed to the deal.

Looks like the votes are there to ratify the deal, if/when a vote is called:

In Israel, some hard-line members of Mr. Netanyahu’s government have opposed the deal. But if it comes to a vote it is expected to gain cabinet approval even without the support of the coalition’s two far-right parties, which do not command a majority in the cabinet.

At least it’s given the Israelis time to kill 70 more Gazans.  I know, I know, these Gazans were Secret Hamas Agents.

How Biden Enabled Israel’s Genocide Against Gazans:

In early November, a small group of senior U.S. human rights diplomats met with a top official in President Joe Biden’s State Department to make one final, emphatic plea: We must keep our word.

Weeks before, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the administration delivered their most explicit ultimatum yet to Israel, demanding the Israel Defense Forces allow hundreds more trucksloads of food and medicine into Gaza every day — or else. American law and Biden’s own policies prohibit arms sales to countries that restrict humanitarian aid. Israel had 30 days to comply.

In the month that followed, the IDF was accused of roundly defying the U.S., its most important ally. The Israeli military tightened its grip, continued to restrict desperately needed aid trucks and displaced 100,000 Palestinians from North Gaza, humanitarian groups found, exacerbating what was already a dire crisis “to its worst point since the war began.”

Several attendees at the November meeting — officials who help lead the State Department’s efforts to promote racial equity, religious freedom and other high-minded principles of democracy — said the United States’ international credibility had been severely damaged by Biden’s unstinting support of Israel. If there was ever a time to hold Israel accountable, one ambassador at the meeting told Tom Sullivan, the State Department’s counselor and a senior policy adviser to Blinken, it was now.

But the decision had already been made. Sullivan said the deadline would likely pass without action and Biden would continue sending shipments of bombs uninterrupted, according to two people who were in the meeting.

Y’know what, Puck and EllieJ?  Spare us your knee-jerk defense of genocide.  At least for today.

Biden Warns Against ‘Oligarchy Of The Ultra-Wealthy’ In Farewell Address.  Of course he was right, not as if anyone was listening:

“Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms, and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead,” Biden said, drawing attention to “a dangerous concentration of power in the hands of a few ultra-wealthy people. Dangerous consequences if their abuse of power is left unchecked.”

Invoking President Dwight Eisenhower’s warnings about the military-industrial complex when he left office, he added, “I’m equally concerned about the potential rise of a tech-industrial complex that could pose real dangers to our country as well.”

That ‘Tech-Industrial Complex’?:

A party at the Beaux-Arts mansion of the venture capitalist Peter Thiel. A blowout organized by hosts of the popular tech podcast “All-In” at a brand-new members-only club. A viewing ceremony hosted by an ascendant, Silicon Valley-inflected network of wealthy donors.

Some of the most coveted parties during President-elect Donald J. Trump’s inaugural weekend will be hosted by the Silicon Valley donors who are flush with power at the dawn of his second administration. The tech industry that has embraced Mr. Trump over the last year or so is set to revel in its clout over days of festivities that will make the tech donors the stars of the show.

But some of the president-elect’s newest supporters — those from Silicon Valley — are holding this year’s most novel inaugural events.

Few events have attracted more interest from politically ambitious executives than the Crypto Ball, a sold-out affair on Friday night being put on by the cryptocurrency industry to celebrate what the invitation calls “the first crypto president.” Snoop Dogg is set to perform at the party, which will also celebrate David Sacks, a venture capitalist and podcaster whom Mr. Trump named as his czar for artificial intelligence and crypto issues.

Read this article in its entirety.  I think a backlash begins in short order.  Could be wrong, though…

BTW, That World-Class Gamer Elon Musk?–“Stolen E-Valor”:

Elon Musk is surrounded by almost constant controversy, but the latest scandal to rock the world’s richest man is surely the silliest—Musk is being accused of pretending to be good at video games.

Musk is viewed by many of his fans as possessing almost superhuman time management skills, able to balance the duties of fatherhood while running multiple massive corporations, post frantically on X, and not just play video games, but excel at them.

However, it’s always been just a bit suspicious that the world’s richest man (who is, by all accounts, a dedicated workaholic), has enough time in the day to be a skilled gamer.

Recently, Musk attracted the suspicions of gamers again after revealing himself to be a top player of Path of Exile 2, with his high-level characters equipped with extremely powerful gear, indicating that a significant amount of hours had been pumped into his account.

Rather foolishly, Musk livestreamed himself playing the game, and gamers instantly clocked him as an inept player.

A detailed Reddit thread laying out the evidence against Musk makes it clear that he wasn’t familiar with basic gameplay mechanics of Path of Exile 2, and couldn’t possibly have leveled up his own characters by himself.

After the release of Elden Ring, a famously difficult bestseller, Musk posted a screenshot of his character, but his build instantly exposed him as a poser.

There’s a lot of gamer stuff here, and I don’t understand any of it.  Understand this, though: When it comes to gaming, Musk is a poseur.

NCC Council Veto Override Attempt Fails.  Is it asking too much to have the yeas and nays for the record?  I’ll get ’em, but I think it should have been in the article.

What do you want to talk about?