rattlesnake

You forgot the bit where Israel has always claimed the whole Palestinian territory was its God-given right, that it considers Palestinians to be inferior beings and that it helped create, fund and bolster Hamas to sabotage the two-State solution.

Have there been insights on how long this bump in cases and severity could last?

The real issue is the notion of total ceasefire, which has been too ambiguously addressed according to the countries who vetoed the resolution. Still from this article: Another resolution has been drafted by elected members of the council with a direct demand for a ceasefire, but Thomas-Greenfield warned that the US would veto that text if it was presented for a vote, on the grounds that it did not support negotiations under way in Doha on a deal which would establish a ceasefire in return for Hamas freeing its hostages." [...] The alternative resolution was reported to be on hold on Friday morning, while council members held consultations. Sherine Tadros, the head of the New York office of Amnesty International described the US resolution as “an attempt by the US to absolve themselves of the abysmal record Biden has had so far on Gaza, and submit a resolution that is not going to end the war”.

And the explanation for the veto: Russia’s ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, also speaking before the vote, called on members not to vote in favor of the resolution. He said the resolution was “exceedingly politicized” and contained an effective green light for Israel to mount a military operation in Rafah, a city on the southern tip of the Gaza Strip where more than half of its 2.3 million residents have been sheltering in makeshift tents to escape the Israeli assault farther north. “This would free the hands of Israel and it would result in all of Gaza and its entire population having to face destruction, devastation or expulsion,” Nebenzia told the meeting. https://www.timesofisrael.com/russia-china-veto-us-resolution-at-un-calling-for-gaza-ceasefire-tied-to-hostage-deal/

Incorrect. I do not intend to go off topic, but will make one statement for the sake of clarity: There are plenty of antisemites in the world, including Ashkenazi Jews who consider Semites (which include Arabs and Sephardic Jews) as inferior. A contradiction worth noting as it is those same Ashkenazi Jews who are often very active in fighting "antisemitism" in the Western world. On the one hand there is the signifier, i.e. what a word actually means, and then there is the signified, i.e. what it is used to refer to for various purposes. "Antisemitism" is often – though not always – used as a political means to quell or discredit criticism of Israel. Another notable contradiction in the notion of racism. Israel is an institutionally racist country (just look at the way blacks are discriminated there), yet the Ashkenazi Jews who often have dual nationality (Israel and a Western country) will typically support antiracist policies in their other country, while supporting racist policies in Israel. This "rules for thee but not for me" tendency, which includes the notion of antisemitism and everything it entails, is worth mentioning.

Indeed, and I have often noted that the antisemites, in the strict sense of the term, are often Ashkenazi Jews (ethnically from Eastern Europe and actively involved in the establishment and development of Israel), who tend to look down on the Sephardic Jews (ethnically from the Middle East).

Not my intention and I am genuinely interested in reading people's takes and opinions on the matter.

"Respitory Infections seem to be more extreme since the whole Covid thing." I agree. Do you have any idea of what the cause of this is?

People have never been so sick.

"In almost everyone of those villages there is a girl that has married the Thai traditional way at an age between 12-14 years." I think that's a stereotype. Never seen or heard of that in real life, apart from in sordid news stories. The teenage girls in my wife's village essentially stay home with their parents, who are very protective (far more than in Europe).

The media reported at the time that 70% of homes, not buildings, had been destroyed: Israel-Hamas war: 70% of Gaza homes destroyed in fighting, WSJ claims The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday that 70% of all Gaza homes and about half of all its buildings have been either damaged or destroyed due to Israeli airstrikes during its war with the Hamas terror organization. The report states that Gaza contained about 439,000 homes. [...] Around the time the report came out, N12 cited an estimate by aid organizations that it would take at least a year after the war to clear the rubble, and it would take approximately seven to ten years to rebuild destroyed houses, with the overall cost of restoring Gaza estimated at $3.5 billion. https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-780086

And this type of (often intentional) fallacy does not work anymore.

Interesting testimony. A lot of people have experienced a similar shift in awareness lately.

Famine in northern Gaza is imminent as more than 1 million people face ‘catastrophic’ levels of hunger, new report warns CNN — Famine is imminent in northern Gaza where 70% of the population are already suffering with catastrophic levels of hunger, a UN-backed report said Monday, as the EU’s top diplomat accused Israel of using “starvation as a weapon of war.” The crisis has been described as “entirely man-made” and “preventable” due to Israel’s throttling of aid and widespread destruction of Gaza. [...] Aid delivery by sea and air was only necessary because the “natural” way of delivering aid by land was “artificially closed” by Israel, he added. https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/19/middleeast/famine-northern-gaza-starvation-ipc-report-intl-hnk/index.html

CNN interviews Netanhyahu supporter and settler leader Daniella Weiss. The grandmother who wants to lead Israelis back to a Gaza without Palestinians "No Arab, I’m speaking about more than two million Arabs. They will not stay there,” Weiss said. “We Jews will be in Gaza.” [...] A poll in January from The Jewish People Policy Institute found that 26% of Israelis advocate for the reconstruction of the Gush Katif settlements after the war is over. Among supporters of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition government, the number jumps to 51% compared to 3% for supporters of the opposition. https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/20/middleeast/israel-gaza-settlers-daniella-weiss/index.html

Okay, well one can only hope the civilians will be spared. Given Netanhyahu's track record and rhetoric, there is reason to be skeptical, unfortunately.

Yet Netanyahu has made it clear that the Rafah offensive will happen no matter what, and that it will take weeks. From this article: "On Wednesday, Netanyahu insisted that the IDF would enter Rafah with or without support from the United States." Also, from four days ago: Blinken: Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal ‘very much possible’ Despite the talks, Netanyahu made it clear he has no plan to back down from the fighting that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, forced survivors into unlivable, cramped conditions in Rafah and elicited accusations of genocide. [...] Netanyahu also reiterated his determination to attack Hamas in Rafah, in southern Gaza, and said that his government approved military plans for such an operation. [...] "This will take several weeks, and it will happen," he said." https://www.jns.org/blinken-israel-hamas-ceasefire-deal-very-much-possible/

Whatever is going around doesn't seem to be confined to Thailand. I was in France from December to February and lots of people there had exactly the symptoms described. The most striking difference with regular, seasonal colds was the time it lasted for everyone, several weeks. Even my dad, who is usually the type who never gets sick, couldn't completely get rid of it for nearly 2 months. And my brother who is in London told me it was the same there with everybody coughing at the office…

This is indeed an important point, a good tattoo on a good body looks great. And then on the opposite end of the spectrum you have Brittney Griner:

She is French singer Alizée and 20 years separate these two pics, from 20 year-old to still good looking 40 year-old (her music is cr*p).

Sure, everything is subjective. I was not sure whether you meant "score points" from your personal view or more in general.

I have several tattoos. Last time I was in France, there was a guy who gave me a look that said exactly what you express in your last sentence. The mid-level manager type with the obligatory corporate attire. I couldn't help but smile at the guy. I probably make at least twice the money he does. Amusing. And your third sentence works both ways, having tatts keeps these types at bay, the types who judge others on preconceived ideas, which I have never found to be particularly smart.

Gain points in what way?

Yes indeed, the opinion piece Israel Will Defeat Hamas in Rafah, published in the Wall Street Journal on March 14 2024, was written by Netanyahu's top foreign policy advisor Ophir Falk.

As the article says, it's unlikely to go anywhere, but this is still a positive development, this type of exposure is very welcome.