Does he “claw” the towel? By this I mean he reaches up to the towel and stretches, resting his front paws on the towel, then flexes his claws so that the catch into the fabric of the towel. Then, when he is done stretching, because his claws are embedded into the towel, pulls the towel down?

Wasn’t access to the Hamas tunnels found in a hospital early on in the invasion of Gaza? Also, didn’t the director of said hospital admit to being a member of Hamas?

How are they concealing it? I have heard news reports citing the Gaza Health Ministry’s claims of tens of thousands of casualties since the war began. I believe they are correct (how many are non-combatants is debatable).

Anyone who is paying even a little bit of attention knows that many civilians are getting killed. Only a small minority seem to care.

Yeah, this is one of the major plot holes in Zombie/Apocalypse movies.

<cough> The Last of Us </cough>

At least the TV series when they take the truck from the gay couple and drive it cross country. I didn’t play the game, so I don’t know if that happens in the game.

You mean… something like a moon shiner?

Islam was designed to be all encompassing. A separation of religion and state is anathema to Islam.

My father-in-law got a Master’s Degree in Computer Science 30 years ago. IIRC, it was heavy in C programming and involved typical CS fare like algorithms, pointers, sorting, data structures, etc. He was a high school math teacher at the time (he’s now retired). He took the classes mostly because he enjoyed learning.

I did ok during the Dos/Windows 95 era, but as time went on, he seemed less and less able to solve his own computer problems. He can’t even Google a problem effectively (or even remember to try to Google his problem).

Most recently, I had to hold his hand while he bought a new computer at Best Buy and then further hold his hand as he went through, step by step, the Windows 11 installation/first time start up process.

<sigh>

Ahh… I had forgotten your link from earlier. Yes, it is the one you posted.

I agree with you the shenanigans of the settlers… their constant ‘settling’ only aggravates things. It was explained to me that since only truces and cease-fires exist between Israel and Palestinians, there are no fixed borders, so the land is up for grabs. Once a peace treaty is signed and borders are established, then the settlers will be removed. I understand the reasoning, but I’m not so sure just how smart this strategy is.

Do you really think you can eliminate Hamas?

I don’t “think” anything. I’m just repeating what Israel has been saying since last October. I’m no expert in tunnels, tunneling or tunnel warfare, but I believe all of the tunnels are now mapped out and the vast majority of Hamas’ fighters are trapped underground, so I would presume it is a matter of will plus endurance if the IDF can achieve its goals, but even if the IDF does defeat the Hamas fighters in Gaza, the Hamas leadership lives outside Gaza (Qatar, i think), so the fight will probably go on, as long as Hamas’ leadership still exists.

“In fact the more innocent people you murder the more you secure the next round of recruits”. Israel tried to co-exist with Hamas in Gaza for close to 2 decades. The October attacks were the result. The vast majority of Israelis want revenge and are out for blood. They may be adopting the Roman strategy of “Let them hate us, so long as they fear us.”

I just read that a cease-fire resolution is making its way through the UN and that previously Hamas accepted the terms and Israel said it would. It has 3 stages, with the 1st stage involving the exchange of hostages for Hamas prisoners. I honestly think Israel will break the cease-fire after they get their hostages back.

It’s an easy prediction, but I predict more misery for Gaza in the coming years, no matter what options Hamas and Israel choose.

Yes, Israel rejected the deal because they want Hamas destroyed, either as an unconditional surrender by the remaining Hamas fighters or as some kind of ‘Alamo’ last stand by Hamas. If the IDF fails to make further progress, they may reconsider the deal.

Israel has the land it has as the result of coming out on top in previous wars. Israel won’t give up any land until a genuine peace deal is achieved, which isn’t likely anytime soon, since Hamas explicitly rejects any kind of peace deal with Israel, only cease - fires.

You are correct that many Gazans were children the last time elections were held in Gaza, but according to opinion polls taken shortly after the October 7th attack, about 70% of Palestinians (both in Gaza and the West Bank) support the attack on Israel and the taking of hostages. You reap what you sow.

I’m not justifying the murder of anyone. Hamas wants civilian casualties (involuntary martyrs) so as to elicit sympathy from the world.

Sadly, there will be future civilian casualties in Gaza in the coming weeks and months unless some drastically changes or Hamas surrenders.

Hamas could have just let the IDF and the rescued hostages go. Instead, they chose violence… with predictable results.

I’ve got Win 10 and it works fine. I have no reason to upgrade to Win 11. If any new ‘feature’ gets added to Win 10, I will disable it.

If the US created it in the 1980s, how did a guy in the Congo catch it in 1959?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_early_HIV/AIDS_cases

Don’t know about the patriarchy… but in the use of weapons, yes things have changed since the weapon of choice was a spear. With melee weapons, a man has a huge advantage over a woman due to their size and strength. Guns are a great equalizer. With a little bit of training, any woman with a gun is no longer at a a disadvantage in a fight against a man.

In the past 20+ years, approximately 2 million to 3 million soldiers served in the Global War on Terror. Approximately 10% to 20% of those soldiers were women and all of them were trained in the use of fire arms. Which leads back to my original statement regarding my thoughts on the founding of Gilead: I find it implausible. Are all of these women going to just docilely submit to become property?

Yes, I am aware of the events that inspired Atwood: Ceaușescu’s Romania, polygamous fundamentalist Mormon sects, the treatment of women as property in 3rd world countries, etc.

It’s the actual “a group of old testament loving christians managed to topple the US government and turn 50% of its former citizens into subjects with absolutely no rights what so ever” part of the Handmaid’s Tale that I find implausible.

That Roe v. Wade was over ruled for being poorly argued, as Ruth Bader Ginsberg predicted? Thus allowing states (thus the people of each state) to decide on the issue of abortion? Something that was denied to them in 1973?

But now… Republicans are finding out that many of their constituents are not nearly as pro-life (or anti-choice) as they thought. I believe this fall they will pay quite dearly for their over reach.

It’s an interesting thought experiment and it touches on why I could never get into the Handmaid’s Tale - I found the scenario implausible. The people who own guns (and there are quite a few) are simply going to let their wives, sisters and daughters become property?

Could it be that not as many potential serial killers are being born? I believe there is a link between criminality and childhood abuse. Less unwanted kids are being born. Less abuse. Less criminals of all kinds, including serial killers.

wrong about what?

Now who has no idea what Social Security is? If this proposal passes, I can still retire at 62 (with reduced monthly benefits). The proposal is to increase the age at which you receive ***full ***benefits.

“You will no longer be getting paid for those 2 years” - That is absolutely not true. I would not receive full benefits for those two years if this proposal passes.

One additional fun fact I gleemed from the article that no one here has mentioned: according to this article, if this proposal passes, it would amount to a 14% cut. But if nothing changes, the Social Security trust fund will become insolvent in 2033 (just 9 years away!!) which will result in a 23% cut.