Chill Out Bibi

In the vastly underrated show The 100, one of the main groups of characters is known as the “grounders.” These guys are the people who survived on the Earth after the nuclear apocalypse, and like every other post-apocalyptic show, somehow they have regressed into ancient traditions of bashing in the skull of anybody who has done you wrong. In the show, this is known as “jus drein jus daun”, which translates to “blood must have blood”.

This leads to the predictable result of a cycle of violence that seemingly never ends. That is until the visionary grounder commander, Lexa Kom Trikru, declares that, actually, we can sometimes let small slights go for the good of everybody. Blood doesn’t always require blood. Unfortunately, like most visionaries, her beliefs got her killed, but her legacy lived on. By the end of the show, blood must have blood was a relic of the past.

This is the approach I believe Netanyahu should now take with Iran.

I can understand why Israel felt like they had to get their pound of flesh after October 7th, but unless you’re planning to start a full-on war, what is the point of getting into a tit-for-tat with Iran? To prove your deterrence capabilities? At this point, nobody doubts the power that Israel has, nor does anybody doubt their tolerance for blood. To even the score? Well, at this point the score is even, considering the Iranian attack was in response to Israel’s bombing of their embassy in Damascus. And I don’t want to hear that Israel still owes them one because of their support of Hamas and Hezbollah, as Israel is already dealing with them quite brutally.

None of this is even mentioning the futility of war with Iran. Israel’s not going to pull a Gaza, march right in, and put Ali Khamenei’s head on a spike. The geography just doesn’t allow it.

A war would just be bombs and missiles going back and forth. What would that accomplish, when Israel is already dealing with enemies in Gaza and Lebanon?

The best argument for war would be the Richard Hanania view that hatred for Israel is already at damn near maximum levels, so they should just drop all pretense of morality and finish the job. In other words, if international scrutiny was the only thing holding Israel back from completely dominating the Middle East, and Israel is now already heavily internationally scrutinized, then taking out every one of their enemies does make some sense.

I can kinda see that argument, but it still runs into the problems of actually fighting the war part. Does Israel really have the capability to destroy Iran right now? I have no idea, but I definitely don’t want to find out.

So, Bibi, please, I don’t care if your people are demanding war, do what’s best for everybody and take a chill pill.

Extras

• There are a lot of good reasons for you, personally, to want a larger population.

• What are the ethics of using AI in warfare?

• We’re bringing Ukraine into NATO…

• When it comes to surveillance, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

• If 3D-printed homes can juice supply, then let’s do it.

• AI job cuts are coming.

• Yellen does not want another China Shock.

• The Atlanta Police Foundation wants to constantly surveil you.

• Germany with a masterclass on how to keep your country noncompetitive.

• Job growth keeps going up, but it’s a lot of people getting part-time work and 2nd jobs. Not sure that’s super bullish.

• It’s the liquidity, stupid!

• Chechnya banned techno music. Lol.

• Trump took a pretty shrewd stance on abortion.

• Israel is pulling out of southern Gaza…for now.

• 4,240 books were banned last year. What is the world coming to?

• England has the ability to produce a tonnnn of renewable energy.

• Insurers are spying on your home from the sky.

• The Israel/Hamas war will go on until max pain is reached. We aren’t there yet.

• China’s economy really isn’t that hot.

• Money printer go brrrrr.

• Section 702, aka the thing that allows the feds to spy on you, got renewed for another two years.

Until next time, ✌️

Hit me up on Twitter!