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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: August 2nd, 2023

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  • Ok let’s be pedantic then

    The judges had stressed they did not need to say for now whether a genocide had occurred but concluded that some of the acts South Africa complained about, if they were proven, could fall under the United Nations’ Convention on Genocide.

    Israel isn’t convicted of committing genocide, yet as there’s only “a plausible risk of genocide” - and I’m sure the “defense” minister calling for the starvation of all people in Gaza and referring to them as “human animals” will do wonders for Israel’s case…

    The current ruling is that “Israel must take all measures to prevent genocidal acts in Gaza” - which is an interesting statement to make if the ICJ thought no genocidal acts were happening.

    But hey innocent until proven guilty right - I just hope if it does get proven you’ll be the first one to start shouting how Israel is committing genocide - the same way you’re currently doing the opposite - as that would show your true lack of bias…







  • Here’s some math on that “revolutionary” idea to put things into perspective, as it turns out, it’s pretty underwhelming:

    • If we used ALL the aluminum produced globally in a year (about 65 million tons), we’d get around 7.30 million tons of hydrogen.
    • While that might sound like a lot, it really isn’t… That hydrogen would contain about 8.30 x 10^14 BTUs of energy.
    • Meanwhile, our annual global methane production is sitting pretty at 1.14 x 10^17 BTU.
    • Doing the math, and our “amazing” aluminum-to-hydrogen process gives us a whopping 0.73% of the energy we get from methane…

    And remember, this is assuming we use EVERY SINGLE BIT of aluminum we produce globally!

    Obv hydrogen is “cleaner” than gas, but the point is the scale - this method is a drop in the ocean compared to current energy usage.

    TL;DR: Using ALL the world’s annual aluminum production to make hydrogen would only give us 0.73% of the energy we get from natural gas…

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    For the math nerds, here’s more detail on the chemistry and energy calc:

    • The reaction: 2 Al + 6 H2O → 2 Al(OH)3 + 3 H2
    • Global aluminum production: ~65 million metric tons/year
    • Molar mass of Al = 26.98 g/mol
    • Moles of Al = 65,000,000,000 kg / 0.02698 kg/mol = 2.41 x 10^12 moles
    • H2 produced = (2.41 x 10^12 moles Al * 3) / 2 = 3.62 x 10^12 moles H2
    • Mass of H2 = 3.62 x 10^12 moles * 2.016 g/mol = 7.30 x 10^12 g = 7.30 million metric tons

    BTU Calculation:

    • Energy content of H2 = 113,738 BTU/kg
    • Total energy from H2 = 7.30 x 10^9 kg * 113,738 BTU/kg = 8.30 x 10^14 BTU

    Methane Comparison:

    • Annual natural gas production ≈ 4,000 billion cubic meters
    • Assuming 80% methane content: 3,200 billion cubic meters of methane
    • Energy content of methane ≈ 35,663 BTU/m^3
    • Total energy from methane = 3,200 x 10^9 m^3 * 35,663 BTU/m^3 = 1.14 x 10^17 BTU
    • Ratio: (8.30 x 10^14) /(1.14 x 10^17) = 0.0073 or 0.73%


  • While I appreciate your enthusiasm for the police force in Ireland (an emotion I’m sure isn’t shared by everyone) I feel that it glosses over the intense distrust of other forces, like the PSNI (incorporating the RUC) in Northern Ireland, and the negative effects of state beneficial clique formations. (eg. union constables against anti-union communities)

    So while you might see the Garda Síochána as a step in the right direction for a liberated Ireland - I think it’s important to never forget the main purpose of the polis - to maintain monopoly on violence.

    So while the Gardaí may appear to work for you right now - I just hope you never have to be on the “wrong” side of the state and have to feel the force of “legitimate” violence used against you, especially when standing with your community against capitalist sponsored state oppression (eg Shell to Sea)




  • Still let’s not forget the right-wing policies from their manifesto:

    • Increasing military spending by 13 billion

    • Increase police funding

    • More border security force to “stop the boats”

    • Build more prisons

    • Pour money into polluting industries (car gigafactories, steel production, “carbon capture”)

    • Keep oil and gas production in the North Sea for decades, with the only focus on jobs and none on environmental issues.

    So yeah I guess it’s better to have an authoritarian social-ish democratic state than an outright fascist one but that’s not a very high bar and will only work until the climate crisis boils us all alive :)




  • I mean you came in swinging with the whole “but why is Hamas holding hostages in a refugee camp” line which is actual whataboutism when the thread is about the IDF killing over 200 people.

    Why not ask why the IDF doesn’t have procedures in place to prevent civilian casualties? Why not ask why is it impossible to send ground troops instead of carpet bombing Gaza? Why not ask why does Hamas exist in the first place? Is there a single thing you’ll admit the IDF/Israel has done wrong that isn’t somehow the fault of Hamas?

    Your lack of humanity was already showing, but I didn’t think you’d be so unable to retort that you’d just forfeit the debate…


  • You accuse me of whataboutism then you just use it yourself.

    Yes, I don’t think Hamas should be using human shields but I also don’t think Israel should be settling land even before the partitioning of Palestine. (I mean the idea of a foreign state partitioning land they don’t inhabit is insane, but let’s ignore that for the sake of argument)

    How do you not see using civilian encampments as a makeshift human wall just as immoral?

    And we can play the whole who started it first game as much as we want but it doesn’t negate the fact that even after unfavorable borders for Palestine were established - settlers continued to take over land with the support of the IDF - where is the defense in burning homes and expelling Palestinians from land not even within the borders of Israel?? (oh but it was contested territory you see so that gives us the right to massacre people, yes I am very intelligent…)

    Saying Hamas is the reason the IDF is killing civilians completely misses the history of the struggle - what’s next the Nakba was also Hamas’ fault then?