Kim-Mai Cutler@kimmaicutler
Israel isn’t debating whether to give kids vaccines or not. They’re just debating whether vaccine distribution should eat into educational hours. timesofisrael.com/health-ministe…
1:04 PM · Aug 15, 2021
3 Reposts · 16 Likes
Matthew Yglesias@mattyglesias
Obviously, I am not opposed to journalists doing policy takes but it's interesting to see when outlets that normally *don't* do that kind of thing decide it's time to start editorializing.
Axios @axios
It's a stunning failure for the West, and embarrassment for Biden.
And it's a traumatic turn for veterans who sacrificed in Afghanistan over the past 20 years, the 20k+ wounded in action, and survivors of the more than 2.3k who were killed.
https://t.co/3J91jpKNDA
2:50 PM · Aug 15, 2021
302 Reposts · 2.21K Likes
Matthew Yglesias@mattyglesias
On Afghanistan, both Trump & Biden have been swimming against the main currents of opinion among military leaders (who want to avoid the conclusion that this is an embarrassing failure *on their part*) and a lot of reporters are very comfortable openly siding with the generals.
2:51 PM · Aug 15, 2021
142 Reposts · 856 Likes
Matthew Yglesias@mattyglesias
They are also willfully not contextualizing questions like "how could the endgame have gotten this slipshod?" with the reality that the people charged with carrying out the Trump/Biden policy consistently opposed it and wanted the implementation to go badly.
2:52 PM · Aug 15, 2021
119 Reposts · 687 Likes
Matthew Yglesias@mattyglesias
As recently as yesterday, they were still hoping that turning the Trump/Biden withdrawal policy into an embarrassing shitshow would successfully bully the White House into reversing course the way they squeezed Obama in 2009 and Trump in 2017.
2:53 PM · Aug 15, 2021
86 Reposts · 621 Likes
Matthew Yglesias@mattyglesias
If the new president hadn’t been Obama’s VP it probably would’ve worked.
They’d have told him “oh Trump messed this up, we just need a temporary surge of forces to push the Taliban back for a few years and get us a better bargaining position for a negotiated peace.”
3:02 PM · Aug 15, 2021
60 Reposts · 545 Likes
Aditya Mukerjee, the Otterrific 🦦 🏳️🌈@chimeracoder
hey Cortana show me "toxic work environment"
2:44 PM · Aug 15, 2021
5.01K Reposts · 38.7K Likes
Matthew Yglesias@mattyglesias
A small detachment of 3,000 Sardaukar could have held Arrakis indefinitely if the Emperor hadn’t lost his nerve.
6:40 PM · Aug 15, 2021
78 Reposts · 962 Likes
Matthew Yglesias@mattyglesias
Subject matter knowledge is great, but it’s also the case that communities of expertise develop biases and distinct interests.
This is a very notable feature of US national security circles and it’s why the handful of nonconforming spots like Cato & Quincy are so valuable.
Matt Ford @fordm
There’s a fine line between “people should be reasonably informed about events before commenting on them” and “you need a license from the Bureau of Afghanistan Takes before having a public opinion about this country’s longest-ever war.”
7:33 PM · Aug 15, 2021
35 Reposts · 319 Likes
Noah Smith 🐇@Noahpinion
Living in Japan made me realize how little of modern Japan - its culture, its politics, its institutions, its economy -- was built by America or our occupation.
I will write a post about this today, because I guess I have to.
8:04 PM · Aug 15, 2021
5 Reposts · 192 Likes
Matthew Yglesias@mattyglesias
My understanding is that this is false but if it were true it would be a stunning indictment of US policy in Korea.
Marc Thiessen @marcthiessen
If South Korea were under this kind of sustained assault, they would collapse just as quickly without US support. There’s virtually no American ally who could defend themselves without us. https://t.co/mIqFN0Jxjb
10:06 PM · Aug 15, 2021
19 Reposts · 434 Likes