We know what’s coming and we are prepared.
HOSTAGE DEAL UPDATE:
Early this morning, we saw reports in Israel that Sinwar was under increasing pressure due to the operation in Rafah and IDF control of the Philadelphi Corridor. Sinwar fears that every day that goes by without a deal, his chances of survival go down, and the chances that Israel will rescue more hostages go up (AKA he loses leverage in negotiations). Some unofficial sources claim that Sinwar has accepted that Hamas will not govern Gaza after the war. Still, he is ADAMANT that the IDF withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor because that is his oxygen supply. This will be the contention point going forward.
This afternoon, we received the report that the Mossad had received an answer from Hamas vis-à-vis the deal offered a few weeks ago. While we don’t have the full details of the answer yet, Israeli officials are claiming that this is the most positive response so far from Hamas, and they can work with it for once, albeit the negotiations will still take a long time and are not assured. Hamas supporters have already started celebrating, claiming that they were able to reach a deal to end the war.
From Israel’s perspective, while this is not necessarily the ideal situation, barring any untenable demands from Hamas, this deal will probably be the best way to get some hostages back alive. If there is no deal, the chance that hostages will be killed continues to escalate.
However, an important point to consider is that this deal was presented BEFORE the IDF took control of the Philadelphi Corridor, and that aspect of it would be a massive problem. I don’t see a situation where the IDF withdraws from the corridor, and I don’t see Hamas agreeing to a deal that keeps Israeli forces choking their supply lines. It remains to be seen how that issue will be negotiated.
It is essential to keep in mind that for many in Israel, Gaza is not nearly as important as the North anymore. All attention and focus are being shifted toward Lebanon, and the IDF needs as much of its available resources and manpower for what is to come with Hezbollah.
Overall, while I am not happy with the circumstances of this potential deal, I understand the various perspectives and considerations that go into it, and I trust Bibi to make the right decision for the country and our people. He holds all of the information, and we try to make sense of it; the rest is out of our hands.
(Raylan Givens on X)
🗳 🇺🇸 📊 OK Boomer: Neocons Used Landline Phones To Poll Young MAGA Voters
The research, conducted by the Ronald Reagan Institute, found that a majority of self-identified MAGA voters under 30 largely agree with an interventionist approach to American foreign policy. The polling used a mix of live-cellular and landline phones, along with an oversample of younger MAGA voters.
Yes, landlines — in a poll about Gen Z.
The study also relies on “self-identified MAGA voters” without clearly defining what that label means, how respondents understood it, or whether it captures the broader universe of young voters who helped power Republicans to victory in 2024.
Further, while the study boasts about dismantling the narrative that young conservatives are more isolationist, it only interviewed 331 “MAGA Republicans under 30.”
The research stands in stark contrast to other polling conducted on this age group regarding foreign policy. A Pew Research poll from April of this year found that ...
🗳 🇪🇺 📵 Hyperdemocratic European Parliament reimposes mass electronic surveillance regulation after a majority votes it down three times
An extension of the European Union’s mass surveillance regulation known as Chat Control 1.0 failed to make it out of the European Parliament twice in March. Unable to summon a clear parliamentary majority, advocates (mostly in the centre-right European People’s Party [EPP]) turned to the European Council, which adopted the failed Chat Control 1.0 renewal on 2 July.
The Council’s position hardens automatically into law unless the European Parliament can summon an absolute majority to stop it. To forestall any such majority from forming, the EPP on Tuesday moved with member state backing for urgent procedure, angling to force their scheme through in the last days before the summer holiday, after many MEP’s had already left. The parliament narrowly approved the urgent procedure, and in consequence there were not enough votes to stop Chat Control ...
💀🗣 Meta infects city's water system with drug-resistant superbug
A Meta contractor building a massive 66.4k square-meter data center in Cheyenne, Wyoming, has been caught dumping Cupriavidus gilardii bacteria into the city's municipal sewer system.
🌏 Resistant to antibiotics — including standard and emergency drugs used to treat severe, life-threatening bacterial infections — the bug is opportunistic, targeting immunocompromised patients: people with severe illnesses, those undergoing medical treatment, and the elderly. It causes severe pneumonia, lung infections, and blood poisoning
🌏 There are no official, standardized treatment guidelines for Cupriavidus gilardii, with treatment typically requiring complex, multidisciplinary, expensive, and highly personalized therapy
🌏 Given the dangers stemming from the bacteria, Cheyenne's public utilities board may have been surprised to detect it in the city's wastewater
🌏 What's not clear is why the incident, which took place in ...
