The Houthi shipping blockade is explicitly in defense of Gaza.

The genocide must flow

Thanks for the rec! I’ll give it a listen.

For just $320 million what do you expect? If only Gaza weren’t surrounded by water on all sides. Then we could just truck aid in.

I certainly hope you’re right.

No worries! I get the frustration.

It’s not very typical, I’d like to make that clear.

In practice, I suspect the most important factor in eliminating child labor will actually be simply shrinking extreme poverty.

I think things could change pretty quickly if a ceasefire is reached, and reached before another 35,000 people die. If this is still going on when the fall semester begins, it’s going to be ugly.

That’s probably why Biden is at 7% to Trump’s 2%.

Except you’re comparing apples to oranges. The October poll was national while the most recent poll was just done in battleground states.

I imagine watching your extended family suffer under an artificial famine while dodging bombs and shells raises your tolerance for discomfort while punishing those responsible.

59% in 2020 to 25% in 2024 is a decrease of 34% for Biden.

Are you puzzled by these numbers? Are you asking, “How could they think letting Trump win is going to make anything better?” Well, if you genuinely want to understand, read this reporting by Slate.

Here are some highlights:

I heard a similar sentiment from another patron, Fares, a Palestinian man who became a U.S. citizen 20 years ago, and voted for Biden in 2020. “I feel like, whether Republicans or Democrats, it’s all the same,” he said. “I don’t think I’m going to vote for any because it doesn’t matter.” It’s a major shift for him. He was born in Syria to parents exiled in 1948 from what is now Haifa. He told me he hadn’t missed a presidential election before, but now he doesn’t see a point. “If 12,000 dead kids don’t change their hearts, you think you or I will?”

…

In a conversation at Qahwah House, Elabed seemed tired. It had become obvious to her she could no longer support Biden, and she didn’t see why that was so hard to understand. “It is hard for me to reconcile my core beliefs and morals to support a president that dehumanizes my people,” Elabed said. “This is a president that I met in person. That knows my sister. That met my mom, who wore a traditional Palestinian thobe at the White House.”

…

I posed the obvious question, asking if she thought Trump would be better. “What’s worse than genocide?” she retorted. “Maybe if the Democrats lose this election, they’ll learn their lesson. I’m happy to take several steps back if that’s what it takes to take a step forward.” When I argued, I got thousand-yard stares.

A poll published at the end of October 2023 found “only 17% of Arab American voters saying they will vote for Biden in 2024—a staggering drop from 59% in 2020.”

Then a couple weeks ago a NYT poll “found Trump leading among registered Middle Eastern, North African or Muslim voters in the swing states, with 57 percent saying they were planning to back him in November. Only 25 percent said they were supporting Biden.”

My on the ground reporting beats your nothing. But here’s some data for you. The Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee and the Truth Project asked 36,139 Arab Americans and “allied voters” “Who are you voting for in November?” 2,196 people responded. Here are the results:

2% Trump

7% Biden

25% Jill Stein

20% Cornell West

19% Undecided

23% Uncommitted

3% Stay home

A poll published at the end of October 2023 found “only 17% of Arab American voters saying they will vote for Biden in 2024—a staggering drop from 59% in 2020.”

Then a couple weeks ago a NYT poll “found Trump leading among registered Middle Eastern, North African or Muslim voters in the swing states, with 57 percent saying they were planning to back him in November. Only 25 percent said they were supporting Biden.”

Let’s start at home.

Agreed

I agree that this another reason we need vigorous antitrust enforcement.

Ah, but I do:

22 U.S. Code § 2378d

(a)In general

No assistance shall be furnished under this chapter or the Arms Export Control Act [22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.] to any unit of the security forces of a foreign country if the Secretary of State has credible information that such unit has committed a gross violation of human rights.

And now you do, too.

It’s not a trivial problem, but I don’t think it’s insurmountable for the multinational corporations that actually care. If journalists can uncover this kind of thing without any inside information, corporations can do it too. And if consumers care enough, the corporations will care.

Here’s a toolkit from the US Department of Labor:

Child and forced labor in supply chains present serious and material risks to companies and industries. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Comply Chain tool helps companies mitigate these risks by building or improving worker-driven social compliance systems, which empower workers to play a central role in identifying and addressing labor rights violations and other concerns within their workplaces.