Just came across HAMAS leader openly enumerating benefactors: https://www.memri.org/tv/hamas-leader-abroad-khaled-mashal-russia-october-seven-chine-taiwan

“For your information, Russia has benefitted from our [attack], because we distracted the U.S. from them and from Ukraine. China saw [our attack] as a dazzling example. The Russians told us that what happened on October 7 would be taught in military academies. The Chinese are thinking of carrying out a plan in Taiwan, doing what the Al-Qassam Brigades did on October 7. The Arabs are giving the world a master class.”

So lets put it all in perspective. Some established facts first:

• Russia is pretty open with it’s declaration of love to HAMAS
• Iran really wants to “give it” to US
• Russia is sanctioned and desperate in it’s war with Ukraine, hoping biggest weapon supplier would stop supplying weapons
• Russia is best buddies with Iran
• Iran wants nukes
• Russia used to be buddies with Israel (esp. military-wise, which was cited as one of the reasons no military assistance to Ukraine came from Israel)
• Israel has it’s internal political problems.
• all the nations that now so keenly support Palestine and violence towards Israel never sent any significant investments or humanitarian aid to Palestine to beat Israel economically
• Israel was behaving as an a-hole towards Palestine for quite some time
• HAMAS has not moved Israel-Palestine relationship an inch and needs to show some activity

So, to me all of the above kind of adds up to: Palestine was used by everybody else to achieve goals absolutely unrelated to Palestine survival or prosperity.

If I were to make up a conspiracy theory, I’d say: Russia needed diversion real bad, they talked to their Iran buddies to stir dhit up in Gaza. Mossad snifs it out and does… nothing, opening door to unspeakable acts that followed, but also giving a pretext for “outrage” and rallying the nation against existential threat. Arab world leaders quickly jump on a familiar train of antisrmitism boosting their ratings locally and doing diddly squat to help Palestine (I mean help, not entrench them further in conflict)

In sum: both sides were comfortable sacrificing their own people (without people’s consent) to achieve political goals.

to memory comes previous anouncement of supersonic missile… which ended up being destroyed over Ukraine with reasonable degree of accuracy. So yeah, same posturing from russia but k owing what we know after (almost) 2 grueling years in Ukraine it’s just that - posturing. They failed to attract talent but they’ve succeeded in scarying or destrying talent. So their only option for technological advance is espionage. Even then they’d need high caliber specialists to replicate whatever has been stolen. What they are really “good at” is brute force and dirty tricks. But any technological superiority is off the table.

you can read experts advise as something pointed ad policymakers and manufacturers: “people can’t afford what they need to live, do something!”. What’s really annoying that city planning in NA is geared specifically for cars and not public transportation, so it’s a mess created by designers and regulators. And our governments on every level allowed them to get away with it. Now those same government structures would have to get their collective a$$es im gear and do something about the fact that people can’t afford to.live in such an environment. (that’s BEFORE we start talking overall cost of living and housing affordability). We’re really back to 20’s which factories owning dorms and allowing workers live there (for a price) basically doubly owning them: owning means of production, and means for living, really…

despite my socialist views I’m also a realist: no elected government in Canada or US would socialize real estate. None. Within current economic and political system it’s a surefire recipefor country implosion. The only feasible solution is taxing “luxury” properties and diverting that money towards subsidized/public housing. Demand outpaces supply and supply is being choked by corporations and individuals scooping up properties and not releasing them back either as rentals or for resale. Make it passable for them to sell and impossible to hold and we can bring market to some shaky equilibrium. Build more affordable housing and you may stabilize the market. There are no other options on the table as far as I know.