It was a very weird time, but thankfully we pulled back from embracing the Bellamy Salute… some events in formerly Weimar Germany made that too uncomfortable
Because ‘fixing’ immigration isn’t a thing we can honestly do, outside of these hard line closed border moves.
Reagan borked it up with the war on drugs. Empowering gangs/militias/contras, causing pervasive and persistent violence that drives displacement of the locals in South America. Before then, the US experienced seasonal migration via a “porous border” - as it wasn’t really a challenge to cross, and enforcement was lax stateside of green cards/paperwork, there was significant seasonal migration that would cycle into the US, work hard and live cheap for a few months, and return to their families.
Hardening the border and documentation requirements killed that “loopback”. Initially migrants shifted to immigration and would stay in the US as primary domicile, taking long trips back to their family. But with the growing violence in the south, it makes more sense to bring your family to the US.
We absolutely need overhaul, but there’s so many fingers, voting groups, and special interests in this pie…
Or for a more recent events, Syria. I enjoy following modern history and geopolitics, but fuck me that is a mess of proxy forces, non-state actors, and local warlords.
If it pops off, somebody on the world stage is going to co-opt and prolong any US civil war/sectarianism to keep the US broken or distracted with a prolonged insurgency and COIN. Russia is already working to highlight any existing and/or astroturf internal division, and we’re seeing right now how effective proxies can be at causing an enemy to hurt itself in its confusion.
Iran knew that Oct7 would demand a firm response from Israeli civic and political society, and Netanyahu/the government fell for the trap. See also, 9/11.
Netanyahu reportedly met this month with three foreign policy envoys working with former president and current presidential candidate Donald Trump — who could yet win the election despite being convicted Thursday on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in his New York state hush money case....
Can’t the administration deny Netanyahu a visa/entry?
Like, yes there will be political cost to this, but letting him grandstand propaganda in the house is also going to cost politically. Which would be worse? Especially when there’s an ICJ arrest warrant potentially dropping soon - “we want to avoid a potential international incident regarding the Israeli PM” plays better imo than headlines like “King Bibi lauded by Congress, garnering more US support and friendship” whilst the MAGAs get/give handshake photo opportunities
because when that law is broken, it turns civilians into targets
Have you absolutely no shame? Or are you naïvely trying to sound authoritative? Unlawful combatants existing in an area, does not mean that civilians are greenlight for deliberate targeting.
Nor does it excuse the atrocious and callous 1:10,1:20,1:100 ‘acceptable collateral damage’ Hamas:Civilian ratio the IDF has self assigned and modified up and down based on international outcry.
for every junior Hamas operative that Lavender marked, it was permissible to kill up to 15 or 20 civilians… in the event that the target was a senior Hamas official with the rank of battalion or brigade commander, the army on several occasions authorized the killing of more than 100 civilians in the assassination of a single commander
Or maybe, here’s a thought: You stop reacting capriciously, and asses the situation to make an informed decision for shoot/no-shoot. Retreat to safety and investigate. Israel likes to flout their ‘world class’ ISR and HUMINT capabilities and superior and accurate weapons, but then keeps making “tragic mistakes” that kill civilians, reporters, and aid workers. Hamas et al are definitely not respecting the laws of war, but that’s not license to turn neighborhoods into free-fire zones.
Of course that requires the forces involved respecting civilian life and showing restraint.
I can HIGHLY recommend brownie batter put into non-standard pans. Madeline pans make excellent bite sized brownies, and cupcakes are good too. Just don’t put too much into each one, otherwise the center doesn’t bake and achieve the desired gooey texture.
“Everything that we can see tells us that they are not moving into a major ground operation in population centers in the center of Rafah,” Kirby said
Wow. That’s vatnik levels of mental gymnastics right there on display for the whole world.
There’s tanks and APCs in central Rafah, a million refugees have fled (again) from what was specified by Israel as a civilian safe zone, Al-Quassam is posting daily combat footage again after weeks of low activity, but “everything we see” does not cross our ‘red line’ fuckouttahere
Hard to swallow pills: Putin dying is not a positive outcome for the world - yet. There’s no groomed successor or lieutenant in the wings, when he leaves the scene it will be knives out inside the Kremlin (and outside it), which will lead to a fractured Moscow with Balkanization of the fringes like Georgia and Chechnya, or an even more brutal dictator, likely coming from the military sphere rather than civil.
There is no moderate off-ramp for Russia currently, and after Prigozin nobody in Russia is going to be permitted to collect power that can even think of challenging Putin.
Putin took the civilian route and “won elections” before the leapfrogging the presidency with Medevev and eventual solidification of his autocracy. He is a dictator in autocrats’ dress, faux elections and rivals aplenty, but not a general or warlord. Accordingly he insulates himself from meaningful challenge, which (like Xi and the CCP’s leadership) requires culling anyone competent immediately below you, or keeping them distracted with intra-competition for favor instead of seeking the top role.
A crumbling Muscovy regime, a fractured society with war fatigue, an arsenal of nuclear weapons that are scattered in Russia and in client states like Belarus, an ocean of conventional arms and equipment, Russia set up in a war economy, and then add a power vacuum are NOT positives for Ukraine, Europe, or the world.
During the fall of the Soviet Union, there were a lot of CIA agents and friends running around trying to secure and round up those nukes, lest they enter the black market or the local warlord/strongman decides “that’s OURS now” and another nuclear actor is on the chessboard.
Though the deconfliction hotlines are broken, non-proliferation treaties not renewed, and hypersonics changing the viability of ‘first-strike’ strategy, Russia still is a known actor. Someone like Prigozin is not, and that’s my point. Putin will play ‘the game’ of great power competition. A blowhard populist with an insecure power base and multiple rivals has a very different incentive structure, and may do the unthinkable if it means solidifying their hold on power.
Ding ding ding on all points but - it’s not ‘the end of history’ anymore, definitely not after 9/11 and GWOT.
There are headwinds coming for US and western leadership, and the unlimited ‘bear hug’ support for Bibi Israel has America standing alone at the UN, a global hypocrite in the “rules based international order” whilst pointing the finger at Russia and Ukraine, or China and the 11 10 9 dash line/Taiwan/Senkaku Islands/etc…
The global south is turning against western leadership; South Africa’s dogged case at the ICC, the French getting ejected from their peacekeeping missions in multiple former colonies, India is sending assassins to run hits on US and Canadian soil, OPEC expansion, that nut in Argentina… There’s growing rejection of the Pax Americana and/or Bretton Woods, and not in same bipolar competition like in the Cold War
Okay, if they want to bug test, there’s DECADES of accepted practice. Paid/intern bug hunters or playtesters, with an airtight NDA. They’re there to stress tests and find issues, there needn’t be a public facing element.
Marvel want free bug testers, and to get the hype train moving - but don’t want to pay for actual testers who work quietly, and want only positive commentary. Marvel want an astroturf campaign to push preorders, not actual genuine discussion or bug testing.
I’ve been part of public alpha releases, and generally they don’t allow streaming or public commentary, outside of the invite-only forum/discord channels - BECAUSE THEY WANT THE FEEDBACK TO FIX ISSUES.
You’re literally defending ‘post-truth, race to the bottom standard’ capitalism. Yes dumb consumers exist, but that isn’t a free pass for corporate exploitation or false advertising. Because this isn’t an alpha, it’s advertising.
I hear the arguments about “how sad, but they did note it is a paid piece” but this should absolutely be in the advertisement section, not a post with NYT heading.
Because now, this can be cited as “NYT said XYZ, see?” and because it’s presented like an article or opinion piece, it’s treated as such - disclosure or no. This is exactly the same astroturfing the oil and tobacco industries did with scientists and ‘research’ mills that churned out sympathetic studies for marketing to distort.
Disgusting to see “the paper or record” nakedly shilling - again.
Crouched inside her makeshift tent at a camp in Rafah, Samah El-Nazli fidgets as she recalls what her living conditions have been like since the war began. The mother of four is among millions of Gazans struggling to access food, water and sanitation in the overcrowded camp after losing their own homes in the strip....
The IDF ‘maintains’ a list of banned “dual use” items that while definitely helpful to civilians, if it can potentially-maybe-kinda be of any use to a militant? Banned.
The list is absurd and goes beyond understandable items like binoculars or bubble levels, and bans dumb things like scissors, tourniquets, or tampons. If some witless IDF inspector can think of a potential use, it’s banned. The whole truck gets turned around.
They rejected an aid shipment at least once because it was on the wrong size pallet.
On 2 January, a young Ukrainian weapons inspector, Khrystyna Kimachuk, got word that an unusual-looking missile had crashed into a building in the city of Kharkiv. She began calling her contacts in the Ukrainian military, desperate to get her hands on it. Within a week, she had the mangled debris splayed out in front of her at a...
I’d argue they’re notable because they’re Jewish, and are afforded an odd ‘extra legitimacy’ to criticize Israel because of that - until the ‘self hating Jew’ trope is brought out…
I am constantly disappointed that society as a whole cannot see through the obvious ploys by the hyper-partisans to hijack and disrupt honest discussion by treating all criticism as anti-Semitic
It’s less critical now, but Kerch is still a very valuable supply artery that doesn’t have to go through the Donbas and the higher risk of Ukrainian strikes.
This is the counter-escalation rhetoric from the west, in response to new evidence of Russia using chemical weapons in Ukraine.
Ukraine has been striking hundreds of kilometers into Russia already, but with domestically made light prop planes turned into flying suicide bombs. Thats way wayyyy cheaper than a multi-million Taurus/StormShadow, but super vulnerable to air defense unlike said cruise missiles.
Allowing Ukraine to strike with supplied weapons could have a big effect on battlefield outcomes depending on how it’s applied. I think any hope of UKR air dominance is years away, but blunting Russia ability to muster and sortie glide/hypersonic attacks would be significant today. Crimea (and the Kerch bridge) is useless for now, ammo dumps and staging areas are too low value, and the naval forces are already being attritted and denied a use via sea drones.
Useless as an objective. They threw +2 StormShadows at it previously during the counteroffensive prelude, when retaking the land route to Crimea was the main thrust. Now it’ll frustrate local logistics, instead of cutting off resupply.
Curb stomping air bases or Russian MIC factories has a universal effect across the front.
The entire French nation begs to differ. Look at that map! Power generation alllll over the country, not tucked in an unpopulated area or clustered in one spot ‘just in case’.
Then look across the border at Germany. The CND and Greens did a number on then generations ago, and Russia has kept up the fear over nuclear so they were able to keep Germany dependent on Gazprom. Until Ukraine.
The biggest thing this does imo is unlock the ability for federal research dollars to study marijuana. There’s some other good thing sure that’ll pay dividends later on as steps towards more harm reduction, but getting off Schedule I IS a big step, if not a complete step to righting the wrongs of the war on (some) drugs.
The officers were part of a US Marshals Service-led task force. The warrant they were attempting to serve on Monday was against a felon wanted for illegally possessing a firearm.
So you mean the exact thing the cops were trying to do? Did you even bother to open the article before posting your hot-take?
A hot take is a “piece of deliberately provocative commentary that is based almost entirely on shallow moralizing” in response to a news story, “usually written on tight deadlines with little research or reporting, and even less thought”.
It’s important to understand words before using them.
Aside from waving your hand at the issue of gun deaths and violence, you offered nothing to the discussion without bothering to understand the scenario. You could have talked about why was this a police raid instead of a traffic stop, or what failure led to him being on the street after recent convictions, or the issues that drive gun violence and the toxic masculinity around them.
I’m spicy certainly, but that’s because the comment was inherently unhelpful. Like shouting “genocide” in any Israel-Hamas thread, or “fuck Trump” it is a dead end of conversation where nobody learns anything, nobody has their beliefs challenged or critiqued, and no discussion occurs.
The in group feels better about themselves, the bad thing is chided, and the issue remains untouched. Build a polemic and defend it, share some white papers or research, even a dumb meme. But pithy comments are almost always masturbatory - and I’m guilty too from time to time.
…yes? If you’d like to expand upon your point, I’ll gladly retract that assessment. But if you’re going to persist in low effort sealioning instead of getting somewhere and making a point or statement, I’ll take my time elsewhere
The dude already broke several firearms laws, in addition to other violent crimes. This is the system working deal with violations - so what was the point of the original comment mentioning licensing?
I will tell you something about the Holocaust. It would be nice to believe that people who have undergone suffering have been purified by suffering. But it’s the opposite, it makes them worse. It corrupts. There is something in suffering that creates a kind of egoism. And when such monstrous things have happened to your people, you feel nothing can be compared to it. You get a moral “power of attorney”, a permit to do anything you want – because nothing can compare to what has happened to us. This is a moral immunity which is very clearly felt in Israel.
Uri Avery, speaking after the IDF’s massacre at Sabra and Shatila
Uri was a Zionist poster child - his immediate family fled to (then mandatory Palestine) after the Nazis took power; every other relative who stayed in Germany was murdered in the Holocaust. During his youth in 1938 he joined the Zionist terrorist group Irgun, in reaction to the first execution of a Jew for the attempted bombing of an Arab bus. He remained a member in the group until partway through most of WWII, when he leaned into nationalism publishing far-right news articles and opinion pieces.
The turning point for Uri was his time in the IDF during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, and the ethnic cleansing and displacement that occurred, percolating through decades of his life until during the 1982 Lebanon War he became the first Israeli to meet Yasser Arafat for an interview.
Essa Al-Nassr, a member of the Qatari legislative Shura council, spoke on Monday at an Arab League session, received ovation making bigoted accusations against Jews and promising the end of Israel.
Especially given that last year most of the Gulf states had/were in the process of normalizing and publicizing diplomatic ties with Israel. Qatar has always been the odd one out in the Gulf, but the fact that these disgusting comments were lauded speaks to how much damage Netanyahu has done in such a short time.
A top Hamas political official told The Associated Press the Islamic militant group is willing to agree to a truce of five years or more with Israel and that it would lay down its weapons and convert into a political party if an independent Palestinian state is established along pre-1967 borders.
If Arafat wasn’t serious about negotiations, why sit down at all and risk his position in the PLO? For decades the ‘Three Nos’ stunted any Arab-Israeli diplomacy, and the maximalists still hold sway today as they did then
Israel refused the right of return for Palestinians as a whole, while for decades doing all within their power to boost Jewish immigration, bankroll Aliyah flights, rubber stamp naturalization, and regular ‘missionary’ trips to visit US and European nations - all only for ethnic Jews, and their spouses.
A two-tiered system based on race is hardly a fair deal, especially in a democratic system where your people are denied fair representation whilst Jew from the world over are invited to jump on a plane and become a full citizen after three months
Popular rapper Toomaj Salehi wrote songs in support of the protest movement in Iran following the death of Jina Mahsa Amini in 2022. He has been in jail for over a year....
I have a Persian expat for a colleague, and he surmised it basically as such:
For the poor and uneducated, there is religion and aggression with Israel and the US to control them. They are so focused on the outside world, they do not question if better can exist at home by not giving Sepah all the money and power
For the educated and activists, theirs is brutal repression. You shut up now and forever, or risk everything (including death) to tweet or rip down a poster.
Not many are genuinely happy with the government, especially those who were alive during the Shah and have witness Iran’s downfall in their lifetime. But there’s no option except to emigrate, or accept your reality - the Guardian Council decides in reality.
MH17 was shot down by a Russian Buk system given to the separatists, and likely with polite green ‘advisors’ nearby to set up and operate the SAM. Once they realized their fuckup they rushed it across the Donbas and back to Russia, but it was spotted several times en route both ways.
If that didn’t count, why would much harder to prove jamming trigger A5? NATO forces (yes, even Poland) are not risking escalation on their territory, even if that means Russian helicopters and cruise missiles can ‘temporarily get lost’ in NATO airspace.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement condemning sanctions on the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) after a report surfaced claiming that the Biden administration is set to blacklist a unit for alleged human rights violations in Gaza....
I’m very interested if this serves multiple purposes for the Biden administration, aimed at weakening the Likud-coalition given the ultra-orthodox/Haredi factions are the political kingmakers currently for Bibi - not just general pressure by the US against illegal settlements and sectarianism. As in, is this part of Biden administration’s approach to isolate and neuter Netanyahu, break up the coalition, and force elections? Given that the US-Israel alliance seems firm despite recent diplomatic spats.
Jumping from sanctioning civilian settlers and political individual, to sanctioning an entire battalion is big. And almost certainly means the US has firm evidence or strong suspicion about abuses and war crimes.
The Pentagon has a massive infusion of military aid for Ukraine “ready to go,” U.S. officials said, once a long-delayed funding measure, which is expected to pass the House this weekend, clears the Senate next week and President Biden signs it into law....
The US on the regular flexes their ‘global airlift’ capability by shuffling tanks and armored vehicles around the globe via air freight, moving entire company’s worth of hardware between continents.
Sensible militaries with actual budgetary concerns use sea freight, accepting the delay.
I used to live nearby! Loved that silly thing, just don’t treat it like one big roundabout - it’s six chained roundabouts that you can use individually; both green and red routes are valid and legal for the same destination:
Donald Trump is trying to bring into politics a phenomenon that’s taking off in college athletics: money for use of the former president’s name, image and likeness in campaign ads....
70 years of shame (en.m.wikipedia.org)
The phrase “under God” was incorporated into the Pledge of Allegiance on June 14, 1954, 70 years ago today.
Opinion: Why Biden's new border plan is a terrible idea (www.latimes.com)
Archived at web.archive.org/…/biden-border-immigration-crossi…
Israel committing genocide in Gaza, new study concludes – Middle East Monitor (www.middleeastmonitor.com)
The upside-down American flag goes mainstream as a form of right-wing protest (www.npr.org)
‘No way out without bloodshed’: the right believe the US is under threat and are mobilizing (www.theguardian.com)
cross-posted from: lemmy.sdf.org/post/17713638...
Netanyahu and Putin are both waiting for Trump (www.washingtonpost.com)
Netanyahu reportedly met this month with three foreign policy envoys working with former president and current presidential candidate Donald Trump — who could yet win the election despite being convicted Thursday on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in his New York state hush money case....
Israel won’t end war for deal to free all hostages, PM’s aide said to tell families (www.timesofisrael.com)
Remember when the war was supposed to end when all the hostages were released?...
For edge lovers (lemmy.world)
US condemns loss of life, but says no policy changes after civilian deaths in Israeli strike in Rafah (apnews.com)
The US is thinking about letting Ukraine use its weapons to strike Russia, even if it enrages Putin: report (www.businessinsider.com)
US officials are considering letting Ukraine strike Russia with US weapons, The New York Times reports....
US hints at support for sanctions over ICC warrants on Israel (www.bbc.com)
Which PC game distribution service is better?
I’m curious about trying Fallout (1997) but I saw that it exists for Steam and GOG Galaxy:...
"Portal" Between Dublin and NYC Shut Down After OnlyFans Model Flashes It (ca.news.yahoo.com)
Marvels Rivals requires creators to sign a contract that removes your right to give a negative review in order to access the playtest (files.catbox.moe)
On today’s episode of “This shouldn’t be legal”…...
The New York Fools rule (lemmy.dbzer0.com)
Alt text:...
Periods are a nightmare in Gaza's crowded, unsanitary camps. Women are using birth control to skip them (www.cbc.ca)
Crouched inside her makeshift tent at a camp in Rafah, Samah El-Nazli fidgets as she recalls what her living conditions have been like since the war began. The mother of four is among millions of Gazans struggling to access food, water and sanitation in the overcrowded camp after losing their own homes in the strip....
North Korean weapons are killing Ukrainians. The implications are far bigger (www.bbc.com)
On 2 January, a young Ukrainian weapons inspector, Khrystyna Kimachuk, got word that an unusual-looking missile had crashed into a building in the city of Kharkiv. She began calling her contacts in the Ukrainian military, desperate to get her hands on it. Within a week, she had the mangled debris splayed out in front of her at a...
Conservatives crushed by ‘worst local election result’ in years (www.theguardian.com)
Spread of Tory losses leads former minister to say there’s ‘no such thing as a safe seat any more’...
Israel Briefs US on Plan for 'Ethnic Cleansing' of Rafah (www.commondreams.org)
cross-posted from: lemmy.world/post/15001340...
Ukraine wiped out 100 Russian troops at once in a strike showcasing the range and power of its new US ATACMS (www.businessinsider.com)
Ukrainian forces took out more than 100 Russian soldiers with an ATACMS missile, per OSINT analysts....
Ukraine can strike inside Russia with British weapons, UK’s Cameron says (www.politico.eu)
UK’s top diplomat also pledges £3 billion of annual military help to Ukraine for ‘as long as it takes.’...
We can do all three things at once (yiffit.net)
DEA to reclass marijuana to Schedule III (apnews.com)
Bout damn time
deleted_by_moderator
Video footage reveals ‘Kill the Jews’ remark used to explain police intervention made by pro-Israel counterprotester in provocation. (huntnewsnu.com)
Qatari official: Jews are murderers of prophets; October7 is only a 'prelude' (m.jpost.com)
Essa Al-Nassr, a member of the Qatari legislative Shura council, spoke on Monday at an Arab League session, received ovation making bigoted accusations against Jews and promising the end of Israel.
Hamas official says group would lay down its arms if an independent Palestinian state is established (apnews.com)
A top Hamas political official told The Associated Press the Islamic militant group is willing to agree to a truce of five years or more with Israel and that it would lay down its weapons and convert into a political party if an independent Palestinian state is established along pre-1967 borders.
Iran: Rapper Toomaj Salehi sentenced to death, says lawyer (www.dw.com)
Popular rapper Toomaj Salehi wrote songs in support of the protest movement in Iran following the death of Jina Mahsa Amini in 2022. He has been in jail for over a year....
Ska came before Raggae 🏁>>>🇯🇲 (lemmy.world)
Thousands of European flights reportedly affected by suspected Russian jamming (kyivindependent.com)
Netanyahu's outraged response after report of pending US sanctions on IDF (www.newsweek.com)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement condemning sanctions on the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) after a report surfaced claiming that the Biden administration is set to blacklist a unit for alleged human rights violations in Gaza....
Ukraine weapons package ‘ready to go’ once aid bill clears Congress (www.washingtonpost.com)
The Pentagon has a massive infusion of military aid for Ukraine “ready to go,” U.S. officials said, once a long-delayed funding measure, which is expected to pass the House this weekend, clears the Senate next week and President Biden signs it into law....
It is truly magic (lemmy.world)
Trump demands 5% cut from GOP candidates who use his 'name, image and likeness' in ads (www.usatoday.com)
Donald Trump is trying to bring into politics a phenomenon that’s taking off in college athletics: money for use of the former president’s name, image and likeness in campaign ads....