eightpix

Send him to the Hague. Then, I’ll know he’s real.

That explosion may have caused hundreds of dollars worth of damage.

The damage to the reputation, the prestige, and the gold-plated hubris of “the greatest nation on Earth ever and for all time” is what’s at stake.

Fortunately, disaster capitalism will generate at least fourteen jobs, resulting in the fortification of this embassy — and all other embassies — at exorbitant cost. The US defense budget will far exceed the $1.5T requested for 2027.

Screw diplomacy, forget peace, pursue power.

At all costs. Until Empire falls.

I’ve never seen Letterkenny. And yet, “Letterkenny cold open” yielded this with the second click.

The only associations I can manage are the following:

1. Canadian.

2. Taught alliteration at school.

3. Friends and family from far down East.

4. The original Alphabet Aerobics, by Blackalicious in 1999 is a fave track of mine.

I guess, in text, I flex the gift of gab.

Not always well.

Riiight.

Attritable, armed aircraft. Add AI autonomy, an authoritarian asshole, and an aggressive alignment — all, appropriately, approaches an ashen Apocalypse.

See, in Seoul, to my eyes, drivers aren’t day-labourers, office workers, company people, or students. They are business developers, cab and bus drivers, delivery agents and the most affluent.

In a city of 45 million, car ownership is very, very low. Parking is very difficult to find — or own as city units must separately rent, lease, buy, or borrow a parking spot for a car.

If any large East Asian city could successfully ration gasoline, its Seoul. Public transportation is efficient and inexpensive. People remember the war and hardship. People respect tradition, unity in struggle, and are willing to fight together.

That’s the Seoul I remember anyway.

They imprisoned their Insurrectionist former President.

For life.

AI can read the Doomsday Clock.

They did get me. I got away. But, it was my own kids.

CIA. Recruiting my own kids against me.

Always has been.

“Canadians say U.S. … is bigger threat [to us] than Russia”

World’s longest undefended border may have something to do with that.

Note: ask any country in Latin America, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, Africa, or the Arabian/Persian Gulf who is a bigger threat, you’ll get the same answer. Some might say China is forgotten from the list.

Canadians are breaking through the propaganda, finally. Contra-American sentiment or a political anti-American stance has probably not been this rooted since 1812.

Russia threatens European power. U.S. threatens the Western Hemisphere and

Let’s see: USA has 26.3% of world GDP. They jealously guard that by force of arms, unfair trade deals, and an aggressive propaganda campaign.

Then, the relationship turns truly abusive. America is even inflicting self-harm.

So, the trade partners of thw world want a divorce; to find themselves and reconnect to their core values, absent the frathouse belligerence of USA. Certainly, other powerful and potentially abusive partners are there among the large economies; but the smaller, resource rich countries are looking for better partnerships.

The US’s stars will fade. Their economic power will shrink. They may even lose some of their states to secession.

If I’m not mistaken, this is how the Holy Roman Empire collapsed — into a handful of warring kingdoms and principalities in the middle of Europe. It wasn’t the end of the world. It was the end of that world.

Bye, Del-cy-sha.

Ok, I don’t wish her harm or any ill will. I just know that, in this meat grinder of international diplomacy, theres a cost if she tries to push back on Lord Farquaad’s wishes. He’s already promised he would harm her — like every other woman he’s ever encountered.

Beneath the politics, almost certainly, Delcy Rodriguez and María Corina Machado both want what will benefit Venezuelans. Or, perhaps, they only want to serve their own supporters. Regardless, neither of these women will gain from participating in the Game of Thrones that Washington has engaged.

Also, Angela Means’s quest to vindicate Felisha has merit. Much is assumed about her. Few, if any, care for her. These are the stories we promote. This is the world we promote.

Just posted this on Bluesky because I just watched it too.

The standing ovation, rare for Davos (and for whatever it’s worth), recognizes two things:

1. Canada’s proximity to the hegemon mentioned.

2. Carney’s stature in the world of finance.

That’s it. The content, the message tilted toward an activist approach, in my opinion. It is consistent with the calculations and moves made so far. But, it is not revolutionary or beyond the scope of the established political moment.

There is merit in developing the “networks” he mentioned. There is truth in the act of “taking the signs down”. None of it is new. -2 burned the US sign on the White House lawn exactly nine years ago.

Courting China is basic math at this point. Canada’s resources — fossil fuels, rare earth metals, water, the Arctic Ocean — go a long way in that conversation. Too bad it’ll cost Canada’s reputation for environmentalism, attempts at reconciliation, and other human rights championeering. It is a Brave New World, though much like the old world, now with AI.

As long as we are playing a zero-sum game — enforced by military-industrial actors, a capitalist-loving system, and fractious bets on future value — winners, offensively, seek power by force; and losers organize defense against attacks. The rhetoric is the opposite: winners play victim; losers stage victories. What a circus!

Does putting the intervening time appreciably change the message, the context, or the effect?

The Society of Profesional Journalists, in the US, has a code of ethics that states, “Seek truth and report it. Ethical journalism should be accurate and fair. Journalists should be honest and courageous in gathering, reporting and interpreting information.” (emphasis added)

I watched the J6 hearings. I’ve seen his rally speeches. The entire purpose of news media is to convey meaning without distorting the message, the context, or the effect.

Sounds like Beirut all over again.

They know that Israel is at the eye of the global shit storm. Iran might close the strait of Hormuz, and the Yemenis are definitely going to take shots at ships heading for Bab-el-Mandeb (Gate of Grief). Iran may start boarding ships as well.

This is a business decision.

The rest of this post is bullshit. If it comes true, well, then, I’m an unprofitable prophet.

Goodness knows how this is going to go once the NATO-backed EU sanctions on Israel hit in mid-July. US will try to sanction/tariff their way around that, an attempt to support their pals, but, surprise! Domestic unrest will force the felon’s hand.

That frees up some space for more integrated transport across Europe, Canada, and emerging markets across north and west Africa, quelling some of the decolonial “unrest” in Mali, Burkina Faso with offers of “trade.”

The wedge in the anglosphere will widen, and the US will be more isolated. They’ll either attack Canada or suffer Civil War by November, about the time people start to realize they can’t pay for their heating this winter and can’t even afford “2 dolls instead of 30” this Xmas.

I look forward to Netanyahu making his case in court and watching every argument evaporate under the sheer gravity of reality. Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, standing beside him, defiant. Gallant gave up.

I’ve read Dante’s Inferno. Two things are true:

1. In envisioning Hell, this is beyond even him.

Though, the ninth circle — betrayal — is where many politicians, pundits, and the president of Israel belong. Frozen in the ice at the center of Hell.

2. Many people deserve to be sent to Hell for this. Perhaps all of us who did not do more to stop it.

I agree with funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works. Running cover for despotic regimes seems to be a pattern that 20th and 21st century American history is shot full of.

Please keep in mind that America backed Pol Pot as the head of state through that 1975 to 1979 genocide and for over a decade after.

“Now is the time for maximum restraint and stepping back from the brink,” Guterres said. “The United Nations stands ready to support any initiative that promotes de-escalation, diplomacy, and a renewed commitment to peace.”

I feel like I’ve heard this before…

"It is time for restraint, reason and de-escalation.

"There is no place for actions and statements that would take this dangerous situation over the abyss.

“It is time to establish a ceasefire and return to the path of dialogue and negotiations to save the people in Ukraine and beyond from the scourge of war.”

~ Antonio Guterres, 23 February 2022.

UNSG must be one of the most frustrating jobs on Earth.

Literally ignore them. They are no more than tourists. No official interactions. No preferential treatment.