What struck me about the Atlantic editor being included in a Signal group chat about a bombing mission in Yemen isn’t the less-than-tight OPSEC, but rather the self-reinforcing propaganda even among top officials when Europe briefly catch a couple strays during the conversation. How is bombing rebels in Yemen “bailing Europe out”?
I keep naively thinking fascist grifters are above their own con, but not even.
I think that was referring to protecting shipping lanes. Which of course is in our interest. They all act like we just do stuff because that mean old EU makes us, sailing ships around the world just for the lulz.
Late last year, the German defence minister directed that a German naval task group not sail through said area because he lacked confidence in the assets' ability to defend themselves against Iran's children. telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/10/3…
Actually, where do you stand on the question re the UAE/KSA campaign against the Houthis before the USG told them to hold fire with Hodeida in their sights and despite the Houthis and Co attacking their own civilians?
@Ravi Nayyar I'm sorry I don't have enough information to answer this question, let alone understand it. But at first glance it sounds like classic US foreign policy, not surprising but still disappointing?
No need to apologise - neither do I have enough data to have an informed opinion on that issue.
Well, to be fair, US foreign policy re the Mid-east has noticeably improved since Trump 1.0. Look at the Abraham Accords, the I2U2 grouping and work on the IMEEC. Plenty more still to do, but there has been some good stuff.
Actually, where do you stand on the question re the UAE/KSA campaign against the Houthis before the USG told them to hold fire with Hodeida in their sights and despite the Houthis and Co attacking UAE/KSA civilians?
The people who deported innocent men to a torture prison in El Salvador didn't get hired yesterday. The people rounding up parents and kids who have been in the US for decades didn't get hired yesterday. The people who have seized multiple European tourists and put them through hell didn't get hired yesterday.
The Musk-Trump administration hasn't had the time to entirely turn over the ranks of yankee law enforcement, they didn't fire all the good cops and replace then with klansmen. The people doing this were by and large already there, they are the same people. They were always ready and willing, even enthusiastic, to do this.
The next time there is a social movement dedicated to taking power back for communities from law enforcement, remember this. Remember this is always who they were, this is always what these institutions were. When we entrust the power and safety of our communities to an elevated warrior class, that class of people becomes separate from our communities and develops a taste for power.
FOSS infrastructure is under attack by AI companies thelibre.news/foss-infrastruct… Please boost for awareness, reach and to public shame Microsoft, Meta, OpenAI, Perplexity and other such AI companies.
#MiniReview #MoviesWolfs (2024) takes an amused look at the tropes surrounding the enigmatic job of "fixer" by making two aging ones work together on the same job, against all the rules of the profession. Both Brad Pitt and George Clooney deliver an impeccable impression of the kind of man who've seen it all, doesn't ask questions but still will be petty about some mundane aspect of their sinister craft. Very enjoyable even if you aren't a fan of crime movies.
While I also occasionally suffer from the regular FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out), I mainly suffer from KIMO (Know I’m Missing Out) about the following behaviors: - Belonging to a cult, whether it’s religious, sports or political. - Believing individual words have any inherent power. - Enjoying recreational drugs, including alcohol, smoking and coffee. - Celebrating anything, whether at regular intervals (holidays) or one-off transitions (housewarming, bachelor-ette parties, promotions, etc...) - Caring for any tradition “because this is how we’ve always done”.
And I feel it makes it harder for me to find a meaning for my life given I’m not experiencing the full range of behaviors it offers. 🤔
Ha, I forgot a fourth: - The urge to celebrate anything, at regular intervals (holidays) or one-off transitions (housewarming, bachelor-ette parties, promotions, etc...)
Disclaimer: All my written opinions are (un)educated guesses sources from scattered online opinion pieces and news articles I speed-read out of curiosity.
In the event I’m actually right about something, it’s more likely to be coincidental with my internal consistency than grounded in solid knowledge or understanding of the relevant topic(s).
However, I’ll always be able to write mostly convincing arguments à-la-Large Language Model because school trained me for eloquence rather than factual accuracy. Thanks for reading!
@Shiri Bailem My problem with LLMs' inaccuracies is that they are made at a frightening scale that few single humans have ever been able to reach. It's like someone learned about Brandolini's Law and thought the problem was that it was still possible to refute bullshit.
Welcome to my new followers after my most popular #Fediverse post ever!
I realize I don't have an #introduction post up, so this is a good opportunity to fill the void. In short, this account is a dump. A mental dump of what I have to blurt out to the world.
Here I'm mainly known for working on #Friendica (#programming ), one of many pieces of software part of the #Fediverse. We strive to be compatible with as many decentralized social media protocols as possible, at the moment we're compatible with #Diaspora, #ActivityPub (think Mastodon) and #OStatus, with optional connectors with #Twitter and others.
I have an 8-year old kid (#parenting ), play #VideoGames and often have opinions about them. I also love #BoardGames but I'm missing fellow players around me. I like #Riding (trains, buses, planes, skateboard, snowboard) but it doesn't really define me. I drove a #drift car over a couple days once and it was both exhilarating and frustrating.
Friendica doesn't have a post character limit but I still infrequently post longer pieces on my blog: blog.mrpetovan.com
Last bit you may want to know about me before following me on here: I am not in favor of absolute free speech. Online spaces need to be moderated to counter the real life discriminating power dynamics.
@Meercat ✅ Yes, just paste their Webfinger address (like @hypolite@friendica.mrpetovan.com or their profile URL (like https://friendica.mrpetovan.com/profile/hypolite in the search bar of Mastodon and it will offer a link to follow from Mastofon.
silverwizard
in reply to Hypolite Petovan • • •Hypolite Petovan likes this.
Hypolite Petovan
in reply to silverwizard • •silverwizard likes this.
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silverwizard
in reply to Hypolite Petovan • • •@Hypolite Petovan sorry, I don't think the Trump admin is special...
I stopped feeling safe going to the US during Obama admin...
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Hypolite Petovan
in reply to silverwizard • •silverwizard likes this.
Lurkle DEI makes life great
in reply to Hypolite Petovan • • •Hypolite Petovan likes this.
Hypolite Petovan
in reply to Lurkle DEI makes life great • •SamuelJohnson
in reply to Lurkle DEI makes life great • • •@Lurkle Of course the EU has never done anything to protect maritime shipping
fed.brid.gy/r/bsky.app/profile…
Ravi Nayyar
in reply to Hypolite Petovan • • •I reckon the 'bailing Europe out' is because of how much of Europe's maritime trade passes through the area being bombarded by terrorists.
Also, upholding UNCLOS is a public good.
Be awesome if the Europeans continue their support of the fight against Iran's terrorists who threaten UNCLOS.
Hypolite Petovan likes this.
Ravi Nayyar
in reply to Ravi Nayyar • • •telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/10/3…
When a nation’s warships avoid the Red Sea because of the Houthis, that nation looks bad
Tom Sharpe (The Telegraph)Hypolite Petovan likes this.
Ravi Nayyar
in reply to Ravi Nayyar • • •Hypolite Petovan
in reply to Ravi Nayyar • •Ravi Nayyar
in reply to Hypolite Petovan • • •No need to apologise - neither do I have enough data to have an informed opinion on that issue.
Well, to be fair, US foreign policy re the Mid-east has noticeably improved since Trump 1.0. Look at the Abraham Accords, the I2U2 grouping and work on the IMEEC. Plenty more still to do, but there has been some good stuff.
Hypolite Petovan likes this.
Ravi Nayyar
in reply to Ravi Nayyar • • •