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Poll: More than 60% of middle class say they’re ‘struggling financially’ and are not expecting things to turn around for the rest of their lives
  • 100% death tax on all assets over $1m excluding a single house. That my final offer.

    There's no justification for a birth lottery that awards democracy-warping levels of wealth to whoever had the evilest parents.

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    70 pro-Palestinian protesters arrested at San Francisco Israeli Consulate
  • That's just completely not true though.

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    Dr. King, 2024
  • We don't have any evidence of finding out yet.

    He's unlikely to get jail time, unlikely to pay any fines he receives and may still ride gerrymandering to finally Noeming the last sickly vestiges of US democracy.

    I'm very happy with the verdict though.

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    Donald Trump Should Drop Out
  • Nothing but his own internal monologue and no interaction with the rest of the world? That's basically a campaign rally for him. He'd love it.

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    "Maybe This is Too Cool" - After years of layoffs and pay/resource freezes, Amazon execs treat themselves to a private Foo Fighters concert worth millions
  • The only way this gig is ethically justifiable is if the support act is a guillotine.

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    Under Pressure, Biden Allows Ukraine to Use U.S. Weapons to Strike Inside Russia
  • Obviously there's a proxy war between russia and the west in ukraine, but I don't think the US wants a long attritional war.

    They could have done more to not end up in one, but I think escalation management really is driving a lot of decisions in washington.

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    U.S. Army Recruiter Has Bound, Gagged Civilian That Teen Can Shoot Right Now If He Enlists
  • take as many free shots as he wanted at the heavily restrained and completely innocent man, a perk the military provided to each new recruit. “Now, I’m not entirely sure what this gentleman’s whole deal is. Looks like he could be from the Middle East.

    Brutal.

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    Roberts rejects Senate Democrats' request to discuss Supreme Court ethics and Alito flag controversy
  • Across time, space and cultures, to be ruled is to be ruled by villains.

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    Israel War Cabinet member Benny Gantz files motion to dissolve parliament
  • In parliamentry systems you can dissolve parliament, requiring an election. It's usually a way to bypass deadlock. Imagine if, when republicans are fucking around with the debt ceiling and pissing off the country, you could threaten to call a snap election and let them answer to voters then and there.

    So if this passes it would basically force a national referendum on netanyahu's leadership.

    If gantz is pushing this, probably he thinks he can win. That could mean netanyahu's many financial and political crimes being looked into again. Maybe.

    It could mean more of a focus on getting hostages back, but it might not lead to much change in gaza:

    Gantz’ centrism is not equivalent to Western centrism: Natenyahu’s Likud party and other Israeli nationalists have “gone so right-wing that the center in Israel has changed,” a Middle East Institute think tank fellow told Al Jazeera. Previously serving as Commander-in-Chief of the Israeli Defense Forces, Gantz has overseen two military offensives in Gaza and labeled several Palestinian NGOs terrorist organizations, indicating it is “unlikely” he would improve the conditions for Palestinians living in Gaza

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    In case you ever wondered the M1 is safe to operate in a school zone
  • Thank you this kind of comment is why I come here.

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    In case you ever wondered the M1 is safe to operate in a school zone
  • Yeah but presumably the parent in the M1 has a spouse operating a surveillance drone to provide real time fire child correction?

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    Incumbent Democrat Who Voted to Ban Gender-Affirming Care in Texas Loses Primary
  • I agree that dems have cause for concern broadly, but I'm not sure that a 10% drop during an uncontested incumbent primary translates to a "10% drop in reliable D’s electoral engagement".

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    Incumbent Democrat Who Voted to Ban Gender-Affirming Care in Texas Loses Primary
  • Thierry’s district ... is not a swing district. ... Previously, Thierry had beaten a Libertarian candidate 87%-13%, with no Republican running in the race.

    In case anyone thought this might have been a tactical ploy by a dem in a heavily republican area, it was not. Just a crazy person shooting themself in the foot with their own cruel thoughts.

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    RFK Jr. files complaint with Federal Election Commission over CNN debate criteria
  • The popular vote matters, proof that we're not a democracy matters. Not a lot, probably not at all but maybe in the future it might form part of an argument for making things better.

    Given the stakes I'm still going to put in the small effort for a likely doomed longshot. That's about the most we can hope to achieve with electoral politics, but I still think it's worth doing.

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    State Department official resigns after Biden administration says Israel not blocking Gaza aid
  • I've seen a number of polls that reiterate how strongly youth and democrats oppose israel's actions and call it genocide. I don't think it's an echo chamber effect.

    https://news.gallup.com/poll/642695/majority-disapprove-israeli-action-gaza.aspx

    This poll from March shows 55/36 disapprove/approve.

    Moreover, democrats disapprove at 75% vs 18% approve and independents disapprove at 60% to 29% approve. Sure, republicans approve at 64%, but ain't no republicans switching to biden over gaza.

    Those numbers are brutal for democrats, and getting worse. More obvious genocide from the israelis and feeble lies from biden isn't going to reverse that trend.

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    State Department official resigns after Biden administration says Israel not blocking Gaza aid
  • I personally don't think that fear of assassination is what's driving biden and the democrats policy on this.

    Given that netanyahu and gvir were almost certainly involved in killing yitzhak rabin I'm sure they're capable, I just think the risk/reward is off. They can affect US policy without the risks inherent in killing an allied head of state.

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    State Department official resigns after Biden administration says Israel not blocking Gaza aid
  • I didn't downvote. I don't see you having any down votes. I don't disagree with you, I just don't feel that your comment addressed the specific point I was making.

    I don't disagree that states are devoid of any ethical capabilities, but they're not cartoon supervillains. When states are cruel, it's for specific reasons to achieve specific aims.

    I don't understand what the democrats think they are getting or avoiding with this. To me it looks lose/lose for them.

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    State Department official resigns after Biden administration says Israel not blocking Gaza aid
  • States just aren't moral entities - there's no reasonable moral ground for most anything an imperial power does. It's almost always just about securing more power.

    But I don't understand how this makes sense for the democrats from even a realpolitik perspective.

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  • pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov The Genetic Origin of the Indo-Europeans - PubMed

    The Yamnaya archaeological complex appeared around 3300BCE across the steppes north of the Black and Caspian Seas, and by 3000BCE reached its maximal extent from Hungary in the west to Kazakhstan in the east. To localize the ancestral and geographical origins of the Yamnaya among the diverse Eneolit...

    The Yamnaya archaeological complex appeared around 3300BCE across the steppes north of the Black and Caspian Seas, and by 3000BCE reached its maximal extent from Hungary in the west to Kazakhstan in the east. To localize the ancestral and geographical origins of the Yamnaya among the diverse Eneolithic people that preceded them, we studied ancient DNA data from 428 individuals of which 299 are reported for the first time, demonstrating three previously unknown Eneolithic genetic clines.

    First, a "Caucasus-Lower Volga" (CLV) Cline suffused with Caucasus hunter-gatherer (CHG) ancestry extended between a Caucasus Neolithic southern end in Neolithic Armenia, and a steppe northern end in Berezhnovka in the Lower Volga. Bidirectional gene flow across the CLV cline created admixed intermediate populations in both the north Caucasus, such as the Maikop people, and on the steppe, such as those at the site of Remontnoye north of the Manych depression. CLV people also helped form two major riverine clines by admixing with distinct groups of European hunter-gatherers. A "Volga Cline" was formed as Lower Volga people mixed with upriver populations that had more Eastern hunter-gatherer (EHG) ancestry, creating genetically hyper-variable populations as at Khvalynsk in the Middle Volga. A "Dnipro Cline" was formed as CLV people bearing both Caucasus Neolithic and Lower Volga ancestry moved west and acquired Ukraine Neolithic hunter-gatherer (UNHG) ancestry to establish the population of the Serednii Stih culture from which the direct ancestors of the Yamnaya themselves were formed around 4000BCE. This population grew rapidly after 3750-3350BCE, precipitating the expansion of people of the Yamnaya culture who totally displaced previous groups on the Volga and further east, while admixing with more sedentary groups in the west. CLV cline people with Lower Volga ancestry contributed four fifths of the ancestry of the Yamnaya, but also, entering Anatolia from the east, contributed at least a tenth of the ancestry of Bronze Age Central Anatolians, where the Hittite language, related to the Indo-European languages spread by the Yamnaya, was spoken.

    \\We thus propose that the final unity of the speakers of the "Proto-Indo-Anatolian" ancestral language of both Anatolian and Indo-European languages can be traced to CLV cline people sometime between 4400-4000 BCE. \\

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    Could blocked magazines no longer appear in Random Post and Random Thread sidebars?

    A lot of the larger abandoned magazines are just spam pools now. I don't see their posts in my feed, but I don't like that the two sidesbars of random posts and threads are now just spam advertising sidebars. I triedblocking the magazines, but doesn't that prevent the posts from showing in those sidebars.

    Now don't get me wrong, I love it when m/infosec advertises voodoo curses and revenge spells, but after the first time the joke wears thin, you know?

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    I love all the ritualized behaviour, secret meanings and unexpected taboos - standing up when someone of higher status stands, elaborate rules for serving and eating, tapping the table to thank the server, never refuse a toast from a superior, stuff like that.

    Whether it's about meals or anything else, I'd love to hear about any uncommon politeness standard or similar social behaviour that goes on in your location, culture or restaurant!

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    www.delawareonline.com NCCo police officer justified in use of force that left 22-year-old dead, DOJ says

    The Delaware Department of Justice released its investigation more than a year after the fatal shooting.

    An undercover police officer arranged to buy 2 magic mushroom chocolate bars over Instagram then opened fire within seconds, killing the driver and injuring the passenger for selling $100 worth of antidepressants. Perfectly justified.

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    Interpret improvements as you like. For me it's any large scale reforms or legislative packages designed to improve the country for all or see to the material interests of the majority without overly benefiting the elite.

    Any big consumer protection, environmental, infrastructure, or other legislation from Clinton onwards that materially improved the lives of all?

    Obamacare and the medicaid expansion comes to my mind. It has obviously improved people's lives but considering how broken the healthcare system remains, and that it was written by the insurance industry to undermine single-payer, it seems to me a mitigated win at best.

    Gay marriage and marijuana legalisation but that was the courts and the states although i'm sure the federal government could've stood in the way had they chosen to.

    I've only live here since the 2010s so that's all I can think of.

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