really fun to get a masters degree, apply for 5 jobs, get rejected by 3 of them within a week, and now i get 10 spam phone calls a day because they sold my data
I recently found this note to myself:
No sense in thinking small. Don't water down your vision. A remarkable amount can be accomplished if you are willing to think longer term than most and work hard each day.
The United Emirates has become the most interventionist country on the planet.
No other country has had such an interventionist foreign policy as the Emirates.
In the last 10 years, they’ve conducted nearly one external military operation per year, highlighting a relationship with opposition groups, sometimes in power.
Hundreds of millions have been spent not only on direct interventions but also on the EDGE Group, the country's largest arms industry.
Where have the Emirates been involved in recent years?
Yemen: 2015-2025; Saudi-led coalition with up to 6,000 troops at the peak (2015-2017), drones and bases in Aden, Socotra, and Perim; withdrawal in 2019, but 1,000 troops remain for naval operations against the Houthis; 120 logistical flights annually.
Sudan: 2023-2025; support to the RSF with U.S. $1 billion in arms, 20 drones, and 500 mercenaries (including Colombians); 50 cargo flights through Chad, equipping 20,000 combatants in the civil conflict.
Libya: 2014-2020 (peak 2016-2019); 2,000 mercenaries and 20 drones for Haftar; bases in Al-Jufra and Tobruk with U.S. $500 million in munitions and 300 airstrikes; reduced after the 2020 ceasefire.
Eritrea: 2015-2021; leased base in Assab for U.S. $1 billion, with 2,000 troops and 10 ships for logistics in Yemen/Tigray; 50 support missions; partially closed in 2021.
Somalia (including Somaliland/Puntland): 2012-2025; 3 bases (Berbera, Bosaso, Kismayo) with 1,200 troops; training of 10,000 locals against Al-Shabaab; U.S. $400 million in equipment and 20 logistical flights in 2024.
Ethiopia: 2020-2022 (ties until 2025); U.S. $300 million in weapons, 10 drones, and 120 cargo flights (1,000 tons); training of 5,000 members of the Prime Minister’s Guard; 1,000 advisors at the peak during the Tigray war.
Chad: 2021-2025; base in Amdjarass with 400 troops and 5 aircraft; U.S. $200 million in equipment for 3,000 anti-terror troops in the Sahel; 30 missions to Sudan.
Mozambique: 2021-2023; 1,000 mercenaries and training for 2,000 forces in Cabo Delgado; U.S. $100 million in helicopters and 50 air missions; reduced after SADC involvement.
Gaza (indirect): 2023-2025; 500 mercenaries (Yemeni/Sudanese) for intelligence/logistics supporting Israel; U.S. $50 million in funding and drones; escalation with 200 Africans in 2024.
These interventions never stop and resemble the policies of some regional states during past decades.
In recent years, the country has injected resources, and the EDGE Group has acquired numerous stakes in arms companies across various countries, sending a message that the militarization policy will persist.
Currently, the Emirates have about 10 bases abroad and close to 5,000 troops.
Il y a dans l’histoire des périodes où la raison se tait et où prospèrent les passions et les émotions. La peur et la haine réveillent les pires instincts. La modération et la retenue sont vues comme des faiblesses. Les faits n’ont plus d’importance. Nous y sommes.
Why France's decision to recognize a Palestinian state in September 2025 at the UN General Assembly, isn't "rewarding terrorism\Hamas"?
1. France is actually REWARDING MODERATION by recognizing the Palestinian Authority, which has:
• Condemned the October 7 Hamas attacks.
• Called for immediate release of all hostages.
• Advocated for Hamas to be disarmed and removed from Gaza.
• Actively cooperated with Israeli security forces in the West Bank.
2. Palestinians have the same fundamental right to self-determination as any other people. This right doesn't disappear because of the acts of militant groups.
3. 147 countries (76% of UN members) already recognize Palestine - this isn't mob mentality, but the aggregate assessment of sovereign states applying international legal principles. The burden of proof lies on the minority claiming that three-quarters of the world's governments are wrong about basic questions of statehood and self-determination.
4. The "rewarding terrorism" standard is selectively applied. When Israel was recognized in 1948, two of its founding military organizations - the Irgun and Lehi (Stern Gang) - had been officially designated as terrorist organizations by the UN, Britain, and the US for attacks like the King David Hotel bombing. Yet Israel's recognition wasn't considered "rewarding terrorism" because states are judged by their governing institutions, not by all groups within their territories.
5. Netanyahu has refused to ever recognize a Palestinian state and publicly boasted of "preventing Palestinian statehood for decades." This is despite the Palestinian Authority officially recognizing Israel's right to exist since 1993. Palestinians are expected to condemn terrorism (which they should, and did), cooperate on security, pursue peace, AND recognize Israel - yet Israel's own Prime Minister still permanently rejects their right to exist regardless of what they do.
6. Netanyahu's government directly facilitated $30 million monthly payments from Qatar to Hamas from 2018-2023, despite intelligence warnings that Hamas was diverting funds to its military wing. Those who literally funded Hamas have no credibility lecturing about "rewarding terrorism." Not to mention, building more and more illegal settlments in the West Bank while groups of Israeli settlers attack civilian Palestinians almost on a daily basis.
the fastest way to kill motivation is to make your identity depend on the outcome. it’s called ego involvement. when failing becomes failing as a person, your brain starts avoiding the whole thing. not because you don’t care, but because you care too much.
Iran has agreed to a ceasefire with a country it doesn’t recognize, and a country it doesn’t talk to directly, through mediation by a country it just bombed!