McMaxxerson 🕊☘️

Here to share information & engage in productive discussions. Politically independent. End the wars/the Fed/cronyism & protect our environment.

[McMaxxerson 🕊☘️ @mcmaxxerson]

@JoshuaPotash I think some global elites are trying hard to make the majority of the population so desperate that we will gladly accept whatever dystopian neo-feudalist nightmare they’ve been dreaming up in their ample free time, but I’m an optimist!

[#gaybaristapaul @PaulSorrentino3]

nuclear war is bad

[𝙂𝙐𝙈𝘽𝙔 @gumby4christ]

The new defense bill, which just narrowly passed the House, once again ups the budget for "biological threat reduction," the US military's plausibly deniable bio-weapons program. This time, by about $3M. Last year, BTR funding was nearly doubled from the previous year.

[Antiwar.com @Antiwarcom]

House Votes Down Amendment To Block Cluster Bomb Shipments To Ukraine
The amendment failed in a vote of of 147-276
by Dave DeCamp
@DecampDave
https://t.co/fAdc8iD6sd

[McMaxxerson 🕊☘️ @mcmaxxerson]

I guess @RepDerekKilmer likes the idea blowing up little Ukrainian kiddies for decades to come?

[Antiwar.com @Antiwarcom]

House Votes Down Amendment To Block Cluster Bomb Shipments To Ukraine
The amendment failed in a vote of of 147-276
by Dave DeCamp
@DecampDave
https://t.co/fAdc8iD6sd

[McMaxxerson 🕊☘️ @mcmaxxerson]

“…Environmental groups…use lobbyists employed by the fossil-fuel industry. The Environmental Defense Fund shares lobbyists with ExxonMobil, Calpine & Duke Energy… lobbyist for the Natural Resources Defense Council Action Fund also works on behalf of the mining company BHP…”

[Timmons Roberts @TimmonsRoberts]

‘Double agents’: fossil-fuel lobbyists work for US groups trying to fight climate crisis

"More than 150 universities have ties to lobbyists who also push the interests of fossil fuel companies..include .. that have vowed to divest from fossil fuels"

https://t.co/09wjpSpJSJ

[Timmons Roberts @TimmonsRoberts]

‘Double agents’: fossil-fuel lobbyists work for US groups trying to fight climate crisis

"More than 150 universities have ties to lobbyists who also push the interests of fossil fuel companies..include .. that have vowed to divest from fossil fuels"

https://t.co/09wjpSpJSJ

[Anthony LaMesa @ajlamesa]

"Of the $1.2 trillion in federal aid disbursed on an emergency basis to small businesses during the pandemic, at least $200 billion — or 17% — may have gone to scammers."
https://t.co/EILPswty7f

[More Perfect Union @MorePerfectUS]

Delaware is getting national attention over a bill to let LLCs vote in a city's elections.

But we heard that there was more going on, so we took a look.

It turns out LLCs can already vote in at least 17 Delaware towns—and this bill may even allow churches to vote.

Thread.

[A Devoted Yogi @ADevotedYogi]

Is anyone not surprised? Roundup users may develop cancer, including non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma https://t.co/lOjOvcPzOE

[McMaxxerson 🕊☘️ @mcmaxxerson]

@nashville_brook ICYMI, the FBI posted some oddly redacted e-mails in response to Ty Clevenger’s FOIA request last year: https://t.co/PZd0nKGzSl

[David Sacks @DavidSacks]

THE FAILING COUNTEROFFENSIVE AND THE PEACE THAT COULD HAVE BEEN

With each passing day, it’s becoming clear that the Ukrainian counteroffensive is failing to achieve any of its originally stated objectives. Recall: the Biden administration’s bet was that the counteroffensive would roll back Russian territorial gains, cut the land bridge to Crimea, and force Russia to the negotiating table. That is almost certainly not going to happen. On the contrary, a stalemate is more likely, or even that Russia will take more territory and win the war, as Mearsheimer has predicted.

What are Biden’s options now? Either escalate or admit defeat. In preparation for NATO’s Vilnius Summit, Blinken has been floating a proposal to give “Israel status” to Ukraine. This means multi-year security guarantees including weapons, ammunition and money that would continue even if Biden loses the next election.

This is not what the American people signed up for. Many Americans supported the $100+ billion in appropriations for Ukraine believing it was a one-time deal to reverse Russian territorial gains. If they had been told that it was the basis for an annual appropriation in a new Forever War, they would have preferred an alternative, especially if they had known that one was available.

THE PEACE THAT COULD HAVE BEEN

New evidence is emerging that a peace deal was achievable at the beginning of the war. At a recent meeting with the African delegation, Putin showed the draft of an outline or preliminary agreement signed by the Ukrainian delegation at Istanbul in April 2022. It provided that Russia would pull back to pre-war lines if Ukraine would agree not to join NATO (but Ukraine could receive security guarantees from the West).

This document has not been publicly released yet, but no one seriously contests that it exists. The only dispute is over what happened subsequently; Ukraine (via reporting in Reuters) contends the deal fell apart. However, the availability of a deal based on Ukrainian Neutrality is consistent with previous comments from Naftali Bennett, who said a deal was attainable but rejected by the West.

Why would the West do this? Ukrainska Pravda (UP), a pro-Ukraine publication, reported in May 2022:

“As soon as the Ukrainian negotiators and Abramovich/Medinsky [the Russian negotiators], following the outcome of Istanbul, had agreed on the structure of a future possible agreement in general terms, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson appeared in Kyiv almost without warning. "Johnson brought two simple messages to Kyiv. The first is that Putin is a war criminal; he should be pressured, not negotiated with. And the second is that even if Ukraine is ready to sign some agreements on guarantees with Putin, they are not. We can sign (an agreement) with you (Ukraine), but not with him. Anyway, he will screw everyone over", is how one of Zelenskyy's close associates summed up the essence of Johnson's visit.”
https://t.co/GjECgpCRDE

Johnson (who must have been speaking not just for himself but for the Western alliance) wanted to pressure Putin, not make peace, and promised new weapons systems if Ukraine would keep fighting.

At the time of UP’s article, Ukraine appeared to be doing well, so UP portrayed Zelensky’s decision to accept Johnson’s offer as a smart gamble. Now, in hindsight, it looks like a disaster.

AFGHANISTAN REDUX?

I know some of you may find it hard to believe that the realities on the ground are so at odds with the mainstream media's coverage. But it’s worth recalling that the American public was assured for two decades that we were winning in Afghanistan. All of that reporting was revealed as a pack of lies when the Afghan army that we were supposedly “standing up” collapsed within a matter of weeks. At that point, the media stopped reporting on Afghanistan, just like it had stopped reporting on Iraq, instead of holding anyone accountable.

Unfortunately, it looks like we're headed for a similar kind of outcome in Ukraine. The only question is when, and how long Biden will be able to perpetuate a proxy war of choice that could have easily been avoided.

[Lauren McKenzie @TheMcKenziest]

Because working at an office instead *won’t* do this to you

[Zlatti71 @Zlatti_71]

Training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighters already started - NATO Secretary General

▪️ "It is not known yet when exactly this decision (about the transfer of aircrafts) will be made. But it is already clear that training has begun and it allows us to provide them. Because pilots who can fly them will be ready," Jens Stoltenberg said.

▪️ The media had previously written that training may not begin until August.
https://t.co/k8J55daceu

[The Lever @LeverNews]

Major manufacturers 3M + DuPont spent a combined total of $3.8 million lobbying on chemical issues including PFAS regulation just last year.

3M is preparing to pay $10 billion to settle claims that it polluted public water systems, but the actual cleanup cost tops $400 billion.

[The Lever @LeverNews]

By 1980, employee surveys by DuPont and @3M found that pregnant workers were giving birth to babies with abnormalities.

While assuring workers that they had discovered “no evidence of birth defects,” the company quietly removed female employees from high-exposure areas.

[The Lever @LeverNews]

🧵 "Forever chemicals," which cause cancer and birth defects, are ubiquitous in our water, soil, and 97% of Americans' blood.

New documents reveal that PFAS manufacturers knew they were toxic 40 years before the public did — and worked to suppress their own research. 👇

[The G3 Group @G3GroupHQ]

Austin-Based Company Wants to Control the Rain Over Lake Travis

Rainwater Tech is hoping to bring weather controlling technology to the United States. The company has been using the tech in the Middle East and Australia for 10 years.

https://t.co/NDwKTksu5k #weathermanipulation

[páirtiseánach @faulagh]

@JackSpitz5 @MariaLaoise @jordanbpeterson It’s better than that ! https://t.co/gBm3M9B6DC

[The Denver Gazette @DenverGazette]

A quick look inside Casa Bonita: @CarolAMcKinley