Peter Potts

Just a simple film editor who wants to make the world happy.

[Sony Thăng @nxt888]

Ashura happens every year.

Millions of people in black, in the streets, publicly mourning a death that happened fourteen centuries ago.

Western analysts look at this and see irrationality. Backwardness. The unproductive management of historical grief.

They are missing the function.

Ashura is not primarly about the past.

It is a yearly rehearsal of a moral framework.

A yearly renewal of the understanding that standing against unjust power, even when you will lose, even when the outcome is death, is not defeat but testimony.

Shaheed, martyr, does not simply mean someone who died.

It means witness.

Someone whose death is itself a form of speech that cannot be silenced.

A civilization that practices this framework annually, that embeds it in the bodies of its people through ritual and grief and solidarity, is building something the sanctions spreadsheet cannot model.

It is building a population for whom sacrifice has been pre-interpreted.

For whom the meaning of loss has already been decided before the loss occurs.

That is not a military capability.

It is something that military capability cannot defeat.

[DaHalalCockney 🍉🔻⚒️ @RizDaBiz1]

Beloved Palestinian academic, teacher & poet Refaat Alareer's (@GazaWritesBack) last poem before he was murdered by Israel was about the kids in Gaza playing with Kites.

Today Israel killed a 4 y.o kid for doing just that!

Brian Cox reads below Refaat's poem," If I Must Die"

[Drop Site @DropSiteNews]

🔸 Palestinian boy destroys his kites, fearing they’ll bring Israeli bombs

Muhammad Ahmad al-Mufti, a boy in Gaza whose father was earlier killed by Israeli forces while seeking aid, tore apart the paper kites he had made himself, after hearing Israeli Defense Minister Katz might strike over the kites, Gaza Relief Committee’s Eyad Amawi told Drop Site.

Furious and in tears, he mocked the Israeli leaders he blamed as he destroyed them. “So that Netanyahu is satisfied,” he said. “So that Katz is satisfied. So that Trump is satisfied.”

Minister Katz threatened a “forceful” response to Palestinian kites landing in areas across the border, and said Israel would treat them the same as drones.

“They want to deprive us of the thing we love,” al-Mufti said, breaking down. “I swear my heart is breaking.”

[Jeremy Corbyn @jeremycorbyn]

Israel has said that paper kites flown by Palestinian children will be treated as weapons of war.

Read that again.

This is the reality of genocide: the total destruction of innocence, freedom and joy.

End all military cooperation with Israel, now.

[Sunny Singh @ProfSunnySingh]

Why Palestinian kites terrify Israel:

[dave lawrence 🐟🐟🐠 @dave43law]

As Suella attacks multiculturism, immigration, DEI, education and anything that moves remember

- her parents immigrated to Britain in the 1960s from Mauritius and Kenya respectively
- Her mother, of Hindu Tamil Mauritian descent
- Her father, of Goan Catholic ancestry
- lived in France for two years, as an Erasmus Programme student and then as an Entente Cordiale Scholar, where she studied for a master's degree in European and French law at Panthéon-Sorbonne University.
- founded the Africa Justice Foundation in 2010 alongside barristers Cherie Booth and Philip Riches
- Braverman was designated as a minister on leave while pregnant on 2 March 2021,[52] shortly after the Ministerial and other Maternity Allowances Act 2021 was enacted to allow this arrangement.
- In June 2023, while serving as Home Secretary, Braverman described the relocation of 21,000 people to the UK under the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP), and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) as "a good track record".
- Husband - "very proud member of the Jewish community". Rael Braverman, moved to the UK as a teenager from South Africa, formerly lived in Israel.
- She took her oath of allegiance as an MP on the Buddhist Dhammapada.
- At the 2022 Asian Achievers Awards, Braverman was named as the first ever recipient the organisation's inaugural Queen Elizabeth II Woman Of The Year Award.

So she literally represents everything that she stands against........

[BonkDaCarnivore @BonkDaCarnivore]

When Canada walked away from the negotiating table with USA on the trade deals, I was a little surprised. When Pierre Poilievre and Doug Ford - 2 people who never agree with Mark Carney on ANYTHING - came out and vocally backed Carney on this, it got my attention. How bad could the deal be to where THOSE TWO would vocally back Carney?

I'm about to tell you.

If you ever see a midwit talking about how Canada should have taken the trade "deal" ( @DavidPollackUSA, someone nobody has ever accused of being intelligent, seems to be especially on this kick of late), here are some of the details of the terms of what the US demanded - which essentially amounted to making Canada a subservient nation-state instead of an independent country. And no, this isn't a joke - these were real demands.

-Canada would have to abandon speaking French in Quebec
-They would have had to follow the US in ANY TRADE WARS Trump started with any other nation
-They would have to open their borders to allow US tech companies to start putting datacenters all over their country
-They would have given the US VETO AUTHORITY over any other trade deal Canada wanted with any other country
-They would have required Canada to voluntarily bankrupt all of its dairy farmers by allowing US dairty to proliferate into Canada unfiltered
-They would have had to agree to standardize their fertilizer and pesticide standards to what the US does (Canada's regulations are more stringent, so they would have had to accept our pesticides that cause cancer)
-They would have had to surrender their sovereignty with regards to their minerals

And these are just a few of the highlights.

Trump's "deal" was essentially to strip Canada of its sovereignty. No wonder they walked away.

[Helen Black @HambergBlack]

The Palestinian steadfastness, determination and knowledge are admirable - it should be an inspiration to the rest of the world.
https://t.co/yb41Hd6Zsv

[Marwa Osman || مروة عثمان @Marwa__Osman]

Israel has apparently given the so-called "Board of Peace" three days to stop the paper kites coming out of Gaza or else it will unleash a massive air aggression on the Strip.

And honestly, what more is there to say?

You don't need a 20-post thread for this one. The headline is the entire dystopian joke.

A nuclear-armed entity, armed to the teeth and claiming regional military supremacy, terrorizing, bombing multiple states, genociding the population of one state while ethnically cleansing the population of another state, is threatening another devastating attack because children in Gaza are flying paper kites.

Children living amid rubble.
Children with barely any electricity, food, water or normal childhood left.

And somehow, the paper kite is the threat that requires an ultimatum.

Let that sink in. Not a missile. Not a fighter jet. Not an army.

A piece of paper. A string. And a child.

If this does not capture the sheer absurdity of the reality Palestinians are being forced to live through, I don not know what does.

[Shaiel Ben-Ephraim @academic_la]

The Israeli education system is utterly collapsing. That is one of the main reasons for the move of the country towards complete genocidal theocratic barbarity. The numbers are stark:

1) Only 3% of ninth-graders tested in science in 2025 reached the ministry's own curriculum-compliance threshold. 54% failed the test outright. English in ninth grade, published about two weeks earlier: roughly 20% of students met the standard the ministry expects. The Education Ministry cancelled the publication of the numbers.

2) Teachers are not qualified to teach. In elementary school, only 25.4% of Hebrew teachers, 37.0% of mathematics teachers have a matching academic or training background. In junior high and high school the numbers are between 65%-75%. In many cases, the least qualified teachers are the ones with the most longevity.

3) The teachers are becoming less and less qualified: the share holding a first degree from a university fell from 38.6% in 2011 to 32.1% in 2020. By subject, to 2022: language teachers with a university degree fell from 55.1% to 41.7%, mathematics from 37.3% to 31.2%, English from 41.5% to 35.3% and now the numbers are no longer being published but are reportedly getting worse annually.

4) There is a shortage of 30,871 qualified teachers, leading to overcrowding in classrooms and decreased academic achievement.

5) This is starting to show mong adults. 38% of Israeli adults aged 25 to 64 sit at the lowest level of reading literacy, against an OECD average of 27%, placing Israel fifth from the bottom among developed countries.

6) 420,000 students studied in Haredi education, elementary and post-elementary, many of whom either do not study core subjects like English and math at all, or do so very partially. They are now 27% of students in Hebrew education and 21% of all students in Israel. By 2050 their numbers are set to increase 211%.

The next generations of Israelis will be illiterate, uneducated and as a result, increasingly racist and religiously fanatic. This is partially a matter of policy and partially a matter of demography. Everything you are seeing going wrong with Israel today will only get worse. Much worse.

[Dr Mahathir Mohamad @chedetofficial]

𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗦

1. I wanted to comment on what is happening in Malaysia and the world today.

2. But I find it very difficult.

3. There are too many strange things happening. And mostly they are not good for mankind.

4. Firstly, there are two unnecessary wars. But tens of thousands of people are being killed nevertheless. The deaths, the wounded, the losses of property, the losses are enormous. And no one does anything. There is nothing gained.

5. Then we have an elected leader of a country being arrested by another country.

6. Then we have assassinations of leaders not at war with the assassin country.

7. Then suddenly a country is attacked and the leader killed. That started a war. Now the aggressive country bomb and rocket that country. That country bomb and rocket the bases of the aggressor in several countries.

8. The reason for the bombing and rocketing is because these are the bases from which attacks are carried out.

9. Then Israel occupies a part of another country. Then claim this country was harbouring terrorists.

10. And many more incidents needing to be commented upon.

11. The world is in a state of turmoil.

12. Governments cannot function. The people challenge the authorities with street demonstrations by hundreds of thousands and even millions.

13. Then there are countries striving to become democratic. Civil wars break out. The countries became unstable.

14. The war-genocide of Gaza by Israel continues. Even during the ceasefire, the Israelis bomb and rocket Gaza. By now 73,000 Gazans have been killed.

15. The whole city of Gaza has been reduced to rubble. But the Gazans still try to live a normal life.

16. They actually organised sports events such as the marathon, football, karate classes. They change their occupation, becoming stall-holders and opening shops.

17. There is a war between Ukraine and Russia – a silly war as Ukraine cannot defeat Russia. But thousands die, whole cities destroyed.

18. At home it is no better. There are many court cases. Funny judgements are made. People committing small crimes are punished. Those stealing millions are freed and appointed to high posts.

19. Funny leaders lead many countries. They also make funny decisions.

20. And so, it goes on. Endless events happen. Nobody seems to care.

DR MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
24 August 2026

[Alex Boge @alexboge]

FLAT EARTHERS - YOU HAVE AN APPOINTMENT WITH REALITY THIS WEEK.

Late August 27 into early August 28, a deep partial lunar eclipse will be visible across the Americas and parts of Europe and Africa.

At maximum, 96.3% of the Moon will be inside Earth’s dark shadow.

Go outside and watch it happen.

Watch Earth’s shadow move across the Moon. Watch the unmistakably curved edge of that shadow sweep across its surface.

Then try to explain it with your flat-Earth model.

A lunar eclipse occurs because the Sun, Earth and Moon align with Earth between the Sun and Moon, causing Earth to cast its shadow onto the Moon.

Your usual flat-Earth model has the Sun and Moon circling above a flat disk. Earth cannot get between them. It cannot cast the observed shadow onto the Moon. Yet the globe model predicts exactly when the eclipse will begin, exactly when it will peak, exactly how deeply the Moon will enter Earth’s shadow, and where on Earth it will be visible.

And then there’s that curved shadow.

More than 2,300 years ago, Aristotle specifically cited the consistently curved shadow of Earth during lunar eclipses as observational evidence that Earth is spherical.

Think about that.

People looking at the sky in 350 BC were capable of understanding what you’re about to watch with your own eyes in 2026.

No satellites required.
No NASA required.
No CGI required.
No government required.

Just you, the Moon, Earth’s shadow, and geometry.

At some point, continuing to insist the Earth is flat stops looking like skepticism and becomes a bright, shiny public display of willful ignorance.

August 27-28. Go outside. Look up.

The ancient Greeks figured this out.

What’s your excuse?

[Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan]

Will Jewish communities be asked to condemn these extreme statements from the Chief Rabbi of the self-proclaimed Jewish state, in the same way that Muslim communities for 25 years have been asked to condemn extreme statements from every random imam anywhere in the world?

[Marc Landers @marclanders]

"Australia’s medical cannabis industry imported a record amount of products in 2025"

"...reaching a total of over 81 tonnes"

"In addition to the imported medical cannabis, over 55 tonnes of medical cannabis was produced domestically in Australia."

But according to cannabis prohibitionists, cannabis has no medical value. 😎
https://t.co/MNJRN9TlhT

[The Shallow State @OurShallowState]

I wanted to use Trump's threat to levy 50% tariffs on Canada and Canada's in-his-face response to discuss the underlying behavioral reasons for Trump being so fixated on tariffs.
Trump has no strategy or depth. He has cravings. And two of the cornerstone cravings for Trump, especially now that he's playing out his final chapter on Earth, are greed and grandiosity. These two things, which interrelate, underly almost everything - he is a giant id.
He wants awards, he wants things named after him, he wants oil from this country and a piece of this company and $10B here and billions more there, and all of that is but a subset of what he really wants, which is the knowledge, belief, and portrayal that he can do whatever the f*ck he wants - the ultimate grandiosity.
The legacy media always tries to understand Trump's stubborn fixations by normalizing him and asking: "What's he thinking?" Allow me AGAIN: Trump doesn't think; HE FEELS. He lusts. He craves.
And he likes how tariffs make him feel, because he can be a bully, impose his will, make and remove threats, and cause countries to do his bidding and pay him tribute arbitrarily. THEY FUEL HIS GRANDIOSITY.
How much more American consumers, businesses, and importers pay, is immaterial. None of that matters to Trump. Prices don't matter. Inflation doesn't matter. People don't matter. America doesn't matter.
Bullying, imposing his will, being the center of attention, and threatening others, is the essence of what a malignant narcissist does. Carney knows that and realizes that this is where America is at present.
It's like America didn't even elect a person. It elected a thing, a parasite, a pathology.

[Liz Webster @LizWebsterSBF]

🚨 Ten years after Brexit referendum, the House of Commons Library has assessed the evidence in advance of a Westminster Hall debate on Wednesday 2 September led by @PeteWishart

Its conclusion?

There is a broad consensus among economists that Brexit has made the UK economy smaller than it otherwise would have been.

Estimates of the GDP loss: 2–8%.

OBR long-term assumption: 4%.

Expected hit to UK trade: 15%.

Meanwhile EU net migration fell below zero but non-EU migration surged, peaking above 1 million.

We sacrificed freedom of movement, erected barriers with our largest market and made ourselves poorer.

And overall migration went UP.

Ten years of evidence.

How much more evidence do we need before Britain changes course?

[Christopher Hale @ChristopherHale]

A Michigan Catholic deacon stands up for Muslims in Dearborn after a Christian nationalist rally called for their removal from the country:

“To the men and women protesting in the name of Jesus, hurling hate at our Muslim brothers and sisters — not in his name, and certainly not on my watch.

“I count many Muslims as my friends, my neighbors, my associates, and yes, my barber. Men and women of integrity, of family, and of faith. We may not be brothers in faith, but we are certainly and absolutely brothers and sisters in humanity.

“And freedom of religion is not a footnote to being an American. It is a cornerstone. The same First Amendment that protects my right to go to Mass protects your right to the mosque.

“It grieves me that in the name of Jesus, the Prince of Peace is being used as a weapon to spread fear, intolerance, and hate. That is not the gospel. That is not the cross. And that certainly is not of Christ.

“So let me be clear. In the name of Jesus Christ, I rebuke this spirit of hatred and division. Scripture does not leave us confused about this. We are called to rebuke evil, and tonight, this is evil — using the name of the Savior who dined with outcasts to cast out our neighbors, good people.*

“John tells us exactly how Christians should be known: by this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another — and your neighbor.

“He makes it even plainer: if anyone says “I love God” and hates his brother, he is a liar.

“So no. You do not speak for me. You do not speak for my church. And you do not speak for Christ when you chant hate at people of God, no matter the faith.

“To my Muslim friends in this room and in this city: you are welcome here. You belong here. Your freedom to worship is my freedom to worship, and I will stand for it because my faith demands it.

“We can disagree — and we probably will — on theology, and still defend each other’s dignity. That’s not weakness. That’s Christianity. That is American.”

[Valy 🎩🎭 @liderfiscal]

#URGENTE ¿Recuerdas cuando salieron los Papeles de Panamá, revelando que todos los ricos del mundo forman parte de una enorme red criminal para evadir impuestos y acaparar riqueza robada en cuentas offshore, y el periodista que lo reportó fue asesinado con una bomba en un coche, y nadie fue responsabilizado, y literalmente no pasó nada?.

¿Recuerdas que hay 3 millones de archivos de evidencia documentada sobre hombres y mujeres poderosos que violaron, canibalizaron, traficaron, filmaron, aterrorizaron, torturaron, cazaron y asesinaron a niños de 13, 14, 15 años, y nadie fue responsabilizado, y literalmente no pasó nada?.

¿Recuerdas que Estados Unidos literalmente secuestró a un presidente en funciones de un país extranjero y a su esposa y han estado simplemente sentados en la cárcel durante los últimos 6 meses, y nadie fue responsabilizado, y literalmente no pasó nada?.

¿Recuerdas que hay dos genocidios —uno en Gaza y el otro en Líbano— y que hay órdenes de arresto por crímenes de guerra y crímenes contra la humanidad, y nadie fue responsabilizado, y literalmente no pasó nada?.

Esto es lo que va a pasar —y seguirá pasando— si no nos unimos para hacer cumplir el derecho internacional.
#TrumpIsOnTheEpsteinList

[Bob 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇪🇺 Living in occupied Scotland @asimov200]

I think Caitlin speaks for most of us.