VernAfterReading

Recovering Former Tech Bro | STEM, Space, Old Time Music | Dad |

[VernAfterReading @vimrich]

In response to some worried about what happens when the protests wane. This is where I am.

[Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat Bu. No. 70222 @MaxQHellcat]

Democrats can't vote in republican primaries.

[kumikumi (Ankkala) @ankkala]

What's crazy is that music like this could have been played for centuries, just no-one thought to do it. What else are we missing?

[Patrick J. Wolf @PatWolf]

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s Friday

[VernAfterReading @vimrich]

@MassJumbo Why does the headline say "Repeal firearm regulations"? The question was "Do you approve..." the regulations. The headline makes it seem like YES was a vote to repeal. Odd.

[Arnab Datta @ArnabDatta321]

Me and my homies watching returns

[Joshin and Jokien @joshcarlosjosh]

CNN PROJECTING SAMWISE GAMGEE WILL SERVE ANOTHER TERM AS MAYOR OF THE SHIRE

[Adam Schwarz @AdamJSchwarz]

Vibes in America tonight.

[Covie @covie_93]

Pete Hegseth wanted people to watch a public execution, well they're seeing it tonight.

[Jennifer Shahade @JenShahade]

Hi

[George Conway ⚖️🇺🇸 @gtconway3d]

i just want to live in a normal country again

[Headquarters @HQNewsNow]

Hundreds of Minnesotans are leaving their "I voted" stickers at the site where Alex Pretti was murdered by ICE agents.

[lisatomic @lisatomic5]

Darmok is, entirely unironically, the greatest sci-fi story of all time

[Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias]

Jean-Luc Picard remains the single most compelling vision of progressive politics I am familiar with — secular, rational, compassionate, egalitarian; a believer in progress & abundance but also duty, hard work, and a constant battle for self-improvement and improving the world.

[Erick Erickson @EWErickson]

Political whores always think principled stands, even against white nationalism, racism, antisemitism, Holocaust denial, and their enablers is whoring out to the other side. @TimMurtaugh will keep getting paid to advance whoever pays him and champion a tribe, no matter its excesses.

In 2016, I opposed Trump. My daughter was given a guide to commit suicide by her classmates. My son was beaten up on the playground. My wife told her Bible Study she had stage 4 lung cancer and a woman told her she'd pray, but wanted to beat me up. We had 3 men show up at our home to threaten us. My family had to have security.

I wasn't doing it for praise then. I'm not doing it for praise now. I'm doing it because the right, like the left, has festering racism and antisemitism rising; Mike Collins has surrounded himself with white nationalists, Holocaust deniers, antisemites, and men who abuse both dogs and women. He has defended them, sheltered them, and employed them repeatedly. And I will not vote to send them to Congress anymore than I'd vote to send communists to Congress.

But Tim will support the guy with the "R" next to his name because Tim is a political whore who will attack conviction as an exercise in praise all while continuing to support awful candidates who keep making the country worse.

[VernAfterReading @vimrich]

@classic_film 14 - Invasion of the Body Snatchers?

[cinesthetic. @TheCinesthetic]

EXCALIBUR (1981) is a masterpiece.

[Garry Kasparov @Kasparov63]

I’ll take a shot at answering one of these good questions. These poor young people are not dying for "no reason". They’re dying because Vladimir Putin's Russia invaded Ukraine and Ukrainians don’t want to be murdered. I hope this helps.

[(((Tendar))) @Tendar]

The recent Starlink / Starshield incident in Ukraine has created a dangerous precedence for the US export industry, many haven't yet grasped. The sudden deactivation respectively curtailing of those systems without warning not only cost precious lives, but also equipment worth millions.

Though the blame game between the White House (Trump) and SpaceX (Musk) is going on, ultimately it doesn't matter. It showed the world that the USA are not a reliable partner any more. Pointing at some obscure "violation of terms of services" without providing the exact passage are just increasing that notion that this was a political move.

The explanation that Starlink must not be used for "offensive" means is nonsense, too. Starlink has never been turned on over Russia, and using it in Ukraine is by definition defensive in nature. You can even argue that hitting Russian targets in Russia is defensive, since you don't have to wait for an attack to be conducted. Even the intention is enough to warrant action and to eliminate the threat at the source. But this is a different topic.

Furthermore, SpaceX has been fully aware that its Starlink terminals are being used by Ukrainian forces. Especially when considering that Ukraine only recently had to white-list their Starlink terminals for the Ukrainian military so that Russian forces, who have been abundantly using Starlink as well, were locked out. It has always been clear that those Starlink terminals are used for and by the Ukrainian military, and Ukraine has always been thankful for that.

Coming up with this bogus story, now, three weeks before midterms is therefore as transparent as it is shameless. It is obvious for everyone that this was just figleaf statement so that a political agenda can be pushed, an agenda which runs counter to the strategic nationalist interests of the USA, both political and economic.

And this is the real scandal. It is not new that the US had to lock out its technology or supplies to nations with which it had previously good and even cordial relation. Iran under the Shah, South-Vietnam and Cuba before Castro are just three to name it. But as you can see from them, it made perfectly sense back then. Those nations switched sides or disappeared altogether.

Ukraine on the other hand didn't switch sides and even helped the US in the most recent and botched Iran war, despite being short on ammunition itself. The Ukrainian government accepted every possible compromise and offered an unconditional ceasefire from the start. Russia on the hand refused all of it and is demanding surrender. Yet, it gets this treatment? Unbelievable.

This will be noted by all clients around the globe who purchase US weapons and technology. If agreements are not honored and can unilaterally and even clandestinely be altered based on the whims of a few, who only follow their own motives or election lies, then the all concept reliability falls apart.

Whether it is Starlink, the F-35, Tomahawk missiles or HIMARS. All those systems run on software and in many cases can only properly operate with recent updates. You don't even need have a kill switch. You can only refuse to update and many of those systems lose more than 90% of their effectiveness within a short period, making worthless.

This is why we see the blame game between Musk and Trump. I'm sure that people around those guys told them how absolutely shortsighted and stupid this step was. It will fall back on the entire US industry. Not even those two guys are worth that losses and backlash. A functional US Congress would immediately start subpoenas and hearings, asking questions in order to mitigate the damage, but here we are.

Trump and Musk have given the best reason why not to buy American. Customers - governmental and private alike - around the globe will take note of this and act accordingly, and I wouldn't be surprised if this won't be limited to US military products only. An absolutely senseless and avoidable own goal.

[Dunder Mifflin @DunderMifflinAS]

I’m genuinely addicted to the Japanese dub of The Office