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Germany’s Merz Is A Moron, But At Least He’s Got Some Guts

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Created
Tue, 25/02/2025 - 01:13
Germany’s Merz Is A Moron, But At Least He’s Got Some Guts

So, Merz is likely Germany’s next Chancellor. He’s said one good thing:

“My absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that, step by step, we can really achieve independence from the USA.

“After Donald Trump‘s statements, it is clear that the Americans, at least this part of the Americans, this administration, are largely indifferent to the fate of Europe.”

Excellent. The first step in recovery from being a slave, or vassal, is admitting the problem and deciding to stand up.

Three Years Of Heroism

https://digbysblog.net/2025/02/24/three-years-of-heroism/
Created
Tue, 25/02/2025 - 01:01
No wonder DJT hates Volodymyr Zelenskyy On the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (ICYMI: Ukraine did not start it, DJT.), coverage in The Washington Post and The New York Times spotlights U.S.-Ukraine relations and what Donald Trump’s fluffing of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin means for the world more than it addresses what Ukraine continues to suffer at Putin’s hands. CNN on this anniversary leads with the war’s impact on Ukraine itself: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday hailed Ukraine’s “absolute heroism” as he marked the third anniversary of Moscow’s full-scale invasion, and as European leaders began arriving in the capital Kyiv in a show of support for the embattled country. “Three years of resistance. Three years of gratitude. Three years of absolute heroism of Ukrainians. I am proud of Ukraine!” Zelensky wrote on X alongside a video showing scenes from the frontline and Ukrainian civilians supporting war efforts during the grinding conflict. “I thank everyone who defends and supports it. Everyone who works for Ukraine.

Two-Sentence Headlines Are Everywhere. Here’s Why You Should Be Concerned

https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/two-sentence-headlines-are-everywhere-heres…
Created
Tue, 25/02/2025 - 00:00

I’m here to sound the alarm about the greatest crisis of our time—and it has nothing to do with the usual suspects: climate change, AI taking our jobs, or something about TikTok. It’s the two-sentence headline. Yes, those insidious double declarations that now infest every opinion section, every analysis, every “think piece” about how modernity is falling apart (it is).

Now you might be wondering: Two sentences? Really? Isn’t that just efficiency? Why complain about a little clarity in an otherwise messy world? And to that, I say, “Exactly.” Journalism, at its core, was never meant to be tidy. It was meant to ramble, to overwhelm, to occasionally bury the lede so deep you’d need a headlamp to find it. The two-sentence headline is destroying that sacred chaos. Worse, it’s making us think in neatly packaged dichotomies, and if there’s one thing the human mind abhors more than nuance, it’s being spoon-fed the illusion of nuance.

The *&%$!#! Baseball Study

https://www.alfiekohn.org/blogs/baseball-study/
Created
Mon, 24/02/2025 - 23:49
February 24, 2025 The *&%$!#! Baseball Study Why Are Fans of Fact-Focused Teaching Still Citing a Small, Unconvincing Experiment from the ’80s? By Alfie Kohn Traditional education has more often been practiced by default than explicitly defended. For the last few years, however, we have witnessed a defensive, defiant embrace of instructional strategies that turn back the clock, notably a ... Read More

binos, 'nocs, and 'culars: three abbreviations for "binoculars" that allow you to reconstruct the original word

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Created
Mon, 24/02/2025 - 19:00
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Meet The New Deputy Director Of The FBI

https://digbysblog.net/2025/02/23/meet-the-new-deputy-director-of-the-fbi/
Created
Mon, 24/02/2025 - 17:00
This is what it’s come to. A right wing podcaster troll is now working at the highest levels of the FBI with virtually unfettered power under a similar right wing troll as his boss. He does have law enforcement experience as a NY police officer for four years and a secret service agent for nine. So there is that. But it’s his record as a right wing gadfly that really qualifies him for the job as Kash Patel’s deputy. As you can see above, he is uniquely suited to the job of wreaking revenge on MAGA enemies. It’s his raison d’etre. The job doesn’t require confirmation so I assume he’ll be starting right away.

So Much For Enforcement of Federal Gun Laws

https://digbysblog.net/2025/02/23/so-much-for-enforcement-of-federal-gun-laws/
Created
Mon, 24/02/2025 - 11:30
I think we knew that the feds under Trump would not zealously go after gun crimes. It was always going to be a free-for-all. But this is a little bit different. President Donald Trump’s newly-confirmed FBI director, Kash Patel, is expected to take on another top law enforcement role in the administration as head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, according to a White House official and two other sources familiar with the plan. Patel’s appointment could be made official as soon as next week with a swearing-in ceremony, the sources said. The ATF, a law enforcement agency housed in the Department of Justice, is responsible for enforcing federal laws regarding the illegal use, sale and trafficking of firearms and explosives, as well as the illegal diversion of alcohol and tobacco products. It has been a frequent target of Republican lawmakers who perceive the agency as infringing on the Second Amendment, particularly as former President Joe Biden empowered it to regulate the sale of “ghost guns” and close a loophole that eased the process of buying a firearm.

Something New Under The Sun

https://digbysblog.net/2025/02/23/something-new-under-the-sun/
Created
Mon, 24/02/2025 - 10:00
And it’s extremely dangerous I wrote earlier about the reporting that Musk is threatening to shut down Starlink, his satellite service on which Ukraine depends for all its communications unless they capitulate to Trump’s demands to allow him to seize whatever natural resources he wants and hand their country to Putin. The idea that this man has such power over world events is like something out of a James Bond film. Only there’s no James Bond, just GOP cowards, feckless Democrats and a plodding judiciary. It’s actually much worse than I realized. Josh Marshall wrote this thread on BlueSky last night, jumping off an earlier post about what historically happens when someone becomes more powerful than the sovereign (“over-mighty subjects”) which, in our American democracy, is something called “the American people.” Musk is a quintessential “over-mighty subject” perhaps the mightiest ever: A couple years ago the Times did a really strong package about the power of SpaceX. Not only is SpaceX.

D Is for Donald (and Decline)

https://tomdispatch.com/d-is-for-donald-and-decline/
Created
Mon, 24/02/2025 - 09:52

Count on one thing: in some almost unimaginable future, no American president (if we even have them anymore) is going to rename a mountain for Donald Trump as he’s recently tried to do with North America’s tallest peak. He wants Alaska’s Mount Denali (to hell with Native American names!) to be called Mount McKinley in honor of President William McKinley, the man who, in the 1890s, launched this country as an imperial power of the first order. Of course, it’s just possible that someday someone running (or do I mean: walking, hobbling, limping?) this country might rename the Bertha Rogers Borehole, the deepest hole (now plugged and abandoned) in North America, for President Trump. After all, it should be clear... Read more

Source: D Is for Donald (and Decline) appeared first on TomDispatch.com.

Το απεχθές παράδοξο των γερμανικών ομοσπονδιακών εκλογών του 2025 – Euronews

https://www.yanisvaroufakis.eu/2025/02/24/varoufakis-on-2025-german-election-gr…
Created
Mon, 24/02/2025 - 09:25

Αυτές οι γερμανικές ομοσπονδιακές εκλογές μόνο ως ένα αρνητικό παράδοξο μπορούν να χαρακτηριστούν: Ταυτόχρονα ασήμαντες – με την έννοια ότι θα καταλήξουν σε μια άλλη παραλλαγή του ίδιου, σχεδόν μόνιμου, συνασπισμού Χριστιανοδημοκρατών και Σοσιαλδημοκρατών, ίσως με μια μικρή δόση ψευδο-Πράσινων – τον ίδιο δηλαδή συνασπισμό που έβαλε τη Γερμανία στο δρόμο προς την συνεχόμενη αποτελμάτωση. […]

The post Το απεχθές παράδοξο των γερμανικών ομοσπονδιακών εκλογών του 2025 – Euronews appeared first on Yanis Varoufakis.