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Created
Wed, 05/03/2025 - 02:30
Police-state tactics Lech Wałęsa knows from police state tactics (via The Daily Beast): Legendary Polish anti-Communist Lech Wałęsa has slammed Donald Trump’s Oval Office attack on Ukraine’s Volodymr Zelensky, comparing it to Soviet secret police tactics. Wałęsa, 81, signed a letter along with 38 other Poles who had been held captive by the Communist regime, telling Trump that the Friday spectacle filled them “with horror and distaste.” The former Polish president previously revealed that he met Trump at Mar-a-Lago in 2010, and attached a photo of the two of them to the letter, which he posted on Facebook on Monday.
Created
Wed, 05/03/2025 - 01:52

DrupalCon is a flagship event for everyone in the Drupal community, and developers are a huge part of the action. With DrupalCon Atlanta 2025 just around the corner, let’s take a look at what’s in store for these tech-savvy minds — especially the seasoned masters of the craft: senior developers.

There’s plenty to get involved in — contributing to Drupal’s future in code sprints, showing off your knowledge at Drupal Trivia Night, or grabbing cool swag from sponsors. But at the heart of the event? Insightful and thought-provoking sessions

Created
Wed, 05/03/2025 - 01:26

In the weeks leading up to the recent presidential inauguration in Washington, this country and an anxious world expected many different things from what might be called, to borrow the title of a famed William Butler Yeats’s poem, “The Second Coming” of Donald J. Trump. But nobody expected this. Nobody at all. “We will restore the name of a great president, William McKinley, to Mount McKinley where it should be and where it belongs,” President Trump announced to a burst of applause during his inaugural address on January 20th. Continuing his celebration of a decidedly mediocre president, best known for taking this country on an ill-advised turn towards colonial conquest, Trump added: “President McKinley made our country very rich through... Read more

Source: Slouching Towards Mount McKinley appeared first on TomDispatch.com.

Created
Wed, 05/03/2025 - 01:00
There’s a target on your back, people Last night notices went out here in NC-11 that Congressman Chuck Edwards (R) has planned a town hall for next week in his R+8 district. Good on him and good luck. The last one I attended did not go as he’d hoped. After the rowdy affairs going on around the country, he’s likely had time to set this up more as a lecture than a Q&A. Nevertheless, Edwards will hear plenty about Musk and his DOGE post-teens treating the government — your government and mine — like a stolen car in a chop shop. Musk grew up in South Africa and barely knows how our government works. Oh, but his techies are going to go into computer software that fell out of general use before they were born and eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse — the free-energy device of conservative politics. Entire cities might be powered by waste fraud, and abuse if only it could be captured. But Big Energy doesn’t want you to know how.
Created
Wed, 05/03/2025 - 00:00

Hey there, I’m the chiropractor you found heavily discounted on Groupon. I know you came in to align your ankles, but I feel way more of a thrill when dealing with the human neck. May I?

Okay, so I’m noticing you tensed up a bit after I violently rotated your neck 180 degrees to the left. I know hearing and feeling all of your cervical vertebrae crack at once can be a little disconcerting, but I just want to assure you that to us in the alignment industry, those were all “good” cracks.

It’s totally normal to be nervous. If you’re not in the experimental twisting field, hearing snapping noises emanating from your neck can be startling. But you have absolutely nothing to worry about. “Snaps” are just what we in the recreational spine business like to call “bone screams.”

You just need to remember that this is good for you. Letting me jostle your bones around until something shifts is good for you. It’s just a bonus that I happen to enjoy the sound and feel of manually manipulating your skeletal system.

Created
Tue, 04/03/2025 - 23:11

‘I feel like one of the reasons far-right narratives are so successful is that we’re lacking community, especially in big cities like Berlin,’ says Anne, who became a Die Linke member four weeks ago. ‘I think if we want to keep this whole thing going, we need to be more involved in our communities. And […]

Created
Tue, 04/03/2025 - 12:00
The details of what’s happening with the economy are frankly a bit beyond my ken so I was grateful to see this easy explainer from Josh Marshall today. (And you should subscribe if you can. His site is super valuable right now.) The Atlanta Fed has again lowered its projection for first quarter 2025 GDP. It had been predicting growth of 2.3%. At the end of last week that was revised to 1.5% contraction and this morning they were again down-revised 2.8% contraction, or in other words 2.8% negative growth. To be clear these aren’t final or official stats. We’re only two-thirds of the way through the quarter. They are a prediction based on current indicators. But if it’s not clear that would mean a steep move into recession. And the numbers which presage that outcome are largely tied to general economic uncertainty and various collective economic decisions based on the expectations of a dramatic ramp up in U.S. tariffs and tariff retaliation. Normally, you wouldn’t expect that an administration would be able to manage such a stark reversal six weeks into a presidency. The first three weeks of the quarter weren’t even under Trump.
Created
Tue, 04/03/2025 - 10:16
No Other Land winning an Oscar shows a shift in perception of Western opinion on Gaza. Seyed Mohammad Marandi reports that Iran will not negotiate with the US because Trump violates agreements. Why is the ABC gaslighting Anthony Albanese’s election chances? Jonathan Pie gives his spin on Trump’s response to Ukraine. No Other Land winning Continue reading »
Created
Tue, 04/03/2025 - 08:35
Quick Takes: Tariffs, the Zelensky BlowUp & More

Sometimes I want to comment on topics without doing a full piece.

According to Trump tariffs on Canada and Mexico, at 25% except on energy, which will be 10%, start tomorrow. Along with the 20% tariff on China, the cost to the US is likely to about 1% of GDP. Canada could lose as much as six percent.

Expect retaliation from both countries. Some of it will be sub-Federal, the Ontario Prime Minister has said he’ll raise prices for electricity sent to New York state, for example. Sorry folks, I know most of you didn’t vote for Trump, but…