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I was trying to figure out another one so there can be a bit more #BrideMonth posting. Suika works and is cute. Of course, if an oni declares herself your bride, you have no right to argue or disagree. The strength she can display and the feelings she can provide are quite hard to avoid. Hope you can keep down your drink. You're in for some long nights. youtube.com/watch?v=Nx50kN3Rx1âŠ
#minimal number FBI Agent Larry Grathwohl and Weather Underground Bill Ayer's Weather Underground plan to Kill 25 Million Americans. This was the plan of the baby-boomer radicals who later became professors at top Universities. youtu.be/dyKg5gErL18?si=14t-mvâŠ
Bill Ayer's Weather Underground plan to Kill 25 Million Americans. This was the plan of the baby-boomer radicals who later became professors at top Universit...
The #1 spot goes to a martial arts classic // Anime director Shinichiro Watanabe released a new book, Watanabe Shinichiro no Sekai Cowboy Bebop Kara Lazarus...
Western corporate media in a panic, with the rapid advance of the Russian army, in the #Donetsk region north of Velika Novosilka.
What caused alarm in the Western media was the occupation of the #Shevchenko settlement, as it is home to perhaps the largest lithium deposit in #Ukraine, which was included in the agreement signed with the #US. Hey Elon đ€Ą .... No lithium for you đ đ€Ł
On Friday, the Czech lower house approved a reform of the countryâs immigration policy that will allow authorities to monitor the movements and residence of
Muss mir das nochmal ansehen, die Serie habe ich auch seit meiner Kindheit nicht mehr gesehen und ich bin mir ziemlich sicher, dass ich die letzte Folge nie gesehen habe.
@bradlander.bsky.social understood the memo, and is acting on it. So many elected Dems are scared. By fighting - and fighting for something he believes in - Lander has catapulted himself to national prominence. Governor? Senator? President? It isn't hard! RE: bsky.app/profile/did:plc:4k6daâŠ
Hello, in the recent years I find myself willing to spend much less time and energy on games, but I do still enjoy them. Oftentimes I end up quitting a new game I tried out relatively early on, because I'm encountering some block, grind, non-optional boring side quest, empty open world, uninteresting clutter or details that I have to manage, or similar. Like, I just wanna play the actual game play, see how the story continues, and visit those areas that were designed with care. Not worry where on the map I can sell the glimbrunses I collected so I can buy a 37% stronger glarpidifice that I'll need to beat the next glutrey after which I'm allowed to continue the main story.
Sorry if this turned into some kind of a rant, but I hope it's understandable what I'm looking for and what I meant by fluff. Some games that have fulfilled this for me during the last years:
Stray
Skyrim (there's a lot of fluff you can worry about in Skyrim, but the thing is you don't have to worry about it, you can also just walk in any direction and see what situation you wind up in, at least for the first 10-20h of a playthrough, which IMO is enough time for a game anyway)
Looking forward to hear your suggestions đ Games where there is some fluff but you're allowed to just ignore it are also fine, but not having any fluff is preferred. Bonus points for anything on the Xbox game pass.
I usually have a good time with isometric fantasy rpgs in the vein of Baldur's Gate. They don't really have grind, the world is generally well-filled with a relatively dense story and interesting quests (denser than Skyrim at least), and if the game becomes too hard you can turn down the difficulty. Though you do need to actually be interested in the combat mechanics (which are much more complicated than e.g. in Elder Scrolls games) to really enjoy these games, IMO. One downside is that these types of games are usually really long; I've dropped a couple of them halfway because they overstayed their welcome.
Some examples:
Baldur's Gate 3 (don't really need to have played 1+2 to enjoy this one, though they're still very good)
Divinity: Original Sin 1+2
Pillars of Eternity 1+2 (2 has much better combat, but the first one is pretty important to understand the world)
Tyranny (this is a relatively short one)
Pathfinder: Kingmaker 1+2
For more Skyrim-style games, I really enjoyed the Gothic series. I think their level of grind is about the same as Skyrim (probably a little less, but it's been a while), and if you can get past the outdated graphics of the early titles they're quite fun. Especially the dialogues, they aren't as serious as Skyrim's.
June 23, 2025 Why is it important for the worldwide movement to defend Iran? Is it because this country of 92 million people was recently bombed by the U.S.
Nigerien government has nationalized Somair, a subsidiary of French uranium company Orano as well as the Niger Electricity Company (Nigelec), responsible for electricity production, transmission, and distribution throughout the country.
Nigelec's nationalization aimed to improve electricity access and reduce dependence on Nigeria for power. The government's actions are seen as steps towards Niger's economic sovereignty.
A Washington Post reporter and Pulitzer Prize winner was arrested and charged with allegedly possessing child pornography, according to the United States Attorneyâs Office for the District of Columbia.
Gerhard Schröder ist bei vielen in der SPD nicht besonders beliebt. Olaf Scholz wĂŒnscht sich fĂŒr seine Altkanzlerschaft offenbar ein anderes VerhĂ€ltnis zu den Sozialdemokraten.
Before the Supreme Court ordered Maryland's Montgomery County Public Schools to let parents opt out their children from gender ideology lessons, that suburban D.C. district allegedly paid a hefty settlement in a separate 2023 lawsuit claiming its staff unconstitutionally silenced a critic of the opt-out ban on social media.
Centennial State claims it never required religious camps to let gender-confused boys, girls use opposite-sex facilities. Maryland school district allegedly paid six figures in social media blocking case before even bigger loss at SCOTUS.
The Center Square) - Gov. Jeff Landry, alongside U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., signed a sweeping new law aimed at reshaping how Louisiana regulates food, nutrition, and consumer health.
A mind reading wife proves to be eternally thoughtful. Once she finds a mind she likes, she will work her hardest to imprint herself upon it. Never will she miss a desire and she will always be quick to act upon them. youtube.com/watch?v=9qt68DvyMbâŠ
This video is one of 23 videos I made over a period of 14 days in an effort to learn visual effects. I had absolutely no visual effects experience before tak...
Just making sure that folks outside the US realize that the US Supreme court, made up of sexual abusers, dogmatic cultists, and some the most corrupt men on earth (+ a couple powerless women of color, to legitimize it) has decided that no one has rights unless they can afford a lawyer and legal fees.
The United States will die. It is a rabid dog in its dying days.
Society / June 27, 2025 The Supreme Courtâs Birthright Citizenship Ruling Is a 5-Alarm Catastrophe In Trump v. CASA, the court hands the president yet more unaccountable authorityâand yanks us into a neo-Confederate legal nightmare.
SOUTH LEBANON â Druze leader Walid Jumblattâs statement regarding the non-Lebanese nature of the Shebaa Farms has sparked widespread condemnation in Lebanon, with some believing that this questioning serves only the Israeli enemy.
When it comes to replica luxury watches brands, Rolex is well deserved and then there are others. While not the most exclusive or expensive manufacturer (by a long shot), Rolex is easily the most famous name in watchmaking, with the company boasting far more name recognition and mainstream recognition than any other watch brand in existence today. Universally associated with luxury and the pursuit of excellence, the name Rolex is synonymous with watches, it exists in the human vernacular, and it is as well-known in the world as the brands of other industry giants such as Google, Coca-Cola, and Mercedes-Benz. Almost every remote corner of the world.
Rolex has been producing watches continuously since its founding in 1905, and despite having one of the most consistent catalogs in the entire industry, an incredible variety of different models has been produced throughout the brand's long history. While the saying "buy what you like" is always true, sometimes even figuring out where to start can be a daunting task. So, what are the best Rolex watches to buy right now? Below we take a look at some of our favorites.
Rolex Daytona 116595RBOW "Rainbow"
It's hard to imagine a Rolex watch that has left a more indelible mark on the world of modern watch collecting than the Daytona. While the standard stainless steel model will always be one of the fan favorites, arguably no model has captured the public's eye and imagination more than the Rolex Daytona ref. 116595RBOW â aka "Rainbow" Daytona. Originally launched in 2018 as one of the brand's incredible non-catalogue models, the Everose Yellow Gold Edition of the Rainbow Daytona quickly became a favorite of celebrities worldwide, and it remains the most popular and exclusive Rolex watch in existence One of the models today.high quality replica watches
While the overall profile of the watch is very much in line with the rest of the contemporary Daytona collection, the Rainbow Daytona 116595RBOW is crafted in solid 18k Everose gold set with diamonds and features a rainbow gradient gem-set bezel and matching baguette hour markers . Rolex produced several other iridescent Daytona watches, but none resonated with the public like model 116595RBOW. Objectively speaking, the Rolex Rainbow Daytona is an unabashedly luxurious timepiece that represents the "different" side of Rolex's contemporary catalog. However, the current open market value is several times the ref's already six-figure retail price. 116595RBOW,
Rolex Turn-O-Graph 6202
Rolex is known for its world-class sports watches, but before the debut of the Submariner, Daytona and GMT-Master, Rolex introduced the Turn-O-Graph. The Rolex Turn-O-Graph ref. was originally introduced in 1953. The 6202 almost looks like a vintage Submariner, but it predates Rolex's iconic diver's watch and was the first commercially available Rolex model to feature a rotating bezel. In fact, it was the core design of the Rolex Turn-O-Graph 6202 that ended up being the basis for the first Submariner and GMT-Master watches, but this historic model remains relatively unknown compared to its famous diver and pilot watch siblings . replica swiss watches
At first glance, you might think that the Rolex Turn-O-Graph Reference 6202 is a vintage Submariner, and almost everything about this model is dead, from the dial and hands to the case and bezel. Can be found on an early iteration of Rolex's first diver's watch. That said, it ends up being the "Turn-O-Graph" name printed on the lower half of the dial, since the reference. 6202 was produced before the Turn-O-Graph became part of the larger Datejust collection, this oft-overlooked vintage reference offers a highly functional design and represents a significant aesthetic with all other Rolex Turn-O-Graph watches Differences have been raised.
Rolex GMT-Master II 126719BLRO â Meteorite Dial
GMT watches with red and blue bezels have become cornerstone products in the industry, a unique design dating back to the original Rolex GMT-Master. The classic stainless steel version of Rolex's legendary pilot watch will always be a time-tested staple, and the modern white gold version takes that familiar aesthetic and lends it a highly luxurious style. The Rolex GMT-Master II ref. pairs a red and blue Cerachrom ceramic bezel with a case and bracelet crafted from solid 18k white gold. 126719BLRO is essentially an ultra-premium version of the brand's iconic travel watch original.fake watches for sale
And the platinum Rolex GMT-Master II ref. comes standard. The 126719BLRO comes with a dark blue dial that helps to visually differentiate it from the stainless steel models, and the top-of-the-line version trades the blue dial for one made from a meteorite for a striking overall aesthetic. Almost all modern Rolex GMT-Master II watches feature dark dials, making the light silver color of the GMT-Master II 126719BLRO meteorite dial stand out. Plus, the fact that itâs made from fragments of an ancient meteorite that crashed to Earth in prehistoric times only makes this highly luxurious Rolex multi-time travel watch even more interesting to collectors.
Rolex Daytona 6265 "Big Red"
The Daytona has become a Rolex must-have in recent years, even though the model itself has been in continuous production since it was first introduced to the public in 1963. The Rolex Daytona has evolved steadily over the years, but one of the most important references in the model's rich history is reference number 6265. With acrylic crystal and hand-wound chronograph movement, ref. 6265 represents the final model of the first-generation Daytona, arguably one of the purest expressions ever made of Rolexâs iconic racing chronograph.Replica 2023 Seiko PROSPEX watches
Like the first Cosmograph Daytona in 1963, the Rolex Daytona 6265 features a stainless steel tachymeter bezel and a hand-wound Valjoux-based chronograph movement. However, unlike the first Daytona watch, reference 6265 is one of the "Oyster" Daytona models, so it has screw-in pushers for added water resistance and is slightly larger on the wrist. Aside from classic models with "Paul Newman" dials, the "Big Red" Rolex Daytona 6265 watches are often the most sought after by collectors because of the "Daytona" name in bold bright red letters above their sub-dial at 6 o'clock .
Rolex Explorer II 16550 â White Dial
For most of its history, the Explorer II was one of the most overlooked watches in Rolex's entire lineup. However, the real turning point in the modelâs popularity came long before it became mainstream, with the introduction of a white âPolarâ dial version in the 1980s. When the Rolex Explorer II ref. 16550 debuted in 1985, it marked a major divergence from the original model and introduced a radically updated design, representing the moment in the history of the Explorer II when it first began to adopt what would eventually become its modern form.
Available with a choice of black or white "Polar" dials, the black-dial version of the Rolex Explorer II 16550 looks nearly identical to subsequent versions of the brand's spelunking watches. However, the white dial models offer a number of subtle unique features that set them apart from all other Explorer II watches. While all later versions of the white Explorer II dial feature black polished hands and hour markers, reference 16550 has polished white gold hands and surrounds, creating a warm monochromatic overall look. Additionally, due to subtle imperfections in the surface finish, many of the white dials that the Rolex Explorer II 16550 was originally fitted with have been darkened to a rich cream color, further adding to its unique aesthetic.
Rolex Daytona 116519 âThe Beachâ
Rolex has a reputation for being a conservative company when it comes to updating its long-running designs, but the brand has also released some truly unconventional pieces throughout its long and storied history. The stainless steel version of the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona has always been restrained, while the precious metal version of the legendary Rolex chronograph is often full of fun and playful aesthetics. Chief among the later varieties were the various âBeachâ Daytona models produced in small numbers in the early 2000s, featuring solid 18k white gold cases with brightly colored dials and straps. Jacob & Co. Astronomia Solar
The Rolex Daytona ref. launched as four watches with dial colors including pink, green, yellow and turquoise. The 116519 âBeachâ models all feature a white gold case with integrated lugs and a white gold tachymeter bezel. Additionally, instead of a matching metal bracelet like most Daytona watches, the Daytona reference 116519 âBeachâ comes with a brightly colored leather strap that complements the bright pastel tones of the dial. The various "Beach" Daytona 116519 watches produced in small numbers nearly two decades ago represent such a brief and fleeting moment in Rolex history that they could almost be seen as a tribute to the famous "Stella" dial Rolex Day-Date watch. Chronograph cousins.
Rolex Milgauss 116400
Arguably, there is no more overlooked watch in Rolex's modern collection than the Milguss. While most of the brand's tool watch siblings are designed for exciting and fascinating adventure sports such as scuba diving, mountain climbing, or racing, the Rolex Milgauss is an antimagnetic watch for scientists working in laboratories. In 2007, reference number 116400 marked the third generation of the Rolex Milgauss, which represented a major aesthetic departure from its predecessors, with a 40mm case, sapphire crystal and bright orange trim.
When the Rolex Milgauss ref. 116400 debuted, it was offered in three different configurations. One has a white dial, the other two have a black dial, one with a green sapphire crystal (ref. 116400GV). That said, by 2013, the black dial model with the clear crystal was discontinued, and just a few years later in 2016, the white dial was also discontinued, leaving only the reference 116400GV watch with the green crystal. Overall, the Milgauss is one of the underrated Rolex models currently available, and with its relatively short production run and unique look, the discontinued Milgauss 116400 makes for a very compelling take on a very compelling Rolex model Choice, these models are still available for very reasonable prices.chronowrist.ru
Rolex GMT-Master II 116748SARU
The Rolex GMT-Master has always been intended to be a more luxurious timepiece compared to other sports models such as the Submariner and Explorer, and has been available in solid gold from the very beginning of the watch's history. That said, the solid gold model is far from the most luxurious execution of Rolex's famous pilot's watch, as well as non-catalogue references like the Rolex GMT-Master II reference. 116748SARU is one of the strangest and most unique releases ever made.
Crafted in solid 18k yellow gold and following the 'super case' silhouette that first debuted on the ceramic bezel GMT-Master II, reference 116748SARU follows largely the same design as the standard production reference. 116718LN. However, instead of the usual black ceramic bezel, the bezel of the Rolex Greenwich-Master II 116748SARU is inlaid with diamonds, rubies and sapphires, recreating the modelâs famous red and blue âPepsiâ bezel, but at a height Luxurious surroundings have been reworked in gem-set format. With its yellow gold case, shiny red and blue bezel, and bright green "GMT-Master II" logo on the dial, ref. 116748SARU has a unique and colorful look while being the most luxurious Rolex GMT money can buy One of the watches.
Rolex Datejust 126234 â Palm Pattern Dial
While many top-of-the-line Rolex watches require a six-figure investment, opting for unique dial variations on relatively common models is a great way to get something unusual and special without breaking the bank . Introduced in 2021, the green âPalm Motifâ dial Datejust offers an unusual and slightly playful look to one of Rolexâs most traditional and straightforward designs. That said, despite the striking dials, the watches themselves are otherwise identical to standard watches, making them an easy target for most collectors.
Like the standard version of the watch, the Palm Dial Rolex Datejust 126234 is available in a 36mm stainless steel case with a white gold fluted bezel, sapphire crystal, and options for an Oyster or Jubilee bracelet. Sitting center stage, however, is a rich metallic green dial composed of varying shades of green paired with a flowing pattern of palm leaves. While the Datejust itself is traditional, restrained, and almost classic and straightforward, the Palm Motif dial is the complete opposite in every way, and the unique juxtaposition of the leafy dial with one of Rolex's most conservative dial designs creates a An unusual yet beautiful timepiece unlike anything else in Rolex's modern catalog.replica Audemars Piguet
Rolex Daytona 116598SACO âLeopardâ
While there have been some truly peculiar and unusual Daytona watches released over the years, arguably none is more like a Rolex from a design standpoint than 116598SACO, popularly known as the âLeopardâ Daytona. Unless you're familiar with this big cat-inspired chronograph, your first instinct is likely to be that the ref. 116598SACO "Leopard" is some wild third-party custom work, but this crazy jungle cat edition The Cosmograph Daytona is entirely one of Rolex's own creations.
The Rolex Daytona 116598SACO is made of solid 18k yellow gold with a case set with diamonds and a bezel set with cognac sapphires, the real party decor is its dial with its yellow and orange gradient effect, diamond set hour markers and black lacquer raised leopard spots. The watch comes with a matching leopard-print leather strap that complements the pattern on the dial, and while the "Leopard" Daytona is indeed a bit of an acquired taste and difficult to exist in any setting effortlessly, there's no denying that The ref. 116598SACO âLeopardâ is one of the craziest and most bizarre Rolex watches ever released to the public.
Reward: Tudor Submariner 9411 âSnowflakeâ
Despite being sibling companies, Rolex and Tudor are very different brands today. However, if you delve into the archives, youâll find that many Tudor watches share external case components with their Rolex-branded counterparts, and youâll even find the Rolex name and crown insignia on the crown and caseback of many Tudor watches.
Of all the vintage Tudor watches in the brand's history, the classic Snowflake Submariner diver's watch is often held in high esteem, and it is these models that eventually serve as the aesthetic inspiration for many of Tudor's most popular modern timepieces, such as those from the Black Bay and Pelagos series. For those who love Rolex history but are specifically looking for something other than a Rolex, the vintage Tudor Submariner 9411 âSnowflakeâ is the perfect choice, offering an equally rich history with its unique design language.proreviewwatch.co
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Nice to see the Royals involving themselves in climate change chat ahead of COP30, finger wagging at the world about how we should all do more. William saying "But these goals will remain out of reach unless we move from promises to action - grounded in respect, equity, and shared responsibility."
This coming from a family of wealth hoarders who could completely eradicate homelessness in the UK 36 times over and still have nearly a billion pounds left over. They could implement a universal basic income bringing many more minds to the fore to tackle actual problems rather than their own poverty and despair. Refocus the nation from fast food and fast culture into something more sustainable and meaningful. Instead he just makes empty soundbytes so he can look like he cares and is doing something important. Like watching a whole load of people fall to their death, whilst flapping his arms at them in encouragement.
'If we save the sea, we save our world', he says. He owns the fucking sea. The Crown Estate owns the territorial seabed out to 12 nautical miles and around half of the foreshore around England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Why doesn't he do something about it. Instead of appearing on telly to tell other people what to do. Noone cares about anything or anyone. Until the people who can take action do take action, how do they expect others will? William talking about equity and shared responsibility..... does he even understand how that sounds to the rest of the world?
Anyway wooooosaaaaaaah, hurrah! Saturday! Let's get out there and do this! I missed my run this morning due to sleeping, so am going to attempt to go out during the day instead in this unbelievable heat like an idiot. Hooray! Hope you're all fab. Sorry for the moan. Bastards though, all of them. X
Late afternoon Friday dog walk and spotted what looked like the yellow of dying moss on a log deep in the woods. âWonder what's killing it?â I thought, walking by. Curiosity won out, I scrabbled through the brush and found the truth. #Mushtodon #FungiFriday
(looks around a little nervously) I will often start a class with "Previously on Sally's Psych Class [...]" or "In our last episode of Sally's Psych Class [...]" before reviewing what we went over before. It always gets a giggle or chuckle, and I try not to use it too often to keep as much of the novelty as I can. I guess I'm a bit of a Jamie. đ
I think there is an important distinction between small local governments and syndicates. A government holds all power and uses it according to its principles (in democracy by legislation and delegation). Anarchic syndicates and the likes are organizing certain aspects of life that make sense to do together. Like infrastructure, food and the likes. But they should not impose general power over its affected population, which is what i expect from my government.
Every time I meet an anarchist Iâm in my early 20s at university and they are middle class brats with a secure safety net if they fuck up, and saying they have a right to everything and no responsibilities, and 20 years later they are conservative money hoarders
Holy fuck, same!! I've been describing myself as "anarchist" lately, but am active with small nonprofits who want social change. But yeah, Nazis are Nazis. They just use different terminology from time to time. Before the original party existed, many members were part of the Thule Society, a white supremacist secret society.
As an anarcho-communist, I still dream of a day /wo government or laws, when the land and seas are for everyone, including the other species who live there, and we self-organize on a voluntary basis, with organizations that are created and dismantled all according to what we want. When I find people trying to emulate that dream I want to join them.
But only for a bit, because truth is, I want to be a scientist, and novel scientific research is not exactly a priority in those places
Its because being white trash is easy. They want the bar lowered for everyone to their level. Because not being trash is hard. If you come from an academic background, there are rules to engagement and discourse. There are proper ways of conduct. Because without those rules of engagement, human knowledge would devolve into...well...MAGA. You can't base everything solely on "common sense" because the world is full of paradoxes. So just being good ol' redneck trash is just easier.
Funny... because every time I meet a christian, I see someone unfit to understand any morality beyond their goatherders guide to the galaxy. Which, as we know, was written by people who knew less about the world or what it would become than a 6 year old today. By the way, that includes yheir fictional prophet who didn't even have the good sense to tell people it is wrong for someone to own another person. Love your fucking neighbor doesn't make up for that!
An artistic performance rather than a sport - figure skating unites elements of theatre, gymnastics, ballet and much more. In Russia itâs taken to a whole new level with ice shows blurring the boundar...
Hereâs the historical series that drives the risk estimate: Staff Cases (Weekly) in Residential Aged Care, to try to put this wave into context against the other waves since 2022.
Itâs perhaps a heroic assumption at this point to imagine that the testing ascertainment rates (accuracy) has remained consistent. Earlier in the pandemic there were effectively financial incentives for accurate reporting, which I understand have since been withdrawn.
IAC I donât see any significant trend to support assertions that "the waves/impact is getting lower", or "itâs just another season virus now". The pattern is actually waves of random intensity and timing â all driven by the arrival of new variants. đ§”
The variant driving this wave is clearly NB.1.8.1.* "Nimbus". In Hong Kong that wave peaked in around 8 weeks, perhaps giving Australia hope. However there was a robust public health response to the wave in Hong Kong â urging vaccinations including for children, masking on public transport etc.
The public health efforts across Australia have been patchy and weak, the key concern seems to be suppressing embarrassing news about smashed healthcare system capacity. skyview.social/?url=https%3A%2⊠đ§”
A Hong Kong paediatric infectious diseases ward is full of young, unvaccinated COVID patients.
In the past 4 weeks, 30 of 81 severe adult cases died.
The COVID test positivity rate rose to 13.66%âthe highest in a year.
Source: archive.md/BpXFd
The AP reported that two of the attorneys fired were high-ranking supervisors who oversaw January 6 cases and one line attorney who prosecuted January 6 defendants.
      The Justice Department on Friday evening abruptly fired at least three prosecutors who persecuted January 6 defendants, according to the Associated Press.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy just unleashed political hellfire on California Democrat Eric Swalwell after Swalwell deleted a snarky post slamming Duffyâs response to the violent anti-ICE riots that paralyzed parts of Los Angeles and left taxpayers with a cleanup bill north of $30 million.
Traumatizing & perilous: detainees don't have enough food, water, MED care... #ICE #Detention FACs are hellholes. Amplify the abuse.đ~9 detainees have died in ICE custody.
Arias-Tovar said he was happy to be released on bond -relief at getting out of what he described as a FAC so overcrowded *forced to sleep on a concrete floor about half the time.
In all honesty, I believe Steven Miller, et. al. is reinforcing Trump's life-long belief that white people are better - so much better they deserve their own country, their own religion, their own world dominating army.
That the country they want to destroy has always required slave labor to function would seem a major obstacle, but it's not.
Not if you develop a modified caste system, aided by a tightly controlled educational system.
The fractures in MAGAt land are real and deserve our deepest sympathies! Why, lookahere, as the guy who called Muskolini a racist (ceramic calling the toilet white!) has issued a dire warning on DJT's DEI hires!
Last week, it was reported that the Democrat party is struggling to raise funds as their major donors are withholding cash. Leadership at the DNC is plagued by infighting and chaos as they scramble to do basic things like keep the lights on.
In 2014, I read a political science paper that nearly convinced me to quit my lifelong career as an activist: "Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens," published in *Perspectives on Politics*:
If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:
The paper's authors are Martin Gilens, a UCLA professor of Public Policy; and Northwestern's Benjamin Page, a professor of Decision Making. Gilens and Page studied a representative sample of 1,779 policy issues, analyzing the effect that the preferences of different groups of people had on the outcome. They wanted to find out what drove policy: money, or popularity?
It's money. It's totally, utterly money. When billionaires want something, it literally doesn't matter how much the rest of us hate it, they're gonna get their way. When billionaires hate something, it doesn't matter how popular it is with the rest of us, we're not gonna get it.
> economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on U.S. government policy, while average citizens and mass-based interest groups have little or no independent influence.
I know the cynics out there are hollering "no duh" at their computers right now, but bear with me here. Gilens and Page's research shows that you and I have *no* voice in policy outcomes.
Based on these findings, the only way we can change society is to try and woo oligarchs so they champion our cause. This reduces democracy to a competition to see who can pour the most honey into a plutocrat's ear. Mass mobilizations - millions of people in the streets - only matter to the extent that they bring a tear to a billionaire's eye.
This just *shattered* me. I've been haunted by it ever since. I've tried some tactical gambits based on this data, but honestly, I don't want to improve the world by swaying the ultra-rich. Mostly, I've spent the decade since I read the Gilens/Page paper working on mass mobilizations and mass opionion-influencing.
I reasoned (or maybe rationalized) that while oligarchs were running the nation *now*, that was subject to change, and that was a change that I was *sure* wouldn't come from America's plutocrats committing mass class-suicide.
Then, something incredible happened. All this decade, a tide of antitrust vigor has swept the planet.
The EU has passed big, muscular tech competition laws like the Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act, and has by God *enforced* them, and have patched the enforcement weaknesses in the GDPR. EU member-states - France, Germany, Spain - have passed their own big, ambitious national laws that go further than DSA/DMA.
Even Ireland - a country that deliberately prostrated itself to US Big Tech - is getting in on the act, with the country's Social Media Czar railing against the "enshittification" of tech:
The chairman of Irelandâs social media regulator has warned against the âenshittificationâ of society and says Europe shouldnât be âseducedâ by former European Central Bank president Mario Draghiâs claims that the EU is overregulated.
Not just the EU, of course. Australia and Canada have taken some big swings at Big Tech, and Canada is pressing ahead with its digital services tax of 3% for onshore earnings of tech companies with more than CAD20m in annual turnover, despite the fact that Trump has promised to end all trade talks with Canada in retaliation:
Antitrust fever has swept both of the world's superpowers. Under Trump I, the DOJ and FTC brought key cases against Facebook and Google, and then Biden's antitrust enforcers *went to town* on all forms of monopoly, carrying on the Trump cases and reviving some of the law's most elegant weapons from a more civilized age, like the Robinson-Patman Act:
Admittedly, Trump's FTC and DOJ have carried on some of Biden's work, even as they've killed some of the Biden era's most important cases, and made a general Trumpian mockery of the idea that antitrust law is a tool for economic justice:
Trump killing antitrust law is *normal*. That's what politics have been like for this whole century, and it's what politics are like in every other domain: billionaires get their way on climate, on labor, on whatever bullshit they get into their fool fucking heads:
But it's a mistake to think that Trump killed antitrust enforcement in the USA out of a special conservative deference to millionaires and enthusiasm for corrosive and predatory monopolies.
In the UK, four consecutive Conservative Prime Ministers presided over the best competition law enforcement in British history - and it was Labour's Keir Starmer who fired the head of the UK Competition and Markets Authority and replaced him with the ex-head of Amazon UK:
It is completely normal for both "progressive" and "conservative" parties to wield the entire apparatus of state to the benefit of powerful monopolists.
The antitrust enforcement - in the US, the UK, the EU, Australia, Germany, France and Spain - are totally *aberrant*. And it's not just in these countries where political science's law of gravity reversed itself: there've been giant, brutal antitrust cases in Japan and South Korea.
*China* has passed aggressive tech antitrust laws that strike directly at the giant Chinese tech companies that Cold War 2.0 creeps insist are just branches of the Chinese Communist Party:
There is no billionaire constituency for antimonopoly work. Oligarchs aren't funneling dark money to trustbuster orgs. Antimonopoly work strikes at the beating heart of the system that creates and sustains billionaires.
This is a political outcome that the people want, and that billionaires hate, and billionaires are *losing*.
How is this happening? Why is this happening? I don't know, exactly.
I suspect that some of this is related to Stein's Law: "anything that can't go on forever eventually stops." Monopolists corrupt our political system, maim and impoverish workers, gouge their customers on enshittified, overpriced garbage. They are an existential threat to the survival of the human species.
The system is *so* broken and the mainstream of politics endlessly gaslights us, telling us that corrupt and degraded institutions are either just fine ("America Was Always Great" -H. Clinton) or need to be destroyed, rather than redeemed ("Delete CFPB" -E. Musk). People *know* that the system only caters to the whims of billionaires and tells the rest of us to eat shit. They *hate* the fucking system.
Over and over again, we've seen outbreaks of furious, joyous, uncompromising leftist activism: Occupy, Bernie 2016, Bernie 2020, George Floyd, the Women's March, No Kings, Climate Strikes, on and on. Over and over, liberal "centrists" have joined with the right to crush these movements.
Meanwhile, the right has only moved from strength to strength by offering a libidinal, furious promise of root-and-branch change.
The *only* team that's promising radical change is the right. Parties like UK Labour and the Democrats offer austerity and genocide with slightly more polite aesthetics ("[If I'm elected], fundamentally nothing will change" -J. Biden).
I think that centrist suppression of the left has pushed 90 percent of the energy for major change into right wing nihilist movements, but the anti-corporate, anti-monopolist energy has not dissipated.
It's formed a kind of invisible political wind that has filled the sails of these antimonopoly projects all over the world.
But anything that can't go on forever eventually stops. Zohran Mamdani just won the NYC Democratic mayoral primary election. That wasn't supposed to happen. The worst people on Earth showered the hereditary King of New York with so much money it was coming out of his fucking *pores* and he still ate shit.
Guys who've got so much money they were able to get Columbia University to collude in shipping its students off to gulags for having the temerity to oppose genocide tried to do it to Mamdani and we kicked their teeth in.
The world is organized around the whims of billionaires, but it doesn't have to be.
Most of us are not esoteric authoritarian freaks pining for a CEO of America who'll track us all using mandatory Fitbits and assign us jobs based on an AI's estimation of our cranial geometry. Those ideas are *not popular*. Now, it's true that this century has been defined by extremely unopopular ideas winning the day. But anything that can't go on eventually stops.
Sure, they smeared Jeremy Corbyn and replaced him with Austeritybot 3000, and Labour is collapsing as a result, and if an election were called today, Nigel Farage would sweep the board, assuming the PM's seat ahead of a Ba'ath Party style majority.
But on today's Trashfuture podcast, I learned about the leadership contest for the Green Party, in which genuinely progressive candidate, Zack Polanski, is running:
Labour walked away from voters. Tories are in chaos. Libdems permanently discredited themselves in the coalition government. The youthquake that buoyed up Corbyn was driven by a desperate hunger for change. The party grandees that purged Labour of everyone who wanted a better country have created a massive constituency that's up for grabs. I
I'm desperate for change, too. I've joined the Greens, and I'll be voting for Polanski in the leadership race:
Blogger, author, and activist Cory Doctorow is the most provocative, original, and widely admired thinker on the politics of Big Tech in the world today.
@hlangeveld Nope, a very quick trip built around a keynote for the Co-Op conference in Manchester then going home to meet my parents, who are coming in for the last family vacation before our kid goes to university.
Re: that TF episode - I'd rather have the power to direct the Green bus than watch Morgan McSweeney tell Starmer he's driving the fully-automated, AI-powered, growth-fuelled Labour bus.
Iâve often thought that Iâd make a great oligarch influencer: Iâm creative & get along with everyone. Except that Iâm too honest. Thereâs no way I could sustain the ruse.
I know that dear, but even mentioning say an octopus in other posts has people frothing at the mouth due to it being anti-semitic (I learnt recently). It's a piss poor metaphor to use frankly.
Dr Robert Sapolsky is a professor of Neurobiology and Primatology at Stanford University. He travels to Kenya every year to study the behavior of wild baboon...
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