Very fair assessment from Andrew Anglin, of all people:

“Islamic terrorist organization” not only means that they are philosophically opposed to raping prisoners of war, but it also means that the organization contains a very strict hierarchical structure, which means members engaged in violations of the religious structure – such as men engaging in rape – would suffer the weight of Islamic law.

For the record, I don’t think Hamas is actually an Islamic terrorist organization, or even an “Islamic group” in the sense that the term is used in the West. The concept is that the group is motivated by Islam. In fact, Hamas is motivated by the fact that Jews stole their land and forced them into an open-air concentration camp. If Jews had done this to Christians, Buddhists, or Hindus, there would be a group identical to Hamas opposing them and using the corresponding religious regalia.

Hamas Found Guilty of Rape in Another Dimension of the Multiverse

Hamas didn’t rape her. However, the guilt of the rape remains, because in another dimension, where circumstances were different, Hamas would have raped her. This is my favorite news story now.

^{The Unz Review}

Who's working American hospitals now?

As many as 10 patients at an Oregon hospital may have died after a nurse allegedly swapped out fentanyl in IVs for tap water, prompting an investigation of the theft of medication.

Officials at Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center in Medford say they alerted police early last month that they believed a former employee had stolen medication.

Some sources at the hospital told local NBC affiliate KOBI that nine people had died from infections, while other sources said there were 10 deaths in total.

Multiple sources also told the outlet the nurse injected the patients with non-sterile tap water to cover up their misuse of the hospital’s supply of pain medication, namely fentanyl.

Up to 10 hospital patients died after nurse allegedly replaced fentanyl IVs with tap water

Officials at Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center in Oregon say they alerted police early last month that they believed a former employee had stolen medication.

^{Isabel Keane (New York Post)}

This is what happens when people don't have faith in the justice system.

Theaitetos (Рцяэыоод)

2023-09-30 12:25:18

The Kids are All Right

They’re going to be, anyhow. The #youth have clearly grasped that the #older #generations are not going to #defend them or their #nations, and that the #burden of #action is going to fall upon them. And they’ve also observed that #vigilante #justice is the only justice that exists any more.

No doubt the #wicked #Swedish #government that failed to protect this #girl and refused to punish her #rapist will throw its full weight against these young vigilantes. But the #massive #hypocrisy this entails will only accomplish the precise #opposite of its objectives and encourage a wave of similar, but more #silent #reprisals.

I’ve always said that the wars that will bring about the #end of the #UnitedStates would begin when someone from the wrong #family is victimized by one group of #invaders or another. Apparently this may hold true for less heterogeneous polities as well. It will be interesting to learn if this girl is actually Swedish or if she’s also a #foreigner. If she is actually a daughter of the #vikings, it won’t be surprising if one day, after the end of the #mass #repatriations, there are #statues built to #honor her. These are precisely the sort of acts that become #myths and #legends over time.

Consider, for example, the #founding #legends of #Rome, and the #rape of #Lucretia that ended the Roman monarchy.

It’s already beginning in #LatinAmerica too. I won’t link to the report, since it’s worse than the average #horror movie, but a young #African #woman recently learned the very hard way that it’s a #fatal #mistake to physically attack the #daughter of a #cartel #lord.

All across the #West, #people have #lost #faith in their #government to maintain #order. And now they are beginning to realize that there is no cavalry, and that if anyone is going to protect their family, if anyone is going to #protect their #nation, it’s going to have to be themselves.

The Kids are All Right - Vox Popoli

They’re going to be, anyhow. The youth have clearly grasped that the older generations are not going to defend them or their nations, and that the burden of action is going to fall upon them.

^{VD (Vox Popoli)}

You are just not going to have a super successful football team if you can never put pressure on your opponent's quarterback.

You can even be a winning team without this - that is what the Vikes were last year - but like this? Just miserable.

#Vikings #NFL

Apparently, Russia is probing the ground, preparing to campaign for Odessa.

The analysis is also spot on in terms of this:

According to Johnson, the Russian Armed Forces are in a much more favourable position than the Ukrainian formations, as they have a sufficient number of soldiers. In addition, all of them undergo the necessary training, while in Ukraine they grab people right on the street and immediately send them to the front.

Acta Populi

2024-01-03 00:47:10

Russia is capable of liberating Odessa – ex-CIA officer Johnson en.news-front.su/2024/01/02/ru…

Russia is capable of liberating Odessa - ex-CIA officer Johnson

Former CIA officer Larry Johnson believes that the Russian army is capable of liberating Odessa if necessary. “Yes, they may actually try, they have already started, they are now probing the ground,” he said.

^{gromoffaleksa (English News front)}

LOL that smile...

Ob’i-Hahn [WI] 🏴‍☠️

2024-01-01 13:51:30

Pretty much defines a slow news day, doesn’t it?

'Survivor' alum Parvati Shallow comes out as queer, kisses Mae Martin

nypost.com/2023/12/31/entertai…

'Survivor' winner Parvati Shallow comes out as queer, reveals Mae Martin relationship

“We’re here. We’re queer. Happy New Year,” Shallow wrote on Instagram alongside a photo of the couple kissing in a photo booth.

^{Jack Hobbs (New York Post)}

Admittedly I did not feel any animus towards Duterte's all out war on drugs but this isn't a good look.

The Philippine government estimates that more than 6,252 people have been gunned down by the police and "unknown assailants" since former President Rodrigo Duterte declared a "war on drugs" in 2016, when he won the election. Rights groups say the numbers could actually run into the tens of thousands.

Police say the victims were drug lords or peddlers, who they often killed in "self defence" during shoot-outs. But many families claim their sons, brothers or husbands were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

You can almost guarantee that it was not abnormal at all for personal scores to be settled like this and for loads of innocents to be caught in the crossfire.

Philippines: Bone diggers seek justice for dead in Duterte's drug war

A priest and a forensic pathologist are collecting evidence that may one day be used in court.

^{By Linda Pressly (BBC News)}

It's really fabulous that we are reading this in the Biden era:

Trump businesses received millions in foreign payments while he was in office
Countries including China and Saudi Arabia spent $7.8m, ‘often lavishly’, at Trump properties, report by House Democrats finds

Donald Trump “repeatedly and willfully” violated the US constitution by “allowing his businesses to accept millions of dollars from some of the most corrupt nations on Earth”, prominently including China, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee charged on Thursday, unveiling a 156-page report on the matter.

What's also funny about this is that his businesses were in a trust so... what's he even on about?

Trump businesses received millions in foreign payments while he was in office

^{Martin Pengelly (The Guardian)}

This is really a huge oversight fom the coach - and I take no pride in saying this. I respect #17, but this is pretty bad...

For example, KJ Osborn has led the league in drop rate (currently 13.2%) among wide receivers with at least 70 targets. He also has the sixth lowest contested catch rate (25%) and the third worst yards per route run. And this despite eight games without Justin Jefferson. He has the worst overall offense grade from PFF, the second-worst receiving grade, and by far the worst drop grade. His run block grade is also below average. And yet O’Connell has had nothing but compliments for Osborn and hasn’t decreased his role or snaps based on poor on-field performance. It was only due to the injury to Jefferson that we began to see more of Brandon Powell, who has performed better than Osborn but hasn’t been rewarded for it with more snaps, apart from injury to either Jefferson or Addison.

Vikings Off-Season Evaluation Part I: Offensive Overview

The first in a series of Vikings off-season evaluations

^{Warren Ludford (Daily Norseman)}

This is one of those crazy things that seems to always happen - whenever Israel comes up, there's an abundance of people saying crazy shit about Islam.

This is likely because the terror state of Israel is so hard to defend on its own - you have to proactively dehumanize its opponents to give it a chance at legitimacy.

A survey released last month from the Anthropology Group on Islamic and Arab Contexts — an organisation based at the University of São Paulo — found that reports of harassment among Muslim Brazilians have been widespread since the war began.

An estimated 70 percent of respondents said they knew someone who experienced religious intolerance since October 7, when the Palestinian group Hamas launched an attack on southern Israel, killing 1,140 people.

‘Outraged’: Brazilian Muslims face growing Islamophobia over Gaza war

A survey released last month suggests approximately 60 percent of Brazilian Muslims experienced religious intolerance.

^{Eduardo Campos Lima (Al Jazeera)}

It is not surprising. Every US administration has its share of banal bureaucrats who, in exchange for an important job with an impressive title, are willing to forfeit their integrity and jettison the truth in the “service” of country.

And so, since early October, the world has seen and heard a lot from Rumsfeld’s hideous heir, National Security Council spokesperson, John Kirby.

Like Rumsfeld, the former career naval officer speaks in a high-pitched monotone befitting his dour, monochromatic character.

Like Rumsfeld, Kirby is obliged to spout state-sanctioned bromides in defence of the wholesale destruction of innocent civilians – casualties all of America’s familiar kill-first, think-later foreign policy.

Like Rumsfeld, Kirby is the darling of Beltway pundits who, as a rule, defer to authority and genuflect before power.

On cue, the Washington Post described Kirby earlier this week as a “star” whose skill and experience have translated into “a commanding presence” during press briefings where he keeps the White House’s “messaging” on Gaza “clear”.

Kirby, the Post wrote, is “direct, plain-spoken and unmistakably supportive of the administration’s pro-Israeli policies”.

...

I thought it impossible that Kirby could outdo his doddering boss, US President Joe Biden who, memorably, trafficked in fabrications about beheaded babies, and questioned the number of killed Palestinian children, women and men.

Silly me.

...

“Look, we certainly share the concerns that so many others have … about the humanitarian situation in Gaza,” Kirby said last week from a rostrum at the White House flanked by the Stars and Stripes. “Tell me, name me, one more nation, any other nation, that is doing as much as the United States to alleviate the pain and suffering of the people of Gaza. You can’t. You just can’t.”

I should let that astonishing paragraph stand as Kirby’s sorry epitaph since it demonstrates how prepared the Biden administration and its smug surrogates are to disfigure reality to promote a revolting lie.

But Kirby’s deplorable admonition requires a reply. Decency demands it.

Much of Gaza and 18,600 Palestinians – the bulk of them children and women – have been erased and buried in mass graves with the help of America’s lethal largesse.

Thousands more have been maimed, traumatised or remain entombed beneath the pancake-like rubble – the shattered remnants of once-vibrant homes, businesses, schools, mosques and hospitals.

Biden, Kirby and dead, ungrateful Palestinians

Biden and his smug surrogates remain determined to disfigure reality to obscure their complicity in Israel’s crimes.

^{Andrew Mitrovica (Al Jazeera)}

Another alt tech social media site abandoned.

Panos Damelos

2023-12-30 14:03:23

Ugh, I really tried to stay out of #fediverse drama but I guess I have to say a few things. Most of you know me as a #firefish core team member, so I think I owe it to the admins of almost 500 firefish servers out there and to the almost 5000 members of firefish.social.

So, yeah, if you haven't noticed, things aren't looking good for firefish. Its owner, Kainoa, has practically abandoned the project, which had its last stable release out on July. My last message to them was a week ago, and I haven't heard back since. Firefish.social, besides the other severe technical problems it's had due to mismanagement in the last few months, now also has serious federation issues. I hope Kainoa is well irl, but this is irresponsible and unacceptable.

I hear some of you saying "but you're in the core team too, don't try to put the blame elsewhere!". So I have to explain what being a core team member in firefish meant. Kainoa invited me, Namekuji and a few others to be part of the "core team", but kept all decisions and responsibilities. We didn't co-own this. We never shared donations. We were just volunteers, who were honestly trying to make it a great project. This didn't work well due to concentration of power to one person, who didn't keep their promises. I don't mean to be harsh to Kainoa, I mean we knew they were only 19 when they started the project. Still, it's a bummer to anyone who chose to trust and support Firefish. This includes myself.

I don't know if it's early to consider firefish a dead project, but it sure seems like that for a few months now. Maybe it can be resurrected, idk. It's all up to Kainoa.

In the meantime, Namekuji and I are starting #Catodon, which will have some differences with Firefish, and will include many changes I had discussed with Kainoa but were never implemented. If you decide to stick with us, we promise to be serious about this. I strongly believe in the fediverse and its potential, and I want to build a great platform for it. This was my goal when I chose to be involved in Calckey/Firefish. It's still my goal with Catodon, only this time I can stand behind it 100%, as the project will be co-managed by Namekuji and me. If Firefish left you with a bitter aftertaste, we hope we can build a better relationship and prove ourselves worthy of your trust. Catodon will go public in a matter of days, possibly even hours. We'll have more to say about its direction then.

In the meantime, I just wanted to share my apologies for any inconvenience regarding Firefish, as I'm still technically a core team member, whatever that means. But frankly, I tried so hard to make things go differently - but there's only so much you can do when it's someone else's project. I'm really sorry for how things went.

But this is not the end of the fedi journey for me. I'm super excited about the chance to do some things right this time with Catodon. Life goes on, I guess! Hope to see you soon on our #codeberg repo, so we can start a new creative adventure together =)

​​ xx

This is just plain hilarious:

When Karenga was asked to distinguish Kawaida, the philosophy underlying Kwanzaa, from "classical Marxism," he essentially said that, under Kawaida, we also hate whites. (And here's something interesting: Kawaida, Kwanzaa and Kuumba are also the only three Kardashian sisters not to have their own shows on the E! network.)

Happy Kwanzaa! The Holiday Brought to You by the FBI - Ann Coulter

One of this year’s major news stories is how Republicans, like Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, are trying to BAN the teaching of history — which, as everyone knows, consists exclusively of lessons…

^{Ann Coulter}

It's always interesting to find out who wins when the big boys clash like this.

The New York Times on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging that the companies’ artificial intelligence models infringe upon the newspaper’s intellectual property.

The complaint, viewed by VOA, argues that the AI models created by OpenAI and Microsoft used “millions of The Times’s copyrighted news articles” to train chatbots that now compete with the newspaper as an information source.

The lawsuit marks the first time that a major American media outlet has sued the companies behind the generative AI chatbot ChatGPT and other AI tools. The case also underscores questions that have proliferated from news organizations over the past year over the journalistic, financial and legal implications of generative AI.

New York Times Files Copyright Lawsuit Against AI Tech Companies

Complaint filed in New York alleges Open AI and Microsoft is using copyrighted articles to train technology

^{Liam Scott (Voice of America (VOA News))}

It always looks like Nigeria isn't far from anarchy.

Amnesty International criticised the government after the attacks, saying in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that “the Nigerian authorities have been failing to end frequent deadly attacks on rural communities of Plateau State”.

At least 160 dead and 300 wounded after attacks by armed gangs in Nigeria

‘Bandits’ started attacks in Bokkos area and spilled into neighbouring Barkin Ladi, according to local chairman

^{Guardian staff reporter (The Guardian)}

Now they're really doing numbers.

Shan state, known as a hub for crystal methamphetamine trafficking, is rife with other illegal activities in enclaves along the Chinese border, as criminals take advantage of ongoing civil unrest and armed conflict under the junta which seized power in a 2021 coup. Falling within neighboring China’s orbit, northern Shan state has become a focal point for Chinese scammers who target their own citizens.

From Oct. 31 to Dec. 15, nearly 12,050 Chinese citizens linked to online scam groups in the region were arrested and deported, according to a mid-December announcement by the State Administration Council, the formal name of the military junta governing Myanmar.

Most of the Chinese nationals sent back were operating in the Kokang region, whose mostly ethnic Chinese population has backed resistance to the junta.

Arrests of other Chinese nationals involved in the criminal activity have occurred in territory controlled by the United Wa State Army, or USWA, said to be the largest ethnic armed organization in Myanmar. USWA soldiers arrested more than 1,000 Chinese nationals involved in the gangs on Sept. 6-7 and immediately transferred them across the border to Chinese police.

Really the wild West out there.

More than 40,000 Chinese involved in online scam operations deported from Myanmar

They were sent back between September and mid-December.

^{By RFA Burmese (Radio Free Asia)}

누가 얘기해야하는데... 박봄 이렇게... 보이니... 좀... 어색하지않아?

자유롭게 얘기하는 것은 맞지 않지만 박봄의 현황은 좋지 않다고 생각해. 팬으로 얘기하고 있음.

박봄, 외출 근황 공개…더 또렷해진 이목구비 [N샷]

(서울=뉴스1) 장아름 기자 = 걸그룹 2NE1 출신 가수 박봄의 근황이 공개됐다. 박봄은 26일 자신의 인스타그램에 여러 장의 사진들을 게재했다. 사진에서 박봄은 파란색 패딩을 입고 가방을 든 채 외출, 카메라를 바라보고 있는 모습이다. 그는 진한 메이크업으로 이목구비를 강조해 이목을 집중시킨다. 한편 박봄은 지난 11..

^{파이낸셜뉴스}

ChatGPT can be a valuable tool for students and learners. Users can seek clarification on academic concepts, ask for explanations, or even practice language skills through the free online chat. This educational assistance fosters a dynamic learning environment, helping users grasp complex ideas with greater ease at chatgptfree.onl/

When faced with challenges or decisions, users can turn to ChatGPT for assistance. The model can provide insights, suggest solutions, and offer perspectives on a variety of issues. This real-time problem-solving capability makes ChatGPT a valuable ally for users navigating both personal and professional dilemmas.