“Faith in God means believing absolutely in something with no proof whatsoever. Faith in humanity means believing absolutely in something with a huge amount of proof to the contrary. We are the true believers.”
“I feel that we should stop wasting our time trying to please the supernatural and concentrate on improving the welfare of human beings. I think that, uh, we should use our energy and our initiative to solve our problems, and stop relying on prayer and wishful thinking. If we have faith in ourselves, we won't have to have faith in gods.”
Ugh, Ok, my weekend list is so not getting done, I did get a lot yesterday, but today is out, I'm siiiick. Well, actually not too bad at this point, but spent a 0300 - 0600 or so in and out of the bathroom, then slept for a bit, and after a couple hours, dragged m'self out of bed, ran to the store for one thing I forgot to put on the list, and picked up some breakfast. I suspect once I get some food and coffee into me, I'll be better, but definitely not getting anything done #today
💬 12 🔁 1992 ❤️ 2270 · Copy Right and Public Domain in 2026 · It's January 1st 2026, Public Domain Day! it is the day, once a year, in the US where copyright expires! why yes! today every book, mo…
I used to do this until AT&T reported my number for "fraud." Then I remember one place I interviewed at was an AT&T owned facility and then that facility was for notorious telemarketing. The Venn Diagram of at least one of the telephone companies and scammers is a circle.
After that I went on forums and posted telemarketer operations I found and the internet hivemind shut them down. I'm sure the investors evolved since then...
@sparks this; I have a text expander on my phone, resolves to:
Sometimes people who send messages like this aren’t doing it by choice, and are being forced or trafficked into it. If that’s what’s happening, you don’t have to tell me details but please know you can get help confidentially and for free. You can message @BeFree (233733) in the U.S. or visit humantraffickinghotline.org for local numbers in other countries. They can connect you with safety, shelter, and legal help without involving the police unless you want that.
Someone reverse engineered Taco Bell’s API and built a simple tool that "takes the items you want and matches them with combo box deals to get you more Taco Bell for less money".
Bro, if you don't think Very Serious PeopleTM in Canada and Greenland/Denmark are shitting bricks right now, you still don't understand the Trump administration's STATED intentions.
They literally said it is now the military and political doctrine of the United States, that we have a right to control all resources in the Western Hemisphere, and use the military to "gain access" to those resources if necessary.
Well.... crap. The USA is a terrorist state. We don't respect the sovereignty of other nations. We've invaded another country for oil on the pretext of "drug charges" and kidnapped their president and his wife. What's next?
I've sometimes wondered what I would do were I a German in the 1930's. Apparently, just wring my hands looking at my limited options.
A German hacker known as "Martha Root" dressed as a pink Power Ranger and deleted a white supremacist dating website live onstage
This happened during the recent CCC conference.
Martha had infiltrated the site, ran her own AI chatbot to extract as much information from users as possible, and downloaded every profile. She also uncovered the owner of the site. She has published all of the data. #CCC media.ccc.de/v/39c3-the-heartb… Leak data: okstupid.lol/
Jan 3rd is a special day for me. It's Jennifer's Rebirth day. Jan 3rd, 1994 Jennifer received a Kidney-Pancreas transplant. She had been on the transplant list after being diagnosed with kidney failure and having to rely on dialysis to live. The wait was excruciating. In 1994, people on transplant waiting lists carried pagers to enable notification. Several times there were "false alarms". This was either being a secondary transplant candidate, or being rejected due to immunological reasons. This meant that she waited for a second page to come in or stay home. Finally she got the page, about 9pm while we were at a friends house for a post New Year get together. We gathered her hospital bag and drove to Washington Hospital Center. After a wait she was scheduled for a final dialysis with the transplant surgery scheduled for the morning. I was sent home as the preparations excluded me and they would call after the surgery and recovery and she could receive visitors. The weather was poor, snow and sleet had moved in to make things slippery. On Jan 4th, I got the call that the surgery was successful and that Jennifer was in a room, but would probably be pretty out of it for a while longer. On the 5th I went out to find one of my tires was flat, so I had to get up to a local place to get new ones. Once I got to the hospital the word was that everything was as expected, the new kidney and pancreas were working. As predicted, Jennifer was still recovering and was confused. She got better, but had to have some additional surgeries related to the pancreas and how it drains. She stayed at the hospital for a while. I managed to contract the flu and Jennifer had to stay with friends for a week while I recovered. Recovery was long, the effects of Diabetes and the kidney failure were very hard on Jennifer. Due to those issues it was several years before she was able to resume a normal life. But it did happen.
This long winded post is a round about way of getting to my yearly message. Jennifer's kidney and pancreas gave her an additional 29 years of life. A young girl in the Pittsburgh area died, and her parents agreed to donate her organs. Jennifer was not the only person who benefited from this extremely generous gift that transformed their grief into hope for many.
If it fits within your beliefs, Please become a transplant donor. So many people have been helped by organ transplants and been given a gift of life. But it takes a decision on your part to make it happen Give the gift of life.
in this case I suspect it is just greedy oligarchs in the oil industry. The US has always coveted their oil. Oh, and it does suggest that someone is likely to charge him over the Epstein files.
I'm a HUGE Obama fanboy. LOVE the man! And he never did those things. He largely really didn't care about "poll numbers" too much. I think he even went so far to call them "mean girl politics". The number he cared about was the GDP. And he got economic briefings every morning.
What is this AI ass alt text that's longer than the tweet itself?
Better image description:
Screenshot of tweet by @ realDonaldTrump from 10/9/12: Now that Obama's poll numbers are in tailspin – watch for him to launch a strike in Libya or Iran. He is desperate.
@gytisrepecka I'm trying to understand the details of how Mastodon and GoToSocial interact. Is this account you posted from your GtS account? What app do you use? How's do you find Mastodon content?
Amid whitewashing of history of Capitol siege, new transcript of House interview w/ Jack Smith highlights police injuries:
"Cracked ribs, traumatic brain injuries, smashed spinal disks & heart attacks as rioters used bats, flagpoles, chemical sprays, stolen police shields & batons"
"They openly called for kidnappings, hangings, gassing, burning, and other executions -- all on live video & audio. Had plans in advance. The public does not even know most of the story. They can forget about whitewashing it."
It is truly horrifying that the republican terrorist that committed these heinous assaults on police were pardoned by the felon insurrectionist rapist.
“I want to say something many will hate but it needs to be said. I have met Nigel Farage. I do not know him well but I know the world he moves in. We move in similar circles sometimes. The kind of private rooms and members clubs that most people in Britain will never see. I know how the rich speak about ordinary people. They laugh. They joke about how easy it is to wind you up. They know exactly which buttons to press. They know you are angry and tired and struggling and they know you want someone to blame. That is why they point at boats while they pick your pockets.
“I did not grow up rich. I did not grow up in privilege. I understand struggle and the real world. But my life changed and now I see both sides. I sit with billionaires and politicians and decision makers and I hear conversations you never will. I know the truth. They do not care about you. They do not care about your future. They care about profit and control. They see ordinary people as tools or distractions. I am telling you this because I am tired of watching good people being manipulated.
“Look at your life before Brexit and look at it now. Look at your shopping bills. Look at what food costs in Europe right now. Look at how much tax you pay on imports. Look at your wages and energy prices and mortgages. Look at the 10,000 NHS staff we lost when freedom of movement ended. Look at the ambulances that do not arrive. Look at nurses and teachers using food banks. Tell me honestly. Are you better off?
“Nigel helped build the crisis you are living in. Then he pointed at immigrants and told you to blame them. That is the con. He pulled the UK out of the Dublin III agreement which means we cannot return asylum seekers to Europe anymore. He created the boat chaos then told you to panic about it. Someone who worked in immigration for more than ten years told me they saw it coming. It was planned. It is a strategy. And you are falling for it.
“Now he wants austerity again. He wants to cut wages for young people. He wants to rip up workers rights. He wants private health insurance and a French style NHS where the rich get treated first and the poor get nothing. He wants you fighting each other so you never see who is robbing you. If you vote for him you are voting to destroy your own life. Not mine. Yours.
“None of this affects me personally. I drink champagne with the people who control the money. I will be fine no matter what. Reform will not hurt me. Reform will hurt you. It will hurt your children. Your parents. Your future. I am telling you because I care. If I did not care I would stay silent and watch you suffer.
“You think I am your enemy because I make you uncomfortable. I am not. Your enemy is the one who lies to you and blames the vulnerable while he empties your pockets.
“Reform will not save you. Reform will finish you.
@Democracy Dies in Dumbass Nods, "I know of that now, but I was born in 72, so for me in the 80's I was just learning politics and being taught how great America and Reagan were. I wasn't legally an adult before I started questioning that."
At this point, technologically, I doubt it's "if" but rather a question of how long EVs winning can (continue to) be deferred artificially. But I'm also sure there will be other resources to exploit and fight over.
Rule of Law? What does it mean in general? Btw I think electric cars are a good idea, they are best if you can afford your own solar panels (and maybe batteries) at home. Once installed, no more transporting costs (apart from regular service, which is very limited on electric cars compared to fossil fuel ones).
@dexter I use one as a delivery vehicle, even with fuel costs, its massively better than a gas vehicle, so long as you can charge at home, the local WalMart's fast charger is 56¢/KwH, home is 11.4¢/KwH, I'm spending maybe a third of what I used to spend on gas.
Considering fossil fuel prices lately thats a really good thing I guess. More and more people will switch as used but good range electric cars are becoming fairly cheap. This era should have started much earlier, we are at least fifteen years too late (where we are now should have happened around 2010). But its better to switch later than never.
If I'm not mistaken, forecasts are saying that demand for fossil energy wlll decline soon. Oil product demand peaked in 2022, Gas consumption had a decline in Europe of over ten percent. I'd say electric cars are an important piece of the puzzle. Interesting to notice that Chinese seem to become the best at it (building really good and affordable electric cars).
@dexter Honestly I'm not surprised the Chinese are so good, their gas powered cars were a joke for so long that they developed a reputation China couldn't live down, but electric? The western world gave up on them, so China dove in and created a new image for themselves, and here we are.
Interesting to notice that Chinese seem to become the best at it (building really good and affordable electric cars).
The US is simply giving the market away. Interestingly, I count Three separate times that General Motors engaged in major efforts to make, market, and sell electric vehicles - and it failed three times. Such incompetence leads to very bad consequences. Ford is doing no better, while Tesla has excommunicated itself.
Exactly, they were smart enough to admit that they are too far behind with fossil fuel engine technology. So they put their bet on (cheap) battery technology and all electric cars. I notice more and more BYDs and MGs on the streets here in Europe every day. GM literally tried to kill electric car development in the 90s. There was even a movie about the story. People liked their test venicles and wanted to buy them - GM seized all the cars and delivered them to a junk yard for recycling.
In general, this is the notion that people can agree to live within certain limitations in order to guarantee a better living place for all. And generally this works quite well when the parameters are reasonable and there is some mechanism for enforcement. The was the The International Court of Justice, which looked promising until the US decided it did not like the constraints. And the UN Security Council, which has been similarly ignored.
If the major powers had abided by the principles of these international institutions, and worked to bring about enforcement of abridgements, we would have a much better world today.
💬 1 🔁 31 ❤️ 52 · A lot of Substack readers have told me this one landed in a tender spot. It's for people waking up to consequences they thought had someone else's name on them. Sharing the full…
Estarriol, Terrorist Dragon
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