[-] zigzag@lemmus.org 4 points 2 weeks ago

Anyone know the missiles fired to landing ratio? I figure it's got to be a large number of missiles/drones to get through the various missile defense systems.

[-] zigzag@lemmus.org 5 points 2 weeks ago

TACO thinks the world's being hard huh? Not the deal maker he thought he was?

[-] zigzag@lemmus.org 2 points 3 weeks ago

It is actually more about making the Democratic leadership as well as a all politician in national context become accountable to their constituency. Marketing through taglines is one of several of the multi-level ways they understand the constituency wants something. Other ways include the obvious email, call, visit, but to exert influence beyond that of the paid lobbyist, you have to create a item that rises above the noise. And the noise today is louder then ever.

The point I'm interested in is that the fascist in government need elected people with actionable paths (like Shumer and Jefferies) who can shut down the finances, use their oversight, write their own bills, use the house and Senate rules to change the tables, and turn down nomination of the executive.

This is not a time to be reasonable and negotiate as the Democrats are known for doing. It's a time for action, a time for the politicians to put their jobs and selves on the line for the democracy they swore an oath to, for the people who elected them. It's not a time to keep getting rich and just let the Republicans slide.

It they don't, we have no reason to vote for them. And yes I get the two party system problem with that, but from ashes needs to rise at least one viable Democratic leader. No body is stepping up in a profound way. We need an Eisenhower, or JFK, or Teddy at least. We need profound change, real leadership, and yelling with emotional and reason at the enemy to inspire a population.

As it is the US has jumped the shark, so it's just damage control.

5

I was struck by the Trump Always Chickens Out (TACO) moniker, as in addition Shumer and many of the Dems deserve a similar tag line. Few seem to be standing up during this upheaval nor being the leaders we need. They also seem to be chickens. Newsom, AOC, Sanders, Buttigieg, etc seems to at least be speaking out if not acting with an appropriate response.

Possibly ones that come to mind:

  • Chuck Shumer: CLUCK (Chuck Lacks Urgency, Caves, Kowtows), or CHILL (Chuck Hides In Low-stakes Limbo)
  • Hakeem Jefferies: JELLO (Jefferies Evades Leadership, Lacks Oomph, HAKEEM (Hesitate, Avoids,Keeps Evading Effective Moves)

Anyone else have some examples, recommendations, or discussions points?

[-] zigzag@lemmus.org 3 points 3 months ago

A monkeys tail! Third hand, balancing, grabbing, etc.

[-] zigzag@lemmus.org 7 points 7 months ago

The graph doesn't give enough context, nor does the article IMO. China is a third party in this, as well as the Ukraine War, etc. And Trump seems unlikely to be good for the economy in his time in office so next year might be up, but there are many more factors.

With Donald Trump preparing to cut taxes and increase tariffs, US inflation is forecast to stay above 2 per cent throughout the whole of 2025, according to predictions compiled by Consensus Economics. Eurozone inflation is on the other hand forecast to drop below the ECB’s target of 2 per cent as soon as February.

“We expect a divergence to open up between the loosening cycles of the Fed and the ECB as mounting inflation risks cause the former to take a fairly cautious approach, while the latter responds forcefully to economic weakness,” said Jennifer McKeown, chief global economist at Capital Economics.

39
submitted 8 months ago by zigzag@lemmus.org to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

Politicians love tellings us what they'll do, but what are the things that you wish they'd get off their a$$ and do something about?

6
submitted 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) by zigzag@lemmus.org to c/europe@feddit.org

BRUSSELS — The European Commission is considering allowing Euroclear to tap frozen Russian assets to help shield the G7’s €45 billion loan to Ukraine against potential retaliation by Moscow.

EU officials are weighing the move as a last-resort solution to compensate Euroclear, the Belgium-based bank holding these assets, for losses incurred in Russia due to its compliance with Western sanctions, according to three officials familiar with the matter who spoke to POLITICO.

Proponents argue the measure would fortify* *a multilateral scheme, finalized last week, that allocates windfall profits generated from around €200 billion in frozen Russian assets to repay the G7’s long-negotiated loan to Ukraine.

Euroclear is currently embroiled in litigation with multiple sanctioned parties who are using Russia’s highly politicized courts to contest their assets being withheld, and seeking compensation.

While Russian courts have little power to force the handover of euro or dollar assets held in Belgium to those with successful claims, they do have the power to take retaliatory action against Euroclear balances held in Russian financial institutions. These belong mainly to Western financial institutions and businesses, who would then be eligible to raise their own compensatory claims against Euroclear.

...

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submitted 8 months ago by zigzag@lemmus.org to c/worldnews@lemmy.ml

...

The evidence is clear: When abortion is legal, democracy thrives. And when reproductive rights are restricted, democracy withers. That same story is unfolding in the U.S. right now, state by state.

Following a successful 2022 abortion ballot initiative, California guaranteed reproductive freedom in its state Constitution. As in Argentina, this move was spearheaded by a strong women’s movement in the state Legislature.

By contrast, Texas has echoed Poland’s path. After shutting down access to abortion, the state restricted its citizens’ right to travel, further curbing civil liberties.

Mobilizing for reproductive rights expands democracy because it gives women voice and control over basic freedoms. The struggle for abortion rights shows society that the personal is indeed political – and that women’s lives matter.

[-] zigzag@lemmus.org 2 points 8 months ago

Thanks, I'll add them and look forward to it.

My distilled understanding is that we are not psychological well built by evolution for this much information in the forms we now have technological. When you take our cognitive biases--which makes us persuadable--and couple that with a degenerating lack of taught fundamental critical thinking skills, it leads to irrational choices and mindsets which are not accounted for in our governing systems, let alone cultures, and economic. Indeed the latter point is that the capitalist system has a fiduciary responsibly to take advantage of any niche and exploit it, which has been let loose due to deregulation in various forms. Executive have little moral incentive to not be evil and instead to manipulate people in whatever manner best suits their shareholders. All of this creates echo chambers and self-reinforcing irrational behavior.

Obviously there is much more to it, but this is the elevator pitch version... Which I look forward to comparing against the books you indicated, plus any correction you might add.

[-] zigzag@lemmus.org 61 points 8 months ago

This is where truth is crazier then fiction, but perhaps we can begin to get to grips with it.

How to avoid a techno-apocalypse brought on by the internet. Talks of several books where this is a core part of the plot.

THE nuclear blast that takes out Moab, Utah, in Neal Stephenson’s 2019 novel Fall; or, Dodge in Hell is “epistemic ground zero”. That is because it doesn’t actually happen. It is an online-only 9-11, a viral conspiracy theory that becomes the fault line along which the US fractures in two.

On one side, the people who believe that Moab is a no-go zone, and that the event has been covered up by swamp-dwelling politicians. On the other, the people who can freely travel to Moab to see the town is untouched.

The know-nothing side of the US devolves into Mad Max anarchy, becoming a no-go zone in its own right, which Stephenson brands Ameristan. The rest continue unimpeded into the technological future.

The book is one of many recent ones that tackle one of the questions of our time. As comedian Ronny Chieng put it in his Netflix special: “Who knew all of human knowledge could make people dumber?”

[-] zigzag@lemmus.org 6 points 9 months ago

Perhaps it's time for Elon Musk to trade in his rockets and tweets for something a bit more, well, boring. After all, digging tunnels seems less likely to land him in hot water—or at least less likely to attract the attention of every regulatory agency with an acronym. With the FAA reportedly raising eyebrows over SpaceX activities and the SEC keeping tabs on his social media shenanigans, maybe subterranean ventures are the way to go.

The Boring Company might just be Musk's most grounded idea yet—literally. No satellites to launch, no cars to recall, and best of all, no character limits to consider before hitting "send." Just good old-fashioned dirt and a machine that goes "brrrr." Imagine the peace and quiet (well, except for the drilling sounds) of focusing on tunnels that could one day alleviate traffic woes—assuming they don't accidentally tap into a subway line.

And let's not forget, digging holes has a certain metaphorical elegance to it. If you're already in one, why not keep digging? It's a strategy that's worked so far, right? Plus, it's hard to get into legal trouble when you're underground—unless, of course, you accidentally tunnel into a vault or something. But hey, even then, it would make for an exciting twist in the ever-entertaining Musk saga.

So here's to hoping Elon swaps his Twitter tirades for tunnel trajectories. At least in the depths of the earth, there's no Wi-Fi to tempt him into late-night tweets that launch a thousand headlines. Maybe being boring isn't so bad after all.

[-] zigzag@lemmus.org 3 points 2 years ago

Sounds like what US Special Operations does on the CA side plus or minus some.

zigzag

joined 2 years ago