Apparition of Jack

Meh. In the Renaissance era people braved rat-filled ships and hostile foreign lands in order to push human knowledge forward. During the Middle Ages people would leave their homeland for years, even decades at a time across unknown regions, often through dangerous territory and with harsh travel conditions in order to learn more about the world. No doubt it would be physically hard but the knowledge you’re taking part in leading humanity to the next step would be a huge motivator for countless people imo. What better way to spend your one lifetime on earth than to chart the stars and open humanity up for space colonisation?

Why do people hate taxes so fucking much? Feel free to give up modern sewage if you hate paying for society

Iran are playing 500 IQ chess while America is playing pin the tail on the donkey. It’s not even in the same ballpark. Iran knows the West is war-weary. Iran knows their country is unconquerable and that any attempt to use more force against them is basically a suicide mission. All the cards are in their favour. But instead of going all out and causing maximum damage to US assets / Israel / foreign shipping etc which would sour the world against them, they’re instead playing it relatively safe, using pressure (but not open destruction) to block the Straight of Hormuz, and making America / Israel trip over themselves as those two countries continue to flip flop on their stated goals and lose more and more troops in a war they’re not really sure why they’re fighting. All Iran has to do is wait this one out. The longer it goes on the worse it looks for Trump, and the more other nations will be willing to negotiate. Say what you will about their government but from a strategic POV they know what they’re doing.

Leo is a conservative LARPing as some enlightened open-minded guru. His takes on most things are pretty dogshit.

I’ll bet $5 and my half-eaten sandwich this will never happen. I’d bet more but I’d feel bad for taking such an easy win

What are you talking about? Which “leftists” are supporting this war? 😂

Does anyone have any sources about what the US military itself / military insiders are saying about this war? I’d like to see what they’re saying first-hand

I’ve always found it weird that so many rich westerners have no qualms about setting up tax havens in geopolitical hotspot zones surrounded by impoverished workers. Dubai, Guatemala, Bali, etc. Aside from the bad social optics of a bunch of rich foreigners living the high life while the local population struggles in poverty, it just seems like bad personal security all round, lol. If I was going to move overseas for economic reasons I’d go to somewhere like Canada or Singapore, not somewhere where radical religious extremists or armed drug dealers live two blocks down the road lol.

This was literally how it was always going to turn out. There was never a situation where it could be any different. I fucking told all of yall, lol. Is this the world we want to live in?

It’s stuff like this that vindicates my opposition to war, especially pointless interventionism like this. A lot of American policymakers seem to have a Hollywood view of warfare - you go in, guns blazing, kill a few “bad guys” and call it a day - mission success. But the reality of it is almost always far more messy and unpredictable. When America invaded Iraq in 2003, it didnt lead to a flourishing of democracy across the Middle East, it led to brutal sectarian tensions (Iraqi Civil War, Rise of ISIS etc) that haven’t fully healed to this day and helped create the conditions for more catastrophic events down the line (Syrian Civil War, Refugee crisis.) It boggles my mind how anyone could think any differently this time around. Modern weapons are absurdly powerful in their destructive potential. Even just a few mid-level missiles can reduce entire apartment blocks and kill hundreds (if not thousands) from thousands of miles away. Modern societies rely on trade networks, energy infrastructure etc that can seriously screwed with by any large-scale conflict. Do people in America and Europe genuinely think that their travel routes to Dubai, India, SE Asia etc wouldn’t be affected by such a shitshow? Borders are meaningless when you’re fighting a war with long-range missiles and information technology that can coordinate attacks around the world in an instant. This isn’t the 1600s anymore where you could reasonably ignore what was happening across the globe. Everything is interconnected these days. Being a reckless idiot like Trump is being is just asking for trouble for millions of people.

Jesus fucking Christ

It genuinely baffles me that they haven’t done this more. You would think that they would be on the attack against an administration like Trump’s that lies through its teeth day after day. The only reason I can think of is that they’re beholden to the same masters as the Republicans, but that doesn’t mean they have to literally give the Republicans are free pass to spread insidious toxic bullshit. Why the DNC seems to hate upholding the truth or resisting Republican overreach is beyond me.

Ukraine has just taken more land than it has in the last 2.5 years of the war. I feel like this is huge. https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20260216-ukraine-makes-fastest-battlefield-gain-in-2-5-years

Frankly no one should be using tiktok in the first place but I digress

This is true.