PugJesus

PugJesus , 1 day ago

I'd be more giddy about that except it's not the cops who ever pay. It's just the city (and thus, by extension, the taxpayers and their non-policing interests). And the city will keep sucking on the department's toes.

PugJesus , 1 day ago

You are in FAR more danger inside the USA than almost anywhere else. Projection to idiots.

Fucking what

PugJesus , 1 day ago

Even if it is referring to right-wing assholes, the US is one of the safer places in the world for LGBT folk. That's not high praise of the US so much as damnation for most of the rest of the world, but either way, one is definitely not in "FAR more danger" inside the USA than "almost anywhere else".

PugJesus , 1 day ago

Lord.

PugJesus , 1 day ago

Abbott’s decision comes after the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles voted unanimously Thursday to recommend a full pardon and the restoration of firearm rights for Perry

Can we discuss how FUCKED the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles is too?

PugJesus , 2 days ago

But let’s not blow air up [Russia's] asshole.

That seems to be the favorite pastime of a concerning number of people on here, though.

PugJesus , 5 days ago

This is obviously sinophobia /s

PugJesus , 6 days ago

I’m not super well read on the subject, but is that not true? Or, if it is true, does it not matter?

The issue is that unconditional support of past American actions is no longer acceptable, and so all America's past actions are being re-evaluated. This is good! However, this also often results in people simply taking the reverse position than the accepted one. This is bad.

The atomic bombings were less bloody than a blockade or an invasion would have been, and the people who claim the Soviet Union was going to successfully invade the home islands or that Japan was about to surrender under any terms that would have been considered reasonable, pinky-promise, are just misinformed or deluded.

PugJesus , 6 days ago

Nothing happened, but anyone involved with nothing happening is a security threat.

PugJesus , 7 days ago

Turns out months of GOP stalling had the effect they wanted - an advantage to Russia. Fucking bootlickers.

PugJesus , 8 days ago

This country is just inviting fascism by letting the common person have a say in how things are ran.

...

PugJesus , 8 days ago

Uncle Sherman approves

PugJesus , 9 days ago

Many of them owned slaves and had zero issues with slave ownership.

Three of the seven Founding Fathers were slave-owners.

One was restricted by law from freeing them due to the massive debts he ran up funding the Revolution (Washington) but came to believe that slavery was an unambiguous evil by the end of his life, making plans to free his slaves lawfully (which is a bit of a dick move considering the state of the law at the time, but 'we are creatures of habit, not originality').

One was a dickhead, but one who thought slavery was bad and should die out (Jefferson).

Only one was an unrepentant slaver (Madison).

The other four were staunch abolitionists.

This land was populated by people who “escaped” Europe because of “religious persecution” which actually meant Europe was getting all progressive and deeply philosophical so you couldn’t just shove your bullshit religion down other people’s throats anymore with impunity.

That was true for the Puritans who founded Mass and Connecticut. But for most of what would become the US, the exact opposite was the truth. Europe quite explicitly was NOT progressive and deeply philosophical about religion at the time - the Puritans on the Mayflower were fleeing, specifically, the Netherlands, which was a rare bastion of religious tolerance in Europe. Maryland was founded as a refuge for Catholics where all Trinitarians would have equal rights - far more radical than most of Europe. Pennsylvania was explicitly founded on religious tolerance by a Quaker. Rhode Island instituted freedom for non-Trinitarian Christians in the 17th century. European Jews fled to New York (after it was no longer New Amsterdam) specifically BECAUSE it was more tolerant than Europe. New Jersey, North Carolina, and South Carolina were religiously diverse from the outset.

Most of the Founding Fathers were deists or highly deist influenced, and all believed in freedom of religion.

Hagiography of the early days of America is dumb. But demonization doesn't provide a clear view simply by being the reverse.

PugJesus , 8 days ago

When most people say the Founding Fathers, they mean the big seven.

The sticking point for the Constitution (as early drafts did repudiate slavery) was the Southern delegates - though slavery had not yet fully developed as a core part of the region's identity, a lot of money was still tied up in the disgusting trade. Even so, the assumption was that slavery would die out in the South the same way it had done elsewhere - a trend which was reversed by the invention of the cotton gin.

PugJesus , 10 days ago

The pyramids were built by well paid craftsmen.

Designed, certainly. But constructed by peasant corvée.

PugJesus , 9 days ago

If not slaves, then who were these workers? Lehner's friend Zahi Hawass, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, who has been excavating a "workers' cemetery" just above Lehner's city on the plateau, sees forensic evidence in the remains of those buried there that pyramid building was hazardous business. Why would anyone choose to perform such hard labor? The answer, says Lehner, lies in understanding obligatory labor in the premodern world. "People were not atomized, separate, individuals with the political and economic freedom that we take for granted. Obligatory labor ranges from slavery all the way to, say, the Amish, where you have elders and a strong sense of community obligations, and a barn raising is a religious event and a feasting event. If you are a young man in a traditional setting like that, you may not have a choice." Plug that into the pyramid context, says Lehner, "and you have to say, 'This is a hell of a barn!'"

Lehner currently thinks Egyptian society was organized somewhat like a feudal system, in which almost everyone owed service to a lord. The Egyptians called this "bak." Everybody owed bak of some kind to people above them in the social hierarchy.

That's literally corvée.

PugJesus , 9 days ago

Okay, great, I see our argument is "Words don't matter, corvee isn't corvee, unskilled labor isn't unskilled labor; because they lived in a barracks and were fed well".

PugJesus , 9 days ago

How does that describe pyramid workers?

unpaid

forced labour

intermittent

imposed by a state

for the purposes of public works

I'm not seeing the unskilled Egyptian workers we're talking about here miss any of these criteria.

What do you think 'obligatory labor' in the context of a 'feudal'-like system for the Pharaoh by commoners on a massive construction project is exactly?

PugJesus , 9 days ago

They were unpaid because Egypt didn’t have the concept of currency.

You don't need currency to be paid.

They weren’t forced, they volunteered their services.

That's not what 'obligatory labor' means.

All work in Egypt was intermittent due to Nile floods.

Okay? All work for peasantry is intermittent due to the changing of the seasons. That doesn't mean you can't impose corvee on a peasant - in fact, peasant farmers are USUALLY the ones who ARE getting corvee'd precise BECAUSE their own ordinary labor is intermittent. The point of distinguishing corvee as intermittent is to differentiate it from slavery and ad hoc forced labor, not because picking up drifters who do small jobs instead of full-time factory workers changes the nature of a corvee.

It wasn’t for the purpose of public works, it was for the purpose of religion.

It was a public monument by the government. Your own link says, and I quote:

From the Egyptian Old Kingdom (c. 2613 BC, the 4th Dynasty) onward, corvée contributed to government projects.[6] During the times of the Nile River floods, it was used for construction projects such as pyramids, temples, quarries, canals, roads, and other works.

PugJesus , 10 days ago

People are (sometimes willfully) confusing "the current status quo is fucked" with "there is no improvement resulting from the measures taken by the administration". The former is true - the latter is not.

PugJesus , 10 days ago

I get that this is nominally how capitalism is supposed to work, but I think that putting the investor as the first, last, and only consideration has caused a proliferation of slash-and-burn style short-termism. It’s fake growth because it’s not actually sustainable, everyone knows it, but you just try and keep it up until the next short term scheme can keep your stonks inflated.

It's very true. When the owner-class still dominated decision-making, there was a level of rationality in firm behavior - as there were owners who felt that the firm was their property, they were motivated to keep it healthy. Shear the sheep. From the viewpoint of the owner, this is rational - there is no sense in destroying what makes you money in the long term.

But investors have no such urge, and as the investor-class has come to dominate decision-making and not just capital allocation, they've begun slaughtering the sheep to gorge themselves and move onto the next. This, from their viewpoint, is perfectly rational decision-making - they are maximizing their gain from each investment, wringing it dry, and then leaving what's left (preferably before the stock crashes) to find a new, healthy host. I mean, investment. They have no incentive to maintain the health of the firm, not even in an exploitative sense. What is it that Marx calls them? Rentier capitalists?

It's not sustainable. Not even by capitalism's admittedly low standards.

PugJesus , 11 days ago

US: "We'll sign off on your retaliation against Iran if you put the Rafah invasion on pause."

Israel: "Deal." [invades anyway]

Turns out there IS a limit to how far Israel can backstab the US before having SOME kind of response.

PugJesus , 11 days ago

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

And our broken immigration system fails these people time and time again.

PugJesus , 11 days ago

Don't worry, they'll just blame it on Democrats, as usual.

PugJesus , 12 days ago

What a moron.

PugJesus , 12 days ago

Don't worry - those being sent to die in Ukraine are overwhelmingly ethnic minorities of Russia. All the ethnic cleansing you could want, only a small percentage of the bad press!

PugJesus , 12 days ago

Since October 1st 2023, 20 trans people in the US are known to have died from violence. Almost half of them died in the south (as defined by the US census). Are trans people in the south any safer for it happening under cover of night?

Yes, trans people in the US are safer than in Palestine. Jesus Christ.

https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/415610_WEST-BANK-AND-GAZA-2022-HUMAN-RIGHTS-REPORT.pdf

::: spoiler spoiler

Violence against LGBTQI+ Persons: There were reported cases of violence,
criminalization, or abuse based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the
West Bank. OHCHR and NGOs reported Hamas security forces in Gaza harassed
and detained persons due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. Both noted,
however, that such cases were rarely reported, especially in Gaza, because of
concerns about protecting the safety those involved.
OHCHR observers reported PA security officers harassedand sometimes arrested
individuals due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. LGBTQI+
individuals were also victims of targeted hate crimes and violent acts. Media
reported that Ahmed Abu Markhiya, a gay Palestinian, was killed by decapitation
in Hebron on October 5. Abu Markhiya had been residing in Israel for several
years under a humanitarian permit reportedly because of death threats he received
while living in the West Bankand was awaiting approval of an asylum application
to Canada, according to media reports. Palestinian police made an arrest and
continued an investigation intothe killing.
Media reported that lesbians in the West Bank and Gaza concealed their sexual
orientation due to fear they would be killed by their families.
The PA failed to protect members of the LGBTQI+ community. After an attack on
members of the community at the Al Mustawde restaurant earlier in the year, the
PA did not make any attempts to hold the culprits accountable for their action.
Discrimination: The PA does not provide protection for or prohibit
discrimination against the LGBTQI+ community. Homosexuality is widely
considered to be taboo in areas under PA control and in Gaza.
Activities associated with the LGBTQI+ community were met with strong
opposition, and the Palestinian police often acted to prevent these activities. As a
result of this and other discriminatory conduct, the LGBTQI+ community in the
West Bank was driven underground and had no vocal representatives or NGOs
willing to speak in the West Bank, according to observers. Similarly, in Gaza,
according to observers, there was no visible LGBTQI+ community. Observers
reported that human rights organizations in Gaza did not monitor and refused to
address LGBTQ+ issues.
Availability of Legal Gender Recognition: There is no legal method for
correcting gender markers on identity documents.
Involuntary or Coercive Medical or Psychological Practices Specifically
Targeting LGBTQI+ Individuals: According to media reports, family members
of LGBTQI+ individuals subjected them to involuntary or coercive medical,
psychological, and religious practices throughout the West Bank and Gaza. Media
reported that a Palestinian man confronted his son, age 18, after finding messages
on the son’s mobile phone between him and another young man suggesting a
same-sex relationship. The son claimed his father attacked him, beat him, and
renounced him. The father forced him to meet with a cleric weekly until he
attempted unsuccessfully to kill himself, according to the report.
Restrictions of Freedom of Expression, Association, or Peaceful Assembly:
The PA in cases limited freedom of expression, association, and peaceful
assembly, although not explicitly based on sexual orientation or identity, and it
tolerated such actions by vigilantes and armed militias. During the year, in the
West Bank, peaceful assemblies and gatherings attended by LGBTQI+ individuals
were disrupted. For example, the Warehouse (event space) in Ramallah was
closed after a campaign of incitement, hate speech, and assault, which followed a
June 17 attack on the venue and cancellation of a musical performance because the
artist was “gay.” According to media reports, the attackers circulated a video on
social media and, following the violent attack, targeted the performance space with
an incitement campaign based on a false account of the events and the place.
According to media, approximately 200,000 social media users participated,
leaving thousands of hate-filled comments and incitement to murder (see 2.a.,
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events).

:::

PugJesus , 12 days ago

but last year when I was looking at things in depth, they also have NATO weapons, but I couldn’t find how they got it.

Way #1: Cold War-era supply to dictators who weren't aligned with the Soviets hasn't run out yet.

Way #2: Cold War-era surplus sold off en masse in the 90s.

Way #3: Western supplies for 'anti-terrorist' states and the proliferation that results from corruption within those countries.

PugJesus , 13 days ago

Don't worry, he's 'only' betting that useful idiots in the West will restrain Western governments from reacting in any way, shape, or form.

PugJesus , 13 days ago

Just Asking Questions, huh?

Russia uses GLONASS, not GPS.

PugJesus , 13 days ago (edited 13 days ago)

I'm familiar with Linkerbaan. Pattern recognition is not an offense.

EDIT:

All from our dear friend - took me only a few minutes of searching. Not faulting you for not searching, that would be ridiculous to expect of someone who didn't know the poster, but this isn't just "SOMEONE ASKED A QUESTION ABOUT RUSSIA!" it's "Someone with a long history of playing 'bothsides' and putting forth bullshit assertions and feigning ignorance is doing it on one of the subjects they constantly do it on".

Israel has already killed more civilians in 45 days than Putin during his entirely Ukraine war.

The west is commiting actual genocide right now. Don’t mis use the word for Putin.

Ukraine is doing plenty of terrorism against their occupier. Your double standards are showing.

Reminder that israel had already killed more civilians than Putin did since the start of the Ukraine war. Biden is literally worse than Putin.

You fuck off genocide apologist. When it came to Ukraine you were all calling for the Russians to assasinate Putin.

Now that it’s about non white people you’re literally saying you’re gonna vote for the genocide guy. Fucking racist hypocrites.

The war crimes Russia committed in Bucha pale in comparison to the complete genocide israel is committing right now.

America is already talking about dropping support for Ukraine.

Ukraine was just a proxy to exhaust Russian resources with.

Now that the entire country is in ruin America is going to pull support and leave them for dead like they’ve done with all their other proxies.

Even the Russians had far greater precision than this when attacking Ukraine.

You’re in for a treat when you start reading about the Azov brigade. They’ve got literal Nazi’s.

It’s so sad that all you have is whataboutism isn’t it? And the worst part is that Genocide Joe isn’t even the lesser of evils anymore. He is now the worse evil.

Genocide Joe is the person able to stop this. Instead he removes all war crime restrictions on the weapons and protects israel with all his power. He is actively committing mass genocide.

A reminder that Genocide Joe has killed more than twice as many civilians than Putin in Ukraine already.

Not to mention the amount of children murdered by this barbaric Zio Nazi

Not to forget Ukraine is slowly getting ditched too so the “world powers” are losing that one as well.

Israel is like 10000% more genocidal than Russia.

But anyone not supporting Ukraine with weapons against Russia obviously has to go because that’s very “unfreedom” of them.

The Kurds welcome Ukraine in joining the long list of groups abandoned and left in ruins by the US after being promised support to fight their enemy as long as needed.

Biden needs to focus on committing Genocide now. He has no time for Ukrainians beating an invasion. Surely Zeloonsky understands, he unconditionally supports israel’s genocide himself.

PugJesus , 13 days ago

Because Russian systems run almost exclusively off GLONASS, and GPS is owned by the USA. Russia has a history in the Ukrainian War of... get this... jamming GPS signals but not GLONASS.

You wanna explain to me your thought process over Ukraine jamming GPS signals, the same GPS system they use, over their European allies in order to combat Russian GLONASS?

You can stop JAQing off any time.

PugJesus , 13 days ago

The combined spectrum is called GNSS and you can get receivers that combine all three for get this…

20 bucks.

Russia would not using the other spectrums because… ?

Because that's not how integrated systems work in a massive institution like a government or military. Jesus fucking Christ.

Are you okay by the way? Someone asking a very reasonsonable question doesn’t mean they are pro Russia.

You really want me to trot out your long history of this bootlicking shite?

PugJesus , 13 days ago

Yeah nobody there would think to ever update anything. Ever. Especially not those suicide drones from Iran. Which must have been developed 50 years ago.

"Just update it!"

The number of reasons why military-grade equipment integrated with 40 years of GLONASS-compatible systems that rely on the information given by GLONASS in its syntax can't be replaced with a 20$ consumer receiver is massive even in a country whose military isn't famously corrupt and inept.

If all you can do is spam ad hominems then don’t bother responding.

Oh, alright, let's go down through, shall we?

Israel has already killed more civilians in 45 days than Putin during his entirely Ukraine war.

The west is commiting actual genocide right now. Don’t mis use the word for Putin.

Ukraine is doing plenty of terrorism against their occupier. Your double standards are showing.

Reminder that israel had already killed more civilians than Putin did since the start of the Ukraine war. Biden is literally worse than Putin.

You fuck off genocide apologist. When it came to Ukraine you were all calling for the Russians to assasinate Putin.

Now that it’s about non white people you’re literally saying you’re gonna vote for the genocide guy. Fucking racist hypocrites.

The war crimes Russia committed in Bucha pale in comparison to the complete genocide israel is committing right now.

America is already talking about dropping support for Ukraine.

Ukraine was just a proxy to exhaust Russian resources with.

Now that the entire country is in ruin America is going to pull support and leave them for dead like they’ve done with all their other proxies.

Even the Russians had far greater precision than this when attacking Ukraine.

You’re in for a treat when you start reading about the Azov brigade. They’ve got literal Nazi’s.

It’s so sad that all you have is whataboutism isn’t it? And the worst part is that Genocide Joe isn’t even the lesser of evils anymore. He is now the worse evil.

Genocide Joe is the person able to stop this. Instead he removes all war crime restrictions on the weapons and protects israel with all his power. He is actively committing mass genocide.

A reminder that Genocide Joe has killed more than twice as many civilians than Putin in Ukraine already.

Not to mention the amount of children murdered by this barbaric Zio Nazi

Not to forget Ukraine is slowly getting ditched too so the “world powers” are losing that one as well.

Israel is like 10000% more genocidal than Russia.

But anyone not supporting Ukraine with weapons against Russia obviously has to go because that’s very “unfreedom” of them.

The Kurds welcome Ukraine in joining the long list of groups abandoned and left in ruins by the US after being promised support to fight their enemy as long as needed.

Biden needs to focus on committing Genocide now. He has no time for Ukrainians beating an invasion. Surely Zeloonsky understands, he unconditionally supports israel’s genocide himself.

It goes on and on and on and on and...

PugJesus , 13 days ago

It's also a parliamentary system, and there hasn't been a stable coalition in forever. Netanyahu, despite his lack of public popularity, has the backroom connections to stay on top of 'the game' in a divided parliament, especially with two of the left-wing parties only narrowly missing the threshold in the last election.

PugJesus , 14 days ago

[Mexico sends police]

[Police are corrupted]

[Mexico sends Special Police(tm)]

[Special Police(tm) are corrupted]

[Mexico sends military]

[Military is corrupted]

[Mexico sends Special Forces]

[Special Forces are corrupted]

Maybe there's a more essential problem here than "We're not using the right weapons"?

Nah. Let's ignore these human rights dweebs and send more troops again.

PugJesus , 14 days ago

For the same reason that dictatorial regimes are still negotiated with to end wars.

"They represent the popular will" and "They represent the ability of the region to continue fighting" are two different things.

PugJesus , 15 days ago

I want to see the people coming into these threads defending the cops closing down these camps defend the cops arresting 2300 people.

I'll half-bite, I suppose - disruptive encampments and occupations of buildings of institutions that are attempting to continue functioning are situations in which one should expect a police response to disperse after a period of time. These institutions have an obligation to the other students and faculty, not just to the demands of the protesters, and the right to dictate what is and is not appropriate usage, or after what period of time it becomes inappropriate usage, of the university's buildings. And if the demands of the protesters are unrealistic or out of the hands of the institution, then there is no other real recourse but a police response.

Of course, on the other hand, anyone who has seen what the police response is knows that it's American police being more militarized than the US military and using the opportunity to vent some of their roid rage and testosterone poisoning.

But police closing down such protest encampments is not inherently illegitimate.

PugJesus , 15 days ago

Largely my comment was in the abstract. I knew most of the ones that had been getting attention were about divestment in their university, but I presumed that at least some were students trying to raise awareness over a subject the uni had no power over. And that's perfectly legitimate! It's just something that you do have to expect the possibility of an arrest for.

Unfortunately, as I noted, US police are not known for reasonable, proportionate responses.

Aside from the completely disproportionate police response, schools like Columbia don’t really help themselves with how they want to glorify their history of student activism to draw in new students, but turn their backs on those principles once the students are protesting in favor of causes that the school administration decide are the wrong causes.

Uni admins and being bloodsucking hypocritical parasites - name a more iconic duo.

PugJesus , 15 days ago

Oh, so they're narrowing the targets of their attacks?

PugJesus , 15 days ago

4.8 million is one of the largest ever reached for US poultry workers?

No wonder this shit keeps happening.

PugJesus , 15 days ago

Wh-what, no, I-I was told Tiktok was big holsum chungus in support of democracy???

PugJesus , 15 days ago

Literal clown shoes.

PugJesus , 16 days ago

He's right frighteningly often.

PugJesus , 16 days ago

He got outpolitiked in the 2020 primary. Really the only reason why he's not president right now.

PugJesus , 16 days ago

Every time I look at you I don't understand...

PugJesus , 16 days ago

It's unironically one of my favorite musicals. It's surprisingly not very religious, considering its subject matter.

PugJesus , 16 days ago

It walks a very fine line that appeals to both Christians and non-Christians. It's more about the drama and struggle around Jesus, without ever directly addressing his divinity or lack thereof. Judas has all the banger songs, though. He's the protagonist, really.