@maggiekat
I read obsessively. I read everything. Not in the hope of becoming an expert on anything, just hoping I come away understanding a little more than what I entered with header from The Vine-first internet platform I joined way back when
I think Bolton's views are bad and his books tendentious, but we're better off as a free society having people like him keep diaries and write memoirs. On balance, I tend to think the benefits of open debate outweigh the imperatives of secrecy.
I continue to think the appropriate punishment for mishandling classified information is the loss of access to classified information, but not criminal prosecution unless the person commits espionage. How did I end up defending the Rage Walrus? Fuck 2025.
I understand why some see a parallel in WW2 with events playing out in today's world (which I do see, also), but I think we should reread the history of what was happening in the world in the run up to WW1.
4)
finally, take care of your physical health - those annoying, occasional issues at 40 become constant, debilitating issues after 70 - get them taken care of now
if you don't have your health, everything else becomes secondary
3)
find a hobby that makes you feel like you are creating something - cooking, sewing, woodwork, gardening, painting - and do it
get outside on a regular basis - even if its only to gaze out a window - nature is spiritually renewing
2)
develop a group (IRL)- whether family or friends that feel like a refuge against any outside storm & meet up often
find something that calms you and practice it regularly - whether than is meditation or reading the comics
1)
70+ here
you r the best judge of how much reality vs needing protective walls you can handle - not the rest of the world
become part of a community (IRL) that u can turn to in a crisis & know they will act (usually that is a faith community, but not necessarily)
“The Democrats need to empower messengers that the establishment is scared of, people who don’t delight megadonors. Democrats need to stake their claims on a set of strong beliefs, and see if Americans will follow.” www.nytimes.com/2025/10/04/o...
What did Amnesty do to Ukraine?
Publish report after report of Russian war crimes and abuses and one report based on interviews with Ukrainian civilians where it was stated that Ukrainian forces had stationed themselves in some occasions on civilian neighbourhoods, leading to civilian losses.
One mother told how her adult son had used to take food to Ukrainian soldiers whose unit was stationed near their home and her son was killed in a Russian attack against the unit.
And this upset Ukraine and its supporters abroad who wanted the war to be seen as Absolute Evil vs Absolute Good.
And so we got the hate campaign against Amnesty from Ukraine and from its fans - not supporters, but adoring fans is more appropriate term - who couldn't handle what was a very modest criticism based on interviews of Ukrainian civilians.
You people demanded that Amnesty should be shut down.
There has never been any prolonged war where both sides - no matter how wrong and abhorrent one side's aggression and how justified the other's defence - wouldn't have committed actions that can and should be criticized.
But you couldn't accept that. You wanted the war in Ukraine to be a fairytale.
Every single post by Amnesty on Twitter got hateful replies from supporters of Ukraine, just like every single post by UNRWA was attacked by supporters of genocidal Apartheid Israel.
When human rights in China or Iran were criticized, you people were demanding that Amnesty should be shut down.
You people wanted all the good work that Amnesty does to be destroyed because it had dared to interview Ukrainian civilians and report what they told.
You didn't care what that would mean, how oppressive regimes would benefit and human rights would suffer.
That was utter disgrace from you people.
Following President Trump’s meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu at the White House, and the Trump administration’s release of a “21-point plan” to end the conflict in Gaza, Matt Duss, Executive Vice-President at the Center for International Policy, released the following statement: "The world desperately needs an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, whose people have endured unspeakable horror over these past two years. Unfortunately, the 21-point plan released by the Trump administration today, while thankfully walking back from Trump’s previous goal of expelling Gaza’s people, contains numerous opportunities for Netanyahu to renege on his commitments, as he has repeatedly done in the past. It is not clear who has agreed to which terms of Trump’s plan, or whether Trump himself understands what is in it. Trump and Netanyahu’s remarks today were a litany of lies about the last 30 years, not a promising foundation for peace. "Despite his claim of being close to a deal, Trump's statement that Israel will have 'full US backing' to "'finish the job' in Gaza if his plan is not agreed to stood out most clearly. This would be more of what we have seen not only the last nine months, but the last two years, as the United States has unconditionally armed and subsidized a genocide in Gaza." "The path to a desperately needed peace remains the same as it has for nearly two years: using leverage and pressure on Israel to achieve a ceasefire that stops its atrocities, frees all hostages, ends the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and supports a real path to Palestinian liberation, without which the region will not know real security."
New from @mattduss.bsky.social for @cipolicy.bsky.social: following President Trump’s meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu at the White House, and the Trump administration’s release of a “21-point plan” to end the conflict in Gaza.
My review of ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER, with a look at the influence of Thomas Pynchon on the movie and a response to criticisms of the movie for historical anachronism. www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaWr...
A gentleman (Ofer Zalzberg) I use to follow on twitter ages ago spoke along the same lines in regard to religiously conservative circles in Israel in bringing them about to ideas of reconciliation and that you had to meet them where they were. His papers in English were fascinating. Of course I realize conservative in religion and conservative in political thought are not necessarily the same thing, but the dynamic I think is similar.
please click through the bullshit content warning and explain to me how this skeet, let alone their whole account, qualifies. this is just #racist crap. @moderation.bsky.app is doing whatever #zionist dipshits tell them to, the end. if this doesn't sit well with you email moderation@blueskyweb.xyz
imagine a scenario where Hegseth gives a speech abt how everyone must be loyal to Trump and slips in the statement that troops have a duty to ensure their commanders are loyal. It would put every one of these officers on notice that their troops might turn on them if they are not seen as sufficiently loyal to Trump. Friendly fire, mutiny from the ranks?
2/2
Love pours in for a dying octopus as she tends to eggs that will never hatch
www.washingtonpost.com/nation/inter...?
Fans and caretakers have expressed an outpouring of grief and love for Ghost, a strikingly beautiful giant Pacific octopus, as she nears the end of her life.
The last act these octopuses do before dying is care for a batch of eggs till they hatch - but her's are not fertilized and so they will never hatch even while she neglects eating in order to care for her unborn babies. I wish we could substitute some fertilized eggs so she could die at peace that she did the best she could for her children.
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Love pours in for a dying octopus as she tends to eggs that will never hatch
“How to Fix America” 🎧➡️ @mattduss.bsky.social joined @gideonrachman.bsky.social on the @financialtimes.com Rachman Review to discuss the challenges defining America’s future.
www.ft.com/content/4581...
I use to watch my mom eat boiled okra and 😝, even though I loved okra all other ways
but a few years ago, I discovered baby okra and sad to say - I have now become my mama
and here I have been thinking that what the world needs right now is some Maimonides in the major faiths of the world
I had totally forgotten I even wrote this post
7 months feels like we have been through several lifetimes
My answer to my own questions at the time was "yes"
Seven months later I feel it is the only answer that is actively being confirmed
thank you for posting this. In trying to gain background on England in the 16th century (in order to understand about Jamestown), I came across Edmund S. Morgan's writings, which in essence said the lower classes of England at that time were so lazy they would not even do the work to save themselves, neither in England nor in America. Which struck me as untrue. But I have no knowledge base to refute that assumption. I am hoping by reading this series, it answers that question for me.
4/4
I'm on a separate topic and focusing on getting through the stack of books on my desk, but this new book should prove to be just revealing and informative as his previous one.
Another one for my reading list.
While his first book largely treated each person in a complementary manner, I found it encapsulated Musk's personality and how he has been treated as some kind of genius prophet by his associates who are paid to create whatever reality bubble Musk wants. You can clearly see the foundation of what we have witnessed since.
3/4
I had read his previous book on the space industry "The Space Barons: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the Quest to Colonize the Cosmos" when it came out in 2018. That one looked at not only Bezos and Musk's activities in the space industry, but also Richard Branson, and Paul Allen. The title has proven to have been an accurate description of how reality has played out in this new Gilded Age.
2/4
1/4
I see Christian Davenport has just come out with a new book "Rocket Dreams: Musk, Bezos, and the Inside Story of the New, Trillion-Dollar Space Race" focusing on Bezos and Musk