China is doing the same thing the US did for decades, which is giving out loans to developing countries to pay US/Chinese companies to build infrastructure that they may not fully need, and then using the spiraling debt repayment as leverage to exert pressure for those countries to give US/China favorable trade deals.
Yes, those countries get immediate benefits, but it is unclear whether the long-term results are positive or negative.
No. Iran can’t win it for two reasons. First is that they aren’t as good as any of the top teams. They are a good team, don’t get me wrong, but nowhere near even the top 20. The second is that FIFA is corrupt as fuck and wouldn’t let Iran even sniff a semi-final match.
I know this is probably considered cruelty to animals, but a part of me thinks, “wouldn’t the ferrets fucking love this?”
Please describe any way that this story helps the US. This is saying Iranians are unhappy that a deal universally described as terrible for the US is still not good enough for Iran.
It’s all over the map. Tons of in-fighting between people pissed off that we aren’t continuing to kill brown people (“terrorism is in their DNA” is a direct quote), pissed off that we spent all that money and time and got nothing of value in return, pissed off that it makes Trump look bad, pissed off that the media is not portraying all the “wins” from this war, pissed off that the Republicans once again gave into Democrats’ demands (seriously), and pissed off that they are being brigaded by fake conservatives since this was a huge win for Trump.
I’m pretty sure the deal requires Israel to stop bombing Lebanon. Which is interesting, since it forces Conservatives here to choose between their two favorite things: killing brown people and making money.
An exercise? Your evidence that Biden would have been more in line with Israel’s plans than Trump is that they did an exercise in an area of the world where the US is constantly starting shit and “needs” to be prepared for the next time they start shit?
WTF kind of person would decide to go rope jumping without asking whether or not a rope should be attached to them?
Seriously! I get if you are a rookie bungee jumper and don’t know how to properly strap the harness to your body. But I can’t imagine a person not noticing that there is no rope/bungee attached to them before being picked up and thrown airplane-style by two people. I even get that there are two people working the thing and both expecting the other to have checked the rope. But how can the lady not know that a rope wasn’t connected to her?
They are so close to getting it, and then it goes off the rails.
Also, another post there said this absolute gem:
"So, as usual from Republicans, very little accomplished at our expense.
We need a real party that will fully oppose Democrats."
Like… what!!! It’s almost impressive the depth of insanity they could pack into 21 words.
The takes in there are wildly all over the place. Lots of in-fighting too.
My favorite is this exchange: *nu1stunnaConstitutionalist [score hidden] 3 hours ago **
Blah blah blah. All that matters is that the IRGC, the world leading state sponsor of terror — the organization that mass murders its own citizens in cold blood will have access to money. You know what happens when they have access to money? Well, they steal a ton of it for themselves and the rest of it goes towards funding terrorism. The Iranian people won’t see a dime of it. The last time they had access to cash, October 7th happened. Trump has the opportunity to do something incredible for all of mankind but is making the same mistake that every other world leader has made for 47 years. This is just fucking shameful. No deal with terrorists.
**According-Activity87Conservative Devil Dog [score hidden] 2 hours ago **
Most of the leadership of the IRGC responsible for all of that is dead, to include the ayatollah. We were having a hard time finding anyone left who would claim a position of leadership to negotiate with. No one has done more to hold them accountable in the last 47 years. “Trials” were carried about by bombing. They are already telling the talking heads in the control to shut up and get in line with peace. That’s a first, this definitely hasn’t been the same old same old.
Ok, this take by nu1stunna is rather reasonable… until he replied with this:
**nu1stunnaConstitutionalist [score hidden] 2 hours ago **
This is the exact mistake that I’m talking about. It doesn’t matter if you negotiate with Ali Khamenei (may he be burning in eternal hell) or 100 positions down from him. The terroristic nature is in their DNA. You cannot make a deal with these people. They are rotten to their core. The only reason you see some telling others to STFU is because they are reeling and need access to money. It’s a delay tactic. That’s it. Trump has allies in 90 million Iranians on the ground to help finish the job. He told them to stay at home and that he would tell them when the time comes to come out reclaim the country. Instead, he paused the war and started negotiating with these terrorists again.
There’s the white-power racism I was looking for from them.
Getting your timing source through fiber is definitely the best way to go, as long as you have a backup timing source OTA like GPS and other GNSS in case the fiber gets cut.
I have been hearing it a lot, but it is quieter and more serious. A lot more people are just doing it out of necessity or cost, too. No need to boycott something you can’t attend or aren’t allowed to attend.
My MLS club is sending out emails offering “discounted” tickets to the US v Paraguay team. It was hard to click the trash can icon while laughing so hard.
My extreme excitement for this WC turned into extreme desire for pure chaos and disaster. All the reasons I boycotted Russia and Qatar are being done by the US.
I’m a huge fan of the sport, living in the city where the game is held, with more than enough money to afford those tickets. I’m not even considering spending that.
I feel that pity for them regardless of these WC games.
Modern receivers SHOULD be using whatever GNSS is in view, including Galileo, QZSS, GPS, Beidou, and GLONASS. They SHOULD be internet connected to get authentication and trust certificates.
However, there are 10 billion pieces of GNSS receivers out there, so not all of them are modernized.
I mean, they have their own system: GLONASS. Their closest ally in China also has their system: Beidou. Many of their trading partners use Beidou or a mix of Galileo (EU’s system) and GPS and any other system in view. They are jamming GPS over a wide swath of territory already, so they know how to handle it within their borders. The world economy would crash, but it would be less of a crash in countries allied with China. Also, Russia’s economy is so fucked right now that a worldwide crash would just be a blip.
The thing is, China has their own GNSS called Beidou (pronounced like Play-Dough if I’ve been informed correctly). China has spent the last 10 years convincing non-aligned countries (Brazil and most of South America, many African nations, etc) to switch to using it instead of GPS. An attack by Russia would be “condemned” by China but would actually be a boon to them and their allies. Europe has their own GNSS, too, but it is much less widely used.
Most people don’t know how unbelievably fucked the world would be if Russia did this on a consistent basis. The entire stock market runs on GPS for nanosecond timing of trades. Shipping, trucking, trains, planes all use GPS. Sure, all of them CAN operate without GPS, but the delays would be enormous because of how efficient GPS is and how automated a lot of things are. Communications systems use GPS for timing to sync up. Farms use GPS for accurate planting and picking of vegetables.
The match was in Seattle. FIFA knew shit would go down if they told Seattleites to NOT fly rainbow flags. Portlanders would have driven (well, more likely rode their impractically designed bikes) up to Seattle to help protest.