I'm not upset Bernie was criticized - no one should be above a good-faith critique and ideas should be judged on merit as opposed to who says them. The reason I disagree with Pelosi is that I think Sanders made some damn good points, and if the Dems don't listen they are going to fail again.

This is persuasion done correctly. "I understand how you are feeling. Israel's crimes and US support of them should be important to all of us. You aren't wrong to have your reservations, and I agree change is needed. That being said, please let me tell you why it's important to participate." No insults, readily apparent empathy, and a sound argument.

"I hope this medal makes up for 2024 being the year of highest oil production in US history. Which happened in defiance of all the climate science you've been trying to tell us about. You know, as part of the years of science education this award honors."

The Count is going to start teaching kids about corporate profits. "One billion extra dollars untaxed! Ha ha hah! 2 billion..."

Oscar the Grouch is going to be a working homeless who is forced to move his can every week by police.

This is an insult to people that would have been given that label in those days. Those folks are some of the happiest, friendliest people I've ever met. Until a couple years ago I used to work out a city gym and interact with a group of the intellectually disabled who would come in for exercise. They told me they loved me, worked out with me, laughed with me and they were one of the best parts of gym time.

Edit: Following discussion below, I think it would be right and humanizing to add a reminder to myself and others. Although my time with that particular group was very positive, the mentally disabled are people like any of us and each will be different in terms of friendliness, happiness, and social capability.

Musk runs propaganda platforms, fights unions, visits Epstein islands, buys elections, and is THE example of the oligarchy that is in a very real way ruining the world and destroying hope. He has no right to be given a label that would historically place him in the same category as the people I knew for years.

I have zero proof of this so take it for the musing it is, but the Internet Archive/Wayback Machine can be used to view articles that have been taken offline (sometimes for political reasons). The IA is a very accessible way to prove that once something is on the Internet, it's out there forever. I used it in a recent post to show an Israeli newspaper article that argued Israel had a right to not just Palestine, but Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and other territories. It was taken off the newspaper's website a few days later, but IA had it.

This may explain why no one is taking credit, and there are no demands. Or it could very well be another reason, including people just being assholes.

MAGA folks never care about cruelty until it affects them, then they cry for mercy and compassion. To them the damaging human consequences are either justice, religious imperative, or necessary cost - until they are the ones paying. Now they reap the fruits of their indifference or often full-on support of the suffering of others. I still feel bad for the innocent, like children or those who have opposed this malevolent chaos from the beginning.

“Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?”
― Epicurus

I cannot upvote this enough. It also mirrors how Portugal is approaching illegal drug use - with dedicated teams of professionals providing free, compassionate care. "The commission assesses whether the individual is addicted and suggests treatment as needed. ‘Non-addicted’ individuals may receive a warning or a fine, but the commission can decide to suspend enforcement of these penalties for six months if the individual agrees to get help — an information session, motivational interview or brief intervention — targeted to their pattern of drug use. If the individual completes the program and doesn’t appear before the commission again for six months, their case is closed."

It's not perfect, but it is getting results: "According to a New York Times analysis, the number of heroin users in Portugal has dropped from 100,000 to just 25,000 today. The number of HIV diagnoses caused by injection drug use has plummeted by more than 90 per cent. Over the last 20 years, levels of drug use in Portugal are consistently under the European average, particularly with young people between the ages of 15-34."

Turns out when you treat people as valuable and give them real alternatives they'll more often than not start cooperating in improving their lives. Not all of them - the model isn't perfect and neither are all people - but it seems to work way better than a "war on drugs/drug users" approach.

Thanks for sharing. Every time I see a picture of the Tiananmen Square massacre I get shivers. That man is one of the most amazing icons of resistance against oppression. I like to think of myself as brave but I'm genuinely skeptical if I'd have the courage to stand in front of a tank that way.

If you want to know why Americans are bummed out about their purchasing power, just look at this chart about how wages abruptly stopped increasing with productivity 45 years ago. People are accomplishing more than ever before in history and being left with less buying power. In many cases wages don't even keep pace with inflation because companies pay based on what they can get away with, not what the work is worth.

There is no way that murdering top Iranian officials in an Iranian embassy on Syrian soil was ever going to be anything but a gauntlet thrown down. If it was almost any other country than Israel the world would be outraged. Countries like the USA and Germany didn't pull support because of things like destroying hospitals and killing innocents, so bombing the embassy of a country as reviled as Iran inside Syria wasn't going to stop them.

Netanyahu knows his days in power are done very shortly after Israel leaves a condition of all-out war. Biden has told him that, his polls tell him that, and protestors tell him that. I think he's poking the local bears to escalate and stay in power by extending the conflict. Both Biden and Trump have promised support so Netanyahu is acting with the backing of the world's largest military no matter who wins. Pulling the USA and other Western countries into another war in the Middle East is his best bet of pushing that day of reckoning way down the road.

The US wouldn’t stop military aid to Israel while the IDF destroyed hospitals and killed children and journalists among many other war crimes. They will freeze aid to Ukraine as it defends itself in a war of conquest. Evidence suggests the USA would rather align with criminals like Putin and Netanyahu than war victims.

So in addition to all the other forms of control, Israel collects and can restrict Palestinian taxes. Tell me again, Israeli propagandists, how Israel doesn't actually occupy what is rightfully internationally known as Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT).

I really, really hate that it feels like there's a new ethnicity it's ok to distrust/suppress/wish harm upon. The article talks about official efforts to ban Pro-Palestinian voices, including (ironically) Jewish Voice for Peace. I am so much happier on Lemmy because there are far fewer posts with opinions like "Palestinians are only getting what they deserve because of Hamas" etc. Even though people have disagreed with me (albeit not often) I have yet to debate anyone making those kinds of arguments.

I'm frustrated waiting for the rest of the world to catch up and realize that there's no "ok race" to assume is some brand of evil. There's no ethnicity that it's bad to advocate freedom, happiness, and healthiness for. E.g. even though I post a lot about Israel, I take time frequently to make it absolutely clear that I know Israel doesn't represent all Jews and that judging based on ethnicity or birthplace/residence is wrong.

America, wtf is lunch debt and why do at minimum thousands of children apparently need to be rescued from it?

Unless it's been surpassed, the world's largest living organism is a 9 square kilometer fungus that's been growing for about 10,000 years.

Parasite, not predator.

It's one of my go-to arguments against intelligent design.