Spyke

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books

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What book(s) are you currently reading or listening to? June 16

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Just finished Last Argument of Kings this morning and I feel so conflicted about it D:

Still an enrapturing series. I love Abercrombie's writing style and Steven Pacey is the best audiobook narrator I have ever listened to. Give The Devils a go if you haven't read it yet—it's the same gritty fantasy as the First Law but adds some much appreciated humor and levity into the mix!

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What happens if there’s a tie in 2024? Be ready for a ‘contingent election’

A tie in the Electoral College is an extremely remote chance, less than 1%. Widespread interference in our electoral process as part of a broader scheme to put enough doubt in the vote totals to force the issue to SCOTUS or Congress is literally the plan being executed by Trump and the GOP right now. The best chance we have is overwhelming voter turnout to make those "close" states as decisive as possible.

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Harris stresses abortion rights and early voting in packed Atlanta rally

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Right so let's allow the serial adulterer, racist, sexist, convicted felon who has no respect for rule of law or democracy win. And then when he proves too senile to serve (or dies) we'll be treated with a President Vance who is ready to open the portcullis for Heritage Foundation and Project 2025 fascist goons into the castle.

Harris might not be your favorite candidate. She may not currently be campaigning on issues that are the most important for you. But the alternative is unconscionable.

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Which actors you admire that you really wish not to have any scandals?

I'm gonna have to go with Adam Savage. I loved Mythbusters and continue to watch his Tested one day build videos today and view him as something of a role model from a creative standpoint.

Also to chime in about your mentioning of Kevin Spacey, the guy is definitely a weirdo and has done some really tone deaf things (coming out as gay in the midst of being involved in sexual abuse accusations, posting videos of himself as Frank Underwood denying charges levied against him on YouTube, etc.), but wasn't he acquitted of or found not guilty in literally every sexual abuse charge that was brought against him? And in both the US and the UK?

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Tim Walz, governor of Minnesota picked as VP for Harris ticket

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Other notable additions from Wikipedia:

"Walz received a 100% rating from Planned Parenthood in 2012, from the American Civil Liberties Union in 2011, from the American Immigration Lawyers Association in 2009–2010, from the AFL-CIO in 2010, from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in 2009–2010, and from the National Organization for Women in 2007."

And:

"Walz was ranked the 7th-most bipartisan House member during the 114th Congress (and the most bipartisan member from Minnesota) in the Bipartisan Index created by The Lugar Center and the McCourt School of Public Policy, which ranks members of Congress by measuring how often their bills attract co-sponsors from the opposite party and how often they co-sponsor bills by members of the opposite party."

In other words, Walz seems to be a champion of progressive ideals while also being more than willing to work with those across the aisle. This is a great thing for swaying independent voters.

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Trump hijacks West Point ceremony to rant about ‘drag shows’

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A USA today article seems to dispute this slightly. It's a minor tweak but in the sake of fairness it completely changes the interpretation.

"The job of the U.S. armed forces is not to host drag shows, to transform foreign cultures (and) spread democracy to everybody around the world at the point of a gun," he said. "The military's job is to dominate any foe and annihilate any threat to America, anywhere, anytime and any place."

Does anyone know whether he said "but spread democracy..." or "and spread democracy..."?

If the former like this post suggests, then it is indeed another notch in Trump's belt of horrific quotes that would get any other politician at any other time in American history vilified. If the latter like USA Today is reporting then he seems to be arguing that the US military's role is not to "spread democracy at the point of a gun."

europe

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The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans

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Even more disturbing is that if we have evidence of one Signal chat that must mean they regularly use non-official communications channels to discuss things like this. That means no formal record retention, no safeguards against export control and protection of classified information, and no pathway for transparency. These communications are entirely FOIA proof such that the American people have no way to even attempt to obtain information through legal channels from government officials.

news

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Outrage over ‘massacre’ in Gaza as Israel rescued four hostages

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I sincerely hope this is a poor attempt at a joke because that kind of statement has contributed directly to the current situation. It is not antisemitic to criticize the Israeli government, Zionism, or the IDF and its actions. It is antisemitic to say the reason you are criticizing those things is because they are all Jews.

Conflating those two not only makes it impossible to speak out against the atrocities being committed, it makes violence worse against Jews.

world

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The amount of sugar consumed by children from soft drinks in the UK halved within a year of the sugar tax being introduced, a study has found.

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Don't know that I agree with your spin that this news is negative in any regard. Also, aspartame is one of the most studied food additives of all time and has been repeatedly proven safe.

Your claim that it "can have an event worse effect on blood sugar than sugar can" has also been proven false. See "Metabolic effects of aspartame in adulthood: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials" by Santos et al from 2017.

Among other conclusions, the study found that "aspartame consumption was not associated with alterations on blood glucose levels compared to control or to sucrose and on insulin levels compared to control or to sucrose."