Spyke

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Thousands in Midwestern GOP Districts Attend Sanders' First Stops on Tour to Fight Oligarchy | "It's like there's only one person who is actually able to sidestep the demoralization and frustration"

a singular politician. he's going to die on the job, in the middle of an impassioned speech on behalf of the working class. indefatigable. not even Lincoln or Kennedy had a fraction of the perseverance and consistency this man has demonstrated. a true public servant.

world

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Children Among Those Killed by US With Mysterious New Weapon Fired on Iran: Reports

...suggest a short-range ballistic missile called a Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) was used to bomb a sports hall, school, and residential neighborhood in Lamerd.

The missiles are newly developed and are designed to detonate just above a target and propel small tungsten pellets into the surrounding area.

...The Times reported that munitions experts had analyzed footage of a weapon in flight over a residential area about 900 feet from the sports hall and school, showing the missile erupting “in a large fireball midair.”

Another video showed an explosion in midair just above the sports hall and nearby school, and photos of the aftermath showed the sites with numerous holes, presumably from the tungsten pellets.

...The sports hall in Lamerd was reportedly being used by a children’s volleyball team at the time of the strike; fourth grader Helma Ahmadizadeh and fifth grader Elham Zaeri were among those killed while at volleyball practice, according to an Iran-based journalist, Negin Bagheri.

Zaeri’s father “described her as an avid volleyball player, who would always turn up to the sports hall 20 to 25 minutes early,” the BBC reported.

The outlet also said the youngest victim of the suspected PrSM strike was two years old.

news

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Americans’ confidence in air travel falls after string of plane crashes, poll shows

most people aren't aware that Air Traffic Controllers are forced to retire at 55. no old, slow reaction employees allowed.

when Reagan fired thousands of ATCs in the 80s, then hired and trained all new scabs, he inadvertently created an enormous cohort who would all be retiring at around the same time due to forced retirement.

fast forward to today,

  • thousands of ATCs were aging out and being replaced with less experienced people (less of a prob now than 10ish yrs ago but still staffing is extremely lean due to Reagan)
  • add to that the obsolete legacy tracking tech
  • add to that cost saving (corner cutting) by aerospace corps like Boeing
  • add to that major dysfunction in pilot training, screening out baddies, inexperienced pilots, and dissatisfied airline workers and unions
  • add to that Trump administration purges and demoralization of federal workers
  • add to that Musk getting his SpaceX cronies hands all over the system to make 'upgrades'

data nerds can point to historical accident statistics from the past 20 years up to what, 2020? all you like. trend lines don't often accurately predict the future, they merely describe the past.

I recommend thinking twice before placing all your loved ones on a plane over the next couple years. there's going to be more of this.

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Not a single word about the Wildfires

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facts are increasingly irrelevant. allegiances to lies are far more powerful today. and blind belief in lies is perhaps the most dangerous and powerful mechanism of totalitarian control.

Hitler, in accusing Jewish people of lying, outed himself instead and laid out what would become his lifelong political strategy; ie, pretending to be leftist populist, while making deals with right wing capitalist, in order to gain power.

... thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to largescale falsehoods. It would never come into their heads to fabricate colossal untruths, and they would not believe that others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously. Even though the facts which prove this to be so may be brought clearly to their minds, they will still doubt and waver and will continue to think that there may be some other explanation. For the grossly impudent lie always leaves traces behind it, even after it has been nailed down, a fact which is known to all expert liars in this world and to all who conspire together in the art of lying.

- Mein Kampf

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Charges Dropped Against Person Who Clapped at a City Data Center Meeting

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I don't have a direct link to a file but here's a clip on a regional (Nebraska) news affiliate:

https://www.ksnblocal4.com/2026/07/27/teacher-arrested-repeatedly-clapping-favor-data-center-opponents-during-city-commission-meeting/

pretty boring regular clapping. by the way, the speaker he clapped for right before getting arrested: his wife. literally applauding his wife for speaking up at town meeting.

they probably asked everyone to remain completely silent and had setup"rules" for applause between speakers... knowing that 1) they don't want people to get riled up 2) it gives them pretense to remove people who say literally anything when not standing at the podium.