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Posted
7 hours ago, bolverk said:

Hell, the UK hooking back up with the EU might actually be in play now. The Tories' "Global Britain" idea to distance themselves from the EU certainly backfires if the US is seen as an adversary. I mean, the combined economic and military might of the EU+the main Commonwealth countries shouldn't be taken lightly by Russia or its new sidekick.

the European Union Treaty Organization is now a foregone conclusion

NATO is done

the UK doesn't need to join the EU to be part of a Big 3 leading EATO

Bulgaria, Czech, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Sweden all continue to use their legacy currencies

they all need to convert when they reach the metrics to do so but there is no reason the UK has to join the EU to lead EATO with France and Germany

defense spending 24:

us 968b

eu 400b

xi 235b

vp 146b

short of going hot, the europeans will clean vlad's clock in 6 weeks if they go heavy

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Posted
2 minutes ago, Hagbard Celine said:

the European Union Treaty Organization is now a foregone conclusion

NATO is done

the UK doesn't need to join the EU to be part of a Big 3 leading EATO

Bulgaria, Czech, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Sweden all continue to use their legacy currencies

they all need to convert when they reach the metrics to do so but there is no reason the UK has to join the EU to lead EATO with France and Germany

defense spending 24:

us 968b

eu 400b

xi 235b

vp 146b

short of going hot, the europeans will clean vlad's clock in 6 weeks if they go heavy

I could very well see AU, NZ & CA all tagging along with the Brits to join the good guys club. No clue what JP, TW & KR are going to do. Maybe they'll come along, too, or set aside all their historic grievances and do a joint Manhattan Project.

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Posted
7 hours ago, bolverk said:

Agreed, but until the US formally exits NATO, we can still veto shit and gum up the works, which I think is still the plan. In the last couple of days, France, UK, Turkey, and Ireland have announced their willingness to send peacekeepers to Ukraine. They can already make those bilateral decisions (even if coordinated) outside of NATO's framework. I'm betting after today, we'll hear from a few more countries stepping up. If Germany is one of them, then we start seeing the birth of some sort of an EU military independent from NATO.

Hell, the UK hooking back up with the EU might actually be in play now. The Tories' "Global Britain" idea to distance themselves from the EU certainly backfires if the US is seen as an adversary. I mean, the combined economic and military might of the EU+the main Commonwealth countries shouldn't be taken lightly by Russia or its new sidekick.

i think that's the announcement after sunday's summit

nato is on hiatus

while the insane madman is in charge, all assets are now under the command structure of the new EUTO which will be put forward and ratified by monday at sunset

way to go shitgibbon

way to go

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Posted
1 hour ago, Hagbard Celine said:

4. the europeans cut a deal with china who funds the european arms industry in exchange for rare earths

Why would China go in opposition to their biggest ally Russia to get more rare earths, of which they are the world leader in today?

Posted

The Crazy Mountain dispute is the model of billionaires taking over public land. This is basically how our national parks will be divided up among the uber rich, probably starting with Yellowstone and Yosemite.

If you are not familiar with the takeover of “Yellowstone North” there is a handy recap and solid video here.

https://unofficialnetworks.com/2025/02/13/how-billionaires-are-taking-over-a-montana-mountain-range/

You will hear names that are pretty familiar if you follow MAGA.

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Posted
8 hours ago, Spankytoes said:

Except…it’s not.

You know how we should combat white privilege? Let’s hire people based on their darker skin color instead of their qualifications. As long as said person isn’t white, this couldn’t possibly be considered racist. We all know that Kamala lost because she was a minority woman and not an undeserving shitty candidate. We’re going to call it “DEI” instead of actual systematic racism in the laws. And if you don’t agree, it’s because you’re a white dude that didn’t have to work to earn your spoils. Plus, you’re a bigot and misogynist obviously.

Racism solved. There is no possible way this policy could further divide racial tensions because some people actually get to benefit from their skin color in corporate America. 
 

Solid plan!

Just stop.

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Posted
47 minutes ago, Bojack said:

How much of a simple fuck does someone have to be to have not thought this out any further than "he only bet on HIS TEAM WINNING"? Maybe think deep and consider why it's not ok to bet on your own team. On the days when has money on the Reds, he may not be managing with the team's long term interests in mind. "I have money on this so I'm going to leave Dibble out there for 3 innings even though he pitched yesterday and I'll likely need him tomorrow." Or on the days when he doesn't bet, it tips off the sort of shady people that would've been taking bets from a MLB manager. Or that he could've put himself in debt and been asked to alter a result to pay off that debt. Yes, our president is every bit this stupid. If he were a poster on the Surly baseball board, you'd face palm at reading his posts. Also, they've had this loaded up as a distraction for when he does something indefensible like side with the invading genocidal dictator over the democratic country being invaded. Holy shit this country sucks.

But it's so absolutely perfect because it completely encapsulates the dangers of short term thinking from both a baseball and national policy perspective with respect to others. Very on point in that regard?

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Posted

I've thought about this more since my last post. I keep coming to the same conclusion.

These people are deeply unserious morons. They are failing catastrophically and absolutely flailing and lashing. There is no real threat to anyone because America isn't in a position to do much of anything right now except for be along for the ride. These guys are trying to paddle upstream in white water rapids and they just haven't hit that one rock or drop to capsize the raft yet. 

No one is afraid of Trump, they are ignoring him, because he's a moron. The US has no leverage beyond small changes in the global economy, and it can't and won't be able to wage a trade war on everyone. The GDP retraction that is incoming and nearly unstoppable at this point will really start to cause massive panic and there's no help coming. Its why all the competent leaders are leaving their posts without much fight and fanfare. It seems like everyone knows the best way to deal with this is to let this admin completely exhaust itself in the deep water and even if they ask for help to let them just slowly but surely drown. 

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Posted

I'm not so sure about that.  It's not trump I'm worried about.  It's his sycophants.  He's got an army of brain washed morons who are parroting the line that Zelenskyy was disrespectful and Ukraine is responsible for the invasion.  The past few years have given me a new appreciation for zombie films.  It's just a mass of people without brains parroting vile crap while attempting to kill the rest of us.  

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Posted
5 minutes ago, immamac said:

I've thought about this more since my last post. I keep coming to the same conclusion.

These people are deeply unserious morons. They are failing catastrophically and absolutely flailing and lashing. There is no real threat to anyone because America isn't in a position to do much of anything right now except for be along for the ride. These guys are trying to paddle upstream in white water rapids and they just haven't hit that one rock or drop to capsize the raft yet. 

No one is afraid of Trump, they are ignoring him, because he's a moron. The US has no leverage beyond small changes in the global economy, and it can't and won't be able to wage a trade war on everyone. The GDP retraction that is incoming and nearly unstoppable at this point will really start to cause massive panic and there's no help coming. Its why all the competent leaders are leaving their posts without much fight and fanfare. It seems like everyone knows the best way to deal with this is to let this admin completely exhaust itself in the deep water and even if they ask for help to let them just slowly but surely drown. 

 

You sound like James Carville.  I think he said the below a week ago. 

 

Renowned Democratic strategist James Carville has delivered a stunning prediction that the Trump administration is in the “midst of a collapse” and will crumble within four to six weeks.

Carville, 80, on Friday urged his fellow Democrats to play “possum,” stay out of the way and let Republicans implode as President Trump plows ahead with his dramatic overhaul of the federal government.

“What I have said very publicly is that Democrats need to play possum. This whole thing is collapsing,” Carville mused to Mediaite founder Dan Abrams.

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Posted
11 minutes ago, immamac said:

I've thought about this more since my last post. I keep coming to the same conclusion.

These people are deeply unserious morons. They are failing catastrophically and absolutely flailing and lashing. There is no real threat to anyone because America isn't in a position to do much of anything right now except for be along for the ride. These guys are trying to paddle upstream in white water rapids and they just haven't hit that one rock or drop to capsize the raft yet. 

No one is afraid of Trump, they are ignoring him, because he's a moron. The US has no leverage beyond small changes in the global economy, and it can't and won't be able to wage a trade war on everyone. The GDP retraction that is incoming and nearly unstoppable at this point will really start to cause massive panic and there's no help coming. Its why all the competent leaders are leaving their posts without much fight and fanfare. It seems like everyone knows the best way to deal with this is to let this admin completely exhaust itself in the deep water and even if they ask for help to let them just slowly but surely drown. 

I hope you’re right. Serious or not they’re going to fuck up a lot before public opinion/markets put a stop to it. And then I’m afraid of how they respond once their backs are against the wall. I think you’re right on the disaster course but don’t know how it ends. 

Posted

I like James Carville, but I fear he is way off base with his prediction of a Trump administration collapse.  Trump owns all 3 branches, he has unassailable support.

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Posted
2 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

I like James Carville, but I fear he is way off base with his prediction of a Trump administration collapse.  Trump owns all 3 branches, he has unassailable support.

He also was predicting Kamala would win easily….hes been around a long time and is savvy but Trump will maintain a lot of power even when things get shitty. I think Civil War (movie) outcome might be as likely as their going easily/being chastened and politically held accountable.

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Posted
7 minutes ago, Chuckie Finster said:


Trump isn’t the issue.

It’s the army of morons across the country who have no moral compass other than “whatever he says, I agree.”

Yeah and they lose power when Trump loses or is required required to face the music.

Right now these guys are taking shots and grabbing all the girls, the bouncers haven't even showed up for the shift because the party starts at 10pm and it's still daylight outside. 

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Posted
2 minutes ago, cactusflinthead said:

Apply that to the opinion leaders that fed the tree that grew Trump. Angry Kenneth Copeland GIF by Squirrel Monkey

This guy has a net worth in the hundreds of millions. For decades, people with far less have given him their money because they feel he's trustworthy and that he's a champion of the teachings of Jesus. Really, what chance do we have? 

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Posted
14 hours ago, GenXer said:

 

Longcat
 

  Hide contents

What we’re witnessing in America is what happens when disordered discourse captures a political party, then the state itself. The Republican Party was the first to fall - abandoning truth for conspiracy, ideology for grievance, and policy for performative outrage.

Now, with its grip on institutions, disordered discourse isn’t just shaping politics - it has overtaken those in power, who now govern as if manufactured narratives were reality, eroding the state and democracy itself from within.

Disordered discourse doesn’t just govern through those who believe its manufactured narratives - it forces even those who don’t to submit. To stay in power, they must either bend the knee to the lies or become the next target of the machine they helped create.

America is not unique. Any democracy can fall to state capture by disordered discourse if there’s no systematic response. This isn’t something we can fact-check our way out of - it’s deeper than misinformation. It’s about power, identity, and the narratives that shape reality itself.

We’re living through a fundamental shift in how discourse is created. Institutions once shaped a shared reality through discourse - imperfectly, but with structure. Now, that reality has splintered. In its place, engagement-driven ecosystems amplify whatever resonates, truth optional.

The result? A fragmented public consciousness where competing realities coexist, each self-reinforcing and resistant to correction. When truth is no longer a shared foundation, power shifts to those who control the most compelling narrative - no matter how detached from reality it is.

Democracies weren’t built around this. They depend on a shared reality, however contested, to function. When governance becomes a battle between competing fictions rather than policy and truth, institutions designed for debate and compromise become tools for enforcing narratives.

The end result is what we’re seeing in the U.S. - a democracy struggling to function because its institutions are trapped in disordered discourse. Governance isn’t about solving problems; it’s about demonstrating loyalty to manufactured narratives.

If you think this can’t happen outside the U.S., consider that we’re all subject to the same forces - social media-driven discourse, collapsing institutional trust, and the rise of narratives untethered from reality. It’s a systemic vulnerability in every democracy.

We need to consider what this means for our democracies at the most fundamental level. If governance is shaped by engagement-driven narratives over reality, how do institutions survive? If truth is irrelevant to power, what stops disordered discourse from capturing the state everywhere?

Disordered discourse thrives on systemic drivers: engagement-driven algorithms, collapsing trust in institutions, news influencers shaping reality through identity, and the erosion of shared discourse. These forces don’t just distort politics - they reshape democracy itself.

 

plaintext = "paste without formatting"

Spoiler

What we’re witnessing in America is what happens when disordered discourse captures a political party, then the state itself. The Republican Party was the first to fall - abandoning truth for conspiracy, ideology for grievance, and policy for performative outrage.

Now, with its grip on institutions, disordered discourse isn’t just shaping politics - it has overtaken those in power, who now govern as if manufactured narratives were reality, eroding the state and democracy itself from within.

Disordered discourse doesn’t just govern through those who believe its manufactured narratives - it forces even those who don’t to submit. To stay in power, they must either bend the knee to the lies or become the next target of the machine they helped create.

America is not unique. Any democracy can fall to state capture by disordered discourse if there’s no systematic response. This isn’t something we can fact-check our way out of - it’s deeper than misinformation. It’s about power, identity, and the narratives that shape reality itself.

We’re living through a fundamental shift in how discourse is created. Institutions once shaped a shared reality through discourse - imperfectly, but with structure. Now, that reality has splintered. In its place, engagement-driven ecosystems amplify whatever resonates, truth optional.

The result? A fragmented public consciousness where competing realities coexist, each self-reinforcing and resistant to correction. When truth is no longer a shared foundation, power shifts to those who control the most compelling narrative - no matter how detached from reality it is.

Democracies weren’t built around this. They depend on a shared reality, however contested, to function. When governance becomes a battle between competing fictions rather than policy and truth, institutions designed for debate and compromise become tools for enforcing narratives.

The end result is what we’re seeing in the U.S. - a democracy struggling to function because its institutions are trapped in disordered discourse. Governance isn’t about solving problems; it’s about demonstrating loyalty to manufactured narratives.

If you think this can’t happen outside the U.S., consider that we’re all subject to the same forces - social media-driven discourse, collapsing institutional trust, and the rise of narratives untethered from reality. It’s a systemic vulnerability in every democracy.

We need to consider what this means for our democracies at the most fundamental level. If governance is shaped by engagement-driven narratives over reality, how do institutions survive? If truth is irrelevant to power, what stops disordered discourse from capturing the state everywhere?

Disordered discourse thrives on systemic drivers: engagement-driven algorithms, collapsing trust in institutions, news influencers shaping reality through identity, and the erosion of shared discourse. These forces don’t just distort politics - they reshape democracy itself.

 

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Posted
Yeah and they lose power when Trump loses or is required required to face the music.
Right now these guys are taking shots and grabbing all the girls, the bouncers haven't even showed up for the shift because the party starts at 10pm and it's still daylight outside. 

What about the last ten years has made you think that these guys are ever going to “face the music”? What do you think that means in this context? What does it look like?
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Posted
2 minutes ago, Francisco 2.0 said:

 

2bc.jpg

 

 

That's not what I mean. Despite what some of you think there are actual accountability mechanisms that are built into the global system outside of just America.

Posted
5 minutes ago, Bojack said:

This guy has a net worth in the hundreds of millions. For decades, people with far less have given him their money because they feel he's trustworthy and that he's a champion of the teachings of Jesus. Really, what chance do we have? 

 

Just now, Chad Fuck said:


What about the last ten years has made you think that these guys are ever going to “face the music”? What do you think that means in this context? What does it look like?

Graveyard don't lie.

download.jpeg

Posted
5 minutes ago, immamac said:

That's not what I mean. Despite what some of you think there are actual accountability mechanisms that are built into the global system outside of just America.

I honestly think the only end game other than pure autocracy is a collapse of the US economy followed by widespread revolt.  I'm not the kind to actually root for revolt, but there are no mechanisms in place to keep American democracy safe.

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Posted
7 hours ago, Horn of Gabriel said:

Why would China go in opposition to their biggest ally Russia to get more rare earths, of which they are the world leader in today?

to control the market, the pricing, and the distribution

vp: what the fuck are you doing xi?

xi: business is business

Posted
8 hours ago, bolverk said:

I could very well see AU, NZ & CA all tagging along with the Brits to join the good guys club. No clue what JP, TW & KR are going to do. Maybe they'll come along, too, or set aside all their historic grievances and do a joint Manhattan Project.

you're talking about the breakup of ukusa

the boys are going to be really pissed off when they lose assets

THAT would get canada invaded

god knows what anz are thinking

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Posted
5 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

I honestly think the only end game other than pure autocracy is a collapse of the US economy followed by widespread revolt.  I'm not the kind to actually root for revolt, but there are no mechanisms in place to keep American democracy safe.

I suppose X number of republicans could be bothered to find their spines, in which case Trump could be impeached and removed from office. 

Also, I could win the lottery a few times this week. 

Posted
7 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

I honestly think the only end game other than pure autocracy is a collapse of the US economy followed by widespread revolt.  I'm not the kind to actually root for revolt, but there are no mechanisms in place to keep American democracy safe.

Well, yeah exactly. I didn't say anything about democracy - that ship sailed in November. 

Posted
38 minutes ago, Chuckie Finster said:


Trump isn’t the issue.

It’s the army of morons across the country who have no moral compass other than “whatever he says, I agree.”


For grins, I checked out reddit. There’s a thread for trump supporters to voice their red line.

Hope is a dangerous thing but..,

 

Spoiler

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IMG_2631.thumb.jpeg.bb0b7d2c050a420e7c0050e18bd81b6b.jpeg

 

IMG_2632.thumb.jpeg.5153368162c2d3a4de3358bded0bfe2c.jpeg

 

 

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Posted
12 minutes ago, The Ace of Aces said:

Trump will take his 3rd term chances to the Supreme Court. They likely grant it. 

That will be an interesting case (as if all the others haven't been interesting).  Presidential immunity was a relatively vague concept.  Electing a POTUS who has served two terms is prohibited by 22A.  I don't know what angle SCOTUS would have to take to get around that.  Actual repeal takes a long time and faces long odds.  My guess is that they would argue that desperate times call for desperate measures, and then suspend the 2028 election.

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Posted
7 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

That will be an interesting case (as if all the others haven't been interesting).  Presidential immunity was a relatively vague concept.  Electing a POTUS who has served two terms is prohibited by 22A.  I don't know what angle SCOTUS would have to take to get around that.  Actual repeal takes a long time and faces long odds.  My guess is that they would argue that desperate times call for desperate measures, and then suspend the 2028 election.

It’ll be hard to run an election in the middle of WWIII.

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Posted
27 minutes ago, GenXer said:


For grins, I checked out reddit. There’s a thread for trump supporters to voice their red line.

Hope is a dangerous thing but..,

 

  Reveal hidden contents

IMG_2628.thumb.jpeg.5c1fcc38c1e8cec5f94d7f3b9701cf1d.jpeg

 

IMG_2629.thumb.jpeg.8da28cff6b8579ad382ef17b21af87c8.jpeg

 

IMG_2630.thumb.jpeg.470bc66023d789d3b2be196839b24f9e.jpeg

 

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They won’t care as soon as Fox News finds a trans kid playing golf.

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Posted
1 hour ago, immamac said:

Yeah and they lose power when Trump loses or is required required to face the music.

Right now these guys are taking shots and grabbing all the girls, the bouncers haven't even showed up for the shift because the party starts at 10pm and it's still daylight outside. 

They were waiting for Trump not created by him. He said out loud what they were already voting for. The hate engine and all of that.

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Posted
32 minutes ago, GenXer said:


For grins, I checked out reddit. There’s a thread for trump supporters to voice their red line.

Hope is a dangerous thing but..,

 

  Reveal hidden contents

IMG_2628.thumb.jpeg.5c1fcc38c1e8cec5f94d7f3b9701cf1d.jpeg

 

IMG_2629.thumb.jpeg.8da28cff6b8579ad382ef17b21af87c8.jpeg

 

IMG_2630.thumb.jpeg.470bc66023d789d3b2be196839b24f9e.jpeg

 

IMG_2631.thumb.jpeg.bb0b7d2c050a420e7c0050e18bd81b6b.jpeg

 

IMG_2632.thumb.jpeg.5153368162c2d3a4de3358bded0bfe2c.jpeg

 

 

Okay. Those people "get" it now. Shit, they sound like run-of-the-mill CR "liberal cabal" posters. Why did they not "get" it four fucking months ago if it's so gotdam easy to see the big picture now?

The only possible rational answer is they got caught up in the bullshit culture war crap, as @'stache alludes to, that makes them so short-sighted.

 

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Posted
1 hour ago, horncyclist said:

He also was predicting Kamala would win easily…

I think the internal polling numbers told them what was gonna happen, and the only thing you could do is try not to completely eliminate the enthusiasm so the down ballot votes would not be so horrible.  

I took that prediction as more of a survival strategy once they figured out what was going to happen than  being his actual assessment of what would happen

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Posted
17 minutes ago, Gatorubet said:

I think the internal polling numbers told them what was gonna happen, and the only thing you could do is try not to completely eliminate the enthusiasm so the down ballot votes would not be so horrible.  

I took that prediction as more of a survival strategy once they figured out what was going to happen than  being his actual assessment of what would happen

My campaign connnection said the same re: internals. They were reasonably confident. Silent moron vote…or it was rigged.

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