The direction of society lately

[takashi]

Meanwhile...

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/02/u...ump-putin.html

Hegseth Orders Pentagon to Stop Offensive Cyberoperations Against Russia

What is with these Kremlin bootlickers?


It's just astonishing

[BBB]

The language appears all wrong.

Bringing people to the table. Doing deals.

This is war and international relations. It is not buying a development site in a CBD somewhere. Generally speaking, the other side in a commercial deal doesn't invade a country, shot down an airline or jail the opposition leader and then have him knocked off. Zelensky tried to tell Trump and Vance that they couldn't trust Putin and they had a tantrum on live TV in response.

I would have thought keeping the pressure on Putin would be the best way to get an outcome, not take the jackboot off his throat. But what would I know?

[Scott G.]

Meanwhile...

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/02/u...ump-putin.html

Hegseth Orders Pentagon to Stop Offensive Cyberoperations Against Russia

What is with these Kremlin bootlickers?


It's just astonishing

In 1962 a documentary was produced on today's situation.
"The Manchurian Candidate"

[gregl]

In 1962 a documentary was produced on today's situation.
"The Manchurian Candidate"

Let’s hope the current theatrical drama has a similar outcome. Where’s this generation’s Raymond Shaw?

Greg

[thollandpe]

Meanwhile...

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/02/u...ump-putin.html

Hegseth Orders Pentagon to Stop Offensive Cyberoperations Against Russia

What is with these Kremlin bootlickers?

It's just astonishing

“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered U.S. Cyber Command to halt offensive operations against Russia.” What? So many questions.

1) Have we as a country ever before officially acknowledged that we have offensive cyber operations?

2) They actually did this, not just offered it, with nothing offered in return?

And they’ve “already begun to dismantle efforts by the FBI and other agencies to warn about Russian propaganda, and the order by the Pentagon would halt, at least for now, any further Cyber Command efforts to interrupt future Russian influence campaigns.”

3) Isn’t this the definition of rolling over?

[j44ke]

Is treatment for low testosterone in middle-aged/older male patients gender affirming care and thus banned by one or more of Trump's executive directives?

Asking for a friend.

[suspectdevice]

Is treatment for low testosterone in middle-aged/older male patients gender affirming care and thus banned by one or more of Trump's executive directives?

Asking for a friend.

As someone who had their “first kiss” with a recent member of the cast of “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” 30+ years ago and currently lives in 750 square foot house with two trans kids under 25 and cis woman going through perimenopause, unfortunately I can tell you that no, lip filler, hrt, ass and tit implants and other gender affirming care for cis people aren’t under attack. Far from it, they are a giant growth industry over the last 10 years, especially testosterone doping for men in their 30’s.

Look at the women of the current GOP. They are all as hopped up on gender affirming care as the tech bros we all serve now and the health and human services secretary.

A bunch of Lance and George level dopers, self absorbed and divorced from reality, thinking we won’t notice.

Freedom for me, but not for thee.

[takashi]

Red Donny and his henchmen on their knees to Putin and 'pausing' aid to Ukraine.

[j44ke]

...

Look at the women of the current GOP. They are all as hopped up on gender affirming care as the tech bros we all serve now and the health and human services secretary.

A bunch of Lance and George level dopers, self absorbed and divorced from reality, thinking we won’t notice.

Freedom for me, but not for thee.

Yeah. It is striking. My wife met a diplomat emeritus with over 50 years of work behind him, and he said that diplomacy has gotten more and more difficult in the last decade or so. The reason? HGH + testosterone therapy. The men he has to deal with in governments are all hopped up. Used to be every government had its respected cadre of elders who added the benefit of their experience to settle the tone and temper of the moment. Now all the men in the governments are so amped, no one can talk them down. Elders are out. Women are out. Its men on hormones 24/7/365. Foot on the accelerator pressed all the way to the floor.

[gregl]

Yeah. It is striking. My wife met a diplomat emeritus with over 50 years of work behind him, and he said that diplomacy has gotten more and more difficult in the last decade or so. The reason? HGH + testosterone therapy. The men he has to deal with in governments are all hopped up. Used to be every government had its respected cadre of elders who added the benefit of their experience to settle the tone and temper of the moment. Now all the men in the governments are so amped, no one can talk them down. Elders are out. Women are out. Its men on hormones 24/7/365. Foot on the accelerator pressed all the way to the floor.

Sounds like a clinical description of toxic masculinity. We've already got drug testing for masters cyclists. Perhaps we need it for masters politicians, plutocrats, and oligarchs?

Greg

[BBB]

It sounds disgusting, whatever label you put on it, and gives the remaining blokes who don't fall under the 'toxic' label a bad rap. Those toxic blokes can go in the bin.

[vertical_doug]

Actually, it is a permanent mid-life crisis caused by medication. Anxiety, aggression, libido all leading to bad decisions.

That's why you get a 53 year old Elon texting women offering to impregnate them.

[72gmc]

Actually, it is a permanent mid-life crisis caused by medication. Anxiety, aggression, libido all leading to bad decisions.

That's why you get a 53 year old Elon texting women offering to impregnate them.

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RIP George Lowe

[David in Maine]

To return to the original roots of this thread, I came across this musing about the Thompson murder and found it thought provoking…
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/arti...-thompson.html

David Pietrowski

[bironi]

Curious why there is nothing, zero comment about the Roberta Flack Celebration of Life livestream today for all to see.
It speaks to this thread content directly.
It's 4 hours long, but you may pick and choose your time.
The people at the microphone can say it much better than I.
Take a look, and tell me what you think.
Just give it a go.
Please?
If you have a problem with me posting a video recommendation without more....
I'll go away.

[thollandpe]

Curious why there is nothing, zero comment about the Roberta Flack Celebration of Life livestream today for all to see.
It speaks to this thread content directly.
It's 4 hours long, but you may pick and choose your time.
The people at the microphone can say it much better than I.
Take a look, and tell me what you think.

Thanks, Byron. I’ll have to take a look: https://robertaflack.com/

Yesterday was rough. Besides all the other crap, my 401k went down fast, like Lauren Boebert when the house lights fade at Beetlejuice.

[Saab2000]

Thanks, Byron. I’ll have to take a look: https://robertaflack.com/

Yesterday was rough. Besides all the other crap, my 401k went down fast, like Lauren Boebert when the house lights fade at Beetlejuice.

Don’t touch that 401k. Let it ride the wave. Remember in 2008 we had a giant market collapse. It came back. It will again, I’m sure of that.

[suspectdevice]

Yesterday the grant money that allows county government help to pay for my mother’s memory care was frozen and the USDA local agriculture for schools grant program (that my girlfriend administrates for West Virginia public schools) was canceled.

Attacks on the most vulnerable people continue. The failure of corporate media and the democratic party continues. 20th century forms of political action are no longer sufficient.

Luigi is one day closer to freedom.
It’s time for other privileged cis-het kids to start doing their part destroying this system. There is no life worth living while the rich continue to kill us all.

As time has passed, the love and affection for Luigi has grown among the youth, and it becomes increasingly clear that the cops that arrested him in PA violated his miranda rights, the “terrorism” case continues to fall apart.

Jury nullification will be the result here, unless the openly corrupt local authorities give in to federal demands to move the trial outside of NYC.

No wars but class wars!

[ides1056]

I commented on an article to the Times that the US has the best-armed emerging proletariat in history, and that I did not expect it/them to go gently. It did not make the cut.

[BBB]

If the direction of society lately can be judged by these three articles, then we really are f*cked.

The health insurance CEO shooter (or alleged shooter).

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture...ct-1235290609/

Capital punishment.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...nalty-upcoming

Having more babies (and Musk's kid with a weird name).

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...nalty-upcoming