In a parallel universe, a president of a prominent country is used as a figurehead and is under unpublicized house arrest when not in use for the sparse media campaigns and PR. The old man is deliberately malnourished and put into a delirious, stupified state to keep him compliant.
Corporations play with the feeble minds of conspiracy theorists by letting just enough of their world-conquering existence known that it drives them insane to the point of terrorism. Bets are made by these elite by gathering information on the individuals using the vast resources at hand including social media and federal agencies. Whoever wins gains the wager of taking over an industry or putting another puppet president somewhere.
Local authorities are franchised as they are no longer paid by the government and thus are no longer required to serve individuals outside their contracts jurisdiction:: "To protect and earn..".
The only way to get ahead in life for the everyday middle/low-income individual is to find a niche and exploit it until someone bleeds out. Natural resources are tight, but people's wallets are tighter. Survival of the fittest in an urban jungle.
Philosophical ideals and political movements are as unintelligible in everyday life as magic was decades earlier. Who has time to spare fighting for justice when they live on literally borrowed time? One is considered lucky to be able to rent out their body to a to struggling advertising company in exchange for paying off the debt accrued yesterday getting a permit to go job searching.
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Dystopian realities are just nightmares we haven't woken up to. The sooner one realizes how close to reality such nightmares are, the harder it will be to sleep. For those who do not fear it all, sleep comes as easy as the lack of light they cast forth for others to see.
@freemo @swiley Well it was his peace talks that set up the problem, right?
> Washington under then-president Donald Trump signed a deal with the Taliban in February 2020 that limited direct military action against the insurgents. That allowed the fighters to gather strength and move quickly to seize key areas when President Joe Biden announced his plans to withdraw all American forces by the end of this month.[[1]](https://cbc.ca/1.6141568)
> If the Taliban meet their commitments, all U.S. troops would leave in 14 months [from February 2020]. U.S. troops are to be withdrawn to 8,600 from about 13,000 in the weeks following Saturday's signing.[[2]](https://cbc.ca/1.5481070)
If the government agrees not to engage in direct action against you and to withdraw its military, you no longer need to take it on at all, with or without F-15s or nukes.
The Democrats criticised Trump for reneging on the nuclear deal with Iran that Obama entered into, so now that Biden was faced with a deal with the Taliban that Trump entered into, they had backed themselves into a corner politically. Had they not made such a big deal that Trump was setting a *bad* precedent, Biden could have followed the precedent without coming off as overtly hypocritical.
I think the broader point, that a force comprising solely small arms is almost certainly incapable of defeating the US military, still stands. If the Taliban had retaken the country while the US forces were still actively trying to hold it, you'd have a much better counterexample.
I am happy to see the QOTO matrix server and specifically our main chatroom is very active despite being so new. 128 users (including guests) and somewhere on the order of 200+ messages a day.
If you have a matrix account on any matrix server (its federated) come join us at #QOTO:qoto.org
If you dont have an account or client feel free to register for an account on QOTOs matrix, all are welcome:
@freemo @icedquinn
Ok to this end
https://discourse.qoto.org/t/open-access-to-research/635
I have started a discussion on discourse, if the title / wording needs changing I am happy for the wording to be changed.
Feel free to look around. If you want an account just register and let me know and ill give you a quota so you can upload.
Releasing Debian 11 doesn't mean Debian 10 "buster" is abandoned. Debian supports the previous version for at least twelve months following a new release, before it moves to the LTS and eLTS teams for further maintenance #ReleasingDebianBullseye
Messing with my #pinephone and trying to to get #mobian back up, but the modem won't show up in mmcli... In the meantime I checked what temps came off the phone! Turns out the hottest part of the phone isn't the battery- but the modem itself!
I am working to get on the kidney transplant list. I have appointments in September and October, and then I'll be formally on the list.
The transplant list for Michigan is roughly five years for a kidney that isn't from a living donor.
In the meantime, if you want to see if you're a match for anybody on the list, you can call 1-800-333-9013. You do not have to be a direct match for me; if you mention either my deadname (Christopher Anthony) or my chosen name (Noëlle A.), and you match anyone on the list, I will get credit for your donation and you'll help me find a living donor who matches me.
There is NO CHARGE to be a kidney donor in the US, and I am told that if your kidneys are healthy, your life expectancy is not affected by donating one.
#nowplaying
DOOM Eternal OST Remix (Remastered Soundtrack)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aam9VvzFuI0
Ask me about my keyboard