Phew! Thanks for letting me know

Damn it. I just switched over from Google about a month ago. Worked on creating lots of aliases for my signs-in throughout the internet. I'm not leaving this easily, but now it's something that I'm thinking about and will bounce if things get worse.

And it's way too much charge for the quality of the meat and produce. They give ground pork at beef steak prices and the produce isn't as carefully selected as I would have picked.

Not every home in countries with safe tap water have safe tap water at home

Thanks! That looks like a pretty good list. Are there lists of the atrocities other countries have committed too?

Yes, votes wouldn't matter really. It's not about voting. It's about keeping track.

Something here is fishy. How does the US not know where Maduro is?

She had a metallic butt plug at an MRI and that thing didn't rip through her body out of her? Why does the media even have access to her story? How did they find out this happened, how did they have the legal permission to publicly report it?

One of the surprising outcomes of finally receiving medication for ADHD was my ability to actually focus on tasks through to completion. I stopped avoiding tasks because I knew I would be able to complete them through to the end without a meltdown. I had no idea how pervasively ADHD was affecting my life.

The Red Army along with the Western Allies defeated the Nazis. It is true that the Red Army a magnitude more of losses and were responsible for 3/4 of Nazis killed in battle, so they objectively lost more of their own and took more Nazi lives. However, that is not the only factor that won the war. The Red Army received a considerable amount of military equipment from the West. Additionally, one can argue that the Red Army lost so many lives in part to their military strategy in which deserters and dissenters where killed. Shoot. Their leader was Stalin. Often times, Red Army soldiers would be ordered to rush a Nazi position knowing it would be certain death, but if they disobeyed, they would be killed by other Red Army soldiers. Plus, the Western allies, especially the UK, the USA, and Canada fought the Nazis on another front, forcing the Nazis to split their military units, equipment, and supplies. The Americans also were the main force fighting against the Japanese Empire, which reduced the strain on the Soviet Union allowing it to focus more on the Nazis eastern front, though technically, that has nothing to do with the war between the Nazis and the Red Army. And in the beginning, it was the UK that took the brunt of the Nazi war machine. Civilians in London were taking shelter in the subway during Nazi bombing missions. I would also like to give a shout out to the French resistance that terrorized Nazi occupation.

The Red Army definitely took the heaviest human toll against the Nazis. Estimates for Red Army losses vary immensely since they were so high and the war was so chaotic. Their losses were so much, that some of the ranges of casualty estimates I have seen on Wikipedia are as large as the rest of the lives lost by everyone else. According to a quick search on Perplexity, the Red Army loss ~8.7 million soldiers, while the rest of the allies lost ~1 million. So if there is an estimate that the Red Army suffered between 8.2 & 9.2 million, the range would be as wide as the losses of Allied military forces. Furthermore, many major battles were on Soviet ground, so they also suffered immense civilian casualties. Perplexity gives an estimate of 13.7 million Soviet civilian deaths. That's over twice the number of Jews killed in the Holocaust which was a systematic genocide carried out to be as efficient as possible by a people known for efficiency.

Despite all of that, the Soviet Union did not defeat the Nazis on their own. They had considerable and decisive help from Western allies, both in battle and supplies. The Soviets took the brunt of the losses, and without WWII, the world would be an unrecognizable political landscape in which communism may have been more popular or prominent, whether you would prefer that or not. However, it is disingenuous to say the Red Army defeated the Nazis on their own.

here you go: https://www.rawstory.com/west-virginia/

and corn isn’t street food

I disagree. Corn in Mexico definitely works as a street food. Also, I just realized this, but I wonder why corn didn't pick up as street food in Chicago and Indianapolis.

I've heard that series is the most real representation of the the Marine Corps and combat environments in general. It's morbidly hilarious.

That's sad to hear. It seems he had a knack for reporting on hypocrisy and irony. I find that to be rare and much needed.

Combat Jack

We could have utopia tomorrow. The path to change worldwide is to effect change where you live. If we all started there, then the local changes would spread. People would want what they have locally to work in larger scales. We don't have to call it socialism, capitalism, communism, conservative , liberal, freedom, whatever. Terms are proxy enemies used to make us fear or love based on heuristics. We inherently know what a just world would feel and look like. It's in our nature. If someone has to convince you to override your intuition, then it's shit. Don't look for answers elsewhere. Don't blindly follow anyone. Build the world you want in your heart at home. It will grow out from there. Also, I used to love orange juice as a kid. I drank it from a silly clown cup I got at a performance on ice one time when my parents took me.

I agree with you entirely. Thank you.

Edit: While we're on the subject, I'm going to voice an opinion. I think that if a person goes into literal combat, that person is now a permanent responsibility of the federal government and is guaranteed a decent life for eternity. Why? Because that person risked literally everything on behalf of everyone else. They risked having a family, living a normal life, mental health, permanent disfigurement, physical ability, and even actual existence. Many of those that went to war never made it back. The ones that did make it back are just like the ones that died, except they were the lucky ones because war doesn't discriminate based on anything, just sheer luck. Those that survived should be guaranteed a decent life regardless of anything else. Mfing period.

What if they were jerks before joining the military? Stop recruiting jerks. What if they can work but don't want to? That's their choice. They volunteered for a position that provides an extremely young retirement age if they survive it. If that seems like an great deal, then sign up for it too. Maybe someone can support this person that clearly has a foundational value of sacrifice and service to their country to the point that they will eagerly sacrifice their life if asked to do so and help them navigate the system so that they can continue contributing how they would like in a manner that provides them fulfillment while also adds the community. What if they merely did it for the benefits of having a guaranteed decent life? Then it seems to have worked out for them. The ones that it didn't workout for are dead. The assumed reason for their sacrifice is irrelevant because the actual concrete facts are that they did it. Someone had to do it based on our geopolitical situation. If we are a democracy, then we chose to send our own countrymen to war. Thus, it is everyone's responsibility.

These aren't criminals that need rehabilitation. These aren't lazy parasites that are trying to get by off of everyone else's labor and need to be forced to work by the fear of homelessness and ostracization. These are people that voluntarily agreed to take the toll of war for everyone else because the country went to war and everyone received the benefits. Veterans experience the damage 24/7 for eternity. They will never have what civilians have. So, the rest of us can help with that load by supporting them however needed. At the end of the day, we all get to go home without a care in the world for war. They can never escape it because it's in them.

• When they look at their missing limb: war.
• When they get into a fight with their spouse: war.
• When someone tells them why they were going to join the military but didn't: war.
• When they get called a baby killer by a stranger: war.
• When they see news about how there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq: war.
• When they wake up at night confused and drenched in a puddle of their own sweat: war.
• When they see Palestinian kids crying on TV: war.
• When they uncomfortably hide while an announcer asks veterans to stand at a sporting event so that the crowd can rid their own guilt and shame via a quick "salute our heroes" applause: war.
• When they go to the doctor and get dismissed for the Nth time: war.
• When they get played or betrayed by a co-worker: war.
• When someone accuses them of being lazy or selfish: war.
• When a civilian envies their benefits and implies that it's not fair: war.
• When they can't mow the yard because they feel too exposed: war.
• When they feel shameful because they risked their life in war but now don't risk their life to mow the yard: war.
• When they get a speeding ticket because being in traffic is too overwhelming since it means they are stuck in danger: war.
• When they confusingly and intriguingly look at a civilian live so carefree: war.
• When they feel that they will never be an adequate partner or family member because of their limitations: war.

.

War. War. War. It's all war. So what if nothing.

My exfriend that was a complete mess? He needs to be supervised and checked in on often. Give him a case worker that talks to him on a regular basis. Maybe they have lunch together once a week or whatever. The case worker has a cell phone and is on call in case my exfriend needs to speak with someone before doing anything stupid. If my exfriend starts dating someone again, the case worker meets with that person and they stay in contact as well. Ensure that they know what they are getting into and ensure safety. And like you said, if the government and citizenry doesn't want to do that, then they should stop sending people to war. If they think it's a great deal and want those benefits (compensation) for themselves, they can volunteer go to war. I say this as someone that is extremely anti-war, in part, because of what it does to the combatants and their families. Want to see it for yourself? Volunteer at an event for disabled veterans. Look at their faces. Look at their behaviors. Look at their friends & family. Feel the vibe.

How is this even a topic of discussion? How is this not evident? I don't understand how we are having these discussions. The discussions should be how can we improve their lives. WTF. I need a break. I'm too heated rn. I may have gone overboard, so I might be back to tone it down later if I think it's appropriate. Sorry.

I had a friend that had a traumatic brain injury and almost lost his leg from an explosion in Iraq. They guy was a loose cannon, so I tried making sure he didn't do things that were to stupid. He would often run dilemmas by me, and I would talk it out so that he could make healthy choices. I could tell that he kind of looked up to me sometimes. I would hang out with him, give him regular guidance, paint a healthy path for him...but that was pointless. I was too powerless to help this guy. He just wanted to be stupid, drive drunk, run red lights, have ton's of one-night stands, get into bar fights, hustle money, do drugs, hangout with the wrong crowd, etc. I had to cut him off because he was trying to drag me down into that scene. One time in the middle of the day, I'm riding shotgun with this guy. Everything seems fine. Some guy cuts us off. He gets pissed and pulls out a pistol from the center console to show the guy that cut us off. I'm in the middle of the altercation begging for him to just move on. Luckily, the other guy backed down. The last time I hung out with him, he shows up at my house unannounced and says we're going out to have fun. My girlfriend gives me the approval. I get in the car with him, and he starts driving to I really don't know where. A light up ahead turns red, and about 3 seconds into it, we run it without stopping despite my warnings. I then realize this guy had been drinking. I can't remember how, but I either pulled an Irish goodbye or had my girlfriend pick me up. I never hung out with him again.

Years later, I heard he got married, bought a huge house in a fancy neighborhood, and had five kids. A few years after me drifting away from that entire social circle, a joint friend tells me they heard he was in a halfway house/rehab facility after beating his wife. Some people just can't function right even with supervision. It was a hard lesson. All things considered, I still feel bad for the guy. I believe he was a good guy deep inside, but needed more supervision than what I could provide as a friend. I hope he recovers for everyone's sake.

I don't think it's a social expectation. It's more of an outcome of the interaction between the current societal system and technology. There are likely several systems we can develop and implement to reduce the overwhelming amount of info we need to consume on a regular basis, but as with any social system, changing things takes power away from the ones in power.

On a good note, one reason your expected to be updated on news is that you have a say in the political system. If you didn't have any power in the political system, then not only would you not be expected to stay updated on news, but you would be prevented from it.

I like popsicles because they are light in that they don't feel like I'm filling my stomach, which is an issue I have related to a chronic condition. They may not necessarily be low-calorie, but they take a while to consume, which may help if the point is to delay consumption enough to pass a craving. I usually grab normal ones, but they have sugar-free ones that may reduce the calorie count.