Raphael
@raphael-pbl.bsky.social
Used to be raphaelptw on the birdsite. Guy with nerdy/geeky interests who's pretty bad at most of the usual nerd/geek stuff. Politically ranging from center to very leftist depending on issue. he/him (Avatar shows trees reflected in the water of a pond)
My answer is LOL ROFL (dickbrain) The terminally AI-pilled can't even *imagine* some people have *never* asked stochastic parrots to cheat at their job for them.
We got the first "El-Sayed won Rochester Hills because he's a Zionist" take in the wild.
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 3h agoEl-Sayed: "My commitment to Jewish safety is the same commitment that I have to the safety of my own daughters. Because if there is one question of political philosophy that ought to animate us all, it's what would we do if we treated all our kids like they were all of our kids?"
My point here is not that Trump's America is a good actor - it really isn't. My point here is that a lot of folks have a silly idea of what a 'World without the United States' would look like and they are not prepared for the reality nor are they preparing for the reality.
I recently booked a car viewing via a dealer's website, and didn't even realise I was talking to an AI chatbot. And fair play, it was great! Apart from it booking us in to the wrong department, for the wrong vehicle, and not telling anyone we were coming, which took half a dozen people to sort out.
Embattled Republican Rep. Chuck Edwards is ending his reelection campaign for North Carolina's 11th District, he announced on X at 3:32 AM ET. GOP will pick a new nominee to take on farmer Jamie Ager, a Democrat who has run a strong campaign to flip a western North Carolina seat Trump won 54-45.
Rep. Chuck Edwards drops re-election bid after censure recommendation over harassment claims
“After much prayer and reflection, I’ve decided to withdraw from my re-election campaign,” Edwards, R-N.C., said early Wednesday after mounting pressure over his conduct toward two female staffers.
nbcnews.com
Hebrewsky is threading about Ben Gvir's idea of having a moat full of alligators around the prisons for Palestinians (stricken down by the HCJ, on animal cruelty grounds). So far the winner is the post suggesting a moat full of Ben Gvirs and appointing an alligator as minister of police.
Oded@oded.bsky.social · 8h agoתגידו, זה דל״פ לרצות שבאמת יקימו את תעלת התנינים בכלא קציעות? זה קצת מגניב לא?
A paramilitary group plotted to overthrow the Constitution then conducted a violent attack on America. They were convicted in court of seditious conspiracy, and jailed. Then the leader they aimed to illegally install got power and let them out, their records wiped clean. The Jan. 6 attackers won.
Judge Pained as He Grants Dismissal of Jan. 6 Charges Against Oath Keepers
The judge, Amit P. Mehta, blasted the administration’s request for a dismissal in the case, saying it bestowed “unearned grace” on the Oath Keepers defendants “by wiping their records clean.”
nytimes.com
"After much prayer and reflection" = after watching what's happening to Max Miller
North Carolina Republican Drops Re-election Bid After Ethics Rebuke www.nytimes.com/2026/08/05/u...
Rep. Chuck Edwards Drops Re-election Bid in North Carolina After Ethics Rebuke
Chuck Edwards made the announcement after the House Ethics Committee recommended he be censured for “persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct” toward two female staff members.
nytimes.com
A stock market is where shares in companies are bought and sold based on economic data such as “did the president say war words or peace words last night?” and “can you imagine a future where computers do all your work for you much better than you do would but you keep all the money?”
The next blockbuster: The Sea People Heroes: Rameses the Great & Ammurapi of Ugarit Villain: Odysseus Plot twist: climate change caused mass migration Final scene: Phoenician makes it out of Ugarit with an iron sword Film-making twist: archaeologists consulted Chris Nolan: call me Visuals:
Writing a book is so weird because before it’s released there are half a dozen REALLY IMPORTANT DEADLINES for drafts & edits and each completely consumes you & is impossible to explain. “I just spent 72 hours locked in a room doing my copy edit review; I forgot what the sky looks like” “…congrats?”
This is wild. Sam Collins (Susan's brother) says Troy Jackson and Susan Collins are "both from a family of loggers." His family owns a lumberyard and Jackson worked in the woods to harvest trees. Both are not from a family of loggers! #mepolitics www.pressherald.com/2026/08/02/a...
In Aroostook County, Senate contest of locals doubles as test of Trump’s base
Sen. Susan Collins and Troy Jackson are both from a far northern county where working-class voters have become more solidly Republican in the past decade.
pressherald.com
Reading the Odyssey in 2026 - compare 6 translations for each passage: 18th, 19th c, prose, verse, woke & great man versions - closely read the translation you hate most to bitch on social media - see how Nolan did Odysseus them dirty - feel secret guilt in every bad deed - revel in history & myth
Reading the Odyssey in 1996: - savor every page - idly look up words in ancient Greek that intrigue you - enjoy the metaphors and monsters - read aloud the poetic turns of phrase - don't overthink the characters - revel in history and myth Reading the Odyssey in 2026:
Personal opinion and I admit my expertise is at the pol-strategic level not unit level personnel issues, but for all the emphasis on how will do lethality not bureaucracy, seems like a bunch of paperwork
"Commanders [must] maintain a log of personnel requiring facial hair treatment plans... Must forward a Facial Hair Accommodation Accountability Report in Excel monthly... Those approved for accommodation must carry the signed paperwork on their persons..." www.militarytimes.com/news/your-na...
Navy orders commands to submit monthly facial hair waiver accountability reports
The Navy has instructed commands that issue sailors shaving waivers to produce facial hair accountability reports "by the 15th of each month."
militarytimes.com
both obama and trump have shown us, good and bad, that "on paper" electability cannot defeat actual passion for a leader. if that was true jeb bush, john kerry, kamala harris and hillary clinton would be president.
Every social media website is a non-representative “echo chamber,” shaped by user activity, the incentives of the attention economy, and usually an algorithm designed to maximize the website’s income. To at least some extent, that’s unavoidable. Why is it wrong if different sites are different?
Gauging public opinion and getting a sense of what The People think is a bad use of social media. You’re not getting a representative sample. Misguidedly thinking you are leads to beliefs such as Nazi tattoos are working class values and to win elections you have to show that you’re cool with them.
Your standards for spending time on a website must be: -maximum user growth -seeing many things you find unpleasant or uninteresting -frequent harassment The fact that anyone wants to chat, express themselves, and laugh—ie seeking community, not arena combat or world domination—breaks some brains.
Ciara | Ciaraíoch 🎨@ciaraioch.bsky.social · yesterday"Bluesky is a political echo chamber" okay but I'm mostly here to chat with fun internet people and post art and make jokes, I cannot stress how much I don't care
What's revealing here is that Iran and Oman are negotiating what is essentially a shared hormuz toll ("service fee") agreement. So the US is moving pretty rapidly to treat a post-war toll system as a given. 'Come up with an agreement on tolls or we'll attack!!' In other words, a massive defeat.
Bloomberg News@bloomberg.com · yesterdayUS President Donald Trump is pushing Iran to reach a deal with Oman on the Strait of Hormuz as soon as Tuesday, or face devastating air strikes on the country.
The president, the treasury secretary, and the federal reserve chair are all apparently pro-inflation. They’ve enacted inflation-increasing policies—tariffs, Iran war, keeping interest rates steady and not offering guidance despite faster-rising prices—and blatantly lie about inflation-related data.
FinTwitter@fintwitter.bsky.social · yesterday🏦 JUST IN: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the Fed must look 9, 12 and 18 months ahead, with underlying inflation “very benign,” core inflation slowing and the K-shaped economy over. $SPY
The U.S. threat is now that Iran has to hurry up and finalize a deal with Oman to control the Strait of Hormuz, charging fees, or the U.S. will attack. No, I’m not kidding. The U.S. president demands that Iran achieve exactly the thing he’s repeatedly said the U.S. was fighting to prevent.
Bloomberg News@bloomberg.com · yesterdayUS President Donald Trump is pushing Iran to reach a deal with Oman on the Strait of Hormuz as soon as Tuesday, or face devastating air strikes on the country.
Told directly by a political ally, Trump DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, that a migrant labor system will make them money—yes, you in the audience, you will be richer—and they hated it because the workers would be Latino. You can’t appeal to them with material benefits. That is not their priority.
US munitions shortage is serious, but that Reuters headline going around is giving people a misleading impression. The Army, not the whole military, says it’s virtually out of precise long range missiles (ie ATACMS and PrSMs). Bad—and for a pointless war the US is losing—but far from entirely out.
I think 21st century military readiness is more about sufficient stockpiles of missiles and air defense interceptors than how white, masculine, straight, clean-shaven, buff, and disdainful of law personnel is, so the US should prioritize the former. Sorry to get so partisan, but that's how I feel.