The last thing we need now is a bunch of heated rhetoric and people acting the fool. No one knows shit about shit, political violence is bad, period, I have no tolerance for bullshit right now.
Archives for 2024
War for Ukraine Day 871: For Want of a Nail
(Image by NEIVANMADE)
Two quick housekeeping notes. First, both the girls are doing excellently. Rosie has not had any noticeable systemic reaction to last Monday’s chemo treatment. Thank you all for the good thoughts, well wishes, prayers, and donations.
Second, given the evening’s news, I’m going to keep this on the shorter side as I’m sure we’re going to get several updates, as well as breathless speculation about what happened, why, and what effects it will have.
Apparently new British Prime Minister Keir Starmer misspoke in his meeting with President Zelenskyy during the NATO summit. The Times has the details:
Britain has to convince France and another key Nato ally before it can allow Ukraine to fire its Storm Shadow cruise missiles at targets inside Russia as the UK is unable to act alone.
Sir Keir Starmer suggested at the Nato summit in Washington DC this week that he was loosening restrictions on how the weapons were used in a shift in policy that was praised by President Zelensky of Ukraine.
However, No 10 has been forced to clarify it has not given permission to Ukraine to fire the missiles into Russia and the position has not changed since the previous government.
Under defence agreements, the UK has to have the approval of two allies, one of which is France, which manufactures Storm Shadows alongside the UK. The other is another undisclosed Nato ally.
Storm Shadow missiles have a range of over 250 km (155 miles), triple the range of the missiles Ukraine has used up to now, and are very similar to the Taurus missiles that Germany has refused to hand for fear of the war escalating.
The UK has made a formal request to both allies in recent days and ministers are awaiting approval before giving Ukraine permission.
“This is not just ticking a box. It is quite a serious decision,” said a defence source, adding that Starmer had spoken too soon. “The intent remains positive,” they added.
There is extreme nervousness in Nato that tensions could spiral out of control if Ukraine is allowed to use the alliance’s weapons to hit targets in Russia. However, Ukraine has argued that it needs to be able to destroy bases and military infrastructure inside Russia if it is to win the war, a position that UK ministers have privately agreed with before. It is thought, however, that the UK does not want to go ahead with approving the weapons for use inside Russia without the backing of some of its closest allies.
As is stands, Kyiv is allowed to fire Storm Shadow missiles against targets in Crimea and mainland Ukraine. The US allows Ukraine to use its weapons when acting in defence of the city of Kharkiv in the northeast. Starmer said earlier in the week that UK military aid was “for defensive purposes but it is for Ukraine to decide how to deploy it for those defensive purposes”.
Then after talks with Starmer on Wednesday, Zelensky said he had been given “permission to use Storm Shadow missiles against military targets in Russian territory”.
“Today, we had the opportunity to discuss the practical implementation of this decision,” Zelensky said, while having a photograph taken with the prime minister at the summit marking the 75th anniversary of the transatlantic alliance.
A Ukrainian military source also praised Starmer’s position, suggesting he had gone further than the previous Conservative government. “This is a more clear and very strong message to partner countries,” the source added.
‘They added that permission to launch the strategic missile into Russia would require a sign off from three countries, one of which is the United Kingdom…“It’s not going to happen,” the source added when asked if Ukr will fire Storm Shadow into Russia.’ https://t.co/D4znrPErBC
— Shashank Joshi (@shashj) July 11, 2024
I have no idea if Starmer wasn’t staffed properly on this or he misspoke, but you’ve got to do better than this. This happens over and over and over again. Every time it happens it hurts the Ukrainians and helps the Russians.
We need more weapons pic.twitter.com/hFUao2CWDV
— східний (@samotniyskhid) July 8, 2024
There is no new video posted on the President of Ukraine’s website or YouTube channel. He was traveling today and had a brief meeting with the Taoisech.
On my way to Ukraine, I met with Ireland’s Taoiseach @SimonHarrisTD.
We discussed support for Ukraine and continued cooperation in demining and cybersecurity. We also talked about the next steps to implement the decisions based on the outcomes of the Peace Summit and discussed… pic.twitter.com/00GgW2Nkyp
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 13, 2024
On my way to Ukraine, I met with Ireland’s Taoiseach @SimonHarrisTD.
We discussed support for Ukraine and continued cooperation in demining and cybersecurity. We also talked about the next steps to implement the decisions based on the outcomes of the Peace Summit and discussed the efforts needed to increase global attention to the issue of children illegally deported by Russia.
I thank Ireland for supporting the Peace Summit in Switzerland and the Taoiseach for his strong personal attention and commitment to the efforts to bring the children home.
🇺🇦 🇮🇪
War for Ukraine Day 871: For Want of a NailPost + Comments (34)
Diversionary Open Thread: Do You Like Gladiator Movies, Timmy?…
American Gladiator: Training Day pic.twitter.com/45GmjAArJn
— Lowkey Robinson (@iam__cking) July 4, 2024
(Lowkey Robinson’s impression here is damned good!)
I am not, generally, much of a Swords & Sandals fan, but I have a great weakness for Denzel Washington, so I’m looking forward to GLADIATOR II. Which I’ll probably end up streaming, because the Spousal Unit is already huffing about ‘gross historical inaccuracy’…
From director Ridley Scott, watch the new Official Trailer for #GladiatorII starring Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, Connie Nielsen, Joseph Quinn, and Fred Hechinger – Only in theatres November 22. pic.twitter.com/4BtyPbkGjd
— Gladiator Movie (@GladiatorMovie) July 9, 2024
A sensible person does not demand authenticity from a wide-screen epi twenty years in the making, and yet the arguments are already generating publicity for Ridley Scott…
I agree, Denzel should have had an authentic Roman accent while speaking the Latin I assume the entire movie is in. https://t.co/7sLuT3zNT3
— James Palmer (@BeijingPalmer) July 9, 2024
Diversionary Open Thread: <em>Do You Like Gladiator Movies, Timmy?…</em>Post + Comments (46)
Breaking News- Shots Fired at Trump Rally
BREAKING: Donald Trump grabs his right ear and falls to the ground after shots appear to be fired at Pennsylvania rally. pic.twitter.com/bbKl804LB5
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) July 13, 2024
Breaking News- Shots Fired at Trump RallyPost + Comments (469)
Now Buying Stories! (i.e. Pre-introducing: My Adventure Game)
Besides gardening and other various home improvement stuff, I’ve used most of my free time these days making a video game with my friend. It’s been a massive undertaking. I’d heard that game development is fractally difficult–every sub-component just as tricky as its parent–and boy did that ever turn out to be true. We’re both pretty experienced programmers, so we were able to manage the scope creep, at least; no features we don’t absolutely need, no matter how cool they would be. Anyway: I’m happy to say we are finally at the point where we can start introducing people to it! Before I do, I’ll note that this is not really shameless self-promotion; we are looking to buy some fiction, but you need context first, and also the pictures are pretty and I want to talk about something I think is exciting. (The shameless self-promotion will come later when I do one (1) post about the Kickstarter.)
So without further ado, here’s our first piece of promo art.
Starspawn is set in the Cthulhu-mythos universe, drawing primarily from the works of H.P. Lovecraft himself. Rather than paraphrase myself, I’ll just quote from our website:
It’s shaping up to be a beautiful spring at Miskatonic University. Finishing your independent study is your only real concern. One night, you dream of a strange frozen wasteland full of monsters and ancient ruins. You wake up shaken, but not worried—until you realize that your classmates, too, seem a little less human than they did yesterday. To top it off, somebody’s ransacked the geology lab, ruining the project you need to ace to keep your scholarship, and stealing something irreplaceable–a deep core sample of very ancient Antarctic soil.
Were the things you saw in the dream real? Was the quest you received more than the hallucination of a stressed sophomore? And what are you supposed to do with the knowledge that your best friend is some sort of fish-monster?
Explore worlds magical and mundane while evading monsters, solving puzzles, and maybe finding love. Starspawn: A Miskatonic Mystery offers a game mode for everyone, with top-down exploration, arcade minigames, 90s-style point-and-click puzzles, dating sim elements, and visual novel storytelling!
This is a story-driven game with lots of point-and-click first-person puzzles, as well as areas to explore in a top-down 16-bit mode. There are also dating sim elements, where you have to manage your free time to develop your relationships (platonic or otherwise) with various characters, each of whom has a side narrative that changes based on the choices you make. We’re aiming for about ten hours of play time. I’m super excited to share more as we work our way towards the demo. It’s been incredibly challenging and rewarding and I have so many thoughts about the development process. And the artists we’re working with are amazing, too. We’re lucky to have assembled a great team.
Later this year, we’ll be doing a Kickstarter to make sure we can afford all the art we need to finish strong, but for now, I’m trying out something a little fun: we would like to do a short story anthology set in the game universe as a Kickstarter reward! Part of the backstory is a cool (imo) Cold War thing, and we thought it would be fun to let people play in that sandbox if they wanted to. I know we have some writers here, and people who know writers, so I figured I would share it with you all. Here are the submission details. They do contain some (marked) spoilers for the setting, obviously, so beware, if you care. We can only afford hobbyist-tier rates, unfortunately, but it is what it is.
Bonus Samwise and Momo, doing their best impression of a synthpop (or folk) duo liner notes pic:
Aaaand, open thread, naturally!
Now Buying Stories! (i.e. Pre-introducing: My Adventure Game)Post + Comments (49)
Bernie Sanders: Joe Biden for President (NYT Guest Essay)
Thank you, Bernie!
Bernie Sanders: Joe Biden for President (gift link from Subaru Diane)
I will do all that I can to see that President Biden is re-elected. Why? Despite my disagreements with him on particular issues, he has been the most effective president in the modern history of our country and is the strongest candidate to defeat Donald Trump — a demagogue and pathological liar. It’s time to learn a lesson from the progressive and centrist forces in France who, despite profound political differences, came together this week to soundly defeat right-wing extremism.
I strongly disagree with Mr. Biden on the question of U.S. support for Israel’s horrific war against the Palestinian people. The United States should not provide Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing extremist government with another nickel as it continues to create one of the worst humanitarian disasters in modern history.
I strongly disagree with the president’s belief that the Affordable Care Act, as useful as it has been, will ever address America’s health care crisis. Our health care system is broken, dysfunctional and wildly expensive and needs to be replaced with a “Medicare for all” single-payer system. Health care is a human right.
And those are not my only disagreements with Mr. Biden.
But for over two weeks now, the corporate media has obsessively focused on the June presidential debate and the cognitive capabilities of a man who has, perhaps, the most difficult and stressful job in the world. The media has frantically searched for every living human being who no longer supports the president or any neurologist who wants to appear on TV. Unfortunately, too many Democrats have joined that circular firing squad.
Yes. I know: Mr. Biden is old, is prone to gaffes, walks stiffly and had a disastrous debate with Mr. Trump. But this I also know: A presidential election is not an entertainment contest. It does not begin or end with a 90-minute debate.
Enough! Mr. Biden may not be the ideal candidate, but he will be the candidate and should be the candidate. And with an effective campaign that speaks to the needs of working families, he will not only defeat Mr. Trump but beat him badly. It’s time for Democrats to stop the bickering and nit-picking.
Bernie Sanders: Joe Biden for President (NYT Guest Essay)Post + Comments (220)
Stuff I Don’t Know
This is drag queen Pattiegonia headlining Denver Pride. As I mentioned in the comments, I have an Instagram that is about following people who love the outdoors and travel. I follow Pattie because she loves the outdoor and travel, but she’s also has been posting anti-Project 2025 stuff, because she also serves as a resource and inspiration for LGBTQ youth. I’ve been seeing some pieces about the groundswell of anti-2025 sharing by young social media content creators (here’s one piece about it). I don’t know about you, but all my nieces and nephews, and their friends, seem to get most of their “news” from social media. This, to me, is a huge unknown about the election.
Related to that, I had to LOL seeing that Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs, made the announcement that Trump is off of double-secret probation on Facebook and Instagram. How fair and balanced for Zuck to choose the former Tory deputy PM under Cameron the person who determines how to treat Trump on his platforms.
Another thing I sure don’t understand is how much to trust polls. Here’s a piece rounding up all the issues with polls after the polls missed in 2022. Certainly movement around the margin of error, which is what we’re seeing now with Trump v Biden head-to-head, isn’t that significant. I really doubt that a voter who will vote for say, Reuben Gallego, will spit their ticket to vote for Trump, But I don’t doubt that voters will vote for an initiated measure allowing abortion access while at the same time voting for a Republican. Especially in red states, initiated measures are treated as a corrective for single issues where the voters disagree with their elected officials. That said, I’m super skeptical about “blacks/hispanics moving away from Biden” stories that are based on the crosstabs of 1000 respondent polls.
Also, as we all know, national polls don’t really tell the story for the Presidential race. Here’s 538’s latest analysis of post-debate polling in swing states:
This is troubling.
Finally, polling Kamala Harris v Trump and Biden v Trump and thinking that the Harris number means anything prior to months of Republican attacks is, I think, at least a little bit questionable.
I don’t really have a big point to make here — just that anyone who’s confident of their understanding of the current state of play probably doesn’t know what they’re talking about. Social media and polling are just two factors among many. Politics have changed in the past 15-20 years and I don’t think anyone has really caught up.