Balloon Juice - Open Threads Archives

Ought to be a Law, With No Bail, Smash a Guitar and You Go to Jail

by @heymistermix.com| September 30, 20241:51 pm| 235 Comments

With no chance, of early parole, you don’t get out until you get some soul.

If only Democrats stopped saying bad things about folks with obvious economic anxiety, we’d be able to convince these people to vote for us.

Ought to be a Law, With No Bail, Smash a Guitar and You Go to JailPost + Comments (235)

Foreign Office Briefing: We Are Sausages to Fortune

by Rose Judson| September 30, 202411:59 am| 97 Comments

This post is in: Foreign Affairs, Open Threads

When I moved to the UK back in 2005, Tony Blair was still the prime minister. He’d managed to unite the country in contempt—a contempt richly deserved thanks to his role as handmaiden to the U.S. invasion of Iraq. A friend wrote to me at the time to ask, “What is the deal with British politics? How do you know who the good guys are?”

I didn’t have an answer for him. Sometimes I still feel like I don’t.

Consider Sir Keir Starmer, now entering week 13 of his premiership. I’m not a socialist—as a Liz Warren Democrat, my positions and preferences don’t really match up completely with any political party over here, not even Sir Ed Davey’s ~~Amazing Adventure Pals~~ Liberal Democrats. Starmer’s dedication to cutting out and cauterizing the left wing of the Labour Party since taking power in 2019 frustrates and disappoints me—again, as a Warren Democrat, I like Big! Structural! Change!, and he’s not offering that. I have, let’s say, carefully curated my expectations for this government.

oh dear, sir keir

However, I don’t yet feel the searing, white-hot rage others do toward Starmerite Labour. Maybe I’m missing something. Maybe I haven’t been paying attention properly; maybe I don’t have the same deep, tribal feelings as the natives do about the political parties here. Maybe it’s because I recognize the tenuousness of his mandate—Labour won with 33.7% of the vote this year after losing with 32.1% in 2019. Any government elected under those circumstances will likely tread cautiously, and Starmer, a lawyer, seems like a temperamentally cautious man to begin with.

Still. I hoped that he and Labour would at least be able to show the country—a country exhausted by the petty infighting, gloomy outlook, and obvious corruption of the Tories—that even in the wake of Johnson, Truss, and Sunak, serious leadership was still possible.

So far, it looks like even that was too much to ask.

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Out of the gate, things looked promising. There were some good (and even potentially great) appointments to the cabinet and to other posts in government. Following this summer’s racist riots, courts moved swiftly to try and sentence criminals, in spite of the years of underfunding that have left the U.K.’s criminal justice system in dire straits. Some long-running labo(u)r disputes were swiftly solved within days of the new government getting in.

But then came the gloom: Starmer gave a very dour speech about how the new government had discovered a previously undisclosed £22 billion “black hole” in the nation’s finances. And Sir Keir’s proposal for closing this hole? Cutting the winter fuel payment given to some of the nation’s wealthier pensioners. Pensioners! I don’t care what country you’re in: you do not fuck with old people’s money! At last week’s Labour conference, the trade unions registered their anger at the proposed cut with a non-binding vote demanding a U-turn from the government.

There was also petty infighting: apparently, upon entering the government, Starmer gave his chief adviser Sue Gray a modest raise in pay. This put her salary up to £170,000 per year (about $228,000 USD), or just over £3,000 more than Starmer earns himself. For whatever reason (it’s misogyny, that’s the reason), this became a massive “scandal.” To be fair, it is a little weird that this adviser earns more than the PM, but a large part of the reason this story seems to have taken off in the media is because the tip came from disgruntled leakers within Labour. Leaks, the journalist’s catnip! Could Starmer hold his own party together? the political reporters wondered. Was he already losing the plot?!

Finally, there’s the freebies. At the start of this month, some journalist at one of the big papers finally got through his back issues of the venerable satire/muckraking news magazine Private Eye, and noticed that, for several months, they’d been reporting about some eye-opening line items in Sir Keir’s expense disclosures. Turns out that since ascending to the head of the party in 2019, Starmer had accepted and disclosed more than £100,000 in gifts, hospitality, and other goodies, including clothing for his wife and lots of tickets to see Starmer’s favourite club, Arsenal F.C. This all seemed deeply hypocritical, even if it was legal and a matter of public record.

private eye issue 1633 cover

Starmer’s pitch to the nation was a different, above-board way of doing things. A government that owed nobody any favours. And, to be fair, it does seem that he did everything in line with current legislation and that nobody who gifted him anything received special consideration as a result. (Compare this to Boris Johnson, who relied on a party donor to pay for his expensive renovation of the PM’s residence, and then failed to declare that.)

Still, Starmer had to know. He had to know that this was a big stack of cut grass, and that the press would have their pitchforks ready for the hay-making. I’m just another immigrant living in Birmingham, but even I understand that the U.K. media is even more vicious toward left-wing politicians than its U.S. counterpart. I knew it wouldn’t give Starmer any grace as he settled into office. And I knew that it would seize eagerly on the first possible weapon, and here we are.

Then, to top it all off, while delivering his keynote speech at the party conference last week, Sir Keir flubbed a line in the section of his speech addressing Israel and Palestine. Instead of calling for the “return of the hostages”, he said “return of the sausages.”

No, really. Watch:

It was hoped, in spite of everything, that Labour’s victory would be a new dawn for British politics. Instead it seems we’re all stuck inside the PM’s back-to-school anxiety dream, the one where you realize, while standing in front of the class, that you have no trousers on. They need to snap out of it: if Labour fails to deliver, lying in wait are not just the Tories, but far-right Reform, led by the odious fascist grifter Nigel Farage. Having them in power, even in coalition, would be a legitimate nightmare.

How does Labour get on a sounder footing? It’s hard to see a path. Starmer’s polls are in the toilet; he is currently less popular than Rishi Sunak was at the time of the election. It’s possible the publication of the budget on October 30th could restore some goodwill. That at least is what some of the journalists I trust seem to think:

Once the budget lands, Labour needs to flood the zone with successful policies. Right now there’s a vacuum and the Tories are filling it by pumping out these stories.

— Mark Chadbourn (@chadbourn.bsky.social) September 28, 2024 at 9:44 PM

However, Labour has ruled out borrowing to invest, in spite of the bind we’re in. More likely is that the Tory leadership fight turns uglier and therefore newsier, allowing the legal-but-icky largesse showered upon MPs to recede into the distance. (It helps that revisions to the rules are being hastily proposed.)

Either way, with a fixed five-year term stretching ahead of us, many here are trying to believe that things can only get better. It ain’t half hard, though.

Foreign Office Briefing: We Are Sausages to FortunePost + Comments (97)

Monday Morning Open Thread: Choose Hope

by Anne Laurie| September 30, 20247:56 am| 304 Comments

This post is in: Elections 2024, How about that weather?, Kamala Harris for President, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat

Quick report on my way to Ashville to join @WCKitchen teams, from a @WaffleHouse in Abingdon, picking up sandwiches for any hungry first responder I may find in the way! Proud of the teams responding in many states from Florida to North Carolina plus our response in Acapulco..???? pic.twitter.com/toGiNcdOQ4

— Chef José Andrés ??????? (@chefjoseandres) September 30, 2024

Wow. President Biden just released this AMAZING video honoring President Jimmy Carter and his lifetime of public service. President Carter is about to turn 100 years old. What a lovely gesture. pic.twitter.com/aQJpqOzQnG

— Harry Sisson (@harryjsisson) September 29, 2024

BREAKING: Watch Jimmy Carter’s grandson explain how Jimmy Carter’s last wish is to vote for Kamala Harris. Retweet so all Americans see this wholesome video. pic.twitter.com/SQ3Qd9H0Zn

— Kamala’s Wins (@harris_wins) September 28, 2024

Tonight’s Las Vegas rally: VP Kamala Harris paused to address the devastation from Hurricane Helene.

She highlighted the Biden-Harris administration's efforts to support communities impacted by the climate disaster, focusing on immediate federal response—emergency aid and… pic.twitter.com/uwVimGWre3

— Christopher Webb (@cwebbonline) September 30, 2024

.@DouglasEmhoff shares what he told @GwenWalz the first time they met: “I said, ‘I know exactly how you're feeling, and just how Jill was there for me and said ‘don't worry, I've got your back,’ I’ve got your back… I'm going to get you through this thing.’” pic.twitter.com/H5ww4sgk1j

— Inside with Jen Psaki (@InsideWithPsaki) September 29, 2024

During my seventh meeting with President Zelenskyy, I made clear: President Biden and I will continue to stand with the Ukrainian people and work to ensure Ukraine remains a free, democratic, and independent nation. pic.twitter.com/9kTxxgDHJD

— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) September 29, 2024

Meanwhile…

(Mike Luckovich via GoComics.com)

Monday Morning Open Thread: Choose HopePost + Comments (304)

Asheville, Goddam

by @heymistermix.com| September 29, 20249:28 pm| 147 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

Asheville, Goddam

My wife and I are traveling from Hawaii to Rochester, picking up our van, then heading to Virginia and back to Denver, and I wanted to travel through Asheville on the way back, so I’ve been watching the news about that town. It’s awful. This is a town that’s 6 hours from the nearest beach.

A few years back, we visited Corning, NY, which was inundated by a flood caused by Hurricane Agnes in 1972, and there are still markings on the walls there indicating the high points of the flood caused by that storm. They weren’t at the rooftops, but it was still bad. So, massive inland flooding caused by tropical storms dumping massive amounts of rain isn’t unprecedented, but this feels different. Some of the mountain towns around Asheville are still cut off, and at least 1,100 people are missing.

I have a lot of faith in human ingenuity, and I think we can fight the causes of climate change and engineer solutions to limit loss of life. But we can’t do this if a bunch of ideologues who pretend it doesn’t exist are in charge.

Asheville, GoddamPost + Comments (147)

War for Ukraine Day 949: Russia KABs Against Zaporizhzhia

by Adam L Silverman| September 29, 20248:41 pm| 37 Comments

This post is in: Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Military, Open Threads, Russia, Silverman on Security, War, War in Ukraine

(Image by NEIVANMADE)

Two quick housekeeping notes. First, Rosie is doing very well. She has her second to last treatment tomorrow. Thank you for all the good thoughts, well wishes, prayers, and donations.

Second, everyone is most welcome. I appreciate the kind thoughts and, as we’ve previously discussed, look forward to not having to do these anymore. If I’m not replying to you it’s not that I’m ignoring your comment, it’s that I go to be pretty early as I have to be up very early as some of my clients are a number of time zones ahead of me and I have to be able to get to them during their work days.

Last night in comments, way2blue remarked:

As for Biden (perhaps) being risk adverse owing to hard-wired fears instilled during the era of backyard bomb shelters—avoiding risks by hedging—paradoxically creates its own risks.

The dilemma for policy makers, strategists, and decision makers is how much risk to assume. If you’ve decided you’ll accept very little to no risk, as President Biden has, then you are at the whim of everyone else – ally, partner, peer competitor, hostile state and non-state actors – and especially how much risk they’re willing to assume. The late GEN Odierno had a formulation, which most people misunderstood:

Shape, Fight, Win

Almost everyone thought he was saying shape so you can fight and win. This was not what he was saying. What he was actually conveying was far more subtle and far more strategically foresighted: shape the Operational Environment (OE) so that conditions are set in a more favorable way so that we won’t have to fight. However, in case we do have to fight, we have set the conditions to ensure that we can win.

You can’t do this if you do not or will not accept any risk. Rather, others will set the Operational Environment for you, which is what has happened in regard to Russia and the Middle East. The one place that President Biden and his natsec team are actively trying to shape, which is the Asian-Pacific OE, they are doing so based on a significant misunderstanding of the PRC as a peer competitor that is also, sometimes, a hostile actor, as well as its political, military, human geography, and civil environment.

The Russians opened up on Zaporizhzhia with KABs today.

Russia knows Ukraine can’t strike back due to restrictions, and tonight they unleashed KABs on Zaporizhzhia—over 10 deadly bombs pic.twitter.com/o1fAcelXYp

— Maria Avdeeva (@maria_avdv) September 29, 2024

Today, Russia struck Zaporizhzhia with aerial bombs. Ordinary residential buildings were damaged, and the entrance of one building was destroyed. The city’s infrastructure and railway were also damaged.

In total, 13 people were injured, and two were rescued from under the… pic.twitter.com/PhtrNpdpPm

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) September 29, 2024

Today, Russia struck Zaporizhzhia with aerial bombs. Ordinary residential buildings were damaged, and the entrance of one building was destroyed. The city’s infrastructure and railway were also damaged.

In total, 13 people were injured, and two were rescued from under the rubble. I thank all the emergency services for their rapid response and providing the necessary assistance. The rubble clearing is still ongoing.

This week alone, the Russian army has used nearly 900 aerial bombs, over 300 “Shahed” drones, and more than 40 missiles. This Russian terror knows no pause, and it can only be stopped by the unity of the world—unity in supporting Ukraine and unity in putting pressure on Russia for the war.

The death toll now stands at 14.

Unless Russia pays for its intentional and serial war crimes in Ukraine (and Chechnya, and Syria, etc.) the idea of just war and the power of the Geneva Conventions will lie in ruins, like countless Ukrainian hospitals, schools, shopping centers, and apartment blocks. https://t.co/KVpRNnV27z

— Bob Hamilton (@bobham88) September 29, 2024

I whole heartedly agree with my former colleague. Bob was a student, though not in my seminar, at USAWC during my first year and then joined the faculty during my final three years there. He retired at the rank of colonel and is a Functional Area (FA) 48 C/E, which is a Eurasian Foreign Area Officer (FAO). His knowledge and understanding of the security situation in Europe, as a senior practitioner, is extensive.

Here is President Zelenskyy’s address from earlier today. Video below, English transcript after the jump.

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Every Day, Russia Uses About a Hundred Guided Aerial Bombs Against Ukraine – Address by the President

29 September 2024 – 20:18

Dear Ukrainians!

Today in Zaporizhzhia, 14 people were injured following a Russian strike. The rubble is being cleared all day long. 2 people were rescued from under the rubble. The aerial bombs hit ordinary residential buildings, ordinary city facilities. Today, Russians also struck Kharkiv, Donetsk, and Sumy regions with guided aerial bombs. In Hlukhiv, several residential buildings were damaged. In the Kharkiv region, apartment buildings, energy and medical infrastructure were damaged. And it is a daily Russian terror. Every day, Russia uses about a hundred guided aerial bombs against Ukraine. And this is a constant reminder to all our partners who can help that we need more long-range capabilities for Ukraine, we need more air defense for Ukraine, we need more sanctions against Russia. Now, this week, during our various talks in America, our position and arguments have been heard in as much detail as possible. So that there are no more questions. And the teams – ours and those of our partners – have already begun preparing for “Ramstein.” In a week and a half, in October, at “Ramstein,” we have to decide, together with other leaders, on common steps and a common vision of the ways to increase pressure on Russia for this war and for the sake of peace. A just peace.

Today, I would like to especially acknowledge our people who have been saving lives and helping all those suffering from Russian attacks throughout this time. I extend my gratitude to the entire team of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, especially to Oleksiy Sukhorukov, Andriy Pavlenko, Ostap Tretiak, Ihor Koriahin, and Dmytro Borodatyi – employees of the SES in the Zaporizhzhia region, one of the most challenging areas. Also, our Dnipropetrovsk region: Volodymyr Zhushman, Vadym Derkach, Stanislav Lichmanenko, Ivan Podoliak, Ivan Khudoliy – these guys are employees of the SES. And our Sumy region: Ivan Sakhno, Andriy Nahornyi, Yehor Synytsyn, Danylo Suniov, and Oleksandr Protsyk have particularly distinguished themselves in recent weeks. I am grateful to you and all your colleagues from the SES in the Sumy region.

And one more thing. I want to acknowledge the officers of the National Police of Ukraine working in the Dnipropetrovsk region, who rescued people after the Russian strike on the police department in Kryvyi Rih. These are Police Captain Kateryna Tupa, Lieutenant Colonel Mykola Harmash, and Police Colonel Inna Vlasova – thank you! Thank you to everyone who protects our people and does everything to help Ukraine get through this difficult time, endure, and achieve its victory – its peace.

Glory to Ukraine!

Zchor Babyn Yar!

Today we remember one of the darkest pages of our history—the 83rd anniversary of the Babyn Yar tragedy.

The tragedy became a symbol of inhuman cruelty when more than 33,000 people were shot by the Nazis in just two days of September 1941.

📹: @United24media pic.twitter.com/O5bm73pApI

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) September 29, 2024

Today marks the 83rd anniversary of the Babyn Yar tragedy.

On September 29-30, 1941, in just two days, the Nazis shot over 30,000 Jews in Kyiv. Entire families—men, children, women, even those pregnant—were forced to walk down the “Road of Death” to the ravine. The scale of this… pic.twitter.com/QQ7H8S3Pb2

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) September 29, 2024

Today marks the 83rd anniversary of the Babyn Yar tragedy.

On September 29-30, 1941, in just two days, the Nazis shot over 30,000 Jews in Kyiv. Entire families—men, children, women, even those pregnant—were forced to walk down the “Road of Death” to the ravine. The scale of this evil is still hard to perceive.

In total, approximately 100,000 people were killed at Babyn Yar during the Nazi occupation. Nearly the entire Jewish community of Kyiv was murdered, along with those who tried to save them. Other nationalities also fell victims.

Babyn Yar is a terrifying symbol, showing that the most heinous crimes occur when the world chooses to ignore, remain silent, stay indifferent, and lacks the determination to stand up against evil.

When the eyes of the world are closed, humanity loses.

Babyn Yar is vivid proof of the atrocities that regimes are capable of when led by leaders who rely on intimidation and violence. At any time, they are no different. But the world’s response should be different. This is the lesson the world should have learned. We must guard humanity, life, and justice.

We must defend ourselves against evil.

Eternal memory to all the victims of the Nazis. Eternal condemnation to everyone guilty of the murders at Babyn Yar.

September 29-30, 1941 | The massacre in Babi Yar.
Under the supervision of Einsatzgruppe C, a special team of German SS troops supported by other German units and local collaborators began the murder of Jews of Kyiv.

In two days 33,771 Jews were murdered. And these were just the… pic.twitter.com/MinpfxCT8S

— Auschwitz Memorial (@AuschwitzMuseum) September 29, 2024

September 29-30, 1941 | The massacre in Babi Yar.
Under the supervision of Einsatzgruppe C, a special team of German SS troops supported by other German units and local collaborators began the murder of Jews of Kyiv.

In two days 33,771 Jews were murdered. And these were just the first of many other victims killed in this ravine until 1943.

Learn more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babi_Yar

Denmark:

🇩🇰🇺🇦Denmark will provide about €560 million for the purchase of weapons directly from Ukrainian defense industry enterprises — €390 million will come from frozen Russian assets.

Earlier this year, Denmark completed a pilot project that financed 18 units of Ukrainian-made… pic.twitter.com/mbzciFXb7U

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) September 29, 2024

🇩🇰🇺🇦Denmark will provide about €560 million for the purchase of weapons directly from Ukrainian defense industry enterprises — €390 million will come from frozen Russian assets.

Earlier this year, Denmark completed a pilot project that financed 18 units of Ukrainian-made ‘Bohdana’ self propelled howitzers (for about €50 million), part of which you can see on the photo.

https://fmn.dk/da/nyheder/2024/danmark-og-ukraine-enige-om-milliardinvestering/

Lithuania:

Putin never escalates when we help Ukraine. He escalates when we don’t help enough.

— Gabrielius Landsbergis🇱🇹 (@GLandsbergis) July 12, 2024

October and November will be interesting months in Ukraine, with some important personnel changes expected: it will reflect on the battlefield. Ukraine is still capable of surprises and shouldn’t be underestimated, but miscalculations can also lead to quite dire consequences.

— Tatarigami_UA (@Tatarigami_UA) September 29, 2024

Kherson:

#Kherson #DroneAttacks 🚨 On-the-ground report:

🔴a drone attack starts a fire

🔴first responders face a double-tap drone strike

🔴survivors tell about non-stop drone attacks

60,000 hunted by drones in #Kherson

Blocks incinerated

The world remains silent.#SaveKherson pic.twitter.com/cTy8t5zWWy

— Zarina Zabrisky 🇺🇸🇺🇦 (@ZarinaZabrisky) September 29, 2024

The drone manhunt in Kherson continues, russians dropping grenades on civilians, cars, and buildings, killing more and more.

In Kharkiv, Sumy, and Zaporizhzhia, russian glide bombs target civilians daily, often obliterating entire blocks and murdering dozens.

On the other hand,… https://t.co/0Bja59s7xZ

— Kate from Kharkiv (@BohuslavskaKate) September 29, 2024

The drone manhunt in Kherson continues, russians dropping grenades on civilians, cars, and buildings, killing more and more.

In Kharkiv, Sumy, and Zaporizhzhia, russian glide bombs target civilians daily, often obliterating entire blocks and murdering dozens.

On the other hand, we have eternal political debate, escalation management, and restrictions. I feel like a character in some kind of a dystopian novela. Or maybe it’s a nightmare?

The Kupyansk front:

A massive russian attack was repelled by Ukrainian warriors in the Kupiansk direction.

📹: 77th Airmobile Brigade. pic.twitter.com/tz3VjU8kXb

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) September 29, 2024

Toretsk, Donetsk Oblast:

Footage of the destruction of Toretsk.https://t.co/31Qx4FM1UG pic.twitter.com/CJZ1m5WLXa

— Rob Lee (@RALee85) September 29, 2024

Kharkiv:

This is big and under-appreciated development. https://t.co/aMNzOCJMtv

— Andriy Haydash (@andriyhaydash) September 29, 2024

The Kursk cross border offensive:

На Курському напрямку русня намагалась застосувати свій новітній “аналоговнєтний” Т-90М. Але їхній “Прорив” трошки порвався по дорозі🤷‍♂️ #14uasRegiment #14окремийПолкБпАК pic.twitter.com/6Y4kc07LgH

— 14th UAS Regiment (@14reg_army) September 29, 2024

Here’s the machine translation of the tweet:

In the Kursk direction, the Russians tried to use their newest “analog gun” T-90M. But their “Breakthrough” broke a little along the way 🤷‍♂️

#14uasRegiment #14окремийПолкБпАК

Rostov Oblast, Russia:

Around 20 UAVs attacked the Millerovo airfield, Rostov region, in Russia last night. NASA FIRMS map picked up fires in that region.

The Russian air base is around 160km (100 miles) from the current frontline. pic.twitter.com/gVAO3pvx2F

— (((Tendar))) (@Tendar) September 29, 2024

Volgograd and Yesyk, Russia:

Happy Sunday, my friends! Seems russia had an explosive night. A munitions depot in Volgograd region, and an airfield in Yeysk was on fire. pic.twitter.com/6SWXoYgowz

— Kate from Kharkiv (@BohuslavskaKate) September 29, 2024

Russia’s city of Yeysk sits on the Azov Sea coast, looks across at #Ukraine‘s southern coastline. It has a military airfield and several large military enclosures within the small city. It’s location is ideal for launching Shahed kamikaze drones & so hopefully Ukraine struck its… https://t.co/p4O5RBA2EC pic.twitter.com/u55u9gC9mY

— Glasnost Gone (@GlasnostGone) September 29, 2024

Russia’s city of Yeysk sits on the Azov Sea coast, looks across at #Ukraine‘s southern coastline. It has a military airfield and several large military enclosures within the small city. It’s location is ideal for launching Shahed kamikaze drones & so hopefully Ukraine struck its drone storage warehouse last night.

Here’s a great assessment of the Ukrainian strikes on Russian military sites, including ammo depots and airfields, by Estonian Reserve Soldier Artur Rehi:

This morning, Ukrainian drones struck several important military facilities deep inside Russia. Among the targets hit were Voronezh, Volgograd, the airfield in Eysk, and Rostov. Of particular note was the attack on the military arsenal in Koluban, where not only Russian
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ammunition but also Iranian ballistic missiles stored there were destroyed. These attacks were part of a new wave of air operations aimed at disrupting supply chains and weakening the enemy’s military infrastructure. Ukrainian forces have previously struck large arsenals,
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including a strategically important warehouse in Toropets, which significantly complicated the supply of the Russian army. These operations are part of a general plan and once again demonstrate Ukraine’s consistency in its actions. Ukraine will win, but when this happens
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greatly depends on its allies. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky explained in one of his recent speeches: “The plan for victory is to strengthen Ukraine. That is why we ask our friends, our allies, to strengthen us. This is very important. I think we are closer to peace
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than we think. We are closer to the end of the war. We just need to be very strong, very strong.” He said these words during his visit to the United States. During this trip, Zelensky met with Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, as well as with congressional leaders, including the
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Speaker of the House of Representatives and senators, with whom he discussed the need to continue arms supplies and economic assistance. The United States has allocated a new aid package to Ukraine. The US Department of Defense announced the allocation of a new military aid
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package to Ukraine on September 25, 2024. This package is $ 375 million. Following this, on September 26, the US Department of Defense announced the allocation of another military aid package to Ukraine in the amount of $ 2.4 billion, but this time within the framework
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of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. AGM-154A JSOW long-range cluster air-guided munitions were included for the first time in the package. The package includes missiles, air defense, artillery shells and much more. Zelensky also met with Donald Trump. This
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meeting caused mixed reactions. His stance on Ukraine has been inconsistent, raising questions among observers and diplomats. Unlike Biden and Congress’ clear support for Ukraine, Trump’s rhetoric has been more evasive and has not provided clear guarantees of continued
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assistance if he returns to power. Nevertheless, Zelenskyy has tried to convey to Trump the importance of supporting Ukraine for global stability and security. The plan for victory requires the continued support of allies, without limitations and in full. Zelenskyy
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has repeatedly emphasized that Ukraine needs weapons, finances, and political support from the West to effectively counter Russian aggression and speed up the end of the war. Despite the difficulties and mixed political signals, Ukraine counts on continued support from all
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its allies, both in Europe and the United States. Attacks on major military installations, such as the arsenal in Koluban, where Iranian weapons shipments were also destroyed, and the ongoing operation in the Kursk region are important elements of this plan. These military
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actions not only undermine the capabilities of Russian troops, but also play an important political role. The successes of the Ukrainian army strengthen the country’s position on the international stage,
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add weight in negotiations with allies and show the world that Ukraine is ready and able to defend its independence and defeat Russia.
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That’s enough for tonight.

Your daily Patron!

There are no new Patron tweets or videos. Here is some adjacent material.

A furry friend guards the helicopter before another combat mission.

📷: Army Aviation pic.twitter.com/gQ4TSgC518

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) September 29, 2024

Кицю врятували

Кацапи, щоб ви всі подохли від спідораку жопи, нелюди pic.twitter.com/gXmY2Q5bx1

— Roland Deschain (@Rolandirebyata) September 29, 2024

Here’s the machine translation of the tweet:

The cat was saved

Fuck you all, you bastards

Open thread!

War for Ukraine Day 949: Russia KABs Against ZaporizhzhiaPost + Comments (37)

Medium Cool – Dame Maggie Smith, One of a Kind

by WaterGirl| September 29, 20247:00 pm| 51 Comments

This post is in: Medium Cool, Open Threads, TV & Movies, Culture as a Hedge Against This Soul-Sucking Political Miasma We're Living In

Medium Cool is a weekly series related to popular culture, mostly film, TV, and books, with some music and games thrown in. We hope it’s a welcome break from the anger, hate, and idiocy we see almost daily from the other side in the political sphere.

Arguments welcomed, opinions respected, fools un-suffered. We’re here every Sunday at 7 pm.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWBP6g2j23U

Let’s talk about Maggie Smith. A force of nature. One of a kind.

“Maggie doesn’t just steal a scene; she commits grand larceny.”

Medium Cool – Dame Maggie Smith, One of a KindPost + Comments (51)

Sunday Evening Open Thread: What Happened to Elon Musk

by Anne Laurie| September 29, 20246:05 pm| 173 Comments

This post is in: Grifters Gonna Grift, Open Threads, Tech News & Issues

it's not a novel observation, but musk's lived for a long time at a level of wealth that i have to imagine resembles having some kind of delusional disorder. every single person who interacts with him in nearly every encounter has a vested interest in lying to him about whatever he wants.

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— GOLIKEHELLMACHINE (@golikehellmachine.com) September 28, 2024 at 3:08 PM

My personal opinion, Musk has always been a Sales Guy, and Sales Guys need to lie to themselves before they can successfully lie to their potential customers. But there’s no denying he’s gotten worse at distinguishing lies from fact over the last decade or so… At the Atlantic, Lora Kelley interviews Charlie Warzel:

Lora Kelley: Elon Musk has been crossing into the worlds of conspiracism and disinformation for a while—but he seems to be taking things even further lately. Why might he be going this far? What’s in it for him?

Charlie Warzel: It’s complicated, but it’s also deceptively simple. We can’t be inside this guy’s head, but he does seem to truly feed off of and love attention. Musk has been moving in a right-wing direction for a long time. But his purchase of Twitter and how he mishandled it—with advertisers, and de-verifying users—really alienated people and accelerated his turn. Many people used to think of him as the Thomas Edison of the 21st century. He was branded as this innovator and savvy businessman. When he walked into Twitter and made a mess of it, he lost cachet among this group of people who saw him as a genius. Now he’s trying very hard to appeal to the only people who really care about him anymore—including those who reside in the far right corners of the internet.

Lora: Why is Musk getting so involved in this presidential election, and with Trump (who apparently said he would give Musk a role leading a government-efficiency commission if he wins)? Is he making some kind of play to be a great man of history, or is he after power in a potential Trump administration?

Charlie: Elon Musk basically bought Donald Trump at the top. He endorsed him moments after the first assassination attempt, when Trump was riding a wave of positive attention, when Joe Biden was still in the race and it looked like Trump was probably going to dominate him. So much has changed since Musk endorsed Trump in July. If he were truly a savvy political operator, he would be hedging his bets right now, saying I can’t fully alienate myself from one political party, because I have all these government contracts and so many other interests that I need to be able to at least sit in a room with with Democrats.

I think the fact that he has effectively just become the in-house social-media team for Donald Trump speaks to the fact that he’s not just making a political calculation. He’s not playing a game of 3-D chess. It seems to me that he’s truly radicalized.

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Sunday Evening Open Thread: What Happened to Elon MuskPost + Comments (173)

All hail the time of the bunny!

Their shamelessness is their super power.

The republican speaker is a slippery little devil.

I swear, each month of 2025 will have its own history degree.

The National Guard is not Batman.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

Innocent people do not delay justice.

The media handbook says “controversial” is the most negative description that can be used for a Republican.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

There are some who say that there are too many strawmen arguments on this blog.

If ‘weird’ was the finish line, they ran through the tape and kept running.

If a good thing happens for a bad reason, it’s still a good thing.

Not loving this new fraud based economy.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires Republicans to act in good faith.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

Museums are not America’s attic for its racist shit.

Reality always gets a vote in the end.

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

Stand up, dammit!

Fucking consultants! (of the political variety)

Tide comes in. Tide goes out. You can’t explain that.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

Ought to be a Law, With No Bail, Smash a Guitar and You Go to Jail

Foreign Office Briefing: We Are Sausages to Fortune

Monday Morning Open Thread: Choose Hope

Asheville, Goddam

War for Ukraine Day 949: Russia KABs Against Zaporizhzhia

Every Day, Russia Uses About a Hundred Guided Aerial Bombs Against Ukraine – Address by the President

Medium Cool – Dame Maggie Smith, One of a Kind

Sunday Evening Open Thread: What Happened to Elon Musk