Tootfinder

Unlike his predecessors,
Trump does not even pretend that his imperialism serves any purpose nobler than American domination
For Trump, “America first” didn’t imply any legal or moral opposition to foreign invasions.
To the contrary, he criticized Bush for not seizing Iraq’s oil.
He denounced regime change and nation building because they allegedly expended American blood and treasure on behalf of non-Americans.
Instead, Trump promised short wars in which onl…

I don't think I'm ever going to enjoy gifts.
I can get why people would give them to children. After all, children don't have their own budget. However, I'm talking about occasional gifts, not a new toy every second week, because "we must outcompete the other grandparents". But to adults?
Once I've heard that you should gift people with what they won't buy themselves. Well, that's won't work for me. I'm a minimalist. If I don't need something, I don't want to have it. Unnecessary junk is only emotional burden to me.
I can get why you'd enjoy something handmade. But something people bought? If I need something, I can buy it myself, when I need it. And I definitely don't need people to prove to me that they never cared to learn who I am, and just buy whatever they like or whatever is "fashionable"; which usually means exactly the opposite of what I'd prefer (i.e. something minimalistic). Or even worse, I don't need people manipulating me through gifts.
Sweets? Besides my diabetes, I don't really enjoy expensive shit that people generally buy because it's what's advertised. For the money they waste on it, I'd buy three times as much sweets I'd actually enjoy.
Gift cards? Oh yes, "you aren't supposed to give money, so let's just give the equivalent of money that's actually worth less than money". Actual money? And here we reach the true nonsense; we exchange the same amount of money, so it's just pointless gesture. Unless one of us gives less money…
What I'd really like, as a gift? Maybe that people would finally bother accepting me as who I am. The absolute minimum of caring that I hate consumerism, and not fueling it "for me".
#AntiCapitalism #minimalism #ActuallyAutistic

I feel the need to stress, even though it should go without saying, that the person who was kidnapped out of their car was not obstructing or interfering. They were doing nothing illegal, and nothing wrong. They were part of a caravan following ICE at a safe distance, driving legally, not even stopping their crimes, not even slowing them down — just making sure their crimes were recorded.

'Mass obstruction' — Draft officers injured in Odesa following confrontation with 'civilian group': https://benborges.xyz/2026/02/16/mass-obstruction-draft-officers-injured.html

Alex Vindman is not a man to hold a grudge.
Ask him about the bullying, intimidation and retribution meted out by Donald Trump and Maga acolytes following his appearance as a key witness in the first of the president’s two first-term impeachments, and he almost shrugs it off.
“I’m an optimist by nature. I’m more focused on the future than the past, and this idea of vindictiveness or grievance is completely opposite of my personality.
-- Now, accountability is essential …”

Day Five in the Improv Narrative house, and we're in the format I like most really. A few instructive games in the first half and a couple of longer narrative stories in the second half.
The island game was supposed to teach something about not deliberately getting obstructive.
A scene where your players are told they are on one island and must end up at some point all on the other one the other side of the stage.
Set a scene, make some characters, but nobody said it was supposed to be difficult to get from one island to the other.
Yet barriers are deliberately thrown up, actually imaginary barriers since the whole thing is imaginary after all. Why should there be sharks or a quest for a boat or the sea deep and cold.
You can just wade across. You can just have a boat. You can just levitate yourself over with your hive mind psychic abilities.
Unsure about this.
There must be conflict and peril and challenges which are mastered in a story, you can't set up a hero's quest only to have the hero just happen to have a holy grail in the stationary cupboard. Already got one you see. Use it for storing pens.
Still. Finding the crowbar doesn't have to be a quest. There can just be one in the boot. Don't let things get bogged down in difficulty.
Watched a story about a lazy fellow falling into a life of crime and villainy because of his tardiness and fulfilling his teacher's prophecy that he would indeed end up as a criminal if he didn't buck up his ideas. Good repeated themes of characters making lists of his failures and nice stage-focus work when everyone was on stage at once.
Played a preacher organizing a wedding in a story about friends running a hotel.
Fun to have Reverend Priest finding sin everywhere again. Easy wipe-off sin in this case. We may have come to an end too early. Perhaps not enough obstructions put in the way. 😆
#improv #london #hooplaImpro

New Study: Evidence shows how X’s algorithmic feed is radicalizing its users toward the Right. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10098-2

The political effects of X’s feed algorithm - Nature
Among users initially on a chronological feed, 7 weeks of exposure to X’s algorithmic feed in 2023 shifted political attitudes and account-following behaviour in a more conservative direction compared with those remaining on a chronological feed, whereas switching the feed setting in the opposite direction, from algorithmic to chronological, had no effect.

The political effects of X’s feed algorithm
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10098-2

The political effects of X’s feed algorithm - Nature
Among users initially on a chronological feed, 7 weeks of exposure to X’s algorithmic feed in 2023 shifted political attitudes and account-following behaviour in a more conservative direction compared with those remaining on a chronological feed, whereas switching the feed setting in the opposite direction, from algorithmic to chronological, had no effect.

Sources and filings: Peter Thiel donated $3M to a group to beat California's wealth tax, the first of several expected major donations by tech leaders in 2026 (New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/11/us/politics/peter-thiel-california-weal…

Thiel Gives $3 Million to Group Seeking to Block California Wealth Tax
More large donations from wealthy Silicon Valley figures are expected as they try to marshal opposition to a proposed ballot measure that would impose a new tax on billionaires.

This may not be the most pressing concern for the Iranian people, but for the Dutch, there's always the burning question: Will this make our gasoline more expensive? https://www.nu.nl/midden-oostenconflict/6387726/aanval-op-i…

Aanval op Iran kan al hoge brandstofprijzen nog verder opstuwen
Het geweld van zaterdag in het Midden-Oosten kan de wereldwijde aanvoer van ruwe olie ernstig verstoren en de prijzen flink doen stijgen. In Nederland kunnen hogere olieprijzen een verdere stijging van de prijzen aan de pomp betekenen.