@ErikJonker@mastodon.social2025-10-30 01:34:46
Amazing elections in the Netherlands (I am a member of the D66 party).
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/29/exit-poll-suggests-progressive-d66-party-will-become-largest-in-dutch-parliament
…
@ErikJonker@mastodon.social2025-10-30 01:34:46
@timbray@cosocial.ca2025-10-26 00:25:35
Content warning: World Series
Just want to point out about Game 1 that if you take out any two of the three #Bluejays home runs, they still win the game.
@hex@kolektiva.social2025-10-20 08:05:15
Some leftists have criticized #NoKingsDay2 as useless. Though it was the largest protest in US history, it didn't change anything. I would go further to say that protests like these generally won't change anything. Dictators aren't forced to step down by 2% of the population coming out for one day. If they're forced to step down by protests, those protests are sustained. They are every single day. They are accompanied by general strikes.
We've been watching that happen all over the world. Portland in 2020 gave us a taste of that in the US. The George Floyd Rebellion was the type of resistance that actually brings down dictators like Trump. Occasional protests, no matter how large, can simply be ignored. That is precisely the reason the US developed a militarized police force in the first place. You need more, more than the largest protests in US history, more than Occupy, more than the resistance of the 60's and 70's, more than, and different from, anything we've seen in our lives.
And yet... Each protest has grown, and grown bolder. Some have grown more persistent. If you think of protest as the path to achieve change, you will lose. It is not. But it is a path to escalate. Some people, some otherwise comfortable white folks, came out for their first time. Some people got pepper sprayed for the first time. Some people questioned authority, stood up for the first time, and have had an experience that will radicalize them for the rest of their lives.
Protest is not useful in and of itself. It is training. It's making connections. Authoritarian regimes rely on the illusion of compliance, so visual resistance does actually undermine their power.
Liberals like to teach that non-violence is all about staying peaceful no matter what, that there's some way that morality simply overwhelms an enemy. I remember reading Langston Hughes' A Dream Deferred in high school. I said it was a threat. My teacher said, "you're wrong, he was a pacifist." Pacifism is a threat. If you can spit at me, beat me, shoot me, and I will not move, if I have the strength to absorb violence without flinching, without even rising to violence, what will happen when you push me too far?
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore—
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over—
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
For peaceful resistance to work, there must be ambiguity. It must not be clear if or when the resistance will stop being peaceful. Peaceful resistance with no possibility of escalation is just cowardice.
My critique then is not so harsh as some other anarchists. If you think that protest alone will work, you're probably going to lose. If you are prepared to escalate, if you are prepared to absorb violence without flinching, then it could be possible for protest alone to topple the dictator. The cracks are already beginning to show.
And then what?
The problems that lead to the George Floyd uprising were never resolved. The problems that lead to Occupy where never resolve. The DAPL was built, protesters were maimed, it leaked multiple times (exactly as predicted). Segregation never went away, it only changed forms. The fact that immigrants have different courts and different rights means that anyone can be arbitrarily kidnaped and renditioned to an arbitrary country. We never did anything about the torture black site. FFS, people can still be stripped of their voting rights and slavery is still legal in the US. The people who control both parties in the US are killing our children and grand children with oil wars and climate change.
Toppling the dictator does nothing to resolve all of the problems that existed before him.
No, #NoKingsDay was absolutely not useless. #NoKings and related protests are extremely useful but they aren't sufficient. But, I think we still need to challenge the movement on two points:
How do you escalate after you're ignored or brutalized?
What do you demand after you win?
#USPol
@cdarwin@c.im2025-11-02 04:24:02
@NFL@darktundra.xyz2025-10-10 06:20:40
Dynamic duo in Gotham: Rookies Jaxson Dart, Cam Skattebo lead Giants to historic win over Eagles https://www.nfl.com/news/dynamic-duo-in-gotham-rookies-jaxson-dart-cam-skattebo-lead-giants-to-historic-win-over-eagles
@lightweight@mastodon.nzoss.nz2025-11-05 02:57:08
So, apparently, Mamdani is the new mayor of NYC. This could be a huge deal for modern democraciea and the societies that want to retain them. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/577912/us-politics-zohran-mamdani-wins-election-for-new-york-mayora…
@brian_gettler@mas.to2025-12-04 13:14:31
As an historian of the fur trade in Canada, I think it's sort of perfect that the Thomson and especially the Weston families get the charter. Nobody performed the proud Canadian tradition of corporate monopoly over the basic necessities of life and knowledge of the outside world better or longer than the HBC.
htt…
@servelan@newsie.social2025-11-07 08:15:26
Why Trump’s cuts to scientific research are a big win for China: China is attracting American scientific talent, especially in STEM fields, partly due to funding cuts and immigration restrictions under President Donald Trump.
- The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/11/05/china-brain-gain-united-states-scientists/
@cjust@infosec.exchange2025-11-01 22:37:37
@karlauerbach@sfba.social2025-12-12 18:50:20
Now that the US has created a de facto war with Venezuela I am wondering whether Venezuela or its proxies will engage the US on a military basis. Not that they will "win", but they can do a lot of damage.
For instance, is Air Force One immune to attacks that Venezuela might launch? I doubt that it is.
And are US gov't officials and resources, anywhere in the world, now legitimate war targets? I think they might be.
And I wonder whether this might mean that …
@rae@bne.social2025-10-07 05:53:22
Putting rum in a porridge jaffle seems destined to win over the judges
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-07/melbourne-woman-wins-porridge-maki…
@mlawton@mstdn.social2025-11-02 17:58:36
Have now seen the win. The thing that gave me the most joy was the Anfield crowd singing Slot's song several times throughout the match (and Mo too, even before he scored).
Backing the manager and the team, when the outside world was declaring it "a crisis moment" was such a wonderful display of grace. Made me proud to support this club.
It was also great to see Mo have his touch back. I'm not saying he's fully back in form, but he looks more confident and …
@paulbusch@mstdn.ca2025-11-02 13:17:13
Good Morning #Canada
Canadians should reflect back on the glorious past few weeks and the excitement provided by the Toronto #BlueJays. A team not expected to contend for any title when the season began, they surprised the experts, the fans, and the teams that stood in their way. Some Canadians had flashbacks to previous World's Series Championships, some younger fans built their own memories, and millions jumped on board the bandwagon. We celebrated every pitch, every swing of the bat, every win that brought us closer to a championship, and each other. If you can't change the situation you're in - or the final score in a game 7 - you can always change your perspective. Don't be sad for our Blue Jays. Remember the joy they brought us individually and collectively.
#CanadaIsAwesome #LetsGoBlueJays
https://youtu.be/ENBX_v1Po1Y?si=lSY-cNmBiNozxOvM
@smurthys@hachyderm.io2025-11-02 19:02:55