#France's Macron is right. #Europe / the #EU should have its own army. #NATO should be supplanted by a European army. American strategists (e.g. George Friedman) make no secret of their desire to ensure German technology and Russian resources don't come together, and that Europe remains fragmented/divided. These hawks aren't friends of Europeans, nor do they want the EU to trade with #China etc. They even support Islamists in Central Asia to hamper trade between the two.
Lately I've been binge watching videos of #Japan on #YouTube. Literally everything about Japan. Honest to God, I'm kinda jealous of that country now. Seriously what's up with their food vending machines and capsule toy vendors on every street corner? And their airports have observation decks for non-travelers, and they have tons of hobby model shops in Tokyo, etc. And those bullet trains!!! What on Earth have we been missing? The world's gotta emulate Japan.
On the occasion of the Armenian #Genocide remembrance day, let us not forget that #Ukraine, #Russia, #Israel, #Turkey, Pakistan, Georgia, the #UK, #Canada and #USA / the #US are ALL guilty of helping Azerbaijan commit genocide against Nagorno-Karabakh's Armenian Christians in 2020-2023.
Israeli, Turkish and Ukrainian weapons were delivered to Azerbaijan via Georgia. Moscow greenlighted it to punish Armenia, and the West made sure its Israeli and Turkish allies got away with it.
I refer to this alliance as the alliance of the Dajjal (Arabic word for Antichrist).
The Antichrist alliance of #Israel, Pakistan, #Ukraine, #Turkey, Azerbaijan, #NATO, #Russia, #Canada, the US, the #UK and the #EU unanimously ganging up on the poor Armenian Christians, for different reasons/agendas.
And, ironically, the Muslims of #Iran, #Yemen, #Palestine, Iraq and Lebanon are the ones standing with the poor Armenian Christians.
Please tell me, fellow people of #Mastodon, how could I sympathize with the US/West and #Ukraine against #Russia when all of these nations have the blood of innocent Armenians, Yemenis and Palestinians on their hands? How could I lie to myself or suppress my own inner conscience? How could I forget that BOTH Russia and the US/West/EU (including Ukraine) helped Azerbaijan commit genocide against Karabakh's Armenians, helped Saudi Arabia commit genocide in Yemen, etc?
The ugly truth that very few like to admit is that countries are like organisms with minds of their own, at least metaphorically. They oftentimes cooperate with or fight one another for survival, and try to rationalize their actions by invoking nationalism, religion, (anti) fascism, communism, capitalism and a plethora of other ideologies to justify their decisions. In reality, it's a lawless jungle, refereed only by the laws of nature.
Do you really think it matters whether #Biden or #Trump becomes president of the US? This is like wondering which of your many trillions of cells would have the final decision. No cell has the final decision. Countries are super-organisms. Your right vs left ideological fights are a distraction of the human ego. Countries have no morals. They will do whatever it takes to survive. Stop living in la la land. There's no good versus evil.
Another #Twitter alternative bites the dust. Post News was by far the worst Twitter alternative. Imagine a platform where only mainstream DC-vetted voices are amplified. Imagine a place where you can get banned for voicing opposition to the US Empire's DC consensus. Screw that. This isn't what the internet was all about. The internet was always about free speech. Anyone who goes against free speech will lose.
Wonderful #news. Another country in #Africa has decided to expel US troops. A huge blow for America, France and the West.
I'd love to see the day when American/Western troops are also expelled from Kuwait, Bahrain, the Arabian Peninsula, Syria, Iraq and many other Islamic countries.
The US Empire must be resolutely defeated and crushed. The world is bigger than a few White-majority countries that are still functioning as empires.
@digfish Hey, remember, it's Niger's sovereign decision to expel the Americans and bring in the Russians, just like it was Ukraine's sovereign decision to apply for NATO membership.
America's sending billions of dollars to #Israel so that it could continue its #genocide against #Palestine / #Gaza under the guise of fighting #Hamas.
It wants the world to respect #Ukraine's territorial integrity, yet it sends billions of dollars to Taiwan, a territory that is part of #China according to international law.
It wants the world to stand up against #Russia, yet it aids and abets genocidal wars.
#Iran's IRGC warns if #Israel strikes Iran's nuclear sites, then Iran would also strike Israel's nuclear sites, abandon its non-proliferation policy & build nuclear warheads.
Iran warns any Israeli attack on its soil would lead to harsher Iranian retaliatory strikes on Israeli soil. This comes days after Iran successfully struck military bases in Israel in response to Israel's illegal attack on the Iranian embassy in Syria.
How many people even know that #Israel helped Azerbaijan commit genocide against the Armenian Christians of Nagorno-Karabakh just weeks before the October 7 attack by #Hamas?
The people of #Palestine / #Gaza are not the only victims of Israeli crimes. Israel literally has the blood of innocent Armenian Christians, Yemenis, Lebanese people, Kurds and Sahrawis on its hands.
#Iran is ironically the country that's protecting the Armenian Christians.
I don't wish to upset Ukrainians but they surely must realize by now that the war in #Ukraine is between 2 empires: the US Empire & the Russian Empire. Ukraine is cursed by geography. It'll never have true independence or sovereignty. It's destined to become part of either Greater #Russia or Greater #Germany (cough#EUcough), the latter of which is currently a US vassal, but won't be forever. In any case, Ukraine has no good option. It'll always be under foreign suzerainty.
Look, if I were given the choice between Greater #Russia or Greater #Germany, I'd choose Germany, so I understand why #Ukraine is fighting. No one in their right mind wants to become part of the Russian Empire. But can we just dispense with the myth that this war is about "good versus evil"? It really isn't. It's about which empire inherits eastern #Europe. It's a rerun of WW2 & the Napoleonic Wars, except this time Germany & #France look prettier, while Russia is still Russia.
@nadiaalbelushi wow. imagine applying this argument to any other strategically impotrant or geopolitically disputed region. that might include afghanistan, taiwan. palestine, kashmir, tibet.. just for starters off the top of my head... the suggestion that 'just give it up folks, bc you're gonna be a part of some greater authority one way or another'... i'm gonna be very nice and just say this is one hell. of a fucking take.
A Century of Sky, Digitized
The Harvard College Observatory’s glass plates, which record a century of changes in the sky, has now been converted into digital form.
Yesterday I wrote a post on #Mastodon about racism/fascism on #Bluesky. I deleted it coz I didn't want anyone here to get triggered by the screenshots I shared. I wrote a thread on Bluesky where I documented all the racism I've so far encountered:
Yet another example why #Mastodon is better than #Bluesky.
Over the last day or so, I've come across a number of disgustingly racist comments made by Iranians on Bsky towards Palestinians, Arabs and immigrants. The irony is these Iranians are against their regime, primarily because they see the regime as being too pro-Arab. When confronting them about it, they pretended to be the victims. Bluesky allows this. Imagine sharing a platform with racist trash.
I consider myself a terminal tourist lol. Basically, it's when people hang out at airport terminals even if they're not traveling. I used to do that a lot in Malta during my med school years. Used to spend hours at the observation deck, and would sometimes even eat and study there. Also used to do it a lot in Qatar. Apparently it has become a thing in America too. I used to think I was the only one who did this. 😅