Rants and rambles of a hysterical mind

[shreddingsplinters]

Another rant about another tragedy.

Can everyone do me a favor and stop using tragedies to push your agenda? I understand that when these terrible situations arise it causes fear and anguish. But to call for policy change based on reaction and not critical thought can have unforeseeable consequences in the future. And don't get me started on the countless opinion based articles, blog posts, and memes that get shoved in our faces immediately after said tragedies. Can we for once instead of spreading all of this social media poison give the victims families time to grieve? The very least you can do is pray for them. Or if you're not down with the Jesus then send your condolences or whatever. I can't think of the other word I am thinking of here. We can make better decisions with cooler heads than we can with an impassioned heart. Just one man's opinion.

And to those that have used these tragedies to push your agenda are opportunistic scum. Fuck you. Both right and left. I say it again, FUCK YOU. There is a special spot in hell for you, I will see you fuckbags there.

Take care everyone. I love some of you and hate most of you.

[thepoliticalnoteboo1deac]

This Week in War. A Friday round-up of what happened and what’s been written in the world of war and military/security affairs this week. It’s a mix of news reports, policy briefs, blog posts and longform journalism.

Abu Nabil, the Islamic State’s man in Libya, has been killed by a US airstrike in Derna. The group is using Libya, where it has some 3,000 fighters, as a foothold in North Africa.

Rival factions in Libya have agreed on a peace plan.

How a rivalry between the UAE and Qatar is impacting Libya.

French peacekeepers are being interrogated about claims of child sex abuse in the Central African Republic.

Protests broke out in CAR’s capital, Bangui, after the Constitutional Court rejected exiled former president Françoise Bozize’s electoral bid.  

The UN issued a warning over a crackdown on dissent ahead of elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Two military camps in Burundi’s capital, Bujumbura, were stormed by unknown attackers and eight people were killed in the firefight.

Unrest in Burundi, which has stoked fears of a return to ethnic violence and civil war, has increased the country’s debt fourfold.

One of the nine most wanted fugitives from the 1994 Rwandan genocide was arrested in the Congo. Ladislaz Ntaganzwa, a Rwandan man with a $5m bounty on his head who had been on the run for 21 years, stands accused of participating in and inciting the genocide as mayor of Nyakizu. 

Boko Haram suicide bombers killed eight in Cameroon Friday morning. 

Extremist attacks have displaced thousands from islands in Lake Chad.

Violent clashes in Ethiopia have killed ten students after protests erupted against a planned expansion of Addis Ababa into nearby farmland. 

The US has announced that it killed the Islamic State’s minister of finance, along with two other senior commanders, in an airstrike.

Here’s how the group is pulling in so much cash. The Treasury Dept. says that the Islamic State has made $1.5 billion from bank looting and oil sales. Even after their supply routes have been cut, the group shows serious resilience.

Reuters investigates the role of former Ba’athists in the formation of the Islamic State. 

Syrian rebels and civilians have pulled out of the last opposition-held neighborhood in Homs.

The US says that an airstrike on a Syrian army position in eastern Syria was actually carried out by Russia.

The high global demand for precision missiles (smart bombs) is putting a strain on US arms manufacturers.

Russia’s defense minister says that the country has carried out 4,000 sorties over Syria since the start of its air war, also saying that Russia has received 35 new ICBMs in 2015 to push forward their military modernization quest.

Turkey’s prime minister accused Russia of “ethnic cleansing” in Syria. 

The Guardian obtained an internal Islamic State manual that offers insight into its state-building efforts.

Iraqi forces have retaken 60% of Ramadi from the Islamic State.

Shadi Hamid looks at the rationality of the Islamic State.

The Long War Journal explains why the Islamic State wants believers like the San Bernardino shooters to pledge allegiance before their deaths. 

The Pentagon has proposed a string of new bases in Africa, Southwest Asia and the Middle East to aid in the fight against the Islamic State.  

Thousands of Syrian asylum seekers are being held in limbo at Jordan’s border. 

Syrian opposition have agreed to UN-sponsored negotiations, but say Assad has to go.

“Farah” details to the BBC her torture in the hands of the Syrian government.

The Syrian government has no interest in defeating the Islamic State. 

Baghdad is angry over a Turkish troop deployment into northern Iraq for which it did not give permission.

Turkey announced an expansion of the rights of the Alevi minority. 

New Yemen peace talks are set for December 15th.

Former Guantánamo detainee Ibrahim Qosi is now an al-Qaeda leader in Yemen.

Jailed Saudi blogger Raif Badawi is on hunger strike.

One rifle’s journey from Belgium to Gaza.

There are signs of a factional realignment underway in Iran.

11 Taliban gunmen laid siege to Kandahar airport, killing at least 50 people. 

After overrunning Khanishin district in Helmand province, the Taliban now control 37 districts in Afghanistan and contest 39.

Rival Taliban factions are clashing in western Afghanistan.

Afghanistan, Pakistan and the US have reopened Taliban peace talks without the Taliban.

Mullah Mansour says he isn’t dead.

Afghanistan’s intelligence chief has resigned after disagreements with President Ashraf Ghani.

The US jailed a former Russian tank commander for life plus 30 years for fighting for the Taliban.

India and Pakistan have agreed to resume peace talks.

The Islamic State has extended recruitment efforts into China.

Chinese civil rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang will stand trial next week over comments he made online.

North Korea hinted at H-bomb capabilities, though experts doubt this.

North and South Korea met this week in an attempt to improve relations.

Arms and fighters are still coming over the border from Russia into eastern Ukraine, says the UN. 9,100 people have died so far in the war in Ukraine. 

Georgia says Russia violated its airspace.

Ukraine and Syria offer insight into Russian tactics.

The Bosnian Serb regional government has stopped cooperating with the State over the arrests of five Serb war crimes suspects.

Azerbaijan has released human rights activist Leyla Yunus.

Geneva is on maximum alert hunting for four terror suspects.

How terrorists return to Europe from Syria.

About 100 Cuban dissidents were arrested in a crackdown on Human Rights Day protests. 

Voters’ fears over terrorism and xenophobic insecurities are fueling far-right populist politicians from the United States to France and Hungary. 

House Republicans are accusing the White House of breaking the law with the Bowe Bergdahl prisoner swap. 

The new season of the Serial podcast will focus on Bergdahl.

And don’t forget to sign the Committee to Protect Journalists’ petition to the Turkish government to release Iraqi journalist Mohammed Rasool, imprisoned since August without charge.

Photo: Damascus, Syria. A man carries an injured boy in the aftermath of airstrikes. Sameer Al-Doumy/AFP/Getty

[nationaljournal]

Today marks the last edition of National Journal magazine, a publication that has worked to deliver smart, non-partisan insight on all things Washington for the last 46 years. In its place will survive a website and a newsletter that will deliver timely political analysis. 

Read a note from the editor on how the magazine upheld its high journalistic standards and investigative stamina in the age of the Internet:

It was a tradition that had, for decades, insisted that the details of policy and politics mattered enormously. That the decision-makers behind the scenes could not be ignored. That there was no shortage of investigative digging to be done in Washington. That reporting and argument could strengthen each other. That a magazine could earn the respect of both conservatives and liberals. 

[just--space]

If Earth had Saturn’s Rings

From an excellent post by Jason Davis

From Washington, D.C., the rings would only fill a portion of the sky, but appear striking nonetheless. Here, we see them at sunrise.

From Guatemala, only 14 degrees above the equator, the rings would begin to stretch across the horizon. Their reflected light would make the moon much brighter.

From Earth’s equator, Saturn’s rings would be viewed edge-on, appearing as a thin, bright line bisecting the sky.

At the March and September equinoxes, the Sun would be positioned directly over the rings, casting a dramatic shadow at the equator.

At midnight at the Tropic of Capricorn, which sits at 23 degrees south latitude, the Earth casts a shadow over the middle of the rings, while the outer portions remain lit.

via x

[densetsu-no-mom-peni-deactivate]

Sign my change.org petition to form a ring around the earth

[just--space]

 Not that I don’t love change.org petitions, but…two things. 

One: During the winter, day would become night and night would become day.

 As you can see in the last picture, during the night, reflected light from the lit portions of the rings (the ones not in Earth’s shadow) would mean it would be basically as bright as a cloudy day, even at midnight. Also, during the day, the Sun would appear to dip below the rings, causing the day to darken to something a bit like dusk. It would look spectacular: the rings would form a luminous band from horizon to horizon, with diffraction and interference effects producing prismatic rainbows and optical illusions, but it would be basically like a second night. So during the winter, day would essentially turn into night and vice versa. It would be weird. 

Two: The Earth is already going to get a ring. 

(Probably). In the future (*really* far future), the moon will stop moving away from us, and start getting closer and closer. Eventually it will get so close that the effect of the Earth’s gravity will be stronger than the Moon’s gravitational pull on itself and the Moon will disintegrate. It will form a colossal ring around the Earth, much like Saturn’s:

[shreddingsplinters]

Quit trying to ruin our dreams, just space!

[kaisketch]

I’ve been having bad days and drawing this helped me remember things.

I hope it helps you, too.

[caitiward]

Every time, without fail, this makes me tear up.

[tsvrcm-deactivated20161229]

I’m the bird. at all times.

[holybolognajabronies]

I’m the bird for others, the blob when there’s no distractions, and a nice amalgamation of the two when psychoanalyzing and keeping myself balanced and moving forward

[iamxi]

😭😭😭😭😭😭

[authorsarahdessen]

*sobs* 

[shreddingsplinters]

Holy fuck so much feels.

[mtv]

disney + halloween

[just--space]

The collision of two black holes js

[just--space]

This false-color mosaic was constructed from a series of 53 images taken through three spectral filters by Galileos imaging system as the spacecraft flew over the northern regions of the Moon on December 7, 1992.

js

[micdotcom]

Watch: Ahmed Mohamed speaks out about being arrested 

[shreddingsplinters]

Cool.

[shreddingsplinters]

[shreddingsplinters]

This is the dawning of a new era for consumers and producers.

The Trans Pacific Partnership will potentially shape the world for better or worse. What this means is now we have two choices to make: Do we continue to consume and produce copyright material, or do we now, as consumers and producers, consume and produce copyleft material? The negative effect of the Trans Pacific Partnership will be devastating, but we as consumers and producers have much more power over coporations if we choose to use it. It will be an uphill battle, but the benefits outweigh the struggle.

For more information on the Trans Pacific Partnership, and what you can do to stop it, head on over to the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s website:

www.eff.org

For the article recently posted about TPP:

www.eff.org/…/senate-passes-fast-track-we-can-still-prevent…

For more information on copyleft licenses, head on over to these websites:

www.copyleft.org/

www.fsf.org

www.creativecommons.org

www.opensource.org

The best way for society to change and shape the world we live in is through self accountability, self education, and self respect. Only then can we make a true, just, and honest difference.

[shreddingsplinters]

Do or: My Mental State Of The Union Address

I can't.

I just can't.

I'm sorry, but, I just, can't.

I know how to.

I want to.

I have the burning desire to do,

but I can't do.

Eugenics.

That is all.

[shreddingsplinters]

Holy fuck, boys.

Abd Al-Rahim Abdul Rassak al-Janko was a Syrian-Kurd student wrongfully accused of being a terrorist. The United States government sent him to Gitmo where he was detained for 7 years and received "physical and psychological mistreatment" and torture during his "tenure" at the controversial federal prison.

Abd Al-Rahim Abdul Rassak al-Janko traveled to Afghanistan when he was captured by the Taliban under suspicion of plotting to murder Osama bin Laden and espionage against the Taliban. He was also condemned for "his sexual indiscretions with other young men" and accused of homosexuality. During the Invasion of Afghanistan al-Janko had begged a British journalist to alert the Americans that he had been held prisoner by the Taliban for two years, only to be sent to Gitmo by the United States. 

"When a videotape of al-Janko's 2000 interrogation on charges of sodomy and espionage against the Taliban was discovered by American forces in the rubble of Mohammed Atef's house; the Bush administration released the video, which showed al-Janko breaking down in tears, but stripped the tape of its audiotrack and falsely declared that it was a 'martyrdom video', claiming that al-Janko spoke of dying as a martyr following the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan. Although the Department of internally acknowledged the video to be his filmed interrogation by the Taliban, the American government publicly continued labelling it as a "martyrdom" recording, and added al-Janko to the FBI Seeking Information - War on Terrorism list. Amnesty International condemned the use of a video showing al-Janko being interrogated by militants as proof of his association with them as 'kafkaesque'." **

Abd Al-Rahim Abdul Rassak al-Janko was released in 2009 after a federal court agreed that he was wrongfully imprisoned. In 2010 al-Janko sued the federal government for wrongful imprisonment, torture, and mistreatment he received during his detention by U.S. officials. The courts have thrown out his for damages. A federal judge ruled that Janko was an enemy combatant under federal law and therefore could not sue the federal government. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit affirmed.***

Now for the rant: it's good to know that the United States government can not only delcare anyone the an enemy and torture said "enemy" without the burden of proof or repercussions. It's good to know that the United States government can act without accountability. And I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I am free...under a certain amount of discrimination, of course.

**From Wikipedia

***From Associated Press

[actuallygrimes]

since this is no longer gonna be on the album, I’m releasing it as a special thank you to everyone in Singapore, KL, Manila, Jakarta, HK, Shanghai, Beijing, Taipei, Seoul, Osaka, Nagoya and Tokyo who came out to the shows! It was an honor to play with a bunch of amazing bands and...

[shreddingsplinters]

Kick ass track from Grimes.

[shreddingsplinters]

Stan Marsh in the South Park episode “Trapped In The Closet” said, “We all want to understand who we are and where we come from, but sometimes we want to know the answers so badly that we will believe just about anything.” As such, we clutch and cling to our affirmations as if they are our swords and shields of righteousness. As if somehow or some way our declarations of faith to a group of like-minded people equates to superiority. Every one wants to belong to something. Every one wants a label. This or that. Labels are a part of human communication. We use labels to decide between certain categories. Our labeling has become so complex that we now have categories within categories, and so on and so forth. “What kind of music is this?” “Oh it’s Viking darkened folk punk metal.” “What kind of game is this?” “It’s a Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Hack and Slash Game with Dungeon Crawler elements.” “Whoa, what kind of beer is this?” “It’s triple hopped barely wheat double Indian pale ale.” The Dewey Decimal system works and there is nothing wrong with that. Although labels are an uncontrollable human action, they have kept us divided as a species. We all claim to want (to steal from Nick Lowe) “peace, love, and understanding,” but how can we attain these seemingly lofty aspirations when we can’t even accept that someone might have a difference of opinion. We attack, mock, and even shun those that appose our bias when we should be listening. Maybe, heaven forbid, we might learn something new or gain a different perspective. I am writing this to tell all of you, myself included, that our declarations of faith are absolute bull shit. Our nationality, creed, sexuality, race, and political affiliation mean nothing. Not a mother fucking thing. We are all the same stupid fucking apes on a tiny ass spec in the universe. We are all made of the same stupid fucking elements found everywhere in the whole damn universe. Are you an atheist? Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but, you’re dumb as fuck. Oh, you’re a Roman Catholic? HA! Dumb as fuck. Liberal? Dumb as fuck. Feminist? Holy fuck you are dumb as fuck. I know I am using a lot of fowl language here, but I’m trying to make sure you get that you are dumb as fuck. All of us. Just a bunch of stupid, dumb as fuck apes. The SAME stupid, dumb as fuck apes.

[shreddingsplinters]

Truthbombs

That moment when you lose the will to put someone in their place. You win this round, zealots of the world. But only by default of my growing apathy towards you and your ilk.

[shreddingsplinters]

Someone told me Ancient Aliens was the best show on television. I told them they were the reason we should consider the idea of eugenics.