When he’s being actively undermined by Republicans the whole way, just cleaning up Trump’s mess can be an accomplishment. The Inflation Reduction Act went against heavily entrenched interests to restart the US federal government’s response to climate change. It took real finesse to get that through Congress.

I can’t help but think that’s why Putin invaded Ukraine. He needed something to keep the masses distracted. He’s afraid that he’ll get assassinated if he ever leaves power, whether voluntarily or by violent overthrow.

It sounds like it was the bomber, Serhiy Batryn, that was reported as dead. Conflicting reports as to whether he has actually died. This was not related to Russia from what I could gather. He had a long standing feud with members of the local council.

I just upgraded to the Pixel 8 Pro when the Pixel 5 went out of official support. The screen fingerprint reader works fine. Where it is flawed is that it’s not as quick to unlock from the front. I’m looking forward to the greatly improved support period. Three years was ridiculously short. I know something like GrapheneOS is always an option, but I’m hesitant to do so when I don’t have a backup phone.

The Pixel 8 Pro has been treating me well. Great photos and video, snappy UI, good feature set. And it sounds like I’ll be getting feature drops for the next few years, so that’s nice. The battery life is good. I added on Peak Design’s case and mini tripod, so I can quickly set it up on a surface to take videos or make a video call.

Judge, jury, and executioner, apparently.

That’s how I see it. Israel really hasn’t seen any public consequences from the US, its closest allies, for how it treats the Palestinians. This is kind of a shot across the bow that there is more to come. The Biden administration has indicated that they are not pleased with the scale of civilian casualties in Gaza.

Back when I was doing a weekly shopping trip on my bike with panniers, I tried self-checkout once when the cashiers were busy. Never again. The tall bags just screwed with the sensors too much. Now I’m maybe a bit more inclined to use it because I moved to a house just a quick walk to the store. It can make sense to just dump all of the items on the weighing platform and put them in my backpack and reusable bags later.

I get that, but I have had the opportunity to talk to several people from Israel. They’ve grown up surrounded by this conflict. Inflicting collective punishment on them doesn’t sit well with me. This is a more multi-dimensional situation than the apartheid of South Africa or the invasion by Russia. This is as much a string of failures of leadership in Israel and Palestine as anything else.

Interesting. I’m not going to stop doing it, but still, interesting.

Definitely avoid companies that are profiting from activity in the West Bank, but not all of Israel. Israel includes many ethnic minorities that would be harmed all the same.

Make your bed each morning. Your bedroom will look more organized and you will have a nice bed to lie down in at night.

Especially anyone who believes that individuals are less free now than they were historically in the United States. Only the ignorant or biased make that claim.

I don’t see any problem with a system to detect drunk driving and bring the car to a stop. There is no right to drive a car while drunk or otherwise impaired. Inventing one by calling upon privacy also ignores that the cops can pull you over and give you a sobriety test if they have reason to anyway. In 2021, over 13,000 people in the US died from drunk drivers. They deserve protection.

Always a pheasant ride home after that.

FTFY

One issue the IDF has been working with for a while is the sheer amount of tunneling by Hamas. There is dense housing right on top of the tunnels. Destroying the tunnels can lead to the above buildings collapsing, as well as the damage caused by any explosives.

Will they annex and depopulate Gaza? I hope not. That’s just going to create another generation of fighters itching for revenge. Grievances outlast Hamas, and they will likely find a form. That said, maybe a single state solution will be the best form of government, as long as Palestinians, Jewish Israelis, and other groups are guaranteed equal rights. The half-ass “two state” attempt right now isn’t working.

Oh, Br’er Musk, I don’t care what you do with me, so long as you just don’t throw me in that briar patch over there.

Gandhi was convicted for the oh-so-horrible statement:

How come all thieves have the name Modi?

This is a clear attempt to sweep aside a political rival by the ruling party. Hopefully this will be more than a temporary reprieve.

Russia landed on the moon, too. They just had a few more pieces.

Not really. Sure there are a few projects or purchases that I might move up by a few years, but my lifestyle is too stable. Honestly, I think I would just put a chunk into retirement. I’m a little behind.

We can talk about the murderers who are doing this without using racist epithets.