We have a Uniparty.

The duopoly is owned by the oligarchy.

There are just two parties so as to use the divide and conquer strategy on the poor and working class.

We waste our time fighting each other while the rich cause more forever wars so they can steal all the important natural resources from us and other countries.

George Carlin: The Owners Of This Country [04:49 | https://youtu.be/fT03vCaL-F0]

“We should focus our actions, time, and resources on Direct Action, Mutual Aid, and Community Outreach. If you do engage in Electoral Politics do not support the Duopoly (Red or Blue Team). No War but Class War!”

True.

The duopoly loves their forever wars to distract, mass murder, and rob the important natural resources of other countries.

You are welcome.

Weird.

Peace.

Quick search, October 17, 2023:

Austin ordered about 2,000 U.S. forces to be prepared to deploy if needed in the coming days and weeks. Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters Tuesday that the units have not yet been identified. She said the troops would be able to respond quickly, particularly to provide intelligence and surveillance, transportation and medical assistance.

The 2,000 troops are likely to include additional Air Force and Army personnel.^[1]

I am surprised that no one has posted this article in this community.

It went viral on other platforms and social media.

Removed archive link, also paywalled.

:(

Articles Found:

1. https://m.slashdot.org/story/442846
2. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/12/apple-admits-to-secretly-giving-governments-push-notification-data/
3. https://www.vice.com/en/article/apple-just-confirmed-governments-are-spying-on-peoples-phones-with-push-notifications/
4. https://www.imore.com/iphone/apple-admits-governments-can-spy-on-your-iphones-push-notifications-and-they-already-are
5. https://www.macrumors.com/2023/12/06/apple-governments-surveil-push-notifications/
6. https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/06/04/apple-approved-fewer-push-data-personal-info-demands-in-2024-despite-government-surge

Edit:

1. Removed archived link, paywalled, signin required
2. Added articles on topic

“We can confirm the reporting that Chang Guang Satellite Technology Company Limited is directly supporting Iran-backed Houthi terrorist attacks on U.S. interests,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told a regular news briefing.

I wonder if they got this information from the same people that said Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia is MS-13 and Mahmoud Khalil is Hamas.

Iran, Russia, and China are all a part of BRICS and conduct military drills together. It would be better if our government learned some diplomacy and stopped our decades of aggression.

Col. Douglas Abbott Macgregor talks about Iran, China, and Russia.^[1]

Edit:

1. Misspelled name, changed Col. Douglas MacGregor to Col. Douglas Abbott Macgregor

The same source also stressed that the suggestion of Russian involvement remained a “theory” for the time being. “The proof lies with the [German] investigating authorities… there are many arguments to at least investigate that theory.”

Edit: Alt. Link: https://archive.is/57HnE

“It’s interesting. There might have been a little outside help but there is no proof.”

By forcing your citizens to die for profit?

These endless wars will continue, since money has to be made, and corporations and oligarchs have a lot of sway when it comes to foreign policy.

The next war my country’s oligarchs and corporations are pushing for is with Iran and China; the duopoly is owned and funded by these corporations and oligarchs.

I am against conscripts.

We must always be highly critical of those with power, money, and influence; especially governments and politicians (and the oligarchs that control/sway them).

I have known about those videos being posted on twitter.

I shared some of them last year, it is great that people are escaping the echo cambers we created for ourselves!

“I was playing heroines, but in real life I wasn’t earning a living,” said Shibata, now 60. These days, she also works as a home organizer, helping people de-clutter. “Voice acting as a profession just doesn’t pay,” she said.

Even in a country where a culture of overwork permeates a wide range of businesses, the anime industry is notorious for the grueling hours that workers put in. Animators in their early 20s earn less than 2 million yen ($12,948) a year, according to industry data, compared with over 3 million yen for a person of a similar age living in Tokyo. That’s less than half of what US entry-level animators earn, websites like Glassdoor show. Creative workers also complain of late and uncertain payments.

Some, though, sense change is afoot. A working group for the United Nations Human Rights Council last year called out Japan’s anime industry for its poor treatment of workers, along with cases of sexual violence and harassment in the country’s entertainment business. In a May report, the group referred to “excessively long working hours” and low pay, as well as a disregard for creative workers’ intellectual property rights.

Acknowledging such worries, lawmakers passed a new law that took effect in November to boost protections for freelance workers. Late last month, regulatory officials at Japan’s Fair Trade Commission launched a study on labor practices within the anime industry and invited workers to submit complaints.

Once considered a geeky, so-called otaku obsession, anime is now considered mainstream. In 2020, when the pandemic brought Hollywood production to a halt, Demon Slayer: Mugen Train topped global box office sales at over $470 million. In Japan, around 400 anime titles are now produced for TV and theaters every year, attracting dedicated fans who go on to buy related merchandise. The genre’s popularity among global streaming audiences has also prompted a flurry of acquisitions. Sony, which bought anime streaming service Crunchyroll in 2021, became the largest shareholder of anime publisher Kadokawa Corp. in an alliance announced late last year. Movie producing and distributing company Toho Co. bought US-based anime distributor Gkids Inc. for an undisclosed amount to strengthen the Japanese firm’s US reach.

That later evolved into the current system in which studios work within budgets set by powerful committees of publishers, toymakers and businesses which finance the series and share royalties. Production companies outsource work to small anime studios and voice actors’ agencies, which in turn hire even smaller companies and freelancers. This helps companies work on multiple series at once and mitigate any potential losses. As a result, revenue is spread thinly, and it can take months for compensation to filter through to illustrators and voice actors.

Actors often wait six months or longer to get paid, according to Nobunari Neyoshi, who until last year ran a voice actor agency alongside his sound-production business for a decade. “Violations of subcontracting laws are rampant,” said 47-year-old Neyoshi, adding that sometimes actors don’t get paid at all. He closed his voice-acting business due to poor sales.

Workers are also often employed over the phone or via messaging apps without formal contracts, leaving it unclear how much, or even whether, they’ll get paid. “It’s common across the industry to be asked to start working on something even before any paperwork is done,” said Aina Sugisawa, a 24-year-old trainee at Tokyo-based studio TMS Entertainment Co., part of Sega Sammy Holdings Inc. and known for hit series like Detective Conan.

Unlike in Hollywood where a strike by screenwriters and performers brought movie and TV production to a halt in 2023, the majority of Japanese voice actors and illustrators don’t belong to labor unions. Numako, the former union official, says he’s always struggled to convince colleagues to join him.

The new law on freelancers forces companies to provide written contracts, including details on pay, to all workers. Businesses are now prohibited from demanding extra work without promising additional pay and are also required to pay workers within 60 days. The government is stepping up surveillance, and regulators are also inviting workers to blow the whistle on law-breaking activity.

One underlying problem, industry insiders say, has been the sheer number of people willing to endure poor conditions just to be involved in an art form they’ve loved since childhood. Breaking into the industry is still highly competitive; manga and anime illustrators regularly rank among the top dream professions of school children. Some blame themselves for their lack of financial success: there’s always a more senior job to aspire to. Key frame animators are responsible for drawing crucial images at the start and end of major scenes and earn more than those drawing sequences in between. With skills and experience, they can also move on to better-paid jobs including directors. But such senior roles are few. The field of voice acting can be even more competitive.

Shrinking demographics and technological innovation including AI are also seen bringing change — as well as an existential challenge. Japan Research Institute expects a labor shortage among anime illustrators, estimating their number to decline to roughly 5,600 by 2030 from around 6,200 in 2019. Production studios have already been turning to overseas labor, with Toei Animation sending 70% of its animation work to a branch in the Philippines, even though crucial processes remain in Japan. Many fear that AI will replace jobs, particularly at the entry level, turning away younger artists.

Real change, though, will require workers to act rather than expecting laws to protect them automatically, said Yasunari Yamada, a lawyer with expertise in freelance work. “Freelancers need to recognize that they’re business operators, and take action if they think something’s wrong,” he said.

Some are starting to speak up. Shibata, the voice actor, recently learned that a video game using her voice was reissued a few years ago without paying her royalties. After decades of work under her belt, including key roles in popular series like Saint Seiya, a story about mystical warriors, she complained, prompting the publisher to agree to a payment.

“People have just been clinging to whatever job they get, because if you say something negative you’re put out to pasture,” she said. “Everyone’s been putting up with it.”

On the day of the incident, the officer driving the police car deliberately ran the cow over twice — allegedly to end her attempt to escape a short life of misery on a farm. A video of the police attack circulated on social media, and it showed the escaped cow being hit once, trying to stand up and flee, and being hit a second time with her head becoming trapped under the vehicle. Surrey Police announced the driver involved had been removed from frontline duties pending the investigation, but now that he has been cleared, he will resume such duties.

A police spokesperson told the BBC, “While footage of the incident was distressing in nature, those involved in the incident acted within their duties, and the tactics adopted were both lawful and necessary to prevent harm to the public and property. As such, no further action will be taken in either the criminal investigation or the internal misconduct matter.”

The 10-month-old calf, later named Beau Lucy, survived the incident and remains at a farm with her herd. This means that she will most likely be killed in a slaughterhouse with the other cows.

Oh, thanks for that information!

https://www.politico.eu/article/russia-remove-taliban-terrorist-list-vladimir-putin-envoy-zamir-kamulov/

Russia’s foreign ministry and security service “are putting finishing legal touches” on the removal, said Kamulov, adding that the final decision will “hopefully” be announced soon.

“We once again appeal to Western countries with an urgent call to acknowledge responsibility for the post-conflict reconstruction of Afghanistan, lift sanctions restrictions, and return Kabul’s appropriated assets,” he said during the opening remarks of the meeting, where Taliban’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi had also been present.

Russia has slowly been normalizing relations with the Taliban after it seized power in Afghanistan in 2021 following the withdrawal of the U.S. forces after 20 years of war. Since then, the Taliban has imposed harsh restrictive laws on women in particular, including banning them from speaking in public.

No international government has recognized the Taliban administration, but China and United Arab Emirates have accepted its ambassadors in their capitals.

There are many competitions that are open to people outside the US, so I would check others out if you are interested in rockets!

Here is another: https://www.soundingrocket.org/sa-cup-home.html | https://www.soundingrocket.org/2024-sa-cup.html

Teams that competed last year from outside the United States:

1. Mexico
2. Philippines
3. Canada
4. Thailand
5. United Kingdom
6. Turkey
7. Algeria
8. Brazil
9. India
10. Argentina
11. Romania
12. Germany
13. Australia
14. Spain
15. New Zealand
16. Poland

2024 Team List (Last updated 6-11-24 acb): [https://www.soundingrocket.org/uploads/9/0/6/4/9064598/published_team_list_061124.xlsx_-_for_output.pdf]

Join in on your school clubs and research projects, or start some with friends!

There are many great competitions where previous programming experience would come in handy.

One competition that takes place in the U.S.:

NASA Student Launch

It actually IS rocket science! Student Launch is a 9-month long challenge that tasks student teams from across the U.S. to design, build, test, and launch a high-powered rocket carrying a scientific or engineering payload. It is a hands-on, research-based, engineering activity and culminates each year with a final launch in Huntsville, Alabama home of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. The activity offers multiple challenges reaching a broad audience colleges and universities as well as middle and high school aged students across the nation.^[1]

Culminating Event Dates: April 30 – May 4, 2025

Culminating event location: Huntsville, AL

Eligibility: Open to U.S. Students

Grade Levels: Grades 6-12, College and University

And we will continue to support them 100% of the way, so as to keep the duopoly and the status quo of supporting genocides all over the world.

More forever wars where the working class continue to be killed off, while the owner-class and their lackeys rake in their profits and natural resources.

Edit: improved sentence structure

Like all websites, there are fake ones and then there are official ones.

Many will be clones of what the original website looked like.

Not tagged NSFW and wrong community.

Good luck in life, hope all is well!