Living without clean running water is remarkably challenging

Wait... is this the first time EVER that Lunar New Year's, Mardi Gras, and the start of Ramadan are the same day?!?

"This is where soft power matters. Development co-operation, humanitarian assistance, support for effective institutions and diplomacy reduce the conditions in which conflict, extremism and coercive influence thrive. "Europe definitely has the potential to embrace this approach."

"Davie Defense, Inc. will construct two Arctic Security Cutters at Helsinki Shipyard in Finland and three domestically. The... Cutters will defend U.S. sovereignty, secure critical shipping lanes, protect energy and mineral resources, and counter foreign malign influence in the Arctic region."

One of the best things about reading great literature when you're young is being able to re-read great literature when you're old and realizing how much you missed

I just learned that Genly.ai is owned by someone in Iceland which is of course perfect

“'The fact that they’ve actually dismantled and defunded the very real, tried and true infrastructure that was in place in 2020 to protect our elections against foreign interference, that speaks for itself about where their focus really is... State officials are all we have left...'"

Wut "Hungary has answered that call, once again affirming its place as a true leader and defender of persecuted Christians. Today’s signing once again underscores our shared values and affirms that this is indeed a 'golden era of U.S.-Hungary relations.'”

My favorite propaganda so far this year was a well designed meme blaming the Minnesota protests on the legacy of "Radical '48ers" from the mid-19th century. Referencing 1848 is bold enough in itself but directly linking the protesters to abolitionism and pro-Unionism? Priceless.

Well this sure sounds familiar

This whole thing puts the lie into Modest Mouse's "Float On"

The new Food Pyramid reminds of the joke in "The Sleeper" about future doctors recommending steak, cream pies, and hot fudge

85 years ago, #FDR introduced the Four Freedoms in his 1941 State of the Union: freedom of speech, of worship, from fear, and from want. It was a vision that defined national security in terms everyday Americans could understand and aspire to. www.fdrlibrary.org/four-freedoms

I guess we now know for sure that Trump endorses the filibuster

"Where previous strategies wrapped U.S. power in the language of democracy promotion and the rules-based order, this one is markedly different... This is an America that is not necessarily retreating from the world stage but consolidating its power through bullying and dealmaking."

Gender, again "Climate skeptics present their position as 'projecting rationality, authority, and masculine self-control' while those who acknowledge global warming 'are depicted through emotionally charged, feminized, and irrational imagery,' and labeled 'alarmists' who propose radical solutions."

This US State+Ed International Education and Foreign Language Studies Partnership fact sheet has some formatting issues but is worth a read if you're interested America's continuing interest in international education exchanges so long as, the doc clarifies, they have nothing to do with LGBTQ+

"I think we are incredibly good in America at thinking, 'That's what's happening over there, and it has nothing to do with us...' The lesson to everybody — all over the world — is that when you lose high coverage of [vaccination against] measles, the disease comes back."

"While the law passed by Congress in 2019 to authorize the FMIC stipulates that the center cannot be formally closed until 2028, ODNI’s decision to cripple it now means the United States has effectively ended any meaningful government role in addressing the foreign interference threat." 1/3

A hopeful, uplifting, important op-ed. Also impressive that the author manages to not mention FDR once. "America’s dangerous decade led not to fascism and the end of democracy but to the New Deal and the civil rights era... ushered in an era of working-class political empowerment and prosperity."

"Election monitoring organizations told The Globe and Mail ahead of the vote that Russia’s meddling campaign – which included alleged vote-buying schemes and a wide-scale disinformation campaign about the EU – was worth some US$200-million, or about 1 per cent of Moldova’s gross domestic product."

"If anything is evident today, it is the need of all groups of Americans to cooperate in all those undertakings which are of common concern to them as citizens and which help make America the land of our dreams."

MAMMA! ("Make America's Military Macho Again")

Whoa! "...the network was capable of sending 30 million text messages per minute, anonymously. The official said the agency had never before seen such an extensive operation... Initial analysis of the data on some of the SIM cards has identified ties to at least one foreign nation..."

This counts as a "vow?" "Asked whether he would help defend the EU members if Russia intensifies hostilities, Trump told reporters: 'Yeah, I would. I would.'"

"Then there is the growing sense within the US that dissidents aren't safe here... people like Russian antiwar activists. There's a real risk the US is going to be cooperating in TNR with other countries like Russia, if it isn't already." Wait, what? Really? thehundred.substack.com/p/how-dictat...

Applicable worldwide: "...bread-and-butter issues... get overshadowed by culture war battles... "There's probably broad agreement on many of these economic challenges... "But we can't have those conversations when we're busy trying to destroy each other's livelihoods over social media posts."

"The past week has shown us, in newly lurid detail, how the online world we inhabit is pulling us deeper into its vortex of blood, rage, lies and loathing. We have all become, with varying degrees of willingness, participants in the grotesque freak show we have created for ourselves."

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox [GOP]: “'Tremendous amount of disinformation... What we’re seeing is our adversaries want violence... "'We have bots from Russia, China, all over the world that are trying to instill disinformation and encourage violence'... urged the public to take a break from social media."

Is it just me or does the 21st-century US look like a reboot of 16th-century Europe only with better special effects?

I'm impressed Russia managed to wait a full 80 years before attacking Poland again

When are we going to get to "Yankee don't surf"

What I'm wondering is do we also get back the Navy Department?

“There’s no upside for anyone to this decision,” [said] Senator Sheldon Whitehouse.... “The economy’s going to be hurt. Consumers are going to see prices go up. There’s massive economic waste in stalling this project that is so nearly concluded.”

Tidy NOLA response to Guard deployment notion: "[we] thank the federal government for their support... We have consistently worked with our federal partners... This collaborative approach has been instrumental in our ongoing success in reducing crime... [goes on with thanks, no Guard endorsement]

“'Any effort to rescind appropriated funds without congressional approval is a clear violation of the law,' Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine and the chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee, said in a statement on Friday."

The 250th anniversary of American independence, ladies and gentlemen!

They have? "The Chinese government has long struggled to mount information operations targeting other countries, lacking the aggressiveness or effectiveness of Russian intelligence agencies."

“'The end game here,' [Democracy Forward... and former acting director of the Office of Personnel Management] Shriver said, 'is to get as many folks as possible out of the job who take an oath to the Constitution — and bring as many folks as possible into the job who are loyal to the President.'”

"Fidelity?"

"This is a massive industry. You’ve got billions of dollars being pumped into misinformation... It’s a job for a lot of these people, and they’re very good at it. They spread this stuff very quickly. They know it doesn’t matter whether it’s real or not, their audience doesn’t care."

Outstanding clean energy messaging defending tax credits now under threat www.builtforamerica.us

Pithy summary, NBC! "Moments after a notable death or a crime, social media influencers accuse political rivals of guilt or complicity with little to no evidence, and when their theories turn out to be unfounded or false, neither the influencers nor the social media companies are held accountable."

Good news by the debased standards of the current moment

The Republic of Congo? Did he actually mean the DRC? Not that many people in the Republic of Congo.

Is this an avowal to restore the 19th-century "mad scientist" trope? "The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy spokeswoman, Victoria LaCivita, said by email that the executive order was designed to rebuild 'a crisis of trust between the scientific community and the American public.'”