Who can, doesn't want to; Who wants to, can't; Who knows how, doesn't act; Who acts, doesn't know how; And that's how the world gets worse. A graffiti written in 1529 CE in the Italian town of Ascoli Piceno.

«A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts. As the plant springs from, and could not be without, the seed, so every act of a man springs from the hidden seeds of thought, and could not have appeared without them.» James Allen

“Christianity may be good and Satanism evil. Under the Constitution, however, both are neutral. This is an important, but difficult, concept for many law enforcement officers to accept. They are paid to uphold the penal code, not the Ten Commandments.” ― Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World

Waves of petals. 🎨Kasamatsu Shiro, 1956 🎌

Of all the animals, man is the only one that is cruel. He is the only one that inflicts pain for the pleasure of doing it. It is a trait that is not known to the higher animals. Mark Twain

"La Primavera." Detail. 🎨 Sandro Botticelli

I have not the parson's comfortable doctrine that every good action has its reward, and every sin is forgiven. My whole religion is this: do every duty, and expect no reward for it, either here or hereafter. Bertrand Russell

They Criticized Musk on X. Then Their Reach Collapsed. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

«THE MAN OF MOSCOW» 🇷🇺 Tяump makes it to the cover of conservative French magazine Le Point.

The less talent they have, the more pride, vanity and arrogance they have. All these fools, however, find other fools who applaud them. Erasmus of Rotterdam

Whoever criticizes others must have something to replace them. Criticism without suggestion is like trying to stop flood with flood and put out fire with fire. It will surely be without worth. Mozi

THIS IS A DICTATOR The conservative NEW YORK POST tries to explain the ABCs to Tяump, to Жusk and to all the gullible people who hang on the lips of the two dishonest billionaires who spend their days turning reality upside down.

Today in #history

On #8February 1943, 17yo partisan Lepa Radić was hanged by the Germans in Bosnia. Offered her life for names of other fighters, she replied: “I am not a traitor of my people. Those you're asking about will reveal themselves when they succeed in wiping out all you evildoers, to the last man.”

«Businessmen became politicians and were acclaimed as statesmen, while statesmen were taken seriously only if they talked the language of successful businessmen.» — Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism

“Every country has the government it deserves.” ― Joseph de Maistre

John Lennon and Yoko Ono 小野洋子, Yasukuni Temple 靖国神社, Chiyoda, Japan, 14 January 1971 🎌

“The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced Communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction and the distinction between true and false no longer exist.” ― Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism

#Musk is the king of a new era marked by information chaos, where misinformation and disinformation thrive, with social media platforms manipulated to control narratives and influence elections. Power rests in the hands of billionaire tech moguls. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

On #January3, 1925, Mussolini takes full responsibility for his Blackshirts' violent actions, and in particular for the assassination of Socialist leader Giacomo Matteotti, effectively ending any remaining pretense of democracy in Italy.

New York Times map on #31December 1939 with 5 questions: • Will the Allied blockade be effective? • Will Germany try to outflank the Maginot Line? • Will Germany and Russia move into the Balkans? • Will Germany and Russia hold together? • Will Russia be able to conquer Finland?

Today marks the tragic #December29 1890 #WoundedKnee Massacre, where U.S. soldiers killed hundreds of Lakota men, women, and children. The photo shows the mass grave where the bodies were buried.

#USA 🇺🇸🎪 In recent days, Trump has discussed: 🔹Scaling back support for Ukraine 🇺🇦 🔹Starting trade wars 🛑 🔹Annexing Canada 🇨🇦 🔹Invading Mexico 🇲🇽 🔹Taking back the Panama Canal 🇵🇦 🔹Buying or controlling Greenland: 'an absolute necessity.' 🇬🇱

Protestors gathered in Damascus, Syria for unity and calling for a secular, law abiding, and plural state. Syrian actor Maxim Khalil in front of thousands of people in Umayyad Square spoke up in support for the rights of women and girls: "The Syrian woman deserves to take on all roles”

#UKRAINE 🇺🇦 #Russia 🇷🇺 reportedly paid North #Korea 🇰🇵 up to $6 billion for weapons and soldiers, with payments made in cash, oil, and food. The Hankuk Institute in Seoul estimates arms shipments at $1.72–$5.5B and the 5,000–20,000 troops sent to Kursk at $143–$572M. (@nytimes.com)

#PALESTINE 🇵🇸 🇮🇱 Just like @amnesty.org, @hrw.org also concludes in a 179-page report that «Israeli authorities are responsible for the ongoing crime of extermination and acts of genocide in Gaza.» #Gaza #genocide www.hrw.org/news/2024/12...

🗺️ 69% of the world has Universal Health Coverage. The U.S. is the only "developed country" left behind. What a shame. #UHC #Healthcare #GlobalHealth

That's the title that Science magazine is bestowing upon the medication called lenacapavir — a twice yearly injectable that prevents infection by the HIV virus.

Obesity rates between the US and Europe in 2024. The US shows higher prevalence, with some states reaching 40%, while Europe's rates are lower, especially in Western Europe and Scandinavia. Perhaps US Americans can take a leaf out of Europe's book and adopt some of their dietary habits. #Health

A mass departure from X has led to the site losing about 2.7 million active Apple and Android users in the US in two months, with its rival social media platform Bluesky gaining nearly 2.5 million over the same period.

Top 10 worst air quality cities right now? All in Asia. 😷🏭 #SMOG #AirPollution

The concept of presidential pardons stands as one of the most perplexing aspects of the #USA Constitution. There's no logical reason for granting presidents the extraordinary power to unilaterally overturn the judicial system and void the sentences of their party colleagues, friends, and relatives.

Russia losing Assad in Syria means losing its biggest foothold outside the former USSR, its main logistics hub to project power into Africa, and its reputation. Straining beyond capacity in Ukraine, but about to get a lifeline from a Putin sympathizer taking over the White House. Very frustrating.

After over 230 years since the adoption of the US Constitution, it's shocking that US Americans still haven't resolved the basic democratic issue of term limits for Supreme Court justices. (The process of selecting justices, all appointed by Presidents, also needs serious reconsideration.)

Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president who inherited power in 2000 with promises of reform, only to brutally suppress his opponents in a war that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, has been toppled in a rebel advance, according to state television.

With Elon Musk’s new influence in the incoming Trump administration and position as “first buddy,” some fear he could use the power of the government to benefit his own companies and harm his rivals.

⚡️BREAKING: Syrian rebels announce fall of Assad regime. "The tyrant Bashar al-Assad has fled. We declare the city of Damascus free from the tyrant Bashar al-Assad," rebel leaders claimed on Dec. 8.

🚀 Bitcoin just hit over $100,000❗ Quite a leap from its creation in 2009, when it was valued at around 1,000 Bitcoins per dollar. 💰 #Bitcoin #Cryptocurrency #CryptoNews

#19November 1985 marked a pivotal moment in the Cold War, as Reagan and Gorbachev met for the first time at the Geneva Summit. This historic meeting initiated a thaw in US-Soviet relations and led to a significant reduction in nuclear arsenals. 🌍🕊️ #History #Diplomacy #OTD #OnThisDay

❝There are many who do not know they are fascists but will find it out when the time comes.❞ Ernest Hemingway, For Whom the Bell Tolls

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