Saturday Night Open Thread
Subaru Diane sent this great clip to a few of us. I don’t think I’ve seen it in a post yet, and it looks like we could use an open thread.
Enjoy!
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Open thread.
War for Ukraine Day 647: Hold the Line
Verbove!
Russian drone footage shows two Ukrainian heroes holding off a Russian assault group in Verbove, killing almost all attackers.
In the most cold-blooded fashion, two Ukrainians, while observed by a Russian drone, take up a position in a trench. Russian drone operator navigates an… pic.twitter.com/Kb1hDqkTVa
— Dmitri (@wartranslated) December 2, 2023
Russian drone footage shows two Ukrainian heroes holding off a Russian assault group in Verbove, killing almost all attackers.
In the most cold-blooded fashion, two Ukrainians, while observed by a Russian drone, take up a position in a trench. Russian drone operator navigates an assault group that fails to locate the Ukrainians who open fire, killing almost 5 people instantly, and throwing grenades at them. The drone operators are in shock.
A Russian vehicle also apparently explodes nearby at the start of the engagement, but it is unclear what took it out.
In the end, the drone has to leave, while Russians try to evacuate the dead and wounded.
Here is President Zelenskyy’s address from earlier today. Video below, English transcript after the jump.
We’re So Fucked
Thought I would check the news after a nice dinner and this is what I saw:
We’re so fucked
Athenspets – Walter’s Fund, The Year In Review
![Walter's Fund in Action! 1](http://web.archive.org./web/20231203052427im_/https://balloon-juice.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/walters-fund-in-action-2-1030x773.jpg)
The folks at Athenspets have been really great about getting in touch throughout the year. We just received the square photo below, along with an update – kind of a year in review. Mostly really good news about all the pets we have helped through our support of Athenspets, but some sad news about Cindy Lou. I guess I’ll start with that, even though I cry every time I think of it.
I didn’t share the news about Cindy Lou in July because something awful was happening in the news and it didn’t feel like the right time. But now everything’s going so much better (!?) – okay it’s clear that now is the time to share the news, regardless.
[Text in block quotes is from Lisa, the amazing head of Athenspets. Anything not in block quotes is me.]
Here’s sweet Cindy Lou.
Athenspets – Walter’s Fund, The Year In ReviewPost + Comments (27)
Open Thread: Something To Think About
CaseyL wrote something really smart and thoughtful in a comment this week, and I think it’s important enough promote it here.
Authoritarianism attracts people who have no internal code to speak of. People empty of anything but solipsistic appetite.
It’s a natural fit for psychopaths and sociopaths – they attain leadership positions.
It’s also a natural fit for people who feel profoundly lost and alienated – they attain community.
And, since they have no internal compass, they take on the values of that community, as promulgated by its leadership…whatever those values are at any given moment, subject to change at the whim of the leaders.
Being in an authoritarian mindset also relieves the leadership of having to “live up to” espoused values – the lower orders not only don’t expect it from them, they get a vicarious thrill seeing their adored leaders break conventional moral/ethical boundaries. It shows how powerful their leaders are, validating their choice to follow them.
This makes perfect sense to me. How about you?
Open thread.
Saturday Morning Open Thread: Things You Might’ve Missed
Vice President Harris responds to Kevin McCarthy criticizing President Biden’s negotiating skills: With all due respect, when anyone who has had the experience McCarthy just had, I don’t think he’s a judge of negotiations pic.twitter.com/jfZHl1NJ5z
— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) November 29, 2023
LOL The real time reaction from President Biden seeing video of an unhinged outburst from Lauren Boebert is definitely worth watching pic.twitter.com/bBYX7KNQV4
— Acyn (@Acyn) December 1, 2023
This comment needs to be directed at the media. *THEY* are sleep walking into a potential dictatorship. The rest of us have our eyes wide open and see exactly what's happening. https://t.co/UwLzy02qMP
— scary lawyerguy (@scarylawyerguy) December 1, 2023
Saturday Morning Open Thread: Things You Might’ve MissedPost + Comments (153)