jon-nyc said: What does the Iran debacle portend for Cuba? Theory A: Trump is once bitten twice shy, doesn’t take any more chances with wars of choice. Theory B: Trump needs a victory to heal his ego, like the bully who loses a fight and comes home and punches his wife. I’m leaning toward B. I guess we have an answer. The extent of our loss in Iran isn’t even public yet and he posts this as if Greenland were a 13 year old girl. [image: 1779578615130-img_2555.jpeg]

I watched the video and this is my takeaway: "what a vacuous TEDTalk." Good thing it's only 5 minutes and I watched half of it at 1.5x speed, so I haven't sunk in too much of my time.

89th, I’m sorry. I cannot begin to imagine how difficult that has been and is for your family.

It's a shame he lost. The last thing I want is a rubber stamp congress for ANY president.

Like Jon, am glad she’s resigning her Directorship. She has much harder row to hoe ahead of her in the immediate future. Family should always come first, she made the right choice.

Seems like there must be a better way to do this. https://x.com/ashtonteng/status/2057934653877805496?s=46

Wait, Microsoft is using Claude Code and not their own OpenAI Codex? That's unexpected...

*snort *

@mark I'll talk about this with my partner.

https://abcnews.com/Politics/after-languishing-state-legislatures-country-approach-curtailing-money/story?id=133151163 Hawaii is on a collision course with legal precedents that allow corporations to pump billions into elections after its governor signed a first-of-its-kind campaign finance reform bill into law. The bill, SB 2471, was crafted to curb political spending by leveraging the state’s ability to define the powers of a corporation. Due to the new law’s sweeping implications for political speech and elections, it seems almost certain to draw legal challenges. and In 2010, the Supreme Court issued a ruling in the case of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission which asserted that independent corporate spending on elections is a form of protected speech. The ruling famously nullified past guardrails on political spending, and contributed to the formation of so-called “super PAC” political action committees, which can support their chosen candidates with unlimited corporate backing. Though it does not directly dispute that corporations have a right to political speech, the new Hawaii law says that, since the powers of corporations are granted by states, the state can decline to grant corporations the power to spend on elections in the first place. The new law is set to be enforced in 2027.

taiwan_girl said: I am concerned that he will throw Tiawan "under the bus". We will see how the next arm sales goes. https://responsiblestatecraft.org/taiwan-munitions-iran/ Today, Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao said the U.S. is pausing arms sales to Taiwan because of the war with Iran. “Right now we're doing a pause in order to make sure we have the munitions we need for Epic Fury,” Cao told Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who asked about the possible pause at a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense. Cao maintained the U.S. has “plenty” of munitions, and said the arms sales will resume when “the administration deems necessary.” Cao’s remarks clash with the administration’s previously stated rationale for a pause. Last week, Donald Trump floated that he may delay the approval of a $14 billion arms sale to Taiwan as a “negotiating chip” with China. “I haven’t approved it yet. We’re going to see what happens,” Trump told Fox News. “I may do it, I may not do it.”

https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/greenlanders-demonstrate-against-trump-as-us-diplomats-open-new-consulate The US opening of a larger diplomatic hub in Greenland on May 21 was met by demonstrators opposed to President Donald Trump’s ambition for greater influence in the Arctic island, while local government ministers shied away from the event. Moving from a wooden cabin on the outskirts of Nuuk to a much larger downtown office, the new US consulate has become a focal point for Greenlanders unhappy with Mr Trump’s stated desire to control the island, a semi-autonomous part of Denmark. Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and a series of other politicians said that they had declined invitations to attend the opening of the new diplomatic mission.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alberta-separation-referendum-televised-address-9.7208162 Premier Danielle Smith says Albertans will be able to vote in the fall on whether they want the province to hold a binding referendum on separating from Canada. In a pre-recorded speech broadcast Thursday evening, Smith said a question will be added to a provincewide referendum in October that will ask, “Should Alberta remain a province of Canada or should the Government of Alberta commence the legal process required under the Canadian Constitution to hold a binding provincial referendum on whether or not Alberta should separate from Canada?” Smith said a vote in favour of separation doesn’t trigger the process, but will instead allow Alberta to start a legal process required to hold a binding referendum. In her address on Thursday, she also affirmed that she would vote in favour of staying in Canada.