#pi wars 2024

[pider-4]

The most important consideration to be made when using Mecanum wheels is for them to work correctly all four should touch the surface at all times.

Our solution to this is to have a body that is able to twist somewhere along its length, enabling stable movement over very uneven ground.

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"The Organisation de l’Armée Secrète (OAS) had no such scruples. With General Raoul Salan as its figurehead, this sinister alliance of diehard pieds noirs and mutinous paras and légionnaires turned to indiscriminate terrorism after the failure of its April 1961 uprising. With no real goal beyond the preservation of settler supremacy, its declared enemies included General de Gaulle himself, the security forces, Communists, peace activists (including Jean-Paul Sartre), and, especially, Algerian civilians. (Oddly enough, the OAS seldom confronted the FLN directly.) 

In order to disrupt the Evian peace talks between de Gaulle’s representatives and the Algerian leaders, the OAS launched a series of festivals de plastique (380 bombings throughout Algeria in July 1961 alone), using the 4132 kilos of plastic explosive and 1000 electric detonators that it boasted of having liberated from army arsenals. Chief of the OAS’s dreaded “Delta Commandos” was Roger Degueldre, a 36-year-old veteran of Dien Bien Phu who led 500 Légionnaire deserters and Algérie française ultras from his hiding place in the petit blanc district of Bab-el-Oued. In early 1962, as de Gaulle began to yield to FLN demands for complete independence, Salan declared “total war” and ordered Degueldre to unleash the Deltas against both Algeria and France.

….

Although the OAS was effectively decapitated in April 1962 with the arrests of Salan (codename: “The Sun”), Degueldre and other key leaders, the at-large middle leadership – les colonels – was even more fanatically fixated than the generals on provoking an Algerian Götterdämmerung. Their almost insane strategy was to massacre so many ordinary Muslims that the otherwise highly disciplined FLN would be forced to break its truce with French forces and retaliate massively against the pieds noirs. The OAS “bunker,” in other words, was deliberately fomenting a race war that they hoped might topple de Gaulle and lead to a “Rhodesian” or “Israeli” solution." - Mike Davis, Buda's Wagon: A Brief History of the Car Bomb. Verso, 2017 (2007). p. 42-43

[500-moths-in-a-trenchcoat]

for the new year, i have decided to make a couple edits and additions to the almighty Calendar. happy 2024.

IT JUST HAPPENS

DAY 15 GIVE IT UP FOR DAY 15

Thursday the 20th

The Fifth of Wednesday

Second Week of May: Eurovision

Sometime in June: That One Halloween Post Starts Circulating

Sometime in July: Dancing Pumpkin Man Video/Gif

WEEKLY EVENTS (at least the ones i celebrate)

Every Monday: Garfield Hates Mondays

Every Tuesday: Tom Servo Tuesday

Every Wednesday: It Is Wednesday My Dudes

Every Thursday: Out of Touch Thursday

Every Friday: Flat Fuck Friday

Every Saturday: Sea Slug Saturday

Every Sunday: Energy Sword Sunday

YEARLY EVENTS

January 1: Copyright Expiration Day

January 8: Spiders Georg Day

January 16: Appreciate a Dragon Day

January 18: Bug Race

January 29: Threshold Day

All of February: Funguary

ALSO All of February: Femslash February

February 3: WOE, VANILLA EXTRACT BE UPON YE

February 13: Galentines Day

February 14: Aromantic/Asexual Day

March 9: Miku Day

March 10: Mario Day

March 14: Pi Day

March 15: Ides of March

March 23: Ever Given Got Stuck Today

April 1: Mishapocalypse

April 2: Dashcon Announcement Anniversary

April 3: Dannypocalypse

April 8: Rex Manning Day

ALSO April 8: MARGARET THATCHER IS DEAD

April 13: Neil Banging Out The Tunes

ALSO April 13: Homestuck Day

April 20: haha 420 blaze it

April 25: The Perfect Date

April 28: Ed Balls Day

April 30: It's Gonna Be May

All of May: Mermay

May 3: Beginning of Dracula Daily

May 4: May the 4th Be With You

May 5: Revenge of the Fifth

May 25: The Glorious 25th of May

All of June: Pride Month

ALSO All of June: IT'S HALLOWEEN TIME TO GET SPOOKY

June 5: Barricade Day

ALSO June 5: RONALD REAGAN IS DEAD

June 12: Another Homestuck Day

June 16: Let Papyrus Say Fuck

June 22: Summerween

All of July: Disability Pride Month

July 11-13: Dashcon Anniversary

July 20: Moon Landing

September 8: The Queen Is Dead and Sans Undertale Killed Her

September 11: Mole Interest Monday

September 19: Talk Like A Pirate Day

September 21: DO YOU REMEMBER-

All of October: SKELETON WAR

ALSO All of October: People Draw A Lot Month? (so many names)

October 3: Mean Girls Day

ALSO October 3: Fullmetal Alchemist Day

October 13: Treat Yo' Self

October 20: Unnecessary Feelings Day

October 31: HALLOWEEN

November 5: honestly what didn't happen that day

November 19: Goncharov

November 29: HENRY KISSINGER IS DEAD

All of December: Will the Gävle Goat Get Destroyed Again?

December 10: Please, It's Christmas

December 12: Hawaii Part 2

December 23: Christmas Adam

December 24: ALMOST CHRISTMAS MEANS IT WASN'T CHRISTMAS

ALSO December 24: Cabinet Man Day

December 27: Porn Ban Effective Today

[katz-chow]

Headcanons: Bulleted thoughts, informal Drabbles: Bulleted thoughts, formal Short fic: 1000 words>, formal Long fic: 1000 words>, formal Texts: Fake text messages

All fics are hyperlinked!! Last Updated: 1/08/2024

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

John "Bravo-Six" Price

you can meet me at my hotel, with nothing on under your trench coat- short a dinner party- short, nsfw texts between price and his younger wife- texts cold & windy thoughts- drabble how time pasts- short

Johnny "Soap" MacTavish

Soap x SW/Spec. Recon!Reader-Miniverse late nights in the middle of june- short laughing 'till our ribs get rough- short

slip 'n slide- drabble, nsfw taste of you-drabble, nsfw mactavish- headcanons texts between johnny and his bonnie- texts

Kyle "Gaz" Garrick

texts between kyle and his lovebug-texts

Simon "Ghost"Riley

drunkenly in love- drabble touchy feelies- drabble heaven's outreached arms- short, nsfw seashells down by the seashore- short riley's girls-short names and pronunciations-short simon riley and his lovie- texts soap, simon, and the not-so-single parent- drabbles, platonic soap simon and his war criminals- short

Konig

pervy konig- headcanons, nsfw

Phillip Graves

Of Apple Pies and Bloody Knives Chapter 1: a haze in the fields

bang bang-long texts with phillip graves and his fiance- texts

Task Force 141 x reader

love languages- drabbles because you're mine, i walk the line- short blissful ignorance-short general nsfw+graves-headcanons, nsfw pervy!price & pervy!simon- drabble, nsfw 100 letters just for me...- headcanons

deranged reader- drabble deranged reader part ii- short, nsfw

askbox | main menu

[frankenstein-ate-my-left-shoe]

just keepin' track of my fave tumblr holidays, don't mind me

miscellaneous:

any thursday the 20th (this one too)/thursday the 4/20th

yesterday was tuesday, but today is tuesday too

will the wise wednesday

february

3rd: VANILLA SWEEP (2023)

13th: galentine's day

14th: dean and cas' wedding anniversary (2021)

also 14th: nick valentine's day

march

10th: mario day

14th: pi day

15th: the ides of march

27th: that one post that says 'tomorrow's halloween!', ''it's'tomorrow is march 28th', 'TOMORROW'S HALLOWEEN', then has that gif of ben wyatt getting hit with a skeleton

31st: i didn't think march 31st existed

april

1st: mishapocalypse (2013), boop day (2024)

2nd: dashcon announcement post (2013)

13th: neil banging out the tunes (2006)

also the 13th: homestuck day (2009)

25th: the perfect date

30th: it's gonna be may

may

4th: star wars day

5th: revenge of the fifth

june

16th: those are his hooves you bitch (2014)

19th: don't hug me i'm scared

july

2nd: tumblr code (2012)

12th-13th: dashcon heritage posting (2014)

august

all month: start of spookyposting

1st: spn end!verse/croatoan date (2014)

september

all month: slightly more spooky/fallposting

18th: castieliversary (2008)

21st: do you remember?

27th: someone sewed a fried egg to a t-shirt

october

all month: halloween!!!

3rd: "on october third, he asked me what day it was" (mean girls) and 'don't forget 3.oct.11' (fma:b)

9th: happy leif erikson day!

13th: TREAT YO' SELF (2011)

19th: none pizza, left beef-iversary (2007)

21st: the day marty mcfly goes to the future (2015)

24th: the day frodo wakes up in rivendell (10 am)

november

1st: "there's only 365 days left 'till next halloween!", "364!"

5th: destiel is canon (destielputinelection day, 2020)

also the 5th: remember, remember

11th: barack obama signs 'thanks, i stole them from the president' into law (2012)

december:

21st: the day the would should have ended (2012)

24th: 'cause there's only one more sleep 'till christmas

[darkmaga-retard]

Mark Wauck

Aug 11, 2024

Defense Priorities (“The Hub of Realism and Restraint in Washington”) has an interesting new poll out:

I know what you’re thinking: Since when did the preferences of the American people make a difference in Anglo-Zionist imperial policy? A bit of gaslighting, and they’ll follow the pied piper, right? Two points:

It’s not that simple any longer. People have access to more information than ever before, and the the effects of forever wars have begun to hit home. Americans aren’t up for more wars—they’re no longer even up for joining the military.

However, I’m gonna suggest that the full effect of normal American attitudes has yet to be felt. That will happen when the effect of more war—which seems likely—begins to pinch on daily life. Right now, the most support for throwing our imperial weight around comes from the seniors. I believe they’ll bail when the going gets a bit tougher. That’s when people will begin to think about these issues much more seriously.

Both of those points have to be tempered and filtered by the fact that Americans generally continue to be shielded from the harsh realities of war by the two major oceans on the planet. Attitudes about the border situation—strongly negative across the board—are a foretaste of what reactions are likely to be if war hits closer to home.

Now, that little graph above presented only the Ukraine portion of the poll. There are two more portions—China and the Middle East. Here’s the summary. You can follow the link for more detailed analysis, but here are the Key Takeaways:

[kp777]

By Brett Wilkins

Common Dreams

April 17, 2024

Yanis Varoufakis hailed the effort as "a treasure chest of well-researched reports on how the reactionaries of the world unite."

"Coups. Assassinations. Riots. Detentions. Disinformation. We know the tactics that have been deployed to undermine our democracies. But who is behind them?"

Progressive International (PI) asks and answers this and other questions with an extensive new database published Wednesday that connects the dots in what the leftist group calls the "Reactionary International"—a loose global network of right-wing leaders and organizations working to subvert democratic institutions.

PI calls it an "illicit network undermining democracy around the world."

"Today is a mask-off moment for the Reactionary International and the parties, politicians, judges, journalists, foundations, think tanks, tech platforms, NGOs, activists, financiers, and entrepreneurs that comprise it," PI said.

"After a year of preparation, we finally open the doors to our new research consortium, exposing the global network of reactionary forces that corrode our democracies, destroy our planet, and drive us closer to world war," the group added.

"The twin insurrections at the U.S. Capitol in 2021 and Brasília's Three Powers Plaza in 2023 left no doubt about the international coordination of reactionary forces," PI argued. "Yet far too little is known about the entities of this network, their sources of financing, and their institutional allies operating inside our political systems."

Ultimately, PI aims to "support democratic systems to become more resilient to their insidious tactics."

From leaders like Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and former U.S. President Donald Trump—the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee—to evangelical Christian groups influencing laws in African countries criminalizing LGBTQ+ people and tech companies empowering ubiquitous state surveillance, Reactionary International is a who's-who of the world's right-wing forces.

A cursory search of the database's contents shows users can:

Learn about Israel's NSO, Rayzone, and Team Jorge, and how a team of Tel Aviv tech entrepreneurs fuel unrest in Latin America;

Meet the Grey Wolves, Turkey's roving death squad with links to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the ethno-nationalists in his governing coalition; and

Explore the global network of the Falun Gong, its Trump-connected media outlet The Epoch Times, and its traveling dance troupe known as Shen Yun.

Yanis Varoufakis, a PI member and secretary-general of the left-wing Democracy in Europe Movement 2025, called the database "a treasure chest of well-researched reports on how the reactionaries of the world unite."

PI invites the public to contribute to the database.

"Together, we will not only name, shame, and expose the forces of the far right—but also dismantle their network of complicity," the group said.

[pider-4]

I'm sure I don't need to tell any 'Good' software engineer that regression test is essential.

i.e. Test, test, test and then test some more. Every time you change or add code to your system, even if it is unrelated to other parts as a whole, the entire system should be tested to ensure there are no knock-on effects from the code that has changed or newly added.

Zombies are a particular problem, especially when you have a crazy Animal in control of the blaster, who prefers to shoot everything except Zombies.

[techniktagebuch]

Seit Sommer 2024

Das Schlafzimmer ist zu feucht, der Kühlschrank ist zu warm, und die Gräser blühen zu stark

Es fing an mit ein bisschen Schimmel an einem Fensterrahmen. Ärgerlich, dabei lüften wir immer so gründlich. Oder? Wir besorgen uns für jedes Zimmer einen Sensor, der die Temperatur und Luftfeuchtigkeit anzeigt. Einen Überblick über das Klima in der ganzen Wohnung verschafft uns ein Grafana-Dashboard, in dem alle Sensordaten grafisch dargestellt werden. Ein Sensor wird im Kühlschrank platziert und soll uns helfen, ihn auf die ideale Temperatur einzustellen. Ein einziger CO2-Sensor steht im Flur und soll einen weiteren Einblick in die Luftqualität liefern (unsere Zimmertüren stehen typischerweise immer offen). Daten über das Wetter außerhalb der Wohnung erhalten wir über eine offene Wetterdaten-API.

Das Dashboard wird von einem eigens dazu eingerichteten Raspberry Pi mit den Daten von den Messgeräten und der API befüllt. Wenn man schon mal alle Daten in einem Computer hat, kann man auch noch einen Telegram-Bot bauen, der uns mit einer hilfreichen Notification darauf hinweist, wann wir mal lüften sollten, und dann auch darauf, wann die Luft wieder ausreichend gut ist. Der Kühlschrank sagt jetzt auch bescheid, wenn er zu warm oder zu kalt wird, das ist unter anderem praktisch, weil manche Familienmitglieder nicht immer sorgfältig die Tür schließen.

Ob die Luft innendrin vom Lüften wirklich besser wird, hängt vor allem an der Kombination der Messwerte für Luftfeuchtigkeit und Temperatur sowohl drinnen als auch draußen. Man könnte ja kühlere, aber feuchtere Luft reinlüften. Eine Annäherung an die zu erwartende Verbesserung der Luft bietet der Taupunkt, den man anhand der Feuchtigkeit und Temperatur errechnen kann. Zusätzlich zum Dashboard und dem Telegram-Bot haben wir jetzt auch eine Übersichtsseite, in der zusätzlich zu den Messdaten der Taupunkt der Luft draußen und drinnen angezeigt wird. So kann eine positive oder negative Lüftempfehlung erzeugt werden, an der wir uns orientieren können.

Ein Familienmitglied ist allergisch gegen bestimmte Pollen. Wenn der Wind ungünstig steht, fliegen beim Lüften die Pollen aus dem nahe gelegenen Naturschutzgebiet auf direktem Weg in die allergische Nase. Kein Problem, die Lüftempfehlung berücksichtigt ab sofort, welches Datum wir haben (jede Pollenart fliegt nur zu bestimmten Zeiten im Jahr) und aus welcher Richtung der Wind weht.

Ein einziges Lüftproblem bleibt ungelöst, und das sind die permanent quarzenden Nachbarn untendrunter. Social hacking (höflich fragen, ob sie uns zuliebe einmal am Tag vielleicht drei Minuten Pause machen könnten) war nicht erfolgreich. Einen Sensor für den Nikotingehalt oder die Gestankintensität der Luft haben wir nicht. Aber immerhin haben wir eine Strategie gefunden, um zu vermeiden, dass der Fensterrahmen wieder schimmelt. Die Messdaten werden übrigens bis auf weiteres abgespeichert, sodass wir im Zweifel der Vermieterin beweisen können, wie gewissenhaft wir ständig lüften.

(Alina Smithee)

[libertariantaoist]

Daily Selections From Lao-Tzu’s Tao Te Ching – April 3, 2024

“Use directness to govern a country

and use deception to fight a war

but use non-action to rule the world

how do we know this works

the greater the prohibitions

the poorer the people

the sharper their tools

the more chaotic the realm

the cleverer their schemes

the more common the bizarre

the better their possessions

the more numerous the thieves

thus does the sage declare

I make no effort

and the people transform themselves

I stay still

and the people correct themselves

I do no work

and the people enrich themselves

I want nothing

and the people simplify themselves”

-Lao-tzu-

(Taoteching, verse 57, translation by Red Pine)

SUN-TZU “In waging war, one attacks with directness, one wins with deception” (Suntzu Pingfa: 5.5).

WANG AN-SHIH says, “Directness can be used in governing, but nowhere else. Deception can be used in warfare, but that is all. Only those who practice non-action are fit to rule the world.”

SU CH’E says, “The ancient sages were kind to strangers and gentle to friends. They didn’t think about warfare. Only when they ahd no choice did they fight. And when they did, they used deception. But deception can’be used to rule the world. The world is a mercurial thing. To conquer it is to lose it. Those who embody the Tao do nothing. They don’t rule the world, and yet the world comes to them.”

LU HUI-CH’ING says, “How do we know we can rule the world by means of non-action? Because we know we cannot rule the world by means of action.”

TE-CH’ING says, “Prohibitions, tools, schemes, possessions, all of these involve action and cannot be used to rule the world.”

WANG PI says, “Prohibitions are intended to put an end to poverty, and yet the people become poorer. Tools are intended to strengthen the country, and yet the country becomes weaker and more chaotic. This is due to cultivating the branches instead of the roots.”

WANG P’ANG says, “Prohibitions interfere with the people’s livelihood. Thus, poverty increases. Sharp tools mean sharp minds. And sharp minds mean chaos and confusion. Once minds become refined, customs become depraved, and the monstrous becomes commonplace.”

HO-SHANG KUNG says, “In cultivating the Tao, sages accept the will of Heaven. They don’t change things, and the people transform themselves. They prefer not to talk or teach, and the people correct themselves. They don’t force others to work, and the people become rich at their occupations. They don’t use ornaments or luxuries, and the people emulate their simple ways.”

CONFUCIUS says, “The virtue of the ruler is like wind. The virtue of the people is like grass. When the wind blows, the grass bends” (Lunyu: 12.19).

And RED PINE adds, “My mother used to say, ‘If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.’”

[nareas-free-games]

Dungeons and Degenerate Gamblers

Ich habe schon viel von“ Balatro“ gehört und einiges war positiv. Das hat mich an ein anderes, kleineres Spiel erinnert mit ähnlicher Prämisse. Wo ich bei Poker mir immer merken muss, welche Hand höher ist als die andere, ist es bei „Dungeons and Degenerate Gamblers“ wesentlich leichter, da ich nur bis 21 zählen muss, mehr oder weniger.

Wir spielen hier nämlich Black Jack gegeneinander und jeder mit seinem eigenen Deck. In der Story gehe ich durch die Taverne und kämpfe gegen jeden, der mich schief anschaut, um sowohl Level aufzusteigen als auch ein paar ihrer Karten an mich zu reißen.

Am Anfang steht die Auswahl zwischen den vier Hauptfarben Herz, Pik, Kreuz und Caro die jeweils unterschiedlichen Fähigkeiten besitzen. Herzen heilen mich, Kreuz teilt mehr Schaden aus, Pik gibt mir einen Schild und Caro bringt mir mehr Chips, was essenziell die Währung ist.

Allein hier ist schon erkennbar, dass es nicht ein normales Kartenspiel ist. Jede andere Karte, die erscheint, hat eine andere seltsame Fähigkeit. Eine blanke Karte kopiert eine vom eigenen Ablagestapel, der Joker füllt auf 21 auf, Pi ist entweder eine 3 oder 4

Wo ist es gelandet?

Wunschliste und später definitiv in der Bibliothek. Ich freue mich schon darauf, diese degenerierten Spielsüchtigen mit meinen seltsamen Karten zu verwirren. Die Demo zeigt schon einiges und macht Lust auf mehr.

Wünschen würde ich mir noch einen separaten Modus, bei dem ich mein Deck selbst zusammen würfeln kann und dann gegen zufällige Gegner spiele.

Link zum Spiel [Steam und itch.io]:

Veröffentlichungsdatum:

2024

[mariacallous]

Polish filmmaker Konrad Szolajski’s new documentary looks at nearly a decade of Russian sabotage, espionage and disinformation across Central and Eastern Europe, with an eery actuality.

“Putting the whole project together took a lot of time – it was very difficult,” Konrad Szolajski explains as we meet a few hours before the international premiere of his new documentary, Putin’s Playground, in Prague on June 10.

“At the time, back in 2019, many people saw the topic of Russian espionage and sabotage activities as something of a conspiracy theory,” the Warsaw-based filmmaker tells BIRN. “They weren’t saying they didn’t believe in it, but simply questioned whether there was enough proof and whether it was a good idea to touch the issue at all.”

Yet over the next several years, Szolajski and long-term collaborator and producer Malgorzata Prociak pursued different avenues of funding and partnerships, which soon saw the project – originally intended to focus solely on Poland’s “Waitergate” wiretapping scandal of 2014 – snowball and gain a regional dimension.

Gathering more evidence and backers, Szolajski was soon put on the path of Czechia, where an arms depot with ammunition intended for Ukraine was blown up in the small town of Vrbetice, with Moscow’s figure looming tall behind the blast in 2014, the same year as the eavesdropping scandal had shaken Poland’s political landscape and facilitated the downfall of the Civic Platform government and the rise to power in 2015 of the Eurosceptic Law and Justice (PiS) party.

After receiving support from producers and film funds from several countries – Norway, Czechia, Latvia, Bulgaria, Germany and Poland – “we finally knew we could make the film in February 2022”, Szolajski says, with shooting taking place over the next several months as war raged in next-door Ukraine.

Hybrid warfare

Originally released at the Krakow Film Festival at the end of May 2024, Putin’s Playground provides an overview of Russia’s eclectic “hybrid war” activities across the Central and Eastern European region.

In Poland, Szolajski and his team focus on the “Waitergate” scandal, in which recordings were made by a group of waiters at Sowa i Przyjaciele, an upmarket eatery popular with the Warsaw elite, and the Polish Anti-War Movement, while in Czechia they examine the Vrbetice ammunition depot explosion and the PRO party of far-right agitator Jindrich Rajchl.

The journey – where both Szolajski and Prociak appear in front of the camera for the first time – also includes a look at repeated sabotage operations in Bulgaria, the separatist yearnings of Moldova’s Gagauzia region, or Latvia’s linguistic dilemmas with its large Russian-speaking minority.

Asked during the post-screening Q&A why Hungary was conspicuously absent from the film, Szolajski responded that “they’ve crossed to the other side already” and would therefore not provide a relevant sample of a country still fighting back against Russia’s hybrid influence tactics.

The 91-minute documentary is now being rolled out in Czech cinemas, with more distribution plans in the works, and will also be screened at the Odessa International Film Festival to be held in Kyiv next month.

An updated version is also being prepared to include more recent events, Szolajski tells BIRN, including the dismantling of the Prague-based Voice of Europe disinformation and corruption network.

‘Useful idiots’

When it comes to the disinformation and influence strategy, “Russian tactics are both very complex and quite simple”, Szolajski muses, explaining that they largely look to capitalise on existing frustrations in any society to bring dissatisfied citizens out onto the streets.

“They take advantage of points of conflict and divisions in our societies – whether it be poverty, vaccination, war or gender – strengthen and exploit it, pass it on to their agents of influence in respective countries, and fund all kinds of propaganda material, both online and offline,” he explains.

According to the filmmaker, the scheme is fundamentally the same everywhere, simply adapted to different local and national contexts to target issues that are the most sensitive at a given time.

Supporters of Rajchl’s PRO party in Czechia or activists for the Polish Anti-War Movement “may speak in different languages, may come from the right or the left of the political spectrum, [but] the script is pretty much the same,” Szolajski notes, “and was written in the Kremlin.”

Russian influence and propaganda tactics also tend to avoid a key pitfall, according to the Polish director. “They don’t go out saying that Russia and Putin are great,” which wouldn’t resonate too well in countries with strong anti-Russian sentiments like Poland or even the Czech Republic.

“Instead, they say things like ‘Biden is old’, ‘NATO is aggressive’, ‘the EU is bureaucratic’ and so on”, a plethora of arguments often based on half-truths that make ordinary citizens “feel like they’re in trouble” and that coming to terms with Russia, even if there is little love lost for Putin or the Russian people, is part of the solution, he says.

As the scandal surrounding the Voice of Europe media recently showed, there is a thin line between ordinary citizens, social media users or people in a position of power parroting the Kremlin’s line out of political opportunism or personal belief, and actual agents of influence bankrolled by the Russian state through obscure and possibly illegal schemes.

Taking the example of the former national-conservative PiS government in Poland, Szolajski argues that “Russia especially uses those who are ostensibly anti-Russian”, describing PiS’s hawkish tone against Moscow as “lip-service” as opposed to many of their policies, including their Eurosceptic stance, and weakening of Poland’s counterintelligence network as playing into Putin’s hands.

For Szolajski, PiS’s guilt is clear, but the level and nature of the Kremlin’s infiltration is not. “It’s not clear whether this was done under the influence of actual Russian or pro-Russian agents, or merely because they were stupid enough” to play into the hands of their ostensible rival, he says.

In other countries explored in the documentary, including Bulgaria, Moldova or Latvia, the channels of Russian influence may be more clear-cut than in Poland or Czechia.

As a result of “complete” Russian infiltration, Bulgaria refused to gather evidence on Moscow’s involvement in the repeated sabotage operations, according to Szolajski. While in Czechia, former premier Andrej Babis “simply could not not reveal” the conclusions of the BIS counterintelligence agency which, in 2021, clearly pointed the finger at Russia’s GRU in the deadly Vrbetice depot explosions.

Outsourcing

Although not included in Putin’s Playground, recent events give the documentary’s focus an eerie sense of actuality.

Poland has in recent months experienced a series of suspicious explosions and fires, many of which have been linked to Russia. And although hard-based evidence still appears to be lacking in several cases, Prime Minister Donald Tusk has spearheaded calls to crack down on Russia’s increasingly aggressive actions on the territories of EU and NATO states.

Moscow’s increasing reliance on what analysts have described as “low-cost” spying and sabotage activities has also found an echo across the border in Czechia, where a foreigner was arrested last week for attempting to set fire to a depot of Prague municipal buses. Prime Minister Petr Fiala claimed it was “highly probable” Moscow was behind the attack.

Talking to the local investigative HlidaciPes media on Monday, BIS head Michal Koudelka said the attack showed Russia’s use of foreigners, “often people with some criminal background… who may not even know they were recruited by Russia”, was part of a new tactic.

The impact of such attacks should not be underestimated, according to the head of Czech counterintelligence. “They have a psychological impact on society, they’re a part of propaganda, based on the idea that the Czech Republic is making itself a target,” he said. “It has the potential to create tensions in society”, and undermine trust in the country’s security and intelligence services.

Crucially, the way governments communicate, the media cover or citizens react to these probable and very physical attacks on sovereign territory are key to whether the Kremlin will achieve its intended goal with these actions.

“The reason I made this documentary is because today war is not so much about tanks and airplanes,” Konrad Szolajski tells BIRN, at least not yet when it comes to EU countries. “It’s about influencing and subduing countries in other ways – ways that are very dangerous because people don’t realise that they are working for Russia” or pushing the Kremlin’s agenda.

Quoting a US Strategic Command officer interviewed for the documentary, Szolajski notes that “in military terms, NATO is strong enough, we are prepared today” to face Russia, including its hybrid military tactics used in the invasion and occupation of Crimea back in 2014.

But, according to the filmmaker, Russia uses European democracies’ greatest strength, “freedom of expression and information”, against themselves to shape public opinion, progressively change policies and, eventually, sap the strength and will of a society to defend itself against aggression. And here too, whether the main culprits are “agents of influence or ‘useful idiots’ is not always clear”.

“It’s an absolute nightmare. We cannot kill our freedom of speech for the sake of safety, but we need to find tools to defend ourselves without introducing censorship,” he says.

Circling back to Poland’s recent series of suspicious arson attacks, commentators noted that pointing the finger at Russia at every incident even despite little evidence could paradoxically play into Moscow’s hands, by creating a climate of panic among the public or giving birth to galloping and self-sustaining speculative bubbles.

A combination of fear, uncertainty, and perceived helplessness that Russia – regardless of its goals or strategy – would always be able to use to its advantage.

[ninjiniz]

Gif by @michaelmandog

EN: ✨️Welcome!✨️ Here you'll find a sort of 'table of contents' of my blog. But first of all, I'd like to make something clear. I move easily from one fandom to another, back to fandoms and so on. I'm relatively impulsive, so I edit/draw what I like at the time. Too bad for popularity. On that note, enjoy!

FR : ✨️Bienvenue !✨️Vous trouverez ci-dessous le "sommaire" en quelque sorte de mon blog. Mais avant toute chose, j'aimerai mettre quelque chose au clair. Je vais facilement d'une fandom à l'autre, pour ensuite revenir dans des fandoms et ainsi de suite. Je suis relativement impulsif donc j'édite et dessine ce qui me plaît sur le moment, tant pis pour la popularité. Sur ce, profitez de votre temps ici !

Recurrent content:

NBC Hannibal 🦌

Batman 🦇

The Hobbit/Lotr 🗻

Gorillaz 🏝

Star Wars 🪐

Overwatch 🐷

Zelda🔺️

Attack on Titans 🧣

Better Call Saul ⚖️

HBO Chernobyl 🐛

Hamilton ⭐️

The Count of Monte Cristo (2024) 🗡

Hazbin Hotel 🗝

Good Omens 🥂

Fanfictions:

Jason Brody (Far Cry 3)

The cost of fairytales (The Hobbit)

Just in case (Attack on Titan)

Traitors and submissives (Zelda: Age of Calamity)

Animations:

Hollow Knight: Hornet tells about her childhood

Pokemon: Spinarak

[ivoryminitower]

FFXIV Write 2024 prompt 17: Sally

We begin our day together.  Sometimes I can slip from Husband's arms without waking him, but more often I simply stay there enjoying the warmth.  He does not wake as easily as I do.  I know when he wakes because his breathing changes.  I do not know if that happens because he finds his nose in my hair, but that is on him for placing it there to begin with.

Our days were not so consistent in Eorzea, because we did not require sleep every day.  It was something we did between things, when we wanted time for each other and nothing else.  Otherwise we could go days doing whatever we needed to do, whether struggling through conflict or gathering or following Hildebrandt Manderville around.

Here, though, in Earth, we start each day fresh.  We rise to face the day.  We do not do so to see what new horror the world's evils have inflicted on the people.  We face the day to clean.  Or gather.  Or feed pies to children.  Or guard a bar.  Or mow a lawn.

There are starting to be times that this is harder to get out of bed for than the horrors would be.

The world will probably not end if the lawn is not mowed.  The people will probably not suffer years of torment without our pies.  The nation will probably not be plunged into war if one drunk is not stopped from punching another.

Darkness will probably not conquer the light if I do not get out of bed.

So this is now my challenge: to get up and face an ordinary day.  To step out into a world that may not need a Warrior of Light.  To boldly go and live a life that a goddess does not require.

And perhaps to find out why.

(Based on Echoes of Home, hosted on Wattpad.)

[oldsalempost-blog]

The Old Salem Post

                   Our  Local Tamassee-Salem SC Area News each Monday except holidays                                          Contact: theoldsalempost@gmail.com                              Distributed to local businesses, town hall, library.                            Volume 7 Issue 38                                                                                                  Week of Sept 16,  2024                https://www.tumblr.com/settings/blog/oldsalempost-blog                                                         Lynne Martin Publishing EDITOR:  I wonder what our home is going to look like a few years from now if more of us do not spread the words and actions of conservation?  We each can be a part of the solution.  We can make a real investment for generations to follow.  We can save the land for them to have a place to live and water to drink.  If you cannot save your land, and need to sell it, find  a conservation buyer or place the land in a conservation easement that will follow it forever. I saw a sign that says the next war will be over food and water.  I wonder  if that is why Bill Gates, China, France, and others are wanting to buy up America?  The solution starts at home. LRMartin                                                                        

TOWN of SALEM: 5 Park Avenue  Monday-Friday 8AM-5PM. Closed 12-1 for lunch.  * Visit the Downtown Market every Sat, 8am-12pm.                                                                                                                    COMMUNITY COOKOUT-  There will be a community cookout in partnership with the Oconee Sheriff’s office and the Town at the Salem Community Center Sept 17 at 4PM.  FREE Hamburger or hot dog plates will begin at 4PM.  A  neighborhood watch, part of  Mission Oconee, sponsored by a Isaiah  40:31 foundation will be discussed.  

HEALTH CARE COMES TO SALEM:  MOBILE PRIMARY CARE  comes to  Salem thru the Clemson Rural Health Mobile Unit and provide primary care services to the Salem community twice a month on our mobile health unit.  September dates are Sept 10 and 26,  9AM-3PM  Located across from the Salem Fire Department.  We will offer comprehensive primary care that includes chronic disease management and acute care.  The website: https://www.clemson.edu/cbshs/clemson-rural-health/patients.html    

Jottings from Miz Jeannie  by Jeannie Barnwell    Springing into Fall As days shorten, the reality of leaves falling and gardens failing  awakens a sense of new beginnings.  As the spawn of Northern Europeans, perhaps the fall rekindles the eating patterns we were born to adopt.   Summer eating, though tempting, is Not the fuel that built our ancestors! Summer eating involves fresh leafy lettuce, cucumbers, and tomatoes (very healthy!) until it's sloshed with 3/4 of a cup of ranch dressing.   Then consider summertime desserts: s'mores, ice cream, homemade cakes and pies.    Fall's chilly breezes awaken archetypal urges.  Do you find yourself dusting off the crock-pot and simmering a variety of vegetables into soup? There is no written recipe for this vegetable soup. I make the soup the way my father made it, which is the way his German mother made it.   Don't get me wrong.   I'll be ready for new leaves to burst forth on stalks and skinny branches come March.  But, right now I am SPRINGING into FALL with fires in the fireplace and a bowl of hearty vegetable soup.   Hello Readers!   Remember to cook up a goodly batch of your soup and to stop in to share it with neighbors.  Not all "the poor" are materially deprived.  There are plenty of folks who are deprived of connections. Your visit with a cup of soup will long be remembered! I Love All, All of Y'All! Miz Jeannie

Oconee County Road Maintenance and State Road Maintenance— Be proactive and a part of the solution every time you see or hit a POTHOLE!  Report potholes and any other danger you identify involving the roads, like dead leaning trees.   Report the road name and describe the location of the problem.   If the road is a state road they  will instruct you to call the county.   They cannot fix problems they are not aware of.   State Roads 864-647-0798  County Roads 864-886-1072.   Save these numbers to report problems.      

ASHTON RECALLS by Ashton Hester    HILLBILLY MUSIC CONVENTION HELD IN SALEM IN 1954. . .(The following story was in the August 25, 1954 Keowee Courier). . .A hillbilly music convention, featuring numerous musical groups specializing in mountain and western music, will be held at Salem High School Saturday, August 28, beginning at 8:30 p.m. . .Many of the hillbilly aggregations are featured television performers. . .Dee C. Poe of the Salem school staff told the Courier the entertainment is expected to last some two and a half hours. . .Among the bands featured will be Jim Campbell and the Dixie Dew Boys, Jink Land and the Rhythm Rascals, High Sheriff and the Blue Ridge Hillbillies, Mike Sluder and the Jordania Playboys, O'Neal Johnson and the Hillbilly Drifters, and Roy McCollom and the Southern Rhythm Boys.                                                                                                                                                           

JOCASSEE VALLEY BREWING COMPANY,(JVBC) & COFFEE SHOP* 13412 N Hwy 11  Hours:  Tues 12pm-7pm                                        Wed–Sat 9am-9pm and Sunday 12pm-7pm.    Events this week: Wed:  FOOD TRUCK: BLUE RIDGE GRILL  4PM  Wings and more!   BLUE GRASS JAM  7PM.   Thursday: Food Truck:  BLUE RIDGE GRILL 4PM  Palmetto Trail Talk with speaker Michael Trotter from Table Rock State Park  6:00PM   Fri: Music: 6:30PM   Food:   BLUE RIDGE GRILL 4PM    Sat– Food: LOBSTER DOGS   Music:  Steve McGaha & Freddie Vanderford  6:30PM   Sun: 12pm-7pm Food: BLUE RIDGE GRILL 1PM.   Music: Neil Conway at  4PM.                                                                    

PADDLE SPLASH  October 5 10AM-12PM at Devil’s Fork State Park.  This event is for kayaks, surf skis,  canoes, paddleboards, and other self-powered crafts. Beginners and advanced paddlers are welcome.  Info at  LakeJocasseePaddleSplash2024.  

Eagles Nest Art Center located 4 Eagle Lane, Salem SC

2024 UPCOMING EVENTS       Treasure Store open every Saturday 9AM-12PM!  Drop off donations too!

Eagles Nest Senior Exercise Program:  Join up with friends to exercise at the Eagles Nest Art Center!  Classes begin Thursday, Sept 12 at 9:30AM and will be held  each Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 9:30AM with Stretching and walking geared for 55 plus.  Cost $2.50  each class you attend.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      September 21, 7PM  Oconee Mountain Opry– Hometown variety show of local and regional talent including Jenifer Gregory-from Upstate SC a-singer/songwriter and pop rock, Chris Wayne from NC -Rockabilly, and the Brown Mountain Lightning Bugs from Winston-Salem singing a variety of American you will absolutely enjoy!   Call up your friends and come along!   Tickets $10 at the door or Ticketleap on the eaglesnestartcenter.org website.                              NEW EVENT!  OCTOBER 12, 7PM  Eagles Nest Art Center is proud to host the Keowee Big Band  comprised of 5 saxophones, 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, piano, string bass, piano, jazz guitar and a vocalist! Come listen and enjoy the sounds of traditional big band jazz from the 1940’s to current. Tickets $10 at the door or Ticketleap on the eaglesnestartcenter.org website.                                                                                                                          TATER HOUSE– The little building on the corner of Tamassee Salem campus ( Eagle Drive) is a historical site, not to be destroyed, ever.  This unique building was built in the mid 1920s just as the depression years were beginning.  It was commissioned by funds from the government by  US President FD Roosevelt  in the attempt to provide aid to rural communities.   This was a time of trials and very little money.   This building gave Salem residents hope.   It was actively used from 1929-1949 for families to preserve foods from their gardens.   -Written  by Brenda DuBose, 2015    * Editor’s note:  Brenda DuBose is the daughter of Mr, and Mrs. Crawford Nicholson,  ( Mrs. Estelle Nicholson was a wonderful elementary school teacher for many years at Salem.)  to be continued…..

Upcoming Haunted School House by the T-S Rec Department at ENAC!    Stay Tuned for details and dates.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     CHURCH NEWS                                                                                                                                   Bethel Presbyterian Church (PCUSA),  580 Bethel Church Rd Walhalla, 29691. Worship at 10:30 a.m.  Come Visit Us! September 22 Elders will lead the service September 29 Message by Terri Price, also Homecoming. Boones Creek Baptist Church, 264 Boones Creek Road, Salem invites you to join us for regular worship service on Sunday morning with Sunday School at 10am and followed by worship at 11am.                                                                                                                                 Salem Seventh-Day Adventist Church, located 240 W Main St , Salem,  cordially invites you to join us every Saturday at 9:30am Salem Methodist Church, 520 Church Street, Down town Salem.  Salem Methodist is an independent church.       Sunday Breakfast at 9AM with Sunday School at 9:15AM and Worship Service at 10:30AM.   Holy Communion the first Sunday each month.  All welcomed!   Tune in to our live service on Facebook or view it later on our website.                               NEW PRAYER GROUP: Salem Methodist Church. Will meet every second and fourth Thursday at 7PM each month.   Pray for our nation!                                                                                

FOR YOUR HEALTH   Look for these ingredients in your foods and snacks and decide to never purchase those items again containing TBHQ which is an artificial preservative  and  PGPR which is a  binding agent  in food.  These items have no regulations and what I read about them is that they are “probably safe.”  Do we really want to feed our children something that is “probably safe”?         

Have a safe week. “Not probably safe!”     LRM                                                                                

Comic: NURSEY/NURSEY by EHMartin

[korrektheiten]

Die Schlacht von Mohács 1526 als warnendes Beispiel

PI schreibt: »Von CONNY AXEL MEIER | Am 29. August 2024 jährte sich die erste Schlacht im ungarischen Mohács zum 498. Mal. Es war die bitterste Niederlage in der Geschichte der Christen in Mitteleuropa gegen die osmanischen Muselmanen. Aus dieser Niederlage kann man immer noch Lehren für die heutige Zeit ziehen, was den Umgang mit moslemischer Invasion […] http://dlvr.it/TCq9zH «