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eretzyisrael · 2 months ago

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by Seth Mandel

As we consider the nature of the astonishing events both in Gaza and in Lebanon over the past month, we should recognize this one clear fact: Israel spent the last year not only fighting a two-front war in real time but learning from its every step and every move how to win the war that had been thrust upon it. And now it is.

I don’t need to rehearse it all for you, but I will, because it’s just so…exhilarating. The elimination of Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Hezbollah since 1992, brought to a climax a period of daring Israeli actions that included, but are not limited to:

—the assassination in the spring of leaders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Tehran’s most elite military unit, in a building in Syria.

—Israel’s use of some kind of science-fictional weapon we normies still don’t have a bead on against an Iranian site after the ineffectual missile attack Iran launched in response to the Syria killing—a clear message to the mullahs that Israel possesses terrifying capabilities Tehran cannot predict and that therefore Iran would be wise not to try and find out. And it hasn’t.

—the assassination inside Tehran in an apartment complex owned and run by the mullahs of Hamas’s leader, Ismail Haniyeh—a plan so daring and melodramatically implausible it seemed to have been lifted from the pages of one of Daniel Silva’s glorious Gabriel Allon novels.

—the trapping of senior Hamas leadership in a corner of the city of Rafah following a months-long halt outside this southernmost point in Gaza—a pause largely due to the historically embarrassing pressure exerted by an increasingly pusillanimous and morally impotent Biden administration and its fear of an electoral blowback in one state out of 50 in a country generally extremely supportive of Israel’s efforts.

—the relentless grinding down of Hamas to the point that in the past week Israel is now openly declaring that Hamas no longer functions as a military but has been downgraded into some kind of counterinsurgency at best.

—Operation Grim Beeper, in which Israel wounded or took off the fighting map literally thousands of Hezbollah operatives in a single second, followed a day later by the same attack on the secondary communications devices Hezbollah resorted to with their pagers blown up.

—Operation Northern Arrows, a series of Israeli strikes that did more damage to Hezbollah’s colossal missile stash in six hours than it had done in the 34 days Israel had fought Hezbollah in a conventional war in 2006. In a day’s time, the Israeli airforce hit 1,600 sites in Southern Lebanon and the Bekaa valley.

—The picking-off of Hezbollah leaders systematically wherever and whenever they have been accessible for such elimination, beginning with military commander Fuad Shukr and reaching its apex on Friday with 83 tons dropped directly on the head of Hamas’s command-and-control superbunker—killing Hassan Nasrallah, the world’s most destructive terrorist over the past 32 years, thus decapitating Hezbollah, an enemy of Israel, the United States, and the Jewish people worldwide for four decades.

—the continuing elimination of Hezbollah leaders following Nasrallah’s death, three so far, demonstrating that the decapitation of Hezbollah is not going to be followed any time soon with any kind of regeneration.

And after I finish writing this and before you begin reading it, more will have happened to boost Israel’s side of the war-fighting ledger. And if you had told me just a month ago at the end of August that I would be writing these words at the end of September, I would have thought you mad.

Just one month ago, Israel had plunged into a despair deeper than it had experienced at any time after October 7 when the nation learned that six hostages, including the Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, had been murdered just minutes before they might have been rescued. Throughout Israel and the Jewish world, even some hawks found themselves all but ready to give up the fight because the continued plight of the hostages had just become too great to bear. A ceasefire was needed. Bring them home now.

The problem wasn’t an Israeli unwillingness to achieve a ceasefire. The Netanyahu government and its negotiators accepted general ceasefire terms at multiple moments over the summer. Rather it was Hamas that would not proffer any kind of hostage return that even the United States, which wanted the ceasefire desperately, could view as minimally acceptable. But Israelis and Jews around the world had, without even knowing it really, been surviving on a kind of desperate optimism that things were really going to work out in a movie-ending sort of way. The loss of that optimism was soul-crushing and once again threatened to turn Israel inside out against itself even as the war was not won.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah was firing rockets, killing Druze children, and keeping the North depopulated. Israeli military leaders and Israelis have long known they would not be spared from directly engaging in this war on the northern border. But a country in mourning and a Jewish people worldwide overwhelmed by a degree of open hostility toward us most of us had never known could hardly bear the thought of that second front. Not to mention Yemen. Not to mention Iran.

Which is why September 2024 may go down in the annals of Jewish history as the time our people looked despair in the face and refused to submit to it. Israel said, through the proper democratic vehicle of the Jewish state’s duly elected government, that it would no longer hold itself back in hopes of a deal that would not emerge or tie an arm behind its back to manage a relationship with the United States when the U.S.’s position in all these matters had become all but inexplicable in its inconstancy.

The Netanyahu government acted, and with a kind of determination and confidence that has breathed new strength and a new sense of resolve into the Jewish people. Whatever the divisions and concerns and cautions inside the corridors of power about the astonishing onslaught of Israel against the Iran Axis of Evil, the fact is Israel stared into the abyss and said, “Not today. Not this week. Not this month. Not ever.”

#the netanyahu government #israel #hamas #gaza #hezbollah #jewish history #lebanon #iran #yemen #houthis

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annieqattheperipheral · 1 year ago

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yohe's recap fri-sun. behind $wall so here u go:

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia — It’s a pleasant, autumn afternoon in downtown Halifax. A bartender is shaking his head in the city’s bar district, telling tales of Nova Scotia’s favorite son while NFL games beam on background televisions.

The topic is predictably Sidney Crosby.

“He’s here all the time in the summer with Nate (MacKinnon),” the bartender said. “People never leave him alone. Sits here and signs autographs all night. He’s almost too nice for his own good, you know? But he’s just such a good guy. He just sits here and signs and signs, and just talks with everyone, and poses for pictures. People love it. You have to understand how proud of him we are.”

That much is quite clear.

Preseason games don’t typically receive much in the way of hoopla. Even Erik Karlsson’s exhibition season debut was met with thousands of empty seats at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday.

But this is different. Much, much different. The Pittsburgh Penguins are playing the Ottawa Senators on Monday in downtown Halifax at Scotiabank Centre and it’s a preseason game, only you wouldn’t know it by the buzz in this beautiful, seaside city.

As of Sunday, there were around 300 tickets available on StubHub. The majority of these are selling for more than $1,000. The average price for a ticket on StubHub is around $1,100, and the most famous Taylor in the building will be Crosby’s sister.

“It’s all pretty crazy,” said Ryan Graves, another Nova Scotia native.

Crosby and the Penguins arrived in Halifax late on Friday afternoon. They had a “team bonding” day on Saturday, which included a scavenger hunt and Crosby acting as a personal tour guide for his teammates, most of whom had never been to Halifax.

“I was definitely feeling the pressure,” Crosby said with a smile. “Wanted to make sure guys enjoyed it. It’s a great place. I’m really proud of my home and what it has to offer.”

Rest assured, the feeling from his hometown is mutual.

All across Canada, Crosby is understandably a national hero. He’s one of the greatest players of all time, an incomparable gentleman, scorer of the golden goal and captain of the greatest generation of Canadian hockey.

In Pittsburgh, Crosby is a civic icon. In a city that reveres its sports legends more than most, Crosby’s face will rest on the Mount Rushmore of Western Pennsylvania greats alongside the likes of Mario Lemieux and Roberto Clemente, singular artists whose character somehow exceeded their athletic exploits.

And yet, in Halifax, the affection Crosby receives is even more noteworthy if slightly understated, as is the custom of this province’s people. Like Crosby himself, the people here are polite and kind. Crosby always smiles when Nova Scotia is mentioned. Unfailingly.

When his name is mentioned around the proud people of Halifax, they smile in turn.

“Hard not to,” Graves said.

The Penguins practiced on Sunday morning only minutes from Crosby’s boyhood home at Cole Harbour Place. The small building was filled with hundreds of fans, who overflowed the venue for hours. Hundreds of others stood outside, patiently waiting for a glimpse of Crosby.

Graves grew up in Nova Scotia, albeit three hours away. He is the best-suited member of the Penguins to explain what Crosby’s appearance in the Maritimes means, and what his presence over the years has done for hockey in this region.

Some players from Nova Scotia reached the NHL before Crosby, but his arrival — and subsequent domination of the league — changed everything, according to his new teammate.

“You can just see from the reaction of the people,” Graves said. “You can tell what it means to this area, what he’s done. He’s the first one from out east that really had an impact on everybody. Sid was the first one to pave the way. The impact he’s had on Mac (MacKinnon), myself, (Ottawa’s Drake) Batherson … you know, you always think things are possible. But when you have someone that’s actually done that, it becomes more real. You understand the pathway that they took. It gives you someone to root for. Everyone loves him. Everyone. He’s an idol to a lot of people. Eight, 10-year-old kids love him. People my parents’ age love him. He’s had an impact on so many people. It’s really cool that the Penguins brought us here to do this.”

Some athletes like to cultivate the image of giving back to the community when, in reality, their contributions are far smaller than the accompanying hype. Crosby is quite the opposite. He’s well known to visit Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh on a regular basis, for instance, but is insistent that the media not chronicle these visits. It’s simply his way.

It was fitting, then, that Crosby’s day on Sunday was particularly full, even if he couldn’t hide from the media on this occasion.

After the Penguins practiced, Crosby returned to the ice. He participated in a hockey clinic for dozens of young Nova Scotian players, and he wasn’t alone. His good friend, Evgeni Malkin, joined him for the clinic. So did Graves. And so did the entire Penguins coaching staff, including Mike Sullivan.

“We all play because we love it,” Crosby said. “Obviously we have dreams of being in the NHL. Sometimes that works out, sometimes it doesn’t. Hopefully it gives them the belief that, just because you’re from a small town, you can make it.”

While Crosby, Malkin, Graves and the coaching staff were on the ice, the rest of the Penguins players were signing autographs and participating in Q&As with children and other members of the Nova Scotian community. Crosby also invited and spoke with families who lost their houses during the horrific wildfires that impacted so much of Canada earlier this year.

“This whole thing has been great,” Jeff Carter said. “Everybody knows what Sid means to the community here. And I think everyone understands how many things he does for people off the ice. It’s been a special weekend for him. He’s very proud of where he grew up. That’s obvious. I think it’s been special for him, yes, but it’s also been a really great experience for all of us.”

Graves said the hockey community in Nova Scotia is an underappreciated one and that he hopes events like this underscore how passionate this province is for hockey.

“It’s all just so cool to see,” he said. “People here love this sport. They’re crazy for it. You see when the world juniors are here, everything is sold out. The Czech and Slovakian game even sold out. People love it. It’s crazy. People love the players who are from around here, too. People around here are blue-collar, hard-nosed people. It makes it fun for them to root for a person like Sidney. When I was a kid, the Islanders came here once for a week of training camp. I thought it was the coolest thing ever.”

And with all due respect to the Islanders, they aren’t Crosby.

“I can’t even imagine what it would be like to have a practice with the Penguins in my hometown rink, the place I grew up in,” Marcus Pettersson said. “Man, would that be awesome. But with Sid, everything is different. And it’s all because of the kind of human being he is.”

The crowd buzzed throughout Penguins practice on Sunday, with the massive contingent of children chanting Crosby’s name throughout.

“So, you see how he’s worshipped here,” Pettersson said. “You see it right away. And honestly, it’s because of the things he does in the community even more than the hockey player that he is. People know he’s a great person, but they don’t even understand all of it, all of the things he does when people aren’t looking, the way he treats people. People are smart, though. They know. He wouldn’t be worshipped the way he is if he weren’t a great person. He sets that standard and that precedent every day. We’ve just been walking around town, and you start to see that people are proud to be from here because Sidney Crosby is from here. I think that tells you a lot.”

As the years have rolled on, Crosby’s bond with his head coach has notably grown stronger. It was only fitting that Sullivan played a big role in the big weekend.

“It’s a great tribute to the legacy Sid has built,” Sullivan said.

Crosby and the Penguins once played a preseason game in Halifax, back in September of 2006. Given that it’s been 17 years since the Penguins have been here, it’s a pretty fair bet that this could be the final time that Crosby skates before his hometown fans.

“It’s been nice,” he said. “I never thought I’d have an opportunity to do this. I had a lot of morning practices in this rink. I had dreams of playing in the NHL. I didn’t think I’d ever be here with our team, doing something like this. You just try to take it all in and enjoy it.”

Crosby is perhaps the most hyped prospect in hockey history. Even before he was drafted, scouts and others who knew him raved about his personality and his character. This, they insisted, was a boy who was different than the rest.

“He’s just the best,” Pettersson said.

Crosby’s last NHL-related event in his hometown was in 2016 when a parade with the Stanley Cup was held in his honor.

Troy Crosby shook his head when pondering the last time the hockey world descended upon Nova Scotia to witness his son.

“Halifax has changed a lot since then,” Crosby’s father noted.

The boy, who became a man, who became a hockey god, has never really changed at all.

His homeland is all the better for it.

“This is a weekend people are going to remember for a really long time,” Graves said. “To the people here, it’s everything.”

#sidney crosby #halifax showdown #pittsburgh penguins #ryan graves #marcus pettersson #mike sullivan #jeff carter

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whatiwillsay · 1 year ago

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🚨SURPRISE IT'S LISTENER APPRECIATION WEEK🚨

Good morning WIWS Nation, I'm excited to announce today is the launch of our second annual listener appreciation week!

"What is listener appreciation week?" you might ask. As a sign of my undying appreciation to the listeners of this podcast and members of the WIWS community, I like to do a surprise week once a year or so to flood you guys with TONS of extra content and other fun promotions during the week! I am so immensely grateful that you guys have enabled me to foster such a wonderful space for nosy gays that sometimes I just have to show you guys with a big bang! Here are some details you need to know!

First things first! I am opening up the Secret Sessions Discord to Ashley Avignone Patrons and up for the week! We have had to close it due to some trolling for the past six months and it's getting so big keeping it safely modded has become a bit of a concern. But we're going to open it to Ashley+ Patrons for the next week and let you guys get grandfathered into it before we close it for a while to keep the size of it under control. It *will* probably be opened up again sometime in the future but it may be only open to higher tiers to again keep the population under control and able to be safely modded. If you want to join it during this special open period simply link your Patreon account to Discord by following these directions.

Secondly HUGE FUCKING ANNOUNCEMENT! Not to bury the lead sorry I didn't want anyone to miss the discord announcement BUT ME AND MY GIRLFRIEND GABRIELLA ARE STARTING A PODCAST AND IT LAUNCHES TODAY! It's called Stay at Home Girlfriends and it's a podcast where you can listen in to get advice from your cool gay aunties! Episode 1 is up NOW and you can listen on Spotify! (More apps coming soon)

and follow our socials here:

Instagram

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OK BUT FOR REAL THOUGH HERE'S THE AMAZING CONTENT SCHEDULE FOR THE WEEK!

Sunday, August 27th (LIVE NOW!) - Cara joins me on the Patreon for a State of the Gaylor Union. We catch up on all the latest Taylor news including some more convo about Karlie at the Eras Tour, the latest Toe gossip we've heard, and go through all the ships with a brief update on how we feel about them.

Monday, August 28th (LIVE NOW!) - Gabriella joins me on the main pod to go through my original Swiftgron master post! That's right! All this week and into the next couple weeks we'll be covering the best timeline of them all!

AND (LIVE NOW!) Gabriella also joins me on Patreon to do a juicy oversharing Q&A about our relationship!

Tuesday, August 29th - Torry from Ready to be Petty joins me on the Patreon to deep dive into the dark world of Jon & Kate Plus 8!

Wednesday, August 30th - Gabbie joins me again on the main pod to continue our trek through the Swiftgron Timeline!

Thursday, August 31st - Jenna from Date Card Pod joins me on Patreon to catch up on pop culture and check in and see how we're doing with our 2023 pop culture predictions and 2023 resolutions!

Friday, September 1st - Gabbie joins me again on the main pod for more Swiftgron Timeline goodness!

Saturday, September 2nd - Shannon from Fluently Forward joins me on Patreon to catch up on Taylor, Gaylor, and pop culture hot takes!

Sunday, September 3rd - The discord community will remain linked to the Patreon until midnight on this day!

I hope y'all are as excited as I am for THREE main pod episodes and FIVE Patreon episodes this week!!! And I genuinely, truly hope you guys feel the love from me! We have our ups and downs and nobody is perfect, certainly not me. But that doesn't stop me from being SO HUGELY AND IRREVOCABLY GRATEFUL, THANKFUL, AND APPRECIATIVE to all of you for being a part of this weird but amazing little Evidence Based Gossip community!

Remember! You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe deserve your love and affection. 💙

#swiftgron #gaylor swift #dianna agron #kaylor #taylor swift #gaylor #podcast #gossip #jon & kate plus 8 #pop culture #pop #pop music #advice

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justinspoliticalcorner · 8 months ago

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Carter Sherman and Lauren Gambino at The Guardian:

Kamala Harris’s Friday visit to Arizona was planned before the state’s top court upheld a 160-year-old law that bans almost all abortions. But the news galvanized the vice-president’s message, one that has already yielded stunning victories for liberals since Roe v Wade fell nearly two years ago. That message is simple: abortion bans happen when Republicans are in charge.

“Women here live under one of the most extreme abortion bans in our nation. … The overturning of Roe was without any question a seismic event, and this ban here in Arizona is one of the biggest aftershocks yet,” Harris said at the Tucson event. “Overturning Roe was just the opening act of a larger strategy to take women’s rights and freedoms … We all must understand who is to blame. Former president Donald Trump did this.”

The ruling from the Arizona supreme court arrived on Tuesday, just days after a Florida supreme court ruling cleared the way for a six-week abortion ban, a decision that will cut off access to the procedure before many women even know they are pregnant. These back-to-back rulings roiled the United States, raising the already high stakes of the 2024 elections to towering new heights. Activists in both states are now at work on ballot measures that would ask voters to enshrine abortion rights in their states’ constitutions in November.

Democrats are hopeful these efforts – and the potential threat of more bans under a Trump administration – will mobilize voters in their favor, because abortion rights are popular among Americans, and Republicans have spent years pushing restrictions. Democrats have made abortion rights a central issue of their campaigns in Arizona, which was already expected to be a major battleground, and Florida, a longtime election bellwether that has swung further to the right in recent years. For Joe Biden, who is struggling to generate enthusiasm among voters, turning 2024 into a referendum on abortion may be his best shot at defeating Donald Trump. But it remains an open question whether the backlash to Roe’s overturning will continue to drive voters in a presidential election year, when they may be more swayed by concern over the economy and immigration.

“In public polls that might just ask: ‘What’s your most important issue?’ You’re going to see abortion in the middle, maybe even towards the bottom,” said Tresa Undem, a co-founder of the polling firm PerryUndem who has studied public opinion on abortion for two decades. “But when you talk to core groups that Democrats need to turn out, it’s front and center.” A recent Wall Street Journal poll found that Trump held double-digit leads when swing state voters were asked who would best handle the economy, inflation and immigration, but they trusted Biden more on abortion. A Fox News poll in March found that most voters in Arizona believe Biden will do a better job handling the issue of abortion, but it was less of a priority than the economy, election integrity and foreign policy.

For Biden, abortion is “the best issue for him right now”, Undem said. “All of the data I’ve seen on this upcoming election, young people are not nearly as motivated to vote as they were in 2020. And so in places like Arizona, the total ban – and I don’t make predictions ever – I do think it is going to turn out young people, especially young women.” The Biden campaign has released two abortion-focused ads this week, including one that features a Texas woman who was denied an abortion after her water broke too early in pregnancy. (She ended up in the ICU.) Indivisible, a national grassroots organization with a local presence in states across the country, said volunteer sign-ups to knock on doors in Arizona spiked 50% following the state supreme court’s ruling. Its members in Arizona are helping to organize rallies in support of reproductive rights as well as events to collect signatures for the ballot measure.

When Roe fell, abortion rights’ grip on voters was far from guaranteed. Mitch McConnell, Senate Republicans’ longtime leader and an architect of the conservative supreme court majority that overturned Roe, brushed off outrage over its demise as “a wash” in federal elections. Although most Americans support some degree of access to the procedure, anti-abortion voters were more likely to say the issue was important to their vote than pro-abortion rights voters. The fall of Roe changed that. Anger over Roe was credited with halting Republicans’ much-promised “red wave” in the 2022 midterm elections, while pro-abortion rights ballot measures triumphed, even in crimson states such as Kansas and Kentucky. Last year, when Virginia Republicans tried retake control of the state legislature by championing a “compromise” 15 week-ban, they failed. Democrats now control both chambers in the state.

“When Republicans offer compromises, I think a lot of voters are inclined not to see those as what the Republican party really wants long-term but what the Republican party thinks is necessary to settle for in the short term,” said Mary Ziegler, a University of California at Davis School of Law professor who studies the legal history of reproduction. “They know that Republicans are aligned with the pro-life movement and the pro-life movement wants fetal personhood and a ban at fertilization.”

With the respective state supreme courts in Arizona and Florida upholding cruel abortion bans, Democrats are set to pounce on backlash against abortion bans to guide them to victory in Arizona, Florida, and the whole nation.

#Abortion Bans #Abortion #Democrats #Democratic Party #2024 Elections #Arizona #Florida #2024 Presidential Election #2024 Election Polls

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thepastisalreadywritten · 7 months ago

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By Marcia Dunn

Updated 9:45 PM, 11 May 2024

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — An unusually strong solar storm hitting Earth produced stunning displays of color in the skies across the Northern Hemisphere early Saturday, with no immediate reports of disruptions to power and communications.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a rare severe geomagnetic storm warning when a solar outburst reached Earth on Friday afternoon, hours sooner than anticipated.

The effects of the Northern Lights, which were prominently on display in Britain, were due to last through the weekend and possibly into next week.

Many in the U.K. shared phone snaps of the lights on social media early Saturday, with the phenomenon seen as far south as London and southern England.

"There were sightings from top to tail across the country,” said Chris Snell, a meteorologist at the Met Office, Britain’s weather agency.

He added that the office received photos and information from other European locations including Prague and Barcelona.

NOAA alerted operators of power plants and spacecraft in orbit, as well as the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to take precautions.

“For most people here on planet Earth, they won’t have to do anything,” said Rob Steenburgh, a scientist with NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center.

The storm could produce northern lights as far south in the U.S. as Alabama and Northern California, NOAA said.

But it was hard to predict and experts stressed it would not be the dramatic curtains of color normally associated with the northern lights, but more like splashes of greenish hues.

“That’s really the gift from space weather: the aurora,” Steenburgh said.

He and his colleagues said the best aurora views may come from phone cameras, which are better at capturing light than the naked eye.

"Snap a picture of the sky and there might be actually a nice little treat there for you,” said Mike Bettwy, operations chief for the prediction center.

The most intense solar storm in recorded history — in 1859 — prompted auroras in central America and possibly even Hawaii.

“We are not anticipating that but it could come close," NOAA space weather forecaster Shawn Dahl said.

This storm poses a risk for high-voltage transmission lines for power grids, not the electrical lines ordinarily found in people’s homes, Dahl told reporters.

Satellites also could be affected, which in turn could disrupt navigation and communication services here on Earth.

An extreme geomagnetic storm in 2003, for example, took out power in Sweden and damaged power transformers in South Africa.

Even when the storm is over, signals between GPS satellites and ground receivers could be scrambled or lost, according to NOAA.

But there are so many navigation satellites that any outages should not last long, Steenburgh noted.

The sun has produced strong solar flares since Wednesday, resulting in at least seven outbursts of plasma.

Each eruption, known as a coronal mass ejection, can contain billions of tons of plasma and magnetic field from the sun’s outer atmosphere, or corona.

The flares seem to be associated with a sunspot that’s 16 times the diameter of Earth, NOAA said.

It is all part of the solar activity ramping up as the sun approaches the peak of its 11-year cycle.

NASA said the storm posed no serious threat to the seven astronauts aboard the International Space Station.

The biggest concern is the increased radiation levels, and the crew could move to a better shielded part of the station if necessary, according to Steenburgh.

Increased radiation also could threaten some of NASA’s science satellites.

Extremely sensitive instruments will be turned off, if necessary, to avoid damage, said Antti Pulkkinen, director of the space agency’s heliophysics science division.

Several sun-focused spacecraft are monitoring all the action.

“This is exactly the kinds of things we want to observe,” Pulkkinen said.

#Earth #solar storm #Northern Hemisphere #U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration #solar outburst #geomagnetic storm #Northern Lights #Federal Emergency Management Agency #Space Weather Prediction Center #NASA #solar flare #coronal mass ejection #plasma #magnetic field #corona #radiation levels #aurora borealis #aurora

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mariacallous · 10 months ago

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Russians have reacted ecstatically online to the two-hour interview between former Fox News presenter Tucker Carlson and Russian president Vladimir Putin, hailing it as a historic, internet-breaking moment that will change the world. Many are now even calling the former Fox News presenter a national hero: Some have called for February 9 to be renamed as “Tucker Carlson Day,” while others posted pictures of Carlson wearing a Russian ushanka hat and claimed Carlson wore a tie during the interview bearing colors that closely resemble the colors and pattern of Saint George’s ribbon, a Russian military symbol.

The much-hyped interview ran for more than two hours on Tucker Carlson’s new streaming platform and X, and saw Putin spending a huge amount of time laying out a revisionist history of Russia and the Ukraine in a bid to justify Russia’s invasion. Carlson spent most of the interview listening, and rarely interjected to question Putin’s narrative. He also failed to push the Russian leader on his country’s widely reported war crimes in Ukraine.

The interview marks Carlson’s further embrace of the far-right and conspiracy world since departing Fox News last year, and comes on the back of Russia ratcheting up its interference operations ahead of the 2024 elections. This week, WIRED reported on a coordinated Russian disinformation campaign where state media, influencers, bots, and others claimed the Texas border crisis was pushing the US toward civil war. By providing Putin with direct access to millions in the US and around the world, Carlson gave the Russian leader an unprecedented opportunity to spread propaganda virtually unchecked, marking a new, and possibly even more comprehensive, era of Russian disinformation.

In a bid to highlight how Putin dominated the conversation, some Kremlin-linked trolls have also been sharing a meme of the interview that replaces the former Fox News presenter with a Swedish cartoon character called Karlsson who is beloved in Russia and known as a mischievous, overconfident liar. The memes depict Karlsson sitting in Carlson’s chair during the interview and include comments in Russian such as, “Tucker Carlson, when he finally got the coveted interview with Putin, which could make him one of the top modern journalists.”

The memes have been shared by accounts on X which have been linked to Kremlin disinformation campaigns in the past, according to researchers at Antibot4Navalny, a Russian anti-disinformation research group that has been closely tracking a Russian disinformation network known as Doppelganger on X.

“The Karlsson character is in the top three themes among pictures posted by Kremlin trolls,” a researcher with the group who did not want to be identified due to security concerns tells WIRED. “Using a widely-popular animation character was the obvious choice to maximize nostalgia, as the character refers to the best years of the target audience, [and] to the USSR, which was comfortable and predictable when they were young.”

According to data shared exclusively with WIRED by the researchers, all of the content posted by the Kremlin troll accounts they are tracking was related to the Putin–Carlson interview as of Friday morning.

“Across social media, Kremlin sources have moved quickly to take advantage of Tucker Carlson's interview as an opportunity to amplify propaganda aimed at building support for Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine,” Ben Scott, director at Reset, a London-based nonprofit that tracks disinformation campaigns, tells WIRED.

This blanket coverage was repeated across Russia’s state-run media. Newsroom homepages are filled with multiple stories about the interview, and many of them highlight how successful Putin has been at getting his message to a Western audience.

In one of a dozen articles published by state-run news agency RIA Novosti, the author claimed the interview was “aimed at a Western audience that knows nothing about Russian history so that it realizes that Russians and Ukrainians are one people,” referencing Putin’s 30-minute introduction to Russian history that went back to 862.

Even before the interview was published, Russian state-run TV channels had been tracking Carlson’s every move while in Moscow, including his trip to the Bolshoi ballet and the fact that he was charging his phone and using Wi-Fi.

The interview was also broadly disseminated on Telegram, including on channels created or renamed especially for the occasion, according to research shared with WIRED by Reset. These channels quickly accumulated large followings: One newly-created Telegram channel called “Tucker Carlson in Russian” gained over 18,000 new subscribers interested in the interview. Another channel, renamed “Tucker Carlson’s Interview with Putin,” has over 200,000 subscribers. Some pro-Kremlin Telegram channels published dashboards alleging through-the-roof statistics about how the interview performed online, while others posted screenshots of charts claiming to show interest in the interview on Google over time.

On Russia Today’s official Telegram channel, the news station celebrated how Western media reacted, writing: “Mainstream media’s Putin–Carlson meltdown reveals the Western narrative’s weak hand.” Other Telegram channels also posted clips of Western media reactions to the interview.

“Much of the Russian audience believes [the interview] was conducted with the sole vision of educating the West,” Kyle Walter, director of research at Logically, a company that uses AI to track disinformation, tells WIRED. “Many channels are focusing on just how much attention the interview got, as well as the articulated lengthy history associated with Russia that ‘America does not have.’”

In the aftermath of the interview, Vladislav Davankov, the vice speaker of the State Duma and presidential candidate from the New People political party, suggested that the Russian telecommunications agency Roskomnadzor should unblock X because the platform hosting the Putin interview had shown “it is neutral in disseminating information” and had “deleted more than 90 percent of the content prohibited in Russia” since Musk took control.

Many Russian Telegram users also celebrated Elon Musk’s role in disseminating the interview: On his X profile, Musk pinned the interview and encouraged followers to watch.

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starseedfxofficial · 8 days ago

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The Secret Sauce of the Euro and Swiss Franc: Quarterly Trading Insights Ever feel like Forex trading is a bit like dating? One moment everything is peachy—candles glowing green and your equity rising—and the next, your profits are ghosting you harder than a bad Tinder date. Don't worry, you're not alone. Navigating the tricky waters of the Euro-Swiss Franc pair can feel a lot like a soap opera, but with fewer love triangles and more volatile economic data. So grab a cup of coffee, or better yet, a hearty glass of red, because it's time for some unconventional, insider-level strategies to crack the Euro-Swiss Franc code—quarterly style. Why Most Traders Get It Wrong with EUR/CHF (And How You Can Avoid It) First, let’s talk about a common mistake: trading EUR/CHF without understanding its quarterly rhythm is like buying a flashy convertible without considering the weather. Sure, it's great on a sunny day, but take it out in the middle of a Swiss snowstorm, and you’ll quickly realize your mistake. The Euro-Swiss Franc pair, while not as flashy as others, has a seasonal heartbeat—and it's all about the quarterly cycles. Most traders try to analyze EUR/CHF through a daily or weekly lens, completely ignoring the underlying macroeconomic shifts that often occur on a quarterly basis. It’s like focusing on the minute hand of a clock when the hour hand is what sets the pace. One key factor? The Swiss National Bank (SNB) has this knack for stepping in every quarter, moving the Franc faster than my caffeine-induced heartbeat during NFP Fridays. The Hidden Formula Only Experts Use: Here's the hidden gem—pay attention to quarterly monetary policy reviews and central bank interventions. Traders who track this are often the ones who jump on early trends before the big moves happen. It’s like being the first person at a sample sale—you get the best deals while everyone else is still finding parking. The Hidden Patterns that Drive EUR/CHF Every Quarter Think about EUR/CHF as that well-dressed, mysterious guy at a party—he’s not flashy, but he’s got depth. Traders often overlook the pair because it’s less volatile than others, but the true magic happens quarterly, and not always for the reasons you might think. Here’s Where the Real Magic Happens: Every quarter, the Eurozone releases important economic indicators that tell us how the big guns (Germany, France, etc.) are faring. Combine that with Switzerland's ability to make neutrality and banking secrecy look cool, and you've got a unique relationship. The Swiss Franc tends to behave like an overprotective sibling—whenever the Euro faces trouble, the Franc steps in to stabilize. By understanding how Eurozone growth rates and SNB policies interact, you can almost predict the oscillations—think of it as your quarterly cheat sheet. For instance, during the third quarter of 2023, when the ECB decided to pause rate hikes while the SNB continued a subtle tightening, traders who anticipated a strengthening of the Franc against a weakened Euro made quite a pretty penny. Keeping an eye on contrarian monetary policies each quarter can give you a significant edge—kind of like being the only person who knows when a flash sale is happening in advance. How to Predict EUR/CHF Market Moves with Precision Do you know that feeling when you hit the wrong button in a trade and feel like the whole world is ending? Yep, I’ve been there—more times than I'd care to admit. The good news is, EUR/CHF is far less likely to nosedive like that, given its tendency to move predictably within certain bounds. Yet, therein lies its allure. Predictability doesn’t mean lack of opportunity; it means there’s a hidden quarterly rhythm that savvy traders can exploit. Quarterly Opportunities You Might Be Missing: There is a pattern most traders overlook: the Euro-Swiss Franc carry trade opportunity. While the Swiss Franc usually benefits from a safe-haven status, every now and then, the Euro makes a strong recovery driven by growth data and ECB rhetoric. This is when carrying the Euro long, particularly during the start of a quarter, tends to make a lot of sense. The trick here? Watch for divergences in PMI data between the Eurozone and Switzerland—this acts as a prelude to quarterly trend shifts. Imagine if, in the first quarter, the Eurozone PMI numbers show an unexpected uptick while Switzerland’s GDP stagnates. Boom—you've got your entry point. Enter long on EUR/CHF, hold on as sentiment shifts, and cash out before the ECB rains on the parade with more cautionary tones. Patience pays, and you can finally avoid that dreaded feeling of hitting the wrong button. The Forgotten Strategy That Outsmarted the Pros You know that euphoric feeling of scoring an extra side of guac without the surcharge? That’s what catching a major trend in EUR/CHF feels like when you’re armed with the right information. One highly underrated strategy is focusing on capital inflows during the start of each quarter. Institutional investors, driven by macro themes, tend to adjust their Swiss bond holdings quarterly, especially when yield expectations shift. Tracking these capital flows is easier than you think. Follow reports from institutions like the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). According to a 2023 BIS report, there was a notable increase in capital flowing into Swiss assets during the first quarter—a major clue that EUR/CHF would trend lower. Capital outflow from Swiss bonds? That’s your go signal to look for Euro buying opportunities. If you’re quick enough to catch these quarterly capital movements, you'll be ahead of the pack. The One Simple Trick to Change Your EUR/CHF Trading Mindset Picture this: you’re staring at your charts, and suddenly you feel like a deer caught in headlights because nothing makes sense. The Euro is rallying, the Swiss Franc is following, and you’re wondering which way to go. The solution? Switch your mindset to think like a Swiss banker. No, not the type who hides millions for dubious millionaires—think like the one managing Switzerland’s intricate balance of international exposure. Why It Works: The secret is that the Swiss National Bank actively manages the currency to avoid a too-strong Franc. They don’t want to make exporting chocolate and watches more expensive, after all. If the Euro looks strong at the start of a quarter, there’s a solid chance that the SNB will be watching closely, and if necessary, intervening subtly in the Forex market. Trading in line with the SNB allows you to follow the path of least resistance—a classic strategy where the invisible hand of the central bank becomes your greatest ally. The Contrarian Perspective: The Q4 Fake Out Most traders believe that Q4 is just about seasonal trends and portfolio balancing. But the Euro-Swiss Franc pair often defies this convention. Q4 tends to present a "fake out" for unsuspecting traders—like buying a pair of fancy loafers for a job interview only to realize it’s a virtual one. In Q4, there's usually an initial false rally in the Euro, driven by an uptick in holiday retail expectations. The real key here is not to be faked out. Look for confirmation in Swiss industrial production data, which tends to be released around early November. If it signals weakness, there's a high likelihood that the SNB might intervene to cap Franc appreciation. Be patient here; wait for the Euro's false start to fade, and then short EUR/CHF to capitalize on end-of-year tightening. It’s like letting everyone else grab the marked-up Black Friday deal while you wait for the real clearance. The Swiss Franc’s Quarterly Curveball: Understanding the SNB's Moves You can’t talk about the Swiss Franc without acknowledging that it behaves like a well-behaved student—always cautious, often steady. But once a quarter, the Swiss National Bank likes to throw a curveball. Traders who overlook this are often the ones who wake up to a margin call surprise. The quarterly SNB monetary policy meetings are not just regular updates—they're filled with nuances that can give your trades a major edge. According to Thomas Jordan, the SNB Chairman, during a 2023 Q2 review, the bank would remain “cautiously accommodative.” Translation? They want the Franc to weaken without explicitly saying it. If you pick up on these hints, you can position yourself to profit from the quarterly ups and downs. Always think of the SNB as that watchful parent subtly nudging the economy without raising alarms. How Our Services Can Give You the Edge If navigating the intricate relationship between the Euro and Swiss Franc sounds like decoding ancient hieroglyphs, you’re not alone. It takes insider knowledge, advanced techniques, and perhaps a dash of humor to make sense of these quarterly trends. - Stay informed with the latest market updates, quarterly analysis, and exclusive reports at StarseedFX Forex News Today. - Join our community for daily insights, expert analysis, and those subtle SNB nudges that only the experts recognize at StarseedFX Community. - Plan ahead with a free trading plan to manage quarterly risks and discover rare strategic advantages at Free Trading Plan. The Euro-Swiss Franc relationship can be your secret weapon—armed with these quarterly ninja tactics, you’ll be light years ahead of those still treating this pair like it's just another ticker on the screen. —————– Image Credits: Cover image at the top is AI-generated Read the full article

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dbl07 · 1 month ago

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WARNING: What Retail Stores Don't Want You to Know About The Bin Store!

WARNING: What Retail Stores Don't Want You to Know About The Bin Store! Discover the #1 Secret to Saving BIG, Stressing LESS, and Shopping SMARTER (It's Not What You Think!) Are You Still Wasting Your Hard-Earned Money at Traditional Retail Stores? The Shocking Truth: - Retail Stores are Designed to Drain Your Wallet! From clever product placements to limited-time offers, every tactic is used to get you to spend more. - You're Probably Overpaying by Up to 50% (or More!) on everyday essentials due to inflated prices and lack of transparency. - Your Time is Being Held Hostage! Endless queues, parking nightmares, and the hassle of returns – is this really how you want to spend your precious time? But There's Hope! Imagine a shopping paradise where: - Prices are Always Transparent and Unbeatable - Your Time is Valued and Respected (shop at your own pace, 24/7!) - Quality Meets Affordability in every single product Welcome to The Bin Store Revolution! https://shopbinstores.com/ Here's Why Smart Shoppers are Ditching Retail Stores for The Bin Store: - Unmatched Prices: Enjoy consistent, low prices without the gimmicks. - Effortless Shopping Experience: Browse, buy, and enjoy hassle-free returns – all from the comfort of your own space. - Quality Guaranteed: The Bin Store's rigorous selection process ensures you get the best products, every time. - Sustainable Shopping: Reduce your carbon footprint with minimal packaging a 2nd life to forgotten products. - Community Love: Join a community that values your feedback and continuously improves to serve you better. Don't Just Take Our Word for It! - "I saved over $200 on my first purchase alone! The Bin Store is my new go-to." - Emily R. - "The convenience is unbeatable." - David K. Break Free from Retail Store Chaos! Click the link to experience the future of shopping today: https://shopbinstores.com/ Share the Secret with Friends and Family Who Deserve to Shop Smarter, Not Harder! Why Shopping at The Bin Store Beats Traditional Retail Every Time Ever wondered why some shoppers are ditching conventional retail stores and heading straight to The Bin Store? This growing trend isn’t just about saving a few bucks; it’s an adventure and a smart way to snag incredible products at a fraction of retail prices. Let’s dive into the top reasons why The Bin Store outshines typical retail outlets and why it could be your new shopping paradise. 1. Every Day Feels Like Black Friday Why wait for Black Friday when The Bin Store offers deep discounts every week? The excitement peaks on Fridays and Saturdays with $6 deals on premium products, and as the week progresses, the prices drop to as low as $1 by Thursday. The result? An unbeatable cycle of new treasures and irresistible prices—something no traditional store can offer. 2. A Treasure Hunt Experience You Won’t Find Elsewhere Shopping at The Bin Store is a bit like unearthing hidden gems. Unlike predictable shelves in retail stores, each bin is filled with overstock and liquidation products from major retailers. Every trip feels like a thrilling treasure hunt, with new items arriving weekly, making it perfect for bargain hunters looking to score everything from electronics to home goods. 3. Massive Variety, Minimal Cost You can find electronics, toys, kitchen gadgets, tools, cosmetics, and even bedding at The Bin Store—all for flat prices based on the day of your visit. With thousands of new products introduced weekly, the variety surpasses what most retail stores offer at much lower prices. Plus, these aren’t thrift-store finds; most products are brand new from top national brands. 4. Unbeatable Price Transparency Say goodbye to confusing sales, loyalty programs, or hidden fees! At The Bin Store, the price you see is the price you pay, and it changes predictably throughout the week. This straightforward pricing model ensures you never miss a deal or feel tricked by fluctuating discounts, unlike typical retail stores that rely on complicated promotions. 5. Eco-Friendly Shopping with a Purpose By purchasing liquidation and overstock items, you help reduce waste that would otherwise end up in landfills. It’s a sustainable shopping option that aligns with the growing trend of eco-conscious consumerism—without compromising on quality. 6. Perfect for Resellers and Side Hustlers The Bin Store also caters to budding entrepreneurs and resellers. With access to liquidation pallets and bulk deals, many shoppers use it as a source for products to flip on platforms like eBay, Facebook Marketplace, and Amazon. Retail stores can’t offer this flexibility, making The Bin Store a goldmine for those running side hustles or small businesses. 7. No Memberships or Strings Attached Forget about signing up for loyalty programs or paying for premium memberships. The Bin Store requires no memberships or subscriptions—just walk in and start shopping! Traditional retail stores often gate the best deals behind loyalty programs, but here, everyone gets access to the same unbeatable prices. 8. Early Birds Get the Best Deals If you love competition, you’ll enjoy the thrill of being first in line at The Bin Store. Many shoppers show up early to score the most valuable items before they’re gone—because once they sell out, they’re gone for good. Retail stores rarely offer this level of urgency and excitement. 9. A Weekly Restock of Surprises Unlike typical stores that stock the same merchandise for weeks or months, The Bin Store offers a constantly rotating inventory of overstock and customer returns. This makes every visit unique, giving shoppers more reasons to come back week after week. 10. No Returns, No Hassle—Just Deals All purchases at The Bin Store are final, which means no long lines at return counters and no complicated policies. While it might seem daunting, it simplifies the shopping experience and ensures you always leave with products you’re sure about. Final Verdict: Ditch Retail, Embrace The Bin Store When you factor in the unbeatable deals, ever-changing inventory, eco-friendliness, and unique shopping experience, it’s clear why more people are embracing The Bin Store over traditional retail stores. It’s more than just shopping—it’s a weekly event that rewards smart shoppers with incredible value. If you’re ready to dive into the world of $6 Fridays and $1 Thursdays, head to The Bin Store and discover what makes it a standout in the shopping landscape. FAQs About The Bin Store - What kind of items can I find at The Bin Store? You’ll discover electronics, home goods, toys, cosmetics, tools, and much more—all sourced from overstock and liquidation pallets. - Are all the products new? Yes! While some items are customer returns, most products are brand-new and unused. - Do prices vary by item? No. The Bin Store offers a flat pricing structure based on the day of the week. - Can I return items? No. All sales are final, so you should inspect items before buying. - Do I need a membership to shop at The Bin Store? Not at all! Just show up, shop, and enjoy the deals without any membership fees. Ready for your next treasure hunt? Visit The Bin Store today and experience the future of retail shopping for yourself! Whether you're in Columbia, SC, or North Augusta, you'll find incredible deals waiting in every bin. Read the full article

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holyiker-blog1 · 5 months ago

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EA FC 24 Path to Glory The Knodate, Leaks and Predictions

EA FC 24 Path to Glory

After the success of the first squad, a second EA FC 24 Path to Glory squad will be released in Ultimate Team based on the Euro 2024 and Copa America knockout stages.

For the last month, EA Sports has treated the Ultimate Team community to Euro 2024 and Copa America 2024-themed content in EA FC 24 Ultimate Team, with some incredible squads being released. A Greats of the Game Team 2 squad is currently live in packs featuring incredible Icons and Heroes, with the Team 1 squad being released alongside the Path to Glory squad almost four weeks ago.

And now, Path to Glory items are also set to return to packs, with the EA FC 24 Path to Glory: The Knockouts squad next up in Ultimate Team. With the group stages now complete in the Euros and Copa America, there are 16 nations left across both tournaments, with the Path to Glory: The Knockouts squad set to feature players from these countries.

Here's everything that we know so far about the upcoming EA FC 24 Path to Glory: The Knockouts squad, including the release date, leaks, and predictions.

EA FC 24 Path to Glory: The Knockouts Squad release date

The EA FC 24 Path to Glory: The Knockouts squad release date is Friday, July 5, with the squad set to enter packs at 6 pm BST / 1 pm EDT / 10 am PDT. Nothing has been confirmed by EA Sports just yet, but with the Greats of the Game Team 2 squad exiting packs at this time, we're almost certain this is when the squad will be released.

EA FC 24 Path to Glory: The Knockouts Squad Predictions

Both Euro 2024 and Copa America 2024 have had some standout performers so far, so it would be cool to see EA award the most in-form players with Path to Glory items in the upcoming release. With 16 nations remaining, we expect at least one player from each country will feature.

This is who we predict could feature in the EA FC 24 Path to Glory:

The Knockouts squad:

ST: Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr and Portugal)

LW: Cody Gakpo (Liverpool and Netherlands)

CM: Fabian (Paris Saint-Germain and Spain)

CB: Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund and Germany)

ST: Marcus Thuram (Inter and France)

CB: Merih Demiral (Al Ahli and Turkyie)

CDM: Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace and England)

LM: Ruben Vargas (Augsburg and Switzerland)

Euro 2024 Copa America items

ST: Lautaro Martinez (Inter and Argentina)

LM: Jeremy Sarmiento (Brighton and Hove Albion and Ecuador)

RW: Facundo Pellistri (Manchester United and Uruguay)

CAM: Lucas Paqueta (West Ham United and Brazil)

CB: Yerry Mina (Cagliari and Colombia)

CDM: Anibal Godoy (Nashville and Panama)

CM: Yangel Herrera (Girona and Venezuela)

ST: Cyle Larin (Mallorca and Canada)

As always, more players will likely be released as SBCs and Objectives, while we could also see a Path to Glory-themed Evolution go live as well.

Best way to get FC 24 coins

If you want to get Path to Glory players like Ronaldo, Griezmann, and Havertz, you will definitely need a lot of FC24 coins to buy packs. Fear not, as the LootBar trading platform is your go-to destination to buy fc 24 coins and ensure your team is top-notch. With an easy and reliable source to buy fifa coins, you'll be able to acquire those sought-after players and complete SBC tasks without a hitch. Don't let a lack of coins hinder your path to victory – visit LootBar and get back in the game with a full wallet of FC 24 coins.

LootBar stands out as a premier destination for all your gaming currency needs, offering a secure and efficient way to buy EA FC 24 coins. The platform boasts a fast delivery system, ensuring that your FC 24 coins buy experience is smooth and immediate, allowing you to dive right back into the action. With competitive prices and a user-friendly interface, LootBar makes the purchasing process a breeze for gamers around the world. Whether you're on Xbox or PC, buying FIFA coins has never been easier. So why wait? Head over to LootBar and give your FC 24 squad the edge it deserves!

Other related FC 24 blogs

FC 24 Greats of The Game: Xabi Alonso Player Review

Make Your Mark Promo: Kolo Muani, A Must-Try Card

Make Your Mark Promo: Xavi Simons SBC

Make Your Mark Promo in Ultimate Team

#fc24 #football

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p4557 · 5 months ago

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Never Trumpers Meet With Biden

Prominent Never Trumpers Set to Meet With Biden Campaign

Michael Warren, David M. Drucker, and Steve Hayes

Sun, June 30, 2024 at 10:03 PM CDT

From the Dispatch Politics on The Dispatch

A group of prominent conservative and ex-Republican opponents of Donald Trump is set to meet with senior Biden campaign officials in Washington on Monday, just days after a televised presidential debate raised serious questions among many of the president’s supporters about whether Joe Biden should continue his campaign for reelection.

Five people familiar with the meeting confirmed to Dispatch Politics that the gathering was planned before Biden’s disastrous performance on Thursday night. However, multiple members of the group will tell the campaign that the president should drop out of his race against Trump, reflecting a growing lack of confidence that the 81-year-old Democrat is able to defeat the presumptive Republican nominee. The Biden campaign did not respond to a request for comment about the meeting.

Among those on the list to attend the gathering in Washington are former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele, lawyer George Conway, veteran Republican operative Mike Murphy, commentators Bill Kristol and Charlie Sykes, and strategist Sarah Longwell. In recent days, several of these Never Trumpers have publicly called on Biden to either drop out of the race or consider doing so.

“I keep returning to a conclusion I reached a while back, but felt was not realistic enough as a scenario to be worth expressing,” Conway tweeted Sunday evening. “For the good of the country and their own good, both of the major-party presidential candidates should retire.”

These pundits and operatives have taken some professional risks to boost the Democratic president; that they are now urging him to step aside is no small development. Although many disaffected Republicans feel the Democratic nominee hasn’t done enough to earn their vote, Biden has attracted a number of ex-GOP supporters who believe Trump’s potential return to the White House poses a unique threat. Last Wednesday—a day before the presidential debate—Biden picked up a couple of key, if predictable, endorsements from Republicans who have found themselves at odds with the leader of their own party.

During a news conference in the lobby of the Georgia state capitol, former Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois and former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan announced their support for Biden. Yes, they conceded they had policy disagreements with the president. But they said their overriding concerns above Trump are pushing them to support a Democrat for president for the first time.

“We want somebody who’s going to defend democracy,” Kinzinger told reporters in Atlanta.

“This was an easy decision for me,” Duncan added.

Since the debate, Kinzinger has not shied away from saying that Biden performed poorly but reiterated that he would still vote for the president over Trump. Still, the former congressman has expressed a desire for Democrats to weigh their options going forward. “At a time when literal democracy is at risk,” he wrote on Friday, “the Democrats need to have a family meeting about the best way to defend this country, and what part Biden plays in that vital effort.”

Kristol, for his part, said Sunday he would still vote for Biden if he’s who the Democrats put forward against Trump. “But he shouldn’t be the nominee,” Kristol said of the president on ABC News’ This Week.

[Owe him for CHEATING his way into the WH]

“We owe [Biden] a lot for what he did in 2020 in defeating Donald Trump, and we owe him a lot for being a good president for three and a half years. We don’t owe him another four years in the White House. And he should step aside.”"

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biblenewsprophecy · 6 months ago

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‘Cut off from the West, Putin says almost 40% of Russian trade turnover is now in rubles’

COGwriter

CNBC reported the following:

Cut off from the West, Putin says almost 40% of Russian trade turnover is now in rubles

June 7, 2024

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that nearly 40% of the country’s trade turnover is now in rubles as the share conducted in dollars, euros and other “non-friendly” Western currencies has fallen away.

Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Putin said countries “friendly to Russia” were the ones that deserved special attention as they will define the future of the global economy, “and they already make up three-quarters of our trade volume.”

He added that Russia would seek to boost the share of settlements conducted in the currencies of BRICS countries, referring to an economic coalition of emerging markets which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Putin said payments for Russian exports in “so-called ‘toxic’ currencies of non-friendly states” had halved over the last year.

“With that, the share of the ruble in import and export operations is increasing, now standing at almost 40%,” Putin said, according to a translation.

Russia’s president detailed plans for a major overhaul of the country’s domestic financial market, including plans to double the value of the Russian stock market by the end of the decade, reduce imports and boost investment in fixed assets.

His comments come as the Kremlin leverages SPIEF to court new relationships with countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa.

The West has sought to cut off Russia’s $2 trillion economy in response to Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Yet Russia’s economy is expected to grow faster than all advanced economies this year, despite several rounds of international sanctions.

In its World Economic Outlook in April, the International Monetary Fund said it expected Russia to grow 3.2% in 2024, exceeding the predicted 2.7% growth rate of the U.S. (2.7%). Germany, France and the U.K. are projected to log even lower economic expansions of less than 1%. https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/07/russia-putin-says-nearly-40percent-of-russian-trade-turnover-is-in-rubles.html

One of the unintended consequences of the Crimea-related sanctions placed on Russia by the Obama-Biden Administration was that Russia took steps to be more “sanctions-proof.” And while Russia is affected by the Western sanctions, they have not toppled like the USA and EU wanted. For example, notice the following Voice of America reported the end of March 2022:

Russia’s Ruble Rebound Raises Questions of Sanctions’ Impact

March 31, 2022

The ruble is no longer rubble. …

President Joe Biden promoted the success of the sanctions — some of the toughest ever imposed on a nation — while he was in Poland last week. “The ruble almost is immediately reduced to rubble,” Biden said.

https://www.voanews.com/a/russia-s-ruble-rebound-raises-questions-of-sanctions-impact-/6509012.html

While sanctions do impact the Russian economy, there are costs to those who impose them. US President Joe Biden’s statement of the ruble’s (also spelled rouble) demise to rubble were premature at best.

Sanctions and tariffs almost always have unintended consequences.

Today, Voice of America reported:

June 7, 2024

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — Cut off from the West, Russia is pitching its $2 trillion economy to giants like China and Saudi Arabia and longer-term prospects like Zimbabwe and Afghanistan at its premier investment forum in St. Petersburg, which was founded by the czars as a window to Europe. …

The 2022 invasion of Ukraine, though, has forced President Vladimir Putin to pivot towards Asia and the rest of the non-Western world amid what the Kremlin says amounts to an economic blockade by the United States and its European allies.

Western sanctions have not torpedoed Russia’s economy, however, and Moscow has nurtured ties with China, major regional powers in the Middle East and across Africa and Latin America. …

Bolivian President Luis Arce, who will join Putin at the main session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, said he wanted to share the experience of Bolivia’s new economic model — with a big state — since 2006.

“We have our own economic model, which we have been implementing since 2006, and we want to share this experience,” Arce told Putin.

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa is attending, as are 45 other foreign officials including the Saudi energy minister, Oman’s minister of trade and commerce, and a senior Taliban official. …

Chinese dragon

State-controlled banks such as Sberbank, VTB and VEB have massive stands, as do Russian regions and ministries along with resource giants such as Gazprom Neft and Novatek.

In a sign of the times, Alfa Bank’s stand was a vast Chinese inflated dragon adorned with Chinese characters and an assertion that Alfa was “the best bank for business with China.”

Chinese luxury car brand Hongqi featured armored vehicles. A delegation from the Taliban, still officially banned in Russia, toured the stands. The Taliban originally drew members from fighters who, with U.S. support, repelled Soviet forces in the 1980s.

The theme of the forum is the statement: “The foundation of a multipolar world is the formation of new points of growth.”

While Russia’s economy has shown resilience in the face of stringent Western sanctions, prices are rising as defense spending balloons.

In dollar terms, the economy is about the same size it was a decade ago, and Putin is locked into an economic war with the West, whose financial might is at least 25 times bigger than Russia’s on a nominal GDP basis.

From many foreign attendees there was praise for Russia. “This year’s event has grown in size… There are a lot of opportunities,” Nebeolisa Anako, an official from Nigeria, told Reuters.

“The West may be actually isolating themselves as they are a minority in the world, although a very important part of the world. It is always better to cooperate with other parts of the world.”

Other officials from Africa and the Middle East echoed those words.

Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman met Putin’s energy point man, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, at the forum.

Novak said “friendly countries” took the vast majority of its oil exports and that about 70% of it was paid for in national currencies.

“We already supply 95% of oil and petroleum products to friendly countries this year in four months,” Novak said. https://www.voanews.com/a/amid-war-putin-looks-east-at-investment-forum/7646592.html

Russia, along with many other nations, has felt it has had little choice other than to try to bypass the US dollar in trade.

But that is not just because of its ‘Special Military Operation’ into Ukraine.

Here is something from my free online book, Lost Tribes and Prophecies: What will happen to Australia, the British Isles, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and the United States of America?, discussing the three woes along with Russia and China:

Those in Iran and some of the Arab lands, along with nations such as Brazil, China, and India have discussed plans for the removal of the dominance of the U.S.A. in global trade as well. The former (again current) President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, even claimed that eliminating the U.S. dollar’s reserve currency status was one of the reasons that the BRICS alliance (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) was formed in the first place. [i] Others have noted that bypassing the USA dollar is still an object of BRICS—and officially BRICS nations “are currently working on setting up a new global reserve currency,”[ii] which may have gold-backing.[iii] The expansion of BRICS (which is in progress) may ultimately even hurt Australian trade as well as “severely weaken primacy of the US Dollar as an international currency.”[iv]

The Bible clearly warns against cheapening the money supply and encourages having money hold its value (Proverbs 25:4 Isaiah 1:25, Ezekiel 22:18-22). Debt is also warned against (Habakkuk 2:6-8). Yet policies enacted under the Obama, Trump, and Biden Administrations, following certain other administrations, have ignored these warnings.

[i] Escobar P. BRICS was created as a tool of attack: Lula. Asia Times, August 28, 2019

[ii] BRICS developing new global reserve currency – Putin. RT, June 22, 2022

[iii] Helms K. Economists Discuss Russia, China Potentially Developing Gold-Backed Currency. BRICS Information Portal, November 11, 2022

[iv]Hunter M. BRICS Is Becoming The Big Kid On The Block: Implications For Australia – Analysis. Eurasia Review, November 1, 2022

One day the US dollar will be toppled–Russia, the BRICS alliance, many other nations, and even the European Union want that to happen. China, which wants Taiwan to re-unify with it, is also taking steps to be less impacted by future Western sanctions. The world is changing and moving away from the Anglo-American world order of the past couple of centuries.

Related to BRICS and the US dollar, we put together the following video:

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BRICS Push Aside USA Dollar

The BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) have as one of their founding goals, to eliminate the need to use USA dollars in cross-border trade. Six additional nations have been invited to join BRICS in 2024, and India reports that six more are also being looked at. The BRICS nations have already began to drop the USA dollar for some cross-border trading with Russia and China indicating that they had almost done so completely in late 2023. What will happen to the economy and value of the USA dollar if more and more nations stop using it as a primary reserve and trading currency? What about hyperinflation? Does the Bible prophesy destruction for a highly indented nation in the end time? Is the USA the most indebted nation of all time? What about the intent and use of the Euro? Will Europe and Asia cooperate to eliminate the USA and its British-descended allies?

Here is a link to our video: BRICS Push Aside USA Dollar.

A lot is happening.

The USA dollar will no longer remain “king.” This will greatly impact the economy of the USA.

As Jesus said: “And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!” (Mark 13:37).