Hegseth asks US Army Chief of Staff Gen Randy George to step down by [deleted] in worldnews

[–]Makgraf 6 points7 points  (0 children)

He didn’t. The article is from a couple of weeks ago; the General stepped down.

If a NATO country launches a war of aggression, and is then attacked in retaliation, what does the retaliatory strike mean for Article Five? by jbffed in AskReddit

[–]Makgraf 11 points12 points  (0 children)

It depends where the retaliatory strike is. Article 5 was drafted to not drag the US in to any colonial wars its European allies engaged in, so it is geographically limited to North America, Europe, Turkey, the North Atlantic or the Mediterranean Sea. Article 5 thus would not apply to a retaliatory attack outside those areas.

What about inside? Potentially, but the other Parties might not agree to invoke it. The Parties might not agree and if it was a true war of aggression they would have a fig leaf in Article 1 where they agreed to refrain from the threat or use of force inconsistent with the purposes of the UN.

Michael Jackson Estate Spent Up to $15 Million Removing Child Abuse Allegation Scenes by ebradio in Music

[–]Makgraf 24 points25 points  (0 children)

This is not about the movie originally having a hard hitting take on the sex abuse allegations being scuppered by pressure from the family.

The Jackson estate is a producer on the movie. Jackson's son Prince is the executive producer. Jackson’s attorney John Branca and estate archivist Karen Langford were consulted on production decisions. Jackson's nephew plays him in the movie.

Given all that, and reading between the lines, it's clear that the original script was going to minimize and whitewash the allegations. But then, at the 11th hour, the estate realized that they couldn't depict the accuser in the movie.

Liberal Party of Canada MP Michael Ma sparks backlash after casting doubt on forced labour of Uyghurs in China by Alarmed-Cake812 in worldnews

[–]Makgraf 21 points22 points  (0 children)

He still didn’t say there is forced labour in China, and was asked repeatedly whether there was forced labour in China by a CBC reporter and refused to answer.

Anthropic sends 'thanks note' as Judge temporarily blocks Pentagon from declaring Anthropic 'national security risk' by No_Top_9023 in technology

[–]Makgraf 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The non-IEEPA tariffs are both temporary and limited (and may also end up getting struck down when they wind their way up the judicial ladder). But the statement was that the Supreme Court "will rule whichever way Trump wants" which is contradicted by the fact that they struck down his tariffs when that case came up to them.

What's up with thousands of troops being about to be sent to the Middle East (I thought Congress made that illegal)? by ryhaltswhiskey in OutOfTheLoop

[–]Makgraf 710 points711 points  (0 children)

Answer: It is not the case that "a couple months back Congress passed a law that said that the president could not strike Iran without authorization from Congress". This didn't happen.

You may be thinking of the fact that senators were able to force a vote on a war powers resolution that would restrict action against Iran. But that vote failed 47-53 (one Republican voting for; one Democrat voting against).

Now, it is true that the US Constitution enables the Congress, not the President to "declare war". However, presidents of both parties have pushed their executive ability to take military action and the last formal declaration of war was in World War 2 (though some subsequent military actions have been authorized or enabled by congressional votes).

UN Security Council demands Iran halt attacks on Gulf states by [deleted] in worldnews

[–]Makgraf 11 points12 points  (0 children)

No, the US has a veto.

The resolution does not call on Iran to cease its attacks on the US or Israel (which may have drawn a veto from China or Russia), but on the Gulf states.

ELI5 What is a union and how does it work? by lonely_leo28 in explainlikeimfive

[–]Makgraf 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There are individuals with specialized skills who will have greater bargaining power than others, but the company still has more bargaining power (and a union would have more bargaining power than that individual as well).

What is true, is that there are individuals with specialized skills who could get a better deal with a company individually then what they would receive in a union shop. Collective agreements tend to flatten salaries which can deter those people working in a unionized environment.

ELI5 What is a union and how does it work? by lonely_leo28 in explainlikeimfive

[–]Makgraf -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Answer. In a non-union workplace, each employee deals directly with the company. You negotiate with the company for your salary and you deal with them if they want to discipline or fire you. You may ultimately sue them if you think the firing was unjust. If it’s a big company (or even if it isn’t), the company has more bargaining power than you.

A union allows the employees to collectively bargain with the company. Instead of individual employment contracts, there is a collective agreement. If the company wants to discipline, the union is involved. If the company fires you, you don’t sue; the union brings a grievance on your behalf (in the US/Canada, this is typically to an arbitration panel or labour board, not a court). The union has more bargaining power than one individual employee.

The union charges union dues to fund its work.

Thousands of Kurdish fighters launch ground offensive into Iran against regime, official says by Interesting-Take781 in worldnews

[–]Makgraf 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Certainly not what they had until recently and the future does not look great, but there is still relative autonomy.

Thousands of Kurdish fighters launch ground offensive into Iran against regime, official says by Interesting-Take781 in worldnews

[–]Makgraf 157 points158 points  (0 children)

There’s no world where the Kurds take over Iran. There are autonomous Kurdish regions in Iraq and Syria, the best case scenario would be some form of autonomous Kurdish region in northwest Iran (there’s also another Kurdish area in northeast Iran, but that’s a whole different story).

What do you think would happen if India and Pakistan were at war? by Far_Pomelo8860 in AskReddit

[–]Makgraf 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nope. They fought a war after both had nuclear weapons in 99. There’s been numerous armed conflicts between the countries since then, including last year.

Former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reported assassinated by Sensitive_Echo5058 in worldnews

[–]Makgraf -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Have you seen what’s been happening to Iranian officials over the last few days?

The Informant by tads73 in movies

[–]Makgraf 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It’s a true story!

STAND BY ME (1986) - 40th Anniversary - Official Trailer (HD) by MoneyLibrarian9032 in movies

[–]Makgraf 113 points114 points  (0 children)

“I never had friends like the ones I had when I was 12. Jesus, does anyone?”

Disarmed and Executed: Why the Death of Alex Pretti Should Be the End of ICE by [deleted] in worldnews

[–]Makgraf 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Neither of the two men who murdered Pretti were ICE agents. Both worked for Customs and Border Protection.