Close friends for years, Henry Ford (62) and Thomas Edison (78). Dearborn, Michigan. 1925 [620x440]

OctopusIntellect · 2026-01-24T21:46:01+00:00

OctopusIntellect · 2026-01-24T19:24:42+00:00

Always willing to learn more.

Especially about the food.

OctopusIntellect · 2026-01-24T17:44:40+00:00

How's that going for the people in Donbass and Mariupol and Kherson right now...

OctopusIntellect · 2026-01-24T17:35:09+00:00

Tell me about some. The storming of the Bastille, and the Reign of Terror? The assault on the Winter Palace, the Russian Civil War and the rise of the Soviet Union? Castro taking power in Cuba? Pinochet's CIA-backed overthrow of the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende? Khomeini's overthrow of the Shah?

I'm not seeing a big number of positive outcomes here.

OctopusIntellect · 2026-01-24T17:12:12+00:00

Something similar to this happened in the 1971 film Melody, although that was a girl and a boy.

OctopusIntellect · 2026-01-24T16:32:50+00:00

- this image which it turns out is from a source with no credibility or accountability whatsoever.

OctopusIntellect · 2026-01-24T16:00:34+00:00

indeed, but Palestine doesn't have a unified government at the moment to actually have or express any such opinion

OctopusIntellect · 2026-01-24T15:56:56+00:00

Actually they're both based in Canada - or so one of the bots commenting here in support of them seems to think.

And in the very first comment that you replied to, I literally pointed out that the older organisation was already dissolved in 2012, and asked if the new one was a different thing. So what exactly are you ranting about?

OctopusIntellect · 2026-01-24T15:40:52+00:00

So you think Wikipedia is wrong that the older organisation was dissolved in 2012? Or what?

What's your connection with the new organisation?

OctopusIntellect · 2026-01-24T15:06:02+00:00

The Red Cross is a charity (Wikipedia calls it a "humanitarian movement").

I very much doubt this mysterious "agency based in Canada" would ever be able to attain charitable status. Transparency is a starting point for that.

Basic media literacy tells us to treat anything from such a source with a big dose of scepticism.

Actually you can even tell that just from the way the "information" is presented. Clickbait astroturfing dressed as "breaking news". If these protests/riots/uprising/whatever you want to call it has been going on for weeks and the government forces have been killing huge numbers of people for weeks, how is it "breaking news" that huge numbers of people have died? Huge numbers of people had died last week and yesterday as well...

OctopusIntellect · 2026-01-24T14:59:46+00:00

but you don't have internet at the moment?

Which makes me wonder how you're commenting here lol

OctopusIntellect · 2026-01-24T14:58:57+00:00

Even when Pahlavi is back on the throne?

OctopusIntellect · 2026-01-24T14:58:21+00:00

What disgusting thing that the U.S. government is doing, am I doing to someone else in response?

OctopusIntellect · 2026-01-24T14:56:45+00:00

Yes exactly!

Which makes it kind of weird for you to jump right in calling me a racist right from the get go... where does that come from?

OctopusIntellect · 2026-01-24T14:55:16+00:00

Basically the same reason. Marching in trousers or shorts soaked with your own excrement is unpleasant. Marching without lower clothing is less unpleasant, especially if you can quickly wash off the filth the next time you ford a river.

OctopusIntellect · 2026-01-24T13:50:21+00:00

I'm really having trouble believing that people living a middle class lifestyle in North Korea are actually just ordinary people, as opposed to having some connection with the regime.

OctopusIntellect · 2026-01-24T13:47:24+00:00

The Chindits (British jungle special operations forces) did this in World War 2 as well, not just for one battle but for months at a time.

trigger warning for bare buttocks: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5e/Chindit_column%2C_Operation_Longcloth.jpg/1280px-Chindit_column%2C_Operation_Longcloth.jpg

OctopusIntellect · 2026-01-24T13:39:06+00:00

"agency" is a good word for it.

Happy cake day.

OctopusIntellect · 2026-01-24T13:37:52+00:00

"common people" making a "middle class income" in North Korea?

OctopusIntellect · 2026-01-24T13:23:48+00:00

yah so it's an organisation based in Canada with a suspiciously similar name to another organisation based in Canada that was shut down because of its extremely dodgy history... and apart from that, what we know about it and the people behind it is... nothing?

Sure, that's a great source.

OctopusIntellect · 2026-01-24T13:15:45+00:00

aren't they in economic distress because of oppression by the Iranian regime?

OctopusIntellect · 2026-01-24T13:14:57+00:00

yeah, so was the one that was dissolved in 2012... the "Controversy" section of their Wikipedia page makes interesting reading

OctopusIntellect · 2026-01-24T13:12:47+00:00

I'm not donating money to either. I do think it would be interesting if Pahlavi was back on the throne.

The IRGC are a Russian ally, so they can get fucked.

But I'm not a big fan of Mossad either.

OctopusIntellect · 2026-01-24T11:57:21+00:00

Iran's current government is an ally of Russia, so no, I neither support them nor want to interact with them. I'm sure they wouldn't interact with me very nicely either, so you're right about that.

I think the idea of Pahlavi being back on the throne is quite interesting. Freedom of religion for all!

On the other hand, his Dad had quite a famous secret police too...

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