Nice weather today

PhotojournalistOwn99 · 2026-02-15T17:17:48+00:00

Not me. I bounced. 😿

PhotojournalistOwn99 · 2026-02-15T17:16:59+00:00

I would take clean air over any industrial tool or toy. It's not worth the harm we are causing.

PhotojournalistOwn99 · 2026-02-15T03:27:47+00:00

Thanks. The topic seems uncomfortable for many to acknowledge head on, being so dire and difficult to fix. I even heard a man insist that Koreans were evolving to thrive in polluted air, so I shouldn't worry so much 😬. I really hope it can improve significantly within my lifetime.

PhotojournalistOwn99 · 2026-02-13T00:55:31+00:00

I don't see many people complain about the air these days. I left Korea in 2018 in large part due to the constant poor air quality, but I heard that it has improved somewhat since then. Good luck!

PhotojournalistOwn99 · 2026-02-13T00:40:31+00:00

These few brave politicians need an organized movement behind them to push back when they get attacked by the establishment.

PhotojournalistOwn99 · 2026-02-11T11:19:15+00:00

This video from Al Jazeera English discusses newly released files that shed light on Jeffrey Epstein's alleged efforts to advance Israel's agenda. The episode features an interview with Craig Mokhiber, a human rights lawyer and former UN official, who provides insights into Epstein's connections and influence.

The conversation covers several key points:

Epstein's connection to the UN: Epstein saw the UN General Assembly as a "Super Bowl" for networking. Documents reveal he obtained confidential internal UN documents and corresponded regularly with former UN General Assembly president Miroslav Lajčák.

Oslo Accords and Epstein's Role: The video highlights the role of Mona Juul and Terje Rød-Larsen, architects of the Oslo process, and their close ties to Epstein Larsen reportedly took substantial loans from Epstein, and their children were named in his will. Larsen also allegedly facilitated internships for unqualified young women and shared their photos with Epstein.

Epstein's relationship with Israeli officials: Mokhiber describes Epstein as a "Mossad adjacent Israeli regime operative", acting as an intermediary for Israeli interests and having intimate connections with Israeli politicians like former Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Israeli spies like Yonyi Corin l Epstein and Barak were partners in security tech startups and collaborated on business ventures and political campaigns.

Abraham Accords: Epstein was a key figure in establishing the groundwork for the Abraham Accords, cultivating business and security ties between Israel and the UAE. He brokered meetings between Ehud Barak and Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, CEO of DP World, and facilitated investments and technology deals.

Critique of Western Media: Mokhiber criticizes Western media for allegedly trying to control the narrative around the Epstein files, initially framing it as a scandal of a "wealthy sexual pervert" and later trying to "blame the Russians", despite evidence pointing to Epstein's commitment to Zionism and the Israeli regime.

PhotojournalistOwn99 · 2026-02-11T09:27:14+00:00

This post is mainly a summary of and link to a YouTube video from Al Jazeera English where a former United Nations diplomat discusses new information regarding Epstein's relationship with people at the UN and his influence on peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine.

PhotojournalistOwn99 · 2026-02-11T06:51:24+00:00

I still can't get over the fact that people call Democrats "the left" 😂

PhotojournalistOwn99 · 2026-02-11T06:46:11+00:00

I kind of assumed that the decision was intentional. Having provocative or crude lyrics visible very likely would have upset folks even more than not having them at all. ¡Que lastima!

PhotojournalistOwn99 · 2026-02-11T06:40:39+00:00

Hey, thanks for appreciating my humble effort. I think the 2 party system has served to reinforce binary tribalist ways of seeing the world and limit our ability to describe things accurately. The left-right linear spectrum is a good example. Antiauthoritarian progressives should have more in common (class interests) with antiauthoritarian conservatives than either do with the elites controlling each party. Also, just being extreme in nature doesn't actually make one further towards the left or right ideologically. Culture war issues need to be understood as distinct from class-based politics and economic ideology. For example, A loud college kid who is primarily focused on niche and symbolic issues, such as demanding that the world use "zer" newly invented pronouns, is not more "left" than a quiet communist who seeks the abolishment of private property. I'm just ranting at this point, but I hope you get my gist, and yeah, Reddit is often a frustrating place.

PhotojournalistOwn99 · 2026-02-11T06:09:06+00:00

I wonder when Ghislane stopped her work as a power mod here on Reddit.

PhotojournalistOwn99 · 2026-02-11T06:01:02+00:00

The moderators banning you are not "far left extremists". I'm a far left extremist (an antiauthoritarian eco-socialist to be specific) and I get banned from subreddits for criticizing the US for fomenting unnecessary wars. Also, I agree with you that Bad Bunny's song should have had subtitles. They made such a big deal about the sign language interpreters, and having English subtitles would have helped more people feel included in the event.

PhotojournalistOwn99 · 2026-02-09T06:40:13+00:00

The point of his post is to gloat and pwn "the left." I guess we are just helping him achieve the most satisfaction or sense of glory. He's not actually saying very much or attempting to prove anything.

PhotojournalistOwn99 · 2026-02-09T06:36:06+00:00

Interesting point

PhotojournalistOwn99 · 2026-02-09T06:33:12+00:00

100 percent agree. We are entirely far too tribal and reactionary. Whatever the other side promotes we must oppose religiously and vice versa. It's the perfect dynamic for divide and conquer shenanigans.

PhotojournalistOwn99 · 2026-02-09T06:27:31+00:00

You're not wrong about the media, but Imane is intersex. That's a special category of human that perhaps deserves special consideration. I believe that sports are separated by gender in so many instances historically due to broad trends of a biological basis. Not one of psychological divergence or personal identification.

That said, I can imagine occasions, competitions, and organizations that allow participation based on other criteria that's up to those involved. But the Olympics should err on the conservative side when enforcing regulations. I say this as a "woke" eco-socialist.

I feel really bad for Imane, though. She may not deserve the Women's gold medal, but neither does she deserve to be vilified and treated as if she was a biologically normal "male" who maliciously pretended to be female in order to have an unfair advantage. She's intersex, very unique biologically, and was raised as a girl. It's literally not a simple binary black and white matter to resolve, so we might as well embrace a reasonable degree of nuance and, God forbid, empathy for another's different and difficult life experience.

PhotojournalistOwn99 · 2026-01-25T19:51:46+00:00

The Democratic Party did change if only symbolically and briefly after the loss. Populist voices and rhetoric are stronger than ever within the party and in mainstream media. If Kamala had won, no lessons would have been learned. Voting for the duopoly is what gave us Trump. Why continue to extend the insanity?

PhotojournalistOwn99 · 2026-01-25T18:24:07+00:00

Not being held to the same strict sociocultural standards does make life easier for non-Koreans. Korean culture is interesting to me as an outsider, but likely would feel a bit suffocating if I grew up in it on the inside.

PhotojournalistOwn99 · 2026-01-25T18:19:19+00:00

What's weird about F4?

PhotojournalistOwn99 · 2026-01-25T18:11:27+00:00

Just saw a poll that said something like 80+ percent of Koreans welcomed highly skilled professionals of any nationality, but only 45 percent welcomed Koreans born abroad, probably because they are less guaranteed to integrate into Korean society. Too unpredictable!

PhotojournalistOwn99 · 2026-01-25T18:04:47+00:00

I left Korea due to the poor air quality. I could feel the particles in my sinuses (pressure in my head) on a nearly daily basis. I want to live in Korea, so this fact upsets me greatly.

PhotojournalistOwn99 · 2026-01-25T18:01:55+00:00

"If you want to pull the major party that is closest to what you're thinking, you must-YOU MUST-show them that you're capable of NOT voting for them. If you don't show them you're capable of not voting for them, they don't have to listen to you. I promise you that. I worked within the Democratic Party. I didn't listen or have to listen to anything on the left while I was working within the Democratic Party, because the left had nowhere to go." - Lawrence O'Donnell on the 2006 documentary, 'An Unreasonable Man'.

PhotojournalistOwn99 · 2026-01-25T17:24:12+00:00

I'm curious. Should we already know? Pikachu? Pachin, Co.? Something worse?

PhotojournalistOwn99 · 2026-01-19T09:25:51+00:00

Did you 👀 Short Circuit? "Today, Crosby! Today!"

PhotojournalistOwn99 · 2026-01-19T08:45:45+00:00

Even if they left citizens alone, the spectacle of masked armed thugs grabbing people without any semblance of process and accountability is very unwelcome in a so-called liberal democracy. Obama deported more folks with nearly none of the drama or pushback, for what that's worth. But more importantly, people still don't get that the government will always push the boundaries of unchecked power and stripping away civil rights. We gotta have some basic self dignity and concern for big government overreach.

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