No more stupid than duck and cover if you are hit by an atomic bomb
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Assume the Party Escort Submission Position, or you will miss the party. Place the device on the ground then lie on your stomach with your arms at your sides. A party associate will arrive shortly to collect you for your party.
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It seems the US are finally sending troops to Iran. Iâm not sure whether thatâs a good thing or not - I think theyâll need more than 5,000 - but there doesnât seem any way to resolve the situation without them.
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Gas prices have jumped over a dollar in just a few days.
I donât believe they will resolve it. Maybe they will claim they haveâŚbut thatâs not the same
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Thereâs a sizeable opposition to the Ayatollahs - but theyâre untrained, unarmed, and, above all, they have no organisation. Theyâve been ruthlessly suppressed for 40 years.
Unlike Iraq and Afghanistan, Iran is a sophisticated, educated country. There is a real possibility of them forming a moderate government, if only the current regime are forced out of power.
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I am waiting to see if they manage to push oil to the $200 mark and if they start attacking financial institutions.
Meanwhile, Russia is recovering losses thanks to rising oil prices.
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Iran is huge, decentralized, and thought to many not to be âconquerableâ by the U. S.
The current administration is not displaying sound judgment or good consideration of risk vs. benefit.
They may decide to declare âMission Accomplishedâ despite reality. Thinking the U. S. could force a regime change shows a lack of understanding of the culture and current internal pressures in Iran. Deciding what puppet to install in a country has little long-term benefit, but some only care about current perception.
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If we were talking about total US domination of the whole country, I would tend to agree. If the country had no viable civil organisation, but instead, like Afghanistan, consisted of fractious and beligerent tribal desert warlords, I would also agree.
Fortunately, neither of these things is true. Iran is not like Iraq, nor like Afghanistan. Iran used to be Persia, for Godâs sake. It has been a centre of high civilistation for thousands of years. Iran has a highly educated population, the majority of whom would very much like to get rid of their current rulers.
The only reason there hasnât already been a popular uprising in Iran - the only reason the current regime are still in power - is that any dissent or opposition has been routinely crushed by the Revolutionary Guard.
The Revolutionary Guard are well trained, well motivated, and well armed. They are supported by an extensive secret police force. But they only number around 100,000 people. Remove them, and the regiime collapses.
Itâs not necessary to conquer the whole country, much less occupy it. Given the chance, the Iranian people will do that. Itâs only necessary to break the power of the Revolutionary Guard, and, after that, shepherd in a fair democratic process.
I have several fears for this process. The first is that the US will not send in enough troops, or, indeed, any - thus leaving the Revolutionary Guard in power. If that happens, within two years the Iranian regime will re-build, and the situation will be worse than ever.
My second fear is that if the US does manage to achieve regime change, any âdemocraticâ government installed to the liking of the Trump administration will be neither free, nor fair - which, in time, will lead to further collapse.
Unfortunately, the Revolutionary Guard cannot be removed by air strikes. Nor can they be removed by Iranâs internal opposition, who have no weapons, no training, and no organisation. The Revolutionary Guard can only be removed by sending in troops.
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For a man who has done all he can to hide the numbers and obscure the facts, a man who tries all he can to blame shift to deflect failure, a man who turns to the new curtains in a room to discuss how beautiful the room is to distract from 4 soldiers dieing, he has to be terrified at the thought of trying to cover up the death of what would likely be thousands of soldiers. Not that he cares. He didnât even remove his hat for the bodies already brought home. He just would be terrified of turning mid terms after breaking so thoroughly his campaign promise to let âthe rest of the world take care of itselfâ.
He will not finish this war. He is just buying time for Israel to destroy Lebanon they way they did Gaza
This IS a religious war. Make no mistake about it.
They are neither chosen by God nor are they doing anything he approves of. But they are driven by a religious ferver that has some of them laughing with glee at each missle strike.
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Of course, the last US puppet government in Iran was very moderate indeed⌠
With Trump in charge, I canât see this one ending well for the Iranian people either
I donât think theyâll be able to do that this time, not until the strait is safe again. It has too much international impact.
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I personally think they could drain the earth dry of oil and the prices wonât come down
My bigger concern is how this is affecting spring planting around the world (northern hemisphere at least)
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Planting reminds me that a recent article lists placed on earth that are currently uninhabitable part of the year due to extreme heat, drought. Several Mideast locations were listed. But, no, climate change is a myth. Sigh.
I cringe at the possible world we are leaving for my grandkids and their kids.
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A post was merged into an existing topic: Videos - Voyagers 6.0
This needed to be said like 6-8 years ago but at least someone from my government is saying it, progress is very reversable, easily but panifully.
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Iâve noticed AI voiceover is even changing the way people present videos on youtube etc or do voice over. Everyone used to sound like a tv show host or a newscaster because thatâs the model they grew up on, but now Iâm seeing a lot of monotone voice over with zero vocal dynamic coming from actual real people on youtube.
This is what happens to peoples brains after watching Mojo top 10 lists and prank fail video compilations en masse 
WAIT, is this that vocal fry thing I keep hearing people talk about? Or is that something else because I do not know what people are talking about when they mention vocal fry. WTF is vocal fry? Halp! I donât think my countries accents allow for it so Iâve never encountered it.
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I am fairly certain vocal fry is what I experience when I wake in the middle of the night and yell at my dog to shut up.
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Walk like an Egyptian - Talk like a Kardashian.
Or when a woman ends the last syllables of a sentence sounding like a male country singer.
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