I bet many journalists were pissed they had to chuck out their "Bolsonaro wins/global rejection of the dastardly Left continues" prewrites.
...Ooops, double happy hour posts. Pick your favorite.
Monday, October 26, 2026
Better Things Are Possible
Pedestrianization of major streets isn't without difficulties, though the main one with this stretch of Oxford St. is about diverting buses, but generally once places are fully pedestrianized, it is quickly difficult to imagine they were otherwise before.
Much of Britain’s most famous shopping street will be closed to traffic from Monday as the long-awaited pedestrianisation of London’s Oxford Street begins.
About half of the 1.2 mile street will initially be vehicle-free, after decades of planning and dispute over how to best use the street, an important transport thoroughfare and the home for flagship stores for big shopping chains.
London's odd, for Britain, in that most British cities have long had large pedestrianized chunks in the core and London barely does.
Not that everywhere is a car free utopia, but places for pedestrians aren't alien.
Not The Onion
There is room for disagreements in all subjects, but I really have no interest in people who fail to acknowledge the reality of the state of Israel.
800 Palestinians in Gaza displaced after Israel destroys displacement camp
800 Palestinians have been displaced after Israeli forces set fire to a displacement camp in Shujayea, Gaza City, according to the Palestinian Public Works Ministry.
I don't care whether people personally use the word "genocide," but people who are focused on arguing about the use of such words are prioritizing nitpicking pedantry (correct or not) over, well, genocide.
And if you are discomfited yourself, spend some time looking at the past coverage of Milosevic, and remind yourself what that was all about.
Translating Elon
- Elon's orbital data centers are, unsurprisingly, a joke.
- He will instead muscle out all the potential competitors by buying up everything and using his status as a special boy to ignore all laws and regulations here on planet Earth.
America's Worst Humans
Amy Griffin:
tl;dr a NYT reporter threw some shade on this billionaire and her memoir, and Griffin responded by trying (though she denies) to get a university to deny her daughter's admission application.
Bolsonaro Down
I don't claim to know anything about Brazilian politics other than the obvious stuff, but Lula winning is enraging all the usual horrible people, so that's good.
My guide to ignoring most commentary on foreign elections from US commenters:
My guide to ignoring most commentary on foreign elections from US commenters:
- With very occasional exceptions (Carney getting elected in Canada comes to mind), most foreign voters aren't thinking about the US or Donald Fucking Trump when they vote.
- While Left and Right are, generally, useful heuristics for understanding political parties, other countries also have their "swing voters," critical to close elections, who are just as inscrutable as American swing voters. Moreso, if you are an outsider.
- You can't understand American politics without understanding the role of the American press, and the equivalent is true for every other country. So if you don't know much about the daily media of other countries (generally true of people who don't speak the local language), you don't know much about the daily politics there.
You can of course know a lot of things about Brazil without knowing the daily bullshit that is politics, but you are unlikely to have much to say about how an election swung this way or that.
Sunday, October 25, 2026
Vote Blue No Matter Who Update
Just trying to keep up on the rules.
There is a third option here, also, just don't go on TV right before the midterms with fellow Islamophobe Dana Bash. Keep quiet.
Rep. Haley Stevens sidesteps whether she still supports El-Sayed, criticizes outreach to Black votersI know that "do more outreach to black voters," who Stevens now speaks for, is code for other things that she won't be explicit about and have little to do with black voters, and so he can't actually meet that demand, but to normal people who don't speak this particular language, having a big event with Obama would probably seem like a good first step.
...
BASH: I want to get everybody else in. I just want to -- you're still fully behind Abdul El-Sayed?
STEVENS: Look, I'm on the Democratic ticket. I can't say that I agree with everything that's gone on. I wish that first debate had been more about that rubber stamp for Trump, because we have got a lot of chaos in Michigan. I don't want to debate who's the enemy of the United States. It's very clear that Iran is.
I didn't run my campaign on foreign policy issues, but that was litigated in my primary. I'm not looking to be front and center right now. I'm looking to be on the team to support my next governor, Jocelyn Benson, and, frankly, these great Democrats who are working their tails off who are going to make Hakeem Jeffries the first black speaker of the House.
BASH: You didn't mention Abdul El-Sayed in that last answer. STEVENS: Well, look, I would just say, you had asked me if I'm still on the team. I'm on the team.
There is a third option here, also, just don't go on TV right before the midterms with fellow Islamophobe Dana Bash. Keep quiet.
Sure, Like, Whatever
There are places in California that have better transit/walking than people think, but there isn't a spot in that giant state that isn't 100% carbrained.Larry Kudlow, interviewing Trump, claims that Californians "hate cars"
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) October 25, 2026 at 2:22 PM
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It's Groundhog Day, Again
July 6:
WASHINGTON, July 6 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Monday the United States would either reach a deal with Iran or "finish the job," renewing his threat of military action as Tehran projects defiance following the funeral of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.Now:
US President Donald Trump says the US is considering a possible attack on Iran as soon as Sunday, pointing out that Washington might have to “finish the job” or could reach a deal with Tehran.
Saturday, October 24, 2026
That'll Fix Things
Never bet against Susan Collins, sadly, as ridiculous as this seems at this late moment.
The Trump administration is lifting some of its 50% tariffs on Canadian goods two weeks before the midterm elections, after a Republican candidate in a key US Senate race said she had lobbied for the change.Maine voters are suckers for Susan Collins (Republican) pretending to save their state from the policies of Republicans. It's too late for any real impact, but not too late for the Maine media to fluff her.
From 30 October, tariffs will be eased on products including "plywood sheets, some paper products, certain machinery and refrigeration equipment", the White House said on Friday.
Republican Senator Susan Collins, who is in a tight race to keep her seat in Maine, first announced the exemptions, saying they would help her state's agriculture industry.
BiBi The Dove
I miss the old peace-loving BiBi, the one who always showed such restraint. NYT:
Was that his reputation? Amazing.
Was that his reputation? Amazing.
He long had a reputation for being risk averse and avoiding military confrontations, even as he cultivated an image as Israel’s Mr. Security. But that image, as well as Israel’s confidence in its own defense, was badly damaged that day.
Are They Planning To Hit Or Hit Back
There is a difference between "they are planning out to retaliate against the next US strike" and "they are gonna do this soon no matter what."
I know the Hegesth warfighting manual says it is unfair if other countries hit us back, but striking back and striking are different things!
The U.S. government has put employees on heightened alert across the Middle East and moved to reduce personnel levels at embassies and consulates because of intelligence showing Iran is in the advanced stages of planning attacks against Americans, U.S. officials said on Friday.Intelligence officials raised alarms to Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a memo on Friday that warned about the dangers to State Department employees in the Middle East and other regions, the officials said.The memo, from Jay Clayton, the director of national intelligence, said that agencies had “received intelligence that Iran has substantially increased efforts to target U.S. personnel. The lethal plotting efforts by the Iranians against U.S. citizens have reached advanced stages in both the Middle East and certain other countries.”
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