https://x.com/kenklippenstein/status/1904215179002282086

https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-trump-letter-c0afbeda50cd19d42fcc68732e60b4a4

Iran reportedly sent a response to Trump's ultimatum. No details on the content.

I'm guessing it's conciliatory, since otherwise it would probably be better not to respond at all.

Myanmar has updated the number of victims of this morning's earthquake to at least 144 dead and 732 injured, as well as missing. The military junta ruling the country has opened the doors of its diplomatic service to ask for international help. "Any country, any organization," pleaded Min Aung Hlaing, a Burmese general and the current President of Myanmar's State Administrative Council.

• Telegram

Let's talk Qatar.

I have been always fascinated by Qatar. Their weird contradictory political position, together with their ruthless ambition makes them a genuinely interesting country to observe. I spent a few weeks touring the Middle East before covid and getting married and settling down. Of all the Gulf states, Qatar was the country that gave me the biggest feeling of "living here wouldn't be bad you know". The UAE is of course the posterchild of Gulf states, but everything about it felt artificial, but Qatar is authentic in a way that I can't describe. The Friday sermon in the Doha mosque that I went to talked in detail about a Muslim's duty to defend other Muslims, while the UAE mosque talked about a Muslim's duty to honor his leaders. Qatar is in some way committed to what I can only describe as Islamic populism, which doesn't put the country as a natural enemy to Iran's Islamic republicanism.

Their projects are also more successful than expected. They were the only committed Arab nation to toppling Assad by 2024, and succeeded in that. They managed to stabilise Tripoli in Libya and their areas are way more successful and stable than the UAE-backed warlord government in Benghazi. They weathered the storm from Western media and hosted a successful FIFA World Cup. They built a good metro system that doesn't just serve the Disney Land style straight line developments like the Dubai Metro. They integrated the sons of immigrants to Qatar in a way that the UAE completely failed in doing, which is why the Qatari football team is now filled with Yemenis, Egyptians and Iraqis fighting for the team and winning cups while the UAE plays Brazilian boomers and gets embarrassed. They overcame the dumbass siege that the UAE and Saudi Arabia put on them in 2017 with an incredible resilience that strengthened their national identity. Their media investments has made Al Jazeera the undisputed number one news channel in the Arab World, BeIN Sports the number one sports network in the world, and almost every good Arab journalist has spent some time in Qatar. Their only big L is perhaps losing the battle with the UAE in Egypt when they failed to protect the MB against the military coup in 2013.

I have some strange admiration for them that is completely illogical and contradictory compared to my political beliefs. They're in tune with the Arab public in a way that the UAE and Saudi could never achieve. They've leveraged their relations with Hamas, Israel, the Taliban, Iran and Hezbollah into something that generated some kind of material benefit unlike the UAE's disgusting endless cucking for American Republican and Israeli interests. In the end, yeah, they're an American client state with a massive military base in Al Udaid, but their million sins can perhaps be slightly washed away by the fact that a random Sudanese civilian can wear a Sinwar hoodie on their way to a Friday sermon about the slaughter of civilians in Gaza, while watching Al Jazeera's coverage of Israel's bombing of South Lebanon.

I'm just rambling here, so I hope it's at least semi-coherent.

Renowned Japanese video game designer Hideki Kamiya has reflected on the recent Assassin's Creed Shadows controversies by asserting that "normal people" don't care about them. His remarks were offered alongside some high praise for the Assassin's Creed Shadows development team.

The latest entry in Ubisoft's long-running series has been mired in controversy since its May 2024 reveal, which confirmed that the game would have a black protagonist, based on a real historical figure known as Yasuke. This fueled a lot of online vitriol, including cases of people vandalizing Yasuke's Wikipedia page and Elon Musk declaring "DEI kills art" while referencing Assassin's Creed Shadows.

Famous Japanese game designer Hideki Kamiya has recently reflected on this state of affairs by stating that "a few super-intense people" made "a big fuss" about Assassin's Creed Shadows. At the same time, the creator of Okami and Bayonetta believes that these detractors are simply a loud minority, having said as much in a March 24 tweet. Elaborating on this notion, Kamiya asserted that most "normal people" adopt an "it's fine" stance when it comes to things like video game-related drama, noting that this phenomenon isn't exclusive to the Assassin's Creed Shadows controversies.

London without Ninjas will not be the same..

Grok's woke

https://x.com/AssLatam/status/1905054127173836848

New: Rubio confirmed he revoked the visa of the Tufts student and said he likely has revoked the visas of hundreds more. “We do it every day. Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take way their visas." The total # of revoked visas “might be more than 300 at this point." The student had co-authored an opinion column on Gaza in the student newspaper. Rubio was asked what she did to merit her visa being revoked, but did not offer specifics to her case, only suggesting that his criteria goes beyond writing columns.

https://x.com/John_Hudson/status/1905315517642281226

https://xcancel.com/John_Hudson/status/1905315517642281226

Asked if they have any intelligence to suggest foreign backing for pro-Palestinian college protests, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard tells Congress, "there are some assessments that reflect that and we can talk about that in the closed session."

https://x.com/kenklippenstein/status/1905111743711289707

https://xcancel.com/kenklippenstein/status/1905111743711289707

There is a clear moment here to cast Zionism as a direct threat to "American liberties" (I know a lot of people here won't phrase like that but it is what it is) but I highly doubt any Democrats have the spine to push it.

Surprised no one else posted it yet, but the video of the Tufts University PhD student being arrested by Israel Criticism Enforcement officers is just absolutely enraging.

https://x.com/DRBoguslaw/status/1904933137328570859

https://xcancel.com/DRBoguslaw/status/1904933137328570859

In my extremely local local news. The person I ran campaign for to get elected as local councillor is now being offered the role of mayor after just 4 months in the role.

If the Labour party weren't doing everything they can to ruin their chances in the next election I sincerely believe I would be able to turn this person into an MP.

"A temporary administration could be introduced in Ukraine, under the supervision of the UN, the US, European countries and our partners. This would serve to hold democratic elections and bring to power a capable government that enjoys the trust of the people. And then start negotiations with them on a peace treaty." Putin on Zelensky and the end of the Ukrainian war.

“Putin will die soon, that's a fact, and it will come to an end” Zelesnky on Putin and the end of the war.

• Telegram

"A huge oil spill in Ecuador turned rivers black, leaving 80,000+ families and 400,000+ people without water. Extracting oil in tropical forests ensures more disasters—no 'net zero' policy can offset this."

https://x.com/PGDynes/status/1904650079450886532

Sudanese Army Declares Victory in Khartoum - Telesur English

Dems and Schumer are ~3x as unpopular as Elon Musk.

Fuck Israel, fuck the US, free Palestine

Prosecutor accidentally plays porn clip at trial of far-right former president of Colombia, Alvaro Uribe.

The criminal trial of former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe was bizarrely derailed by a prosecutor who mistakenly played a porn video of a woman stripping naked and a dwarf dancing with a bottle of booze. Marlene Orjuela, the lead prosecutor for Attorney General's Office, was searching through an archive of folders to present evidence submitted by Uribe's lawyer, Dr. Diego Cadena, during the March 7 virtual court hearing.

In the first video, a man could be seen dancing in front of a parked vehicle and drinking out of a can before the 35-second clip was cut off by Marlene, who laughed and apologized to Judge Sandra Heredia. Uribe stared at the camera and kept a straight face while a member of his legal team giggled. 'What a pity, your honor, we wanted to show everything that Dr. Cadena ordered and there was no foresight that one issue was that,' Orjuela said.

Orjuela proceeded to click on one of the other 57 files that she had on her screen when she brought up a video of a woman posing in swimming attire. The video quickly shifted to the woman removing her one-piece swimsuit. 'What a shame, Madam Judge,' Orjuela said as she immediately cut off the video.

Uribe is the first former president in the history of Colombia to be put under trial as he is facing bribery and witness tampering charges. The government alleges that Uribe attempted to influence witnesses after leftist senator Iván Cepeda accused him being tied to a paramilitary group founded by ranchers in the 1990s to fight rebel groups.

The case dates back to 2012, when Uribe filed a libel suit against Cepeda with the Supreme Court, the entity charged with investigating elected officials. However, the court dropped charges against Cepeda and began to investigated Uribe in 2018. Uribe, who governed from 2002 to 2010, was formally charged in May 2024 and could face up to 12 years in prison if he is convicted.