mathew

If Trump wanted to use nukes, who's there to tell him no? Susie Wiles would, but she's dealing with cancer. Stephen Miller might want to see a nuclear attack out of morbid curiosity. Hegseth seems to think Jesus has called on him to kill as many Iranians as possible. Dan Caine would highlight risks but "present the option." Rubio and Vance would be mortified, but they're dealing with a collective action problem, so each would prefer that the other be the one to put his foot down and alienate Trump. Would Trump do it? In the past he's asked why we have nuclear weapons but never use them. He does not seem to have internalized the "nuclear taboo." And he clearly feels stuck with no clue how to get out of the Iran mess except to OBLITERATE Iran. The late Sheldon Adelson had proposed dropping a nuke on Iran. Might his widow, Miriam Adelson, a top Trump whisperer, be pushing for the same? Considering only 7% of Americans support a ground invasion, and since all the ground force operation options sound like suicide missions, Trump might even see nuclear weapons as the safer political option. By the end of this war, all the fear-mongering about Iran's nuclear program might seem to have been psychological projection. One does detect in Iran hawks a kind of "will to destruction" and hatred of boring, civilized diplomacy. As Nietzsche said, "Without cruelty there is no festival."

🚨BREAKING: The 177,000 signature threshold has now been passed, officially clearing the requirement for an Alberta independence referendum on October 19th. This is a historic moment for Alberta and signature collection is still continuing.

Israeli forces destroyed an entire building in Beirut, Lebanon. The IDF claim these buildings they are obliterating are ‘Hezbollah terror towers’.

Today, the federal New Democratic Party selected its new leader. It is clear that the direction of the federal party under this new leader, someone who openly cheered for the defeat of the Alberta NDP government, is not in the interests of Alberta. Last year, Alberta’s New Democrats voted overwhelmingly to make membership in the federal party optional. Many thousands of our provincial members, including myself, are not members of the federal party. We are a big tent and welcome the support of people who vote for every federal party. We believe in Alberta and we believe in Canadian energy and the good jobs it creates. We believe in more pipelines and in reducing emissions. We believe in strong public services and a strong jobs-driven economy to help pay for them. This is what we are fighting for every day. Albertans deserve federal leaders who understand the importance of Alberta and our essential role in the federation. Our focus is not on what the federal NDP says or does. Our fight is with Danielle Smith and the separatist UCP. Albertans deserve a better government, and we are here to be that better government.

I actually don't think anyone was behind the decision -- which is exactly the problem. Based on the reporting, it seems as though this was a decision made by police officers at the site, who were enforcing the safety directives in an undiscerning and ham-fisted manner. There *should* have been an instruction from their higher-ups to allow Cardinal Pizzaballa and his small entourage to enter the church and celebrate the mass in a safe and modest manner, as they had apparently expressed a willingness to do. That there doesn't seem to have been such an instruction, and that this decision was left to officers in the field, is a major unforced error and an embarrassing demonstration of stunning short-sightedness that is already causing tremendous damage. Additionally, any officers posted at or around holy sites of tremendous significance to billions of believers around the world should have the training and good judgement to navigate sensitive situations and know when to involve their superiors, as necessary. That that appears not to have happened here is yet another major failure that must be investigated and rectified.