Israel launched a major attack on Iran, drawing their long-running shadow war into the open conflict in a way that could spiral into a wider, more dangerous regional war.

The strikes early Friday set off explosions in the capital of Tehran as Israel said it was targeting Iranian nuclear and military facilities. Iranian state media reported that the leader of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and two top nuclear scientists had been killed.

A German researcher captured the contents of the White House’s “DEI.gov” during a brief period when it was not password protected.

The capture shows that the site contains a list of vague, alleged government-funded tasks and their costs, without sources or context, like “$1.3 million to Arab and Jewish photographers," “$1.5 million for ‘art for inclusion of people with disabilities,’” and "$3.4 million for Malaysian drug-fueled gay sex app.”

The speed and voracity with which Republicans have shed the mask speaks to their glee in being able to do so.

The instructions were published Tuesday in a Defense Intelligence Agency memo obtained by The Associated Press and affect 11 annual events, including Black History Month, which begins Saturday, and National Hispanic Heritage Month.

The other annual events listed in the DIA memo are Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, National American Indian Heritage Month, National Disability Employment Awareness Month, Women’s Equality Day and Women’s History Month.

...

It also noted a pause on “special observances” hosted throughout the year. While Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth were included, the memo said the change would not affect those national holidays.

Here is the list of special observances. Can't be observing things like Harriet Tubman Day or National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day (or, "Loser Day", as Trump would call it).

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked at a briefing Tuesday whether Black History Month would cease to be celebrated.

“As far as I know, this White House certainly still intends to celebrate, and we will continue to celebrate American history and the contributions that all Americans, regardless of race, religion or creed, have made to our great country,” she said.

Any bets on how long before Black History Month gets renamed to American History Month?

Grim Dawn is a diablo-like ARPG, kickstarted in 2012 as the debut title from Crate Entertainment, an indie studio made up of devs from Iron Lore (who made the Titan Quest games). The devs describe it thus:

Players are thrust into the dark, war-torn world of Cairn where a once proud empire has been brought to ruin and the human race driven to the edge of extinction. Cairn has become ground zero of an eternal war between two otherworldly powers, one seeking to use human bodies as a resource, the other intent upon destroying the human race before that can happen. This cataclysmic war has not only decimated human civilization but is warping the very fabric of reality and, in its wake, giving life to new horrors.

I cannot recommend it highly enough if you enjoy the old-school style ARPGs. It hits perfectly on the loot-drop gameplay loop, class variety and differentiation, and world design (and it has excellent co-op!). Check out the homepage for guides, or the Steam page for the trailers.

It's on sale on Steam for $2.50 USD right now, which is 90% off of its normal price. It is an absolute steal at this price. If you're interested but still don't want to pay that for it, DM me.

A lead organization monitoring for food crises around the world withdrew a new report this week warning of imminent famine in north Gaza under what it called Israel’s “near-total blockade,” after the U.S. asked for its retraction, U.S. officials told The Associated Press. The move follows public criticism of the report from the U.S. ambassador to Israel.

The rare public challenge from the Biden administration of the work of the U.S.-funded Famine Early Warning System, which is meant to reflect the data-driven analysis of unbiased experts, drew accusations from aid and human-rights figures of possible U.S. political interference. A finding of famine would be a public rebuke of Israel, which has insisted that its 15-month war in Gaza is aimed against the Hamas militant group and not against its civilian population.

Bruh...

Good piece on the intersection between technology and politics, and the influence that the US government has on US-based technology companies.

Missouri voters on Tuesday resoundingly approved an amendment to overturn the state’s near-total abortion ban, making it the first state to do so in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which eliminated federal constitutional protection of abortion. The passage of Amendment 3, which enshrines reproductive rights in the state constitution, signals the potential to begin restoring access to health care in a swath of the country that has become an abortion desert.

“The people of Missouri — be they Democrat, Republican, or independent — have resoundingly declared that they don’t want politicians involved in their private medical decisions,” said Rachel Sweet, campaign manager for Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, the umbrella organization for the Yes on 3 campaign.

Taking the wins where I can, today...

cross-posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/16537189

Selected the wrong WorldNews community (lemmy.ml) -_-

The Generals’ Plan was presented to the parliament last month by a group of retired generals and high-ranking officers, according to publicly available minutes. Since then, officials from the prime minister’s office called seeking more details, according to its chief architect, Giora Eiland, a former head of the National Security Council.

Israeli media reported that Netanyahu told a closed parliamentary defense committee session that he was considering the plan.

Eiland said the only way to stop Hamas and bring an end to the yearlong war is to prevent its access to aid.

“They will either have to surrender or to starve,” Eiland said. “It doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re going to kill every person,” he said. “It will not be necessary. People will not be able to live there (the north). The water will dry up.”

...

When asked if the evacuation orders in northern Gaza marked the first stages of the “Generals’ Plan,” Israeli military spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said no.

“We have not received a plan like that,” he added.

But one official with knowledge of the matter said parts of the plan are already being implemented, without specifying which parts. A second official, who is Israeli, said Netanyahu “had read and studied” the plan, “like many plans that have reached him throughout the war,” but didn’t say whether any of it had been adopted. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity, because the plan isn’t supposed to be discussed publicly.

On Sunday, Israel launched an offensive against Hamas fighters in the Jabaliya refugee camp north of the city. No trucks of food, water or medicine have entered the north since Sept. 30, according to the U.N. and the website of the Israeli military agency overseeing humanitarian aid crossings.

The Generals’ Plan was presented to the parliament last month by a group of retired generals and high-ranking officers, according to publicly available minutes. Since then, officials from the prime minister’s office called seeking more details, according to its chief architect, Giora Eiland, a former head of the National Security Council.

Israeli media reported that Netanyahu told a closed parliamentary defense committee session that he was considering the plan.

Eiland said the only way to stop Hamas and bring an end to the yearlong war is to prevent its access to aid.

“They will either have to surrender or to starve,” Eiland said. “It doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re going to kill every person,” he said. “It will not be necessary. People will not be able to live there (the north). The water will dry up.”

...

When asked if the evacuation orders in northern Gaza marked the first stages of the “Generals’ Plan,” Israeli military spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said no.

“We have not received a plan like that,” he added.

But one official with knowledge of the matter said parts of the plan are already being implemented, without specifying which parts. A second official, who is Israeli, said Netanyahu “had read and studied” the plan, “like many plans that have reached him throughout the war,” but didn’t say whether any of it had been adopted. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity, because the plan isn’t supposed to be discussed publicly.

On Sunday, Israel launched an offensive against Hamas fighters in the Jabaliya refugee camp north of the city. No trucks of food, water or medicine have entered the north since Sept. 30, according to the U.N. and the website of the Israeli military agency overseeing humanitarian aid crossings.

Been working on a cyberdeck project for a few days, using it to learn woodworking and wiring. Currently have the front and rear panels cut and attach-able, and the PSU wired up to supply enough power for the rPi 5.

Still have to finish the handle and side panels, and wire up the second PSU for supplying the fans, screen, and temp sensor. Also have to plan, assemble, and install the keyboard. Lastly, I'll paint and lacquer the case panels.

I'm trying to hew more closely to a Shadowrun-esque deck design, rather than the clamshell designs that are more popular now.

Gallery

Older article (2012), but still very relevant and valid.

In my career as a psychologist, I have talked with hundreds of people previously diagnosed by other professionals with oppositional defiant disorder, attention deficit hyperactive disorder, anxiety disorder and other psychiatric illnesses, and I am struck by (1) how many of those diagnosed are essentially anti-authoritarians, and (2) how those professionals who have diagnosed them are not.

Gaining acceptance into graduate school or medical school and achieving a PhD or MD and becoming a psychologist or psychiatrist means jumping through many hoops, all of which require much behavioral and attentional compliance to authorities, even to those authorities that one lacks respect for. The selection and socialization of mental health professionals tends to breed out many anti-authoritarians.

Psychologist Russell Barkley, one of mainstream mental health’s leading authorities on ADHD, says that those afflicted with ADHD have deficits in what he calls “rule-governed behavior,” as they are less responsive to rules of established authorities and less sensitive to positive or negative consequences. ODD young people, according to mainstream mental health authorities, also have these so-called deficits in rule-governed behavior, and so it is extremely common for young people to have a “dual diagnosis” of AHDH and ODD.

Do we really want to diagnose and medicate everyone with “deficits in rule-governed behavior”?