Lemmy NZ

Summary

Two senior staffers, Charlie Hills and Tré Easton, are leaving Sen. John Fetterman’s office amid his shift toward a more Trump-friendly stance.

Their departures follow other high-profile resignations, including his chief of staff last year.

Fetterman has evolved from a Bernie Sanders supporter to a vocal pro-Israel Democrat and critic of his party’s anti-Trump approach.

He has backed some Trump policies and nominees but opposed others. Despite this shift, he remains a reliable Democratic vote.

Summary

An investigation by the Texas Observer identified ICE Assistant Chief Counsel James Rodden as the operator of "GlomarResponder," a white supremacist X account.

The account, active since 2012, has posted racist, xenophobic, and pro-fascist content, including support for mass deportations and anti-immigrant violence.

Rodden's identity was confirmed through biographical details, court records, and social media activity. ICE has not confirmed his employment but is investigating.

Legal experts warn that his views compromise his ability to fairly represent the government in immigration proceedings. Rodden declined to comment.

Summary

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer defended Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a "democratically elected leader" after Donald Trump called him a "dictator" for suspending elections during the war.

Starmer, who spoke with Zelensky, supported Ukraine’s decision, comparing it to the UK's actions during World War II.

The controversy comes ahead of Starmer’s meeting with Trump, where he plans to push for a US security "backstop" for Ukraine.

Trump’s remarks have sparked criticism, while Russia continues to dismiss potential peace deals without Ukrainian elections.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/25806106

Summary

An investigation by the Texas Observer identified ICE Assistant Chief Counsel James Rodden as the operator of "GlomarResponder," a white supremacist X account.

The account, active since 2012, has posted racist, xenophobic, and pro-fascist content, including support for mass deportations and anti-immigrant violence.

Rodden's identity was confirmed through biographical details, court records, and social media activity. ICE has not confirmed his employment but is investigating.

Legal experts warn that his views compromise his ability to fairly represent the government in immigration proceedings. Rodden declined to comment.

Trump used his Truth Social platform on Wednesday to lash out at Zelenskyy and call the Ukrainian a “dictator without elections” who has “done a terrible job” defending his country. Ukraine hasn’t had elections since martial law was put in place after Russia invaded its territory three years ago and launched a deadly bombing campaign that persists today.

Trump’s broadside followed Zelenskyy’s comment that the U.S. president was being influenced by Russian disinformation after Trump falsely claimed that Ukraine started the war with Russia.

The actions were part of a national day of action in dozens of states organized by unions representing government employees.

In the richest country in the history of the world we must establish that:

• Healthcare is a human right and must be available to all regardless of income.

• Every worker in America is entitled to earn a decent income. We must raise the minimum wage to a living wage and make it easier for workers to join unions.

• We must have the best public educational system in the world, from childcare to vocational training, to graduate school – available to all.

• We must address the housing crisis and build the millions of units of low-income and affordable housing that we desperately need.

• We must create millions of good paying jobs as we lead the world in combating the existential threat of climate change.

• We must abolish all forms of bigotry.

Summary

Donald Trump sharply criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, calling him a "dictator" and accusing him of corruption, aligning his rhetoric with Russia’s stance.

His remarks followed a phone call with Vladimir Putin and reflect his long-standing skepticism of US support for Ukraine.

Trump’s "America First" policy prioritizes reducing aid to Kyiv while shifting focus to China.

While some Republicans voiced concerns, Trump is wielding total authority over his party.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest comments about Ukraine are raising eyebrows — and spreading misinformation. He claimed that Ukraine was the one who started Russia's war, said that Ukraine had been “blown to smithereens,” and claimed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has a 4% approval rating — none of which has a factual basis. How do actual Ukrainians feel about Trump’s words? The Kyiv Independent’s Masha Lavrova hit the streets of Kyiv to hear their raw, unfiltered reactions.

I'm sick of being laidoff. Got laid off again today, second time in 4 years in a big corporate layoff. Seems I can't ever find any respite these days. No matter how hard I work or how much I put in, just bound to be laid off and even though I've been recognized officially through merit repeatedly, these companies here in the USA just keep laying people off And then passing all the jobs on to India for 3K a year salary....

So disheartening. At this rate I might as well just retire from White collar work and go and learn a trade as a tradesman, completely redo my entire life goals

Summary

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has ordered lie detector tests for DHS staff to identify leaks that allegedly foiled immigration raids, including a failed Colorado operation targeting Venezuelan gang members.

The directive, leaked to Bloomberg, requires polygraph questions about unauthorized communications with media and nonprofits. Despite polygraphs' unreliability, DHS insists they are necessary for national security.

The crackdown follows frustration from Trump’s border czar Tom Homan over compromised raids and aligns with broader MAGA-era efforts to control government communication.

Summary

Elon Musk falsely claimed an $8 billion saving on a canceled contract that was actually worth only $8 million, significantly inflating its reported $55 billion in total savings.

The error, first identified by The New York Times, was based on an incorrect figure in federal procurement records.

Additionally, DOGE’s accounting has been questioned due to inconsistencies in its reported savings, including counting already-paid portions of contracts and taking credit for office closures when Joe Biden was still president.

DOGE has not publicly addressed the mistake.

I created !dull_mens_club@lemmy.world a few months ago and then started seeing contraversies around moderation policies and federation that just don't apply to the type of content on dull mens club so I decided to make an instance solely to host that community.

!dullsters@dullsters.net

I'm not sure if this has happened yet, but I like the idea of having a neutral instance that users can still visit regardless of what happens. There's no user signups, only admin/moderator accounts. Users have to use an account from a federated instance.

Summary

Trump revoked federal approval for New York City’s congestion pricing plan, which aimed to reduce traffic and fund public transit.

Trump celebrated on social media, declaring, “CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD… LONG LIVE THE KING!” In response, Governor Kathy Hochul stated, “We are a nation of laws, not ruled by a king,” and confirmed the MTA is pursuing legal action.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy claimed the tolls harmed working-class Americans. The $9 fee had improved traffic flow, but enforcement will now be halted.

https://nitter.net/WhiteHouse/status/1892295984928993698#m

*Nitter mirror. Don't link directly to that shit stain of a site

His proposal includes security guarantees for Ukraine, emphasizing that "NATO membership should remain on the table." He also called for immediate funding for arms and a 10-billion-euro ($10.4 billion) investment in Ukraine's defense industry.

The Lithuanian president also proposed accelerating Ukraine's EU accession, setting 2030 as the target date. "Ukraine's security is part of European security," he wrote.

Think of the relationship between "optimism", "pessimism" and "realism":
generally, those words are respectively interpreted as "focusing on the good things", "focusing on the bad things" and "ignoring (or trying to ignore) personal biases on the topic at hand".
In a way that makes sense, the universe defines our perception on things, not the other way around.

However, let's suppose you just had a reality check, at least as my terminally online ass knows the term as.
That means something happened to you, that forced you to realize something about yourself - be it your body, your psyche, your knowledge about anything. A realization so undeniable, that, despite your lizard brain's psychological self-defense mechanisms' censorship attempts, made you realize you've been wrong about something.

The reality check brings your mood down in the short term, and possibly pushes you to improve yourself (or, alternatively, to [concoct a workaround to the tyrannical laws of the universe]) in the long run, but... that's not truly neutral, is it?
It may be a "bad" feeling possibly followed by a good outcome (see: cognitive dissonance), but it is never a GOOD feeling followed by a possibly bad outcome. The latter case is a confimation bias, if anything - the opposite of a reality check.

Going back to the first paragraph: if someone says "I'm not a pessimist, I'm a realist" you may conflate that person for an pessimist, but not an optimist.

___

This is real https://www.tiktok.com/@asimo_boutique/video/7461292559181139208