I joined a couple of months ago and still have no idea how it all really works.

And it's really not so important that I understand the minutia. People stumble around the internet all the time, making happy little discoveries and finding new communities. It's kind of the way things used to work - we didn't ask, we were just happily amused.

ZOMBO.COM

I am ashamed to admit - I haven't worked at all.

I'm so sorry, I didn't realize we were supposed to be working! (Also, I am a ditch digger by trade, and alas, I see no way that my skills could be of service...)

I'd get a Prime membership if I could order one of those, for sure! Go Iran!

Proton VPN.

I use the paid version, but I'm pretty sure you can get a free version without data caps.

It lets you set the location of your VPN endpoint, meaning that you can spoof your location to just about any country on the globe. Very easy and intuitive interface, works on mobile, and no I don't work for these motherfuckers, I'm just excited to share my experience because I only recently decided to start using a VPN.

Other options, according to Google: PrivadoVPN (10GB/month), Windscribe (10GB/month), and Hide.me

This is perfect, I think! The last thing we need is a unified religious front that's "cleaned up God's house". Much better to have traditionalists offended by Machine Gun Jesus and in-fighting.

In fact, maybe replace Jesus' face with Trump's. Hit 'em with some blasphemy and see which Xians cheer it and which ones look away in shame and second-hand embarrassment.

Article summary: THIS JUST IN: TRUMP LOVES OIL, HATES CLEAN ENERGY

Yeah. We know.

I'm very disappointed that the term "petrodollar" is not used anywhere in this article, because the concept of a petrodollar explains (at least partially) why Trump has done what he's done.

Saudi Arabia has a deal with the U.S. They have agreed to trade only in U.S. dollars. By protecting that deal, Trump protects the U.S. dollar as the international currency of choice.

Any article about the oil trade and/or Gulf nations should mention this. It's a foundation of U.S. foreign policy. And, while it's an underhanded way to exert disproportionate control over global energy markets, it benefits the U.S. consumer greatly. It keeps the value of the dollar high, even as U.S. manufacturing dies.

In a just world, this arrangement would never have happened. But it did happen. If the petrodollar disappears tomorrow, there will be even more misery and hardship for working class Americans. Imperialism should be dismantled carefully, lest the innocent be crushed beneath it.

Poor Rickless bastards.

Nothing personal to you, but posts like this one might be one reason why so many places on the internet are echo chambers.

No explanation, no analysis, no factual data or source. So, if a person unfamiliar with the context (like me) stumbles across this post, the conversation is already over. It just looks like a bunch of tribal finger-pointing (in the sense that this "tribe" is right and another "tribe" is wrong).

Strange that you didn't repost your source(s) here in this thread...

"So you have Tik Tok just smashing our young people’s brains all day long with video of carnage in Gaza"

Funny how that works. Smashing the brain with Gaza, and the Epstein files, and ICE and heretofore unseen levels of financial corruption and on and on.

If the bar gets any lower, we'll need to start digging.

I respect whoever who took this picture.

Sacrificed an opportunity to skedaddle and is no doubt now a legend to these guys. "Holy fuck, can't believe you got that shot!"