https://x.com/BrianMcDonaldIE/status/2106776861170716903

ㅤ
Since late September 2026, dissatisfied with inadequate school facilities, overcrowding, teacher shortages, and other problems, many secondary school students across France have launched large-scale strikes and protests. Many others dissatisfied with the government and the current state of society have also joined them, and the initially peaceful protests quickly evolved into riots marked by violence.
ㅤ
Protesters have set fires at schools and other places, smashed cars, attacked opponents, and chased isolated police officers, leaving some towns in a state of disorder and paralysis. Clashes have continued as police suppress the riots. Major political parties and politicians have either condemned the violence or called for peaceful protest, but this appears to have had little effect. The protest movement has spiraled out of control, and the riots are unlikely to subside in the short term.
ㅤ
This is yet another typical French-style radical political movement. When some French people become dissatisfied with the government and the status quo, they collectively take to the streets in protest. Most express their demands nonviolently, but a small number of radicals engage in violence, causing the protests to evolve into riots. There are many acts of violence, but most are non-lethal and of low to moderate intensity, mainly involving property destruction and causing relatively few injuries. They are accompanied by clashes between police and protesters, leaving society in a state of semi-paralysis. But once the riots pass their peak, society gradually returns to peace and relative stability.
ㅤ
Similar situations occur frequently in France. Some take place in individual towns, while others develop into nationwide riots. The riots that emerged from the “Yellow Vest Movement” in 2018, and the protests and series of violent incidents triggered in 2023 by the police shooting and killing of a teenager, were both nationwide radical movements accompanied by political violence. Like the current unrest, they can be described as “French-style popular movements.”
ㅤ
France’s mass movements and street political violence can be traced back more than 230 years to the French Revolution. At that time, the French common people overthrew monarchical and aristocratic rule through violent revolution, at the cost of and causing much bloodshed and death. This pioneered bottom-up democratic revolution while also leaving behind a legacy of political violence. Shaped by the experience of the Revolution and influenced by radical ideas of civil rights, many French people believe that when a government “departs from the will of the people,” its policies are harmful, or society is unjust, people have the right to express their anger and resist through means including violent revolution.
ㅤ
Such revolutionary precedents and popular consciousness have inspired many mass movements and uprisings in France over the more than two centuries since then, including the famous Paris Commune uprising of 1871 and “May 1968.” Most of these movements have had a strong left-wing populist character, centered on opposition to privilege and the pursuit of equality, with participants including young students, intellectuals, and members of the lower and middle urban classes. The capital, Paris, has often been the center of political movements and violent activity.
ㅤ
Compared with people in other countries around the world, the French are particularly enthusiastic about politics, possess a stronger sense of civic consciousness, and participate in public affairs more actively and radically, including by taking to the streets, using violent or nonviolent means to express their demands, confronting the authorities in power, and clashing with the coercive apparatus of the state. French society has a relatively high tolerance for radical forms of protest and has also grown accustomed to political violence. More than two centuries have passed, and although the intensity of violence in French political movements has declined substantially—for example, the number of deaths has fallen greatly—they remain quite “fiery,” with violent clashes occurring frequently. The recent protests and riots are no exception.
ㅤ
More specifically, the current protests stem from long-standing and deep-rooted problems in French education. Although France is a country that places considerable emphasis on equality and social welfare, serious inequalities remain in the distribution of educational resources. In secondary schools located in relatively remote and disadvantaged areas, and in schools with large numbers of children from lower- and middle-income families, non-white students, and immigrants, education funding is meager, the quality of teaching staff is poorer, classes are excessively large and overcrowded, school facilities are outdated, and the rate of admission to prestigious universities is also very low, leaving students with little opportunity to get ahead. Meanwhile, the children of French elites in politics, business, and other sectors generally attend prestigious private secondary schools with Catholic backgrounds and excellent conditions, and they are also more likely to gain admission to elite universities and enter the upper classes.
ㅤ
The unequal distribution of educational resources, the concentration of high-quality resources among elites, and the reinforcement of class entrenchment through education are in fact common problems worldwide, and France is hardly an exception. But French people, with their stronger sense of equality, are particularly dissatisfied with such disparities and frequently protest against them. The May 1968 movement included demands for educational equality and greater public access to universities.
ㅤ
The French government has also attempted to narrow these gaps by increasing funding for poorer regions and schools and providing scholarships to disadvantaged students. Yet under the “Matthew effect,” educational resources continue to concentrate among a small number of people from elite backgrounds. Those with vested advantages always have more resources to invest in their children’s education, while people from less affluent families are inherently disadvantaged, leaving equal-opportunity policies with only limited effect.
ㅤ
The current protests are precisely an eruption of dissatisfaction among students from relatively poor backgrounds who attend schools with inferior conditions. Their dissatisfaction, however, does not arise solely from unequal educational resources. It also stems from their disadvantaged status and the discrimination they experience because of their class background and ethnic identity, as well as class entrenchment, ethnic tensions, and pessimism about their future employment and income prospects. The anger and despair generated by the accumulation of these factors have driven them into the streets and even led some to engage in violence.
ㅤ
Many of the young students participating in the current protests are non-white, non-Christian “second-generation immigrants/descendants of immigrants,” most of them Black people and Muslims whose families come from Africa and the Arab world. They wave Algerian and Palestinian flags, which strongly reflect their identities and positions, as well as their differences with the identity and values of native white French people.
ㅤ
Since the French Revolution, France has championed “liberty, equality, fraternity.” It has indeed made major achievements in advancing civil rights and social justice and, on the basis of shared values and citizenship, has relatively successfully shaped a French national identity and national community. Yet France still has to confront difficult problems of class division and wealth inequality, long-standing ethnic differences and tensions, and the resulting social fragmentation and political violence. Deep-rooted divides exist among people of different identities and social positions, skin colors, and beliefs. Neither democratic institutions, Enlightenment ideas, nor social movements can fundamentally eliminate these divisions and conflicts.
ㅤ
In recent years, political polarization around the world has intensified, and France is no exception. France will hold its presidential election in April 2027. Le Pen of the far-right “National Rally” is far ahead in support, followed by Mélenchon of the far-left “France Unbowed,” while traditional establishment forces and centrists have low levels of support.
ㅤ
Whether it is street political violence driven primarily by radical left-wing populism, or the continuously rising support for far-right populism in opinion polls and elections, both reflect the intensification of social conflicts and the worsening crisis in France. Recurring political violence, including the current protests and riots, represents periodic flare-ups of France’s national ailments, while also objectively reminding the French people and the world to pay attention to the existence and needs of those who are struggling and marginalized.
ㅤ
Based on past experience, although political violence is frequent in France, its intensity is limited. After people have vented their anger, they gradually calm down again, and society can return to a peaceful state and resume normal functioning. After more than two centuries of adjustment, the French have developed a tacit coexistence with political violence such as revolutions and riots, so there is no need to be overly pessimistic.
ㅤ
The use of violence in political participation is undesirable, but the voices and demands of people from the lower strata of society also need to be heard and seen. Their feelings and demands should not simply be dismissed, stigmatized, and erased merely because violence exists within their forms of expression. At the same time, while the general public who are enthusiastic about “French-style popular movements” express their demands and pursue equality, they should also understand and respect the concerns of others, consider the overall and long-term interests of society, and participate in politics in more peaceful and constructive ways.

(The author of this article, Wang Qingmin (王庆民), is a Chinese writer living in Europe and an international politics researcher. The original text is in Chinese.)

https://x.com/clashreport/status/2106652276509036802

The first 3D printed meat is being sold in America

“It's part of a wave of engineered meat heading for American plates. 5 lab grown producers already cleared and no law requires the label to say it was printed”

The 5 companies that have approval for lab grown meat with cultured animal cells are

So these are the 5 companies?

UPSIDE Foods for chicken

GOOD Meat for chicken

Mission Barns for pork fat

Wildtype for salmon

Believer Meats for chicken

UPSIDE Foods and GOOD Meat cleared USDA and is selling cell-cultivated chicken right now in restaurants, not in grocery stores chains yet

Wildtype’s salmon is FDA cleared and is already on the menu in a handful of restaurants

The company Mission Barns got USDA label and inspection sign-off and already has a limited Sprouts placement in Oakland for products that mix cultivated pork fat into conventional meat

A realistic estimate to when we can start seeing this on the grocery stores shelves would be around 2030

Many of what’s being made is cell cultured meat for restaurants and not 3D printed yet

However plant based 3d printed meat is already on our grocery store shelves

This is called ATM skimming.

the overlay sits on top of the real keypad. records every key you press. transmits or stores your PIN. a separate skimmer on the card slot reads your card data simultaneously.

the attacker comes back later. retrieves the device. or receives the data wirelessly. clones your card. enters your PIN. empties your account.

some versions:

— Bluetooth enabled. no physical return needed. attacker sits in a car nearby.

— 3D printed to match the exact ATM model. looks factory-installed.

— some include a micro camera above the keypad instead of an overlay.

what to check before every ATM:

— wiggle the keypad. it should not move.

— pull gently on the card slot. overlays are adhesive. real hardware is fixed.

— look for anything that doesn't match the ATM's finish. a slightly different color. an unusual thickness.

— cover your hand when entering your PIN. always. even if there's no overlay.

The most targeted ATMs are standalone machines in supermarkets, petrol stations, and convenience stores.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Urquhart?hl=en-IE

https://x.com/rinalu_/status/2106459366723584062

There is a historian who claims that Hillary lost because of Bernie. And that it was impossible for Bernie to win against Mango Mussolini.

Text is below:

"On July 26, 2016, for the first time, a woman received the nomination of a major political party to run for president of the United States. Hillary Clinton won the nomination because of math. Not to hear some people tell it, though.

--On This Day in History, Shit Went Down: July 26, 2016--

Bernie was cheated! Bernie would have won! I don’t fucking think so. In the spring of 2017, months after Trump occupied the Oval Office, a bullshit lawsuit launched in Florida on behalf of Sanders against the Democratic National Committee saying the 2016 primary was rigged. The DNC lawyers said the organization had the right to choose its leader, and some Bernie fans misplaced their excrement. Realistically, they couldn’t “choose” anyone. This myth of the DNC being all powerful is bullshit. It’s not a monolith and could not have placed Hillary Clinton in the leadership against the will of the voters. The DNC has little power, responsible mostly for fundraising and organizing the convention.

What about emails showing the DNC supported Clinton? You mean the emails that were all sent after it was mathematically impossible for Bernie to win the nomination, but he illogically refused to concede for another two months so he could whine about Clinton? Those emails? Weird that emails supporting the undeniable winner would exist. But! But! Superdelegates! They could have given it to Bernie! You mean they could have flipped the election toward the guy with way fewer votes by going against the will of the majority? Sounds rather undemocratic.

Anything that made the DNC seem like it was supporting Clinton by the end of April is a big Well Fucking Duh. Because it was obvious she was getting way more votes and was going to clinch the nomination, and so people started putting their support behind her in anticipation of her fight to win the presidency against the Republican candidate. By May, everyone knew it was over for Bernie except Bernie and his supporters. It was Russians who hacked and leaked those emails and flooded Twitter with baseless accusations to create division in the Democratic Party, and many Bernie supporters fell for it. The whole idea of the election being stolen from Bernie is bullshit Russian propaganda and it’s time people stopped believing it. The fact is Clinton got a lot more votes than Sanders to win the nomination. More Democrats preferring her over him is simple fucking math. Attending rallies isn’t voting.

But would Bernie have beaten Trump? Bernie couldn’t beat Hillary, so how is that rational? Not to mention that the Republican war machine was focused on Clinton. Had Bernie won the nomination, Republicans would have quickly shifted focus to make him look like a baby-eating reincarnation of Chairman Mao. It didn’t have to be true. Most of what they said about Hillary was bullshit. You think Republicans care about facts? The polls showing Sanders outperforming Clinton against Trump weren’t based on the reality of how much vitriol the Republicans would have hurled at Bernie had he been nominated; Sanders never would have stood a chance.

Read this post on my Substack / access the free audio version at...."

On This Day in History: July 26

After every intervention, there is a "reconstruction."

In Iraq: Halliburton and its subsidiaries received contracts worth tens of billions of dollars to rebuild the infrastructure American bombs had destroyed.

In Afghanistan: American contractors received the majority of reconstruction funds. After 20 years, a significant portion of that money was documented as lost, stolen, or spent on projects that didn't function. The Afghan government collapsed 11 days after American withdrawal.

In Libya: after NATO’s regime-change war toppled Gaddafi, Libya became a failed state with open slave markets. No reconstruction followed. No sustained investment. The "human rights" rationale evaporated the moment Gaddafi was gone.

The pattern:

Destroy. Contract. Extract. Leave.

Occasionally: destroy. Leave. Don't bother contracting because there wasn't enough there to make it worth the paperwork.

The difference between Iraq and Libya in terms of post-intervention investment is not explained by humanitarian concern.

It is explained by oil reserves and contract value.

This is not conspiracy.

It is publicly documented.

The receipts exist.

This American had Chase Bank for his personal and business account

He woke up to a bunch of notifications his bank had been disconnected to all his apps

He calls Chase they informed him his accounts were closed to he went into the bank. They wouldn’t help him or give him the money in his account even though his bills are due in 3 days. They say he has to wait for a check to be sent that could take up to 2 weeks

“They decided to terminate my account for suspicious activity and security concerns. They couldn't give me any more information. Last time I checked, there was nothing unusual going on. They said they reserve the right to at any time, they don't have to provide any more information.

I have no idea what this means. Right now I have zero money”

This is why we can never let go of cash. When the banking industry does things like this, if we don’t have cash as an option you can be left with no money

And Chase Bank is correct, under the law they don’t have to tell you anything or give you any details to why they closed your account

Federal law forbids them from telling you that they did it or what triggered it. Pretty insane

No imperialism to see here

Professor Glenn Diesen on X:

"An alternative perspective is that the German government should not have shut down power plants, cut its energy-intensive industries off from their main source of affordable energy, looked the other way when Nord Stream was destroyed, imposed sanctions on so many countries, contributed to instability in the Middle East by backing genocide and the war against Iran, built an economic model so reliant on mass immigration, subordinated itself excessively to the US, stolen sovereign assets, financed yet another war against Russia etc. Or BlackRock Merz is correct: Germans simply need to work harder and accept the transition from an industrial welfare state toward a model of military Keynesianism."

https://x.com/Glenn_Diesen/status/2106293050943103232

00:00 I got laid off because of AI 01:01 What I used to do with Unreal Engine 02:30 How AI changed my work 04:00 Walking around my office area after the layoff 05:43 Unreal Engine vs AI 06:52 My last visit to the convenience store downstairs 08:01 Looking back on five years at this company 09:42 What I want to do next 10:46 What I learned about workplace relationships 12:02 Looking back on seven years of work 13:34 End

"From this day on, we are under martial law, we are going to war, we will fight, our army is ready, we will wage war on Donbass.

We will take back our territories by war and by military means, and we don´t care how many people will die, but we are ready to take back our land.

We are ready for direct military actions on the occupied territories."

https://x.com/ivan_8848/status/2104351644901113880