I don’t know if it would work in Canada, but I just buy a Visa gift card and use that.

Trump may be unable to end the war he started with Iran, even if he wanted to

Yeah, we know. It’s one of the (many) reasons we didn’t want this.

Well, that’s a shame, isn’t it …

Microsoft, Google, Palantir, IBM, Nvidia, and Oracle’s offices and cloud infrastructure in Israel and some Gulf countries as the new targets.

Because it’s a warning shot. They don’t want to immediately target the US government, large financial or tech companies, or infrastructure - they may attack those later, but not at the start. It’s too quick an escalation.

If and when they do attack the US government sites, expect it to be a “less consequential” agency - Health and Human Services or something. If they have a way into the Pentagon, Department of Energy, or other high-value targets (for them), then the information they can get from those targets is way more valuable than attacking them and losing that access.

I mean, I’d prefer they voted progressive, but I’m fine with them not voting at all.

Thank you for your comment, it helps me identify and block trolls - I appreciate the help!

he goes on about how people speak English in America and in Germany and Norway, they speak other languages

They do speak other languages. However, 88% of Norwegians seem to be fluent in English. The percentage is less in Germany, I think about 25%, but that’s still enough people that you could get by, particularly in the tourist areas.

I’m sure they were a donation from Florsheim. [Mostly I’m surprised Florsheim is still in business, as I don’t think I’ve heard about them in years!]

Initial thoughts, which shouldn’t cost much if any money:

Check your hard drive: how full is it? Clear out caches and programs you never use. Maybe run a check for bad sectors. Way back in the day, I’d suggest defragging the drive, lol.

Update your definitions and run a virus check on your laptop: you may have picked up a virus or PUP that’s slowing you down.

Take a look at Task Manager at various times: are you close to maxing out RAM, processor, or disk cache? Figure out if there are processes running that you can kill.

Go through everything that’s set up for Quick Start and set it to non-Quick Start if you’re not using it regularly. [I just set everything to non-Quick Start.]

If your browser supports it, install Ublock Origin. If you can do it, install a pi-hole.

While you’re at it, check your router. This is a laptop, so I’m assuming it’s not wired to the internet, but if it is, try switching out the wire in case it’s worn. Check the cables between the router and the wall while you’re at it.

Unplug your router for at least a minute, then start it up again.

Are you running a lot of different devices that may be interfering with your connection, or running against potential high-bandwidth applications (streaming, livestreaming, torrenting)?

Is this problem specific to one or more areas? It’s possible that you’re too far from the router or there are things obstructing the signal.

Are there times that you get better speed (either times of day or times of the month)? Your ISP may be congested or they may be throttling your connection.

Did you leave your wifi open and other people are piggybacking off it? Is it running recent firmware?

Consider contacting your ISP and asking them to run a line test to see if there are issues external to your home. (Be prepared for them to try to upsell you.)

Switch to a lightweight browser like Firefox, Vivaldi, or Cromite.

Things that you can do that will cost money: increase the memory in your laptop (you have 4gb, it can take up to 12gb). If it’s not already on an SSD, switch to an SSD.

Pomfret still broadly supports Trump, grading him a ​B-plus.

So he’ll keep voting ®.

A party strategist […] said the party could still secure midterm wins if it captures at least 40% of the youth vote.

We are so fucked …

Are you kidding? They’re not going to be in the camps, they’re going to be the guards.

What I miss most are the (physically) local communities. On reddit, there was a subreddit for my general locality, and the nearby big city, and several subreddits on different aspects of life (the music scene, the food scene, etc). I miss that - randomly finding an event or something interesting simply because I came across a random post.

I know it’s a function of the fact that it’s still (comparatively) early days, but I do miss it.

I like how the cat is looking like he’s seriously considering leaving the interview.

Older Dem here, eagerly waiting generational change. Bring in AOC, bring in Bernie, bring in the Squad, I can’t wait!

And now Trump has some downside risks from his “war of choice”: the loss of almost all oil exports that pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which is most of what is exported from the Persian Gulf, and rising oil prices.

Their exports are also inputs into fertilizer. Expect food prices to rise again.

Hungary has parliamentary elections in six weeks. Right now his party controls parliament, but polls show the other party is likely to win. He’s trying to preserve his control over the country.

I’d argue that Tillis retiring is exactly why he’s saying this stuff - it’s his way of playing both sides of the fence He’s getting out while he can still (partially) claim deniability, putting on this show with Noem, and at the same time voting to let Trump continue to bomb Iran unchecked. By participating in this farce now, he limits the amount of flack he’ll get for it from the True Believers, yet he’s also providing cover for Republicans who think ICE has gone too far. And in the end, absolutely nothing significant will change.

It must be scary, living in a world where you’re constantly confronted by the fact that people exist who are “not like you”.

Both of them relish stolen glory.