Um, no thanks. Other than the Life splinter, I own a semi-decent Silver league deck. Add renting, and I can hold my own in Gold. But Diamond? Too rich for my blood. Maybe next year.
Cryptocurrency, Investing, Money, Economy, and Debt:
Charles Schwab, Citadel, Fidelity, and Others Start Crypto Exchange EDX Markets
What the world needs is another centralized exchange.
Americans Finally Feeling Better About the Economy
Coronavirus News, Analysis, and Opinion:
One of Long COVID’s Worst Symptoms Is Also Its Most Misunderstood
Brain fog isn’t like a hangover or depression. It’s a disorder of executive function that makes basic cognitive tasks absurdly hard.
So you haven't caught COVID yet. Does that mean you're a superdodger?
Politics:
Stephen Miller now a target of DOJ investigation — will he be the one to flip on Trump?
Ouch. This has got to really hurt his fragile ego: Trump Not Invited to Queen’s Funeral
If Donald Trump thought that his hagiography of Queen Elizabeth published on his Truth Social website and the Daily Mail in the days after her death would secure him an invite to her funeral, he will be disappointed.
For it has been revealed that Trump, who is believed to have been angling for an invite, will not after all receive an invitation to attend the queen’s funeral on Monday next week in London.
Democrats Spend to Amplify Far-Right Candidates
Democrats have spent nearly $19 million across eight states in primaries this year amplifying far-right Republican candidates who have questioned or denied the validity of the 2020 election, interfering in GOP contests to elevate rivals they see as easier to defeat in November, even as those candidates have promoted false or baseless claims.
For what it’s worth, I think that playing with fire like this is an incredibly dangerous idea. What could possibly go wrong?
What a Ukrainian Victory Means
If the Ukrainians don’t simply hold out against Russia but actually defeat Russia’s massive army and force it to retreat, the positive reverberations will be felt across the globe. Populist nationalists around the world, from Viktor Orbán to Matteo Salvini to Marine Le Pen to Donald Trump, have expressed admiration for Putin’s style of strongman rule. A Russian defeat and humiliation will puncture this narrative of the advantages of authoritarian government, and might lead to a rekindling of democratic self-confidence.
It has been easy for publics in Western democracies to take for granted the peace and prosperity brought about by the liberal world order. It may be the case that every generation needs to relearn the lesson that the alternatives to liberal democracy lead to violence, repression, and ultimately economic failure. Such a lesson will be driven home if the world sees brave Ukrainians fighting for their country succeed beyond all expectations.
A Ukrainian Victory Would Liberate Eastern Europe
Russian politician admits ‘it’s impossible’ to defeat Ukraine on live TV
World should prepare for the collapse of Russia, warns former US general
Secret Service Agent Tried to Discredit Cassidy Hutchinson
Members of the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riot believe former Secret Service agent Tony Ornato was personally involved in efforts to discredit former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony.
Oregon congressional candidate Alek Skarlatos joked about choking women
If he can stabilize the military front until winter sets in, he has several months to prepare for the spring. He might use that time to organize a general mobilization, building a much larger conscript army for another year of conventional combat. But if the front doesn’t stabilize, or if he feels that public resistance to a general mobilization could endanger the stability of the regime, he might look to more drastic options, such as the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
It is anything but clear how the West would respond. Allowing Mr. Putin to use nuclear blackmail to assert his control over Ukraine would be such a craven act that the moral and political foundations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization would be shaken to the core—and nuclear-armed aggressors elsewhere would take note. Yet the obvious countermove, placing Ukraine under an American nuclear umbrella, risks the greatest nuclear crisis since John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev squared off over Cuba in October 1962.
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Climate tipping points study provides clearest warning yet
