2025 March❮❮prev

An intriguing analysis has been circulating online regarding the psychological aspects of Zelensky's meeting with Trump and Vance, conducted using ChatGPT.
From this analysis, it becomes evident that we have witnessed a true masterclass in gaslighting, manipulation, and coercion on the part of Trump and his entourage. Let's break down the key points:
1. Blaming the victim for their own situation
Trump explicitly tells Zelensky: "You have allowed yourself to be in a very bad position." This is classic abuser rhetoric--blaming the victim for their suffering. The implication is that Ukraine itself is responsible for being occupied by Russia and for the deaths of its people.
2. Pressure and coercion into 'gratitude'
Vance demands that Zelensky say "thank you." This is an extremely toxic tactic--forcing the victim to express gratitude for the help they desperately need, only to later accuse them of ingratitude if they attempt to assert their rights.
3. Manipulating the concept of 'peace'
Trump claims that Zelensky is "not ready for peace." However, what he actually means is Ukraine's capitulation. This is a classic manipulation technique--substituting the idea of a just peace with the notion of surrender.
4. Refusing to acknowledge the reality of war
Trump repeatedly insists that Zelensky has "no cards to play" and that "without us, you have nothing." This is yet another abusive tactic--undermining the victim's efforts by asserting that they are powerless without the mercy of their 'saviour.'
5. Devaluing the victims of war
"If you get a ceasefire, you must accept it so that bullets stop flying and your people stop dying," Trump says. Yet, he ignores the fact that a ceasefire without guarantees is merely an opportunity for Russia to regroup and strike again.
6. Dominance tactics
Trump constantly interrupts Zelensky, cutting him off: "No, no, you've already said enough," and "You're not in a position to dictate to us." This is deliberate psychological pressure designed to establish a hierarchy in which Zelensky is the subordinate.
7. Forcing capitulation under the guise of 'diplomacy'
Vance asserts that "the path to peace lies through diplomacy." This is a classic strategy where the aggressor is given the opportunity to continue their aggression unchallenged.
8. Projection and distortion of reality
Trump declares: "You are playing with the lives of millions of people." Yet, in reality, it is he who is doing exactly that--shifting responsibility onto Zelensky.
9. Creating the illusion that Ukraine 'owes' the US
Yes, the US is assisting Ukraine, but presenting this aid as "you must obey, or you will receive nothing" is not a partnership--it is financial and military coercion.
10. Undermining Ukraine's resistance
Trump states that "if it weren't for our weapons, this war would have ended in two weeks." This is an attempt to erase Ukraine's achievements and portray its efforts as entirely dependent on US support.
Conclusion
Trump and his team employed the full spectrum of abusive tactics: gaslighting, victim-blaming, coercion into gratitude, and manipulation of the concepts of peace and diplomacy. This was not a negotiation--it was an attempt to force Zelensky into accepting terms beneficial to the US but potentially fatal for Ukraine.

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New-to-me music

4 star:
* Try a Little Tenderness (Otis Redding)
* Just A Closer Walk With Thee (Venice Beach Boys)
glad to see these guys in "White Man Can't Jump"
* Way Less Sad (AJR)
One of Wren's favorite songs. Great sample of "My Little Town"

3 star:
* Stem Cells (Oak Felder)
* The Hook (Queen Latifah)
* Mars Is No Fun (Camille)
* The Air That I Breathe (The Hollies)
* The Seed (AURORA)
* Look At Me Now (DJ Kenni Starr Remix) (Degom)
* Your Body Is a Wonderland (John Mayer)
* Careless Whisper (Dj Ashes)

During the 2024 campaign, Trump said repeatedly that he would end the war in Ukraine. Shortly after the election, a newspaper reporter asked Nikolai Patrushev, who is close to Putin, if Trump's election would mean "positive changes from Russia's point of view." Patrushev answered: "To achieve success in the elections, Donald Trump relied on certain forces to which he has corresponding obligations. And as a responsible person, he will be obliged to fulfill them."

Today, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told a reporter: "The new administration is rapidly changing all foreign policy configurations. This largely aligns with our vision."

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You would imagine that [books] are speaking as if they had intelligence, but if you question them, wishing to learn something about what they say, they always say only one and the same thing. And every written discourse is thus; once it is written, it rolls about everywhere, reaching alike those who understand and those whom it in no way concerns, and it does not know to whom it should speak and to whom not.

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good advice from wittyidiot Maybe I'm a bit too quick to admit my faults than, you know, try and fix them.

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Social Security has never missed a payment. DOGE actions threaten 'interruption of benefits,' ex-agency head says anyone want to place bets? such scummy underhand ways of killing a program so many have paid into and are counting on Been a little behind in reading these days. A friend recommended "The Great Delusion" by John Mearsheimer. The basic idea is you got a balance a kind of liberalism (terms get fuzzy; he's talking like Clinton/Bush/Cheney "share our good values to the world" 'liberalism', something certain liberals would certainly condemn as a new flavor of colonialism) with nationalism and realism.

It mentioned Francis Fukuyama's famous article, "The End of History?" which I think a lot of us Gen Xers got introduced to via Jesus Jones' song "Right Here, Right Now"

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Trump and Musk are a revolution, alright, and no one will treat the USA as a reliable partner again. "And although one should hesitate before saying anything as pointed as describing president Trump and Vice-President as Russian assets, their conduct is indistinguishable from them being so."

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"They'll never cut Social Security" is the new "they'll never overturn Roe v Wade."

Trent: You know what you are? You're like a big bear with claws and with fangs...
Sue: ...big fucking teeth, man.
Trent: Yeah... big fuckin' teeth on ya'. And she's just like this little bunny, who's just kinda cowering in the corner.
Sue: Shivering.
Trent: Yeah, man just kinda... you know, you got these claws and you're staring at these claws and your thinking to yourself, and with these claws you're thinking, "How am I supposed to kill this bunny, how am I supposed to kill this bunny?"
Sue: And you're poking at it, you're poking at it...
Trent: Yeah, you're not hurting it. You're just kinda gently batting the bunny around, you know what I mean? And the bunny's scared Mike, the bunny's scared of you, shivering.
Sue: And you got these fucking claws and these fangs...
Trent: And you got these fucking claws and these fangs, man! And you're looking at your claws and you're looking at your fangs. And you're thinking to yourself, you don't know what to do, man. "I don't know how to kill the bunny." With *this* you don't know how to kill the bunny, do you know what I mean?
Sue: You're like a big bear, man.
Mike: So you're not just like fucking with me?
Trent: No I'm not fucking with you.
Sue: Honestly, man.

sometimes I feel like this when I have trouble getting started with a tech task

All Trump ever wanted to do was make engaging television, and by that standard it's been a wildly successful presidency.

This is going to be great television, I will say that.

"By one recent count, Trump has appointed 21 Fox News personalities to his staff--many, like Pete Hegseth, the secretary of defense, at the highest levels of his administration."

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The Sirius Cybernetics Corporation was awarded a huge research grant to design and produce synthetic personalities to order. The results were uniformly disastrous. All the 'people' and 'personalities' turned out to be amalgams of characteristics that simply could not co-exist in naturally occurring life forms. Most of them were just poor pathetic misfits, but some were deeply, deeply dangerous. Dangerous because they didn't ring alarm bells in other people. They could walk through situations the way that ghosts walk through walls, because no one spotted the danger

The most dangerous of all were three identical ones--they were put in this hold, to be blasted, with this ship, right out of this universe. They are not evil, in fact they are rather simple and charming. But they are the most dangerous creatures that ever lived because there is nothing they will not do if allowed, and nothing they will not be allowed to do...

BABAM @ Tesla Protests:

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For future reference GOP Rep. Schweikert talking about how deep hurtful cuts only take hours or days of a year's worth of debt spending. protestin' Tesla (March 1, photos by Henry B)

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Trump ❤️ Putin
Putin ❤️ Trump

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4-EVA

Being born on the 31st, or even 30th is rarer than being born on any other day of a month.

2025 March❮❮prev