"Stancik, 24, said Friday that she was “abandoned by the military” after suffering three heart attacks and a stroke after receiving the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. She said her retirement is “bittersweet.”

“It’s a love/hate relationship. It’s a bittersweet moment,” Stancik said. “It brings up a lot of negative emotions because of the traumas I had to face throughout this whole time. I’m 24. I shouldn’t be retired, you know?”

https://www.newsnationnow.com/cuomo-show/karoline-stancik-soldier-injured-covid-vaccine-contemplated-suicide/

Oh, no. Telegram will recommend similar channels to those you already watch.

"To understand the way these extremists interact on Telegram, we collected a trove of data from the “similar channels” feature that Telegram launched in late 2023. Telegram calculates the proportion of users of one channel who are also on other channels, recommending these as “similar channels.” By collecting these recommendations for a large number of extremist channels, we were able to uncover the joining patterns that undergird Telegram, including crossover between channels and neighborhoods of channels."

https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2024/12/13/telegrams-toxic-recommendations-perpetuate-extremism

More: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgrvw29x4jo

Over the weekend, Israel’s government approved a plan to double its population in the Golan Heights — a rocky, mountainous region along the borders between Israel, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.

They’re doing it because Syria is extraordinarily weak and this is a real moment of opportunity for Israel. Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu is, in a sense, a conquering hero in Israel. He’s rebuilt his popularity. He’s destroyed Hezbollah largely and cut off arms supply that used to go through Syria from Iran to Hezbollah. He’s flipped the country from being part of the Axis of Resistance to being a Sunni-dominated state that’s allied with Turkey.

So, in many ways, he’s flexing his muscle. And this is a moment when the government in Damascus is in chaos. He’s trying to consolidate his power. The new army has not taken control of the military sites and is not prepared to resist Israel’s expansion to the rest of the Golan Heights and to take Mount Hermon. Israel can do it with very little pushback. https://theworld.org/stories/2024/12/16/israel-to-expand-golan-heights-settlements-as-syria-goes-through-political-transition

Food courier with human powered hydrofoil

Did you know? 🎓

On this day, in 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 exploded over Lockerbie, killing all of the crew and passengers on board. Eleven people from the town also died when burning wreckage crashed into the land.

NEW: Brexit In Name Only: UK Dragged Into EU Court for Not Making Migration Easy Enough.
https://thenationalpulse.com/2024/12/17/brexit-in-name-only-uk-dragged-into-eu-court-for-not-making-migration-easy-enough/?feed_id=31263&_unique_id=6761682413ba3

"Stern, who was Jewish, intended the story as an update of Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol (1843), with narrative elements from the biblical story of Job. For those unfamiliar, Job is the story of God inflicting woe and despair on his devotee, Job. God’s intent is to test Job’s faith. After being subjected to horrible pain and grief (poverty, death of his son, horrible illness), Job asks God, “Why are all these horrible things happening to a good person like me?” God rather unsatisfactorily answers, “Who are you to try and understand my plan?” That’s it. That’s the lesson. Horrible things happen. There is nothing you can do about it. The ultimate cosmic horror."
https://nighttidemag.com/2024/12/13/sinister-screen-its-a-horrible-life-dr/#:~:text=Stern%2C%20who%20was,ultimate%20cosmic%20horror.

BREAKING: The CR bill has officially passed and the government will avoid shutdown

https://x.com/dschlopesisback/status/1870239072104411604?s=46&t=G8osZoHuXTQhHbGFJD4WZg

@Dschlopes

“Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn’t. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something. That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo… and it’s worth fighting for.”

The Distribution of Christianity by 300 AD (1950s map)
https://redd.it/1hfdqgq
@r_mapporn

Science Fiction and Fantasy New Releases: 21 December 2024

Every week, the Castalia House Blog spotlights some of the many new releases in independent, pulp, and web novel-influenced science fiction and fantasy. The Assistant (Honor of the Fleet #3) – Felix R. Savage A merciless evil is stalking the cities of the Moon. Only Siegn can unravel the mystery. Assigned to break a VR […]

http://www.castaliahouse.com/science-fiction-and-fantasy-new-releases-21-december-2024/

BREAKING:

🇺🇲🇬🇧🇾🇪 Fierce clash between the US, UK and the Houthis in the Red Sea, the US lost a fighter jet

Yemeni Armed Forces announces to have targeted the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group overnight, in an operation that resulted in the failure of a joint American-British attack on Yemen, and the (friendly) downing of an F/A-18 fighter jet.

The operation was carried out with 8 Cruise Missiles & 17 Kamikaze Drones.

This attack provoked panic among the US Navy ships & fighter jets operators, pushing the USS Gettysburg to fire missiles at one of the F18s that was 'defending' them.

@Megatron_ron