General is for work visas, whereas Academic is for applying to university courses. Generally speaking.

You should always double check with the institution/company you’re applying to, though.

Exactly. For either of the main parties, it’s barely a drop in the bucket. The claim that theoney is being withheld “in case they need it” is farcical.

Third parties, on the other hand, need all the help they can get.

The case for US electoral reform, exhibit #847…

It’s hard enough for third parties to offer voters an alternative to the two main parties without the duopoly actively blocking what little financial support they have.

It’s literally just boredom and dissatisfaction driving people to change from one side to another. Thanks to the two-party corporatocracy that the US pretends is a democracy, what other options do they have?

I’m a fan of atmospheric horror too, so I’ll give Longlegs a watch.

Recently, I’ve also seen:

• Late Night With the Devil - really good retro horror flick. They got the feel of the late 70s just right, and i enjoyed the way the tension gradually builds to a crescendo.

• A Quiet Place: Day One - was a big fan of the first movie, but the sequels have been increasingly disappointing. This one was definitely the weakest, IMO, but still somewhat enjoyable if you still feel like seeing a little more of the same.

• Furiosa - it was never going to be quite as good as Fury Road, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. It leant a little too much towards the grotesque at times, but the central performances and the world building were still good.

• Immaculate - Sweeney is pretty good and it has some atmosphere but by the end it got a little too silly for me. A fairly passable religious genre horror, all round.

• Dune: Part Two - as a big fan of the books, I have to say it was a little disappointing. Villeneuve nailed the look and feel of Arrakis no doubt, but this part felt rushed and unsatisfying - It really needed another 30 or 40 minutes to allow some of the central plot points to land and to give the characters more room to develop. I enjoyed it, but it’s not the masterpiece it could have been.

Follow up question: how do you deal with the King of Dwarves fight with this build?

That’s a really good point – I haven’t tried the thrown weapon way yet. Thanks for the suggestions!

Your final paragraph is kind of the central point they’re making, though. There seems to be a public mood of antipathy towards incumbent administration, which is bad news for Biden and the Democrats. People are fed up of the way things are and want a change, and Biden is deeply unpopular.

In order to convincingly beat Trump they need to do something bold: either offer a fresher, younger candidate or make big, daring bi-partisan policy plays on healthcare, education, more affordable housing, etc.

If they do nothing but stick to the old “vote for Biden and ‘business as usual’ because it’s the only way to beat fascism”, it looks like it may not be enough.

I only go sniper if I get a crossbow and/or a ring of sharpshooting, but that’s just me.

This is ironic because in the opinion piece by Rabbi Hain published in the Columbia student newspaper, he complains that

For years, Columbia’s Palestinian freedom movement has differentiated between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism, affirming that one can be critical of Israel without being anti-Semitic. But by using the October 7 attacks as a rallying point for the movement, attendees of the campus rally can no longer argue that their activism differentiates between the two. They are now saying the quiet part out loud: Dead Jews don’t matter.

So here he’s trying to accuse pro-Palestine students for conflating Anti-Zionism and antisemitism, when in fact groups like the Anti-Defamation League and American Israel Public Affairs Committee have been doing this exact same thing for years! And now even the US Congress is in on the action.

This is precisely why conflating to two is wrong: it dilutes the term “antisemitism” so much that people start to roll their eyes when they see it being weaponized to silence criticism of Israel, which then makes it harder to protect Jewish people from actual anti-semitic attacks.

To be fair, they call themselves The Satanic Temple. If they didn’t want to court the “dark messenger” notoriety in the first place, they would just call themselves something serious like The Humanist Society.

Sure there’s a lot of garbage out there, but YouTube and platforms like Substack allow former corporate journalists who want more freedom to do proper investigative stuff. You just have to be discerning with your sources.

I like Zeteo (Mehdi Hassan, formerly MSNBC), Drop Site News (Jeremy Scahill, formerly TheIntercept) and The Real News Network (Chris Hedges, formerly NYT) the best. Breaking Points also put out some good commentary occasionally.

This is why the UK needs proportional representation.

You said “sure” but then went straight back to the Opensecrets rankings… You’re glossing over the point.

AIPAC receives it’s donations from inside the US, from pro-Israel Americans. Because the group is funded by private donors rather than the Israeli government or a foreign group, it does not need to be registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, so less oversight is given to where the money comes from and how it is spent.

What other foreign nation lobbying group donates $14M to the opponent of a congressman and pays for attack ads against him to hurt his chances in an upcoming election? It’s unprecedented.

Also, it’s worth noting that AIPAC takes money from anybody who is Pro-Israel, whether they be Jewish or not. There more Zionist Christians that Jews in America, in terms of pure numbers.

Good choice – Inter is probably the best, most comfortable UI font IMO. Or Roboto.

The two party system really is a horrible idea. It’s pretty telling that no country that has adopted a liberal democratic system of government since the founding of the US has chosen to follow suit.

“Cunt” is misogynist

Mod has clearly never met an Australian

Would’ve preferred a Max win

I know. When will the poor lad start winning some races?

Firstly, the decision to leave was made through a diplomatic referendum, which makes it practically and politically awkward to reverse without making the UK look even more foolish on the world stage. Another big reason is that the wheels of bureaucracy turn slowly. Like the proverbial oil tanker, turning around is no quick and easy task – it would take years to reverse what has already been done and would leave Britain in an appalling position when it came to negotiating the terms of reentry.

Realistically, it’s been estimated that if the UK can get back on its feet and make a good go of it, the earliest point at which reentry would be advisable is in about ten years time.