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Matthew Bennell @matthewbennell.bsky.social · 8m

I see it occasionally and point out. Try not to be too much of a scold, but ...

And yes, the message is most important.

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Matthew Bennell @matthewbennell.bsky.social · 1h

U.S. sent home 21 other Saudi military students after an investigation revealed each had expressed jihadist or anti-American sentiments on social media pages or had “contact with child pornography,” including in internet chat rooms. ...

The AF continued to train Saudi pilots and still does.

Matthew Bennell @matthewbennell.bsky.social · 1h

Mil Times: While the U.S. military has a long history of training pilots for allied countries, the practice received scrutiny in 2019 following a deadly mass shooting at Pensacola Naval Air Station that killed three U.S. service members and wounded several others.

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Matthew Bennell @matthewbennell.bsky.social · 1h

The Qatari Idaho deal was in the works since 2020, by Trump. Qatar paying to build the "facility" that will house "about 300 additional Qatari and U.S. Air Force personnel."

Military Times summarizes the USAF news release.

www.afcent.af.mil/News/Article...

www.military.com/daily-news/2...

Pentagon Will Build a Training Facility for Qatari Pilots in Idaho

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the U.S. military is moving forward with plans to build a dedicated facility in Idaho to train pilots from Qatar, an important U.S. ally in the Middle East.

www.military.com

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Matthew Bennell @matthewbennell.bsky.social · 1h

Didn't say spelling was the biggest problem.

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Matthew Bennell @matthewbennell.bsky.social · 2h

Yo, Canada —

You fly.

Peace, out.

www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/f...

S.F. Fleet Week air show photos: Meet the ‘rock star’ Canadian Snowbirds

With the Blue Angels sidelined by the government shutdown, a team of Canadian flyers was promoted to a starring role in this year’s San Francisco Fleet Week festivities.

www.sfchronicle.com

Matthew Bennell @matthewbennell.bsky.social · 2h

I'd repost, but I'm not an "anti-FACTist."

I like facts. I don't like faScists.

Spellcheck, folks. Especially if you're posting large type. 😀

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Matthew Bennell @matthewbennell.bsky.social · 2h

The Christian Nationalists will howl about "them" and then happily take the $$$ to build/operate the base. They want in on the grift.

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Matthew Bennell @matthewbennell.bsky.social · 1d

Random AI-generated image/hallucination of Trump in diaper with girls in pink tutus in front of U.S. Capitol, amid oil drums, money, flames, storm clouds.

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Matthew Bennell @matthewbennell.bsky.social · 1d

Comes same day LAT announces it will go public to raise $500M to make it financially sustainable.

www.latimes.com/entertainmen...

Los Angeles Times Media Group takes step to go public

The company will put the newspaper, a gaming company and production studio under one roof.

www.latimes.com

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Matthew Bennell @matthewbennell.bsky.social · 1d

"Art must act"

aeon.co/essays/harol...

Harold Rosenberg exhorted artists to take action and resist cliché | Aeon Essays

Throughout decades of writing, Harold Rosenberg exhorted artists to resist cliché and conformity and instead take action

aeon.co

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Matthew Bennell @matthewbennell.bsky.social · 1d

Dear Canada,

(Doesn't have to be Tim Horton's, however.)

Box of donuts reading, "You deserve a donut."

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Matthew Bennell @matthewbennell.bsky.social · 1d

More Handmaid's Tale.

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Matthew Bennell @matthewbennell.bsky.social · 1d

My bad. Should have added current context. Still holds.

"... We can roughly say that most valuation metrics are at approximately double their historic levels, much like Buffett’s preferred indicator."

www.forbes.com/sites/simonm...

We Enter 2025 With Elevated U.S. Stock Valuations, Here’s Why That Matters

As we look towards 2025, the relatively high valuation of many U.S. stocks could contribute to investor risk at a time when international stocks are less richly valued.

www.forbes.com

Matthew Bennell @matthewbennell.bsky.social · 1d

Look to the past to understand the present and the future —

lithub.com/how-a-1977-c...

How a 1977 Czech Writers’ Manifesto Applies to the Stark Realities of America in 2025

The wonderful Czech writer Ivan Klima died this past weekend at the age of 94. Klima lived a remarkable, principled life, having survived both the Nazi occupation of Prague (he spent three years in…

lithub.com

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Matthew Bennell @matthewbennell.bsky.social · 1d

Major Israeli surveillance tech firm NSO now owned by U.S. "investors." Coming soon to a law enforcement/state/federal agency near you.

techcrunch.com/2025/10/10/s...

Spyware maker NSO Group confirms acquisition by US investors | TechCrunch

NSO Group confirmed to TechCrunch that an unnamed group of American investors has taken “controlling ownership” of the surveillance tech maker.

techcrunch.com

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Matthew Bennell @matthewbennell.bsky.social · 1d

These women cause projectile vomiting.

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Matthew Bennell @matthewbennell.bsky.social · 1d

Survey of U.S. and five other countries finds 6% use AI to get news, 12% feel comfortable with fully AI-generated news vs. 62% with human-made news.

What's your comfort level?

reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/generative-a...

Generative AI and news report 2025: How people think about AI’s role in journalism and society

Our survey explores how people use generative AI in their everyday lives, what they think its impact will be on different areas of society, and what they think about its use in news and journalism spe...

reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk

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Matthew Bennell @matthewbennell.bsky.social · 1d

Remember: This is a regime, not an "administration."

Matthew Bennell @matthewbennell.bsky.social · 1d

And will travelers giving the finger to Noem be pulled aside for extra screening or interrogation or denied boarding?

Wait for it, America.

www.cnn.com/2025/10/09/u...

Video of Kristi Noem blaming Democrats for shutdown “rolling out” at TSA security checkpoints across the country | CNN

Travelers waiting in airport security lines across the country will now be met with a video where the Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem blames Democrats for the government shutdown.

www.cnn.com

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Matthew Bennell @matthewbennell.bsky.social · 1d

Random AI-generated image/hallucination of Donald Trump in a a diaper and Melania Trump in a pink tutu in front of the U.S. Capitol, amid oil drums, money, rockets and faces in flames above the Capitol.

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Matthew Bennell @matthewbennell.bsky.social · 1d

She supports Trump and endorses bombing "drug" boats.

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Matthew Bennell @matthewbennell.bsky.social · 1d

Guessing there may be some constitutional questions/challenges here, not to mention opposition from the local Christian Nationalists, though in the end they'll happily take the $$$ to build/operate the base while railing against non-Christians.

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Matthew Bennell @matthewbennell.bsky.social · 1d

"Norms." We know how much Trumpstein loves/follows "norms."

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Matthew Bennell @matthewbennell.bsky.social · 1d

Not the first:

The base is also used by the Republic of Singapore Air Force.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountai...

Mountain Home Air Force Base - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org