George Dubya
@itisgeorge.bsky.social
A mishmash: Middle East stuff, development stuff, organizational dysfunction, crisis response, carbon transition dynamics, silly sports things. Mostly here to read smarter people than me.
If you set your own guys on fire that's not a good military move. Also the Spartans got smoked by what I'm guessing was the gayest elite military unit ever (most elite gay military unit ever?) but sure, man
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_...
February 17, 2026 at 12:50 AM
If you set your own guys on fire that's not a good military move. Also the Spartans got smoked by what I'm guessing was the gayest elite military unit ever (most elite gay military unit ever?) but sure, man
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_...
It's pretty much exactly this
February 16, 2026 at 4:15 AM
It's pretty much exactly this
Football and pizza got canceled? Because I could swear I just watched the Seahawks win the Super Bowl in front of an audience of like a zillion people, while I was eating pizza. I dunno, maybe I'm actually in the matrix or on my deathbed hallucinating or something
February 14, 2026 at 10:22 PM
Football and pizza got canceled? Because I could swear I just watched the Seahawks win the Super Bowl in front of an audience of like a zillion people, while I was eating pizza. I dunno, maybe I'm actually in the matrix or on my deathbed hallucinating or something
He watched this on Syfy didn't he
February 14, 2026 at 6:26 PM
He watched this on Syfy didn't he
Going out on a limb to argue two things:
a) the history of slavery actually serves the "slavery was bad" faction pretty well, and
b) the "slavery was bad" faction ought to include the GOP and the fact that it doesn't says a lot more about the GOP than it does about slavery
a) the history of slavery actually serves the "slavery was bad" faction pretty well, and
b) the "slavery was bad" faction ought to include the GOP and the fact that it doesn't says a lot more about the GOP than it does about slavery
February 14, 2026 at 5:13 PM
Going out on a limb to argue two things:
a) the history of slavery actually serves the "slavery was bad" faction pretty well, and
b) the "slavery was bad" faction ought to include the GOP and the fact that it doesn't says a lot more about the GOP than it does about slavery
a) the history of slavery actually serves the "slavery was bad" faction pretty well, and
b) the "slavery was bad" faction ought to include the GOP and the fact that it doesn't says a lot more about the GOP than it does about slavery
The last thing MAGA sees
February 13, 2026 at 11:37 PM
The last thing MAGA sees
"I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and willingly accepts the penalty by staying in jail to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the very highest respect for the law." -- Martin Luther King Jr.
February 13, 2026 at 11:32 PM
"I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and willingly accepts the penalty by staying in jail to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the very highest respect for the law." -- Martin Luther King Jr.
A speed square! Somebody who knows his stuff showed me what they're about and they can do like a million things. Anything with boards and angles and whatnot.
February 11, 2026 at 9:19 PM
A speed square! Somebody who knows his stuff showed me what they're about and they can do like a million things. Anything with boards and angles and whatnot.
The Hillary Clinton emails scandal had more dire long-term effects, but for my money the "Ed Miliband looks goofy eating a sandwich" scandal is the all-time dumbest. Multiple UK papers took this and ran with it! And it worked on voters!
February 6, 2026 at 9:52 PM
The Hillary Clinton emails scandal had more dire long-term effects, but for my money the "Ed Miliband looks goofy eating a sandwich" scandal is the all-time dumbest. Multiple UK papers took this and ran with it! And it worked on voters!
A general principle of intelligence/counterintelligence is that people can't shut up. Social media and smartphones = the not shutting up is digitally preserved
www.aljazeera.com/news/longfor...
www.aljazeera.com/news/longfor...
February 5, 2026 at 6:55 PM
A general principle of intelligence/counterintelligence is that people can't shut up. Social media and smartphones = the not shutting up is digitally preserved
www.aljazeera.com/news/longfor...
www.aljazeera.com/news/longfor...
I mean, look at this. This is the process to get a green card. It’s impossible by design, and H2A and H2B holders are specifically prohibited from this. People who can’t navigate this spaghetti go temp or off the books. People are illegal because the idea of getting legal is a joke. 39/
February 1, 2026 at 9:25 PM
I mean, look at this. This is the process to get a green card. It’s impossible by design, and H2A and H2B holders are specifically prohibited from this. People who can’t navigate this spaghetti go temp or off the books. People are illegal because the idea of getting legal is a joke. 39/
He also cut the wages for H2A temp ag visas, which are set according to a formula that figures (for each state) what wage would attract American workers. This is to ensure that H2A workers don’t undercut American wages. Allowing H2A visas at lower wages screws American farmworkers 24/
February 1, 2026 at 9:19 PM
He also cut the wages for H2A temp ag visas, which are set according to a formula that figures (for each state) what wage would attract American workers. This is to ensure that H2A workers don’t undercut American wages. Allowing H2A visas at lower wages screws American farmworkers 24/
An ITUC report before the Qatar world cup predicted 4000 deaths, which ended up being an undercount. But check out this graphic comparing worker deaths from other large sporting events. Pre-Qatar large sporting events averaged 16 worker deaths. Qatar had ~6000. 15/
February 1, 2026 at 9:15 PM
An ITUC report before the Qatar world cup predicted 4000 deaths, which ended up being an undercount. But check out this graphic comparing worker deaths from other large sporting events. Pre-Qatar large sporting events averaged 16 worker deaths. Qatar had ~6000. 15/
Every day across South Asia, several coffins are offloaded from flights from the Gulf and rolled out on luggage carts. These are usually guys who landed with especially abusive bottom of the barrel subcontractors. When you hear about the incredible death tolls of Gulf labor, it’s mostly them 11/
February 1, 2026 at 9:13 PM
Every day across South Asia, several coffins are offloaded from flights from the Gulf and rolled out on luggage carts. These are usually guys who landed with especially abusive bottom of the barrel subcontractors. When you hear about the incredible death tolls of Gulf labor, it’s mostly them 11/
Exploitation abounds. If a worker complains, they’re fired and they lose their visa since it’s tied to that company. If you land with the wrong company they can underpay you, bait and switch what sort of work you have to do, make you live in atrocious conditions, and you put up with it or go home
February 1, 2026 at 9:12 PM
Exploitation abounds. If a worker complains, they’re fired and they lose their visa since it’s tied to that company. If you land with the wrong company they can underpay you, bait and switch what sort of work you have to do, make you live in atrocious conditions, and you put up with it or go home
I think a big part of the Gulf thing is that Trump likes Gulf royalty so much, and they get him. Dynasties, oil, taking wealth from the public, garish real estate projects, the right to imprison/torture/kill anyone you want, failsons, multiple wives; Trump is a brother from another mother to them
February 1, 2026 at 9:11 PM
I think a big part of the Gulf thing is that Trump likes Gulf royalty so much, and they get him. Dynasties, oil, taking wealth from the public, garish real estate projects, the right to imprison/torture/kill anyone you want, failsons, multiple wives; Trump is a brother from another mother to them
I’ve been going back and forth on this but this clinches it—I think these guys really want a Persian Gulf labor model in the US. It’s not a coherent philosophy—nothing ever is with these assholes—but I’ve worked on Gulf labor stuff and I’m seeing more and more of it here. Long thread 1/
February 1, 2026 at 9:09 PM
I’ve been going back and forth on this but this clinches it—I think these guys really want a Persian Gulf labor model in the US. It’s not a coherent philosophy—nothing ever is with these assholes—but I’ve worked on Gulf labor stuff and I’m seeing more and more of it here. Long thread 1/
Also since climate change isn’t real the only way to explain huge fires is Mapuche arsonists and/or the Jews
January 29, 2026 at 10:58 PM
Also since climate change isn’t real the only way to explain huge fires is Mapuche arsonists and/or the Jews
Milei thinks why fight fires when climate change doesn’t exist? And he’s too lazy to schlepp out to the actual fire line so he’s making AI pictures of him shaking firefighter hands
January 29, 2026 at 10:57 PM
Milei thinks why fight fires when climate change doesn’t exist? And he’s too lazy to schlepp out to the actual fire line so he’s making AI pictures of him shaking firefighter hands
No idea who this Border Patrol piece of shit is, but he was involved in transferring them to Texas. Tiul Caal was contributing a lot more to society and made my life a lot better than this BP guy or the immigration judge ever have or ever will. 5/6
January 24, 2026 at 1:26 AM
No idea who this Border Patrol piece of shit is, but he was involved in transferring them to Texas. Tiul Caal was contributing a lot more to society and made my life a lot better than this BP guy or the immigration judge ever have or ever will. 5/6
They are both currently in a terrible facility in Texas, waiting to go before an immigration judge who granted asylum 1 (one) time in 193 cases last year, and who once sent a guy back to Turkey despite Homeland Security recommending asylum, saying that his torture and rape in Turkey wasn’t that bad
January 24, 2026 at 1:25 AM
They are both currently in a terrible facility in Texas, waiting to go before an immigration judge who granted asylum 1 (one) time in 193 cases last year, and who once sent a guy back to Turkey despite Homeland Security recommending asylum, saying that his torture and rape in Turkey wasn’t that bad
Hey is there a reason people aren't doing the Hong Kong thing where you put a traffic cone over the tear gas canister and douse it with water? Seemed to work well over there but it never caught on here. Different chemicals? Different procedures? Something else?
January 21, 2026 at 11:13 PM
Hey is there a reason people aren't doing the Hong Kong thing where you put a traffic cone over the tear gas canister and douse it with water? Seemed to work well over there but it never caught on here. Different chemicals? Different procedures? Something else?
I've always thought it might be fun working as a US attorney
January 13, 2026 at 2:50 AM
I've always thought it might be fun working as a US attorney
Anyway, I don't know what they're complaining about. There's tons of caribou running around, the troops have guns, if they can't shoot caribou they can eat starving troops, etc.
January 12, 2026 at 9:39 PM
Anyway, I don't know what they're complaining about. There's tons of caribou running around, the troops have guns, if they can't shoot caribou they can eat starving troops, etc.