Alaskaball

For me its a song by Demircan Demir, singing Bir Yol Senden Açık while banging away on a santoor.

Don't know a lick of what he's saying but I feel it for the few minutes I empty my mind and simply exist.

Either that or the soundtrack for mushi-shi. Really great for zoning in and out of concious existence while staring at the paint on the wall.

Share your mood music!

Edit: if anyone's curious, no I don't imbibe substances when I go through my quarterly cycle, with surprise visits, of inflicting ego death on an Alaskaball.

https://archive.is/MQDgH

US companies are demanding price cuts from Chinese suppliers to mitigate tariffs— but there's nothing left to squeeze

• US businesses are pressuring Chinese suppliers to cut prices to mitigate Trump's tariffs on China.

• Supply chain experts say Chinese manufacturers have smaller margins to give.

• After heated back-and-forth retaliations, the US tariffs on China stand at 145% as of April 10.

To avoid steep price hikes for consumers, US businesses are pressuring their Chinese suppliers to lower prices after President Donald Trump imposed massive tariffs.

Fucking swine, if I was a Chinese capitalist leech that had a hand in manufacturing and supplying the U.S I'd try to organize an alliance across the manufacturing sector to raise the prices of goods in response to their outrageous demands.

Those attempts will likely fail, production management companies and supply chain experts told Business Insider.

I fucking hope they do

"If you already reduced your pricing in the past for your US clients, you probably don't have much space to do it again and again," said Jonathan Chitayat, CEO of Genimex Group, a contract manufacturing company. "You can do it for an order or two, but the next time your customer asks you for a price, you are going to work on the reality that you have to be a profitable business and you can't continue losing money."

Fucking sucks when the shoe's on the other foot, don't it, porky?

Genimex Group helps US companies engineer and manage manufacturing for electronics and kitchenware, which often means working with overseas suppliers in Asia. Chitayat said that a large part of the job now is negotiating with factories to mitigate the tariffs. Still, because that possibility is shrinking, many US clients have already raised their retail prices.

Middleman corporate swine crying about their shrinking profits

"Everyone's already under pressure and has been asked that question before," said Chitayat. "There are no subsidies that we're aware of that the government in China is giving to manufacturers, so they mostly don't or have very, very little margins to give."

Even without being propped up by the People's wealth, like how the American capitalists are, Chinese industry is still roflstomping the U.S without actually putting the economic squeeze on us.

Trump has a history of imposing tariffs on China since his first presidency in 2016. The manufacturing hub also became his main target during his "Liberation Day" announcements, during which he said China had a 67% tariff on the US, among several other figures representing other countries' duties on the US that could not be found in past trade documents.

The meme is JDPON Don right?

Despite announcing on Wednesday that his tariff policy would be temporarily suspended for 90 days on more than 75 trading partners who did not respond with retaliatory measures, Trump said on Thursday that a 10% blanket tariff on all countries still stands and that tariffs on China total 145%.

Lol at how there's still a 10% fuck you tax on all the importer capitalists here

Trump wrote on Truth Social that these tariffs are "effective immediately" and "based on the lack of respect that China has shown to the World's Markets."

Everything America says is projection

China retaliated against the initial US tariffs with an 84% counter tariff and raised the amount to 125% on April 11, calling the US a "joke." The Ministry of Finance in China added that, given the price tag, there is no longer any "market acceptance for US goods exported to China."

Good.

Shih said that if the Chinese Yuan depreciates, that could help absorb some of the tariff shock. However, that would be insufficient to keep costs down for many products like electrical equipment, which already faced Section 301 tariffs before the most recent "reciprocal" tariffs enacted under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

Just gonna keep snowballing and snowballing, but the snow is actually dookie

He said many of these products, such as liquid crystal flat panel displays for televisions, were never made in the US in the first place.

You'd be hard pressed to find something that is made in the u.s

"You can distribute parts of the tariff among all the parties in the supply chain, but these numbers are so large now that they're going to have to be passed on to consumers," Shih added.

When hasn't it been "passed on to consumers"

Some supply chain experts have also told BI that China's internal economic issues have affected its ability to mitigate external shocks, which could harm both countries.

Hey look! More projection!

"Chinese manufacturing firms have faced declining margins in part due to falling domestic demand," Sara Hsu, clinical associate professor of supply chain management at the University of Tennessee, told BI, "so there is already weakness in this sector from last year."

America's plan to destroy China is to starve itself to destroy China's manufacturing capacity due to the classic capitalist crisis of overproduction. Fucking lol.

Andrew Collier, Senior Fellow at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government of the Harvard Kennedy School, told BI that due to the collapse of China's property market and the subsequent loss of property revenue for local governments, there's little room for Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, to prop up manufacturers.

Not that they necessarily needed to, like how they let the property market collapse instead of propping up capitalist fuck ups with the People's wealth. Gee if only we could have a People's government that could put these swine to pasture too.

"Xi faces some domestic pressure from unemployed workers, disgruntled property owners, and small businesses selling goods to the US," said Collier. "The political pressure on Trump in a democracy is likely to be much higher once people realize how bad the economy and markets are."

Big saying Xi has problems that can be compared to how fucked we are in comparison when the ball really gets rolling.

I'm sorry this is just too absurd not to share

There's even a victory day version.

https://youtu.be/wOzP87HVCWw

Edit: wrf the guy even makes juche gang star wars and Harry Potter ai slop music vids

Edit 2: the juche Harry Potter one had Harry as the son of Kim Jong un leading the workers party for the prosperity of the people, shits wild

Of course Connecticut is the only state that actually has taste

https://archive.is/F86Y6

ASSISI, Italy (AP) — With the upcoming canonization of its first millennial saint, the Catholic Church has turned to police in Italy to investigate the online sale of some purported relics of Carlo Acutis, who already has been drawing hundreds of thousands of pilgrims to his shrine.

Since the early days of the faith, many Catholics have prayed for intercession to saints’ relics — usually small parts of their body or clothing that are authenticated by ecclesiastical authorities and preserved in churches. But their sale is strictly forbidden.

Gotta keep a monopoly of trafficking parts of cadavers I suppose.

“It’s not just despicable, but it’s also a sin,” said the Rev. Enzo Fortunato, who leads the Vatican’s World Children’s Day committee and has a tiny fragment of Acutis’ hair in a chapel by his office for veneration by visiting youth. “Every kind of commerce over faith is a sin.”

It's incredibly funny that the AP article also includes pictures of the souvenirs for sale depicting the kid in the same article, by the way

(Rev. Cristopher Pujol prays at the heart relic of Carlo Acutis, the 15-year-old Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia and beatified in 2020, at the San Rufino Cathedral in Assisi, Italy, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino))

( Young boys pray in front of the heart relic of Carlo Acutis, the 15-year-old Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia and beatified in 2020, in the San Rufino Cathedral in Assisi, Italy, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino))

(Photos of Carlo Acutis, a 15-year-old Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia and beatified in 2020, are displayed at the Santa Maria Maggiore church in Assisi, Italy, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino))

Acutis was precocious in developing and sharing his faith

Acutis died of leukemia in 2006, when he was only 15 but had already developed a precocious faith life centered on devotion to the Eucharist — which for Catholics holds the real presence of Christ. Savvy with technology, he had created an online exhibit about eucharistic miracles through the centuries.

Don't really want to mock the kid for it, but imagine becoming a saint and having your body paraded around for display because you made a website.

He will formally be declared a saint at a Mass in front of the Vatican’s St. Peter’s Basilica on April 27. Over the past year, about 1 million pilgrims have flocked to the central Italian town of Assisi, where his body — wearing sneakers, jeans, and a sweatshirt — lies in a shrine in a church dedicated to a key moment in the life of medieval hometown saint, St. Francis.

Souvenirs of Carlo Acutis, the 15-year-old Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia and beatified in 2020, are displayed in a shop in Assisi, Italy, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

A hair relic of Carlo Acutis, a 15-year-old Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia and beatified in 2020 is shown to the Associated Press during an interview in Rome, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Acutis’ body was exhumed during the more-than-decade-long canonization process and treated so it could be preserved for public showing, including by removing certain organs. His face, which looks as if he were asleep, was reconstructed with a silicone mask, Sorrentino said.

Acutis’ heart has been preserved at a dedicated altar in another Assisi church; it will be taken to Rome for the canonization Mass.

“The relics are little, little fragments of the body, to say that that body is blessed, and it explains to us the closeness of God,” Sorrentino said.

Handling of relics is a painstaking task for the church

There are different “classes” of relics — the most important are major body parts, such as the heart. Sorrentino gave Acutis’ pericardium — the membrane enclosing the heart — to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2022 for the duration of its multi-year Eucharistic Revival.

The bishop in charge of the saint’s body works with requests from other bishops around the world to give or lend relics — always for free — to be exhibited for veneration at parishes and other churches.

People pray in front of the body of Carlo Acutis, a 15-year-old Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia and beatified in 2020, in the Santa Maria Maggiore church in Assisi, Italy, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

“We give this to communities, to parishes, to priests using the relics for the cult in their parish,” Sorrentino said. “It’s not something magic. It’s not something that works automatically, it works through faith.”

The practice of gathering relics dates to the earliest days of the church, when many faithful Christians died as martyrs in religious persecutions. Witnesses to the killings would collect blood or fragments of clothing to memorialize their sacrifice and to pray for the saints’ intercession, Fortunato said.

In Acutis’ case, the first miracle in his canonization process was the healing of a boy in Brazil after a prayer service invoking his intercession with the presence of a relic, he added.

For clergy and pilgrims who have been visiting Acutis’ shrine in Assisi this week, the relics take second place to the example of faith and the power of assisting with prayer that saints provide.

“I would never buy one,” said Amelia Simone, an 18-year-old from Chicago who has been studying in Rome and credits Acutis for help smoothing out tricky visa paperwork. “I think the intercession aspect is very cool, but I don’t think I’d ever want to own a first-class relic. It just would feel a bit weird to me.”

Yeah that'd be fucking creepy.

Two clergy leading a Holy Year pilgrimage to Italy from the Diocese of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, said it was “a great tragedy” that online relic sales were happening.

“We continue to pray for people’s conversion,” said the Rev. Christopher Pujol.

Bishop Larry Kulick added that relics “are very reverent and very solemn for us as Catholics. And they are not only inspirational for us, but they are really ... opportunities to help us to pray.”

“And so it’s unfortunate that such a thing would happen, because that’s really a misuse of the relics and actually a disrespect to him and to his memory,” he added.

Some mixed views on this sainthood process

Already, the uncommon devotion and attention that Acutis’ canonization process has generated has been met with some skepticism. In hundreds of social media comments to a recent Associated Press article about the phenomenon, some called his sainthood a marketing ploy by the church to lure more young people back into the pews.

Nah, making an anime girl mascot was a marketing ploy. This is just the usual Catholic mystical shit. The real gossip I want to hear is from the damn protestants with their wanna-be iconoclastic pseudo-beliefs that just coincidentally vanishes whenever one of their own makes a shitty b-tier movie about time traveling to the past to nail Jesus to the cross or some shit.

Many others — and those making pilgrimage to Assisi — praised Acutis for his devotion and were glad he’s become a role model for members of his generation.

“It’s a joy for me to have encountered Carlo Acutis’ body, and especially to ask for his intercession for the transformation and the conversion of many youth,” said Juana de Dios Euceda, a missionary nun from Honduras.

https://archive.is/sUGzv

• My husband cut our $2,000 monthly grocery bill by $415 just by shopping differently.

• Switching from name brands to store brands saved us thousands — and my kids didn't even notice.

• His engineering mindset means no impulse buys and less food waste.

In May 2023, my husband and I sat down to look over our budget app on his laptop — one of my least favorite activities.

As a family of six living in the Chicago suburbs, our grocery bills were already sky-high and climbing with inflation. I hated budget conversations.

So 2k split six ways is like 330 give or take per person per month, being like 80 bucks a week. I usually get by spending 150-200 per month on groceries and that's usually me buying bulk one month to stretch out over a few months and the other months on treats like fresh fruits, vegetables, and maybe even some fancy bread once in a while. Are kids really that expensive to feed? Yeah probably.

Even though my husband never made me feel this way, I always felt like I was getting in trouble for overspending. So when he pointed out that our Walmart grocery bill for the month was $1,923, I felt the guilt creep in.

But then, he said something that I didn't expect: "Let me take over the grocery shopping."

I laughed. Not because I thought he'd do a bad job but because I couldn't imagine it would make any real difference. Plus, grocery shopping was my domain: I knew what we liked, and I meal planned. I didn't love the idea of him double-checking my choices. But I was exhausted from the weekly trips, so I handed him the grocery list — half expecting him to come back overwhelmed.

The next month, our grocery bill dropped to $1,511. I figured he was just cutting corners to prove he could spend less. But the following month? $1,555. Our pantry was full, our kids were happy, and we were spending around $400 less a month.

I had to admit: maybe my husband was onto something.

He started by taking his time in the store to consider all the options

I got curious about his method: "How are you doing this?" I asked.

It turns out his first grocery shopping trip took almost two hours — and not because he couldn't find anything. While I was home imagining him wandering lost in the aisles, he was carefully reading ads (the ones I would have tossed aside) and checking prices on every single item.

Ah yeah, that makes sense. Its a right sharp thing to do to save a few quid in this economy. Man back in the cupon days you could get some wild deals with what you found in the papers

Ever the engineer, my husband pulled out his phone to show me some of the side-by-side price comparisons he made. I was beyond surprised.

My husband made some big money-saving switches

My kids go through ketchup like water. I had been buying Heinz at $4.48 for years without thinking twice. The Great Value brand my husband chose is just $1.92 for the same size bottle, and it tastes exactly the same, saving us $2.56 every time.

Yeh going for the 'generic' house version instead of branded stuff genuinely makes the most sense the majority of the time.

But the ranch savings may be one of our biggest. Switching from Hidden Valley at $6.97 to Great Value at $3.54 saves us $3.43 per bottle, and no one can even tell the difference. We use it for everything from salads to dipping vegetables, so these savings add up quickly. We even did a blind taste test with our pickiest eater, and he liked the generic brand best.

Honestly know the pain of having picky eater family members. My picky eater only enjoyed cheese pizzas when they were flattened white bread covered in ketchup and American cheese microwaved to melt the cheese then lightly toasted on the frying pan and only ate makkas burgers with no onions, mustard, or pickles and no other kind of burger.

The cereal aisle turned out to have big savings, too. Name-brand Rice Krispies were costing us $3.98 per box, but Great Value Rice Crisps are only $1.97. This cut our cost in half while keeping breakfast the same.

I came in wanting to rip on some out of touch shitlibs, but hey, good on them for discovering reality. Hopefully they keep touching more grass

For the kids' school snacks, I used to buy the individually packaged Goldfish for $9.76 out of convenience. My husband started buying the bulk carton for $7.79 which saves us almost $2.00 for even more crackers. For what we are saving, I don't mind taking the extra minute to put the Goldfish into individual baggies for school snacks.

Seriously it's almost endearing they're discovering the shit a lot of our parents did for us when we were kids. Sure, they obviously got money to burn but still.

It's not just about switching to store brands or buying in bulk. Even with name-brand things we love, my husband finds a way to save money. For example, with our coffee, instead of paying $31.08 at Walmart for three pounds, he gets it directly from Dunkin on his way home for $26.21. That's saving $4.87 just by changing where we buy it. It's the exact same amount, but almost $5.00 cheaper.

We're happier and saving money

There have been unexpected benefits beyond just saving money. I no longer dread those weekly grocery trips because I'm not making them anymore. Since my husband actually sticks to the grocery list (unlike me and my impulse purchases), we're wasting less food.

I still handle meal planning, but he approaches grocery shopping with his engineering mindset.

Here's where I embrace my inner southern granny: bless her heart. She really doesn't know any better.

I wish we'd made this switch years ago. It's funny how sometimes the best solutions come from playing to each other's strengths and letting the more cost-conscious partner do the shopping. That one conversation didn't just change how we grocery shop — it's saving our family about $4,980 a year. And, all because I was willing to hand over the grocery list to my husband, who was willing to spend two hours comparing ketchup prices.

Frugality is indeed a virtue.

Stories About Overthrowing the Government Are No Longer Allowed': Anime Censorship Overseas Adding to Broadcast Woes

Anime's global popularity has surged exponentially over the last decade, with franchises like Demon Slayer, My Hero Academia and many others amassing huge international followings. However, some overseas governments are limiting the medium's availability by imposing strict new censorship guidelines on televised works.

It's not that strict.

Per Mantan Web, China has become even more restrictive about what types of anime can be broadcast domestically. According to one of the site's sources, "stories about overthrowing the government and works depicting middle school romance are no longer allowed." This is significant given that many iconic anime works, such as Sailor Moon, Mobile Suit Gundam, Fullmetal Alchemist and Attack on Titan, include one or both of these elements within their narratives. This, in addition to other factors, has had a profound impact on the anime industry in terms of which shows get produced and how they are presented to both global and domestic audiences.

Woes is me, allowing capitalist shows that most likely critique the capitalist system and the capitalist government not air on socialist airwaves because it may influence the viewer to distorted view the People's government as an analogy to the show's bourgeois government? Boo fuckin hoo.

Also big at whining about not letting shows depicting middle schoolers on air from a country that infamously has negative depictions of underage children in their media.

Within Japan itself, many prominent TV stations are dedicating significant amounts of airtime to anime. For April 2025 -- the beginning of the Spring anime season -- TV Asahi and Fuji TV are both adding prime-time slots for upcoming anime programs. At the same time, many other Japanese stations are also removing prime-time anime slots in favor of late-night variety shows or live-action dramas. This is partially due to the growing popularity of on-demand streaming services such as Crunchyroll and Netflix. Asia has also introduced streaming and VOD (video-on-demand) services such as ABEMA and Bilibili, which both offer a wide variety of anime to audiences in Japan and China, respectively. However, anime-exclusives on streaming sites are still less common than network-exclusives.

Overall, Japan's current broadcast scene appears to be in a state of flux, with some stations opting to take a chance on late-night anime slots while others opt for safer, more cost-efficient alternatives. The costliness of producing anime has always been significant, with many series costing over 30-50 million yen (~US$199,916-$333,194) per episode. Increased censorship standards overseas are also a major factor, as networks will naturally want to sponsor works that have the greatest chance of succeeding in international markets. In spite of these drawbacks, many TV stations in Japan are still driven to make the investment -- especially with the additional profits that are often reaped from anime merchandise like collectible figures, plush toys and apparel items. "Merchandising hasn't changed that much, but with the recent depreciation of the yen, revenue from overseas sales has exploded," reported one of Mantan Web's sources.

So a kernel of interesting info here is the internationalization of Japanese animation is driving the investors and producers towards ensuring their shows contain marketability for an increasingly diverse audience.

China's tendency towards overt -- and occasionally even humorous -- censorship has not escaped notice. One of the most prominent examples last year was Bilibili's edit of the hit Shonen Jump-based anime Dandadan (2024). Not long after the show's international debut, social media threads flooded with comments about Seiko Ayase, who had several of her cleavage shots removed. Another series of scenes replaced her lit cigarette with a lollipop. Notably, the Chinese government has also banned many anime works outright, including well-known titles such as Elfen Lied, Tokyo Ghoul, Deadman Wonderland and Death Note

good on the CPC.

Hey wait a minutem I've seen this before.

Germany is permanently stationing troops in another country for the first time since World War II

• long-term basis for the first time since World War II.

*It's putting thousands of soldiers in Lithuania, a NATO member that borders Russia.

*It described the move as an effort to protect NATO. Germany's defense spending is also rising.

Germany's armed forces, the Bundeswehr, announced on Tuesday that it had created a new brigade, the 45th Armored Brigade, to be stationed in Lithuania.

They're armed with sticks and Volkswagens covered in tank-shaped cardboard to keep the Polish on their toes

It will be the first long-term deployment of German soldiers to another country since World War II, according to the Associated Press.

Gee I wonder why

Brigadier General Christoph Huber, Commander of the 45th Armored Brigade, said that with its creation, "we're not only moving toward operational readiness, we're taking responsibility."

First time I've heard of a German they're gonna take responsibility for something.

"For the alliance, for Lithuania, for Europe's security," he said. "As a sign of our determination to defend peace and freedom with our partners."

For the axis pact, with a boot on Lithuania's throat, for the GroßGermanisches Reich, as a sign of our determination to defend our Lebensraum and our puppets

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has sparked a surge of defense agreements and spending among European countries.

And the absolute gutting of the social democratic concessions granted to gain breathing space on the Soviet's doorstep.

When plans were first made for the 45th Armored Brigade in 2023, Germany described it as part of growing efforts by NATO members to boost both their own security and the security of NATO's eastern borders.

Das Reich is the shield of Europe against the Asiatic hordes.

Germany's defense minister, Boris Pistorius, previously said, "With this war-ready brigade, we're taking on leadership responsibility on NATO's eastern flank."

A single brigade ain't doing shit, by the way. The Kraut fuckers had to muster 153 divisions to invade the Soviet Union during Barbarossa - not including the other axis pact members, like the Finns, Romanians, Hungarians, Etc. - and a division is roughly 10-15 thousand men per.

A brigade only has 3-5 thousand per. This is just the Germans trying their hand at the performing arts.

The new brigade is made up of several battalions and will have around 5,000 soldiers and civilian staff, the Bundeswehr said this week.

See? That ain't shit.

It added that the brigade's command facility was already fully operational and that the aim was to have it at full wartime readiness by 2027.

Readiness to do what? Drown in a random bog?

Lithuania — which borders the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad and close Russian ally Belarus — is one of the countries that has sounded the alarm the loudest that Russia could move beyond Ukraine to attack elsewhere in Europe.

Lithuania is a fucking chihuahua that's trying to be as viciously loud as possible.

It is also one of NATO's biggest defense spenders by proportion of GDP, and one of Ukraine's biggest allies, describing Ukrainian troops as the ones who are protecting all of Europe.

See? Just like a vicious chihuahua.

There are already NATO troops in Lithuania, on a rotating basis, with a multinational battlegroup led by Germany. NATO countries have also deployed assets like fighter jets and air defenses there.

US troops are among those stationed in Lithuania, although their long-term future is less clear, with President Donald Trump critical of US allies, of NATO, and of assistance to Ukraine.

Please fuck up NATO to own the Europeans, Ronald. I'll move you a peg above Obama if you do.

Dovilė Šakalienė, Lithuania's defense minister, told Business Insider in February that her country wants US troops to stay, and that she expected the US could see "eye to eye" with countries who pay their part when it comes to defense.

I'm totally sure the locals want a bunch of jumped up rowdy murderers falling around their country.

"We do our part," she said, adding that she expects the US to do its part, too.

I hope they supply them with f-35s then pull out of nato and BSOD them

Lithuania has also been strengthening its border with Russia.

Germany's new brigade is the latest in a series of measures introduced by the country since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

It spent an estimated 1.51% of its GDP on defense in 2022, which jumped to an estimated 2.12% in 2024, according to NATO estimates.

Wow. Imagine having only 2.12% of your national GDP be spent of Military shit.

I can't.

The rise in defense purchases by Germany, and Europe more broadly, has been a boon for the continent's defense industries.

Yeah. Big boon for the military industrial complex and the capitalist class.

German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall said in March that it expects sales this year to rise by 25% to 30%.

Germany's defense spending has increased less than some of its allies: It ranked 15th out of 31 NATO members for defense spending as a proportion of GDP in 2024, according to NATO estimates. But it has vowed to do more.

They're probably trying to thread the needle in growing their war profiteering industry, gutting their social democratic costs, and keeping the growing fascist movement just complacent enough to keep them from overturning the conservative establishment.

After grappling with its World War I and World War II legacies, which led to an avoidance of heavy militarism, Germany has committed to major military moves.

Lol they didn't grapple with shit.

Lawmakers this month voted to alter the German constitution in a way that would unlock billions of dollars that could be used for defense spending.

"Unlock". From ploughshares to swords

Šakalienė, Lithuania's defense minister, told BI in February that Europe "needs to up our defuse spending very fast and very significantly."

Lol they made a typo. Also that Lithuanian dog needs to worry about their own issues instead of chomping at the bit for World War 3.

She said that Europe needs to be able to match the US, and to match Russia, which is escalating its own defense production: "We need to catch up to the speed of Russia," she said.

Weird. According to western media the Russians have been completely beaten already. Why would they need to play catch up with them?

I think Lithuanian defense minister Šakalienė is a Russian spy.

The good, the bad, and the 'screamers': A Brit who fought for Ukraine reveals how international fighters make their mark

• Macer Gifford is a former trader who fought in Ukraine's army as an international volunteer.

• He described the best — and the worst — of his fellow volunteers.

• He said they're a "band of brothers" who strongly aided Ukraine — with some "crazy ones mixed in."

After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, thousands around the world responded to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's impassioned call to come and defend his country.

After Russia's military intervention to stop Ukraine from massacring civilians in the Independent Donbass Republics began in 2022, thousands of death merchants, thrill-seekers, mercenaries, and fascists from around the world responded to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's frantic cries to come and attack the Russian Federation's Special Military Operation in the Donbass Republics.

Ukraine quickly found itself welcoming a grab-bag of volunteers, from those with no combat experience to committed, steady fighters.

Like more nazis

Macer Gifford, the nom de guerre of former currency trader Harry Rowe, who joined the Ukrainian army in 2022, became one of the most recognizable figures supporting the country's defense.

Finance bros aren't just funding the wars they're now fighting them.

The Brit, who fought there for two years, told Business Insider about the chaotic first influx of volunteers, and the best — and worst — attitudes they brought with them.

And explosive personalities too. RIP Reddit brigade

Thousands of volunteers, nowhere to put them

Early estimates for the number of international volunteers who signed up to fight for Ukraine range from 4,000 to 20,000.

Now those are some true yellow and blue Ukrainian numbers, a rough ballpark guesstimate saying they have actual idea what the figures are.

"This was a burst of energy, human energy, goodwill, passion from the international community," said Gifford, who originally went out to help with aid and training but after the violence committed by Russian forces at Bucha felt compelled to fight.

Weird how they're no longer calling it a genocide. This Brit must be a Russian spy.

He said Ukraine's military infrastructure wasn't ready for such an influx, and, at first, training and organization was poor. Initially, the influx looked like it would sap Ukraine's organization at a time when it was scrambling to train its own troops, he said.

Funny how their military was ready to massacre their way through donbass at the time but went "I'm just a poor smol bean" when getting punched right in the nose

But ultimately, he added, Ukraine was able to absorb them effectively.

The 'true gems' who showed up — and stayed

Volunteers came from all walks of life — and with a wide range of experiences and motivations.

"You saw very capable people with fantastic skills wanting to go out to share that knowledge," Gifford said.

Like how to connect with the U.S DOD and use U.S satellites and U.S generals to command the frontlines of the Ukraine Russian war

He added that many brought skills in battlefield medicine and familiarity with the Western weapons systems that were starting to arrive.

The "true gems" were those who stayed, showed humility, and became trusted by the Ukrainians, respecting the language and the culture, he said.

Like how to sing Erika and salute better than Musk

Those people quickly became extremely useful in the fight.

Yeah, actually knowing how to speak in another language might actually be useful when doing war tourism.

The 'passionate ones'

Others showed up with no experience at all.

RIP Reddit brigade

These were "the passionate ones," he said — those who heard Zelenskyy's desperate appeal at the start of the conflict and were moved by it, motivated by politics and ideology.

Like enjoying genocide, German marching songs, and being wildly racist.

Gifford isn't critical of the inexperienced people who showed up full of zeal.

Wondering what he means by that

That's how he started out, having fought alongside the Syrian Democratic Forces against ISIS in 2015 — initially with zero experience.

FUCKING HMMMM WEIRD HOW A BUNCH OF REALLY FUCKING SUS PEOPLE DID WAR TOURISM IN SYRIA END UP IN PECULIAR PLACES

What matters is how people adapt and handle themselves. "You're not a hero just for turning up," he said. "You're a hero for what you do."

I prefer heroes that actually do work that helps their fellow human.

Like baristas and chefs.

The worst kind of volunteer

Gifford said there were some "horror stories" with international volunteers.

Lol

Ukraine's International Legion, set up early on to accommodate the fighters Zelenskyy called for, developed a reputation for dysfunction.

Wild. Wonder what they expected when they dropped a bunch of redditors in the middle of a warzone.

Gifford said he preferred to work with Ukrawar zone.

"Frankly, some very dangerous people have turned up as well," he said. "But they are far and few between."

I wonder what he means by that. Maybe the people that are even too twisted to join the military.

Some troubled people came "primarily for a sense of completion," he said, adding: "Many, quite frankly, shouldn't have been there at all."

"They might've been fleeing something in their home country, whether that's drink or drug abuse," he added. "They might see Ukraine as a place to prove themselves." Early on, volunteers also appear to have accidentally given away the location of a training site that was then struck by Russian forces.

Oh he meant thrill-seekers and war tourists

According to Gifford, the worst kind of volunteer was the one who showed up thinking they know it all.

Honestly? Agreed. Fuck redditors.

This kind of person "thinks that a tour or two in Afghanistan or Iraq means that he can boss around people in Ukraine," he said, noting that the conflict in Ukraine is vastly different to anything that even most experienced fighters had seen.

Lmfao he's talking about the NATO super troopers that thought taking pot shots at shepherds in sandals made them real men.

The 'screamers'

There's another type of foreigner who shows up in Ukraine, he said.

"They call 'em 'screamers,'" Gifford said. "A screamer, by definition, is someone who wears full Ukrainian uniform, often without a unit, who's not even in the Ukrainian army."

Also known as members of the Ukrainian neo-nazi paramilitary gangs that are deputized by the ukrainian state to hunt down conscriptable men and press-gang them into the meatgrinder.

He said they wander through town, "sitting in coffee shops in places like Lviv and Odesa, which are perfectly safe, and don't go within a thousand miles of the Ukrainian frontline.

See? Fits those nazi press-gangers to a T

Gratitude to foreigners

Gifford said he doesn't like to talk too much about the negative side of international volunteering, for fear of tarring them all with the same brush.

But they should be.

He said that many who've trod this path have worked to prove themselves, and that the gratitude of ordinary Ukrainians is undeniable.

Whatever Ukrainians that are left after the U.K bleeds them dry to own putin

People have offered to buy drinks or pay for his meal because they "love international volunteers," he said. "Ordinary Ukrainians just love the fact that they're not alone and there are people willing to risk their life."

Lol the Ukrainians are getting infected with the American "thank you for your service" troop virus

He also saw firsthand the gratitude of Ukrainians as his unit helped villages in Kherson Oblast, in the south of the country.

With white phosphorus and flechette artillery rounds.

Ultimately, Gifford said of the volunteers, "I see them as a band of brothers who went out to support Ukraine in its hour of need, with a few crazy ones mixed in."

Mostly foreign soldiers larping as mercenaries and a healthy seasoning of fascists from around the world.

Personally I think it's because it's materially cheaper to shop at Costco than target.

Target can’t get its footing after its DEI program demise and a 40-day boycott against the retailer. Foot traffic at stores is down for the eighth consecutive week

Target saw foot traffic fall for the eighth consecutive week, extending a losing streak that began just a few days after the company announced it would end its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) program in late January.

For the week that began March 17, foot traffic fell 5.7% YoY for Target, according to data from Placer.ai. That’s compared to the 7.1% it fell last week, and an average weekly decline over the last eight weeks of 6.2%.

In a March 4 earnings call, when it reported a 3.1% Q4 loss and a non-specified sales decline in February, Target executives were bullish about its Easter assortment boosting business. But if it has so far, it’s not reflected in the foot-traffic data. What may have taken the spring out of the Easter Bunny’s hop for Target is a 40-plus day boycott coinciding with Lent (so ending on Easter) spearheaded by Black clergy for which more than 150,000 have signed up, exceeding organizers’ stated goal of 100,000.

Target did not respond to a request for comment from Retail Brew about the traffic slump.

At Costco, which unlike Target resisted demands from the Trump administration for private companies to dump their DEI programs, foot traffic has continued to grow. For the same week beginning March 17, traffic rose 5.2% YoY, and marked its 13th straight week of gains over last year. Donald J. slump: While Target is just one of many companies to capitulate to Trump and get rid of DEI, it may be seeing more of a backlash because of how much it championed racial justice and social justice by name in recent years—before eschewing the terms.

Donald J. slump: While Target is just one of many companies to capitulate to Trump and get rid of DEI, it may be seeing more of a backlash because of how much it championed racial justice and social justice by name in recent years—before eschewing the terms.

In fact, like Target, Walmart had been on a seven-week traffic decline and McDonald’s on an eight-week decline, but both broke the slump in the week beginning March 17, with Walmart inching into positive territory with a 0.3% YoY traffic gain and Mickey D’s with a 2% gain.

Compared to Target’s average YoY loss of 6.2% over the last eight weeks, Walmart’s average weekly traffic was down 1.6% and McDonald’s was down 3.6%.

Circle back: As consistent as Target’s foot-traffic losses have become, we’re in the midst of Target Circle Week, a mammoth sale and marketing push that began on March 23 and lasts through March 29. It does not coincide with a Circle Week last year, but rather a week which in 2024 was itself down 0.8% compared to 2023. It’s hard to fathom Target not improving over that when we revisit foot traffic in a week, but we’ll try to suss out an apples-and-apples comparison of how this Circle Week compares to prior ones traffic-wise.