I JUST FOUND OUT THAT PUFF IS NOT ALLOWED TO MAKE OR COLLECT MONEY WHILE HE’S LOCKED UP SO I’MA SEND HIS HALF OF THE MONEY TO JUSTIN

— ye (@kanyewest) February 7, 2025

I was talking to @PegMeMommy about Valentine's Day. I was telling him about how me and my siblings got our mom flowers and stuff for Valentine's Day. During the conversation he said he had never heard of kids getting their mom something for Valentine's Day, and he doesn't know anyone who does this. For me, this is the opposite: Where I'm from, everyone gets their mother something. Now both of us are wondering which is normal.

Decided to make a poll!

Do you buy your mother something Valentine's Day?

15k+ upmarseys and going strong

South Africa's president is relatively beloved. However, many have forgotten about his fricked up past and how he is responsible for the worst massacre in South Africa since apartheid. In this relatively short post, I want to outline the events of the Marikana massacre and the shitshow that ensued.

Mining in South Africa

As you probably already know, South Africa is one of the worlds mining hub, producing the overwhelming majority of the world's platinum and gold. This was in part made possible through aparheid which built ghettoes near mines as a means of acquiring cheap labour. Of course, this had several negative effects, including the destruction of the nuclear family.

Regardless, when apartheid seized, a question arose: what to do with all these mines? They were generating the majority of the country's wealth, yet they were exclusively owned by whites. This was obviously not a natural occurrence of a free market and it was only possible because of apartheid laws. On the other hand, they couldn't just hand over the mines to Black people who had no knowledge on how to manage the mines. Thus, a conclusion was reached: the mines would be given grants to improve the communities they were located in, and to give their workers a better standard of living.

It should be mentioned at this point that mine workers were paid very poorly, often were injured on the job, and suffered long-term health effects from inhaling dangerous substances. Another problem that made things worse is that male workers were separated from their families who still lived in the rural homestead. Consequently, many workers would start second families in the ghettoes, meaning that their menial salaries were split among two families, sometimes consisting of 6,7, or even 8 children. As you can imagine, many of these children were underfed and did not go to school.

The Workers Have Had Enough

Well, the time came when workers had decided that enough is enough. They were working long hours, suffering greivous injuries, and yet were being paid peanuts while their bosses were amongst the wealthiest people in the nation.

Hence, South Africans did what they did best - protest. Now, there's a lot of drama between the different workers unions, but that's not the focus of this peice. All you need to know is that on 10 August 2012 a strike began. It was led by rock drill operators who suffered some of the worst injustices because they worked long hours in dangerous conditions. They marched to Lomnim Platinum Mine offices, but nobody agreed to meet with them which angered the workers. Lomnim was heavily protected and had its own private security. This isn't a surprise as the business deals with very valuable goods. Hence, the owners of Lomnim set their security on the protestors. The security guards fired rubber bullets at the crowd, injuring many. This would only be the start of the violence.

This wasn't enough to deter the protestors. In the subsequent days, they returned to protest even more and in greater numbers. But this time, their beef wasn't just with Lomnim. They also had a problem with their Workers Union, NUM, which refused to negotiate on their behalf. They visited the headquarters of NUM, some of them carrying guns, and they opened fire. It is not clear how many people died. Some sources say 2 died, but others say the 2 were only injured and did not die. When asked about the incident, the workers claimed that they were acting in self-defence.

After this event, the workers were PISSED. They hired a traditional healer (witchdoctor, sangoma) to protect them from violence and they vowed to return with even more people because they really wanted a raise. There were more clashes between August 12 and August 15, resulting in the death of 15 people. If you know anything about the cycle of violence, you'll be aware that violence only begets more violence. So neither party backed down. NUM did not support their workers, the workers did not back down, and Lomnim refused the raise that the workers were demanding. During these clashes, an estimated 10 people died, including three mineworkers and two policemen in a single altercation; and, in other confrontation, an additional three Lonmin mine employees and two Lonmin security officials died.

Things got from bad to worse. Workers burned cop cars, attacked police, and dodged rubber bullets. However, all of this chaos would be nothing compared to the disastrous events of August 16.

The Marikana Massacre

The cops had had enough of the protestors. The poors were killing cops! So, they got together and orchestrated a plot called D-Day. They had nothing good on the mind. A press conference was held where it was announced that they were ending the matter. Grave words indeed. These were the exact words: "The plan is that we intend to ensure that today we end this strike. If they resist, like I said, today is a day that we intend to end the violence."

So, the police readied themselves. They packed barbed wire to keep the protestors from the police, and they stocked themselves with R5 ammunition. For those who don't know, this is a variant of a South African rifle.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vektor_R4

You can watch them getting shot here:

The protestors were aware that the police were planning on escalating matters, but they believed they were safe because they had received protection from witch doctors. An opposing workers union, AMWU was against the strike, and he begged and pleaded for the workers to not go ahead with the protest because he could see that the police were willing to use lethal force. However, his warnings were not heeded. Hence, the massacre began.

Now, don't be fooled into thinking the protestors were peaceful. Though the majority of them had no guns, they were carrying sticks and rocks and fully meant to intimidate the police. However, many would agree that what the police did next was not proportionate. At first, the police tried, non-lethal means to disperse the crowd consisting of over 100 miners. They sprayed water cannons, used stun grenades and teargas but none of it worked. The crowd continued to progress. Now, you may think the crowd is stupid but just look at things from their perspective. They are not earning enough to feed themselves, yet their employees are literal billionaires.

Chaos started when one of the strikers decided to fire his pistol. In response, the police opened fire with their R5s. This barrage of bullets lasted about 12 seconds, and over 300 bullets were fired. It was complete pandemonium and it was hard for police to keep contact with each other. A Tactical Response Team commander raised his fist and shouted "cease fire", but not all police heard the order, so the shooting continued. In total, 17 workers were killed. It was found that most of the workers were shot on the back, meaning that they were running away. In other words, they were escaping from the gunfire. That is to say, they were in the process of dispersing. What I'm trying to communicate is that they were getting away and were no longer a threat.

At a different scene, things were no better. Cops clashed with protestors. Rocks were thrown and in response, police opened fire with their R5s, killing 17 more workers. Of course, the police defended themselves, claiming that they had given the crowd ample warning and that the protestors were too rowdy and aggressive and that the police feared for their lives. But in general, people in South Africa aren't very sympathetic to the police. One of the reasons this is the case is because police in South Africa have a history of being corrupt and violent. Secondly, when guns were found on scene, it wasn't clear who the guns belonged to, so they essentially "planted" the guns on whoever they could find. Yeah, the police aren't known for their world-class work.

The Role of Cyril Ramaphosa

Cyril is the current president of South Africa and he is a billionaire. He is involved with Lomnim, but he has his fingers in many other pies, including, according to Wikipedia:

Ramaphosa was also a chairman of Bidvest, MTN, and from March 2007, Mondi, a leading international paper and packaging group. His other non-executive directorships included Macsteel Holdings, Alexander Forbes, SABMiller, Lonmin, Anglo American, and Standard Bank. In 2011, Ramaphosa paid for a 20-year master franchise agreement to run 145 McDonald's restaurants in South Africa. He also belonged to the Coca-Cola Company International Advisory Board and the Unilever Africa Advisory Council.

The Marikana Massacre took place prior to Ramaphosa becoming president, but he was one of the board members who gave the okay for increased police force to be used against the strikers. The billionaire caught a lot of heat for this, with many calling him a murderer. But Ramaphosa faced no legal consequences, though he was courteous enough to apologize for his role in the murders.

"Yes, I did put a bid and that was a mistake on my part. It was a mistake; I regret it. It was a mistake to even put up my hand to do so, and I've been chastised by some of my good comrades. Even before they chastised me I did admit that that was a mistake. I regret it because, I mean, it's an excessive price in the seas of poverty… it was one of those moments when I was blind-sighted," Ramaphosa said.

https://web.archive.org/web/20121025233419/http://dailymaverick.co.za/article/2012-10-25-cyril-ramaphosa-the-true-betrayal

Despite this, the man managed to become president of the country. Also, white extinction is long overdue.

Workers and Lomnim reach an agreement

So after all the murders, it was clearly that something had to be done. In total, 40 workers died and 2 police officers were killed. This caused national outcry and the country was furious, especially at Cyril who was a somewhat popular figure due to his billionaire status and being a senior member of the ANC. Eventually, it was agreed that workers would get a raise but it was not much. For example, rock drill operators now earned about $579 dollars. Imagine doing backbreaking work, inhaling dust all day to be paid $579 to feed your family while mine owners earn literally billions.

Aftermath

An inquiry was held to determine who, if anyone, was responsible for this massacre. By the end of it, very few police officers faced any disciplinary action. After all, they were just following orders! The State paid over $70 million to those affected by the murders, and they promised to build houses. But when journ*lists went to investigate these houses, they found that they were shoddily built and likely the result of corrupt tenders. @kaamrev probably knows more about this.

Conclusion

So how do you feel about the whole event? Were the strikers asking for it by not backing down even after being warned? Were the police pieces of shit for firing rifles at poor people with rocks? Does Ramaphosa deserve to be president or in prison? Is it fair that mine owners make billions while workers live in poverty? You decide!

Completely dull, no shine.

The end stage being complete corporate capture of all three branches of the government, and total gutting of state run safety nets, education, and infrastructure in favor of eventual privatization of such services. This is all far more in line with ancap fantasies than any genuine historical example of nationalist socialism or fascism. Ironically enough, "socialist" China is the one economic model currently existing that is closest to Italian fascism, in some regards.

They get too hung up on the popular definition of fascism being the marriage of the state and capital into one, without understanding the nature of the relationship between the nation-state and capital in fascist economics. In America, the nation-state is subservient to the interests of capital. In an ideal fascist state, capital exists solely in subservience to the nation-state. America perverts this like a dog walking a man, and not the man walking the dog. China has the balls to imprison billionaires. If Trump or Elon were genuine nationalist socialists, we would see them doing shit like creating jobs via public work projects to improve infrastructure and build nuclear power plants, desalination facilities, etc. They aren't even a tenth of the statesmen pre-war Adolf and El Duce were.

His Holiness Pope Francis, Bishop of Rome, has instructed the American Bishops to get the various trash and right-wing "Catholics" (polytheistic LARPers who love Catholic aesthetics and nothing more) in line with Christ's teachings.

The Pope is rightly concerned with the dehumanizing program of deportations taking place in the United States:

I have followed closely the major crisis that is taking place in the United States with the initiation of a program of mass deportations.

His Holiness reminds us that

Jesus Christ, loving everyone with a universal love, educates us in the permanent recognition of the dignity of every human being, without exception.

Yes, this applies to refugees and immigrants too, even if they're "illegal:"

the most decisive value possessed by the human person surpasses and sustains every other juridical consideration that can be made to regulate life in society

Earthly laws follow fundamental rights and dignity, not the other way around:

Thus, all the Christian faithful and people of good will are called upon to consider the legitimacy of norms and public policies in the light of the dignity of the person and his or her fundamental rights, not vice versa.

Natural law commands us to take care of all people, especially the vulnerable and oppressed:

This is not a minor issue: an authentic rule of law is verified precisely in the dignified treatment that all people deserve, especially the poorest and most marginalized. The true common good is promoted when society and government, with creativity and strict respect for the rights of all — as I have affirmed on numerous occasions — welcomes, protects, promotes and integrates the most fragile, unprotected and vulnerable

His Holiness explicitly calls out the chud circle of caring chart. If you post that chart to try to own the libs, you are announcing your failure to follow Christ:

Christian love is not a concentric expansion of interests that little by little extend to other persons and groups. In other words: the human person is not a mere individual, relatively expansive, with some philanthropic feelings! The human person is a subject with dignity who, through the constitutive relationship with all, especially with the poorest, can gradually mature in his identity and vocation.

JD Vance, Catholic "Convert" and opportunistic LARPer, has weighed in on the concept of ordo amoris, a supposedly a hierarchical ordering of whom you are supposed to care about. The His Holiness Pope Francis would like you all to know that JD Vance is r-slurred:

The true ordo amoris that must be promoted is that which we discover by meditating constantly on the parable of the "Good Samaritan" (cf. Lk 10:25-37), that is, by meditating on the love that builds a fraternity open to all, without exception.

He closes, asking us to live up to the example set by Jesus Christ, Son of God:

I exhort all the faithful of the Catholic Church, and all men and women of good will, not to give in to narratives that discriminate against and cause unnecessary suffering to our migrant and refugee brothers and sisters. With charity and clarity we are all called to live in solidarity and fraternity, to build bridges that bring us ever closer together, to avoid walls of ignominy and to learn to give our lives as Jesus Christ gave his for the salvation of all.

Reminder, if you are actually Catholic you must agree with the Pope. He speaks, literally, on behalf of Jesus Christ and Saint Peter. Various clout-seeking LARPers should stfu and make their own hateful religion.

!catholics !christians

Attending debates should be like attending class: you can get out of it with a note from your doctor, and nothing less. Failure to debate at least once should be grounds for disqualification. And in case there are concerns about the bias of the debate itself, create a department in Elections Ontario/Canada to handle the questions asked, to ensure it's even-handed.

Conservatives in particular play this game far too often, and it shouldn't be ignored. They're denying the electorate the ability to judge them on their merits.

/u/RideauRaccoon

Authoritarian nonsense born out of you never maturing past your school years. And I'm just positive that a new department would never be bias in favour of the party in power or do anything to sabotage the party most likely to cut their department.

What do you really think will happen at these debates? The same that always happens, nothing! Every word spoken by both sides will be lies and rhetoric with a handful of out of context sound bites taken by the party in opposition to try and rile up their base.

And what school did you go to where doctors note were required? Every single one I went to a parents word was enough and even then no one really cared. You could miss a week, never talk about it never have your parents call in to "excuse" you and nothing would come of it.

Grow up.

In a bizarre turn of events, a university dormitory in China went up in flames after a student, in a moment of panic, set fire to his s*x doll to keep it hidden from his roommates. The incident took place at Hefei University of Technology in Anhui province on February 10, when the student, fearing exposure, made a rash decision that nearly resulted in disaster.

The answer is no. Unless you want a divorce or to be miserable. There are small differences that are fine but you're talking about major values and that's a big no no.

You can disagree on the best NFL team (Go Birds 🦅) but for fundamental things, you must be on the same page or, as you mentioned, there will be lots of fights and resentment in the future.

You can disagree on stuff like sports teams, restaurants, vacation locations. As soon as your disagreements reach "Human rights", then you're in a major issue. You will be with someone who believes some people are destined and deserve eternal punishment for the love they show being different. Take that how you will

Democracy is when you ban opposition parties for political reasons.

TOTAL KRAUT DEATH

@Garry_Kong opinion?

It was after hours and didn't interfere with p*tients.

Like, u get off the beach and u and ywour shit is cwowored in sand. Weww just swipe ywour cwedit card fwor $1.50 and u've gwot an air wand that can bwow aww of the sand out of ywour shit. As a bwonyus u can use it two inflate innyer tubes and other beach twoys.

Im thinking abwout it. Im alswo sick and fuww of DXM.

Think abwout it.

>FAIRHOPE, AL—Exploiting the popular online game platform for his own perverse ends, local Roblox user Rodney McKinney, 68, was accused of grooming 56-year-old Roblox user Walter Rhodes, sources confirmed Wednesday. "For the past several months, Mr. McKinney, a 68-year-old Roblox user, used the game as a means to foster an inappropriate relationship with an impressionable young 56-year-old that was sexual in nature," said officer Mike Cavazos, noting several obscene messages in which the baby boomer offered the much younger Gen X user Robux in exchange for lewd images of Rhodes' flabby, mature body. "It was clear from their correspondence that Mr. McKinney knew the victim was 56, as he stated in chats that he was 'old enough to be [Rhodes'] supervising manager.' And though he claimed that messages inviting the victim to move off Roblox to a more private LinkedIn chat were innocent, we believe otherwise." At press time, authorities claimed McKinney attempted to conceal his indiscretions by warning Rhodes not to "tell your mom, if she's still alive."

Not trying to play devils advocate for a racist weirdo, but how are you sure? Not trying to argue, just curious what gave it away.

This is, of course, assuming it's the OK hand gesture. If it's something less obscure, the answer is self explanatory

He was taking a selfie in the mirror. The hand that was at his side was doing the white power gesture. Hands do not naturally fall like that… so no.

EDIT: Hinge has actually emailed me to say they've taken action against him, so I'm not mistaken as you're inferring.

Her previous posts indicate she absolutely hates men, but is having trouble finding her disney prince on dating apps because they all love hitler.

https://old.reddit.com/r/TwoXChromosomes/comments/1chuwpl/i_feel_like_giving_up_online_dating_men/