O-kay. . . whatever. I'm not gonna argue with you anymore.

"They still sell tobacco...and it is a poison that kills many millions of Americans, and all those young people will quite possibly be addicted to nicotine and die ten years early from tobacco related deaths, as did my father and both grandmothers. Start 'em on sugar and then caffeine and then tobacco and then expensive drugs from their physician."

Yup. It's a systemic cycle. If it's not one thing, it will be another human addiction that's being exploited while the limited attention span of society is focused more on previous ones in their collective memory.

#13- the article (and the summary of it at the top of this thread) specifically mentions the parallel of nicotine, so it's not solely about "pouches" or "caffeine" as you were implying. I get your point about how threads are often derailed by topic drift, but you were being hyper-anal in this case.

#11- you're just being pedantic and not arguing in good faith, IMO.

Is the topic of this thread specifically and solely about caffeine pouches, or kids being marketed to with unhealthy products in general? Don't be obtuse.

Big League Chew was in pouch form, though. And you could get both candy cigarettes and real cigarettes from vending machines.

" going to give them hundreds of billions of dollars and free trade in exchange for...literally the status quo before the war!"

And pathetic apologists will predictably say "Only Nixon could go to Chai-nah!"

The Snoofy alias still can't pass the Turing Test.

'What did "nature" do to cause this'

Nature has larger climate cycles as well as other weather and geographical patterns. The way some environmentalists talk, it's all man made, or it's always humans' fault whenever there's a natural disaster or outlying event. This makes it easier for those who want dismiss concerns to latch onto and paint all environmentalists that way.

He knows what's coming.

This is nothing new. Does anyone remember Surge and Jolt Cola? One of their slogans 'Twice the sugar, three times the caffeine!'

"Quick! More surveillance centers!"

Honestly, *part* of the increase in the number "record breaking" measurements is due to a new maximum or minimum being measured for a specific new weather station since it was installed, and new weather stations being placed in new locations where most humans didn't or don't usually live. I've seen a number of weather web sites reporting weather this way. Maybe it's to drive clicks, or maybe whoever programmed it that way thought it was a legitimate way to "raise awareness" and didn't think about how it could backfire.

Massive data centers are definitely putting a strain on the environment, along with other energy extraction and transfer conduits. There's no question about that.

"Somebody's got to be wrong."

There are many situations where both have legitimate grievances and both can be wrong in the way they react to them.

#3 - We get it... anyone who doesn't always hate Israel supports genocide. Just like anyone who doesn't always support Israel supports terrorism. Yawn.

"In the next five years, the Earth is overwhelmingly likely to surge again and again past the international climate threshold set as safe and shatter its hottest-year record along the way, according to new United Nations climate projections."

Maybe the heat from it will burn all of the straw men on both sides of the argument.

Anti-Environmentalist Straw Men (Attacking Green Policies)

"They want to ban all cars, meat, and modern technology."
"They care more about bugs and plants than human lives and jobs."
"They want to collapse the economy and return to the Stone Age."

Pro-Environmentalist Straw Men (Attacking Skeptics or Opponents)

"Anyone who questions a green policy is a climate change denier."
"Opponents are just greedy and corporate-funded."
"They just want to pollute the earth for profit."

The reality is that it's a very complex problem involving both natural and human made conditions. There are things that humans can and should collectively do to try to mitigate the problem; automatically jumping to political "tribes" is not going to help the problem.

Whether we thought he would have made a decent president or not, we should all be grateful to Al Gore for inventing the internet.

Someone should show this to Don, so he can say "they're one of the good ones"...

"Omanism" describes the distinct socio-political strategy and cultural ethos used to build a unified Omani national identity.

Historically, Oman was highly fractured by geography, intense tribal rivalries, and religious divisions. Starting in 1970, the state actively engineered a collective national consciousness. This unique identity matrix is defined by several core pillars:

1. The Blending of Ibadi Islam and Religious Tolerance

The Ibadi Path: Unlike its neighbors, which are predominantly Sunni or Shia, Oman is the only country with a significant population of Ibadi Muslims. Ibadism values moderation, consensus-building, and privacy in worship, deeply shaping the country's quietist, neutral foreign policy.

State-Enforced Tolerance: To prevent sectarian friction, the government purposefully renamed its regulatory body the "Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs" rather than "Islamic Affairs," explicitly enfolding non-Muslim expatriates and minority sects into the legal and cultural landscape.

2. A Maritime and Indian Ocean Melting Pot

An Outward-Looking Nation: Unlike the historically land-locked, nomadic tribes of the central Arabian Peninsula, Oman's history is rooted in the sea. For centuries, the Omani Empire controlled maritime trade routes stretching down to East Africa.

Cosmopolitan Lineage: Omani identity celebrates a polyglot, transregional heritage. A significant portion of the citizenry is multi-ethnic, with ancestral roots and family ties in Zanzibar, South Asia, and Balochistan. Cultural assimilation is favored over exclusion; foreign lineages are neatly mapped onto traditional Arab tribal classifications.

3. Deliberate "Identity Engineering"

Replacing Tribalism: Under the long reign of the late Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the state executed a deliberate top-down strategy to replace localized tribal friction with absolute loyalty to the nation and the ruler. This was achieved by standardizing Arabic in schools and implementing centralized education.

Reimagining Heritage: Rather than erasing the past, the state curated specific symbols to represent the collective populace. This includes the universal adoption of the Khanjar (the traditional curved dagger) as the country's official emblem, and strict regulations surrounding the daily wear of the national dress (the dishdasha tunic and the East African-influenced kumma cap) to clearly visually differentiate Omanis from other Gulf citizens.

4. Modern Political Realities

Omanization (Ta'meen): A core economic tenet of this identity is the official government policy of Omanization. This systematic initiative aims to reduce reliance on foreign expatriates by training, qualifying, and prioritizing native Omani citizens to fill positions across both the public and private work sectors.

The "Partnership" Future: This curated heritage continues to evolve. The government launched a Unified Promotional Identity under the slogan "Partnership," blending historical isolationist pride with a modern framework designed to invite global investment and tourism

There are a lot that he has never heard of.

Like Ooze Becky Becky Stan Stan?

"I hope there are many people out there as cynical as I am about how the legal system handles a dictator wannabe. The truth of the matter is, MAGA and the billionaire billies, sorry, bullies, got him back in the White House to destroy our constitutional republic not save it. The damage has been done, SS and medicare and medicaid and the Defense Department and the Department of Education, and Health and Human Services, and so many other needed protections for the American people...murdered."

As I said during first Trump admin, I don't think the system is as fragile as some people were making it out to be, but it's going to take decades repair the damage caused by the "revolutionaries" who either don't understand or don't care about the concept of Chesterton's fence. Hopefully, this is a good sign that the tide is turning and that the grifters will take the money and run rather than attempting a full-blown coup, but you never know.

"More like, vindication for any white man being held responsible for their actions."

Are you sure you logged in with the right alias before posting this?

The only appropriate response to this is "Oh, man !

"Insectoids: Resemble a praying mantis and are bug-like beings. Rarely seen but appear as being "in charge""

Yup, definitely Zorak, lone mantis of the apocalypse.

" Both Hilary and Kamala had more of a record to run on and they still couldn't beat Trump, who shouldn't have even stood a chance after the mess of his first term."

The problem was they both allowed their opponent to get under their skins and betray their own insecurities and weaknesses. That's a mistake that AOC would need to avoid if she runs.

Most voters don't place that much importance on experience, compared to other things. That's a reality. You can preach about how you're looking down on them for not sharing your exact standards, but then you're coming across a lot like the purity ponies.

#12 | POSTED BY JPW

I'm saying you're placing way too much weight on experience (or lack thereof) and type of experience when it comes to a candidate's electability, especially during times when voters are fed up and looking for change. Whether it's AOC or whoever.