Posts by DosDude

For more than two decades, Iraq's oil wealth has passed through a financial system centred thousands of miles away in New York.

The arrangement, created after the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, was initially designed to protect Iraqi oil revenues from creditors and help fund reconstruction.

Today, it gives Washington significant leverage over Iraq's access to its own dollars, leverage that the US is increasingly using as it pressures Baghdad to curb Iran's influence and the activities of armed groups aligned with Tehran.

The issue came into sharp focus in April, when Washington blocked a shipment of about $500m in cash to Iraq as it pressured the government over Iran-aligned armed groups.

Muayen al-Kadhimi, a former parliamentary Finance Committee member, condemned the decision at the time, calling on the government to end what he described as US dominance over Iraqi funds.

"The US decision to freeze or delay sending Iraq's foreign currency entitlements represents a serious violation of the financial and political sovereignty of the Iraqi state," al-Kadhimi said.

The shipment was later restored, but the episode demonstrated how Iraq's dependence on the US financial system can be used as a political tool.

Mediapart plunged the French far right into chaos on Monday after reporting that Jordan Bardella, president of the National Rally (RN) party, had made antisemitic comments in private messages.

Bardella, 31, was fighting for his political career on Tuesday after the investigative outlet obtained exchanges dating from 2013 to 2015.

According to Mediapart, the messages show Bardella promoting conspiracy theories about Jews, banks, the French government, and a supposed “new world order dominated by Israel”.

In another exchange, Bardella reportedly complained that “the most important ministries fall to people for whom the interests of Israel and banking take priority over French interests”, referring to three ministers in then-President François Hollande’s government.

Bardella has played a central role in attempting to soften the far-right’s image and appeal to younger voters.

He has also gone out of his way to court Israel, paying homage to the country during a visit in 2025 and warning against rising antisemitism in France.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has called for greater engagement with far-right parties in Europe as ruling parties across Europe increasingly see the country as a liability.

Hasan Piker, an influential streamer and political commentator, has recently criticized Cornell University for allegedly punishing Palestinian student activists more severely than students accused of committing sexual assault. Piker's claims have added to public outrage over the Ivy League school following the lawsuit filed against it over the alleged 2024 gang rape in a campus fraternity house.

During his visit to Cornell University on Thursday, when he addressed an audience of around 450 people at Sage Chapel, Piker commented that students participating in pro-Palestinian demonstrations have been given more severe punishments than students found guilty of committing sexual crimes. In particular, the controversial statements he made during his visit have spread rapidly online.

"You got more of a penalty at Cornell University if you participated in a pro-Palestine student encampment," Piker has claimed. "I was talking to some of the leaders of the pro-Palestine encampments. One of them got expelled for a year. They got suspended for a year."

"They got literally worse penalties in Cornell University than half of the rapists did, or than most of the rapists did," Piker said. "It's (expletive) nuts."

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‘The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Remastered’ Hits A Metacritic Review Score Record

Maine's Congressional Delegation — Track AIPAC

Poor Sony, I know they want to get rid of physical games, but they don't deserve this /s

PS: Jailbreaking is legal. https://youtube.com/watch?v=P0l5ZooURGY

Poor Sony, I know they want to get rid of physical games, but they don't deserve this /s

PS: Jailbreaking is legal. https://youtube.com/watch?v=P0l5ZooURGY

One of Saturn’s Moons Could Support Life—And It Might Be Easy to Find

'Break fast and move things'

Aho-Corasick Algorithm

1 in 8 cancer cases worldwide is caused by infections, study suggests

https://archive.ph/PpKtR

Relapse-Exploit: Exploit chain for PS5 7.00 - 13.60

A local model that answers like Jev 98% of the time, and how we know