Friday Links - 21 February

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony is up first with Daily News Stuff 18 February 2025: Engulf And Devour Edition

The war on DEI is a smokescreen. (The Verge) (archive site)

You see when the Republicans want to destroy DEI because it is an evil and illegal concoction of racism, sexism, and communism, in service of the Eternal Grift, what they really mean is... Exactly that.

And Democrats are pissed about it.

The Other McCain - Bail Hearing Today for Cult Suspects UPDATE: Judge Orders All Three ‘Extremists’ Held Without Bond

The three suspects appeared via teleconference, not appearing in the court, and all were represented by a public defender. The prosecuting attorney, James Elliott, described each defendant as being associated with an “extremist group known as the Zizians,” which may be the first time this has been stated as a matter of fact in a court proceeding. Judge Erich Bean, citing the “very concerning” nature of the charges, the ongoing federal investigation, and the fact that none of the suspects were local residents, ordered all three held without bond.

Wombat-socho - The Future of Gaza is Neu Schwabenland

Our God-Emperor, Donaldus Trump Magnus, has decreed the creation of Mar-A-Gaza on the currently rubble-strewn land called the Gaza Strip. To do this, however, we must remove the current inhabitants to a place where they can neither 1) interfere with the demolition and construction efforts nor 2) kill Jews. The problem here is obvious. None of Israel’s Arab neighbors want any part of having the Gazans on their land, not even temporarily, and for good reason.

Chicago Contrarian - Chicago Needs Its Own DOGE

Despite the City Council’s demonstration of defiance, the newly approved budget for 2025 represents a continuation of the proverbial kicking of the can down the road, as Chicago will face a budget deficit next year approaching $1 billion.

Impro Guns - 3D Printed Double Action .22LR Revolver

The usual retort to such developments is to point out that a gun is useless without access to ammunition. However, in countries were ammunition is restricted, people can easily assemble their own .22lr ammunition by combining .22 nail gun blanks with airgun pellets – a little trick used by poachers in China and criminals who adapt blank firing starter pistols in the UK.

Again from The Other McCain - ‘Ziz’ Misgendered and Other Highlights of Tuesday’s Court Hearing for Cult Suspects

Despite whatever jokes you might want to make about the “Zizians,” you see that they are quite deadly. And also pathetic. Sitting in the courtroom Tuesday, we heard Daniel Blank’s squeaky voice blabbering incomprensibly, then Ms. Francoeur-Breeden mentioned that Blank has mental health issues.

Again from Pixy Misa - Daily News Stuff 19 February 2025: Unenstrixtulated Edition

Nokia is deploying a 4G cellphone network on the Moon. (MIT) (archive site)

Briefly. The Intuitive Machines lander carrying the 4G base station (to be launched of course on a SpaceX Falcon 9) is small and cheap and not designed to survive the long lunar night. But it should be long enough to return some interesting data, as long as the bundled talk minutes don't run out.

Cristina Laila at The Gateway Pundit - Democrat Senators Melt Down Ahead of Kash Patel Confirmation Vote (VIDEO)

The Senate will vote to confirm Kash Patel as FBI Director on Thursday.

Democrat Senators are panicking. They are terrified.