Reposted by @ryachris.bsky.social
Today's humiliation by the US government in refusing to sanction China over its deep business dealings with Iran proves one golden rule.
The Trump administration will only take action to hurt democratic allies, never dictatorships/authoritarians.
![Comic. Confusion matrix showing renditions of different combinations, colored yellow, tan, or gray. [Air: gamma rays Y, neutrons Y, alpha particles G, light Y, sound Y, heat Y, swords Y, toxic dust Y, radio Y, sharks G] [Lead: gamma rays G, neutrons T, alpha particles G, light G, Sound Y, heat Y, swords G, toxic dust T, radio G, sharks G] [Water: gamma rays T, neutrons G, alpha particles G, light T, sound Y, heat Y, swords Y, toxic dust Y, radio G, sharks Y] [Vacuum: gamma rays Y, neutrons Y, alpha particles Y, light Y, sound G, heat T, swords Y, toxic dust Y, radio Y, sharks G] [Oven mitts: gamma rays Y, neutrons Y, alpha particles G, light G, sound T, heat G, swords Y, toxic dust Y, radio Y, sharks Y] [Armor: gamma rays Y, neutrons Y, alpha particles G, light G, sound Y, heat Y, swords G, toxic dust Y, radio G, sharks T] [Biohazard suit: gamma rays Y, neutrons Y, alpha particles G, light G, sound Y, heat Y, swords Y, toxic dust G, radio Y, sharks Y] [Faraday cage: gamma rays Y, neutrons Y, alpha particles Y, light Y, sound Y, heat Y, swords Y, toxic dust Y, radio G, sharks Y] [Shark cage: gamma rays Y, neutrons Y, alpha particles Y, light Y, sound Y, heat Y, swords Y, toxic dust Y, radio Y, sharks G]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cz73r7iyiqn26upot4jtjdhk/bafkreib7rzofmrqb5cvnyccnb7ftj6qroxtp55i4dqqnbp2ozun6gaxbkm)
![3-panel comic. (1) [two people laying on the grass on a curved surface, oriented vertically] PERSON 1: I don’t like being stuck to this orb, but I guess falling off would be worse. (2) [the surface has rotated slightly] PERSON 2: I wouldn’t mind if it pulled a little less hard, though. I have places to be. I shouldn’t just lie around in the grass. (3) [the surface has rotated a little further] PERSON 1: Maybe the pull will weaken if you wait a little longer. PERSON 2: Good idea. I’ll give it another five minutes.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cz73r7iyiqn26upot4jtjdhk/bafkreialozggxrphnx7hphjslr736vy2qrl2qn2j6szyouhgbsd3eqwhfi)
![Comic. [two people in labcoats look at body pierced with blade draped over bench] PERSON 1: We found him lying uncomformably on the lab bench. I wonder if the iron-rich intrusion in his back is related. PERSON 2 with ponytail: It could be clastic. Maybe a rift opened in his body, and the intrusive material later fell into the hole. [caption] The Geology Department Investigates Their First Murder](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cz73r7iyiqn26upot4jtjdhk/bafkreidexczuo22iq6o77sexfgdpvgx6baetimwtkzoeb7h7glon7enx4y)
![Comic. Thought Process While Reading A Big Number: 54,000,000,000,000,000,000,0000,0000,054,000"000,00c2ef46
[comments progress along the line, approximately every 3 digits] (1) 54! Great! I know that number. Solid start. (2) Oh, a comma and some zeros. Cool. Must be at least 54 thousand. (3) A second comma! I wonder if we’re talking population or money. (4) Yikes! If this is money, it’s a *lot* of money. (5) Why am I reading this? Whatever this number is, I’m not going to be able to visualize it. (6) All right, either someone made a unit conversion error or this is one of those incomprehensible astronomy numbers. (7) [4 zeroes between commas instead of 3]] Oh no. Is this a misplaced comma or an extra zero? I guess we’ll see if the next group has two zeros or three. If it’s two, we can at least hope the digits are right. (8) [4 zeroes between commas] Oh *no*. (9) [repeat of the digits 54] What is happening. (10) [a quotation mark in place of comma] Someone messed up real bad. (11) [final digits are c2ef46, cut off] Someone messed up real bad and I hope it wasn’t me.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cz73r7iyiqn26upot4jtjdhk/bafkreih3hirktm65hdw44t573arldaizpyect42tpkiochyewbagbj5gh4)
