The masked burglar broke into the closed Virginia liquor store early on Saturday and hit the bottom shelf, where the scotch and whisky were stored. The bandit was something of a nocturnal menace: bottles were smashed, a ceiling tile collapsed and alcohol pooled on the floor.

The suspect acted like an animal because, in fact, he’s a raccoon.

On Saturday morning, an employee at the Ashland, Virginia-area liquor store found the trash panda passed out on the bathroom floor at the end of his drunken escapade.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/54256500

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/39664905

Lieutenant General Christian Freuding fears the longstanding military partnership between the two allies is unravelling under President Trump’s administration

The Pentagon has “cut off contact” between American defence officials and their German counterparts, according to the head of Germany’s army.

The United States has traditionally treated Germany as one of its most important European allies. It is thought to have about 35,000 soldiers stationed at German bases such as Ramstein and Stuttgart, which serve as staging posts for American operations across Africa and the Middle East.

Since President Trump’s return to power in January, the relationship between the countries has become markedly cooler.

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/5917960

Archived version

• Emmanuel Macron is visiting China amidst controversy over Taiwan, with China seeking support from France in its dispute with Japan over the island's status.
• Macron's visit comes after Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested a potential conflict over Taiwan could pose an existential risk for Japan, prompting China to lash out and condemn her "provocative remarks".
• Macron will meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and other senior leaders to discuss issues including economic ties, trade tensions, and the war in Ukraine, with the French president aiming to address "global imbalances" and convince Xi to use his influence to end the conflict.

...

The French president’s last visit to China, two-and-a-half years ago, was overshadowed by remarks that appeared to put limits on his commitment to supporting Taiwan. A three-day visit that kicks off Wednesday comes as the democratically-ruled island claimed by Beijing is back in the spotlight. China has been seeking back up from France — one of five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council — in its recent dispute with Japan over Taiwan’s status. Beijing lashed out after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi last month suggested that a potential conflict over the island could pose an existential risk for Japan.

China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, used a Thursday call with Macron’s diplomatic adviser Emmanuel Bonne to say the two sides needed to support each other and to condemn Takaichi’s “provocative remarks.” An official at Macron’s Elysee Palace on Thursday called for the status quo to be respected, and for an easing of tensions.

The new Japanese leader’s comments are problematic for China in two ways. On the most basic level, they imply Taiwan’s future could become an international dispute — while Beijing’s One-China policy insists the island’s future is a domestic issue. Beyond that, Takaichi’s remarks suggest any conflict would be serious enough for Japan to legally justify deploying its military in support of the Taiwanese.

...

Macron was instrumental in persuading the European Union to impose tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles last year, prompting Beijing to retaliate with minimum price requirements on French cognac makers. Since then, Macron has pushed the EU to deploy its toughest trade tools in response to Chinese restrictions on the supply of rare earths.

...

For France, a key goal will be to address what Macron has called “global imbalances,” including over-production in China and Beijing’s dependence on exports, which he says leads to trade tensions.

...

Another key point for Macron will be his long-running push to convince Xi to use his influence on Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine. Despite their regular contact since the full invasion in 2022, the French leader hasn’t been able to prevent China from exporting dual goods to Russia.

...

Archived version

• Emmanuel Macron is visiting China amidst controversy over Taiwan, with China seeking support from France in its dispute with Japan over the island's status.
• Macron's visit comes after Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested a potential conflict over Taiwan could pose an existential risk for Japan, prompting China to lash out and condemn her "provocative remarks".
• Macron will meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and other senior leaders to discuss issues including economic ties, trade tensions, and the war in Ukraine, with the French president aiming to address "global imbalances" and convince Xi to use his influence to end the conflict.

...

The French president’s last visit to China, two-and-a-half years ago, was overshadowed by remarks that appeared to put limits on his commitment to supporting Taiwan. A three-day visit that kicks off Wednesday comes as the democratically-ruled island claimed by Beijing is back in the spotlight. China has been seeking back up from France — one of five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council — in its recent dispute with Japan over Taiwan’s status. Beijing lashed out after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi last month suggested that a potential conflict over the island could pose an existential risk for Japan.

China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, used a Thursday call with Macron’s diplomatic adviser Emmanuel Bonne to say the two sides needed to support each other and to condemn Takaichi’s “provocative remarks.” An official at Macron’s Elysee Palace on Thursday called for the status quo to be respected, and for an easing of tensions.

The new Japanese leader’s comments are problematic for China in two ways. On the most basic level, they imply Taiwan’s future could become an international dispute — while Beijing’s One-China policy insists the island’s future is a domestic issue. Beyond that, Takaichi’s remarks suggest any conflict would be serious enough for Japan to legally justify deploying its military in support of the Taiwanese.

...

Macron was instrumental in persuading the European Union to impose tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles last year, prompting Beijing to retaliate with minimum price requirements on French cognac makers. Since then, Macron has pushed the EU to deploy its toughest trade tools in response to Chinese restrictions on the supply of rare earths.

...

For France, a key goal will be to address what Macron has called “global imbalances,” including over-production in China and Beijing’s dependence on exports, which he says leads to trade tensions.

...

Another key point for Macron will be his long-running push to convince Xi to use his influence on Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine. Despite their regular contact since the full invasion in 2022, the French leader hasn’t been able to prevent China from exporting dual goods to Russia.

...

Officials are accusing Russia of smaller-scale assaults. President Vladimir V. Putin sought to turn the tables, saying that if Europe were to start a war, Russia is ready.

Currently I'm thinking again about setting up a home server. But I am unsure about the scaling. In the hope to get some input from experienced users I'm coming here.

Services that I intend on running:

• TrueNAS SCALE
• Jellyfin
• *arr stack
• Immich
• Nextcloud
• Bitwarden (maybe)

I've read the Jellyfin documentation which states i5-11500 (because the toolkit for 7-10th gen is deprecated, even though you could encode H.264/H.265) or newer for CPU based encoding or at least a GTX 1660. Because electricity is quite expensive here, I'd prefer CPU encoding. On the other side, office systems with 11th or newer gen are far more expensive. I've found a i5-6500, 16 GB RAM, GTX 1660 system for 180 Euro incl. shipping. There are a few 7th-9th gen systems with 16 GB RAM available that use on board graphics and are 80-120 Euro excl. shipping but I'm not sure if they suffice running the mentioned services and maybe a few more I don't know about yet.

I have two WD Red and a WD Green lying around, I'd like to use. From what I've heard so far, it's necessary to use a separate drive to run TrueNAS off of, which I'd need to buy separately.

Maybe you can give me some insights. Thanks.

RIP 😔

Ukraine and its European allies accused Vladimir Putin on Wednesday of feigning interest in peace efforts after five hours of talks with U.S. envoys at the Kremlin produced no breakthrough.

The Russian leader “should end the bluster and the bloodshed and be ready to come to the table and to support a just and lasting peace,” said U.K. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha urged Putin to “stop wasting the world’s time.”

The remarks reflect the high tensions and gaping gulf that remain between Russia on one side and Ukraine and its European allies on the other over how to end a war that Moscow started when it invaded its neighbor nearly four years ago.

Malaysia's transport ministry said Wednesday that the deep-sea hunt for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 will resume Dec. 30, renewing hopes of finally locating the jet that vanished without a trace more than a decade ago.

The Boeing 777 plane disappeared from radar shortly after taking off on March 8, 2014, carrying 239 people, mostly Chinese nationals, on a flight from Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur, to Beijing. Satellite data showed the plane turned from its flight path and headed south to the far-southern Indian Ocean, where it is believed to have crashed.

The transport ministry said in a statement that U.S.-based marine robotics firm Ocean Infinity will search intermittently from Dec. 30 for a total of 55 days, in targeted areas believed to have the highest likelihood of finding the missing aircraft.

Commenting on the government’s North Sea Future Plan, in which it has confirmed that no more licences for new oil and gas will be issued, Greenpeace UK’s co-executive director, Areeba Hamid, said:

“Britain has just made history. Closing the door to new exploration marks the beginning of the end of oil and gas in this country. By standing firm on its manifesto promise, the government has shown genuine global climate leadership, making the UK the world’s largest economy to call time on new fossil fuel exploration. This is a major milestone.

“Oil and gas production has driven both the climate and energy price crises, leaving us all paying through the nose while fossil fuel giants have pocketed billions. But the winds are changing. The future of Britain’s energy is and needs to be clean, stable, home-grown renewables – not expensive, volatile, climate-wrecking fossil fuels.

“However, the current plan – and the cash – to support North Sea workers doesn’t go far enough. It’s vital they are at the heart of Britain’s transition to a clean-energy superpower, not left behind by it – but a £20mn jobs package doesn’t cut the mustard. A fair transition will create thousands of new jobs, strengthen communities, and prove that climate leadership and economic security can go hand in hand.”

U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin on Dec. 2 as part of the U.S. effort to advance negotiations aimed at ending Russia's war in Ukraine.

Top Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, who took part in the talks, called the meeting "very useful, constructive, and highly substantive" but said no concrete deal was agreed upon — a statement suggesting that a final peace agreement remains far off.

Welcome ladies and gentlemen

Welcome to the National Assembly of the French People

Today, we will expose the worst scumbags inside the French Parliament.

During your visit, make sure to avoid giving bananas to the monkeys. You can take pictures as a souvenir.

1. Eric Ciotti

This bald head was elected by the people of Southern France.

In November 2024, he celebrated the election of Donald Trump. He said the election of Trump was "a wonderful event and a source of inspiration""

2. Sophia Chikirou

This woman was elected by the people of Paris

She says her motivation is helping poor people. She is known for screaming at people until they cry.

Chikirou says "China isn't a dictatorship"

She is currently criminally indicted for financial fraud.

3. Aurelien Taché

This man jumps from one party to the next.

He was in the Socialist Party. Then, he joined La Republique en Marche. Then, he created Les Nouveaux Democrates party. Then he joined the Green Party which ended up kicking him due to bad behavior. Then, he joined la France Insoumise.

He recently said "Taiwan belongs to China because the Taiwanese are also part of the Han Race"

He is a known alcoholic that was involved in numerous incidents.

4. Guillaume Bigot

Bigot, from the Rassemblement National, says there is "No real evidence that climate change is linked to carbon emissions"

5. Hervé de Lépinau

Lépinau wants to ban abortion. He said "abortion is similar to the Armenian Genocide, the Rwandan Genocide, ISIS and the Holocaust"

6. Jérôme Legavre

Member of France Insoumise. He is a former leader of the Parti Ouvrier Independant, an actual trotkyst-maoist organization. This isn't a label he rejects. He is proud to be called trotskyist-maoist.

After Russia invaded Ukraine, he refused to vote a resolution condemning the invasion:

https://www.liberation.fr/politique/pourquoi-ce-depute-lfi-a-vote-contre-une-resolution-en-soutien-a-lukraine-20221202_TWZXXJP7DVHBPF6YF75ASYSWUM/

When Zelensky visited the French Parliament, he said "He is NOT welcome in France":

https://www.huffingtonpost.fr/politique/article/volodymyr-zelensky-n-etait-pas-le-bienvenu-en-france-pour-le-depute-jerome-legavre-lfi_235144.html

7. Marine Lepen

This woman received millions of euros from Russian banks to fund her political party.

She is accused of defrauding the European Parliament.

A court found her guilty of fraud and banned her from running. Immediately, Russia denounced the decision.

__________________________________________________

I watch Parliament regularly. There are actually decent smart people inside. Thank god.

People around the word are murdered, raped, tortured, because they want democracy.

🔴 You know what's the greatest thing about democracy? Anyone can be elected.

🔴 You know what's the worst thing about democracy? Anyone can be elected.

So my message to french people: get involved. Stop assuming democracy works magically.

Fucking get involved. Vote at every single election. Some of these dumb clowns were elected with only 500 or 1000 votes which is a total disgrace.