šŗšø America isnāt ready for another war ā because it doesnāt have the troops
Coverage of the wars in Ukraine and Gaza is mostly dominated by talk of weapons. Reporters and analysts focus on suicide drones, on shell deficits, on targeting algorithms. But for all the attention devoted to modern weapons and munitions, both conflicts are proving that modern war still comes down to people.
In Ukraine, battlefield deaths on both sides were estimated to number more than 200,000 by the fall of 2023. Though US weapons and munitions have been critical to Kyivās war effort, it was territorial militias and hastily trained citizen-soldiers who helped save Ukraine from total conquest in 2022.
At the same time, it was a partial mobilization of more than 300,000 troops that stabilized Russiaās lines and prevented a potential collapse in late 2022. Today, the war has settled into an attritional slugfest, with both sides desperate to keep the flow of new recruits going, to the point where ranks have opened to older men, women, and convicts.
The situation is much the same in the Middle East. On October 7, Israelās heavily automated Gaza perimeter was breached by well-trained but low-tech Hamas terrorists. The attack was eventually repulsed by conscript soldiers and armed volunteers ā even in the āstart-up nationā that prides itself on its technological prowess, security depends first and foremost on people. Similar to the Russian mobilization before the invasion of Ukraine, the immediate calling up of 360,000 reservists enabled Israel to conduct its campaign against Hamas and deter other non-state foes in the West Bank and Lebanon.
America did away with the draft 51 years ago, waging its many wars and interventions since with the All-Volunteer Force (AVF). But āall-volunteerā is a misnomer. Americans arenāt lining up to serve, and the AVF is really an all-recruited force. Its previous annual recruitment of about 150,000 mostly young Americans, who are individually located, pitched, and incentivized to serve, comes at considerable effort and expense.
The United States got through two foreign wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with the AVF ā though neither war was a victory. A war with Russia, China, Iran, or North Korea would be an entirely different proposition, with the possibility of more casualties in a few weeks than the United States suffered in the entire Global War on Terrorism. But as crises overseas multiply, the immediate existential threat to the AVF, and ultimately to US security, is at home: There arenāt enough Americans willing and able to fill the militaryās ranks.
š https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/368528/us-military-army-navy-recruit-numbers
The U.S. Army 4th Psychological Operations Group (Airborne) often nicknamed the "Ghosts in the Machine" released their newest recruitment video on November 19, 2025. hell this one slaps still no lujan no join. š
Somali dance at the Timberwolves vs the Celtics game yesterday in Minnesota https://x.com/westtoeastt/status/1995140208589967665/video/1
Follow Libs of TikTok Fans: t.me/libsontiktok
16,499 people died by euthanasia in Canada in 2024, accounting for 5.1% of all deaths in the country.
According to the latest report on āmedical assistance in dyingā (MAiD) from Health Canada released at the end of last month, there was a 6.9% increase in state-assisted deaths in Canada in 2024.
In 2024, although assisted suicide is permitted, in which the person who wishes to end their own life self-administers the lethal substance, there was not a single case of assisted suicide. Instead, every single person who died under Canadaās MAiD programme died by euthanasia. In 2023, there were fewer than five instances of assisted suicide.
There have been a total of 76,475 instances of euthanasia and assisted suicide since they were made legal in Canada in 2016.
Posters have appeared on the New York subway offering would-be parents the opportunity to "genetically optimise" their future baby.
By signing up to their $8,999 service, Nucleus Genomics will profile the full DNA sequence of up to 20 embryos for couples undergoing IVF.
The New York start-up's slick app then allows would-be parents to review their brood for known disease genes, conditions like autism and ADHD, as well as traits like eye colour, height, and intelligence.
Peter Thiel, who shares similar views to Musk on the topic, supported the start-up through his Founders Fund. ā Article
OpenAI's Sam Altman has also invested in gene-editing startup, Preventive, to eliminate gene-hereditary diseases from babies.
The first successful IVF (test tube baby) occurred in 1978. The place, perhaps appropriately, considering English author Aldous Huxleyās Brave New World, was England.
The irreversible transformations to the human genome will make the 4IR a pandoraās box.
š ā ...
AI influencers are now boasting personalities, backstories and even making ill-advised decisions
Aitana Lopez is an AI influencer who makes as much as $11,000 per month.
Sheās part of a new breed of digitally created avatars winning the battle for the publicās attention, joined by the likes of chart topping āsingersā Solomon Ray and Breaking Rust and āblonde bombshellā Mia Zelu, who stole the show at the Wimbledon tennis tournament ā even though she wasnāt physically there.
Aitana has made promo videos for Amazon, while huge global brands such as Calvin Klein, Prada, Samsung and YouTube have all used AI influencers.
AI generated Christian recording artist Solomon Ray topped the Billboard gospel charts with his song āFind Your Rest.ā Heās cleverly billed as a āMississippi-made soul singer,ā and has over 500,000 monthly listeners on Spotify.
One of the most followed AI influencers, Lil Miquela, caused serious backlash when she posted about being diagnosed ...