Chega is more concerned with appealing to cops rather than military, they're not so much about "defense" as they are about "security". As you said historically the country is not equipped for war but the fascists loved their state police and they wouldn't mind having it again

media is busy with the upcoming elections here (Portugal) but tbh I don't think I've heard the "defense" narrative being pushed ever, maybe some talk once in a blue moon about bringing back obligatory conscription but other than that I think it's too much of a small country and quite peripheral for that talk to gain traction

also there aren't many pockets interested in - or capable of getting it, really - "defense" money, but the defense budget increased in 2023 I'm sure, some RRF money thrown in there as well

on the other hand I've never heard talk about dismantling the very strategic American base in Azores, we're still part of NATO (founding member!) and whoever holds the belief that we shouldn't be is ridiculed, even though we joined during our fascist era

I believe the common conception about "defense" here is: no more, no less

Am I remembering correctly that the soviets proposed to the UK and France (possibly the US too?) a counter-alliance as reaction to this? which to no surprise they declined?

don't particularly like them but I've got a peculiar taste when it comes to metal

they're a curious band to bring out in a leftist forum, seeing as the OG lineup had some sort of falling out and the two remaining parties formed they're own Batushka (so I'm not even sure which one is the one that you mention)

they also walk a fine contradiction of being, as you say, "satanic"-associated but using liturgical music/chants and imagery in their albums (it's part of the gimmick anyway and probably the reason they got somewhat popular)

The thought alone of having cold showers in a cold house in winter makes me shiver, I'd scream if I really had to do it. That being said I do something which I'd recommend: start the shower with hot water and gradually "lower the heat" to cold water during it.

I know a few people who do cold showers as well and everyone keeps telling me the winter is the best, when it’s cold outside. They like the cold water best then. I think they are all lying.

I guess it makes sense when you think of it as the water and the surrounding temperature being similar, but it probably is more a question of body temperature.

Anyway, I'm getting started with the snatch, pretty exciting. Have done some light training of some of the movements (high pulls, muscle snatches, overhead squats, etc.) and I've been surprisingly apt at them. I do need to switch my program around though, as I wasn't aware of how taxing these exercises are on the shoulders but particularly on the traps.

https://www.thelibraryproject.ie/products/the-land-for-the-people-second-edition-eimear-walshe

and here is the companion piece I mentioned, glad my mind wasn't playing tricks on me

https://www.thelibraryproject.ie/products/the-land-for-the-people-second-edition-eimear-walshe

and here is the companion piece I mentioned, glad my mind wasn't playing tricks on me

FOUND IT!! https://www.eva.ie/thelandquestion/

FOUND IT!! https://www.eva.ie/thelandquestion/

Lifting belts give you superpowers

it doesn't. it just removes pressure from your lower back

I skyrocketed out of a plateau after getting one and I don’t have any other explanation of why

see above, you're using a tool that removes/facilitates the force imposed on your lower back in a given lift and this has the disadvantage of not progressing the strenght on that part of the body at the same rhythm as your other muscles you're engaging in the lift

honestly if you're not competing there's virtually no reason to use a lifting belt, egolifting is a thing and something that everyone lifting recreationally should not engage in

not saying to get advice from the internet, just sharing a readily-available source that's quite reliable and is consistent with precisely the advice I've personally received from professionals IRL

the guy himself is a physical therapist but whatever, be as condescending as you want to be

Not a great example since squat form varies with a person's anatomy so the way you describe is not necessarily "the proper form" (and to be honest I'm a bit worried by it). Feet position and angle will depend on your anatomy and squat depth will depend on your mobility. Squat university has some good videos for helping out with finding the proper squat form for each individual

thanks for the corrections

I'm sorry if I came across like that. I'm not criticizing the literature, I'm trying to ask to those who are familiar with it if my preconceived ideas hold true since that has been my experience with other works of the kind (and even in other art forms). From that experience I know that I have to be weary particularly of louded american works, I'm not outright saying american equals bad.

With that said, have you read something from the authors I've highlighted and if so what were your thoughts on their work?

indeed

Soviet not russian

Well let's just stay at the very end ::: spoiler spoiler everyone in the world (? maybe just the in US even i dunno) got 1 million dollars in their bank accounts and lived happily ever after :::

The show has some good acting, some very good episodes and does tackle some important issues but the bigger picture stuff got very cringe indeed

There are some good pvc floors nowadays which, although weird to play at first, are way softer on the knees and ankles. Old wooden floors are also not as agressive for those parts.

I play mainly in artificial turf which, depending on the quality, can be quite soft and bumpy.

Personally I used to get the most sore on my obliques due to rapid changes of direction which the body wasn't used to at that weight. Nowadays I don't have any problems after playing particularly if I have a good warm-up, I'm only left with some swelling after bad tackles lol

the best month... so far

Shenfan

Maybe Fanshen (and its sequel) can shine a light? I've only read the first chapter so I'm not sure the book delves into what you're looking for

if you have the chance, get some sprints in as well

September 11

Like pottery

If you can’t find it in soulseek, it probably never existed

true, at least digitally

Love Soulseek, it's a big fuck you to private trackers

1/2/3/4 for 5 reps, then try the olympic lifts

My warm-ups on lower body workouts sometimes are longer than the actual workout. Biggest muscles on the body, they have to be respected

. I guess during Salazar/Estado Novo education on Portugal’s brutal colonization was incredibly sanitized, to the point of praise

Spot on, it's called lusotropicalism and it's still very much a thing

What's the deal with companies preferring people going to the office rather than working from home?

I like the office environment but that's a personal preference, although I feel like people are more productive or at least more objective when working from home, so what's in it for the companies?

Here's a short award-winning doc about it https://youtu.be/Mrgpv-JgH9M

Really showcases the absolute cruelty of bureaucracy

From personal experience spirits should be kept to a minimum or at least their mixing with sweet drinks. I'm lucky I don't tolerate sweets and like sour stuff, so the times I get really drunk are usually with wine which is very enjoyable and not as unhealthy.

I barely get hungover on those punctual occasions of heavy drinking because of that and there's a very good friend called water which helps tremendously, even just 2 glasses before crashing in bed are a major help.

The day after I don't lift but I can easily play some footy or go running. I don't feel any difference during the week either. The trick is getting hammered but healthily, if that makes any sense

iirc engels talks a bit about dialectical vs metaphysical on socialism: utopian and scientific

Sorry I can't help more than that right now

on the other hand the FBI kept tabs on him, his somewhat erratic world-view could swing to either useful idiot to the feds or an actual liability to the western status quo

you can crosspost to !greenandpleasant@lemmygrad.ml as well

I've done full body workouts before but they were too long for me

I do a 4-day lower body/upper body split, start each day with a compound lift for strength (deadlift/bench press/squat/ohp) and then do accessory exercises

I like it a lot even if a bit demanding, am hoping there are no more lockdowns tho, they completely kill the progress

I think it’s important to dispel the notion that NATO was ever a “defensive alliance”

this is very important, I commented recently on reddit something about it:

"USSR wanted to join NATO in 1954, was refused and that lead to the Warsaw Pact

the refusal speaks volumes of what NATO is really about, how does a "defensive" military organisation refuse the world's biggest army into its ranks? surely that would improve their defensive qualities, no?

apparently Putin also wanted to join back when he was first 'elected'"

OP, you can read more here and here, I hope it can be helpful and, although the addressed nation there is mainly Russia, the same stream of thought can be applied to the Soviet Union, and in that case, instead of a hypothetical unified UE, I believe the consequence would clearly be the exporting of communism across Western Europe, a big no no for the US (there's even more you can search and read about how isolating the communist part of Europe was very much a plan of the big capital once WW2 ended, iirc the term "Iron Curtain" was coined by Churchill, they sold the idea that the communist block was the one trying to shut itself in, when in fact that effort came from the outside)

other than the facts, of course the rest is conjecture but I didn't came up with it myself, I just don't remember where I read/watched a similar analysis, but again it seems like that would be the natural run of things

also fun fact: after the portuguese carnation revolution the usa parked a Saratoga in the Tagus River in front of the official residence of the President (Belém Palace) when there were talks of Portugal leaving NATO, here's a pic

I really do not understand the obsession with multiparty democracy.

A multiparty system has been sold as the defining trait of democracy (or at least synonymous with an electoral cycle), election ballots must have little symbols for each little party. But even those who buy into it fall into inevitable contradictions: when, for example, they're made aware that nations like the PRC and the DPRK have other parties (similar to the post-imperialist scenario you've stated), they become quite perplexed; also, all these people would be only satisfied if the party they support won not only the general elections, but also every election in every region/municipality/district/etc, essentially desiring the one-party system they are feverishly against.

These are just brief points on how that obsession falls over itself, I purposely don't want to get into how the basis for the obsession (be it the electoral cycle, how a multiparty system actually behaves, etc) is a sham on its own.