It sounds more like they probably have some kind of generic prompt that runs on top of either platform to "be" "Sparky" to provide Walmart sales and advertising on top.
I wonder if this is so Walmart can sell the advertising for products inside Sparky from their own platform (Walmart Connect) and then run the Connect ads onwards 'inside' Sparky.
I would see this war as the end of a string of wars initiated by Iran through Hamas in October 7.
This left Israel similar to the USA post 9/11 or Peal Harbor. On a streak to make it never happen again in a very decisive/brutal way. Hegemony wasn't the moving factor for Israel, at least until very late in the war, and due to the same reasons
The attack plan of October 7 is generally so similar to the attack plan prepared for Hezbollah by the IRGC, that it is not surprising it is one and the same.
That's why Israel in this current conflict early on made moves on Iran and why the end game is this war.
> More broadly, this is the Levant versus Persia, a power contest as old as civilization.
Wasn't it more, Egypt and Greece vs Persia while the Levant was rapidly conquered?
There are plenty of educated Iranians within Iran. What's with the structural under-estimation of countries that are not quite like the West? Seriously, Iran has - especially given the sanctions they've been under - consistently outperformed everybody's expectations in terms of capabilities. Assuming they will get their coveted atomic weapon (and there are several paths to that, which I hope they will not be able to complete) we're in for a world of trouble because the only thing that kept Iran contained so far was the thought that maybe if they played ball they would be left to keep on meddling without there being an outright war.
Now that is no longer an option, so their resolve to get that weapon will be ten fold what it was three weeks ago.
You underestimate your foes at your peril, do not underestimate Iran or the Iranian people, they had an advanced culture when the West did not even exist. The fact that they're stuck in religion is the main item that is holding them back from really taking over the region. But there are plenty of countries in the West that have a bit of a religious problem so even on that front you can't point fingers.
You’re misreading my statement. Educated Iranians are plentiful. They’re the ones international people are familiar with. They almost universally hate the IRGC because they see it destroying their country. For every educated Iranian, however, they have tens of their equivalent of Koran thumpers. And those people will support the IRGC’s economic consolidation among their billionaire elite.
> their resolve to get that weapon will be ten fold what it was three weeks ago
They’ll probably get it. I’m almost convinced we’ll see the Middle East or Europe get nuked in our lifetime. Tehran hits Tel Aviv; the latter hits every major city or something.
You won't meet many IRGC supporters outside of Iran, that's the whole reason they are not in Iran in the first place. Just the same with Cubans outside of Cuba. Most Iranians (or people that still identify as Iranians in exile) have fled the regime and/or were connected to the regime of the Shah (and often through their parents, not they themselves).
> I’m almost convinced we’ll see the Middle East or Europe get nuked in our lifetime.
There is a good chance of that, and the last 3 weeks have made it much more likely that that will happen.
> Tehran hits Tel Aviv; the latter hits every major city or something.
That is possible. There are multiple possible nuclear flashpoints, Russia vs one of their neighbors, Pakistan vs India or the other way around, Israel vs Iran or the other way around, the USA because Trump has a bad hairday against pick-your-target.
Of all the parties that have nukes I figure China, France and the UK are the most stable.
> Iran repeatedly stated that they will not attack any country's assets if they do not assist the US/Israel
They’ve been doing this across the region. Some of this looks like individual commanders taking strategic decisions into their own hands. But it’s absolutely false that neutrality has protected anyone in the region.
Sure, if you’re Turkmenistan or Afghanistan, the latter which is being bombed by Pakistan, you’re fine. Also if you’re Azerbaijan, fuck you.
What’s the argument? Like, Oman was trusted by parts of Tehran on diplomatic matters. They still got bombed. Trying to rationalize this is untenable—it was a stupid strategy of throwing toys out of the pram.
That's right. Hosting military bases of the overlords that impose crippling sanctions that impoverish a nation on false premises is quite far away from a neutral country.
I didn't hear the neighbouring countries complain when Iran got attacked economically/financially and then later military.
> only attacked countries that host US bases, correct?
No. Azerbaijan hosts no U.S. bases. Also, the Gulf hosts U.S. bases in part to protect against Iran. Blowing up hotels while missing American warships underlines why Iran is a shit neighbor.
They’ve given mixed messages. You see the new talking points being echoed down thread [1].
> Iran has been quite conscientious about taking responsibility
There is no singular Iran. The President apologized. Then the IRGC hit more targets in neutral nations. (Again, unless we use the new definition of neutrality which means everyone is an enemy.)
> Accusing Iran of "lashing out" and being "reckless"
I think it’s more that these attacks are counterproductive to Iran’s state goals, which reveals that we’re seeing a hardline faction in Iran use the war as cover for consolidating power.
> those "proxies" are not "against" America or Israel - they exist solely as resistance groups that counter Israeli aggression, ethic cleansing, land theft etc.
They explicitly call for the destruction of Israel.
Yes, the cohort of islamists and anti-semites, opposed to the decolonisation of historically jewish lands which were deliberately conquered in the name of Islam.
> that Iran had a religious decree against nuclear weapons?
One cleric issuing a prohibition while another pursues them isn’t particularly interesting from a political perspective.
> they've plainly had the capability to end Israel for many years
They plainly have not. Their proxies were insufficient. And their kinetics prone to interception and destruction at source.
> there are religious extremists involved for sure, but mostly of the Israeli variety
They’re both extremist. Iran has been funding extremists around the Middle East, in Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis. Israel has a religious nutter wing in charge turbocharged by America’s own camp of evangelical idiots.
> One cleric issuing a prohibition while another pursues them isn’t particularly interesting from a political perspective.
Except there's no evidence that any in Iran were pursuing nuclear weapons - Joe Kent has said every intelligence agency in the US agrees with that. British intelligence has agrees with that. Even the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) agrees.
It's plain that this war was started at the behest and benefit of Israel. And Israel is also using it as cover to annex Southern Lebanon, just as they want a slice of Iran.
> They’re both extremist. Iran has been funding extremists around the Middle East, in Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis.
See, those groups would call themselves resistance against Israeli aggression - afterall, resistance against constant Israel aggression is the only reason they even exist!
> Israel has a religious nutter wing in charge
Oh, it's much more than one nutter. Netanyahu may well be dead (he hasn't made any public appearance in a while, and Israel has been releasing AI videos of him), yet the genocide, ethnic cleansing and aggression continue, unabated. And let's not forgot about Israel and US' proxies in the region, ISIS and Al Qaeda.
This is a Western-centric framing. Iran have an oligarchy of IRGC billionaires consolidating power. Gazans and Lebanese and Yemeni are only slightly more disposable than their own populations.
It’s tempting to turn adversary into heroism. But the truth is Iran has supported the laughter of Gazans and Yemenis to keep war away from its shores for a few more years. These proxies need to rule ruthlessly, like their parent, because they’re violent, ruthless and cruel regimes. Powerful. But no paragon, and certainly not one who give two shits about Western notions of who is committing genocide or war crimes against whom.
It’s not. It’s distributed through ChatGPT and Claude. But Sparky is Walmart’s kit.
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