Links 12/25/2023

Subscribe to Post Comments

48 comments

1. Carla December 25, 2023 at 7:14 am

   Many THANKS for Christmas Links, Connor!
   1. Clint Olsen Wright December 25, 2023 at 11:20 am

      Merry Christmas to all at NC and a better year ahead.
   2. ilsm December 25, 2023 at 1:36 pm

      Peace on earth, good will to men!

      Merry Christmas to all
   3. neutrino23 December 25, 2023 at 4:05 pm

      Merry Christmas one and all.
   4. CA December 25, 2023 at 4:32 pm

      Thank you so much for this fine effort.
   5. jonboinAR December 25, 2023 at 5:03 pm

      Merry blessed Christmas to you, Carla, and to everyone here!
2. Mark Gisleson December 25, 2023 at 7:23 am

   Merry Christmas and thanks for all the fish links!
3. Colonel Smithers December 25, 2023 at 7:26 am

   Thank you, Conor and to all of the NC team for their herculean efforts throughout the year.

   Joyeux Noel a toute la communaute NC / Merry Christmas to the NC community.
4. The Rev Kev December 25, 2023 at 8:04 am

   Many thanks too for all those links on Christmas day, Conor. I think that I put on at least 2 kgs at Christmas Lunch today and my clothes seem a bit tighter for some reason. Anyhoo-

   “Finland will pay one-time €5.3 thousand to Ukrainians for voluntary return home”

   All this means is that corrupt Ukrainian officials and army officers will known that they can fleece €5.3 thousand off of each of these Ukrainians coming back from Finland.

   Damn. Gotta log off as a massive summer storm is rocking in again. Merry Christmas, guys.
5. mrsyk December 25, 2023 at 8:53 am

   For Lease Navidad! Thanks Conor.
   1. Henry Moon Pie December 25, 2023 at 9:07 am

      Jose sings the original.

      Happy Holidays NC-ers, one and all.
      1. mrsyk December 25, 2023 at 9:17 am

         Yes. Thanks HMP.
6. Es s Ce tera December 25, 2023 at 8:59 am

   re: Munther Isaac’s Lutheran sermon

   This sermon has been coming across my social media lately and I think the various formats focus on the weaker elements of his sermon. The full transcript provides what I consider the more important bits that will likely resonate with all Christians:

   Full transcript:
   https://www.redletterchristians.org/christ-in-the-rubble-a-liturgy-of-lament/

   “In our pain, anguish, and lament, we have searched for God, and found him under the rubble in Gaza. Jesus became the victim of the very same violence of the Empire. He was tortured. Crucified. He bled out as others watched. He was killed and cried out in pain – My God, where are you?

   In Gaza today, God is under the rubble.

   And in this Christmas season, as we search for Jesus, he is to be found not on the side of Rome, but our side of the wall. In a cave, with a simple family. Vulnerable. Barely, and miraculously surviving a massacre. Among a refugee family. This is where Jesus is found.

   If Jesus were to be born today, he would be born under the rubble in Gaza. When we glorify pride and richness, Jesus is under the rubble…

   When we rely on power, might, and weapons, Jesus is under the rubble…

   When we justify, rationalize, and theologize the bombing of children, Jesus is under the rubble…

   Jesus is under the rubble. This is his manger. He is at home with the marginalized, the suffering, the oppressed, and displaced. This is his manger.

   I have been looking, contemplating on this iconic image…. God with us, precisely in this way. THIS is the incarnation. Messy. Bloody. Poverty.

   This child is our hope and inspiration. We look and see him in every child killed and pulled from under the rubble. While the world continues to reject the children of Gaza, Jesus says: “just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.” “You did to ME.” Jesus not only calls them his own, he is them!

   We look at the holy family and see them in every family displaced and wandering, now homeless in despair. While the world discusses the fate of the people of Gaza as if they are unwanted boxes in a garage, God in the Christmas narrative shares in their fate; He walks with them and calls them his own.

   This manger is about resilience – صمود. The resilience of Jesus is in his meekness; weakness, and vulnerability. The majesty of the incarnation lies in its solidarity with the marginalized. Resilience because this very same child, rose up from the midst of pain, destruction, darkness and death to challenge Empires; to speak truth to power and deliver an everlasting victory over death and darkness. “
   1. ilsm December 25, 2023 at 1:43 pm

      “What you do to the least of my Brothers, you do to me”

      If you bomb your brother you bomb Jesus….

      The original quote implied charity (caritas = love).

      But harm is equally appropos
   2. Craig H. December 25, 2023 at 2:42 pm

      Thank you very much for this link.
   3. Morincotto December 25, 2023 at 11:08 pm

      Now that Christmas is over I”ll be the monster that adds a quick reminder that the slaughter of the innocents and flight to Egypt story is a complete fabrication, it never happened and instead was a made up based on a traditional myththeme with both jewish and non jewish inspirations.

      Hell, even Caesar Augustus, that ultimate embodiment of worldly Power who is so often contrasted with Jesus (probably including the Gospel writers trying to deliberately create a sort of Anti-Augustus or anti-Caesar) had a similar story to his name, about an Oracle informing the Roman Senate that a boy had been born who would one day become the allpowerful supreme ruler of Rome and the world, leading the Senate to seriously contemplate killing all the male children born that year throughout Rome, but since various Senators themselves had new sons (and many secretly hoped their so’n would be the coming supreme ruler) they didn’t go through with it.

      So unfortunately Baby Jesus can’t have been born into a family of refugees from a massacre, as neither the massacre nor the flight from it took place.

      But, even taking the story (that suspiciously enough appears in only one Gospel anyway) at face value it’s worth pointing out that ultimately it IS God who is to blame for instigating the massacre in the first place, as it never would have happened without God first guiding the wise men to Herod without warning them beforehand (only after it was already to late and they had already given the despot dangerous ideas).

      Obviously God would have known how Herod would react and saved his boy while leaving the others to die.

      Poor communicstion killls?

      A more impressive miracle would have been for Herod to actually find Baby Jesus, recognize his divinity and worship him, repenting of all his evil and becoming a better person and King.

      Saul/Paul up to eleven.

      Easy peasy if we were dealing with God and His son.

      But since the author was making stuff up he might have worried that that would have been a story truly too unbelievable.
7. Carla December 25, 2023 at 9:15 am

   On Christmas day, I thought some NC regulars might enjoy perusing this week’s entries in the Real Democracy Calendar:

   https://realdemocracyhistorycalendar.wordpress.com/2023/12/25/real-democracy-history-calendar-december-25-31/
   1. Rolf December 25, 2023 at 4:09 pm

      Thank you for the link, Carla, and Merry Christmas to you and all at NC —
8. Art_DogCT December 25, 2023 at 9:35 am

   A holiday offering for them what observe such, and a goodwill gift to all who don’t, just ’cause. Found courtesy of a friend on the Basefook.

   “I, Tom Lehrer, individually and as trustee of the Tom Lehrer Trust 2007, hereby grant the following permissions:

   “All copyrights to lyrics or music written or composed by me have been permanently and irrevocably relinquished, and therefore such songs are now in the public domain. All of my songs that have never been copyrighted, having been available for free for so long, are now also in the public domain. In other words, I have abandoned, surrendered and disclaimed all right, title and interest in and to my work and have injected any and all copyrights into the public domain.
   The permission granted includes all lyrics which I have written to music by others, although the music to such parodies, if copyrighted by their composers, are of course not included without permission of their copyright owners. The translated songs on this website may be found on YouTube in their original languages.
   Performing and recording rights to all of my songs are included in this permission. Translation rights are also included.

   “In particular, permission is hereby granted to anyone to set any of these lyrics to their own music, or to set any of this music to their own lyrics, and to publish or perform their parodies or distortions of these songs without payment or fear of legal action.

   “Some recording, movie, and television rights to songs written by me are merely licensed non-exclusively by me to recording, movie, or TV companies. All such rights are now released herewith and therefore do not require any permission from me or from Maelstrom Music, which is merely me in another hat, nor from the recording, movie, or TV companies involved.

   “In short, I no longer retain any rights to any of my songs.

   “So help yourselves, and don’t send me any money.”

   “NOTICE:
   THIS WEBSITE WILL BE SHUT DOWN AT SOME DATE IN THE NOT TOO DISTANT FUTURE, SO IF YOU WANT TO DOWNLOAD ANYTHING, DON’T WAIT TOO LONG.”

   Tom Lehrer

   https://tomlehrersongs.com/
   1. Adam December 25, 2023 at 10:56 am

      He actually spoke to the class of incoming freshmen at UCSD when I started college there in 1978. I consider it to have been one of the highlights of my college experience. A true man of the people and a very funny song writer/singer. The Boy Scout ‘be prepared’ song has long been my personal favorite.
9. Skip Intro December 25, 2023 at 9:43 am

   Arestovich is quite far off script these days, is he auditioning for the role of President of post-capitulation Ukraine? The fact that he is still making statements, and not dead in an alley, also says something.

   p.s. Thank you for your effort, mods. Your vigilance makes this all possible, happy xmas!
   1. hk December 25, 2023 at 1:51 pm

      And that he is in the West–supposedly, he’s in NYC these days. Curious who his keepers are .
10. Katniss Everdeen December 25, 2023 at 9:44 am

    There is no need to change any of the words:

    O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie!
    Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by.
    Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting Light;
    The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.

    For Christ is born of Mary, and gathered all above,
    While mortals sleep, the angels keep their watch of wond’ring love.
    O morning stars, together proclaim the holy birth,
    And praises sing to God the King, and peace to men on earth!

    How silently, how silently, the wondrous Gift is giv’n;
    So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of His Heav’n.
    No ear may hear His coming, but in this world of sin,
    Where meek souls will receive Him still, the dear Christ enters in.

    Where children pure and happy pray to the blessed Child,
    Where misery cries out to Thee, Son of the mother mild;
    Where charity stands watching and faith holds wide the door,
    The dark night wakes, the glory breaks, and Christmas comes once more.

    O holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray;
    Cast out our sin, and enter in, be born in us today.
    We hear the Christmas angels the great glad tidings tell;
    Oh, come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel!
11. caucus99percenter December 25, 2023 at 9:52 am

    Mele Kalikimaka, mina-san!

    https://www.hawaiimagazine.com/5-versions-of-mele-kalikimaka-that-beat-bing-crosbys/
12. DavidZ December 25, 2023 at 10:25 am

    Iran & drone attack on a ship going to India.

    The whole event stinks a lot, seems like a false flag of sorts. Iran has no beef with India, actually they are working with India in the BRICs, and the NS corridor between Russia & India.

    The Houthis also have little need to go attack one little ship way out of miles away from their coast when they have explicitly said – israel owned or going to israel.

    “Cui Bono?” – that’s the question from such an attack!
    1. hk December 25, 2023 at 2:07 pm

       The location raises more questions than anything else: practically in the middle of nowhere (far closer to Indian subcontinent than Iran let alone Yemen). Certainly not near any “chokepount.” Even assuming Iran or Yemenis have the ability to reliably strike so far out there (I do consider it likely for the former, incidentally), it seems such a lousy target to show their hands with.
13. ex-PFC Chuck December 25, 2023 at 10:28 am

    Happy Holidays to all, however you non-violently celebrate them!
14. Will December 25, 2023 at 10:29 am

    re The Era of Billion Dollar Sports Boondoggles is Here

    It’s actually been here for a while.

    https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/dec/06/mixed-use-development-sports-teams-owners-stadiums

    There’s a labour aspect to this as well. Salary caps are generally calculated based on league revenue. Ancillary businesses, like real estate, are not included in revenue calculations so players don’t get a share. Yes, I know. Hard to feel for millionaire athletes but not all hit the jack pot. See for example the way minor leaguers in baseball are treated.
    1. polar donkey December 25, 2023 at 10:17 pm

       The Grizzlies are shaking down Memphis for arena refurbishment, along with taking control parts of Beale st to form it’s own entertainment district. Current price is about $700 million. Memphis is in the middle of social collapse. Crime and general lawlessness is out of control. So much so that St Jude has put $1.2 billion in investments on hold and FedEx told the governor he has 3 years to get Memphis under control or it will start leaving. FedEx has been forced to have have armed escorts of it trucks because of so many highjackings. $700 million is 3 years of police budget. Or investment in actual economic development.
15. Wukchumni December 25, 2023 at 10:37 am

    Ho ho ho from Mount Lemmon, Arizona!
    1. Carolinian December 25, 2023 at 11:08 am

       Must be chilly. Enjoy the microclimate.
       1. Wukchumni December 25, 2023 at 2:50 pm

          Pipes froze on my sister’s cabin, so we beat a retreat to Tucson and are having Chinese food for Xmas, my first time ever.
          1. Carla December 25, 2023 at 7:02 pm

             We had the best carryout sushi and sashimi in town for Christmas eve — fabulous!
    2. Daryl December 25, 2023 at 3:56 pm

       There was a tiny little bit of snow and ice last time I hiked that mountain. A beautiful place, and Tucson is pretty nice too. Enjoy.
16. Michael Fiorillo December 25, 2023 at 11:52 am

    Merry Happy, or the best approximation thereof to everyone.

    I send this link every year at this time, since there’s no celebrating Baby Jesus without celebrating Mommy:
    YouTube.com/watch?v=z3p5TYDxRC4
    (Monica Salmaso: Ave Maria No Morro)
17. Sub-Boreal December 25, 2023 at 12:03 pm

    If today’s first link wasn’t enough for reindeer fans, here’s another mountain caribou story. The feeding site, run by a retired wildlife biologist in cooperation with the local First Nation, is just a couple of hours north of where I live in central BC. Visiting it is quite a magical experience.
18. Tom Stone December 25, 2023 at 12:14 pm

    I watched the moon set and the sun rise this morning and was reminded that the Universe is pervaded by beauty.
    A Merry Christmas to all.
    1. wol December 25, 2023 at 12:36 pm

       Thanks for the reminder of one of my favorites:

       CLOUDLESS SNOWFALL

       Great big flakes like white ashes
       at nightfall descending
       abruptly everywhere
       and vanishing
       in this hand like the host
       on somebody’s put-out tongue, she
       turns the crucifix over
       to me, still warm
       from her touch two years later
       and thank you,
       I say all alone _
       Vast whisp-whisp of wingbeats
       awakens me and I look up
       at a minute-long string of black geese
       following low past the moon the white
       course of the snow-covered river and
       by the way thank You for
       keeping Your face hidden, I
       can hardly bear the beauty of this world.
       _ Franz Wright
19. Tom Stone December 25, 2023 at 12:22 pm

    On Covid, the local fishwrap had a headline Friday reminding people that “The Virus is still a threat”, the article included recommendations from our “Public Health Authorities” about how to reduce the risks of infection.
    Vaccines to strengthen ones Immunity ( “Immunity” was mentioned several times) and handwashing.
    No mention of ventilation or masks.
    Clearly these people have dedicated their lives to servicing the People without regard to the costs.
    Bless their hearts.
20. BillS December 25, 2023 at 12:26 pm

    Thanks for a great list of Christmas links Connor! Merry Christmas to you and to all NCers!
21. ThirtyOne December 25, 2023 at 1:31 pm

    Further reading on the Red Sea kerfuffle:

    https://johnhelmer.org/russian-identification-of-houti-tanker-target-in-indian-ocean-how-the-western-media-are-protecting-the-israelis/

    https://johnhelmer.org/honey-trap-for-israelis-and-americans-in-the-red-sea/
22. John k December 25, 2023 at 1:39 pm

    Merry Christmas to all. May the new year bring a little less suffering to those in need.
23. hk December 25, 2023 at 1:43 pm

    Happy Holidays, everyone! Thanks to NC folks for keeping everything up through these times!
24. britzklieg December 25, 2023 at 2:41 pm

    A Christmas tune you might not have heard -from Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Hodie, a setting of Thomas Hardy’s “The Oxen”

    Christmas Eve, and twelve of the clock.
    “Now they are all on their knees,”
    An elder said as we sat in a flock
    By the embers in hearthside ease.

    We pictured the meek mild creatures where
    They dwelt in their strawy pen,
    Nor did it occur to one of us there
    To doubt they were kneeling then.

    So fair a fancy few would weave
    In these years! Yet, I feel,
    If someone said on Christmas Eve,
    “Come; see the oxen kneel,

    “In the lonely barton by yonder coomb
    Our childhood used to know,”
    I should go with him in the gloom,
    Hoping it might be so.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cK4atfLZOIQ&ab_channel=StephenGadd-Topic
25. JBird4049 December 25, 2023 at 3:08 pm

    >>>Why is the Chron so freaked out about Socialism?

    It is just the Comicle being the Comicle being its normal neoliberal self. I must say that it has done some real reporting on the housing crisis, but it is a neoliberal rag. Still, whatever real value it had mostly went away as the Sunday edition melted away.
    1. Wukchumni December 25, 2023 at 3:28 pm

       The SF Chronicle was a 3rd rate fishwrap when newspapers were king, and seeing as all of them are 3rd rate, maybe its 5th rate now.
26. Karl December 25, 2023 at 8:57 pm

    RE: Was TSMC Mark Liu forced out due to Arizona Fab “Debacle”?

    This Fab was to be the centerpiece of securing 3-5nm chip supply chains in the U.S., with the aid of ample subsidies from the Chips Act. So, calling this a “debacle” caught my attention.

    This story is based mostly on rumor, but could TSMC be re-thinking its U.S. plans? Mark Liu was the guy behind the TSMC Arizona Fab, a massive investment that’s way behind schedule, due in part to labor problems. But apparently, former Chairman Morris Chang didn’t like the idea of the Arizona Fab in the first place, and he is rumored to be behind Liu’s departure.

    It’s possible to read too much into this. But is the “debacle” — and the associated delays — due to U.S. issues or political intrigue back in Taiwan? With elections coming up in Taiwan, maybe the political winds around Taiwan’s “silicon shield” are shifting?
27. Kyvo December 26, 2023 at 11:09 am

    Another Game Over ‘23: GM Cruise pulls all autonomous vehicles off public roads after horrible dragging incident and “communication issues “ with regulators, lays off 900.

Comments are closed.