10 micro-exercises that are as effective as a 20-minute walk The Telegraph
I tried to train my color vision. Here’s what happened Sequencer Mag
Climate/Environment
Dual power and climate breakdown Ecologist
Smoke, out: cities discuss fossil fuel ad ban, echoing tobacco fight The Narwhal
Pandemics
California, Washington report more suspected H5 avian flu cases CIDRAP
Bird Flu Cases May be Spreading From Cat Owners to Their Pets Newsweek
***
Long COVID and recovery from Long COVID: quality of life impairments and subjective cognitive decline at a median of 2 years after initial infection BMC Infectious Diseases
Africa
Carbon markets and the new scramble for African land Review of African Political Economy
The US pivot to Africa is not working Erik Prince, Asia Times
India
Through Their Strike, the Samsung Workers Brought the Question of Industrial Democracy to the Fore The Wire
The Koreas
S. Korea stages live-fire missile interception drills after N.K. missile launches Yonhap
US approves potential sale of early warning aircraft to South Korea Channel News Asia
China?
Foreclosures in China soar, threatening to choke off bank profits Business Times
Meng Xiaosu on China’s real estate policy conundrum: too little socialism The East Is Read
China must open up further to combat rising unilateralism: premier Business Times
China’s provinces push personnel to meet targets as end of year approaches South China Morning Post
Workers at Henan Foxconn reportedly fainted after being scheduled to work 20 consecutive days with only one day off China Labour Bulletin
US election could shape China’s long-awaited fiscal stimulus package: analysts South China Morning Post
***
Fear and Admiration in Communist China Landmarks: A Journal of International Dialogue
Intelligent China Policy: An Interview with Paul Heer Un-Diplomatic
US’ pro-Taiwan policy to continue regardless of election outcome: NSB Focus Taiwan
Harris or Trump, Philippines sitting pretty with America Asia Times
Old Blighty
UK budget: a pittance for crumbling, asbestos riddled schools WSWS
Sinking Ship New Left Review
How Trump victory leaves Starmer isolated on the world stage The Independent
Boris Johnson ‘fired’ from US election show for plugging his book Politico
O Canada
Liberal poster boy goes full Zionist Counterfire
List of 900 alleged Nazi war criminals won’t be released by Ottawa The Globe and Mail
European Disunion
Germany: Avalanche of Layoffs, Tens of Thousands of Workers Plunged into Poverty Pluralia
Syraqistan
Israel’s rightist government celebrates as Trump claims victory Reuters
The maneuver orchestrated by Netanyahu to bring down Gallant: Maariv Al Mayadeen. Commentary:
On this occasion as well it appears that Gallant’s failures as defense minister were not the reason for his dismissal. Rather, Netanyahu’s primary motivation appears to be Gallant’s role in drafting members of the Orthodox Jewish community known as Haredim, measures which he and…
— Mouin Rabbani (@MouinRabbani) November 5, 2024
Who is Gideon Sa’ar, Israel’s new foreign minister? The New Arab. Commentary:
Here’s who he’s been replaced with: https://t.co/DIvoCObQTv pic.twitter.com/paon6XfSHv
— Hamza Yusuf (@Hamza_a96) November 5, 2024
Police probing ‘criminal incidents’ from start of Gaza war linked to PM’s office Times of Israel
***
Israeli settlers acquire hundreds of high-caliber rifles to ‘prepare for war’ in West Bank The Cradle
Israel pulls several brigades out of south Lebanon after destroying dozens of towns The Cradle
IOF strikes Syria’s al-Qusayr in new aggression Al Mayadeen
***
New Not-So-Cold War
Trump Vows to ‘Stop Wars,’ Makes No Mention of Ukraine During Victory Speech Kyiv Post
Ukraine War well beyond Trump-Harris election Responsible Statecraft. Commentary:
Official Kremlin comments:
– A phone conversation between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin is possible; the Russian president is open to contact and dialog;
– The Kremlin will draw conclusions about Trump’s presidency from his first statements in the context of Russia and… https://t.co/DzQFos35mE
— Russians With Attitude (@RWApodcast) November 6, 2024
Stalemate over, Russia advances, EU war economy The Duran (Video). Mercouris and Christoforu discuss how Trump will be blamed for Ukraine.
Neocons Circling Trump Campaign Consortium News. From October. 22, still germane.
How the War in Ukraine Could Go Nuclear—by Accident Foreign Affairs
***
Ukraine reports first clash with North Korean troops Deutsche Welle
***
The commander of Azov criticized Zelensky: We do not have access to Western weapons, we are defending the country with blood Telegrafi. Speaking of Azov:
Azov set an example for all far-right on how to preserve “values” and sit at one table with powerful decision-makers who promoted “defending democracy” political discourse during the biggest war in Europe since 1945. In order to be a respected participant of “democracy talks”,… pic.twitter.com/nc2ZvyM7zS
— Marta Havryshko (@HavryshkoMarta) November 5, 2024
Film Review: How the CIA Threatens and Terrorizes Children — “A Vaccine Against the Pandemic of Lies” —
The Caucasus
Russia warns against ‘hasty’ Armenia-Azerbaijan peace deal promoted by West Bne Intellinews
2024
Trump wins presidency for second time, completing improbable comeback The Hill
Big red shock: Takeaways from Trump’s election night romp Axios
Republicans win Senate control. What that means USA Today
Dow futures soar more than 900 points as Trump closes in on victory and GOP flips Senate Fortune
***
The Billionaire-ification of the U.S. Election Atmos
***
Project 2025 Is Even More Radical Than You Think The Lever. Commentary:
Also lost in the controversy is the fact that the Democrats have already implemented elements of Project 2025 including the Willow Project and rolling back NEPA via the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 – and they aren’t done yet with NEPA.
— Dubbs4ClimateJustice (@ArogersWright) November 3, 2024
***
A couple charts to explain a Harris loss Polygraph
Harris wins Jewish vote, loses in America’s Arab capital Ynet. Commentary:
The ultimate in karmic justice: https://t.co/pc4taqjPDw
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) November 6, 2024
***
WHY U.S. FOREIGN POLICY IS UNDER FIRE FROM THE POPULIST RIGHT Foreign Policy in Focus
Russia has declared war on US democracy Foundation for Defense of Democracies
***
What the US Air Force Doesn’t Want You to Notice on Election Night Common Dreams
***
Israel, Blackmail and the Presidents husseini
Democrats en Déshabillé
Dejected Democrats look to House as ‘only hope’ The Hill. Commentary:
🇺🇸 Democrats spent 4 years desperately trying to get “moderate” Republicans to break from Trump.
The result? 94% of Republicans voted Trump – exactly the same as in 2020, while Democrat vote dropped.
(Via @CNN) pic.twitter.com/3ZakCLOC1p
— Stats for Lefties 🍉🏳️⚧️ (@LeftieStats) November 6, 2024
2:
Economic insecurity + total absence of analysis of current system + total lack of radical comprehensive counter program = far right victories. Everywhere, not just US.https://t.co/OTyxCPNvM1
— Julia Steinberger (@JKSteinberger) November 6, 2024
3:
Kamala lost almost all the university towns in Michigan… I wonder if tear-gassing all your student voters effected the election 🤔
— General Strike 🍀(Terrence Daniels) (@Terrence_STR) November 6, 2024
US elections 2024: After not endorsing Harris, Rashida Tlaib secures win in Michigan Middle East Eye
Abortion
Six states expand abortion protections as Florida ballot fails BBC
Groves of Academe
Universities in Dark Times: Beyond the Plague of Neoliberal Fascism Counterpunch
AI
Pentagon confirms erasure of Project Maven-related contract records All-Source Intelligence
The Vatican’s Anime Mascot Is Now an AI Porn Sensation 404 Media
Antitrust
Yes, There Are Antitrust Voters in a Swing State BIG by Matt Stoller
Class Warfare
Slavery, labor, and the origins of computation The Tech Bubble
To Whom Do Children Belong? Archedelia. Well worth a read.
How Should One Mourn the Death of a Person Who Served a Repressive Regime? The Wire
Henry Kissinger Requested a Monument in Arlington National Cemetery. He Won’t Get One. Politico. (Kevin W): “How about a Memorial Toilet Block instead?”
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
LICKSPITTLE CONGRESS
(melody borrowed from Pink Houses by John Mellencamp)
Well the game plan—invade Iran
Everyone has understood
A tiny Jewish state, but they go no holds barred
They like to claim they’re misunderstood
And their scripture, their religion,
Tells them they must never stop
From Baghdad to the Suez
Their scripture says that’s a gift from God
They get bombs from America, endlessly
Bombs from America, ASAP lately
Bombs from America—from their devotees— (yeah)
Lickspittle Congress up in DC
(Ooh yeah up in DC)
U.S. Congress loves their pay dirt
Money gets their adulation
Life is sleazy there, it’s so mercantile
SuperPACs bring stacks of fresh donations
Each seat is sold, see, the money hunger
Makes sure that every deal and bill gets bent
They won’t tighten their belts—that cash money stream
Might make you President!
They get bombs from America, endlessly
Bombs from America, ASAP lately
Bombs from America—from their devotees—
Lickspittle Congress up in DC
(Oh, yeah waiting up in DC)
(musical interlude)
It’s all legal though it’s fecal
Empires must grow grow grow
Make the whole world Westernized
Stick all us terrorists in Guantanamo (Ooh yeah)
We get thinner—their maneuvers
Take away our meals
If we dwindle then maybe
We’ll head for the hills, we’ll let them steal
Those bombs from America, endlessly
Bombs from America, ASAP lately
Bombs from America—from their devotees— (yeah)
Lickspittle Congress up in DC
(Oooooh! Ooh, yeah)
With bombs from America, endlessly
Bombs from America, hey ASAP lately
Bombs from America—from their devotees—
(Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!)
Lickspittle Congress up in DC
(Ooh yeah) (Ooh yeah)
“List of 900 alleged Nazi war criminals won’t be released by Ottawa”
Nazi Lives Matter? Or is it that after establishing themselves safely in Canada, that more than a few rose high in Canadian civil society earning themselves high positions and perhaps even knighthoods. Why not? Those doctors from Japan’s Unit 731 who weren’t captured by the Russians returned to Japan and went on to have successful careers and became very influential people. So maybe Canada is protecting the names of those Nazis as there would be very recognizable names there. Those names may never be released.
Besides that sorry episode in the Canadian parliament, I think there was another SS alumni, Peter Savaryn, who rose to become a chancellor of the University of Alberta and was also awarded the Order of Canada
There’s also a few monuments to the 14th Wafen SS division here too
Chrystia Freeland, the deputy PM, is also descended from people that share the exact same ideology
Given how high placed these people or those related to them are, the names will never be released
Further, Chrystia Freeland’s Mother erected a monument to the Galician Brigade (in Edmonton) – which was an ultra-nationalist brigade fully integrated into the Wermacht. Nazi’s, in other words. Responsible for multiple massacres of Poles, Jews, Roma, and allies of the US, USSR, and western europe. Nice folks. Freeland’s maternal grandfather was a Nazi collaborator and editor of a Ukrainian-language Nazi newspaper. This I think explains young Chrystia’s approach to governing, I think, imposing the war measures act on peaceful protesters and freezing the bank accounts of anyone who dared give the protesters money. Fascists do as fascists do. It’s truly terrible how low the “Liberal” party has fallen.
Re: Neocons circling Trump campaign
Have a cigar
Sung to the tune of, “Have a Cigar” by Pink Floyd
[Musical intro]
sorry Kammy, sorry Kammy (sung to melody from synth line)
sorry Kammy, but, we need to get Don on the killing train!
[Verse 1]
Come in here, dear Don, have a cigar, you’re gonna go far
You’re gonna fly high, you’re never gonna die, you’re gonna beat every rap they’re gonna love you
I’ve always had the most respect I mean it quite sincerely
Your tan is just fantastic, that is really what I think, oh by the way, what’s that Donkey stink?
And did we tell you the name of the game, boy?
We call it changing your mind on Ukraine ….. ay-ay-aine
[Verse 2]
We’re just knocked out
We heard about close-out
You gotta get an album out, you owe it to the people, Cramer’s so happy he can hardly count
Every Elephant is just green, have ya seen the stock charts?
It’s a helluva start, it could be made into a monster, if we keep pumping up the ponzi scheme
And did we tell you the name of the game, boy?
We call it changing your mind on Ukraine ….. ay-ay-aine
[outro]
Michael Tracey just before the big victory.
“Also making a special appearance at the rally was Mike Pompeo, whom Trump curiously decided to put front and center on the final day of campaigning. Trump called out to Pompeo by name, and had him stand up for a round of applause. Later, Pompeo spoke at Trump’s rally in Pittsburgh, reminiscing fondly about how he was Trump’s most loyal confidant in the first Administration, and expressing conspicuously direct knowledge about what policies would be undertaken in a second. Is Pompeo now part of the heroic Deep State Avengers squad that we’re told by the likes of RFK Jr. are getting ready to dismantle the Deep State?”
https://www.mtracey.net/p/happy-election-day
Perhaps Tracey is being a little too cynical. Yesterday was the right result in that we have at least a chance of pulling back from the brink while–seemingly–almost none from Harris and the Dems.
And thanks to NC for last night’s coverage. Almost 500 comments–wow.
I am watching Morning Joe now just to watch the reaction. Mika has been almost catatonic.
However, 2 things of note – and maybe I am just a bit hopeful – and also a bit very concerned – they still do not seem to get big things.
The panel several minutes ago was discussing the fact that ceasefires in both Palestine and Ukraine may be a reality before Thanksgiving much less Inauguration Day. They are decrying the effect all of this will be having on Zelensky, etc.
Secondly, Chris Matthews is back. The one who was fired several years ago for saying things against the narrative. Without apology, he is back telling the others at the panel that they are full of crap. The summation – “The progressive era needs to be over if they want to win again”. And by progressive – they are seemingly mainly referring to all the transgender issues and drag queens, etc. Hoo boy. This is going to be a fascinating month to watch the implosion occur. Also a topic of discussion – “Where did all the young women bringing their girls to the polls go? That just did not happen”…….I cannot say it enough times – when eggs are 4 dollars a dozen – and rapes by illegal immigrants released from prison in their home country become the news repeatedly – people have other priorities. I am just shocked they cannot even begin to comprehend this even after the blowout last night.
MSM media anchors still have no idea that their audience is literally going to die off. Compare their Nielsen numbers to, at one-end, Joe Rogan and then at the other end, the aggregation of all the micro podcasters/content creators on Tiktok (who double as political pundits every 4 years).
Mika got lost in her own Kafka-esque hall of Narratives. Good riddance.
Do they really think that they lost over drag queens, and not the half a million body count in Ukraine and Gaza? Or $15 fast food meals?
If so, they have a lot of soul-searching to do.
Evangs hate trans people with a burning passion, and having Kamala on Trump telly commercials continually saying in regards to potential penitentiary prospects ‘you get an operation, and you get an operation, and you get an operation, etc.’ was aimed at far right dogma, in particular.
The answer is no. They want to blame the weak on the outside to protect the courtier class. Joy Ann Reid has already proclaimed Harris ran a flawless campaign as she Taylor and Beyoncé!
One narrative is it’s the voters fault, but as long as the donors, some are believers, don’t catch on that they shouldn’t take a closer look at the Team Blue courtiers all will be well.
The Team Blue courtiers are very much a GOP Log Cabin type outfit. They are Republicans who are aware of a personal (to them) concern that may not play well with the fundies or otherwise they would just be Republicans.
Team Blue should have been fighting tooth and nail on student debt relief not rolling over for the Supremes or at least pushing the restart of payments until after the election, but it’s not an actual concern to the courtier class
Re: Charts to explain a Harris Loss
«there are people out there who would see the poverty rate of 7.8% in 2021 and the 12.9% rate in 2023, and say there was a negligible 5% increase — not an alarming 65% jump — in poverty during that stretch.»
‘People’ as in all of DC.
Yeah, my first thinking was: How might Harris win after the nothing will fundamentally change disaster?
Old Babylon Bee (satire) says it all:
‘We Can’t Afford Another Four Years Of This!’ Shouts Running Mate Of Candidate Who Has Been Leading Country For Four Years…..
https://babylonbee.com/news/we-cant-afford-another-four-years-of-this-shouts-running-mate-of-candidate-who-has-been-leading-country-for-four-years
corporate profits as a % of GDP (and nominally) actually went up under Biden!
at the worst of it, real income went down ~3% (assuming you agree w/the hedonic adjustments used by BLS), effectively taking away one+ week’s of pay from regular folks
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CP https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/GDP https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LES1252881600Q
RE: How Trump victory leaves Starmer isolated on the world stage The Independent
Disappointing article that gives a few bites of information but sticks with the obvious. The biggest fail is to keep a right-left narrative that doesn’t hold resemblance with political realities. Go and read at least the last para of the previous link: Sinking ship.
Certainly Starmer will be in Trump’s gun-sights. Sending over a Labour team to influence the US elections and throw the win to Harris will not be forgotten by Trump. If Starmer needs a lifeline down the track and the UK economy starts to flounder, Trump is more likely to throw Starmer an anvil. I have heard that Starmer’s position of PM is not that guaranteed in the coming years and we have all seen UK PMs come and go at a rapid pace. It may be that Trump will throw the UK a lifeline if asked, so long as Starmer is replaced. For the UK, that would be a bargain.
Thank you, both.
Trump and Starmer have common ground to build on: Both are philanderers.
Agree with your recommendation of Sinking Ship at Sidecar. The author did a good job of drawing out how the Treasury throttles planning and spending in the various ministries and steadily pushes “public-private partnerships” to make up for service shortfalls. Above it all there’s the discipline of international finance, which organizes attacks on the pound when government finances threaten austerian limits. I hope Corbyn and his allies can fight this effectively, perhaps more possible now that Starmer has lost Washington.
“The Vatican’s Anime Mascot Is Now an AI Pron Sensation”
Obviously the Vatican was never informed about Rule 34.
They were informed, and decided not to make mascot a boy, in order to reduce interest for viewing of those inside Vatican.
>Russia has declared war on US democracy- Foundation for Defense of Democracies
As we speak, they are working around the clock, deploying information operations aimed at interfering in US elections. Russia…is sowing chaos and undermining American citiz3ens’ faith in their institutions, democracy…blah, blah, blah…you get picture.
The author:
Ivana also serves as a special correspondent for KyivPost. Before joining FDD, Ivana worked as a visiting scholar at Harvard University and a lecturer for a variety of universities, including the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, and as a Jeane Kirkpatrick fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
The organization:
The Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) is a Washington, DC-based nonpartisan 501(c)(3) research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy..
“Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD)” … yeah, more like F.U.D.
Seventy six days left in the big parade
With a historic defeat close at hand
They were followed by rows and rows
Of the finest glad handers
The cream of a not so famous brand
Seventy six days left in the morning sun
With the Donkey Show left behind
There were over a thousand ironclad deeds
Springing up like weeds
There were armaments of every shape & kind
There were many megatons in nuclear platoons
Thundering, thundering, all along the way
Double plus good, could lead us to our doom
Each device having its big, fat say
There were less than fifty Senators in the D battery
Thundering, thundering, less louder than before
Schiff types of every size
And Trumpers who’d improvise
They know the score!
Seventy six days left to hit an axis of evil
While the THAAD kept incoming missiles away
To the rhythm of Harch! Harch! Harch!
All the IDF began to march
And they’re marching still right today
76 Trombones (Full Scene) – The Music Man (1962)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdd6q0pW4DM
And what’s a parade without the clowns?
went to the NYT first. lol. you are not going to find circumspection there. same tropes as during the campaign.
Garbage in (pundits, editorial column, journalists not being hard on Dems, Dem. surrogates, being a stenographer for military-intelligence complex) = garbage out when it comes to NY-DC’s worldview and predictions.
Never thought that I would think this 16 years ago….but Dems. are going full-Whig!
If the Green Party had any sense (nope, like herding co-opted cats in my neck of the woods), they would be building their infrastructure for 2028. but I thought the same in 2000 after I cast my vote for Ralph Nader! lol
Greens do not build infrastructure.
That’s because the U.S. Greens are stupid and refuse to take corporate money. Exxon would love to help them win.
>Israel, Blackmail and the Presidents husseini
I get the sense that most people have already processed this if they are familiar with Whitney Webb’s work. Those who are not up on the details and nexus between Epstein and Blinken, etc…also have processed this via the “black pill.” The sentiments of most people I talk to is that politicians are self-serving, opportunist, in their sexual as well as economic interest, they are predatory by nature, with few exceptions, and that the details would just confirm what they already know/feel to be the truth.
From Bill Clinton’s blue dress to Obama’s putative sexual predilections, and Trumps “pussy grab.” it has all been processed and compartmentalized in people’s thinking. There is little that surprises and shocks anymore after having seen some of the images on Hunter’s non-existent lap top.
Thank you, Conor.
with regard to the Blighty links, readers may be interested in: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/nov/06/labour-budget-repackaged-tory-ideas-economics. At breakfast today, Edgerton tweeted how the Dixiecrat defeat holds lessons for Starmer. One wonders if the Labour team in the US, including the new chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, will learn the lessons. I doubt it.
I wonder whether the Guardian will let it grow, the idea that Labour only repackages Tory policies, and insist on that or if it will dutifully forget it because markets.
Some ppl seem to be really losing it:
oh dear someone needs a valium…..
what is the status of Trump’s open criminal & civil lawsuits? I read there are 80ish charges. Even if some are bogus lawfare, I would guesstimate some are legit crimes.
When is the sentencing for 1/some of his convicted felonies? I recall hearing this was probable soon/within a few months after yesterday’s election.
Will Trump just pardon himself, and the SCOTUS will rule in Trump’s favor if the self-pardon legality case is elevated to them for judgement?
Perhaps some of the R-supporting oligarchs/megafunders would be happy if Trump is imprisoned because they would prefer Vance over Trump anyways?
There seemed to be hope among the NBC talking head last night/early this morning that Judge Merchan will now sentence T in Stormy Daniels case he lost. Merchan delayed sentencing this summer. “And that might change evverrry thing.” Hope springs eternal at NBC. / ;)
I’d short the Dow Cornings index
Sure, why not? They could move the entire staff of the White House to Leavenworth where Trump would be running the country. There is nothing in the Constitution that says that a sitting President has to be sitting in the White House. And the Press Pool would have to go to Leavenworth for interviews and press briefings with maybe invasive searches every time they went in, especially for NBC staff. It would be funny if he pardoned himself first though.
DA Alvin Bragg and Judge Juan Merchan are likely rethinking their life choices right now, as well as their country of residence.
So far he hasn’t been convicted of federal crimes. For those maybe he will preemptively pardon himself, or step aside and have Vance do the pardoning. For the rest, SCOTUS is probably creative enough to find that state courts can’t hold a sitting president, president-elect, candidate for president, or former president (of whom they approve) accountable for anything ever.
I beg your pardon
I never promised you a Presidential pardon
Along with the sunshine
There’s gotta be a little refrain sometime
When you take you gotta give so live and let live or let go
Oh-whoa-whoa-whoa
I beg your pardon
I never promised you a Presidential pardon
I could promise you things like Kamala coming through
But don’t expect anything after yesterday, if I was you
So you better think it over
Well, if by sweet-talkin’ word salad you could make it come true
I would run the world right now on a silver platter
But what would it matter
So smile for a while and let’s be jolly
Jail shouldn’t be so melancholy
Come along and share the good times while we can
I beg your pardon
I never promised you a Presidential pardon
Along with the sunshine
There’s gotta be you doing some time
I beg your pardon
I never promised you a Presidential pardon
I could sing you a tune and promise you the moon
But if that’s what it takes to hold you
I’d just as soon let you go
But there’s one thing I want you to know
You better look before you leap, still waters run deep
And there won’t always be someone there to pull you out
And you know what I’m talking about
So smile for a while and let’s be jolly
Jail shouldn’t be so melancholy
Come along and share the good times while we can
I beg your pardon
I never promised you a Presidential pardon
Along with the sunshine
There’s gotta be you doing some time
I beg your pardon
I never promised you an ironclad Presidential pardon
Rose Garden, by Lynn Anderson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXHsWBKKNbI
Good morning fellow parody maven. We should ask dear hostess for a special thread so you, Anfifa, and others can riff freely.
PS – it’s looking like the Bills jinx worked, but we should probably not do the final dance until we’re sure the refs don’t call a penalty after the game ended and the Bills emerged victorious, taking away a touchdown.
…a Long Suffering Bills Fan wouldn’t have it any other way, not that you have any say in the matter
I’ve not watched an NFL game in a month of 4 Sundays, beisbol been berry berry good to me.
You’re missing some good Bills football – Josh Allen looks like a MVP candidate.
The defense is a worry, though. The playoffs and the dreaded Chiefs loom large, not to mention the Ravens. For comic relief, we have Kaaron Rodgers and the Jests.
Kamala as Scott Norwide.
Middle East Eye on Rashida Tlaib’s victory for a fourth term.
First, congratulations to Tlaib. She’s one of the few critters in Congress who isn’t, as the young-uns say, cringe.
Of course, they are cringing because they have made everything about money and subservience.
Second, the article lists the crap she has had to put up with. Truly disgraceful — although it may be liberating for her to have adversaries who are so deluded and craven.
Third, I have watched much of Rania Khalek’s focus interview (in three parts) with a group of Arab Americans in Michigan. They are eloquent. They are angry — justifiably so. They are radical in their insights and analysis. Yet the whiffy Democratic Party elites thought that they could get away with torturing citizens in public. How could that possibly go wrong for the Dems?
The first part of Khalek’s interviews:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q3hs_677rQ
Thanks for the link.
Also, the Dem estab has been telling itself for decades it can ignore its voters concerns because “where else can their voters go ?” The Dem estab just got the answer, not the answer they were expecting.
McCaskill 2028
Clare?
Does she have a granddaughter that’s running for something? Maybe someone less than 80 next time around.
McCaskill?
Only Democrats can be this masochistic.
And now for a lick of sadism:
McCaskill / Buttigieg
McCaskill / Behar
McCaskill / Cheney, Liz
But there is no joy in Mudville
~mighty Kamala has struck out
Thx for the pun!
McCaskill / Tester
Republican Tim Sheehy wins Montana Senate race, unseating Dem. Sen. Jon Tester
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/republican-tim-sheehy-wins-montana-senate-race-unseating-dem-sen-jon-tester/ar-AA1tBQZv
(And to think I sent both their campaigns a small donation in their first run. Live and learn.)
“The US pivot to Africa is not working – Asia Times”
‘Russia has been aggressively pushing into the region, using both private military companies such as the notorious Wagner Group’
Coming from Erik Prince – the founder of Blackwater – that is hilarious that. Africa is pushing out the French as Prince noted but that is because the French have been ruthlessly exploiting them. So why would they replace the French with American colonizers? Especially if the US demands that those African nations will only be allowed to have relations with the US but not with other countries that the US does not like? It was that demand that got the US kicked out of Niger it should be pointed out. But with the focus of the US on China, maybe Africa will be put on the back burner. Fortunately the US State Department has expert people that can go in and fill the gap. /sarc
After the dust settles, the dnc needs to be completely dismantled down to the desks they use.
I never want to hear another word from
The Obamas, Clinton’s, Pelosi, Schumer, harris, Biden and add all you want.
Not another word and I hope they all quit or be fired are the pundits, from John Oliver to msnbc, cnn, npr
Not another word from the pollsters unless they got things correct the last 3 cycles.
The only tiny sliver of hope is that like what team R did after the huge loss in 2008, they built anew and it worked team blue needs to do starting this morning.
Yes it’s a really small sliver.
add the DC Dem. love of celebrity endorsements. Normie-Americans do not want to be lectured about politics from a milionaire entertainer (even if they like the celeb’s songs or films)
I came across a video yesterday saying that a lot of these celebs were being pressured into endorsing Harris or else they would lose work in the industry. i could believe that happening.
look what happened to Gina Carano or Tim Allen. Cancelled. black listed.
Allen wasn’t canceled by Disney. The network didn’t own that show, and the viewers switched to fox 10 o’clock news instead of staying on which means they received way less than a show with poorer ratings they outright owned (it’s why NBC loves Friends but has no attachment to Seinfeld; they own one.). Most likely Disney cooked up the canceled story to support someone they intended to bring back.
Disney hasn’t exactly refused to hire Allen either.
The Republican reorganization, whatever combination of grass roots and elite pressures brought it about, serves the oligarchy. One glitch in the scenario of the disintegration of the Democrats leading to a regrouping oriented even slightly toward the people is the commitment of the Republicans in positions of power to closing any path to anything of the sort.
A pipe dream! They are the best at fundraising and are the connection to sacred corporate cash. We will now be told that the Harris campaign was too far left. They should have brought in Count Dickula himself, not his spawn. Oh and Shapiro should have been VP.
“Boris Johnson ‘fired’ from US election show for plugging his book”
‘Johnson refused to follow orders, stating: “There’s absolutely nothing you can do to stop me … I’m allowed to plug my book.” ‘
He still sounds like a petulant child but one that is money grubber. He has never changed. He was like this before he was PM, was like it when he was the PM, and is still acting like this. But the British establishment will always find a way to support him and see that he never goes without. He’s in the club that Carlin talked about.
To Whom Do Children Belong? Archedelia, Matthew Crawford, Jeff Shafer.
Complicated. Timely. Another case where technology has made exploitation so much easier. (Hey, it isn’t just Unsubscribe buttons that don’t work.)
The article is timely because the right-wing coalition of the Italian government just passed a law banning all surrogate pregnancy / adoptions. The right-wing expression is banning “wombs for rent” — which some feminists (usually church-y) have also accepted as a practice to be avoided / limited.
The dilemma here is that privacy and personal choice usually mean that we tend not to want to interfere in others’ arrangements. On the other hand, the photo up top in the posting at Archedelia of babies “in the inventory” in Ukraine reminded me of the exploitation. A couple of years back, when the conflict broke out in Ukraine, I did some research about the assertions that it is the poorest country in Europe. I discovered that it was the capital of surrogacy. Either Ukrainian women are naturally oh-so-generous, or big money is changing hands.
A dilemma. Shafer points out that the practices are in widespread use. In Italy, the assumption seems to be that only gayfolk use surrogates. So why shouldn’t the government interfere, eh? The law does allow married couples (or those in civil unions) to adopt — although for gayfolk things are extra-complex.
As Conor Gallagher notes above, the article is definitely worth a read.
The question is this: What do you accept about its assertions? What implications does the article lead to?
The title reminded me of a band (and a song).
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark – Enola Gay
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5XJ2GiR6Bo
P.S. Enola Gay is the name of the plane that dropped Little Boy on Hiroshima.
“US ambassador warned of ‘consequences’ for enacting Occupied Territories Bill – 90 minutes later Micheál Martin said it would be reviewed rather than passed”
‘On 22 October US ambassador to Ireland Claire Cronin sent an email warning of “consequences” for Ireland if the Occupied Territories Bill proceeded.’
I’m going to assume that US ambassador to Ireland Claire Cronin also sent an email warning of “consequences” for Ireland if they did not allow military gear to stage through Ireland on it’s way to Israel.
Speaking of US ambassadors…
I wonder how many of them will get the boot when Trump is sworn into office.
I parsed that wrong…
I read “released” as released from prison. It seems the list will not be released, not prisoners.
Oopsie!
If Joe is a Lame Duck, does that make Kamala a Lame Dud?
Kamala didn’t have the courage to face her own supporters last night (best case)
worst case, all the rumors are true and she has an awful temper and/or is a functioning alcoholic and/or on some meds.
She just got beaten like a drum – give the poor gal a break. She actually thought she would win and now she has to a) stand up in public and eat crow……or b) have another cocktail and cry on her pillow. Understandable she picked b).
Box whine
Look at the upside, she’s Generation Jones very own Alf Landon.
when one is a supposed leader, the buck stops with you.
and one owes it to one’s base to thank them for their unpaid sacrifice and hold your base blameless.
imo. ymmv.
What an apropos antidote. That otter’s face says it all, doesn’t it? LOL
Good point but I’m pretty sure it’s a seal…..
I think that it is asking if it is safe to come up again.
I was going to comment the same thing… that
otterseal and I have been watching sea surface temperatures this season and are bug-eyed about itEdit: ya it’s a seal l m a o
Re: Kamala lost almost all the university towns in Michigan
It would be interesting to see a good analysis of just how much the pro-Israel, pro-war, pro-genocide policy cost the Dems.
I doubt much – it’s zionist one v. zionist 2.
True, but I think that was always priced in with Zionist #2, whereas the actual Zionist #1 was defenestrated by his former boss and then as a replacement his sidekick was slotted in by the inner party. The sidekick then had a chance to change course a little bit — to at least take a stand against the genocide —, but instead she kneeled to the inner party and said she would be absolutely no different from Zionist #1.
I believe that for many anti-war and anti-genocide voters, that could have just been the last straw. That was the point at which they said “fuggit” and decided against voting for the sidekick.
Upshot: Zionist #2’s base was largely unaffected, while Zionist #1 alienated a number of the people who formerly belonged to his base — enough to lose the election? good question —, and was then replaced by the sidekick who alienated them even more.
Thus my interest in the aforementioned analysis.
I am interested in the effect of Trump down ballot in Ohio, and also nationally.
In short, it looks like people who voted for Trump voted ‘team red’ on the rest of the ballot in Ohio. This may not be surprising to some, but there had been some evidence for split ticket voting in 2023.
In 2024, Trump currently has 55% of the vote in Ohio and an 11 point lead over Harris.
Downballot, incumbent Democratic Senator Brown has 46%, not much better than Harris’s 44%. The Republican and Libertarian candidate combined for a bit over 53%.
Then there are two sets of contests that had a pro-choice vs pro-life angle. For Ohio Supreme Court, three of three positions were won by the Republican candidate by 55%.
And Issue 1, a proposed amendment to the Ohio Constitution to change the redistricting process lost 54 to 46. ( This proposed constitutional change would have removed elected politicians from redistricting and might have benefited Democrats long term ).
In 2023, two consecutive votes on a constitutional right to ‘health care related to reproduction’ ( abortion ) were won 56 to 44 for the pro-choice side.
I had thought from the 2023 results that there were some Ohio votes ( perhaps 1 in 10 ) who would vote for a Republican candidate but were also pro-choice when given a direct vote on the matter. However, I see no evidence of this in the 2024 Ohio results. For what it is worth, abortion was a major issue in the ads for the senatorial candidates.
fun fact: Harris only got 55.x% of the vote in New York State.
NYS is officially as red as Ohio. Thanks Obama and Michelle for your relentless lecturing of black folks!
https://apps.npr.org/2024-election-results/new-york.html
I’m reliably informed that they have both had to retire to one of their mansions to recover from the RSI of their fingers.
I didn’t see this on today’s links European Disunion section.:
Germany’s awkward coalition faces make-or-break moment.
This one looks more serious than previous make-or-break moments it seems.
Good catch. For some strange reason — a big thank you to reporting by Sarah Marsh, Andreas Rinke and Christian Kraemer — there’s no direct reference to Wagenknecht’s party as the author goes over the electoral forces in play.
Question: I believe it was last week that a meeting between representatives of German and Russian capital was to occur, and there was a hint of a thaw about it. Anyone heard anything since?
So, Israeli settlers did not acquire hundreds of high-caliber rifles, because doing so would not make any sense, not to mention that you can’t buy hundreds of those for that amount of shekels.
It makes sense to me. Unfortunately, I don’t think Democratic Party leaders will take any lesson from this but, ‘more censorship, more propaganda.’
Where did the 81 million voters go? Projecting, looks like Harris will end up barely cracking 70. And Trump looks to finish in the mid 70s about where he did last time. Harris breaking 70 would still be 2nd best all time for a Democrat, behind Joe, who evidently was just that wildly popular. Previous record holder was Obama with 69 million. So that’s roughly 10 million D voters, never seen before 2020, who dropped off the face of the earth just as quickly.
Satellites reading car licence plates from orbit have nothing on Ukrainian artillery that can tell your nationality while shelling you.
In Ukraine, shell game plays you.
The “I’m Speaking” Podcast, coming to the lower reaches of an iTunes chart near you March 2025
In non-election news, a friend of mine teaches at a state university. He and his colleagues have been told that all cars must be off campus and that afternoon courses should be taught remotely today. The reason? Because ESPN is broadcasting from the campus.
That might sum up the entire problem with college athletics, especially football, as well as the priorities of the higher education system.
The school may(?) be getting a boatload of money for this, in which case they figure it’s a savvy business decision.