Invasive ‘murder hornets’ are wiped out in the US, officials say AP
California squirrels are now apparently hunting and eating other rodents LA Times
Climate
Scrambled weather cycle prompts meteorologists to rethink models FT
Earth’s clouds are shrinking, boosting global warming Science
Coal use to reach new peak – and remain at near-record levels for years Guardian
Water
More flow upstream and less flow downstream: The changing form and function of global rivers (excerpt) Science
Syndemics
Bird flu Closed Form. Worth reading in full. “Here’s the TL;DR: H5N1 is not spreading human-to-human at this time…. To summarize: don’t drink raw milk, don’t touch wild birds live or dead, and don’t let your animals (dogs, cats) touch wild birds either.” “At this time” is doing a lot of work, but yes.
Scientists detect rare H5N1 avian flu strain in Australian child after travel to India News Medical Life Sciences
* * * What COVID-19 Revealed About China and Its Role in the World The Diplomat. Lambert here: Unmentioned in the article: That Zero Covid “worked” is more than suggested by nearly two million excess deaths after it was lifted. On the bright side, Western journos in Shanghai can now enjoy their Starbucks lattés unmasked. The great mystery to me is this: China’s leadership knew from the beginning that #CovidIsAirborne. And yet the one world power with the political economy and the industrial might to rapidly implement life-saving ventilation did not do so, resulting in millions of deaths, disproportionately working class (odd for a putatively socialist country). I’ve asked China hands why this happened, but it seems there is no answer.
China?
Pentagon report: China to build 1,000 nukes by 2030 Politico
Under Pressure: Attitudes Towards China Among American Foreign Policy Professionals (PDF) Michael B. Cerny and Rory Truex. From the Abstract: “Contrary to concerns of a rigid consensus, we identify a noticeable diversity of policy perspectives among these professionals. However, many participants perceived a degree of what they referred to as ‘hawkflation’ or ‘groupthink.’ Roughly one fourth of survey respondents noted instances of professional pressure to voice a more hawkish point of view towards China, and many feared being perceived as na¨ıve or compromised by their views on, ties to, and experiences in China. These pressures were particularly noteworthy for foreign policy professionals that are traditionally marginalized from power– those who are younger, non-white, or female.”
Face corruption head-on to stop interest groups ‘preying’ on party: China’s Xi Jinping South China Morning Post
The Koreas
South Korean investigators seek to question reluctant president over martial law AP
Saving Democracy? New Left Review
Myanmar
Soldier-spies in Myanmar help pro-democracy rebels make crucial gains BBC
What the Miss Grand International incident reveals about Myanmar’s political psychology Frontier Myanmar
India
CNA Explains: What you need to know about India’s ‘one nation, one election’ plan Channel News Asia
Syraqistan
‘My hands are paralyzed from torture’: Gazans reveal horrors of Ofer Camp 972 Magazine
* * * Northern California residents sue two members of Congress over aid to Israel San Francisco Chronicle. Commentary:
BREAKING: UNPRECEDENTED CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT FILED AGAINST NORTHERN CALIFORNIA MEMBERS OF CONGRESS
TODAY- more than 500 federal taxpayers across 10 Northern California counties filed an unprecedented class action lawsuit against their Congressional Representatives Jared Huffman… https://t.co/pkoNG47pwZ pic.twitter.com/aGBhDIz5Yd
— RootsAction (@Roots_Action) December 19, 2024
* * * America helped prepare Syria’s rebels weeks before they launched coup that toppled Assad Daily Mail
Israel’s Expanded Perch on Syrian Border Puts Damascus in Its Sights WSJ
* * * Pakistan’s missile programme is ’emerging threat’, top US official says Channel News Asia
The New Great Game
Georgia: President Zourabichvili calls on EU to step up and defend its values EU Neighbors East
Ben Cardin and European lawmakers are calling for sanctions against Georgian Dream JAM News
European Disunion
Why Giorgia Meloni Loves Antonio Gramsci Foreign Policy
Dear Old Blighty
New Not-So-Cold War
Ukrainians must make fundamental decision: fight or negotiate with Russia – US Secretary of State Ukrainska Pravda
Security guarantees without US not ‘sufficient’ for Ukraine, says Volodymyr Zelenskyy FT
Russia-Ukraine war: Zelenskyy calls Putin a ‘fantasiser’ over peace talks claim and says he wanted to ‘annihilate’ Ukraine’s army – as it happened Guardian. Commentary:
Another very important testimony on what happened in the now infamous Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations in Türkiye, 6 weeks into the war.
This time by Jean-Daniel Ruch 👇, who was Switzerland's ambassador to Türkiye at the time.
He confirms other accounts that it is the West -… pic.twitter.com/VTA9lTNeQj
— Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) December 18, 2024
* * * “Results of the year with Vladimir Putin,” an informational event which merits close attention Gilbert Doctorow
Nuclear doctrine, special op, Oreshnik missile: what Putin said at Direct Line Q&A session TASS
* * * Oreshnik Against Zelensky’s Bunker [i] Black Mountain Analysis
Arms control is thing of the past, Russia’s top general says Reuters
* * * A modest proposal: Stop the assassinations. All of them. Responsible Statecraft
Five things Russia’s invasion has taught the world about Ukraine The Atlantic Council
For Peace in Ukraine, Stop NATO Expansion The American Conservative
Trump Transition
Trump-backed spending bill voted down as US government shutdown looms Al Jazeera
Where do Musk and Trump stand after that spectacle? BBC
Musk flexes influence over Congress in shutdown drama BBC
* * * In rare move, Republican senators call for Hegseth’s FBI report Politico
* * * As landowners resist, Texas’ border wall is fragmented and built in remote areas Texas Tribune\
Spook Country
Niels Troost has a staggering story to tell about how he got sanctioned FT
The Bezzle
Inside Wall Street’s booming $1tn ‘synthetic risk transfer’ phenomenon FT
The Artist Who Trained Rats to Trade in Foreign-Exchange Markets The Atlantic
Insider trading can be legal, FCA says FT. In the UK. The deck: “ . ..and private-market bagholders only have themselves to blame.”
Digital Watch
The Ghosts in the Machine Harper’s. The deck: “Spotify’s plot against musicians.”
* * * Why the Salt Typhoon Hack Is Freaking Everyone Out Foreign Policy
AT&T, Verizon Fail To Inform Customers About Major Salt Typhoon Hack TechDirt
The Final Frontier
The moon may be 100 million years older than we thought Space.com
Class Warfare
Starbucks baristas to strike in US, union says BBC
Amazon’s Sortation Centers Should Be a Key Target for Labor Labor Notes
Global elites – wanted or not – have a lot in common Al Jazeera
Are you what you eat? How food shapes self-image Nature
Antidote du jour (Steve Snodgrass):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
141 comments
Comments are closed.
Extemporanean Beatnik News
(melody borrowed from Subterranean Homesick Blues by Bob Dylan, 1965)
Huddled in a cheap tent Presidents are sworn in
Workin’ on the back rent sittin on my fundament
Whistlin’ a blue note, wayward, shell shocked
Shiverin’ from Jack Frost, wishin’ for a good wash
Some men skid right offa the grid
Mortal sin to be wary of the binnessmen
No one gets to walk away—ya tax yourself at year’s end
Style a handicap, drag a leg since back then
Someone tells the snipers ‘pick yer targets from the playpen’
Bosses trackin’ throughput, slower slaves are kaput
Somethin’ else is afoot, money is the taproot
Strikin’ on a workin’ day, blockin’ every passageway
Rubber rounds will ricochet, watch the action replay
Takeover bid with the numbers all hid
Gentry love to enclose, foreclose, bulldoze
Bodies on the gears will never stop the fallin’ dominoes
All the old Joe’s feedin’ black crows
They took off with our pension ’cause we didn’t use our elbows
Oh, paycheck farewell, furniture I had to sell
Raise hell, rebel yell, thrown into a jail cell
On guard, diehard, rucksack, downscaled
Assailed, curtailed, hangin’ by a fingernail
Families split, you roll with it
All cruisers, beaters, roadside snoozers
Cheated by the real world
Hunger is your first school, waitin’ on some hot gruel
Brown asylum seekers, still the true believers
Ah, train horn, snow storm, one glance, no chance
In a trance, possessed, obsessed, talkin’ to my next guest
Wheezin’, freezin’, snowdrifts, train wheels too swift
Tellin’ total strangers how the worker gets the short shrift
All I did was open the lid
Now it’s Pandora’s hellhole, everything in tangles
No new angles, jumpin’ with the jangles
This world is pretty numb without an income
Which way works when the world is all in shambles?
Might be my favorite amongst your works. Needs no soundtrack. Thanks again.
I’m sorta lukewarm about these parodies, but this is awesome!
Splendid!
The un-paean for our times.
Brilliant!! gonna cobble together some musical backing
“Musk flexes influence over Congress in shutdown drama”
I was watching the TV news tonight to see what they had to say about the whole thing and they made it all about Musk. One official was saying that both sides had gotten together to make this great agreement – which was as thick as a telephone book and had so much pork-barreling attached to it that it kept on sliding off the table. But then darnit, this Billionaire came out of nowhere and shut the whole thing down and Trump was forced by him to agree. They kept on featuring Musk’s face and hardly anything on Trump. Before January 20th, I should really go out and get some more popcorn.
I dunno Rev. Jan 20th is a long way off…Popcorn for breakfast here.
Continuing resolution bills used to be keep the “doors open” this one is lame duck pork and worse fest!
Just some fun with Revelation…is that you Elon?
Revelation 13:13
Now, is crypto a stepping stone to implementing the “mark of the beast”?
I think it’s clear they are trying to get a rift growing between Trump and Musk via Trump’s ego. Not a bad ploy.
If they start comparing the size of their feet, or the number of sex partners, watch out!
How big are Musk’s hands?
Big enough to try and strangle the American Government.
…I thought that’s what his vocal cords were for?
I know someone who works for the Forest Service and tends to regard these periodic shutdowns as vacation time. Crisis, or school’s out?
If they do reach a deal she may be disappointed.
Yeah, around these parts in Sequoia NP its kinda deadsville only to liven up during Xmas break when hordes of kids attempt and sometimes break an arm or leg sledding down the hill @ Wolverton, its particularly bad with skimpy amounts of snow, as is the present tableau. A fellow could make a nice living setting up a mobile Rx site in the parking lot.
The maddening issue my friends with permanent NPS jobs tell me, is how do you plan to scoot off to Mexico for a week or 2, not knowing how long the shutdown is gonna be.
Not only in the US Congress; AfD gets the Elon stamp of approval:
Musk Expresses Support for Far-Right Party in Germany’s Election NYT archive
“Only the AfD can save Germany,” Mr. Musk posted to X, referring to the anti-immigrant party, the Alternative for Germany, by its German initials.
What was the alleged Mussolini quote about corporations and the state?
‘Fascism should rightly be called Corporatism, as it is the merger of corporate and government power.’
Maybe they’ll finally cut all the wasteful spending that goes to Tesla and SpaceX. ;)
RE: the FT article on SRT.
Why did I even read it? So, the same shell games we’ve seen for the last thirty years so banks can goose returns continue, and the fiction that private markets will absorb the losses, if they occur, and this is the good and natural order of things.
Oh really. Does anyone think that if/when things go wrong that they won’t be bailed out again. Spare me.
Next time they will bring in bail-ins like they did in Cyprus a decade ago. That is when your bank accounts are frozen and the money in those accounts is used to bail out those banks. Large sums of money may be taken in exchange for digital shares or some such with that bank. You will probably be allowed access to $50 or $100 each day. Could even be true of those who own stocks or bonds. Anything to take the burden off the government and place it on ordinary people instead. Will it totally destroy all trust in the financial system? Of course it will. But we are talking about “political expediency” here. And people will remember. To his dying day, my late father had no good things to say about the ‘bank holidays’ that were imposed during the great depression.
I think it’s more likely that if you dare protest, your bank accounts will be frozen, as has already happened under the anti-democratic, authoritarian rule of Trudeau and Freeland in Canada. Bailouts can be done with the stroke of a pen at the highest levels – no fuss no muss – bail-ins that affect EVERYBODY IMHO are to fraught for our govt to attempt.
I was also a bit miffed until the Homer meme explaining SRTs was served up. Gold.
Yack it up, yack it up
Buddy, gonna shut you down
It happened on the DC strip where the divide is wide (yack it up now)
Two adversaries standin’ side by side (yack it up now) (yack it up now)
Yeah, the fool injected Demos and incoming Trump team (yack it up now)
They’re revvin’ up their rhetoric, and it sounds real mean (yack it up now)
Yack it up, yack it up
Buddy, gonna shut you down
Declinin’ approval numbers at an even rate (yack it up now)
On account of one shutdown talks accelerate (yack it up now)
The R majority is light, the Demos are startin’ to spin (yack it up now)
But #47 is really diggin’ in (yack it up now)
Gotta be cool now, power shift, here we go
Super stuck Donkey Show is windin’ out the show
But Donald’s minions are really startin’ to go
To get the traction, He’s ridin’ the X clutch
The pressure is on Team D, that machine’s too much
Measure to the floor, hear the dual squads think (yack it up now)
And now any possibility of avoidance is startin’ to shrink (yack it up now)
He’s hot with indignation, but it’s understood (yack it up now)
He’s got a triple majority soon be sittin’ in this hood
Shut it off, shut it off
Buddy, now I shut you down
Shut it off, shut it off
Buddy, now I shut you down
Shut it off, shut it off
Buddy, now I shut you down
Shut it off, shut it off
Buddy, now I shut you down
Shut it off, shut it off
Buddy, now I shut you down
Shut Down, by the Beach Boys
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pYU0p6WZhU
It’s going to be an interesting 24 hours … Mikey Johnson says that he has “Plan C” ready:
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5050249-mike-johnson-house-republicans-plan-c-shutdown/
So far, no details.
It is hard to see the Donkey Show voting down a plain-old CR extending funding for 30 days or so until it becomes Trump’s problem … a one-pager that just says:
“For purposes pursuant to funding the beast, amend the bill and strike the date of December 20, and replace with January 20”
However, we aren’t dealing with rational people. They came so close to a feast of pork dinner with a side of pork soda, they can taste it. Apologies to Primus.
Grab yerself a can of pork soda!
Ain’t nothin’ like sittin’ round the House, swigging down those cans of swine …
Oh, for these un-porcine moments…
Regarding clouds, in a word, yikes. From the Science article; “But if you calculate these trends, it’s massive,” he says. “This would indicate a cloud feedback that’s off the charts.”
This ain’t good news. In the world of climate disaster, clouds are the one ring to rule them all.
In the context of where this is headed;
“With a lot of this,” Shaw says, “the real world will show us the answer.” answer = door???
But, but, at least my solar panel will be kicking out more juice with fewer cloudy days…
…sliver linings are where you find them these days
SoCal is looking at the bleakest amounts ever for this juncture in a May to December rain dance, bring on the clouds, there have to be clouds, maybe next year.
>Earth’s clouds are shrinking, boosting global warming Science
They find that the world’s reflective cloud cover has shrunk in the past 2 decades by a small but tangible degree, allowing more light in and boosting global warming
No problem, just increase air craft dispersions. There have been so many advances in “cloud seeding” technologies that it shouldn’t be a problem increasing “reflective cloud cover.” In fact there are many patents that answers just to this exact problem.
As I’m fond of saying, we will be begging for geoengineering soon enough.
As to seeding reflectivity in the sky, do we have the chops to execute at scale?
Why not? After all, what could possibly go wrong? (cue ominous music)
utube, the sorcerer’s apprentice(s), ~9+ minutes.
Fantasia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DX2yVucz24
Sounds like the physics is broken, then. Warmer temperatures means more water vapor, which given all other things equal should mean more clouds – or some other things not equal, about the same amount of clouds.
Not to mention that clouds do work both ways, they do reflect sunlight and infrared both up and down. The coldest nights are the clearest ones, as any person anywhere with a perceivable winter can tell.
Not completely. Warmer water temperature would put more vapor in the air, yes. Warmer air temperature keeps more water as vapor, without condensing, so fewer clouds.
And clouds as insulation only matters for temperatures on the ground; for the overall heat balance of the planet, that bit washes out.
Not to mention water vapor is a greenhouse gas, much better at trapping heat than CO2…
“Georgia: President Zourabichvili calls on EU to step up and defend its values”
Yeah, I bet she is. Gotta have those EU values. Ones like regime change operations, NGOs undermining governments, punishing any EU country that disagrees with Brussels, supporting violent protestors in target countries, spying on people, police crackdowns, financial and personal sanctions, censorship, authoritarianism, etc. Those EU values. And look how well it is turning out for all those Europeans in EU nations. Still think that they should change the name from the European Union to the European Hegemony.
EU values, lol. Solution, move their headquarters to Galicia.
She wants the US/EU to make her like Zelenskyy, term expiring, got voted out but keep the reins of power!
The new definition of democracy: only “good” votes based on “good” propaganda that favor the paradise promised by the neocons matter.
Here’s an idea to kill deux oiseaux with one pierre – make her PM of France. Looks like they need one and it would let Georgia get on with their business without her whinging about ‘our democracy’ and whatnot. Win-win.
Isn’t she now “ex-President Zourabichvili”?
>Why Giorgia Meloni Loves Antonio Gramsci Foreign Policy
In foreign policy, she had to side with Ukraine, despite her base being pro-Russian; on the economy, she had to cut spending on health care and local government funding, a highly unpopular move among her base.
Interesting timing of this article. And odd that no mention is made of Meloni’s recent statement that Italy will no longer supply weapons to Israel.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20241017-italy-pm-announces-arms-embargo-on-israel/
Zagonostra: It isn’t just that her base is pro-Russian. There is a rather evident affection for Russia and Russians in Italy (which the Russians seem to reciprocate). Leftists also feel some attachment to Russia.
The article is good as an explainer, but there is this: ‘Giuli couldn’t agree more—and he’s turning to Gramsci for a road map. In a book that he published in May, aptly titled “Gramsci è vivo” (Gramsci Lives), he outlined his vision: “Today, especially on the right, there’s the mother of all battles: shifting from a mentality of exclusion toward a mentality of System, which means perceiving oneself as a ruling class with a vision, a perspective of society.”’
I made a comment yesterday about Elly Schlein and la supercazzola. Giuli is a master of la supercazzola (or is it la fuffa?). There was a running joke for a few weeks of “Giuli translators”: Just what is he trying to say? He gave some testimony before the Chamber of Deputies that is widely considered indecipherable.
Further, the mentions of Genny Sangiuliano don’t get across how he squandered just about everything by going after a Big Blonde of Pompeii (and humiliating his wife). The idea that Dante is a font of rightwing thinking has not met with approval.
And there’s Tolkien. Note this: “He has tried to reinterpret Dante Alighieri as an icon of the Italian right and produced a much publicized exhibit in Rome dedicated to J. R. R. Tolkien, an author particularly beloved by the post-fascist right in Italy. (Between the 1970s and 1990s, the MSI hosted youth camps called “Campo Hobbit”).” Any English speaker who has read Tolkien in English knows that Tolkien’s political views are almost impossible to discern. In fact, the writers of Wu Ming, who are very left, very very left, sponsored a new translation to separate Tolkien from the right. Further, anyone who has read Tolkien knows that God makes no appearances in the Lord of the Rings. Which should give rightwingers pause. It isn’t as if Aragorn stops and prays to Saint Lucy now and again…
The article is worth a read — although the personalities mentioned are almost “Inside Baseball.” You have to live in Italy to figure out the players and what base they are on.
Meanwhile, I live about eight minutes on foot from the building where Gramsci lived when he was a student at the University of Torino and a rising writer and cultural critic. I will wander over and have a word with my neighbor Antonio, who is highly unlikely to think that his work supports rightists. Gramsci was more in line was Giacomo Matteotti. This year is the hundredth anniversary of the gruesome assassination of Matteotti by fascist thugs.
I have a feeling that I know what Antonio may tell me…
You might find this of interest DJG – Leggete Tolkien, Stolti!
lyman alpha blob: Yep, I read that. One remaining indulgence from the U S of A is that I still subscribe to Harper’s Magazine.
Believe it or not, given the current selective shuffling of museum directors, the Tolkien show is at the Venaria Reale just outside the Chocolate City. The new director is considered a righty.
I may skip the show.
>> J. R. R. Tolkien, an author particularly beloved by the post-fascist right in Italy. (Between the 1970s and 1990s, the MSI hosted youth camps called “Campo Hobbit”).”
The Thielverse right are also obsessed with Tolkien. Palantir and Anduril are both from LOTR and iirc Palantir staff are known internally as hobbits.
Ben Panga: And you may have noticed that video of Peter Thiel, undesirable alien, that Lambert Strether posted the other day. The effect is that Thiel is starting to look a whole lot like Gollum.
So does Murdoch!
Could they be related?
Or worse still………?
Has anyone seen them in the same room at the same time?
Zelensky had the same MO, until he won the election and pulled a complete 180 and started shelling Russia even more. Seems like a lot of instances of politicians lying about their intentions until they win the election, happening across the Eurasia continent especially in regards to matters of war.
From the Tass article, lol, Putin quote;
In case of doubt, the West should choose a target in Kiev, concentrate its air defense and missile defense forces there and try to intercept the missile: “We are ready for such an experiment.”
Heh heh heh, any target suggestions?
The Führerbunker?
The Gilbert Doctorow also makes much of the Putin Q and A and is worth a look. Much speculation lately among Helmer and others about Putin’s true intentions but Doctorow says he’s not a dissembler and tends to state his mind straight out.
>The Ghosts in the Machine Harper’s. The deck: “Spotify’s plot against musicians.”
This treatment of music as nothing but background sounds—as interchangeable tracks of generic, vibe-tagged playlist fodder—is at the heart of how music has been devalued in the streaming era.
How very true. When I’m getting fuel for my car there is simultaneously “popular” music coming from speakers and commercials on digital pump display coming at me. As I walk in stores, sit in waiting rooms, even rest stops while traveling, I’m being assailed by “popular” music. At least when I was at the FLL airport waiting for a flight, the music was classical.
The devaluing of music is pari passuwith the devaluing of many different art forms. Movies, paintings, theater, all swallowed up and dumbed down by a rapacious economic system that seeks profit over aesthetics. Of course, the reply is “whose aesthetics?” Some high brow twit, let the market place decide what people want to listen to and how they want to receive it.
When a friend years ago put on a song on his phone that he wanted me to hear, I told him not to bother. I wasn’t going to subject myself to iphone speakers, no matter how good the sound. I told him I’d rather listen to a solo classical guitar in a church with no amplification, where there wasn’t anything mediating between the acoustic guitar vibrations and my ears. Now, I’m not so sure, the speakers in these phones are pretty damn good…but can they ever replace hearing a musician play live…
Yes! Also has anybody else noticed that IPhones automatically start playing Apple Music when you connect to a speaker or car? It’s always U2, as well. Nothing would make me less likely to use apple music than this. U2?!? I just can’t stand them……
You find me a coffee shop that does not play music and I’ll write the great American novel in a month.
You put your finger on it when you mentioned the role of our economic system. Aggressively applied retail psychology has ruined the ‘consumer’ experience.
A point: the market is not being allowed to decide which music is popular. The idea that a song strikes a chord with an audience and it’s author is then recognized as a money maker, while finding the occasional real-life example, flies in the face of years of payola and oligopoly dating back to the beginning of broadcasting. Some greasy executive pumps up an artist appealing to the lowest common demoniator and dominates the airwaves with them. ‘Popular’ music is what executives think of the rest of us, and that opinion has caught on, carried on the soundwaves of whichever new phenomenon we’re told we like.
Not sure whether “…lowest common demoniator…” was intentional, Vicky, but I like it!
At the store I manage we have to use a corporate music provider and select from a couple score of themed playlists. We’re not supposed to create our own playlists, but I’m somewhat culturefied and so I’ve created a 1930s Texas swing mix that I enjoy on Mondays (because I miss Texas), a video game theme mix that someone at corporate has picked up on and improved, a classic French cafe crooners mix, and so on. I know we’re monitored by HQ to make sure we’re playing Christmas music right now (which I’m not and the customers sooooo appreciate it).
Thing is, part of the reason we have to use the corporate system is from a customer complaint about some death metal an employee was playing on my day off. Not terribly family friendly. There’s a reason we can’t have nice things.
I’m kind of blessed. Vickie took me to the nightclubs down on 6th St and introduced me to club music in the mid 80s. I got to be a DJ at WBER for a short while in the early 90s (excellent stream by the way, highly recommended for the more obscure and alternative titles). I’ve traveled extensively and thereby been exposed to lots and lots of different kinds of music. It’s marvelous, and I do what I can to share that with others.
So, I am at a neighborhood gathering recently. We are sitting/standing around a fire talking/drinking and I am playing my banjo. Not bluegrass, soft picking and frailing, some old time some classical, playing softly so we can all talk. Suddenly a self centered person we all know wants to hear her favorite banjo break from some popular musician. I say I don’t know it. She whips out her cell and I say I don’t need to hear it but then two other people whip out their cells to verify the artist and title while she starts to play the tune. I just put down my instrument and go to the house for another beer. Some people simply prefer canned to fresh.
Let me guess: “Swamp Thing” by The Grid (1994)? I thought it was great fun at the time, but I can imagine real banjo enthusiasts might not have been amused.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swamp_Thing_(song)
That’s likely because most folks nowadays have never attempted to play an instrument (with any conviction). I can imagine your soft sound as I spent some time with the banjo (after picking up the guitar to mimmic Crosby, Stills, and Nash). Many folks do not know that most production of a studio sound cannot be replicated in a live setting. Live music is different than what is on Spotify.
My sentiments entirely. As someone who truly loves music I can’t stand cheap speakers on phones or other tech. I also get easily annoyed listening to “popular” music but then I’m kind of a snob due to my upbringing. I’m making an attempt to crapify my tastes but it’s hard going.
As a performing musician, I wish there were more like you. Even the people who claim to like live music in bars talk the whole night through. We are underpaid wallpaper.
I’ll have a blue Christmas without pay
I’ll be so blue just thinking about your insidious way
Declarations of a shutdown around Christmas eve
Won’t be the same ya hear, if I’m outta work after a party peeve
And when those team blue snowflakes start falling
That’s when those team blue memories start calling
You’ll be doing all right
With your Christmas pay bump hike
But I’ll have a blue, blue, blue, blue Christmas
You’ll be doing alright
With your Christmas pay bump hike
But I’ll have a blue, blue, blue, blue Christmas
You’ll be doing alright
With your Christmas pay bump hike
But I’ll have a blue, blue, blue, blue Christmas
lol, I imagine there are some Grinch themed memes wandering around the intestines today.
Edit, Lol, “intertubes”, but I have to hand it to spellcheck on this one.
Check out the surviving malls and middle-class shopping venues. There is a Grinch themed meme walking around. Tee shirts, totes, and visages feature the green meanie. All of them associate the wearer or displayer with said cynical cynosure.
Many of them seem to be “channeling” the late Louis XV: “After us, the drought.”
Stay safe.
Fat guy in a grinch themed hoodie: “Who?”
Comment above to your Beach Boys ditty possibly eaten by moderation.
Anyhoo, good work. I predict that the Donkey Show blinks, and passes a clean CR, with an end date around Jan. 20. But that presupposes that Mike Johnson has a brain, which seems increasingly in doubt.
{…ersatz Clark Kent rips open dress shirt to reveal $ emblazoned torso…}
Mike comes from Louisianna, the home of Coffee and Chicory, so, ‘ersatz’ is par for his course.
Mr. Kent flys around with a $ on his shirt? As Mr. Guttmann says to Spade in “The Maltese Falcon,” “Dollars mind you, not even pounds.”
See: From “the Maltese Falcon, when Hollywood knew how to make movies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aogWdNKef2o&ab_channel=Movieclips
Johnson’s secret power emanates from a never-eaten new-in-the-wrapper Clark Bar he utilizes to ward off younger adults from politics via a peanut laden treat that could be curtains for some of them deathly allergic to goobers.
LOL. I think Huston got much of that dialog from the book.
Johnson reminds me a bit of Colbert (SC spawn) who I also don’t like. Separated at birth?
Such a pioneering state, especially when it comes to job creation:
Prisoners in the US are part of a hidden workforce linked to hundreds of popular food brands
https://apnews.com/article/prison-to-plate-inmate-labor-investigation-c6f0eb4747963283316e494eadf08c4e
Well, I guess it’s not fair to pick on them, all those corporations in every state only want to pay slave wages…
Cue up the Clark reaction from the scene in Christmas Vacation…when he realizes he is getting the shaft on the year end bonus….”Jelly of the Month?”…
A lump of coal from our brightest and best in DC…wait if it was coal, then one could use it for heat. Must be a pile of something though!
Friends in the UK in the 1980’s used to burn Anthracite coal to warm up their house…which has the look of a shiny bauble, an oversized black diamond in the rough.
Back in the 80s I was just a young lad, wide eyed but not delusional when it comes to creature comfort of a functional HVAC unit for our home. Prior to that upgrade circa 1986 or so, our heat in winter derived from an oil furnace. We even had those older, above ground tank locations!
I’ll never understand how that was a wise choice…home heating oil furnaces were quite common though in eastern NC. It is fun to reminisce about the days of old, when returning glass bottles of RC or Coca Cola could net a few bucks for a 9 or 10 year old kid.
Didn’t you know coal is green? The Ohio legislature has decreed it so:
https://archive.ph/vQVLr
(Re: Coal use to reach new peak)
Freedom Carbons are carb free.
Haven’t forgotten the terms ‘freedom gas’ and ‘molecules of US freedom’ to describe liquid natural gas, have you?
https://www.power-technology.com/news/department-energy-molecules-of-freedom/
It took people that went to college to come up with those terms.
CO2 released in (endless) war is uncounted. Really.
Warfare’s Climate Emissions Are Huge but Uncounted
Nations aren’t required to report their military climate pollution under the Paris Agreement. Experts say that should change
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/warfares-climate-emissions-are-huge-but-uncounted/
It’s things like this that make me think the Paris Accord and politicians are not serious about CO2 emissions, or CO2 emissions aren’t the threat claimed.
> More flow upstream and less flow downstream: The changing form and function of global rivers (excerpt) Science
Intriguing methodology as well as results. Don’t know what it means yet.
>> We found the most changes in the smallest st[r]eams in our study
A case to account for, which is outside the time-frame of the study, is the impact of Hurricane Helene on the mountains of western North Carolina. Mountains precipitate moisture, and have the smallest streams (lowest stream order) but steepest slopes. Fits the model.
I live in a small town in the southern green mts of Vermont. All of the town’s 26 sq miles are above 1,500′ in elevation. We are part of the headwaters for three streams Williams, Saxtons and West and contribute to frequent flooding of our three closest neighbors. I’ve been promoting the idea that these high elevations towns in VT should get additional state funds to keep the 365 town culverts plus another approximately 300 private driveway culverts properly maintained. No chance that this will be done.
Towns like mine should be very cautious about granting building permits. I know that the outlet to some catchments are at capacity when we have heavy rain.
Your comment brings an interesting thought: maybe the higher stream flows in the streams analyzed were the effects of development increasing runoff (instead of infiltration) and shortening the time-of-concentration (ToC) from rainfall start. This would increase the readings on stream gauges.
“China’s leadership knew from the beginning that #CovidIsAirborne. And yet the one world power with the political economy and the industrial might to rapidly implement life-saving ventilation did not do so…”
China from the beginning implemented life-saving ventilation, building and fitting hospital rooms with negative air-flow, fitting ambulances with negative air-flow patient and paramedic compartments, housing doctors and nurses in hotels rather than having them return home. Setting up military hospital facilities designed for infectious patients and with negative air-flow rooms, with comparable facilities for military doctors and nurses.
I wonder what China’s reaction would be if they found out that, as Igor Kirllov claimed, C19 was developed by the U.S. Thankfully we have Newsweek to debunk this crazy conspiracy:
Over the past six years, Kirillov helped to spread several baseless conspiracies, including that the U.S. developed COVID-19, that Ukraine and the U.S. were developing bioweapons facilities in Ukraine, and that President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, was linked to bioweapons development.
These have been debunked, but Kirillov’s death sparked the re-emergence of the same unsubstantiated talking points.
https://www.newsweek.com/igor-kirillov-dead-russia-conspiracy-theories-2002285
What we declare is debunked and unsubstantiated is by definition debunked and unsubstantiated. And if you don’t believe us and want evidence, go look at the article in Wikipedia (that we wrote). And please note: we also retain exclusive right to the use of “baseless” and “unfounded”.
Thanks, Newsweek! Worse than Pravda, how many subscribers do they still have? My dentist doesn’t even have it in the waiting room any more. They serve the father of all lies.
The Diplomat article linked to is nonsense. His recounting of the Dr. Li story is 100% at odds with the facts, as are his allegations about official inaction and public response: 82% positive.
China’s economy grew much faster (4.4%) during Covid than America’s is growing today; of 80,000 excess deaths, all were 80+ y.o., with pre-existing conditions. Inequality continued falling…
I could write a book on how Western media got China’s Covid story wrong.
https://archive.ph/myRcU
How the White House Functioned With a Diminished Biden in Charge(WSJ)
“…To adapt the White House around the needs of a diminished leader, they told visitors to keep meetings focused. Interactions with senior Democratic lawmakers and some cabinet members—including powerful secretaries such as Defense’s Lloyd Austin and Treasury’s Janet Yellen—were infrequent or grew less frequent. Some legislative leaders had a hard time getting the president’s ear at key moments, including ahead of the U.S.’s disastrous pullout from Afghanistan.
Senior advisers were often put into roles that some administration officials and lawmakers thought Biden should occupy, with people such as National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, senior counselor Steve Ricchetti and National Economic Council head Lael Brainard and her predecessor frequently in the position of being go-betweens for the president …”
No surprises here but interesting nonetheless
The best part is that in-spite of admitting to all these extraordinary measures they had to undertake to keep Biden even in the shape he is, they still can not admit they did anything wrong here. Had it not been for the infamous debate, Biden still would have been at the top of the card.
Indeed. And ít not like they don’t know way back when:
“Yet a sign that the bruising presidential schedule needed to be adjusted for Biden’s advanced age had arisen early on—in just the first few months of his term. Administration officials noticed that the president became tired if meetings went long and would make mistakes. “
They knew way before he got elected. Cory Booker called him on his failing faculties during the debates in 2019. Pretty sure Booker called him on it to his face at one point, but I couldn’t find the clip of that. This one makes the point, although Booker’s language is less direct in the after-debate clip – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbHYnKT8Fco
There is no doubt in my mind that the Democratic leadership knew he was already facing dementia in 2000. I sincerely believe the lockdown had two purposes, neither of which was actually about public health. The first was to kneecap and discredit Trump. (We’ve had to take all these drastic measures because the guy at the top…) The second and most important one was that Biden was such a loser (he has always been a terrible campaigner outside of his comfort zone) and was deteriorating mentally that they needed to get him into a controlled environment, in this case his basement. Which is where he disappeared right after Super Tuesday.
They stayed the course, of course of course
Even after Commander bit off more than he could chew
Everything they did for Joe, they did for us-the unanimous few
We’re lucky to have them know the ropes, er puppet strings.
I’d like to note the pull out from Afghanistan happened early in the Biden tenure – admitting they spoon fed us a candidate already mentally compromised.
It’s interesting because the MSM (State propaganda organs) chose not to report this until now. They (senior editors and producers) knew the truth just as they knew about WMDs in Iraq and the Russiagate hoax and many other matters. This is a reality we have to face–these people are not “journalists” but PR flacks as was noted long ago by many of us.
The United States is not a serious country. And meanwhile Democrats are always whining about Trump having his hand on the nuclear button. As opposed to random senior staff no one elected? Fun times.
“I wouldn’t change first months as PM, says Starmer”
Larry the Cat begs to differ about his latest servant’s performance. And he should know. He has seen enough of them-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEGmQWQaDfI (1:58 mins)
That’s exactly what HumanPods deliver – the world’s first open-ear AI earbuds that let you control AI seamlessly, hands-free, and without screens. from the Pro Human weekly
Dylan on loop, Blood on the Tracks, Shelter from the Storm
Let’s you control, who’s controlling who here?
So, you have to stick something in your ear, and use AI to ‘rediscover nature’? No thanks. I will just use my senses…
I have article after article showing just the same sort of Chinese efforts to treat coronavirus patients and prevent the spread of infection. The Chinese efforts were shared internationally and were wonderfully successful:
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-02/02/c_138750364.htm
February 2, 2020
China builds new hospital in 10 days to combat coronavirus
China has built a makeshift hospital in 10 days to combat the novel strain of coronavirus in Wuhan, the epicenter of the virus outbreak in central China’s Hubei Province.
The project was deemed “mission impossible,” but with the efforts of experts and thousands of workers working around the clock, Huoshenshan (Fire God Mountain) Hospital was delivered Sunday, bringing hope to many patients…
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-04/06/c_138951662.htm
April 6, 2020
China publishes timeline on COVID-19 information sharing, int’l cooperation
BEIJING — China on Monday published a timeline on how it has shared
information and advanced international cooperation in the fight
against the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic.
Please see the attachment for the document, titled “Timeline of China
releasing information on COVID-19 and advancing international
cooperation on epidemic response.”
Full text: …
“Pentagon report: China to build 1,000 nukes by 2030”
Well it’s only logical. The US keeps on building more bases to surround China with so China needs more nukes to make those bases go away in case of war. You only need one nuke per base and probably you will only need a small nuke at that. The EMP of a nuke going off would probably fry any circuitry in the area which would be a bonus. I regret to say that in the idiocy of this world, unless China has those nukes then the US and it’s allies won’t listen to them.
We cannot know what this report on Chinese nuclear weapons amounts to, but since the very beginning of the Biden Presidency there have been streams of reports on China as a direct threat to America, indeed to the entire world, and yet China, which is obviously strong militarily, repeatedly emphasizes and shows a dedication to peace everywhere.
What we do have however is American military spending now at a yearly level of $1.091 trillion, that yearly spending has increased by $177 billion during the Biden Presidency:
https://apps.bea.gov/iTable/?reqid=19&step=2&isuri=1&categories=survey#eyJhcHBpZCI6MTksInN0ZXBzIjpbMSwyLDNdLCJkYXRhIjpbWyJjYXRlZ29yaWVzIiwiU3VydmV5Il0sWyJOSVBBX1RhYmxlX0xpc3QiLCI1Il1dfQ==
November 28, 2024
Defense spending was 57.6% of federal government consumption and
investment in July through September 2024. *
$1,091.3 / $1,893.4 = 57.6%
* Billions of dollars
Sad to say, the 19.3% inflation in defense spending over the past four years is in fact LESS than the inflation of consumer goods in the USA.
*Of course, part of the reason for that might be another few billion dollars in defense spending related to our wars that weren’t included in the annual budget.
The government and its official media lie about everything and even make up “facts” continually and with increasing frequency. It’s interesting that this site cites mainly mainstream garbage and yet most of us know it is largely BS. China is seen as a “threat” not for anything it chooses to do but because FP types believe that there are only two futures one where the USA dominates and one where China dominates–the multi-polarity idea is simply dismissed. These people (I know that community well) only see life as competition and triumph or humiliation and defeat and they will do anything (even eat their own children) in the service of that goal of “winning.”
Taibbi and Kirn, America This Week. utube. Episode 116. ~30+ minute public excerpt.
America This Week, Dec. 20, 2024: “Damn! Defamation Suits Return, and the Killer Folk Legend Ascends”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxm2jfZ9cvI
The meat of the news from the squirrel story.
Squirrels are notorious for eating birds, and eggs, and anybody else they can grab. Deer are the ones eating all the birds out of mist nets. Cows and horses eat baby chicks when they want to. Rabbit lick the the fat off hides. Most dogs love Romain lettuce. It’s complicated.
Adlai Stevenson
(Vetoing a Bill that would have imposed fines on owners who allowed cats to run at large. (23 April 1949)…)
“cats running at large” is delicious imagery
“Cats running at large”, a cautionary tale. I ought to engrave that on the transom.
Einstein (brains of the outfit) runs at large all over the all cats and no cattle ranch, and is quite the mass murderer of mostly 4 legged and the occasional 2 legged victim, and the latter has me a little concerned, with H5N1 only 50 miles away as the Holstein flies.
Einy’s 11 1/2 (he insisted on me including the half) which is like 70 years old in human years, and I told him to knock it off, we’ll see.
He was born in my lap, all those years ago.
My cat devours cucumbers. We have to make sure to sit down to eat right after salad bowls are on the dinner table now. Any delays, and the cat is up there pilfering all the cukes out of the salad bowls.
Lol – mine likes chips and salsa….
I had a cat — on Oahu more than half a century ago — who was mad for papaya seeds. He made little chittering noises at the sight of them.
A friend kept a cat named Bruno who loved corn, melon and hot peppers. He was from Albuquerque, looked like a Russian blue.
a non thread question since you were in Hawaii back then – do you remember a natural foods restaurant called Summerhouse on Kuhio back in the early 70’s? –
My Blake loved asparagus and artichokes, even though he could barely eat them.
A translated interview with an anonymous whistleblower from German secret domestic intelligence service, Verfassungsschutz, by BERLINER ZEITUNG
Secret service insider reveals: “Our security is in God’s hands, but not in the hands of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution”
A constitutional protection officer reports on grievances, bureaucracy, work with informants – and reveals why the agency is now targeting people who were previously considered harmless.
https://archive.is/csgsi
Re. Niels Troost has a staggering story to tell about how he got sanctioned…
It brought tears to my eyes /s
The improper venting of plumbing systems in Chinese buildings is notorious. My understanding is that this is due to routine violation of building codes, i.e. petty corruption. Kitchen and bathroom vent fan routings are apparently similarly problematic.
As a result apartment dwellers’ homes are not safe spaces where airborne diseases are concerned. If you live in a Chinese high-rise, then masking against Covid could well mean masking whenever you’re home. Publicizing the nature of aerosol transmission would inevitably draw attention to this unhappy state of affairs, and prompt very deserved criticism of the Communist Party.
As for the aerosol transmission of Covid, that has been made clear by Chinese health authorities from the beginning and was made known all through the country.
The matter was repeatedly made nationally and internationally known by the Chinese from early in January 2020.
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2001316?query=featured_coronavirus
January 29, 2020
Early Transmission Dynamics in Wuhan, China, of Novel Coronavirus–Infected Pneumonia
By Qun Li, Xuhua Guan, Peng Wu, Xiaoye Wang, Lei Zhou, Yeqing Tong, Ruiqi Ren, Kathy S.M. Leung, Eric H.Y. Lau, Jessica Y. Wong, Xuesen Xing, Nijuan Xiang, et al.
Abstract
BACKGROUND
The initial cases of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)–infected pneumonia (NCIP) occurred in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, in December 2019 and January 2020. We analyzed data on the first 425 confirmed cases in Wuhan to determine the epidemiologic characteristics of NCIP.
METHODS
We collected information on demographic characteristics, exposure history, and illness timelines of laboratory-confirmed cases of NCIP that had been reported by January 22, 2020. We described characteristics of the cases and estimated the key epidemiologic time-delay distributions. In the early period of exponential growth, we estimated the epidemic doubling time and the basic reproductive number.
RESULTS
Among the first 425 patients with confirmed NCIP, the median age was 59 years and 56% were male. The majority of cases (55%) with onset before January 1, 2020, were linked to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, as compared with 8.6% of the subsequent cases. The mean incubation period was 5.2 days (95% confidence interval [CI], 4.1 to 7.0), with the 95th percentile of the distribution at 12.5 days. In its early stages, the epidemic doubled in size every 7.4 days. With a mean serial interval of 7.5 days (95% CI, 5.3 to 19), the basic reproductive number was estimated to be 2.2 (95% CI, 1.4 to 3.9).
CONCLUSIONS
On the basis of this information, there is evidence that human-to-human transmission has occurred among close contacts since the middle of December 2019. Considerable efforts to reduce transmission will be required to control outbreaks if similar dynamics apply elsewhere. Measures to prevent or reduce transmission should be implemented in populations at risk.
I have repeatedly linked to data that there were cases in Italy in Sept. 2019.
“I have repeatedly linked to data that there were cases in Italy in Sept. 2019.”
Yes, I have the links and articles and am very grateful, but was responding only to what Chinese authorities knew in late December 2019 and January 2020. I hope I was not out of order. Thank you so much:
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/27/2/20-4632_article
February, 2021
Evidence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in an Oropharyngeal Swab Specimen, Milan, Italy, Early December 2019
By Antonella Amendola, Silvia Bianchi, Maria Gori, Daniela Colzani, Marta Canuti, Elisa Borghi, Mario C. Raviglione, Gian Vincenzo Zuccotti and Elisabetta Tanzi
I’m puzzled. Is this an example of the Chinese government making aerosol transmission clear?
“Is this an example of the Chinese government making aerosol transmission clear?”
Yes; Chinese health authorities made this publicly clear before the NEJM article was published. The NEJM article shows and dates public health measures taken from the end of December 2019 on. Chinese authorities reported to WHO and America’s CDC from the beginning of January 2020 and on. Chinese scientists had identified the coronavirus very early in January 2020, and developed testing reagents almost immediately after the decoding of the virus. Scientists at WHO and the United States and other countries were sent the virus codes and reagents developed.
Germany, for instance, developed virus tests almost immediately after receiving the codes from the Chinese. America’s CDC however had a series of lab problems in developing tests…
“The improper venting of plumbing systems…”
Please document this precisely when possible. Thank you so much.
You desire precise documentation of China’s notoriety for bad sewer venting?
Agree with Raymond that this is a pretty tall ask. But if you’re not aware of the conventional wisdom here in the west, the story goes that most Chinese plumbing doesn’t include traps (the U shaped bend filled with standing water to prevent sewer gases from escaping into the room).
Can’t say I personally witnessed this in modern construction back in the 90s, but I wasn’t inspecting the hotel plumbing either. (Typical factory plumbing fixtures were another story!)
CA, there’s been a lot of studies on this. Here’s some examples via an NIH pub med search.
A combination of effects from a combination of sources created the issues indoors. For example, in some buildings, units that had been vacant had dried out or had missing traps, and the suction effect from the building vents took contaminated air from one unit to the next. There were other things that happened, but mainly it was lack of maintenance and differences in plumbing codes that created the problem.
I could spend a long time telling you about all the things our government studied following the SARS 1 outbreak in Hong Kong related to building science… but it would just make you angry. Long story short is we knew damn well that SARS 1 was airborne and we made sure our plumbing codes and maintenance standards were sufficient to prevent similar spread to what we observed in Hong Kong. Then we completely ignored it for SARS 2.
The specific responses on plumbing problems in apartment complexes are important and helpful. The plumbing problems cited are expressly covered by building codes, but codes must be adhered to.
I am grateful for the responses; very helpful.
Meryl Nass substack.
Farmers rally before Westminster a third time in London/ Andrew Bridgen interviewed on globalist takeover of farmland and Agenda 2030 (The SDGs)
Under 4 minute video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2LoaD6hn3U
https://merylnass.substack.com/p/farmers-rally-before-westminster
Poor old Andrew – devotee of St Jude, according to the UK power structure……
A quote du jour: / ;)
Quote Origin: First They Ignore You, Then They Laugh at You, Then They Attack You, Then You Win
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2017/08/13/stages/
Seen several posts and articles about Harrris and Baden in the last day. Cancelling travel for holiday plans etc. Some are attributing it to the looking shutdown but some are speculating Biden is preparing to step down (possibly due to health) to let Harris have a month cosplaying as the first female president. Trying not to spread any false rumors but wondering if anyone has seen anything substantial on this.
I find it hard to believe, as petty and mean as Biden is. He may not remember much these days, but I’ll bet he still remembers her “I was that girl” line from the primaries. Besides, why step down now? His term is all but over and he’s been out to lunch for a good portion of it already. Another couple of weeks isn’t going to kill him.
More enshitification. On a modern computer, a Mac Mini 2018, and a modern browser, Brave, I cannot read “Landowner resistance forces Texas to build wall in remote areas” because it literally freezes my web browser. I open hundreds of tabs throughout the week to stories from NC, and I’ve never seen this. My CPU fan is literally going nuts while the page freezes the whole browser.
It’s a web page. With text. And a repeat video. What gives? This is the garbage that is the modern Web. Junk on the page, overly complicated browser rendering pipelines, overly complicated JavaScript engine? Who knows. GPU rendering pipeline code on MacOS?
an aside: I tried Brave browser and found it too full of background activity to be useful for me. It was the browser not the web pages I visited. I didn’t bother looking into exactly what was happening in the background, what processes, what apps, what might be pegging the CPU/memory usage. I simply uninstalled it. Other browsers still work fine on that machine.
A lot of people use it, like it, and recommend it. I used it on a 5-year-old machine with a current operating system and didn’t like it. / ymmv
RE: Oreshnik: Black Mtn. Analysis
Hmm. No comments on this article? Seems to challenge the remarks of Theodore Postal. Mercouris, in his podcast today, says he’s recieved a report from “Amerikanus” that corroborates some of Postal’s assesment while adding to the utility of this new weapon. Again, they are using commercial (3rd rate?) satellite imaging of Yazmash to assess weapon impact. (I don’t think non-military quality images will be definitive.)
The Black Mtn, Analysis depicts a weapon of deep penetration and shock damage. Damage that would not be fully visible from a satellite image: a structure still standing but fully compromised to no longer be useful.
Until I see regular people entering the Yuzmash facilty and some sort of production occurring, I will assume the facility has been turned into “dust”.
Americanus just retracted that piece.
Black Mountain Analysis indicated that there is little in the way of studies that can be used to extrapolate the missile’s kinetic impact effects. And I infer none on the effects of its 4000 degree heat.
I have only seen Postol on YouTube with respect to Oreshink and I have not been impressed.
And anyone who has worked with experts knows that except on extremely settled matters, and this is not that, that views often differ.