87% Of Loud Crashing Noises Are Nothing, Report Top Experts From Other Room The Onion
Climate
Global warming to blame for low temperatures in North America Arctic News
Scented products cause indoor air pollution on par with car exhaust New Atlas
Syndemics
Covid vaccine faces ban for all Americans in radical U-turn by Trump team Daily Mail
China?
China holds dominant position in humanoid robot ecosystem: analysts South China Morning Post
China’s subsea data centre could power 7,000 DeepSeek conversations a second: report South China Morning Post
Exclusive: These universities have the most retracted scientific articles Nature
Chinese team finds new bat coronavirus that could infect humans via same route as Covid-19 South China Morning Post
Yak butter sculptures brighten Tibetan New Year celebrations in Xizang CGTN
India
Fading fortunes of India’s Bollywood in streaming era spark political debate South China Morning Post
Syraqistan
Netanyahu: Hamas Returned Body of Gazan Woman Instead of Shiri Bibas, They Will Pay a Price Haaretz
Three buses explode in Israel in ‘suspected terror attack’, police say BBC
Netanyahu orders ‘intensive’ crackdown in occupied West Bank amid rising tensions Anadolu Agency
Reconstruction and rivalries: What to expect from Saudi Arabia’s Gaza summit Middle East Eye
European Disunion
How Scholz’s party is losing ground in Germany’s industrial heartland FT
Yes, America Is Europe’s Enemy Now Foreign Policy
Europe seeks to replace imported Russian fertilisers with local manure FT
Dear Old Blighty
Life expectancy: England shows biggest slowdown among European countries BMJ
New Not-So-Cold War
Russia carries out large-scale overnight attack on Ukraine’s gas infrastructure, Ukrainian energy minister says Ukrainska Pravda
Nato at odds with Ukraine over Soviet-style tactics The Telegraph
* * * Russians and Americans secretly met in Switzerland and talked about war – Reuters Ukrainska Pravda
US objects to phrase ‘Russian aggression’ in G7 statement on Ukraine FT
* * * Europe’s Moment of Truth on Defending Ukraine—and the Continent Council on Foreign Relations
Potential US troop withdrawal from Europe to leave Kosovo exposed BNE Intellinews
* * * Zelensky and Russiagate – spookwar Events in Ukraine
Elon Musk claims Ukrainian president ‘killed an American journalist’ Anadolu Agency. Gonzalo Lira:
I was the last person Gonzalo Lira called before he got arrested and died at the hands of the Ukrainian war regime.
He sent me a direct message and we went into a zoom call. He was in a small room, extremely nervous, smoking one cigarette after the other. I had never seen so… pic.twitter.com/I8PUBW5KKu
— Jean-François Gariépy 🧬 (@JFGariepy) February 20, 2025
Trump Administration
IRS layoffs could hurt revenue collection and foil efforts to go after rich tax dodgers, experts say AP
New SEC Cyber Unit Closes Chapter on Agency’s Crypto Enforcement Emphasis CoinDesk
What to know about Fort Knox’s gold depository that Musk wants audited Axios
Trump’s siege of science: how the first 30 days unfolded and what’s next Nature
Airlines look to remove consumer protections for travelers who use wheelchairs CBS
Trump administration backtracks on eliminating thousands of national parks employees LA Times
* * * Surviving Fascism: Lessons from Jim Crow Scalawag
The Sound of Freedom – The Role of Music in Political Change Contested Histories. From 2024, still germane.
DOGE
I cannot describe how strange Elon Musk’s CPAC appearance was The Verge
X Hinted at Possible Deal Trouble in Talks With Ad Giant to Increase Spending WSJ
* * * Trump’s DOGE stays on track after pair of federal judge rulings FOX
Democrats en déshabillé
Gov. Beshear: The Democratic party has ‘got to talk to people like real human beings’ Politico
Why Democrats Won’t Throw a Real Punch The Nation
Digital Watch
Ad-tech targeting is an existential threat Cory Doctorow, Pluralistic
GitLab and its execs sued again and again over ‘misleading’ AI hype, price hikes The Register
Zeitgeist Watch
Improving mental health by training the suppression of unwanted thoughts Science. From 2023, still germane.
Americans Are Heading for the Exits The New Republic
Supply Chain
Shipping companies stay away from Red Sea partly due to commercial interests Hellenic Shipping News
The (Un)Intended Consequences of Oil Sanctions Through the Dark Shipping of Sanctioned Oil NBER
Class Warfare
Why the billionaire class is kissing Trump’s proverbial ring Al Jazeera
Intermezzo: The Ring and the Grail I Ecosophia
Why did humans start speaking? Scientists point to a specific gene Euronews
Evolution itself can evolve, new study argues Live Science. The deck: “A new computer model suggests that the process of evolution can get better at evolving in the face of environmental change.”
Antidote du jour (Bernard DUPONT):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
“Europe seeks to replace imported Russian fertilisers with local manure”
Large convoys of empty dump truck seen forming up and heading to Brussels.
That sounds dangerous. I think that the institutions there are loaded with some sort of kryptonite-manure that could be too potent for growing.
There’s a risk: Grazon Perhaps Grazon is not allowed in Europe.
here in the US i learned about the persistence of clopyralid, and aminopyralid, approved for use on many food crops, which are persistent even after passing through the digestive system of animals and will kill plants that the compost is used on – also approved for use in Europe –
https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/herbicide-carryover
Yes. Local entrepreneur started an organic compost/ garden amendment business.
Local alfalfa -fed critters poo ended up killing a lot of local gardens. He reimbursed folks for lost foodstuffs, and for costs, but it broke him badly. And it was a serious wake up for our idyllic innocent Pollyanna town.
They still advertise and sell roundup, and people still are buying it… and many other nasty petrochemicals.
There is a reason why the ‘green revolution’ happened with synthetic fertilisers and not cow and horse manure. Those people have no math’s ability.
I had to double check that headline wasn’t from the Onion.
They’re not empty, they’re full of word salad which will be turned into vapormass, leading to an effluvial miasma which really stinks but is low cal so it shrinks your wasteline…
‘Knight Soil’
only since it won´t be much reported in the Western press, except may be France:
Film director Souleymane Cissé dies
he was 84
https://archive.is/osXwv
Here is the brilliant Yeelen free on Youtube:
https://youtu.be/mMVvld9fXmM?si=_Oz-lVH-z-mSoyjA
What to know about Fort Knox’s gold depository that Musk wants audited Axios
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Boldfinger, he’s the man
The man with the DOGE touch
A spider’s touch
Such a cold finger
Beckons you to exit his web of sin
But don’t take the hint
Golden words he will pour in your ear
But his lies can’t disguise what you fear
For a Federal employee knows when he’s dismissed her
It’s the kiss of death from Mister Boldfinger
Pretty girl, beware of the MAGA cult
This cult is cold
He loves only 1’s & 0’s
Only 1’s & 0’s
He loves 1’s & 0’s
He loves only 1’s & 0’s
Only 1’s & 0’s
He loves 1’s & 0’s
Goldfinger Instrumental
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vg6wj0KXfMk
Very well done. You think that when they crack open the vaults, that they might find Oddjob? If I was part of Musk’s team, I would bring along equipment to make sure that they are gold bars all the way through. I cannot forget that under the Clinton regime, that hundreds of thousands of tungsten bars were manufactured for reasons unknown and whose ultimate destinations were also unknown. But really, if all those gold bars are genuine, then I am sure that the US Treasury would have absolutely have no problem having random bars tested on the spot to assure Americans that everything was on the up and up. It’s not that I doubt the word of people like Steve Mnuchin or Mitch McConnell but hey, trust but verify. Put this conspiracy theory to bed once and for all-
http://www.silverbearcafe.com/private/03.10/phonygold.html
Wolfram Jack is worth around $20 an ounce, not far from the $42.22 per oz current evaluation, hmmmmmmm?
Make sure it’s Geraldo Rivera there when they go in to Fort Knox. He was the big deal when Al Capone’s vault was opened up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upB6keWfc1E
And a local Chicago TV stations report on it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWk0JqInCeE
Lol, imagine if there are similar results.
We, Jane and Joe Citizen, will never really know what’s the vault, only the narrative that best suits the whoever is doing the inspecting.
Tungsten and gold have a very similar specific gravity (heft) and just by having Mitch stare at a gilt tungsten ingot or fondling it ain’t gonna do anything.
When I was in the biz, gold-plated tungsten fake coins weren’t an issue because tungsten was too brittle of a metal, but that was then and this is now, and Alibaba has nice 1 ounce ersatz gold eagles for sale.
https://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v17n46a16.html
It’s almost to obvious to comment on, but a private audit provides an irresistible temptation to trade on the insider info, regardless of which way the audit turns out.
Paging Geraldo Rivera.
Edit, beaten to the punch yet again.
“You think that when they crack open the vaults, that they might find Oddjob?” Dude you so wrong and out of the loop. Don’t you know? Fort Knox is where Elvis has been hanging out all these years! Even heard rumors his agents are secretly booking a comeback tour beginning in Las Vegas. Specific dates pending until they learn when Trump actually opens the vaults. Geraldo Rivera will be a guest backup singer on the tour.
Saw Elvis a fortnight ago in a pawnshop in Fresno hocking a 14k gaudy ring that had ‘TCB’ initials on it, and after getting a loan of $147 on it he went to the all-you-can-eat buffet next door. He was hardly recognizable as he has put on a lot of weight.
Elvis has just left the building…, Was he hawking any bell-bottom jump-suits?
I suspect this has been an open secret in there circles that Trump and Musk dwell on. Question is why they’re allowed to expose this. My instinct says all the chaos of the last month is mostly an effort to crash the dollar and elevate crypto, but my market instincts are demonstrably terrible because I’m not a gambler.
If massive fraud were involved and all that glitters in Fort Knox wasn’t, it would be a rare instance where deceit was rewarded by the genuine article going up gangbusters.
Tesla’s recent financials had some weird crypto angle that I am too lazy to look up, but I think you’re onto something.
Trump and the Missus coins were insane.
And as long as he’s just “asking questions,” I’m going to go low and just ask questions about Grimes – or whichever baby mama – claim about the botched penis surgery. Elon Musk, the world’s most often asked about botched punishment surgery and why did you use IVF man.
It might be to pump the trust in Bitcoin/crypto?
Let’s say all the gold is gone. So what?
Murika pivots to invading India to replenish Fort Knox? It’ll be like an 1,000x speed run of the British East India Company.
Sometimes I think I have the right amount of out of box thinking to fit right into the Trump White House.
>Why did humans start speaking? Scientists point to a specific gene Euronews
The presence of a gene variant isn’t the only reason people can speak. The ability also depends on things like anatomical features in the human throat and areas of the brain that work together to allow people to speak and understand language.
How all these “features” came together within a specific time frame and within a specific social structure and with a specific function/telos, like the eye and sight, is the the tougher and more interesting nut to crack.
“within a specific social structure” is an assumption. Who’s to say human social structures didn’t evolve after the ability to create rudimentary speech? To this layman, these seem like the perfect sort of functionality that would reinforce each other.
Epigenetic determinism and selection? She’s a talker.
Yesterday I listened to Richard Wolff and Michael Hudson on Nima Alkorshid’s Dialogue Works YouTube. They had the idea that Trump is ending the Cold War (and doubling down on the Class War). They presented the bits of evidence that makes them think that Trump will cut defense/war spending. I was surprised but I suppose it is possible. They pointed out that across Europe its the nationalist right-wing parties that want to stop the Cold War while everyone else including the traditional center-left parties want to boost it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHbTFWnn3PI
The first 20 minutes is about the gold news.
And it ties in with the article “Why the billionaire class is kissing Trump’s proverbial ring”. This is not a war for Democracy, it is a Class War 100%. The Democrats are just mad they are not the in control of the Class War anymore.
Halt it or refocus it? Since Trump’s tariff policy and expansionist momentum goes hand in hand with the de-escalation of the War in Ukraine, I believe it is the second option.
Regards to the pending or now occurring playoffs at the IRS, well if the tax evaders are incredibly wealthy these individuals, families or companies can easily lawyer up with more resources than the Federal government can bring to bear. That has proven to be the case going back in some larger tax cases going back 10 or 15 years. Tax shelters in overseas or offshore accounts….overtly personal use of the company Gulfstream…I’d guess are some obvious examples.
I can’t place the article right now, but I recall a rather scathing report by the consortium of investigate journalism* I think; IRS agents per the article were just not throwing all the weight of the agency at efforts involving those really big whales. Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel, Bezos or Musk…do we think they’re really concerned with a potential audit in the near future? I think the answer is no.
I’ll attempt to circle back as I emailed that out to some close friends and family on the topic. I don’t agree necessarily with the reduction in probationary staff or reduced funding levels, but heck this is not terribly surprising from the fickle minds at DOGE.
Meanwhile in Starmer’s UK they’re going after the little guy. Accountant messaged me demanding scan of passport/driving licence plus a copy of a utility bill for proof of address. I compared notes with Dad (same accountant). This is almost certainly due to fact I’m not in a Pay As You Earn (PAYE) job and have to file an unusual tax return annually (which is just the measly income from my textbook and due to illness no other work-based source of income).
Wow, big brother really is swinging into action. Under a LABOUR government. Well the local Labour MP didn’t get my vote last year and he’ll never ever get it in future. The only person who voted for him in this household now loathes him. This constituency will almost certainly go Reform at next election. Then the Labour locals (all Blairites) will wail, gnash their teeth and go “why did you not appreciate us?” To which everyone will answer “you support genocide over making this suburb nice as it was in the 1980s. We could go on but you’re clearly too stupid ….”
Should we tell MAGA that if they want DOGE checks, they’ll need government workers to manage that?
*Sigh*
We have been telling readers for years that the IRS has lost every large estate valuation case since the early 1990s. The issues are the same in valuing sales of private assets.
The IRS is also not in the business of finding money in offshore accounts. That would be another part of Treasury that deals with money laundering and terrorist financing.
“Three buses explode in Israel in ‘suspected terror attack’, police say”
I’m calling this out as a false-flag attack and not one done by Palestinian militants. Probably not Mossad as two of the five bombs failed to explode so maybe extremist settler groups. You see the same sort of false flag attacks here in Oz where a synagogue will be vandalized with graffiti saying “Free Palestine” next to Nazi swastikas. Yeah, right-
https://caityjohnstone.medium.com/there-is-no-antisemitism-crisis-in-australia-its-a-carefully-constructed-lie-baa520c99fa3
Of course the purpose of this is to give Netanyahu reasons to end the ceasefire. In fact, Netanyahu has just announce that he is adding more demands for this ceasefire to continue, namely-
‘Netanyahu is demanding Hamas leadership be exiled, for Gaza to be demilitarized, and for Israel to continue maintaining “security control” of the Strip, which would mean a continued Israeli military occupation or blockade.’
https://news.antiwar.com/2025/02/20/report-netanyahu-adds-new-demands-in-talks-on-second-phase-of-gaza-deal/
false flag, my first thought as well. Bibi makes more demands, lol, has he demanded a shrubbery yet?
False Flag – agree
There’s no artistry or stakes in their false flag operations anymore, it’s like watching a Phase 4+ Marvel property. They’re probably just asking ChatGPT to generate a script for them.
Too bad because there’s so much quirky indie content happening, like that thing in Florida this week, but they didn’t get the promotions they need.
Mel Brooks commented on the lack of success of his terrific “The 12 Chairs” versus some later movies: I make quality and nobody watches, but my crap sells – ok, I’ll make crap. Why pay for production values if the public eats up your crap?
Trump administration backtracks on eliminating thousands of national parks employees LA Times
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well, what can be done now in regards to the 1,000 NPS full-time employees who were given their walking papers in the St. Valentine’s Day massacre?
Apparently 22 full-time employees from Sequoia NP were let go…
https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2025/02/some-congress-starting-question-trump-firings
They probably backed off after watching reruns of Newt Gingrich and the GOP gubmint shutdowns vs. Bill Clinton in the 90’s.
Images of closed National Parks were quite effective in portraying the Elephants as heartless dopes.
Too bad today’s Donkey’s ain’t got the same soul … I like that old time mock-and-fold.
For all the sky is falling talk I think this episode is very instructive. It seems, as some of us have suggested, that the “consent of the governed” is still a thing. Will the USAID and NED now be able to muster a non astroturfed outcry for their restoration???
Perhaps the idea of Musk and the Dogesters is to run things up the flagpole and see who doesn’t salute. That would certainly be a chaotic approach but then we have been dubbed by some The Empire of Chaos. The diff from young meddlers Blinken and Sullivan is that the press seemed to have no problems with them. A million dead in Ukraine might disagree.
Federally managed land, as the article notes, comprises over 80% of Nevada’s boundaries. The economy of some rural parts of the state are dependent on the income of numerous federal employees. Federal funds play a big part in the funding of Nevada state government, as well.
Those two senate Democrats have a large audience back home.
“Netanyahu: Hamas Returned Body of Gazan Woman Instead of Shiri Bibas, They Will Pay a Price”
In an recorded message from the Qassam Brigades of the Islamic Resistance Movement, otherwise known as Hamas, an official spokesman for that group said: “Oops!”
If Netanyahu tells me what time it is, I check my watch. His obvious desire for any pretext to discard what’s left of the ceasefire leaves me, shall we say, mistrustful.
Don’t look at your watch.
It may have been pagered.
The Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal are reporting that President Trump plans to disband the USPS Board of Governors and fold the agency into the Commerce Department. Here’s the CNN post about it:
Trump reportedly plans to take control of US Postal Service in step towards privatization
Can you get tornado warnings with your USPS Prime subscription?
Sorry, that division of AMF (American Mail Future) isn’t set up yet, if this was a real emergency, please duck & cover.
Because duck and cover protects you against anything-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5lv-56_KHk (1:10 mins)
Don’t think Trump’s plans to disband the USPS queue up with the constitution. But I ain’t no scholar.
US Constitution Section 8
The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;
Bla Bla Bla ………then it says
To establish Post Offices and post Roads;
Their be a lot of important Bla Bla Bla before and after this one too
On “Why did humans start speaking? Scientists point to a specific gene”; the gene that are speaking of, NOVA1, people with different variations in that gene have the tendency to have, well…
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221112472300061X
So it may be what is causing the non-verbal autism. Is this a genetic regression to the past?
“Nato at odds with Ukraine over Soviet-style tactics”
Gotta side with those Ukrainian troops here as they are doing something that NATO troops have never done – fight a full scale 21st century-style war. Some British soldiers were complaining about the cost of the NLAWs as they are £20,000 each saying that they are being squandered. So let’s go down memory lane a bit.
In 1982 the British were fighting the Argentinians for possession of the Falkland Islands and the fighting was brutal. In one battle they came up against Argentinian block-houses that had to be taken. You can imagine the human costs of trying to advance on these sort of fortifications in a place bereft of trees. So the British “squaddies” improvised. They brought up very expensive anti-tank missiles and used them effectively to take out the Argentinian fortifications. How expensive were they? About the cost of a bungalow so when the troops fired off one, they would shout ‘There goes another bungalow.’
So it is a bit off when these younger British soldiers are complaining about stuff that has been done previously by British soldiers. NATO soldiers are the amateurs here and should watch how the Ukrainians are fighting this war. Improvisation is the name of the game here. Just in passing, in a moment of improvisation, would you believe that a British “squaddie” used one of these missiles on an Argentinian ship that got too close to shore and got a hit?
I was thinking that the article reflected a desire by some to cut UK military expenses in Ukraine and that was the most reasonable argument they could find.
Even armchair generals can understand that it’s too stupid for front-line soldiers to worry about the cost of weapons and try to destroy a tank with a single shot. NATO simply wants to blame Ukrainian stupidity for the coming Ukrainian defeat.
Oz military YT mapper Willy OEM mentioned it the other day. Seems his correspondence with Merc contacts in Ukraine are banging on about the misuse of expensive NLAWS. Centered on its role in NATO tactics vs its application by Ukrainian forces, seems to been an issue from the early days of the SMO.
Its not just a single point of contention but wide ranging and boils down to if everything was done NATO SOP Russia would be defeated. Whilst Willy is ex ADF mech bloke and spent some time in Ukraine [ 2022 for 6.5months ] early on after Medical discharge from the ADF, has slowly woken up to both the reality of Attritional Doctrine plus Economic/Logistical realities. Not to mention Geopol factors spanning decades.
Re: DOGE and assorted AI hype
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oOPgUZkwM4/
Pandora’s Box – Part 1: “The Engineer’s Plot”
Who thinks it’s the concept that is the problem?
Who thinks it’s who administers the concept that is the problem?
Re; Global warming to blame for low temperatures in North America
Our housing-stock is so not ready for this.
During an earlier period in life, when I was dirt-poor, I lived in an older house in Pittsburgh that used to be coal-heated before it was modernized at some point to natural gas: good insulation was apparently not added, and the gas bill frequently exceeded the rent.
This makes me think of all the people who live paycheck-to-paycheck and are getting walloped right now by unexpected utilities bills due to climate-chaos– and this is just the beginning. Let’s add these to all of the other costs individuals will have to bear to survive, let alone function, in our societies as the problem of climate-chaos rapidly becomes worse.
No doubt changes to how we live, how we eat, are coming, and as swift as wolves soon queing at your doorway– each impatiently waiting for their piece of you.
It’s cold in this house too. I awoke a few hours ago to a chilly nose sniffing my arse, as it seems the family mutt decided sleeping on the people-bed was not enough– she now has to be under the covers too. This shite has to end before tick-season, which also (along with the weather) has been growing more ferocious by the year.
Maybe room for some enterprising young people to figure out a way to provide good insulation along with some community financing to upgrade the infrastructure.
We got foam insulation in our new house and it is fantastic. A lot of days the HVAC is never turned on.
I have been wondering if the insulation could be made a bit like a Dewar. Maybe some layers of aluminum foil interleaved with some inexpensive insulator?
DeArment: in “even” The New Republic. Americans head for the exits.
I have some misgivings about the article and some hesitancy about the whole prospect of mass emigration.
These data sure caught my eye, though: “According to a Gallup poll released before the election, the 17 percent of Americans who said they wanted to leave the country in 2023 rose to 21 percent in 2024.”
If we put the current U.S. population at 330 million, that is seventy million heading for the door.
DeArment falls into a long listing of various deplorables.
He sums it up with this gem: “But it’s also important to understand that many Americans have spent their lives fighting just to exist, and they have now watched 77.2 million fellow citizens spit in their faces by voting for Trump and countless more recklessly enable Trump’s victory by voting third-party or abstaining from voting altogether.”
Ahhh, puritanical vote-shaming and finger-wagging, that’ll defeat the Dogematics.
And yes, I am one of the reckless enablers, flaunting my impregnable position in the fortified Chocolate City.
The antidote in fact is Shoe0nHead’s (America’s Greatest Influencer) analysis of the election of 2024 from her standpoint as a populist socialist of Italian descent:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkUkEvf7Ma4&t=1646s
As to leaving the U.S. of A., as one who has done so, I can only point out that currently it takes much planning. One must think about where one wants to land in the new country. One *must* have language skills. One must be willing to scrape away many U.S. habits (like DeArment’s finger-waggin’ sermonizing). If you are ruled by the push factors, you are likely to fail.
It hasn’t come to the point (yet?) for journeys of people like Hannah Arendt, expelled from two countries. One must consider the causes, reasons, and effects, as well as the results of landing in a new place as an American who must then prepare to molt Americanness.
That other gem:
“It’s why this country rejected a highly qualified presidential candidate who happened to be a Black woman, in favor of a psychopathic fascist who all but promised to ruin it.”
Highly qualified? The author is incapable of assessing qualifications.
Psychopathic fascist? The author has no idea what fascism is.
It would be interesting to have more detailed information about that poll and the demographics, but unfortunately the document from Gallup is not easy to find (every article refers to it, none seems to link to it).
Interesting that she didn’t accuse Trump of being a crude libertarian doubling down in class warfare. Interesting that she could only resort to clichés. What is omitted can be telling.
“It’s why this country rejected a highly qualified presidential candidate who happened to be a Black woman, in favor of a psychopathic fascist who all but promised to ruin it.”
Actually the author got it right, except for misstating that Jill Stein is Black and “fascist” should have been plural.
signed, another reckless enabler :)
Was with the Dartful Codgers a while back and they are classic mainstream liberals, and when I mentioned what an utter pile Kamala was, they half accused me of being racist, and explained the real problem was that America wasn’t ready for a black woman as President, simple as that.
I concur on your second sentence, as the view of the land today truly depends, or quite apparently to myself, on whether you voted for the “Hitler in training” instead of the awesome alternative in Harris. I will add some people do remember how , from say 2021, those US citizens deemed vaccine hesitant were truly labeled as the worst of humans. And further, that literally harsh and backlit in deep red speech by then President Joe Biden in Philadelphia, circa Sept 2022 just prior to the midterm elections….it’s partly conceivable that he didn’t intend to vilify half the population at the speech but it was surely understood what he was aiming for…”Our Democracy!”….
It’s hard to paint in broad strokes on just how many are preparing to depart the United States as opposed to those finally getting that passport plan into action.
“It’s why this country rejected a highly qualified presidential candidate who happened to be a Black woman, in favor of a psychopathic fascist who all but promised to ruin it.”
Lol. This sentence is where I stopped reading. I suppose, given the quality of the Democrat bench, Kamala could be considered highly qualified, relatively speaking. I consider that a stretch, though.
Leaving the country- I think there are many who would want to, but as you point out most probably won’t get it together. I am one who wants to leave, but might end up in a van down by the river. Eyeing a 2005 Sprinter van with low miles though :)
Don’t do it! Keeping that diesel engine in good repair is going to be expensive. Get a Ford Transit!
(Can you tell that I’ve been spending too much time day dreaming about this new “American Dream nightmare”?)
So, 2005 is the last year of the 5 cylinder and has a life of 700k, as I understand it. Everything else may need replacing though. The way I see it, it’s money to keep a roof over my head when they possibly do away with my social security.
The latest newsletter from the medical practice I am registered with in this part of New Zealand welcomed the arrival and addition of four new, badly needed, GPs, – 2 from the US, one from the UK and one New Zealander returning from the UK.
It’s an ill wind….
I thought it ironic in the Manchunian sense with the intention of raising a laugh by parodying Liam Gallgher sarcing his brother.
– ‘Why Democrats Won’t Throw a Real Punch’ – The Nation
There is a lot of truth in this article, of course. Publications on the compatible “left” like The Nation are often good at pointing out problems with the Democrats after they lose. But the author gives the usual signals that he doesn’t quite grasp the depths of the problem for the Democrats. The Republicans began their pseudo-populist courting of the “silent majority” in 1968. By the late 70s the Democrats were helping them out as the “neoliberals” began their post-Watergate ascendance. Slowly but steadily the party began to abandon its working class constituents; the rank and file began to leave first, with eventually only party apparatchiks holding on. Well, in fairness Southern racists left first, but again the Dems would help out here by accelerating their emphasis on race (and other “social” issues) as they abandoned class. Carter was the first neoliberal President – in 1976. We all know what happened when the Democrats got their next shots with Clinton and Obama. This is a long time in development.
So it is not just that the Democrat leadership ignores the masses – though they do. It is that after half a century of this the “masses” have no reason to go to any political rallies in support of Democratic politicians. Why would they? Holding up Bernie, or AOC, as positive examples also demonstrate a certain myopia, as does stating that “Russian interference” was actually a thing in 2016. As does the usual fascist fear-mongering toward Trump, Musk, and Vance. Dangerous as their policies might be, mustering the courage to yell these accusations even more loudly will just convince more people that Trump was right about the “Establishment” being out to get him.
Again, the author makes a number of good points, but he misses the depths of the problem for the national Democratic party. Caitlin Johnstone actually addressed the very question expressed in the title of this article just yesterday. I think her answer gets closer to the depressing reality.
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2025/02/20/liberals-hate-socialists-because-socialists-are-the-real-thing/
Re: Caitlin Johnstone– my small family elsewhere are *libs, my in-laws are *libs, my surrounding neighbors are *libs, my town is *libs, my professional contacts (the arts) are *libs. No one said it would be easy.
I would call those “libs” notational or only in name, not in fact, certainly not in action.
IDpol beliefs do not move the left/right needle one iota. A liberal is as likely to be left as a conservative. Conversely, the same is true for a liberal to be right wing. It’s how one believes about economic policy that’s moves the left/right needle.
So no, libs do not need to be in quotes and wol’s circle are indeed libs.
They’re libs in the original sense of the word. Or at least original as of the turn of the last century, with the overriding concern of protecting every man’s castle from the mob (ie socialists). Property uber alles.
Back in the 70s when we were socially experimental and I was young, there was a network of households in SF where people lived communally and did not have private possessions. I have only spoken of it once or twice since that time because I know most people would find a multitude of ways to misunderstand me if I tried to talk about it.
I mention it here because it gave me the experience of what people are like when property relations are not the unspoken but pervasive reality that defines and constrains us. Those households were not without normal bickering and interpersonal tensions but even so, the quality of the interactions between people in them was welcoming and satisfying to a degree I have never experienced anywhere since.
Thank you for this interesting comment, fringe element. It’s hard for me to imagine social relations without the overlying baggage of property relations. Something for me to ponder.
Nobody owns anything in the wilderness when i’m out with friends gallivanting around, and money won’t buy you a thing.
On the subject of “the problem with Democrats” – and compatible “left” news sources – I just happened to see the “debate” on Ukraine between Jeffrey Sachs and Matt Duss that was posted at Democracy Now a couple of days ago. It was an excellent example of the deeper problems I am referring to in my comment. Goodman lets Sachs go first. Then Duss responds, laying out the usual anti-Putin BS. Then Sachs responds to Duss; I recommend everyone go listen to (or read – transcript is posted) Sachs’ succinct yet comprehensive history of the US/NATO provocations that led up to the Russian invasion. It is excellent; he’s really good at doing this sort of thing in limited and semi-hostile media settings. Naturally Goodman gives Duss the last word, which is a bunch of evasions, sophistry, and outright lies. They then “left it there,” as they say.
Here’s the DN transcript. I highly recommend that section by Sachs where he wipes the floor with Duss (in my biased opinion, of course). Forgive me if this has already been posted:
https://www.democracynow.org/2025/2/18/russia_ukraine
By the way, didn’t Sanders and the Democrats vote unanimously to reject the “Russian asset” Tulsi Gabbard, while voting *unanimously* to confirm neocon warmonger Rubio? Does the Nation author who is fascist fear-mongering about Trump support the likes of that champion of democracy Senator Adam Schiff?
that certainly didn’t give Jeffery Sachs a fair shake and left it as if Duss was the final word –
‘shitelibs’
I’m more pessimistic than Caitlin Johnstone. I don’t see any evidence that a socialist/communist industrial economy would be any more eco-friendly than a capitalist one. The problem is the industrial part. Unfortunately that’s also the main part that is even theoretically capable of providing a decent life for every human being. Of course nature is under no obligation to provide humans with a decent or even livable life, and it may well be that the two are incompatible.
Another gently misleading bit of media. The Daily Mail article on banning vaccines says Patel has previously promoted supplements as an alternative to vaccine. Like Anita Bryant promoted the Florida Orange Growers. And Kevin Hart promotes … I think anyone who makes an offer. He gets paid or he wouldn’t say a word.
Patel’s grafter history has been pretty well covered. The Daily Mail being gentle with people whose public attitude toward vaccines is based on a grift is exhausting.
Stuart apparently wants a job with Patel’s FBI ™
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stewart_Rhodes
Founder of Oathkeepers, pardoned for Jan 6 by Trusk and Mump.
One afternoon long ago as I was hopping onto the train making my daily commute home from the office, I found myself in a rail car packed with Promise Keepers. They were solicitous of my young, white, female self to a degree that was creepy. Meanwhile, to my great embarrassment, they were only too happy to let black women stand while they hustled to offer me a seat. I declined to accept the seat of course, got off at the next stop, and caught the next train.
“87% Of Loud Crashing Noises Are Nothing, Report Top Experts From Other Room’
How many people here were imagining the DOGE team in the computer rooms of the Social Security building when reading this story with the regular IT staff locked outside?
Or Forest Service/IRS/EPA/VA…
imo-Breaking stuff that YOU have fix develops a respect for being careful about what you do.
Same with making a mess…
Global warming to blame for low temperatures in North America . Low indeed. Here in the southern Greens we are having what is being described as an “old school” winter. I’ve got two feet of snow in the yard (along with a magnificent cat snow-fort), and the temps have been regularly dipping down to single digits and on occasion sub-zero temps, all this contributing to an alarming consumption rate of firewood, hoping I don’t come up short but looking at chilly indoor weather come late March.
We come from the land of the ice and snow…
yeah. 3rd day of montana weather here in west central texas.
i shut off all the water, save mom’s house, on tuesday.
wednesday morning, 7am, snow(crunchy kind), 9 degrees, howling wind, winchill subzero.
so no critters were set loose,lol.
esp chickens.
one more day of chickens in jail.
should be able to tuen the water on manana afternoon.
and, on top of all that…both chainsaws bit the dust last week,lol…so i cut up the extra wood i knew i’d need with the sawzall.
and!…one of the woodstoves, in my room, no less…is missing a part…no $ til yesterday to order it.
and! the propane wall heater in youngest’s room is down…bc the propane bottles are now running mom’s kitchen.
but, silver linings can be found….by sunday, i’ll be enjoying a hot bath, while mom goes without water due to busted pipes.
told her wednesday to go ahead and call a plumber for next week…be first in line, and all,lol.
because i refuse to crawl around under her 120 year old house to fix things that foresight would have prevented.
Due to my irrational fear of spiders I have a very hard time working up the courage to do my own plumbing work, lol.
Honestly, I prefer excessive cold to heat, so I shouldn’t complain too much. Plus, our big white cat Buster can’t get enough playtime in the snow, which is a welcome, highly entertaining distraction while shoveling.
yeah, its scary under there,lol.
mystery pipes and wires all over…100 years of cracker rigging with whatever was to hand.
ive been on her to get it upgraded…but anything i suggest must be wrong, somehow.
last time i ventured under that house, found rattlesnak, scorpions, and a gigantic red centipede carcass.
never again,lol.
after shes gone, we’ll dig a ditch all the way around the house, and bring in water where its actually needed, with the little tankless water heaters as required.
always thought it was silly to run h20, etc under the house…bc stuff fails.
also seems silly to put water lines in the attic…my dad’s house in clear lake was like that. water heater in attic failed and flooded whole house…thousands of $ worth of hardwood floor,lol.
and when we have these arctic air invasions, ill do like i do with the rest of the system, and drain it.
i’d rather endure a few days of using stored water, like its 1850, than do plumbing in cold mud after the fact.
and give me 100 degrees any old time,lol.
i loathe this time of year.
80 by monday…so naked day!
just need a beer drinking nudist farm chick and i’m all set.
Everyday is naked day and eighty is no small achievement!
Hang in there! Those temperatures are crazy cold!
And I hear ya about old house plumbing – ours still has plumbing buried under the house from when there was a wood stove in the kitchen with a hot water tank. I had to replace about 60 year old galvanized pipe last year that finally gave it up (yeah, I left that in there too long.)
We only have to contend with fiddle back and brown recluse spiders when working under the house in the PNW, but those are nasty enough!
Back in the day I spent a weekend in Vermont with the family of a fellow I was dating at the time. Naturally they had serious amounts of firewood stockpiled. When I got back to Atlanta, as I was headed into a small neighborhood market, I noticed these cute itty-bitty piles of firewood stacked outside for sale. The contrast with what I had just seen in Vermont made me laugh.
Elon Musk seems to be in the same league as John Law and Jacques Necker, a couple of foreigners that were instigators of disaster in France in the 18th century, one with the Mississippi Bubble and the other with the French Revolution.
Necker is the better role model for Elon, sadly.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Necker
New Not-So-Cold War
The guys at Duran gave accounts on the back-and-forth between Z and Trump. They believe Z’s response was coordinated by Europeans calculating to split Team Trump into feuding factions of MAGA crowd vs traditional GOP neocons, with purpose of getting Project Ukraine back on track in USA.
They said the staged Z response instead united Team Trump, was in likely hood a fatal blunder that backfired, and are are now convinced that Z is “dead man walking”. It’s only matter of how and when.
Further, this morning Military Summary mentioned some unconfirmed reports that Trump is halting flow of weapons to Ukraine.
Gotta say, how Z and the Euro elites who Duran thinks stage managed this, thought that insulting and butting heads with Trump could in anyway help them is beyond incomprehensible to me.
The article on Zelensky and Russiagate explains why Z and Trump are like oil and water without needing to resort to such coordination.
That’s interesting. Col. Macgregor has the same general idea about the EU’s interest in keeping the war going. Jimmy Dore and Col. Macgregor, utube, ~16 minutes+..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3bijAiblSc
Maybe the Duran guys are right that the response was calculated by Europeans, or maybe not. I follow those guys and mostly find them informative and helpful, but have found that now and then they get stuff wrong. If they acknowledged that what they were saying was speculative in the first place then this may be one of those times when they were wide of the mark.
I tried to watch the show they posted with Robert Barnes talking about Elon/DOGE and quickly found it unbearable to watch. I don’t think the Duran guys understand U.S. culture and politics nearly as well as they understand the Europeans.
The thought processes of the Euro élite have long been beyond comprehension if you have the most basic connection to reality.
Antidotal:
Dire Straits – Lions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0BzkDFWNm0
“Scented products cause indoor air pollution on par with car exhaust”
I’m not someone who suffers from chronic allergies, but scented products often set me off… my eyes want to water immediately and my sinuses will start twitching. I hate and avoid scented products.
Read about how air “fresheners”, scented fabric softeners and candles contain bad chemicals long ago. Some of my past roommates/tenants used these greatly. Then when I got a new roommate, told him I’m deathly allergic to them (a white lie) and told them to get a house plant instead. Put an end to that nonsense.
Another commercially advertised piece of nonsense is in regards to household cleaning products. Advertising invariably pushes “strong”, “stronger”, “strongest”, “now even stronger”, “new and improved now even stronger” as good. But if you have nice things like granite counter tops, marble, high end tile, nice kitchen and bath metal fixtures, strong cleaning chemicals is NOT what you use because they can ruin and damage these.
You don’t want strong – you want gentle cleaners.
That was the biggest issue I faced regarding tenants in Massachusetts. They would grab a cleaning product, not look at the label listing chemicals used, and slap in on nice things that can be damaged by those chemicals. IMO, recent immigrants where especially influenced by US advertising brainwashing.
Sierra Subs & Salads in Three Rivers is once again on Yelp’s “Top 100 Places to Eat” list, which ranks the best restaurants across the U.S.
“Sierra Subs and Salads has made multiple appearances on our Top 100 Places to Eat list over the years, first earning a spot in 2017 where they were 93rd,” said Nathen Marker, Yelp senior community director for the Central Valley. “Users love dining on the dog-friendly outdoor decks that overlook the Kaweah River, homemade soups, and of course, the sandwiches.”
This year, Sierra Subs & Salads was ranked No. 12 on Yelp’s Top 100 list. It was on three previous Yelp lists, including being at No. 8 last year.
Owner-operators Dane and Allison Millner offered reasons for their success.
“Everything’s made from scratch,” Allison said.
Dane credited the “creative options,” noting that, “It’s not your normal turkey and American cheese sandwich.”
“We have a great gourmet green sandwich,” said Allison when asked for an example of a creative option. “It has almond, cilantro, and jalapeño spread, and it comes with turkey or chicken or vegetarian.”
It is one of many recipes that the Millners “made up.”
https://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/story/news/local/2025/02/21/sierra-subs-salads-restaurant-three-rivers-california-yelp-top-100-list/79230846007/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Our pride & joy of Tiny Town, it’s that good!
Thanks Lambert for the post in remembrance of Gonzalo Lira, who I followed during his year or two of reporting from inside the conflict in Ukraine. His reporting helped form my opinions on the conflict, which were and are in contrast to that of my liberal friends and family. Nearly to a person, their eyes would glaze over at my attempts to explain the background leading up to the conflict; they were and are content in the “Putin is a mean bully” accounting. Like the brave soldiers on the frontline, Lira gave his life to his cause.
‘Immediately cease’: Trump administration gets ‘stern warning’ from judge
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/immediately-cease-trump-administration-gets-stern-warning-from-judge/ar-AA1zu1Av?ocid=spartan-dhp-feeds
I thought Trump admin said it was complying with court orders?
I really liked the “stern rebuke” part! Maybe the good judge could have written an angry letter, asked for the manager, protested by means of interpretive dance or shouted at a cloud!
The Trump admin does not care and cannot be stopped with such symbolic gestures. Sending the cops to drag Little Marco out of bed at 4am would, at a minimum, raise eyebrows.
That judge should be very careful about what he says though. At least he called attention to lawlessness which is his job after all. Not exactly the same as doing an interpretive dance. Guess we’re back to the 1830s.
I was thinking about the firings and disruptions caused by Elon’s little Dogies and it struck me that this is “Killing the Chicken to scare the Monkeys”.
Lenin put is simply, “The purpose of terror is to terrorize” and these actions are terrifying a large portion of the credentialed classes.
On the other hand, Kristina Drye , interviewed on CBS ’60 Minutes, turns out to be a govt contractor and speech writer for Samantha Power. So, not one of the little people let go. / ;)
Kinda reminds me of this old episode:
The Nayirah testimony was false testimony given before the United States Congressional Human Rights Caucus on October 10, 1990, by a 15-year-old Kuwaiti girl who was publicly identified only as Nayirah at the time, and presented as having been a volunteer nurse at a Kuwaiti hospital at the time of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. ….
In January 1992, it was revealed that Nayirah had never been a nurse and that she was the daughter of Saud Nasser Al-Saud Al-Sabah, the Kuwaiti ambassador to the United States at the time the testimony was made. ….
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nayirah_testimony
Yes, it’s bad to be fired, let go, right sized, down sized with little or no warning. But televised, heart tugging stories that push all sympathy the buttons are often an act, an op, as they say.
Groan … Milton Friedman was found guilty of producing propaganda for the developer lobby only to be elevated to omnipotent Economist see – Charles Kindleberger, the Dollar System, and Financial Crises NC post and long NC post on the subject matter.
This is decades in scope and yet some are still chewing the cud provided so no focus on reality is obscured.
In his article in The Nation on Democratic Party fecklessness, Dave Zirin linked the name of Marek Edelman.
I was not familiar with this remarkable man and role model, so for others who may not be, will share the link here:
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/marek-edelman
Thanks for this link.