Were Twins the Norm in Our Primate Past? Sapiens
Physicists Confirm The Existence of a Third Form of Magnetism Science Alert
Climate/Environment
Top climate scientist declares 2C climate goal ‘dead’ AFP. That was fast; 1.5C target just died in November.
How newly elected officials are trying to improve Hurricane Helene recovery efforts WRAL. Spoiler: they’re not improving them.
Organized Abandonment Sarah Jaffe, The Baffler. Must read.
Increasing rat numbers in cities are linked to climate warming, urbanization, and human population Science Advances
Pandemics
Tuberculosis cases on the rise in NC after more than 30 years of decline WRAL
Japan
Integration talks between Honda, Nissan may be called off The Asahi Shimbun
China?
How China is playing to win Trump’s trade war Asia Times
Trump in ‘no rush’ to speak with China’s Xi despite tariff battle Channel News Asia
US tech CEOs admit they want AI monopoly & ‘unipolar world’, blocking China’s competition Geopolitical Economy Report
Old Blighty
CAPITALISM VS DEMOCRACY Stumbling and Mumbling
Cracks in the armor: UK urgently recalls 120,000 military armor plates Anadolu Agency
European Disunion
EU Plays Trump Card To Advance Its Globalist Agenda The European Conservative
Exclusive: EU Commission poised to propose migrant ‘return hubs’ in legislation Euronews
Trump Jr ruffles Italian feathers in protected duck case Euractiv
At least 10 killed in school shooting in Sweden Anadolu Agency
Syraqistan
‘US will take over the Gaza Strip’: Trump Anadolu Agency
Trump Wants US to Take Over & Ethnically Cleanse Gaza Consortium News
Trump Goes All-In On Stealing Gaza For His Zionist Owners Caitlin Johnstone
Trump announces withdrawal from UN human rights body and halt to funding for Palestinian refugees AP
Donald Trump’s Gaza Mirage Larry Johnson
Gazans dreamed of returning to Rafah. The reality is a nightmare +972 Magazine
Alcohol empire rising on Gaza border Globes
The world’s lowest bar: A hidden green oasis at the Dead Sea Ynet
Israel ranked last in 2024 Nation Brands Index, launches rebranding plan Jerusalem Post
***
Trump Says To Reinstate ‘Maximum Pressure’ On Iran AFP
***
Jailed PKK leader readying to make ‘historic call’ in coming days: pro-Kurdish party Turkish Minute
Abdullah Öcalan’s Isolation May Be Coming to an End Devriş Çimen (a Kurdish journalist and politician), Jacobin
Syria’s al-Sharaa says elections could take up to five years Al Arabiya
New Not-So-Cold War
Ukraine’s Zelensky says he is ready for direct talks with Putin France24. No mention of Zelensky’s decree banning negotiations with Putin or Moscow’s stance that Zelensky would not have the legal authority to sign a peace deal since he wasn’t re-elected last year when his five-year term expired.
Ukraine welcomes Trump’s interest in its minerals to maintain support Washington Post. As Yves pointed out yesterday, Ukraine doesn’t have that much to offer:
🇷🇺 Russia has taken control of up to 70% of Ukraine’s mineral resources: most of the minerals are in the historically Russian Donetsk, Dnepropetrovsk and Luhansk regions, Forbes calculated.
Their value is 15 trillion dollars.
– FRWL pic.twitter.com/o8VNIJKqEq— Zlatti71 (@Zlatti_71) February 4, 2025
The UN Charter Should Become the Legal Foundation of a Multipolar World Sergei V. Lavrov, Russia in Global Affairs. Key section: “In 2025, with Donald Trump’s Republican administration back in power, Washington’s interpretation of international processes since World War II has taken on a new dimension, as vividly described to the Senate by new Secretary of State Marco Rubio on 15 January: not only is the postwar world order outdated, but it has been turned into a weapon against U.S. interests.[4] In other words, not only the Yalta-Potsdam order is undesirable; so, too, is the ‘rules-based order’ that had seemed to embody the selfishness and arrogance of the U.S.-led West after the Cold War. “America first” is alarmingly similar to the Hitlerite slogan “Germany above all”, and a wager on “peace through strength” may be the final blow to diplomacy. Not to mention that such statements and ideological constructs show not even the slightest bit of respect for Washington’s international legal obligations under the UN Charter. However, today is not 1991 or even 2017…”
Russia Versus Outlaw US Empire: Staying With The Plan Versus Repurposing karlof1’s Geopolitical Gymnasium
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EU hails ‘major’ progress on plan to set up special tribunal to judge Vladimir Putin Euronews
Shipowners have made £4.8bn selling tankers to Russian ‘shadow fleet’ The Guardian
Krynky: Very British Military Cataclysm Global Delinquents
The Caucasus
Azerbaijan launches border security operation amid rising tensions with Russia Bne Intellinews
Moscow hasn’t received samples from Russia-bound flight’s crash site – RT source RT
Some Russian media speculators fuel perceptions of Baku-Moscow diplomatic tensions [OPINION] Azernews
South of the Border
Trump says it will be fine to put American criminals in prisons in another nation Reuters
Rubio touts Bukele’s ‘generous’ offer to jail U.S. citizens in El Salvador, but experts say it’s illegal NBC News. Here’s Bukele’s offer:
We have offered the United States of America the opportunity to outsource part of its prison system.
We are willing to take in only convicted criminals (including convicted U.S. citizens) into our mega-prison (CECOT) in exchange for a fee.
The fee would be relatively low for… pic.twitter.com/HTNwtp35Aq
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) February 4, 2025
The lesson of El Salvador’s failed Bitcoin experiment Coin Telegraph
Trump 2.0
CIA offers buyouts to workforce as Trump administration continues efforts to scale back government NBC News
FBI agents assigned to January 6 cases sue Trump DoJ over retaliation fears The Guardian
FBI agents who investigate UFOs worried they could be pushed out in possible purge Politico
***
‘Things Are Going to Get Intense:’ How a Musk Ally Plans to Push AI on the Government 404 Media
US Treasury says Musk and DOGE Have Read-Only Access to Payments System Newsweek
Musk Cronies Dive Into Treasury Dept Payments Code Base Talking Points Memo. “[A DOGE operative] not only has full access to these systems, he has already made extensive changes to the code base for these critical payment system.”
DOGE sets sights on Medicaid: New York Times Becker’s Hospital Review
***
The water unexpectedly released from dams on Trump’s order didn’t help farms or L.A. Los Angeles Times
Nation Shrugs as Godzilla Eats Washington Matt Taibbi, Racket News
Tristero
USPS temporarily suspends accepting packages from China and Hong Kong CBS News
‘Control of Our Destiny’: UPS Braves Blowback Over Amazon Break Bloomberg. Commentary:
The US Postal Service continues to adopt policies that give Amazon an advantage against other shippers. In this case, a rate hike that other carriers will pay but not Amazon.
The USPS was intended to disperse power, not to concentrate it.https://t.co/NdWvB7xIGM pic.twitter.com/MHQuVGvROc
— Stacy Mitchell (@stacyfmitchell) February 4, 2025
Antitrust
Stop Worshiping the American Tech Giants Lina M. Khan, New York Times
Immigration
Migrant flight lands in Guantanamo Bay as legal questions swirl around Trump plans CNN
Obama Legacy
The Wages of Leaving Guantanamo Open Have Arrived Forever Wars
Democrats en déshabillé
‘Stop Playing Nice,’ Says AOC as Senate Dems Help Approve Yet Another Trump Nominee Common Dreams
In Defense (Gulp) of Chuck Schumer Jonathan Turley
Imperial Collapse Watch
Commentary: Trump is sowing the seeds of an anti-American alliance Channel News Asia
US Air Force builds $80M F-35A for just $6M by merging parts from two crashed jets Interesting Engineering
Sports Desk
NFL to scrap ‘End Racism’ messaging on field for Super Bowl The Hill
AI
AI-Generated Slop Is Already In Your Public Library 404 Media
Google wants Search to be more like an AI assistant in 2025 TechCrunch
Google torpedoes ‘no AI for weapons’ rules The Register
The Bezzle
SEC is scaling back its crypto enforcement unit: Report Coin Telegraph
Trump’s Crypto Czar Is Studying Feasibility of US Bitcoin Reserve Bloomberg
Class Warfare
A few points for the left Julia Steinberger
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
239 comments
Comments are closed.
“Israel ranked as most destabilizing country according to Global National Brands Index”
A $100 million rebranding campaign to reverse negative perceptions of Israel? Good luck with that one. We have seen what Israel is about the past year and a half and seen how proud they are with what they have done. They can polish it all they want but that is one turd that will never shine.
And I’ll bet the US is footing the bill!
Maybe they can try using AI.
I Feel Like I’m Fixin’ to Die Rag (21st century version)
Well come on all of you big strong men, Uncle Don needs your help again.
Bibi’s the boss, and that’s just fine. It’s time to head over to Palestine.
Put down your phone and pick up a gun, we’re gonna have a whole lotta fun.
[CHORUS]
And it’s 1,2,3, who are we fightin for?
Don’t ask me. I don’t know the facts, but they all say it’s for AIPAC.
And it’s 5,6,7, good-bye Make AMERICA Great. Well there ain’t no time to wonder why. Whoopee! We’re all gonna die.
Now come on Wall Street, don’t be slow. Why man, this war’s a-go-go.
There’s plenty good money to be made, supplyin’ the army with the tools of the trade.
And when it’s all done and Jared has title, we can blame it all on a book called the Bible.
[CHORUS]
Now come on generals, let’s move fast. Your big chance is here at last.
You go out and kill a raghead ’cause the only good Muslim is one that’s dead.
You know that peace can only be won, when you blow ’em all to kingdom come.
[CHORUS]
Now come on mothers, won’t you lend a hand and pack your boys off to Gazaland?
Come on fathers don’t hesitate. Send your sons off before its too late.
Be the first one on your block, to have your boy come home in a box.
[CHORUS]
Country Joe McDonald and the Fish live at Woodstock
Give me a “F”…. Lol, thanks. I wore that record out in my “short pants” days.
I would let loose a Fish cheer but I don’t think it would get past the censors so instead I’m cuing up Sweet Lorraine in appreciation of this rag from the countercultural hymnal.
Outstanding! Best ever.
Loved it, HMP
What was sad was how little needed to be changed outside of the place names. Same horrors, same motives, same kinds of people in charge.
As they say, the more things change, the more they remain the same. Welp, at least all my childhood songs are still relevant.
One would’ve thought that that my parents’ boomer generation would have made all those songs just interesting relics of an evil past instead of still relevant to now. Some days I truly feel the hate for our reality, but just what does that accomplish?
The best revisions of old songs require little altering.
Just add ‘Boeing’ to Leaving on a Boeing Jet Airplane-don’t know if i’ll be back again.
Bravo. Bring back the hippie days. We could sure use it.
Big applause, from this Bills fan.
Me, too. I’m from the Silent Generation. I was too young to be a hipster, and too old to be a hippie/flower child.
>A few points for the left Julia Steinberger
From concluding paragraph:
Moving forward here requires more than courage: it requires faith… It looks like my colleagues and myself, inspired by the student anti-genocide movement, forming an interdisciplinary collective for academic freedom, democracy and solidarity, a necessary step in making our role of public intellectuals more autonomous and secure…The only option we have is to put forward our friendship, work, love and humanity, in the form of brave and revolutionary organisations and ideas.
The language is so larded, stilted, and aspirational that it is no wonder there is no viable “left.” From an old lefty, I see nothing on the horizon that can challenge what many sees as an emerging fascist tendency that will be capped off by CBDC’s. It’s sad because I share/agree with most of the observations/commentary the author makes.
Agree entirely though I’d be ruder: “all mouth and no trousers”.
These morons are (when based in UK) always Guardian type Islingtonistas. None has any experience of living in the red wall….. just like the moronic PMC Democrats in USA who don’t understand flyover states.
She does say at another point in the piece that she’s sure there are others out there who can express her thoughts better than as she calls herself ‘a recovering physicist’.
Every leftist organisation has at least one spook as a member, and probably a few.
How easy it is to change every call to action to a call to think about what factors need to be in place to consider action. Which leads to no action. Job done.
Every leftist organization probably also has at least one FBI agent as a member, and probably a few.
How to tell them from the spooks? Perhaps they are the first ones to suggest a violent action and offer to bring the dynamite, weapons, etc.?
( And of course a blac bloccer to through the first brick through the first window, in the right context).
Joke from the ’50s. “If all the FBI agents stopped paying their dues, the Communist Party would be broke.”
>Trump Goes All-In On Stealing Gaza For His Zionist Owners Caitlin Johnstone
Opening sentence:
Grinning like the cat that ate the canary, Hague fugitive Benjamin Netanyahu sat beside Donald Trump as the US president unequivocally told the press on Tuesday that the plan for Gaza is to permanently remove all Palestinians from the enclave.
By now most people have seen the video clip of Trump pulling out a chair for Netanyahu to sit before he took his own seat. Netanyahu was wearing a red tie, which is usually Trump’s preferred colour. Twitter/X is buzzing with post on the subservice/sell-out of Trump to Zionist. I don’t know what the reaction of seeing this is for most people that have been following the Israeli genocide funded by U.S. taxpayers since Oct 7 and earlier. For me it feels defeat, a sense of despair, a deepen awareness that the gov’t, at least the on the federal level, is completely captured/compromised.
What tis there to do, when both parties are part of the same cult/cabal that is in control and there is no organizing, coherent opposition? It feels like I’m just waiting for the big crackup…
I heard that Club Meddle is in the early stages of development, and breakfast by the beach will run 30 Shekels.
Thirty Shekels of silver?
Where was that floating dock tried? Let’s call that spot Judas Beach.
I think that the shekel was a silver coinage (at least in the Antiquity), so that a “shekel of silver” would be a pleonasm (just like saying a drachma of silver, or a denarius of silver).
The supposed 30 Shekels were from Tyre, the reverse bears an awful lot of resemblance to American $10 gold coins dated from 1907 to 1933, for those of you playing along at home.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyrian_shekel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Head_eagle
With any kind of luck, Jared’s grandiose scheme for Gaza will be built out just as time and tide take over operations.
‘Come scuba dive in titanic splendor!’
Israel will just build a wall to keep that from happening… and get us to pay for it.
Living underwater for rich people, that’s some delicious irony.
He’s earning his Zion Don moniker like Biden earned Genocide Joe.
I wonder if he really thinks 2000# bombs can accomplish what the IDF failed to accomplish in the last year and a half.
No doubt Zion Don can bomb civilians on a scale that will make Obama jealous, but it’s not clear to me how that builds a casino on the beach.
I’m sure I’m just dreaming, but now would be a good time for ZD to start throwing some of his advisors under various busses: how is it the US gets Hamas out of Gaza?
Matt Hoh making these points now with the Judge.
The only remaining hope I have for this situation is the Haaretz link last week about a Qatari proposal that uses Palestinians under a US Qatari umbrella to re-develop Gaza.
I could imagine Trump giving Israel a bunch of those MOABs ( Massive Ordnance Air Burst) bombs . . . sometimes nicknamed the Mother Of All Bombs.
https://science.howstuffworks.com/moab.htm
They are only useful against those that can’t shoot back anyway, considering that they are dropped from cargo planes (probably the same ones that were dropping humanitarian aid there).
It was such BS…talking about development and housing in the area, but then saying, “But the Gazans don’t want any of that. So we’re moving them.”
WTF?
Best part was when Trump was talking about how they were living in ruins and were being tired of being shot but not once did he mention who destroyed all those building and who was shooting all those Palestinians. And of course the media was too gutless to point this out.
Amazing, isn’t it? Whenever anything happens to the I’s, its a result of some anti-semetic terrorist evildooer. But when anything happens to the Palestinians, it’s always some passive voice thing that just happened for some mystery reason that no one understands.
Palestinians just seem to “die” but, Israeli’s are always “murdered”…..
Confirmed. The talking heads on CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper” yesterday were all aghast that a president would do this without even the slightest acknowledgment about how things got to this point and who footed the multi-billion dollar bill.
They are allowed to point that out now that the Democrats are out? Sigh.
Never thought i’d say that I miss Genocide Joe, but I hear he’s working a metal detector on Rehoboth Beach, found a base-metal wedding band last week, I heard.
Begs the question “what do Gaza’s want?”, maybe someone should ask them.
And the parting on the left
Is now parting on the right
Yeeaaahhhhhhh!!!!!!!
Trump utilizing ChatGGP has been interesting, Greenland, Gaza and Panama.
I’m going with despair. If you’re thinking multi-dimensional chess, sorry.
HHS’ Civil Rights Office Acts Swiftly to Combat Anti-Semitism, US Dept of Health and Human Services.
In alignment with President Trump’s Executive Order on Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism, and as part of the task force announced by the U.S. Department of Justice today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is announcing the initiation of compliance reviews for four medical schools following reports of antisemitic incidents during their 2024 commencement ceremonies., “reports”, uh huh.
‘Free speech’ on the line in feds PSU antisemitism probe, extremism expert says, KOIN Chanel 6 News
A spokesperson for PSU said the school would fully cooperate with the investigation. They also said they continue to support and engage with “efforts to combat antisemitism and mitigate the impact of hate and bias.” However, they also claimed the U.S. Department of Education’s “directed investigation” was “not based on a specific complaint from an individual, but instead is prompted by the new administration. The notice of investigation is not in itself evidence of any violation.”, hmm, not ‘specific’ reports.
Trump is right about one thing which is that the Palestine situation has been going on for too long. The heavy use of both deception and concealment by the Lobby and the media and bought politicians have cooperated in this, and one might almost conclude that Israel exists to support its Lobby rather than the other way around. The plutocrats have their pretend righteous cause with which to defend themselves while denouncing those who object as bigots or terrorists.
So Americans are being offered a stark choice between embracing genocide or finally doing something about it. We the people, not our gaga President, have the power to finally put a stop to it all. Many younger Jews are already deserting Israel even as the geriatrics man the barricades. It’s time to object.
Yep. The Dems new party leader Ken Martin is completely onboard with this. The Lobby owns both US GOP and Dem parties.
Due Dissidence clip starts at minute 45. Interesting part runs about 8-9 minutes. The pertinent part re: the Lobby is latter part of this 8 minute clip.
DNC Picks NEW CHAIR in TOTAL CLOWN SHOW, Maddow Frets FBI Purge, Trump ISRAEL FIRST Agenda Arrives
https://youtu.be/3IuMlFdYxk8?t=2720
The “clown car” officially switches party, heh heh heh
Gazalargo – “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be a tee”
Hoping this goes over as well in Magaland as Vivek’s comments on Americans.
Ha. “You know how to whistle don’t you?” / heh
Do you just put your lips together and blow?
Zagonostra, too much overthinking. I think making sure that Bibi sat down comfortably simply demonstrates Trump’s remarkable sense of old-fashioned courtesy to a guest (unlikely), or an awareness that Netanyahu is much weaker and more gravely ill than we previously thought and the journey to Washington hasn’t helped one little bit. Satan beckons.
USPS temporarily suspends accepting packages from China and Hong Kong CBS News **** Lots of things you need intermittently come from China via USPS on Ebay at super cheap prices – smart phone jackets, coaxial cable slicers so you can link internet cables, lithium batteries for car keys or garage door remotes. This small gadget list is endless and retail prices absent this market are very much higher. It makes you wonder: So who ends up paying the price for Trumps trade wars?
Its certainly worth noting that Ponzi’s scheme was based on the arbitrage possibilities between international postal rates.
And as for the USPS awarding sweetheart deals to Amazon and others, point the finger at the USPS Board of Governors, and specifically at Louis DeJoy. Board of Governors are political appointments all. T in his first admin appointed DeJoy. A 2021 Forbes article about DeJoy and another company. It is the Board of Governors which makes these sweetheart deals, not upper USPS management. (Almost like the Board is trying to either privatize the USPS or break it, imo.)
Louis DeJoy Comes Under Scrutiny — Again — As USPS Awards $120 Million Contract To His Former Employer
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2021/08/06/louis-dejoy-comes-under-scrutiny—again—as-usps-awards-120-million-contract-to-his-former-employer/
Dejoy, vilified while heading the service under Trump. Forgotten, while Biden (or whoever was making the decisions) was president. Now it’s time to write those sternly-written letters again.
Organized Abandonment – Sarah Jaffe
Resilence vs resistance
It’s refreshing to hear somebody writing about how people that want to stay in a community matter. A sense of place MATTERS and shouldn’t be described as a perverse nationalism.
As a matter of fact, sense of place and local community is so important to resistance, it’s no wonder globalists prefer to keep people shuffling around. And even to keep the policy focus on those who move around as if they were the only ones who mattered.
Some good points in that article. I wonder if it will give pause to the folks at Resilience.org.
Starmer is losing control. It is not necessarily for the right reasons (the right wing press is really gunning for him) but he really can’t read the room.
Nobody here is interested in Israel and most want a more just solution. However everyone round here wants Nottingham to no longer be Shottingham and wants real public health reform….. which we are not seeing thanks to a totally idiotic economic policy by our Labour govt.
When my mum trolls our Labour MP on faceborg then they should know theyre in trouble….
I have to ask if the political leadership wants to know what people want or even what is actually happening especially if might interfere with their various grifts?
I think of the homeless crisis in California where Governor Newsom and company say that they see and want to solve it. But as with the twenty four billion dollars recently allocated by the state for that, which disappeared because reasons or the upteen millions spent over forty years by San Francisco that never does anything, it is too profitable a crisis to solve. I can also mention Los Angeles where they shifted money cut from the fire department to the police department, which underfunded the former and overfunded the latter despite the growing difficulty in firefighting before the recent fires. Because of the massive fires and the homelessness of the past decades, this is impossible to be ignorant of, but it would be unprofitable to acknowledge.
Restated, is Starmer unable or unwilling to read the room?
Good stuff, I wish we could stop talking about ‘freedom of movement’ and more about the freedom to stay in place.
The “elites” know about the glories of being able to stay in place – if they choose.
They give their properties grand names…like “Saltburn”. (couldn’t resist the dig)
I liked this article. Corporate America is big on ‘resilience ” and this article helped me get in touch with what this feeling I’ve had about it being not quite right means….
What corporates mean by resilience – especially the insurance CEOs……
If your house burns down or slides down the hill in a landslide, it’s all your fault for building there.
So it’s your job to fix it instead of sitting on your ass having a beer and waiting for us = resilience
My only quibble with the article is when the author states “I can cook a meal and man a spreadsheet, but I cannot repave a road nor perform emergency surgery nor provide clean running water.” I have met far too many people who upon receiving a degree and/or a managerial position render themselves incapable of physical/menial labor. The author cannot repave a road with their current knowledge base, but they could learn to operate a vibrating drum roller and then be capable of helping repave a road.
Yes!! I call this the puppification of human beings.
In my experience….
The generation before mine went out and felled trees and split them into logs and then built fences. When they were 11 or 12.
My generation did a few things that needed doing around the house.
A fair proportion of the next generation calls somebody or needs to check with a professional that it’s ok to do whatever.
Wall-e here we come.
Resilience is a strength. I don’t think it precludes being able to grieve. When it gets turned into a buzzword that is flung at you by the media, politicians, and other nabobs, obviously it will be insincere and opportunistic in its use. Just like “serenity” or “mindfulness” or “quality” or “simplification” or any other word that becomes a PMC fetish. The opposite of resilience is fragility. Tending more in that direction myself, I don’t recommend it to anyone if there’s a choice (most of the time, I don’t think there is).
yeah, thats a good one from Sarah.
what she says about having the resources(and property rights) to overcome bad times on ones own, resonated with me.
hence my fetish for salvage…without being a freak about coming out of the dump with more than i go in with, i’d never have been able to build out this infrastructure….and thus house the Means of Production.
someones gonna bulldoze a ratty old shack?…i run in with a sawzall and remove the windows and doors and sashweights and such.
and encumbering the property with a layer of obfuscation(a trust) is, i hope, another barrier to the pirate class.
during…say…Katrina…i thought about all the poor folks i was acquainted with…in Algiers, Plaquemine, etc…who would likely never be able to go home.
plug this in with the Julia Steinberger thing(however handwavey and far from where we’re actually at), and a road forward emerges partially from the debris and dust.
but i fear that its gonna take a whole lot more pain and suffering…and more evenly distributed…for anything like a critical mass to arrive at a point where they’re ready to think like that.
the neoliberal catechism has done its job all too well.
even i am a “sad little king, on my sad little hill”…people are nowhere near ready to contemplate JM Greer’s prescription:”collapse now and avoid the rush”.
but thats what ive been all about for going on 3 decades.
In an increasingly chaotic world, I’m thankful for one thing we can depend on year in and year out: the Chiefs are in the Super Bowl. :D
Chiefs, the Patriots of the 20s! (scuttles behind farm cat offensive line, pun intended, heh heh)
As if we made men & women in the Bills Mafia can’t depend on the team to disappoint us year in and year out, ha ha.
I’m pulling for KC, mainly out of concern for Philly should they win the Superbowl and the locals tear the city apart in a wild celebration.
That las part is baked in, win, lose, or draw.
Philly, the town that booed Santa Claus.
William Claude Dukenfield
Born and raised in Philly. He had it coming.
Taylor’s Team by 5.
Swift boding
Camera pans onto Taylor & Travis on the field after the Chiefs romp in a 34-6 snoozer, exclaiming they’re getting married and going to Disneyland for a honeymoon!
On one of the mothership channel (ESPN2 I think) the discussion turned into talks and breathless hyperbole of a potential….4 peat. Andy Reid won’t retire it appears, and we well know the young and budding AT goat at QB has yet to hit a 30th birthday
I’m sure any Chiefs fan watching or listening did wish some voodoo onto the hosts of their Unsportsmanlike show this morning…For shame to speak of one more championship in 2026 in front of the other this Sunday…\sarc
“Trump Says To Reinstate ‘Maximum Pressure’ On Iran”
In one way, Iran owes Trump a debt of gratitude by cancelling the nuke deal as soon as he took office. If he had not, then Iran’s airlines would probably consist of Boeing aircraft so that is one bullet dodge on Iran’s part. Hard to say what sort of deal that Trump wants with Iran. How are they supposed to trust in any agreements that Trump as he is just as likely as not to cancel the whole thing on a whim or a phone call from Netanyahu. He could have a deal where Iran could export more oil which would bring down the price of oil which Trump could count as a win. In return, Iran could scale back their nuclear activities but they did that before and were betrayed. Maybe Trump will demand that Iran get out of BRICS or kick the Russians out of Iran with all their radar systems and anti-air missiles batteries. Early days of negotiation yet.
Maybe Trump will demand that the highest ranking Iranian general come to Iraq for negotiations, and whack him.
I thought a more concise headline would read:
‘Trump casts aspersions on Persians’
2 degrees = sea level rise > 30 feet, though not as a “pulse” a la Kim Stanley Robinson’s New York 2140, but over many decades and centuries. Any descendants we have will curse us
IBI-YBI
I’ll be inundated-you’ll be inundated
So, instead of the “Younger Dryas Catastrophe,” we will have the “Younger Wet A– Catastrophe?”
IDK, my view on sea level rise is “rinse cycle”, sort of like taking the garden hose to the windshield to remove all the dead bugs.
Black hole sun
Won’t you come
And wash away the rain
Chris Cornell
And, since my black heart is in full control today, anybody else remember Sam Carana warning us that we look to have entered the period of runaway increasing temperatures?
From Dec 11, Did a Terminal Temperature Acceleration Event start in December 2024?, Arctic News. This graph was much Pooh pooh-ed here at the time, but here, scroll down a bit, with data up to Jan 26, that curve begins to firm.
Good times!
My Spidey senses have been tingling to the point of goosebumps on my fingernails as of late with what almost looks like a big wart on my pinkie… you get the feeling abrupt change is coming, and I see something pretty awful, well that is if you are a post 1500 AD type player in the west, the curtain is going come down on the Golden Billion hard, of which most of us on here are legacy admissions.
I wonder how the travel agents market Ice Age Europe?
‘See the Trevi Fountain frozen!’
My black heart really wants a go at James Hansen, but I’m going to refrain and leave it at this.
Top climate scientist declares 2C climate goal ‘dead’. No shit.
From the article, Compounding the crisis, Hansen and colleagues argued, is a recent decline in sunlight-blocking aerosol pollution from the shipping industry, which had been mitigating some of the warming.. No kidding.
Mr Hansen, as one of the most visible credentialed voices in the climate change arena, you have done the global community no service by dotting all you “i”s and crossing all your “t”s and keeping your voice to a polite level.
Diamond et al demonstrably observed Substantial Cloud Brightening From Shipping in Subtropical Low Clouds, AGU, 24 March 2020, bringing the theory above board. Arguably, via the precautionary principle this force and the potential elimination of it via emerging environmental policies should have been accounted for already.
So forgive me if I look at the conclusions cited in the article with the ole stink eye, yet there is one conclusion I’m taking away with confidence. Real world consequences will be unfold faster and be more dire than your predictions.
Never thought i’d meet somebody that could out-Debbie Doomer yours truly, but i’ve obviously met my match.
Combined with the golden era of Scamalot seemingly on unravel thanks to Richie Rich, the weather going awry is one thing, our republic shaken to the bone is another.
No joy to take when the black heart asserts itself. Before I stuff it back in it its box, you remember when I prefaced one comment a day with some form of “Climate change is a most dangerous elephant in the room” click-baity gum wrapper metaphor? Oct 7 put an end to that.
Who knew Waterworld was a documentary from the future?
Lebensraum for fish?
Lebensraum but no fish.
A couple of weeks ago tens of thousands of dead fish washed up on our northern shores.
Verdict. The ocean heatwave killed them.
https://oceanographicmagazine.com/news/marine-heatwave-cause-of-mass-fish-deaths-and-coral-bleaching/
The range of ideas concerning sea level rise timing is wide.
Look up “Catastrophism” as an organizing principle. There has been a steady, if hidden contest between the Catastrophists and the Steady Staters over the timing of global ecology associated “changes.”
It is not “settled science.” No real “science” really is ever “settled.” That’s what continuing data collection and analysis is all about. Nothing is truly static.
The above ties in neatly with present day “Health Authorities” curtailing data collection and publication of Pandemic related information. It’s a form of Magical Thinking. Either “they” think that putting your fingers in your ears makes the unwanted sound actually go away, or, more sinisterly, making the data ‘disappear’ blinds the public to the true dangers looming on the collective horizon.
In the bigger picture, the rate of sea level rise is but another aspect of the now beginning Jackpot.
Stay safe. Learn the backstroke.
The idea that this will be gradual and linear is not supported by the fossil and geologic evidence of past melting events (drowned corals in the Gulf of Mexico being the primary one I’m thinking)
It will be gradual, then a pulse, gradual, then a pulse, over and over again. Nature is not a linear system. It’s quite possible big chunks of glaciers will slide off into the oceans (and the probability only increases as more heat is added to the system), and the displacement the ice causes will rapidly flood coastal areas in a handful of years, if not more quickly, as well as drowning corals and all other kinds of unpredicted havoc.
As a former actuary I’d say “look to their tables and rates”.
The answers are “not good” to put it mildly.
I’m a gay guy with no dependents so really don’t care….. but I’d like my nephews etc to have a chance….. but things are not currently in their favour.
The coastlands will be scoured by tsunamis generated by the coming Category 7 tropical cyclones before the “steady-state” sea level rise has any significant effect. Here in Europe, we are already seeing destructive cyclones in the Mediterranean, where they only rarely occurred before. Expect more frequent and more powerful storms – I forget who said that “climate warming” implies “climate chaos”.
I’d offer that a ‘steady-state’ sea-level rise is not to be relied in for insurance purposes, as you also get the occasional consequential catastrophe when something finally breaks under remorslessly increasing pressure, as per the Missoula Floods or when rising sea-levels reach a critical level in a particular spot allowing a overtopping event such as caused the inundation of the Mediterranean, and later the Black Sea, basins in a matter of months.
As to the present, the Thwaites Glacier in the Antarctic is under a lot of stress and if (when?) it goes will go suddenly and quickly.
There are many morons at 18F. I was once asked during the Biden administration by a young man from 18F how they should hire. I foolishly replied “Pick the person with the best references who shows they can do the work.”
Wrong! said the young, white man. Wrong!! You pick them based on the number and type of disadvantages they have had to overcome. This sentiment was repeated by many on that team.
Musk’s boy is probably not a moron, but spouting moronic nonsense about “AI” to cover getting rid of them.
References? You mean the outsourced toll free number that confirms dates of employment? Or do you mean wealthy and well-connected relatives who make calls on candidates behalf?
A fraught process indeed, verifying previous employment…but one has to make some kind of effort to do so
US tech CEOs admit they want AI monopoly & ‘unipolar world’, blocking China’s competition – Geopolitical Economy
“Thiel insisted that US tech companies should “look to build a monopoly”, because, as he put it, “Monopoly is the condition of every successful business”.
Tech companies (plural) wouldn’t build a monopoly. That would be a cartel, Mr. Vampire.
And there a different ideas about what makes a “successful” business. And that’s not for Mr. Vampire to decide.
Geez…these are the worst kind of people.
I had a thought the other day that the US could end up technologically cut off from the world ala the Great Firewall of China. But instead of being at the behest of government, it will be because of tech oligarchs who don’t want competition. And both parties seem on board with this.
Had the same thought here. That you could end up with a situation where US tech sits behind a great wall of tariffs and laws to prevent competition from the outside – while the rest of the world take as a different path with their technology that ends up being more advanced. It could happen.
No could about it. That ship has sailed.
Turnabout would be fair play, in that once upon a time China willingly cut themselves off from the rest of the world outside their borders.
“China willingly cut themselves off from the rest of the world outside their borders.”
Please explain when this happened, when possible.
What sort of lasting presence did China leave outside of Asia, aside from many quite yummy Chinese restaurants scattered all over the globe?
“What sort of lasting presence did China leave outside of Asia…”
https://www.nytimes.com/1982/04/18/books/the-china-the-west-knew-nothing-about.html
April 18, 1982
The China The West Knew Nothing About
By Jonathan Spence
SCIENCE IN TRADITIONAL CHINA
A Comparative Perspective
By Joseph Needham
JOSEPH NEEDHAM’S immense work, ”Science and Civilization in China,” which will probably total some 20 separate volumes when completed, * is the most ambitious undertaking in Chinese studies during this century. Ranging across the fields of chemistry and mathematics, navigation and medicine, botany and mechanics among many others, the work covers each scientific discipline from the earliest periods of Chinese history up until the middle of the 17th century, when China joined in the general dialogue of world science.
* Twenty-seven volumes (1954-2008)
Jonathan Spence teaches modern Chinese history at Yale.
“What sort of lasting presence did China leave outside of Asia, aside from many quite yummy Chinese restaurants…”
Thank you for explaining how meaningless 5,000 years of Chinese civilization, amounting now to 1.4 billion inheritors, how meaningless Chinese civilization has been beyond leaving “quite yummy restaurants.”
I’m in no way putting down China, they just weren’t colonizers in the scheme of western Europeans in terms of recent history, say the last 500 years, as opposed to the long look of 5,000 years.
An interesting book for you, if you haven’t read it already, is Investment Biker: Around the World with Jim Rogers written about 30 years ago, he and his girlfriend rode their motorcycles around the world in the early 90’s, while riding through extensive areas of Russia and China.
He found the Russia of that time to be similar to what we see now in the Midwest, worn out company towns with no capitalist tendencies, whereas when they ride into China, it was as if a mercantile dragon that had slept an awful long time was reawakening from quite the slumber.
Very prescient, his observations.
Not on the European scale, of course, which perhaps is what you mean, but despite frequent attempts by Chinese governments to rein them in, Chinese traders (sometimes illicit, sometimes also doubling as pirates) have been ubiquitous in East and South-East Asia throughout the early modern period, both as visitors and as a large diaspora. Even had some colonial city-states in Borneo if I am not mistaken.
“China, it was as if a mercantile dragon that had slept an awful long time was reawakening from quite the slumber…
Would that be the mercantile dragon that Japan invaded in 1931, beginning the World War and leaving some 20 million Chinese dead, would that be quite the slumbering creature and time described?
I was thinking more of the long opium addiction, which is seemingly being paid back in full in Fentanyl exports.
I assume there are no Fentanyl issues in China, similar to what we see with users here, and this quote from the Lancet is 6 years old now.
Good point, CA. Thank you.
Thin skin this morning? Wuk’s “yummy food” comment is an accurate, distilled criticism of the self-focused nature prevalent in American society, not a criticism of Chinese culture.
With all due respect, mrsyk, not everyone gets Wuk’s form of commentary, including me*. I’m perhaps making an erroneous assumption that for CA, English is not his/her first language. That alone could make Wuk’s comment come across as something it wasn’t intended to be.
*Sometimes, I have to put on my special decoder ring in order to correctly deduce what Wuk is saying. But that’s just me.
This is fair, but CA is not giving Wuk the courtesy of a careful reading. In addition, he falsely claimed that China never had an isolationist policy, which surprised me given how solid his comments are, hence my wrong side of the bed thingy.
Edit, sorry for assuming gender here
“CA is not giving Wuk the courtesy of a careful reading.”
Thank you, mrsyk, but we can’t really know if CA did or didn’t attempt a careful reading. I still say that a language barrier might be part of the problem.
I find a lot of value in all of your comments – Wuk’s, CA’s, and yours – even if I sometimes have to resort to the decoder ring.
Peace
Wuk is an “acquired taste”, but CA is a regular here, and way too easy on the Chinese trigger.
Really? I see it as a molehill of sense confronting a mountain of ideological hostility and denial.
Who is the mole here, Wuk or CA?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hfYJsQAhl0
Slinging insults for not getting a joke is smart, I guess. You should tap yourself on the back.
I remember reading many threads ago where CA said he was originally from France to begin with.
If my memory is wrong perhaps CA will correct me on that.
Being American, one other thing should have come to your mind: gunpowder.
If you’re ever stuck in Vegas and want to be a kid in a candy store in a fireworks vein, the Moapa Paiute have a gas station/fireworks stand that is more akin to a fireworks warehouse-every last one made in China. About 45 minutes drive east on Interstate 15 from sin city.
They encourage you to light ’em up about 100 yards away from said gas station, believe it or not.
Moapa #fireworks Store Tour
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-TxrwjZs5w
Paper and magnetic compass. Both unmistakably came to Europe from China, via the Middle East, and were important in propagating “Europe” throughout the world.
Personally, I don’t get too impressed by Needham–a lot of Chinese inventions he lists are interesting, but were limited in impact, not unlike Hero of Alexandria inventing the steam engine during the reign of Augustus.
you forgot /s
“China willingly cut themselves off from the rest of the world outside their borders.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Exclusion_Act
The Chinese Exclusion Act was a United States federal law signed by President Chester A. Arthur on May 6, 1882, prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers. The act followed the Angell Treaty of 1880, a set of revisions to the U.S.–China Burlingame Treaty of 1868 that allowed the U.S. to suspend Chinese immigration. The act was initially intended to last for 10 years, but was renewed in 1892 with the Geary Act and made permanent in 1902. The Chinese Exclusion Act was the first law implemented to prevent a specific ethnic group from immigrating to the United States. It was repealed by the Magnuson Act on December 17, 1943.
The Act also affected the Chinese who had already settled in the United States. Any Chinese who left the United States had to obtain certifications for reentry, and the Act made Chinese immigrants permanent aliens by excluding them from U.S. citizenship. After the Act’s passage, Chinese men in the U.S. had little chance of ever reuniting with their wives, or of starting families in their new abodes.
Those were individual Chinese that were excluded, probably because they did such good work for AROP (Asian Rates Of Pay) and were a threat to the Occidentals, also the fear of ‘the other’, which sadly is a part of all of our past, not that we had anything to do with it.
In terms of tucker, i’d always dreaded the idea of having to eat Russian food (beef stroganoff excluded) if the Reds pushed the button down before we could blast them into the nether regions, but i’d be totally down with Chinese cuisine when they take over the world, which it appears they have.
Maybe the Edict of Haijin? IDK, I’m not a history buff, and my US public school education ain’t helping.
Some links.
Haijin Wikipedia
China’s Historical Isolation, Christopher David Costanzo, The Herald.
yeah…i vaguely remember reading about a long term isolationist trend, long ago, when i was attempting to bone up on Chinese history and thought.
but ive have to dig around a lot more than i have time or energy for, since that exercise was preintertubes,lol.
it is a trope among the prochina twitterers that china has never had the empire disease…at least nowhere near the terminal case the west suffers from.
and this comports with just a whole lot of the fine rhetoric coming out of Xi, et alia, in the last few years.
“win/win” deals, etc.
and the Zhou Enlai stuff that seems to periodically be everywhere.
all that said, i readily admit that i do not know what i’m talking about,lol…studying China…much like studying Russia…and especially India…i get hung up on the names and the language in general.
too western in my priors,i guess.
and, i didnt wake on the wrong side of the bed….the great pillow wall for my back prevents this…but i did wake up with both legs hanging uncomfortably off the side of the bed. but this is in no way unusual…and can likely be attributed to the front that stalled about 15 miles to my north overnight.
I like both CA and Wuk, btw.
How about Winnie the Pooh?
Closed systems degrade. Can’t wait.
“Krynky: Very British Military Cataclysm’
Maybe this was the British trying to impress their American counterparts with this series of assaults to show that they were ‘worthy’ or something. I remember seeing video clips of Krynky at the time and it was just one group of Ukrainian Marines getting the chop after the other. There was no weight behind their assaults due to the nightmare conditions of all that water and mud so the Russians were just picking them off as they attempted to land. It was a slaughter and I could not understand why they did not write the whole campaign off. I guess that this was London wanting to save face or something.
US Air Force builds $80M F-35A for just $6M by merging parts from two crashed jets Interesting Engineering
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A crash course in MIC economics: an F-35A with a salvage title was only $166 million!
If enough F-35s crash and are rebuilt into fewer jets, will that make them cheaper then on the whole?
I believe that this is an example of the “Crashed Costs Fallacy.”
If an F-35 was constantly having its parts replaced and renewed over the next coupla decades, would we end up with the F-35 of Theseus?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of_Theseus
F-35 is starting to sound like a heap:
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/sorites-paradox/
Today is Philosophy Day on Naked Capitalism!
This truly is the best Commentariat.
Crash all of them, and make one mega jet that costs gazillion bucks, and send it to conquer Russia and China in one go.
I am out of the business since 2019, but I doubt they have raised the definition of a class A mishap above $1M bucks. Inflation!
So, one of those crashed F-35A’s may have had $2M in damage!
That said, who knows what an F-35A actually is. The problem with F-35 is they have not had enough test time to prove the “development specs”, so they moved on. This suggests that the tech package delivered with each F-35 has missing material in the form of specs that were not “audited”. Before you build a new hardware you need to pass a functional configuration audit (FCA), which means look at the tests that tell you each part performs within a risk range. Testers (design tests done by Lockheed, with witness (?)) could not keep F-35 models running long enough……
They can rebuild a F-35A from two and it is no better or worse than the as delivered F-35’s. IOW not that great.
One use of block chain is to establish pedigree of complex equipment and its moving baseline of complex components.
So many writers out there trying to put new lipstick on the pig, aka F-35.
Years ago I had a view into USAF battle damage repair (BDR) capacity. From WW II on it was economical to patch up aircraft and ships damaged in battle to get them to a depot or dry dock! Some kits included duct tape and coke cans. Fly it home to get it repaired eventually.
just secondary re: duct tape – early Spitfires apparently had jammed guns due to condensation and freezing at higher altitude. They eventually used duct tape to seal the guns from getting wet inside.
>”They can rebuild a F-35A from two and it is no better or worse than the as delivered F-35’s. IOW not that great.”
My first thought. If your patched up “ebay-ed” F-35 is no worse how can you not blush with shame as Lockheed?
And what I still do not get – all this chatter and complaint over F-35s – it seems to not get through to MSM. I do not find it being picked up. Even though this would be any investigative reporters wet dream story. But no! They deftly ignore it. Wonder why ;-P
Syria’s al-Sharaa says elections could take up to five years – Al Arabiya
Again, since the last land grab in Syria, how far away are Israeli soldiers and settlers from Damascus?
That should give them more than enough time to arrive.
And Turkey from the other side.
How are you liking the new, “Free” Syria? So free that it doesn’t even need elections.
And Israel and Turkey carve it up, just like, well, a turkey.
They are about 20 km from Damascus. They could just drive in, but the locals would probably welcome them with IEDs and RPGs instead flowers.
I guess al-Golani should have taken up a different name–al-Israeli..
Russia Versus Outlaw US Empire: Staying With The Plan Versus Repurposing
karlof1’s
Geopolitical Gymnasium
LOL
It was worth the time to read?
I thought so. -a.v.
“Trump says it will be fine to put American criminals in prisons in another nation”
So what happens with those families that have a loved one in jail in another country? What about legal representation in that country? Will there be US courts set up in those prisons to do some cases or will it all be done on Zoom or something. People in US prisons always get the short end of the stick whether it be cheap prison labour or cheap Californian firefighters. Saw a doco about Con Air once and it showed these prisoners from Alaska who had been sent to Arizona by Con Air as Alaska figured that it was cheaper to house them there. But for those prisoners they were away from their friends, family, etc. in a completely alien landscape. This will be more of the same.
Think long term here Rev. This sets up the system for Saint Elon to “requisition” prisoners for transportation to the Mars Colony as Indentured Labour.
“Alternative 3” was a documentary after all.
And the bright side here is that they would receive so much radiation on the way there and on Mars itself, you would never have to worry their eventual release as they would be dead and recycled by the time they were due for release.
Soylent Green is people, and it is positively glowing?
We are all “fly-over people” now.
A tangential idea but not necessarily a actionable idea, one right from the small screen. New TV series on NBC premiered this past Monday evening, titled The Hunting Party. No spoilers I will promise…
A future super maximum for the worst of American violent offenders, murderers and so on is held in an underground former nuclear missile silo… Hijinks ensue when some people get out of there and we ain’t talking about Dr. Kimble types from “The Fugitive” either…
Added, I thought the above article and related tweet image from the El Salvador prison just gave off a very real vibe much like the train in the Snowpiercer movie from like 10 years ago..
Didn’t the Brits send their criminals off to another land, never (hopefully) to be seen again?
Everything old is new again for the anglo-saxon empire (rhyming anyway)
Adlai Stevenson
Whenever a person mixes Russia-hatred propaganda with “liberal” statements, you know that they are just grandstanding for rights that they believe the little people are not entitled to.
I should have added those words were in regards to voicing opposition to the McCarran Internal Security Act of 1950, but has prescient parallels to what DOGE is doing.
The article “The lesson of El Salvador’s failed Bitcoin experiment” contains such gems as:
“The Salvadoran government made Bitcoin legal tender so that everyday citizens could enjoy the cryptocurrency’s benefits. They could experience holding a sound asset in their hands. They could start to understand the ills that central banks cast upon society.”
Intrigued, I saw that that the author is a certain Kadan Stadelmann, CTO at Komodo Platform. So what is Komodo Platform?
“Free Technology, Limitless Possibilities
From custom blockchains to wallet apps, NFTs, and cross-platform atomic swaps, Komodo’s all-inclusive platform gives you the tools to launch, secure, and scale-fast. We provide everything you need to shape the future of blockchain in one place.”
So those guys chose the name of a place known for its voracious reptiles that devour every living being that crosses their path, and wax lyrical about the “benefits of crypto”. Somehow I do not feel reassured.
“voracious reptiles that devour every living being that crosses their path” – saying the quiet part out loud with that symbolism for this grift.
Crytpo is the Frankenstein monster of central banks. Fueled by the easy money regime that it then says its against.
That article was an unintentional treat. Expecting to hear about the various failures of the ridiculous BTC experiment, it actually blamed the IMF for preventing the noble Salvadoran people from reaching capitalist Nirvana, defined as BTC as their national currency.
Some of the other revealing bits:
That is problems the IMF warned about in 2021did not occur despite the, checks notes, 8% adoption of BTC over the intervening 2 years.
And they really tried to make it work:
They were given a golden ticket to the post-fiat paradise, and those idiot peasants just bought stuff or foreign fiat currency, which they probably then just spent on stuff.
Shock Me
(Sung to the tune of “Shock me” by KISS, as sung by Ace Frehley)
Melody
Your drama’s all I need
My agitation grows
You make me feel uneased
You’ll make the planet glow
Don’t use soft power on me
I’m feelin low, so get me high
Shock me, make Jared better
Shock me, be our Mad Max bellwether
Shock me, we can glow forever
And baby if you do what you’ve been told
Our constitution’s gone, information overload
Go pull the plug on DC – yeah, yeah
Shut it down, and keep me high …
Shock me, make Jared’s real estate portfolio better
Shock me, put Marge in black leather
Shock me, we can glow forever
come on!
[Guitar solo]
Shock me, Donald, shock me, oh yeah
Shock me, Bibi, shock me, oh yeah!
Shock me, make me feel better, oh yeah
Come on and shock me, put Marge in black leather
Baby, I’m down to get retired!
Shock me – be our Mad Max bellwether
Oh yeah, I want to feel your power
Shock me
Ha! I’m actually listening to Kiss at the moment. (And it’s an Ace song, “Talk to Me” from Unmasked, since you asked. ;) )
Lol, there should be a prize for this. Thanks ChrisGA. We really should be keeping a playlist.
What if the Musk Administration cuts enough jobs and triggers an official recession? Then the big players get their interest rate cuts that will help them through the storm and get easy money to buy more stuff on the cheap.
The B admin increased the federal workforce by 5-6%.
https://www.govexec.com/workforce/2024/02/jobs-boom-hitting-federal-sector-too/393891/
I think some of those were good and necessary hires: more usps workers, more VA workers, for examples. Some were not so necessary, imo, like 80 thousand more IRS workers. My real point is there was a lot of new hiring in the B admin. Some of that could be unwound without tanking the economy. Question is where the T admin will let the ax fall. (I don’t have a good feeling about this.)
More, T has said he wants to create a US Sovereign Wealth Fund.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/02/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-orders-plan-for-a-united-states-sovereign-wealth-fund/
I think this is a bad idea because it could badly distort US markets if the US invests directly in US markets searching for profits, not just some market stabilization rationale.
Then I ask, would a US Sovereign Wealth Fund distort US markets any more than O’s bank bailouts and the continuing Wall St. bailouts under various guises like the Covid Pandemic Relief program? (Which made lots of new billionaires. Never mind Congress’s stock trading.)
Normally, after this week’s news – DeepSeek, RFKjr, etc – markets would be falling, imo. Instead, they’re rising. Is it because they anticipate fresh govt money injections? / inquiring minds….
“Normally, after this week’s news – DeepSeek, RFKjr, etc – markets would be falling, imo. Instead, they’re rising. Is it because they anticipate fresh govt money injections? / inquiring minds….”
What the else does the USA have that’s more impressive than the asset bubbles? That’s what keeps the global elite fascinated with the USA. It’s not just Americans money in the stock market.
And now more than ever the USA is trying to project power…not reality. It papers over the economic disasters. They pump bubbles after every f up – that’s the response.
Another theory…the big players just haven’t got themselves positioned yet to clean up on the crash. That works for them too.
Yes, one can make money on falling prices as well as rising prices. / ;)
“Google wants Search to be more like an AI assistant in 2025′
That’s it . Google is toast. They may as well rename themselves the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation and I’m sure their marketing division will come up with a cheery motto for that AI Assistant. Something like ‘Your Digital Pal Who’s Fun to Be With.’
Looking up this “Sirius Cybernetics Corp.” in my Encyclopedia Galactica now. Hmm. Uh oh!
The Singularity will not be televised. / ;)
I predict the next big religion will be built in HHGTG and there will be multiple schisms over the interpretations of book text v. TV v. radio and whether the 4th, 5th, or 6th books of the sequel counts. This after the inevitable nuclear war that reduces the remnant humans to a sticks and stone civilization.
Since you mention nuclear war: “A Canticle for Leibowitz”, perhaps?
Clippy.
Ha! Would you like help?
Thanks for the 404 media link. That side of the story needs much more attention.
The moronic hubris of suggesting the little troup of goobers can just use gerarive AI to make genertive AI to create, and presumably review negotiate and execute, federal contracts.
Just spool it up and go. We don’t need no stinking use cases or testing or “value proposition”.
I suppose it’s heartening to hear that Musk is aware contracts exist.
It’s the road Taylorism always led to.
Just in case there is someone here that might buy this, Pantsir has continuous-rod warhead (which is self describing enough). Videos show damage consisting of couple dozens small holes, and found shrapnel fragments of irregular shape.
“EU hails ‘major’ progress on plan to set up special tribunal to judge Vladimir Putin”
How stupid are these people. Trump is getting ready to roll over the EU like a tsunami and what are they doing? Fantasy games where they put Putin on trial. And of course Kaja Kallas is present, front and center. They don’t have the actual crimes to try him on so they are going to make it up as they go along with ad hoc procedures. So how are they going to get Putin? Is Macron going to invite him to dinner and then have him nabbed at the airport? It’s actually worth reading this whole article to get a sense of how far down the rabbit hole they have fallen. They don’t stand a chance against Trump.
Zelensky liked this.
This statement must be AI generated also.
Trump’s Crypto Czar Is Studying Feasibility of US Bitcoin Reserve Bloomberg
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I’m not gonna lie and claim there hasn’t been ample ammo for levity on account of Bitcoin, but its reaching extraordinary delusions to the point where they are deadly serious in regards to much adieu about nothing, versus say refilling our Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
It’s computer generated 1s and 0s buying other computer generated 1s and 0s.
Just looked at the front page of the NYTimes to see how they’re dealing with Trump’s Gaza plans and it seems they’re willing to acknowledge Palestinians if that’s what they have to do to oppose Trump.
Gaza is a huge, seemingly unsolvable mess. Is it possible this is another example of Trump putting out chaff to distract from his other actions? It wouldn’t surprise me but then nothing surprises me anymore.
Actually, it’s often that the NYT spits out the chaff.
Gaza would be a huge highly solvable mess if the US were to stop funding and arming Israel.
It’ll still be a mess, just that the killings would be more even.
The real problem is the idea of a Jewish and Jewish-only state of Israel. The only real solution is for a real democratic multinational state in its place. That will be difficult to achieve.
Distract from other actions?
Looks like they are doing everything that comes to mind right out in the open: killing and stealing.
By all that’s holy, that polar bear may as well be on a moonscape or Mars for all the food it’s apt to find. Added to which is stands out like a sore thumb so there’s no possibility of it sneaking up on anything. Where was this taken? I am saddened.
I know. Worst antidote ever. I think today has been a shock. The shifting of the geopolitical paradigm pre-show is on TV and it’s very, very depressing.
Riddle me this Batman…
How did we go from Trump the non interventionist in his first term (for the most part, except for that hit on Soleimani) to Trump telling the world its our way or the highway! (p.s. watch out for potholes) and you’ll do as I say!
How about Trump is a foolish old man on an ego trip and the Dems are so bad that they elected him the first time and now they have done it again.
Just a theory.
At least blogs remain corners of sanity if nowhere else.
What if he was a good guy wrestler who suddenly is the bad guy wrestler?
World Wresting Entertainment
It is all WWE-level presentation. Trumpolini is after all an inductee in the WWE Hall of Fame.
I’ve been looking forward to another remake of Roadhouse heh heh, brings to mind one of humankind’s most enduring questions, why are there so many tiny tinseltown tough guys.
Or cancelling a nuclear treaty with Russia, or starting arming Ukraine, or the Abrahms accords and recognizing Golan Heights and West Jerusalem, or West Sahara…
The Crypto reserve Yahoo link was pointing elsewhere, this is the corrected link for it: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-crypto-czar-studying-feasibility-203417133.html
Musk’s DOGE attack is a mix of horror and revelation.
I found the main story over at the blog that shall not be named. The gist of it is, my suspicions were proven correct – the US gov’t under Biden was directly funding Politico, and possibly the NY Times as well.
Direct x.com link:
https://x.com/PMtalking/status/1887143450484547692?mx=2
Musk may be an oligarch but he is smoking out a lot of rats. Direct funding of the private media by the govt … no doubt Business Insider, Forbes, and all the other usual suspects are getting paid to sing the same tune as the Mighty Wurlitzer.
‘Presstidigitation’
Seems the Feds have their hand in everything nowadayz.
I’m really not too surprised at this. Your “Presstidigitation” follows ‘naturally’ from the earlier “Presstidigitization.”
As Phyl put it recently; “AI must mean Always Incomprehensible.”
“Presstitutes” is another way of describing them.
All jokes aside, this is deadly serious stuff. America was founded on deep suspicion of and resistance to concentration of power, and the separation of powers to prevent such a scenario as is unfolding today.
I’m pretty exhausted mentally just tracking all these attacks and swarms of cockroaches a-scurrying out from under the fridge. Not sure what Musks purpose is but it follows his pattern – when he took over Twitter, we got the Twitter files, which exposed deep corruption within that org in directly working with and employing FBI and other government employees who then did censoring of Amerians free speech.
See: Biden v. Missouri
This was an illegal act violating the 1st Amendment although our rotten SCOTUS refused to address the merits of the case.
Kennedy v. Biden is still active litigation.
indepresstion
edit, I can’t even spell a made up word, lol
The USA pretty much got started when the shot heard round the world came out of the muzzle of a rifle in 1775…
…might the ending resemble the beginning?
Watched Civil War from last year, the other day.
Aside from the peculiarity of their press rig being the only vehicle on the road for around 854 miles in their trek to DC to interview the President, a gritty what if in regards to second amendmentists calling the shots.
Wait a minute. That’s for subscriptions. And there’s a lot of people in the govmnt, many of whom would have a valid reason to be reading what the press has to say. (stop laughing). You’d rather the fed. gov. read all this for free?
Not arguing that there isn’t a deplorable (there’s that word again) incestuous relationship keeping the MSM on life support, but blaming paying for subscriptions sounds more like “don’t look behind the curtain” at the ownership.
If the Dems really cared about the “Rule of Law” they would impeach Trump over his complicity in Genocide which violates numerous US Laws and which is a “High Crime” by anyone’s definition.
I’m more likely to win the Lottery.
IMO three of the most dangerous appointments Trump has made are RFK Jr, Jay Battacharya and Dr Oz.
The Pandemic may be “Officially Over” however Covid is still rapidly evolving and Bird Flu is as well, if not these two some other Zoonotic illness is going to hit a population weakened by Covid like a baseball bat to the head.
Reality does not negotiate.
A Texas Democrat just introduced a resolution of impeachment.
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5128061-al-green-donald-trump-impeachment-gaza/
They also need to introduce a bill prohibiting any US troops in Gaza, ever. Tlaib, maybe up to that task. It could get co-sponsors from Massie and maybe Rand Paul in the Senate.
“A Texas Democrat just introduced a resolution of impeachment.”
While acknowledging the obvious hypocrisy, I think the unspoken message is that sponsoring genocide is okay when the democrats do it.
That would be a good idea only if it requires revealing US operations in Gaza, both direct and indirect, in the past 2 years.
You’re expecting the Dems to impeach over about Gaza? After ‘Genocide Joe’?
Nation Shrugs as Godzilla Eats Washington
Taibbi is obsessed with DEI. Meanwhile, Medicaid looks like it’s on the chopping block. Those people aren’t part of the “Nation” I guess. What does Godzilla eating “Washington” even mean? Are Medicare, Social Security, CFPB, etc. part of “Washington?” He may be eating stuff Taibbi doesn’t like for the time being. But, burn it all down. Passing reference to DOGE’s illegality, no big deal. Years of anti-government rhetoric particularly starting maybe with Reagan has had its impact. This serves to distract from the fundamental problem, which is that the wealthy have corrupted the political system.
Baby, you understand me now?
If sometimes you see that I’m mad as a hatter
Don’tcha know that no one alive can always be consistent?
When syntax goes wrong, you see some oblique patter
But oh, I’m just a soul whose intentions are good
Oh blog, please don’t let me be misunderstood
You know sometimes, baby I’m so carefree
Oh, with a joy that’s hard to hide
And then sometimes again it seems that all I have is worry
And then you’re bound to see my other side
But oh, I’m just a soul whose intentions are good
Oh blog, please don’t let me be misunderstood
If I seem edgy
I want you to know
I never mean to take it out on you
Life has its portents
And I get more than my share
But that’s me one thing I never mean to do
‘Cause I love you
Oh, baby, I’m just human
Don’t you know I have faults like anyone?
Sometimes I find myself alone regretting some little foolish thing
Some simple thing that I’ve done
‘Cause I’m just a soul whose intentions are good
Oh blog, please don’t let me be misunderstood
Don’t let me be misunderstood
I try so hard so please don’t let me be misunderstood
No, no, no, please
The Animals “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” on The Ed Sullivan Show
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2sz_YwwwQ4
I cannot stop laughing.
It struck me that if Trump orders the US Military to “Clear out Gaza” that order would not be lawful.
While members of the US Military swear an oath to obey the lawful orders of their superiors the UCMJ is clear that they have an affirmative duty to disobey unlawful orders.
I’d expect any General officer with an ounce of integrity to resign in protest if they were ordered to commit Genocide, that would be about one out of four.
I’d expect that ratio to flip for officers below the rank of General and there would be a high percentage of the enlisted ranks that would refuse to participate.
Mutiny?
Trump might call it that, unless the JAG has been totally corrupted he’s SOL.
A further thought, has Covid affected Trump’s executive function?
Actively participating in the slaughter taking place in Gaza would be stupid on so many levels I’d run out of fingers and toes counting them.
The water unexpectedly released from dams on Trump’s order didn’t help farms or L.A. Los Angeles Times
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The thing is, he could of easily let water spill out of Shasta Dam where they are well positioned with oodles of wet stuff and it would have actually gotten to LA that way, versus the H20 from here going nowhere-an orphan out of season, this in our winter of missed content.
Again: Southern California reservoirs were full. Are always full, even when Northern California and Central Valley farms are drying up in a drought. Lack of water from Northern California was never, ever an issue as far as the LA fires go.
It has nothing to do with a lack of water and fires driven by Cat 3 winds on the parched plains and canyons of SoCal, but more in need of a bulwark to back up bullshit.
Christ almighty on a cracker, we’re only a fortnight into Round Deux, and Anthony Fremont-all grown up, his true colors are on display.
I get the point, but “always full” is just not true. I distinctly remember driving by the Shasta reservoir and seeing all the boats high and dry, with the shoreline a good half km away.
The Shasta Reservoir fluctuates wildly from season to season and year to year. On May 2024 it was full. On January 2025 it is 77% full after a substantial rain event. ( it can take a month for rain/snow to reach the reservoir.) In any case, Trumps dump from small reservoirs unrelated to Central Valley agriculture is just another political stunt, not some wise intervention in California’s water system.
Shasta water level
https://shasta.uslakes.info/level.asp
Here’s the other large reservoir, Oroville.
http://oroville.lakesonline.com/level/
RE: Organized Abandonment
This article continues the confusion about incarcerated firefighters. While they need to be paid more for their fire fighting work, they choose to become members of these work groups. (It’s better than the other options.) The total number of incarcerated firefighters organized in California is ~4000. That’s because they get trained at dedicated facilities with a max capacity. They do not get the same training as federal lands firefighters (smoke-jumpers, hotshots). They are organized into ~20 person crews and do mostly the clean-up work involved with snuffing latent embers. Rarely are they on the intensely dangerous front-line. They do not enter any burning structures or carry the life-saving equipment of your municipal fireman .
Addendum:
And the idea of mutual aid from the adjacent communities after the Altadena firestorm is being tested. Those communities are complaining about the temporary storage of hazardous fire waste at federal facilities that are in commercial zones (and not near residences). The waste is to be packaged and only stored temporarily. So much for ‘stan with Ukraine’, or my devastated neighbors.
Today´s antidote is a really classic “political” wildlife photography actually more scary than uplifting. Not a critique of the choice but stressing the difference to the usual. The kind Nat. Geographic would put on their cover I assume.
It’s uplifting in “I’m not doing that bad after all” way.
I´d buy that one 😉
What happened to the Senate veto? Why isn’t it being used? Am I missing something, or is this just more Dem complicity? If there was ever a time, it would be RFK Jr. coming into power of any kind.
This is a man who opposes vaccines and fluoridated water, for God sake. He claims Jews invented COVID-19 in collaboration with the Chinese. (Funny how quickly the Zionists screaming “antisemitism” at Jewish Americans protesting genocide got real quiet about what’s happening now btw.) He wants people to give disabled children unpasteurized milk infected with bird flu. He thinks hormone replacement therapy (a generic medication running about $30/month out of pocket where I am even without insurance) is a pharmacy company conspiracy. (Hear that, ovarian cancer survivors? Hope you like getting severe osteoporosis and heart disease from going into early menopause in your 30s cause you were forcibly removed from estradiol by ol’ brain worms.) This is a total John Bircher maniac who will kill thousands and trigger untold pandemics if he’s allowed to, and the media and Democrats will be complicit in it just as much as Republicans for whitewashing him.
RFK jr. is certainly not trained as a medical professional, but that isn’t a necessary qualification to lead a federal agency. What did Buttigig know about Transportation. James G. Watt, Esq. was an “anti-environmentalist” and selected as Interior Secretary under Reagan.
More importantly, the current Senate is controlled by the GOP, not likely to override Trump’s selections.
Re: Russia has taken control of up to 70% of Ukraine’s mineral resources.
A bit misleading. Looking at the chart most of it is coal, Ukraine still control
68% rare earth
92% radioactive
79% precious
Although Lithium according to Yves yesterday is 2 out of 4 mines
> Increasing rat numbers in cities are linked to climate warming,
Just so long as they don’t start carrying little tools…
And clothes moth – a huge problem. Usually the formerly cold part of the year they were gone. But now even November or January they show up.
I read an interview with a zoologist who denied this (or rather “hadn´t” heard of this issue). Well if you look for climate change you register it first with our tiny friends…so the zoologist will soon have to reconsider.
It might appear an odd subject but for those whose profession is involving textiles…I wonder how they dealt with it in the 19th century. Moths must have been a real economic threat once they would settle in one particular spot.
This thread had me laughing from top to bottom with its dark, but very funny, humor.
It really is true:
Grace Slick, “Greasy Heart“
re: demise of US empire
Larry Wilkerson recommended Dexter Filkins´s article for THE NEW YORKER which allegedly shows the weakness of US military!
A Reporter at Large
The U.S. Military’s Recruiting Crisis
The ranks of the American armed forces are depleted. Is the problem the military or the country?
By Dexter Filkins
February 3, 2025
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/02/10/the-us-militarys-recruiting-crisis
Of course I gotta read it. Wilkerson states that he and some colleague inspired Filkins into writing this piece.
Despite that Filkins is still – I assume – a believer in the USA even though he must be a shaken man like Chris Hegdes. He did do some pretty good prose on the things he saw. I am surprised some of those stories haven´t been adapted by Hollywood.
JACOBIN on far-right vs. left in Europe
(why make the distinction of right and far-right, no clue)
But turning around the use of the idiotic term “cordon sanitaire” (behold “the virus”) is at least inventive:
Europe’s Hardening Cordon Sanitaire Against the Left
By Francesca De Benedetti
Across Europe, centrist parties increasingly paint even mild social democracy as a “radical left” threat. The wild rhetoric about left-wing danger has a clear goal: to justify alliances with once-frowned-upon far-right parties.
https://jacobin.com/2025/02/europe-center-right-alliance
In that Organized Abandonment article, when I read the sentence . . . ” This is what Gilmore calls the “anti-state state,” a reorganization of the state away from making people’s lives better and toward power and punishment, greasing the wheels for capital accumulation while systematically abandoning less-favored people—and, eventually, all of us.” . . . I wonder whether the concept named by the phrase ” anti-state state” might be better named the ” anti-public state”. Because the process describes the state becoming ever more anti-public, but also remaining very firmly in existence as a dispenser of punishment, an exerter of anti-citizen control, etc. In other words, hardly withering away.
So . . . the anti-public state? Or maybe the anti-citizen state? Or the anti-people state? Or the anti-nation state? It doesn’t seem to me to be “anti-state” as such.
Pretty alarming take on the recent govt health and science funding chaos from the inimitable Derek Lowe:
https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/revised-and-extended-what-s-happening-inside-nih-and-nsf
It looks like the CDC site shutdowns and WHO withdrawal are just a small part of the big picture.
“The world’s lowest bar: A hidden green oasis at the Dead Sea ”
What’s the humidity? As any reveler at Burning Man can tell you, drinking booze is almost physically painful in the very-low-humidity desert.