Scott Malis was lucky to witness episode 11 of Kīlauea’s ongoing eruption – and even luckier to capture a "lavanado," a tiny tornado swirling over the lava! 🌋🌪️
For more incredible videos, link below… pic.twitter.com/gb7SkZ5tTJ
— Volcaholic 🌋 (@volcaholic1) February 27, 2025
Neanderthal Extinction Linked to Genetic Crisis 100,000 Years Ago ScienceAlert (Chuck L)
How many languages can babies learn? Study shows how Ghanaian babies grow up speaking two to six languages PhysOrg (Chuck L)
Female physicians’ suicide risk is 53% higher than general population, analysis find MedicalXpress (Chuck L)
Breakthrough Blood Test Accurately Identifies ALS and Tracks Progression SciTech Daily (Chuck L)
Bacteria Causing Gum Disease May Also Cause Alzheimer’s, Israeli Research Shows Haaretz (Robin K)
Chocolate, Coffee, and Wine Could Slash Your Risk of Metabolic Syndrome SciTech Daily (Chuck L)
#COVID-19/Pandemics
Air-borne: a book about COVID Eric Topol (Robin K)
1 in 22 covid survivors develop ME/CFS Live Science (Paul R)
Formerly anti-vax parents on how they changed their minds: ‘I really made a mistake’ Guardian (Kevin W)
Climate/Environment
Apple Accused of Misleading Consumers With Apple Watch ‘Carbon Neutral’ Claims The Verge
China?
China’s thorium survey finds ‘endless energy source right under our feet’ South China Morning Post (Chuck L)
Chinese Scientists Developing Mars Drone That Can Roll and Fly Space
G20 finance chiefs fail to agree joint communique after trade and climate clashes Financial Times
Koreas
North Korea says it launched cruise missiles in message to ‘enemies’ Aljazeera
Myanmar
Myanmar: A Nation Drowning In Drugs Crisis Eurasia Review
Africa
Former African presidents demand action as debt crisis reaches historic levels BizCommunity
European Disunion
ECB’s $1.9 trillion-a-day trade system suffers outage Reuters
The Militarization of German Politics Hintergrund via machine translation (Micael T)
Far-Right blocked from government in Austria despite winning election Telegraph
SWEDISH COMPANIES DISTRIBUTE 415 BILLION – EQUIVALENT TO A THIRD OF THE STATE BUDGET Proletaren via machine translation (Micael T)
Old Blighty
How the UK’s rollback of banking regulations could risk another financial crisis The Conversation
Almost half of England’s councils ‘could face bankruptcy over £4.6bn deficit’ Guardian
Israel v. The Resistance
Uncertainty looms as first phase of Gaza truce due to expire Agence France-Presse
Syria must put an end to Israel’s incursions – and fast Middle East Eye
This has been rumoured for weeks, and it's good to see actual documented reporting around it; Tel Aviv is lobbying against Syrian sanctions relief in DC. Let's be very clear about this – if sanctions are not removed, then Syria cannot stabilise. That's the point https://t.co/sYUjHyZwqs
— ᴅʀ ʜ.ᴀ. ʜᴇʟʟʏᴇʀ 🖖🏾 ⚜️ (@hahellyer) February 28, 2025
New Not-So-Cold War. I have a post in the works on the epic Trump-Zelensky blowup, hence I am a bit underweight on links on it below so as to not neglect other news. I should have that piece up by 9:00 AM, so please do return!
BLOODBATH IN THE OVAL OFFICE Simplicius
Mr. Zelensky Comes to Washington: Transcript Matt Taibbi
Investors unnerved by heated Trump-Zelensky Oval Office showdown Reuters (Kevin W)
Zelensky, after White House fallout, says it’s ‘difficult’ for Ukraine to hold off Russia without US Le Monde. Lead story. Hopefully readers can provide other takes from the Continent in comments.
If you were paying attention, the news below is not a surprise. Rubio Says US Won’t Lift Russia Sanctions Before Ukraine Deal Bloomberg. February 18.
Trump just extended Biden's sanctions against Russia for another year pic.twitter.com/reKctgMKNN
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) February 27, 2025
After encountering the issue of people who leave Ukraine via the Ministry of Culture simply not coming back to a dictatorship at war…
…the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture has decided not to issue any permits for anyone to leave the country anymore!
Creative problem-solving 👍 pic.twitter.com/biCIAfGvif
— RT (@RT_com) February 27, 2025
The Guessing Game Over Trump’s Real Aims In Ukraine Moon of Alabama (Kevin W). We get a shout out.
US ends key USAID initiative supporting Ukraine’s energy grid Anadolu Agency. En route before the big blowup.
The US is now the enemy of the west Financial Times. From a few days ago. The charts demonstrate that the claim that the US provided more support to Ukraine is false.
Washington has picked a surprisingly decent ambassador for Russia Vlyzgrad via machine translation (Micael T)
What Russia and the US agreed on in Istanbul. The main thing Kommerstant via machine translation. Micael T: “6.5 hours and this is what they agreed on. In this tempo It will be years before they get to peace in Ukraine and divide the territory between themselves. Maybe the Euro War Pigs should calm down a bit?”
Putin Extends Maternity Capital Program Until 2030 Vlyzgrad via machine translation. Micael T: “No wonder they hate Putin. Helping people? WTF?!?!”
Big Brother is Watching You Watch
Goodbye Surveillance Capitalism, Hello Surveillance Fascism Max Murphy (Paul R)
Imperial Collapse Watch
Here are the top 10+ reasons why US Navy ships are covered in rust stains:
•They aren’t allowed to use old, toxic-but-effective paint.
•They aren’t allowed to use new, eco-friendly-but-effective paint.
•They aren’t allowed to send people over the side on ropes.
•They aren’t… https://t.co/A2NbFUtqce— John Ʌ Konrad V (@johnkonrad) February 28, 2025
Trump 2.0
Trump tariffs could be bargaining chip or economic bomb Asia Times (Kevin W)
Trump’s threatened 25% tariffs on EU imports could trigger ‘economic turmoil’ Guardian
Trump cancels oil deal in major blow to Venezuela BBC
Trump eases rules on military raids and airstrikes, expanding range of who can be targeted CBS
Mass terminations have cut USDA ‘off at the knees,’ ex-employees say Investigate Midwest
Trump makes US copper mining a focus of his domestic minerals policy Associated Press (Kevin W)
DOGE
DOGE wants to lay off the ‘vast majority’ of CFPB workers, employees say The Verge (Kevin W)
Immigration
Bukele, un carcelero por sobrevivencia El Faro. Robin K: “Part of Trump’s deportation program: put deportees in Salvadoran jails.”
Police State Watch
How Cambridge Analytica Used Intimate Data to Exploit Gun Owners’ Private Lives ProPublica (Robin K)
Missouri GOP Seeks Control Over St. Louis Police Department ProPublica (Robin K)
Our No Longer Free Press
BBC AND GUARDIAN EDITORS HELD PRIVATE MEETINGS WITH ISRAELI GENERAL Declassified UK (guurst)
Mr. Market is Moody
Worries Mount That Trump Agenda Is Testing Economy’s Resilience Wall Street Journal
The Federal Reserve’s favorite recession indicator is flashing a danger sign again CNBC
The Bezzle
Bitcoin Down 25% From All-Time High as Crypto Rout Worsens Bloomberg
Class Warfare
Google’s Sergey Brin Urges Workers To the Office at Least Every Weekday New York Times
Benioff Says Salesforce Won’t Hire Engineers This Year Due To AI SF Standard. So much for “Learn to code.”
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
‘Michael Tracey
@mtracey
Trump just extended Biden’s sanctions against Russia for another year’
Entirely predictable this. It’s not like Trump has a lot of leverage over the Russians and by letting these sanctions lapse, it would have reduced what leverage he has even more. Something tells me that the US-Russia meeting in Turkiye did not go so well as the US was meeting stiff resistance for its demands so they just settled on measures to do with diplomacy as window dressing for what was achieved. Trump likes picking on smaller countries but with peer countries like China and Russia he does not seem to know what to do.
Kabuki theater In the White House
Well, really, what else does Trump have to bargain with?
Re SWEDISH COMPANIES DISTRIBUTE 415 BILLION – EQUIVALENT TO A THIRD OF THE STATE BUDGET
Yesterday was the 39th anniversary of the assassination of Olof Palme. A crime never seriously investigated by the Swedish police (a bit like the Nordstream explosions!). And the start of the gradual slide from social democracy to ever increasing inequality, neoliberalism, and joining Nato. Sweden is a complete mess today, the media slavishly full of anti Putin/Russia propaganda and TDS. No end in sight as all parties are on the same page. Naturally the prime minister is invited by Starmer to London this weekend to join the cuddle puddle of European ‘leaders’ eager to console Zelensky after his disastrous performance in the White House.
Maybe Oz’s PM can go over too for a hug. He was on TV tonight after Zelensky’s blowup saying that Oz stands with the Ukraine ‘for as long as it takes’ and how we must fight ‘Because this is the struggle of a democratic nation versus an authoritarian regime led by Vladimir Putin who clearly has imperialistic designs not just on Ukraine but throughout that region.’ The guy can’t give it a rest.
“As Long As It Takes”. You know, that would a great name for an upscaled assisted living or nursing home catering to the Collective West leadership class.
Rome has been sacked! I was in my local USDA service center yesterday, it was like a tomb. Less than half staffed. FSA and NRCS programs are detailed and complicated, Federal Crop Insurance is too. Draconian cuts to NWS and NOAA will have real, net negative effects. Rural America is going to suffer from it’s own stupidity.
It kinda has the feel of the Great Leap Forward-the purging of intellectuals, the smelting of irony, economic mismanagement and eventually famine.
‘the smelting of irony’
I saw what you did there.
On the other hand, I was on a charity event (as a staff mostly) last night with lots of artist types, the class I used to spend lot of time among but got declassed back, and I almost had my teeth crack. I swear they have it coming.
Rural America is apparently too stupid to grasp that it’s going to suffer. Was dumbfounded at the happy response this morning to the cuts going on at the National Park Service, by these folks who regularly use public parks and camping facilities.
https://www.rvtravel.com/700-park-service-workers-cash-quit-paid-later-deal/
I’m not all that surprised so many NPS employees took the offer, of all the Federal agencies, NPS ranks near the bottom in morale & more, while Congress takes away more funding every year as the numbers of visitors only grows like weeds, the equivalent of every citizen in the USA visited our National Parks last year, and yet we treat our crown jewels like tawdry costume jewelry, including the ones who generally get paid in sunrises, amazing vistas and sunsets. Nobody gets rich working for NPS.
It isn’t uncommon for a permanent NPS employee to wear a few hats in your job description, my friend was the wildlife biologist @ Sequoia NP and her expertise is black bears*, but on account of her being able to speak Spanish, was utilized as family liaison when Hispanic visitors drowned in one of the 5 Kaweah rivers-the commonest way to die around these parts.
Imagine that job description: Must be bilingual in Spanish & English, and have the ability to console people you’ve never met after just having lost a loved one in the river.
*check out her book: Speaking of Bears: The Bear Crisis and a Tale of Rewilding from Yosemite, Sequoia, and Other National Parks
That article said the following-
‘Interior Secretary Doug Burgum says the Park Service will rehire thousands of workers—but only as temporary, seasonal positions.’
Does this mean that they want to replace professionals with gig workers? Will they have to bring their own tent for ‘accommodation’? Will they have to complete an online course for their ‘training?’ I can see it now-
When Interior Secretary Doug Burgum was asked about the firefighters for those parks, he replied ‘Let ’em burn! I read somewhere that it is all a part of the natural cycle – or something like that.’
That has long been the policy and was somewhat controversially applied during the huge Yellowstone fire in the 1990s. Some Western trees need fire in order to distribute their seeds and reproduce.
Personally, I have never found geographic location to be correlated to intelligence.
Not even Washington DC?
Acquired Intelligence
Washington, D of C, is more of a state of mind, than a physical location.
Humordor ought to be moved to Topeka, so the graft can be more evenly distributed.
Tracing the evolution of Nixon’s Madman Theory, from its intellectual roots in the work of Daniel Ellsberg and Thomas Schelling, inspired by Joseph Conrad, to its application in the quagmires of Korea, Vietnam, and now Ukraine. The latest iteration of semi-calculated chaos, dubbed Badman Theory, was performed with uncanny timing yesterday in the Oval Office by the Bad Orange Man himself:
https://www.beyondwasteland.net/p/badman-theory
You asked for European reaction for Selensky – Trump blowup. There is a blog devoted to the German army the Bundeswehr that is widely read among officers. It is called augengeradeaus.net. I look it up to read the comments which are mostly by acting officers. All blame on Trump; hysterical calls to arm Ukraine; anti-american bile. People who wonder whether it is a good idea to rupture relations with both US and Russia are shouted down. Not the least acknowledgement of facts on the ground.
Trump (unintentionally, not 4-D chess) gets to get rid of two birds with one tweaking Zelensky. Europe enthusiastically owns the Ukraine Project and Europe enters 4 years of domestic political turmoil as military spending crowds out social welfare.
And the number of Americans who will care about anything between Ireland and the Ural Mountains? —– maybe the NYT readership + Washington Post readership out of 330 million.
German and other Euro officers are not into fighting wars–they want others to fight for them. My respect for Europeans has plummeted. The anger is for their dream of being part of the new Roman Empire centered in Washington.
Tbf, that blog has a very heavy liberal-internationalist slant and attracts a readership that shares this ideological outlook. I wouldn’t be particularly surprised, at all, if there are a lot of officers who view things differently although those are unlikely to be represented in the higher echelons where compliance with the current political thing is required. Remember that admiral they fired early into the war because he displayey a disturbing lack of faith into Slava Ukraini?
In the end it doesn’t matter that much anyway, like in all Western states, the military is on a tight leash. Should there be a political realignment though, in idk a decade, then they wouldn’t have a problem promiting officers into leadership positions that are supportive of a new paradigm.
Really not much different than my Democrat family and friends here in the good ole U.S of A.
TDS was never cured, nor antidote found.
In the main room in the World Series Of Poker… er Peace that is, its pretty obvious that a prior bracelet winner was making his move by pushing all of his chips into the middle of the green felt layout, sensing his opponent’s hand consisted of 1 of a kind 7 times, Jack high.
The idea that his hand was actually worse was never betrayed by his countenance~
I guess Z never heard of Kenny Rogers
… “Son, I’ve made a life
Out of readin’ people’s faces
Knowin’ what the cards were
By the way they held their eyes
So if you don’t mind my sayin’
I can see you’re out of aces
For a taste of your whiskey
I’ll give you some advice”
“G20 finance chiefs fail to agree joint communique after Cape Town talks”
The G20 era looks like it is coming to an end. It has been happening for a long time as western countries have tried to seize the annual agendas to make it all about the Ukraine and Russia the past coupla years. This time with Trump in power, I think that he will try to wreck it. Rubio did not go as he reckoned they were all anti-American or something. I think what he meant was that they did not follow US dictates. Now the US and EU block has broken down into mutual hostility so not much can get done at a G20 anymore. It may be that BRICS would be a more congenial organization as you don’t have western countries in it trying to wreck it from inside. Of course those G20 member that are not part of BRICS could always ask to attend as observers, G20 countries like Mexico, Türkiye, the African Union, etc.
Reaction in France to the Blowout in the Oval Office – Marine Le Pen says at Agriculture expo in Paris today that Trump and Vance’s reaction was “normal” and that peace must be achieved in Europe. Jean-Luc Mélenchon goes all in to support the Ukies. The rest of the political spectrum center right – center left, repeat the EU ♥ Ukraine because “democracy fighting evil Putin” full-scale unprovoked pablum. Even including Dominique de Villepin this time, who over the past few days has been floating his 2027 presidential aspirations. He needs to realign with the Blob consensus after getting bogged down in too much truth. I don’t want MLP to be the only one speaking sense but I have no choice.
Le Figaro has an instant poll on its site asking if Big Z was right to blow off the rest of the meeting. As if he wasn’t asked to leave…
Re: “BLOODBATH IN THE OVAL OFFICE“:
Good. Now do Netanyahu.
Although it’s going to be unclear how such a chaotic administration extricates themselves from that particular quagmire.
>Good. Now do Netanyahu.
Trump did, and not sure what to make of it. Was he being polite, or being Netanyahu’s bi**h?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cj1-VYTjKNc
Accidentally posted this initially under another comment.
I’m still not convinced ME CFS/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia and Long Covid aren’t manifestations of a Functional Neurological Disorder. The persistent lack of diagnostic criteria for Long Covid doesn’t help, but as mentioned in today’s article those symptoms are really similar to CFS symptoms.
I am interested in seeing more evidence of a neuro-inflammatory aetiology, especially because of the ongoing interest in neuroinflammation (whether from emotional stress, metabolic diseases, infections) as part of the aetiology for several psychiatric disorders including depression and PTSD; important missing links I believe can help understanding, treatment and prevention of these conditions.
This is not to say that CFS, Fibromyalgia and Long Covid aren’t real. I just believe that, as with any manifestation of a Functional Neurlogical Disorder (eg. Seizures, blindness, paraplegia), treatment should be approached from a holistic/biopsychosocial point of view. Ergo, it should include at least a psychiatric/neuropsychoatric consultation and evaluation for the benefit of psychotherapy as part of a patient’s management.
Why did the Chicken Kiev cross the road?
…to get away from the White House
Ukrainian comedy studio Kvartal 95 (District 95) – Zelensky’s old outfit – made their own comment – a black grand piano with ‘Trump’ written on it. Some here may remember Zelensky’s piano playing skills in former times-
https://www.rt.com/news/613533-zelensky-studio-insult-trump-piano/
You made me look. It would make sense if that agreement had been signed. I thought, in how it was intended, it was something made for the visit and was posted before the Oval Office but it was posted after that. Say que? I think it doesn’t make a lot of sense in the current situation. Perhaps that’s all they had, the writers had all gone home, so the office lackeys posted it.
re: antidote
Is that a blue norwegian parrot pining for the fjords? / ;)
It’s only resting!
Not stone dead.
> Bacteria Causing Gum Disease May Also Cause Alzheimer’s, Israeli Research Shows Haaretz (Robin K)
The other day I suggested Dental Hygienist as the crown of working-class medical jobs.
A friend working for the university is considering what a ‘better job’ means. His personality could work as a nurse, and we went through some options. Nurse-tech, a few weeks of training for 18 bucks an hour. LPN, one year for 23/hr. RN two years for 30, but getting priced out. Hygienist, two years for 40 and you wear PPE no problem.
Plus, in our state Hygienists are a controlled resource, a capped number of graduates per year. And gum disease is right by the brain, encephalitis bad. And you have a skill that can be performed in a kitchen. In the last quarter-year, our periodontist died of a brain-thing, and our dentist had sudden open heart surgery. Both were gooder on airborne precautions, but not to the standard Janet and I work with. Now it’s an hour to the nearest periodontist, and dentist teeth-cleanings are scheduled nine months in advance. and that’s without Privatequitas bloodfunnelus moonscaping the health care system.
Just sayin’.
This has been in the news since before Covid and there’s even drug testing going on.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2210245-experimental-alzheimers-drug-targets-gum-disease-bacteria/
I think what’s new is that tooth loss is now being cited as a factor. Luckily in France we have some minimal dental that covers cleaning and basic care now. The problem is finding a good dentist who will take new patients outside the big cities.
“Neanderthal Extinction Linked to Genetic Crisis 100,000 Years Ago”
Sorry, it was not a “genetic crisis”. Their genetics were fine, this lack of diversity is always observed in a species that is successful in its’ own niche. What this does reveal is there was probably an environment factor that they could not adapt to fast enough. Genetic diversity is only helpful when there is a rapid changing environment. If there is not then all you are doing in increasing the risk of not surviving in the environment you are adapted to,
It is really weird they worded it that way. And this section makes no sense if you know anything about genetics:
See:
https://bmcplantbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12870-020-02682-z
Several responses to the Trump Zelensky “smackdown” from customers of the local ‘bigg boxx’ store last night were of the “finally someone in Washington is thinking straight” variety.
One observation was that “Zelensky looks like a gangsta you wouldn’t want in your neighbourhood.”
One cashier worried that the Deep State, the term she used, would drum up a false flag attack to force Trump’s hand.
Time to ‘short’ Zelensky.
George Carlin on suicide
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ap15EW4o7Uc&t=63s (warning, dark humor)
once out of the blue, i looked up an ex-med school girlfriend. she looked sad in her hospital “yearbook photo”.
insert aphorism about dog finally catching the car,
From Patrick Lawrence.
Patrick Lawrence: Chihuahuas, Not Dobermans
https://scheerpost.com/2025/02/27/patrick-lawrence-chihuahuas-not-dobermans/
‘John Ʌ Konrad V
@johnkonrad
Here are the top 10+ reasons why US Navy ships are covered in rust stains’
I got an idea. The Pentagon could announce that using AI, they have developed a paint that renders a ship into a sort of ‘stealth’ mode to enemy ships. To the naked eye it looks like light and dark browns but to radar there is nothing to be seen on the screen. The Project that came up with this new idea could even be named Project Emperor’s Clothing as the idea was so regal. Sounds like a plan to me.
👏👏👏
>Trump Zelensky blowout
How much is theater, how much spontaneous? Brian Berletic thinks that what happened will not substantially change direction of suppling arms to Ukraine or posture vis-a-vis Russia, while on the Duran today Alexander Mercouris held a different opinion, thinking that the events were not scripted and the fallout will indeed impact flows of arms and relation with Russia…we shall see.
One thing for certain, Trump was correct with his ending comment, it will/does make for good TV…but what is TV these days?
We are entering the “Shock Therapy” period of the American Empire’s collapse. The looting will soon begin.
“I have a post in the works on the epic Trump-Zelensky blowup, hence I am a bit underweight on links on it below so as to not neglect other news. I should have that piece up by 9:00 AM, so please do return!”
-eagerly anticipating this post!
I’m going to go out on a limb, here, and suggest that I think that the political landscape is changing rapidly in the US. Sleboda has suggested that Trump couldn’t afford, politically, to be seen to walk away from Ukraine. Now, I am starting to think supporting Ukraine has become untenable, not least because Zelensky is quickly making it so. Trump will read the room in this respect and will end up just walking away.
For an indicator in this respect, Lindsey Graham has just criticized Zelensky. He’s been singing his praises for years.
I’m going to go out on a limb as say that the whole confrontation was staged. It was a set up right from the start. Trump had a go at him at the entrance to the White House about his clothing to put him off balance and it went downhill from there. Zelensky does not speak English very well so they used it against him and shut him down when he was trying to say something. Trump and Vance when on and on about Zelensky not showing respect, especially in the sacred Oval Office or words to that effect – stuff that Trump would never care about. And as I type this, I see that Scott Ritter has the same opinion as he wrote-
‘The White House meeting with Donald Trump was “a setup” to discredit and remove the Ukrainian leader, the former US Marine Corps intelligence officer has told RT’
https://www.rt.com/news/613528-zelensky-presidency-over-scott-ritter/
The only question is who Trump has in mind for a replacement for Zelensky. I’m sure that the EU countries will have their own thoughts/demands about this.
That’s my conclusion as well. A WWE scripted event.
Poor Zelensky, I actually feel sorry for him. I know he’s responsible for a lot of atrocities, though, including killing Gonzalo Lira. So, I don’t think my empathy will last very long.
Speculation: Graham’s surprisingly nonchalant reaction, or non-reaction, suggests that he may have had a preview of the script. The only exploding heads of note I observed: Liz Cheney and Karl Rove (along with the Democrats), none of whom have much influence or power. Even Glitch Mitch has been quiet … though that just might be a sign that he’s in a coma.
“Far-Right blocked from government in Austria despite winning election”
Not any real different to what they did in France, in Germany, in Romania, etc. The EU centralists will bend and break any law or rule so that they do not lose power or let the right take power in government. If thye have to cancel elections or arrest political candidates, then s be it.Having Orban in Hungary and Fico in Slovakia is bad enough but the thought of having a whole block of these countries in the EU giving push-back cannot be allowed. Turns out that all those European values that they keep on talking about are the same sort that Zelensky has and uses in the Ukraine.
Good morning. Musical Interlude:
Thick as a Brick, Pt. 1
If I were stranded on a desert island and only had one song to listen to, this would be it.
For those who like the 2nd side:
Thick as a Brick, Pt. 2
Some people get a cheap laugh breaking up the peace in it
Scaring the citizenry for a minute
Crossing up progress deriving a hand’s grasp
Leaving not enough room for civility to pass
Golden Billion never took a test
Oh yeah, once upon a time in the west
Yes it’s no use saying that you don’t know nothing
It’s still gonna get you if you don’t do something
Sitting on a fence that’s a dangerous course
Oh, you could even catch a bullet from the second amendment force
Even the hero gets a bullet in the ear, not the chest
Oh yeah, once upon a time in the west
Mother Russia & Mother Ukraine your children are slaughtered
Some of you ought to lock up your profits
Who’s protecting our interests in Kiev?
Heap big trouble in the land of plenty
Tell me how we’re gonna do what’s best
You guess once upon a time in the west
Oh yeah, once upon a time in the west
Oh yeah, once upon a time in the west
Oh yeah, once upon a time in the west
Once upon a time in the west
Once upon a time in the west
Once upon a time in the west
Once upon a time in the west
Once upon a time in the west
Once upon a time in the west
Once upon a time in the west
Once upon a time in the west
Once upon a time in the west
Once Upon a Time in the West, by Dire Straits
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-FwgvMMtfs
I’ve been thinking there’s a serious comparison between the situation in Syria and the situation in Ukraine.
Zelensky is rapidly heading down the same path as Assad. He’s completely implacable and is going to turn his country into a failed state.
To paraphrase the Dune quote about the power to destroy a thing is the power to control it…
In Syria, the Americans couldn’t get control of it, so they just destroyed it.
In Ukraine, the Russians can’t get control back again, they can’t get their neighbors to reach an amicable compromise, so they may well end up choosing to destroy it, too.
Well I’ll be – target ag pests can develop resistance to intensively used methods to control them. Who could have possibly known this could happen???
There is a word that describes that but I just can’t think of it at the moment. Evo….evo….evosomething or other.
Re: “Extinction”
Dinosaurs are not “extinct” – sure, the big ones are, but we are surrounded by dinosaurs every day (birds), they are in our food chain in massive number (chickens, turkeys) – any claim dinosaurs are extinct is a ridiculous falsehood. Similarly, the neanderthal variants of humanity are not “extinct” either – neanderthal genetics survive all over the planet in every non-african variant of humans. Neanderthals were not a separate species to “humans” for this reason – because they bred with other variants and produced fertile offspring. The amount of sloppy and false information floating around on this topic is infuriating.
Neanderthals were human, not a separate species. (Just as africans, Chinese, and europeans are not separate species.) Their genetics survive to this day. How on God’s green earth can any sensible person claim they are extinct? Perhaps, in the very narrow sense that a local subspecies no longer exists as such. So what? Are humans extinct? Clearly not.
“Iran slams Israel threats as ‘outrageous’ after Israeli FM warns of ‘military option’ ”
This is the thing that really riles Israel – the Iranians can shoot back. Where’s the fun in that? And what is the point about trying to take out their nuclear facilities – which are spread all over the country and many buried deep underground – when the Iranians can target any damn thing that they please in Israel and whose attacks cannot be stopped. What is Netanyahu going to do? Ask Trump to tell the Iranians to let Israel attack them without retaliating? After Trump put on maximum pressure on Iran, the Iranians have said that they won’t talk direct to the US. And Iran knows that China and Russia won’t let them swing in the wind. In any case I do not know why Israel would be talking about attacking nuclear facilities. Their normal modus operandi is just to attack civilian populations instead like city suburbs.