2:00PM Water Cooler 1/31/2025

By Lambert Strether.

Bird Song of the Day

Brown Thrasher, Seagate Park, 4926 West Blvd, Naples US-FL 26.20687, -81.80395, Collier, Florida, United States. For grins, I put the coordinates into Google Maps, and the site is near a big highway, the Tamiami Trail. Hence the loud roaring of trucks, which the Thrasher almost drowns out.

“In the most untouched, pristine parts of the Amazon, birds are dying. Scientists may finally know why” [Guardian]. Something was happening to the birds at Tiputini. The biodiversity research centre, buried deep in the Ecuadorian Amazon, has always been special. It is astonishingly remote: a tiny scattering of research cabins in 1.7m hectares (4.2m acres) of virgin forest. For scientists, it comes about as close as you can to observing rainforest wildlife in a world untouched by human industry. Almost every year since his arrival in 2000, ecologist John G Blake had been there to count the birds. Rising before the sun, he would record the density and variety of the dawn chorus. Slowly walking the perimeter of the plots, he noted every species he saw. And for one day every year, he and other researchers would cast huge “mist” nets that caught flying birds in their weave, where they would be counted, untangled and freed. For years, these counts captured birds’ annual fluctuations; they had good and bad years, seasons in which nests were disrupted by storms and others when they boomed. But by about 2012, Blake and his collaborators could see something was shifting. The birds were dying: not in masses at once, struck down by a plague, but generation by generation.” And today: “This week, Wolfe and collaborators published new work directly linking rising temperatures to bird declines. Their research, published in Science Advances, tracked birds living in the forest understory at the BDFFP against detailed climate data. They found that harsher dry seasons significantly reduced the survival of 83% of species. A 1C increase in dry season temperature would reduce the average survival of birds by 63%. Exactly how the heat is causing bird numbers to decline is tricky to pinpoint, Wolfe says, but “these birds are intrinsically linked to small, small changes in temperature and precipitation”. One of the most immediate ways a heating planet hurts wildlife is by putting them out of step with their food sources: when fewer insects survive dry seasons, or leaves bloom and fruit ripens at different times, birds find themselves unable to forage and feed their young. Their nests begin to fail. Within a few generations, their numbers fall.” • Like the vanished bug splats.

* * *

In Case You Might Miss…

  1. Elon demands access to the Federal Government’s check-writing machine.
  2. DOGE’s IT.
  3. The DNC meets to pick a new chair.

* * *

Look for the Helpers

Let me leave this in for a second day. If you are in the LA area:

* * *

My email address is down by the plant; please send examples of there (“Helpers” in the subject line). In our increasingly desperate and fragile neoliberal society, everyday normal incidents and stories of “the communism of everyday life” are what I am looking for (and not, say, the Red Cross in Hawaii, or even the UNWRA in Gaza).

Politics

“So many of the social reactions that strike us as psychological are in fact a rational management of symbolic capital.” –Pierre Bourdieu, Classification Struggles

* * *

Trump Administration

A spot of of good news:

And now for the rest–

* * *

“Senior U.S. official to exit after rift with Musk allies over payment system” [WaPo]. “David A. Lebryk, who served in nonpolitical roles at Treasury for several decades, announced his retirement Friday in an email to colleagues obtained by The Washington Post. President Donald Trump named Lebryk as acting secretary upon taking office last week. Lebryk had a dispute with Musk’s surrogates over access to the payment system the U.S. government uses to disburse trillions of dollars every year, the people said. The exact nature of the disagreement was not immediately clear, they said.” That’s too bad. Why? “Typically only a small number of career officials control Treasury’s payment systems. Run by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, the sensitive systems control the flow of more than $6 trillion annually to households, businesses and more nationwide. Tens, if not hundreds, of millions of people across the country rely on the systems, which are responsible for distributing Social Security and Medicare benefits, salaries for federal personnel, payments to government contractors and grant recipients and tax refunds, among tens of thousands of other functions…. ‘This is a mechanical job — they pay Social Security benefits, they pay vendors, whatever. It’s not one where there’s a role for nonmechanical things, at least from the career standpoint. Your whole job is to pay the bills as they’re due,’ [Mark Mazur, who served in senior treasury roles during the Obama and Biden administrations] said. ‘It’s never been used in a way to execute a partisan agenda. … You have to really put bad intentions in place for that to be the case.'” • Stephanie Kelton pulls out the key quote:

Hmm. Would “access to” include modifying the software in any way? Maybe I’m foily but I’m picturing Musk, slave of some defunct economist, installing a software version of the “Balanced Budget Amendment” written by some twenty-something tech bro. Or personally approving every check run, keeping a tally and stopping the press when outgo matchedi incoming, like a household.

* * *

NLRB management explains the buyouts:

(Klippenstein is doing a great job on this stuff.)

* * *

Snark is easy:

(and see the Community Note). Email servers are hard:

(Recall there’s a lawsuit about that unsecured server, Jane Does 1-2 v. Office of Personnel Management.)

* * *

“FAA Report on D.C. Plane Crash Is Out—and It’s an Indictment of Trump” [The New Republic]. It’s like every dish of news I order comes with a side of hysteria. More: “An internal report from the Federal Aviation Administration found that in reality, the tower’s staffing at Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA) was “not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic,” according to The New York Times. There was only one air traffic controller to handle both helicopters and planes in the airport’s vicinity, a job usually assigned to two people…. Staffing levels at the airport’s control tower have been below adequate levels for years, like many of the U.S.’s other airports. DCA’s tower only had 19 fully certified controllers as of September 2023, according to congressional reports. This is well below the FAA and air traffic controller union’s preferred number of 30, and is due to employee turnover and budget cuts, according to the Times.” • The headline is deceptive, since DEI is not ruled out. And speaking of the FAA–

* * *

Meritocracy:

But meritorious at what?

Nominations

“Gabbard in danger after views on Snowden rankle GOP senators” [The Hill]. Republican senators pressed Gabbard to declare Snowden a ‘traitor’ and to acknowledge that he ‘harmed’ U.S. national security, but Gabbard refused to do so, raising alarm among Republicans who will be voting on her nomination in the weeks ahead. ‘People are holding their cards pretty close to the vest, but that nomination is in trouble,’ said one Republican senator who requested anonymity to comment candidly on Gabbard’s chances of getting through the Senate…. A key moment during Thursday’s hearing came when Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) asked whether Gabbard views Snowden as a ‘traitor,’ advising her that members of the Intelligence panel would feel a lot better about her nomination if she would do so. Instead, Gabbard sidestepped two questions about whether Snowden betrayed the nation, telling lawmakers she is ‘focused on the future and how we can prevent something like this from happening again,’ referring to Snowden’s theft of secret documents. Lankford, who earlier this month said he would support Gabbard, said after the hearing that he was ‘surprised’ by her response. ‘I was surprised, because that doesn’t seem like a hard question on that. It wasn’t intended to be a trick question by any means,’ Lankford said. The Oklahoma senator said it should have been an ‘easy question’ to say it’s ‘universally accepted when you steal a million pages of top-secret documents and you hand it to the Russians, that’s a traitorous act.'” • It isn’t (Snowden’s documents revealed illegal and unconstitutional behavior) and wasn’t (the documents were vetted by journalists to make sure nothing that would injure national security got out). Good job, knuckledragged, you might have sunk the nomination of the only person in the Beltway willing to throw a net over the spooks. Of course, if that was the objective…

Democrats en déshabillé

“The DNC’s outgoing chair says Democrats should have stuck with Joe Biden in 2024” (interview) [Associated Press]. “As the Democratic National Committee prepares to elect a new chair, its departing leader says Democrats should have stuck with Joe Biden in the 2024 race…. He also offered advice to his eventual successor, who will be chosen Saturday.” From the interview: “Why did Harris and Democrats lose the White House? [HARRISON: “‘I don’t know that there’s one answer. A lot of people like to come up with things, and they say it’s the economy. Well, it could have been a part of it. I think every state had their own little nuance. In Michigan, the Palestinian issue played something there.’ ‘The gap in which she lost wasn’t huge, but when you add up little pockets where it’s, some people because of Gaza, some people because of the economy, some people because she was a woman. And I think in many of those states, those little nicks here and there added up to how she lost in some of those states.'” • Harrison has learned nothing. It was also his party’s job to find those “little nicks”, as clearly the Republicans were able to do.

“Democrats are voting in a new party leader — but it’s not enough to right the ship” [New York Post]. “The race for DNC chair could matter if the party’s woes were purely a matter of campaign mechanics: The central party helps to maintain voter contact databases and provides technological infrastructure that all its candidates can access. If the Democrats’ November defeats were due to poorly maintained databases or outdated voter modeling software, the new chair could fix those and propel the party to victory. That, however, is clearly not the case: Democrats are losing because of their message, not their tactics or techniques…. A new party chair cannot turn such a precipitous decline around. That is the job of elected Democrats.” • Of course, the Post’s advice is that Democrats should be more like Republicans. Conveniently, many Democrats believe the same.

Ben Wikler. Endorsed by Third Way:

Weirdly, but appropriately:

Stoller comments:

I remember those “Bold” “Progessives,” but only because they used to word “bold” a lot, which I came to dislike.

Faiz Shakir. Remember him?

Sounds like Shakir took the lessons of being badly burned by the Sanders 2020 staff to heart; they had pushed Sanders off the clean, clear economic message of 2016.

And:

“Bernie Sanders’s ex-campaign manager wants to rebuild Democratic party: ‘What new ideas are we bringing?'” [Guardian]. “In the wake of Democrats’ losses in November, it has become conventional wisdom that the party has a ‘media problem’, but Shakir frames the issue as more of a platform and messaging problem. He accused the DNC of over relying on gimmicky language rather than presenting a concrete strategy to confront an unjust economy, and he pointed to More Perfect Union’s coverage of efforts to cancel medical debt and unionize Starbucks employees as a potential template for how the party can use content to send a pro-worker message to voters.” • I confess I like the More Perfect Union stuff when it comes across my feed. Still, the extent to which Shakir wants to remake the Democrats into a working class party is an exact measure of how much the Party will oppose him.

* * *

Sunrise Movement not being especially helpful, assuming help is possible:

Apparently, the level of disruption was such that interactions between the candidates were curtailed. Which may or may not matter to you.

Realignment and Legitimacy

“Trump and the Collapse of the Old Order” [Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal]. An aria in three parts. One: “When Mr. Trump fires the inspector general, when ICE gets the illegal-immigrant child molester, when Mr. Trump tries to get rid of the federal workforce—he’s settling all family business. His second term can be understood as an attempt to change his image from Sonny to Michael.” Two: “I saw a broad and growing sense in Washington that American domestic politics, or at least that part of its politics that comes from Washington, is at a similar inflection point. That the second rise of Donald Trump is a total break with the past—that stable order, healthy expectations, a certain moderation, and a strict adherence to the law aren’t being “traduced”; they are ending. That something new has begun. People aren’t sure they’re right about this and no one has a name for the big break, but they know we have entered something different—something more emotional, more tribal and visceral. There is the strong man, and the cult of personality, and the leg-breakers back home who keep the congressional troops in line.” Three: “A word to Democrats trying to figure out how to save their party. The most eloquent of them, of course, think the answer is finding the right words. We need to talk more like working people, we need Trump’s touch with popular phrasing. The answer isn’t to talk but do.” And: “Most of all, make something work. You run nearly every great city in the nation. Make one work—clean it up, control crime, smash corruption, educate the kids. You want everyone in the country to know who you are? Save a city.” • Hmm.

Syndemics

“I am in earnest — I will not equivocate — I will not excuse — I will not retreat a single inch — AND I WILL BE HEARD.” –William Lloyd Garrison

* * *

Covid Resources, United States (National): Transmission (CDC); Wastewater (CDC, Biobot; includes many counties; Wastewater Scan, includes drilldown by zip); Variants (CDC; Walgreens); “Iowa COVID-19 Tracker” (in IA, but national data). “Infection Control, Emergency Management, Safety, and General Thoughts” (especially on hospitalization by city).

Lambert here: Readers, thanks for the collective effort. To update any entry, do feel free to contact me at the address given with the plants. Please put “COVID” in the subject line. Thank you!

Resources, United States (Local): AK (dashboard); AL (dashboard); AR (dashboard); AZ (dashboard); CA (dashboard; Marin, dashboard; Stanford, wastewater; Oakland, wastewater); CO (dashboard; wastewater); CT (dashboard); DE (dashboard); FL (wastewater); GA (wastewater); HI (dashboard); IA (wastewater reports); ID (dashboard, Boise; dashboard, wastewater, Central Idaho; wastewater, Coeur d’Alene; dashboard, Spokane County); IL (wastewater); IN (dashboard); KS (dashboard; wastewater, Lawrence); KY (dashboard, Louisville); LA (dashboard); MA (wastewater); MD (dashboard); ME (dashboard); MI (wastewater; wastewater); MN (dashboard); MO (wastewater); MS (dashboard); MT (dashboard); NC (dashboard); ND (dashboard; wastewater); NE (dashboard); NH (wastewater); NJ (dashboard); NM (dashboard); NV (dashboard; wastewater, Southern NV); NY (dashboard); OH (dashboard); OK (dashboard); OR (dashboard); PA (dashboard); RI (dashboard); SC (dashboard); SD (dashboard); TN (dashboard); TX (dashboard); UT (wastewater); VA (wastewater); VT (dashboard); WA (dashboard; dashboard); WI (wastewater); WV (wastewater); WY (wastewater).

Resources, Canada (National): Wastewater (Government of Canada).

Resources, Canada (Provincial): ON (wastewater); QC (les eaux usées); BC (wastewater); BC, Vancouver (wastewater).

Hat tips to helpful readers: Alexis, anon (2), Art_DogCT, B24S, CanCyn, ChiGal, Chuck L, Festoonic, FM, FreeMarketApologist (4), Gumbo, hop2it, JB, JEHR, JF, JL Joe, John, JM (10), JustAnotherVolunteer, JW, KatieBird, KF, KidDoc, LL, Michael King, KF, LaRuse, mrsyk, MT, MT_Wild, otisyves, Petal (6), RK (2), RL, RM, Rod, square coats (11), tennesseewaltzer, thump, Tom B., Utah, Bob White (3).

Stay safe out there!

* * *

Lambert here: As I have indicated with handy “No” logos, everything’s gone dark except for trusty New York State hospitalization (daily), Walgreen’s positivity (weekly), and the Cleveland Clinic (?). Readers, do you have any suggestions about alternatives at state level? Thank you! How I wish we had Biobot back. (Sorry for the inartistic positioning of the logos. It was the best I could do. UPDATE Darn it, I thought those checkerboards signified “transparent.” I will fix Monday. UPDATE I missed a couple. I guess this outage has me more ticked off than I thought.

TABLE 1: Daily Covid Charts

Wastewater
This week[1] CDC January 13 Last week[2] CDC (until next week):

Variants [3] CDC January 18 Emergency Room Visits[4] CDC January 11

Hospitalization
New York[5] New York State, data January 30: National [6] CDC January 24:

Positivity
National[7] Walgreens January 27: Ohio[8] Cleveland Clinic January 18:

Travelers Data
Positivity[9] CDC December 30: Variants[10] CDC December 30

Deaths
Weekly Deaths vs. % Positivity [11] CDC January 11: Weekly Deaths vs. ED Visits [12] CDC January 11:

LEGEND

1) for charts new today; all others are not updated.

2) For a full-size/full-resolution image, Command-click (MacOS) or right-click (Windows) on the chart thumbnail and “open image in new tab.”

NOTES

[1] (CDC) Seeing more red and more orange, but nothing new at major hubs.

[2] (CDC) Last week’s wastewater map.

[3] (CDC Variants) XEC takes over. That WHO label, “Ommicron,” has done a great job normalizing successive waves of infection.

[4] (ED) A little uptick.

[5] (Hospitalization: NY) Definitely jumped.

[6] (Hospitalization: CDC). Leveling out.

[7] (Walgreens) Leveling out.

[8] (Cleveland) Continued upward trend since, well, Thanksgiving.

[9] (Travelers: Positivity) Leveling out.

[10] (Travelers: Variants). Positivity is new, but variants have not yet been released.

[11] Deaths low, positivity leveling out.

[12] Deaths low, ED leveling out.

Stats Watch

Manufacturing: “United States Chicago PMI” [Trading Economics]. “The Chicago Business Barometer, also known as the Chicago PMI, rose to 39.5 in January 2025, up from a six-month low of 36.9 in the prior month, but missing market expectations of 40. This is the first increase after three consecutive months of decline, though the index remains below both the level of November 2024 and the 2024 average.”

Inflation: “United States PCE Price Index Annual Change” [Trading Economics]. “The headline annual PCE inflation rate in the US edged up to 2.6% in December 2024, the highest rate in seven months, from 2.4% in November and in line with expectations.”

Personal Income: “United States Personal Income” [Trading Economics]. “US personal income rose 0.4% month-over-month in December 2024, in line with market expectations and following a 0.3% increase in November. Employee compensation grew by 0.4%, compared with the 0.5% gain in the previous month, driven by private wages and salaries (0.4% vs. 0.5%).”

* * *

The Bezzle:

And this guy wants to get his hands on the government printing press…..

Tech: I hate notifications too:

* * *

Today’s Fear & Greed Index: 47 Neutral (previous close: 45 Neutral) [CNN]. One week ago: 45 (Neutral). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Jan 30 at 12:42:01 PM ET.

Book Nook

A literal nook:

Zeitgeist Watch

“What Makes a Great Mocktail?” [Serious Eats]. “Wouldn’t it be great if you could sip a mocktail that looks and tastes just like the real thing? Today, we’ll look at the science of how alcohol actually tastes, how to mimic it, and whether this is a good idea. Later this week, we’ll look at the flavors that appear in great spirits and how to mimic them with some actual recipes. The prevailing knowledge seems to argue that you can’t recreate the taste of alcohol without actually using it. Is that true? Let’s step back. Maybe a better first question would be: What, exactly, does alcohol taste like? The answer to this question may not be as obvious as you think.” Answer: “[T]ingly, drying, bitter, and sweet.”

Gallery

Feral?

Musical Interlude

I saw Marianne Faithfull years ago in a small room at the Montreal Jazz Festival, full of blue light. Wonderful chanteuse, despite or perhaps because of the cigarette and the whiskey glass; charisma like a supernova. With Garth Hudson:

News of the Wired

“Signs Of Life In A Desert Of Death” [Noema]. “A hundred miles to the north is the site of one of the modern world’s worst ecocides. I have come to Uzbekistan to visit a vanished sea.” Cutting to the chase: “The tiny crustacean bodies wriggling in the brine are a clear example that if the apocalypse has come, life has managed to carry on…. A hardy, woody shrub called saxaul is another form of new life.” • Worth reading in full; great topic, good photos, good writing.

* * *

Contact information for plants: Readers, feel free to contact me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, to (a) find out how to send me a check if you are allergic to PayPal and (b) to find out how to send me images of plants. Vegetables are fine! Fungi, lichen, and coral are deemed to be honorary plants! If you want your handle to appear as a credit, please place it at the start of your mail in parentheses: (thus). Otherwise, I will anonymize by using your initials. See the previous Water Cooler (with plant) here. From BB:

BB writes: “Cosmos. There are several different species. I don’t know which this one is, but it is about 7 feet tall.” My goodness!

* * *

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About Lambert Strether

Readers, I have had a correspondent characterize my views as realistic cynical. Let me briefly explain them. I believe in universal programs that provide concrete material benefits, especially to the working class. Medicare for All is the prime example, but tuition-free college and a Post Office Bank also fall under this heading. So do a Jobs Guarantee and a Debt Jubilee. Clearly, neither liberal Democrats nor conservative Republicans can deliver on such programs, because the two are different flavors of neoliberalism (“Because markets”). I don’t much care about the “ism” that delivers the benefits, although whichever one does have to put common humanity first, as opposed to markets. Could be a second FDR saving capitalism, democratic socialism leashing and collaring it, or communism razing it. I don’t much care, as long as the benefits are delivered. To me, the key issue — and this is why Medicare for All is always first with me — is the tens of thousands of excess “deaths from despair,” as described by the Case-Deaton study, and other recent studies. That enormous body count makes Medicare for All, at the very least, a moral and strategic imperative. And that level of suffering and organic damage makes the concerns of identity politics — even the worthy fight to help the refugees Bush, Obama, and Clinton’s wars created — bright shiny objects by comparison. Hence my frustration with the news flow — currently in my view the swirling intersection of two, separate Shock Doctrine campaigns, one by the Administration, and the other by out-of-power liberals and their allies in the State and in the press — a news flow that constantly forces me to focus on matters that I regard as of secondary importance to the excess deaths. What kind of political economy is it that halts or even reverses the increases in life expectancy that civilized societies have achieved? I am also very hopeful that the continuing destruction of both party establishments will open the space for voices supporting programs similar to those I have listed; let’s call such voices “the left.” Volatility creates opportunity, especially if the Democrat establishment, which puts markets first and opposes all such programs, isn’t allowed to get back into the saddle. Eyes on the prize! I love the tactical level, and secretly love even the horse race, since I’ve been blogging about it daily for fourteen years, but everything I write has this perspective at the back of it.

101 comments

  1. CA

    Since the New York Times is warning readers about the Chinese-threat dangers of using DeepSeek, this after warning readers about the dangers of Chinese pandas at the National Zoo, I should admit that I have been using DeepSeek for research from the beginning and find it terrific.

    I cannot attest to the friendliness of the National Zoo pandas, that the NYT spent 5 articles warning about, but DeepSeek is friendly and terrific.

    Reply
  2. CA

    https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/31/technology/deepseek-chinese-propaganda.html

    January 31, 2025

    DeepSeek’s Answers Include Chinese Propaganda, Researchers Say
    Since the Chinese company’s chatbot surged in popularity, researchers have documented how its answers reflect China’s view of the world. Some of its responses amplify propaganda Beijing uses to discredit critics.
    By Steven Lee Myers

    If you’re among the millions of people who have downloaded DeepSeek, the free new chatbot from China powered by artificial intelligence, know this: The answers it gives you will largely reflect the worldview of the Chinese Communist Party.

    Since the tool made its debut this month, rattling stock markets and more established tech giants like Nvidia, researchers testing its capabilities have found that the answers it gives not only spread Chinese propaganda but also parrot disinformation campaigns that China has used to undercut its critics around the world.

    In one instance, the chatbot misstated remarks by former President Jimmy Carter that Chinese officials had selectively edited to make it appear that he had endorsed China’s position that Taiwan was part of the People’s Republic of China…

    Reply
    1. Bsn

      As if the American version does not spread propaganda. I don’t use these faux tools, but perhaps someone can ask “it”, “Why did the mean Russians and Putin himself invade that cute little country of Ukraine when they are only a small, struggling democracy?” I (don’t really) wonder what its answer would be.

      Reply
      1. CA

        “I don’t use these faux tools…”

        An excellent comment. But just about this phrase, look at DeepSeek as no more than a pocket dictionary and the tool strikes me as wonderful. I take the tool as a learning aid above all. I was never without a pocket dictionary in college.

        Reply
          1. CA

            “Your pocket dictionary didn’t hallucinate, however.”

            My pocket dictionary worked wonderfully, because I learned how it use it properly. Also, I am clever enough not to use a screwdriver as a hammer.

            Reply
            1. Yves Smith

              Sorry, we have examples from IM Doc of AI as mere dictation software massively hallucinating, which included adding huge swathes of material, as in making the transcript much longer than the source material.

              As I have said, I have also found AI making serious errors in definitions of legal terms, exactly on point with your use.

              This is a defective tool. I don’t understand why you defend it.

              Reply
              1. CA

                “Sorry, we have examples from IM Doc of AI as mere dictation software massively hallucinating…”

                Thank you for the correction. Then I am obviously wrong, and will no longer defend AI use. I was foolish.

                Reply
      2. Librarian Guy

        The Due Dissidence podcast yesterday had a wonderful, funny piece on an Israeli Hasbara bot going rogue & telling the truth, describing Israel as a “white, settler-colonial” dominated state, with others who are not Ashkenazi Jews having lesser rights. I looked in YouTube just now in case they had clipped that segment separately (which they usually do for most since they routinely do shows lasting 2 hours +), but no luck. Then I remembered it was an early segment, and for those interested it can be found here, starting at 14:40 minutes into the broadcast–

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2IGKb73vOE

        Sometimes “the truth will out,” via machines, I guess, as they are not so vulnerable to human bullying or bribery as we meat sacks are.

        Reply
      3. Irrational

        I read somewhere (sorry, don’t recall) that someone had asked Deepseek if Bucha was staged and got an equivocal answer, whereas 10 Western AIs said it was not staged. This was somehow taken as evidence of Chinese propaganda.

        Reply
    2. amfortas the hippie

      “…reflects the chinese view of the world…”
      from what i can tell…not speaking or reading a word of any chinese language…that appears to include a large, heaping dose of Zhou Enlai’s Five Principals….which, to me, is not at all nefarious….and, in fact, we could do and have done much much worse.
      i guess that bit of fraidycattiness is meant for people who do not read outside of approved sources.

      (and i HT Sony Thang on twitx for keeping me abreast of what nonwestern important folks are saying every day)

      Reply
      1. CA

        “Chinese language…that appears to include a large, heaping dose of Zhou Enlai’s Five Principals”

        Clever response, indeed.

        Reply
    3. gk

      Chatgpt

      Is Israel committing a genocide, based on international law and the current events taking place in #Gaza?

      […]

      In summary, the ongoing conflict has led to severe humanitarian crises and potential violations of international law. The international community, including the UN and the International Criminal Court, is actively investigating the situation for potential war crimes. However, the characterization of the situation as genocide is a complex legal determination and is seen with caution by legal experts.

      Reply
    4. The Rev Kev

      ‘to make it appear that he had endorsed China’s position that Taiwan was part of the People’s Republic of China’

      That is actually the official US position which is on the US State Department site somewhere.

      Reply
      1. hk

        “People’s Republic of China” is doing a lot of work there. The official US position is that there is only one China, but not that China is necessarily PRC–although, since US does not legally recognize RoC, this becomes a dubious proposition quickly.

        Reply
  3. lyman alpha blob

    I have no problem at all giving Musk “access to” payment systems, similar to how we all have “access to” health care. As long as he can’t actually use the systems, like millions currently can’t use health care, we should be fine.

    Reply
    1. Milton

      There’s a meme where it shows two kids with controllers playing a video game. Next to them is a kid brother with an unplugged controller looking involved as if he were playing also.
      That is the extent of Musk’s, or the DOGE’s, involvement in gov’t operations I’d prefer.

      Reply
  4. mrsyk

    Hyperventilating here, nonetheless regarding Stephanie Kelton, UST payment systems and Bitcoin being on-boarded via government investment it’s hard not to worry that destroying the UST is the intent. The horizon is being littered with the husks of burnt out institutions in real time.
    I’m concerned that we are seeing Trump in a “hold my beer” moment in response to the weak tea “insurrection” accusations of yore. Hope I’m wrong, but the payment systems code gambit is pushing the pattern hard.

    What power would Congress have without the Treasury?

    Reply
    1. ChrisFromGA

      I’m on the same wavelength as you. Perhaps getting some BTC might not be a bad idea, after all, or more of the barbarous relic. Or just grab a bottle of your favorite beverage and wait for the end.

      A while back I had the notion that the failure of the Fed’s IT systems might be the way the dollar finally dies. I didn’t consider deliberate sabotage.

      Take out payment systems and the entire country goes Mad Max in about 36-48 hours.

      Reply
        1. JBird4049

          If I wasn’t poor and unable to save anything, I would keep enough cash in a box under the bed or the bed for at least six months.

          I am old enough that old electro mechanical cash-registers that I used at one of my first job had a hank crank stored underneath the register in case the power went out. It was a thrift store, so that much of there stuff was donated or repaired just to kept going and going. Once the power did go out and it worked. It was a time trip. It was like one of those scenes in a 1930s or 40s black & white movie.

          Much of our vulnerabilities are do to the hollowing out of the system and refilled with cheap junk that saves a small amount of time and money. Credit cards did not need the instant access of the modern wonky IT systems that are now used. It just takes a little more time to do it manually.

          Reply
        2. dave -- just dave

          With regard to the latest FAQs about Office of Personnel Management’s “deferred resignation period” bribe offer

          https://www.opm.gov/fork/faq

          when my spouse showed this to me this morning, before going off to her government job, at first I thought this must be a hoax. The extremeley generous terms offered on this latest FAQ – quit now and get paid through September – are in many ways contradictory to the statement you would have been endorsing if you had responded to the original email.

          I told her – don’t take this bribe offer – they are going to fire you pretty soon anyway. The offer is inherently dishonest, even if they follow through on the terms. Chances are they won’t.

          This exchange makes me wonder if Musk wrote it himself – it seems as if the author is oblivious to how insulting it is:

          Am I allowed to get a second job during the deferred resignation period?

          Absolutely! We encourage you to find a job in the private sector as soon as you would like to do so. The way to greater American prosperity is encouraging people to move from lower productivity jobs in the public sector to higher productivity jobs in the private sector.

          And here is the second-to-last entry – for maximum comedic effect it should have been the very last:

          Can I return to work in the federal government?

          Deferred resignation does not affect your ability to apply to work for the federal government in the future.

          Reply
          1. mrsyk

            Wow.Before I launch into dark comedy, I am sorry for your situation. We too are under similar stress.
            I hear the Department of Re-Education is hiring.

            Reply
          2. The Rev Kev

            Somebody – Lambert? Yves? – was saying that Trump cannot make such an offer as no money has been allocated for such payouts and Trump has a long history of stiffing people that he owes money too.

            Reply
        3. griffen

          What is the appropriate description….other than the f around and find out…These people just don’t seemingly know what they really do not know.

          Federal payments systems are highly complex and there are multiple dependencies….to the point that a mere outage for a solitary one business day of balances not clearing would be immediately apparent….I can easily remember after the Lehman Brothers failure how a few large money market funds were ” breaking the buck”. It was not a net positive.

          I may well rue the day I gave a single show of support to the R candidate but it also conveyed my emotional or mental thought process. What the hell else have I really got to lose at this point in time. Not sarcasm.

          Reply
      1. steppenwolf fetchit

        Instead of getting some BTC or barbarous relic, why not get several years worth of canned and dried food, of kinds that you know you will continue to like to eat over the next several years?

        Food will get you through times of no BTC or barbarous relic better than BTC or barbarous relic will get you through times of no food.

        Reply
        1. amfortas the hippie

          black pepper in gallon containers, kept in the dark, keep forever.
          bic lighters.
          zippos and paraphernalia.
          salt, honey.

          all thats doomer currency, for reals.

          and, as an aside, i like that we’re all having Italics Day.
          we should do this more often.

          Reply
            1. amfortas the hippie

              out here, i have Pi Day, John Waters Birthday Day, May the 4th Be With You Day, etc.
              any independent enclave needs its holidays.

              Reply
  5. lyman alpha blob

    RE: Gabbard confirmation

    Government employees swear an oath to uphold the constitution. As noted above, US intelligence did not follow constitutional guidelines. Snowden reported the constitutional breach. So who’s the “traitor” in this scenario?

    Greenwald’s take yesterday was that if Gabbard had come right out and said that Snowden was NOT a traitor, her nomination would have been scuttled immediately because too many senators were waiting to pounce on that. Trying to walk the fine line that she did might have saved her chances of getting through. I do hope that he’s correct.

    Reply
    1. Carolinian

      Snowden said she should denounce him if that would help. Meanwhile reports of some in the Trump camp saying they will primary Repubs who vote no on Tulsi or RFK.

      And they should in Gabbard’s case. Those carrying water for the spooks are the real traitors.

      Trump himself needs to start putting on the screws. This is a Republican party power struggle.

      Reply
      1. albrt

        All Trump would have to do is come out and say Snowden was not a traitor, the Obama people who covered up the information are the traitors. If Trump said that, the Republican senators would all vote for Gabbard with no more questions asked. Maybe even some of the MAGA democrats like Fetterman, Kelly, and Gallego would go along.

        If Trump is not willing to do something like that, then Gabbard probably wasn’t going to have much impact in the administration anyway.

        Reply
        1. GF

          MAGA democrats – very good. They used to be called Blue Dogs (origin of this name I do not recall). Here in Arizona it appears we have two MAGA democratic senators of the three listed. Can’t beat that. Maybe Trump will spare our state from destruction despite Kelly’s harsh questioning??

          Reply
    2. The Rev Kev

      Gabbard should have said calling Snowden a traitor would mean calling Daniel Ellsberg a traitor – when the real traitors are those who broke government laws and their oaths to set up all those spying programs.

      Reply
      1. hoki_haya

        Also an excellent point.

        She did attempt, several times amid the infantile bloviation, beyond ‘he broke the law’, to convey that exposing the illegality of the surveilling state was of service and value.

        Reply
    1. ambrit

      Probably a reflection on the ethereal and ephemeral nature of electronic “media.” Not so much “precious” as “timeless.”

      Reply
    2. cfraenkel

      A missing {less than} /em {greater than} tag in the editing process.

      **Everything** on the web is surrounded by html tags that tell the browser when something stops and stops. You start italics with an em and stop it with an /em tag. If the closing tag is missing, the italics just keep going.

      Reply
  6. CA

    Likely, I fail to understand the pattern. But, how can a T or t flight pattern be possible between a landing plane and an aircraft crossing the landing plane and runway? The T flight pattern strikes me as inherently dangerous.

    Reply
    1. ChatET

      I’m flabbergasted that the media has avoided directing cause at the military. Driving on a highway in the dark without your lights on and zipping through intersections would deem you a severe threat to the other drivers and you. The same goes for aircraft.

      Reply
    1. Jason Boxman

      What I really love about Republicans is they don’t mess around, at least not Trump. He’s gonna govern, whether they’re competent at it or not.

      I can’t imagine anything of the sort every coming out of a Democrat administration, where it is impossible to move forward with any policy unless every Republican also agrees to it. (And when this does happen, hold on to your wallet, you’re about to be robbed.)

      Reply
        1. Wukchumni

          p.s.

          It’s pretty obvious The Big Heat is coming not merely in dangerous high temps during the day in the summer, but also wildfire seasons lasting much longer.

          Nothing like this has ever happened, and ok, lets not call it the dreaded Climate Change if that’ll satiate those needs of yours, i’d suggest we name it something patriotic instead, such as

          Get Fired Up, America!

          Reply
          1. ambrit

            More apropos here would be “Get F-d Up America!”
            Climatologically speaking, our now ending “cool” spell is an outlier.

            Reply
    2. Glen

      How about Trump get priorities straight. Who cares what’s on the [family blogging] website. Go tell the home insurance companies to provide affordable insurance.

      Cause otherwise it’s just stupid, and Biden did enough of that.

      Reply
      1. steppenwolf fetchit

        What’s on the ( family blogging ) website is an announcement of Trump’s priorities, which include Drill Baby Drill and Coal Baby Coal. Trump doesn’t consider affordable insurance for ordinary homeowers to be his problem.

        Reply
    3. hazelbee

      oh well that’s ok then.

      and throughout the land many an analyst breathed a sigh of relief that they could remove that pesky unknown from their forecasting models. What a simplification!

      no need to worry about impacts or cost of mitigations. if Trump says its not happening then that must be true! woo hoo! one less risk to model and worry about :/

      meanwhile, actuaries across the country are asking him to do the same for the big C?

      if I didn’t know this was really happening I’d assume it was a plot line from some political farce.

      I feel a sudden urge to watch “Don’t Look Up” again.

      Reply
  7. antidlc

    Megathread
    https://x.com/_CatintheHat/status/1884950649130860997

    Cat in the Hat 🐈‍⬛ 🎩 🇬🇧
    @_CatintheHat
    I’ve been reflecting on this letter from Minister @GwynneMP
    ⬇️

    The letter which says the government supports Dr Lisa Ritchie’s view that “Covid is not predominantly transmitted through the airborne route”.

    I suspect there may be a little more to it than meets the eye… 🧐

    You see, here’s the thing:

    Letters like that don’t get written in a vacuum.

    Letters like that are usually drafted on behalf of Ministers by a civil servant who has expertise in the subject matter.

    So I’m left wondering: who drafted it?

    Who is advising Mr Gwynne?

    Reply
  8. dingusansich

    Without opining on the merits of either nominee, I’d think Republicans would vote as a bloc for Gabbard and Kennedy if only to demonstrate that they will protect party turncoats from the wrath of Democrats.

    We’ll see if the nice folks from the intelligence “community” can trump Trump with their tasty carrots and nasty sticks.

    Reply
  9. dave -- just dave

    I got into an argument about Snowden that went to raised voices and was on the verge of obscenities and possibly fisticuffs at the wedding of my niece a decade ago. My brother’s college friend was certain Snowden committed treason, whereas I viewed him as a patriot whose loyalty was to freedom and the American people. At a smaller gathering the next day I apologized to the fascist for arguing so heatedly at a family occasion. And I did regret expressing my opinion so openly – it did no one any good. I did not retract my opinion, however. I admire Tulsi’s reluctance to call Snowden a traitor, and think whoever gets the position instead of her is not likely to give any better advice than she would.

    Reply
    1. JBird4049

      The thing about loyalty, the rule of law, and even justice what it is for and in service to whom. Are you serving the intended meaning or spirit of them, which requires thinking about what they mean, or are you blindly parroting the approved fabulisms of the powerful and corrupt while serving their interests?

      In this example, those who bloviate on Snowden’s “treason” are really concerned about loyalty to the country called the United States of America and the American Nation, or are they concerned about loyalty to the government in power, which is often used to increase the power, status, and wealth of the accusers, no matter how much it hurts anyone or anything else? It seems that those in power like to conflate the nation, country, and government, which are all different, with themselves; they also like to conflate the government, which is supposed to serve the will of the people, with the actual nation and country.

      Many want to conflate the government with the people and their country because that would make it impossible to be loyal to the people and their country without being loyal to the government whatever its actions. That this also protects the corrupt and the lawless in the government is not a coincidence.

      I believe that writing all this also means that I am a traitor or something similar as only smiling, unthinking obedience to the diktats of the Good People, and we all know who they, is doubleplusgood.

      I’m sorry, but the pile of flaming snot that are the accusations against people like Snowden and other whistleblowers by the mendacious weasels and mentally deficient children just enrages me, pushing my berserk button really hard. Also, seeing the nauseating grandstanding by politicians that I use to respect in the JFK hearing makes me want to hurl.

      Reply
  10. Jason Boxman

    Make one work—clean it up, control crime, smash corruption, educate the kids. You want everyone in the country to know who you are? Save a city

    Or as in House of Cards, Liberal Democrats could always have chosen to run the District in a manner befitting their vision for America, which I guess they have in a way, with its disparity of wealth.

    Reply
  11. Craig H.

    Ha ha you closed your italics tag and obsoleted my comment between composing and posting.

    Does anybody know of a good non-twitter blog post or story about the Democrats Sunrise Movement stuff?

    Reply
  12. amfortas the hippie

    this is one of those days where its both warm and cold.
    more like middle of march, than beginning of february.
    65 degrees, in the lee of some structure or tree…but a high cold wind from the west.
    i sweat in the lee of things…freeze in the wind.
    luckily, the eastward facing bar is already up.
    theres a bird feeder on top of that telephone pole fencepost…an inverted bent trashcan lid, filled with scratch.
    and the winterbirdcrowd knows it, and are legion.
    i dealt with imperial entanglements, today.
    and i aint done, as expected.
    they dont do like i do…as my grandads did…and
    walk by and get it done.
    i didnt notice that my DL has been expired for a year and a half,
    until my Youngest sent it in to FAFSA.
    because i never take it out of my wallet.
    because i never need to.
    because everyone at the banks and beer stores knows me.
    i use only cash.
    and i drive 60mph in a 25 year old beat up truck
    and look like a hillbilly.
    a current DL, like an email addy
    is just not a part of my life.
    thank Dog!

    Reply
    1. griffen

      It’s been a week but like wrapping pigs in a poke….It felt like a month with all the dang headlines and malarkey being put into action….

      It’s a federal government funding…freeze! No more funding for those greedy vultures who might need food or assistance….\Sarc
      It’s a helicopter and a plane…These should never meet mid-air….
      Hey let’s put tariffs on those evil Canadians. Tariffs aren’t inflationary, so says I. \sarc

      Honestly Musk should “go fudge” As though he should so freely or gallantly be granted unfettered access to how payment systems actually function. Sorry bro. You just ain’t elected to that role by a simple majority of Americans…

      I’m already into beer goggles mode…ha ha…

      Reply
    2. hoki_haya

      ever enjoy your missives and trust all is generally well. -7 C here at 4am in the Caucasus. best time and place to send missives back. [appreciating the inclusion of the Waits’ tune, too, too true.]

      ‘Azeris say,’ she can’t stop quietly laughing, in the midst of our conversation in the market, ‘that we Armenians are terrorists.’ we both then shrug and laugh. i exhibit more anger than she does. her laughter, gentle and true, is the highest road. what else can you do? she invites me to meet her husband. we speak of the dogs, their plenitude and plight. we speak of the contrast between languages, between Armenian and Greek, Russian and English. we eat, simple and good things. sometimes a man will come in and buy some basic item, and he’ll pay when he can pay, in a few days. everyone’s taken care of here, everyone has a place. pure terrorism, eh?

      i woke up from another heavenly dream thinking that yes, how do i explain it and to whom, that of course that’s why they remain in danger of encroachment and eradication in this world – they are on the whole so pure, self-contained in their culture but respectful of all connected roots, generous and shrewd, open-hearted and cautious, able to laugh at life’s miseries, protective and radiant. of course they’re endangered – the world increasingly will not allow such refined, unpretentious goodness.

      i look back at america, pay attention to their polity and the way they conduct it. watch the senators’ faces, especially when they think they’re off camera. i see the black-or-white pettinesses there, which are an accurate representation of most of their constituents. i take each step on my walks here in the full knowledge that i am walking past that again, with glad-hearted humor, letting each step remind me of that pain and the next step carry me onward into this, the ancient, the eternal, the present resounding spirit. certainly i shall be painted as a terrorist too, i laugh, as i more or less was when back in the land of the diminished. i got more walking to do, more spontaneous and illuminative conversations to enjoy, more animals to give affection to, with the discernment inside endless generosity, which is all our default, native heritage.

      Reply
        1. amfortas the hippie

          this, right here, is why were all here,’
          words from those on the ground, from wherever shit is goin down
          so do tell, Hoki.
          we’re all here to listen

          Reply
          1. amfortas the hippie

            as im sitting by my fire, a skunk wandered by me,,
            not 4 feet from me.
            i remained still, of course.
            skunk sat up/stood up, as it were.
            sniffed around.

            looked right at me, and
            wandered away.

            Reply
  13. griffen

    Something out of left field, or rather something out of the corn stalks of Iowa..but this is not a field of dreams but something from a forgotten dream… Receiving a form letter today from this company below, on a cyber security breach nearly One Year Ago. This is the first indication I have received that notifies me of the breach or potential breach of any personal information….FFS.

    Hey thanks for the notice! I’ve got few clues initially on what coverage this somehow derived from, and as of late 2024 all my benefits dropped as a prior contract position ended. These corporations are just horrible. If I ever saw Mitt Romney I’ll punch him in the face…”corporations are people…”

    *Not on my bingo card exactly but hey let’s throw some AI into this mix…since technology and progress…
    https://www.hipaajournal.com/change-healthcare-responding-to-cyberattack/

    Reply
  14. Wukchumni

    We all came out to the Terminus Dam
    On the Lake Kaweah shoreline
    To surf the internet with a mobile, yeah
    He didn’t have much time now

    Donald and the Mothers of Intervention
    Were in the best place around
    But some stupid remarks after the air crash
    Burned his sense of empathy to the ground

    The U.S. Military TURNED ON THE WATER!
    Turned on the water, you guys are great

    The water ran down on orders from the White House
    It flew with an awful sound
    The worry this winter is running out
    He was spilling Ag’s summer goods out of town now

    When it all was over
    He did find another place
    Success Dam’s water was spilling out
    It seemed like a wasteful disgrace

    Turned on the water, you guys are great!
    Turned on the water, he’ll make California wait

    Ran it down!

    With a few storms coming in and all snow not wet
    We might be in a good place, no sweat
    No matter what we get out of this
    I know, I know we’ll never forget

    Turned on the water, thanks to our wonderful U.S. Military
    Turned on the water
    (he can do anything)
    one more time
    (Turned on the water) hey!

    Smoke on the Water, by Deep Purple

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pVQj2v7tBI

    Reply
  15. The Rev Kev

    ‘Ken Klippenstein
    @kenklippenstein
    Trump’s Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy just sent out a memo directing staff to “give preference to communities with marriage and birth rates higher than the national average”‘

    Just a dog whistle for conservative areas. You wanna job with them? You should have chosen better parents.

    Reply
    1. steppenwolf fetchit

      That’s very MAGA woke. In fact, that’s very MAGA DEI.

      But its also “serving your base.” When is the last time the Democrats ever did that?

      Reply
      1. The Rev Kev

        The Democrats serving their base? Why would they do that? They hate them. The Republicans on the other hand are scared of theirs.

        Reply
  16. fjallstrom

    Washington Post is wrong about the role of the DNC chair. As we have seen in the last three elections the role of the DNC, headed by it’s chair is to decide who is and who isn’t allowed to run as a democrat and then use institutional power to stop those who isn’t.

    Given the questions about at large member, apparently it is also to appoint the members who elect the DNC chair.

    The kids screaming at the inner party members can hardly make the process worse.

    Reply
  17. The Rev Kev

    New video of the Blackhawk-airliner crash-

    https://www.bitchute.com/video/89ndxsJYrXN1 (53 secs)

    The disturbing thing is that I cannot see any attempt by the Blackhawk to maneuver away from that airliner but flew a direct line into it. Were they looking at their displays or something? Three seconds after the collision that airliner was already in the Potomac.

    Reply
    1. JBird4049

      >>>Were they looking at their displays or something?

      The theory is that the Blackhawk’s crew might have confused the danger warning with another aircraft on the opposite side of the helicopter that was leaving the airport at the same time as the other passenger plane was landing. Two planes with one coming from the right and the other from the left with one they perhaps needing a reminder and the other a danger warning with the helicopter pilot only seeing one airplane, not both. Then the theory is that he mentally tagged the danger warning on the less dangerous aircraft and not with the approaching, landing plane on the side opposite of where he was looking at.

      Reply
      1. The Rev Kev

        I wonder if the black boxes aboard that Blackhawk will tell us what happened. Looking at that video I see no attempt to pull up or dive down though he may have tried to veer which that video may not show due to the angle. For all we know there may have been an argument between the pilot and co-pilot about whether they were flying on the right side of the river and at the correct altitude or not leading to them being distracted. Guess we’ll have to wait for the results of the investigation. I do not expect it to take long as far too many important people – Senators, Reps, business leaders, etc. – must be realizing by now that it could have been them in such a collision and will be demanding quick answers.

        Reply
    1. The Rev Kev

      The same mobs who will tell you – sometimes in the same sentence – that Israelis were killed and that Palestinians died.

      Reply
        1. The Rev Kev

          Or with China. It’s like he wants to be George Bush’s ‘Great Decider’ and be the center of attention. But that means that he will tie up his ego to the result in any negotiations as he wants to be seen as the ‘winner’ and there are only zero-sum games with no real attempt at win-win solutions. He’s not as good as he thinks he is.

          Reply
    2. steppenwolf fetchit

      He can insist all he wants. He can’t make them do it.

      By the way, this would be a fine time for Egypt and China to make and work out a secret arrangement whereby China will come in with all its infrastructure construction abilities and rebuild all the broken stuff in Gaza. Once everything is finalized and ready to go, Egypt and China can reveal it to the world and dare the US and especially Israel to try and stop it.

      Reply
      1. Roland

        Egypt as a whole, and Sisi in particular, are quite vulnerable to outside pressure right now.

        High inflation, weak currency, deep indebtedness.

        If not for billions in emergency loans received from Qatar, the Ukraine War would have already caused an outright famine in Egypt.

        It doesn’t help that Sisi lavishes money and resources on building a new capital city, to physically separate Egypt’s elites from Cairo.

        Nor did it help that the Yemenis hurt Egypt’s Suez revenue, in a failed effort to relieve the Palestinians.

        Egypt cannot afford to irritate the Western countries right now. That means they have to pander to Israel.

        Mind you, Sisi could face uprising at home if he consents to the liquidation of Gaza. On top of that, Hamas are the sort of Islamic political movement that the Egyptian secular military regime has been trying to crush for decades. Besides, Palestinians are a people distinct from Egyptians, and would constitute an ethnic minority. Sinai is Egypt’s main source of oil and gas. Sinai is inhabited by Egypt’s Bedouin minority. Egypt could not adequately police Sinai if a large number of people settled there, since the peace treaty strictly limits the forces Egypt can deploy in the region.

        Finally, since Israel will continue to war upon Palestinians, it can be taken for granted that the Israelis will attack Gazans settled in Egypt, and use Palestinians in Sinai as a pretext for their own armed incursions in that region. You can imagine that Egyptian efforts to maintain control will be portrayed in the West as a threat to Israel, justifying a renewed Israeli demand for occupation of a buffer zone. Any domestic instability in Egypt will encourage this kind of Israeli aggression.

        Sisi’s in a real bind. Without the West and the Gulf monarchies, Egypt is screwed. But if he accepts a mass Palestinian deportation, Egypt is also screwed.

        Where’s the upside for China, for them to get involved in this mess? Short answer: there is none. Large infrastructure investments cannot be made quickly or subtly. China’s involvement in Panama has already put them at odds with USA. How can they involve themselves more, anywhere near Suez, without provoking a confrontation for which they are not ready?

        A lot of China’s trade goes through Suez. Best for China would be the old status quo of the turn of this century, for ever and ever. The USA can disrupt Egypt, Sinai, and Suez, because the Egyptians, the EU, and East Asian exporters are the ones who get hurt the most.

        I think China’s best policy would be to work diplomatically in conjunction with Japan, Korea, Taiwan, the EU, and the Gulf oil states, to pursue their strong joint interest in the stability of Egypt, and the safety of Suez. What is a called for is a quiet, steady, pacific, multilateral policy on the part of China: real leadership in the general interest of the greater part of humanity.

        Reply
  18. steppenwolf fetchit

    ” Hmm. Would “access to” include modifying the software in any way? Maybe I’m foily but I’m picturing Musk, slave of some defunct economist, installing a software version of the “Balanced Budget Amendment” written by some twenty-something tech bro. Or personally approving every check run, keeping a tally and stopping the press when outgo matchedi incoming, like a household. ”

    You think you are foily? I don’t think you are foily enough. I think MuskenTrump want to be able to stop checks to anyone or anything they personally or politically do not like or approve of. For example, any old people identified at protests? Stop sending them their Social Security checks and cancel their Medicare coverage.

    Also, Musk would like to figure out how to divert as much of that money as possible into his personal accounts, businesses, etc.

    It is setting up an inside-job rolling and ongoing embezzlement lootathon. Who or what could move fast enough to stop it?

    Reply
    1. Stubbins

      This all has me fairly terrified. Even if Musk commits a bunch of crimes, or gets others to commit a bunch of crimes, it doesn’t mean much if nobody will enforce the law AND Trump has demonstrated he has no compunction about pardoning absolutely anyone. (Not that Biden is any better, with his total family wipe for years of prospective crimes. The pardon power is totally corrupted at this point.)

      My only hope is that Musk breaks something so badly, and so epically (no Social Security for a month or two ought to do it) that someone tells him to stop in a language he understands, some mortal financial threat or security threat he can’t blow off. I never want to find myself in a position to be rooting for Team Spook, but it’s more seductive than I’d like.

      Reply
      1. steppenwolf fetchit

        Well, in all actuality, in our current post-legal environment, targeted wet work carried out with extreme prejudice by relevantly skill-setted intelligence and/or special operations personnel is the only way to stop Musk and all his senior people in every infested department and agency at this point.

        Nothing else can move fast enough or effectively enough ( or at all) at this point.

        Reply

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