Infant with rare, incurable disease is first to successfully receive personalized gene therapy treatment National Institutes of Health
World Economic Forum Chases Lagarde as Its Next Leader After Founder’s Abrupt Exit Bloomberg
Climate/Environment
Analysis: Clean energy just put China’s CO2 emissions into reverse for first time Carbon Brief
Earth is heading for a second year above 1.5°C climate goal New Scientist
The Heat of the Moment The BREAK—DOWN
Earth’s Energy Imbalance More Than Doubled in Recent Decades AGU Advances
Japan
Japan’s economy shrinks as US tariff hit looms Business Times
China?
Rare earths race heats up with US-Saudi deal and Shenghe acquisition Nikkei Asia
THE PENTAGON IS USING A FABRICATED CHINESE THREAT TO BUILD GENETICALLY ENGINEERED SOLDIERS MintPress News
Prof. Wang Jisi on Trump and US Foreign Policy (Part 2) Sinification. “When the world’s most powerful country abandons its principles and loses any sense of morality, it becomes exceedingly dangerous and may inflict great harm upon the world.”
India
Trump wants Apple to stop moving iPhone production to India Business Times
Old Blighty
Man charged over fires at homes linked to PM BBC
Palestinians mark Nakba as hearing on UK government’s arms sales to Israel continues The New Arab
Labour see ‘massive increase’ in UK military equipment sent to Israel The National
UK blocks Labour MP from asking about Israeli bombers using British airbase Middle East Eye
British Intelligence: A Law Unto Themselves Kit Klarenberg
European Disunion
Germany turned out to be everything my grandmother warmed me that Germany is. I see the ineptitude, the prevarication, the sheer imbecility of the German political class and I feel I have been conned by a bunch of unscrupulous insurance salesmen into buying cans of moral placebo. https://t.co/osYEPPvVAp
— Martin Gak (@DrMartinGak) May 15, 2025
Syraqistan
No mention of Gaza or of the US being “troubled” by the humanitarian situation in this readout, despite the reports. https://t.co/jVnXCPngjp pic.twitter.com/GgvoVksgfk
— Mairav Zonszein מרב זונשיין (@MairavZ) May 15, 2025
***
‘Too good to be true’: investors eye Syria after Trump sanctions move Reuters
Trump’s sanctions on ICC prosecutor have halted tribunal’s work AP
Report: Israel holding talks with Syria on Sharaa regime joining Abraham Accords Times of Israel
***
The mood at the end of liberalism Kültürkampf. “On the dissolution of the PKK and Trump’s Middle East policy.”
***
RASHIDA TLAIB REINTRODUCES RESOLUTION TO COMMEMORATE 77TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NAKBA TAG24
Philly weaponized robotics firm is in hiding All-Source Intelligence. “Philadelphia-based Ghost Robotics Corporation has concealed its new headquarters since January, following a sustained local human rights campaign against the firm’s work with the Israeli military.”
New Not-So-Cold War
Top US diplomat says Ukrainian conflict cannot be solved militarily TASS
Brief Frontline Update – May 15, 2025 Marat Khairullin Substack
Russia is in the driving seat Ian Proud
Zelensky has set a ceasefire in Ukraine as the only topic to be negotiated by the Ukrainian side, a ceasefire that Russia has refused about gazillion times without addressing core issues. A ceasefire that only Ukraine needs that the West openly says it’s going to use to prepare…
— Olga Bazova (@OlgaBazova) May 15, 2025
US lifts sanctions on Russia-linked international oil project RT
FM: Russian fighter jet violated Estonia’s airspace to protect shadow fleet vessel ERR
That ‘tourist’ in the forest might be a Russian spy, Latvia warns AP
“Liberation Day”
Walmart says it will hike some prices due to tariffs. Here’s what that means for shoppers CNBC
US gets back to EU on trade war ― hinting at Trump’s willingness to find a deal Politico
Trump wants to bolster US drug manufacturing factories. Will this plan work? USA Today
When the U.S. and China began throwing tariff punches at each other, few industries were off limits. Yet there’s been at least one notable exception: Both have decided that their burgeoning medicines trade should be protected. @economicsnoah reports. https://t.co/zljTxaveKv
— The Wire China (@thewirechina) May 13, 2025
Trump 2.0
LEAKED: Acting FEMA Director’s Plan for “FEMA 2.0” Drop Site
The New Acting Administrator of FEMA Wrote a Novel. It’s Not Good. The New Republic
Trump Wants a New Plane. Now, So Does Homeland Security Secretary Noem. WaPo
DOGE
The Trump Administration Leaned on African Countries. The Goal: Get Business for Elon Musk. ProPublica
The US buried millions of gallons of wartime nuclear waste – Doge cuts could wreck the cleanup The Guardian
DOGE went looking for phone fraud at SSA — and found almost none Nextgov/FCW
GOP Funhouse
Megabill teeters after hard-liners make their stand Politico
Immigration
Kitchens Close to Avoid ICE at Steve Smith’s Broadway Bars Nashville Scene
The Supremes
Supreme Court tackles birthright citizenship question Regular Order by Jamie Dupree
Big Brother Is Watching You Watch
License Plate Reader Company Flock Is Building a Massive People Lookup Tool, Leak Shows 404 Media
Police State Watch
ICE DUPED A FEDERAL JUDGE INTO ALLOWING RAID ON COLUMBIA STUDENT DORMS The Intercept
Trump’s Military Buildup at the Border Expands New York Times
No, You Don’t Actually Have a Right to a Bank Account New York Times.
Hocus Pocus, There Goes Habeas Corpus Consortium News
Abortion
Florida just took more abortion rights away Seeking Rents
Missouri lawmakers seek to repeal abortion-rights amendment approved by voters last year CBS News
Groves of Academe
NYU denies diploma to student who criticized Israel in commencement speech AP
Here’s the grad speech that NYU is now withholding the student’s diploma for:
“As I search my heart today in addressing you all…the only thing that is appropriate to say in this time and to a group this large is a recognition of the atrocities currently happening in Palestine.” https://t.co/Ngy64yAqJT pic.twitter.com/gDnbJTHmPS
— Prem Thakker (@prem_thakker) May 15, 2025
Moskowitz criticizes NYU grad speaker over pro-Palestine speech: ‘Good luck getting a job’ The Hill
AI
Regarding “white genocide,” Read Max
Healthcare?
Big Shifts: CVS Is Pulling the Plug on ACA Coverage — And 1 Million Americans Will Pay the Price HEALTH CARE un-covered
Guillotine Watch
Most Americans don’t earn enough to afford basic costs of living, analysis finds CBS News
Capitalists Only Respond To Threats Ian Welsh
Imperial Collapse Watch
Denver air traffic control went dark for 90 seconds, FAA confirms Denver Post
This Air-Traffic Controller Just Averted a Midair Collision. Now He’s Speaking Out. WSJ
Improving Naval Ship Acquisition Construction Physics
If Ignorance is Bliss, The US is the Happiest Superpower Larry Johnson
The Bezzle
Coinbase Hacked: Up to $400M at Risk After Insider Scam 99Bitcoins
The Online Scam Industry Is Capitalism Built on Slave Labor Jacobin
Uber to introduce fixed-route shuttles in major US cities designed for commuters TechCrunch. Genius.
Class Warfare
NJ Transit rail service shuts down as workers go on historic strike Gothamist
Newsom wants cities to force homeless Californians to move camp every 3 days Cal Matters. Why not 3 minutes?
Why Marx is back in fashion Unherd
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
145 comments
Comments are closed.
“Man charged over fires at homes linked to PM”
A Ukrainian they say? So much for gratitude. I would have thought that they would have waited until the end of the war before launching attacks like this because the west stabbed them in the back or something or other. Begun has the Ukrainian terror attacks.
Thank you, Rev.
Speaking of gratitude, Buckinghamshire county council is negotiating with Merlin Entertainment (owner of Mme Tussaud, the London Eye, Alton Towers, Warwick castle etc.) to provide free entry to Ukrainian refugees. There has been an influx in recent weeks.
If they have not done so already, all British MSM outlets and politicians will accuse the evil Russians of having duped that Ukrainian to commit arson against Starmer.
After all, there has just been an affair with bombs hidden in parcels to be sent from Germany to Ukraine. The culprits have been arrested. They are all Ukrainians. And guess who is accused of having organized the attacks?
Of course… You see, the latest news in El Pais about the war in Ukraine are titled “Latest News on the Russian War in Ukraine” because, you know, the West has nothing to do with the conflict. The longer it goes the more deluded we grow. The sulking of adolescent Westerners (following Aurelien’s ideas) unable to face reality has no other way to go. Blame everything on Russia and do not accept any criticism.
This was just a warmup.
Re Man charged over fires at homes linked to PM BBC
Not just any man, but a Ukrainian man. The BBC omits this information in both the headline and intro paragraph. If he had been Russian, this information would be front and centre of any reporting.
Propaganda by omission as usual. Anyone who still thinks the BBC is in any way impartial must live with their head in the sand.
Thank you, John.
As a long suffering UK taxpayer, you will be delighted to hear that Buckinghamshire county council is negotiating with Merlin Entertainment (owner of Mme Tussaud, the London Eye, Alton Towers, Warwick castle etc.) to provide free entry to Ukrainian refugees. There has been an influx of refugees in recent weeks.
What about free beer and chips? Will no one think of the children? Someone at the council ring up Wetherspoons, chop chop.
Re: “Uber to introduce fixed-route shuttles”
Oh, we’re so proud of the kids. They’ve invented the bus route. Perhaps they should think about a joint venture with Elon’s Boring Company for a ‘sub-surface dedicated-route transport system’?
They’ve probably done the field testing…as GM’s Cruise demonstrated swarms of robo-AI cause chaos if conditions deviate from programming presumptions.
if they want to roll out AI-uber, which they probably desperately want to so, it has to be shuttle-form first.
tens of Billions of dollars to eliminate 1 bus driver. wow, can wait to see the profits gush in!
None of these Robotaxis will survive one day in Manhattan…(SF pedestrians and drivers are much too deferential to GM Cruise cars), once New Yorkers figure out that robotaxi will always yield for you.
I’d like to see a NYC mayor dare to try to protect Uber’s rigbt of way, lol
I have always thought this was a fundamental problem with driverless vehicles: They have to stop if anything is in front of them. This not only makes traffic jams simple to create, but it also makes the cars themselves easy to steal, vandalize, set on fire, sleep in for the night, or whatever else you might think up to do with them.
A vehicle’s driver not only does the driving, but also serves as a security guard for the vehicle. This is important enough for a family car, but now imagine 18-wheeler trucks with no driver. These are very much worth looting and/or hijacking, and doubtless this will happen every second somewhere once these things get out on the road.
Old-style drivers are going to look like a pretty good bargain in the future.
18-wheelers with no driver, and spikes on the sides, and machine gun turret on top. AI Mad Max.
These tech schmoes keep reinventing trains and busses.
I thought it sounded like Bush Taxis in developing parts of Africa and Asia. Seems appropriate for where the country is now. Looking forward to the militia checkpoints. Always carry a few $20s in a separate wallet to quickly deal with a shakedown.
Snark aside, a blended taxi/bus system makes intuitive sense now that software exists to calculate and integrate thousands of individual itineraries. It just needs to be a municipal monopoly service, not some VC pie in the sky grift to bleed a population for infinite profits.
The city should introduce parallel public transit shuttles at half the rate
That would be infringing on the future profits of the Trans-national; thus the intrepid community would be pleading before some NYC arbitration panel.
‘Olga Bazova
@OlgaBazova
Zelensky has set a ceasefire in Ukraine as the only topic to be negotiated by the Ukrainian side, a ceasefire that Russia has refused about gazillion times without addressing core issues. A ceasefire that only Ukraine needs that the West openly says it’s going to use to prepare Ukraine for more hostilities. As expected Zelensky and his criminal cronies are making it a clown circus. Russia should just leave. It’s a criminal waste of time to entertain these muppets. Nothing will come out of it.’
It really is a circus over there. The Russian delegation was waiting in Istanbul so Zelenski flew to Ankara instead to meet Erdogan. Rubio is off tooling around the south of Turkiye while Lindsay Graham is hanging around in the background. Zelenski demands to talk to Putin but when it is pointed out to him that his own decree forbids it, says that he does not have to follow his law. Then he says that he alone can negotiate and I am not sure what a Ukrainian team is there for then. In other words, these talks are all about him. Trump weighs in and starts mumbling how he was going to drop in because he heard Putin was going to drop in but Putin did not go because he heard Trump wasn’t going to go. It was all very confusing. But Trump also said that nothing will happen until he meets with Putin to end the war. In any case he leaned on Zelenski and these talks have already started but I doubt that much will come out of it but more justifications to put more sanctions on Russia.
The best circus money can buy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Of_jyeDZ3Sg
Well, the Ukrainian media is reporting that Russian demanded the four oblasts they thin are part of Russia now, but the Ukrainians rejected. At that, the Russians left the room with the commend that next time they will ask five oblasts.
At first I thought it was a weird psy-op, but that technically is how Russian tend to set the terms for peace: the first offer is usually the best one.
The first offer was zero oblasts, a while ago. Someone else offered cookies, and now we are here.
According to the Russian media the negotiating team denies the claim. They said eight, not six oblasts.
There might be another purpose for this clownshow, beside providing the obvious entertainment value. It gives an off-ramp-to-be-missed before the expected-to-be-very-hot summer offensive starts, courtesy of Putin. Rumors say that Zelensky also has a cunning plan, in the form of a suicide squad to be throw in random frontline direction, for the glory of Borderlands.
There has been some progress, at least, when you consider that Ukraine had long demanded a ceasefire as a precondition for talks. Zelensky’s histrionics are what I expect from a man who’s trying to distract his supporters from the concession he has made. But if only the whole war had consisted of name-calling!
Under Biden, there wasn’t even talk about talks. Whispering about whispering could get you cancelled.
It’s a lot harder to end a war, than it is to start one. It can even be easier to win a war, than it is to end one.
Games, games, games, over who meets who, where and when, and what’s the agenda: I find it exasperating, but negotiations are often like that.
I wouldn’t concern myself much with a country’s laws or decrees, where they concern war, because war by its nature goes beyond the scope of law. If a government wants to wage a war, it doesn’t matter if their constitution says they can’t. If a government wants to make peace, their proclamations forbidding treatment with the enemy will all be void.
California Governor Newsome must be channeling his inner Edwardian oligarch recently. His “anti-homeless” policy push is eerily reminiscent of turn of the Twentieth Century English “poor laws.” Specifically, the rules in force in old London that prohibited “street people” from sleeping in public after dark. I came across this when I read Jack London’s “The People of the Abyss” (1902.) He actually went to the ‘poor side’ of London and lived among the destitute for several months.
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_People_of_the_Abyss
This feels like a tactic that enables the full implementation of the Jackpot. Overwhelm the “poor” and “deplorable” by making simple survival all that they can focus on. It just reinforces the point made by Marx and Engels that any “reform” movement needs a dedicated “Vanguard” cadre to effect any pro-social policies. By making life too chaotic and dangerous for measured reflection, the Jackpot Engineers guarantee the continued decline in the power and effectiveness of any counter elite movements.
With these “legal” actions to make poverty ‘illegal,’ Newsome has highlighted the essential anti-social nature of our present day so-called elites.
Yet again, what was once derided as “Conspiracy Theory” has become “Conspiracy Fact.”
Stay safe. Stack deep.
Down and Out in Paris and London by Orwell, is an armchair ride through the abyss he found in Paris after being robbed of all his money…
Read that one must have an annual income of $373k to afford to buy a stucco and wood domicile in Orange County @ present rates of play in the housing market. where a median-priced home now fetches $1.45 million.
The average Joe or Jane makes closer to $37k, and might be a few missed paychecks away from spiraling downwards towards an abyss that would have you rousted every 3 days, when they put out the Not Welcome mat.
In the London portion of the book he describes a system of “casual wards” or “spikes” where homeless men stayed overnight in dormitories or cells with horrible conditions, and provided with tea and 2 slices of bread with margarine or drippings. They weren’t allowed to stay more than one night at the same place (or at 2 places in London) within a month. They had to declare their next day route to another spike, and in the morning were given a “meal” (tea and bread again) ticket to a shop along the route.
But Gov Gav is so sincere. He has Gravitas, I tell ya. Evolving thinking in Sacramento is a sign of genius, and empathy, too. He is always a step ahead, that Gav. /s
Re; Big Brother Is Watching You Watch
A handy map, although it is noted that this is a crowd-sourced project and incomplete.
First:
What is an ALPR?
Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs) are cameras that capture images of all passing license plates, storing details like the car’s location, date, and time. These cameras collect data on millions of vehicles—regardless of whether the driver is suspected of a crime. While these systems can be useful for tracking stolen cars or wanted individuals, they are mostly used to track the movements of innocent people.
The Dangers of ALPRs:
ALPRs are a threat to your privacy and civil liberties. They can be used to track your movements and profile you, and even stalk you. Learn more about the dangers of ALPRs and how you can protect yourself.
https://deflock.me/
Thanks. Here is my low tech strategy for ALPRs. When I approach stoplights with cameras I put my sunshade down. They may get my license plate but they won’t get my face.
I have read that most car based license plate readers use infrared wavelengths to ‘catch’ the image. One of the low tech methods of escaping that “modern problem” is a spray paint that is almost transparent but reflects infrared wavelengths of light. It blinds those sorts of sensors. Plus, it is not obvious that you are trying to evade detection. The product is marketed as “Mailbox Paint.”
A little bit into the weeds, but a decent thread on the subject. Notice the range of ideas put forward.
See: https://www.rdforum.org/threads/74524/
Drive safely! There are a lot of deranged car wranglers out there now.
You sure you want to disseminate tech that in modern UK cound be deemed illegal?
Just a heads up for you and site owners. It is sad that we have to consider this but…..
Ah, thanks for the heads up. I notice that in making the “rules based order” international, the Globalists multiply the oppressions and suppressions that the ‘common Terran’ is subject to.
Not a personal reference, but modern States have normalized the “Tyranny of the Should.”
The Star Trek 2.0 Borg said that: “Resistance is futile.” The modern iteration is: “Resistance is feudal.”
Stay safe. Self censor. Pray daily to Saint Luigi the Adjuster.
https://www.stealthplate.co.uk/faqs/
Interesting. Possibly traffic squad honeypot…?
As an alum of NYU Law, allow me to say in the strongest words possible: family blog NYU in its family blog with a family blog without family blog. Bad university! No donation or support for you!
that was a terrific speech! this brave young man should be celebrated for
meeting the moment so eloquently
shame on NYU
Agreed, it was a good speech. Withholding his diploma is absolute BS.
That goes into his Permanent Record.
Institutional power writ large, or maybe in some tasteful gothic font?
The citizens of New York State should withhold paying the taxes which provide NYU administration salaries, allowing them to play God with people’s lives, promoting their own extremely ‘biased and one-sided’ views.
Better yet, take away the exempt status for property taxes on their downtown Manhattan not-quite-a-campus real estate holdings.
This shows what a key aspect censorship is in keeping the US supported Israeli genocide under wraps.
Interesting to see this (excellent) article getting to grips with one of the big causes of increase in all government projects – the running down of governmental in-house engineering and design teams in favour of design and build contracts. The article is specifically about US naval vessels, but the same basic principles apply to building transit projects, railways, public housing, hospitals, etc.
One of the worst policy decisions in the western world – dating back to the 1980’s – was the idea promulgated by economists and MBA’s that contracting out public projects as full packages was more ‘efficient’, than keeping a big staff of engineers, project managers and architects of all types. This worked for the private sector, because cyclical demand could make it expensive to keep expertise in-house. It has long, for example, been standard practice in commercial shipbuilding for primary design decisions to be made by the shipbuilder (following a brief), than the shipping client. But this makes sense because the clients themselves have highly cyclical purchasing cycles.
The rot hasn’t entirely set into countries like France, where they can still deliver high speed rail and other infrastructure at a very significantly lower cost than the anglosphere nations – primarily because of big, highly experienced in house teams who can package contracts into long term rolling programmes, each aimed at specialist sub-contractors. Long term rolling programs are the key to keeping down the long term cost of public housing, service infrastructure, etc.
Thank you and well said, PK.
I would just add that, unlike HS2, there are far more regular meetings, on site inspections and data for the officials to keep an eye on the contractors and progress on continental and other projects. It was an after thought for HS2. HS2 has many more contractors and sub-contractors than foreign equivalents.
I live in Buckinghamshire and sometimes come across engineers working on the HS2 and east west railways. Many are from overseas. Some have brought their families with them.
The foreign engineers marvel at how Blighty organises such matters, including how HS1 and HS2 don’t link up and the lack of regional networks. I point them in the direction of Oxford and say that ministers and civil servants aren’t interested in soiling their hands. Amateurism rules OK in Whitehall.
It is not amateurism. I am an amateur planner (“armchair planner”) and I would not do it this way.
They are professionals, in the use of arse-covering process to extract maximum career progression from their tenure in charge of projects irrespective of whether the common sense (but not contractual) objectives get delivered.
Overruns inherent in the design build approach have that overt feature of payments to all the right people. The greed and moral decay in the DC procurement regime are endemic and won’t start to end until there are legal consequences for people, not just fungible entities that resist audits. Checks and balances should include more action and less checking that Cayman Islands or Panama or wherever account balance.
Btw, that same rot pervades Wall Street and PE boardrooms.
An under-rated and underreported hero of America is the last person to lead the effort to get Wall Street leaders convicted & sentenced to federal prison time:
Bill Black for the Keating Five.
NAVSEA has a lot more experience botching ship building than the pentagon Lockheed Boeing RpNorthrop air plane flounderers!
Good thing the Navy-Mahan cult realizes it does not have enough ships to send to the bottom saving Taiwan.
Or the real money losers would have their rocks flipped.
Item 3 solution is product mgmt 101: know what you are building/selling.
No one in pentagon will slow good profit bc they do know what the contract can do.
The rot is so bad in Anglo-land it beggars belief. Here is the latest hot-off-the-presses on the Royal Canadian Navy example of the same sh*t-show: Secrecy over troubled Canadian Surface Combatant program continues
Keep in mind, we aren’t even DOING the bulk of the design work here! Supposed to have been an off-the-shelf British design with some ‘tweaks’ for Canadian usage, and somehow Irving shipbuilders and whatever other contractor sea-lamprey blood suckers are involved in this managed to turn $1 billion ships (which is still, mind you, insanely expensive) into $7 billion dollar ships. Figure that one out, eh?
And of course, predictably, the government and everyone involved is working overtime to bury any news of this sorry, embarrassing programme. More from the above article:
Imagine that.
I would humbly suggest to the French (and anyone for that matter) that if they wish to keep whatever engineering and building expertise they still have, they would be best served by severing any ties they might have to Anglo-land’s MBAs, ‘economists’, industrial experts, engineers, bankers, literally ANYONE related to procurement of anything. I’m not even joking, I would be hesitant to even hire low level engineers if they went to school in America or whatever anglo appendage, the rot is SO deep and so dangerous, it isn’t worth the risk of getting your institutions infected by whatever mind disease we are seeing at work here.
I don’t know why you are getting so worked up about a measly $80 Billion.
That sounds pretty cheap.
Here in Aus we will be paying $368 Billion for 4 submarines!
“You call that a boondoggle? THIS is a boondoggle”
Our cousins in ‘Straya light the way (with burning dollar bills). I don’t even want to start thinking about how it was possible to get so little for so much, lol. $300+ billion aught to build a fleet that can take over half the Pacific.
Are you actually going to be getting those subs, as in actual subs, ever? The AUKUS deal looks stranger and stranger as time passes, mostly at Australian expense, I think…
You will be paying $368 Billion for 4 submarines that will not be yours, and will probably be used against your interests. Throwing that money directly into the ocean might have been a better investment.
I had a couple of thoughts after reading this:
(1) Having a lot of narrowly specialized ships as this article proposes (instead of multi-role ships) will require many more people to enlist in the Navy and to remain in the Navy. My understanding is that the current Navy is unable to meet its recruiting targets, and I assume this trend will worsen over time. Seems like the only thing that makes sense for the foreseeable future is to plan for a Navy that requires a lot fewer people to sustain.
(2) I have a hard time seeing why having a Navy even makes much sense anymore. Anyone who watched the battle of the Houthis against the pride of the US Navy, only to see the latter chased off with its tail between its legs in short order, will have difficulty arguing with this. The current era of cheap, agile hypersonic anti-ship missiles and other technologies means that any ship of any size provides a juicy target for incoming flights of drones, standoff bombs, missiles, unmanned boats, and torpedoes. My understanding is that in even the US military’s own war games the carriers are sunk in the first few minutes of the war. Most of the capabilities of current warships seem like they’re defensive, which makes sense given the realities. I would not want my son or daughter to be serving on a warship when any war, large or small, began.
It is well known that the U S of A is managing the war in Ukraine, with major assistance from U.S. satellites. Germany, France, and England (and I use the word England deliberately) are seeking their past glory, following resentful Poland and mightily resentful Estonia in another Napoleonic campaign against the Asian hordes. The Ukrainian people have been a sideshow, a kind of genocide-lite, with an entire of generation of men wiped out.
So the article “UK blocks Labour MP from asking about Israeli bombers using British airbase” [on the relic of the decrepit British Empire and the results of its treatment of the orientals that is Cyprus] is worth a read. There are many interesting details lurking in there — especially about lying to parliamentarians.
To wit: ‘In response to questions about these flights, the Ministry of Defence has insisted they are in support of “hostage rescue”.’
Let’s be clear about it: The U S of A and the U.K., with an assist from sunsetting France and Germany and other satellites, are carrying out a genocide in Palestine. The slow leaking of information about what is going on at the bases in Cyprus is proof.
This was Biden’s genocide to prevent, and he has neither a moral compass to understand the import of his actions nor enough functioning synapses to have second thoughts. This is Trump’s genocide to stop, and he doesn’t have a suitable moral compass, either. Yet there will be no consequences for them, or for NATO, which is thoroughly implicated.
There will be consequences for college and university students. One wonders, though, if being expelled from the managerial track may not be the best thing for their formation.
Grazie mille, signor DJG.
Further to fcUK, it has no choice.
Brexit, by which the benighted kingdom imposed tariffs on itself, has isolated Blighty. fcUK needs to avoid isolation and make itself useful to Uncle Sam, so facilitating war in Ukraine and genocide in Palestine makes sense.
Would full communion with the Russophobic fascism of Von der Leyen be better than Brexit?
Balancing between large powers is what the UK needs to accept as its future. If it has anysenss, it will emulate Switzerland (and also make the trains run on time)
“Report: Israel holding talks with Syria on Sharaa regime joining Abraham Accords”
I guess that al-Qaeda are not the Jihadists that they say they are. If this branch of al-Qaeda want to go into a alliance with Israel, who incidentally have occupied a chunk of their country, and invite Israelis in to invest in their country, then just what is the point of those Jihadists? Are they just there to attack Shia Muslims? Do they want to advertise the fact that they are aligned with Israel and the west? Are al-Qaeda members even allowed to criticize the genocide in Gaza these days or is that subject verboten. Must make for some very awkward questions at the al-Qaeda recruitment booths these days.
All of the ceremony with Gulf Cooperation Council parties these past days sent many televised messages throughout the Arab world and beyond. Recipients no doubt included AQ and similar elements. Now, how will that unified and targeted communication play out, in Gaza, Syria and elsewhere?
The Sunni side of the Shi’a – Sunni schism is lining up with IDF.
With BRICS uninterested and China investing in BRI through or including Iran.
If the Houthi tracked F-35, the rumors of IDF F-35 being targeted over Iraq might be a thing.
I’d been calling al Golani al Israili for a while already. The price they will have to pay is, at least cession of the Golan (which will make the name appropriate) and likely Israeli occupation up to Damascus itself. That will go well with the public in the Muslim world…
>>>Capitalists Only Respond To Threats Ian Welsh
the bottom 99% in America have been so fractured and cleaved-apart by the culture wars that the top 0.1% have nothing to be afraid of.
Thanks useful-idiot foot soldiers in the culture wars!
What can’t go on, stops.
Famine, however induced, will be the ultimate motivator…
honestly, I’m not too sure that even an empty stomach will overpower the secular-religious undertones of today’s culture-war politics.
You may be hungry, but you are morally right for supporting and those custards on the other side are evil and will rot in Hades!
! see the retail prices a-rising
I see trouble on the way
I see empty shelves
I see bad times today
Don’t go shopping around tonight
Well, it’s bound to raise some strife
There’s a bad tariff boom on the rise
I hear Iran hurricanes a-blowing
I know the end is coming soon
I fear a couple of vocal cords over flowing
I hear the voice of rage and ruin
Don’t go shopping around tonight
Well, it’s bound to raise some strife
There’s a bad tariff boom on the rise
All right
Hope you bought things before the tariff bellwether
Hope you are quite prepared to pay through the nose
Looks like we’re in for nasty inflation weather
One is bound to be hosed
Don’t go shopping around tonight
Well, it’s bound to raise some strife
There’s a bad tariff boom on the rise
Don’t go shopping around tonight
Well, it’s bound to raise some strife
There’s a bad tariff boom on the rise
Bad Moon Rising, by CCR
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKJwvQfraY8
reading this is like hearing an audio book narrated by John Fogerty—definitely one for the songbook!
“FM: Russian fighter jet violated Estonia’s airspace to protect shadow fleet vessel”
This was a really weird article and it was like reading about an alternate reality. Either that or a normal day in the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Take these two examples-
‘Estonia exercised its right to inspect a shadow fleet vessel passing through its exclusive economic zone’
Yeah, nah! Not when you are talking about international water. You do that in international waters without permission, they call that piracy and hijacking.
‘From the Navy’s perspective, escorting ships is standard practice, as guarding the maritime border is one of the Navy’s duties’
Quite true. But it is not the duty of any navy to force a ship sailing in international waters into their own waters so that that ship can be seized and the crew thrown into a slammer. Estonia and Poland played a stupid game and won a stupid prize. Can you imagine what would happen if a US bound ship sailing in international waters was intercepted by the Mexican Navy so it could be forced into Mexican waters? Trump would flip his wig.
The whole article is a pile of steaming do-do. In an early paragraph it calls the vessel ‘Gabonese-flagged’ and then a couple of paragraphs later, describes it as ‘unflagged’. Do they not have sub-editors to check things like that?
In my experience of submitting letters/opinions to the Guardian regarding a piece, sub-editors ARE morons.
They can be shown that they are about to do a Max trip (and incidentally the entire internet decided this was UTTERLY awful journalism – I read it in read time and experienced funniest afternoon in my life).
Sub-editors have a LOT to answer for. Part of why I will NEVER give money to the Guardian.
Thank you, Gentlemen.
@ Terry: I remember that controversy. I also remember Max’s father in print and on air (BBC).
No one should give money to the Grauniad. A couple of years ago, when I last checked the accounts, it had over a billion pounds in cash.
The paper is owned, by way of a Cayman investment fund, by the syndicate of banks (including Lloyd’s, HSBC and BNP Paribas) that took over(the Scott Trust) in a debt for equity swap after the paper and its then sister, the Observer, switched to the Berliner format and bought the press for the format (2007 – 8). The charity arm that funnels the donations, not just from gullible readers, but Bill Gates and USAID, is domiciled in Delaware for, ahem, tax efficiency.
Further to Gates’ largesse: https://gript.ie/bill-gates-bankrolled-select-media-outlets-to-the-tune-of-319-million-including-the-uks-guardian-and-the-bbc/#:~:text=The%20documents%2C%20obtained%20by%20MintPress%20News%2C%20revealed%20that,million%20to%20the%20UK%E2%80%99s%20national%20broadcaster%2C%20the%20BBC..
In addition to that printing press and format, the Grauniad spent lavishly on its offices, including a concert pianist at the reception.
Thanks Colonel. That afternoon during “Maxgate” was perhaps one of the funniest afternoons of my life…..the Guardian had NO ability to properly police their online boards and I might still have screenshots of some of the funniest and libellous comments made……..
But it really was the ultimate example of why you NEVER EVER want to regard the Guardian as the “defender of freedom and/or the left”. It certainly isn’t and they really really don’t like me for sending them peer-reviewed stuff that shows a discussion they want to hold is total garbage. They are scum. Just as bad as the DM.
Thank you, Terry.
While we are kicking the Grauniad:
(1) the inestimable Duncan Campbell has died at the age oglf 80.
(2) the Guardian has splashed his obit as a local hero to the paper, focusing in his crime journalism!
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/may/16/duncan-campbell-celebrated-guardian-reporter-dies-aged-80
(3) there is not one mention of DC’s breaking the global scoop on Echelon (RT telephone jeyword surveillance, forerunner to NSA global internet surveillance) or all his other cold war spook / strategy / nuclear industry investigations.
https://www.duncancampbell.org/content/echelon
Oh, and in unrelated news MI5 made Alan Rusbridger attend a symbolic beating to death of Snowden’s harddrive in his newspapers own basement. Slightly more subtle than hanging him over his own moving printing press but only slightly. The Guardian is bought / captured, hook line and summer by the security state and dare not speak of Duncan Campbell’s true heroism.
https://pressgazette.co.uk/publishers/nationals/guardian-carried-out-symbolic-destruction-snowden-hard-drives-after-pressure-government/
Since you mention “The Rusbridger” here a new interview about the upcoming documentary about Assange, directed by Eugene Jarecki and which will premiere at Cannes with Assange attending.
Eugene Jarecki on Bringing Julian Assange to Cannes With the Explosive WikiLeaks Documentary ‘The Six Billion Dollar Man’
https://variety.com/2025/film/news/eugene-jarecki-julian-assange-wikileaks-documentary-six-billion-dollar-man-1236398845/
It is an odd piece in VARIETY.
The intro to the interview goes like this:
“(…)
“The Six Billion Dollar Man” paints a sympathetic portrait of Assange, who remains controversial for his decision to publish everything from diplomatic cables to classified footage of airstrikes in Afghanistan that pulled back the curtain on the inner workings of the U.S. government and its allies. Critics of Assange argue he’s reckless, providing a platform for leakers to share information that could endanger lives. Supporters believe he’s a crusader for truth, willing to risk it all to hold the powerful to account.
(…)”
And then comes an interview which is very mixed beginning with Jarecki saying e.g.:
“(…)We need more people who stand up to power, or this world is fucked (…) we’ve watched Assange get buried by layers of propaganda and nonsense and distraction. (…) Whether you like or dislike Julian’s funny hair or his Australian accent or his snobby personality, I could give a shit.(…)”
But also such nonsense without which I assume no Hollywood person can breath:
“(…)We saw that recently in terms of what Shari Redstone is doing and why the head of “60 Minutes” left. News organization after news organization have folded to a would-be dictator, by allowing that wall to be made of mesh. And when that wall is porous, the people in the editorial department are forced to run scared from truth-telling.(…)”
Not a single word about the Democrats being after Assange and denouncing him. So Jarecki will of course protect his own who he is dependent on. It´s also typical to say:
“(…)in his zeal to show the world the horrors (…) I think he was, and he would admit it himself, insufficiently cognizant of the need for certain measures of redaction. But the U.S. government has affirmed and conceded in black and white that no single person on this planet was ever hurt because of any release by WikiLeaks(…)”
Of course Jarecki could use the f-word – directed against the DNC and the 3-letter agencies and the 3-letter media companies – again in this context as he so effectively does earlier to prove to us that he is a really tough and honest guy.
So exepect more Rusbridger hit the air with the movie coming to theatres.
I am not completely against this kind of worthless so-called documentaries but I assume it will flatten the edges of the subject mostly. Which will prove my point that films don´t do shit expect make money or ruin some people if they don´t. Fwiw, nobody forced Assange to agree to this thing. I hope.
Actually, it was incompetent Guardian journalists such as convicted plagiarist and ‘storyteller’ Luke Harding, who published the passwords that Assange had been assiduously avoiding releasing, that put various ‘intelligence’ individuals at risk. Nontheless, Assange was blamed and pilloried, while Harding remains at the Guardian to publish fiction about events in Ukraine.
The rewriting of history is disgusting.
For non-Germans: Stefan Kornelius the duplicitious senior editor of major German daily SÜDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG, an Atlanticist of major influence and among the dumbest commentators I have read in my life in German media (I grew up with that paper like some Brits do with LRB e.g.) once infamously denounced Assange as a “danger” or “threat” (“Gefährder”).
This same Kornelius – à la revolving door routine – is now the new spokesperson of the Merz government.
p.s. Aaron Maté had this nice interview with Luke Harding on his worthless Russiagate book 2017 ;-P
Where’s the ‘Collusion’?
28 min.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ikf1uZli4g
I’ve always believed Assange was blamed for releasing the CIA hacking toolkit, and that was why they were so merciless against him. I suppose there were many people and many reasons, though. Not only people who were directly embarrassed but their friends and sympathizers as well.
They were/are two different journalists. The Duncan Campbell who had the scoop on Echelon is still alive and I don’t think he ever worked for the Guardian, except possibly on a freelance basis. His work appeared in the New Statesman and Time Out back when they were radical. The Duncan Campbell who has died was a crime journalist and wrote a book about British crime from the 1930s to the 1990s. He was also married to Julie Christie.
This is not to say that the Guardian hasn’t been captured by the security state. It could be argued that that capture began in 1983 when the then editor Peter Preston effectively outed Sarah Tisdall as the leaker of some documents showing where cruise missiles were going to be based in the UK. She was jailed for four months, reduced from six, as a result.
Lol, my bad. I didn’t imagine there could be two! You would think they would have noted the distinction in the obit to avoid any unnecessary… grief.
But my comment about the Guardian being a state tool still stands!
Today I found out that Estonian Air Force operates a total of zero fighter jets. It sounded a bit weird that Russians sent only one Su-35, but now it seems like an overkill.
LEAKED: Acting FEMA Director’s Plan for “FEMA 2.0”
Spain: 505.983 km²
Texas: 695.621 km²
EU: 4.103.987 km²
Europe: 10.523.000 km²
Interstate 10, that bane of drivers still in family-blogging Texas after more than a day. By the time you get to El Paso, after about 880 mind-numbing miles, you’re ready to forget about the Lone Star State and miles of emptiness interspersed with oil wells and more emptiness.
You can however traverse a fair bit of it at 85+ mph. My younger self once did it in a day, Dallas and El Paso traffic notwithstanding. Westward ho is key.
Obviously Texas being Hispanic territory from a certain perspective it should be okay for any decent American to say that Spain is therefore the only relevant territory in Europe. After all reality is not the facts but what we make out of ´em.
😉
But if you look at movies and stories from Texas you really get the impression there is not much else there. Except maybe Washington D.C. and the Moon.
Its time to whack off repeatedly, and i’m no hacker on the links, its the attack of the nearly 7 feet tall weeds…
I’ve never seen them this tall in 20 years of paying attention to odd details such as height of greenery, and its quite something, we’ve had basketball scouts from major universities looking for a center.
They’re kind of a pain in the arse, as you have to weed whack them top to bottom in a series of 3 moves, as opposed to a couple moves on typical 3 to 4 foot tall models.
More importantly as fire goes 2.5x the height of the highest burnable, you’d have momentary flames reaching about 15 feet high, its almost as if Mother Nature is trying to tell us something wicked this way is coming, by the way.
Yikes, talk about ‘ladder fuel’!
My favorite story on the futility of chasing the white ball and spoiling a good walk is the time when I stepped up to the tee box with a fairly new metal driver. I swung so hard that the head snapped off the shaft after contact, and flew into the woods some 100 yards to the left (I have a natural tendency to hook.)
The ball only went 50 yards … or maybe into the woods where I couldn’t find it.
Am I the only sourpuss who reads a thrilling headline about US science and cannot stop thinking about the assault from DOGE, Trump, and 2025?
Cannot not read that as “first, and last in the United States…”
One irony re drug prices. The MAOI antidepressant I’m on is widely called things like “the mother of all antidepressants” or the “the antidepressant of last resort”. It went off patent in early 1970s around time I was born. Yet thanks to glamourous drug reps, in UK, Australia and Sweden touting SSRIs etc, doctors avoid it and my dose costs about £900 (USD1000) per month.
It requires no special production. Ironically, I went on a hunt last month to see what is charged to patients/HMOs etc in USA for it. I could find suppliers charging literally 10% of the price in the countries mentioned above, using PPP. Why? Well I’m guessing because there are enough older shrinks in USA who have enough power to compel buyers not to be price gouged.
It might be the only drug it’s better to get in US than under single payer systems! The exception that proves the rule.
re: Trump’s sanctions on ICC prosecutor have halted tribunal’s work AP
From the article:
What on earth was he doing using a Microsoft email account? He may as well have been broadcasting all communications. Should have been using Proton to begin with.
Also, if his bank accounts are blocked in the UK for basically being an member of the court, investigating a crime, engaging in judicial activities in a court of law, this is going to set a very interesting precedent.
Likewise if that court of law and its staff are also being targeted.
It was only recently that Nigel Farage’s bank accounts were also closed for purely political reasons. Seems UK banks are developing a habit.
These will ultimately be used against the US, UK and Israel, and becomes evidence in itself.
Either the ICC issues arrest warrants against the Brits blocking accounts for obstruction of justice, or it effectively doesn’t exist.
Then again, call me when the ICC goes after a white, western, non-slavic leader for crimes.
Isn’t that precisely what they’re trying to do here?
NYU denies a degree for an opinion. Is that an example of the academic freedom and the free exchange of ideas? Suppose he had said that he strongly supports the right of the state of Israel to bomb Gaza to powder and to do whatever pleases it with the inhabitants? What then? Cheers and applause? The award of his degree by the Dean on bended knee with tears in his eyes? Or continued virtue signaling, more scolding condemnation?
Have the hypocrites taken over everything?
The hypocricy is why Harvard and Co.’s crybaby routine doesn’t sit right with me. They have supressed free speech for years in favor of the worst of wokism and now cry about Trump curtailing their academic freedom. While I agree that Harvard is correct when it comes to Trump imposing undue restrictions, they lack the moral authority to raise a complaint.
NYU attacking this guy for daring to state his informed position at a university of all places is the hypocricy on steroids and turned up to 11. It’s all “free speech for me but not for thee” all the time with these university administrators. I have an NYU Law diploma and I consider this act a stain on my diploma.
First ever ‘Holocaust Educator of the Year’ in a college town newspaper https://chapelboro.com/category/news Why now? No mention of Palestine. Perhaps a field trip to Gaza would be educational.
Only if the IDF lets them back out.
They’d be bombed. You mean, let the bits out?
https://chapelboro.com/news/pre-k-12-education/orange-middle-schools-selena-masse-named-first-ever-outstanding-holocaust-educator-of-the-year
LOL!!! “Holocaust Educator of the Year.” As in, one who teaches how to do it right?
Learning by doing?
Apparently the college administrators and politicians are unaware of the Streisand effect (trying to suppress something draws attention to it).
If NYU had done nothing, this would have been minor news.
The cheers on the clip voiced by the audience indicated that some in attendance supported the speaker.
This might result in lower future contributions to NYU from student alumni disgusted with NYU.
Maybe the admin believes what they lose from small donors will be swamped by funds from large donors.
If so, perhaps this cynical strategy will backfire.
A week from now on this date in 1933, one of the first CCC camps in California was constructed @ what is now Potwisha Campground in Sequoia NP, a stoner’s whet dream of a name.
What a different first 100 days the country enjoyed under FDR’s capable hand, with 300,000 young men learning new skills, building infrastructure, battling wildfires and more, while eating 3 squares a day in CCC camps across the country.
We’re busy eliminating 300,000 Federal jobs, in the Bizarro World version of FDR’s legacy.
https://livingnewdeal.org/sites/potwisha-ccc-camp-sequoia-national-park-ca/
Yesterday DN had Alex de Waal on (a noted author on Famine)
“Surveillance Humanitarianism”: As Gaza Starves, U.S.-Israeli Plan Would Further Weaponize Food
This is day 74 after the total embargo of March 2. Those people are on the verge of extinction. If this does not create rage in those who know about it, well then, my heart is doubly broken!
It always amazes me that Trump, who epitimizes a person with “Narcissistic personality disorder is a mental health condition in which people have an unreasonably high sense of their own importance. They need and seek too much attention and want people to admire them. People with this disorder may lack the ability to understand or care about the feelings of others. But behind this mask of extreme confidence, they are not sure of their self-worth and are easily upset by the slightest criticism.” – Mayo clinic
He always will project upon how bad something is before he, himself, goes about doing that very thing.
I would not be suprised if he wants to get all cuddly with sports figures he has adulation for—given his persistent need to claim his greatness, bravery, macho-ism and loving the butt-push or arnold palmers bigglyness down under etc…other examples abound – like his penchant to surround himself with his ideation of ‘beautiful women’ to disguise his secret lust for male interaction – “Not that there’s anything wrong with that,”-Seinfeld
But I digress—
So….by making the statement below – he is doing the exact thing he claims the ICC is doing.
HE IS setting a dangerous precedent, HE IS directly endangering current and former United States personnel, including active service members of the Armed Forces.” and
HE IS exibiting “malign conduct” HE IS threatening “the sovereignty of the United States” and HE IS undermining “the critical national security and foreign policy work of the United States Government.”
Just because Trump say’s it’s so don’t mean it’s so….. If you place odds on if what Trump says is True then you would always bet against the truth
Huck Finn to Jim re Henry 8th
“S’pose he opened his mouth –- what then? If he didn’t shut it up powerful quick he’d lose a lie everytime.”
Of course, this is my opinion “Not that there’s anything wrong with that,” at least for now ….I think
Trump’s order said the ICC’s “actions against Israel and the United States set a dangerous precedent, directly endangering current and former United States personnel, including active service members of the Armed Forces.” He said the court’s “malign conduct” threatens “the sovereignty of the United States and undermines the critical national security and foreign policy work of the United States Government.”
“Not that there’s anything wrong with that” Seinfeld https://www.youtube.com/shorts/6DM4kSF8CeU
Leader of major countries should have to pass personality questionnaires. Full stop.
IF they don’t then if you allow them to be elected the results SHOULD be public record.
I think they should all have to undergo six months’ training under the tutelage of a Taoist sage. Fasting would be involved.
> Earth’s Energy Imbalance More Than Doubled in Recent Decades
>> state-of-the-art global climate models can only barely reproduce the rate of change up to 2020 within the observational uncertainty (Raghuraman et al., 2021). The continued rise in the energy imbalance since 2020 leaves us with little doubt that the real world signal has left the envelope of model internal variability.
Notice that the when the numbers went off in 2021, the Raghuraman paper used the failure to confirm man-made effects [‘exceptionally unlikely (<1% probability) that this trend can be explained by internal variability. Instead, TEEI is achieved only upon accounting for the increase in anthropogenic radiative forcing and the associated climate response']. In retrospect, the real news was that the model was broken, which we're reading now. While it was prudent to refrain until there was the confirmation of years, this explains the flurry of concern about not understanding clouds that bubbled up about 2021. The model not working could be used to justify cutting funding for the modelling. Thus the hidden knowledge.
I had intended to link on the phrase ‘forbidden knowledge’, but can find no evidence that the essay, ‘Not That the Actual Forbidden Knowledge is as Interesting as That There Is Forbidden Knowledge’ [2007], ever existed other than the three sheets of paper in front of me. It concerned Sarah Hrdy and her finding that ‘Not only do mothers sometimes kill their own children, they are almost never insane when they do so,’ and that a ‘simple equation in four variables is sufficient to provide a reliable estimate of the probability’. ’29 out of 30 scientists who discovered it immediately and without any external pressure moved to suppress their own research findings.’
iirc, there were anthropologists who had become members of tribes they studied, and were afraid their findings would be used to justify wiping out the tribe. That’s understandable.
But the fact that in the embodied knowledge of the internet, this has been scrubbed as though it never existed, is at absolute best ironic. Any reference in my own files prior to 2018 was lost when my OpenOffice files were sabotaged, from online as I watched. If it’s important, best make a hard copy.
Wasn’t that hard to find. (Assuming it’s the same thing). Copy the title, put double quotes around it, search on Yandex.
https://archive.ph/7xng6
It is interesting that the search on DDG returned a blank page with a single Google “EOF” link?!? So I’m guessing there is some sort of filtering going on.
Confirmed, Yandex is much the better, Thank you very much! It led me to find the original was from a suspended LiveJournal. Thank you archive.ph also!
“Top US diplomat says Ukrainian conflict cannot be solved militarily”
Of course this would be Marco Rubio saying this. What he says is true and is not. The more time that passes, the less of the Ukraine there will be and that means that there will be less to negotiate. And just in case the west gets any funny ideas, I hear that the Russians have built up two armies, neither of which are fighting in the Ukraine, and these armies have been getting the best equipment. All of NATO has not the men, the equipment, the logistics or the doctrine to go up against the Russian military which is where we are at the moment. Trump and the west trying to bluff the Russians into freezing this conflict so that it will end up looking like the Korean peninsular and with the Ukrainian military being built up bigger and more powerful than before. The whole thing is and has been a US proxy war against Russia from the start and now that Russia is on the path to victory, suddenly the US is pretending to be a ‘mediator’ for this conflict – while at the same time keeping it going with money, weapons and intelligence. Kinda like watching a football game when you suddenly see the coach from the losing side run onto the filed and don a referee jacket. Nobody is fooled. So why is Trump doing this and using people like Rubio and Kellogg to push this? I think that when Biden had to abandon Afghanistan, it made him determined not to be the one to lose the Ukraine. The media covered up the Afghanistan fiasco for Biden pretty quick put Trumps knows that the neocons and the media would harp on this for the rest of his term and pin the blame on him and not themselves.
The Comey’s are an interesting family, and quite entertaining.
Apple and tariffs and AI oh my
Question: I have an iPhone X, pretty sure Apple will stop sending security updates soon and the screen has a tiny chip.
I’d like to get a new one before the tariffs hit and am leaning toward the 16 if the AI can be disabled. Multiple online reviews say it can be: wondering if any of the tech savvies in the commentariat can confirm or deny?
many thanks!
Hi Chi Gal, yes you can disable it in the settings for icloud and Apple Intelligence. I’d recommend a 15 pro if you find a reconditioned one. Nary a difference tech wise and a touch lighter and smaller.
thanks for the tip Bugs, I’ll get the 15 Pro. I bought my X refurbished six years ago —no complaints to date.
Thank you, Conor.
Further to the Kit Klarenberg article and its reference to Starmer, the phrasing about his grooming is appropriate.
During the McLibel trial, where Starmer acted for the defence, there were rumours about his spook associations.
There were complaints about Starmer spending so much time in the US and with the US securocrats, rather than, say, the department of justice and NY AG when he was chief prosecutor. There were also complaints about his lavish expenses and whether the crown prosecution service was funding his social life. Is it not odd that Starmer’s former colleagues are never asked about him?
Starmer grew up in Oxted, Surrey, and supports Crystal Palace, not Arsenal. He has much in common with Johnson and Trump, but I don’t know if Trump has sired children out of wedlock.
Starmer found it difficult to find a seat in 2015. Ted Miliband was, ahem, prevailed upon to parachute Starmer in Holborn.
Some years later, Starmer torpedoed the emerging consensus between Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn to facilitate a soft Brexit: https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1636441/keir-starmer-brexit-deal-make-brexit-work-labour-u-turn-lord-barwell-spt.
This gives an idea of some of the types behind Starmer’s rise to power and his positioning for leadership and as PM: https://news.sky.com/story/theresa-mays-brexit-deal-threatens-national-security-ex-mi6-chief-sir-richard-dearlove-warns-11603738 and https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/theresa-may-brexit-deal-mi6-national-security-eu-richard-dearlove-a8721471.html.
Craig Murray’s oldie remains a goodie: https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2022/02/how-the-establishment-functions-the-real-dark-web/.
Many British people may complain about what Starmer is doing and their plight, but Starmer is doing what his sponsors, donors and retirement providers want. What did the British people, especially the people who thought they were “getting Corbynism with competence”, expect?
Let me conclude by laughing at the centrist log rollers who thought Starmer was a remainer. Corbyn met May and Barnier regularly, the latter as late as the Monday before the December 2019 election, and eight EU heads of government. Corbyn’s Norway plus discussions were more ambitious than May’s, I felt. They even included an idea from me to address City access to the single market and give EU regulators oversight of the City, using, stealthily, the college of supervisors all international banks and insurers have and bodies like the Basel Committee.
Does anyone know what the transaction fees are for Trump’s shitcoins?
The first one will cost you your soul. The rest are “at spot.”
Humbly report, seigniorage
It makes me pine for the halcyon days of good old-fashioned Fee-at point of purchase.
I have seen these recent examples of politically ‘connected’ fecalcoins described as Newmiasmatic offerings. (Be extra careful Boyz and Girlz. It’s a Swamp out there!)
Stay safe and don’t take no wooden nickels.
Some claim Trump has coined a phase.
When my nephew told me that he had invested in some digital currency I told him that it was nothing but promises. The only real measure of value is $ in your bank account. Everything else – stocks, bonds, digital currency – they’re all just promises. Some better than others, but until it is $ in hand it is just a promise. Place your bets accordingly.
Here’s what it used to say on FRN’s in 1950:
Economy tomorrow, economy yesterday and never economy today!
As Sam Spade tells Sargeant Polhouse at the end of “The Maltese Bitcoin;”
Polhouse, holding bitcoin wallet: “Heavy. What is it?”
Spade, “The stuff that schemes are made of.”
Cue end music.
As for stablecoins, they sound like something that should be regulated by the State Gaming Commission.
$ is a fiat currency. Fiat currency is also just a promise, and the money printing machine goes brr.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1hCLBTD5RM
Uber fixed route shuttles…in seattle they’re called metro buses, community transit, and light rail, a branch of community transit. It’s pretty good and pretty cheap as compared to owning a car.
This is uber getting a toe in the door to privatize public transit which uber, like amazon and space x before them, can get a blood funnel into the holy grail, constant infusions of .gov cash to unlevel the playing field and finally and miraculously making a profit.
A truly disgusting batch of scoundrels.
And once they take over, they’ll jack up rates.
Several years ago a buddy of mine drove for Lyft in Seattle for a very short time when he was a little desperate for cash, and he saw the grift pretty quickly. He would give door to door rides to tech hipsters from home to work and his fare would be less than what it cost to take the bus. Of course this was because the rates were yugely subsidized by squillions in dumb money – but who would take public transport for $3 when you could get door to door service for the same or less? We’ve all seen how the bait and switch works since.
World Economic Forum Chases Lagarde as Its Next Leader After Founder’s Abrupt Exit Bloomberg
~~~~~~~~~~
O Davos!
World Economic Forum land!
True expatriate love in all of us command
With glowing hearts we see thee private jets arrive
The well heeled strong and free!
From far and wide
O Davos, we propose Legarde for thee
God keep our powerbase glorious and free!
O Davos, we propose Legarde for thee
Legarde?!
Engarde!
This Christine would be King, and has the edge.
(I could go on, but what’s the point?)
Re the mint press genetically engineered soldiers article. Putting aside the complete non-relevance to “China” in the article title, “China” being relegated to today’s boogyman d’jur; where have I heard this before? Cut and copy ‘bioengineering’ with ‘networkcentric warfare’ and the whole thing could have been written in the late ’90s early ’00s. “Full spectrum dominance”. It’s like they’re using a template to keep the grift flowing.
(and that’s before getting into Agent Orange, depleted uranium ammo and DOD’s track record of taking care of vets. What could go wrong?)
” What could go wrong?”
It already has “gone wrong.” The number of physically fit potential soldiers available to the West has diminished almost to the singularity point. So, our ever-beneficent Global Overlords have decided to grow their own!
But yes, this does read like an example of the Technopic Compensation Effect.
GMO soliders by Monsanto will be resistant to Agent Orange.
re: US Israel vs. 1st Amendment
RESPONSIBLE STATECRAFT interview with podcaster Hasan Piker who was questioned by Feds at airport after returning from France:
Hasan Piker: What feds don’t want you to think about my detention
Popular American streamer tells RS about how he endured two hours of questioning regarding his opinions on Israel and Trump
(don´t know why RS has regularly incorrect address names linked)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/ukraine-russia-istanbul-talks/
A little inflation here and there…last year registration for my ’98 Tacoma was $98 and Smog was $50.
This year it is $161 and $130, it did not pass smog so I had to replace a couple of parts, when I talked to the people at NAPA they informed me that the price had almost doubled since the Tariffs were announced, from $180 to $350.
It’s a war on the poor and it is going to further destabilize an already vulnerable population.
Meanwhile annual EV registration in NC is now $214 to (vastly over)compensate for missing gas tax revenue + Feds preparing their own $250 gouge + electricity is taxed. Gotta fund those ME oil wars.
Kitchens Close to Avoid ICE at Steve Smith’s Broadway Bars
Fascinating. The US economy cannot function without undocumented workers but the Government engages in theatrics deporting people.
Somehow Sparta and its helots come to mind.
Earth is heading for a second year above 1.5°C climate goal New Scientist
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Thames and other rivers in Europe froze during the Little Ice Age, the worldwide climate being -3°C cooler. The existent glaciers in the Sierra Nevada here were all formed during the LIA, it didn’t take much deviation from norms.
We are bouncing at least 5x in the other direction, it’ll be fascinating and horrifying to see what’s in store for us, with feel good stories regarding finds of ancient peoples artifacts, preserved perfectly under ice, until most recently.
Hmmm. “Fixed-route shuttle” is too wordy. What should we call these new things? How about a “bus”?
Sounds good!
Democrats Who Championed Biden’s Re-election Bid Now Seek Atonement
No. Seppuku. They should do so immediately. These people are a joke.
Murphy must lead the way for his fellow morons, perhaps someone can be his second.
As much as I agree with the sentiment, I doubt any of them can commit seppuku properly. The honor lies in not just slicing open the midsection, but the final tug upwards through the liver.
Mere Roman-style falling on their swords would do.
Well, plenty of people will be happy to cut their heads off once they are done poking themselves in the belly…
Good to know there is some expertise around.
In Germany the saying “Harakiri begehen” (commit suicide by Seppuku) used to be a rather wide-spread and popular term. It sort of vanished as of late. May be people found out that it´s much more difficult as you say. The wave of Samurai movies granting some basic knowledge to audiences I assume…
(However the much fanfared remake of “SHOGUN” could have done well with a few less cases of seppuku…)