Five bathers bitten – police officer shoots two-meter fish Der Spiegel via machine translation. The Monty Python bunny has been giving lessons.
Face it: you’re a crazy person Adam Mastroianni
The Unseen Fury Of Solar Storms Nomea (Micael T)
COVID-19/Pandemics
last night i held the first ever mask-required covid-safer concert in france! everyone in the audience wore a KN95, and air purifiers were placed throughout the venue. what a wonderful feeling it was to go on stage and see this crowd of colorful masks 🥹🤍 pic.twitter.com/64h7EvHHpj
— holocene (@holo_cene) June 23, 2025
1/ Four years ago, my son caught COVID-19.
He was just 16 months old.
What followed was terrifying:
• COVID pneumonia
• Hospitalization
• Weeks of recovery
• And a tragedy in our familyThis is the start of his Long COVID journey—one we’re still walking.
👇 pic.twitter.com/rcEcoXN3g8— IntegralAnswers (@IntegralAnswers) June 19, 2025
Climate/Environment
Climate change threatens Phytoplankton – The ocean’s oxygen powerhouse The Vibes
How the UK is testing a radical plan to refreeze the Arctic The Times
EXCEPTIONAL HEAT IN FRANCE
Temperatures up to 39.9C at Chateaumeillant
JUNE RECORDS
39 Tusson
35.1 Saint Cast le Guildo
34 Lanleff
33.5 Sainte Marie du MontSPAIN again with 42C and North Africa with 46C (and MINIMUMS of 35C in Algeria )
In few days extreme heat in the Balkans pic.twitter.com/nzgHMztnTa— Extreme Temperatures Around The World (@extremetemps) June 21, 2025
Freak wind gusts made worse by climate change threaten airline passenger safety The Conversation
‘A lid on a pot’: How does a heat dome work? NPR (Kevin W)
Players and umpire fall ill during MLB games as heatwave grips US Guardian
Wildfires threaten water quality for up to eight years after they burn ScienceDaily (Kevin W)
Arkhangelsk launches production of fertilizers from diamond mining waste Vyzglad via machine translation (Micael T). I take it diamond mine wastes are nasty.
China?
Huawei aggressively expanding, despite US threats against anyone, anywhere using their chips Kevin Walmsley
Why are fewer and fewer Chinese parents sending kids to study abroad?
This post nails it –
"Last weekend in Chongqing, met up with old classmates and friends. Surprisingly, everyone's talking about one thing: don't send our kids overseas for studies. Here’s the consensus:
1.… https://t.co/HgsFiEI2Gm pic.twitter.com/wWZvPY9UeG— ShanghaiPanda (@thinking_panda) June 23, 2025
Elon Musk warns about AI superintendence. A system so powerful it quietly shapes everything beneath it.
But what if China already built one?
Meet 启蒙 (Qimeng), the AI chip designer that may already qualify as superintelligence.
— William Huo (@wmhuo168) June 20, 2025
India-Pakistan
India will ‘never’ restore Indus water treaty with Pakistan New Arab
Africa
Armed rebels take control of Heineken facilities in DR Congo’s war-hit east CNN
South of the Border
Panama declares state of emergency over deadly pension protests France24
European Disunion
EU readies retaliatory tariffs to secure better trade deal with Trump Financial Times
A new crisis threatens Overton via machine translation (Micael T). On labor costs
The ‘sacrifice zone’: villagers resist the EU’s green push for lithium mining Guardian< The Great Deception: Why Brussels Politics Helps Neither the World nor Us Overton via machine translation (Micael T)
Old Blighty
Starmer stands firm on welfare bill as number of Labour rebels passes 120 Guardian
More pets being put down due to rising vet bills, BBC told BBC (Kevin W) :-(
Israel v. Iran
It would be better if I were wrong, but I do not see Israel adhering to the cessation of hostilities, despite the report below in the Times of Israel of Trump reaching a new register of choler when he heard of the threat by the Israeli Defense Minister to strike Iran again and Netanyahu trying to treat Trump like a moron in claiming he could not call the planes back.
Aside from the fact that Israel has form in breaking ceasefires, I see them as the scorpion in the tale of the scorpion and the frog, unable to contain its reflexes. I suspect Israel will resume aggression, if nothing else more assassinations in Iran, when the nuclear talks resume and Iran holds fast to its position that it will continue to enrich uranium and will not give up its missiles. Of course, that could happen sooner, with the threat to suspend cooperation with the IAEA as another pretext (recall the IAEA told the US and Israel about the layout of the nuclear sites and is believed to have provided intel about Iranian scientists that facilitated their assassinations). Like Ukraine, Israel has agency.
Humiliation: Israel Tucks Tail After Failing All Objectives in War against Victorious Iran Simplicius
Head of #Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization: “We’ve taken necessary measures & are assessing the damaged areas. Plans for revival [of #nuclear facilities] were pre-arranged, and our current strategy ensures no disruption to production & services. pic.twitter.com/3OzppGj6TH
— Iran Nuances (@IranNuances) June 24, 2025
Israel reportedly planned to strike 15 key regime targets when Trump told Netanyahu not to respond to Iran missiles this morning Times of Israel (Li)
COL. Douglas Macgregor : Trump and His War On Iran. Judge Napolitano, YouTube. Key point at 8:10, that it will take an estimated 2 years for Israel to replenish its air defense stocks….which were not adequate to begin with.
S strikes did not destroy Iran nuclear programme, says Pentagon assessment BBC. Kevin W: “A few minutes later – ‘White House rejects intelligence assessment that strikes did not destroy Iran nuclear programme’ at https://www.bbc.com/news/live/c20xel1e97gt”
Many upshots of Iran’s strike on US forces in Qatar Asia Times (Kevin W)
* * * Iran's parliament votes to suspend cooperation with IAEA pic.twitter.com/SLHslyByEm
— Fars News Agency (@EnglishFars) June 25, 2025
IAEA head proposes meeting with Iran, says diplomacy can resolve dispute NBC. Scroll down the live blog.
Proliferation, Retaliation, And Other Consequences Of The War On Iran Moon of Alabama
* * * From Micael T: The Trump Sequence:
A) Unilateral announcement.
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114734934153569653B) But involved parties not informed.
Here Iran doesn‘t seem too hot on the idea.
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2025/06/23/750080/iran-decided-punish-us-aggressors-wont-accept-imposed-peace-def-minC) Countries calling licking Trumps’ ass
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114735940283355339D) MIC ka-ching
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114736289471368584* * * Iran has demanded payment from the United States to compensate for the damage caused by last weekend’s B-2 bomber strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
Iranian deputy Foreign Minister Khatibzadeh says that Iran will pursue diplomatic and legal channels for the compensation.
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) June 25, 2025
UAE calls Israel’s Smotrich ‘morally bankrupt’ over Iran war funding demand New Arab (Kevin W)
* * * An Iranian man left this comment on my YouTube channel. It's the single best explanation I've ever heard on the future of #Iran 👇
As an Iranian, I can tell you the situation is no longer just political—it's existential. We are trapped between two collapsing structures: one…
— Cyrus Janssen (@thecyrusjanssen) June 23, 2025
Egypt alarmed by Israeli influx into Sinai amid double standards accusations Middle East Eye (Chuck L)
Israel receives nearly 39,000 compensation claims for damages caused by Iranian missiles Anadolu Agency (Kevin W)
With much to lose, China sat on Israel-Iran war’s sidelines as U.S. flexed Washington Post. So US sources poke China in the eye after Rubio begged China for help re the Strait of Hormuz.
Israel v. the Rest of the Resistance
As of 10 a.m. local time, 37 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire across the Gaza Strip this Tuesday, according to medical sources cited by @AnasAlSharif0.
➤ 29 of the victims were killed while waiting for aid. https://t.co/l7yqmPUA0j
— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) June 24, 2025
Just like the Nazis:
Gaza aid seekers shot in the head or the chest by the Israeli military at the “humanitarian hubs.” Executed. https://t.co/qJ50fb0Jku
— Nicola Perugini (@PeruginiNic) June 25, 2025
Head of #Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization: “We’ve taken necessary measures & are assessing the damaged areas. Plans for revival [of #nuclear facilities] were pre-arranged, and our current strategy ensures no disruption to production & services. pic.twitter.com/3OzppGj6TH
— Iran Nuances (@IranNuances) June 24, 2025
When the smoke clears, the true toll will be unbearable. pic.twitter.com/FXF4IYLvkC
— 𝓙𝓲𝓶𝓶𝔂 𝓙 🫒🗝️🇵🇸 (@JimmyJ4thewin) June 23, 2025
Israel is building a tunnel to cut off Palestinians from the heart of the West Bank Mondoweiss (guurst)
New Not-So-Cold War
Five NATO countries have decided to mine the borders with Russia and Belarus Vyzglad via machine translation. Micael T: “To stop Ivan and Svetlana to enter the EU or to stop Europeans fleeing the sinking ship?”
Military Watch: Serial production of "Oresnik" will be a turning point
ALTHOUGH IT DOESN'T CARRY A-BOMBS, IT CAUSED "SIGNIFICANT CONCERN IN MANY WESTERN COUNTRIES"
The introduction into serial production and armament of the new Oreshnik missile system will be a milestone, the… pic.twitter.com/jJOxE0QZta
— Sprinter Observer (@SprinterObserve) June 25, 2025
NSC advisors urged ‘ISIS’-style drone attacks on Russian rail, leaked files show Grayzone (Kevin W)
Hungary, Slovakia block adoption of 18th package of EU sanctions on Russia — Szijjarto TASS (Kevin W)
Big Brother is Watching You Watch
The New Face of Surveillance Doesn’t Need Your Face Reclaim the New (Micael T). Your stride is a biggie. But those change with injury, joint replacements, and even a heel lift.
Well, except: RFK Jr. Wants Every American to Be Sporting a Wearable Within Four Years Gizmodo (Kevin W)
Imperial Collapse Watch
Trump’s wavering on Nato defence pact casts pall over summit Financial Times
At June’s Nato summit, just keeping Donald Trump in the room will be seen as a victory The Conversation (Kevin W)
Will Trump’s Strikes on Iran Unleash a Global Arms Race? Washington Monthly
THE EROSION OF COERCION: HOW CYBER RISKS IMPACT POWER PROJECTION War Room
Italian defense minister says NATO ‘as it is’ has no reason to exist Politico
https://www.politico.eu/article/nato-no-reason-to-exist-italian-defense-minister-us-europe-summit-giorgia-meloni-mark-rutte-guido-crosetto/Could there be a military draft in US? Fears rise after Iran attacks USAToday. resilc: “Good idea. I’d love the smell of burning draft cards in the morning.”
Trump 2.0
Senate parliamentarian rejects offshore oil, gas drilling provisions in GOP megabill The Hill
Joe Rogan gives decisive take on MAGA civil war as Iran bombing continues to tear Trump’s base apart Daily Mail. Li: “Leader of young men sides with young men.”
Democrat Death Wish
BREAKING: Zohran Mamdani Wins NYC Democratic Primary, Cuomo Concedes Zeteo. The problem is the Democratic Party exists mainly to stomp on progressives who are democratic socialists. So it will be interesting to see what the ruling elements do.
What Hakeem Jeffries Won’t Do to Stop Trump’s War With Iran Intercept (resilc)
3 Years in, Horrors Wrought by Anti-Abortion “Dobbs” Ruling Are Apparent to All TruthOut. Here because Team Dem has gone silent on reproductive rights, which was once a big draw for them.
Our No Longer Free Press
Norwegian had meme on Vance – was not allowed to enter the US Expressen via machine translation (Micael T)
MARSHMALLOW MINISTER MASHED: Leipzig court overturns Nancy Faeser’s ban on the AfD-adjacent magazine Compact egyppius (Micael T)
EU Commission plans to expand the fact-checking network Multipolar via machine translation (Micael T)
Mr. Market is Moody
Powell Says Strong Economy Can Weather Rate-Cut Pause Bloomberg
AI
Andreessen Horowitz Backs AI Startup Whose Motto Is ‘Cheat at Everything’ Gizmodo (Dr. Kevin)
Hinge CEO Says Dating AI Chatbots Is ‘Playing With Fire’ The Verge
A.I. Computing Power Is Splitting the World Into Haves and Have-Nots New York Times
The Bezzle
Stablecoins ‘perform poorly’ as money, central banks warn Financial Times
Guillotine Watch
Listen and circulate widely:
Dual-Board Certified Adult Psychiatrist records a call with Optum Healthcare
Optum Healthcare is a subsidiary of UnitedHealthcare
He is contracted to provide services for suicidal veterans with Optum and they’re refusing to pay
Optum Rep says “The law doesn’t matter” when the… pic.twitter.com/6HsR2I6ybR
— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) June 22, 2025
Class Warfare
Don’t Buy the Scare About Social Security CounterPunch (resilc)
Antidote du jour. John U: “Gracie and her son Einstein”:
And a bonus:
Golden Retriever really has no enemies pic.twitter.com/X4QUKs3BIB
— contents that ll heal your depression 🌻 (@catshealdeprsn) June 21, 2025
A second bonus:
Loving them is a full-time job. pic.twitter.com/cst76OOiCs
— Why you should have a cat (@ShouldHaveCat) June 20, 2025
And a third:
Splash splash 😍🥰🦆 pic.twitter.com/S94SGrRdBf
— Beauty Of Nature 🌳 (@ShouldHaveAnima) June 22, 2025
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
Our Donny
(melody borrowed from the old Scottish song My Bonnie, which we all know as a nursery rhyme;
here performed by Mitch Miller)
Our Donny shows daily devotions to Israel over the sea
Obeying Ms. Adelson’s notions—she purchased his Presidency
Haystack, orange mask, he’s babbling some witless insanity
No facts, don’t ask, this man needs some psychiatry
He spends half the night on Truth Social—ALL CAPS LIKE THE VOICE IN HIS HEAD!
His posts soon get flagged for disposal—he can’t do the things he has said
Haystack, orange mask, he’s babbling some witless insanity
No facts, don’t ask, this man needs some psychiatry
His brain shows such steady erosion, detaching from reality
There’s nothing left but self promotion, and making himself the payee
Haystack, orange mask, he’s babbling some witless insanity
No facts, don’t ask, this man needs some psychiatry
His slot at the top should be open—his Cabinet won’t do the deed
Remove him because he’s not copin’—this silly old man’s gone to seed
Haystack, orange mask, he’s babbling some witless insanity
No facts, don’t ask, this man needs some psychiatry
Love it!
Another fine job Antifa!
‘Why you should have a cat
@ShouldHaveCat
Loving them is a full-time job.’
Oh, man. That cat video was hilarious. Thanks. I’m sure they do it on purpose.
That’s what makes cats awesome. No matter how adorable they are there’s still a little spark of evil in them all.
“Our Nation on Zillow” by Large Man Abroad discusses the recent provision put into the Big Beautiful Bill that would put over 250 million acres of public land on sale, and why it is so controversial.
https://youtu.be/2RG-c2DXEFA
Palimentarian yanked that – unless it’s back again. Hard to keep up.
The fastest winds in the Solar system are found on Neptune.
It is very cold there.
Or as an anonymous poet put it many years ago-
‘Colder than an iceberg,
gloomy and glum.
Colder than the hair
on a polar bear’s b**.’
re: the durability of the Iran/Israel ceasefire, it’s hard to believe that Netanyahu’s political problems were solved by the recent conflict, but it’s also hard to believe that a resumption of hostilities would serve him well, either. He can claim ignorance of Iran’s capabilities prior to 6/13 triggering its retaliation, but no longer.
Perhaps the next stage of hostilities will be more covert, perhaps attempting to stimulate internal conflict along ethnic fault lines.
To your last point, I can’t recall the source, but I have seen speculation that among Iran’s new requests of the RF will be help in improving their counter terrorism efforts.
If so, they could use the help. And if they are smart, they should let the Russians help them set up an aerial defense system that would make future attacks on Iran prohibitively costly. It is only a matter of time until the Israelis come back for another go. Maybe they should work on their anti-sub capabilities as well while they are at it.
Iranians are clever and patient, and they can clearly see what happened to UA. What began enthusiastically soon became obvious to everybody that UA was being used by the US to bleed Russia even if it wrecked UA in the process.
Iran has to be cautious accepting weapons from Russia or China because both countries might eventually see an opportunity to tie down the US in West Asia, using Iran as a proxy, so as to cause the US to take its attention away from UA and the pivot to China.
I doubt this will happen but one has to be careful.
The United States will be very alarmed if Russia provides Iran with S-400 or S-500 air defense systems. Iran has so far refused such offers from Russia because it doesn’t wish to poke the unstable and deranged Empire. Probably a wise decision at this point.
As long as Gaza is under attack, Yemen will keep launching missiles, and keep ports and shipping very expensive.
Alastair Crooke has said several times that ceasefires in this region last a couple of weeks at best. Israel cannot give up its regional hegemony and still be Israel. Iran (and other Arab states) cannot give up their sovereignty and still be sovereign. Something has to give.
i still expect a false flag to happen to justify nuclear option
You don’t want to be covert if you are trying to shore up the regime–you want to be very visible doing whatever you are doing. Thus the problem.
Two thoughts on the “big brother is watching you watch” articles:
Your stride can also be changed consciously, in many ways. You can hold your upper body aloft, tighten your abs or open your hips, vary your push off force, consciously lift your arches, etc.
RFK may want to force wearables on americans, but that would only be Americans living in America. And perhaps visiting…
I read years ago that if you want to change your stride, then just put a small smooth pebble in one shoe and you will walk differently. For fun, switch the pebble from one foot to another from time to time.
The average American takes less than 300 steps a day… who walks anywhere?
Just crummy luck to be past my 10,000 miles or 60 year warranty-whatever comes first
Had my first steroid shot in my knee yesterday for what ails me-osteoarthritis, and I really shouldn’t have looked at the length of the 2 inch needle plunging into the nether regions as it only made me clench harder, the 5 year old boy part of yours truly that never done grown up.
Feels weird to not be able to amble around striding one leg in front of another and then alternating as is my custom, and am presently getting by with memories of past adventures too numerous to mention. I wonder if I can ski next winter on this bum knee, or does it all just end cold turkey for awhile?
I think I last stretched before doing something, maybe when I was running the mile in high school track, its been a spell. Gonna work on that.
More Boomers are opting for knee replacement surgery. Hip replacements are very common among Boomers. Treking poles are your friend, as I am sure you know very well. :)
Been using trekking poles for 35 years now~
That’s not many steps. I picked up a smart watch last year mainly for biking. At work I average 6,500 steps. At the end of the day my dogs are tired, as I have flat feet. But use or lose it and work is necessary for keeping a roof over the head. I find that the body really can adapt to increased work loads. Rest and diet are important. Giving up alcohol has been a game changer, I might add.
Old Steve Martin joke: Someone asked him how he was so funny. He replied that before he goes on he puts a slice of baloney in one shoe and when he goes on stage he just feels funny.
From experience I can testify: THAT HURTS! I’ll pass
Kaiser Zose would teach us:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtSldnuKBEs
Kaiser Zose, a knockoff Keyser Soze. :)
‘Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
Israel & Iran came to me, almost simultaneously, and said, “PEACE!” I knew the time was NOW. The World, and the Middle East, are the real WINNERS! Both Nations will see tremendous LOVE, PEACE, AND PROSPERITY in their futures. They have so much to gain, and yet, so much to lose if they stray from the road of RIGHTEOUSNESS & TRUTH. The future for Israel & Iran is UNLIMITED, & filled with great PROMISE. GOD BLESS YOU BOTH!’
Mind you, Trump is also the guy who just said that he did not want regime change in Iran and that he doesn’t want it in spite of him pushing it only a day or two ago-
https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/world/don-t-want-regime-change-in-iran-trump-changes-tune-after-ceasefire/ar-AA1Hl2Wu
He tells so many lies that he would make a great fisherman.
If he was the fishmeister, those German catfish attacks would not have happened.
Maybe UNSC could pass a resolution to recognise Donald Trump as a final arbiter for all disputes between member states.
With B2s, Tomahawks, SSBNs at his disposal, truthsocial on his fingertips, there is no dispute unsolvable for him.
/s
Actual footage of Trump’s very STRONG efforts to end ALL of the wars:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7VqPr17mm4
‘Ok Donald, we have you surrounded…
Throw down your CAP pistol and raise both arms to the sky nice and easy like where I can see your small hands, no funny business.’
Antidote from Africa: I know we’re all tired of ever more terrible news. This video is from a favorite source, TrueMamle, who is a sweet middle-aged woman who lives in the Sahel and translates local broadcasts into English. Here the president of Chad suddenly and secretly decides to go to the social security payment office and ask the retired people how they received the money he had allocated to them. (!!!)
They are respectful in their disappointment and the president promises to fix the problems. After the video TrueMamle’s commentary is sentimental and speaks directly to the leaders of nations about serving their people, calling it an opportunity for greatness in these times.
I hope this video will distract from the current chaos for a few precious moments and leave us with something positive to think about, if we are not too cynical.
https://youtu.be/iMzMAhyMbHE
*She uses YouTube’s language tools to process the original french broadcast, and it’s nice to see there’s at least one good use case for AI.
saludos
Re: SImplicius
Question du jour: If Israel had “air superiority” over Iran, how did they (Iran) manage to shoot down a bunch of attack drones?
Asking for a friend.
From the article:
If you take the ongoing Gaza genocide as a starting point and the German penchant for giving the Zionazis fraternal huggles and encouragement, then all it takes is a halfway decent virtual reality headset to tell them they’re super surgeons conducting difficult lifesaving operations when they are actually shooting down, bombing or burning alive women and children and it is all in a days work to satisfy an implacable God with real estate ambitions you just won’t believe. On top of that, they know that everyone hates them despite all their good works. Except for Rupert Murdoch, Keir Starmer and Chuck Schumer, who are at this very minute now engaged in a competitive masturbatory frenzy to provide the Zionazis with new kit to continue what they were doing before Iranian reality hit them smackdab in the face.
re: US investing in German rearmament
via JUNGE WELT daily
machine-translation
Capital flight to Europe
In the eyes of speculators
»Buy Europe«: Increased capital flow from US markets into European equity funds
By Dominic Iten
https://archive.is/y9v8z
“Global investors are withdrawing billions from the US markets and shifting them to Europe. According to data from the analysis firm EPFR, around 110 billion US dollars had already been invested in European equity funds by mid-May – the largest inflow since 2015. Germany, Spain, and Italy have benefited particularly strongly so far, each recording double-digit price gains. The German press quickly reached a consensus on the reasons for the revaluation of international stock markets: The Frankfurt Stock Exchange is among the winners of the crisis – “thanks to US President Trump,” report the Süddeutsche Zeitung , Der Spiegel , and the Stuttgarter Zeitung .”
Yesterday on CNBCs “Closing Bell” a person who manages the investments at family offices said she was moving her clients investments from US equities to European equities. Not because US equities suck, but for the simple reason that they are very richly priced and that European equities offer better potential future returns. Sell high, buy low. Many retail investors do the opposite.
Re: Shanghai Panda tweet.
This is based on out-of-date stats (i.e. up to 2023). The ‘Trump effect’ stats aren’t fully clear for worldwide student movements, but there has been a distinct uptick in the number of Chinese students over the past 2 years according to available figures (which are always a bit suspect, but that’s a different topic). Because of variations in how they are reported by country there is always a lag in establishing trends, but all the available evidence is that post-covid the number of people leaving China for study abroad has stayed pretty stable, with a slight increase this year in Europe.
Not sure if technical questions allowed here. But every time I open NC on my phone lately (android/chrome), I get a popup from “powered by Admiral” asking whether I “consent to these personal data processing activities by us and our partners?”
The same page pops up again whenever I click on links within NC.
It only started happening recently, only on my phone (not other devices) and it only happens with NC (no other websites).
I can’t seem to block or remove this popup using the normal phone settings. Any advice welcomed.
This is an alert required by the EU, Admiral provides it for us.
Are you using a VPN on your phone?
Or maybe “incognito mode” is the culprit. I’m in EU, and I have to allow or deny data processing only when my browser has forgotten the answer – so once in a blue moon or so.
Thank you, Yves and PS. No VPN but will check it out.
Hi Yves, the Admiral alert behaviour has changed. For several weeks now it has appeared with every page loaded or reloaded and required dismissal each time. Even upon posting a comment! This is the mobile behaviour for sure, I think it is also the laptop behaviour.
Whereas previously it would appear sometimes but not always on loading the NC homepage and once dismissed stay dismissed.
I kept meaning to write but the reading and commenting got the better of me..
No VPN on mobile or laptop. It is possible something has changed at the ISP level but I have experienced this on various public WiFi networks (hotels, conferences, trains, cafés) as well as at home and on 5G.
The Unseen Fury Of Solar Storms Nomea
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Perhaps the scariest thing in the USA were the grid to go down on account of a solar storm, is the idea that every last gun would continue to perform effortlessly with only mild index finger pressure.
Would/could a big solar storm knock out the Anduril drones the oligarchs will rule over us with?
The part of my brain that it is constantly creating premises for sci-fi stories would like to know. And perhaps the radical luddite-prepper part too.
A few years back, I was on a backpack trip with a couple friends to Willett hot springs & Sespe hot springs, both along the Sespe River. The trailhead is about an hour drive from Ojai, its quite remote the area and the Sespe River is the last wild river in SoCal, untamed by dams.
A solar storm taking us out lingers in the recesses of my mind-always late on rent typically… as its such an elegant solution to a problem, that being far too many of us-a conquering army that killed off lesser subjects of Mother Nature systematically in propping up our cause.
My friends on this sojourn are from San Diego and LA, and one great thing about a backpack trip is you have oodles of time to bullshit as you’re always in close proximity to your mates and there are no electronic devices to distract.
We’re at Sespe hot springs, 17 miles walk in the opposite direction to where our vehicles are parked @ the Piedra Blanca trailhead, its a great early season walk as the altitude gain and loss is minimal compared to the Sierra.
I hit them up with the scenario… we get back to our cars and none of the trio will start, and having the only manual transmission we decide to try and bump start it, but no dice as its just an ad hoc shelter now. I know what’s happened as we saw the northern lights quite vividly a few nights earlier.
There is no electricity to be had anywhere, mankind survived without it for 69,847 years prior to its use, but there isn’t hardly anybody now who doesn’t rely upon it almost as much as one needs water~
I ask my friends what would they do?
The San Diegan wants to hike home to his wife and kids, and I get it, while the Angeleno is having none of that as he knows there is practically no surface water to be had in the City of Angles or any place en route to San Diego. You can’t go home again-its tantamount to a death sentence.
Most of the 20 million in the SoCalist movement would be dead in a week, no mobility, no water and no food, but lots of guns.
Based on something I read in Bantu history, I think that in such a case you would have huge masses of refugees on the move, perhaps in the millions, ransacking and eating everything in their path including each other until resources would run so low that these groups would break up under their own weight. The most other smaller groups could do is to do hit and run tactics on them to try to make that mass change direction.
The Great Migration To Yuma, where the canals still have water and the fields still have veggies. Gotta cross the Imperial Sand Dunes, let’s hope it’s not hot. Maybe applying for asylum entry to Mexico.
George Derby aka John P. Squibob
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Derby
Reading your post put Aenema in my head … by one of SoCal’s finest, Tool, based on standup from Bill Hicks.
Some say the end is near
Some say we’ll see Armageddon soon
Certainly hope we will
I sure could use a vacation from this
Bullshit three ring circus
Sideshow of freaks
Here in this hopeless f_cking hole we call L.A.
The only way to fix it is to flush it all away
Any f_cking time, any f_cking day
Learn to swim, see you down in Arizona Bay
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CehYA3omb5o
Mel Gibson tried something like that in Apocalypto…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdUwrjgvvrA
Damn, that’s a well crafted scene. Good performances by those actors as well.
Sounds like another rare but catastrophic event the local emergency management organization must plan for. Here on the north Olympic Peninsula coast we (ARES – Amateur Radio Emergency Services) plan for “the big one” – the tectonic plate earthquake expected sometime in the geological near future – when normal comms and all surface logistics are lost. The solar storm may well be more likely. It’s not an EMP so electronics should work, it would be the long lines, power lines in particular (and satellites?) that get clobbered.
Time to start planning.
Re: United Healthcare and VA. Are the veterans disarmed when returning? Wouln‘t it be an appropriate reaction if a bunxh of veterans just stormed the shareholder meeting and just shor them all?
I don’t get how a heavily armed population takes this much abuse from the cradle to the grave.
Cojones deficit.
They are saving it for the libs and poc
And then they have to come to grips with the realization that this is what they’ve been fighting for (as well as the rest of us).
https://mcrawford.substack.com/p/communication-breakdown
The interesting thing about that tweet to me is that it is suggesting that this is a new problem.
I have been party to that same type of conversation every day for the past 8 years. It really is that bad.
The sound of having MBAs fight it out with each other while your patient’s life is in the balance is truly something to sit through.
TwiXt: 377,000 missing (presumed dead) in Gaza.
I read about this report by Yaakov Garb this morning in Fatto Quotidiano. For those who read Italians, it may be easier to go to the edicola and buy today’s edition on paper (see page 5).
Fatto Q, but paywalled:
https://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/in-edicola/articoli/2025/06/25/la-denuncia-mancano-quasi-400mila-gazawi-nella-striscia/8038523/
Harvard Dataverse posting the report and accompanying data sets:
https://dataverse.harvard.edu/dataset.xhtml?persistentId=doi%3A10.7910%2FDVN%2FQB75LB
Another article with more details and an embedded version of the report. The number 377,000 doesn’t occur in the report, and I can’t get to the underlying data set. Without a doubt, someone here is more adept than I am.
https://21stcenturywire.com/2025/06/23/new-report-the-hidden-numbers-behind-gazas-real-death-toll/
The reason I am stressing this report is that for months, the number, ohhhh, 40,000, has been used. This number was out of date months ago, and it is used because of a warped perception or political stance that somehow not enough Palestinians have died to call a massacre a genocide. It’s only a reprisal against a civilian population, you see.
So I am tossing in 377,000, because this number will become the minimum that I will accept from a writer or analyst who wants to be taken seriously.
Also, if you are in Italy and heading to the edicola for the paper FQ, open to page 17. There is an essay of wonderful insight and moral clarity by the esteemed Barbara Spinelli. Every word is measured, and every word is accurate. “Le vere origini del caos bellico.”
For ease of access, she has posted it on her personal page:
https://barbara-spinelli.it/2025/06/25/le-vere-origini-del-caos-bellico/
Those of you who use translation software may want to dump it in the software and read in your native language.
It was suspicious how quickly the Lancet report last year, that 186,000 were estimated dead in Gaza, fell off the front page. That forty thousand figure so routinely cited has been a marker for me as to the verity of the reportage for a long time now.
And also note that the 377,000 figure is the lower bound of the estimate, the actual number of fatalities in Gaza could be double that (and rising by thousands each day).
I would argue the same way, which I did until I saw Craig Murray use those new low numbers too. I was suspicious still but I am not the expert.
And those initial high LANCET figures one year ago did not disappear that quickly. They were used for several months and even THE GUARDIAN as I wrote yesterday had those 500k (projected by end of 2024) floating via guest articles.
It is possible that anyone using the closer to reality numbers will find their writing silently censored. So using the ‘agreed on’ number might be a way of insuring that the rest of your message gets out there.
Speculation on my part, I would never presume to speak for Mr Murray, who is a hero in my book. But in these days, in this algorithmic media environment, we can’t read too much into details like that. (Besides, does the total number really matter anymore?)
I don’t like to say this, but I don’t think most of the world cares about Palestinians, one way or another. The Arab world certainly doesn’t. The Golden Billion don’t. Russia and China don’t. A half million murdered. Few blink an eye. Life is very, very cheap these days. I’ll go out on a limb and say that if Israel were to strike Iran with nuclear weapons there would be hardly a peep from the Global South. There would be official condemnations, but little concrete beyond that. I often feel ashamed to be of the specie homo sapien. Elephants and lions have more compassion. So very sad is the current state of affairs.
This is your last Making Shit Up. The Arab street very much cares about what is happening to Palestinians. For instance, Erdogan has given fiery speeches against Israel’s ethnic cleansing with a million in attendance. There have been large demonstrations elsewhere in the Middle East. It’s the leadership that is bought and paid for by the US. Admittedly Turks are not Arabs, but many commentators have said the Gulf State regimes are at risk of Arab Spring level uprisings over their countries’ continued support of the genocide, such as by allowing the US to have basing rights. There was an element of trying to placate that view in not allowing Israel to overfly them during the recent Israel attacks on Iran (Simplicius pointed out to evidence that Israel was operating out of Azerbaijan).
I am not approving any more comments by you. I warned you sternly and you continued to violate our rules.
Yea, and you have found this comment section to go out on a limb and dump all your negative energy. Also, state of affairs have always been like this. If you have started noticing it only recently, than you just might have been one of the bad guys. Maybe that’s why you have the nerve to judge everyone but thyself.
Yeah I did figure similar things…
As to the numbers of casualties:
Morally you are totally right. Unfortunately with the way media are manipulated and manipulative the numbers matter.
As I wrote in the past: There was that odd case when German peace movement called for its first protest February 2023 re: Ukraine War.
Their memo said 50k Ukrainian civilians had been killed. It was an insane figure.
I called them to inform them that they had mistyped the number (UN had 8500 then).
Turned out the 50k had been intentionally used. The peace movement using then numbers by the US Armed Forces. Which tells you a lot about how independent that movement is…
Now 1 year later imagine with 50k Palestinians killed what a desaster that could have become for the peace movement had anyone from the anti-Russia faction bothered to read as closely as I did.
Warmongers argueing: “50k killed by the Russians and 50k Palestinians killed by Israel. Now if you call it genocide by Israel are you defending genocide by Russia?”
And there goes your peace movement.
In that arena numbers matter…🙄
I try to use “murdered” instead of “dead” in this context. Even “killed” is too weak.
Some evenings, as my head hits the pillow, I slip straight into the arms of Morpheus. On other evenings, sleep eludes me, and my mind searches around for a comforting fantasy to explore as I drift slowly off. Last night’s scenario had China’s PLA descend en masse on Gaza, and start handing out food and water, and setting up field hospitals, daring the brave lads of the IDF to do anything about it.
Fantasy, as I said, but comforting nevertheless…
Back in Feb Trump estimated 1.7-1.8 mil Palestinians were alive, meaning about 400-500k dead as of then.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/trump-gaza-population-relocation-1.7457559
“Israel reportedly planned to strike 15 key regime targets when Trump told Netanyahu not to respond to Iran missiles this morning’
I think that that title was written for the benefit of it’s Israeli readers. If Israel reportedly planned to strike 15 key regime targets, then how come they had not done so in the previous two weeks? Did somebody just dig up a dusty old folder that showed the location of 15 regime targets or something? No doubt there are a lot of Israelis furious for Trump stopping them hitting Iran again and didn’t want the war to stop. One woman interviewed said that absolutely they should have kept bombing because now she does not feel safe. Not the first time I’ve heard something along those lines either from Israelis.
A feeling of safety will be hard to achieve after Iran acquires an AD upgrade from the Russians and Chinese and establishes a firm retaliation policy against Israeli aggression. An alternative route to safety for her would be to oust the current Israeli regime, or she can leave.
That is one of the main problems of wartime censorship and propaganda – people don’t know they have been beaten.
Happened in my dear heimat 85 years ago – peace was brokered and people started wearing black armbands as a protest against the “shameful peace”. They had no idea how close the whole front line and the nation itself were to a total collapse. Some still don’t.
Who said, “ The first casualty of war is truth”? Regardless it is a tragedy of epic proportions.
Maybe she’d feel safer in a bomb shelter, after her apartment is flattened by a missile.
The story up in Links about Israelis fleeing to the Sinai and its airport suggests a new take on Exodus. Just add Pharaoh Bibi pursuing them in his chariot.
Alastair Crooke says some Israelis are trying to be triumphant about the whole mini war but surely now, finally and at last Netanyahu may be on the way out?
Netanyahu may have created a situation in which Iran can turn the tables and engage in steady “provocations” by, for example, shooting down Israeli drones which I assume have been steadily monitoring Iran. And then there are the Houthis. There are plenty of ways to keep tensions simmering and, now that Iran is no longer a state facing erasure, the economic underpinnings of the Greater Israel project, which depended on a fantasy of eventual stabilized hegemony, have been seriously disrupted, possibly ruined.
Go directly to jail, do not past Go.
Adding to the two links in the Africa coverage of violence in the Democratic Congo and the state of Benue, Nigeria, there are also important protests today in Kenya that are a culmination of many things. Firstly it’s the anniversary of last year’s protest where people who were killed are being commemorated. Also, the reason for the 2024 protests has returned: increased taxes proposed on necessities. Fold in the very recent police brutality/torture/murder, combined with hired thugs attacking the protesters last week and the scene is really intense. Here is a short video that shows the scene in multiple cities today: https://www.youtube.com/live/4kE4f6Kccds
Background: Today is the one-year anniversary of the 2024 GENZ protests wherein Parliament was stormed and 60 protesters were killed. Despite that violence, last year’s incident was described by The Nonviolence Project thusly: “Young people were able to mobilize thousands to the streets, reach over 750 million via social media, and force President Ruto into withdrawing the bill in just a short period of time in June 2024.” https://thenonviolenceproject.wisc.edu/2025/04/29/kenya-finance-bill-protests/
But things have evolved towards ever greater state violence and on June 19 of this year the Nairobi Central Business District (CBD) erupted into chaos as protesters demanding justice for Albert Ojwang faced stick-wielding goons on motorbikes who were promised payment to break up the peaceful protests. Widely shared videos show these groups praising President William Ruto and clashing with demonstrators, beating bystanders, and robbing non-protesters. Police were seen not policing the goons and even supplying them with fuel, raising questions about state involvement. And as if that wasn’t enough, at the same rally an AP photographer caught the moment when a policemen shot a face-mask vendor in the head at point blank range with less lethal plastic or rubber bullets. He remains in the hospital with serious brain damage.
https://youtu.be/SCBJKULuu20
Same story in print:
https://www.dw.com/en/what-you-need-to-know-about-kenyan-protesters-shooting/a-72959858
The reason for that June 19 protest was the torture and murder in police custody of Albert Ojwang, a teacher and blogger who criticized a police chief on social media. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c79epzj703eo
As a final side note, protests in Africa don’t usually get a lot of mainstream media coverage, but Kenya has become a special case for another reason:
“US Dumps Puppet President Ruto for Allying with China. Now He’s Paying the Price”
https://youtu.be/XV-ARp3TQIM
Sung to the tune of, “Saturday in the Park” by Chicago (lyrics by Robert Lamm)
Melody
Saturday, in the White House, I think they’re gonna cook up more lies
Saturday, in the White House, I think they’re gonna cook up more lies
Bunker busters, glorious victories, a man telling tall tales
Tweeting all night long
Donald Trumpi – bastardi bugiardi
Can you dig it? Yes I can
I’ve been waiting such a long time
For Saturday
We’re gonna be kept in the dark
And fed a steady diet of lies
We’re gonna be kept in the dark
And fed a steady diet of lies
Pundits talking, math not mathing
A child playing emperor
And making us look small
Will you help him derange the world?
Can you dig it? (Yes, I can)
And I’ve been waiting such a long time
For today
Slow witted minions fly the colours of the day
An Orange man still can tell stories his own way
Listen children, all is not lost
All is not lost, oh no, no
Funny days, kept in the dark
Every day we’re fed a new lie!
Funny days, kept in the dark,
Every day we’re fed a new lie!
People reaching, wrong conclusions
Premature celebration
Stupid burns us all (stupid burns us all!)
If you want it, really want it
Can you dig it? (Yes, I can)
And I’ve been waiting such a long time
For the day, yeah yeah yeah
‘Fars News Agency
@EnglishFars
Iran’s parliament votes to suspend cooperation with IAEA’
Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, must be in a bit of a panic at the moment and may have some ‘splainin to do to the agency’s Board of Governors. He’s probably on the phone to Iran demanding to know where their 400 kgs of enriched uranium is but they are hardly going to tell them. And why should they? It would be like telling the CIA and the Mossad. Those two institutions probably they were so smart infiltrating the IAEA and twisting it to their purposes but what they have done is to trash it’s credibility and end it’s international relevance going forward. Meanwhile Grossi would be still on the phone to Iran who would tell him of course they will tell him where that enriched uranium is-
‘In due course, Rafael. In the fullness of time, in due course, when conditions allow, and at the appropriate juncture. When the moment is ripe.’
Evidence part 1,000,000 of spooks/powers doing something cunning in the short-term becoming very counterproductive in the longer term.
They fall in love with their schemes, with the thought of success, of winning this round. I’ve known golden retrievers with more foresight.
Lavrov chuckles…
I hope people realize that I was trying to do satire about Grossi – only for it to have actually happened and he was demanding of Iran that they tell him where their enriched uranium is hidden and let his people in to do battle damage assessments, errr, inspections of nuclear facilities. The guy really is a pathetic clown.
Pathetic clown, and also harmful. If all of those puppet clowns were only pathetic, things would be much better.
The enriched uranium is the result of not only the toil of the centrifuges but of many individuals, of which Israeli killed many lately, with information disclosed or pried from IAEA, which is criminally responsible for all these deaths, or one can reasonably claim that that is the case.
He’s waiting for the break of day
Searching for something in all CAPS to say
Four flashing lights against the sky
Giving up, I close my eyes
Sitting cross-legged with a laptop on the floor
Twenty fifth amendment kicks him out the door
Staring blindly into space
Getting up to splash my face
Wanting just to stay awake
Wondering how much more dishonesty we can take
Should we try to do some more?
Twenty fifth amendment kicks him out the door
Oh yeah
Feeling like a nation went to sleep
Spinning democracy is sinking deep
He’s searching for something in all CAPS to say
Waiting for the break of day
Twenty fifth amendment kicks him out the door
Twenty fifth amendment kicks him out the door
25 or 6 to 4, by Chicago
We can only hope. Musical accompaniment to your nicely re-done lyrics:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8A3HZvGN0qs&list=RD8A3HZvGN0qs
Re: NYC mayoral primary:
Mamdani will inevitably run into roadblocks in Albany, where Gov. Hochul is running a pretty tight ship, and looking for opportunities to keep NYC on a short leash. I also see his win as another repudiation of the ‘ruling families’ ethos which has gripped both parties – voters did not want a Cuomo in office again. I think they had had enough of his father, and certainly enough of him, even if he was blessed by Saint Clinton and Saint Bloomberg. Of course, the rest of the ranked choice voting has to be calculated, and this is only one party’s primary, and Cuomo could run on an independent line, as the current mayor is doing, so it’s going to be a long election season.
Voting patterns across the city can be seen here: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/06/24/us/elections/nyc-mayor-primary-results-precinct-map.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Rk8.fIdw.wdyKvfVtohra&smid=nytcore-android-share. The wealthier Upper East and Upper West side neighborhoods pretty solid for Cuomo, E & W midtown solidly for Mamdani. You can mouse over the map for specific precinct results.
Anybody besides me suspect that the statement posted by Cyrus Janssen on “X” and attributed to “An Iranian man” was actually written by ChatGPT or similar?
I live in a city with a large English-speaking community of mostly non-native speakers. Chatgpt sounding texts are everywhere. Often it’s just someone with imperfect English using it to polish their work. Other times it seems entirely AI generated slop.
My point: sounding like it’s written by AI doesn’t always mean something should be dismissed. Although it grinds my gears. I feel it making me more stupid and stupefied.
Being non-native English speaker from non-first word, it looks legit to me.
I didn’t see any reason to doubt it’s someone’s legit post; it sounds a bit formal, but I’d expect that from an educated, English-speaking liberal. In a way though, it reveals a lot, but not about the actual state of play in Iran at large, just how a liberal Iranian sees things (and contemporary liberals in general).
And if you really think about the post, the overall theme is fear. The collective behavior of Iranian society the past two weeks should dispel any notion that this represents an effective political trend in the country. And yes, there is a direct analogy to American liberals, who will only become more irrelevant as the times change.
Spelling … a Russian language site is spelled “Vyzglad” here (and in many previous posts by Yves) but the correct transliteration is Vzglyad.
Thank you for all you do at nc.
I agree with you. Now I am trying to translate Vzglyad in this context – I am thinking – “Outlook”. But per Yandex translate maybe “Viewpoint” is a better translation.
Translate.ru also says view, look, sight. That means that there is a US equivalent-in-name, The View. :)
Some thoughts on our mayoral primary here in NY:
Despite the weirdness of rank choice voting, imo Cuomo and his team have read the room correctly. The lay out of candidates with the least votes mean most are unlikely to have ranked him second, Mamdani will reach above 50% before Cuomo does.
Between his own campaign and the various PACs, I would love to know how much was spent per vote for the loss. Pretty sure it will surpass what Mike Bloomberg spent to get his third term, and that was mind blowing. Unfortunately I do not begin to doubt that most of his backers will set their wallets on fire and do it again.
They were clearly getting desperate. I noted that I got daily calls from his campaign during the last week of early voting. I also got a half dozen calls in the twenty four hours between 6pm Monday and 6 pm Tuesday from the Cuomo campaign. The most surprising one was the last that rolled out Reverend Al Sharpton. I guess older,white, long term Democrat meant I was possible to them. Fools. (I was even more surprised that Ruth Messinger’s call was all about keeping Cuomo off the ballot, I don’t even remember who she was supporting, probably Adams or Stringer.)
Cuomo was quick to clarify his concession was for the primary alone, that he already has an independent line on the ballot. This is going to be nasty. It has to be. Though not identical most of The pool of voters most likely to vote for him are also the same who are available for Adams and Sliwa. Destroying both them and Mamdani is in all honesty his only real chance to win it. And most of the money in NY politics desperately do not want Mamdani. If it looks like Cuomo is the best chance he will go for it and he is going to have lots of help. It could make some of the nastiest campaigns of the last decade look like afternoon garden parties.
Thanks for your report, Pat. I was hoping you would chime in.
“Norwegian had meme on Vance – was not allowed to enter the US”
People from foreign countries are being put on jets back to their own countries because they do not have the correct views and do not support the present US government? Apart from being thin-skinned, can you imagine how this will play out when hundreds of thousands of people fly to the US in 2028 to watch the LA Summer Olympics? Will you have tens of thousands of people being turned away because they do not support US Republican party policies or support Trump and Vance? I’ll have to order in some popcorn for this one
I think those cut-outs of fans in the stands during the pandemic would work perfectly for the 2028 Olympics, as foreigners stay away in droves.
Mentioned how my friend with an Aussie passport and green card was really sweating going back to the USA after our trip to Peru, as she knew somebody with a French passport and green card in a similar situation to hers, and the French woman was turned away much like the Norwegian was, for she had anti-Trump stuff on her smartphone, which ratted her out when customs had a peek.
I was behind her the whole way through passport control and i’m happy to say that it all went smoothly, but think of all the days she obsessed over the possibility.
Who would put themselves in a position of such worry when you didn’t have to, by not traveling to the USA?
I sense a business opportunity – rent-a-burner phone for travel. Flip-phone, no browser, just a banner that says “Screw you, ICE!”
Or better yet, drag out a pink colored circa 1961 Model 701-B Princess telephone with cord attached~
File under: What happens if you throw a Summer Olympics and no one shows up?
I can’t remember the last time that an Olympic games here in the US ended up in the black; they always lose gigantic sums of money in the best of times. Given how LA has become a war zone, at least perceptually, and there is already a boycott on US tourism, this one looks like it is going to break some records for how much money is lost on one of those things. I suspect that it is going to be an even more entertaining than you think.
In California losses are socialized, so statewide taxpayers will be on the hook for the likely multi-billion dollar loss hosting the Olympics. It won’t all be on LA.
Once upon a time everybody went to a World’s’ Fair, our next door neighbors drove to Spokane for Expo ’74, part of the 5.6 million who attended 51 years ago.
…know anybody that’s been to a World’s Fair lately?
The Olympics has a similar feel to me, it once reigned supreme when frankly there wasn’t a whole lot else going on, but that was then and this is now.
The USA TV audience for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics was 11.4 million or around double that of Expo ’74, except nobody had to drive to Spokane.
Worth noting? That’s the headline. The only straight answer he gave was about buying expensive and unproven – likely unhelpful – technology.
KLG took apart this fraud in an early June post:
I feel like I should clarify something here.
Continuous glucose monitoring has actually been a godsend for diabetes patients. This is especially the case for the Type I diabetics who are still athletic. They really help with the management of blood sugar in these patients with diseased metabolic pathways. And now with the advent of the closed loop diabetic systems and insulin pumps – they are essential.
In normal patients, absolutely not. It is insane to even waste the money on these for people who are not diabetic. At most, the only patients I would consider putting on a CGM are those who are pre-diabetic and the devices can really really help them ascertain which foods make their sugars go up. This is a highly individual thing at the best of times and these really do help these people to delineate. However, this is for 2-4 weeks max. Wearing this the rest of your life is just really the definition of overkill.
I wear a Garmin monitoring device. I do this because I am very physically active for my age and I do like to monitor certain things to make sure I am not overdoing it. I go over the data for a few minutes once a week. The other very interesting thing these things can share with you is a reading called HRV. Heart Rate Variability. This level is pretty stationary or just very gradually changes for almost everyone. If there are sudden changes, you are very likely infected with something and about to be sick in the next few days – OR there is something seriously wrong with you and you should stop your exercise and figure it out.
They really can help you in multiple ways when you are training aerobically.
However, having seen hundreds of people use these – the vast majority not athletic – I can assure you the bells and whistles and constantly monitoring can lead to neurosis very quickly. I do not think these are mentally healthy for the vast majority of people who use them.
“Joe Rogan gives decisive take on MAGA civil war as Iran bombing continues to tear Trump’s base apart”
Maybe the base was ready to be split – between those who are so into Trump that it amounts to a cult (which you see in their attacks on any people that criticizes him like Tucker Carlson) and those who simply wanted to put America first which meant in practice ending wars of choices, trying to rebuild American industry and shutting down the open border policies which undercut workers and communities. Those three alone would have been worthy ideas but the way that the Trump regime has tried to implement them them has been so bizarre and thug-like that it is alienating America from all it allies and alienating Americans from him at home. I do wonder about Vance though. He has nailed himself to Trump to advance himself but it seems that Trump is slowly sinking which would take Vance with him as well. Couldn’t happen to a nicer fellow.
There’s always Clark Kent waiting in the shadows should the dynamic duo be shown the door.
…a theocracy unleashed
At this point Jimmy Olsen would be an improvement.
This being the New Amerika, that would be Jimmy Olsteyn, sidekick to Kalus Kent, mild mannered propagandist in the Reichs Ministry of Truth. (Kent is secretly Uberman, staunch defender of, “Untruth, Injustice, and the NAZI Way.”)
See SNL Season 4 Episode 10. No clips of this sketch seem to be available on YouTube. (I wonder why? /s)
Remember Trump already shiv’d some of MAGA by declaring HB1s to be great; And that ended that debate on Twitter. Any Republican could have tried to blow up the speakership in exchange for nuking H1Bs, but alas it was not to be. So much for exercising political power. The Freedom Caucus wouldn’t have thought twice if it were about the debt ceiling.
…of what use is MAGA to Benedict Donald in his next election?
Marjorie Taylor Green on MAGA.
JImmy Dore, utube, ~14+ minutes.
Marjorie Taylor Greene BLASTS Trump Over Iran Attacks!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0d6ILvkRkY
Just finished watching that video now. Boy, didn’t she tear strips off of him. Seems that we are on a weird timeline where for people that make principled stands, we have to listen to people like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Tucker Carlson. Just on the phone to 2020 Rev Kev trying to explain to him how this is actually all true.
I agree with Yves and others the cease-fire isn’t stable since Trump is Trump and Netanyahu is the proverbial scorpion (Lapid & the opposition managing to take the gov might change that).
However, as one more bit of evidence the Iranians finally scared somebody straight, Lebanon’s reconstruction (one of Hezbollah’s primary short-term goals) is magically getting funded tout suite:
https://dailystar.com.lb/world-bank-250-million-lebanon-reconstruction/
You think that Israel will be knocking on the door of the World Bank for a loan to repair their infrastructure too?
Craig Murray points out the US is already doing massive building in Lebanon. Murray’s substack. ~15+ minutes. From earlier this year, Jan 2015
The USA’s Massive New “Embassy” in Beirut
https://craigmurrayorg.substack.com/p/the-usas-massive-new-embassy-in-beirut
edit typo: this year 2025
Isn’t that the same building they had to totally evacuate a coupla days ago? The Iranians could totally mess with them by showing off a ballistic missiles with the following script on the side-
‘U.S. Embassy, Awkar – Facing the Municipality Main Street, Beirut, Lebanon.’
The Beirut explosion, ,link, never let a crisis go to waste.
They asked the sheikdoms to fund the war on Iran (and likely the reconstruction on Israel)… UAE said, have you no shame?!
If T is upset with Irs he can stop funding its war of choice and reduce materiel shipments. He could easily make it impossible for Isr to continue this war they started.
If you don’t want someone to do something then make it difficult to impossible for them to do the thing. So, why isn’t he doing that. Even Reagan did that.
T was elected as the non-globalist and peace candidate. This comment from Putin might be nothing more that words addressed to the BRICS countries. At this point however, I can’t say he’s wrong. I mean, T being proud of praise from WEF darling Rutte, destroyer of the Netherlands in the name of WEF? Really?
On twtr-X
‘Putin Warns Trump: “Globalists Are Using You as a Puppet to Ignite WW3”
Vladimir Putin has delivered a stark warning to Donald Trump – a warning not just about Iran, but about history.
You’re walking into a trap, Putin told him. A trap that was laid long before any of the current players were born. A trap designed by globalist architects who’ve followed the same playbook for over a century.
The global elite want this war – to collapse the old world and bring in the new. A war between civilizations, designed to create chaos so vast that only a single global solution will seem acceptable.’
https://x.com/tpvsean/status/1937202375782961653?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
> Face it: you’re a crazy person Adam Mastroianni
>> It’s uncomfortable to confront your own illusion of explanatory depth, to admit that you really have no idea what’s going on, and to keep asking stupid questions until that changes.
Adjacent to the four people in The Smartest Man in America [2007]:
>> I can be very industrious, but I have a lazy side. Or not lazy, really. It’s just, like, I wanna do what I wanna do, you know?”
“Sometimes it is better to want than to have.”
“What is it that you want to do?”
“We wanna be free, we wanna be free to do what we wanna do. And we wanna get loaded. And we wanna have a good time. And that’s what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna have a good time. We’re gonna have a party!”
Cyrus Jannsen’s tweet is worth a read. Here it is on xcalcel https://xcancel.com/thecyrusjanssen/status/1936939653879439617
While reading that I could not help but think of Ukraine as another example.
“With much to lose, China sat on Israel-Iran war’s sidelines as U.S. flexed”
‘So US sources poke China in the eye after Rubio begged China for help re the Strait of Hormuz.’
Actually its worse – a lot worse
“The president was simply calling attention to the fact that, because of his decisive actions to obliterate Iran’s nuclear facilities and broker a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, the Strait of Hormuz will not be impacted, which would have been devastating for China,” the official said in an emailed response to the Post.
“The president continues to call on China and all countries to import our state-of-the-art oil rather than import Iranian oil in violation of US sanctions,” it added.
Earlier on Tuesday, Trump posted on social media that “China can now continue to purchase Oil from Iran”, adding: “Hopefully, they will be purchasing plenty from the US, also. It was my Great Honor to make this happen!”
https://archive.vn/x89fK
The meeting of the defense ministers of Russia, Iran and China under the SCO umbrella in China yesterday should clarify a few things for Iran. Can’t find out if Russia and Iran travelled in the same plane from Ashbagat or two planes flew together, important for symbolic reasons.
They will have to sacrifice some strategic rights for safety.
Re: Mamdani win (unofficial until at least next Tuesday, when ranked choice votes are supposed to be fully tabulated).
1. Turnout. Roughly eyeballing the numbers, four years ago turnout in the Democratic primary was about ~800k, this time it’s close to 1 million. Yes, the city’s population grew a bit, and yes, in 2021 the pandemic was still acknowledged to be a thing, but nevertheless, that’s a big bump.
It will be interesting to see the data broken out by precinct. I suspect this was a case of Brooklyn and Queens – and understand, any non-affluent manhattanites have been fleeing in droves to Brooklyn and Queens over the past two years due to the rent spike, so you got the “white collar professionals” crowd mixing with the predominantly immigrant and minority locals – overcoming the other boroughs, but we will see.
2. Cuomo’s attack strategy was…interesting. Peak national-aspirations-in-the-Democratic-Party, I’d say. But also relentless, new materials showing up in my mailbox literally every couple of days.
Two-three weeks out – “Mamdani will raise YOUR taxes”. I live in an upper-working-class-slowly-gentrifying-lots-of-immigrants neighborhood. As in Planet Fitness instead of Equinox, literally. I would LOVE for Mamdani to raise MY taxes, because of what that would mean for my tax bracket…
One-two weeks out – “Mamdani will DEFUND THE POLICE, and crime will soar”. Featuring a photo of Mamdani from 2020, when “Defund the Police” (which I find to be a terrible slogan from a marketing perspective, but whatever) were a thing.
One half to one weeks out – “ISRAEL!!!!!!!”. There are couple of Israeli flags hanging in appartment windows in my neighborhood, plus three synagogues within medium-to-long walking distance, so maybe that resonated with some people. On the other hand, this might have actually hurt Cuomo with the non-zionists in the room, who got an extra incentive to turn out.
I should also note that Cuomo seems to have stuck to traditional advertising media – TV, flyers, etc. Zero attempts to reach people via SMS or phones. I think I might have seen one or two Youtube ads total – I saw loads more Youtube from Adams (the speaker, not the mayor), and loads more phone outreach from Zellnor what’s-his-name. Though I clear my browser cache religiously, so I missed any “targeted” Youtube ads, and that might have been a thing.
3. My question for November is – who’s running?
Mamdani is in, ok. Sliwa, because this circus needs at least one clown. Adams is still running as an independent, yes? So that’s a three-way. Then we have the possibility of Cuomo jumping in on his own party line, so that’s a possible four-way. Yes, I know, “Cuomo is damaged” and so on, but never underestimate the power of stupidity fuelled by personal ambition.
That is a pretty complicated hill to climb, for any candidate. I guess we’ll see once some semi-reliable polling data comes out in a few months’ time. [Right now it’s just way too early, five months is a veritable lifetime in politics.]
4. I keep saying that if the DNC were run by a cabal of Mr. Burns, Eric Cartman and Edmund Blackadder, they’d let Mamdani win, then sabotage the hell out of everything he tried to do, just to discredit the lefties in the room.
Since the DNC are the people that they are, I assume they are going to try to sabotage him in the election phase, and then should he actually win, act surprised. Though sabotaging everything he would try to do as mayor is still on the table, unless Mamdani manages to get an exceedingly friendly city council (and I just have no idea).
The other thing to keep in mind is, New York State still has a crypto-republican-democrat as governor all the way through 2026, and whoever has got next is unlikely to be any better. [E.g. the Lieutenant Governor, who is making lots of noises about running against his boss next year, is an ardent, avid, foaming at the mouth pro-Israel type.] That’s a huge lever, given the power that the state has over much of what happens in the city – the MTA, schools, budgets, taxes, and so forth. I am not trying to be pessimistic, I am merely delineating the steepness of the hill that needs climbing.
5. Should Mamdani win, I’m 95% convinced AOC will try to knock off Schumer. Not that I think this will change the national picture much, but just think of the screaming, breathless headlines…
Thanks, Safety First.
I keep saying that if the DNC were run by a cabal of Mr. Burns, Eric Cartman and Edmund Blackadder, they’d let Mamdani win, then sabotage the hell out of everything he tried to do, just to discredit the lefties in the room.
I just posted an announcement on FcBk, so I was over there to check. I admit this is a sample of one observation:
I chanced on a posting by a Jewish media worker (retired, and starting to look washed-up) in Massachusetts. He was ruminating in typical journalistic style
The comments to his post became vile almost immediately, especially with regard to any Jews who voted for Mamdani.
Be prepared for major viciousness. When people are trying already to compare Mamdani to Hitler, I see no limit to their recklessness.
As I noted above I fully expect this election to make the nastiest elections we have seen look like garden parties. Call me crazy, but I don’t think Hochul will be as much of an impediment as others. Well depending on her ambitions that is. She has shown some rather radical awareness of public discontent. I don’t think her bubble is quite as thick as most of our misleadership class. I will say if Cuomo or some other spoiler is not on the general election ballot NYC better gird their loins. They will have moved immediately to the block everything plan.
I will disagree with you about one thing. My phone and my YouTube has been filled with Cuomo. He spent a lot there, so obviously there is some mysterious algorithm at work.
Protests in Kenya turn violent, two reported dead, dozen or more injured by bullets. Thousands protesting in multiple cities; government demands media stop live reporting; and water cannons, tear gas and less lethal bullets used by police. Local time 6:00 p.m., reporting by Al Jazeera.
https://youtu.be/vVsUSPrDW7U
https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/kenyans-brace-protests-one-year-after-storming-parliament-2025-06-25/
I have been mulling over the behaviour of Trump lately and have come to the conclusion that Trump is using the same “tricks” he developed and honed in the years he was associated with the American Professional Wrestling world.
The term ‘kayfabe’ so beloved of commenters is from that world. So is the bravado and bluster. Threat displays and trash talk abound there, much to the delight of the crowds. However, no matter how brutal at times, professional wrestling is, at bottom, a game and scripted entertainment. World politics, especially wars, is not.
If the American attack on the nuclear enrichment facilities and the subsequent counter attack by Iran on the American airbase were indeed prearranged, they would fall squarely into the wrestling world “kayfabe” category. This can work only so many times before outside actors, such as Israel, decide to gum up the works and commit acts of perfidy. Then, as the aphorism about military plans states, all plans go out the window and the actors involved end up reacting to events in real time. The kayfabe script is abandoned. Then what does the Master of Ceremonies do?
Stay safe.
I have not yet listened to them myself:
JACOBIN RADIO podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jacobin-radio/id791564318
e.g. their latest:
Confronting Capitalism: How Trump Became a Neocon
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/confronting-capitalism-how-trump-became-a-neocon/id791564318?i=1000714492935
not yet online as podcast but as transcript interview:
The US Started Both the Old and New Cold Wars
An interview with Vivek Chibber
In an interview with Jacobin, Vivek Chibber discusses why the US desire for global dominance was responsible for the Cold War — and why the United States is inflaming new rivalries with Russia and China today.
https://jacobin.com/2025/06/us-russia-china-cold-war-rivalries
Re. diamond mine tailings
The mineral that’s the focus of the article is saponite, a type of smectite clay. The stuff will hold water and might have an affinity for nitrate. It’s used for ceramics. I wouldn’t call this stuff particularly chemically hazardous at all, unless inhaled which applies to all silicates.
Diamond mine waste isn’t that bad. Silicate hazards from asbestos and amphibole minearals, radioactivity hazards mainly from potassium but also U, Th, Ra but not so much that it requires criticality safeguards. The tailings wouldn’t be anything close to a gold, copper, nickel mine with acid drainage or chemical hazards. There are other useful minerals associated with diamonds such as garnet, sometimes REE stuff like monazite.
The mineralogy depends on if the diamonds are igneous (kimberlite or lamprophyre) or metamorphic (eclogite) in origin. Since the article is about a Mg-Fe clay mineral, the diamonds must be from a lamprophyre or extremely weathered eclogite. Either way that tailings pile would be a fun but messy one to pick through.
The Weapon That Terrorizes Ukrainians by Night (NY Times via archive.ph 30 minute read)
More interesting timing in the denouement of Trump’s 12 day war:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/6/25/armenia-arrests-prominent-archbishop-over-alleged-coup-plot
I honestly have no clue what foreign alignment Galstanyan really represents: genuine nationalist? Russian? Iranian? More American than Pashniyan (by way of Canada)?
I don’t see how to interpret this as Pashniyan coming from a position of strength though. Even in the Western press, Pashniyan seems to be deeply unpopular
“Why are fewer and fewer Chinese parents sending kids to study abroad?
This post nails it –
“Last weekend in Chongqing, met up with old classmates and friends. Surprisingly, everyone’s talking about one thing: don’t send our kids overseas for studies…”
Depending on how that catches on around the world, that’s a sign of a multipolar world with possibily a more unpredictable development of ideas.
But the love of hyper-surveillance across the globe makes me wary.
an aside, a bit of history, WWI edition:
Kaiser Wilhelm and Czar Nicholas exchange frantic telegrams, trying to avoid WWI
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/July-29/kaiser-wilhelm-of-germany-and-czar-nicholas-of-russia-exchange-telegrams
About the same exchange of letters from a different point of view.
Kaiser Wilhelm and Tsar Nicholas II Tried (and Failed) to Avert World War I
https://www.warhistoryonline.com/world-war-i/willy-nicky-telegrams.html
Both are worth a read as each tends toward a slightly different analysis. Short articles.
Rand Paul rips mental midget Mikey a new orifice:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/rand-paul-reacts-to-speaker-johnson-claiming-the-war-powers-act-may-be-un-constitutional/vi-AA1HpaTB?ocid=entnewsntp&pc=U531&cvid=345179b54d9e4331b5bc94f7ef98b539&ei=28
Re: BIS on Stablecoins
A good quote to keep around for the MMTers
This statement assumes that the purveyors of the stablecoins will only issue coins which are 100% backed by assets. But how is anyone going to know and who’s going to enforce it?
Audits? Don’t make me laugh.
Fair.
See Tether (USDT). There was previously speculation that they did just that and it was a potential massive risk. They tightly control redemptions of USDT to USD which could be a way to prevent a run on it.
Also: was there not a piece of the GENIUS act that would enable this?
Cuomo’s campaign slogan “if I didn’t kill your grandma last time, I’ll get her this time” probably lost him a few points.
I’ve only had time to skim headlines this week, one observation. The msm seems to be having a field day with the “one to two month” bit regarding setback to Iran’s “nuclear ambitions”. This from news outlets that can’t print the word “genocide”, or report that parts of Tel Aviv have been evacuated. Seems like somebody doesn’t want Trump to take the exit ramp on bombing Iran. “Who”, specifically, is the crux of the biscuit.
“‘The Law doesn’t matter” should be the motto of the Trump administration, which leads me to believe that Martial Law will be imposed sooner than later.
It is going to be an interesting next few Months.
Bezos wedding will be attended by 200 millionaires and billionaires.
For all you people having bought missiles, drones and other explosives from the Ukrainians could use the stuff for some good. https://latitude.to/articles-by-country/it/italy/230908/san-giovanni-evangelista-venice
Or Arsenale: only one entrance.
This keeps happening. COVID, is that you?
Video Shows Engine Fire as Plane Returns to Las Vegas Airport Just After Takeoff
Greenwald and Mearsheimer. utube, ~13+ minutes.
Prof. John Mearsheimer: Why Israel’s War Against Iran BACKFIRED
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTzILjAtZAc
Trump admits Israel got blasted. This article lists some of the damage.
https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/514950/Israel-got-hit-really-hard-Trump-admits-Iranian-missiles-decimated
Can you imagine what would have happened if this war had gone on a few weeks more and with Israeli air defenses running out? Suddenly, all those foreign corporations setting up base in Israel doesn’t look so smart.
Plus the Iranians claimed they were holding back their really big missiles in case of war with America. They did not hit the desalination plants or try to fully disable Ben Gurion airport.
Discussion today about how Trump really feels about Israel. I suspect he is a lot more devoted to Israel (for business reasons if nothing else) than to Netanyahu. He gave the Israelis an exit this time, not a win.
Holding back your strongest cards counts as common sense for those with strategic thinking. Only clowns in green pyjamas prematurely shoot their wad, and then go around begging for more.
Make believe, why can’t you be true?
Oh, make believe, why can’t you be true?
You done started doing the things you used to do
As Benedict Donald was motivatin’ lies about Iran
I saw make believe try to take out a leaker man
A conscience a-rollin out lies for all to see
Nothin’ will satisfy a liar bent on mystery
The awful truth leaked because they couldn’t abide
The usual apparatchicks, of course taking his side
Make believe, why can’t you be true?
Oh, make believe, why can’t you be true?
You done started doing the things you used to do
The leaker wanted us to know the score
The President got hot and then lied some more
It done got cloudy and he used an F-bomb refrain
Tooting his horn, how could he be this lame?
The fabrications blowin’ all over the DC hood
I knew that wasn’t doin’ my country good
Make believe, why can’t you be true?
Oh, make believe, why can’t you be true?
You done started doing the things you used to do
Oh make believe, why can’t you be true?
Oh, make believe, why can’t you be true?
You done started doing the things you used to do
The war cooled down, the urgency went down
And that’s when I heard that distortion sound
Trump sittin’ on even more dishonesty
How much more to this Jabberwocky?
The Chief Executive claimin’ he’s doing god’s will
And I caught make believe sprouting on Capital Hill
Make believe, why can’t you be true?
Oh, make believe, why can’t you be true?
You done started doing the things you used to do
Maybellene, by Chuck Berry
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ORrftU6sGA&list=RD_ORrftU6sGA
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/25/us/politics/usha-vance.html/
Big profile of Vance’s wife…watching more attention paid to what Vance says (anyone else think or notice the same?)…
re: EU Commission plans to expand the fact-checking network Multipolar / Hungary
It contains this hyperlink to a Thomas Fazi study in English:
Brussels’s media machine: EU media funding and the shaping of public discourse
by Thomas Fazi
https://brussels.mcc.hu/publication/brusselss-media-machine-eu-media-funding-and-the-shaping-of-public-discourse
The Corvinus Collegium, the backer of the study is most likely close to the Hungarian government. So it would be interesting what does the study not say.
Although I seriously doubt Fazi is not independent in his findings. So it´s about the foucs. But that´s an issue with all studies.
In general idolising Orbán would be deeply naive. He was screaming fanatically against Communism as a young ambitious law student in 1989 acting in a role not more. And that to my knowledge nowhere in the East the problem of Sinti and Roma e.g. has been solved (I don´t know about Slovaks and Czechs) should be a hint that these governments more than not are capitalist and authoritarian by nature. The Eastern, Catholic version of WASP-think.
So do not underestimate the self-righteousness of Hungarian Anti-Communism which alas incorporated Social Democrats and even liberal Socialists. The 1989 protests were archaic in their symbolism in various ways betraying the backwardness that runs deep within that society. It is a modern society built however on a Medieval agrarian state. Agriculture and life on the countryside in the old Hungarian Classic culture was a major reference point for any artist, be it literature, painting or film.
Unlike Russia in Hungary (just like Romania) progressive Enlightement never transformed society as a whole which turned those countries into fascist strongholds opposed to the USSR´s promise pre-45. Political idealism and bravery can easily be washed away there. I haven´t been to Russia in 20 years. But I still trust Russian society more in it´s openness and capability for vision and generosity.
This is of course no excuse for the treacherous insane behaviour of the EU. So we have ended up between a rock and a hard place and Europe will not escape from this.
The problem is Orbán´s most likely contender Magyar is a Brussels asset and Budapest will be the next location of a “colour revolution”. In case that succeeds the little that the population has gained financially will be lost in the following decade and NATO would have a new grade-A student.
p.s. fun fact: Orbán in his 20s briefly worked for Soros Foundation. Pre-1990 that was. He went to Pembroke but then the revolution upended his possible career as a theorist. So my guess he and Kallas and the entire club most likely know each other somehow from their youth. It´s an Eastern European elite´s in-fight. (Although Orbán´s family was not that special, father engineer in agriculture, mother teacher).
But fwiw: When is it not a struggle among the anointed?
I have some quibbles here and I take a bit of an offense with certain characterizations, especially coming from a German (?!) which puts the mantle of enlightment on his/her shoulders, as opposed to backward Hungarians, or Romanians as a matter of fact.
I take offense to characterizing for instance Romania as a fascist bastion in the 1940s from somebody that likely has little clue of the history of the place.
I do not take offense with the fact that both Hungary and Romania are characterized as agricultural societies, deep there. Oh yeah. One should see the rejuvenation of the “folk” culture in Romania nowadays. After the decades of Gypsy “manele” this is a breath of fresh air and beats the shlocky and syrupy pop music.
The unification of Romanian Principalities and acceptance of a Hohenzoller on Romanian throne by the powers from the time, especially Austria (which had a huge Romanian minority in Transylvania) was associated the demand, from Austria, to accept a large infusion of Jews from Galicia.
They all settled from North to south, starting with Bucovina down to Bucharest, where the post carriage was having stops. So Moldova got stuffed to the gills with an allogene population that looked at the locals as marks to prey on.
The last great peasant revolt in Romania, of 1907, which killed 11,000+ started in northern Moldova, in a village where the landlord sublet all the management to a Jewish property management company (yeay lazy and greedy Romanian boyars). The village (The Hungry ones – Flaminzi) sparked a revolt.
Less than a generation after that, a right wing movment started in that part of the country, mostly directed at corrupt politicians and yes, Jews. They helped exploit the peasant population and were running the newly established local pubs, ruining peasants’ lives by the score.
So yes, compared to the enlightened Germany, for instance in Romania were some deep rooted, actual causes to turn angry. And Hungary has exited ICC and Orban dalies with an indicted war criminal.
The moral law within us and the starry sky above us, my ass.
The Germans were angry because they lost a war, and then they saw themselves as a master race. How is that for being enlightened?
And Hungary was bought into the war with Northern Transylvania while Romania was enticed to go to war to recover Basarabia, which the Germans allowed USSR to occupy in 1940. How was that an enlightened action.
In my view, Germany has not only not payed its due to Eastern Europe, it is sinking even more. Yes, without German WWII especially te attack on USSR, all those eastern countries would have not ended up occupied by the Russians and be regime changed (albeit there are some debatable items here, was socialism entirely bad, especially for the lower rung?). And now Germany is sinking lower, being co-sponsor of another genocide.
But Romania, as opposed to Hungary, has not sent any Jews on trains for Germans to handle.
Sorry I do not try to provoke or insult anyone.
fwiw I am Hungarian myself as is my entire family and besides that I lived in Romania for a couple of years, Bucharest which some might not see as Romania, especially as I was around privileged folks.
But none of my personal story should replace arguments.
As Germany is concerned I couldn´t agree more.
If I am known around here for something it is regularly expressing horror and complaints about that country.
Not so long ago there was that 150th birthday of a Thomas Mann: I have come to the conclusion after 3,5 years that there is not only what we call “American exceptionalism” there is a German version too. And it manifests itself very much in the rituals related to Mr. Mann today; btw. some writers say his troubled brother Heinrich was the more interesting artist because he was taking artistic risks, trying to merge politics and art, which resulted in a more difficult digestable body of work. And part of that was Heinrich Mann not being certain of himself at all and not certain of any supremacy or „special“ German position in the world (something Thomas Mann came to think only much later in life mainly after the war.)
However with the name of (Thomas) Mann Germans and non-German cheerleading scholars assume a certain superiority which reached its pinnacle in the Weimar Republic. But herein lies the cradle of what you describe and what we all may observe day in day out.
Left and progressive artists of that interwar era provided the highly imperialistic German “Wirtschaftswunder” of the late 19th century and its files and ranks the veil of enlightement which it never truly possessed.
Above I called enlightened the Russian society not the German. And not by coincidence.
For the very reason that latter nation is the well known prejudice and cliché of “enlightened” as you stress. But I call that fake.
Because what is enlightement if not being aware of one´s own faults and failures and with that develope a genuine humanism towards the rest of the world which excludes suprematism?
And what did the Weimar culture offer the world: “Superior German arts, science, culture”.
It offered certainty, it offered the intellectual toolkit for being on the right side. It offered what we observe today under the lable of Neocon. Being on the right side by design and due to cultural supremacy.
But truth is, only who manages to rise from a demeaning life to build something can really cherish the real value of „Enlightement“.
So whenever other countries and achievements were hailed and absorbed by Germany it often happened because they mirrored German forms and German “cultural achievements“. (Same self-referentiality goes for the rest of Western Europe).
That the Soviets in the long term failed in certain things makes not wrong the assertion that they achieved a lot and did try.
Where there already is money and industrial structure like in Germany it is not difficult to be “cultured” and act “enlightened”.
Today in many parts of Eastern Europe the massive cultural landscape there which was once established by the Soviets is being neglected which brings me to Viktor Orbán.
As Hungary is concerned in my comment I was indeed much driven by my dislike for Viktor Orbán. He claims he is for the people but I always figured he is mainly about himself. The fact that he does what he does is being smart and pragmatic. He doesn´t do it because he believes in anything that would reach beyond him and his personals.
He has no positive vision of the world at large.
The fact that Hungary is regarded as one of the few sane places as European diplomacy is concerned is not due to some extraordinary love or passion or belief as in Marxism or the progress of workers´ rights or anarchosyndicalism or what not. He is not a Lula, or Petro, or Mujica, no Sheinbaum, Chavez or Morales.
I would ascribe Putin much more of the above qualities and much more stature than Orbán could ever have. Yet among the countless dimwits in Europe it is not difficult to shine.
The reason why I might have picked on the agrarian society is due to the fact that a lot of those “enlightened” achievements the USSR provided Hungary with have not been cherished by Hungary´s postwar elite under Orbáns´s leadership. Instead it built much on the pre-Soviet agrarian Catholic tradition which was not particularly cosmopolitan or sophisticated (latter might be a difficult word but let me use it here in a positive sense.)
While Putin respects Communism for what it achieved, Orbán would never be capable to offer such a wise phrase as Putin did when he stated “those who are not sorry for the demise of the USSR have no heart but those who want it back have no brain.”
Whether or not I agree with the analysis it does have much merit and reveals heart and brain and much generosity. Generosity which I never found within the ambition of Orbán. Narrow-minded and cunning as he might come across from far.
As Romania: I probably do them injustice having brought them into this scheme in the first place. Sometmes I asked myself if Romania for the desperation of its people has not much more heart and humanism than Hungary ever did precisely because that country was treated like shit by history. First the Nazi Antonescu, then relentless Gheorghiu, eventually followed by best known Ceausescu and even after that with Securitate never dismantled the shitshow went on.
I need not add that Hungarians liked to look down on Romanians. But both I assume liked to hate Russians, the Romanians I blame not even though Ceausescu was not by coincidence among the satellites the US liked most.
As for gypsies, even Romanian intellectuals who I met were excited about such coffee table books that contained demeaning photographies about nouveau riches gipsies in Romania living in ridiculously ugly over the top villas stuffing them full of disney-esque furniture and tinsel. Demeaning racist imagery under the pretext of pseudo-education about a much disliked minority.
I remember my grandmother in Hungary well. While she praised the fact that the Communists were the ones who built the first cinema in her hometown and expanded the radio shows´ cultural content so workers like her could listen to decent content while working, she catered to all the racist prejudice towards gipsies which we know too well from the popular everyday history of Jim Crow America.
As long as we do not believe that the phonomena and antics of many Sinti and Roma at least as public appearances go which I wouldn´t deny exist – are due to racial features and genetically informed – we must look at our own societies and analyze how industrialisation consumerism and all its forces upon the individual have created the „gypsy problem“. And yes I also remember the general dislike of Manele in Bucharest which I understand. But do I endorse antisemitism just because I hate Klezmer? (Again the example is not directed against you personally here.)
Thanks AG, a wonderful rant.
I do get some of the things you are saying. However, Thomas Mann’s “Joseph and his brothers” is one of my most favourite novels, and a piece that one goes out of Germany, no wiff of Germany, and travels in Iraq, in Egypt, in Palestine, 4,000-5,000 thousand years ago… It is something else.
Otherwise, can’t say I have much affinity for German culture and there is more inclination, of course from aspects of the French culture, because of language, of course.
Being looked down is a given, however just from not too long ago history, a Romanian can argue that Romanian soldiers put their flag – a pair of Romanian opinci – on the Budapest Parliament in 1919, occupied Budapest twice, and as for Germans, we moved first and flipped over the Maritzia II scenario on their face in August 1944 (Maritzia I was succesful in Hungary). The biggest battles in 1917 were on the Romanian Front where there was a draw. Germans, begrudgingly muttered some recognition under their breath.
Also, over 700,000 Germans emigrated from Romania in Germany in 1970s, leaving the beautiful Transylvania where they lived for 800 years during times worst than the 30 years of socialism. Now they come in trips to visit what they cannot have back any longer.
The love hate relation btw Romanians and Hungarians is too complex to talk about. I am 3/4 and 1/4 of one and the other.
As for Gypsys, it is really not Romanians’ racism towards them. You might not believe it, but it is the other way around. We are all marks, gadjii (strangers) to them. As for the kitch that they surround themselves with is risible regardless. But what is unpardonable is the way they degraded their own culture.
Check some true pearls:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZf00ad3G6o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wM99NAKkc4Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wo8Mi4bFq8g
Romanians are to self centered to really hate others, there is not much Russophobia to speak off, and what is happening now is truly, judiciously cultivated. There is no cultural memory of Russian persecution, because there wasn’t (1945 to 1956 occupation is really nothing). When I hear complains of rapes I ask how well Romanian troops behaved in Russia for 3 years, how many Russian women when raped and maybe even killed I get just stares.
p.s. I find it interesting that right now this PRIDE demonstration is happening in Budapest, depending on who you ask it´s 100k or 200k. I haven´t checked in how far the government did prohibit participation or anything of that kind of threat. Allegedly you could be fined 500 Euros. But fact is it took place, and there was no National Guard, no interference by the police, nothing – so where is the Hungarian Fascism by Orbán I ask? Of course no paper is pointing this out. Newsworthy appears to be only the presence of something, never the absence. Fuck that positivism.
pps: Thanks for your detailed info btw!
Since I mentioned the PRIDE demonstration in Budapest, JUNGE WELT had an interview published yesterday with a German LEFT/EU MP, conducted before the event took place:
“Özlem Demirel (The Left) is a member of the European Parliament and a member of a delegation that plans to take part in a banned LGBTQ demonstration in Budapest this weekend.”
German version hyperlinked:
“The government has created a climate of fear”
Hungary: Delegations travel to Budapest to support LGBTQ demonstration despite ban. A conversation with Özlem Alev Demirel
Interview: Henning von Stoltzenberg
https://archive.is/SDzQb
So, a Turk, a German, and EU Parliament member, enter into Goulash bar, and complain about climate of fear when ordering kebabs.
I would like to see him fearlessly LGBTQ demonstrating in his native democratic Erdoganland, or post an edgy meme in freedom loving Deutchland, and not fear being arrested.
Russia weighs in:
Kremlin says Tehran’s decision to suspend cooperation with IAEA ‘direct’ result of strikes on Iran
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/world/kremlin-says-tehran-s-decision-to-suspend-cooperation-with-iaea-direct-result-of-strikes-on-iran/3612494#
Meanwhile, Reuters reports:
Trump envoy Steve Witkoff says US-Iran talks are ‘promising’
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/trump-envoy-steve-witkoff-says-us-iran-talks-are-promising-2025-06-25/
Is Steve Witkoff for real? Why are the Iranians even bothering?
NATO’s Secretary-General Mark Rutte says Trump is “Daddy”
https://bbc.com/news/videos/c1e0nnx60q6o
This kind of says a lot about the leadership of NATO, doesn’t it?
Proxy wars. Flouting international law. Bombing nuke sites — all OK when “Daddy” does it.
Somebody’s got “Daddy” issues. NATO is doomed. Doomed, I tells ya.
Somebody’s got “Daddy” issues. All those EU ladies-in-power, probably. Macron is “mommy issues” type. Rutti Frutti is kissing-whatever-ass-is-in-front-of-him type. :)
re: COVID-19/Pandemics FRANCE
I´d be impressed if she had sung wearing a mask herself.
That is just pathetic.
Obviously she has no clue of how working people in the service industry had serious issues using those masks.
10 hours a day.
But sure, lets call it her kind of French solidarity…that adorable “I-love-you-Spain-sort of-artist”, eh.