NASA Astronaut Snaps Rare Sprite Flash From Space and It’s Blowing Minds ZME Science
Bats replay flight memories in fixed time packets, providing new clues into how memories are stored Medical Xpress
Why Science Hasn’t Solved Consciousness (Yet) Noema
Today, Earth is spinning faster than usual, and scientists are baffled BBC
Does Anybody Really Know What Time Is? Nautilus
Climate/Environment
The Texas Flash Flood Is a Preview of the Chaos to Come ProPublica
‘DISASTERS ARE A HUMAN CHOICE’: TEXAS COUNTIES HAVE LITTLE POWER TO STOP BUILDING IN FLOOD-PRONE AREAS Texas Observer
Floods are swallowing their village. But for them and others, the EPA has cut the lifeline. Floodlight
As Fires Consumed California, Small Towns Organized Their Own Defense Truthout
Climate breakdown tripled death toll in Europe’s June heatwave, study finds The Guardian
Pandemics
US measles cases surge to highest since disease was ‘eliminated’ The Hill
Want to Reduce Your Risk of Cancer? Heart Disease? Diabetes? Dementia? And More? Here’s How. World Health Network. “Avoiding COVID-19 infection may be one of the most important things you can do to protect your long-term health.”
Legal Troubles for RFK Jr. and the COVID Contrarian Clique Pandemic Accountability Index
Would certainly help explain a lot:
It’s not a mystery if you’re paying attention… https://t.co/IW3j8dILfF
— James Throt MBBS, MD, PhD, FRCPath (@JamesThrot) July 7, 2025
CDC Scales Back Updates On H5N1 Bird Flu Avian Flu Diary
Japan
China wins as Trump’s ‘Tariff Man’ act trashes Japan’s 2025 Asia Times
China?
A father’s heist for hope against medical bills ends in prison—and tragedy Pekingnology
China reportedly operating Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, as economic ties deepen Intellinews
China’s lead in global shipbuilding may already be fading, new data suggests South China Morning Post
Commentary: The US may win some trade battles in Southeast Asia but lose the war Channel News Asia
India
How India moves: Our analysis of 40 cities reveals a brutally simple answer — it does not Down to Earth
Old Blighty
Goldman Sachs Hires Former UK PM Rishi Sunak As Senior Adviser NDTV
Syraqistan
“The Deception Game”: Trump Is Scrambling to Make a Gaza Deal on Israel’s Terms Drop Site
US sanctions UN rapporteur Francesca Albanese following ‘economy of genocide’ report Middle East Eye. Commentary:
The man below is the founder of Al Qaeda in Syria. The US just took his organization off its terror list and lifted sanctions on him.
The woman below is the UN rapporteur on Israel and Palestine. The US is about to impose sanctions on her.
Let that sink in. pic.twitter.com/3BkqWAp4QQ
— Trita Parsi (@tparsi) July 9, 2025
Katz proposes ‘concentration camp’ on Rafah’s ruins for Gaza’s Palestinians The New Arab
So, anyone who doesn’t go to the concentration camp will be “eliminated.”
Doesn’t sound genocidal at all… pic.twitter.com/mvuLIENeRm
— Assal Rad (@AssalRad) July 10, 2025
How Might Israel Go About Planning the World’s Biggest Concentration Camp in Gaza Haaretz
Just arrested: @freyisrael1 the only journalist in Israel to report in Hebrew how Col. Golan Vach invented 8 non-existent burned babies to cover up the IDF burning to death so many Israelis on October 7 and to incite the genocide he and his brother Brig. Gen. Yehuda Vach now lead pic.twitter.com/HvYZn0T6Jn
— David Sheen (@davidsheen) July 9, 2025
***
Deep Dive: ‘Nuclear ambiguity’ on horizon as Iran weighs options Amwaj
Yemen sinks another Israel-bound ship violating ban in Red Sea Press TV
Germany accuses China of targeting warplane with laser during anti-Yemen ops in Red Sea The Cradle
The ‘Terrorists’ Must Win Do Not Panic!
European Disunion
Socialists to support von der Leyen in no-confidence vote after she backs down on EU budget Politico
UK and France order more Storm Shadow missiles and step up military co-operation The Independent
Germany’s Merz Claims Diplomatic Efforts To End War in Ukraine Are ‘Exhausted’ Antiwar
New Not-So-Cold War
Trump edges closer to Russia hawks — but will the move last? Semafor
Graham: Trump ‘told me it’s time to move’ on sanctions bill Responsible Statecraft
Trump said he threatened to bomb Moscow if Putin attacked Ukraine, 2024 fundraiser tapes show CNN
Update: Trump still has no clue who paused weapons to Ukraine — but says he WOULD definitely KNOW… if he knew pic.twitter.com/8MT2Rz9vul
— Sprinter Observer (@SprinterObserve) July 9, 2025
The Russian potato shortage that shows Putin’s economy is on the brink The Telegraph
At this point the Russians are deleting key infrastructure and military-industrial nodes – many of them Soviet megaplexes that can take astonishing amounts of damage – off the map of Ukraine on a nightly basis.
Tick tock. https://t.co/k6f0P0ofJX
— Armchair Warlord (@ArmchairW) July 9, 2025
Caucasus
Crackdown intensifies ahead of Pashinyan-Aliyev talks in Abu Dhabi Armenian Weekly
L’affaire Epstein
Jeffrey Epstein Had 1,000+ Victims Ken Klippenstein
The Epstein Client List — Why is Trump Breaking His Promise to Publish? Larry Johnson
The Real Story of the Epstein Files: An Industry Disguised as Media Dedicated to Buying & Burying the Secrets of the Rich & Criminal Dougald Lamont. Not sure that’s the story, but it’s certainly one of them.
“Liberation Day”
Trump’s 50% Tariff on Brazil: U.S. Escalates Economic Pressure as Brazil Deepens Ties with China Telesur
Donald Trump deal to leave EU facing higher tariffs than UK FT
EU trade chief says Europe will have to swallow US tariffs Euractiv
Trump announces tariffs on 7 countries beginning Aug. 1 Anadolu Agency
The problem with Trump’s plan to tax copper is that the U.S. isn’t self-sufficient in copper Fortune
Trump 2.0
TRUMP’S BIG BEAUTIFUL GIFT TO ANDURIL The Intercept. ‘The One Big Beautiful Bill Act requires all new border surveillance towers to be certified “autonomous.” Only Anduril’s fit the bill.’
Gabbard’s team has sought spy agency data to enforce Trump’s agenda WaPo
RussiaGate
At Last: John Brennan and James Comey Under Criminal Investigation for Russiagate Matt Taibbi
Under Trump, the CIA still covers up its Russiagate fraud Aaron Mate
MAHA
HHS backtracks on pledge to disclose new vaccine advisers’ conflicts of interest STAT
Kennedy Abruptly Cancels USPSTF Meeting MedPage Today
Mamdani
Malaparte vs. de Beauvoir; Idi Amin and the Mamdanis’ Antifascism Unpopular Front
Antitrust
Grok Becomes ‘MechaHitler,’ Twitter Becomes X: How Centralized Tech Is Prone To Fascist Manipulation TechDirt
Google is Poised to Devour Yet Another Market: Television Tech Policy Press
Home on the Range
USDA chief outlines plan to block China from U.S. farmland ownership Ohio Capital Journal
Rollins suggests Medicaid recipients can replace deported farmworkers The Hill
What happened to America’s meat recalls? Pandemic-era dip still lingers. Investigate Midwest
Can Cultivated Meat Succeed? One Company Is Turning to Quail Foie Gras & Woolly Mammoth Meatballs Sentient
Brave New World
China’s robot dog breaks Boston Dynamics’ speed record, runs 100m in 13.17 seconds Interesting Engineering
AI
The Cost of State Data Center Handouts Is About to Explode Boondoggle
Police State Watch
Spanish-language journalist remains in ICE custody despite being granted bond AP
‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Already Ballooning Over $600 Million, Leaked Document Shows Drop Site
ICE SAID THEY WERE BEING FLOWN TO LOUISIANA. THEIR FLIGHT LANDED IN AFRICA. The Intercept
Louisiana Is Bulldozing the Right of Prisoners to Prove Their Innocence After a Conviction Bolts
Class Warfare
TEAMSTERS GO TO WAR AGAINST REPUBLIC SERVICES Teamsters. Nationwide sanitation strikes.
Just 1.6% of all world’s adults own 48.1% of all the world’s personal wealth Michael Robert’s Blog
Relationships and Trust Working Class Storytelling. “Locals create a community-based and community-run EMS service to fill in gaps.”
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
220 comments
Comments are closed.
Rollins blathering about former medicaid recipents providing farm labor is ignorant, dumb, cruel. Can’t remember the commentator onX, but he says “I was ready for the dystopia , but I am astonished by the stupidity”.
“I was ready for the dystopia , but I am astonished by the stupidity” That’s a keeper!
True that. It is a keeper. How about, ‘I was ready for “1984” but ended up in “Brazil” instead.’
Equally good. My new standard response to those who think that life was perfect pre Trump and want to discuss their TDS is to say that the news is just too crazy right now, I can’t keep up. Has the benefit of being half true and keeps me from having to try to dissuade them that the Clinton, Obama, and Biden administrations were paradise on earth
This is what the reactionaries truly believe, that people don’t want to work. They can’t understand that people are in pain, or that they can’t do the physical labor that a farm needs.
And that’s why physically disabling reactionaries and refusing to feed them until they complete the manual labor they are no longer capable of is salutary and therapeutic, actually.
This is just a Neoliberal version of the old Gulag system. Send the refusniks off to labour in the fields. If they cannot physically perform the work, then they “deserve to die” under the “Laws of Nature” as formulated by Spencer.
Stealing a trope from Mao, think of this as a “Great Leap Backward.”
I’m a people-pleaser. I only want reactionaries to receive the fullest taste of the world they believe in and pray for, to understand the reality of their ideals in the most immediate form, to give them (and only them) what they want, as far away from the rest of us as possible. I emphasize this is Not calling for a general condition, but simply answering the war of rhetoric and everyday sadism they are waging on the production of new history, in support of stupid games and stupider prizes. Let them eat exactly what they presume to serve, individualistically, as they would want.
Of course, I’m in no position and have no means to make any of these things happen. But the more people who treat them generally like cum-dumb callow teenagers who didn’t get slapped around enough at home, rather than scary virile warriors fighting for some dead fat pederast’s righteous dream, the less likely they are to develop the will to further their twisted archaic neverland. It’s all just operant conditioning…
If I recall the khemer rouge had some sort of plan along those lines. Don’t think it worked out all that well, unless mass death was the goal.
Today, with the advent of The Jackpot as a Neoliberal social engineering plan, mass death is exactly the goal.
When you read that today’s Neocons seriously argue that they can “win” a thermonuclear war, you know that objective reality has been left far behind. However, like the tortoise in the fable, slowly and certainly, that lumbering force of nature will win the race. Nature bats last.
See the Club of Rome papers on the carrying capacity of the Earth.
Never underestimate the murderous arrogance of those who have been conditioned or convinced to consider themselves as The Crown of Creation.
Stay safe.
“At Last: John Brennan and James Comey Under Criminal Investigation for Russiagate”
I think that Taibi has got the wrong spin on this story. The only reason why this came into the news cycle is to distract from the fact that Trump is protecting every person on the Epstein List by pretending that it does not exist so there is nothing to see here, move along…move along. But nobody is buying what Trump and Attorney General Barbie are trying to sell and it is alienating more and more of Trump’s – former – supporters. And my prediction here is that nothing will happen to John Brennan and James Comey in the end because of ‘statute of limitations’ or some other bs because the deep state will see to it that their own are protected. Brennan and Comey know where too many bodies are buried.
Treason has no statute of limitations.
More mundane stuff like lying to Congress still catches Brennan, for example, as he appears to be a talkative repeat prevaricator and is still within the 5 year period.
This is dispiriting. So many Americans have no idea what their constitution defines as “treason.” It’s very limited. “…they included the Treason Clause not so much to underscore the seriousness of such a betrayal, but to guard against the historic use of treason prosecutions by repressive governments to silence otherwise legitimate political opposition.”
“The Constitution specifically identifies what constitutes treason against the United States and, importantly, limits the offense of treason to only two types of conduct: (1) “levying war” against the United States; or (2) “adhering to [the] enemies [of the United States], giving them aid and comfort.” ” That phrase, “the enemies of the United States,” means the people or states “levying war” against the United States. So, I’m sorry, but no matter how much you hate Trump, no matter how much you want to see him punished, he hasn’t committed treason. There’s lots of stuff in writing about what “treason” means. Hardly anybody reads it.
>But nobody is buying what Trump and Attorney General Barbie are trying to sell and it is alienating more and more of Trump’s
Wouldn’t that be,”Attorney General Barbie Bondi”…
Using a baritone voice – ‘The name’s Bondi. Pam Bondi.’
Even Harry Houdini couldn’t make the Epstein List disappear but Bondi managed to do it.
This new Napolitano with Max Blumenthal has some inside info from the latter including the assertion that Trump and Epstein were tight as ticks. He says the Dems could have taken down Trump with the Epstein connection but too many of them are also guilty.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-V8Gzidu-OY
I don’t do social media but if many of the MAGA are turning against Trump that’s a good thing and his point of vulnerability. After all it’s not just his morals but also the way he is tossing farmers and the rural under the oligarch bus.
Blumenthal asserts what some of us have been saying which is that everything is a family business money proposition to Trump. That must be added to his zeal for punishing any assault on his fragile ego. However I do not agree with Blumenthal that the MAGA were all fooled by Trump. They were often seeking any available alternative to the Dems.
I recommend the short Ryan Dawson clip embedded in the Larry Johnson post. I think it gets at a lot of the truth behind the Epstein affair, as do the other two Epstein pieces in today’s Links for different reasons. I also just went back and re-watched Katie Halper’s very good interview with Whitney Webb from a few months ago. Webb makes the same points as Dawson; that the “client list” meme is misleading, that Trump was heavily involved in the Epstein circle, and that the *real* “clients” were not the notables receiving the sexual favors, but the billionaires, global banks, and intelligence agencies with which Epstein was intertwined – and which *no one* wants to talk about. I recommend the Halper interview as well, especially given its relevance now. It is conveniently broken into digestible segments on Youtube.
Regarding Rev Kev’s original point, I agree completely. As I commented yesterday, this “investigation” of Comey and Brennan is just more partisan sound and fury for the MAGA folks that signifies nothing.
Epstein files are like nukes, powerful thing in theory, but in practice you can’t use it because then the other guy lobs it in your face too, i.e. mutually assured destruction. Or Samson option, so to speak.
I agree, none of these people will pay any price for their crimes. They never have and never will. Almost all of this crap is just distraction. That’s all the rich and powerful do is distract. The press works over time to accomplish it for them.
When the DOJ Epstein narrative shifts from
“..abused dozens of minor girls at his homes”
to
“…harmed over one thousand victims. Each suffered unique trauma. Sensitive information relating to these victims is intertwined throughout the materials”
it’s a “tell” to me as a former career prosecutor that the DOJ’s concern has shifted from the 36-odd girls groomed by Epstein and Maxwell to the “victims” of their blackmail operation on behalf of Mossad.
Disgusting. Michael Wolff is claiming to The Daily Beast that he has seen compromising photos of Trump himself. The change in the DOJ narrative from “dozens of minor girls” to “over one thousand victims” tends to overcome any skepticism I might have about Wolff’s assertion.
Based on those figures, 1,000 pedophiles raped 36 young girls. So each young girl was raped by… I will let you do the math.
I’d surmise that many of these schmucks weren’t allowed the opportunity to engage in acts meeting the legal definition of “rape” as part of the sexual exploitation of the girls groomed by Epstein and Maxwell.
Many of these prominent men were simply photographed in sexually compromising positions involving the obviously underaged girls, such as the disgustingly pathetic romp described by Wolff involving Trump.
Cocaine is a hell of a drug as I saw in 80s Calif. Such a thing as white collar or wealthy sorts acting like bikies …
Have to do this so I can juxtapose it – Grandmaster Melle Mel - White Lines – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwRXI-y6M9o&list=RDECiMhe4E0pI&index=27
The EU-critters are stark raving mad and/or von der Lügen was forced to share her personal share of the Pfizer-payments with them. The “concessions” from the article don’t seem credible to save the warmonger Leyen unless you are a crazy warmonger too.
“360 lawmakers voted against it [the censure motion against her] during a plenary session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, with 175 in favor, and 18 chose to abstain.
https://financialpost.com/pmn/eu-official-ursula-von-der-leyen-comfortably-survives-a-confidence-vote
Years ago, I ceased to expect that European politicians will ever do the right thing, whether they are at the EU level or at the national level, whether they work in the legislative or in the executive. Just wrote them off.
They had more important things to think about than the VdL vote, don’tcha know-
“Europe’s top rights court finds Russia responsible for downing of MH17, rights abuses in Ukraine”
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/europes-top-rights-court-finds-russia-responsible-downing-mh17-rights-abuses-2025-07-09/
It seems the court managed to find a kangaroo. They import that from down under, Rev?
Ursula fond of lyin’.
Only someone who is totally clueless would place tariffs on copper. There is no possible way the US could achieve self-sufficiency in copper mining and refining. We do not have the reserves in the ground. And, even if we did and the ore grades were of sufficient quantity and quality to justify their development it typically takes a decade to plan and start mining operations. Kennecott, the big RTZ owned mine in UT, is effectively mined out. The open pit and underground mines in Arizona are similarly essentially depleted. So where exactly do they think the metal is coming from? And, this is a critical input material to so many industries. You just increased their cost structures.
Separately, it has been decades since a meaningfully sized, new copper ore body has been found; much less developed and put into production. So, the metal will likely fall into increased shortage and its price rise. Historically when this has happened thefts spike as criminals steal it from construction sites and the like.
Ooh, ooh. I know what Trump is thinking. He will demand that all those foreign countries ship over and set up their copper mines in America to make America great again in copper. When I heard that Trump was planning this, my eyes rolled so hard that they nearly locked into place. And he is thinking of putting 200% tariffs on pharmaceuticals as well.
And for what it is worth, here is a great tweet thread on copper which I have linked to before-
https://xcancel.com/Mining_Atoms/status/1584306032653717505
How deeply does Trump realize he was raised on the Fed socialism? The Fed for decades has worked to prevent price discovery in leveraged paper assets including big city commercial real estate.
Let us see. Which are the largest producers of copper ore worldwide? The World copper factbook 2024 gives us the answer on page 13. The top 5 are
Chile
Peru
Congo
China
USA
Page 20 gives the top countries with copper smelting capacity, whose 5 largest are
China (far, far, far larger than anybody else)
Japan
Chile
Russia
Korea
and on page 25 the top countries for the production of refined copper, with the top 5
China (far, far, far larger than anybody else)
Congo
Chile
Japan
Russia
There are plenty of other interesting statistics — repeatedly showing how industrial activity overwhelmingly shifted from Europe and North America to Asia — and diagrams about the life-cycle of copper, including losses and recycling. It also makes me wonder: the USA is nr 5 in copper mining, and must still import copper at a time when industrial production has already largely relocated to Asia; what are those Americans doing with all that copper?
But returning to trumpian economics, it seems there is a juicy prey in that copper universe which the USA might want to lay its paws on: Congo. Lots of copper in the ground. Lots of copper refining capacity. A weak government. I fully expect the USA to focus its “attention to the matter” on Congo. Wait: this is already happening. I am sure president Trump is working to make a deal with president Tshisekedi.
You mean the “peace” deal ?
The ex-president Joseph Kabila, describing it as “nothing more than a trade agreement”.
Link :
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckg3721np9go
I can’t find the link where Tr.mp is boasting about 2 trillion of dollars worth of congolese minerals for the US in exchange for the peace agreement. The question is why aren’t peace talks conducted through the UN ?
Oh here is the reference but I forgot where I read about the 2 trillion figure sorry :
Donald Trump’s Congo Venture : A Scramble for Minerals Under the Guise of Peace author Maurice Carney on Black Agenda Report.
And
Agressors Unnamed in Rwanda-DRC “Peace Agreement” from Black Agenda Report.
Then there is of course the book : L’Holocauste au Congo : l’Omerta de la communauté internationale. For the history of this agression and pillaging. According to this document the US were heavily involved from the start in their completely weirdo fashion as usual.
You mean the “peace” deal ?
The ex-president Joseph Kabila, describing it as “nothing more than a trade agreement”.
Precisely. It fits nicely in the context of a scramble for copper, doesn’t it?
Shooting?
Well we have an S load of pennies that are just sitting in trays at the check out counter of the local convenience store. That will help. Right?
The ones minted since 1982 are zinc with copper plating. So mostly no.
A buck worth of 1981 and earlier Lincolns has around $3 worth of copper in metal content.
Gresham!
That copper thread is incredible Rev.
Thanks very much. A real eye opener.
They steal it from construction sites or take apart air conditioners outside buildings or pull buried copper lines right out of the ground. Crooked scrap metal dealers then buy the copper even though they are supposed to verify the source.
This has been an issue in my region and sounds like it is due to again become one.
Long ago I temped at a large museum that was constantly troubled by copper thefts from the outside a/cs. The consensus was junkies were responsible.
Our local PD joked :
“How hot was it?
It was so hot the methheads are putting the copper back in their ACs.”
This happens too:
https://apnews.com/article/electric-vehicles-charging-cables-stolen-copper-tesla-5f003686cade63fade2e8d7dd3402f3a
It’s a vicious circle getting this green revolution off the ground.
Need lots of copper for wiring
Price goes up.
Thieves steal copper to sell for scrap.
Copper recycled into usable product.
Product stolen again.
The true Neoliberal solution to this problem would be to legalize the “liquidation” of copper thieves by “concerned citizens.”
As long as they recycle the brass from the ammo used.
Sadly a significant portion of the in-ground copper reserves that do exist straddle the Laurentian Divide in northeastern MN. Pollution on the Atlantic side will flow into Lake Superior and on into the other Great Lakes. Even more concerning, however, is the proposed Twin Metals project on the Arctic side. It is only two or three miles upstream from the pristine Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
It’s simple. You have a mountain with copper that is too dispersed to be mined in any conventional manner. So plant enough charges to gently lift the whole mountain, dig a pond on top and fill it with acid, then collect the leach product below and pull out the copper. It has certainly been done in Arizona
I’m surprised that someone connected to the building trades, as Trump is, would restrict the copper supply.
I can remember an earlier era when copper was high.
There was a movement to substitute aluminum for copper in homes and mobile homes.
Given that aluminum is about 61% the conductivity of copper, thicker (lower wire gage) aluminum wire was substituted, which likely required larger diameter conduits in some buildings.
And thicker wire can be more difficult to install.
However, aluminum has a hard surface oxide that has to be pierced to make a connection that has to remain a good connection for years.
As I recall, there were a number of fires caused by poorly made aluminum connections overheating.
Now there are better conductors than aluminum, and even one metal that is a better conductor than copper.
But those metals are silver and gold.
Trump needs to visit Dr. Copper for a consult.
Maybe the Trump and Trump insiders’ game is financially front running his actions before the TACO wagon arrives.
There’s a large copper reserve proposed at Oak Flat on the Sam Carlos Reserve as part of the Tonto National aforest. Resolution Copper, a joint venture between Rio Tinto and BHP have been in legal battles since 2008. It’s one of the largest in North America. Looks like the land transfer might have just happened late May actually.
I’m not sure how much this would help copper supply but it’s been an ongoing indigenous rights issue.
Absolutely horrible. In addition to absolutely destroying the entire area, they are going to use groundwater and CAP water in a water stressed state. There will be a crater two miles across and a mile deep created by block cave mining. My boys have worked on protesting this project with one of their clubs at school.
We can thank John McCain, Jeff Flake and Anne Kirkpatrick for putting this fiasco into the National Defense Authorization Act.
It is really alarming that hardly anyone in Arizona knows a thing about this.
There is also a very large ore body in the Santa Rita Mountains SE of Tucson that is nearing final permit approval.
https://www.scenicsantaritas.org/speaktruth-1/current-status-of-copper-world-project
I suspect that all the deals for various tariffs involve the opportunity to purchase a load of meme coins that will benefit a certain person. The more purchased the better the deal for the buyer.
>US sanctions UN rapporteur Francesca Albanese following ‘economy of genocide’ report – MEE
Chris Hedges:
The Persecution of Francesca Albanese
The US is a mafia state.
Albanese appears on DN today: https://www.democracynow.org/
‘@tparsi
The man below is the founder of Al Qaeda in Syria. The US just took his organization off its terror list and lifted sanctions on him.
The woman below is the UN rapporteur on Israel and Palestine. The US is about to impose sanctions on her.
Let that sink in.’
How about I reword that a little-
‘The man of the left is probably responsible for the deaths of American soldiers in Iraq. The woman on the right is for truth and justice. Meanwhile in the UK, an organization protesting a genocide has been proscribed as a terrorist organization.’
So, yes. We are the baddies now.
See you later in Alligator Alcatraz, undocumented immigrate’r
Well, I saw an Hispanic walkin’
With another man today
Well, I saw an Hispanic walkin’
With another man today
When I asked hey what’s the matter
This is what I heard them say
See you later in Alligator Alcatraz, undocumented immigrate’r
After ‘while crocodile
See you later in Alligator Alcatraz, undocumented immigrate’r
After ‘while crocodile
Can’t you see you’re in Donald’s way now
Don’t you know you cramp his style
When I thought of what he told me
Nearly made me lose my head
When I thought of what he told me
Nearly made me lose my head
But the next time that I saw him
Reminded me of what he said
See you later in Alligator Alcatraz, undocumented immigrate’r
After ‘while crocodile
See you later in Alligator Alcatraz, undocumented immigrate’r
After ‘while crocodile
Can’t you see you’re in Donald’s way now
Don’t you know you cramp his style
See You Later, Alligator, performed by Billy Halley & His Comets
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbqQ0fn7ZY4&list=RDmbqQ0fn7ZY4
Croc around the clock? ;)
C’mon and do the jailhouse croc!
Thank you, Conor.
Further to the Epstein links and the Rev Kev’s comments, there are two leads in England that are mentioned in connection, but never explored.
Foxcote House in Warwickshire. Les Wexner bought it from an heir to the Boots chemist empire and hosts shooting parties there. Victoria’s Secret models or “aspiring” models are brought to “entertain” his guests.
RAF Northolt in west London. As Britain is impoverished, the RAF has leases one end of the base for private jet use, including the Goldman Sachs squadron. It’s rumoured that trafficking to oligarchs in the Med has taken place there.
Apropos the Daily Telegraph reporting a shortage of potatoes in Russia, the Times (of London) this morning reports that Russians are having to resort to DIY dentistry due to a dearth of dental supplies and availability of care…
https://www.thetimes.com/world/russia-ukraine-war/article/russians-attempt-diy-fillings-at-home-as-sanctions-bite-nkbd9w07l?t=1752147281109
Incidentally, here in Blighty it is more or less impossible to find, let alone see an NHS dentist, and with the ever rising poverty and inequality, many people cannot afford to seek private dental treatment. But there we are.
Learned to cut my own hair during the pandemic, along with DIY dentistry, and I got pretty good at it… did a root canal last week~
👍
(trying to figure out the best alternative for whitening 🙄, which is benign compared to your skills)
Whitening teeth? Well there is the old and tried method of using baking soda (bicarbonate of soda). I think that it is called Backpulver in German.
I always go with a flat white latex and a really small brush.
Not necessarily for whitening, but my dentist told me ten drops of bleach in sixteen ounces of water. That was for a water pik, but after laser surgery not ‘sposed do that. I still use it as mouthwash. I’ve had no negative response among professionals, who’ve said it kills the bad things. You do Not want gum infections, too close to brain…
Hydrogen peroxide has many dental hygiene adherents, too.
In Germany there is now out a new herbal mouthwater from Madaus brand by the name of “Salviathymol”,which contains:
Active ingredient(s)
Sage oil 2 mg per 1 g drop = 20 drops
Eucalyptus oil 2 mg per 1 g drop = 20 drops
Peppermint oil 23 mg per 1 g drop = 20 drops
Cinnamon oil 2 mg per 1 g drop = 20 drops
Clove oil 5 mg per 1 g drop = 20 drops
Bitter fennel oil 10 mg per 1 g drop = 20 drops
Star anise oil 5 mg per 1 g drop = 20 drops
Levomenthol 20 mg per 1 g drop = 20 drops
Thymol 1 mg per 1 g drop = 20 drops
It is of relevance – and from my experience works very well – as testing has shown that it is more effective than Chlorhexidine which so far has been considered the gold standard. Not any more. And Salviathymol doesn´t colour teeth either.
I will look into the peroxide/bleach suggestions and the above latex as Wukchumni mentioned. (I used latex for getting out tiny screws out of my Mac after a Russian colleague over at Craig Murray´s blog had suggested.)
Baking soda has become part of the routine. I believe Flora had recommended…
Painting your teeth with white latex was a failed joke apparently, don’t go there.
Flowbee, baby! (at least for haircuts)
Reading my husband’s grandmother’s diary, written in her 18th year (she remarks on the sinking of the Titanic in one of her April entries), besides her laments on how much she hates hates hates planting potatoes, weeding potatoes and digging potatoes, she has weeks of complaining about the awful pain of an abscessed tooth. Until one day, she pierces the abscess with a sewing needle and drains off the pus and it feels sooo much better.
Now, 110 years later, based on the increasing number of people I meet in this south west region of New York State, who have missing teeth, or simply really bad teeth, many of the regions’ inhabitants have no access (i.e., money for) dental care.
If you show up at a hospital emergency room, they have to attend to your needs, and if you aren’t insured the bill will be quite high, although in reality you can usually pay around 1/3rd or less.
Typically few of us have dental insurance and the bill will be quite high and they want payment in full now.
They don’t have to “attend to your needs.” They have to save your life. If you’re a diabetic they have to give you an insulin shot to help you recover from a coma. They don’t have to give you a supply of insulin to keep you from going into a coma in the first place. They don’t have to give cancer patients chemotherapy. They have to prevent imminent fatalities.
For Ukrainians in the UK, a toothache seems to be more painful than Russian bombings.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-wiltshire-68683444
So Trump and Noem built the first FEMA camp with the creation of ‘Alligator Alcatraz’? Meanwhile, Alex Jones, a long-time FEMA camp Cassandra, is busy making up just so stories to justify Trump’s betrayal to MAGA partisans over Epstein.
It appears that the moral arc of the universe bends towards gallows humor rather than justice, especially for us cynics blessed to bear witness.
That is not necessarily true about Alex Jones-
https://www.yahoo.com/news/alex-jones-breaks-down-tears-134041706.html
About this time in 1933, one of the first CCC camps in Cali was fully built out in Sequoia NP @ Potwisha and would eventually house about 135 men, none of whom were rounded up.
It was segregated in the CCC ranks in that you had to be an unmarried white male between 18 and 25 in order to be considered. Of your $30 monthly pay, $25 went back to your family.
You learned important hands on skills as an added bonus.
My own theory is that no major project will be allowed to go ahead in today’s world unless some billionaire or some corporation gets a major cut of the budget, even if it cause the original budget to have a blowout. Those CCC camps could be easily replicated today but only if a private equity corporation or something was allowed to set up and run them – using government money of course.
Many of the recruits were farm kids used to that kind of work. Now said kids drive air conditioned combines with gps. The past is a different country?
Plus, if a townie, you learned that there was much more to America than Times Square and Wall Street.
There is the remnants of one of those camps just south off you now labeled on google maps as Blue Ridge Shooting Range. My understanding is those guys built half the trails in the sierra.
Almost all of our SC state parks were CCC. There are a few that are newer.
Now they’ve been monetized with entrance fees and high camping costs. FDR did the former–the now dominant business Republicans the latter.
So a big anti-Roosevelt beef in the 30’s was the CCC was make work and all those bums were just leaning on their shovels. Once again a republican congress has mandated jobs without providing any. Stephanie Kelton makes the case for gov’t provided jobs. If the Federal Reserve is the lender of last resort to keep banks solvent, why can’t the gov’t be the job provider of last resort. That doesn’t mean giving money to contractors to make jobs like prisons. That means gov’t employment like the CCC.
Instead they just trashed Americore.
One of the many things the CCC did here in Sequoia NP was build trails to every Sequoia grove in the NP. Many of these went to fairly forbidden groves in terms of access, and when the CCC was disbanded in 1942 the trails went back to nature.
Pack trains kept many of the trails open. Certainly in the national forest. The NP closed the trail south of Hocket Meadow to packers (thank god). It was just a mess of exposed roots and horse pucky and also dust if you were so unfortunate as to come up behind a pack train.
Lots of good memories @ Hockett Meadow and environs, maybe the flattest plateau of its type @ 8,500 feet on the western flanks of the Sierra, and not too far from one of the finest fishing haunts around these parts, in Evelyn Lake.
Usually high altitude lake trout have big heads and emaciated bodies from systematically starving under the ice on top of the lake, but Evelyn has a secret in that she has no inlet stream and is spring-fed, so it never freezes over during the winter.
Last time we were there my backpacking partner dropped pack and picked up his fly rod and off he went to do a little ‘lip service’ on the denizens of the deep.
A few hours later he comes back when i’m getting to a really good part in The Plague, by Camus, and I ask how it’d go?
’50 casts and I landed 49 trout-all 10-12 inches long’
How’d you screw up on the other one?
I chided him…
He flashed a wicked lip snarl my way~
There was a CCC camp @ Cain Flat just off of Mineral King road…
https://mineralking.org/mk-road-corridor/cains-flat/
I have been joking about the FEMA camps for several years now. It seems that I was just a bit at the front of the curve.
https://www.rsn.org/001/pam-bondi-trumps-new-ag-pick-lobbied-for-private-prisons-and-amazon.html
Blumenthal talks about this.
US Sanctions UN Rapporteur Francesca Albanese.
To wit: “The sanctions will freeze any assets Albanese has in the US and would likely restrict her ability to travel to the US. Albanese is an Italian citizen. If the sanctions are fully enforced, they could also prohibit her from engaging in financial transactions within the European Union.”
The usual blowhardism. It is highly unlikely that Albanese owns anything in the U S of A. Further, restricting Italians and their travel to the U S of A is something that Italian communists still remember — because the “are you or were you?” rules meant that they were denied visas.
This isn’t going to go over well in Italy, and I tend to doubt that Italian banks are going to jump at the chance to block her checking account.
I saw Francesca Albanese about a month ago at the Officine Grandi Riparazioni, a former railroad facility for repairing and building railcars and locomotives. It is gigantic, and it is now a cultural center. Turin has so many disused industrial properties that the city and region keep turning them into cultural centers, libraries, film studios, whatever will work to reclaim them.
She is formidable as a speaker and is not sloppy as a thinker (unlike, ohhh, Rubio, Trump, Hillary, and Blinken). The audience was of all ages but skewed young (twenties to forties).
Further, within larger Italian culture, Pope Francesco, Francesca Albanese, and now Pope Leo are high-profile voices against the wars in Gaza/Palestine and Ukraine/Russia. There are several other highly visible figures against the war — Giuseppe Conte, Barbara Spinelli, Moni Ovadia, Nicola Fratoianni, and several Italian bishops.
The U S of A is already making Giorgia Meloni’s job harder. It’s hard to suck up to Trump even as the Italians watch what is happening in Germany, the U S of A, and England.
At this point, we know that sanctions are meant to hurt the populace (see Iran, Iraq, Syria). Rubio is only going to ensure that the vast majority of Italians will oppose the proxy genocides in Palestine and Ukraine, the deformation of the Italian economy into a factory for war, and the depredations of Ursula von der Leyen and Kaja Kallas.
Spent an evening with Italian colleague. Spoke about friends in Rome in academia. They apparently are protesting everyday in front of the government against Gaza genocide. Nothing of that in the FR of G. But of course that won´t change ownership of company Leonardo nor the structure of Northern Italian industry.
p.s. There was a report a couple of years ago how Italian communities manage the environmental/ overconsumption issues in there own smart way by cooperating on the local level where superstructures as usual lack/fail.
Huh?!? You have many public figures speaking out against war? I can’t wrap my head around rhis. Can we borrow a few of them?
In Germany we had one – Sahra Wagenknecht – but she is not that frequent after her loss in the elections. In Sweden I haven’t seen anybody in the widely distributed online media I follow.
I wonder if Trump will sanction Pope Leo XIV for speaking out against the genocide in Gaza?
Get the Interfaith Council to foment a colour revolution in the Vatican?
Why sanctions, if he does nothing. Talking is just blowing in the wind, and entertainment for the intelectually challeged (panem et circenses, sans the bread).
– ‘Trump edges closer to Russia hawks — but will the move last?’ – Semafor
LOL! As this article makes clear, the “Russia hawks” are basically the Republican and the Democrat members of Congress. Dissenters can be counted on one hand. It is also clear that the War Party wants to get rid of one of the few remaining voices of sanity left in the administration, Elbridge Colby. Hegseth could be a scapegoat as well, as he is an expendable lightweight. Semafor is a mouthpiece for the “liberal” and somewhat more Atlanticist branch of the Establishment; the authors can barely conceal their agreement with Republican “hawks” like Lindsay Graham. “But will the move last”? They certainly hope so.
I had thought Elbridge was reasonable, too, until somewhere in the too-bleary middle of the too-early morning I was reading/hearing that he is actually a China hawk. Furthermore, he is a leading proponent of tactical nuclear strikes.
Danny Haiphong, with Brian Berletic, Carl Zha and another, I think. Will check and correct if I’ve got it wrong.
You could be right. I know he is a China hawk. I use the word “sanity” pretty loosely here; in relation to most of the psychopathic warmongers left in the administration he is a “realist” – but that term is also relative. I guess that is a sign of how bad things actually are.
I believe Colby is considered a realist because he wanted to stop some of the other wars while we still had enough weapons to fight China.
Oops.
Exactly so.
Colby is China Hawk #1, arguably, and all in on any Project For the Next American Century.
I am unsure in what timeline he would be considered ‘reasonable.’ The one where President Cheney replaced Bush 2 maybe? Granted, he’s not a moron like the Trumpists.
This is silly. I came up with one hypothesis immediately: Warmer air creates less friction. The article itself explains that the rotation period has changed, both ways, over the eons.
“Thete is nothing so fickle as the weather.”
‘Climate is what we expect. Weather is what we get.’
And some argue that climate change is making weather prediction more difficult. Others disagree, sort of.
The Earth is spinning faster because of the Iranian centrifuges.
It is also slowing down because of the Chinese.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/china-s-engineering-marvel-how-the-three-gorges-dam-is-nudging-earth-s-rotation/ar-AA1HVCsx
North and South Pole flip-flopping. Not just for politicians anymore. /s
Given the mass of the earth, what forces could have a plausible impact on rotation?
Forces that can move enough mass to change rotational inertia. Accelerating would reqire bringing more mass towards center. Maybe some tectonic movements moving lot of ground, or reverse of what Chinese did (i.e. moving lots of water downhill).
Perhaps a magnetic interaction between the Earth’s magnetosphere and the recent electromagnetic solar eruptions that have hit the Earth?
Such disturbances are very weak. Carrington Events are a big deal to humankind, but for a planet they are barely an inconvenience.
P.S. Planet sized electromagnetic motor does sound like a nice idea for a science fiction story, though making a stator would be a problem even for a work of fiction (much more tnan space elevator, or even a Dyson sphere/swarm). “Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world” sounds nice until one starts crunching the numbers. :)
You know, I remember reading a news article back in the 60s saying how the Chinese were disrupting world weather by having their armies march in specific directions to slow the spin of the earth. Upon reflection, it was probably some CIA planted story to discredit China and Mao back then.
When I was in the military, we didn’t march over bridges so we don’t take them down. I bet Chinese march over foreign bridges too. :)
>Trump’s 50% Tariff on Brazil…
How are coffee futures doing?
Better than Trump’s future if coffee prices start going though the roof. As has been said, ‘Coffee is not a matter of life or death – it’s more important than that.’
To paraphrase: civilization is just nine cups of coffee away from anarchy.
Coffee was already up around 50% over the last few years as it is. Can Starbucks survive if their “artisanal” brews become $8 USD a pop?
No coffee inflation here in Thailand! My fave beans (100% Arabica) the same price as 2 years ago. But mine like most is local.
Funny that. I had not considered Thailand as a coffee drinking culture. Is it?
Enquiring minds want to know.
Stay safe. Stay caffeinated.
Yeah, there are little shops everywhere selling “fresh coffee.” Most of them rely on sweet cold drinks, but they mostly sell espresso or some other hot coffee. Every grocery store has a coffee/tea section. There are lots of Starbucks, and another national chain, Amazon. I order my coffee ground from the internet, but you can order unground beans. I haven’t seen it for a long time, but there is “Thai coffee,” made in a long cloth bag, very strong.
I was in one the other day and the sever said that i was pretty much the only person left drinking normal coffee. Most are drinking sweetened concoctions of what i do not know and do not want to know.
There’s that blasted sugar addiction again!
I wonder about what you said. Could it be that people order coffee with all the sugary bells and whistles because somehow it makes them feel more prosperous or something? And that it has kinda become a keeping up with the Jones type scenario? And that a lot of those customers buy in to the Starbucks hype? Starbucks tried to take over the coffee market here in Oz and flamed out spectacularly because nobody knew their reputation and they could not keep up with the type of coffees that were introduced by Italian & Greek immigrants after the war here-
https://www.justologist.com/how-starbucks-failed-in-australia/
Americans, more than anywhere else are hooked on sugar let alone all the chemical additives in food so you eat drink more. Back in the mid 90s when I landed in OZ most still viewed excessive sugar intake as gluttony and frowned upon.
The lower socioeconomic sorts are different, cheap food = cheap energy. Not that some start off with a milk bottle with cordial in it …
Yes the Italians in OZ/Hellborne educated the palliate of generations of Ozzies. Still hear people coming back from the US say THXGOAT I can have a proper coffee again. I order from a well known coffee house in Hellborne for my beans, single origin, hand ground before use, and stove top Brikka Moka Pot.
Isn´t most of the world market coffee from Vietnam?
I was reading that about 80% or more comes from South America, mostly Brazil and Columbia. But it’s weird that Trump want to put a 50% tariff on Brazil just to try to force them to let his buddy Bolsanaro go. That’s not government policy. That’s just Trump using the US government for his own personal whims.
East Germany was key in developing Vietnam’s coffee production, IIRC. I don’t know what their share is today, worldwide, but in the US Brazil’s is huge.
At some point hair furor’s flopping around is going to hit a primary nerve. Coffee and the cost of gasoline are two main components in the proles stream of consciousness.
Wiki says Vietnam is the world’s second largest exporter after Brazil which produces 31% (several numbers are given so it is somewhat confusing).
Add cocoa to that.
As I wrote 3 weeks ago, in German supermarkets cocoa powder is up 3.70 from 1-1.50, 2 years ago. And with the cocoa naturally every product containing cocoa (kids!). Including bakeries and pastries. That is the entire industry of sweets and candies/confectionery.
And the larger companies try to make an additional cut by secretly reducing the actual ingredients. What´s 10% less cocoa in some product that already had miniscule amounts of the real thing (take Ferrero brand e.g.)? Who will ever find out?
It´s quite infuriating to see those incredibly incompetent assholes such as Baerbock and Habeck fade away into quasi-retirement after destroying this country. Not standing trial. And nobody talks about this. It´s just….😡💣 (I am missing an exploding head here)
Less cocoa, more powdered bugs.
Naturally!
p.s. within the consumer space the only brand that was available until one year ago was, I believe, France (i.e. Africa)-based “ethiquable. They had two chocolate bars with low-temperature conching which is everything. It however makes chocolate difficult to transport in warmer times.
https://www.ethiquable.coop/visiter-chocolaterie
Of course the first thing taken off the product line was this one. What remained is decent compared to any other available bar whatever price category (including those robber barons from Turin.) Only online though.
p.s.
Everything else that remains is either beyond affordable and/or self-exploitative single idealists´ projects, people who buy cocoa from producers they know personally.
But then that has to be processed by people who know what they are doing who are not too many either.
See e.g. in Berlin – after the company/man went broke about a dozen times in 20 years – but he still holds on to it! Fortunately so. For anyone who takes “chocolate” seriously:
https://bonvodou.com//
Tastes like pistachio.
For real? I haven´t tried.
Cocoa powder is temporarily out in my neck of the woods. For months now. I wonder, if and when it comes back, whether we’ll have to pay with gold dust…
Don’t try a Hershey bar. You may find it a shadow of its former self. It will look kind of gray too. The Hershey Bears may have to change the color of their unis.
The only ingredient that Hershey bar didn’t cheapen out on was slivers of almonds, presumably because ersatz almonds don’t exist?
Tofu almonds! Soy sorry for the pun.
😂
I remember that turkey for Thanksgiving made entirely of tofu.
Does Hershey bar being a shadow of its former self means that it tastes more like vomit, or less? 🥸
Hersheys bar has the look of a heavily polished Florsheim dark brown shoe, perhaps even a spit-shine?
Yummy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u65lvwfTPtM
God Forbid, NO!
If you are in the USA, Shiloh brand cocoa powder is available online from Vitacost. The price has increased from $9 to $15 for a pound over the past few months. It’s still a much better deal than local availability.
Different kind of coffee, I think. VN is the huge producer of robusta coffee, but much of coffee that is drunk is still arabica (although VN, in particular, has made robusta fashionable last couple of decades). At any rate, Brazil is a leading producer in both types, iirc, and by far for the arabica.
from the FT item I was referring to, one year ago:
“A recent cold snap in Brazil, which accounts for roughly a third of the world’s coffee production — 70 per cent of which is arabica — has sparked fears of a supply shortage. Brazil’s frosty weather follows months of drought in Vietnam, the world’s largest producer of robusta, pushing global supplies of the beans into their fourth consecutive year of shortage.”
https://archive.is/oR9YR
Good brews often combine both beans, as robusta percentage increases crema. So you might want to go for a 30/70 or even 50/50 mixture. But still roasting itself is of course at the heart of the matter.
Back in the early 00’s I was in the Bolivan Plateau in southern Laos, which produces very high quality arabica in among all the unexploded US ordnance. As with Vietnam, the French had introduced large scale plantations in the 19th/early 20th century, but for whatever reason the Laotians never developed a taste for coffee, unlike the Vietnamese. The guesthouses would actually give nescafe sachet coffee to travellers, while surrounded by coffee plantations. I was told there that much ‘Vietnamese’ coffee was actually grown in Laos – it was much prized by Vietnamese blenders for adding aroma to their local robusta blends. I cycled around the region for several weeks with a kilo of Lao roasted beans on my bike (I bought them forgetting I’d need a grinder), and for the one and only time my bike panniers smelled divine.
While the Vietnamese traditionally liked very strong brews, I was recently told by a Viet friend that she noticed on her infrequent visits home that there has been an explosion of high quality coffee places all over Vietnam over the past couple of years, now selling more conventional (i.e. lighter and more aromatic) brews.
I noticed that for coffee imports allegedly fro VN in US. Most coffee sold here (exc, presumably, the real fancy stuff) carry “100%” arabica label, to the degree that I don’t think I ever tasted real robusta coffee until a few years ago. That’s when I got curious about robusta and started looking into VN coffee (bad timing, it turned out!) I was annoyed that 100% robusta is actually pretty uncommon among VN coffee imported into US (mostly blends and some even 100% arabica.)
I imagine much of that was actually Laotian, then?
Apparently, most coffee grown in Thailand is arabica. Personally, I prefer it, as it has (to my taste) much more flavor than robusta. I remember years ago reading that the Vietnamese were trying to shift from robusta production to arabica, because the price was so much better. From what you say it sounds like they weren’t successful.
Mine comes (allegedly, though with certificates) from co-ops in Uganda and DRC, and roasted there, too. Oddly enough, it’s also one of the cheapest ones in our local store.
To be honest, leaving most of the value to the producers is just a bonus, I drink it because it’s about as good as coffee can be. Which is not saying much…
Mostly the price is decent when there is no “trader” in between. Which is why they are robbers and mafiosi. Be it Venchi, Nestlé or Lavazza.
As far as I know cocoa industry the known “labels” actually own cocoa islands anyhow. Which is as dystopian a concept as it can be.
fwiw:
Online petition against Baerbock in the UN
The clock is ticking to block Annalena Baerbock’s appointment as President of the 80th United Nations General Assembly.
The UN General Assembly is meant to represent the world’s majority.
But while Baerbock was shaking hands with Benjamin Netanyahu, millions of people across the world were marching to demand the end of the Gaza genocide.
A criminal like Baerbock does not — and must not — represent us.
https://act.progressive.international/block-baerbock/
C’mon. Think of the comedy value. Think of all the times she could feature in Alex Christoforou’s Clown World segment. But more important, it would demonstrate to the countries of the Global South how much of the UN has been captured by the Collective West where they see no problem in having this person with all the charm and charisma of Kaja Kallas put into that job as UN President.
Baerbock was shaking hands with Benjamin Netanyahu but not with al-Sharaa/al-Julani, which makes her better than Trump. I say, let’s accelerate this race to the bottom, and put only Baerbocks in the UN.
I’m afraid that you have that wrong. Julani actually refused to shake hands with Baerback, not the other way around, because she is a woman and such an act is against his extremist beliefs.
That’s the joke. :)
His Start-Up May Not Survive Chaotic Rollout of Trump’s Tariffs
Oops, America is going great!
re: Iran UK
UK Parliament releases Iran report
Intelligence and Security Committee highlights policy differences and intelligence co-operation with US
Tom Griffin
Jul 10, 2025
https://intelligencehistory.substack.com/p/uk-parliament-releases-iran-report
includes links to the Iran “threat” report and the “threat” reports on RU (2020) and CHINA (2023).
Re: cascading climate disasters–
The floods in Ruidoso, NM are a good example of a cascading climate disaster that we learned about on NC a few days back. In an interview, the mayor of the little tourist town said that there had been extensive forest fires last summer. Since then, they’ve had 7 floods including the one a few nights ago. There are many fewer trees to slow down the water, and now, a few inches becomes a flood. When they get one of our new downpours, people die.
The BBC had a surprisingly fair presentation on degrowth that centered on Barcelona. I found it quite encouraging because the overwhelming portion of those participating are young people, full of enthusiasm and commitment. Of course, some economists are brought on to denounce the whole idea as heretical, but that isn’t deterring the young people, who appear to know better than listen to an orthodox economist.
I’ve linked this before, but if anyone would like a clear and cogent explanation of our predicament, Nate Hagens does it with helpful animations in around 10 minutes.
At this point. the denialists’ ever more outrageous, don’t-believe-your-lying-eyes lies and diversions are reminiscent of Pharaoh’s hardening heart as one (mythical) plague after another hits Egypt:
Exodus 9:28-35
Only when the Angel of Death takes the Pharaoh’s first born son does he relent, and even then, Trumplike, he changes his mind and sends his army after the Israelites only to have it destroyed.
The hardening of the heart is a common theme in the Hebrew bible. Those trying to educate people about the polycrisis must feel like Isaiah whose call to prophecy was not a pleasant one:
Isaiah 6
I quote these verses not to claim that these floods and fires are some god’s judgment against someone, but to note that the human capacity, especially the elites’ capacity, to remain in denial even as things collapse around them, is nothing new. This was something observed by those who created these texts, and they included it as a major component of their stories.
I think the OT reference that will be most appropriate is Jeremiah getting thrown into an empty well or cistern for saying things people didn’t like to hear.
Likely the fate of anyone who starts to gain traction with their complaints regarding our current trajectory on climate issues.
From The Texas Flash Flood Is a Preview of the Chaos to Come
Doesn’t state the obvious:
(bold mine)
And why are we burning these sources of carbon?
To facilitate wealth accumulation by capitalists.
Given the stakes, maybe we ought to make it clear what the culprit is that’s driving the extinction of “modern” society and threatening life itself?
In SC most of our weather comes from the Gulf of Mexico and sounds like this is true of Texas as well. The Gulf has warmed by several degrees.
True story, I remember wading out into the gulf at Siesta Key back in 2014. Even then that was some warm water. To say nothing of the increasingly punishing summers in Florida. It’s felt like something is up since at least the early 2000s, without a doubt. It’s a shame this is happening at an even more accelerated pace than I’d feared.
Humans have a really bad bias for linear relationships. We think we can predict things far into the future based on current conditions. Dynamic, non-linear, complex systems, with effects that aren’t uniformly distributed, screw with our minds.
Somewhere, there’s an REIT conspiring to purchase land on the “North Coast” for when those winters become more bearable and refugees from the sunbelt and southwest have nowhere else to go. Just like when the wealthy started buying up property in Northern Miami to escape the King Tides.
>In SC most of our weather comes from the Gulf of Mexico and sounds like this is true of Texas as well. The Gulf has warmed by several degrees.
Whoa, whoa, whoa there hoss, that’s “Gulf of America” now…
Taco Man says thanks!
Which America?
The “America” led by a President and his minions that believe the world should automatically kiss his ass due to his brilliant deal making. The bestest, biggest, most winningest President ever. A legend in his own mind.
Meanwhile here on our island in SF bay off the coast of Oakland the weather remains bland as ever and may it ever be so. The thing I do worry about is water. Locally we only get about 20 inches of rain per year so that much of the flourishing greenery about not to mention our high quality tap water is dependent on gradual snow melt from the distant Sierras. Climate warming will likely produce more rain than snow in the mountains. But our highly engineered water management systems were built for the latter. There could be water water everywhere up there while we would be dry as dust down here.
We had an ok near average snowpack in the southern Sierra this winter, and i’ve never seen it melt off as quick as this year. The reservoir Lake Kaweah topped out in June and has been slowly emptying out. In past years the peak for snow melt has been in July, Gaia! (<shakes tiny fist at)
“Yemen sinks another Israel-bound ship violating ban in Red Sea”
Which insurance corporations are lunatic enough to insure those ships going through the Red Sea on their way to Israel? Or are governments underwriting them? You have had two ships sunk this week and four crewman killed. That is gunna hit those insurers hard and I hope that the families of those killed sue for all that they are worth. And for some reason those maniacs in Tel Aviv had that ship captured and anchored in Yemen attacked by the IDF. Why? Don’t know, but somebody is going to have to pick up the tab for that ship now when if they had waited, it could eventually have been freed by negotiation-
https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-860187
I do not know how maritime insurance works, but every time I scrutinized my own (personal) insurance policies, they all explicitly excluded coverage for damages resulting from acts of war.
“Does Anybody Really Know What Time Is?”
I do. It’s the stuff that stops everything happening at once.
It doesn’t seem to be working.
My longtime backpacking partner claimed that there was only 2 times of day in the wilderness, daytime & nighttime.
The time has come today. At least as of 1967.
Related to the Trita Parsi link above, Tarik Cyril Amar on the sanctioning of Francesca Albanese. He is grim.
https://substack.com/@tarikcyrilamar/p-167992178
Novara Live starting at 43:43 on Rubio/Albanese
https://novaramedia.com/2025/07/10/the-one-in-one-out-migrant-policy/
As Fires Consumed California, Small Towns Organized Their Own Defense Truthout
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One thing we can’t defend upon is the idea that the power company has decided that under certain conditions, they’ll turn off the electricity for long spells as a precaution against fires, and we’re talking in the midst of a hundred and hell type temperatures.
No A/C for you!
Shut-offs determined by the top secret algorithm reflecting stock price, liability payouts, regulatory environment and, uh, legislative pliability. /s?
I work for an A/C company. We are Mitsubishi Electric dealers.
All their new models are DRED capable.
What does that mean? Have a look at this:
https://airc.com.au/demand-response-enabling-device-dred/
So, when the weather is super hot and everyone wants their air con going flat out the power company overrides their remote controls and turns everyones’ units down remotely.
I suppose that’ll NEVER be used for unpaid bills. Or, a new thing, pay by the minute use. Sorry sir, you’ve exceeded your prepaid allotment.
Sarcasm off now.
But, maybe the shape of things to come…
Not just for unpaid bills, but for posting wrong stuff on the Internetz, AI controlled.
A decision Tuesday by the U.S. Supreme Court to allow the Trump Administration to proceed with a government-wide reduction-in-force (RIF) could clear the way for the Interior Department to “gut everything” in the National Park Service.
How hard such a mass firing would impact the Park Service is unknown. Interior officials were expected to produce their RIF plan back in April, though it was delayed into May. At the time, all Interior employees were expected to update and submit their resumes to the department.
A subsequent post on Reddit, which was quickly removed, said the cuts to the Park Service would be “deep and blunt” and focus largely on the agency’s Washington, D.C., headquarters staff and regional offices. How blunt the upcoming cuts could be was demonstrated in the Park Service’s Alaska regional office, where roughly a third of the 180 employees were convinced by the administration to leave earlier this year.
https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2025/07/update-supreme-court-decision-could-spur-gutting-national-park-service
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When I was a kid, RIF meant ‘reading is fundamental’ but that was then and this is now and I can see the writing on the wall, they want to gut the National Park Service, but what for?
Ask a Ukrainian/dual citizen, per yesterday’s comment. (Correction, he is in his 50s.) https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2025/07/links-7-9-2025.html#comment-4241235
He taught English in Odessa since 2020 and volunteered as soon as the war started, because of his loyalty to the country of his mother, and living himself in Odessa, plus because of his prior experience in the US military he could see that the Ukrainian soldiers didn’t know what they were doing. Already in his 40s he asked for command of 30 men and they mostly guarded people and places, but they were sent to the line of contact twice for 60 days total.
@yves he was surprised at the number of foreign fighters, including Americans, from the beginning. (He ran into them in the bars.) He confirms that there is lots of corruption, estimates 20% of equipment pilfered. He has great respect for Putin, but not Russian soldiers, says that they are drunks: the Rs carry liters of cheap vodka with them in the battlefield, along with bread it provides them calories. He says there are many, many dead ukrainian men, the women have left, and confirms that older people are fighting. Lots of bombing, the children don’t understand. I will keep asking questions.
@gramci he is looking for his new home to re-establish himself. After his last 13 month tour he did not reup and left easily with his US passport.
Fascinating details. Thank you for sharing. I think he did well to get out of UKR while he could.
Vodka was distributed liberally to Red Army soldiers in WW2, so this is indeed a thing.
But with the Telegraph approved potato shortage in Russia now, that vodka will soon be hard to come by. Will the troops start drinking the sterno now?
It reminds me of the Royal Navy daily ration of grog. The religious swabbies would say that there is “Grog” and “MaGrog.” The two frame the entrance to the Holy of Holies, inebriation. Thus is Dionysus worshipped even today.
“But with the Telegraph approved potato shortage in Russia now, that vodka will soon be hard to come by. Will the troops start drinking the sterno now?”
Or odekolon (eau de cologne), in deference to national tradition.
“Russian soldiers, says that they are drunks: the Rs carry liters of cheap vodka with them in the battlefield, along with bread it provides them calories.”
I’ve never served myself, but I used to know people who did. So that’s easy enough to believe. I did also get the impression that discipline (and therefore levels of alcohol use) varies immensely from unit to unit, often depending on the willingness of individual officers to enforce it. Or so it was in peacetime, at least.
What part of the front did he serve on?
To be honest, I doubt a Ukrainian soldier who spent the vast majority of his time in the rear has any direct personal knowledge of the habits of the present-day Russian soldier or the current conditions behind the Russian lines.
Also true. Of course he may still have seen something while on the line of contact, or more likely heard it from someone he finds trustworthy. The problem being that while they may well have seen something to confirm this view, it wouldn’t say much about the army as a whole since this would surely still vary between units and therefore between different parts of the front.
Hearing something from someone you finds trustworthy, doesn’t make it true. In essence, it’s just a rumor.
When I served in non-Russian military, we did drink occasionally (and I mean from a same bottle of local-strong-alcoholic-drink). It’s what men do in those circumstances.
Google is Poised to Devour Yet Another Market: Television – Tech Policy Press
More “that already happened and now you want to do something about it”. This just dawned on them?
Years ago, when all the hype about Netflix began, then other services popped up and all the talk was about how could they compete with Netflix, I said: YouTube is the Grandmaster of streaming that will be the ultimate competition.
re: the various pieces on Trump tariffs
Just for the sake of this hypothetical let’s assume intelligence and also assume it’s not just for showbiz. If it were someone other than Trump in the WH, what would motivate a US president to take the current worldwide tariff approach? Under what circumstances would advisors push for this?
What would make a US president willing to do this knowing it would lead to loss of trust, destruction of trade relations, counter and retaliatory tariffs, massive economic disruption, likely economic loss, etc. Was the US already on the verge of economic collapse? Is there an element of desperation or impending crisis which would make sense of it?
Trump wants a balanced budget
Trump does not want to increase taxes on the wealthy
Trump does not/cannot reduce spending
Ergo, tariffs
This is the best I can do given your hypothetical constraints. In reality, the answer is probably much simpler: Trump has a friend who stands to benefit somehow
Regarding Benedict Donald being in the know…
Rumsfeld
So Albanese is sanctioned for calling Genocide Genocide and Jolani is now the face of Democracy in the middle East alongside Bibi.
When the insanity is this obvious and this widespread is there a better explanation than Covid…
Bernays/Goebbels.
We should really take a more positive view of genocide and think of it as the greatest single conceptual advance on the US suburban habit of randomised serial murder in the 21st century. Ms. Albanese is merely a contemporary version of Ms. Ludd whereas President Trump is a stable genius of the highest order seeking, in the footsteps of Jesus Christ and Joan Baez, merely to bring peace to a disordered world – as the insightful Mr Netanyhu has recognised by proposing that President Trump be considered for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Interesting new Construction Physics on what Federal land is eligible to be sold off and practical to build on. Lots of charts.
https://www.construction-physics.com/p/should-the-federal-government-sell
However the mandate to sell land was taken out of the recent Trump signed bill.
This is fine, and I appreciate the long discussion with detailed graphs and maps. I have a very hard time taking any kind of argument to sell land in the mountain west seriously when it’s presented with no mention of where the water for these new housing developments would come from.
Without the Colorado magically refilling, land sale would be short-term profits to developers at the expense of literally every one else around, especially with the current round of fighting over the compact.
https://www-e1-ru.translate.goog/text/economics/2025/06/02/75518696/?_x_tr_sl=ru&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc
May be of interest to some, about the potato problem in Russia. In brief, if the article is to be trusted, it is an old problem of (lack of) economic coordination somewhat exacerbated by the sanctions. There are more than enough potatoes in the country, but much of that doesn’t get to the cities, which disproportionately rely on foreign imports. Though the economy being “on the brink” (of what? utter collapse? recession?) because of it is wishful thinking as usual (not really supported by the Telegraph’s actual article either, I’d say).
That is the great thing about being ‘in the country’. Even in my small village here in Poland, come harvest time I can buy as many 20kg bags of potatoes as I want.
Then you can make “Tractor Fuel” out of it.
Exactly, the headline of the Telegraph article is not supported by the actual article, which cheerfully admits both lack of evidence for Russia being on the brink and the possibility potato consumption fell as consumers traded UP!
Yeah, they go back and forth between vague insinuations of doom and specific details that undermine them. Mind you, potato prices really did rise and that is a problem, though one that is very unevenly distributed. But from the headline you’d think it was 1917 or at least 1987. That sort of disjointed writing seems weirdly common in Western articles about Russia. It’s like they feel they can’t wholly ignore the experts they are citing but still want to direct their audience towards the most “hopeful” interpretation through unconnected commentary and speculation.
(Oh, but maybe the war machine is starting to sputter out! I guess it also runs on imported potatoes? Yet have they considered that maybe potato consumption among civilians is down because potatoes are being used to fuel the war machine…)
Vodka is used to fuel the war machine. That’s the connection. :)
It is likely that the strike against Republic Garbage is going to be long and vicious given that Republic is a mafia organization.
Twenty years ago, my boss and I were negotiating a 15 year contract with
someone from Republic in Miami for electricity from burning the methane at the Richmond Landfill. We wanted a specific company to build and run the generating plant in Richmond like other landfill energy contracts we had, but the Republic guy wasn’t going to give them any vigorish! He sounded like someone from the Godfather and I didn’t want to deal with them, but my boss said that we had to because Republic’s price was $8/MWh lower than the going price. We went with them but they flaked out on the contract in the 13th year.
In California, landfill gas electricity is legally renewable because it converts methane (about 80x worse than CO2) to CO2 while generating electricity. Landfill electricity is basically base load because it has an 85% capacity factor.
I’ll bomb Iran again before Christmas
You can plan on me
Please have snow and mistletoe
And presents, er, a meshugoyim fee
Christmas eve will find me
Not far from where the radiation light gleams
I’ll bomb Iran before Christmas
Its my only scheme
I’ll bomb Iran again before Christmas
You can plan on me
Please have some snow and mistletoe
And presents, 30 pieces of silver-the usual fee
In today’s Projection Galore News, Zelensky says that Putin is addicted. :)
https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/4013797-russia-intends-to-prolong-the-war-zelensky.html
“Our intelligence and that of our partners have full information indicating that Russia intends to continue dragging out this war. Putin rejects every opportunity to establish a genuine ceasefire. He does not want real peace. Putin is addicted to war and killing, and only real force can compel him to break this dependency. That is why our defense in Ukraine must be strong enough,” Zelensky emphasized.
Every accusation by these people is a confession.
A.I.-Generated Images of Child Sexual Abuse Are Flooding the Internet (NY Times via archive.ph)
Flooding the zone.
Gary Marcus just released this report on a new study of the productivity effects of using AI software coding tools (software coding is supposedly an area where “everyone agrees” that AI tools are extremely helpful):
https://garymarcus.substack.com/p/breaking-news-ai-coding-may-not-be
This is one of the most interesting stories about AI that has come out so far.
The coders in the study expected 24% productivity gains from AI in advance. After completing the tasks they estimated a slightly lower 20% productivity gain from using the AI tools.
Now here’s the kicker: it turns out that the ACTUAL effect of using the AI tools was a 19% decrease in their productivity!
Fun times. An employer I know is very much All In on this, and rolling it out in every way possible, to improve customer self-service, accelerate software development work, and “automating” repetitive tasks where possible. They aren’t FAANG, but do build foundation AI tools so other companies can build out and train inferential and generative AI tools of their own. The major 2025 company goals all revolve around this, with mandatory AI training for all.
For personal stuff, I’ve used OpenAI’s Codex with some success building out a Python-based tool of very modest complexity that doesn’t do anything particularly unique, but I don’t know Python, so long term I’ll be less productive I’d expect than simply being able to write the code myself. I have to constantly explain what I’m trying to achieve, then confirm that the code looks right based on my prior JavaScript and Ruby experience, then run locally to confirm it actually works as intended.
It’s fine for one-off things, but if any persistent expertise is required, it’s a loser.
It’s not gonna stop layoffs or having to do “more with less” however.
True enough; now imagine no one wrote any of the code in the code base! The workaround would be seen as having the LLM itself explain the code base to you. And CodeX actually will create documentation for your project as well.
Day 23,176 without AI…
You get used to AI not being there, except in certAIn words such as trAIl and a few others, and then you realize just how empty your life has been without it, imagine never having to look over the shoulder of a classmate to figure out an answer on a test, or never sweat a long-ish report agAIn in high school or college, leaving you time to goof off online.
AI is the ultimate brAIn drAIn.
Here’s antidote du jour for USA truck lovers. RAM in its natural habitat.
https://x.com/Zlatti_71/status/1943363668999020722
Ram 1500 pickup with a Geran-2 kamikaze drone
Sometimes the UAV needs a rolling takeoff. The pickup allows the drone to be launched at speeds of up to 100 km/h.
[image]
LOL
In South Carolina, Newsom Tests the Presidential Waters (Without Saying So)
Makes sense, though, after Trump nukes the economy from orbit, any Democrat can win in 2028 provided that Democrat wins the primary. That’s what is so special about our uni-party system; when your party gets its turn, you can run on “not them” and probably win. Either way, consultants get rich(er).
Everything You Need To Know About War With Iran (w/ Alastair Crooke) | The Chris Hedges Report
Hedges lays back and lets Crooke speak at great length, which he is very capable of doing.
Crooke speaks with considerable clarity on the facts and with understanding on the perspectives of the players in the region, the Iranians, the Russians, the Israelis and Trump’s desire for good headlines.
This should have legs for the moment.
Caitlin:
Australia Unveils Plan To Fight “Antisemitism” By Crushing Free Speech
My key words therein:
And Caitlin nails the author of that report-
‘The author of the plan is Jillian Segal, a career Israel lobbyist born in apartheid South Africa who was named Australia’s first Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism by the Albanese government last year. Segal has had an established record of defending and supporting Israel’s genocidal atrocities in Gaza. Her husband John Roth directs one of the major funders of Advance, a climate denying right wing lobbying group which helped kill Australia’s Indigenous Voice to Parliament in 2023.’
Albo got the report that he wanted.
Anti-semitism used to mean people who hate Jews. Now it means people Zionists hate. Because such people no longer give them a free pass to commit ethnic cleansing and genocide.