Links 7/16/2025

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1. Alice X July 16, 2025 at 7:18 am

   Caitlin

   The New York Times Finally Stops Avoiding The G-Word

   Caitlin Johnstone

   The linked piece in archive

   https://archive.is/o4L3z

   At the NYT (It’s not on the online subscription page, and didn’t show even in a search there)

   https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/15/opinion/israel-gaza-holocaust-genocide-palestinians.html

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   1. The Rev Kev July 16, 2025 at 7:29 am

      Maybe the New York Times realized that it is better to pee downwind into the winds of change rather than upwind like they have been doing.

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   2. AG July 16, 2025 at 9:23 am

      thanks!

      It´s a guest piece by Omer Bartov, oddly titled (whose idea was this???)

      “Never Again – I’m a Genocide Scholar. I Know It When I See It.”

      Only thing missing is an inappropriate “duck” quote about lies in media….

      Reply ↓
   3. Jason Boxman July 16, 2025 at 10:40 am

      I first saw it yesterday, and it was on the online edition homepage then.

      Reply ↓
2. The Rev Kev July 16, 2025 at 7:25 am

   “The Redheaded Stepsister Goes to the Ball”

   They are still obsessed with the Kerch Bridge? A civilian bridge I should note and it has to be also noted that in the two western-enabled attacks on that bridge, that it was only innocent civilians that died. But there could be a danger here. The neocons got Trump all wound up about Iran’s nuclear sites until he launched an attack on them. Didn’t matter that the refined uranium was long gone as it was an attack by the mighty US military that was seen as a solution. So could it happen that people like Lindsay Graham will be whispering into Trump’s ear that only a US attack on that bridge to destroy it will bring Putin to the table and will give Trump the sorely needed leverage that he needs over him? Yeah, absolutely reckless but so was his enabling the attack on Russia’s nuclear triad.

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3. Wukchumni July 16, 2025 at 8:12 am

   Do you get the feeling that Club Pachyderm is pleased with its gotten gains but wants to kick Benedict Donald to the curb now?

   Speaker Johnson had been in complete goose step with everything the Donald did, until yesterday when Clark Kent (do you have any idea how difficult it is to change into character now that there aren’t any phone booths and most public rest room doors are locked?) said ‘oh yeah, Epstein’s files ought to be released-yeah that’s the ticket.’

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   1. The Rev Kev July 16, 2025 at 8:46 am

      Speaker Johnson said that? Seriously? That really surprises me. Looks like in a twist to the Streisand Effect, that the Epstein files will be the gift that keeps on giving and won’t go away.

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      1. Wukchumni July 16, 2025 at 8:51 am

         I might have Cajun bubba-sized his comments to that effect, but yes he does also resemble Brutus a bit especially in side profile, hmmmm.

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         1. ambrit July 16, 2025 at 9:23 am

            Speaker Johnson as un Accadian? Mas non, mes ami. Johnson was born and raised in Shreveport, Louisiana. That makes him a Texigator. It is best to imagine him in Poor Kicker boots, Jackboot cut jeans, and wearing a Rollflex hat. (Working cowboys wear Rollflex. Dudes and pimps wear Stetson.)
            As for that gratuitous Brutus quip; Olive Oyl as an Israeli Honey Trap????

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            1. The Rev Kev July 16, 2025 at 9:30 am

               I understand that Popeye called Olive Oyl his “treasure” – as she had a sunken chest.

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            2. Wukchumni July 16, 2025 at 9:31 am

               I know LA but not La. if you can see it in your blessed little heart to overlook my assumptions regarding the 2nd in line for all the marbles.

               que les bons moments rulent

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      2. Alice X July 16, 2025 at 9:30 am

         The Epstein files (even just the rumors) are a gold mine for the conspiracy inclined.

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         1. Wukchumni July 16, 2025 at 9:34 am

            The claim is that Jeffrey was the shooter up in that book depository in Dallas, despite him being only 10 years old at the time.

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         2. The Rev Kev July 16, 2025 at 9:35 am

            There was the one story how Bill Clinton would ditch his Secret Service detail mean to protect him – so he could duck out to the airport and be picked up by the Lolita Express. And I am inclined to believe that story.

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   2. ilsm July 16, 2025 at 9:50 am

      I spent a bit of time chiding the “Epstein friendly conservatives” on instapundit last night.

      Seems anyone wanting to get the truth about Epstein is a DNC stooge or commie.

      MAGA, who know all 4 stanzas of the star spangled banner, are also not into Netanyahu and Zelenski defined US empire.

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      1. Wukchumni July 16, 2025 at 10:15 am

         Luckily everybody on the internet is truthful and forthcoming, which is reassuring in a world such as ours~

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   3. Kurtismayfield July 16, 2025 at 11:15 am

      There are rumors about President Trump’s health floating around, so Johnson could ve getting ahead of what everyone knows. President Trump is old and not healthy.

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4. ChrisFromGA July 16, 2025 at 8:41 am

   Mikey’s superpower is being nondescript … good luck catching him when you cannot pick him out of a police lineup.

   (Meant as a reply to Wukchumni.)

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5. MicaT July 16, 2025 at 8:52 am

   Transformers.
   I’ve been following this for years. The people in power are beyond idiots, they just have no idea nor seemingly do any of their advisers about the physical world of manufacturing and supply chains.
   Buy American, ok but if we can’t by American, then what? Guess just go without.
   He gets it slightly wrong about needing millions of big transformers, but still yes they don’t exist. This lack of supply is effecting renewable energy projects, gas turbine projects ( of which the wait time is up to 7 yrs for the turbines) as well as all the small ones needed for the everyday world.

   The lack of transformers was hurting the hookup of solar projects and having a major slow down during the Biden administration of one of his so called signature initiatives. Curious or not that a simple presidential order would have allowed the bypass of the by American requirement to greatly speed things up by allowing imports.

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   1. The Rev Kev July 16, 2025 at 9:12 am

      I can see which way that this will be going. It will be all those AI data centers that will be snapping up the majority of new transformers using their vast wealth. And don’t expect the State or Federal governments to try to stop them as AI is the future, don’tcha know. Those AI data centers just have to have most of those new transformers in order to build a prosperous economy. /sarc

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      1. MicaT July 16, 2025 at 9:46 am

         Not exactly. Big/giant transformers that would be needed for a data center are quite unique. Not that many are made, and they require very special equipment for testing.

         But large transformers such as those are also used in power stations providing power to the people not just data centers. So if the power plants can’t get the transformers then neither can the data centers.

         Smaller ones are simpler to make and test but you still need the parts and raw materials which we don’t make enough of here.

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         1. The Rev Kev July 16, 2025 at 9:54 am

            Thanks for that clarification. It must be hard for a corporation that makes these things. You would think that there would be guaranteed profits as far as the eye can see in setting up the facilities to build them with maybe a little government help. It would at first appearance be a no brainer. But then you would have to stop and think about the possibility that in the next year or three, that Trump might make some sort of grand bargain with China leading to an influx of Chinese transformers and killing your investments and any hope of ongoing profits. Turns out that in business investments, instability is not your friend.

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6. The Rev Kev July 16, 2025 at 8:53 am

   “French PM suggests slashing two public holidays as part of budget cuts”

   ‘Prime Minister François Bayrou suggested making people work on Easter Monday and on May 8, as he presented measures to bring the public deficit down from 5.8% last year to below 4.6% next year.’

   I got an idea and it is the same one I had for the financial problems that the UK has. If France has all these problems, then they should also stop sending billions to the black financial hole known as the Ukraine. And stop trying to build a military to go fight the Russian bear with. How much money has France sent there in the past three and a half years? No idea but I found this recent article

   “France will provide some 2 billion euros ($2.15 billion) of extra military aid to Ukraine”

   https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/france-provide-2-bln-euros-extra-military-aid-ukraine-macron-says-2025-03-26/

   That’s 2 billion euros ($2.15 billion) of extra money on top of what has been sent. Stop all that and then the French could keep their holidays.

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   1. JohnA July 16, 2025 at 9:16 am

      If you are going to be Scrooge about public holidays, maybe the Christmas holidays should be the days to be sacrificed.

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   2. vao July 16, 2025 at 9:22 am

      Here is what the French OFCE (i.e. “Observatoire Français des Conjonctures Économiques” concludes in its analysis of the financial situation of the French state, as reported by newspaper Le Monde:

      The degradation of the French public finances “is not attributable to a marked increase of public outlays (…), but rather to a significant reduction of government revenue.”

      That is the result of decade after decade of tax rebates granted to the well-to-do, for-profit corporations, and financial operators.

      While the government is trying to figure out how to save €40bn in its next budget, both the OFCE and the French “Cour des Comptes” (the constitutionally independent organ in charge of auditing the accounts of the state and its subdivisions) have determined that €105bn are needed to put France’s deficit back to the 3% maximum authorized by the EU “stability and growth” rules. The government proposal thus falls well short of what is needed — but raising taxes on those who can pay is naturally out of question…

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7. AG July 16, 2025 at 8:54 am

   re: Germany accepts drone war

   TELEPOLIS blog

   machine-translation

   Karlsruhe legitimizes US drone war over German soil
   https://archive.is/4uzYr

   “(…)
   A court has authorized US drone operations over Ramstein. Two Yemenis whose relatives were killed filed a lawsuit. The reasoning is likely to spark debate.

   The Federal Constitutional Court has ruled that Germany has not violated its duty to protect Yemeni nationals whose relatives were killed in US drone strikes in Yemen. According to the court, there is no evidence of a systematic violation of international law by the US to justify such a duty to protect.

   (…)

   The plaintiffs had claimed that the Federal Republic of Germany had violated a duty of protection based on the fundamental right to life by failing to prevent the use of Ramstein Air Base for US drone operations in Yemen. During one of these operations in August 2012, close relatives of the complainants were killed.

   (…)

   The Senate stated that “the Federal Republic of Germany has a general mandate to protect fundamental human rights and the core norms of international humanitarian law, even in cases involving foreign countries.

   Under certain conditions, this mandate to protect can condense into a concrete duty to protect under fundamental rights. However, two conditions must be met for such a duty to protect to arise:

   What is required is, firstly, a sufficient connection to the state authority of the Federal Republic of Germany, which establishes the necessary connection of responsibility, and secondly, the existence of a serious risk of systematic violation of applicable international law.”
   
   The Senate left open whether the necessary connection of responsibility to establish a duty of protection existed in the specific case. “Whether, within the framework of the required overall assessment, a fundamental rights-based responsibility of the Federal Republic of Germany arises with regard to the drone operations of the United States of America in Yemen at issue here could remain open,” the court stated.

   In any case, there was a lack of substantial evidence of a serious risk of systematic violations of international law by the United States. According to the court, “the US legal interpretation underlying the use of armed drones in Yemen is not, in itself, sufficient to establish substantial evidence of a serious risk of systematic violations of international humanitarian law.”
   
   (…)”

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   1. AG July 16, 2025 at 9:30 am

      comment by the antiwar site IMI in Tübingen and its director Jürgen Wagner:

      “(…)
      A dark day for international law:

      On July 15, 2025, the Federal Constitutional Court (BVerfG) rejected the complaint of two people from Yemen whose relatives were killed in a US drone strike. Because such drone operations – as the BVerfG confirmed – are made possible via the US Ramstein Air Base in Germany, the victims’ relatives had filed a lawsuit against the German government.

      The reasoning behind the decision is particularly dramatic: there is no “serious danger” that the US would “systematically violate rules of international humanitarian law and/or international human rights law that serve to protect life.” Furthermore, the “legal opinion of the German state bodies responsible for foreign and security policy issues must be decisively taken into account.” Specifically, the ruling refers, among other things, to the German government’s argument that “the US… as a constitutional state, has a broadly institutionally anchored tradition of respecting international humanitarian law and enforcing its observance.”

      Thomas Wiegold documents a joint statement by the Federal Foreign Office and the Federal Ministry of Defense (augengeradeaus.net) (otherwise untraceable) that is almost jubilant:

      “With their decision, the judges confirm that the Federal Government is granted broad discretion when assessing the conformity of third-party actions with international law. The Federal Government welcomes this decision, which sends an important signal for our foreign and security policy.”

      The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) comments in a press release:

      “At a time when the binding nature of state action under international law is increasingly being questioned, the court has failed to send a strong signal.”

      That’s a very diplomatic way of putting it.
      (…)”

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   2. Acacia July 16, 2025 at 9:34 am

      So the Federal Republic of Germany has no state authority over Ramstein?

      Good thing that’s been cleared up.

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      1. AG July 16, 2025 at 9:49 am

         yep

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8. Tom67 July 16, 2025 at 9:00 am

   About the NYtimes article regarding sudden bee collapse. I am a bee keeper myself in Germany (more than strictly hobby but not commercial size) and this article unvoluntarily shows the madness of modern agriculture and the decline of journalism. The madness is believing you can somehow keep 18 000 bee hives together, move them across the continent in completely unnatural conditions and escape disease.
   The decline of journalism is evident in how the article deals with the threat posed by the varroa mite. Differently to what the author states the western bee will not die out in the US. There have been experiments all over the world where they just let survive honey bees in the wild and look how they cope with the Varroa mite. Invariably 9 out of 10 hives died at first but the survivors multiplied again. The bees that survived were exhibiting a certain grooming behaviour. They opened the cells with puppets and killed the mites. In fact in Europe some bee breeders have started to breed this behavior into bees. The problem though is that such bees are not as “productive”. But if you consider that honey bees nowadays are expected to produce two to three times more honey than a 100 years ago the question arises whether such kind of productivity is sustainable at all. In reality not the bees are in danger but the way agriculture is conducted in general. What is true for bees is true for chicken and pig farming, wheat and corn farming. There has to be and there will be a return to smaller scale farming and more natural practises. Tertium non datur.

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   1. Jon Cloke July 16, 2025 at 9:06 am

      For the NYT it seems that bees are a lot more important than Gazans, yes?

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   2. Wukchumni July 16, 2025 at 9:20 am

      There’s more almond trees in the Central Valley than there are American citizens, and every last one of them needs roadie-bees to get it on with, and good news!

      The 2025 crop is the 2nd largest ever, coming as the wholesale price of almonds has tumbled and Chinese ‘retailatory’ tariffs hit Ag hard.

      They grow a shit-ton of food in the Central Valley, but you’ll never see anything but monocrops and most of it here on the western flanks of the Sierra Nevada are tree crops, a lot of it for export.

      You’ll never see a 2,000 acre mega-orchard with plums over here, almonds over there, and citrus next to the pistachios.

      But back to the bees, just another human get rich deal gone awry.

      You can imagine the consternation among growers when they wanted to expand (there was essentially no almond trees 50 years ago, now there’s 350 million) but everything was dependent on out of town bees picking up the slack, go apiary!

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   3. Retired Carpenter July 16, 2025 at 10:45 am

      Tom67,
      Thank you. Good, solid, fact-based information. Nature is amazing!
      re: “The bees that survived were exhibiting a certain grooming behaviour. They opened the cells with puppets and killed the mites.”
      Seems like bees are more intelligent than humans: they learn and then deal w/ parasites.

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9. Jon Cloke July 16, 2025 at 9:01 am

   Re the Sam Freedman piece, in 1998 a younger Starmer wrote a piece with Conor Foley in Social Policy & Administration (Vol. 32, No. 5, December 1998) called ‘Foreign Policy, Human Rights and the United Kingdom’

   “Now, for the first time in the UK’s history, an international human rights instrument will be given domestic legal force…. Fifty years ago the world said never again to the horrors of war crimes and genocide. It declared that all human beings wherever they live and whoever they are, have rights that must be respected in all circumstances. Never again would governments be able to claim that the way in which they treated their citizens was solely a prerogative of national sovereignty.”

   Does anyone know where that Starmer went?

   The one before the one we got who says the ‘genocide is just Israel defending itself’?

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10. ChrisFromGA July 16, 2025 at 9:05 am

    From DDGeopolitics:

    The Israeli military has launched a strike on Syria’s Ministry of Defense building in Damascus. The moment of impact was broadcast live on local television.

    This escalation comes amid ongoing clashes between Syrian government forces and Druze militants backed by Israel. The IDF claims its strikes are in response to those confrontations.

    It looks like Erdogan is learning the hard way that when you arm a mob, that isn’t going to cut it as far as governing a country. Without air defense, you’re nothing more than a bunch of LARP-ers.

    Gee, a few of those S-400’s that Assad had would have come in handy … too bad you let Russia take them all back.

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11. Wukchumni July 16, 2025 at 9:05 am

    I feel as if i’m doing mouth aerobics just reading the names of those Russian cities that are oh so hot…

    Been a pleasant summer so far here above the steppes of the Central Valley, with the 10 day forecast showing nothing but temps in the 90’s, which is a piece of cake. With the exception of the 1 big conflagration-Madre Fire, the fuego season has been on the down low in Cali.

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12. MaryLand July 16, 2025 at 9:05 am

    Yves, I wonder if you would consider changing the orange color of links to one with more contrast to the white background. Unfortunately my older eyes have trouble making out the orange type. I realize the orange is part of your brand, so I understand if you don’t want to make a change. My eyes have been checked and are ok, but the contrast is a bit low for me.

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    1. MaryLand July 16, 2025 at 9:18 am

       For example the bright blue you see on Twitter/X is easy to read as would be a bright purple. A Kelly green is easy to read also.

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    2. The Rev Kev July 16, 2025 at 9:25 am

       If it works for you, you could change the colour displays on your web browser or computer itself to show different colours. My brother-in-law has eyesight problems and has changes his computer to show different colours and larger font sizes. Maybe this article might be of help-

       https://au.pcmag.com/migrated-15175-windows-10/93297/how-to-make-windows-easier-on-your-eyes

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    3. Acacia July 16, 2025 at 9:40 am

       You should be able to correct for this using a browser add-on that changes to the colors you prefer by using CSS.

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       1. MaryLand July 16, 2025 at 10:22 am

          Ok, thanks, Rev and Acacia!

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13. Terry Flynn July 16, 2025 at 9:06 am

    Re Long COVID service in UK. I’m under one. Mixed bag. Good on peer support, exchange of information about individual experiences, separating the main sequelae into different online sessions.

    Got a very on the ball senior nurse leading it locally who intervened when a load of other stuff kicked off which I can’t talk about here.

    The service is, however, slow in recognising the newest developments (which I generally hear about here on NC long before the official service!) I can confirm GPs don’t even know if the service is running or still running….. senior partner at my General Practice had done referral admitting she didn’t know if she was referring me to anything!

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14. JMH July 16, 2025 at 9:14 am

    Doom Scroll. That is what I call my morning stroll through Links and a collection of websites that have attracted and held my interest, many for years. It has long been a sardonic and cynical label that did not deter extensive reading. I have an abiding interest in the affairs of the world. But, of late, the rising intensity of the drumbeat of inhumanity and stupidity has been such that headline after headline brings nothing but more of the same. I get it. Israel wants to remove all the Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank. It wants a chunk of Lebanon and of Syria. It wants Iran emasculated. It wants perfect and eternal security. The US is right there aiding and abetting, defending and supplying, cheer leading and violating the rights of Americans to further genocide, ethnic cleansing, and aggression all in the name of self-defense. Explain to me how it is self-defense to listen to the cries of people trapped under rubble and do nothing. The cries have stopped. How is it self defense to bomb Lebanon at will or is it on a whim and during a cease fire. Or is it a ceasefire for them but not for me? How is it that American congress critters and senators of both parties vote in all but lock step to support what I can only call atrocities? Have they not eyes to see or ears to hear? How can some, Senator Graham comes to. mind, urge continued material support to continue a war in Ukraine that is slaughtering the soldiers on the front lines and leading to the dismantling of the very material structure of Ukraine. Must it go on to the last Ukrainian? Is the “strategic defeat” of Russia so important to The United States that another nation must be destroyed to accomplish it? Never mind that this ‘policy’ was based on false premises and mistaken assumptions. Never mind that this has been obvious to anyone with eyes to see since the beginning. “Neck deep in the Big Muddy” and the fools said press on. And on and on and on. The republic is gone and the empire is going, but, of course, there is still money to be made and reputations to be preserved. Reality be damned.

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15. griffen July 16, 2025 at 9:17 am

    Bears making themselves at home. Just don’t feed the bears or generally the wildlife, as I will often see on the Instagram postings from varied national parks. Quite often on the local news from Asheville or western NC there are anecdotes about a friendly bear visiting a porch or backyard.

    Hey hey Boo Boo, is that a swimming pool or a very nice cement pond ?

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    1. Lee July 16, 2025 at 10:26 am

       I wonder if those folks have ever watched Herzog’s Grizzly Man? While the bears shown in the video are black bears, which as a rule are much less inclined to attack humans than grizzlies, it is not unheard of, particularly when they’re hungry or to defend their cubs. Habituating even friendly bears to humans often ends badly. A case of when cuteness kills. A good book on the topic is Stephen Herrero’s Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance.

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    2. Jason Boxman July 16, 2025 at 10:47 am

       Bear wandered across my porch a month ago in western NC. They come out this time of year looking for trash cans to toss. A few years ago, one crawled up into mine for awhile. Finally decided I’d just drive my trash to the collection site weekly, less drama.

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16. AG July 16, 2025 at 9:20 am

    re: RU nuclear doctrine

    Below linked is part 1 of a 2-part text which is an abridged version of an essay by Dmitry Trenin, Sergei Avakyants, Sergei Karaganov.

    I don´t regard Karaganov as a serious voice beyond his personal agenda. Then it is rather odd that it is exclusively a Trenin who is being quoted in Germany on these matters. As far as I remember there are better informed people.

    So that leaves us with the Admiral Avakyants who I do not know.

    I wasn´t able to archive the google-translation – so those of you who wanna read translate it – it’s not paywalled.

    Part 2 will probably follow soon:

    Strategic Change: Why Russia is rethinking its military doctrine – and what that means
    July 16, 2025

    by Dmitry Trenin, Sergei Avakyants, Sergei Karaganov

    https://www.telepolis.de/features/Strategischer-Wandel-Warum-Russland-seine-Militaerdoktrin-ueberdenkt-und-was-das-bedeutet-10488688.html

    Russia is fundamentally reviewing its military strategy. The Ukraine conflict has revealed weaknesses. What is the Kremlin planning? (Part 1)

    This document, of which Telepolis is publishing significant portions in German translation for the first time in cooperation with the Potsdam-based Welttrends publishing house, offers in-depth insight into current Russian nuclear doctrine and its security policy implications. The paper highlights the radicalization of Russia’s stance and the growing dangers of a nuclear exchange. This exclusive work, based on a broad Russian expert analysis, is intended to raise awareness among politicians, scientists, and the public and contribute to the disarmament debate. The full version is available from our cooperation partner, Welttrends publishing house .

    The authors:

    
    Dmitry Vitalyevich Trenin is Scientific Director of the Institute for Global Military Economics and Strategy, Research Professor at the Faculty of World Economy and World Politics, National Research University Higher School of Economics, and Member of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy. Lead author of the report.

    Sergei Iosifovich Avakyants – Admiral, Director of the Institute of Global Military Economics and Strategy, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Member of the Presidium of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy.
    
    Sergei Alexandrovich Karaganov – Honored Professor, Academic Director of the Faculty of World Economy and World Politics, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Honorary Chairman of the Presidium of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy. Head of the author team and co-editor-in-chief of the report.

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17. Mikel July 16, 2025 at 9:22 am

    Trump asked Zelenskiy if Ukraine could hit Moscow, FT reports – Straits Times

    What ever happened to armies fighting armies?

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    1. ilsm July 16, 2025 at 9:53 am

       Trump thinks Hitler’s V-1 and V-2 were strategic successes.

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       1. bassmule July 16, 2025 at 10:12 am

          Can’t resist a rocket limerick here:

          “There once was a thing called a V-2
          To pilot which you did not need to.
          You just pushed a button, and it would leave nothin’
          But stiffs and big holes and debris too.”

          Pynchon “Gravity’s Rainbow”

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          1. Wukchumni July 16, 2025 at 10:23 am

             There once was a V-2 not aimed at Nantucket
             Instead it landed in a umbrella bucket
             The last words he spoke as it took out a bloke
             ‘Looks like a heavy rain’

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             1. AG July 16, 2025 at 11:08 am

                👍
                My favourite thread today

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          2. AG July 16, 2025 at 11:07 am

             “Can’t resist a rocket limerick here:”
             😂

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       2. AG July 16, 2025 at 11:08 am

          Not only him…

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18. griffen July 16, 2025 at 9:35 am

    Bond market saying quiet part out loud…either we in the US continue apace to grow via annualized GDP of roughly 2.25 to 3.0 %…which carries with it ongoing but now kinda tapered inflation pressures. Just my view and I can always be wrong . Or if “we” / this administration somehow manages to crash this MAGA train off a cliff then deficit spending will grow worse as revenues from the corporate sector shrivel in a contraction, even if that avoids any recession.

    Of all people I got to hand it to mouth of the South, Jimmy Carville. Being reincarnated as the bond market is a highly memorable quote we’re gonna be using still in the next quarter century, absent the imperial decline or any one of several doom loop scenarios.

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    1. ilsm July 16, 2025 at 9:56 am

       US needs a measure of “core” GDP. One that does not count the growth of US government purchases on no payback “services, equipment and expendables” to shore up the empire’s vassals.

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19. Wukchumni July 16, 2025 at 9:49 am

    Nat Wilson Turner mentioned this the other day, and I immediately thought of championship flood teams…
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I had to share Gov. Abbott’s full “football” speech about the floods but didn’t have room in the main post:

    Let me explain one thing about Texas and that is Texas.
    Every square inch of our state cares about football.
    You could be in Hunt, Texas. Huntsville, Texas.
    Houston, Texas. Any size community.
    They care about football. High school.
    Friday night lights. College football or pro and know this.
    Every football team makes mistakes.
    The losing teams are the ones that try to point out who’s to blame.
    The championship teams are the ones that say,
    don’t worry about it, man, we got this.
    We’re going to make sure that we go score again and we’re going to win this game.
    The way winners talk is not to point fingers.
    They talk about solutions. What Texas is all about is solutions.

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    1. mrsyk July 16, 2025 at 10:51 am

       It should be noted that Abbott was repeatedly pointing his finger while giving us mopes this pep talk.

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       1. Wukchumni July 16, 2025 at 10:53 am

          2, 4, 6, 8
          There’s a disaster here
          Must equivocate
          Go team!

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       2. Wukchumni July 16, 2025 at 11:16 am

          The stars at night
          Are big and bright
          Deep in the heart of Texas

          The prairie sky
          Is wide and high
          Deep in the heart of Texas

          The coyotes wail
          No business along the trail
          Deep in the heart of Texas

          The rabid right beat
          Around the bush
          Deep in the heart of Texas

          The chickenhawks
          Are full of squawks
          Deep in the heart of Texas

          The oil wells
          Are owned by swells
          Deep in the heart of Texas

          The chemical plants
          Are tough on plants
          Deep in the heart of Texas

          That’s why perhaps
          They all wish they could wear masks
          Deep in the heart of Texas

          The Cowboys cry
          “Ka-yippie aye, yi, yi!” (Woo-hoo!)
          In regards to Dak taking many a sack
          Deep in the heart of Texas

          The Big Hairs bawl
          And say “you all”
          Deep in the heart of Texas

          Reply ↓
20. LadyXoc July 16, 2025 at 9:58 am

    I would caption the gorilla mom saying: “Oy gevalt.”

    Reply ↓
21. The Rev Kev July 16, 2025 at 10:06 am

    “Russia Goes on the Offensive Against US Investors in an Odessa Port”

    This could be a new tactic on the part of the Russians. Attack any western investments in the Ukraine to hit them where it hurts – in the hip pocket nerve. Those investors might run back to Trump and VdL to complain about their investment being turned to ash but hey, who makes investments in a war zone and not expect something to happen to them. Come to think of it, quite a few US politicians were investing in the Ukraine before the war like Pelosi’s son. I wonder if they still have investments there or whether they got their money out. BlackRock is pulling out of the Ukraine and when you have lost BlackRock…

    Reply ↓
22. Wukchumni July 16, 2025 at 10:10 am

    From an American’s individual standpoint, will losing the war in the Ukraine mean a hill of beans?

    The one visual reminder here in Tiny Town is a local who is on Ukraine flag #3 now, keeps it pointed sideways and its about 20 feet from the road on his property, can’t miss it. Cheap Chinese made flags don’t last long, the fade is set in again on the latest version, and you get the idea he’s just waiting out the end of the war, no new flag for you!

    So yeah, from a Joe Sixpack or Jane Chardonnay standpoint, not only do they not care, but about 99% couldn’t place Ukraine on a map of the world, if it only had delineated borders and no names.

    Reply ↓
23. ChrisFromGA July 16, 2025 at 10:16 am

    The Crypto Man

    The Crypto man, hey Crypto man

    Hey kids, gather round! The crypto man is here. What kind of scam do you want?

    Memecoins? Stablecoins? Target Date 2030 retirement funds stuffed with Bitcoin like a Thanksgiving day turkey?

    Well, gather round everyone, you’ve come to the right man, ’cause I’m the Crypto man!

    Who can take a bezzle? (Who can take a bezzle?)
    Sprinkle it with fraud? (Sprinkle it with fraud)
    Cover it with a prospectus full of legal crud

    The crypto man (the crypto man)

    Oh, the crypto man can! (the crypto man can)
    The crypto man can, cause he mixes it with greed and makes the world taste good

    (makes the world taste good)

    Who can take pure vapor (who can take pure vapor)
    Wrap it in a lie? (wrap it in a lie)
    Soak it in some blockchain, make a groovy bird-shit pie

    The crypto man (the crypto man)

    The crypto man can! (The crypto man can)
    The crypto man can, cause he mixes it with greed and makes the world taste good
    (makes the world taste good)

    The crypto man fakes everything he bakes
    Felonious and delicious
    Now you talk about your get-rich wishes
    Bet your net worth is fictitious!

    Oh, who can take tomorrow (who can take tomorrow?)
    Sell it on a whim (sell it on a whim)
    End a tale in sorrow and collect up all the skim
    The crypto man, (the crypto man), the crypto man can
    The crypto man can, cause he mixes it with greed and makes the poop taste good
    (makes the poop taste good)

    The crypto man fakes everything he bakes
    Felonious and delicious
    Now you talk about your get-rich wishes
    Bet your net worth is fictitious! (and … it’s gone!)

    Oh, who can take tomorrow (who can take tomorrow?)
    Sell it for a whim (sell it for a whim)
    End a tale in sorrow and collect up all the skim
    The crypto man, (the crypto man), the crypto man can
    (The crypto man can)
    The crypto man can, cause he mixes it with greed and makes the lie taste good
    (makes the lie taste good)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIPGyKGuWeA&list=RDA4zBSnMhvI0&index=2

    Reply ↓
    1. Wukchumni July 16, 2025 at 10:45 am

       Well done!

       Any of those cryptos contain high fuctose con surreptitious?

       Reply ↓
       1. ChrisFromGA July 16, 2025 at 11:23 am

          It’s as clear as day that the plan is to distribute the bird poop as widely and thinly as possible, with a little bit here, a little bit in your grandma’s pension fund, so that when the walls come tumbling down, it’s a giant poop sandwich and we all get to take a bite.

          Reply ↓
24. The Rev Kev July 16, 2025 at 10:22 am

    “What Were Federal Agents Doing at a Puerto Rican Museum in Chicago?”

    Rumour has it that in a sign of mutual support, that the next time the Feds try something like that a nearby Mexican cultural center will send in help in the form of a Mariachi band who will follow the Feds around that Museum while showing off their musical talent.

    Reply ↓
    1. Wukchumni July 16, 2025 at 10:37 am

       I’m lucky to have with me in the flesh… Politenessman, and good manners are a must!

       He inquiries whether it was all just a mistake and the Federal Agents were there in the windy city to take in Puerto Rican culture, and everybody knows Lake Michigan is a rich door to such things, just imagine the Ricky Martin wing?

       Reply ↓
       1. mrsyk July 16, 2025 at 10:55 am

          He would yet wield the steel hankie, but the train don’t stop at the iron works anymore.

          Reply ↓
25. The Rev Kev July 16, 2025 at 10:41 am

    “The Pentagon wants to build drones without Chinese parts. It’s off to a bad start.”

    One suspects that there were plenty of experts who could have explained how this will not be possible for years – at least – but none of them wanted to have a Gabbard done on them. We have had three and a half years of war in the Ukraine to demonstrate how it is all about industrial production and yet like with the production of these drones, nothing has been learned at all. That it does not matter how much money you throw at the problem, that if it can’t be done then it can’t be done.

    Reply ↓
26. ciroc July 16, 2025 at 10:56 am

    A popular far-right political party in Japan has been accused of receiving funding from Russia. This allegation surfaced just before the elections for the House of Councillors.

    https://www.reddit.com/r/japan/comments/1m0k214/candidates_from_the_sanseito_party_appear_in/

    Reply ↓
27. Mikel July 16, 2025 at 11:01 am

    It’s Not Just Epstein. MAGA Is Angry About a Lot of Things – Wired

    This Epstein episode has also brought back memories of another scandal.
    I’ve never believed that all of those young boys in the institutions around Sandusky over a period of decades were only for “use’ by Sandusky.

    Reply ↓