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Links 9/11/2025

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Pet owners often see dogs as soulmates and value them more than human lives Sciety Labs

The Kong Edition Why is this interesting?

Did NASA’s Perseverance rover find evidence of ancient life on Mars? The plot thickens Space.com

Climate/Environment

US Property Insurance Costs Hit New High as Disasters Worsen Insurance Journal

Insurance in the Polycrisis Phenomenal World

Subsidies for Fossil Fuel Firms Have Doubled Since 2017, Now $35 Billion a Year Truthout

THE LEGAL FIGHT TO MAKE CORPORATIONS COVER CLIMATE LOSSES Atmos

Pandemics

COVID-19 accelerates vascular aging Nature

Respiratory viral infections prime accelerated lung cancer growth BioRxiv

Are You Ready for Measles’ Wrath? MedPage Today

Nepal

Hilton hotel charred, minister chased into river: Shocking videos show extent of Nepal chaos Hindustan Times

China weighs risks as social unrest rocks strategic partner Nepal South China Morning Post

Small sums, but worth noting:

India

Amid Tesla’s Slow Growth, Rival BYD Plans Renewed India Push As Ties Between New Delhi, Beijing Warm Up: Report Benzinga

China?

Mexico plans 50% tariff on Chinese cars before US, Canada talks Business Times

ASEAN faces a tighter middle-income trap East Asia Forum

South of the Border

Inside the CIA’s secret fight against Mexico’s drug cartels Reuters. ‘“Sicario is a good movie, but bad U.S. policy,” [Ralph Goff, a former CIA operations officer with extensive experience in covert and paramilitary operations] said, referring to a 2015 thriller about a CIA-led paramilitary operation inside Mexico. “Drugs are a consumption problem, not a production problem. We can’t just kill our way out of this.” That assumes it is about the drugs, however.

Venezuela Overcomes Economic War and Reaches 90% Food Self-Sufficiency Telesur

Syraqistan

Maps: Israel has attacked six countries in the past 72 hours Al Jazeera

Israeli raids on northern Gaza kill 33 Palestinians, as more die from famine The New Arab

Israel Kills at Least 35 in Heavy Airstrikes on Yemen Antiwar

Between Trump, Netanyahu and Qatar: Who Knew What When Israel Struck Hamas in Doha Haaretz

Alastair Crooke: Middle East on the BRINK – Russia Rains Down Drones & Missiles! Dialogue Works

***

Zionism is Just an Internationally-Acceptable Form of Jewish Terrorism Alon Mizrahi

The billionaire class want you thinking Israel controls the West Jonathan Cook

***

Snapback sanctions, any hostile action will nullify Iran’s new deal with IAEA: FM Press TV

Old Blighty

Keir Starmer sacks Peter Mandelson over Jeffrey Epstein revelations The Guardian

From the Links archives:

European Disunion

Ursula von der Leyen’s EU speech was an exercise in delusion UnHerd

‘Our voices just aren’t heard’: ‘Block Everything’ protesters meet heavy police response in Paris France24

Macron Marks Time Tocqueville 21

VERIF’ – War in Ukraine: No, the French army did not disobey Emmanuel Macron TFI (Machine translation)

New Not-So-Cold War

Russian MOD rejects Poland drone claims RT

Poland’s Ex-President Duda Exposes How Ukraine Tries to Pull Allies into War Hungarian Conservative. From last week, still germane.

Experts react: Poland just shot down Russian drones over its territory. Is Putin ramping up his war on Europe? Atlantic Council. “Experts.” But also a pretty good summary of how situation is being covered across Western media.

Trump on Russia’s incursion into NATO: ‘Here we go!’ CNN

Poland allocated largest share of new EU defence programme, with €44bn in loans Notes from Poland

Weimar Republic

No shooter in custody after Charlie Kirk killing as ‘investigation and manhunt’ continue, Utah law enforcement says The Salt Lake Tribune

Charlie Kirk murder the latest in political violence plaguing Trump, Congress and courts USA Today

Chaos erupts on House floor over Charlie Kirk shooting Axios

A Dangerous Moment Notes from the Circus

Trump blames the ‘radical left’ for Charlie Kirk’s killing, before a suspect is identified NBC News

***

Senior Russian MP says Kirk’s assassination was warning to Trump TASS

Groves of Academe

College students increasingly believe violence is justifiable to stop speech The Argument

The Uniparty

House Passes NDAA to Push Military Spending Approved This Year Beyond $1 Trillion Common Dreams

Imperial Collapse Watch

China’s gallium grip squeezing and eroding US military’s edge Asia Times

Accelerationists

Worse Than a Polycrisis Un-Diplomatic

The Silicon Valley Consensus & the “AI Economy” Edward Ongweso Jr.

Tesla’s Dangerous Doors Bloomberg

DOGE

Google Is Telling People DOGE Never Existed Gizmodo

MAHA

HHS Asks All Employees to Start Using ChatGPT 404 Media

Democrats en déshabillé

Senate Democrats lay out framework for crypto market structure bill The Hill

Harris calls Biden’s re-election bid reckless in new memoir BBC

Police State Watch

ICE is Eating the Soul of America Doomsday Scenario

Immigration

Trump orders transporting Korean workers to airport without physical restraints: foreign ministry Yonhap

Big Brother Is Watching You Watch

US Investment in Spyware Is Skyrocketing Wired

Google’s former security leads raise $13M to fight email threats before they reach you Tech Crunch

Mr. Market

Oracle stock gains 36% to post best day since 1992, adding $244 billion in value CNBC

Class Warfare

Klarna goes public as millions of Americans rely on buy-now, pay-later. Experts worry it’s snowballing ‘quickly into a serious financial burden’ FORTUNE

2025 farm income projections paint grim picture for farmers trying to break even WHO13

The Power of the Starbucks Model Dissent

Antidote du jour (via):

See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.

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225 comments

  1. OIFVet

    Harrison H. Smith ✞ @HarrisonHSmith

    We need a massive, national, federally-mandated de-radicalization campaign.

    Imprison radical leftists
    Blacklist communist professors
    Remove incompetent local leaders

    We need a new House Un-American Activities Committee.

    We need the Insurrection Act

    We also need a designated martyr in order to get McCartyism on armed steroids.

    Just sayin’.

      2. OIFVet

        Wouldn’t making him a martyr also remove an occasional “moderate” thorn in the side of the MAGA extremes? A twofer, if you will…

        Not one to reach for the tinfoil hat, but I find this murder all too convenient given many of the things currently going on.

        1. The Rev Kev

          Irony bonus points in the death of Charlie Kirk as he was talking about gun rights and his last words were ‘We must be real. We must be honest with the population. Having an armed citizenry comes with a price. That is part of liberty’ BANG!

          https://www.news.com.au/world/north-america/worth-it-charlie-kirks-gun-laws-claim/news-story/246640da7e32747905ed4111878c1f57

          Feel sorry for his widow and their two very young children. Hope she did not see the video of him being shot in the throat.

          1. Wukchumni

            How does it feel now you’ve been less than impressed
            By a man with a mind like the gutter press
            So disappointed to find it’s no big sin
            Lying about everything

            Shot with his own gun
            Now the NRA is keeping mum
            Shot with his own gun

            Now somebody has to pay for the assassin who got away

            What’s on his mind now is anyone’s guess
            Losing their trail despite authorities attempts
            Spending ev’ry day on the lam
            He comes without warning
            Leaves without feeling

            On your marks, man, ready, set
            Let’s use him to score political points and get upset

            The little rabble-rouser got in the way
            And he got hit by an emotional ricochet
            It’s a bit more now than dressing up a folly
            Flying the flag at half-staff seems so melancholy

            Oh it’s too sad to be true
            Your claim a blue murderer’s killed you

            Shot with his own gun
            Now the NRA is keeping mum
            Shot with his own gun

            Shot With His Own Gun, by Elvis Costello

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bX4uKkTrdzA&list=RDbX4uKkTrdzA

            1. Wukchumni

              p.s.

              The original song is by far my favorite tune in regards to premature ejaculation, with Elvis near the top of his game lyrically~

          2. Lieaibolmmai

            He was not shot in the throat, he was shot in his bullet proof vest and it ricochet into his neck.

            This fact, I feel, is important.

            1. hk

              Interesting he was wearing the vest. I wonder if that was “typical” or if tgere was something already going on (threats, etc? if so, from whom?)

              1. ambrit

                No professional shooter aims for the head or throat at distance. The heart is the preferred target. Lots of “plumbing” to damage there. Even a ‘miss’ of the heart will often kill. Plus, there was apparently no ambulance at the rally. Isn’t having an ambulance available the rule for these sorts of events? He had to be rushed to hospital in a private vehicle.
                From what I have read, Kirk got a lot of hate mail. The tactical vest seems like an ordinary precaution.
                Who is going to be the next martyr to American Democracy?

            1. JBird4049

              And doesn’t that fact ruin my morning? Sigh.

              And reading all the fools riling people up over the assassination because reasons is no fun either.

              1. RandomVisitor

                This is all too typical American. Only if the violence is dished out (by my dear US of A) to some far away corners of the earth … everything would feel civilized. Right?
                Now, advocating US military violence abroad, that is just free speech. Let us not be savages.

                1. principle

                  True. All the proud US patriots, that are stressed about the assassination, should just try to imagine that the victim was a Venezuelan guy in a boat.

        2. griffen

          Holy crap on a cracker. How these “opinions” on or about the far right and MAGA tendencies, mostly a legitimate group and worth it to point out flaws of a political movement, are formulated seems beyond my comprehension. An assassination of convenience, if that is indeed a suggested action?

          Good morning on 9/11 too. 24 years of the American GWOT.in the subsequent after effects of that awful attack.

          1. OIFVet

            Every group with legitimate gripes can be hijacked and used as an instrument by nefarious actors persuing their own interests. Particularly in this day and age of technology aimed to shape and manipulate our cognitive processes. Wouldn’t be the first time.

            1. The Rev Kev

              Not only groups with legitimate gripes. Look at the German Greens. They grew out of the anti-nuclear energy, environmental, peace, new left, and new social movements in the 80s, got hijacked, and are now pro-war, bellicose, fascist in government while ignoring their voters.

              1. Eclair

                Re: ” … pro-war, bellicose, fascist in government while ignoring their voters.”

                Golly gee, Rev, sounds like the US Democratic Party :-)

          2. Wukchumni

            Good morning on 9/11 too. 24 years of the American GWOT.in the subsequent after effects of that awful attack.

            I was hiking hut to hut in the French Alps with friends when shift happened, and a few days later when we walked back down to Pralognan, our first indication that something happened was a French tabloid newspaper in color with a picture of the 2nd plane hitting the tower in living color, hello not so brave new world!

            If you had immediate travel plans, you were somewhat screwed in the aftermath, but it didn’t effect us, as we weren’t going home until late September.

            You wouldn’t believe the solidarity we saw on the streets of Europe, ad hoc street memorials everywhere, and when my Yank accent slipped out at the cash register of many retail stores, an outpouring of sympathy flowed my way from a complete stranger.

            2. Pat

              Was in the City and watched much of the aftermath from my roof. That solidarity was something yet within days it was already being twisted to allow atrocities like the Patriot Act and throwaway war in Afghanistan. I say throwaway because the Bush administration was pissed they had to go there first and still had to work to get to Iraq.

              I knew a few of the firemen lost that day. But unfortunately I have numerous ambivalent feelings between grief for them and the innocence lost because of those events AND furious anger at what was done in the aftermath and is still justified since. (And it is long since the acknowledgment of that day should have become private.)

              1. Wukchumni

                When I arrived back at LAX on September 29th, I was greeted by every other jalopy on the road sporting a plastic old glory waving furiously from a window jamb…

            3. Wukchumni

              p.s.

              The 6 degrees of separation were on full display for yours truly, in that one sister lived 4 doors down from where one of the pilots in Colorado and knew him, and another sister worked with some of the Raytheon people on a doomed flight, while one of my friends on the trip lost his cousin on Flight 93.

              We’re on a train somewhere reading the International Herald Tribune days later and the other friend sees a name on the casualty list, and being a most unusual name-it triggered a response- and out of his wallet he pulls a business card of the very same fellow he’d interviewed for a job, in early September.

            4. griffen

              I think it was about two months after, when I took my nexr plane ride. For a fairly routine flight pre 9/11 from RDU to FLL, it now became very necessary to plan ahead for checked baggage. I just do not recall what guardrails or TSA checks were already implemented, but surely the scanners were in use.

              National Guard roaming the halls of the airport it all seems so quaint in hindsight. Seems like since that period we’ve sacrificed a great amount of personal liberty to “feel safer”. Others mileage may vary.

              1. Wukchumni

                I can tell you the exact date to the Iceman I cometh in Bolzano, twas on Sept 15th, and we left our bags at the check-in at the railway station there, and i’ve never had luggage gone over so very thoroughly on land or air, by the Carabinieri… one of them sporting an assault rifle around his pretty little neck.

                The Iceman himself, yeah whatever if you like ice-age human beans contorted into a pretzel shape.

                His gear though, oh my gosh, a must-see visit.

                And I understand there was no REI back then~

              2. Wukchumni

                o,s,

                My long-time backpacking partner was hiking across the High Sierra east to west leading up to 9/11 and after, starting from Cottonwood and ending up at Crescent Meadow in a circuitous route of around 90 miles and was in Kern Canyon when he noticed no flights overhead-which was his key something was amiss.

        3. Adam1

          No tin foil hat needed. The elite never let a crisis go to waste. For many of them this inspires tears of joy as they know how valuable a gift they were given.

        4. LawnDart

          I find this murder all too convenient given many of the things currently going on

          I agree. There’s definately a split in the “conservative” movement, especially with regards to Israel: Kirk was young, popular, and could not be trusted to not go off-script. We immediately see his death used to justify the acceleration of political and civic repression.

          But Kirk seemed to have talent at making enemies too, and at this point, anyone who claims to know the shooter’s motives is pushing an agenda.

          1. The Rev Kev

            It will make for fun and games if they nab the shooter and he turns out to be a hard-right MAGA supporter.

            1. hk

              If I were a betting person, I’d say it’s probably a MAGAist with some strongly held “heterodox” views. I dare not guess which way those heterodox views might lean, though.

            2. wilroncanada

              hk
              Even more fun and games if the shooter is an ex IDF. There are lots of them in the US, Canada, and elsewhere in the world.

          2. ex-PFC Chuck

            ” . . anyone who claims to know the shooter’s motives is pushing an agenda.”

            ” . . anyone who claims to know the shooter’s client’s motives is pushing an agenda.”
            Fixed it for ya.

          4. Mikel

            I read some more of the links and saw this:

            You may not have noticed Charlie Kirk undermining Israel.

            But the Zionists sure did. pic.twitter.com/a8m5zups4g

            — Syrian Girl (@Partisangirl) September 10, 2025

            It could all turn into “The Streisand Effect”.

      3. Mikel

        Never heard of the guy until today.
        And I keep up with the news.

        A fringe figure, big in a niche circle with some power, that is being used to try to create more authoritarian control.

        Rampant, murderous fascism all over the globe and fools are still buying and selling “the communist threat”.

    2. DJG, Reality Czar

      OIFVet: Well, things are starting to look downright safe and cozy here in the PIIGS, and Bulgaria would be an honorary PIIG. Meanwhile:

      On murder in Utah Valley: First, I want to dispel ideas of “civil war.” Those of you living in the U S of A, Canada, and England don’t want civil war. Don’t evoke it. I recall horrifying descriptions of the Romans calling the gods of the city of Veii (a major nearby Etruscan town) to desert the city before the troops went into Veii and slaughtered anyone carrying arms.

      Instead, for an understanding of what goes around then comes around, I note that a commenter here at Naked Capitalism used the expression Years of Lead.

      Yes, Gli Anni di Piombo. Italy from the late 1960s to the early 1980s, which included the assassination of President Mattarella’s brother, Piersanti, who was then the president of the Region of Sicily. U.S. intelligence agencies have fingerprints all over these years of Italian misery.

      I was reading the comments early this morning, because I couldn’t figure out the import of the Kirk assassination.

      Lifting from yesterday’s comments so as to keep these ideas in front of everyone:

      From astute commenter raspberry pie, a description of the suspect that, I believe, is accurate:
      “I’m putting my marker on a young guy with conservative-leaning politics but with some unexpected non-conservative positions thanks to being entirely too online, grew up hunting, and Q-type online group adjacent through the chans. The inciting issue would be something related to a niche right wing extremist grievance and/or minimizing of Epstein. Someone who saw the PA attempt on Trump and thought, I could have made that shot.”

      {Whoever the man is, he has extensive training in use of a rifle.}

      From ChrisRUEcon, human dynamo and ornament of Chicagolandia, context:
      “So for me, that’s three assassinations of significance so far:
      Brian Thompson
      Melissa Hortman
      Charlie Kirk”

      I’d add to the list the two Boeing whistleblowers:
      Joshua Dean
      John Barnett

      As well as Aaron Bushnell.

      Now, it may turn out that the shooter is a former Marine, a duck hunter, and a plain old Dad, which is going to turn out to be embarrassing for some quarters.

      As a leftist, I know from past experience that the Left will get blamed. Predictably, some “Harrison H. Smith” (the H. stands for HUAC, natch) is already foaming at the mouth, as you point out and as Rev Kev reiterates below. HUAC, what Lillian Hellman called Scoundrel Time.

      Heck, the cupcakes didn’t rise. It’s the Left that did it!

      Meanwhile, liberals will be looking on, waiting for the left to be suppressed. After leftists are dragged off and some unionists get shot, liberals will post memes about “We invented the weekend.”

      1. OIFVet

        Yup, I continue to think that I got the heck out of Dodge right on time in 2020. The EU crazy is not as scary as the US crazy – yet. And down South might be a whole lot easier to weather it given certain cultural and lifestyle inclinations of the natives.

        That said, being a leftist and American at heart, I am not at all happy about what’s happening. It’s like something straight out of Schrodinger – both very American and very, very un-American .

        1. chuck roast

          I live on an island connected the mainland by three bridges. In order to maintain my sanity I labor under the illusion that the widespread nihilism really doesn’t apply here due to our watery insulation. The local government is both competent and responsive, but it’s totally Schrodinger…we are very safe and very unsafe at the same time.

          1. Wukchumni

            Despite half of the residences being raptured into garage mahals in decidedly short term thinking, the remaining full time residents here stick together, even if we can’t count on Bob & Betty Bitchin’ from Baltimore and their fetching kids Trevor and Truly to help out if a little chainsawing is needed to get a fallen tree off the road, or a little backhoe work (my 76 year old neighbor has one and knows how to use it) is in order.

            They’ll look good looking helpless should the shift hit the fan while they’re on vacay.

      2. MT_Wild

        Mr. Kirk was killed by a shot to the neck. The shooter was either 4-5 inches low on his head shot, or 6+ inches high on his chest shot. At approximately 150 yards.

        It was effective, but not necessarily a mark of marksmanship.

          1. The Infamous Oregon Lawhobbit

            Speaking as someone who’s worn both soft and hard body armor over the years;

            Unless he was wearing ceramic plates or other hard body armor, that’s an unlikely theory. Those are heavy, bulky, and quite hard to conceal. Pictures I’ve seen do not seem to seem to demonstrate that he was wearing military-grade combat armor. He’s in a t-shirt, and you’re just not going to hide hard armor plates under that.

            If he was wearing soft body armor (no offense, Yves, but there’s no such thing as a “bulletproof vest) then a rifle round would not ricochet off it – it would punch straight through, since those are made of what’s simply very very tough cloth. Even then, the pictures I’ve seen on the internet do not seem to reflect him even wearing a basic soft vest, though angles of view of online pictures are obviously not dispositive.

            He MIGHT have been wearing a soft vest with what’s known as a “trauma plate” in the center of mass. But if ricochets were an issue with that sort of kit, we’d hear more about police being shot that way, and the stories just don’t seem to be that common (based on a cursory internet search).

            Much information still to come out on this and I reserve the right to change my analysis based on new material…. ;-)

          2. Donaldo

            See video. One can not hide a bulleproof plate under shirt.
            Whoever came up with that “current belief” is clueless, which is way too common on the Internets.

      3. pjay

        The furious efforts to spin Kirk in every direction for various political agendas is impressive, but not the least bit surprising.

        Since this event will be (has already been) used to (1) maximize partisan theater, and (2) push some other very important issues out of the news cycle, I want to thank you for mentioning the two Boeing whistleblowers. When I saw your comment I realized: “holy s**t, I completely forgot about those guys!” This demonstrates the tremendous power of the media to shape what we do and don’t talk about – or think about – even when we consider ourselves “knowledgeable” about current events. Thanks for the humbling reminder.

        1. lyman alpha blob

          Don’t forget about Suchir Balaji, the OpenAI whistleblower found dead last year – https://www.cnbc.com/2024/12/13/former-openai-researcher-and-whistleblower-found-dead-at-age-26.html

          And Sam Altman just had some comments about this with Tucker Carlson, who had previously interviewed Balaji’s mother who thinks her son’s death was a murder – https://www.unilad.com/news/world-news/chatgpt-sam-altman-suchir-balaji-whistleblower-056634-20250911

          And according to that Syrian Girl post in links above, Charlie Kirk had hosted Carlson when he bad mouthed the Zionist entity.

          If I were Carlson, I might be upping the budget for a security detail right about now.

        1. DJG, Reality Czar

          raspberry jam: Yikes, sorry.

          Because of some of the comments you have made about your work, I associate you with the raspberry pi computer (and seem to have embedded that idea in my brain).

          1. raspberry jam

            You are forgiven! I am indeed a hardware engineer in addition to the AI stuff so I don’t hate the association

      5. ChrisRUEcon

        DJG, Reality Czar

        Thanks for including my comment, sir! And your addendum bears an orthogonal relationship to my comment!

        My comment is based on vigilante-ism against “oligarchy”. Dean, Barnett & Bushnell are IMO victims of it.

        However, Kirk’s death may yet be more akin to Dean and Barnett’s by the time we get any real leads on the real killer. In just over 24 hrs, I’ve seen:

        • Right wingers claiming it was Mossad
        • Left wingers claiming it could be White-Supremacists/Nazis (apparently, many had no fondness for Kirk!)
        • Online sleuths reporting on a privet jet that took off from the nearby airport and turned its transponder off! (escape route for professional hit man)

        What did Lambert used to say?

        The situation is dynamic? :)

        Very fluid indeed …

        1. DJG, Reality Czar

          ChrisRUEcon:

          Indeed. The main thing we know is that the rifleman was highly trained, no matter how many people try to claim otherwise. For all of the gun waving in the U S of A, very few people could have pulled off that shot.

          I am currently working with the metaphor of the Italian Years of Lead — which, given how orderly Italian society is, and Italian society is indeed quite orderly, is hard to explain. But the random and intentional violence went out of control. The U S of A is seeing something similar — and a major difference is that Italy is a high-trust society and U.S. society is low trust.

          I made a longer comment this morning to Yves Smith’s posting “Inflaming Tensions…”

          Let me know if you agree or not with that assessment.

    3. hemeantwell

      I just went to X to follow up on the SyrianGirl tweet for more on Kirk on Israel/Zionism. At the top of my feed was a tiktok from another X poster, KAGdrogo, of Kirk talking about the need for an investigation into whether the Israeli army was ordered to stand down on October 7. https://twitter.com/KAGdrogo/status/1965945010421203238

      This all runs very much against the grain of MSM portrayals of Kirk as a cheerleader for Zionism, and it greases the rails for a toboggan run into conspiracyville, with a pro killing Kirk to silence a significant critic of Israel and promote a crackdown on the left here. Gah.

      1. LawnDart

        But Kirk was loved by Israel. And because he was loved, it just had to be some radical jew-hater… do I need a sarc-tag?

        Although the shooter still might turn out to be some random, lone-wolf whack-a-do, the vultures are in a frenzy trying to feed off of his death.

        2. bassmule

          From the link: “The viral clips of Carlson’s anti-Israel rant, including a bizarre attack on billionaire Bill Ackman, have led to criticism of Kirk and his organization, calling them out for platforming messaging toxic to Jews and Israel.” Love? Really?

      2. Louis Fyne

        welp, my evidence-free guess is that the shooter got radicalized by Ukraine propaganda (of all things).

        single shot (likely 5..56, AR-15 type) from 200 yards, dude spent a lot of time on a range (or very lucky guy)

        the Florida Trump would-be assassin allegedly got radicialized after contact with pro-Ukraine elements

        1. Wukchumni

          Is it possible the shooter is from Zionsist* Movement?

          * with the exemption of Zion NP, you’ll see Zions this and Zions that in names of banks and retail stores all over the Beehive State

    4. leaf

      Maybe it’s time to have a look at Wang Huning’s (CPC Politburo member) book America against America to see if it’s still valid. Has anyone here read it enough to recommend or recommend against it?

    5. Louis Fyne

      one of the suspects released from questioning had a pellet gun.

      Cue the endless fountain of tin foil. (eg, big, political events always attract dumb nuts v. team “everything is a false flag”)

    6. Mildred Montana

      Pardon my ignorance, but I had never heard of Charlie Kirk before this nor had I, to the best of my recollection, seen his name mentioned on NC. Seems to me just another American murder.

      So, serious question here: Is this a case of the right wing, with media connivance, making a convenient martyr out of a nobody?

      2. The Rev Kev

        He was once the author of an article or tweet that appeared on NC and Lambert at the time was incredulous that he was the source.

      3. vao

        For people like me who do not live in the USA, Charlie Kirk was as unknown as those other names appearing in the aforementioned “three assassinations of significance so far” — Brian Thompson and Melissa Hortman. When horrified reports of Kirk’s death started pouring in, my reaction was “Charlie who?”

        2. LawnDart

          His (Kirk’s) climb to fame began on 4chan years ago, basically in the context of “leftards losing their minds.”

      4. Mikel

        Mildred…see my comment above.

        This shit – exploitation of a murder – reminds of the BS narratives like “the war on Christmas”.

      5. Louis Fyne

        yes, that is the key aspect.

        99% of Normie-Americans of all politics did not know of Charlie Kirk. Kirk was polarizing among a narrow, but very deep part of the Social-Media-sphere.

        Now that blood has been shed….this train has no brakes.

        Much like the Tunisian market seller, or the driver who got lost in Sarajevo, this murder may unleash a lot of brewing pressures

      6. Lieaibolmmai

        People on the internet 24/7 do not live in our world. So in their world, the world of psyops, he was everything.

        2. Louis Fyne

          that interview also highlighted the Ukraine-skeptic aspect of Kirk which reflects the broadly anti-Ukraine and Israel-agnostic right-of-center politics of those under 50—particularly 35.

          1. hk

            In many ways, the live Kirk was an interesting sort, in an odd, downright honest manner: his general biases were obvious, but he was not quite the cartoon that his eulogies make him out to be. Certainly someone who was fundamentally skeptical of the received wisdom and amenable to change in face of good (by his standards) reasons, as someone put it on another thread the other day, a potential maverick who might suddenly walk off the reservation and take hundreds of thousands or even millioins with him should he see the light (actually, in many ways, a younger Tucker Carlson.) Not exactly someone that ideologues on the right would want to see continue living, in a manner of speaking.

        3. Mikel

          I missed that post.
          This commentary brought back memories:
          “Remember when you were 21?

          You were probably a lot less financially responsible than you are today…

          Looking back, you’re likely glad that spending money you didn’t have was not overly easy. The ability to take out loans for things like a pizza pie, a case of beer, or a pair of concert tickets would have seemed too good to pass up…”

          I remember the lesson learned back in college when I wrote a hot check for a $5 pizza that in the end cost around $30.

          1. lyman alpha blob

            When debit cards first came out, with just a few bucks in my bank account I went to the store and grabbed a sandwich. I couldn’t remember exactly how few dollars there were, but I thought surely if there weren’t quite enough, the store would just decline the card.

            I was wrong about that. Expensive sandwich.

        4. Adam1

          This reminds me of how many times I’ve pointed out that in 2016 Bernie Sanders won nearly all of the same counties in the NYS primary that Trump won. There is a massive overlapping audience here that the elite on either side of the elite Demo-Republican machine DO NOT want united. Mamdani should really consider his security cover – no small airplane rides for him at a minimum.

      9. matt

        Charlie Kirk is HUGE on college campuses. He was a big part of the trump campaign’s push for young voters. He (and a lot of other trump-aligned folks) would come to college campuses and do like an open forum where people could ask Charlie questions and he would debate them. These events were then posted to his youtube channel and often clipped onto other social media platforms.
        Charlie Kirk’s big thing is having his finger on the pulse of young men. He goes to college campuses and actually talks to them and knows about their woes. My friendgroup skews left/politically uninvolved, but I feel like a lot of college students know who he is. A lot of this is honestly a youth type issue.
        Kirk’s social politics were very right wing (quite regressive in terms of women which i do not like) but he spoke to things like alienation among young men and told them to come to church and find purpose and such. He’s a good example of the New Right, gen Z trumpers.

      10. Socal Rhino

        Kirk focused his energy on young people, particularly college students. When Gavin Newsom started his latest move onto the national stage, his first appearance was on Kirk’s podcast. Trump credited him for improved support among young people during the last election. He visited the White House numerous times and was reportedly close to Trump’s sons and JD Vance. He was not a nobody.

    7. Carolinian

      Isn’t Trump, and for that matter Biden before him, already cracking down on the left? Those Columbia protestors were the true left as opposed to the fake Progressive Except for Palestine left.

      Second thought is that if people are going nuts over Charlie Kirk–who I never heard of–what would have been the reaction if Trump had actually been killed last year? Back then there were reportedly some of the now pearl clutchers on Twitter hinting that they wouldn’t mind if someone took out Trump.

      To be sure with Trump back in office he seems to be trying to prove the TDS crowd right all along. But here’s suggesting the great American 21st century hysteria is not just on the right.

    9. dingusansich

      Ever hear of Horst Wessel? People like Stephen Miller and this Smith character will need extra rations of moisturizer for all the gleeful rubbing together of palms. To them, this kind of assassination is like 9/11 to the PNACers.

      1. OIFVet

        Could well be, with the difference that Wessel was a street thug with no following, while Kirk was seen as a “moderate” and commanded a fairly sizable influence amongst the youngs. The latter could have been a problem, should Kirk have decided that things were becoming too authoritarian for his liking. One look at the rhetoric on the internets and we see how his putative mourners are renouncing Kirk’s supposed commitment to talking to the other side and advocating decidedly Wesselian means of “dialogue” with “the left.”

        1. amfortas

          yup. i cleaned my guns his morning.
          always one to hand.

          ive been the target of righty insanity and violence for most of my life…cops, rednecks, and so on.(for the most part, long ago)
          the Actual Left has been a persecuted and shrinking minority forever, especially since the 80’s.but this event…and at this particular time in history…feels different.
          took chainsaws to ace hardware 20 miles north ..(.and had surplus sourdough, so brought a loaf to the hottie thats run the place for years,lol)…flags on cars and trucks, all of a sudden…flags at driveways at half-mast.
          i had put tape over the free palestine thing last week, so as not to upset my neighbor as he loaded me up w manure…but all the way to town and back, i had my mind on the big bernie 2016 sticker on the tailgate,lol.

          1. OIFVet

            Stay safe, Amfortas. I want my Spidey sense to be wrong about this, but with Trump in charge and given his speech to the [right-wing] nation, I think that the stage is set to let slip the dogs of crazy and reaction.

                1. amfortas

                  in the fullness of Zen(!), there is no cat.

                  i’ll remained armed, for the foreseeable future, however.

                  half remembered Russian Proverb:” trust in god, but row like hell for shore”.

                  1. LawnDart

                    “God helps thoses who help themselves.”

                    Publically, I went “Gray Man” years ago, not that this persona would survive long against heavy digging– just long enough, hopefully.

                    The indecipherable blending-in, even without active deception, can really help to tell where others stand in relation to you as they drop their guard and open up and thereby informing you as to what kind of crowd you’re amongst. My looks help me “pass” (at least initially) through hard right to far left, from hillbilly/mountain man to harmless trippy-hippy/artsy guy. I also have found that a small, happy and friendly dog can help disarm and warm the hardest of hearts, especially if you turn it into part of a comedy act.

                    As far as guns go, mostly you don’t want to advertise, although there’s sometimes times for that when a display of potential force can preclude an actual use of force, but mostly never good to show your cards.

        2. dingusansich

          A twofer then.

          Needless to say, the parallel concerns the opportunistic uses to which “martyrs” like a Kirk or a Wessel may be put, not to the murdered themselves.

      1. johnnyme

        I just received an email alert from the university I work for indicating that they have “received a report of threatening communication to universities across the nation” with additional information to be shared later today.

      2. griffen

        I’ll kindly suggest that we start at the low end of the totem pole to be rounding up the mouth breathers. After all aren’t mouth breathers prevalent on both sides of the political spectrum?

        Heavy on the sarcasm. Extremism in many forms is still kinda protected under the 1st Amendment. And rounding up the “wrong” extremist groups might intertwine with those fervent 2nd Amendment followers. Best be careful to not poke some sleeping bears. Just from this a*hole with a different opinion.

        In the mid to late 1770’s, King George had a plan for those extremists who dared to defy a King. Who fits that description as an Extremist ? Overly broad, but is it mothers, fathers and older siblings across the country who think about their children’s or younger siblings safety at the local school district.

  3. The Rev Kev

    ‘Harrison H. Smith ✞
    @HarrisonHSmith
    We need a massive, national, federally-mandated de-radicalization campaign.
    Imprison radical leftists
    Blacklist communist professors
    Remove incompetent local leaders
    We need a new House Un-American Activities Committee.’

    Because McCarthyism worked out so well the first time around. I suppose that they can substitute Chinese influence instead of Soviet influence but they should leave the CIA and the Army alone this time around-

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCarthyism

  4. none

    Pet owners often see dogs as soulmates and value them more than human lives Sciety Labs

    Old joke: a guy and his dog find an old lamp on the beach. Guy picks up the lamp and cleans it off, and a genie comes out: O Master, thank you for freeing me, you have three wishes. What do you command?

    Guy thinks for a second and says, “first wish: I wish my dog could talk”. Genie makes a gesture, a bolt of magic shimmers the air, and poof, the wish is granted.

    Guy now turns to the dog and says “ok buddy, you have two wishes”.

    1. mrsyk

      heh heh, that could be me.
      Why is it whenever I read “value of a human life” I feel like I’m being purity tested? Damn straight I value my dog and my three cats more than some random member of my species. So sue me.

          1. Ann

            My daughter understands because she has her own fur children.
            Did you look at the link? Here are the words:

            Yes, my dog is my child
            Not like my child
            Not a replacement child
            You don’t get to measure the depth of that bond
            From the outside
            You didn’t see the night we sat on the bathroom floor
            At 3am me holding them through seizures
            Making promises
            I’d move heaven and earth to keep them safe
            You didn’t see how they found me
            On the day I planned to end everything
            How they refused to leave my side
            As if they knew something was terribly wrong
            You don’t know how they pressed against my chest
            During panic attacks
            Their weight the only thing anchoring me to reality
            A child isn’t defined by shared DNA
            Or a birth certificate
            A child is the being you would walk through fire for
            The one whose pain hurts worse than your own
            The soul you’ve committed to protect
            Nurture and cherish to your last breath
            When I call them my child
            I’m not playing house or being cute
            I’m acknowledging a sacred responsibility
            I choose their food more carefully than my own
            I research their health more thoroughly than my own
            I schedule my life around their needs
            Without resentment
            I save for their medical care before my own luxuries
            The depth of their dependence on me
            Isn’t lessened by their four legs or fur
            What do they give in return?
            They give the purest love any parent has ever received
            They give forgiveness no human child could match
            They give loyalty that outlasts human promises
            They give days of joy and teach lessons of presence
            No parenting book could contain
            So when you say it’s not the same
            You’re right
            Because this love exists without expectation
            Without condition
            Without complication
            When they look at me
            I am their whole world and they are mine
            So yes, my dog is my child
            And I don’t need your understanding or approval
            I just need you to respect
            The sacred space
            Of a family that looks different than yours

            1. principle

              My daughter understands because she has her own fur children.

              If your daughter is a canine, then it’s expected for her to have furry offsprings.

              A child isn’t defined by shared DNA
              Or a birth certificate

              It literally is. People that think that they can redefine meaning of words to their own liking, quickly end up not knowing the difference between a man and a woman.

              I have seen news about people marrying inanimate objects. I don’t know what kind of children are they having, but
              You don’t get to measure the depth of that bond
              https://www.ranker.com/list/13-people-who-married-inanimate-objects/jude-newsome

    2. Martin Oline

      Not too bad, but I wonder how that worked out. So many people turn to pets for the loss of human contact. I wonder how much of that substitution is a matter of control?
      Thinking of the old Who song Substitute makes me wonder how many ways we replace something essential with something ersatz. The old Firesign Theater coffee advertisement comes to mind “Ask for Ersatz Brothers coffee, it’s the real thing!”
      I suppose one should be grateful that pets can help fill the void for us. Perhaps one day, like in the futuristic movie Blade Runner, it will be too expensive to find and keep animals. There will always be a work around. I hope this song parody doesn’t make Kris Kristofferson turn over in his grave:

      But You’re A I

      I feel so sad I know it’s tragic
      But life goes on and nano-magic won’t stop the yearning
      I’m just so glad I have you here to fill the empty
      Places deep inside of me but now I’m learning

      Lay your head upon her pillow
      Hold your smooth and latex body close to mine
      Hear the whispers of your servos whirring soft inside your thorax
      I’ll make believe she’s still here by my side
      But you’re A I

      The kids are mad “You’re not their mother!”
      But they’re not here I need some one to wash and feed me
      I may not live to see tomorrow but you’re forever
      You can be always be recycled when you leave me

      Lay your head upon her pillow
      Hold your smooth and latex body close to mine
      Hear the whispers of your servos whirring soft inside your thorax
      I’ll make believe she’s still here by my side
      But you’re A I

      1. mrsyk

        What does it mean if I see zest appeal in my pets while it is lacking in humanity?
        As for the dog, I imagine cheeseburgers and a swim were on the wish menu, as opposed to money and influence.

    3. moog

      It’s less of joke, and more of self-pat-on-the-back. Probably because dogs don’t do it, and humans require achieving something notable before.

      1. hk

        I agree. Often, people make up stuff and attribute them to their dogs (less cats) rather than try to build genuine relationship with other humans. Dogs don’t talk back–because they can’t, so they can’t offend you the way other humans can.

  5. kramshaw

    Harrison H. Smith
    … Charlie thinks Israel will kill him if he turns against them

    I did a little digging and wanted to save others trouble. Wow I guess I know so little about the alt-right landscape, having never heard of Nick Fuentes etc. Anyway, starting at about 4:01:00 in, here is a debate Charlie Kirk moderated at a Turning Point USA summit in July(?) 2025 between libertarian Dave Smith and (Israel supporter?) Josh Hammer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gt2R5-d2NZ4

    The crowd and YT comments clearly loved Smith, who at least in the opening lays down some pretty basic facts (to my ear) portraying the problematic role of zionism in US foreign policy. I haven’t pieced together how this would substantiate the idea of turning against Israel.

    1. pjay

      I had heard of Kirk and his organization, but it was this event that really brought him to my attention. The reason was the controversy about Israel, or more accurately (as you imply), the strongly *critical* feelings toward Israel of many young conservatives in attendance. If I remember correctly, Kirk was trying to keep the peace while studiously avoiding any direct condemnation of Israel himself, which opened him up to criticism from both sides. Those looking for a motive here might need to dig further.

  6. The Rev Kev

    “Between Trump, Netanyahu and Qatar: Who Knew What When Israel Struck Hamas in Doha”

    Haaretz throwing shade on Qatar and, kinda, defending Trump. Hamas was in Qatar because the US asked that this be allowed about a decade or so again and Netanyahoo was pumping money into it for Hamas. But Trump absolutely knew of that attack and I can prove it. Qatar and the US operate together the aerial defenses of that country and before the attack commenced, the US shut down the aerial defenses of that country. Qatar also had Patriot batteries as well as a dozen THADD batteries but the US turned them off as well. Qatar spent untold billions for those aerial defenses but when the time came, the US shut it all down and that country was totally vulnerable. If they had been working we would have heard reports of interceptions but there were none. How many other countries are looking at their own US-supplied equipment with deep suspicion right now. I said yesterday that this attack produced losses all across the board for the US and this is a major one. I bet that Turkiye is glad they went with Russian S-400s rather than Patriot batteries.

    1. ilsm

      Suppose the IDF aircraft were sqwalking transponder signal the Qatari (were they US contractors?)controllers were “expecting”?

    1. Ocypode

      The more important one of the two nine-elevens. Or, at least, the consequences from the “successful” experiment in neoliberalism under the barrel of a gun have been echoing ever since.

    3. Wukchumni

      I was almost into the ranks of teenagerhood when Chile con carnage happened, and the thing I remember most was the photographer that chronicled himself being shot and killed a few months prior as things were clearly festering, wonder what his F-stop was?

      ABOUT FINAL IMAGE

      A Swedish-Argentinean cameraman named Leonardo Henrichsen films his own murder. 33 years later a Chilean journalist searches through the events that lead to Leonardo´s death and discovers the identity of the man who shot him.

      29th June 1973 in Santiago de Chile. Leonardo Henrichsen, a Swedish Argentinean cameraman working for SVT, Sucesos Argentinos, and NBC was outside La Moneda, the presidential palace, trying to film an attempted military coup against President Salvador Allende.

      An old truck stops across the street and a soldier gets out and starts to shoot into the air. Henrichsen’s lens zooms in the soldier, who aims the pistol directly at him. Shouting, shots, chaos, and moments later, Leonardo lays sprawled on the pavement, while his camera points up at a blank sky. A soldier rushes over to him, grabs the camera, yanks out a reel of film and destroys it, unaware that there is a second chamber with six minutes of exposed film inside.

      https://www.wgfilm.com/final-image

      1. Mildred Montana

        So far today, nobody else seems to have appreciated your bon mot, “Chile con carnage”. I did, with an out-loud laugh. Alas, pearls before swine.*

        *Before any fellow commenters come down on me for calling them “swine”, please note that I am joking. I’m being facetious.

    4. amfortas

      for me, it’s the 7th Diagnosis Day, when Wife and I learned that she would die.
      as such, i usually try to avoid news, today…but this all seems like such a big deal, that i felt i would be remiss if i remained blissfully unaware on a sad day like this.

  8. Mikel

    Maps: Israel has attacked six countries in the past 72 hours – Al Jazeera

    It’s worse when one considers that for close to two years and nearly EVERY DAY non-combatants have been murdered.

    It takes massive cooperation, economically and militarily, in the region and the world to do be able to do this.

    Yet, think about it…another player in the conflict Iran is still preached to, even by alleged allies, about “escalation” and “restraint”.

    Many more in power invested, literally and figuratively, in the survival of monstrosity.

    These are simple and obvious statements, but necessary for keeping perspective about what really needs to be defeated in total.

  9. Ben Panga

    Anti-Islamic biker gang members hired to run security at controversial Gaza aid sites (Guardian)


    The investigation found that more than 10 members of Infidels MC, a US biker gang that uses the Crusader cross as its symbol and whose members have anti-Islamic tattoos, have been hired by UG Solutions and deployed to food aid sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. According to the BBC, seven members of the gang are in “senior positions overseeing [GHF] sites”.

    They include the gang’s leader, Johnny “Taz” Mulford, who is a “country team leader” for UG Solutions and had recruited others to work for UG solutions in Gaza. He has the numbers 1095 tattooed across his chest – the year that Pope Urban II launched the first Crusade.

    Mulford, whose affiliation with GHF was public, accidentally sent an email to the BBC telling other leaders of the group not to comment on inquiries – inadvertently revealing the identities of several other senior Infidels members also working for UG Solutions.

    What were the qualifications for the job? Because I know a lot of unemployed racist morons…

  10. The Rev Kev

    “VERIF’ – War in Ukraine: No, the French army did not disobey Emmanuel Macron”

    This article is saying that it is false and now as it has been officially denied, it is probably the truth. It was only early last year that the Russians hit a hotel in Kharkiv killing about 60 French ‘mercenaries.’ Mercenaries that had the military skills to fire missiles into Russia. Every mercenary knows how to do that, right? Macron might be desperate to send the French military into the Ukraine but the generals are saying aww, hell no.

    1. hk

      I’m honestly convinced that the “expeditionary” part of the French Army has already been effectively destroyed in Ukraine. Their casualties may only number hundreds dead and thousands wounded, but, in some depts, you just don’t have thst many people to begin with.

      1. principle

        Nah. Most of “expeditionary” part of the French Army has just bravely ran away from Africa. They are way too scared to face Russian full on, after getting their rear ends kicked by a PMC and local militias.

          1. principle

            They left Africa because it became too hot for them. Locals started taking arms, and blocking supply of fresh croissants to French embassy (not a joke). The French were not in a position to fight an actual war with higly motivated population, and fled. They did not gave up though, because local terrorists suddenly became more active.

            The French I have actually seen fight in Donbas were ex Foreign Legion that are originally from the region (and are present on both sides). I assume there were/are some experts for SCALP missiles, but only few were needed, and they had time to run for the bunkers when incoming missiles were reporterd (since the base is in the western part of the Ukraine). There were probably some trained soldiers/officers with CAESAR too, but only one per vehicle is needed. I don’t think the Frech are dumb enough to go and die in a war en masse.

            This reminded me of warning that Pyotr Tolstoy gave to French, in French.
            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GNL2rxWY9I
            And also
            https://www.newsweek.com/russia-pyotr-tolstoy-kill-french-soldiers-ukraine-war-1881912
            “We are going to kill all the French soldiers who are going to come to Ukrainian soil because today, during the conflict in Ukraine, there are 13,000 mercenaries, including 360 French,” Tolstoy said. “One hundred and forty-seven have already been killed, so 147 citizens of France were killed in Ukraine.”

  11. John

    Just made my annual donation to NC. Been reading since the beginning (2006?). First heard of Ian Welsh, JMGreer, and a lot of others here. So thank you, and blessings to all

  12. Mikel

    China weighs risks as social unrest rocks strategic partner Nepal – South China Morning Post

    “Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Wednesday afternoon that China hoped all sectors in Nepal could “properly handle domestic issues and restore social order and national stability as soon as possible”.

    Seems like the approach they are taking with the other unrest in the neighborhood -Myanmar: “Just don’t touch our property and I hope you figure it out.”

  13. Eclair

    I keep thinking of the C.J. Sansom series that take place during reign of Henry VIII of England, and the parallels for our times. (Should Our Times be capitalized?)

    There are the obvious similarities: both today’s US and the England of the first half of the 1500’s, are ruled by loud and autocratic men, orange, corpulent and serial monogamists, with lots of pieces on the side.

    Henry upended the Established Church and attacked its hierarchy, so vividly portrayed in “Dissolution.” An early DOGE operation.

    The Establishment took sides: fleeing to the New Order and receiving government positions as well as being showered with the lands so recently owned by The Church. Some preferred to retain the Old Faith, but had to do it in secret, or risk burning at the stake, as a warning to others who might have similar ideas.

    The Commoners, like the series protagonist, the lawyer Matthew Shardlake, tried to keep their heads down but sometimes got swept up the in various manias. And, of course, in the final book, the Commoners got themselves organized to do a mass rebellion. Alas.

    I was sorry to hear of Sansom’s death: he, like so many writers of ‘fiction,’ even ‘historical fiction,’ seemed to have the ability (or perhaps it’s a disability) to pick up on the undercurrent of cultural and political vibes and translate that into a heck of a good story.

  14. The Rev Kev

    “Venezuela Overcomes Economic War and Reaches 90% Food Self-Sufficiency”

    ‘Previously, Venezuela was a net importer of 85% of its food. Today, we have overcome the economic war and our situation is different. We have reinvented ourselves, we have reinvented ourselves for the better, and now Venezuela produces 90% of all food, ensuring full national supply’

    Maduro is a monster who has to be stopped. Doesn’t he know that countries should only grow export crops and use the money earned to buy food crops from the west along with paying their IMF loans off. It’s the natural order as recommended by all good economists.

  15. pjay

    Today is 9/11. Right-wing media figures and possible schisms among conservatives seem to be timely topics. So I thought I’d ask: has anyone else been hearing about Tucker Carlson’s upcoming series on 9/11? He has promoted it in several interviews, including one on Piers Morgan (I accidentally saw it discussed on a Young Turks clip, a show which I never watch anymore). From the hints he’s been giving it sounds pretty rabble-rousing. The JFK assassination. Genocide in Israel. Is he really going to go all in on another “third rail” issue?

    I couldn’t help but notice that one of the topics discussed in the Morgan interview was the “Dancing Israelis” episode. Hmm.

  16. ilsm

    Geeky interlude:

    Gallium Nitride (GaN) is a new material for microcircuitry. Both China and Russia began applying it to military integrated circuits well ahead of US and EU.

    The GaN has better heat endurance and so the IC can conduct more power…. the effect is better radars in smaller aircraft like the Su 57….

    US is catching up but SPY 6 radar (installed on the Flight III Aegis destroyers, a new hull etc,.) may have baselined older material, I do not know.

    1. Revenant

      Geeky epilogue: one of the strategic values of the Ukraine is that, apparently, it is one of the most geologically stable areas in the world (oh, the irony) and thus the ideal location for growing artificial crystals in vibration free environment. A large part of the world’s sapphire substrates is grown there and, I would imagine, it is also ideal for gallium nitride and other exotic semiconductor manufacture. It was also a centre of Soviet semiconductor industry, possibly for this reason in part.

      1. matt

        I did a paper last year on replacing Gallium with Indium and Aluminum (other group 3 elements) to reduce the stresses caused by the lattice mismatch from deposition atop a sapphire substrate. It’ll be interesting to see if people try replacing GaN with alternative iii-v semiconductors if there’s a resource shortage. I’m currently more involved in the research of novel semiconductors but I know there’s been a lot more investment in upscaling GaN manufacturing. Will be interesting to see how this evolves.
        One of my favorite topics is how much effort it takes to grow a perfect crystal! The amount of control you have to have over the environment is crazy. All the energy it takes to purify the precursors, pump contaminents out of the room, etc, is absurd. Truly one of mankind’s most impressive technologies.

  17. lyman alpha blob

    RE: Harris calls Biden’s re-election bid reckless in new memoir

    Was it really Biden being “reckless”? Last I checked, there was no law that said members of an incumbent’s political party were not allowed to primary them. And, in fact a couple did, and Biden made sure they were marginalized. One of those disgruntled Dems is now Trump’s head of HHS – how did that work out? Did any Democrats stand up on their hind legs and decry this behavior? Why didn’t any of them get in the race? No, they were all happy to let Droolin’ Joe run again so a bunch of anonymous apparatchiks could continue running the show from behind the scenes.

    If the Democrat party really wants to get reckless, go ahead and nominate dim bulb Kamala again the next time around.

    2. Afro

      There’s plenty of recklessness to go around when it comes to the Democratic party, and that includes both Biden and Harris.

    3. Wukchumni

      Presstidigitation was talking in regards to a potential $20 million advance-fee fraud, er payment to Kamala for her important views…

    4. Screwball

      If the Democrat party really wants to get reckless, go ahead and nominate dim bulb Kamala again the next time around.

      They will find someone worse and lose again. It really doesn’t matter anyway. This country is toast and these pukes won’t fix anything anyway. We might as well get drunk and stoned.

  18. The Rev Kev

    “The billionaire class want you thinking Israel controls the West”

    It has been said that if you want to see who really has power, look to those that are not allowed to be criticized. I rest my case.

  19. Wukchumni

    The Garnet Fire is making its way through the McKinley Grove of Giant Sequoias, and its almost comically funny how many groves or individual Sequoias are named after assassinated Presidents, we’ve got the Garfield Grove above us here in Tiny Town, sorry you got offed James-here have some Brobdingnagians named after ya, the individual McKinley Tree is here in the Giant Forest near the Room Tree, along with the Lincoln Tree as well. It must have become passe-the practice, as JFK got bupkis.

    https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/garnet-fire-mckinley-grove-giant-sequoia-trees/

    1. Cat Burglar

      Been breathing and cowering from the Garnet smoke over here on the East Side for more than a week.

      But this is a good time to remember that the original name of the General Sherman Tree was probably the Karl Marx Tree, conferred on it by the utopian socialists of the Kaweah Colony.

      1. Wukchumni

        The General Sherman Tree was named after the American Civil War general William Tecumseh Sherman. The official story, which may be apocryphal, claims the tree was named in 1879 by naturalist James Wolverton, who had served as a lieutenant in the 9th Indiana Cavalry under Sherman. (Wiki)

        An archaeologist friend digs deep doing her due diligence, and learned that James Wolverton only shows up in the early 1890’s around these parts, and not only didn’t he serve under Sherman, but was a (gasp) deserter!

        Seems like more a clever Gay 90’s way to get rid of something avowedly socialist-the largest tree in the world named after Karl (double gasp with a salchow and triple toe loop) Marx and Wolverton made for a perfect cover story.

  20. The Rev Kev

    “Google Is Telling People DOGE Never Existed Google Is Telling People DOGE Never Existed”

    Now that is some epic level trolling by Google. Do they think that people will forget? That they will put out of their mind Musk’s part or all the times that Trump himself talked about it? Is Google to be the Memory Hole of the 21st century? For sure they are some sort of hole here.

  21. Wukchumni

    Can we talk about the cheapening of flying the flag at half-mast…

    There are times when i’ll go to the post office and there it is at half-staff and I have to play remembering the news bingo to figure out who croaked, and often its unworthy candidates.

    This Kirk fellow gets 4 days of attention, wow.

    1. Mildred Montana

      I am assuming (jestfully of course) that the next stop for his corpse will be the Capitol rotunda. Which he—it—will defile for several days until media scrutiny and coverage predictably subside. In the interim, the eulogies will be prolix, the encomia fulsome, and the BS 100% brown.

      The problem today for the elites in dealing with their dead is, as you mention, so many unworthy candidates. Alive or dead, there’s only some much lipstick one can apply to a pig.

    3. NotTimothyGeithner

      A Republican not connected to Epstein is as rare as a Jackelope. These people need their moment.

      1. TimH

        The Epstein- Mandelson connection is interesting, because Mandleson is gay. If Epstein was bisexual, and effectively hid it by always having women around, then the potential for generating blackmain material goes up a lot. Clinton, for example, wasn’t particularly embarassed by infidelity with a young woman, or the obvious harassment scenario since he was POTUS and she an intern. But if there was material involving him and another man, I’m sure he would NOT like that released. And Epstein had his island, where orgy type scenarios would have been perceived as private by participants… if he as host made a play for another man using careful timing, could easily get some material. An if he was bi, then he would perhaps have good antenna for bi-curious or closed participants.

  22. Wukchumni

    US Property Insurance Costs Hit New High as Disasters Worsen Insurance Journal
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    It’s difficult to not think i’m paying directly for the LA Infernos.

    My house insurance went up 28% before the event and my cabin insurance went up 304% after the fires~

  23. Tom Stone

    Analogies:

    The Russians are playing chess.

    The Europeans are playing Checkers.

    The Trump administration is playing 52 card pick up.

    If you aren’t familiar with 52 card pick up, it’s when someone throws the deck of cards on the floor violently and then throws a tantrum.

    1. Wukchumni

      Countin’ flowers on the wall
      That don’t bother me at all
      Playin’ solitaire ’til dawn with a deck of 51
      Settlin’ vendettas and watchin’ Fox News too
      Now don’t tell me, I’ve nothin’ to do

    3. griffen

      Let there be bananas in the Banana Republic. I am aware Matt Taibbi / his substack has possibly turned into a person with a different agenda than desired, or he’s shifted on priorities , but I’ll continue using the quote.

      Bread and circuses but bread is on rations.

      1. Wukchumni

        It seems like nothing, but what Adolf offered up as a campaign slogan was ‘bread & work’ in 1932 to the electorate.

    4. moog

      Zelensky is playing Ukrainian roulette. It’s like Russian roulette, but you are out of bullets, and pistols, and are just waiting for somone else to shoot you.

      1. ambrit

        Well, it beats Polish Roulette. You play with an automatic pistol with one bullet in the magazine. Everyone makes bets on who will “win.”
        (I have a Polish ancestor so I can make this joke. Also, Irish and Scots jokes. The English side of me is its own joke.)

  26. XXYY

    Experts react: Poland just shot down Russian drones over its territory. Is Putin ramping up his war on Europe? Atlantic Council

    Putin has been saying for years that countries supporting Ukraine with weapons and troops are fair game for Russian attacks. NATO countries have blithely been shipping war material to Ukraine since at least 2014, but until now Russia has refrained from carrying out its threat. Whether this is admirable restraint or fear of sparking a wider war is an open question.

    European countries will no doubt be playing up the recent drone attacks on Poland as something beyond the pale, but the fact is not only Poland but other EU countries have been literally getting away with murder for years.

    Much like Israel, I suspect we will find that European countries have a glass jaw when it comes to being on the receiving end of the wars they start.

    1. AG

      Thanks.
      Just spoke about him tonight with friends.

      Cause: discussing the Belgians´ decision to ban Munich Philharmonic Orchestra´s performance with their new conductor, who happens to be Israeli.

      Judge for yourself:

      Diplomat slams Belgian festival for disinviting Munich orchestra over its Israeli conductor

      Ghent festival organizers say Lahav Shani has not distanced himself from Israel’s “genocidal regime”; Israeli ambassador sees “pure antisemitism.”
      https://www.politico.eu/article/israeli-diplomat-slams-festival-disinviting-orchestra-jewish-conductor/

        1. AG

          On everyday, privat level like tonight, i.e. beyond stately newspaper items and public op eds and having nothing to do with Zionists, the faultline of discussion among genuine friends ran here:

          1) the industrial extermination of Jews in WWII makes the Holocaust a unique genocide (I said no)
          2) if “we” agree that Russian opera singers shall not be banned over their position (lack of criticism of RU) then same principle should apply to said Israeli conductor

          I tried to make the point that although I always said the RU example applies to art in general (individuals are not to be punished for their governments) in the case of boycotting Israel it could be possible that in order for the boycott to take effect it is necessary to make an exception, so regardless of how the conductor personally thinks in political terms.

          This in conjunction with my argument that if RU and Gaza cannot be compared neither comparable are the notions of banning artists over their governments actions.

          This comparison very often happens in Germany at least on a superficial level – violation of Art. 51 = violation of genocide convention, thus both technically war crimes.

          I did not come up tonight with the case of conductor Furtwängler who was banned over his cooperation with Nazis during the war. But however in his case I would have opposed a ban. So what´s the right position today?

  29. Jason Boxman

    Rise in U.S. Inflation Likely to Keep Fed Cautious on Pace of Rate Cuts (NY Times via archive.ph)

    The Market sees this is very bullish, up today.

    U.S. inflation accelerated in August at a speed that is likely to keep the Federal Reserve cautious about lowering borrowing costs too quickly once it restarts cuts as soon as next week.

    The Consumer Price Index, released on Thursday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, rose 2.9 percent compared with the same time last year, the fastest annual pace since the start of 2025.

    “Core” inflation, which the central bank tracks as a gauge of underlying inflation since it strips out volatile items like energy and food prices, steadied at 3.1 percent.

    The overall measure of inflation rose 0.4 percent for the month, slightly higher than economists had expected. The core measure rose 0.3 percent.

    CNBC has a handy breakdown by category:

    Here’s the inflation breakdown for August 2025 — in one chart

    Inflation picked up in August amid higher prices for staples like food and electricity, while tariffs put upward pressure on prices for physical goods like clothing and household furniture, economists said.

    The consumer price index, a key inflation gauge, rose 2.9% in August from a year earlier, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday.

    That’s an increase from 2.7% in July and the fastest annual pace of inflation since January.

    “Inflation is uncomfortably high and it’s accelerating,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s. “I think we should expect a further acceleration in inflation over the next six to 12 months.”

    Looks like Trump nuked coffee prices from orbit. And look at college textbooks. Those involved in that scam certainly have belonged in jail for decades now. I was buying used textbooks to avoid paying $100-200 per book back in the day. I can only imagine it is worse now.

  30. Wukchumni

    Subsidies for Fossil Fuel Firms Have Doubled Since 2017, Now $35 Billion a Year Truthout
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Perhaps i’m taking too cavalier of an approach as i’m in the last quarter of my life, but its as if we’re on this runaway train nearing a chasm where the bridge is out, and the conductor orders more coal thrown into the firebox-stat!

    My father’s life and mine will end up being bookends in that his first 20 years was the hardest time of his life and my last 20 seem fraught with ugly possibilities to come.

    …i’m content to hurry up and wait

    To witness a major turning point in history will be interesting to observe, and how mankind reacts… I like to watch.

  31. griffen

    Market news at mid day, CPI report comes in but also the jobless claims show a weekly spike above the trend line…So these are the final puzzle pieces that the Federal Reserve has in hand prior to their scheduled confab next week. “All eyes on me…”. I’ll be floored if Chair Powell finally relents on a decision to ease up on the target rate. Stonx go higher, UST yields are trending lower.

    My base contention for the past 12 to 14 months has been inflation pressures may finally abate, but we’re kinda in a wheelhouse of general markers on inflation range bound ~ 2.25 % to 3.5 %. Others mileage may vary; clearly beef prices are not going to correct too quickly at all.

    https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/11/consumer-prices-rose-at-annual-rate-of-2point9percent-in-august-as-weekly-jobless-claims-jump.html

    2. nyleta

      August federal budget balance also blowing out bigly, negative $ 345 billion. Noone seems concerned about a recession starting with an already deficit of $ 2 trillion. Of course if you are not going to support the economy during this recession but let the chips fall where they may it doesn’t enter into calculations.

      Really looking more like a re-run of the 70’s every day, they used to drop interest rates then when they shouldn’t too.

      1. griffen

        Maybe the only net positive from the mid to late 70s was the availability of sitcom entertainment from the idiot box….too many for listing as a young child from the era (!)

        WKRP in Cincinnati
        Happy Days
        Sanford and son
        Good Times
        What’s Happening

  32. Jason Boxman

    From Google’s former security leads raise $13M to fight email threats before they reach you

    We’ve reinvented dspam, a Bayesian classification system from over 20 years ago I used to use for spam detection.

    Unlike a typical email security platform that uses a rules-based approach, these AI agents spot a bunch of attacks and self-tune themselves for every possible variant of those attacks in real time, said Khormaee. The startup has developed multiple AI models tailored to various threats and specific industries, including those in venture capital and financial services.

    Alongside quickly detecting threats, AegisAI’s agents help reduce false positives by up to 90% compared to traditional solutions, the startup claims.

    It takes “no more than five minutes” for customers to install AegisAI’s system on a Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 email account via an API, per Khormaee. Once set up, the startup will send a report in a couple of days with the details on what the system found in the environment, including false positives and false negatives. It will then run in read-only mode for a week and then activate quarantine.

    But they’re using “AI agents”, so they got a big phat stack of cash. Grift while you can, I guess.

  33. Pelham

    Re AI now accounting for nearly 50% of total capex: So basically we need to root for a technology that will sink the economy if it fails but destroy our livelihoods if it succeeds.

  34. Cat Burglar

    Details of the drone incursion into Poland are very poorly reported, so I have been working on a scorecard of media coverage. Lots of analysts are opining with great certainty about the significance of the drone event, but it isn’t clear how many there were, how many were shot down and recovered, or even what type they were. I looked at Wikipedia, CBC, the NYT, and The Guardian.

    Most agree that “at least” (a phrase used in every count of entries, shootdowns, and recoveries) 19 came into Polish airspace (though Wikipedia quotes Rzeczpospolita claiming at least 23), based on a statement by the Polish PM. The NYT notes the Tusk claim, but says at least 12. No physical evidence, like radar tracking, is provided for any claim.

    How many were shot down? Here there is some photo evidence — The Guardian showed 4. They quoted the Polish military claiming more than 10 had been shot down, but the map accompanying the article only shows 7 locations. Wikipedia claims at least 8 were shot down, but has a map showing 17 debris locations. CBC gives at least 14 down, but has a map showing only 4 sites. The NYT says 9 drones were found.

    What type of drones were used? The NYT says 9 Gerbera were found. The CBC agrees that they were Gerbera and presents a photo; Wikipedia says at least some were Gerbera.

    So the size of the incursion is not known. Were there only four? The CBC and the Guardian photos agree on that. The NYT account of 9 drones found agrees with their count of 9 Gerbera, and the Guradian map (7) and Wikipedia number shot down (<8), and the Polish military (<10) kind of cluster.

    The NYT notes that two drones flew into Poland last week, so if only four were found this time, this would not be significant increase. I guess we can also wonder if the drone debris counted is really from this week's incursion.

    But until the reporting on the incident improves, we will just have to keep on the watch.

    1. ciroc

      The “Gerbera” drone is a decoy that is never used by itself. Since it does not carry explosives, used drones are likely to be in relatively good condition. Ukrainians can retrieve these drones and send them to Poland. The Poles then deploy them in convenient locations.

    2. Donaldo

      How do you distinguish photo of shot down drone from the one that crashed by itself after fuel ran out? They were all low on fuel and could not make if far anyway.

  35. Wukchumni

    Twilight for the Pyrite Billion?

    The countries that matter in the Pyrite Billion all seem to be going TILT!, one way or another, woes a plenty now or on the immediate horizon, something is in the air-you can feel it.

    We held sway for about 500 years, effectively calling the shots.

    If the mutually shared housing bubble were to suddenly drop like a rock as market forces were allowed to call the shots, that’d be one way to get there.

        1. ambrit

          My hat’s off to you too.
          Here Down South in New Orleans, we made a virtue of necessity and developed a taste for coffee and chicory. For me, it always has that ‘bite’ peculiar to Supply House Coffee. Some days, it was so bitter my taste buds took the rest of the day off.
          “Ersatz macht frei,” sounds like the promotional jingle for ReichGPT. There isn’t much ‘there’ there, but you get what you pay for. (I am told by reliable sources that the company is now up to Version 4.0.)
          Don’t forget to Heil, Subscribe, and hit the Die Glock button!

  36. neutrino23

    I don’t have the chops to evaluate this properly but it sounds interesting. Apple has apparently just released the result of years long research into a way to block hacks by state actors. Even if you aren’t technical some of this is quite readable.

    The main idea is that Apple has a way to make inappropriate access to memory in their CPUs which is one way state actors hack cellphones.

    https://security.apple.com/blog/memory-integrity-enforcement/

  37. ChrisPacific

    Re: Zionism is Just an Internationally-Acceptable Form of Jewish Terrorism

    I have been thinking this for a while. Certainly things like the pager attacks fit the bill perfectly.

    Further, I think it’s going to blow back, as these things always do eventually. We are already seeing Israel characterize the Western opposition to the Gaza genocide as anti-Semitic. It’s a short step from there to ‘enemies of Israel’, and then ‘legitimate target’. It’s just a few more doubling down steps away, and doubling down has been a constant for Israel so far.

    Watch the rhetoric if the opposition in Western countries ever reaches or influences government level responses, to the extent of a meaningful drop in support.

  38. Alice X

    A thought experiment. Charlie Kirk assassin was Mossad. Change the topic from Gaza City expulsion and Doha in one fell swoop.

      1. Alice X

        Charlie Who has considerable resonance on the media. My point is we are talking about that and not the Genocide. There is a flotilla of intensely well meaning folks headed to Gaza, the Zionists would be intent that the world ignores whatever befalls them.

          1. Alice X

            A non sequitur but interesting, to be deconstructed. What present nuclear power would nuke Jerusalem? If such happened my first thoughts would be of the loss of life, the reach of which would know no ethnic bounds.

            That’s as far as I can get.

            1. ambrit

              I’m thinking Israel itself. The twisted depths of the Religious Fanatic mind are the definition of extreme. As the Fuhrer showed with his “Gotterdammerung Plans,” when extremists go down for the count, they tend to spread death and destruction everywhere; even to those formerly considered ‘loyal’ to “The Dream.”
              When the bomb goes off, it will be a “noon sequitur.”
              Considering how extreme the Tel Aviv government has become, I do worry for the safety of the flotilla participants.
              Good luck with the arrival of the Goon Squad in Chicago. As is a constant with Authoritarians everywhere, domestic problems are generally suppressed rather than solved.
              Stay very safe.

  39. matt

    re: charlie kirk
    i had dinner with one of my english major friends and apparently everyone was watching the video of him getting shot during her classes. it’s crazy how normalized gore is these days.
    will be interesting to see how the media narrativizes the story.

    1. Jason Boxman

      I’ve never looked at these. There’s full video of it happening beginning to end? Ghastly. I’ve never had the urge to watch that stuff.

    2. Jonathan Holland Becnel

      Gross.

      I abhor watching anything of violence like this.

      I’ll watch fake TERRIFIER 3 gore all day, but NEVER will I willingly watch these awful displays of violence.

      Like it’s ALWAYS directed towards the good guys.

      Except for Luigi I guess.

      I hate it bro.

      We are poisoning all of our Imperial Children with the worst of humanity and basically brainwashing them to be more slave like than we were. Anyone under the age of 21 should NOT have any social media at all.

      Turning them into retarded addicts out of Orwell.

Comments are closed.