Links 9/22/2025

Sanskrit university project: Ant movement, frog behaviour to predict rain Hindustan Times

What’s Happening to Wholesale Electricity Prices? Construction Physics

‘Involved sequentially’: leopard sharks observed mating for first time in wild have threesome The Guardian

Climate/Environment

Most powerful storm on earth this year lashes Philippines. Hong Kong, Taiwan and southern China on alert CNN

What happens when major storms hit toxic dumps? Moving Day

A New Island Has Popped Up in Alaska Gizmodo

Formation of giant Siberian gas emission craters Science of The Total Environment

“But you said the ice was going to disappear in 10 years!” Real Climate

Oxy Executive Says Direct Air Capture Model Isn’t Bankable Now Bloomberg

Revisiting the Geoengineering Question The Climate Brink

Pandemics

How to tackle the ‘profound and lasting impact’ of COVID-19 on cardiovascular health European Society of Cardiology

Winner of mRNA Nobel Prize says ACIP member’s claim that Covid vaccines persist is “absolutely impossible” STAT

Data investigation: Childhood vaccination rates are backsliding across the U.S. NBC News

The Koreas

Kim says has ‘good memory’ of Trump, open to talks with U.S. if denuclearization demand dropped Yonhap

India

US fee on H-1B visas rattles Indian tech stocks Intellinews

Chabahar sanctions is a strategic move by US Indian Punchline

China?

South of the Border

Venezuela Launches Military Exercises in All Regions Throughout the Country Orinoco Tribune

Syraqistan

Netanyahu Asked Trump to Halt Egyptian Military Buildup in Sinai, Source Says Haaretz

***

UK, Australia and Canada recognize a Palestinian state, prompting angry response from Israel AP

Recognize Hamas The Anti-Empire Project. On why recognition of  their idea of a Palestinian state by above is meaningless gesture.

Netanyahu’s Vision for Israel’s Future Is Not Sparta, It’s Something Worse Haaretz

EXCLUSIVE: Bill to Block Arms Sales to Israel Endorsed by Congressional Progressive Caucus Zeteo

***

Taliban rejects Trump’s ultimatum RT

Iran says it will suspend cooperation with UN’s nuclear watchdog Al Jazeera

Moving closer to part 2 of USrael-Iran war GeoPolitiQ

European Disunion

EU’s new strategy to lure India away from Russia’s orbit Hellenic Shipping News

Rome gloats as France becomes Italy and Italy becomes France Politico

Crisis At NATO Shipbuilder Unsettles Europe’s Defense Plans Bloomberg

The growing influence of US asset managers in the Netherlands SOMO

New Not-So-Cold War

NATO fighters scrambled to escort Russian reconnaissance plane over Baltic Sea ERR

Trump says he ‘would’ help defend Poland and Baltic states if Russia keeps escalating Euronews

Security guarantees for Ukraine require readiness to fight Russia, says Finland’s president The Guardian

TRUMP THE RETROACTIVE – HOW THE ANTE IS UPPED BEFORE TRUMP ANNOUNCES HIS DECISIONS John Helmer

Robert Kagan Foresees Critical Geopolitical Juncture Simplicius

‘Resilience factories’ German Foreign Policy

Trump 2.0

Trump administration halts government hunger report The Hill

Trump Hints at the Murdochs Joining the TikTok Deal Gizmodo

Trump’s H-1B visa fee to hit US employers with $14bn annual bill FT

Trump ‘border czar’ Tom Homan reportedly accepted $50,000 in cash from undercover FBI agents The Guardian

Trump publicly pushes Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute his political foes NBC News

MAHA

Trump officials reportedly set to tie Tylenol to autism risk The Guardian

Weimar Republic

Trump memorializes Kirk: ‘He did not hate his opponents. … That’s where I disagreed’ The Hill

Max Blumenthal: Charlie Kirk’s Story FALLS APART Dialogue Works (Video)

Surgeon calls Charlie Kirk ‘man of steel’ — reveals ‘miracle’ factor that likely prevented more from being hurt New York Post

A Charlie Kirk Update… While Trump is Playing with Fire in Venezuela Larry Johnson

How did “China Use Kirk’s Murder to Stoke Conspiracy Theories and Division”? Pekingnology

Charlie Kirk was a fossil fuel industry plant HEATED

False Flag Watch

Mamdani

Inside Zohran Mamdani’s Campaign Drop Site

Land Value Politics Phenomenal World

Accelerationists

On the Origins of Dune’s Butlerian Jihad Edward Ongweso Jr.

The Luddite Renaissance is in full swing Blood in the Machine

Crapification

Slack threatened to delete nonprofit coding club’s data if it didn’t pay $50k in a week The Register

AI

And you twist the darkness in your fingers Internal Exile

Healthcare?

THE HEALTH PENALTY Texas Observer

Class Warfare

TOWARD LABOR UNIONS FOR INCARCERATED WORKERS: AN ORGANIZING STRATEGY LPE Project

“HOUSE FROM HELL” — HOW AMERICA’S LARGEST HOMEBUILDERS SHIFT THE COST OF SHODDY CONSTRUCTION TO BUYERS Hunterbrook

Hole-Punched History Extracurriculars

Antidote du jour (via):

See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.

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129 comments

  1. The Rev Kev

    ‘Chris Menahan 🇺🇸
    @infolibnews
    US Amb Huckabee says Israel’s army is more moral than America’s: “They have taken measures to protect human life the likes of which our own country does not do.”
    Says death toll in Gaza is so high because Hamas “moves” civilians into Israel’s targets after being warned to leave.’

    Listening to Huckabee is like listening to an IDF spokesman – null value. Here Huckabee has got it back to front. Israel will tell Palestinians to go into a safe zone and when they have gathered there, then Israel will bomb them. Can’t work out though if Huckabee is simply that deluded or whether he is lying his face off.

    Reply
    1. Wukchumni

      Huckabee and other members of the evang menace are the sad end game to making Billy Graham our official spokesman to the almighty, and with Hollywood looks and height, he almost resembled Charlie in that regard.

      We needed a bulwark against the godless commies in the late 40’s, and like so much kudzu it spread.

      Reply
    2. Bugs

      If you’ve followed the career of Huckabee, it’s always been pretty obvious that he is not the brightest candle in the chandelier. This is his dream job because he actually, really believes in the millennialist rapture nonsense. He will be at the center of the apocalypse and rise to heaven with the Second Coming, as one of the just. The Israelis know darn well that this belief means that Jews, among others, will be damned to suffer the Final Judgment, and yet they ally with these loons. The cynicism never ceases to astonish.

      And Shana Tova to all who celebrate.

      Reply
      1. JMH

        Huckabee, as ambassador, is charged to represent the interests of the US to the government of Israel. He not only fails he subverts those interests. But he is not really interested in “this world” but in his delusions. What is that phrase? Ah yes, useful idiot.

        Reply
        1. Wukchumni

          I was forced to watch Fox News at my physical therapy, and there’s Huckabee pitching vitamin supplements on tv commercials.

          Reply
      1. Adam Eran

        From an earlier superintendent of education in Texas: “If English was good enough for Jesus, it’s good enough for me.”

        Reply
  2. Wukchumni

    The flag is high, our ranks are closed
    The soldiers of God march with silent solid steps
    Comrade shot by the red front and reaction
    March in spirit with us, Charlie in our ranks
    The street is free for the bible battalions
    The street is free for the Dominionism Troopers
    Millions full of hope, look at our flag lapel pins
    The day breaks for freedom and for dread
    For the last time the call will now be sounded
    For the struggle now we all stand ready
    Soon will fly Trump’s henchmen over every street
    Our slavery will last only a short time longer
    The flag is high, our ranks are closed
    The evang menace march with silent solid steps
    Comrade shot by the red front and reaction
    Charlie march in spirit with us in our ranks

    Horst Wessel Lied

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7pw9_EMGfI&list=RDD7pw9_EMGfI

    Reply
      1. John Wright

        One can wonder if Loomer is predicting another catastrophic USA response.

        9/11 was launched by 19 young men with airplane tickets and box cutters for a few hundred thousand dollars.

        As a consequence, the USA launched the war in terror, spending an long term estimated $8.8trillion in Afghanistan and Iraq alone, but making some in the USA wealthy.

        And it is continuing.

        Where are the wise men and women in the USA?

        Are they another casualty of the war on terror?

        Reply
    1. ChrisFromGA

      I really don’t like the trend to turn this fellow into some sort of religious martyr. It’s another lie.

      I have no idea what Charlie Kirk was like in his private life, obviously. He may have been Mother Theresa for all I know. But in public, he presented himself as a political figure, and in all the videos I have seen of him engaging with students, he stuck to political topics.

      Contrast this with the life of Jesus, who repudiated politics and the notion that he was a political messiah.

      He was killed for his political, not religious beliefs. If some are saying otherwise, they’re dangerous demagogues who need to be denounced in the strongest possible terms.

      Reply
      1. Ben Panga

        According to one of the speakers yesterday (Jack Pobosiec) “Western civilization was saved through Charlie’s sacrifice”.

        Reply
      2. converger

        Political vengeance, HellDiver war on giant bugs, message from God under the Banner of Heaven?

        Actually, we still have no idea why Tyler Robinson killed Charlie Kirk. The silence is deafening.

        Reply
        1. Wukchumni

          All we have is the Governor of Utah claiming he was a lefty, and the clinging to the trans roommate tale, but oddly just the one photo that doesn’t look trans to me, of said roommate.

          Reply
    2. cgregory

      A local Kirk rally speaker compared him to Abraham Lincoln. I think we should.

      Both of them were killed before they could undertake their next big mission. For Lincoln, it was binding up the wounds of a ravaged nation; for Kirk, it was ripping the lid off Donald Trump.

      It is little known that behind the scenes Kirk hated Trump. Even though he publicly praised him and fawned to gain TPA ascendancy over Ben Shapiro and his CPAC, Kirk— who had never been unfaithful to his wife, had never been divorced, never raped a woman, never consorted with teenage prostitutes, always went to church, was a good father to his children, never cheated a worker of his due— hated Trump for doing all of that.

      He’d been collecting evidence and was ready to start calling Trump to account. As in Lincoln’s case, there was someone who felt he had to be stopped. It is hardly a coincidence that the killer was an acolyte in CPAC. What did Ben Shapiro know, and when did he know it?

      As patriots, we need to finish the work Charlie Kirk was about to launch upon, the cause to which he gave the last full measure of devotion. To prevent the realization of Kirk’s dream, CPAC’s agents will seek to focus the nation’s attention to his past. Let us resolve not to be distracted by their efforts.

      Reply
        1. cgregory

          It’s something we need to have Kirk’s followers investigate. It’s stuff like this that made Cokie Roberts a great investigative journalist.

          Reply
  3. OIFVet

    If most of the people who claim that the Kirk “memorial” was spreading the word of Christ are Christians, then I must be Martian.

    And yes, viewed from this side of the pond the “memorial” was a grotesque show of authoritarian designs dressed in the flag and carrying the cross (literally).

    Final observation: crowds of diverse youngs were not in evidence. The crowd was rather more aged and monochromatic.

    Reply
    1. DJG, Reality Czar

      OIFVet: Yep. Yep. Yep. First, the idea that Charlie Kirk, the “back row kid” from upper-middle-class Arlington Heights, was an apostle humbly spreading the word of God through his campus visits is preposterous.

      Second, all of the public testimony to Jesus is a tad off-putting. As esteemed commenter vao, who, I believe, lives in Germany, puts it in a comment from early this morning:

      “Because after all, neither Trump, Hegseth, or Kennedy can really play the role, while other figures with a greater aura like Musk or once popular like Bannon fell out with MAGA. The weird assassination of a young, presentable demagogue influencer undoubtedly MAGA-compatible but without any real political power is a jackpot for them.”

      The rumors about Catholicism are just rumors. U.S. Catholicism has for years had an inferiority complex, wanting desperately to be part of the Protestant power structure. Many of the Christercrats don’t consider Catholics to be Christians and certainly have never seen a Bulgarian Orthodox Church. Expect instead more enforced singing of all 57 verses of “Amazing Grace.”

      “From this side of the pond,” Mediterranean adjacent, I’d say that the funeral was the usual rebuilding of reputation (“But Uncle Joe only lovingly beat Aunt Trisha”), an exercise in collective irresponsibility (“We’re the Elect”), and the usual U.S. avoidance of death (“He will pass into a statue in the Halls of Congress and later become a video game. Amen.”).

      So: A warning to USanians. No, theocracy isn’t on the horizon. J.D. Vance and his pals in the Francisco Franco wing of Catholicism are a political problem. No one considers Trump a religious person (he’s a Francisco Franco Presbyterian). Erika Kirk may have forgiven publicly, but Turning Points is a political organization geared up for a turn ever farther right.

      What is to be done? Politically.

      Reply
      1. Wukchumni

        Here in Godzone* (population 146k) they built the largest Catholic parish church* in the country across the street from a sleek ultra modern evang MAGAmegachurch. That couldn’t be mere happenstance on Caldwell Ave.?

        *Visalia was recently ranked the dumbest place in the country, and I can attest to how much they love their religion, coincidence happens.

        ** done in early California Mission*** style, given what we know of how they treated the locals back in the day, an odd choice.

        *** every kid in school in Cali had to make a mission when they were around 10, it was this odd right of passage and as far as many of us got in regards to a future in architecture.

        Sugar cubes made for excellent walls, and it was all about penne pasta for roof tiles.

        Reply
        1. TimH

          Hey Wuk, I’d be less worried about dumb:

          Thu, April 24, 2025
          Visalia is once again among the worst in the nation for ozone and particle pollution, harmful pollutants and the “main ingredient in smog” that experts say millions more Americans were exposed to nationwide in a new report.

          The American Lung Association released its State of the Air report for 2025, examining the levels of air pollution across the United States based on data compiled by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for 2021-2023, the most recent period of nationwide, publicly available data. The report looks at two of the “most widespread and dangerous” air pollutants: fine particles and ozone.

          Visalia ranked No. 2 in the American Lung Association’s 25 worst cities for ozone, No. 2 in year-round particle pollution, and No. 3 in short-term particle pollution.

          Reply
          1. Wukchumni

            I share the same shitty air, but thankfully was exposed to massive amounts of smog in LA in the 60’s and 70’s, so have built up a massive immunity, my Superpower if you will.

            They fixed what ailed LA, but you can’t fix stupid.

            Reply
      2. mrsyk

        Maybe, just maybe, the dogs won’t eat the dog food. Slaughtering children for the greater good is going to be a tough sell. Will this hobble Turning Points’ momentum? Will they be able to navigate around this enormous elephant in the room? I’m having my doubts.
        An aside, I did not know Marco Rubio was a skilled public speaker.

        Reply
      3. OIFVet

        USian megachurch religiosity certainly has a different feel than that practiced in the small old churches here in the Balkans, and especially from the tiny stone chapels doting the footpaths of the hills and high mountains in Bulgaria and Greece, where a traveler can stop to rest, light a candle and commune with his god through no intermediary but the light coming in through the tiny stained glass windows to illuminate the icons and the carved altar. And when there’s a storm up in the mountains, they provide quite literal shelters from the storm. I suppose there are similar chapels in the Apennines.

        In any case, even as an agnostic the megachurch evangelism of the US feels very much un-Christian and repudiation of Christ’s teachings. Perhaps that explains why the reactions to the “memorial” from religious acquaintances here basically amount to polite revulsion.

        Reply
        1. The Rev Kev

          That is quite a revelation about those small stone chapels. They provide shelter for a traveler, protect people from mountain storms and I am guessing that the chapel function is not an isolated one but is part of the warp and woofs of those people’s social lives. Communing with god does not mean that it has to be in a big building with the whole village attending and a priest running things but can be done in the privacy of those stone chapels.

          Reply
          1. OIFVet

            Well, being unfortunately on Muskified Twitter, I get the impression that American evangelicals want God’s vengeance upon their perceived enemies, not justice based upon the laws of the land as administered by judges and juries. It’s basically akin to the Taliban and Sharia law, and it’s obviously instilled by megachurches and online bubbles for political ends.

            It’s so very different from the peace that one finds when in one of these chapels. It’s very un-Christ-like to instill rage and desire for vengeance…

            Reply
        2. ChrisFromGA

          The latest trend is that megachurches are emulating corporate America, complete with “metrics” and “growth strategies.” Throw in hostile takeovers of smaller, dying congregations.

          It’s grow or die, and get big.

          It’s all about putting butts in seats, or more to the point, mammon in the collection plates.

          Reply
          1. OIFVet

            Merchants have taken over the house of God. It would be very amusing to watch evangelicals if Christ were to come down and clean house..

            Reply
          2. Wukchumni

            Charlie’s last stand prior to UVU was at the evang MAGAmegachruch: Visalia First-which also sounds like a bank and if we’re talking prosperity gospel, why not combine both?

            Reply
            1. ChrisFromGA

              Hey, I think you’re on to something. Megachurches already sell merch, coffee, books, and conferences in posh locales.

              The Bank of Jesus! It’s an idea whose time has come.

              Reply
                1. Jeff H

                  I heard someone say something to the effect that you don’t really have to sell a good idea cause people will just steal it. That website looks like pro marketing with too big a budget.

                  Reply
                1. ChrisFromGA

                  Extra bonus – Megachurches, by chartering themselves as banks, would be eligible for Big Bailouts from the taxpayers, should they fall on hard times, let’s say due to the pastor emulating Jimmy Swaggart.

                  Reply
        3. lyman alpha blob

          I went inside one of those chapels for the first time earlier this year when traveling in Greece with my very religious mother. It was in a pretty isolated area and I was surprised to find such a nice altar covered with beautiful icons inside. Some people had left bottles of oil as offerings and we threw a few coins into the offering plate. Have been assaulted by the faux Xtianity of the megachurches with their prosperity gospel in the US whose influence is difficult to avoid even if you don’t attend church yourself, visiting that little chapel was one of the highlights of the trip for this agnostic.

          Reply
        4. Socal Rhino

          I note that these dispensationalist leaders (not necessarily the same as mega church members) generally cite passages from the Jewish Torah and never the words attributed to Jesus of Nazareth in the Christian gospels of the New Testament. (The only recent references to the words of Jesus I’ve seen came from Pope Leo, so good for him.) Would be odd to hear Huckabee tell people to love their neighbor, or tell the meek they will inherit the earth, or warn his followers that it would be easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Or describe how the only mention of Jesus being angry was when he denounced the infiltration of commerce into his father’s house of worship.
          Or tell people their prayers should be made in a closet because god hears them anywhere, not publicly so others will think them pious. For example.

          Reply
          1. Darthbobber

            He got pretty pissed off at a fig tree.

            And I believe “serpents and generation of vipers” was directed at those unimpressed by his preaching.

            Reply
            1. Lefty Godot

              “I come not to bring peace, but a sword” is another popular line from J.C. The one thing you can count on from the Bible is that it contradicts itself in multiple places and that characters in it can be found talking out of both sides of their mouth. It’s a compilation that different people added to and subtracted from over the course of its life. And commentaries and exegeses can warp things even further away from whatever was intended in the original, which itself may have been several oral tale tellers having their recitations blended together. The Passion narratives may very well have come from writers’ scribbled impressions of a mystery play that was staged by early followers of the cult, so you can imagine how variants arose there.

              Reply
              1. Socal Rhino

                It helps if you include the context and don’t lift phrases out of context. The quote about bringing a sword instead of peace continues..because he has come to set family members against one another. The clear meaning is that his message is intended to be disruptive, not perpetuate the status quo. As when he tells a wealthy man to give away his possessions and follow him. He represents a break from tradition.

                Agree that the words attributed to Jesus were written down after his death from a variety of sources. Scholarship generally agrees that Mark was written earliest, followed by Mathew, Luke, and John.

                I am not suggesting that anyone accept their authenticity, but if you are a self-described Christian as are many in the public square, it’s kinda given that you do (whether literally or metaphorically) and rather odd if your religious references are almost exclusively from Jewish sacred literature.

                Reply
            2. Socal Rhino

              He did not express anger at the fig tree. He said it would never bear any more fruit.

              The serpents and vipers quote was directed at religious leaders who came to witness his baptism. He asked who warned them of coming wrath. As in, you have no use for my teaching why come now?

              But the larger point is, gospel means “good news.” So why do self described recipients of the good news almost exclusively quote from the Torah?

              Reply
      4. Carolinian

        Maybe the true Trump/Kirk connection was via the church of weird haircuts. The Helmer up in Links suggests that Trump is falling apart and that it’s not just a Dem oppo talking point.

        Trump’s facial disfigurement first became obvious with the droop on the right side of his face during his appearance at the Pentagon on September 11. A week later, when Trump was in the UK, the symptom continued to appear but it is evidently under greater control. Cosmetologists and medical experts are sure the symptom is not of a botox failure. The most likely cause, the sources believe, is Bell’s Palsy. This is a non-fatal neurological condition of uncertain cause. There is no record in Trump’s White House Physician reports that he has suffered Bell’s Palsy

        Helmer suggests Stephen Miller is making all the decisions and maybe some of the tweets as well. The movie Dave seems to have carried over from the last admin to this new one.

        Maybe.

        Reply
      5. erstwhile

        As for american catholics wanting to be part of the protestant power structure in america, just wait till you get some catholics on the supreme court. They’ll show ‘em what’s right, and what’s not, you betcha.

        Reply
    2. t

      I have yet to see any memoriam from his early days of wearing diapers in a playpen on campus to own the libs at the behest of rich old right wingers who were furious with their children and grandchildren for questioning anything.

      Reply
  4. DJG, Reality Czar

    Rome gloats as France becomes Italy. Giorgio Leali. Politico being Politico.

    Poor Giorgio slips at the end: “Both are currently saddled with more than €3 trillion of public debt. But Italy — while also guilty of letting things slip during the pandemic with its notorious “superbonus” tax credit scheme — has done a better job of correcting its course in the last two years.”

    Notorious? To Meloni. Giorgio slips and reveals his Berlusconesque biases. In fact, the superbonus was designed to fuel the construction industry, which it did. Effectively. It was Keynesian economics, very strictly applied to real estate and the purchase of new appliances.

    Truly, or untruly, Politico should try for better propaganda.

    Reply
  5. The Rev Kev

    ‘Laura Loomer
    @LauraLoomer
    We will have another 9/11 in our country. Probably within the next 6 months to a year.
    And when we do, it will be because the people who have been put in charge of combatting terrorism in America are too afraid to say ISLAMIC TERRORISM.
    Don’t say I didn’t warn you.’

    Yeah, It would be Laura Loomer saying this. Made a mistake and went into her Wikipedia entry-

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

    Took me half an hour to climb out of that particular rabbit hole. And yet she has Trump’s ear.

    Reply
    1. DJG, Reality Czar

      Rev Kev: The part about her family background and education is a real, errrr, pastiche.

      And yet, proof that theocracy cannot arrived in the U S of A:
      “Loomer disapproved of the selection of Pope Leo XIV, who she described as “Just another Marxist puppet in the Vatican” and “anti-Trump, anti-Maga, pro-open Borders, and a total Marxist like Pope Francis”.[208][209]

      Dumb as a doorknob, as we used to say in Chicago.

      Reply
    2. pjay

      Against my better judgment I took your bait Rev. I started reading her Wikipedia entry and just couldn’t stop. It’s a real tour-de-force. I’ve been watching key individuals and organizations on the Right for decades. In terms of sheer right wing lunacy, Laura Loomer is hard to top. And yet as you say – and this is the scary part – she has Trump’s ear and seems to be influential.

      Reply
      1. t

        On the Chapo Traphouse podcast, Felix once said it wouldn’t surprise him of we found out she’s spent the last year living in her car.

        Stuck with me because, who knows?

        Does the wiki spend any time on the many times she has threatened people?

        Reply
  6. The Rev Kev

    ‘Netanyahu’s Vision for Israel’s Future Is Not Sparta, It’s Something Worse”

    ‘As prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu always dreamed of an Israel free of U.S. restraints and conditions’

    What restraints? What conditions? Netanyahu is just like Zelensky – ‘Ehh, give me money. Give me weapons.’ and that is exactly what the US does.

    Reply
  7. DJG, Reality Czar

    General strike in Italy. Support for Palestine is the theme. Appunti.

    Here in the Chocolate City, Mondays are normally somewhat slow because most of the stores and shops close Monday morning and reopen only around 3:00 p.m. Today, 22 September, the autumnal equinox, is complicated because it started raining yesterday at 17 00 and continued till 10 00 this morning.

    Conveniently, that pause in the rain arrived just before the second demonstration of the day, at 10 30, in front of the Stazione Porta Nuova. When I arrived, around 10 15, there were already about 3,000 persons milling around and chatting. Italians are good at milling around and chatting.

    We finally stepped off about an hour later, heading roughly eastward on Corso Vittorio Emanuele toward the Mighty Po. Progress was very slow. The crowd was a mix of all ages, although not many toddlers. Drizzle doesn’t faze the Piedmontese, but if it drizzles, they don’t bring the little kids to the demos. Otherwise, a big contingent of high-school students and many university students. Plenty of the 6-to-12 set, too.

    Italian demonstrations in general are lightly policed compared to U.S. demos, where the police line the sidewalks and “photographers” (who?) are lined up taking images. Today, there were police at the tail end of the demo, at the front of the demo, and at a couple major intersections.

    The demo turned down Via Madama Cristina, past the market I frequent for vegetables. I hived off at Corso Marconi, because I was getting hungry from so much revolution. When I turned around, I was surprised to discover how much the parade had grown — I’d now estimate 8,000.

    At Via Madama Cristina and Via Baretti, there was much cheering. I looked up, and an older woman was on a balcony waving a Palestine banner. When you’ve lost la nonna…

    Another demo is scheduled for 18 00 at Piazza Castello. I will report again later.

    All to the good, and a reminder that not everything in the world is highly public Tartuffian funerals in Arizona.

    Reply
  8. mrsyk

    “But you said the ice was going to disappear in 10 years!” Real Climate

    Sigh. Defense built on straight line extrapolation. Does not once mention El Nino. Compare the Summer Arctic Sea Ice Extant Anomalies graph in the article to the ONI – 1990 – Present graph found here. Note the period between early ’16 and mid ’23 is dominated by La Nina’s cooling hand (La Nina contributes to cooler temperatures). Also fails to mention freshwater produced from melting ice and the slowing of the AMOC, which also mask rising temperatures regionally.

    Reply
  9. Ben Panga

    TikTok’s Algorithm to Be Secured by Oracle in Trump-Backed Deal (Bloomberg via archive)

    Owners of the US-based TikTok would lease a copy of the algorithm from ByteDance that Oracle would then retrain “from the ground up,” according to the official.
    Data from US users would be stored in a secure cloud managed by Oracle

    Plastic Surgery victim and arch Zionist Ellison has suddenly become a powerful player in media old and new.

    Everywhere I go I see slack-faced humans scrolling 10 second videos. It’s like they are hypnotized or lobotomized, just allowing this fractured crap to pour into their minds.

    Ellison now controls the biggest hose.

    Reply
    1. raspberry jam

      RIP to the genre of tiktok “POV you’re a Hamas fighter about to find out why the US has no universal health care”

      Reply
  10. Wukchumni

    Had Thanksgiving dinner at the Silver City Resort in Mineral King on Saturday with about 30 others, and I know what you’re thinking, isn’t that cheating having a couple of Thanksgivings?

    The resort closes in late October, so they’ve traditionally jumped the gun, and this was the first one held in the last 7 years on account of fires & floods, not necessarily in that order.

    They did a real bang up job, a feast of friends and food.

    Reply
  11. The Rev Kev

    “Slack threatened to delete nonprofit coding club’s data if it didn’t pay $50k in a week”

    ‘Slack sent a nonprofit hacking club for teens a demand for $50,000, payable within a week, and threatened to delete the club’s message archive if it did not pay.’

    Yeah, those kids learned an extremely valuable lesson when this shakedown was attempted. One guy said-

    ‘This experience has taught us that owning your data is incredibly important, and if you’re a small business especially, then I’d advise you move away too’

    Moving forward I do not think that they will let themselves get into a position where some corporation can threaten to delete their messages with it’s institutional knowledge ever again. So it’s good that they learned this lesson when young. So why did Slack do this? I suspect that it was all to achieve some bs quarterly aims so that somebody can earn themselves a bonus.

    Reply
    1. vao

      That move by Slack is reminiscent of the new licensing terms that Broadcom imposed on users of VMware — generally more onerous and restrictive, customers with previous “perpetual licenses” in particular getting thoroughly shafted — thus sending SMEs and small customers scurrying to find some other providers of software for virtual machines under acceptable conditions.

      Reply
    2. Jason Boxman

      It’s hard to emphasis how much Slack is like Email^2 in many tech organizations today. And much knowledge is buried in side it. This makes maintaining any kind of internal knowledge sharing a challenge, because leaving information somewhere in a Slack thread isn’t documentation. Slack threads themselves are a mess. And you can attach documents and links to Slack channels. And Slack has “canvas” now, which is like an embedded Word or Google Doc.

      It’s insidious. Probably worse than your entire organization living inside SharePoint.

      And this doesn’t even get to the fact that you can be always-on Slack, on all your devices, and always get pinged on Slack, moving it well beyond email in terms of distraction.

      Reply
  12. ProNewerDeal

    Aware of any imperative “how-to” knowledge Sep 2025 update on mitigating Covid risk for Americans, using the “swiss-cheese” multifaceted approach, including

    1 How to obtain the Novavax 2025-26, is a presription needed, & it is covered by health insurance?

    2 What is the status of inhaled Covid vaccines? Is it relatively superior to Novavax 2025-26, in terms of providing immunity longer or in terms of risk reduction during the limited time it is protective? If an existing inhaled Covid vaccine is far superior to Novavax 2025-26, could it potentially be logical to medical tourist travel to obtain this vaccine if one has the money/time to do so?

    3 Any recommendation of Vendor/SKUs for N95 masks based on testing studies?

    4 Any recommendation on prophylactic use of daily vitamins like C/D/Quercetin/etc as mentioned on FLCCC Alliance “I Prevent” protocol, including on particular SKUs for vitamins.

    5 Is “I vitamin” prophylactic use advisable? If so, what frequency say twice per week? Is it possible to obtain without prescription in certain states like TN? What pharma/vendor SKU to use?

    6 For personal home & indoor worksite office, is a HEPA filter or Corsi-Rosenthal box superior? Any recommendation on SKU or local mutual aid org that teaches Corsi-Rosenthal box construction?

    7 Any practical advice on persuading household members to take Covid risk reduction seriously?

    8 Possibly other Covid risk mitigation factors I did not consider?

    Reply
    1. Skip Intro

      Some nasal sprays, like Covixyl, Profi, and more recently antihistamine Astepro have research indicating some ability to prevent infection.

      Reply
      1. Ann

        Nasal sprays are good. Don’t use Enovid because it’s Israeli. Make your own carrageenan nasal spray, or buy some. Iodine nasal spray is also good.

        Mask up everywhere you go. Spray your nose before you go inside, and again after you leave. When you get home, rinse and gargle with a mouthwash that contains cetylpyridinium chloride, just look on the label.

        Reply
    2. Adam Eran

      If your HVAC has a filter, MERV 13 or Hepa is helpful (also reduces allergies and dusting)

      JFYI, I’ve tried Walgreens, CVS and Kaiser for Novavax. All three list it in their offered vaccine lists, none have it in stock.

      Reply
      1. Skip Intro

        I believe the new Novavax, Nuvaxovid, is due out mid-October. I saw a press release or something, but can no longer find it.

        Reply
    3. Ann

      ProNewerDeal:

      4. Quercetin. This works for my MCAS (Mast Cell Activation Syndrome) along with PEA (palmitoylethylolamide) and prevents virus’ ability to attach to receptors. I have not had COV-19.

      PEA – must be “ultramicronized”, not “micronized”. Take 200mg TID (three times a day).

      Quercetin – Do not take plain quercetin because it is so poorly absorbed it’s useless. Believe me, I’ve tried. There are three ways to increase absorption. One is to pair it with bromelain (from pineapple) but that does nothing for me. Two is liposomal quercetin, which is quercetin molecules wrapped in a lipid. It works, but it’s hella expensive. Three is enzymatically modified quercetin (EMIQ) by Natural Factors. Works and cheap cheap cheap. I can find it online in Canada for $18 in Canuckistan dollars for 60 capsules. Take two 50mg capsules with each meal and two at bedtime.

      Save some “I-vitamin” for yourself if you catch it and take the recommended dose at the first sign of severe sore throat. I wouldn’t do it for prophylaxis. I have some, but have never had to use it. With MCAS I catch anything and everything that goes around. But with Quercetin and PEA I have not caught anything in six years. Which is good, because whatever I catch, sans an immune system, would probably kill me.

      Reply
  13. hayrake

    H-1B visas
    When I was working at the CDC (25 years ago)congress would add money to our budget for creating software needed for our work. However, they would not allow us to hire more people to do this work – did not authorize more FTE’s (full time equivalent) . We were compelled to voluntarily use contractors and I believe congress specified suitable ones.
    So the CDC was not able to develop in-house expertise for these purposes. We could work through the contractor and they’d send over a candidate for us to evaluate. Most probably could program at a moderate level but had no subject matter expertise. Ginning out a CRUD (create, read, update and delete) app is a long way from designing and debugging a system of data collection from multiple locations, consolidating it, analyzing and so on.
    Needless to say we paid a lot for these folks. The programmer probably got a fraction of that and the contractor got the bulk.
    So, by laying on the $100,000 probably wont go down well with the congress-connected contractors.

    Reply
  14. The Rev Kev

    “‘Involved sequentially’: leopard sharks observed mating for first time in wild have threesome”

    ‘Then the males lost all their energy and lay immobile on the bottom’

    Looks like most males are the same everywhere. :) Maybe the guy who took the video could add a soundtrack to it. How about some Barry White?

    Reply
  15. Ksum Nole

    Surgeon calls Charlie Kirk ‘man of steel’ — reveals ‘miracle’ factor that likely prevented more from being hurt New York Post

    Same surgeon comfirmed that Jeffrey Epstein miraculously killed himself, just like the OpenAI whistleblower that Tucker Carlson and Sam Altman recently talked about.

    Reply
    1. fjallstrom

      Apparently Kirk’s bones were so strong that it stopped a rifle bullet – and it stopped the bullet just under the skin. Must be some divine force field action going on there.

      I am glad to see that the New York Post’s commenters seems to be calling this out for what it is.

      Reply
      1. JMH

        I was in the army many years ago so the sound of a 30.06 … the M-1 was a 30.06 … is familiar. When I saw the video of the shooting, I said that does not. sound like a 30.06. Upon reflection I thought of distance, the recording device, and other elements that I am hazy at best in enumerating could contribute to the sound being what it was. But this morning in Larry Johnson’s Sonar 21 post he says it did not sound like a 30.06. He is an expert with vast experience. The notion that a 30.06 hitting soft tissue would not exit also seems fantastic. As I said, I am not expert, but this does not add up.

        Reply
    2. Yeti

      Man of steel? A 30.06 165 grain bullet (very common weight) has 2,000 ft/lbs of energy at 150 yards which is about the distance the claimed shot was. A Mike Tyson punch is reputed to have almost 1,200 ft/lbs of force. For Kirk to have absorbed all that energy and not be knocked off his chair is incredulous. Finding a bullet under the skin is common on a deer or elk sized animal, I have found many on animals I have shot. That is usually after the bulletin has passed through a rib or two and on far side of entrance wound. Many times the bullet will pass right through the animal leaving a rather large exit wound. I just saw a video claiming that the shot came from behind Kirk’s right entering behind his right ear. Given the wound from his neck this is more plausible that being shot from the front left. Unfortunately the video I watched has been removed by YouTube.

      Reply
  16. Ben Panga

    Documents offer rare insight on Ice’s close relationship with Palantir (Guardian)

    “Palantir is the corporate backbone of Ice that the agency is relying on for surveillance and deportations,” said Hannah Lucal, a data and tech fellow at Just Futures Law. “Palantir has been used in Ice’s day-to-day operations for data surveillance around deportations and that’s been true for over a decade.”…

    …One March 2020 training document detailed how Palantir software allowed Ice agents to search across data from the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (Sevis), which at the time contained 4.9 million records “of non-immigrant students, exchange visitors and their dependents” dating back to 2016. Another told Ice agents they could enhance their investigations by using phone numbers or names extracted from phones the agents unlocked using technology from Cellebrite, an Israeli forensic software company that has had a contract with Ice since 2019…

    …Both the Falcon app and another Palantir-built platform, Investigative Case Management (ICM), enabled Ice to access a network of federally and privately owned databases of people’s information. Ice agents were encouraged to upload as much data as possible from field operations into Falcon and to share it with other Ice officials…

    …One guide detailed how to import digital files from phones that agents had confiscated at US borders, or obtained in the course of arrests and had unlocked using Cellebrite technology. The guide indicated agents could search for phone numbers and names extracted from those phones to see whether they came up in databases already accessible via Palantir platforms….

    What’s good for the Gaza goose is good for the Homeland gander.

    Coming soon to an enemy of St Charlie of Gilead near you!

    Reply
  17. Jason Boxman

    From Data investigation: Childhood vaccination rates are backsliding across the U.S.

    Why public schools care about chronic absenteeism

    Student enrollment in Saint Louis Public Schools has been declining as a growing number of people are moving out of the city or choosing to send their children to charter schools.

    That puts tremendous financial strain on the school system. Average daily attendance primarily determines school funding, according to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. And the board of education is considering a proposal to close half of its schools for the 2026-2027 school year.

    If only they cared about COVID spreading as much as they did about basic immunizations, which are themselves obviously crucial, and both should receive equal attention, not just the latter.

    Of course, COVID doesn’t come up; NBC didn’t ask or the parents don’t know.

    Lucy “could potentially die from one of these diseases because people were unwilling to vaccinate and create a community where those who are at high risk could be protected,” Emily Pratt said.

    At the moment, the Pratts allow Lucy to live her life like other kids: go to school, participate in sports, play with friends.

    Sigh.

    Reply
  18. The Rev Kev

    “Netanyahu Asked Trump to Halt Egyptian Military Buildup in Sinai, Source Says”

    Like a little kid. ‘Daddy! Daddy! Egypt is doing stuff that I don’t like. Make him stop.’

    Reply
    1. ChrisFromGA

      Trump can pull off a two-fer at the U.N. meeting – he can simultaneously meet with both the President of Israel (Netanyahu) and Syria (Netanyahu.)

      I’m sure that Trump will hear Bibi’s cries.

      Reply
    1. lyman alpha blob

      An admission that they screwed up? The article didn’t mention how much immigrant workers would be paid, but I did find this – https://flag.dol.gov/wage-data/adverse-effect-wage-rates

      If I’m reading that correctly, the chart shows the minimum wage that must be offered to H-2A workers in each state. I do find it hard to believe that immigrant workers are being paid $15-$20/hr depending on the state, not that those wages are in danger of putting those who earn them in the middle class any time soon.

      Of course my preferred solution to this would be to either have smaller farms where so much extra labor is just not needed, or barring that, have the C-suite types at ConAgra learn how to use a hoe.

      Reply
    2. Lee

      Tackling inflation through super exploitation. Lest we forget, as someone observed, “only nine meals separate civilization from anarchy.”

      Reply
  19. Jason Boxman

    Amazon’s Prime dark pattern finally on trial

    Did Amazon Trick Customers Into Prime? A Jury Will Decide. (NY Times via archive.ph)

    Hopefully the Trump FTC doesn’t skupper this.

    Customers rarely drop Prime, and the subscription feeds shopping habits, said Michael Levin, whose company, Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, has surveyed Amazon shoppers for more than a decade. His firm estimates that Prime members spend twice as much on Amazon compared with non-Prime customers.

    “We can’t stress enough how important Prime is to Amazon’s retail business,” he said in an interview.

    The F.T.C. case centers on the idea of “dark patterns” — whether a website’s design knowingly steers customers into subscriptions they don’t really want or makes it very difficult for them to cancel. The F.T.C. said documents show the process for canceling a Prime membership internally was called Iliad, after the ancient epic poem about the long war between the Greeks and the city of Troy.

    “Rather than simply allowing consumers to cancel, each page of Amazon’s Iliad process bombards consumer with links, offers and other information to remove them from the cancellation flow,” the F.T.C. argued in a court filing last week.

    I have no use of Prime; To this day on any order, Amazon tries to goad you into getting prime.

    I don’t care when things arrive. People are so impatient. Instant gratification. America! I re-select the slower free option and move on.

    But it’d be very easy to succumb to this accidentally.

    It starts with “we’re giving you a 30-day free trial of Prime” during order flow with “Try Prime” it a big yellow button and “No thanks” in regular link text. You must click “No thanks” regular link to continue.

    If you skip, you get “Special Offer” in blue box yet again above shipping selection. And Prime Delivery has a big “Fast Free” blue box by it. Certainly not free — you need Prime.

    Of course, Match Group gets off yet again

    But the F.T.C. didn’t actually start looking into Prime until the waning days of the first Trump administration, according to a person familiar with the investigation who was not authorized to speak publicly. Under the second Trump administration, the F.T.C. has continued pursuing the case. This summer it settled with the education technology company Chegg and the dating app Match over similar subscription issues.

    Reply
  20. AG

    re: German illiteracy

    I am not a friend of alarmism. On the other hand I have no relation to this educational sphere. I only remember my mother a former music teacher for children complaining about deteriorating reading skills already 30 years ago.

    From German TELEPOLIS
    use google translate

    20 percent illiterate: Is Germany facing educational collapse?
    https://www.telepolis.de/features/20-Prozent-Analphabeten-Deutschland-vor-dem-Bildungskollaps-10665944.html

    Reply
  21. Kurtismayfield

    RE: Starbucks cup.

    There is no way to know whether the customer asked for that to be written. If they gave their name as Charlie Kirk, it would be on the sticker.

    And this is where the conservative movement has gone? Asking gotcha questions to low paid baristas?

    Reply
  22. Jason Boxman

    A NY Times columnist muses about whether eugenicist Bhattacharya can save the science

    Jay Bhattacharya Wants to Fix Science. Is He in Over His Head? (NY Times OpEd)

    Eugenics

    In the earliest days of Covid, Dr. Bhattacharya became a leading skeptic of lockdowns and of whether the virus was as lethal as health leaders then believed. In October 2020, he co-authored the Great Barrington Declaration, a manifesto that advocated a dramatic shift toward “focused protection” for high-risk people like nursing home patients, while everyone else should “resume life as normal.” Critics called it let it rip.

    (italics theirs)

    Dr. Bhattacharya is at his most compelling, his most charismatic when he hits these notes. Researchers who know him consistently told me that, sure, he bucked the establishment on Covid, but was eminently sane about it, not a rote contrarian. Robert P. George, a Princeton political philosopher and a colleague of both mine and Dr. Bhattacharya’s, told me he is “a person of absolutely impeccable integrity.”
    What comes through as the unifying theme of Dr. Bhattacharya’s pandemic work and his theory for reforming the N.I.H. is this: There is nothing so wrong with science that it can’t be fixed by more and better science, letting all ideas be debated with honesty, smarter cost-benefit analysis and a more rational process.

    Although it is worth noting that NIH is definitely a sick puppy, and wasted a billion dollars learning nothing about long COVID. And that money clearly went to quite a few grubby hands.

    Perhaps the best way to look at the N.I.H. is as a small country. It’s been around since 1887 and has a budget of $48 billion, larger than the defense budget of Taiwan or the entire G.D.P. of Iceland. It has a federalized structure for its dozens of states.

    It even has a stable elite (lab scientists at prestige universities), an insecure elite (grad students and flyover-state scientists), a working class that feels unrepresented (clinicians), and a shadow elite some suspect of really pulling the levers (pharma). It has a mythology of its past glories. It’s anxious that greatness now lies behind it.

    The malaise scholars describe sounds like the problems of a stagnant nation: deeply entrenched interests, lack of political representation and institutions that have lost a clear goal beyond preserving themselves. Notably absent in the class structure of the N.I.H. are patients, who are supposed to be its main beneficiary. No wonder it’s not delivering for them.

    And this is literally not true

    Take Sweden, which figures repeatedly in his public comments as the fabled Country That Got Covid Right — the country that believes in science, the place America could be. In important ways this is true: Sweden wisely avoided the greatest mistake of the pandemic by minimizing school closings. It averted learning losses. It didn’t impose lockdowns.

    I dunno, it seems like the consequences of unmitigated COVID have caught up with Sweden as well

    There is crisis of school attendance in Sweden

    In Sweden, the number of children who are unable to attend school is on the rise, Azernews reports.

    According to the parent network “The Right to Education,” the number of students missing more than half of their classes doubled between 2018 and 2022. Last fall, the National Agency for Education reported that 47,000 students had missed more than a month of school in the previous six months. The issue is particularly severe among children with neuropsychiatric disorders such as ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and autism. Parents attribute the increased absenteeism to reduced funding, larger class sizes, and a lack of sufficient support for these children.

    Doubled, do you say? And this even though schools were not closed?

    And then there’s:

    PISA 2022 Results (Volume I and II) – Country Notes: Sweden

    Average 2022 results were down compared to 2018 in mathematics and reading, and about the same as in 2018 in science.

    In mathematics and reading, the drop in average scores between 2018 and 2022 reversed most of the gains observed between 2012 and 2018: results returned close to those observed in 2012 (the lowest ever observed). In science, the trend remained somewhat more positive over the 2012-2022 period; significant improvements were observed, in particular, among high-performing students.

    Over the most recent period (2018 to 2022), the gap between the highest-scoring students (10% with the highest scores) and the weakest students (10% with the lowest scores) widened in mathematics and science, while it did not change significantly in reading. In mathematics, almost all students became weaker, but low-achievers declined by more than high-achievers did.

    Compared to 2012 the proportion of students scoring below a baseline level of proficiency (Level 2) did not change significantly in mathematics, reading and science.

    I’d say the problem is he is a eugenicist

    The problem with Dr. Bhattacharya is not that he’s cynical, as his critics say. It’s that his theory is naïve about power, and so could easily become a mouthpiece for it. America’s golden age of innovation, backed by levels of public investment that make us the envy of the world, has been nice while it’s lasted. If we want to keep it going, this moment may call less for a fresh infusion of reason than some new animating spirit, not a new Galileo but a new Robert Moses, Carl Sagan, or J. Robert Oppenheimer. Let us hope that Jay Bhattacharya still has it in him. The country needs it.

    Reply
    1. Lee

      Relying on immune system resistance to a particular virus as a genetic selector is really, really dumb if it is meant to promote species “improvement”, and in no way meets the definition of “eugenics”.

      Reply
      1. Jason Boxman

        Stochastic eugenics.

        If you don’t recall, a refresher.

        GBD declaration called for mostly unspecified protections for those considered at risk, while leaving the rest of the population to get COVID as quickly as possible. This conveniently leaves out the fact that we did not know at the time who might be vulnerable and that infection would confer permanent immunity, such that vulnerable people could leave their bunkers.

        Both those premises are false, it was reasonable to conclude that they might be false at the time.

        Public Policy that allows, encourages infection, such that capital can continue without inconvenience is absolutely stochastic eugenics. The Lt Governor of Texas literally said old people should feel privileged to die for the freedom to let capitalism forage freely.

        Older people would rather die than let Covid-19 harm US economy

        But you’re free to disagree in regards to words used to describe this, of course.

        Reply
  23. Tom Stone

    America’s “Elites” show a great deal of confidence in the population management tools being perfected in Gaza, It will be interesting to see how well they scale when applied to the USA.

    Reply
  24. MicaT

    Wholesale electricity prices.
    It’s an interesting article.
    With if I get it right that congestion pricing for moving power around is the biggest cost adder.

    Many people now said that low enough battery prices can essentially change that metric.

    Here is a newer BESS utility battery that comes in at $.014 per kWh. Which is now below the point of transmission congestion pricing. Meaning it’s cheaper to store than to move the electricity.

    This one is from BYD. CATL has some brand new ones as well

    https://www.notebookcheck.net/BYD-doubles-Tesla-Megapack-capacity-with-record-beating-ESS-that-costs-a-cent-per-kWh.1120161.0.html

    Reply
    1. Carolinian

      New Moon based on the same article suggests we’ll all soon be paying our “AI tithe” but that assumes AI doesn’t go the way of Pets.com.

      https://www.moonofalabama.org/2025/09/ai-tithe.html

      Of course the problem is that electricity prices once raised may not descend (due to new construction) so we may be getting the shaft regardless.

      My bill has gone down somewat due, no doubt, to my sterling carbon footprint. Perhaps I can sell Al Gore some carbon credits.

      Reply
    2. TimH

      That ultrafst BYD car has an 80kWh battery, or 107 hp hours. Using the full ~3000 hp, the battery goes from full to flat in 2 minutes, presuming that the capacity is retained at that power draw. I suspect that just doing the test discharged the battery.

      Reply
  25. Lefty Godot

    Due to the influence of Venezuela-backed Islamist COMMUNIST foreign agents on the Liberal Marxist media in our great nation, I am declaring Martial Law and indefinitely suspending Congressional elections scheduled for 2026!

    The radical FAR-LEFT socialist American People cannot be trusted to pick responsible leaders for the next Congress with the current media brainwashing. Until such time as I have eliminated the Iran-backed antisemitic Marxist Democrat Party and removed all Antifa-loving media puppets, elections will be decided by a democratic vote of ChatGPT, Claude, DeepSeek, Copilot, Gemini, Grok and Meta AI. The best minds will decide!

    When the American People have returned to the Bible, sworn allegiance to Israel, and renounced Communist LEFTISM, I will consider modifying my position. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

    /s

    Reply
    1. Wukchumni

      Our Donald, whose Art of the Deal
      hallowed be thy Fame,
      thy kingdom come,
      thy will be done,
      on earth as it is in heaven.

      Give us this day our daily excess.
      And forgive us our trespasses,
      as we forgive none
      who trespass against us.

      And lead us not into temptation,
      Of suing you for all you’re worth.

      Reply
  26. Skip Intro

    File Under “Never believe it until the official denial”:
    The mRNA Vax Nobel winner exhibits unseemly certainty for a scientist, but includes a little lawyerly specificity on what exactly he claims is “Absolutely Impossible” about mRNA spike production exceeding the levels, duration, or location that he expects.

    Reply
    1. marku52

      “Well he would say that wouldn’t he?”

      We have people making vax spike up to 3 years post vax. No cell line lives that long.

      What’s his theory

      Reply
  27. Jason Boxman

    Kind of funny

    Trump’s Tax Cut Is Underwater. Can a ‘Refund Boom’ Save It? (NY Times via archive.ph)

    Republicans are hoping a new name, along with larger refunds for many Americans next year, can buoy an economic agenda that polls show is unpopular.

    But there’s little in the bill that’s going to help anyone, as it is mostly continues existing cuts under the first Trump administration.

    Still, Ms. Rendleman and other experts said it would be an uphill battle to reap significant political rewards from the bill. Many people form their opinions about a large piece of legislation as it is being passed by Congress, not afterward, political consultants said. Despite the new title, the law’s cuts to government benefits like Medicaid, a health care program for the poor, may be the most significant policy change for many Americans, potentially making the law even less popular over time.

    And for many Americans, the tax cuts from the law will not be very large. Much of the legislation is dedicated to extending many of the cuts that Republicans passed in 2017, which were set to expire at the end of the year. The most expensive piece of the law was to simply extend the previous Republican tax cut, which provided its biggest benefits to the wealthy.

    Reply
    1. upstater

      Worth a read (from Wikipedia) “A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East (also subtitled Creating the Modern Middle East, 1914–1922) is a 1989 history book written by Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction finalist David Fromkin, which describes the events leading to the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, and the drastic changes that took place in the Middle East as a result, which he believed led to a new world war that is still continuing.

      I learned a lot from this book.

      Reply
      1. Alan Sutton

        Thank you upstater.

        When Alice posted that link I thought “of course, that’s a no brainer” and was going to mention that book.

        I read it in the early 90s. It’s pretty old now but still, I think, the best explanation of the mess we have there today.

        Highly recommended. I learnt a lot reading that book.

        Reply
    1. AG

      Yes, very odd.
      Garland Nixon pointed this out with Mark Sleboda last week. Stressing that the prosecutor convinced the judge to keep the details on the charges private because they would pose a threat to the national security of the US.
      Nixon said nobody would bother over reporting this tiny, tiny detail…
      Also what Sleboda referenced – the potential Ukraine connection of Robinson via his uncle – appears to gain a bit of traction among some alternative outlets and they are apparently trying to find out if there is more to it than pure speculation.

      Reply
    2. Ben Panga

      The trial started Sept 8th to almost zero media attention.

      My 2c: Routh is guilty as charged and disturbed. Speculation: the media quiet is due to his links to Ukraine.

      That trial does indeed look like a shitshow.

      Reply
      1. lyman alpha blob

        Two weeks ago? !??! I hadn’t heard anything until I ran across that link on yahoo. When I went back to grab it, the story was gone from the homepage and I had to search for it. Amazing that this is getting almost zero attention.

        Reply
        1. Ben Panga

          There were a few stories like this when it started.

          https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ryan-wesley-routh-trial-trump-assassination-attempt-florida-rcna229119

          During the court hearings and in motions, Routh has repeatedly disparaged Trump as a “fragile victim,” an “insecure ego idiot-mad fool” and a “baboon,” and even challenged the president to a golfing duel.

          “A round of golf with the racist pig, he wins he can execute me, I win I get his job. (sorry hillbilly Vance),” Routh said in a recent motion…

          Reply
  28. Jason Boxman

    Retired Lobbyist in Federal Custody in Shooting at ABC Affiliate (NY Times via archive.ph)

    Wowzers

    “For hiding Epstein & ignoring red flags,” the note said, according to prosecutors, apparently referring to the financier and former friend of the president who was found hanged in a jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. The note also appeared to refer to two top F.B.I. officials, Kash Patel and Dan Bongino; Attorney General Pam Bondi; and Charlie Kirk, the right-wing political activist who was assassinated the prior week.

    “Do not support Patel, Bongino, & AG Pam Bondie,” the note added. “They’re next. — C.K. from above.”

    Reply
    1. Ben Panga

      From your link

      Mr. Reichel said it was unclear why the local case had necessitated federal involvement. Gun charges of the sort filed in the case are normally handled at the state level, he said, and the third charge is a federal misdemeanor…

      …Mr. Hernandez Santana had worked for more than 20 years as a legislative advocate for health care, tribal and labor interests, as well as other organizations…

      …his social media accounts had openly expressed opposition to the Trump administration…

      Feds to try and make a terrorism/Antifa/leftist case?

      Reply
  29. amfortas

    9-22-2025 4am

    I am a terrible roofer.
    The roof is the only part of the House That Joe Built that I am disappointed in.
    a 3” rain and theres a few leaks…easily countered with a few well placed buckets.
    But 30”+ in 50 hours?
    The July 4th rain event soaked my whole house, save for my bed, somehow.
    And ive been emptying the place ever since.
    Every stitch of clothing washed and bagged and stored out at the Wilderness Bar.
    Furniture tossed…and all the detritus of the last 7 years since her diagnosis (3 runs to the landfill, so far)
    Now, almost 3 month later, and I have just to mop my room and closet and I can move back in.
    (a strange feature of widowerhood, I live in one room of this house, and spend most of my waking hours outside, with the Bar as the center of my doings)

    the jungle that sprang up after that event is still a work in progress…
    “bindweed”, a native(i guess) Ipomaea(morning glory) sprawling like kudzu over everydamnedthing.
    Hummingbirds dig it, at least.
    Or so they tell me.

    Get paid, today, I hope, for the mowing ive done.
    Almost stepped right into a hidden, hand-dug well…
    and ill treat myself to beer and a steak,
    have a fire to burn up a great pile of that bindweed.
    And sit on my barstump and contemplate all the work yet undone.

    Fall/Winter garden is planted…and i’ll begin moving the tomatoes and peppers in their pots and licktubs into the Lil Greenhouse this week.
    Already captured 4 mantii and tossed them in there to overwinter with me and the frogs that live in the dark painted water barrels(heatsinks).
    Chickens are on strike, due to time of year…as well as from being cross with me for migrating them to the Library Chicken House on this side of road a week ago.
    But I will attempt to rob them here in a minute regardless.
    See if theres enough for a denver omelet.
    Everything but the butter and cheese produced not 50 feet from where I sit.
    But first, I reckon a naked jointwalk down the dirt road is in order.
    because I can
    Look at the winter stars rising in the east.
    Just the breeze and I…and the crickets, mighty gears of the Universe, an incessant roar…
    .

    Reply
    1. Alan Sutton

      Sounds good, except for the bloody roof. You obviously need a new one.

      I remember cooking Morning Glory seeds in my mums kitchen when she wasn’t there 40 odd years ago. There was a rumour they were hallucinogenic and I was keen on all that back then.

      They weren’t. Not sure if yours are the same?

      Reply
  30. AG

    re: Russian MIGs and Estonian airspace

    via Pavel Podvig´s TWITTER

    “Great post from @Etienne_Marcuz on how to think about the violation of Estonian airspace by Russian MiG-31s. Note that Russia, Finland, Latvia and Estonia as part of the Baltic Sea Project Team agreed to 7 flight waypoints between St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad in 2015.”

    https://nitter.poast.org/walberque/status/1970080293508792737#m

    I would question everything that is stated. So even if the info were correct I would want serious people confirming it. Estonians are not to be trusted. Including the allegation that the B-52 approaching St- Petersburg in March 2023 was not violating RU airspace. Was it?

    And besides I believe early in 2022 there was a similiar incident. That´s not mentioned.
    Manipulation by lying, by exaggerating, by omitting.

    Also I would want to check the Russians again in their exact statements.That´s not happening either.

    Apart from the fact that NATO is involved in a war which puts anything these morons are talking about to shame anyway. Violation of airspace? Seriously?

    So what is “great” about this post, mate? That we discuss shooting down Russian fighterplanes?
    What imbeciles…

    p.s. This is highly biased and outdated old stuff by now but since it fits. NATO is expert in airspace violations.

    Crowded Skies and Turbulent Seas: Assessing the Full Scope of NATO-Russian Military Incidents
    Ralph Clem and Ray Finch
    August 19, 2021

    https://warontherocks.com/2021/08/crowded-skies-and-turbulent-seas-assessing-the-full-scope-of-nato-russian-military-incidents/

    Reply

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