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Links 9/27/2025

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Field in the frame: face to face with harlequin toads Nature (Robin K)

Tiny stones rewrite Earth’s evolution story ScienceDaily (Kevin W)

Papering Over History JSTOR (Micael T)

Influencers and Multipliers reinforce political Polarization Max-Planck-Gesellschaft (Paul R)

David Foster Wallace Tried to Warn Us About these Eight Things Honest-Broker (Chuck L). On the impact of screen technology

#COVID-19/Pandemics

Climate/Environment

Where ‘day-zero droughts’ could happen as soon as this decade CNN

Russia’s Wheat Woes: Diesel Costs and Dry Weather Impact Sowing DevDiscourse

How war and drought have resulted in Lebanon’s worst water crisis in decades Arab News

Turkey facing worst drought in over 50 years France24

Japan sets new record for heat-related ambulance transport incidents Manichi

Ocean Acidification officially breaches Planetary Boundary Oceanographic

China?

China launches sweeping probe into Mexican tariffs as trade war widens Financial Times

Why China’s Belt and Road leaves Turkiye in the sidelines The Cradle

Koreas

South Korea resists Trump’s US$350 billion trade demand amid financial crisis fears South China Morning Post

Important:

‘Could collapse entirely’: Bangladesh’s financial system in deep crisis as defaults mount Business Today

Africa

‘In Sudan, it is as if a congenital curse is at work. And the worst is yet to come’ LeMonde

Madagascar imposes curfew after violent protests against water, power cuts Aljazeera

South of the Border

Argentina’s financial crash is the first big defeat for Trump’s global Maga movement Telegraph

European Disunion

German business sentiment unexpectedly drops: Is the ambitious fiscal plan at risk? Euronews

Jail time for Sarkozy: Why the unprecedented sentence over Libya financing? France24

Wasted Capital – How Child Poverty Blocks Talent and Wastes Billions Nachdenkseiten via machine transaltion

Klingbeil calls for “Buy European” – EU remains hesitant Markoskop via machine translation (Micael T)

The Finnish resort of Imatra found itself in millions of dollars of debt after closing its border with Russia Vzgylyad via machine translation (Micael T)

The Confederation of Swedish Enterprise recognizes 5,000 lobby meetings per year Klagget via machine translatoin Micael T)

Old Blighty

Borrowing costs jump again as investors snub UK Government bond auction This is Money

Migrants are eating SWANS and carp stolen from UK parks, Nigel Farage claims The US Sun. resilc: “He’s to up his game to eating children.”

Terrorism case against Kneecap rapper thrown out due to technical error ABC Australia (Kevin W)

Israel v. the Resistance. IMHO a new sign of Israel desperation. I had my VPN set to Chicago. I got a YouTube ad advocating to “buy Israel,” how important it was to Israel businesses and families.

Dozens walk out as Benjamin Netanyahu begins UN speech BBC and Netanyahu vows to ‘finish job’ in Gaza during UN speech as delegates walk out Guardian

US to revoke Colombian president’s visa for remarks at pro-Palestinian protest in New York Anadolu Agency. Childish.

Microsoft revokes cloud services from Israel’s Unit 8200, following +972 exposé +972 Magazine

Amb. Chas Freeman: Al Qaeda Gets a Seat at the UN?! Dialogue Works, YouTube. Important discussion at 6:10, that the recognition of Palestine is the recognition of the Palestinian Authority, which is a quisling regime and did not win the last elections held in Palestine.

Tony Blair proposed as chief of Gaza transitional authority, reports say Middle East Eye (resilc)

Iran sanctions look set to return after last-ditch UN vote France24

New Not-So-Cold War

If NATO downs Russian plane, there will be war — ambassador to France TASS (guurst)

Angry Russia Rejects Europe Threats Tense Moscow Talks; US Calls Military Chiefs; Kiev Fronts Crisis Alexander Mercourist, YouTube. Opening section discusses a dustup reported in Bloomberg.

Crisis Escalation Becomes Euro-Cabal’s Final Meal Ticket Simplicius (Kevin W)

Is Ukraine Preparing a False Flag? Larry Johnson

Nawrocki Proposed A Creative Solution To The Polish-German Reparations Dispute Andrew Korybko

Another Crazy Idea On How To Steal Russia’s Assets: Make EU Taxpayers Pay For It Moon of Alabama (Kevin W)

Moldova bans another opposition party on the eve of elections RT (Kevin W)

Big Brother is Watching You Watch

Anything but safe: Using VPN can bear immense risks DW

Imperial Collapse Watch

What Declines in Reading and Math Mean for the U.S. Work Force New York Times. Resilc: “40 years of underfunded skoolz+, but endless warzzzz everywhere. How does bombing Somalia for 30+ years help???”

A role-playing game at the end of the world: Nihilism and misanthropy Doomscroll via machine translation. Important. This ties into Nat’s recap of communities with far right youth, such as groypers and blackpillers, and their heavy and layered use of irony.

The dawn of the post-literate society James Marriott (Anthony L)

An American divorce will not be peaceful The Hill (resilc)

Trump

The Road to the Camps: Echoes of a Fascist Past Counterpunch (resilc)

Trump moves toward deal to give US an equity stake in company developing Nevada lithium mine Associated Press

Supreme Court allows Trump to withhold $4 billion in foreign aid funding NBC

The gaping hole in the James Comey indictment/a> Vox

MAHA

Harvard’s Public Health Dean Was Paid $150,000 to Testify Tylenol Causes Autism Harvard Crimson

DOGE

The Story of DOGE, as Told by Federal Workers WIRED (resilc)

L’affaire Jeffery Epstein

Who Helped Jeffrey Epstein? Emails Detail His Private Support Network Bloomberg (Chuck L)

Charlie Kirk

U.S. Threatens to Bar Foreigners Over Remarks About Charlie Kirk New York Times

Nexstar, Sinclair to end blackout of Jimmy Kimmel The Hill. Surprised that Sinclair backed down.

Economy

Global debt hits record of nearly $338 trillion, says IIF Reuters

The next big financial crisis may be brewing. Warning signs are already there Guardian

Fed Study: Big Banks Riskier Now Than Before 2008 Crisis NAI 500

US debt investors raise alarm over lending standards Financial Times

AI

Regulating AI hastens the Antichrist, says Palantir’s Peter Thiel The Times (resilc)

Game over for pure LLMs. Even Turing Award Winner Rich Sutton has gotten off the bus Gary Marcus

Many employees are using AI to create ‘workslop,’ Stanford study says The Register

OpenAI shows off massive data center Associated Press (Robin Kash)

The Bezzle

Radio Shack Rebirth May Have Gone Awry In Alleged Ponzi-Like Scheme Hackaday (Paul R)

Guillotine Watch

The Forbes 400 List 2025 – The Richest People in America Ranked Forbes (resilc)

Passenger Awarded $11 Million After Suffering 2 Strokes And American Airlines Failed To Divert Flight Jalopnik (resilc)

Class Warfare

Las Vegas Is Only For Rich People Now. No Wonder It’s Empty. YouTube (resilc)

Laid-Off Tech Workers Say H-1B Crackdown Won’t Help Them Get a Job Wall Street Journal

Government Benefits Are Now 19 Percent of Total Personal Income Michael Shedlock

Writing Their Prison’s History New York Review of Books (Robin K)

Antidote du jour. John U: “Dusty the Adventure Dog in Utah”

And a bonus:

A second bonus:

And a third:

See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.

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140 comments

  1. The Rev Kev

    “Tony Blair proposed as chief of Gaza transitional authority, reports say”

    Wait – that Gaza transitional authority. Is that a reboot of Iraq’s Coalition Provisional Authority? As Paul Bremer is now in his mid-80s he is no longer available for this post so they chose one of the most popular people about – Tony Blair. For the first coupla year he won’t even go to Gaza but will base himself out of Egypt instead. And when a multinational force eventually goes into Gaza, Blair will hitch a ride in the baggage train to take charge. This whole thing already has cluster**** written all over it and the only decisions that Blair will make will be those that financially benefit himself.

    Reply ↓
    3. DJG, Reality Czar

      Rev Kev: Or as some Palestinians who are critical of this boondoggle-in-the-making are saying, A regency under Tony Blair is just British colonialism all over again. And we see how well the Brits did last time.

      I am highly skeptical of the whole shebang, although I am reading that the plan of the day doesn’t call for expelling the Palestinians (mighty white of Tony and the Donald, as we say in U.S. English). Yet we are dealing with people of such colossal greed and of ambitions not backed by talent, so who knows what surprises lie in store?

      Reply ↓
  2. Wukchumni

    ‘Lead me to your takers…’

    Was the first communication between 31/Atlas and the green glow of dead Presidents (only 72% on FRN’s qualify), fins, semollians, sawbucks, double-sawbucks and/or Benjamins.

    From across the universe they had heard of this place where money was conjured out of thin air, and although they had figured out interstellar space travel-this was beyond their ken.

    Reply ↓
    1. The Rev Kev

      Speaking of dead Presidents, did you hear what Trump did at the White House?

      ‘US President Donald Trump unveiled the ‘Presidential Walk of Fame’ at the White House on Wednesday, featuring portraits of all his predecessors…The portraits, displayed in gold frames along the West Wing Colonnade, begin with George Washington and extend to Trump himself.’

      But when those portraits got to Biden, there was just a photograph of an auto-pen-

      https://x.com/MargoMartin47/status/1970899400487539065

      Reply ↓
  3. Louis Fyne

    >>Germany’s Robert Bosch ….

    the top-level holding company for Bosch auto parts companies is a foundation set up by the founding family long ago. Much like a large part of German industry, the companies are privately held and were generally able to ride out the whims of quarter to quarter market vagaries. (compare/contrast to something like publicly-held Siemens).

    If it’s gotten the headline dislocations have gotten this bad, it’s even worse underneath. ironically one of the beneficiaries of Brussels’ war on Russia is relatively low-wage USA southern right to work states

    Reply ↓
    2. AG

      The Robert Bosch Foundation is highly russophobe.

      In Germany it is controlling segments of cultural (e.g. film, literature, journalism) and science funding for Eastern European projects. The advisory board has only member concerned with cultural matters, Timothy Snyder.

      The Foundation itself is employing 170 people. Among such sections as “democracy”, “good kindergartens and schools”, “integration” and “peace” has only one section dedicated to a particular country, “Ukraine”.

      Wiki Engl.:
      “(…)
      Aid to Ukraine

      The Robert Bosch Stiftung operates in Ukraine across three key areas: international education, mediation, and cultural exchange between countries (…) mutual understanding between Ukrainian and German societies. (…) “Ukraine Calling” initiative was designed for German politicians, journalists, economists (…) deepen their knowledge of Ukraine. (…)
      In 2022, shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the foundation announced its support for Ukraine and launched an Emergency Assistance Program.(…)Solidarity Fund for Ukraine (…) raising a total of €1,025,000. These funds were used to procure emergency aid kits, protective equipment, dry food, evacuation tools, solar power stations, radios, and laptops.
      (…)NGO Alliance4Ukraine(…)the Optima school with a €500,000 grant. This funding enabled over 100,000 Ukrainian students, including high school graduates (…) VILNO educational program, aimed at helping veterans of the Russo-Ukrainian war reintegrate The program is implemented by the Ukrainian NGO Insha Osvita.
      (…)”

      Insha Osvita currently funding this:

      “The open call is aimed at Ukrainian and German NGOs, as well as cultural and educational institutions active in the socio-cultural field, who wish to implement joint projects on decolonization in the period 2025/26.

      https://de.ui.org.ua/ausschreibung-fuer-deutsch-ukrainische-kulturprojekte-2025-2026/

      To quote an old war movie “Run Silent, Run Deep”.
      On the other hand – how long will this last with the company slowly being dismantled.

      Reply ↓
  4. The Rev Kev

    “Many employees are using AI to create ‘workslop,’ Stanford study says”

    I’ve read that some employees are going around using AI to create workslop to make themselves look good to management, and are then having junior employees run around cleaning up all the messes in that AI generated workslop.

    Reply ↓
  5. hayrake

    “… US an equity stake in company developing Nevada lithium mine.”

    An interview on “The BREAK-Down” with Thea Riofrancos about her latest book ‘Extraction: The Frontiers of Green Capitalism’ which focuses largely on lithium, but also reference several other minerals—copper, cobalt, yttrium—all of which fall within various designations like “critical” or “strategic” or “rare earth”.

    The interviewer asks this question:
    “At the moment, we’re seeing Trump both receding from any effort to have a leading role in the manufacturing of green technologies, effectively trying to undo everything that came through the Inflation Reduction Act, and at the same time, using increasingly overt military means to secure minerals—not just in Ukraine, although that is obviously the most headline grabbing example, but in the DRC and Yemen and Somalia—manhandling them into signing away minerals in order to secure aid or military support from the US.”

    And part of the answer was:
    “But what then makes me crazy is that there’s a simultaneous
    effort to dismantle the rest of the supply chain. At Trump’s insistence, the latest legislation out of Congress dramatically reduces government support for EV manufacturing and consumption. Growth in both is still going to happen, a lot of EV and battery plants are already built and in operation, but the administration are purposefully undermining future growth of EVs. We’re going to extract a lot—but for what?”

    https://www.break-down.org/where-capital-and-nature-meet/

    Reply ↓
    1. Wukchumni

      One domestic EV i’ve seen scant few of on the road, is the Ford F-150 Lightning. and I read that Ford lost $37k on each and every EV they produced domestically last year.

      Yeah, we need the capability to build more of them, that’s the ticket.

      Reply ↓
    2. Henry D

      CATL already is selling a sodium ion battery that performs as well, in some ways better, than the Lithium ion batteries used in cars here in the US.
      175 Wh/kg. Last 10,000 cycles. 12C charging rate (10 to 80% charge in 15 min). Retains 90% or better output at extreme temps – 40 to 70 C.
      Also solves the problem of run away fire issues and of course cost way less to produce.
      For those sticking with combustion engines they produce it in a lead acid replacement version.
      It won’t eliminate the need for Lithium, but will likely put a dent in it if you can sell a car that performs like a Tesla for way less.
      https://www.catl.com/en/news/6401.html

      Reply ↓
  6. Mikel

    — James Wood 武杰士 (@commiepommie)

    “…And waiting in the wings? The Duterte family, who favour independent foreign policy and pragmatic cooperation with China. Exactly what Washington fears most: its South China Sea “chessboard” collapsing overnight.

    👉 This is bigger than the Philippines.
    The riots are a mirror exposing the structural weakness of America’s alliance system. Washington gambles everything on compliant families and strongmen, but when they fall, U.S. strategy crumbles with them….”

    That’s his only take on the situation?
    Seems like only yesterday that climbing into bed with Duterte was presented with all the controversy and problems that entailed.

    A sampling:

    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-41964930/

    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-18/marcos-duterte-family-feud-philippines/105048194/

    Reply ↓
  7. Norton

    The Mike Benz information about Obama and USAID bears further research and documentation. There have been rumblings about how that umbrella designation program was used for camouflaged or surreptitious political purposes. The standard view of helping starving and underprivileged people only presents a public relations image. Programs funneling cash to domestic uses may fit into Obama’s vaunted community organizing image, but that looks like dishonesty after the fact.

    Reply ↓
    1. The Rev Kev

      When you have someone like Samantha Power being put in charge of USAID, you know that something is seriously off about that organization.

      Reply ↓
    2. Martin Oline

      Mike Benz is a great source of information about government alliances and weapons sales. I read both of Whitney Webb books but I think that Mike is likely right about the Epstein matter. Perhaps it’s just the American puritanical bias that wants to see it as sexual blackmail. His business was about intelligence and arms procurement. Having young girls around him was his kink, but they also acted as lagniappe to his aged customers. He has done a number of podcasts but here is a link to one dealing with Epstein and Ehud Barak: The Intelligence Connection

      Reply ↓
      1. Partyless Poster

        Mike Benz should be taken with some skepticism, he’s one of those people who had so much to say about the deep state before Trump was elected but seems to have nothing to say now and NEVER says anything about Israel (he’s basically a Jewish supremacist)
        He definitely has a right wing agenda he’s pushing.

        Reply ↓
        1. AG

          I assume you are rather correct (I know Benz only little.) But if there is useful info contained I take it. He does suggest a GUARDIAN text as source which I will look up. And I think his points on the trials against Trump were not totally off when he spoke, was it on THE DURAN?

          Reply ↓
    3. converger

      A close relative of mine left a budding career in the US diplomatic corps, when he realized that the sole reason that the Bush II USAID grant he was monitoring in a former Soviet Republic existed was to funnel money to the President and his good friends.

      This isn’t an Obama thing. It’s business as usual. USAID has always had a money laundering sideline to prop up leaders the US wants to keep, or to tear down leaders they want to destroy.

      Reply ↓
      1. Acacia

        Thanks for this. From Kennan’s memo:

        It would seem that the time is now fully ripe for the creation of a covert political
        warfare operations directorate within the Government        . If we are to engage in such
        operations, they must be under unified direction. One man must be boss. And he must,
        as those responsible for the overt phases of political warfare, be answerable to the
        Secretary of State, who directs the whole in coordination.
        […]
        There should promptly be established, under the cover of the National Security
        Council Secretariat, a directorate of political warfare operations to be known as the
        Consultative (or Evaluation) Board of the National Security Council.
        […]
        Specifically, (a) the four projects mentioned in paragraph 7 above should be
        activated by the Board and (b) covert political warfare now under CIA and theater
        commanders abroad should be brought under the authority of the Board        .

        Reply ↓
      2. AG

        thanks!
        So totally absurd we are back with that same vocabulary.
        We used to make fun of that in standard comedies not that long ago…

        Reply ↓
  8. Mikel

    Why China’s Belt and Road leaves Turkiye in the sidelines – The Cradle

    It would have been interesting to include more explanation from actual officials in Turkiye’s government.

    Reply ↓
    1. The Rev Kev

      If there is one thing that the Chinese are, they are business people first and foremost. As such, they would value predictability and reliability. That is why they have such a great relation with Russia. But Erdogan is a loose cannon at the best of times and there is no way that he would make a reliable partner as he cannot resist the urge to play funny buggers. The fact that Turkiye has such a close relationship with Uyghur separatists must make China worry that they will use them to commit terrorist attacks in China. Add to that Turkish designs for a Greater Turkiye that would spread all the way east and into China proper and the Chinese probably decided to not go with Turkiye too far so that they can cut their losses if need be. But at least Erdogan has those Uyghurs.

      Reply ↓
      1. Mikel

        Motives may be suspect to observers and with some reason, but that’s still not an explanation about the deals from the perspective of more Turkiye officials.

        Reply ↓
      2. gf

        No, it is a myth that Erdogan is some loose cannon.

        When ever a serious matter is on the table he sides with the Empire.
        The rest is noise.

        Reply ↓
  9. Louis Fyne

    >>>Radio Shack Rebirth

    Mitt Romney won…..corporations are people, folks even in the lexicon drafted by presumably “left-of-center” journalists.

    Pet peeve on this topic…..A corporation can’t be reborn. “Radio Shack” is a name slapped onto a widget that has zero linkage to a 1982 Tandy Computer, except for the name. Same with bankrupt GM and current GM.

    The cultural “parasocial” relationship brand names is wild. Is our society so shallow that we need to find meaning in Toys R Us, Chevy, Starbucks?

    spoiler alert: yes! because it’s a thing I know, and I clap when I see something I know like Pavlov’s seal

    Reply ↓
    1. Wukchumni

      Radio Shack to yours truly circa 1972, was the place you redeemed the coupon for a free flashlight that required 4x D batteries (not included).

      Reply ↓
        1. mrsyk

          We had one on 108th and Broadway until around ‘02/‘03. The last thing I purchased there was a headphone jack converter.

          Reply ↓
          1. Jason Boxman

            We had one in Cambridge MA on Mass Ave and ~ Prospect St until I think 2017 or 2018 when it finally closed. I miss that area. Sadly the StarMarket closed back in 2018 or thereabouts, and there was no full size grocery store there anymore after. I can only imagine what the rent is these days. Much and more.

            Reply ↓
            1. Henry D

              They were essential for teaching electronics on a shoe string budget. You could dumpster dive to salvage parts from printers and such, but quickly getting that one missing part cheaply on the way to school was Radio Shacks role. I still recommend there two hundred in one electronics project lab as a starting point to learn basic electronics.

              Reply ↓
        2. gk

          They were still there in Hoboken in 2001. I went there in September to get a shortwave radio to get the news when my internet was unreliable (they were based near the WTC).

          Reply ↓
          1. lyman alpha blob

            I got a transistor radio from them sometime in the early aughts so I could listen to baseball games. I’ve dropped it on the ground more times than I can remember, gotten it full of sand at the beach, gotten it wet, snapped off half the antenna, etc. Last night, after Apple stole the baseball game and I couldn’t see it on TV, I listened to the Red Sox on the same radio – still works like a charm.

            Reply ↓
      2. Carolinian

        The bro and I used to hang out at Radio Shack a lot–a flyover institution. I believe Tandy started out selling leather goods.

        Now all electronic doodads come from mail order and China. Or did, pre tariffs.

        Reply ↓
    2. albrt

      Radio Shack was a destination when I was a kid, back in the days when 13 year olds wanted soldering irons for Christmas. My first computer was a Tandy 1000.

      The last time I was in one it was more like a dollar store for stuff that cost more than a dollar. They seemed to be having trouble figuring out what they could possibly sell that you couldn’t get for less at WalMart.

      Reply ↓
        1. Acacia

          This is great. I like how the testimony of working in the RS hellscape is punctuated by ads showing happy technology products.

          Reply ↓
      2. LifelongLib

        Mixed feelings about Radio Shack. When it appeared in my hometown IIRC it drove the old radio shop (owned by an ex-navy electronics guy who really knew his stuff) out of business. At least initially Radio Shack products weren’t very reliable, and the people in the stores didn’t seem to know much about what they were selling. But it was cheaper, and by the time it went out of business it was often the only game in town for electronic components.

        Reply ↓
    3. Mikel

      When I first arrived in LA, I needed a quickie job. I got one at a Radio Shack.
      Fun fact: Back there was a test. They gave applicants a study guide about about basic electronic concepts – capacitors, transistors, etc. I nailed that, passed a drug test, and in the next couple of months the manager liked me so much that he trusted me closing the books at the end of the day.

      I wasn’t there a year. I eventually broke into the entertainment biz, but that’s the memory I have of Radio Shack.

      Reply ↓
  10. Wukchumni

    A high-stakes poker game being played out in Washington, D.C., could not only shutter the National Park System on October 1, but also see most National Park Service employees fired due to a lack of funding.

    With Congressional Republicans and Democrats far apart on the makeup of a Continuing Resolution to keep the federal government operating while negotiations continue to seek a Fiscal 2026 budget agreeable to both parties, the Trump administration is suggesting governmental agencies that rely on federal appropriations to operate shut down next Wednesday, the start of the government’s new fiscal year.

    “With respect to those federal programs whose funding would lapse and which are otherwise unfunded, such programs are no longer statutorily required to be carried out,” reads a section of a memo sent from the Office of Management and Budget to federal agencies. “Therefore, consistent with applicable law, including the requirements of 5 C.F.R. part 351, agencies are directed to use this opportunity to consider Reduction in Force (RIF) notices for all employees in programs, projects, or activities (PPAs) that satisfy all three of the following conditions: (1) discretionary funding lapses on October 1, 2025; (2) another source of funding, such as H.R. 1 (Public Law 119-21) is not currently available; and (3) the PPA is not consistent with the President’s priorities.”

    https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2025/09/update-national-park-service-federal-agencies-face-prospect-widespread-firings
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    When I was a kid, RIF stood for ‘Reading Is Fundamental’

    Reply ↓
      1. Wukchumni

        Entering the National Park doldrums, there is still visitation during Indian Summer-but greatly lessened.

        Firing everybody would make sense now, and give you time to get your mits on everything, and as I’ve mentioned, NP’s are the ultimate cloistered audience, even more so than a ballgame, airport or concert, come see the largest trees in the world and how about a $16 Miller Lite to quaff your thirst, tourist?

        In contrast, a tall-boy Coors can was $2.49 @ the Lodgepole market in Sequoia NP this summer.

        Reply ↓
    2. JP

      I’m thinking the profitable thing to do is sell the Yosemite valley floor to large corporate interests. It would be a trophy piece and would supercharge the rush into privatising the national park system. Who wants to own Tic Toc when you could own Yellowstone.

      Reply ↓
      1. Wukchumni

        Yes, the sheer ad hoc socialism the NP’s have stridently stood for must be a thing of the past. Why allow every American a piece of the action-when it can be parceled out to a precious few far worthier than run of the mill rabble.

        Reply ↓
  12. The Rev Kev

    ‘Science girl
    @gunsnrosesgirl3
    Sep 25
    Wow
    the successful test flight of the S1500, an airborne wind turbine capable of generating one megawatt of power by harnessing high-altitude winds, which are stronger and more consistent than those at ground level’

    I wonder if a coupla of these things could be parked over each AI center to take off some of the strain on the electrical grid.

    Reply ↓
    1. rasta

      They will be parked as barrage balloons against drone attacks.

      It’s funny how this magical blimp casts no shadow on the ground below.

      Reply ↓
    2. jefemt

      Acute global shortage of helium, one of the noble gases.

      Had been a fair amount of speculative interest in re-activation of older oil and gas fields to seek it out in southern AB / north central MT. ‘Policies’ vis a vis Canada (speaking of noble) have put a kibash on things.

      Reply ↓
    3. Cervantes

      AI powered & AI powering airborne windmill farms sound like something Elon-Musk-wannabe owned Silicon Valley startup would market, while seeking for investors.

      Reply ↓
  14. The Rev Kev

    “The Finnish resort of Imatra found itself in millions of dollars of debt after closing its border with Russia.”

    So much winning. /sarc

    So what happens if NATO decides to make the Finnish-Russian border a “second front” one day.

    Reply ↓
    1. Polar Socialist

      To be fair, that resort in Imatra (which is a city) started suffering when Finland closed down during the Covid epidemic. Then the border closed* and the most right-wing government since the Civil War cut social benefits (no substituted rehab anymore – hurting almost all resorts in Finland) while rising the value added tax for services pretty much killed all domestic demand.

      So, yes, closing the border adds to the problems, but it’s only one factor and not even the main one. Eastern Finland is absolutely suffering from the closed border, but this is not the best example by far.

      * long story short, Finland and Russia used to have a “gentleman’s agreement” that Russia won’t allow asylum seekers and refugees from third countries to even try and enter Finland. Then Finland joined NATO and proved that it’s not a good neighbor and Russia ceased limiting travel to Finland. As it was, the government at the time was all about immigration issues, so they called it Russia’s hybrid warfare and closed borders for everyone. Which technically is against the constitution guaranteeing that a Finnish citizen can not be prevented from entering the country, but since joining NATO, well, constitution schmonstitution…

      Reply ↓
  15. Wukchumni

    Migrants are eating SWANS and carp stolen from UK parks, Nigel Farage claims The US Sun. resilc: “He’s to up his game to eating children.”
    ~~~~~~~~~~~

    Growing up Bohemian on the left coast lower bottom corner pocket, I just thought everybody else ate carp for Xmas, twas the tradition in the olde country.

    I’m allergic to fish and one in particular that is widely derided in terms of eating pleasure, or so I hear.

    Mom always made Wiener Schnitzel too.

    Reply ↓
    1. Lefty Godot

      Farage hasn’t heard about the cat and dog eating yet? Or is the swan/carp menu an escalation from existing practices that already include household pets? Gadzooks!

      Reply ↓
  16. Socal Rhino

    This week (exhausting but not exhaustive):

    Europe is trying to hold onto the hope that they can draw the US into war with the RF, perhaps via false flag events or Lavrov just wanting to punch Kallas (a common malady). War chief Hegseth is reportedly summoning all flag rank officers to Virginia to discuss new standards for physical fitness and appearance including perhaps the recommended use of hair gel and how women are icky. A recently released GAO report details how Army and Marine vehicles (including among other things tanks, armored personnel carriers, and self propelled artillery) achieved very low readiness levels for military use for almost every year over the past 10 years, reflecting the fact that the cost of military equipment you want to use includes the cost of maintenance, and much like our trusty family cars, maintenance costs increase with age. The president of Belarus was happy to announce operational readiness of his country’s newly delivered Oreshnik missiles while Baltic states continue work digging anti-tank trenches. And in Ukraine, another US world class anti missile battery was destroyed…by a missile.

    Reply ↓
    1. judy2shoes

      Social Rhino, I am a day late and, as always, a few dollars short, but I wanted you to know how much I appreciated your comment, which gave me my first belly laugh of the day.

      Reply ↓
  17. ChrisFromGA

    Russia deployed Oreshnik systems to Belarus, shortening the distance between launch sites and potential targets in Europe.

    Meanwhile, the propaganda campaign continues, as stooge-ified MSM types overhype Russian flights over international waters as “incursions” into NATO airspace and refuse to cover the situation on the frontline, which Dima from Military Summary Channel now describes as “catastrophic.”

    Dima’s latest video:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3htqUbbdxg

    Reply ↓
  19. DJG, Reality Czar

    The Xitter with the scientist in a panic about 3I/Atlas. No, Atlas isn’t a Vogon space vessel intent on vacuuming up the Earth.

    Here’s an explainer from Amedeo Balbi of the University of Roma. Turn on your auto-translator setting:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UtpxIfIdtc

    1. Being in the planetary plan is by pure random chance. The eccentricity of the orbit is gigantic at 6.2, which means Atlas has an enormously long trip.
    2. Something with such a long orbit may be picking up debris. So the “upper limits talk” by the scientist is speculation. Balbi doesn’t seem concerned. In fact, Balbi describes Atlas as a comet, because of the tail and certain other comet-like behaviors.
    3. In October, there will not be an apocalypse: Atlas is slightly inside the orbit of Mars — millions of miles from Earth — and on the other side of the Sun. It will never be visible to the naked eye.
    4. Balbi isn’t panicking. Italians don’t do panic. Something that am a beneficiary of.
    5. The only clue that Atlas may be from an intelligent form of life is that it is not getting too close to Earth.

    Reply ↓
  21. The Rev Kev

    “Is Ukraine Preparing a False Flag?”

    Zelensky has worked out that it an excellent idea to get Russia and NATO into a shooting war with each other, aka WW3, so that he can keep his scam going long enough to cash in big and then flee west to one of his mansions. Does he realize that if he succeeds, that one of the first things that Russia will do is to take Zelensky out with a missile as pay back?

    Reply ↓
    1. Maxwell Johnston

      I hope things don’t reach that point, especially since one of Z’s mansions is in the Russophile town of Forte dei Marmi, a tad too close for comfort to our Tuscan abode:

      https://www.corriere.it/cronache/22_settembre_03/villa-zelensky-forte-marmi-voci-russe-36d44b0e-2b59-11ed-b268-2b12bb5640dc.shtml?refresh_ce

      Not a bad pad Z has, but there are far snazzier properties in the Forte. Z’s is a bit scruffy and downscale. We visited Forte dei Marmi only once (in summer 2024, a kind of family anthropological day trip). All the service people there spoke Russian, and there were plenty of sharply dressed Russian speakers all around us; no idea whether they were RU or UKR citizens. War, what war? Don’t mention the war.

      Reply ↓
    2. JP

      When we first moved here there was Yocut woman on 10 Ac up the road who made acorn bread every year. Her adult children all lived on the property in travel trailers and lesser weather cover with extension cords running up to the house. They were all strung out on either junk or speed. I don’t know if it was the bread. She was great. The children were a neighborhood liability.

      Reply ↓
      1. Wukchumni

        Hey,

        How about that thunderstorm a few days back, you must have been on the leading edge. It didn’t ever seem to stop thundering, reverberations shaking the canyon walls.

        Reply ↓
  24. Jason Boxman

    How a ‘nudify’ site turned a group of friends into key figures in a fight against AI-generated porn

    In June of last year, Jessica Guistolise received a text message that would change her life.

    While the technology consultant was dining with colleagues on a work trip in Oregon, her phone alerted her to a text from an acquaintance named Jenny, who said she had urgent information to share about her estranged husband, Ben.

    After a nearly two-hour conversation with Jenny later that night, Guistolise recalled, she was dazed and in a state of panic. Jenny told her she’d found pictures on Ben’s computer of more than 80 women whose social media photos were used to create deepfake pornography — videos and photos of sexual activities made using artificial intelligence to merge real photos with pornographic images. All the women in Ben’s images lived in the Minneapolis area.

    …

    Nudify apps represent a small but rapidly growing corner of the new AI universe, which exploded following the arrival of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in late 2022. Since then, Meta, Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon and others have collectively spent hundreds of billions of dollars investing in AI and pursuing artificial general intelligence, or AGI — technology that could rival and even surpass the capabilities of humans.

    Probably not a big enough market for this to keep the AI bubble inflated, though.

    Reply ↓
  25. Jason Boxman

    Sadly, WSJ has gotten wise, and I can’t get around the paywall in any way. It’s a paid article, but there’s this:

    Big Tech Feels the Noose Tighten Over H-1B Visas (Newsweek)

    The system planned by DHS would work based on wage levels or brackets, rather than actual salaries combined with skill levels. This could mean a person’s seniority in a field, for example, an acupuncturist with many years of experience, could qualify for a visa because they earn a high wage for their field, rather than possess skills or talents not available in the U.S., while a PhD student in a niche field may not qualify, because they do not meet certain criteria.

    That has left some feeling skeptical over whether the administration’s plans for change will benefit Americans in the way they are being touted, including those who have advocated for changes to the system.

    Jeremy Neufeld, director of immigration policy at the Institute For Progress (IFP), a science and innovation think tank in Washington, D.C., told Newsweek that while the H-1B system is not delivering “what it says on the tin”, these plans do not target mid-level talent or outsourcing companies spamming the lottery system.

    “60% of America’s top AI start-ups were founded by immigrants, hugely disproportionate to their overall percentage in terms of the population,” Neufeld said. “That wouldn’t be possible, it just simply wouldn’t have happened, if it weren’t for the H-1B program.”

    But he’s talking his book. There are other ways for foreigners to start companies here:

    Options for Alien Entrepreneurs to Work in the United States (US Gov)

    There’s E2 and O1 pathways, with no limits on renewals.

    You must invest a substantial amount of capital and have at least 50% ownership or possession of operational control.

    The investment enterprise may not be marginal. A marginal enterprise is one that does not have the present or future capacity to generate more than enough income to provide a minimal living for you or your family within five years.

    and

    A U.S. employer or U.S. agent must file the petition. While you may not self-petition, a separate legal entity owned by you may be eligible to file a petition on your behalf.

    Oh, and I missed EB-1A:

    To qualify, you must show sustained national or international acclaim and achievements that have been recognized in your field. You must intend to continue to work in this field and show that you will substantially benefit the United States in the future.

    Wait, isn’t that what H1B supposedly accomplishes? How is it people of such calibre aren’t using this, then? Why would you want to be subject to the ravages of the H1B lottery if you’re this good?

    And there’s EB5!

    You must invest a certain amount of lawfully obtained capital in a new commercial enterprise that will create at least 10 jobs for qualifying employees.

    That amount is $1.05 million generally, or $800,000 if investing in a Targeted Employment Area or an infrastructure project. These amounts automatically adjust on Jan. 1, 2027.

    So as near as I can tell, it just isn’t true that tech geniuses cannot come and start companies in the US if H1B is restructured or simply deleted.

    That said, I’d agree with the title of the WSJ article I cannot read, in that companies that are using H1Bs to get cheap labor aren’t magically going to hire Americans. They’ll find other ways to get cheap labor, either through traditional outsourcing to foreign firms or adopting LLMs/AI. The issue here, as you’d imagine, is the capitalist imperative to keep labor disciplined and on the outs.

    And again

    “The best of all possible worlds is they just scrapped it because, like I said, we do not need the H-1B,” [Kevin Lynn, executive director of the Institute for Sound Public Policy and founder of U.S. Tech Workers] said. “We want the best and brightest? We have the O visa, and it’s unlimited. The only thing it requires is you have to be a really, really bright, talented individual.”

    Reply ↓
  26. Jason Boxman

    From US debt investors raise alarm over lending standards

    Both companies made use of asset-backed debt, with Tricolor bundling up subprime car loans into bonds and First Brands tapping specialist funds to provide credit against its invoices.

    At its core, asset-backed finance is the ability to lend against a specific asset or loan, including consumer credit card balances, leases on railcars and solar panels, aircraft and music royalties.

    So this is interesting, in that I actually interviewed for some contract work, that I didn’t get, at a startup that was involved in building a platform that would be available to Wall Street, the purpose of which was to offer small business funding based on invoices, so asset-backed. This was going to be targeted at smaller businesses, as I understood it. A Fintech twist on a familiar game, sort of like those Fintech companies earlier in the decade that let retail invest in a slice of a mortgage, a kind of distributed syndication for commercial real estate. Naturally, as I recall, the best of those loans ended up getting sold off to Wall Street, and the dregs were all that was left for retail on those platforms. Surprise, surprise!

    Reply ↓
  28. Tom Stone

    It seems odd to me that those trying to predict the future almost universally ignore Covid.
    Covid is already a mass disabling event that is worsening daily, with no attempt to mitigate the damage by any Government.
    This will, at some point, turn into a mass mortality event.
    This is a matter of time.
    When, not if.
    And it is being ignored by almost everyone.

    Reply ↓
    2. Lefty Godot

      They probably regard it as helping to further Lambert’s rule 2: “Go die.” The oligarchs really yearn for a mass die-off phenomenon to eliminate much of the riffraff.

      Reply ↓
    1. JM

      I’ve used it a little bit. It’s just Firefox in a trenchcoat basically. There are a couple differences, but not anything I cared about or felt were game changing.

      Reply ↓
  30. Carolinian

    For fans of Construction Physics this new one is interesting

    https://www.construction-physics.com/p/how-common-is-accidental-invention

    However I question the microwave oven account

    The mechanism behind the microwave oven was famously stumbled upon accidentally in 1945 by Perry Spencer at Raytheon when he noticed a candy bar in his pocket was melted by a microwave radar he was working on.

    During WW2 sailors on watch during the cold night would stand in front of the ship’s radar antenna to warm up. The heating phenomenon must have been already known.

    Good article.

    Reply ↓
    1. Steve H.

      My friend Heinrich was Navy. He told me it was soldiers warming themselves in Alaska, which was fine until the rectal bleeding. ‘Candy bar’…

      Reply ↓
  31. JMH

    The TikTok of Gaza destroyed … a part of Gaza … has me in a real funk. I first used the word genocide in my daily writing in early November 2023 when Israel’s “defense of itself” only amounted to indiscriminate bombing. I have watched the downward spiral of inhumanity naively expecting it to be called to a halt for who can watch mass murder day after day and permit it to continue. I have found out that most of the world can watch and do nothing. Some can watch and sell or give the means for it to continue. Others look ahead to the final days of this final solution when they can move in over the ruins of cities and the undiscovered bodies of the dead to erect a kind of “pleasure dome”, like Kublai Khan’s in Coleridge’s poem. Tony Blair is shilling to be the, … what is it, director general, CEO of Gaza. Inc? And yet those killing Gaza and those rubbing there hands in anticipation of profit are well-groomed, wear expensive suits, have clean fingernails, and believe they sleep the sleep of the just. Have they never heard of Karma?

    Reply ↓
    1. Wukchumni

      I heard somebody @ a Portland Starbucks ordered a grande carmel macchiato in a venti cup, 1/3 whole milk, 1/3 almond milk, 1/3 soy milk, double the amount of vanilla syrup, carmel wall in the cup, no carmel drizzle on top, upsidown, tall cup ice, whipped cream, rounded lid, 1 shot extra espresso (decaf), cinnamon sprinkled on top, and then stiffed the barista for a tip.

      War ravaged hellscape, indeed

      Reply ↓
    2. Ben Panga

      I assume Portland is the choice because it was a hotbed of “antifa” in the summer of 2020 and the Millerites would really love to see “antifa” come out on the streets now.

      They need a riot to give justification for the crackdown. They need tv news to show black-masked “leftists” throwing stuff at cops.

      Reply ↓
  33. ThirtyOne

    Israel v. the Resistance. IMHO a new sign of Israel desperation.

    ‘Ahead of Netanyahu’s UN speech, Israel hired U.S. advertising companies to send trucks through New York with giant screens flashing “Remember October 7.”

    This is part of Israel’s multimillion-dollar propaganda machine. In recent months, the Government Advertising Bureau (Lapam) has poured tens of millions into contracts with global PR firms, social media platforms, and Western lobbyists to rewrite the narrative of Gaza.

    The trucks in Manhattan are just the street-level extension of a strategy that denies famine, discredits the UN, and sells the war as “self-defense” while Gaza burns.’

    https://xcancel.com/DD_Geopolitics/status/1971968075822960956#m

    Reply ↓
    1. Tom Stone

      A week or so ago Donald the Magnificent was musing aloud and said “Netanyahu is a War Hero…I guess that makes me one too”.
      Fiction has to make some kind of sense, reality does not.

      Reply ↓
      1. ThirtyOne

        I, I will be king
        And you, you will be queen
        And bombing will drive them away
        We can beat on them every day
        We can be heroes every day

        And you, you can be mean
        And I, I’ll drink all the time
        ‘Cause we’re lovers, and that is a fact
        Yes, we’re lovers, and that is that

        Though Zion will keep us together
        We could steal land every day
        We can be heroes forever and ever
        What d’you say?

        I, I wish we could fly
        Like the angels, like angels can fly

        And Zion, Zion will keep us together
        We can beat on them forever and ever
        Oh, we can be heroes every day

        I, I will be king
        And you, you will be queen
        And bombing will drive them away
        We can beat on them every day
        We can be heroes every day

        I, I can remember (I remember)
        Standing by the wall (Western wall)
        And the missiles flew above our heads (uber alles)
        And we kissed as though nothing could fall (Nothing could fall)

        And the blame was on the other side
        Oh, we can beat on them forever and ever
        Then we could be heroes every day

        We can be heroes
        We can be heroes
        We can be heroes every day
        We can be heroes

        They are nothing, and nothing will help them
        Of course they are dying, and we’re getting our way
        And we could be safer every day
        Oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh-oh, every day

        Heroes
        David Bowie

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8LbWYKMkN0

        Reply ↓
    2. Acacia

      Also:

      Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu briefed American influencers on TikTok, calling it the “most important” weapon in securing support for Israel on the right-wing.

      He went on to say, “Weapons change over time… the most important ones are the social media,” and, “the most important purchase that is going on right now is TikTok… I hope it goes through because it can be consequential.”

      Netanyahu mentioned X and Elon Musk as well, saying Musk is ”not an enemy, he’s a friend. We should talk to him.”

      https://xcancel.com/afpost/status/1971820328566284397?s=43

      Reply ↓
  34. ChrisRUEcon

    #IsraelVsTheResistance

    First the throwback (via NC)

    Israel/Zionists/AIPAC have now become the ” … grumble from more than a few people in [one’s] circle whose political ideologies don’t generally overlap”.

    Thanks again Jen for this timeless comment that encapsulates the genesis of any hope for a wider awakening in this society – or any society, really – as such pertains to shaking off the chains of pluto-kleptocracy.

    And now, Exhibit A to back up the observation above – the algorithm fed me this interesting YouTube channel last night. I’m wondering if the breadth of viewpoints and sources I’ve been viewing recently made this offering appear? Or whether more siloed content viewers – like people who only consume CNN/MSNBC or people who only watch Fox/NewsMax – would get this suggested to the YT feed. In any case, I find the presence of both “liberal” and “conservative” newsmakers/content-creators/influencers a somewhat powerful statement of unity agains Zionist influence on American life and politics.

    This short in particular – with the haunting, family-blogging theme from “Inception” no less (!) playing in the background – caught my attention.

    If Kirk was indeed offed “pour encourager les autres”, then that plan appears to be backfiring spectacularly.

    Reply ↓
  35. Wukchumni

    O say can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
    What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming,
    Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
    O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
    And Caracas red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
    Gave proof through the night that Maduro was still there;
    O say does that $tar-$pangled banner yet wave
    O’er the land of free for the taking, those buckaneers from the home of the brave?

    Reply ↓
  36. Acacia

    Re: Migrants are eating SWANS and carp stolen from UK parks, Nigel Farage claims

    The Japanese version of this idiocy is Takaichi Sanae, the hawkish candidate for PM to replace Ishiba.

    She is lately doubling down on a claim that mean foreigners are kicking cute helpless deer in Nara.

    Nara Prefecture says: “Uh, nope.” but why let facts get in the way of a good story?

    https://www.reddit.com/r/japannews/comments/1nnrvq9/sanae_takaichi_foreigners_assaulting_deer_in_nara/

    Reply ↓
      1. PlutoniumKun

        They are smart too. One will distract you by looking cute while his friend raids your bag. I lost my bento one time on an island temple that way.

        I occasionally guide a local Chinese hiking group up the Wicklow Mountains. Probably my only successful joke in mandarin is to point at the feral Sika deer and say ‘more f*ing illegal Asian immigrants’. If anyone looks offended, I’ll point out that ‘sika’ is a Japanese word. Not the same species though as the temple deer in Japan.

        Reply ↓
  37. Rabbit

    If high altitude wind turbines can withstand wind shear they have a chance. I take it they haven’t tested this device at altitude yet.
    1 meg isn’t very large.
    Rigid airships didn’t work out too good.

    Reply ↓
    1. dave -- just dave

      As Shri Krishna said millennia ago, humans have both divine and demonic tendencies. We are as evolution made us, AND as our choices have shaped us.

      Every experiment is a success in that it answers the question “what would happen if…”

      The Universal Will to Become continues its transformations after our own time is over. Meanwhile, it might be true that we are called to listen to our hearts while we still can.

      Reply ↓
  40. amfortas

    zionist jews becoming worse than the Nazi’s. was not on my bingo card.
    neither was trump 2.0 driving the USA economy so quickly into terrain.
    the amoral, and indifferent, vacuum these people live in is abhorrent to me.

    Reply ↓
      1. patrik

        In various public opinion polls, Arab citizens of Israel have generally expressed support for the IDF’s military operations in Gaza.

        Reply ↓
          1. patrik

            December 4th, 2023

            A comprehensive study by the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University (TAU) that was conducted after the outbreak of the Iron Swords War indicates that about half of the Arab population in Israel (47%) feel that Israel’s response to the Hamas attack on October 7 was justified, while 44% do not. In addition, 57% of Israeli Arabs believe that the Hamas militants intentionally targeted women and children in the communities near the Gaza border, while 32% do not.

            The survey included 502 Israeli Arab citizens aged 18 or over who constitute a representative sample of the adult Arab population. The study was initiated by the Konrad Adenauer Program for Jewish-Arab Cooperation, which represents the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and is part of the Dayan Center.

            Reply ↓
            1. raspberry jam

              Thanks. Here are the links to more detail and the follow up polls (where this question was not asked again) in case others want to read:

              – December 4, 2023
              – December 12, 2024
              – July 6, 2025

              From the most recent:

              A large majority (73.2%) support the participation of an Arab party in the next government: 41.8% support joining any government formed, and 31.4% support joining a center-left government. If elections for the Knesset were held today, the expected voter turnout in Arab society would be 57%, slightly higher than the 53.2% turnout in the 25th Knesset elections held in November 2022.

              The war between Israel and Iran did not change the priorities of Arab citizens regarding fundamental political issues such as joining the government or support for Arab-Jewish political partnership. However, some impact is evident in the definition of personal identity.

              Most of the Arab public (66% of respondents) believe in political cooperation between Arabs and Jews in Israel, but only 40.2% believe that the Jewish public actually supports such cooperation.

              A large majority of the Arab public (75.4%) report a low sense of personal security. The two main factors negatively affecting their mood are the high incidence of violence in Arab communities (41.9%) and the ongoing war in Gaza (37.6%). At the same time, 64% of survey participants report that their financial situation is relatively good.

              54% of survey respondents stated that the most important issue for the Arab public today is addressing the problem of violence and crime. A significant portion (23.2%) said that ending the war in Gaza is the most important issue.

              I could only find a sample size on the first one (502 participants).

              Reply ↓
            2. Ben Panga

              A lot has changed since Dec ’23

              Counterpoint 1:

              Israeli Voice Index (Sep 2025)

              Recently, the security cabinet approved the expansion of military operations in Gaza, including taking and holding territory. We asked: “Do you support or oppose this decision?” Around half the Israeli public are opposed to the cabinet’s decision. However, in the Jewish public, support for the decision outweighs opposition to it, while among Arabs, a large majority oppose expanding military operations.

              Counterpoint 2:

              Swords of Iron Survey Results

              The first chart from this survey [
              “Percentage of respondents expressing high and very high degrees of confidence in various institutions (%, Arab Population)” ] shows support for the IDF dropping off sharply and is now at 25 %

              Plenty of other Arab-Israeli opinion results in the second survey

              Counterpoint 3:

              Pew Research (May 2024)
              https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2024/05/30/views-of-the-israel-hamas-war-may-2024/

              Israeli Arabs are much more critical of the military response, with 74% saying it has gone too far.

              Reply ↓
              1. raspberry jam

                Thanks Ben, these polls look much more comprehensive. Appreciate the links!

                Reply ↓
  41. The Rev Kev

    Starmer still intimidating his opponents-

    ‘George Galloway was temporarily detained at Gatwick Airport under the Terrorism Act upon his return from Russia on Saturday, according to his Workers Party of Britain.

    Officers from the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command stopped the 71-year-old former MP, along with his wife.

    “We can confirm that on Saturday, 27 September counter-terrorism officers at Gatwick Airport stopped a man in his 70s and a woman in her 40s under Schedule 3 of the Counter Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019. Neither of them were arrested and they were allowed on their way,” a Met spokesperson stated.’

    https://www.rt.com/news/625391-uk-police-george-galloway/

    Pretty sure that the UK has never done this to those senior IDF officers visiting recently, even though they are guilty of international war crimes.

    Reply ↓
  42. Jason Boxman

    guillotine watch

    The C.E.O. Who Spends All Day Thinking About Sleep (NY Times via archive.ph)

    Oura Health makes a pricey smart ring that busy executives, celebrities and others use to track health measures like their sleep patterns. It expects $1 billion in sales this year.

    One. Billion.

    More people are waking up to Oura.

    Oura Health, which makes a ring that tracks sleep, fitness and other health measures, has been gaining users who want to gauge and optimize their sleeping patterns.

    This week, the company said it sold 2.5 million devices last year, an amount equal to nearly half of all its sales since 2015. It expects to generate $1 billion in sales this year. In its latest funding round, the company — founded in Finland in 2013 — was seeking a valuation of nearly $11 billion, according to Bloomberg.

    The latest-generation of rings starts at $350, and the app to gauge sleep, activity and “readiness” is another $70 per year.

    A tie-in with the national security state? Why not!

    Oura’s rise has not always been smooth. This month, Mr. Hale was forced to respond to backlash after Oura announced a tie-up with the U.S. Department of Defense and the data-mining giant Palantir. Oura also faced questions about the privacy of its health data when the Trump administration said it was working with tech companies like Apple, Google and Oura on an information-sharing program.

    Reply ↓
      1. AG

        I may be old-fashioned but this obsession of pop culture with LOTR is sort of troubling.

        In the old days when the LOTR movies came out there were still some old-schoolers sitting in the culture sections of major dailies. And they made this important point that LOTR in contrast to the Odyssey or the Iliad or any other epic or legend from REAL LIFE (Arthur, Jeanne d´Arc etc.) is totally hermetic and offers no inherent ties into human global culture as such.

        Homer was using material from our world transforming it into a story about real people for real people. Offering a million links. Jeanne d´Arc could open up an entire universe about the Hundred Years War and eventually French and English royal histories and other cultural goods, such as theatre.

        LOTR is made up of one single (PTSD-rattled) mind and it is a world of its own offering no gateways into other real worlds. If you know Odysseus you will make connections to Rome and further. And understand things about our world.

        For instance while Tolkien ´s health issues are known to some (not necessarily the young readers) it is not mirrored in the art. Whereas one could argue that Odysseus and his heroes by today´s standard are mass murderers and this comes through in all kinds of details of the epic. Latter is reflecting on the sick nature of our real world. Former relegates that into the realm of total fiction and smoothes everything out.

        LOTR is merchandised world. It´s purely artifical and circular.

        The obsessiveness with which this singular entity is being observed and delved into is totalitarian in character. I am not claiming I have not been fascinated by it in my youth. And not that the films have no certain (industrial) merit. But LOTR was only a small part of readings and leisure time in our generation. Besides it was a great way of reading English.

        But tied in with merchandising and the secluded online game world and no other opportunities and other offerings as of cultural entertainment content it helps create uncultivated minds. Not for itself. But because it tends to push away other more complex narrative structures. And that´s a problem.
        I dare say it helped prepare the grounds for AI-ed culture.

        And Palantir talk is a product of this. Along with the sickest parts of US imperialist PR in the real world…

        Reply ↓
        1. Acacia

          “Wagner meets Winnie the Pooh” ;)

          I knew the LOTR phenom was out of control when in the early 2000s I randomly opened the in-flight shopping magazine on an airplane and found a half-dozen pages devoted to very expensive replicas of LOTR paraphernalia, e.g., “the sword of Anduril” etc.

          Reply ↓
  43. Ben Panga

    >Pretty sure that the UK has never done this to those senior IDF officers visiting

    If we start doing that, we’d have to do it to our own generals as well.

    Reply ↓
  45. eg

    “Global debt hits record of nearly $338 trillion, says IIF”

    I guess the accounting identity correlate “Global wealth hits record of nearly $338 trillion, says IIF” would generate insufficient clicks? 🙄

    Reply ↓
  46. Herodotus, jnr.

    re: The Road to the Camps: Echoes of a Fascist Past (Counterpunch)

    My, what a serious case of TDS this fellow has, fully metastasised into hair on fire.

    A friend of mine has a quip. Sometimes when he has to apologise for something trivial, he’ll say ‘Sorry, it was my fault. Everything is my fault! World War Two was my fault!’

    Maybe Trump is also to blame for the Rape of Nanking. /sarc

    Reply ↓

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