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Links 10/13/2025

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I’d like to be more wild. Eat Flowers, Drink Paint

A Long-Awaited Longevity Mystery Solved Ground Truths

Climate/Environment

Earth’s Climate Has Passed Its First Irreversible Tipping Point and Entered a ‘New Reality’ 404 Media

High-resolution ‘fingerprint’ images reveal a weakening Atlantic Ocean circulation (AMOC) RealClimate

‘Nothing to harvest’: After unprecedented wildfires, the forestry industry is forced to adapt The Narwhal

Climate Change Comes for the House of the Seven Gables Inside Climate News

Looking at the chaos at the CDC and why it matters for federal meteorological science Balanced Weather

Pandemics

Immunosupremacy: COVID & Past Pandemics Disability, Chronic Illness, & Culture

One Mutation Away From The Next Global Pandemic: Fall 2025 Update On H5N1 Lil Science

Water

Saudi-owned corporate farms are draining Arizona’s desert dry Floodlight

The Koreas

North Korea Unveils New Hwasong-20 Solid Fuelled Multi-Warhead ICBM Built to Hit the U.S. Mainland Military Watch

Africa

World War III: The African Scenario Marat Khairullin Substack

Madagascar: confusion in Antananarivo as part of the army mutinies The Africa Report

RSF drone strike kills at least 60 in Sudan displacement camp France24

India-Pakistan-Afghanistan

Pakistan seals Afghan border crossings amid clashes DW

Engagement Can’t Be Endorsement: Six Problems With Modi Government’s Taliban Embrace The Wire

The World’s Taiwan Strategy Runs Through the Philippines The Diplomat

China?

How Critical Are Bilateral Imports and Exports to the Economies of the US and China? Larry Johnson

Dutch govt accused of freezing operations of Chinese semiconductor giant’s chipmaker Nexperia Pekingnology. Major escalation by the EU.

Trump threatens export controls on Boeing parts in response to China Reuters

China tightens export controls on battery materials and equipment The Battery Chronicle. This has gotten a bit lost with focus on rare earths.

China quietly funnels billions to Iran through secret oul-for-concrete scheme, bypassing U.S. sanctions Regtechtimes

Old Blighty

Crisis: One in four Scots directly affected by homelessness Scottish Housing News

Will the SNP Reform or Rebrand? BarrheadBoy

Syraqistan

Israeli Soldiers Torched Food, Homes, and a Critical Sewage Treatment Plant in the Wake of Ceasefire Announcement Drop Site

“Gaza’s waterfront property could be very valuable …I’m sitting in Miami Beach right now. And I’m looking at the situation and I’m thinking: what would I do if I was there?…I would do my best to move the people out and then clean it up.”

–Jared Kushner, March 2024

Israeli Defense Minister Says IDF Will Destroy Gaza Tunnels Once Hamas Releases Israeli Captives Antiwar

Arab states expanded cooperation with Israeli military during Gaza war, files show WaPo

Israeli arms makers welcome Gaza ceasefire to reverse falling sales to Europe The Cradle

***

Syria’s Parliamentary Election Results look Alarmingly like Iraq 2005, which produced a Civil War Informed Comment

Alastair Crooke: Fake Peace in Gaza & Full-Scale War With Iran Glenn Diesen (Video)

Lawrence Wilkerson: The Path From Forever Wars to Nuclear War Glenn Diesen (Video). Vanessa Beeley, on the other hand, believes US-Israel using chemical weapons is strong possibility.

European Disunion

Macron’s France now has a new Cabinet. It will face an uphill battle to end the political crisis AP

As France wavers on FCAS, Europe weighs alternatives for its next-gen fighter jet Euractiv

European far right follows Trump in calling for antifa to be declared terrorists The Guardian

Brussels looks to spin its red-tape cuts as a gift to Trump Politico

New Not-So-Cold War

US Revealed to Be Coordinating Ukrainian Deep-Strikes, as Trump Flirts With Tomahawks Simplicius

Ukraine Accuses Russia of Deliberately Severing External Link to Zaporizhzhia Plant Reuters

Zelenskyy warns Russia exploiting lack of ‘attention’ on war Channel News Asia

Putin’s Cryptic Remarks on New Weapon Stir Global Concern Military Affairs

RILEY WAGGAMAN: THE SMO HAS ACHIEVED EVERYTHING IT WAS SUPPOSED TO PREVENT IN UKRAINE Natylie’s Place

The £1m man: why did Boris Johnson take his donor to Ukraine? The Guardian

South of the Border

WHAT IS RUSSIA’S STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT WITH VENEZUELA WORTH IF THE US ATTACKS John Helmer

“Liberation Day”

UPS is telling customers that their packages coming to the US are marked for destruction Business Insider

Trump 2.0

Vance says Trump is ‘looking at all his options’ as the president threatens to invoke the Insurrection Act NBC News

Trump orders military paychecks as troops move into cities WSWS

***

Government shutdown updates: Coding errors blamed for some CDC layoffs, official says ABC News

***

Police State Watch

Man Wrongly Imprisoned for Decades Finally Freed—And Gets Immediately Nabbed by ICE Common Dreams

Accelerationists

Marc Benioff encourages Trump to send National Guard to SF; says he is ‘doing a great job’ San Francisco Standard

NSO to be acquired by U.S. investors, ending Israeli control of Pegasus maker Calcalist

Imperial Collapse Watch

***

The Shipping Mess, Part 1: Global fleets shift routes, raise costs, slow deliveries to US markets Kevin Walmsley (Part 2)

US Military Launches Unprecedented $1bn Critical Minerals Stockpile Amid China Export Restrictions Swarajya. From where? Who will do the processing?

THE STATE DEPARTMENT ISN’T TELLING CONGRESS WHEN U.S. WEAPONS FALL INTO THE WRONG HANDS The Intercept

AI

Police Say People Keep Calling 911 Over an ‘AI Homeless Man’ TikTok Prank Gizmodo

Can OpenAI build a social network? Read Max

Economy

AI profiteering is now indistinguishable from trolling Blood in the Machine

For Many, This Recession Will Feel Like a Depression Charles Hughs Smith

Mr. Market Braces for Impact

Stock Bubble Dread Grips Central Bankers in Washington Bloomberg

Ukrainian crypto influencer Konstantin Ganich found dead in Lamborghini during market crash Express Tribune

Class Warfare

‘Death to Spotify’: the DIY movement to get artists and fans to quit the music app The Guardian

23 Unions Plan to Strike Together If Kaiser Fails to Address Workplace Crises Truthout

Remedies for Ridiculous House Prices Steve Keen

Antidote du jour (via):

Bonus:

See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.

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139 comments

  1. The Rev Kev

    “Trump threatens export controls on Boeing parts in response to China”

    What happens if in response China cancels that contract for 222 new Boeing jets? And that because of the arbitrariness of Trump and the risk to China’s current Boeing fleet, that they say bugger it and they will just manufacture the needed parts themselves using their advanced airspace industry. And when Trump sputters about it, says that they are cancelling the recognition the patent of Boeing plane parts in the same way that Russia cancelled the recognition of western patents at the beginning of the war in the Ukraine. More to the point, is Boeing ready to lose the China market because of a Trump whim?

    Reply ↓
    1. AG

      I´d guess the China-RU cooperation with RU now providing engines for commercial airflight is a move to exactly what you´re suggesting. Airbus would be in much bigger trouble for the same as they wouldn´t have RU replacement for US-parts. Who knows, US planning to use their leverage to take over or dismantle Airbus if China market is gone?

      Reply ↓
    2. Polar Socialist

      Rostec CEO Chemezov has already offered to sell to China all the jet engines they need. Those would be PD-14 for the COMAC 919 and PD-8 for the COMAC 909. Then those project would finally lift off…

      Since Rostec refuses to license the production to China, for Chinese aviation industry this would merely mean switching from one dependency to another, until their own engines are ready someday after 2030. Also, in the current international sanctions slamming trade environment Russian engines would mean C9xx series not being exportable to many countries (due to certification issues).

      But if China intends to build 200 C9xx airlines per year by 2030, they really don’t have any other option. And even if they started now, it’ll take a couple of years to fit the Russian engines in and certify them for China.

      So, in order to keep their airlines operational, China will have to beat Trump into submission. And then find alternatives to USA and EU engines and avionics as soon as possible.

      Reply ↓
      1. AG

        “Also, in the current international sanctions slamming trade environment Russian engines would mean C9xx series not being exportable to many countries (due to certification issues).”

        Thanks. That´s a an important detail I didn´t consider.

        Reply ↓
      2. leaf

        Wonder how long it will take China to make their own engines for wide body passenger aircraft since it seems like they’ve been trying to do this for many years
        I do think they make their own engines for their military planes? Though I understand those aren’t as easily transferred to other types

        Reply ↓
        1. MicaT

          China already makes their own gas turbines, which is essentially the same thing as a jet fueled turbine.
          Anyone who bets against China building what they need in short order has been proven wrong time and again.

          But Boeing and I think airbus both get many many products from China.
          The amount of car parts we get from China would cripple the US car industry overnight.
          And the list goes on.

          The other aspect to the tariffs is look at the map of what countries China now dominates trade vs the US.
          Another trade disaster Trump can’t win.

          As to rare earths it isnt too complicated to make them. Most rare earths feed stocks are byproducts from other mining. Coal,copper, steel etc. But you do have to have the feed stock, then be able to make a giant mess during the refining. Hard to believe it’ll happen at all and if it does it’ll be 10 yrs.

          Reply ↓
          1. mass

            Jet fueled turbine is not a thing that exists. Gas turbines are closer to turboprop than to turbojet/turbofan. There is even siginficant difference between low-bypass and high-bypass turbofans that one can not instantly transition from one to another (first one used in fighter jets, and second in commercial aviation). Russians have been working on fully Russian planes for a while.

            Reply ↓
    3. Louis Fyne

      Boeing is essentially an industrial Fannie Mae…too big to fail with an implicit state backing.

      but in the sense that it’ll never be liquidated; rather “Good Boeing” would be split from “Dumpster Fire Boeing” post-bankruptcy

      Reply ↓
      1. AG

        Isn´t this the case with Boeing since 1945?
        The manufactured war scare of 1948 against RU was by and large intended to save Boeing by justifying a new military budget regime.

        Reply ↓
      2. jsn

        Which one gets the C-Suite?

        If that goes with the Dumpster Fire, there may be hope for the future!

        Unlikely with The Best Government Ever!

        Reply ↓
    4. NN Cassandra

      The really interesting part is what EU will do if Trump follows through.

      Trump bans Boeing from China -> China orders Airbuses -> Trump sanctions Airbus -> EU does ???

      Reply ↓
          1. moog

            It already started with the Mistral class ships, that were canceled after they were built. Recently, Franch got some submarines for Straya canceled, because boss said so. I don’t think they even bothered complaining.

            If US say jump. EU asks how high. That’s what it was made for, just like NATO.

            Reply ↓
          2. Paul J-H

            I am Dutch and I have read quite a lot of news about this.The reason why the Dutch government can do this is that there is a lawfrom 1952, which allows the government to remove the CEO when there is a case of significant and serious mismanagement. The law was intended for use during wars or catastrophes and has never been used.

            Significant here is that the board of the company itself contacted the Chamber of Commerce (different role than the American version). It is unclear what the CEO (Mr. Wing) did wrong, but it probably has to do with him being strategically situated as Chinese head of a chipmaking business (although apparently simple chips). Another reason is that the company recently acquired a start-up that has found a way to transmit electricity wirelessly, so chips can recharge just by “being somewhere”. This might be the kind of critical new technology the Dutch government doesn’t want to transfer to China.

            But this is quite something. Note that only the CEO was removed, the company itself is under a kind of guardianship at the moment.

            Reply ↓
            1. Paul J-H

              This article (which I hope is not behind a paywall) states that it really was the board of governors which wanted the CEO removed regarding Chinese ownership and strategic risks. A lawyer says in this text, that because of the minimal information that has come from the Ministry of Economic affairs, that it is not possible yet to assess the legality of the use of this law from 1952, but it is possible to appeal the decision.
              https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2025/10/13/waarom-schoof-nederland-de-chinese-topman-van-chipmaker-nexperia-opzij-a4909432

              Reply ↓
            2. mass

              Another reason is that the company recently acquired a start-up that has found a way to transmit electricity wirelessly, so chips can recharge just by “being somewhere”. This might be the kind of critical new technology the Dutch government doesn’t want to transfer to China.

              As an engineer, I call BS on a startup with “critical new technology” straight out of a garage.

              Also, that law from 1952 is not the reason, but the excuse, or justification. The reason is order from “The Boss”, just like with recent act of French piracy on the high seas, and many other things that EU vassals are doing.

              Reply ↓
    5. Glen

      There is an Airbus factory in China making airplanes:

      Airbus delivers 700th China-built A320 aircraft, highlighting importance of Chinese aviation supply chain
      https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202407/1315618.shtml

      Until there is serious talk about starving this factory of critical parts (CFM Leap-1A engines and avionics) China might be willing to cancel or delay Boeing 737 Max orders until there is a firm trade deal.

      Reply ↓
  2. Steve H.

    > High-resolution ‘fingerprint’ images reveal a weakening Atlantic Ocean circulation (AMOC) RealClimate

    >> And the Nordic Seas have warmed – we have a paper in preparation which shows this is due to increased flow of warm water toward the Nordic Seas and likely a result of AMOC weakening

    There’s an explanation for what I’d been wondering about.

    Climate Reanalyzer for Sea Surface Temperatures is still showing recent points rather than linking them into a line. I had taken a screenshot and it looks like they eliminated some points and shifted the whole thing downward. The subpolar area is well under historical averages, while Saturday’s reading for the Gulf of Maine was an all-time high.

    Here’s the Climate Reanalyzer for the Sub-Polar North Atlantic. On the anomaly map (farther down on the page), you can see the cold blob extending to Britain, as well as warmer waters to the north. This article gives an analysis with some explanatory value.

    Reply ↓
  3. vao

    Yesterday, I made a comment on the article “Dutch govt accused of freezing operations of Chinese semiconductor giant’s chipmaker Nexperia”.

    I would like to reiterate one point: the practice of evicting the foreign owners from the management of a firm, formally leaving their status as proprietors untouched, while at the same time putting their property under the control of a fiduciary administration seems to become a favourite manoeuvre in EU countries.

    Notably, this was done in Germany against Gazprom regarding Gazprom Germania, and against Rosneft regarding the PCK refinery in Schwedt. Ultimately, the objective is an expropriation, as happened with Gazprom Germania via nationalization in 2022, but which so far has proved intractable for PCK Schwedt. I wonder how China will retaliate in the case of Nexperia.

    With TikTok, the USA did not bother with formalities and with keeping legalistic appearances.

    Reply ↓
    1. The Rev Kev

      The lesson seems to be that if you are investing in and running a business in the EU when you are from a foreign country, then your investment and businesses can be seized at any time if the EU decides that they do not like the government of the country that you come from. As with those Russian assets, this is just theft and I bet that a lot of countries are rethinking about investing in the EU. I would.

      Reply ↓
      1. bertl

        I’d get the hell out of Europe and non-European merchants should insist on payment in gold before even contemplating to fulfill the order. In fact, I’d co-operate with my BRICS parthers to sanction a whole series of key items for Europe as a pre-Christmas gift and take over their companies ai BRICS territories because no foreign busibess is safe from being plundered by the Europeans who are too big for the those boots they bought on tick. Alternatively, colonialise the European space or use it as a weapons testing site. Either is appropriate for a continent of bankrupt thieves and half-arsed prirates whose only role is to irritate the rest of the world by thinking they have a finely tuned moral judgement superior to the rest of humanity – the hallmark of the crimial mind.

        Reply ↓
    2. Paul J-H

      Please see my comment above (below?) – in the Dutch case it was the company’s board of governors that requested the CEO to be removed.

      It is also important to note that perhaps contrary to the German case, it is possible to appeal this decision, and because the law on which this legal action is based has never been used, it quite likely will be challenged – if only to test if that law from 1952 (to ensure production of critical goods in a war situation) can be used to cover mismanagement (the official reason) or strategic importance of the stuff the firm makes. This is not yet over.

      Reply ↓
    1. ChrisFromGA

      I defer to others who are following the situation more closely, but from my seat way in the bleachers, it appears that with one exception, it’s the same cast of clowns as the last cabinet.

      Hard to see the French people tolerating this very long, let alone Marine Le Pen and the left … head of lettuce, you’re wanted on the set!

      Reply ↓
  5. mass

    North Korea Unveils New Hwasong-20 Solid Fuelled Multi-Warhead ICBM Built to Hit the U.S. Mainland Military Watch

    This baby will give Muricans a nasty case of truck envy.

    Reply ↓
  6. principle


    The World’s Taiwan Strategy Runs Through the Philippines The Diplomat

    The United States is alone in the world in maintaining an unofficial but truly deep relationship with Taiwan.

    The world is the United States.

    Reply ↓
    1. Yves Smith

      I’ve only started watching him recently and like him. He does not follow the fine points of some geopolitical news and sometimes takes the bait when he shouldn’t. But he has lots of good stories.

      Reply ↓
      1. AG

        True (after all he once DID join CIA so there is a naivité).
        But he is a smart guy with some good insight I found and huge admirable integrity.

        Two years ago he called out two of THE INTERCEPT´s reporters for betraying several whistleblowers and serving them to US law enforcement. Kiriakous´s interpretation: Not an accident.

        Surprisingly this was not picked up anywhere as I know of. But I personally find it very plausible.
        It would also concur with the fact that almost all big shot reporters who once formed THE INTERCEPT staff have left by now.

        I think it was this interview on Scheerpost (the “kid reporters” at Scheer I find a bit odd but, well…)

        Is the Intercept a Deep State Success Story? (w/ John Kiriakou)
        49 min.
        https://scheerpost.com/2023/10/08/is-the-intercept-a-deep-state-success-story-w-john-kiriakou/

        Also kinda heart-breaking: His son had been mobbed because his Dad had been in prison decried as a traitor to the CIA and America. But his son did not budge and was proud of his Dad. Kiriakou´s happiest day! And prison time was worth that. If I recall this great anecdote correctly.

        Reply ↓
        1. Yves Smith

          Oh, I think he’s terrific on what he knows about, which is a LOT. And the story of his prosecution and his time in prison is stunningly terrible.

          There are plenty of YouTubers who opine on topics where they are on thin ice. It’s a hazard of being a pundit.

          Reply ↓
      2. chris

        Rogan is enjoyable to listen to, and even if he is subject to all the “bro science” criticisms people lob against him, he is asking questions from a similar perspective to many US citizens. So just like with Petersen, Shapiro, etc., you don’t have to like him, but if you want to engage people in dialog, you better try to understand him.

        I think the main reason Rogan catches so much flack from the official opinion havers is because he is not supposed to be allowed to have what he has. People like Derek Thompson, Matt Yglesias, Larry Sunmers, Victoria Nuland, Jen Tsaki, these people are allowed to have platforms. Official apolgists like the talking heads on staff at MSNBC and CNN and NPR and the Atlantic and NYT are permitted to shill for the official position too. These people are allowed to ask questions and offer answers. Political candidates are supposed to care about what they think. The Neanderthal who used to host Fear Factor is not supposed to have any reach or be of any consequence. The fact that he exists at all is interpreted to be a sign that something fundamentally wrong has occurred. I’m sure we’ll find out soon that Rogan is allegedly a Russian operative and should be ignored.

        Reply ↓
        1. hk

          The way things are going, the ptb will be howling that the American people are Russian moles and will need to be replaced, to defend THEIRDEMOCRACY(tm).

          Reply ↓
          1. jsn

            After the uprising against permanent war
            The Editor of The Atlantic
            Had leaflets distributed on the Mall
            Which stated that the people
            Had squandered the confidence of the government
            And could only win it back
            By redoubled work. Would it not in that case
            Be simpler for the government
            To dissolve the people
            And elect another?

            apologies to Brecht

            Reply ↓
  8. bertl

    I see the dog shooting lady is making great efforts to convince the US public that it will be the Democrats who are to blame when starving government employees are forced to shoot their dogs for sustenance.

    Reply ↓
    1. Kurtismayfield

      Remember, the center right donkey party is both incompetent and the most evil powerful force in the US simultaneously to the reactionary elephant party.

      Reply ↓
    2. raspberry jam

      I’ve had to do a lot of domestic US travel over the last two weeks and seeing these videos while waiting in the TSA security line at dilapidated US airports has been a new peak ‘American Dystopia’ experience even with all the many other contenders the past 25 years

      Reply ↓
  9. mass

    Ukraine Accuses Russia of Deliberately Severing External Link to Zaporizhzhia Plant Reuters

    “Russia intentionally broke the plant’s connection with the Ukrainian grid in order to forcefully test reconnection with the Russian grid,” Sybiha wrote on X in English. He denounced the “attempted theft of a peaceful Ukrainian nuclear facility”.

    This is hilarious, especially now that Russians are turning their lights off.

    Reply ↓
      1. Polar Socialist

        Indeed it has, but until recently one of the reactors was in hot shutdown mode to provide energy for the safety and used fuel processing systems. IIRC after an unknown party hit a cooling tower with a drone, the safety systems have depended on the power fed from Ukrainian grid.

        Which, due to shelling by an unknown party, was cut three weeks ago, and all the systems mentioned have been running on emergency diesel generators since then. It would be logical for the Rosatom to connect the security and processing systems to the Russian grid, which seems to be more stable than the Ukrainian at the moment..

        Reply ↓
  10. The Rev Kev

    “China tightens export controls on battery materials and equipment”

    Kevin Walmsley came out with a post which I can highly recommend to do with the situation of batteries and China (video embedded). Here is one snippet from it

    ‘China’s university system has 50 programs that focus on battery technology and battery metallurgy, at the graduate school level. In the United States, it’s hard to find a single professor that specializes in batteries. As a result, American undergrads who want to study batteries in the don’t have anywhere to go.’

    https://kdwalmsley.substack.com/p/why-chinas-monopolies-on-batteries

    Threatened tariffs aren’t going to fix this situation. You would need many years work of building up teaching courses just to get into the game. I can’t see that happening.

    Reply ↓
    1. Samuel Conner

      I imagine that it would be possible to start a program from scratch by hiring expertise from the staff of the Chinese programs, and building the necessary facilities. It would be very expensive, I would think.

      I doubt that “The Market” will solve this problem.

      Reply ↓
      1. leaf

        There’s a wonderful opportunity for some scammers to suck up VC funding for “rare earth startups”. Any random Chinese person can now go to the US, claim they are a “dissident” and are bringing rare earth knowledge and expertise to create a “AI mining refinery token blockchain”, “Hardware as a service” to suck up funding and then vanish

        Reply ↓
  11. Stephen V

    Why I love AI —
    Compilents of my search engine
    Presearch.com)
    Quoth:
    The London address for Oxford
    University Press
    is 198 Madison Avenue, New York,
    NY 10016, USA.

    Reply ↓
  12. pjay

    -‘RILEY WAGGAMAN: THE SMO HAS ACHIEVED EVERYTHING IT WAS SUPPOSED TO PREVENT IN UKRAINE’ – Natylie’s Place

    I would be very interested to know what Riley Waggaman thinks would have happened if Russia had *not* carried out its SMO. Does he think Putin or his advisors were not aware of the possible (probable?) outcomes predicted by the Valdai Club’s Program Director? Why does he think Putin thought it was necessary to take this action anyway? What actions would Riley have preferred, and what would the results have been in Riley’s view?

    What Riley has actually done is describe the Catch-22 situation the US/NATO project had created for Russia by December 2021. But the implication that the SMO was some kind of a bad choice by Putin is very irritating, especially when the author does not give any reasons for believing there was a better one.

    Reply ↓
    1. hk

      When I first saw the title, I was wondering, whose goals.

      SMO has not broken Russia economically.

      SMO has not split Russia from China or from other countries outside the West.

      Europe does not have easy access to Russian energy or raw materials.

      Ukraine is not in NATO or EU, and probably never will be–assuming NATO or EU, or perhaps even Ukraine, still exists.

      A lot of other stuff to list, obviously.

      So the West has failed at everything it wanted to
      achieve by inducing SMO, no?

      Reply ↓
  13. The Rev Kev

    ‘Spencer Hakimian
    @SpencerHakimian
    A food bank lined up with military members who didn’t receive a paycheck this week:’

    I really don’t know how many government shutdown there have been over the years. A lot. As both parties profess to loving the troops, why did they not pass a bipartisan bill many years ago guaranteeing the pay for the troops whenever there is a shutdown? A strange omission that. Unless both sides wanted to get political capital from this issue each and every time it comes up that is.

    Reply ↓
    1. ChrisFromGA

      Years ago I read Chris Matthews’ book on politics. He told an anecdote from his time on Capitol Hill, when he was a young, naive Congressional aid. He asked his boss, why don’t the Democrats put up a bill to index the minimum wage to inflation? That way, they wouldn’t have to fight the GOP every time the issue came up.

      The response he got was, more or less, we don’t want to do that, because we value the political capital we get framing the GOP as cold-hearted bastards more than we do actually raising the minimum wage and helping people.

      So, there you go.

      Reply ↓
      1. JCC

        The Iron Law of Institutions in action

        Power Dynamics: Those in charge focus on maintaining their influence rather than enhancing the institution’s effectiveness.

        Institutional Failure: Leaders may allow an organization to fail if it means preserving their power.

        Reply ↓
    2. griffen

      It’s banana republic time in America…USA, USA. I have begun wondering how strident in it’s support of these various and wild antics begin to disrupt the most loyal of the Trump base. Hard core right support like, oh farmers getting dinged heavily in their wallets or the most loyal of the small business owners likewise getting dinged by tariff policies and likely decreased demand…

      To quote GNR…”while the $ billions shift from side to side…”. Enjoying the circus on NFL weekends, maybe we just check out, and instead login to the sports betting matrix and bet that, oh perhaps the NY Jets to be a screw up franchise…

      Reply ↓
    3. chris

      All you need to do is spend some time helping a veteran get the benefits they need from the VA, or better yet, help them go to their appointments at the VA, and you find out very quickly none of our politicians care about the troops.

      Reply ↓
  14. The Rev Kev

    ‘Donald J. Trump
    Don’t worry about China, it will be all fine! Highly respected President Xi just had a bad moment. He doesn’t want depression for his country, and neither do I. The U.S.A. wants to help China, not hurt it!!! President DJT.’

    For some reason, this post made me hungry for food. Perhaps something Mexican. Maybe a rolled tortilla filled and stuffed with things like meat, cheese, vegetables and beans. Perhaps with salsa, guacamole and the like for taste. No idea why.

    Reply ↓
  15. pjay

    I think Jared Kushner has visions of State funerals or permanent monuments honoring his Sacred Contributions to the Holy Land along the lines of a Robert Maxwell or James Jesus Angleton. Of course the times, and Kushner, being what they are, his sacred vision is more like a Trump Luxury Village on the Sea. Here’s hoping he lives to see this dream collapse like a heap of Gaza rubble – but that’s not how the world usually works.

    Reply ↓
  17. Chas

    “Death to Spotify.” I hate to admit it but I kind of like Spotify. Its AI function knows the music I like and finds similar songs and offers them to me. I’ve discovered lots of new music that way. It’s the only AI I have ever personally felt was useful. However, I agree with all the criticisms of Spotify in the article. Instead of boycotting Spotify, though, I think what’s needed is a good alternative. I’d like to see the musicians themselves set up their own music streaming service. They could run it like a cooperative. Imho it would be successful.

    Reply ↓
    2. Giovanni Barca

      Who would lend a musician money for a startup? Who would make sure it wasn’t squashed by entertainment industry lawyers and lobbyists?

      If you want to help the cause of music and musicians come to the bars where we play. Ditch the music industry altogether.

      Reply ↓
  18. raspberry jam

    Quick mid-state-of-play update from my Israeli colleagues on the current situation in Israel…

    – The general consensus is that the ceasefire was imposed on Netanyahu and his cabinet and they are unwilling participants. Lots of commentary on Trump’s address to the Knesset today repeating things like ‘War is over’, when I said that Trump was great at bloviating and not great at following through, they said Netanyahu (and Ben Gvir/Smotrich) would have only done this in response to serious threats (they assumed pulling military support) and pointed to the Abraham Accords and Arab states on board.
    – Lots of speculation continuing that this has had to be imposed because Netanyahu has been continually escalating to keep out of prison due to his ongoing trial. This is backed up both by Ben Gvir threatening to bring the government down and Trump stating during his speech that Herzog ‘should pardon Netanyahu’.
    – There is not a lot of desire for a continuation of any hostilities at this time in the general public, the settlers and Smotrich/Ben Gvir are seen as the forces that drove a compromised Netanyahu to this point with the situation and any other government makeup would not have brought things to this point.
    – Most I’ve talked to think if the government doesn’t fall imminently it will fall within a few months and very little will be accomplished, and the next government will be significantly less settler-focused (they claim recent polls show plummeting support for the settler parties, but I don’t have time at the moment to search for links – will try later).
    – Most believed a Palestinian state would ultimately be created as a result of this, and this would probably trigger major intra-Israeli civil conflict due to the settler issue.
    – Several said they thought not only pressure ‘from above’ by Trump but also the IDF potentially refusing to carry out directives that were made in opposition to Trump’s directives in the day or two leading up to announcement last week were a factor. This came from former IDF officers who were careful to say that it wasn’t insubordination, they pointed to statements made by the IDF commander last Friday that the IDF supported the ceasefire before the government announced it and some comments within that statement about the IDF having completed it’s tasks and needing time to recover. Basically building on the idea that the hardliners have been pushing the IDF to this point through a weak/compromised Netanyahu.
    – Netanyahu is skipping the peace talks in Egypt, his excuse is because it is Simchat Torah, the consensus was that Netanyahu is now terrified of being murdered by the settlers as Rabin was when he came close to recognizing a Palestinian state. Lots of comments on how tired/bad Netanyahu has looked this past week.

    Reply ↓
    1. Ben Panga

      Much appreciated RJ.

      Some post-deal electoral polling:

      Maariv

      Channel 13 and 14

      Translated from Hebrew, the original Maariv:

      “Free fall: Likud strengthens after deal, but coalition weakens | Maariv poll

      After signing the agreement with the terrorist organization Hamas, the Likud is recovering | Smotrich again fails to pass the electoral threshold | Bennett weakens, as does Itamar Ben-Gvir

      Also notable that there is strong support for new elections.

      Reply ↓
      1. raspberry jam

        Thanks Ben!

        Very interesting that Likud is gaining seats and the opposition is back below the coalition threshold. One possibility I’ve wondered is if the hardliners bring down the current government if Netanyahu could form a coalition without them (effectively undoing the devil’s bargain he made after the 2022 election).

        Reply ↓
          1. raspberry jam

            I agree with him (Ori Goldberg) for the most part; Ben Gvir is a provocateur and Smotrich doesn’t have the electoral numbers behind his ideology and neither of them could have gotten elected without Netanyahu. Their power stemmed from the fact that Netanyahu didn’t have a majority (for the first time I believe) in the government just preceding the current and there had been 5 elections called in 3 years, so he had to go further right to get a coalition that would hold, and he actively cultivated Smotrich and Ben Gvir.

            They knew this, they knew this was their one shot at power, and they milked it for all it was worth. And Netanyahu, due to his ongoing corruption trial, needed the government to hold, needed the state of exception to hold, so he could stay out of depositions and out of jail.

            Now that polling is showing that Ben Gvir and Smotrich’s parties are losing the electoral math and Netanyahu’s is rising, he probably won’t need them for another coalition. There are 700,000 settlers in the West Bank currently though, so not sure how long the delusion of returning to status quo ante will last in Israel.

            Reply ↓
    2. hk

      Curious if Netanyahu’s call to Putin has more in it than I thought, given the context. Certainly, it seems thst a war with Iran is not somethingbIsrael can afford given where it is at at the moment

      Reply ↓
      1. raspberry jam

        Trump has been blabbing between speeches about Israel and Iran making peace next. It occurred to me that maybe Netanyahu had been ordered to call Putin and demand mediation or discussions. I don’t really think Israel has the means for another round with Iran right now. These are all from the last few days:

        – Iran says it is open to ‘fair, balanced’ US nuclear proposal | Reuters October 11
        – US says ‘ball in Iran’s court’ after Tehran snubs Trump’s peace summit | Iran International October 12
        – Trump again floats peace between Israel and Iran in Knesset speech | Times of Israel, October 13

        Reply ↓
  19. The Rev Kev

    ‘blake
    @blakestonks
    Oct 10
    Shoutout to this guy for opening a $330M short position on Ethereum minutes before Trump announced more tariffs on China.
    Let the corruption live on.’

    Wildly blatant this. The position was opened up 30 minutes before Trump made his announcement, the guy made bank and all that money was transferred out shortly afterwards. Not the first time I think that Trump has done this. I have a firm memory of Trump talking after he made an announcement a coupla months ago and was saying so-and-so made a coupla billion and then mentioned others who had made well. It was kinda gross listening to him boast how he helped wealthy people become even more wealthy.

    Reply ↓
  20. DJG, Reality Czar

    Today, in her column in Fatto Quotidiano, Veronica Gentili, theatrical director, actress, journalist, and insightful observer of the human condition, calls Trump:

    Wannabe Gandhi

    which I found highly amusing. So I place it here for you to discuss.

    I might describe his newfound saintly eminence more briefly:

    The Magatma.

    Meanwhile, I read the paper and also did a couple of sweeps though Ytoob to see what the Italian news sources and informed vlogs are saying about the ceasefire. First, Francesca Albanese, yesterday at the culturally very important (and oversubscribed) pilgrimage / march from Perugia to Assisi (as in San Francesco), pointed out that the ceasefire doesn’t give the Palestinians a state.

    In a sense, a very real sense, what the various negotiators are dancing around is that Hamas has waged an almost-successful war of liberation. It is going to be hard, indeed, to dislodge Hamas. (Think about Gaza in relation to the Tet Offensive in Vietnam.)

    A ceasefire is not an armistice. (Which we also known from Project Ukraine.) An armistice may produce a viable Palestinian state. Stress on “may.” And as Albanese and others here have noted, what now happens to the West Bank, politically?

    Meanwhile, meanwhile, what does the Magatma do when it becomes obvious once again that the Israeli government has negotiated in bad faith?

    Reply ↓
      2. Ben Panga

        I read that as saying Israel won?

        Transcript excerpt (reformatted from this)

        And in an unprecedented achievement, virtually the entire region has endorsed the plan that Gaza will be immediately demilitarized — that Hamas will be disarmed, and Israel’s security will no longer be threatened in any way, shape, or form.

        So Israel, with our help, has won all that they can by force of arms. You’ve won. I mean, you’ve won.

        Now it’s time to translate these victories against terrorists on the battlefield into the ultimate prize of peace and prosperity for the entire Middle East. It’s about time you were able to enjoy the fruits of your labor.

        Mr. Opposition Leader — he’s… I said he’s a very nice Opposition Leader. I think — no, he’s a nice man. He’s a nice man. Good. He knows what he’s doing right now. A very nice guy. Well, see, now you can be a little bit nicer, Bibi, because you’re not at war anymore.

        But only by embracing the opportunities of this moment can we achieve our goal of ensuring that the horrors of recent years will never happen again. You don’t want to have to go through this again.

        Reply ↓
        1. raspberry jam

          It’s so hard to parse his ramblings! I was thinking of this explicit line:

          “You’ve won, and now you can build,” he says. “It’s going to be a miracle,” he says.

          But looking at the context from the transcript (thank you for posting that, here is the full speech if anyone wishes to watch) you may be right that he was addressing the Israelis:

          YOU’RE GOING TO UNLEASH NUMBERS AND SUCCESS, THE LIKES OF WHICH ISRAEL HAS NEVER BEEN ABLE TO THINK OF, BECAUSE YOU’RE SO FIRM AND YOU SHOULD BE, AND YOU’VE DONE THE RIGHT THING IN DEFENDING YOURSELF, YOU’RE NOT GOING TO HAVE TO WORRY SO MUCH ABOUT IT. YOU’VE WON, AND NOW YOU CAN BUILD AND YOU CAN DO THINGS THAT YOU NEVER EVEN THOUGHT POSSIBLE. IT’S WHEN YOU PUT THAT GENIUS INTO DOING SOMETHING ELSE.

          Reply ↓
          1. Ben Panga

            >It’s so hard to parse his ramblings

            So true! I almost never watch video of speeches; I just speed-read the transcripts. Trump presents my brain with unusual parsing issues every time!

            Reply ↓
  21. Jason Boxman

    From AI profiteering is now indistinguishable from trolling

    What matters is it doesn’t really matter. Trolling is now all but indistinguishable from AI profiteering. It may be one and the same. One way to look at the entire AI doom phenomenon, especially among the many executives and leaders in Silicon Valley who do not fully believe it but find it useful, is as an elaborate bit of trolling to get consumers and enterprise clients to buy their products. “This technology could kill us all, but use it to automate your email job while you can.”

    That was my original thought, that it’s not about AI destroying the world, but a marketing ploy so people think this stuff is really genius level awesome instead of garbage. And inevitable.

    I like the trolling angle though, it’s more casual and malicious sounding. Probably more correct.

    Reply ↓
  22. The Rev Kev

    “Ukraine accuses Russia of deliberately severing external link to Zaporizhzhia plant”

    Since Russia has made it clear that they are going to take over all of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast, I can see how all that power will be needed for there along with all the other Russian Oblasts which will need lots of energy in order to rebuild. Unless Trump gets the bright idea to lob a coupla Tomahawks a the Zaporizhzhia plant that is.

    Reply ↓
  23. DJG, Reality Czar

    I’d like to be more wild. Article by Katy Kelleher.

    The article is interesting, so far as it goes. There seems to be an underlying bourgeois fear of trying out new things.

    I was reminded of some absences, though, as I read. There are many, many others in Western thought (and cultures worldwide) who make a better case for going wild.

    –Diogenes. No one is like Diogenes, who on sale at the slave market in Crete, supposedly:

    Thereupon he pointed to a certain Corinthian with a fine purple border to his robe, the man named Xeniades above-mentioned, and said, “Sell me to this man; he needs a master.”

    Diogenes thought that human beings should be as natural as a dog (hence, the school he belonged to, the Kynikos).

    –Epicurus, who valued friendship and taught us that serenity comes from study and control of pleasure — not flat-out denial. Well, the Christians had to get rid of that school.

    –Zen Buddhism, with its stress on intuition and ease and the “daily-life-ness” of enlightenment.

    So there are roads to being more wild, more natural (although, as Camus wisely pointed out, “being natural” is a kind of artifice). Which is why I like that Italian word disinvoltura, which may be defined as (from Treccani):

    disinvoltura /dizinvol’tura/ s. f. [dallo sp. desenvoltura]. – 1. [l’essere franco nei modi: comportarsi con d.] ≈ naturalezza, scioltezza, spigliatezza, spontaneità. ↔ goffaggine, imbarazzo, impaccio, timidezza. ↑ vergogna

    PS: The strange roadbump in that essay, and why I continued to think about what Kelleher has to say, is the overwrought quote from Annie Dillard upon seeing a weasel. Talk about cerebral. I recall, years back, taking a walk near Cormons in Northeastern Italy and chancing on a magnificent, tawny hare, who had just chanced on me. I didn’t experience Dillard’s head-splitting and brain-melting. I experienced a kind of gift, a kind of epiphany, a dose of beauty I recall to this day. And then, because hares are great athletes, he bounded off swiftly.

    Reply ↓
    1. amfortas

      i thought it was alright…but it also pointed me to a Dillard thing i hadnt read before.
      but i read this sort of thing likely much differently than most…because i do it every day,lol.
      walking in the dark to let mom’s birds out, i speak to 3 rabbits every morning(cottontails).. they just sit there>
      and the juvenile possum who has moved under my house…and the 2-3 armadillos shuffling and snuffling around…and the screech owls who live in the owlhouse…
      all of them used to my presence.
      bad side of that, is that the coyotes are used to me, too,lol..been coming up into the lights right behind my house.
      deployed bano barrels from the composting toilets to deter them.

      Reply ↓
  24. AG

    re: Australia CIA drugs Mafia

    Slain Journalist Was on Threshold of Exposing Large-Scale CIA-Mafia Drug-Smuggling Operation Using Australian Bank Founded by Special Forces Veteran

    By Jeremy Kuzmarov

    October 10, 2025
    https://covertactionmagazine.com/2025/10/10/slain-journalist-was-on-threshold-of-exposing-large-scale-cia-mafia-drug-smuggling-operation-using-australian-bank-founded-by-special-forces-veteran/#post-82639-footnote-2

    Unusually brief for Kuzmarov 😉 but as always packed with info.

    Reply ↓
  25. Ben Panga

    One of Europe’s biggest farm machinery firms halts US exports over ‘hidden’ tariffs (Guardian)

    One of Europe’s biggest farm machinery companies, Krone, has been forced to pause exports of large equipment to the US because of “alarming” and little-known new tariffs that are hitting hundreds of products from knitting needles and hair dryers to combine harvesters.

    Among the products on the steel derivatives list drawn up in consultation with US manufacturers, Donald Trump is taxing 407 specific products ranging from tiny embroidery stilettos to cooker hoods, barbecues, fridges, freezers, dishwashers, hair curling tongs, grills, elevators, bridge and railway structures, agriculture equipment and wind turbines.

    It has meant that since 18 August, companies such as Krone and the construction company Liebherr in Germany have to provide an unprecedented level of detail to customs border authorities certifying the origin, weight and value of any steel in their products right down to nuts and bolts.

    “You have to get paperwork from the supplier to the supplier to the supplier. That is pretty much impossible,” said Oliver Richtberg, the head of foreign trade at the German engineering federation VDMA, one of the most influential trade bodies in Europe.

    He described the EU/US trade deal, struck in July, as “not worth the paper it is written on”

    I speak to a variety of German business types every day through work. To say they are pessimistic would be an understatement.

    Reply ↓
  26. AG

    re: empire in crisis

    Podcast:
    CovertAction Bulletin – From Gaza to Portland: A System in Crisis

    By Rachel Hu and Chris Garaffa –
    October 8, 2025

    50 min.
    https://covertactionmagazine.com/2025/10/08/covertaction-bulletin-from-gaza-to-portland-a-system-in-crisis/

    intro text:

    “(…)
    The Israeli government has waged the latest campaign in its effort to wipe out and destroy the Palestinian people entirely for over two years now, with the full financial, diplomatic and military backing of the United States government. Using a conservative estimate of 66,600 deaths, the toll from Gaza since October 7, 2023, represents 14% of all conflicts worldwide in that time period according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project.

    As the Trump administration puts forward a supposed deal and applies massive pressure to the Palestinian resistance to accept it, protests around the world have taken the streets in solidarity with the Palestinian people. Meanwhile, Israel continues to attack Lebanon as members of the Israeli cabinet urge Netanyahu to increase the terror even further.

    And in the United States, the Trump administration renewed its consideration of using the Insurrection Act after multiple judges have issued rulings fully or temporarily blocking his deployments of National Guard troops to cities like Portland. Over the past two weeks, the Trump administration has intensified its domestic deployment of military and federal forces, waging what many are calling Trump’s “war from within.”

    In Portland, the White House sought to federalize the Oregon National Guard under the pretext of protecting federal property. That move was blocked by a Trump-appointed federal judge, who declared, “This is a nation of constitutional law, not martial law,” warning that the administration’s arguments risk “blurring the line between civil and military federal power—to the detriment of this nation.” In response, Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller accused Judge Immergut of staging a “legal insurrection,” and Trump has since pressed ahead with alternative avenues to deploy the National Guard to Portland.

    The multiple global crises all point to a system in crisis, where social constructs and agreements that have held the the national and global order together have been so fractured that they cannot hold.
    (…)”.

    Reply ↓
  28. .Tom

    > Will the SNP Reform or Rebrand? BarrheadBoy

    The author, retired and living in Spain, is new to me and I’ll check out his podcast later. His point is that the SNP has reconfirmed its commitment to pursuing another referendum. It isn’t a big surprise. Conter and Craig Murray have been complaining for years that SNP is all too comfortable with the status quo, i.e. devolution, i.e. Scottish Parliament as a glorified regional council. SNP seeks a referendum knowing it won’t be granted so as to not change anything while signalling that they want independence.

    What I wonder about is BarrheadBoy’s statement, “we hoped that at last the SNP would rediscover it’s radical independence roots.” I doubt the SNP is the right vehicle for radical independence. If the first order of business for the new nation is to join the EU and NATO and seek foreign capital investment, is independence really the right word for what you want?

    I’m also unsure how much the strong but still minority polling in favor of divorce rests on a negative conception of self, i.e. Scots are different from England, Westminster, the Tories, etc. Idk if a solid majority exists for a positive conception of independent Scotland. If a serious plan for true independence were the proposal, including its own political money, a fiscal strategy, multi-year budgets, foreign trade, customs, immigration etc., and it’s own politics that can blame nobody else, so people could see what it would be like to be independent, would the support go up or down?

    Reply ↓
  29. AG

    re: Germany election BSW vote recount

    BSW has now started a grassroots action project: They urge everyone to use a prepared letter to the commission which is deciding over a recount and this way generate mass emails by people and increase pressure.

    Recount now: How you can support our demand!
    https://bsw-vg.de/neuauszaehlunng-jetzt-so-kannst-du-unsere-forderung-unterstuetzen/

    The German link for generating the email would be here:
    https://BuendnisSahraWagenknecht.short.gy/Neuauszaehlung

    Reply ↓
  30. Wukchumni

    Gooooooooood Mooooooooorning Fiatnam!

    Was on the Nature Trail in war-weary crime-racked Mineral King, so it didn’t surprise me to see massed masked National Guard troops looking frankly bewildered-as if they’d been sold a bill of goods, in that I was the only civilian on the trail in the midst of amazing fall foliage-the only riot being that of color.

    Reply ↓
  31. Dale T. Mathews

    Pardon if you covered this somewhere else. Seems Trump’s proposed travel ban may have thrown a spanner in my plans to travel to Hanoi in December: from NYC via Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific. My last trip was enjoyable, passing through Yakutsk (albeit from 35,000 feet).

    Reply ↓
  32. mass

    In other news, Russians ran out of shovels and uniforms, and are storming the city in tracksuits armed with radios.

    https://x.com/Playfra0/status/1977440856366870821
    Kupyansk city. I was finally able to gather some information from the ground.
    Russian soldiers use civilian clothes to approach the city, and hide along the way in basements or empty houses.
    They go there unarmed, only with radios, but there are so many Russian and Ukrainian bodies with gear that it’s simply possible to loot their rifles.
    After gearing up, they hide again in basements.
    While hunting for Ukrainian infantry, the Russians always look for basements with a lot of noise. Generators, especially the larger 3 kW or 5kW ones make a lot of noise, and this often reveals Ukrainian positions.
    Then, the Ukrainian position is ambushed, the bodies are looted for even more supplies and the general running around continues.
    I would like to continue stressing that running around does not mean consolidation, which is very likely why DeepState draws a gray zone in the city even with Russian presence in most of it.
    It’s a mess. Complete chaos. Russians go around, Ukrainians ambush them and are ambushed. Positions are established and destroyed. There is nothing to map for us OSINTers.

    Reply ↓
    1. Polar Socialist

      So the biggest NATO trained and armed army that ever fought can’t hold against unarmed groups of 2-3 men?

      Reply ↓
    2. The Rev Kev

      That sounds like the format for a military video game where you start with basically nothing and then loot weapons, supplies, medical gear, etc. as you proceed through the game. The original DOOM from the 1990s is like that.

      Reply ↓
  33. Mikel

    World War III: The African Scenario – Marat Khairullin Substack

    “…Among the Rapid Support Forces appeared Ukrainian and Colombian mercenaries. They were supplied by the world-famous British private military company SAS International…”

    I remembered a place where I encountered some background on SAS. From Adam Curtis doing one of his more journalistic documentaries (part 1 of a series on Britain – The Mayfair Set – that is much better than his recent melancholy, nostalgic romp):
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFj341n7t0g/

    Reply ↓
    1. Aurelien

      According to the Internet, SAS International is “a leading British manufacturer of quality metal ceilings and bespoke architectural metalwork,” although I suppose they could be involved somehow. I’m not aware of any PMC of that name, and if anyone thought of using it, they’d probably get a visit from men in leather jackets and jeans with short haircuts, suggesting that they think again. He may be thinking of Adam Smith International, a world-famous way of wasting the British taxpayers money with pointless “governance” schemes.
      This is the worst article on Africa I’ve read this year, which is saying something.

      Reply ↓
      2. Michaelmas

        The Africa piece is awful. As for the Adam Curtis documentary, that isn’t bad, with lots of old, familiar faces, but it’s a case of whoosh foreign viewers failing to grasp that Curtis is eliding the distinction between David Stirling’s WW2-era national military activities —
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Stirling#Second_World_War
        — and his post-war mercenary ones —
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Stirling#Post-war_activities
        — so as to stress their essential continuities.

        People like Stirling or, for that matter, Enoch Powell existed in that era’s Britain and were profoundly troubled by empire’s end, as hard as that may be for Americans or even British people today to grasp. Nor was what they believed in the ‘Little Britain’ Tory-Reform cartoon version of today. I was amused to read the following in an article (an LRB review of a new book about the UK and the EU) –

        ‘….In February 1981 Powell attended a meeting of the Conservative Philosophy Group, whose members included Roger Scruton and Michael Oakeshott. There (Thatcher and Powell) clashed … Thatcher had confidently declared that nuclear weapons were needed to defend ‘Western values’. Powell responded: ‘No, we do not fight for values. I would fight for this country even if it had a communist government.’ After this startling riposte the two went at it. ‘Nonsense, Enoch. If I send British troops abroad, it will be to defend our values.’ ‘No, prime minister, values exist in a transcendental realm, beyond space and time. They can neither be fought for nor destroyed.’ Thatcher was reported to be ‘utterly baffled’ by this response.”

        https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v47/n18/david-runciman/down-the-rabbit-hole

        Reply ↓
      3. Mikel

        It’s certainly making assumptions about what should or could be considered “progressive forces” before everything has played out.

        Reply ↓
      1. Acacia

        And like all other Russian citizens, she will get free healthcare.

        Put that in yer pipe and smoke it, ‘Murika. ;)

        Reply ↓
  36. Tom Stone

    I believe Trump will escalate domestically until he has an excuse to invoke the insurrection act.
    Which will make Mr Market very sad.
    Gold at $6K per OZ seems more likely than not.
    And as I have mentioned previously the official narrative about Charlie Kirks assassination isn’t finding many buyers among the Republicans I am acquainted with.
    And food prices are up noticeably over the last 2 weeks.
    If Pam Bondi had not assured me that Trump has been chosen by God to Make America Great Again I’d be worried.

    Reply ↓
  37. Aurelien

    So we have a new government in France, although maybe not for long. The government will be presented to the National Assembly tomorrow afternoon, and Lecornu will give a “declaration of general policy.” There won’t be a vote.
    This will happen later in the week, when both Mélenchon’s LFI with supporters (but not the Socialists), and Le Pen’s RN and friends have put down motions of censure. If either succeeds, the government will fall, and nobody knows what happens after that. There is no way that Macron can be forced to dissolve the NA, though.
    As things stand, the arithmetic is very complicated. For the moment, the Socialists say they are waiting to see whether they can get concessions on pensions reform before deciding how to vote. If LFI and Co and the RN and their allies vote together to censure the government, but the Socialists don’t, or abstain, then it’s very hard to say who will win. It could down to the votes of a few independents. At the moment I would put the chances very slightly in favour of one or both of the censure motions failing. But if the Socialists get their concessions, then the Right might well decide to leave the government. Satisfying both the Socialists and the Right may actually be impossible. If the Socialists vote for either motion, the government will almost certainly fall. However, this assumes that the RN can actually bring itself to vote for a motion tabled by LFI, and even more vice versa. The comedy may not be over yet.
    The composition of the government itself was dictated by Macron and announced from the Elysée. It’s his last throw of the dice, and, in an echo of 2017, contains some “civil society” personalities, from business and the public services. There are some interesting names, but I don’t have the energy to go through them all until we know whether the government will survive past Thursday.

    Reply ↓
    1. AG

      When former US officials make future assessments about the fall of European governments I am always very skeptical. Lawrence Wilkerson with Glenn Diesen on Oct. 11th suggested neither France, UK, FRG would hold up more than a year at max.

      He also apparently had an interview with German reporters who expressed serious doubts. But what German reporters are doing interviews with a Lawrence Wilkerson? I know that kind. They have no recourse to establishment in Berlin as far as I know the sphere from outside. They talk about people who vote for AfD, BSW or not at all. But that´s not where formative power is located.

      Besides. Even if Merz were to fail – very unlikely from my perspective – the country´s power centers agree on the major policies. The elite has closed ranks.

      And: All three countries are rather different. Something John Helmer pointed out to audiences thankfully with Nima a couple of days ago. So it´s necessary to really distinguish here.

      Thanks for your judgements!

      Reply ↓
  39. Wukchumni

    Columbus never even got to what is the USA, so I always wondered why he got so much credit when I was growing up, which has greatly lessened since.

    Older designs on large size American banknotes were always quite involved-as an anti-counterfeiting measure. These banknotes were known as ‘horseblankets’ in slang in the trade-about 40% larger than a FRN.

    Here on a National Banknote from 1878, Columbus has spotted the new world on the left hand side of the note, while an Indian Princess representing the new world is presented to him, on the right.

    https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/US-NBN-NJ-Vineland-2399-1875-5-2518-D.jpg

    Reply ↓
  40. Wukchumni

    There is a tale that the American people tell
    Don’t care if it is true ’cause I love it so well
    Hegemon make money day & night
    The people were cool with it well ’cause it treated them so right

    Oh-oh-oh, Hegemony sing
    Oh-oh-oh, make Dollar king

    And they wanted Dollars near and far
    We found our way by Bretton Woods four score ago, lucky star
    We’d tell them of their greenback joys, they’d tell us what we owed
    They loved to see $’s come, they’d hate to see $’s go

    Oh-oh-oh (Hegemon), Hegemon print
    Oh-oh-oh (Hegemon), make the money-go-round mint

    We was makin’ our way home on a dark and stormy night
    When we heard a cry for help, We saw in Gaza a flashin’ light
    When we tried to feed the famished and offered them a hand
    The Israelis said, “You’re dead to me” as they took a pirate stand

    Oh-oh-oh (Hegemon), Hegemon AIPAC ring
    Oh-oh-oh (Hegemon), give ’em everything

    “Hegemon, it’s over, the fiat lady sings the last song very well”
    She caused a big commotion ’cause their gotten gains went to hell
    Came along a Donald, he said, “Hegemon, hello”
    “I’ve always wanted to trump Dollars, climb aboard, don’t let go”

    Oh-oh-oh (Hegemon), Hegemon sink
    Oh-oh-oh (Hegemon), make something else king

    The results were a bit tragic, they bid supremacy goodbye
    The billionaires fled into havens, or they stayed up in the sky
    And all the people when they wish upon a star
    See the Donald and the Hegemon who tell ’em where they are

    Oh-oh-oh (Hegemon), Hegemon sink
    Oh-oh-oh (Hegemon), make something else king
    Oh-oh-oh (Hegemon), Hegemon sink
    Oh-oh-oh (Hegemon), make the loss leaders drink

    Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh
    Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh
    Oh-oh-oh, Hegemon sink

    Jolly Mon, by Jimmy Buffett (RIP)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RWLnBAHWHE

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  46. AG

    re: F-35 failure

    RESPONSIBLE STATECRAFT

    US gov’t admits F-35 is a failure

    With some wonky, hard to decipher language, a recent GAO report concluded the beleaguered jet will never meet expectations

    by Dan Grazier

    Oct 07, 2025
    https://responsiblestatecraft.org/f-35-failure/

    “(…)
    This should be a moment of deep reflection for the entire national security establishment. The F-35 was never going to live up to expectations because its very concept was deeply flawed. Trying to build one jet that could serve as a multi-role aircraft to meet the needs of just a single military branch is a highly risky proposition. When you try to build a single jet to meet the multi-role needs of at least 15 separate militaries, while also being a global jobs program and political patronage scheme, you get a $2 trillion albatross.
    (…)”

    My question: Do the real reasons not go way deeper and are much more structural in cause.
    It´s not as if the other gear fares much better. The GOA report on US-aircraft in general one year ago was nearly as disastrous as this year´s GOA on ground vehicles.

    So Grazier kinda lipsticks this… And for that the article actually falls short of the scope of the issue. IMHO.

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      1. AG

        Yes!
        A film of this sort would be unimagineable today. Especially not with any serious army gear as props provided by the Armed Forces. That´s their leverage.
        Considering that it´s all taxpayers money which pays for their nice and useless tanks and planes, why not invoke First Amendment as a filmmaker and fight their tight censorship?

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    2. AG

      p.s. sorry for constantly writing GOA instead of GAO. Former is easier to remember so it got stuck with it´s fals tune…(Government Office for Accountability would work too, me thinks)

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  49. Ben Panga

    What Happened to Campus Activism Against the War in Gaza? (NYT)

    Protests swept campuses after the war began. But tough discipline, pushed by Republicans, curbed a student movement that was one of the largest since the Vietnam War.

    BP: no looking in the mirror for the NYT. They are just impartial observers /sarc

    See e.g. NYT Amplifies Outrage Over Imaginary Calls for Genocide (FAIR)

    New York Times Repeats U.S. Government’s Evidence-Free Claim That Gaza Protests Are Part of Iranian Plot (In These Times)

    Never mind the plethora of Zionist apologist opinion articles.

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  50. Ben Panga

    US news outlets refuse to sign new Pentagon rules to report only official information (Guardian)

    Hegseth responded on social media to statements from the Atlantic, the Post and the Times by posting a single emoji of a hand waving goodbye. Later, the defense secretary, a former Fox weekend anchor, posted a list on X of what he called “press credentialing FOR DUMMIES: Press no longer roams free Press must wear visible badge Credentialed press no longer permitted to solicit criminal acts”. He also reposted a cartoon that depicted the Atlantic as a crying baby.

    These people smh…

    IIRC this is really a logical extension of the Dubya era policy of using insider access (especially embedding) and off-the-record briefings in exchange for favourable coverage.

    From 2008
    The Bush Legacy: War on the Press

    Yet during the Bush era, America entered a period I call “the Post-Truth Presidency” during which it mattered little to almost anyone whether the president and his representatives accurately represented reality in their statements to the press and the public. What mattered was what they thought it reasonable to try and get away with. They used their newly discovered power of audacity to rewrite the rules of political discourse and badly weaken the foundation of our democratic discourse. The attack was waged on numerous fronts simultaneously; indeed that was part of its genius. Even the most conscientious media watchdog had a hard time keeping up.

    Reply ↓
  51. Acacia

    Re: Ukrainian crypto influencer Konstantin Ganich found dead in Lamborghini

    “Suicide”

    BTC was only down about 10%, so either Ganich was trading other cryptos that got hammered worse, or more likely he had heavily leveraged positions and the exchange forced liquidation.

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