France’s Last Circus Elephant Finds Freedom at Richter Safari Park Hungary Today
Climate/Environment
Towns may have to be abandoned due to floods with millions more homes in Great Britain at risk The Guardian (Kevin W)
One dead, dozens rescued and roughly 1,000 displaced in western Alaska communities hit by ex-typhoon Alaska Beacon
Surveying a lot of strange weather Balanced Weather
Pandemics
Return to work with long COVID: a rapid review of support and challenges BMJ Open
153 unvaccinated students quarantining after measles exposure at South Carolina schools CBS News
The Koreas
Seoul to build bunker designed for nuclear, chemical defense Korea Times
China?
As China and US impose rival port fees, global shipping industry braces for disruption Channel News Asia
Trump’s 130% China tariff looks like another TACO moment Asia Times (Kevin W)
China Reacts After U.S. Pushed Netherlands To Seize Chinese Owned Company Moon of Alabama
EU considers forced tech transfers for Chinese investments Business Times
Trump threatens to end cooking oil purchases from China AFP
***
US wades deeper into rising Philippine-China sea tussle Asia Times
US Senate pushes for Taiwan to attend Rimpac drill in latest defence bill South China Morning Post
Scott Bessent slams China: ‘They want to pull everybody else down with them’ Irish Times
India
Syraqistan
Israel kills nine Palestinians just hours after Gaza truce begins The New Arab
‘Inhumane’: 154 freed Palestinian prisoners forced into exile by Israel Al Jazeera
NEW | Instagram has removed the verified account of Gaza slain journalist Saleh al-Jafarawi, who had 4.5 million followers.
Archived snapshots of his page on the Wayback Machine, the largest public internet archive, also appear to have been wiped or disabled, raising concerns… pic.twitter.com/X510RJUraG
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) October 13, 2025
Trump Keeps Admitting That He Is Bought And Owned By The World’s Richest Israeli Caitlin Johnstone
UK ready to join Hamas disarmament and Gaza ceasefire mission Al Mayadeen
More on the Delusional Thinking of Western Zionists Larry Johnson
🇮🇷| Iran defies reimposed UN sanctions by turning on proper identification without spoofing
After snapback mechanism caused UN sanctions to be reimposed on Iran, countries are supposedly forced to stop Iranian vessels and inspect them.
Last week, Iran’s FM has declared that… https://t.co/ynnds2R4rK pic.twitter.com/bupUuGHfMA
— Arya – آریا (@AryJeay) October 14, 2025
Secret Israeli military bunker located under Tel Aviv tower struck by Iran, analysis shows The Grayzone (Kevin W)
Kurds reach first deal on merging forces with Syrian army AFP
Old Blighty
Palestine Action ‘not close’ to terror group, Scottish board found The National
Israel is the excuse to snatch away freedoms we once took for granted Jonathan Cook
European Disunion
French prime minister will suspend a pension reform to avoid government collapse AP
63,000 SEK in rent – this is how migrant workers are exploited in the forest Dagens Arbete (Micael T – Machine Translation)
Poland demands Germany stop Nord Stream attack prosecutions FT
New Not-So-Cold War
Hubris and Theatrics Mark Atlanticist West’s Detachment from Reality Simplicius
Warning Delivered: Ukraine Will Cease to Exist Mark Sleboda (Video)
Russia’s Kamikaze Drones Demonstrate Major New Targeting Capabilities as Production Expands Military Watch
‘Surprising’ drop in military aid to Ukraine in recent months, report says Kyiv Independent
Europe cannot sustain the proxy war against Russia on its own. The United States is selling weapons it doesn’t have to Europe, which can’t afford them, in order to arm Ukraine, which lacks the manpower to use them. pic.twitter.com/eb1cjdN2eY
— Glenn Diesen (@Glenn_Diesen) October 14, 2025
Africa
Madagascar military says it seizes power, suspends institutions Al Jazeera
South of the Border
Trump Announces New ‘Kinetic Strike’ Off Venezuela’s Coast, Extrajudicial Killings Reach 27, Venezuela Continues Defensive Drills Orinoco Tribune
President Maduro announced the opening of grandparents’ homes throughout Venezuela Telesur
Venezuelan bonds surge as Trump administration ‘plays hardball’ FT
Trump says Argentina assistance dependent on election results for ally Milei The Hill
Trump 2.0
Leak: Feds Think Protests Hide Terrorism Ken Klippenstein
Stephen Miller’s radically bogus idea of “plenary authority” Public Notice
‘I’ll have Eric call’: Trump’s hot-mic moment with Indonesian president raises questions about side business deals The Independent
Vance blames ‘misreporting’ for uproar after Hegseth Qatari air force facility announcement The Hill
Democrats en déshabillé
As Mills Enters Maine Senate Race, Platner Says Election Is Fight to ‘Retake Our Party’ for Working Class Common Dreams
Inside the Improbable, Audacious and (So Far) Unstoppable Rise of Zohran Mamdani New York Times. Zohran, we hardly knew ye.
The Supremes
As SCOTUS Enters a New Term, These Cases May Grant Trump Unbridled Authority Truthout
Police State Watch
Feds ram SUV after chase down residential street in Chicago, then tear-gas crowd Chicago Sun-Times
Trump Admin Unveils $500 Million Plan to Counter Drone Threats From ‘Evildoers and Idiots’ During World Cup International Business Times
Something that scares me Alec Karakatsanis
Forever Wars
Gov. Bill Lee says the Trump-Lee military-police occupation of Memphis “may never end.”
“We have just begun. We do know this is going to last for months… In fact, I will tell you that it will last forever.” pic.twitter.com/y9k2Gi6peD
— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) October 14, 2025
Imperial Collapse Watch
US Army launches Janus Program to develop mobile nuclear energy for battlefield use Anadolu Agency
Trump’s Takeover Of Canadian Rare Earths Miners Raises Major Concerns OilPrice (resilc)
Chartbook 413 The future of the world economy beyond globalization – or, thinking with soup. Adam Tooze
Healthcare?
Tensions rise over health AI oversight and regulation Becker’s Hospital Review
Big Brother Is Watching You Watch
US targets of Israeli influence ops alarmed by phone tracking Responsible Statecraft
Satellites Are Leaking the World’s Secrets: Calls, Texts, Military and Corporate Data Wired
Mr. Market Becomes Self-Aware
‘Absolutely’ a market bubble: Wall Street sounds the alarm on AI-driven boom as investors go all in Yahoo! Finance
There’s Now a Casino in Everyone’s Pocket. For Some Young Men, It’s a Near-Fatal Gamble Rolling Stone (Micael T)
AI
Over 50 Percent of the Internet Is Now AI Slop, New Data Finds Futurism (Micael T)
There are too many waterfalls here Internal Exile
Sam Altman says ChatGPT will soon allow erotica for adult users TechCrunch. Commentary:
It’s been clear for some time now that the endgame was some kind of fusion of the AI chatbot and OnlyFans. The automation of thought and consciousness meets the automation of human sexuality. Total addiction to the mirror. https://t.co/QiZbt4kOrX
— Christopher Lasch’s Angry Ghost (@ghostofchristo1) October 14, 2025
Screening Room
How is the horror genre changing? Stephen Follows
The Friendly Skies
A look at how NWS supports our air traffic control system – and why it’s another staffing concern Balanced Weather
The Bezzle
OpenAI has five years to turn $13 billion into $1 trillion TechCrunch
Elon Musk Is Making Cybertruck Sales Look Better by Selling a Huge Number to Himself Futurism (Micael T)
Class Warfare
More than 31,000 California Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers begin 5-day strike KTLA
Limits Of Trade Unionism Class Consciousness Project
The Wisdom of Walking in Circles Earth Island Journal
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
“153 unvaccinated students quarantining after measles exposure at South Carolina schools”
You know what? This could have been a headline from 2020 but it would have said ‘153 unvaccinated students quarantining after Covid-19 exposure at South Carolina schools’. I would guess that this sort of headline will appear more and more as time goes by, especially as vaccination rates fall. That’s a heckuva job, RJK jr. So should we expect Trump to announce in two years time that the Measles epidemic is over – so get back to work?
2027 news in advance:
“”China must recommence leech exports or face consequences” warns Trump as diphtheria outbreak forces closure of 5 more Texas branches of St Charlie’s Christian Madrasa”.
“Rickets caused by Marxist thinking, says 22 year-old Health Czar”
Dripping with sarcasm. Love it.
Who needs leeches from China when the Beggar of Kiev keeps showing up on the doorstep.
Ben Panga: 2027 news in advance: “”China must recommence leech exports or face consequences” warns Trump as diphtheria outbreak forces closure of 5 more Texas branches of St Charlie’s Christian Madrasa”
You think you’re joking, don’t you? But here we are in 2025, today, latest FT headline an hour ago….
US warns world will ‘decouple’ from China if it imposes new export controls
https://www.ft.com/content/15a957a7-104e-431a-807e-441e5c2c753f
https://archive.ph/55A3F
You can’t buy comedy like this. It’s getting exactly the same reactions from the capitalist-financial crowd in the comments thread as it would get here at NC.
To be clear, here’s why Bessent is losing his pitiful little excuse for a mind. ( (I just posted this over in the ‘Trump 2.0 Eurasian’ thread, but this needs saying.)
[1] Not only is any US attempt to rebuild its missile arsenal, depleted in Ukraine and Israel, and maintain its air force and the rest of its global bully posture dead because of what China’s done, but also its Hail Mary project around AI.
Role of Rare Earths in GPU and AI Datacenter Tech: Key Uses in AI/GPU/Datacenter Tech
Gadolinium (Gd) — Magnetic refrigeration and shielding in datacenter cooling
Lanthanum (La) — Optical lenses and catalysts in chip manufacturing
Cerium (Ce) — Polishing wafers and glass for chip fabrication
Neodymium (Nd — High-strength magnets in cooling fans, actuators, and HDDs
Dysprosium (Dy) — Heat-resistant magnets for server cooling and robotics
Terbium (Tb) — Enhances magnet performance in high-temp environments
Yttrium (Y) — Phosphors in LED displays and lasers used in chip lithography
Europium (Eu) — Red phosphors in display tech
[2] Now ask the next question: What happens to the AI bubble and the US economy?
Granted, two other big reasons exist for why the US datacenter buildout projected for 2030 was impossible on the scale set out. (Real-world energy, and financial). Still, till those factors came obviously into play, the AI bubble could proceed: ‘markets can be irrational longer than you can remain solvent,’ ‘while the music is playing, you have to dance,’ etc. Now, though, anyone with can see the end is coming in the next few months, maybe two weeks from now, or maybe tomorrow.
In short, they’re all in the role of Jeremy Irons’s character in the bankers’ favorite movie, Margin Call, at that midnight meeting where he makes the call: “This is it. This is it.” What’s he say next? “There are three ways to make a living in this business: be first, be smarter, or cheat.”
[3] Be first. That’s what everyone has to be considering now or soon: liquidating at least some of their positions. So when that triggers a crash, what’s that look like? Because it isn’t just that the likes of Oracle (and estwhile world’s richest man Larry Ellison) is leveraged by a factor of 8.5 (if I understand correctly), but as of Q2 2025, approximately 34 percent of total U.S. household wealth is held in corporate equities and mutual fund shares (including direct stock ownership, equity in mutual funds, and such financial assets). Overall, that translates into $60 trillion of US household wealth.
And so on.
I see one of those locations impacted to be a charter school…Am not shocked at all, and normally these measles headlines had been originating from Texas ( I think there is a large privately run Christian academy in the past outbreaks, or perhaps it’s a large Assembly of God congregation somewhere close to Ft. Worth )…
Crazy pants….these two named schools are in the South Carolina county I’ve lived in since 2016. Just in time for real-life Halloween outbreaks.
Amping up public health and improving the food we eat would go a long way to mitigating effects of declining vaccination rates. Thoroughly implemented public health programs are not money-makers. To the contrary, a healthier public cuts into private profits. Better public health practices and Medicare for all would make for a healthier workforce and redirect rentiér fees to productive areas.
Big Ag has polluted our streams and waterways and air. Fast foods have eroded nutrition. Fossil fuels are going stronger than ever.
Big Pharma and the Medical Mafia have over-sold and over-hyped the efficacy of meds, including vaccines. Vaccines help, but they’re scarcely the panaceas they’re imagined to be.
RFK’s over-reactions to vaccines are met with reflexes not reasoned responses. Observe basic hygiene, eat well but not a lot, get well-rested, maintain strong social relations. I don’t think Americans score well on any of these, but we’re really good at pill-popping. RFK’s major failing is that he imagined he would ever be allowed to rein in the worst dietary offenses. He makes a good whipping boy, but he, warts and all, is not the problem.
Not in any meaningful way.
KK first phrase is, almost certainly, an AI hallucination.
Towards, not to.
Am I the only one losing sleep over the grammatical side of AI slop? Most articles have misspelled words, usually homophones. (NB my autocorrect really didn’t want homophone to have a plural spelling).
That doesn’t really make any sense. There is a difference between “being healthy” and “catching a disease”. Seems like people in the old days, before vaccines, before big ag, big pharma, adulterated foods, screens, electricity, jobs that allowed people to sit on their keyster all day, etc….. caught diseases.
Then people invented vaccines.
A lot of it makes sense. Were people who caught polio… just lazy?
I don’t see the need to make wheels square again.
We are taking air borne infectious diseases her mister. Amerindians had plenty of good food and fresh air that didn’t help at all. 95% died of infectious diseases.
Yes, it was small pox not small bullets that won the West.
The U.S. measles vaccination rate sharply declined starting in late 2019/early 2020 and continued to freefall throughout 2020-2024.
MEASLE EPIDEMIC HITS NATION!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-Scc5LKDlE&t=15s
ChatGPT, going boldly forth into the deepest cesspool that isn’t politics….sexy adults alone time talking for “verified adults…”. Ok that didn’t take long really.
Seems like a popular ’90s band like Radiohead covered this development on at least one of their albums….Fake Plastic Trees or Paranoid Android were two of their tracks…in my mind.
There are eight million stories of online AI in the naked city. This has been one of them
Chat GDP to read aloud 1970s Penthouse Forum submissions … for a fee.
AI Playmate turn ons: Huge electrical capability
Is that a NVIDIA H200 SXM5 in your data center or are you just pleased to see me?
36v-24v-36v
She’s a bricked…house.
funk alert
We’ve progressed from blow-up dolls to to blow-up economy.
Either way, we’re f-ed.
Virus protection?
There are already sex/dating ai chatbots/erotic implementation. The article alluded to this but didn’t seem to give the extent of it justice. A lot of the offerings I see promise users the ability to design their perfect fantasy &/or partner(s) and they seem to have been established for a while. Offerings include things like video chats and voice conversations which are supposed to add to the immersion.
Most/all of these services are paid (I think usually a subsription model with additional purchases requiremed to give you more time on video/voice calls – think paying each time for extra minutes on a call; and other features) and seem to be generating good business. They’re certainly not hard to find if you do an internet search for one.
People are probably more willing to fork over cash for this compared to the glorified websearch/fake friend chatbots that have many free alternatives and fairly insignificant offerings to any who go on to upgrade.
Altman probably just wants a piece of the pie but he seems much later to the party than the article suggests.
Doubt that pie is big enough for Altman’s near term revenue needs…. he needs $Ts, not $Bs. More like this is the fastest way to addict the audience so they can move on to charging for access to that audience.
I am eagerly waiting for an announcement that google will pay $10B dollars to OpenAI to have exclusive rights to insert viagra ads between ChatGPT and the end user.
I’m more concerned about gen-AI and fraud and extortion. If you have any internet presence at all, even a relatively unsophisticated actor can take a photo of you online and produce realistic looking video, perhaps of you with underage children, and you’re cooked.
What a dystopian future.
In a gen-AI future, how will we trust that any video is authentic? Beyond the issue of manufacturing kompromat, how will we know anything ever really happened unless we have a dozen or more live-streams of it from different angles?
The KEY here is : ” VERIFIED”
Digital ID coming soon to a home porn theatre near you and then everywhere you go night or day
“US Seeks India’s Help To Counter China’s Rare Earth Grip — While Keeping 50 Per Cent Tariffs On Indian Goods”
This seems to be they way that they think in Team Trump. One hand will bash you up while the other hand asks for help. Come to think of it, Biden had a similar idea with China. That on one hand he could threaten them and launch all these sanctions on them but on an unrelated front he would expect their help to get the US out of a fix. If this was a person doing this you would say that they had split personality syndrome. But the people that keep pushing this line of thinking are mature men and not some goofballs straight out of college. Not that they will ever do it but they really need to rethink the idea of diplomacy and how it plays out.
“But the people that keep pushing this line of thinking are mature men and not some goofballs.” No. They’re immature goofballs. They just happen to have not been recently born.
They are mature only in the context of aforementioned online pornography.
There is this small (?!) category of men beating their wives and then come sweet talking to them and kind of blame it on the wives and ask for various services. I shudder to think at these men pushing for such approaches and their wives…
Cybertruck sales….out of the Seinfeld playbook by none other than George Costanza who was selling computers to a Mr. Art Vandalay ( non existent ) but storing the hypothetically sold inventory at Kramer’s apartment…\sarc
This thing is a flop. And if that’s indeed what is occurring, then shifting numbers from company #1 by selling to company #2, or #3….won’t fool anyone except the most loyal bulls on the company stock outlook for Tesla. Hey Ron Baron, who is one of the more prominent supporter of Musk; Mr. Baron you’re a legendary investor but what the heck is happening to your guy lately…
I’ve made mention of this before, and Elon’s last minute car chicanery is par for the course in the new and updated version of the Match King…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivar_Kreuger
(the now dead) US electrification subsidies were a farce.
Billions USD for $7,500 to people who did not need a subsidy to buy a $50,000 car that can go 0-60 faster than a 2005 Ferrari (while a Prius buyer gets $0.00), while $0 for diesel-battery-hybrids for truckerswho drive hundredsof thousands ofmiles per year, who still keep their **diesel**!! engines idling to have HVAC
This car is self driving, and self buying.
There’s Now a Casino in Everyone’s Pocket. For Some Young Men, It’s a Near-Fatal Gamble Rolling Stone
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
40 years ago tv commercials would tend to be in regards to self-improvement, what if an attractive woman saw you in an elevator exhibiting dandruff-that could be a deal breaker, or what if you were using an underarm deodorant that wasn’t up to snuff, that sort of thing.
FanGhoul & DaftKings tv commercials offer self-improvement, give them $5 and you’ll get 40 to 60 times that amount in action, and lets be clear about gambling, the most destructive part of it is ‘being in action’, and its never been easier to wager on damn near anything @ any time of day.
For yours truly, it was all about replacing a bad addiction with a good addiction-and we have vast legions of young men that are in a really bad way, when suicide is considered a painless way to end the suffering…
My replacement addiction for gambling was hiking in the mountains, what sort of broad-based replacement addiction would be appropriate for all of these John Oakhurst* types?
* homage to Bret Harte
Thank God I have never had a gambling jones. The last time I tried the slots on a cruise ship, just for grins, it was the fastest $20 I’ve ever lost. I hate losing money more than winning, perhaps that psychology has saved me. Having been around the block for a while, so to speak, it is disconcerting how socially acceptable gambling has become.
Gambling is as socially acceptable as smoking was in the 1960’s. I fully expected to be a pack a day smoker like every other adult when I was all grown up, its what they did.
Then we found out that it was killing us, and no more clever ads such as: ‘Us Tareyton smokers would rather fight than switch’ or ‘I’d walk a mile for a Camel’.
They got rid of tv commercials first, and then print ad, along with any sort of sports advertising or sponsorship, followed by not allowing smoking in restaurants and bars, and then in workplaces as well.
We got rid of the problem.
Why not attack gambling in a similar fashion?
“Why not attack gambling in a similar fashion?”
I’d say that the odds are against us with this. However, why not? I’ll take The Casino and three.
When we used to hit the local-ish casino for dinner a couple times a year, Mrs. Hobbit was very good at turning five dollars into thirty or forty dollars at the video poker machine.
I watched and drank free diet soda, since my gambling skills tend to go the other way.
Seeing as an early season snow storm has hit the Sierra Nevada, which would have stranded many a 49’er who was en route to or fro from the ‘diggins, let me regale you with a tale~
The Outcasts of Poker Flat, by Bret Harte
As Mr. John Oakhurst, gambler, stepped into the main street of Poker Flat on the morning of the twenty-third of November, 1850, he was conscious of a change in its moral atmosphere since the preceding night. Two or three men, conversing earnestly together, ceased as he approached, and exchanged significant glances. There was a Sabbath lull in the air which, in a settlement unused to Sabbath influences, looked ominous.
Mr. Oakhurst’s calm, handsome face betrayed small concern in these indications. Whether he was conscious of any predisposing cause was another question. “I reckon they’re after somebody,” he reflected; “likely it’s me.” He returned to his pocket the handkerchief with which he had been whipping away the red dust of Poker Flat from his neat boots, and quietly discharged his mind of any further conjecture.
In point of fact, Poker Flat was “after somebody.” It had lately suffered the loss of several thousand dollars, two valuable horses, and a prominent citizen. It was experiencing a spasm of virtuous reaction, quite as lawless and ungovernable as any of the acts that had provoked it. A secret committee had determined to rid the town of all improper persons. This was done permanently in regard of two men who were then hanging from the boughs of a sycamore in the gulch, and temporarily in the banishment of certain other objectionable characters. I regret to say that some of these were ladies. It is but due to the sex, however, to state that their impropriety was professional, and it was only in such easily established standards of evil that Poker Flat ventured to sit in judgment.
Mr. Oakhurst was right in supposing that he was included in this category. A few of the committee had urged hanging him as a possible example, and a sure method of reimbursing themselves from his pockets of the sums he had won from them. “It’s agin justice,” said Jim Wheeler, “to let this yer young man from Roaring Camp—an entire stranger—carry away our money.” But a crude sentiment of equity residing in the breasts of those who had been fortunate enough to win from Mr. Oakhurst overruled this narrower local prejudice.
Mr. Oakhurst received his sentence with philosophic calmness, none the less coolly that he was aware of the hesitation of his judges. He was too much of a gambler not to accept Fate. With him life was at best an uncertain game, and he recognized the usual percentage in favor of the dealer…
https://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks/w00107.html
what an outstanding moral tale of the old school. Thank you.
Wuk wrote > what sort of broad-based replacement addiction would be appropriate for all of these John Oakhurst* types?
Reading NC. It’s my addiction and always cheers me up.
I’ll do you one better Wuk, online sports betting is just the tip of the iceberg.
I’m not sure if it was discussed here before but several video game companies (usually multiplayer shooting games simulating warzones) offer different colour patterns for players’ weapons and things like that, in exchange for cash (the games themselves are generally free). Some colour patterns are rarer than others and a massive gambling empire has somehow been built around obtaining the rarer colour options.
Then there are free, often mobile phone games offering various advantages to players who purchase random boxes with a chance for rewards of different rarities. Trading/collectible card games too (online and physically printed) are designed with a similar reward structure that create huge cash sinks for unwary players because of the push to chase after one or two rare cards.
Beyond sports betting, the practice is everywhere and another area where facilitators over the decades have been strongly impervious to attempts at regulation.
(in the aftermath of a rare winning session in the green-felt jungle…)
‘Color me out please, dealer.’
I play one of these games (PUBG mobile) and have never put a cent into it. The game is free, and they make their money through outfits and weapon skins. It’s very gamified with multiple different “lucky draws” etc where one can use (paid for) in-game currency to potentially win a fancy dress etc. Constant pop-ups between games extorting you to try this or that new way of winning skins. Thankfully they are just cosmetic and offer no advantage (unlike many other games) so I close the pop-ups without it entering my consciousness.
There’s a whole ecosystem of streamers/shills who do lucky box openings and promote the paid garbage. Some people spend hundreds (or more) dollars on this.
On the gambling thing: raised in a house with a gambling addict and saw the carnage it caused. Happily never been tempted by games of chance although I used to gamble on pool plenty as a youngster. It’s wild the way Big Sports seem to have become mainly a vehicle for gambling for a lot of people. Every NFL podcast I listen to is full of creative gambling tie-ins. Terrible.
I’ve bled Dodger Blue since I was a tyke, and if I wanted to, could gamble on any aspect of the game, pitch-by-pitch…
But I can’t watch any MLB playoff games without paying for them~
The system you described is what eventually evolved into crypto – https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidblack/2022/05/05/cartoons-and-video-games-evolved-into-bitcoin-and-nfts/
I would argue that crypto is neither a store of value or a means of exchange, but outright gambling.
My more cynical side observes that Crypto, being wholly dependent on electricity and platforms owned by strangers, does not rise to the status of gambling. True gambling holds out the possibility of winning or losing. Crypto only offers the dreaded Lose-Lose scenario. (Who among us has the moral rectitude to cash out of a “winning streak” in anticipation of some certain but unpredictable as for the timing, crash?)
It is a classic case of “Something for Nothing.” You give ‘them’ something of value, and you end up with nothing.
Stay safe!
There’s a pretty good reason there is only one cashier’s cage area in a casino with hundreds of blackjack, craps or roulette tables…
For now, imaginary winners in cryptocurrency can go to the cashier and gather their gotten gains, but most will go down with the ship.
I’ve read recently that a couple of the larger crypto outfits have begun to slow walk redemption requests. That’s a very bad sign.
Re. “For now, imaginary winners in cryptocurrency can go to the cashier and gather their gotten gains, but most will go down with the ship.”
Isn’t that called the Fallacy of Decomposition?
“A couple of guys I know got their money out easy. It’ll be no problem for us to do the same. Dealer, hand me those dice!”
Hey it’s technology progress !! \ sarc. Updating the lyrics from a Dire Straits classic mid 80’s video… Money for Nothing.
“We gotta move these 1 and 0…
We gotta move these AI chips from AMD…
Money for nothing and the grift is cheap…
I want my, I want my NFT…”
As if young people today didn’t have enough to deal with. Now they’ve got the temptation of online, instantaneous, and continuous betting to fleece them of their few remaining dollars. And so, what is a young man to do (and online gamblers are predominantly male), given his unaffordable housing, low-paying gig job, and no prospect of a wife or girlfriend? Why, of course, he hopes to get lucky by wagering large on Team X, doubling down after one quarter, and redoubling at half-time. Failing that, a wager on the first, second, third, or fourth-quarter over/unders will do. All of those wagers, in toto, are, in the long run, a recipe for disaster.
At least in the old days (which are mine), one had to wait at least half-an-hour to make a bet and see its outcome. And then one had to wait another half-hour. No longer. Now one (with an online account) can make a bet literally every minute. And as psychologists will tell us, the intensity of addiction is directly related to the frequency of use.
To repeat, a recipe for disaster.
Interesting: the article mentions the Senior Vice President of the American of Gaming Association, who gives his take on “Responsible Gaming.” On the other hand, every TV ad l see that touts services like FanDuel includes a crawl on the bottom with a toll-free phone number if you have a “gamBLing problem.”
Gaming or gambling, it’s one of the few vices I never had.
>Vance blames ‘misreporting’ for uproar after Hegseth Qatari air force facility announcement
The United States has the freedom to establish military bases in other countries. However, other nations—even allies—cannot do the same in the United States.
It sounds like Trump is sucking up hard to Qatar for letting the Israelis bomb their country.
Per the Arnaud Bertrand article yesterday. Qatar (with ~35% of production) is the second largest helium producer in the world after USA USA! China has only just developed suffiicient helium resources to enable it to play rare earth poker with the USA. Keeping Qatar on side is vital to keep China and any other short of helium.
This has been long in the making. More (foreign) pork for Idaho. Singapore already has 2 units there and their own facilities. The US war planes and there planes of these foreign countries terrorize people and wildlife (Bighorn Sheep, Sage-grouse) across 7 million acres of military airspace in SW ID, E OR, N NV. Just ask the folks at Duck Valley Reservation – who had to sue years ago to get some avoidance. Even with that, the noise is bad. And as for many places in the Owyhee canyon lands, I no longer go there – constant loud war plane noise for hours on end. A couple years ago, partially in prep for Qatar, the Air Force did an EIS to drastically lower the flight levels above Oregon and Nevada airspace to the ear-splitting levels that have been in place in Idaho. 100 ft. above ground level flights – startle effect anyone???, and they lowered the sonic boom levels, too. Noxious noise, use of flares (cause wildfires), chaff, etc. Plus there’s 2 “training (/fake bombing, lasers, emitters) ranges trashing the land. And remote emitter sites. Now there’s some kind of new mega-radar site military withdrawals proposed outright taking over more public land.
re: against Germany rearming
via MULTIPOLAR news blog
German daily FRANKFURTER RUNDSCHAU (FR)
A rare case of criticism in form of an interview. Like almost all other major outlets FR too has been part of the RU-hating faction.
use google-translate
Armaments boom despite industrial crisis: Economist warns of “complete error” – “Armament is economically wrong”
In an interview, economist Heinz Bierbaum talks about the dispute in the trade union movement over war and peace, the expansion of the arms industry and the role of the left.
https://www.fr.de/wirtschaft/ruestungsindustrie-heinz-bierbaum-aufruestung-ist-ein-voelliger-irrweg-interview-93984094.html
38-year-old African legal migrant moved from France to Hungary for a better job and living conditions. 😀
Poland demands Germany stop Nord Stream prosecutions.
Well, isn’t this interesting. We have been warned by journalists like Barbara Spinelli. The European Union now is re-centered on the resentments of Poland and the Baltic States. Who enjoy the money and the attention, although not the responsibility of cooperating with other EU states.
Hmmm:
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said recently that it was not in Warsaw’s interest to extradite the suspect held in Poland, since “the problem with Nord Stream 2 is not that it was blown up, the problem is that it was built.”
Cenckiewicz said that while he had no knowledge of Poland helping Ukrainians to attack the pipeline, “the interest of the Polish state is to protect all who potentially took part in damaging Nord Stream 2, which we treat as part of the war machine of Russia.”
Qui s’excuse, s’accuse.
Meanwhile, the other main suspect is still in Italy, awaiting extradition.
It appears that the rush to bring in so many central European new members was a foolhardy German gesture to build an economic empire, and a source of low-paid plumbers, that ends up now mainly as Sauerkraut Republics and their historic anger.
I suppose that it is a matter of how the two countries look at it. To the Poles, those saboteurs are heroes and should be rewarded and protected. To the Germans, these are the people that helped deep-six their economy and should be punished. But for some strange reason, both countries still pretend that it was Ukrainians that did this.
is it just me or does it seem odd that in the photo accompanying the link the suspect has a hoodie up and hat on obscuring face –
Well, Russia provided the cheap energy and cheap raw materials, while Turkiyet used to provide the cheap workforce – unfortunately many did not return to homeland to retire. Germany needed new sources of exploitable people to keep the profits rolling.
Not just Germany. Before the Maidan in the Ukraine they were interviewing this business guy in the streets of London and he said that he was looking forward to all the cheap labour that would be coming from the Ukraine. Pre-Brexit UK of course.
Uh, how despicable of him!
Just think about how a DIE LINKE fan would be argueing now, saying that this is the case with ALL CAPITALISTS. Thus it makes the Ukraine case not that bad, right?!
> Discovery of molecular signature of long-term psychiatric sequelae in COVID-19 through proteome profiling of dried blood spots Nature
>> alpha-synuclein, pyruvate kinase PKM, and sorbitol dehydrogenase effectively distinguished the three groups with 82% classification accuracy.
So important. ‘It’s in your head’ my sweet Aunt Fannie.
“Scott Bessent slams China: ‘They want to pull everybody else down with them’”
File under “every accusation a confession.”
I think that the relevant word here is ‘projection.’
Indeed. The idea that China is a down – poor widdle China. There’s a MAGA view that China relies on the US to buy stuff.
Bassett shouldn’t be dumb enough to believe it but he’s definitely selling it.
Movie pitch: Clear & Bessent Danger
An American inaction thriller directed by Scott, who discovers he’s been kept in the dark by colleagues who are conducting a covert war against the Columbians in DC, and yet does nothing-business as usual-bay-bee!
Secret Israeli military bunker located under Tel Aviv tower struck by Iran, analysis shows | Grayzone
This piece actually underplays how nuts the location of the HaKirya (and anything beneath it) actually is – not only are there luxury residential towers around the military zone, just across the street is a massive luxury entertainment and shopping complex (Sarona Market). There are always a huge amount of civilians in that area. This piece in Ha’Aretz from 2012 discusses how its location is a danger to civilians.
I think that the term that you are looking for is human shields but here the Israelis are using their own people for this purpose. What a country.
Per Samson Option, Israel doesn’t care who knows that the people that run Israel really don’t give a toss about their citizens.
Most other countries usually at least fake that they care.
The Democrats just can’t stop being Democrats, three-thousandth edition.
Mills enters Maine race for U.S. senator.
To what end?
I have a feeling that Zohran Mamdani is causing even greater distress for the Regular Dems. Why, someone might interrupt their endless engagement in conflicts of interest.
And this, noting it comes from the savvy Ryan Grim: ‘Ryan Grim of Drop Site News posited that the entrance of Mills into the race could be “to Platner’s advantage” and may underscore his independent streak.’
Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris are appearing — together, if one can stand it — obvious to the fact that they come off as two shambling wrecks of inept politicos. What did they put in Janet Mills’s Cupcake Chardonnay?
Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris are appearing — together, if one can stand it — Dear God, think of the toxic emissions. File under Climate.
Appearing before whom? Appearing for what reason?
Gearing up for the ’28 election? Said with only mild sarcasm, I would not put it past the Dems to think that those two incompetents would be a dream ticket. I think only her own death will stop Hilary from thinking she deserves to be President.
Don’t forget to put a wooden stake through her heart, if you can find one, to make sure that she stays in the grave.
Come to think of it, “The Undead Party” has a certain cachet to it.
To what end is a very good question. That Common Dreams article is very accurate regarding Platner (of course Common Dreams is a Maine-based news aggregator). His campaign has been getting a lot of play here in Maine and he has become very popular. I’ve had working class people in assisted living buildings recently come up to me and sing his praises, and usually it’s me trying to convince them. And this without many TV ads yet – I don’t remember seeing any Platner ads so far, but I have seen ads for Collins for months now and she may have been running ads before anyone even officially declared against her. He really does seem to be making a lot of genuine personal connections around the state and Collins seems worried, at least judging by the early ad spends.
I will admit to not paying as much attention to state politics as I probably should so take the following with a grain of salt, but I don’t see Mills as someone with many accomplishments to tout. She started off supporting the CMP corridor, an electrical project that would bring power from Quebec to Massachusetts, not Maine, by cutting a swath through Maine forests. This has been very unpopular with most Mainers (there were signs against it everywhere a few years ago), and it was only considered by Maine in the first place because Vermont and New Hampshire had already told the project developers to pound sand when they wanted to run it through those states. There is little love lost between long time Mainers and Mass transplants who show up and drive up the cost of living here drastically.
The thing she is known for is mouthing off to Trump about trans issues and telling him she’ll see him in court. When she first piped up, I thought this was not a good hill for her to die on, and I doubt that issue will play well in a gubernatorial campaign. The economic issues Platner brings up, along with his opposition to the Zionists, will play a lot better. And sucking up to Schumer isn’t going to play well at all, especially with a home grown opponent like Platner going against her.
Platner may come out with the nomination, but the trick is going to be defeating Collins. At this point, I’d say Platner is the strongest Democrat candidate to run for Maine senator in a long time. Collins previous opponent, Sarah Gideon, raised a ton of money, polled well, and looked like she might win back in 2020. IIRC, she was ahead of Collins not long before the last election. And then Collins trounced her anyway. Collins had tarred Gideon as an out of state rich lady taking all kinds of out of state campaign contributions. I had assumed that was just the usual campaign rhetoric, but after seeing so many negative ads, I looked it up and it turns out Collins was correct, which may be why Gideon lost. Platner doesn’t have that same baggage, at least not as far as we know yet.
Side note: Mills showed up at a baseball game I was attending a few years ago and sat two or three rows in front of me. When the between innings music started, Mills got up and attempted to boogie along with the rest of the crowd. I can personally attest to the fact that along with being not the greatest politician, she is also an atrocious dancer. She has the moves of a paralyzed ostrich.
Yea, for battlefield use. Right next to a nuclear reactor is where you wanna be, when the shelling starts. Back in the day they even had the idea of nuclear powered tanks, so that you can be next to a nuclear reactor while assaulting enemy positions that lack it.
Named after Hugh Janus. Not to be confused with Maj. Asshole
This is not a new idea. It didn’t work out too well the first time:
The US Army tried portable nuclear power at remote bases 60 years ago – it didn’t go well
https://theconversation.com/the-us-army-tried-portable-nuclear-power-at-remote-bases-60-years-ago-it-didnt-go-well-164138
Here in SW Vermont we are being overrun with ticks. Yesterday, H and I pulled fourteen of the three cats and the dog, two wood ticks and a dozen of the disease carrying deer ticks. This following a dozen the day before, and fourteen the previous day. I got bitten and had to frontload 200 mg of Doxi in an attempt to Beat the Reaper.
I have never before seen them in numbers like this. Keeping the furry crowd indoors today, which has brought on a general strike with a picket line at the garden door.
Isn’t it wild how the tiniest of things is such a threat?
The bark beetles have been on tour in Mineral King ever since the drought of 2012-16 and higher temps allowed them a stage.
These angry 1/8th inch invaders started on the down low in the lower reaches of where pines dwell @ 5k, raced through my neck of the woods @ 7k really starting in earnest a decade ago and still going, while punching through to 9k presently and frankly running out of possibilities-as timberline is but a thousand feet higher.
They remind me of us, destroyers of things that took hundreds of years to develop, leaving corpses of no use to them, in their wake.
Making a minor modification to the house a few years ago. Pulled off a large chunk of stucco and found 100 odd bark beetles dead and stuck to the tar paper, Couldn’t figure out how they got in there but must have wiggled through a mighty small crack in the larval stage. I’m pretty sure tar paper is not their favorite cambium and stucco is some mighty tough bark.
I remember visiting Estes Park in 2010 and just seeing vast swathes of mountainsides of dead trees. Fun times.
Hates’em, we does. We put mineral barriers around the yard and the dog has had none, but that’s an in-town solution. The cats we keep inside, which increased the number of birdies, which they like watching. These were raised to be indoors, too many cats & cars misunderstandings.
Not to plug a product, butI have a small, Corgi-mix who was an absolute tick-magnet: she’d pick scads of them up during her romps and roams and bring them home to enjoy .e for dessert. She was reasonably protected by topicals and pills, but I was rolling the dice with Lyme, having been bitten multiple times by those damn ticks.
Last Spring I invested in a small-dog anti-flea/anti-tick collar named “Seresto” and I can’t recommend it highly enough: one tick– a single, solitary tick– is all I’ve found on her this season. It’s kinda pricy, but I believe well-worth the cost.
We’re in Northwoods, so we have a similar pest-alignment as outdoors Northeast.
Thanks for the tip.
Ticks are a major scourge. One summer in southeast Texas about 10-15 years we had a major infestation, our doggies brought them inside and we spent countless hours picking them off the poor dears (both double coated long haired shepherds), off the walls, carpets, furniture, etc. They are incredibly difficult to kill — very hardy with a tough carapace that resists crushing, relatively long-lived, you can’t drown them, they will crawl right out of raw bleach, alcohol, etc. Took months to get rid of them.
“EU considers forced tech transfers for Chinese investments”
If I was China I would tell the EU to shove it. An EU member State – the Netherlands – has just stolen a Chinese-owed company there, replaced the CEO with a lackey and swiped all their shares. For a start, the Chinese are cutting it off from Chinese technologies and products to spike that company but that kills any trust in the EU. There would be no trust that the EU would not also steal any tech transfers demanded by the EU. That’s one more bridge burnt down by the EU.
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2025/10/china-reacts-after-u-s-pushed-netherlands-to-seize-chinese-owned-company.html
I like how the Western narrative is always “Chinese owned or Chinese state media or CCP…” never mind the fact that the company is s privately-owned company (Chinese subsidies notwithstanding) that turned a shit show of an operation into a success that delivered better products and profits and taxes to the Dutch.
The article yesterday reported how the Netherland-based company, after being bought out, invested heavily in R&D and went on to generate patents through the roof, incomparable to the rate from before; while actually paying off its debt until it was completely free.
It’s almost like they couldn’t stand to see how investments in R&D rather than just in CEO compensation and advertising actually generated better outcomes. Not to mention now it’s also debt free. Surely this was an unfair abuse of the poor Dutch? /s
How the tables have turned! The old view that the Chinese cannot innovate, that they would never have advanced industries has given way to “please teach us how to do it”. Of course, anyone with the most cursory knowledge of history knew that it was more or less inevitable (the same, after all, happened with regards to the Japanese, and many others). Is this the final nail in the coffin of European empire? If so, Europeans will have to learn to see themselves not above everyone else, which might be a tall order, especially for certain elites.
Lets not forget that the West -> China transfer happened only because neoliberals wanted it, first to weaken western workers by pitting them directly against dirty poor Chinese, and second because they thought the Chinese are too dumb to do anything for themselves and always will be dependent on them – Western oligarchs and managers. The first part worked, the second not much. I don’t think the Chinese communist will operate under the same assumptions.
Also the Chinese worked hard to build up their industries, they didn’t just wait for West to do it for them, so even if China setups factories in the EU, I don’t see how they will not fall into disrepair the second they hand over the keys to some local corporation, which managed to destroy the previous factory that was there.
Just to be fair, the Chinese made a major industrial espionage effort as well as mining the patent library to sling shot themselves to technological excellence. We also sold them whole industrial facilities.
In many cases, Chinese espionage was successful because US/EU cybersecurity was extremely deficient or non-existent. Mudge made an interesting case back in DEFCON-21 that Defense Contractors back then (and still do) lacked the financial incentives to defend their own IP and possibly have an incentive to continue having sloppy security.
Compound that with the fact that the “Middle East’s only Democracy” has been caught selling or passing on US secrets to China and the story looks less like China having an incredible spy network and more the US never bothering to actually defend the crown jewels of technological development responsible for its power.
That Moon is a must read. We Americans deserve plenty of blame for making Trump president (even Kamala is starting to look good) but for the Euros to call him Daddyis utterly craven.
Only the Americans who voted to supPORT Trump deserve full blame. The Americans who voted for Harris deserve no blame. The Americans who voted or non-voted to perMIT Trump deserve partial blame.
I think there is less here than appears. UT’s just business by Netherland and China in the crazy twilight years of the USA.
The original sin is the US sanctioning China and China controlled entities. The company is toast if nothing is done. The Dutch have waved a legal wand and suddenly the company is not Chinese controlled. Business continues – but as far as I can the Chinese economic interest in the business is untouched.
Meanwhile China moves to cut off the technically-not-Chinese company from its Chinese sites’ output and suppliers but “the company can apply for a waiver”. This is taking a hostage for good behaviour.
Neither China nor Netherlands want to hurt Nexperia. Netherlands engages in some malicious over-compliance with US sanctions regime but actually saves the company by reflagging it as Dutch. China takes the Dutch entity hostage by holding its Chinese operation ransom to administrative discretion: touch our asset and profits, you clog-wearing tulip hoarders, and we will bring you down with us….
re: Germany 10-fold increase UKR refugees
via BERLINER ZEITUNG daily
machine-translation
After rule change: Number of Ukrainian asylum seekers increased tenfold
Since the lifting of the travel ban for men between 18 and 22 years of age, the number of Ukrainian asylum seekers has increased significantly.
Sinem Koyuncu
October 15, 2025
dpa
According to a media report, the number of refugees from Ukraine in Germany has risen significantly. According to a spokeswoman for the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the increase is linked to the lifting of the travel ban for able-bodied Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 22.
According to the ministry spokeswoman, this has led to an increase in the number of asylum seekers “from approximately 100 per week before the regulation came into force to currently approximately 1,000 per week.” Whether this is a temporary development cannot yet be assessed.
Ukraine: Relaxation of exit rules
At the end of August, Ukraine relaxed its exit regulations for men between 18 and 22 years of age. Despite martial law, young Ukrainians can now return from abroad and subsequently leave again without hindrance. The Federal Ministry of the Interior also pointed out that the mobilization age is currently 25.
The number of people from Ukraine seeking protection in Germany already rose significantly in the summer. According to the Interior Ministry, 7,961 people were distributed via the “Free” registration system in May 2025, compared to 11,277 in August and 18,755 in September, reports Die Welt.
Asylum seekers from Ukraine receive a residence permit under Section 24 of the Residence Act. This permit allows immediate access to the labor market and social benefits.
Almost 50 percent of those seeking protection are ready to return
According to a recent survey conducted by the Munich-based Ifo Institute among Ukrainian refugees in Europe, around half of those who fled Ukraine would be willing to return home under certain political conditions.
The decisive factors are the restoration of the 1991 border line and security guarantees. Economic factors, however, are less relevant for willingness to return. The study is based on a survey of 2,543 Ukrainian refugees in 30 European countries.
According to the UN Refugee Agency, around five million Ukrainians have sought refuge in other European countries since the war began in 2022. According to the Federal Statistical Office, there are currently around 1.1 million people in Germany
Re: the Janus program… that’s a very interesting choice of name.
In Rome Janus was the god of the beginning (and the end) and armies marched out under his arches for good luck in battle – doors Rome almost always kept open to maintain this fortune considering their almost endless string of campaigns (Caesar closed it to demonstrate total conquer of the world more or less, as well as a few others).
But Janus is also two-faced (since he’s represented by a passageway/door – able to be entered/exited) and can represent duality. The term Janus-faced refers to someone who can be considered duplicitous/having a hidden agenda.
It seems pretty on the nose to me.
Don’t forget the Janus Program in Judge Dredd (1996 Film).
I AM THE LAW!
Janus shows up on Ancient Roman coins a fair bit.
Love the one down near the bottom with a triptych like head, trippy man!
https://coinweek.com/coinweek-ancient-coin-series-janus-god-of-january/
Which side is tails?
MIchael Hudson and Glenn Diesen. utube.
Michael Hudson: From Neoliberalism to Neofeudalism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDD_N6ZcCV4
Has neoliberalism run its course?
oops, wrong link. Here’s the correct link. ( I hope.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yB1008CLis
If America has the best Politicians money can buy it is no wonder Gold is at $4K an ounce, and rising.
A reminder: malice and stupidity are not mutually exclusive.
If they are the best, why do they sell themselves so cheaply? A dinner in DC, a weekend at Mar-a-Lago, a yacht cruise? Only a $100/hr hooker would be happy with those.
And it ain’t just me wondering. Gore Vidal was also puzzled by this phenomenon.
How is the horror genre changing? – Stephen Follows
Another thing worth mentioning: more big names and big acting chops in being displayed in horror.
Also, the villains and anti-heroes are “to die for”.
The article misses out the most interesting development over the past decade or so, which is the adaptation of horror to depict mental illness. Not in the sense of ‘slasher escapes loony-bin and terrorizes teens’, but of spooks and spectres and manifestations mysteriously standing in for the character’s mental state, which otherwise goes undiagnosed by the audience, and only makes its sense known in the climax.
The article does mention The Woman In The Yard, which overcomes some dodgy directing to present a disturbing suicidal moment, and which bears an ‘If any of the issues has affected you …’ tag. And the same tag appears in the recent 825 Forest Road, an even more disturbing movie. They’re both American, and Smile 2 is another entertaining if less sophisticated example, but the stand-out in this growing sub-genre is from Australia, Run Rabbit Run. Some similarities to The Babadook, but a much better movie.
Nothing new to horror literature from the Freudian era, but very interesting to see this kind of “unfilmable” experience on the screen in stories that appear simple enough for us all to follow. I guess genre directors have finally taken syntax lessons from Lynch’s Mulholland Dr.
I’m Plenary the 47th, I am
Plenary the 47th, I am, I am
I got my foot back in the White House door
I’d been here one time before
And the new run was a Plenary (Plenary)
I wouldn’t have to run it by Uncle Sam (no Uncle Sam)
I’m the 47th old man, I’m Plenary
Plenary the 47th, I am
Second verse, same as the first
I’m Plenary the 47th, I am
Plenary the 47th, I am, I am
I got my foot back in the White House door
I’d been here one time before
And the new run was a Plenary (Plenary)
I wouldn’t have to run it by Uncle Sam (no Uncle Sam)
I’m the 47th old man, I’m Plenary
Plenary the 47th, I am
I’m the 47th old man, I’m Plenary
Plenary the 47th, I am
P-L-E-N-A-R-Y
Plenary (Plenary) Plenary (Plenary)
Plenary the 47th, I am, I am
Plenary the 47th, I am, yeah
Henry the VIII, I am, by Herman’s Hermits
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6EJxYNQxvw&list=RDb6EJxYNQxvw
ebikes are a boon for crime
London Became a Global Hub for Phone Theft. Now We Know Why. (NY Times via archive.ph)
Interestingly, phones are so huge today, they must be pretty easy to snatch.
I’m keeping my little iPhone Mini 12 until the world ends. I hate big phones.
An umbrella through the moving spokes?
Still, that would depend upon a witness reacting quickly.
I once saw two guys on a scooter attempt this crime. A sidewalk in Paris. The mark: a woman talking on a cellphone whilst walking. She heard the scooter approaching, turned and saw the guy reaching out to snatch her phone, ducked, and then just continued her phone call as if nothing had happened.
E-bikes are pretty much silent, though. They might have a GPS system and could be tied to a crime, though if the thieves use a fake ID or credit card, that might not help much.
Pettiness for pettiness sake
Trump admin federal job cuts likely to be ‘north of 10,000,’ Vought says (CNBC)
>Inside the Improbable, Audacious and (So Far) Unstoppable Rise of Zohran Mamdani
With each upgrade, Mamdani will likely become indistinguishable from the other Democrats.
Welcome to the machine….
Shocked, I am, totally shocked.
/sarc
Did we expect anything else?
Machine functions:
1. Get/retain big donors
2. Defang/co-opt/destroy any person or movement that might affect 1.
3. Say some crap around election times to pretend to be serving voters.
Trump says he authorized covert CIA operations in Venezuela (Guardian)
Trump appears to confirm report he authorised CIA operations in Venezuela (Al Jazeera)
“I authorised for two reasons, really,” Trump replied. “Number one, they have emptied their prisons into the United States of America.”
“The other thing,” he continued, was Venezuela’s role in drug-trafficking. He then appeared to imply that the US would take actions on foreign soil to prevent the flow of narcotics and other drugs.
“We have a lot of drugs coming in from Venezuela,” Trump said. “A lot of the Venezuelan drugs come in through the sea. So you get to see that. But we’re going to stop them by land also.”
There’s an NYT story on this, but not yet archived.
Meanwhile, on the East Asian front:
Kyodo news is reporting that Bessent has told Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato that Washington expects Japan to stop importing Russian energy.
Trump will visit Japan later this month, and then South Korea, and then Malaysia for the ASEAN meeting.
Why Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim invited Trump is a mystery to me. Kuala Lumpur will be shut down “for security reasons” and Trump will probably just issue more threats.
It seems that team Trump agreed to the ASEAN visit on the condition that Trump gets to preside over the signing of a peace agreement between Cambodia and Thailand, and that China must be excluded from the event.
Perhaps I just missed it, but did team Trump have anything to do with reaching this agreement? It just sounds like the diplomatic version of crashing somebody else’s party.