Links 12/29/2025

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9 comments

1. The Rev Kev December 29, 2025 at 7:10 am

   ‘Rabia İclal Turan
   @iclalturan
   The plane carrying Netanyahu to the US flew over the airspace of three ICC member states—Greece, Italy and France—despite the ICC arrest warrant, before reaching the Atlantic’

   Somebody should have spread the rumour that Edward Snowden was aboard his flight. Then it would have been grounded.

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2. Wukchumni December 29, 2025 at 7:51 am

   …about Argent Provocateurs in China

   In the 19th and 20th century, there were specific silver Trade Dollars minted by the British, French, Japanese and Americans*, solely for the Chinese trade, as silver was the only thing they wanted. There were no Trade Gold Coins, old yeller wasn’t their deal.

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

   This came on the heels of a similar gig in Mexico hundreds of years earlier, Spanish galleons would be loaded up with Pieces of 8 (8 Reales coins containing nearly an ounce of silver in content) in Mazatlan and sent to the far east, where they would be traded for consumer goods such as Ming Dynasty porcelain, silk and iPhones. (just making sure that you are paying attention)

   I’m thinking all these cover stories about silver usage are your basic subterfuge, as silver was once the cat’s meow in the middle kingdom-why wouldn’t it be now, especially since they’ve been avoiding our promise sorry notes and treasuries as if they were attached to our leper colony-which they are.

   * we were swimming in silver thanks to the vast riches of the Comstock Lode, and how to get rid of it?

   Trade Dollars had about 10% more in silver content than Morgan Silver Dollars minted for commerce here (not really ever used all that much-the Bland-Allison act of 1878 required the US Government to buy a shitlode of silver and mint them into the largest coin-Silver Dollars, and most of them languished in Federal vaults, as late as the early 1960’s you could go to the Federal Reserve in DC with $1,000 in cash and buy a bag of 1,000 Morgan Dollars dating from the 1880’s, all in brand new condition for face value) and in a weird quirk despite having more silver value than the domestic version, Trade Dollars were not legal tender in the USA, and in the depths of the Great Depression, they sold for 65 to 75 Cents in the coin collector market, to give you an idea.

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3. DJG, Reality Czar December 29, 2025 at 7:52 am

   The arrests in Italy of Mohamed Hannoun and investigation into the ties of his NGO (based in Genova) to Hamas. Some seven million euros went through the organization since 2001, and in the past day, one million in cash was found, including 500 000 euro in a garage.

   Well. Yet the investigation has some problems. Natch, Torino, where we are all unrepentant commies, has been dragged in. Angela Lano, an activist with the NoTav movement and creator of a Palestinian-support web site, received a visit from the police to search her house. Imam Mohamed Shahin, who is the center of a storm here in Torino, because he was unfairly accused of making terroristical statements (not proven), has been dragged in. Evidently, a couple of intercepted messages include his name.

   Yet the biggest problem with the investigation is that the information that the Italian police and prosectors are using comes from …. drum roll … Israel.

   Completely reliable, right? Disinterested third party, right? Might hold a grudge against the dockworkers and other activists in Genova who supported the Flotilla and have blocked arms shipments. Oh. Might have accused any number of Palestinian human-rights organizations of being terrorists.

   So the controversy about the arrests goes on at many levels. I will await further news. Besides reporting on Angela Lano, the cash, and the dodgy Israeli pursuit of justice, Fatto Quotidiano also mentions that up to 25 people are under investigation.

   Why you should remain skeptical? Note Julie K. Brown’s twixt.

   What is Brown doing in the Epstein files? Her tickets are for flights from DFW t/f Austin and Little Rock.

   Ahhh, the wonders of the Age of Data.

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4. LawnDart December 29, 2025 at 8:02 am

   Re; Abortion

   Scientists Found That Castrated Animals Live Up to 20% Longer and the Same Might Be True for Humans

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   1. The Rev Kev December 29, 2025 at 8:10 am

      And if done young enough, open up career possibilities as a Castrato-

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

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   2. Wukchumni December 29, 2025 at 8:15 am

      Bar talk between women in 2035

      ‘see that one over there on the bar stool-he’s been gelded to make him calmer, less aggressive, and easier to handle and train, and what staying power he must have, might outlive me?’

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   3. ChrisFromGA December 29, 2025 at 8:44 am

      It’s those darn hormones… I wonder how much longer all of our lifespans would be if we castrated all male politicians?

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5. rowlf December 29, 2025 at 8:04 am

   The 17 monks on the Walk Of Peace made their way into Georgia this weekend. They are halfway through walking from Fort Worth Texas to Washington DC. The turnout to support them was very good and Google Maps showed the traffic from their journey and people coming out to see them. Local news has been covering the story, and social media is good for showing crowd size.

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6. Tom67 December 29, 2025 at 8:14 am

   Re Somalis. I haven´t been to Minnesota but from what I hear it is the “Sweden” of the US. In Europe we say a Swede is a person that will pick up a pinprick that was maliciously placed on the seat of his or her chair and in all honesty wonder whether somebody has lost a valuable pinprick. Themselves decent and honest to the core they can´t even imagine somebody being so bad as to play such a mean prank. Now imagine such people are confronted by members of a tribal society from one of the worst civil wars on earth. What will happen if one gives them the opportunity to engage in unsupervised graft?
   And I had to think of Sweden, because funnily enough Sweden also has a huge problem with Somali immigrants. For exactly the same reasons. In more jaded and cynical places the problem wouldn´t have arisen in the first place. Certainly not in Soviet Russia where Lenin had famously proclaimed that “trust is good but control is even better”. Maybe I am wrong about all that but when I hear Somalis, Sweden comes to mind and when I hear Minnesota also Sweden comes to mind.

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