Jul 252022
 
 July 25, 2022  Posted by at 9:14 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , ,


Mathew Brady Abe Lincoln 1864

 

Five Months Into The Special Military Operation (Saker)
Moscow Reveals Target Of Strike On Odessa Port (RT)
Russia Not Asking For Sanctions Removal – Lavrov (RT)
On the Future of Europe: A Proposition from 1 January 2023 (Batiushka)
Hungary Warns Of Shift In World Order (RT)
Hungary Spreading ‘Russian Propaganda’ – Ukraine (RT)
Logistical Nightmares For The Ukrainian Army (Milacic)
Media Miss Major Moves on Russia-Ukraine (Ray McGovern)
Jan. 6 Committee Still Probing Links Between Trump And Extremist Groups (CBS)
How Mario Draghi Broke Italy (Fazi)

 

 

 

 

Tulsi
https://twitter.com/i/status/1551154675394744320

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carl Sagan

 

 

 

 

 

 

“The truth is that by the laws of warfare the Ukraine lost the war in less than a week.”

Five Months Into The Special Military Operation (Saker)

[..] if you look at the size of the Russian force which took the Antonov airport near Kiev (one airborne regiment) and the size of the force which moved by land towards that airport, you can easily convince yourself that this force was not intended to attack or invade Kiev. This force did exactly what it was intended to do, it forces the Ukronazis to move forces to protect Kiev and, thereby, it pinned them down just long enough to establish air superiority, attack and cut off the forces near and in the Donbass, destroy the Ukrainian C4I and almost the entire Ukrainian air force. This took just a few days and once that mission was completed, these forces withdrew as they had literally nothing to gain by staying in place. If anything it is the Ukrainian side which is running out of weapons, supplies and soldiers (more about that later). The Russians have all the firepower they need for many years ahead.

“Russia had to change her plans and tactics because of the heavy losses suffered by the Russian military early in the operation” Actually, there is a grain of truth here, but not the correct explanation. As I have mentioned several times, the special military operation is “special” because it is an operation which is not a regular combined arms operation. The Russians began the SMO with fewer soldiers than the opposing side, and they privileged maneuver and long range strikes over the taking and holding of towns and cities. Most crucially, the Russians very deliberately tried all they could to minimize Ukrainian casualties and to preserve the Ukrainian civilian infrastructure (unlike the “democratic” countries out there who first destroy power plants, bridges, water stations, etc. to inflict the maximum of “shock and awe” on the civilian population!). The Russians could have easily turned, say, Kiev into Baghdad or Belgrade under US/NATO bombs, but they deliberately chose to save as many lives and civilian infrastructure as possible, even at the cost of lives of Russian soldiers).

What apparently did take the Russians by surprise is the willingness of the Ukrainian forces in some towns to attack the Russian columns even though the local authorities seemed to have indicated to the Russians that, like in, say, Kherson, their city would not resist. Simply put, they chose the Mariupol model rather than the Kherson model. This choice was mainly dictated by the very powerful Nazi death squads who would at best arrest anybody negotiating with Russia and, at worst, simply shoot them on the spot. The Russians found plenty of bodies of executed Ukrainian soldiers. But this does not tell the full story either. The truth is that by the laws of warfare the Ukraine lost the war in less than a week.

What is my evidence for such an apparently outlandish and over-the-top statement? Simple: since the beginning of the SMO, the Ukrainians failed to execute a single operational level attack or counter-attack. At most they were able to execute small, tactical level attacks, the vast majority of which almost instantly failed, a few were defeated in a few days, and, crucially, not a single one gave the Ukrainian side the operational initiative. Not once.

Read more …

Are these sanctions gone or not?

“Russia and the United Nations signed a memorandum providing for the UN’s involvement in lifting international sanctions on the export of Russian grain and fertilizers..”

Moscow Reveals Target Of Strike On Odessa Port (RT)

The Russian Ministry of Defense has confirmed striking targets in the major Ukrainian port of Odessa on Saturday, revealing that its missiles hit military infrastructure and arms stockpiles. “In the seaport of Odessa, on the territory of a shipyard, a docked Ukrainian warship and a warehouse of Harpoon anti-ship missiles, supplied by the US to the Kiev regime, have been destroyed by sea-based high-precision long-range missiles,” the ministry said on Sunday. The attack also crippled a repair facility where vessels of the Ukrainian navy have been fixed, it added. The strike on the target in Odessa, which is a major trade hub in the southwest of Ukraine, came a day after the signing of a UN-brokered deal to unblock grain exports from Ukrainian ports.

During the conflict that has been underway since February 24, Moscow has insisted that its troops only fire at Ukrainian forces and military infrastructure, not civilian facilities. According to Kiev officials, four cruise missiles were used in the attack on the port of Odessa, allegedly targeting grain silos located there. Two of the missiles were intercepted and two made it through, but failed to inflict significant damage, they said. Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky described the strike as “barbarism” and insisted “Russian Kalibr missiles destroyed the very possibility of statements” on the need for dialogue and any agreements with Moscow. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “unequivocally condemns” the attack on the port of Odessa, his spokesman said.

According to Guterres, “the full implementation [of the deal] by Russia, Ukraine and Turkey is imperative” because the products that are covered by it are “desperately needed to address the global food crisis and ease the suffering of millions of people in need around the globe,” he added. The Russia-Ukraine agreement, which had been agreed on Friday with the mediation of Turkey and the UN, sets out a framework for resuming Ukrainian grain exports via the Black Sea ports, which had been disrupted by the fighting. In addition, Russia and the United Nations signed a memorandum providing for the UN’s involvement in lifting international sanctions on the export of Russian grain and fertilizers to world markets.

Read more …

“As far as food is concerned, our Western colleagues… should remove the obstacles they themselves have created..”

Russia Not Asking For Sanctions Removal – Lavrov (RT)

Moscow is not asking for the lifting of sanctions, but urges Western states to fix the problems they have created on the global food market, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Sunday. “We are not asking for the removal of sanctions – those are problems that deserve to be dealt with separately. We will simply develop our economy now by counting on reliable partners and not on those who have once again proved their total incapacity… As far as food is concerned, our Western colleagues… should remove the obstacles they themselves have created,” the diplomat said after talks with his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry, in Egypt.

He noted that Moscow would not have agreed to Friday’s deal unblocking Ukraine’s grain exports if the issue of freeing up Russian exports had not been resolved. Moscow is now counting on the UN to stick to its promise and assist in removing restrictions holding back Russian grain shipments. “Those illegitimate restrictions that were imposed… prevented operations with Russian grain, including insurance, including the admission of our ships to foreign ports and foreign ships’ entry into Russian ports,” Sergey Lavrov said. “After the signing of agreements in Istanbul at the initiative of the UN Secretary General, he volunteered to seek the removal of these illegitimate restrictions. Let’s count on him to succeed,” the foreign minister added. Lavrov recently accused the West of intentionally “keeping silent” about the impact of Ukraine-related sanctions on Russia’s exports.

At a news conference last month, he said: “There is a problem with the export of Russian grain. Although the West loudly reminds everyone that grain is not subject to sanctions, for some reason they are bashfully silent about the fact that ships carrying Russian grain are subject to sanctions. They are not accepted in European ports, they are not insured, and, overall, all logistics and financial matters, which are associated with the supply of grain to the world markets, are under sanctions of our Western colleagues.” Representatives of Ukraine, Russia, the UN and Turkey signed a deal to unblock exports of grain, food, and fertilizers from Ukrainian ports on Friday. In addition to the agreement, Russia and the UN signed a memorandum implying UN involvement in lifting restrictions on the export of Russian grain and fertilizers to world markets.

Read more …

“..where does the US/NATO defeat in the Ukraine leave the European peninsula?..”

On the Future of Europe: A Proposition from 1 January 2023 (Batiushka)

As schoolchildren will tell you, the names of the continents begin and end with the same letter, A: Asia, Africa, America, Australia, Antarctica. There is one exception: Europe, which though still beginning and ending with the same letter, the letter is not A, but E. Why the difference? Is it perhaps because Europe is not really a Continent? After all, it is not a vast landmass surrounded by an ocean (if it were a small one, it would be called an island). Its borders are arbitrary, having frequently changed, were only relatively recently pushed to the Urals, and are still much disputed. In reality, surely Europe is the artificially isolated north-western peninsula of Asia? It is not a geographical Continent at all, it is an ideological construct. That is why the slogan of so many EU-fanatics, like the former French President Chirac, was: ‘Faisons l’Europe’ – ‘Let’s Create Europe’.

We ask the above question because in this winter of 2022-2023 the old EU and Non-EU Europe has had to face a new reality following the war that the US/NATO lost in the ‘Ukraine’, as it used to be called. Europe-wide, indeed worldwide, food riots with looting of supermarkets and ‘bill boycotts’ (the wave of civil disobedience with the refusal/inability to pay soaring fuel bills) made this clear. Obviously, a worldwide reconfiguration is coming. Already the new world is becoming multipolar, with several main centres within the old BRICS, Russia, China, India, Brazil, South Africa, and now more to come, perhaps Iran, Türkiye, Argentina, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Mexico, Lebanon and Indonesia. In general, all Asia, Africa and Latin America now at last have their own future.

Not only are the old, thoroughly corrupted international organisations like the UN, WTO, WEF or IMF rightly disappearing into the sewers of history along with their discredited puppet-master, the US elite, but so too are pro-US regional groupings, like its European political and economic arm the EU and its European military arm, NATO. And here precisely, we ask where does the US/NATO defeat in the Ukraine leave the European peninsula, both the EU part of it and the rest of it, outside the EU? After World War I Europe had to be reconfigured, and again after World War II. Now, after whatever you call the 2022 Western rout in the Ukraine (World War III, or World War I, Part III), what is its destiny?

Surely the greatest revelation of the US proxy war in the Ukraine is Europe’s dependence on Russia. Without Russia, it simply cannot survive – though Russia can survive without it. The fact is that for the last few centuries, the largest European country has been Russia for surface area and, over the last century and a half, for population. The most common European language in Europe is Russian, the second German, the third French, the fourth English, the fifth Italian. As regards natural resources, whether agricultural or mineral, and as regards military power, the most important country, once again, is Russia.

Read more …

The topic is so taboo that only the black sheep can mention it.

Hungary Warns Of Shift In World Order (RT)

The Russia-Ukraine conflict could end the West’s dominance and shift the balance of power in the world, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said. Russia launched a military campaign against the neighboring country in late February. Orban argued that the decision to impose sanctions on Moscow and supply Kiev with heavy weapons de facto turned the EU and NATO member states into participants in the conflict, but ultimately yielded no results. “Instead, today we are sitting inside a car with flat tires on all four wheels,” Orban said in a speech in the Romanian city of Baile Tusnad on Saturday. “The world is not only not with us, but it is demonstratively not with us,” the PM added, arguing that, instead of thinking about gaining the upper hand on the battlefield in Ukraine, the West should now focus on achieving peace through negotiations.


Orban also warned that the conflict could easily put an end to Western supremacy and “create a multipolar world order.” “We must try to persuade the West to develop a new strategy,” the PM said. He later added that the conflict “will end when the Americans and the Russians come to an agreement.” Hungary has refused to send weapons to Ukraine, while Orban said this month that the EU “shot itself in the lungs” with its ill-considered sanctions. Hungarian officials also criticized the proposal by Brussels to ration gas in an attempt to phase out deliveries from Moscow. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto traveled to Moscow on Thursday to negotiate the purchase of additional gas volumes in order to ensure that the country has enough reserves for the winter. “It is currently simply impossible to buy this much extra natural gas in Europe without Russian sources,” Szijjarto told reporters.

Read more …

Huh? “..Orban’s remarks about the ineffectiveness of anti-Russia sanctions are “a classic example of Russian propaganda..”

Hungary Spreading ‘Russian Propaganda’ – Ukraine (RT)

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s remarks about the ineffectiveness of anti-Russia sanctions are “a classic example of Russian propaganda,” Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko claimed on Sunday. Orban said on Saturday that the decision to impose sanctions on Moscow and supply Kiev with heavy weapons had turned the EU and NATO member states into de facto participants in the conflict, while failing to deliver results. Responding in a Facebook post, Nikolenko said the idea that “sanctions did not shake Russia” represent “a classic example of Russian propaganda.” The Foreign Ministry spokesman claimed that sanctions are effective, as they have “significantly reduced” the capabilities of the Russian military, while Western arms supplies have helped to save the lives of Ukrainians.

He claimed that if sanctions and weapons were ineffective, the Kremlin would not have used “crazy resources” to stop them. Moscow has been warning the West against supplying Kiev with weapons, saying it will not prevent Russia from achieving its military goals, but will lead to extra casualties. Russian officials have also pointed to the boomerang effect of Western sanctions. In a speech in the Romanian city of Baile Tusnad on Saturday, Orban said the conflict could put an end to Western supremacy and “create a multipolar world order.” The Hungarian leader argued that the West needs to develop “a new strategy.” Nikolenko countered that “Europe is in an economic crisis not because of sanctions, but because of Russia’s hybrid war.” Moscow, meanwhile, categorically denies accusations of using energy supplies as a political weapon.

The Ukrainian official said Russian President Vladimir Putin “will not stop until he destroys the European order based on democratic values,” meaning that “joint decisive action” is needed. “Together, we will surely defeat Russia, even despite the head of the Hungarian government’ fears that the Russian army has an ‘asymmetrical advantage,’” Nikolenko said, referring to Orban’s claim that Ukraine cannot win the war due to the disparity of forces. Nikolenko has lambasted Western politicians in the past. Earlier this month, Nikolenko accusedUS Congresswoman Victoria Spartz of attempting to bring “Russian propaganda” into American politics. Spartz called for a mechanism to track military aid provided to Kiev, and expressed doubts over the reliability of President Vladimir Zelensky’s chief of staff. Nikolenko advised Spartz “to stop trying to earn extra political capital on baseless speculation around the topic of war” and “stop undermining the existing mechanisms of providing US military assistance to Ukraine.”

Read more …

Nothing fits anymore.

Logistical Nightmares For The Ukrainian Army (Milacic)

In early July, right after Lisichansk was won by the Russian forces, the Russian military and its allies from DNR and LNR, put on display there a large number of captured Ukrainian military equipment. Rows of tanks, rocket launchers and armored vehicles stretched for hundreds of meters. All this was seized by the Russians in just one sector of the front alone. Let’s be honest, most of the Western military assistance to Ukraine is quickly destroyed or falls into the hands of the Russian military, without having any significant impact on the course of the war, and successful exceptions like the US-supplied M142 HIMARS only confirm the rule. Why is this happening?

The whole thing might be pretty simple: while receiving Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, Javelin anti-tank systems and French Ceasar self-propelled guns, the Ukrainian army must quickly switch to a single NATO standard, strengthen its combat capability in the wish to stop Russian army. On closer examination, however, it turns out that everything is way more complicated. The unified NATO standard is mainly associated with the calibers of ammunition, and not with the unification of equipment. It is impossible to switch from the German “Leopard” to the French “Leclerc” without a long and serious preparation. A good MRLS operator, used to the Soviet-designed Grad, will not be able to handle America’s famous HIMARS. Each weapon system handed over to Kyiv also requires special retraining of Ukrainian military specialists. And this is just the tip of the iceberg though.

The delivery of one or two self-propelled guns with perfectly trained crews may look good in propaganda videos, but it turns into a logistical nightmare for the Ukrainian military suppliers. Full-fledged confrontation with the enemy requires units trained and equipped with unified weapons, not a battery recruited from different European and Soviet models using five different types of shells. All of them need different parts and accessories. Moreover, gun and tank crews will most likely be unable to replace each other. They are trained to fight with different models of high-tech weapons systems.

This is actually why the Eastern European countries are delivering to Ukraine what is left of their old Warsaw Pact-era stockpiles, not the latest European models. After all, mass-scale training of specialists takes months and calls for multiple instructors. The Kyiv authorities are having problems even with specialists trained in the use of Soviet-era technology. For example, on July 20, numerous telegram channels posted a video with an elderly Ukrainian tank captain, a reservist, who, after being taken prisoner by the Russians, said that all the junior officers of his brigade were over 45 years old, most of whom had received military training in Soviet universities (in the USSR, reserve officers were trained in civilian universities).

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The US midterms are the main consideration.

Media Miss Major Moves on Russia-Ukraine (Ray McGovern)

Corporate media are ignoring the stark implications of Russia’s stated intention to take control of more Ukrainian territory than just Donetsk and Luhansk. I discussed this on The Critical Hour yesterday and supplement those thoughts in the paragraphs below. On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced Moscow’s broadened aims, explaining, “Now the geography is different. It’s far from being only the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, it’s also Kherson and Zaporizhia Oblasts and a number of other territories.” (I had just written on this.) In his interview, Lavrov pointed specifically to HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, made by Lockheed-Martin) as the kind of “weapon that will pose a direct threat to our territory and the territories of those republics who have declared their independence (Donetsk and Luhansk).”

The HIMARS being provided to Ukraine have a range of 50 miles, putting them also at easy reach of Crimea – which Kyiv (and the U.S.) insist is legally still part of Ukraine. It all depends on “geography. Just a few hours after the Lavrov interview was reported came the announcement by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that the US will give Ukraine four more HIMARS, bringing the total to 16. Austin bragged that HIMARS have already “made a difference on the battlefield.” But which battlefield? Lavrov and Russian President Putin can have no illusions that the wider, strategic “battlefield” includes Russia. Indeed, this is the same benighted Lloyd Austin who let that cat out of the bag three months ago: “One of the US’s goals in Ukraine is to see a weakened Russia. … The US is ready to move heaven and earth to help Ukraine win the war against Russia.”

It seems a sure thing that Biden’s advisers anticipate being engaged in a proxy war in Ukraine at least until this November when the US mid-term elections take place. Until then the Democrats surely will not want to appear to be slackers in confronting Russia on this critical issue (which, truth be told, they themselves did so much to create). The reality, of course, is that US policy makers go blithely along, enriching the MICIMATT (and enhancing campaign coffers) by giving advanced weaponry to Ukraine – and replacing them as needed. It’s very good for the multifaceted profiteering business. What is really troublesome is that there appears to be little understanding of the high stakes involved; little appreciation of what it means that Russia considers US/NATO behavior in Ukraine an existential threat – one that Russia is determined to remove, and can.

Read more …

@ScottAdamsSays: We’re all the way down to “He probably knows someone bad.”

This is going down like everything Schiff is involved in. “We have evidence that…”

Jan. 6 Committee Still Probing Links Between Trump And Extremist Groups (CBS)

Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, a member of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol, said Sunday the panel is still examining possible links between former President Donald Trump and far-right extremist groups, including the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, members of which have been charged for their roles in the attack. “That remains an ongoing part of our investigation,” Schiff said in an interview on “Face the Nation.” “We have certainly shown some links between the president, the key advisors like Roger Stone and Mike Flynn, and elements of these white nationalist groups, but that component of our investigation continues.” More than a dozen members of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, including their respective leaders Stewart Rhodes and Enrique Tarrio, have been charged with seditious conspiracy for their alleged roles in the Jan. 6 assault.

Federal prosecutors claim the members conspired to storm the Capitol to oppose the lawful transfer of presidential power by delaying by force the required tallying of state electoral votes. The select committee has examined the role of far-right extremist groups on Jan. 6 and last Thursday held its eighth public hearing mapping out what investigators described as a multi-pronged campaign from Trump to thwart the transfer of presidential power. The hearing focused on the 187-minute span on Jan. 6 from when the former president ended his speech at a rally on the Ellipse to when he issued a tweet telling the mob of his supporters to leave the Capitol, during which committee members said Trump did nothing to quell the violence that unfolded.

“I think we really need to think about what we’ve demonstrated already, about the president’s knowledge that the election wasn’t stolen, and his response and his intent, and to me that is most graphically demonstrated, when he told top Justice Department officials basically to just say the election was stolen or just say it was corrupt and that he would take care of the rest,” he said. “Those kind of pieces of testimony, they’re directly on the president’s knowledge and intent.” The California Democrat said he believes Trump engaged in the “most supreme dereliction of duty ever” with his inaction to stop the violence at the Capitol, and the former president’s multiple attempts to reverse the outcome of the election “invoke various criminal laws, and his conduct ought to be the subject of investigation.”

Read more …

One man wrecking crew.

How Mario Draghi Broke Italy (Fazi)

Mario Draghi’s defenestration has left the Italian — and indeed international — establishment reeling in horror. This is not surprising. When he was nominated as Italy’s prime minister at the beginning of last year, Europe’s political and economic elites welcomed his arrival as a miracle. Virtually every party in the Italian parliament — including the two formerly “populist” parties that won the elections in 2018, the Five Star Movement and the League — offered their support. The tone of the discussion was captured well by the powerful governor of the Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca (PD), who compared Draghi to “Christ” himself. Everyone agreed: a Draghi government would be a blessing, a final opportunity to redeem its sins and “make Italy great again”. Draghi, they said, simply by virtue of his “charisma”, “competence”, “intelligence” and “international clout”, would keep bond markets at bay, enact much-needed reforms, and relaunch Italy’s stagnant economy.

Alas, reality hasn’t exactly lived up to expectations: Draghi leaves behind a country in tatters. The latest European Commission macroeconomic forecast predicted that Italy will experience the slowest economic growth in the bloc next year, at just 0.9%, owing to a decline in consumer spending due to rising prices and lower business investment — a result of rising borrowing and energy costs, as well as disruptions in the supply of Russian gas. Italy is also experiencing one of the fastest-growing inflation rates in Europe — which is currently at 8.6%, the highest level in more than three decades. Interest rates on Italian government bonds have also been steadily climbing ever since Draghi came to power, rising four-fold under his watch; today they stand at the highest level in almost a decade.

And this “polycrisis” has taken its toll on Italian society: 5.6 million Italians — almost 10% of the population, including 1.4 million minors — currently live in absolute poverty, the highest level on record. Many of these are in work, and that number is bound to increase as real wages in Italy continue to fall at the highest pace in the bloc. Meanwhile, almost 100,000 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are at risk of insolvency — a 2% increase compared to last year. So much for “Super Mario”, then. Of course, one could argue that other countries are experiencing similar problems, but it would be a mistake to let Draghi off the hook. He has been one of the staunchest supporters of the measures that led to this situation, having been a driving force in pushing for tough EU sanctions against Moscow — sanctions that are crippling Europe’s economies, while leaving Russia largely unscathed.

Draghi even boasted about the bold measures adopted by Italy to wean the country off Russian gas — the result being that Italy is now the country that pays the highest wholesale electricity prices in the entire EU. The absurdity of these policies becomes apparent when we consider his attempt to reduce Italy’s dependence on Russian gas by reviving several coal-fired power plants — coal that Italy largely imports from Russia.

Read more …

 

 

 

 

 

Princess and Emmanuel

 

 

 

 

Surf dogs
https://twitter.com/i/status/1550852001763717121

 

 

 

 

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Home Forums Debt Rattle July 25 2022

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 58 total)
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  • #112118

    Mathew Brady Abe Lincoln 1864   • Five Months Into The Special Military Operation (Saker) • Moscow Reveals Target Of Strike On Odessa Port (RT) •
    [See the full post at: Debt Rattle July 25 2022]

    #112120
    oxymoron
    Participant
    #112121
    V. Arnold
    Participant

    Jesus/Horus
    Very interesting…
    …most of us don’t know shit from shinola…
    Don’t know hisrory? Then you don’t know nuthin…

    #112122
    Dr. D
    Participant

    Taking a hit on Russia bombing Odessa. They did it, just bad timing in a continuing war…

    Looked at that way, did they “Bomb Odessa” or is that sloppy reporting? If it wasn’t “Odessa” en large, would they have reported they “shot Sergei and burned his tank on 6th Street Ukieville in an act of unprovoked aggression” instead? See what I mean? What is “bombing Odessa” compared to taking out a munitions ship in the harbor? Well, one is a military target, and one is a civilian – that’s pretty different.

    “Who will pay who for the grain ????”

    NYT Nobel Prize winner Krugman says “Oops, I did it again!” After being wrong about tech, about housing, about the internet, about Trump crashing the economy, and just about every other thing he ever said, today’s wrong is about inflation. “Sorry I just destroyed 150 million families of the lower half of the nation with bad inflation advice,” he said, “My bad. Still, I try to take solace in my failures with a 4-star meal from my apartment overlooking Central Park.”

    “For ex. [Lira] recently said …war between Greece and Turkey might well break out soon, and that Russia would join Turkey”

    That’s not so strange. Turkey just joined the Shanghai group and the commodity currency, as did Saudi. And Turkey just said they wanted a war to take half the Greek islands. Put the two together and they can keep NATO busy and discredit them further. I don’t see it, but it’s just 1+1=2. I guess the detail is, what is “Russia’s Backing”? They don’t/can’t actively oppose Turkey? Although they do get along, Greece has been screwing Russia a lot lately, and that’s not happy.

    Lira is full of himself, but if he didn’t have confidence, he wouldn’t be able to write. His opinion can be off the cuff, but he’s proven better time after time because he’s in the middle of it, and the opinions he overhears are Karkov’s and not D.C.’s or Iowa’s or Manchester’s. That goes without saying. But what were you expecting from a reporter? When things are still happening, we don’t know what’s happening. (Looking at you, Twitter and FB) That’s what reporters are trying to figure out. Unlike Chad at Twitter who’s never been anywhere but knows everything about everything before it’s even published by anyone. Disinformation!

    “How the Ancient Greeks Knew the Earth was Round”

    Yes, and everybody else knew too. Almost nobody thought the world was flat. Just more lies. The difference with Columbus was, he thought the SIZE of the round was wrong. If the Greeks were right, he would have to sail an open sea from Spain to China, 15,000 miles, and sink, starve, and fail, not knowing about the New World in the middle. (Supposedly. Irish and Portuguese fishermen may have been in the Grand Banks already, and certainly Iceland knew) His totally dead-wrong math told him the planet was half the size and China should be where Cuba was. But it all worked out. Or did it? So for us, instead of doing things, our part is to lie about others, what they did, thought, and intended. You know: like the Internet, only earlier. And the religion of progress, where everybody in all human history was stupid, except me!

    “Jan. 6 Committee Still Probing Links Between Trump And Extremist Groups (CBS)”

    Latest Jan 6 revelation was Trump brought it up in morning cabinet meetings a few days earlier, asking the military to provide specific security, perhaps soldiers in the street. The military said they had it completely handled, no need to ask further.

    So if they call The Donald, he can just print this morning’s text out (among many) hand it to the Judge, and go golfing. What we he supposed to do? Get on a Constable’s uniform and go patrol the streets of D.C. himself? Pelosi and the Generals promised him it was all taken care of. Thankfully for them not a single American cares about the truth.

    “real wages in Italy continue to fall at the highest pace in the bloc. Meanwhile, almost 100,000 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are at risk of insolvency — a 2% increase compared to last year.”

    And in every other nation in the West too. Especially here, if not worse.

    Was this month’s 22nd the establishment of the new BRICS currency? That’s a major milestone. I’m probably fishing here.

    Tom Luongo theory, he says he can see the West trying to chase out the small traders from the oil market by increasing volatility. As we’ve seen many times, once you do that, you can create a no-liquidity environment with no life-saving shorts, and the 5 big guys can set the price by texting each other on instagram. (They paid billion fines for this in the metals rigging settlements). Why?

    The West is desperate to get oil prices down, so if they can get control of the pricing market, they can run the technical stops and plunge the oil price going into the election, but also to reduce Russia’s now-greatly-increased (war) profits. Sure. Why not? But this is just “Normal Tuesday”, why bring it up?

    …Because once they set the structure, they can only overcome actual bullish oil market by getting someone to flood the market with actual oil, or actual oil news. That someone is Saudi Arabia. Again. The coordinated with London and Canada to sink the oil and gold price and crash the Soviet Union under Reagan’s plan back in 1987. That’s why Biden was over there, begging that “Killer” Mabus for oil. If Saudi releases – or, as they have no capacity, CLAIM to release – London can rig the oil price and run the stops for a few months, maybe 3.

    And? Mabus told Joe to go f himself. Politely. Joe was not allowed in Riyadh, firstly, and second Saudi already joined Russia last year. Third, MbS said “Sure old pal” and upped the volume a teeeny bit for PR cover, saying that’s all they had. But that’s not all they had: they also had lies, which they chose not to use and help Joe with. That means they are really allied with Russia. And fourth, Mabus immediately met with Putin in a big back-slapping competition, as after this meeting the BRICS commodity currency was essentially launched. Adding Turkey as well.

    So Joe failed everything, everywhere, and no surprise. And then cleared his calendar and took a nap before being removed with Covid. And the Petrodollar no longer exists. Again.

    Jesus / Horus stuff: there are similarities, but this is mostly wrong. The birthday is not Dec 25 and Horus was not crucified. Isis was as far from virginal as possible. They didn’t go to Egypt, they were already in Egypt. Etc.

    #112123
    Positive Dennis
    Participant

    Raul has a habit of posting graphics without checking them. Before I repost, I have to check them. The Horus Jesus graphic is no exception to this. A very simple search yielded this. https://coldcasechristianity.com/writings/is-jesus-simply-a-retelling-of-the-horus-myth/:~:text=Claim:%20Horus%20performed%20miracles,%20exorcized%20demons,%20raised%20someone,people%20from%20the%20dead%20or%20walking%20on%20water.

    These kind of rather common mistakes discredit his blog. Note that I am a Patreon supporter.

    #112124
    John Day
    Participant

    Red’s “vaccinated” Bro.
    “Fading out and not remembering seems to be it. He said he was driving! at the time and when he realized he was in trouble he was coming out of it! He pulled over then.”

    This could be a form of seizure, “Absence” seizure.
    He needs tosee aNeurologist and not drive.

    #112125
    Dora
    Participant

    Dr. Tedros accused of misconduct in his home country Ethiopia.

    #112126
    Neal
    Participant

    @Dr D. Can the Saudis flood the oil market? At best they might be able to pump another million barrels and then why would they? They need as much cash as possible from the oil to cover their handouts to the locals. And unlike the Russians they don’t have autarky, nor are they anywhere near it. Oil drops to half price and the Russians can tighten their belts and rely on eating their own food and exporting grain, gas, gold, nickel, fertiliser, rare earths etc.
    The Saudis would again see their foreign reserves drop and this time there are no other princes left for MBS to force to sign over wealth

    #112127
    zerosum
    Participant

    After the cease fire …..

    • Russia Not Asking For Sanctions Removal – Lavrov (RT)

    We will simply develop our economy now by counting on reliable partners and not on those who have once again proved their total incapacity… As far as food is concerned, our Western colleagues… should remove the obstacles they themselves have created,” the diplomat said after talks with his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry, in Egypt.

    • On the Future of Europe: A Proposition from 1 January 2023 (Batiushka)

    After World War I Europe had to be reconfigured, and again after World War II. Now, after whatever you call the 2022 Western rout in the Ukraine (World War III, or World War I, Part III), what is its destiny?
    Surely the greatest revelation of the US proxy war in the Ukraine is Europe’s dependence on Russia. Without Russia, it simply cannot survive

    • Hungary Warns Of Shift In World Order (RT)

    “The world is not only not with us, but it is demonstratively not with us,” the PM added, arguing that, instead of thinking about gaining the upper hand on the battlefield in Ukraine, the West should now focus on achieving peace through negotiations.

    • Hungary Spreading ‘Russian Propaganda’ – Ukraine (RT)

    President Vladimir Zelensky’s chief of staff. Nikolenko advised Spartz “to stop trying to earn extra political capital on baseless speculation around the topic of war” and “stop undermining the existing mechanisms of providing US military assistance to Ukraine.”

    • Logistical Nightmares For The Ukrainian Army (Milacic)

    This is actually why the Eastern European countries are delivering to Ukraine what is left of their old Warsaw Pact-era stockpiles, not the latest European models. After all, mass-scale training of specialists takes months and calls for multiple instructors.


    WWII inventory, museum pieces, antiques, vs. smart missiles, drones, “eye in the sky”

    #112128
    zerosum
    Participant

    Follow the money
    The poor have no money.
    Who is paying for the food, etc., and delivery of Ukrainian grain etc. exports
    Who is receiving money for the exports from Ukraine

    If you don’t know, then you are not one of the anointed, selected, elites

    #112129
    Oroboros
    Participant

    Jesus/Horus

    Plagiarism apparently is the world second oldest profession

    .

    #112135
    Oroboros
    Participant

    Lira has been putting together good groups of people in his roundtables

    The 4th one was Pepe Escobar, iEarlGrey, Alex Christoforou.

    Very interesting hearing Pepe speak, he is the old granddaddy grey beard in the reporting space.

    The 1st was Johnson, Martyanov, Mercouris

    Also nice to hear different angles

    #112136
    Just Some Randomer
    Participant

    From today’s UK Daily Mail:

    “Scientists find likely culprit behind mystery child hepatitis outbreak – and Covid itself is NOT to blame: Combination of two usually-harmless viruses posed bigger threat to kids ‘because lockdowns weakened their immunity”

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11045861/Scientists-culprit-child-hepatitis-outbreak-Combination-two-usually-harmless-viruses.html

    Riiiiiight. Lockdowns messed up their immunity. Not the vaccines. Got it. That’s probably why these incidents didn’t start happening until after the rollout of the jabs to children.

    Also in today’s Mail – right on the front page just another (Yawn!) mysterious stroke/heart attack…

    “Archie Battersbee’s father has been rushed to hospital following fears he may have suffered a stroke or heart attack hours before judges delivered the shattering ruling that his little boy’s life support should be switched off.”

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11045453/Appeal-judges-set-rule-today-Archie-Battersbees-life-support-switched-off.html

    Just another of those run of the mill cardiac events that are becoming so popular these days.

    #112137
    The Markster
    Participant

    Daily viewer for 9+ years since peak oil/$ was the hot topic, first post.

    Loving the Jesus/Horus side-by-side because it’s unifying and funny and makes at least one good point, whether or not it is 100% entirely accurate on either a mythological or historical basis. Contrasting the gobsmacked look on Jesus’ face with the smug insouciance of the sketchy Horus character is worth the price if admission alone.

    Thanks for your work in Athens and for this great blog, Mr. Meijer! #FreeAssange #Tulsi2020 #PortlandSucks #RussiaRocks

    #112138

    These kind of rather common mistakes discredit his blog. Note that I am a Patreon supporter.

    Given the amount of info I go through it would seem obvious I cannot check ever word or image. I post what I read and see. There are not enough hours in a day to fact check it all. As soon as that is clear, everything else should be too.

    #112139
    Veracious Poet
    Participant


    #112140
    zerosum
    Participant

    This story isn’t over
    https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/siemens-gives-gazprom-transport-documents-nord-stream-turbine

    Siemens Finally Delivers Gazprom Transport Documents For Nord Stream Turbine

    #112141
    ctbarnum
    Participant

    See also: “Pandemic,” “Vaccine,” and “Peaceful Protest”.

    #112142
    John Day
    Participant

    Early Christianity negotiated and alliance with Mithraism, too.

    #112143
    John Day
    Participant

    Pictured with wife and baby-watermelon in the Garden of Eden (er Yoakum) https://drjohnsblog.substack.com/p/western-tyflocracy

    (I’m hearing the voice of Rod Sirling reading this out loud.)​
    ​Tyflocracy: The New Art of Oppressive Governance​, The Ethical Skeptic
    ​Imagine a new form of totalitarian governance, composed of non-elected officials who have been indoctrinated into believing that they hold a superior intellect and humanity to those whom they were appointed to serve.
    ​ ​Imagine a new form of government so convinced of its own virtue mandate and the contrasting original sin of its constituents, that it has adopted the view that its own citizens are now a less-than-human enemy – no longer worthy of the full slate of human rights.

    Tyflocracy: The New Art of Oppressive Governance

    ​A case in point:
    Mario Draghi’s defenestration has left the Italian — and indeed international — establishment reeling in horror. This is not surprising. When he was nominated as Italy’s prime minister at the beginning of last year, Europe’s political and economic elites welcomed his arrival as a miracle…
    ..Draghi, however, doesn’t just leave behind him a scorched economy but also a deeply fractured and divided society. He is the man responsible for devising the most punitive, discriminatory and segregational mass vaccination policies in the West, which not only excluded millions of unvaccinated people — including children — from social life, by extending vaccine passports to practically all public spaces, but also restricted many people from working. He also helped make the unvaccinated the target of institutionally sanctioned hate speech, such as when he infamously claimed: “You don’t get vaccinated, you get sick, you die. Or you kill.”​ …
    ..In fact, they have little choice but to go along with what Brussels and Frankfurt say, and if they don’t play ball the ECB is always ready to turn up the heat. At that point, if the government doesn’t back down, the ECB will engineer a full-blown financial crisis (think Italy in 2011 or Greece in 2015) — which usually leads the political parties to turn to EU-backed technocrats to fix a problem the EU created in the first place…
    ..In other words, the next Italian government, if it wants to stay financially afloat, will have little choice but to follow the economic diktats of the EU — or else. In such a context, how long before the last remnants of democratic legitimacy in countries such as Italy break down? And what then?
    https://unherd.com/2022/07/how-mario-draghi-broke-italy/

    ​Gail Tverberg closes her latest essay on the economy, as energy resources decline, with this:
    ​ ​Governments at all levels have promised pension plans. In fact, many employers have promised pension plans. Without a growing supply to cheap-to-produce energy, these promises are meaningless. Somehow, governments will find it necessary to cut back on their promises. Perhaps, Social Security and Medicare programs will be handed back to US States to fund, to the extent that the states have funds for these programs. Governments around the world can expect to face similar problems.
    ​ ​With less energy supply available, the whole world economy that we know today seems likely to start falling apart. Fewer goods will be available through international trade. It is cheap energy that has allowed today’s economy to function. Once this cheap energy is depleted, the world economy will need to shrink back in many ways, at once.
    ​ ​We don’t really know precisely what lies ahead, and perhaps, this lack of knowledge is for the best. We cannot even imagine a world economy changing rapidly for the worse.

    Why raising interest rates to reduce inflation may work out very badly

    “Climate Change”, Food Shortages: Coordinated Destruction of Humanity by the World Economic Forum and Its “Elite Cult”
    ​ ​And as if it was a bad coincidence, in parallel with the heat wave, the Dutch Government under the leadership of Mark Rutte, a scholar of Klaus Schwab’s Academy for Young Global Leaders, under close surveillance of the WEF and its “Green Agenda” (coinciding with the US and the UN Green Agenda), is imposing on its farmers an up to 30% reduction of farmland and cattle farms – under the pretext that the cattle’s manure releasing these horrible climate change gases, Ammonia (NH3), Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH4), and Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S), will help accelerate “Climate Change”.​..​
    ..Any thinking-human – and indeed there are thousands of scientists to prove it but many are silenced – will conclude (and have proof) that we are being lied to again, that we are being drawn into a multi-trillion-dollar business, the so-called Green Agenda, by the neocons and the financial giants who control them, BlackRock, Vanguard, State Street et al. All with the objective to take full control of our planet’s resources and humanity…
    ​..What is being played out now, the disruption and outright destruction of food production, as well as the implementation of a harsh climate agenda, is real. And it fits perfectly the agenda of the Great Reset…
    ​..​If this diabolical “Pandemic Treaty” passes a two thirds majority of the WHO Health Assembly (total 194 member states), it will become international law by which the WHO may override and overrule every country’s sovereign health regulation, and dictate heath policy in every country. Apparently it is possible and likely, that the two-thirds law is quietly and silently being amended to a simple majority.​..
    ​https://www.globalresearch.ca/climate-change-food-shortages-coordinated-destruction-of-humanity-by-the-world-economic-forum-and-its-elite-cult/5787415

    #112145
    John Day
    Participant

    “Climate Change”, Food Shortages: Coordinated Destruction of Humanity by the World Economic Forum and Its “Elite Cult”
    ​ ​And as if it was a bad coincidence, in parallel with the heat wave, the Dutch Government under the leadership of Mark Rutte, a scholar of Klaus Schwab’s Academy for Young Global Leaders, under close surveillance of the WEF and its “Green Agenda” (coinciding with the US and the UN Green Agenda), is imposing on its farmers an up to 30% reduction of farmland and cattle farms – under the pretext that the cattle’s manure releasing these horrible climate change gases, Ammonia (NH3), Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH4), and Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S), will help accelerate “Climate Change”.​..​
    ..Any thinking-human – and indeed there are thousands of scientists to prove it but many are silenced – will conclude (and have proof) that we are being lied to again, that we are being drawn into a multi-trillion-dollar business, the so-called Green Agenda, by the neocons and the financial giants who control them, BlackRock, Vanguard, State Street et al. All with the objective to take full control of our planet’s resources and humanity…
    ​..What is being played out now, the disruption and outright destruction of food production, as well as the implementation of a harsh climate agenda, is real. And it fits perfectly the agenda of the Great Reset…
    ​..​If this diabolical “Pandemic Treaty” passes a two thirds majority of the WHO Health Assembly (total 194 member states), it will become international law by which the WHO may override and overrule every country’s sovereign health regulation, and dictate heath policy in every country. Apparently it is possible and likely, that the two-thirds law is quietly and silently being amended to a simple majority.​..
    ​https://www.globalresearch.ca/climate-change-food-shortages-coordinated-destruction-of-humanity-by-the-world-economic-forum-and-its-elite-cult/5787415

    HIMARS for breakfast?
    ​ ​A battery of S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems arrived from Crimea in the Kherson region – with the task of defending the Antonovsky Bridge. On July 21, the Ukrainians tried two new platoons. Again with long-range rockets that American satellites and Avax guide to the target. But the S-400 intercepted and shot down all 12 missiles launched.
    ​ ​Thus, the S-400 reduced to zero the American myth that the missiles of their multi-barrel rocket launchers are uncatchable (undefeatable). This is a hint that more and more new S-400 systems will arrive in Ukraine in the coming days. To close the sky over strategic objects under Russian control and over ongoing operations. At the same time, the Russian army began serious preparations for the complete destruction of HIMARS.

    Logistical nightmares for the Ukrainian army

    ​We won’t hear much about this.
    ​ ​Syrian media has regularly reported on the movements of US convoys into and out of the war-scarred country, catching Washington bringing military equipment and supplies in, and smuggling stolen crude oil and food out. This week, the leaders of Russia, Iran and Turkey called on Washington to end its occupation of eastern Syria.
    ​ ​US forces have evacuated a 156-vehicle strong convoy from the Kharab al-Jir Airport in Syria’s Hasakah province via the illegal al-Waleed border crossing, the Syrian Arab News Agency has reported, citing a local sources on the ground in the nearby town of Rmelan.
    https://sputniknews.com/20220722/us-reportedly-sneaks-150-vehicle-convoy-out-of-illegal-syria-base-1097709245.html

    #112146
    John Day
    Participant

    ​Igor Chudov’s Newsletter: ​
    Boosters Now PROMOTE Covid Deaths in Europe
    Ba.5 turned out to be the “Boosted People Variant” after all
    https://igorchudov.substack.com/p/boosters-now-promote-covid-deaths?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

    UK Government confirms the Triple / Quadruple Vaccinated account for 91% of all COVID Deaths since the beginning of 2022

    UK Government confirms the Triple / Quadruple Vaccinated account for 91% of all COVID Deaths since the beginning of 2022

    Adverse effects of COVID-19 vaccines and measures to prevent them
    ​ ​Recently, The Lancet published a study on the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines and the waning of immunity with time. The study showed that immune function among vaccinated individuals 8 months after the administration of two doses of COVID-19 vaccine was lower than that among the unvaccinated individuals…
    https://virologyj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12985-022-01831-0

    ​Meryl Nass MD (YUCK, Bug Juice DNA Shots!)​
    Novavax vaccine contains 1 mcg of insect (the fall armyworm) and baculovirus proteins and a bit of their DNA too, which is injected into you with each dose
    And that’s before we consider the Matrix-M novel adjuvant it contains
    https://merylnass.substack.com/p/novavax-vaccine-contains-1-mg-of

    ​From 1 year ago, but I missed it. (I drank green tea all day at work, until I got fired for vaccine-refusal last October. I caught Delta for New-Year. Related?)
    Epigallocatechin gallate from green tea effectively blocks infection of SARS-CoV-2 and new variants by inhibiting spike binding to ACE2 receptor
    ​We demonstrated that green tea beverage (GTB) or its major ingredient, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), were highly effective in inhibiting infection of live SARS-CoV-2 and human coronavirus (HCoV OC43). In addition, infection of the pseudoviruses with spikes of the new variants (UK-B.1.1.7, SA-B.1.351, and CA-B.1.429) was efficiently blocked by GTB or EGCG. Among the 4 active green tea catechins at noncytotoxic doses, EGCG was the most potent in the action against the viruses. The highest inhibitory activity was observed when the viruses or the cells were pre-incubated with EGCG prior to the infection.​..
    ..​The inhibitory effect on the virus infection was highly potent as GTB at a 320-fold dilution remained significantly effective (Fig. 2b, c).
    https://cellandbioscience.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13578-021-00680-8

    #112147
    Dora
    Participant

    From the UnHerd article:

    “Everyone agreed: a Draghi government would be a blessing for the country, a final opportunity to redeem its sins and “make Italy great again”. Draghi, they said, simply by virtue of his “charisma”, “competence”, “intelligence” and “international clout”, would keep bond markets at bay, enact much-needed reforms, and relaunch Italy’s stagnant economy.”

    The neoliberal thought collective (as Mirowski describes them) thinks they can keep doing the same thing and somehow get different results than the earlier results that got them here? What was Einstein’s definition of insanity? “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

    #112148
    kultsommer
    Participant

    If one scrolls (very) fast by Jesus vs Horus chart – it does not exist.

    Although cute, one can watch only so many Emmanuel videos.

    #112150
    TAE Summary
    Participant

    * Why was Bannon convicted while Brennan was not? Because Deplorable and Contemptible are synonyms.

    * Biden tests positive and takes Paxlovid. Will he get rebound which Fauci said was worse than the original?

    * Electing Biden didn’t fix anything. Re-electing Trump won’t fix anything. We’ve already hit the iceberg. Changing the captain will only determine who gets into the lifeboats first, but in this case the Carpathia will laugh at the survivors and leave them to freeze.

    * New Zealand suffers 0.45 deaths per 100K. Maybe this isn’t complete death and NZ is counting the little death with Covid in their stats.

    * How did Eratosthenes know when it was the same time in Thebes and Alexandria?

    * If you don’t have a military industrial complex to fund coordinated operations it’s over. If all you can do is guerrilla warfare you’ve already lost the war. Like in Afghanistan.

    * Europe is peninsular.

    * Orban knows the world order is shifting because he can hear the pitch of the west’s whining getting lower as their power recedes, aka redshift.

    * Russia captures the weapons donated to Ukraine and Raytheon stock goes up. Win/win.

    * I knew Horus before he was a superstar.

    * The Boosters are causing the Masses deaths to Accelerate. B=MA.

    * Guilt by Association: After intense investigation and using supercomputers the committee has discovered that the mastermind behind J6 was actually Kevin Bacon. They found he had a 6th level connection to all J6 participants.

    #112151
    zerosum
    Participant

    The story continues …. 40% —– 20% ….. its war ….What did EU expect for going to war
    https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/putin-turns-screws-gazprom-unexpectedly-halts-another-more-nord-stream-turbine-european-gas
    Putin Turns The Screws: Gazprom Unexpectedly Halts Another Nord Stream Turbine Cutting Flows In Half; European Gas Prices Soar

    https://www.rt.com/business/559618-gazprom-nord-stream-turbine/
    Russia’s Gazprom to disable second pipeline turbine
    Natural gas supply via Nord Stream 1 will reportedly be reduced to 20% capacity
    According to an earlier report by Kommersant, several of the nine turbines at the Portovaya compressor station are in need of repair. The paper notes that Gazprom has not yet authorised further repairs, and that one turbine took about three months to overhaul. The current licensing agreement allows Siemens Energy to accept five more turbines for repair before the end of 2024.

    #112152
    zerosum
    Participant

    checkmate

    #112153
    Oroboros
    Participant

    Tyflocracy

    A rare photo of Justus Turdeau, Candada’s tyflocracy El Supremo

    .

    #112154
    Oroboros
    Participant

    In clown face instead of his preferred blackface

    #112155
    Oroboros
    Participant

    Getting you to eat bugs and be happy.

    The “Owners” were subliminally introducing bug eating as a ‘thing’ in Bladerunner 2049.

    The opening scene is a devastated earth ecosystem where the only way left to feed people are “Protein Farms”

    This is a vision of where humanity is headed with diminishing energy resources.

    Bug ‘farms’.

    “Yum, what for dinner Mom? ”

    “Jumbo larva”

    “We already had that twice this week, can’t we have deep fried cockroach!”

    .

    It looks kinda like shrimp, but tastes like chicken

    .

    I’m a farmer

    #112156
    Bishko
    Participant

    IIRC there are at least a dozen pre-christian religions that used the same pattern of virgin birth, 12 disciples, miracles &c in the thousands of years BC. Christianity is just the latest. If the pattern is so effective at controlling the population, just refine it. “Religion is the Opiate of the Masses”; then Radio, then TV, then the Internet, then Cell Phones. What’s next? VR? Wireheads? Be ready, plant Potatoes.

    #112157
    Noirette
    Participant

    !! Bis repetita (in the sense of applying a similar script, won’t have the same success..)

    #112158
    Bishko
    Participant

    Regarding feeding bugs to the masses. All higher forms of life need protein in their diet to manufacture proteins in their bodies. If you raise chickens for eggs the chickens don’t miraculously generate protein in their bodies to make those eggs, they need to eat it first. The chicken needs more protein in their feed than leaves them in the egg. The same with bugs. There is no miracle process where bugs generate protein, fat, sugar or any other nutrient without ingesting it first.

    The only reason to convert protein, fats and carbs to bugs is if it’s available only as a waste product that no other life form will use. This is why ruminants are used to convert grass to meat, milk, leather and fiber. An otherwise inedible source (for humans) is converted to a usable form.

    I don’t currently see any source that makes economic sense for bug conversions. Using municipal garbage to grow bugs has tremendous technical and hygienic challenges. And as we descend the energy cliff there will be less and less useful “garbage” generated as supply chains, food processing plants and energy fades away.

    #112159
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    FOOD FIGHT

    Unlike the majority of food and nutrition experts I have had both the objective and subjective personal experience of life threatening prolonged starvation. This was over a period of 3 months on Anachlik Island in the Colville River delta on the arctic sea coast of Alaska from late August thru mid November, 1959, when I was 11 going on 12.

    Quite a story, with a wonderfully inspirational ending. Wish I had the time or you had the interest for me to tell it, but another matter demands our attention. Besides, that was more than 60 years ago and I’m not even hungry now.

    But I did learn something that cannot be forgotten.

    Almost no one, and certainly none among the so-called “elites”, has the slightest goddamned notion of what will happen if and/or when any significant proportion of 8 billion previously well fed people enter into a prolonged period of serious (near starvation) hunger. A few hundreds of millions of truly hungry stomachs should do the trick. A billion or more would absolutely guarantee results, and the results are much much worse than people think.

    With better luck we would all just run out of calories, quickly burn through our personal reserve body mass, and die fast.

    I ain’t going to paint a picture. I’ll just show the color palette and turn the mixing of truths over to you.

    Prolonged near-starvation is a different beast. It changes the focus of the mind onto a single point (food) while leaving it fully capable (even enhanced) in most other respects. Insofar as the preservation of the physical corporeal life is concerned instinct takes over and the individual might not even notice the switch. And it takes a pretty hefty spirit to follow through to the end with consummation of such a noble truth as, “It is sometimes better for oneself to die so that someone else can live.”

    Essentially, most of those who have the ability and the survival instincts to do so will do what they must do in order to stay alive, knowing at the most viscerally instinctive level that the death-from-starvation clock is set at a few weeks or so, and is already ticking.

    It is not necessarily going to roll out like that everywhere, or even necessarily in places that “matter” to the wider world. That depends on numerous variables just too astronomically complex to project that far into the near future. But based on simple arithmetic, population distribution and the roughly 2000 calories per day per capita food requirement of the average human . . . then it just definitely IS GOING TO HAPPEN on a scale not seen in quite a while.

    If it hits Europe (and “they” are doing their damnedest to make sure that it does) then . . . . . . because of the inter-connectedness of systems that earthlings built in the last 50 years and now utterly depend upon without backup plan . . . . . . . . we are quite realistically flirting with a world-spanning civilization-ending event.

    If or when that does transpire, please, remember that possible food poisoning is an issue. You cannot just go straight out and start eating the rich ! You must compost them first.

    #112160
    Michael Reid
    Participant

    Grilled, roasted, stewed, broiled and boiled. Yummy and rich

    #112161

    TAE Summary-
    Aristarchus, not Eritosthenes.

    DBS- Can’t you make it short? I’m interested. That’s a terrible age to starve (not that there’s a good one.)

    The teacher is not responsible for the text. The teacher offers it and says: discuss.

    #112162
    willem
    Participant

    @DBS: Your insights much appreciated. And I for one would be interested in hearing your story sometime when you feel inclined to share it.

    #112163
    Farmer McGregor
    Participant

    @Bishko says:
    “The chicken needs more protein in their feed than leaves them in the egg. The same with bugs. There is no miracle process where bugs generate protein, fat, sugar or any other nutrient without ingesting it first.”
    First sentence absolutely correct. Second one not so correct. It is not the higher life form that generates protein etc., it is the bacteria and other microscopic life forms that do this work. Certain families of these ultra-tiny critters can, and do, reconfigure molecules like cellulose into more complex nutrients.

    My cows pulverize large volumes of plant tissues then rapidly ferment them through massive bacterial action (that is what fermentation is) in their rumen stomach (the bacteria at work there are collectively referred as ‘the rumen’). The rumen reconfigure the plant tissue molecules into the various lipids and amino acids (building blocks of fats and proteins). The cow then digests the massive volumes of dead bacteria bodies to extract those and other materials for making milk and meat. See A Cow’s Digestive System

    Incidentally, this is why humans generally do not thrive on a plant-based diet. We simply lack the facilities (large multi-stomach system) to derive adequate nutrition from plants without giving very special attention to concentrated fats and proteins.

    It is bacteria that are essential for the production of fatty and amino acids, carbohydrates, and vitamins (especially the B-complex vits) from simpler molecules. This process occurs within all higher life forms, including ourselves, which is why robust health is tied directly to the quality and health of our gut biome. An insect’s digestive tract is the same in this regard which is why they can convert even ‘very dead’ plant matter (compost) into the building blocks needed for their own growth and reproduction.
    Bacteria and fungi are alchemists that can even do elemental transmutation under the right conditions.

    Insects are actually significantly more efficient at converting organic matter into proteins than conventional livestock. The limitation to this is that of scale. A 1500 pound cow is much more resilient to environmental changes and easier to manage, thus far less precarious than 1500 pounds of insect larvae and their breeding adults. Those bugs can’t give me 6 gallons of marvelous milk every day. Milk, cream, butter, yogurt, cheese… by chewing on the grass that grows all around me.

    Here is a ‘farmable’ bug, the https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKgg_kncASY. Consider scaling this up to produce tonnage, which is what would be necessary to be of any value.

    I have toyed with ‘farming’ mealworms (the larvae of the Darkling Beetle) since they are indigenous and spontaneously appear in the litter that accumulates in the bottom of my chicken coop (I use the ‘deep litter’ method of manure management using high-carbon materials like dry tree leaves, straw, and wood shavings to capture and dry the chicken droppings. This ends up being composted or tilled directly into vegetable growing beds in the fall. Hello Dr. John Day!). Since the mealworms can thrive on old chicken manure, it makes sense to try to use them to convert that manure back into fats and proteins for the chickens. Closed loop!

    ‘Farming’ insects, especially on waste biomass, makes far more sense as feed for livestock, especially chickens, than for human food. Insects can be very effective vectors for various pathogens, parasites, etc., which cannot survive a chicken’s “hot” gut. Insects are, after all, a chicken’s most natural and preferred food.

    #112164
    Farmer McGregor
    Participant

    3rd paragraph from the end, farmable bug:

    Black Soldier Fly

    #112165
    Oroboros
    Participant

    @Bishko

    Great points on bugs

    Like using hydrogen as an ‘alternative’ energy source.

    It’s not, hydrogen just carries energy from another source

    The EROEI of bug farming probably makes it a “dis-economy”

    Factory farming of mammals is unsustainable in the long run, not to mention cruel, unusual and bad karma.

    Humanity has already road tested every imaginable system of feeding people over millenniums.

    Without fossil fuel agriculture, it’s back to the past.

    Hey, those kind of techniques got us all to the 20th century.

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