Sep 162022
 


Pablo Picasso Portrait of Dora Maar 1939

 

Fall Like A Thunderbolt (Schryver)
Don’t Listen To Those Asking To Stop Supporting Kiev, EU’s Borrell Says (RT)
US Openly A Party To Ukraine Conflict – Russia (RT)
Zelensky Guard Appears To Wear Nazi Insignia (RT)
A Turning-Point Once Every 500 Years (Batiushka)
American Patience With Germany Wearing Thin – Media (RT)
Pentagon Finds Hypersonic Research Partner (RT)
Moscow Responds To UN Nuclear Watchdog Resolution On Ukrainian Plant (RT)
Special Master Appointed, DOJ Bid To Delay Mar-a-Lago Ruling Rejected (Pol.)
Democrats Are Trying To Trump-Proof The Government (Lucas)
How Bill Gates And Partners Took Over The Global Covid Response (Pol.)
Tucker Carlson Notices the Missing Jubilation in Martha’s Vineyard (CTH)
Illinois Governor Declares Emergency Disaster As Migrants Bused In (JTN)
Switching To Renewable Energy Could Save Trillions (BBC)

 

 

 

 

 

 

BBC reporting on DPRK (North Korea) overlaid on queen funeral procession
https://twitter.com/i/status/1570314755167997952

 

 

 

 

Ode to King

 

 

Lowkey @Lowkey0nline
“The British Crown legally owns 6.6 billion acres of land across the world. That is a sixth of the earth’s surface. Charles is now the world’s largest landowner, but I am sure that has nothing to do with colonialism…”

 

 

 

 

“Maskirovka is a Russian word meaning literally “masking” or “disguise”..”

Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.
– Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Fall Like A Thunderbolt (Schryver)

[..] as the true nature of the events of the past two weeks comes into clearer focus, it is now possible to see that the Russians acted deliberately to provide the NATO commanders of this reconstituted Ukrainian force with some low-hanging fruit to blood their untested army, and provide it with a victory that would not only bolster its battlefield confidence, but more importantly serve essential political purposes at a time when western public support was flagging to a very discernible degree.More importantly, from the Russian perspective, providing NATO commanders a temptation they could not resist would draw this fresh army into the open field of battle where it could then be isolated and ultimately destroyed.

Therefore the Russians commenced, several weeks ago, to withdraw all but a token force from the area containing the towns of Balakliya, Kupyansk, and Izyum – thereby presenting an irresistible opportunity for the commanders of this NATO-trained, NATO-equipped, and NATO-led force to demonstrate, as they imagine it, the superiority of western combined-arms warfare. The subsequent attack achieved seemingly extraordinary success against the relative handful of Donbass militia and Rosgvardia troops left to defend Balakliya and Kupyansk. The Ukrainians and their “foreign volunteer” shock troops advanced mostly unopposed and occupied a fairly significant piece of real estate extending all the way to the Oskil River.

Relatively little soldier against soldier fighting has occurred. In fact, Ukrainian reports euphorically trumpeted the fact that the Ukrainian advance could not even keep up with the speed of the Russian retreat! The “glorious victory” of this quasi-NATO army has – at least for the time being – launched the western media narrative into an unprecedented spasm of triumphalism. Delusional reports of hundreds of abandoned tanks, thousands of casualties, and tens of thousands of captured Russian soldiers are circulating widely, willingly believed by those whose biases find them pleasing. Western think-tank monkeys and retired-generals-for-hire move from one mainstream news studio to the next spouting fantastical nonsense about next liberating the Donbass, then Crimea, followed by deposing Putin and hauling him before a tribunal at The Hague.

And if that were not enough, many have even begun to openly discuss the long-desired western pipe dream of dismantling Russia altogether; cutting it up into a dozen or more smaller republics that will then obediently fall in line with the rest of the “rules-based world order”. It’s all quite breathtaking to behold.

Read more …

Borrell has to go from Brussels, along with Von der Leyen. Their delusions are too costly.

Don’t Listen To Those Asking To Stop Supporting Kiev, EU’s Borrell Says (RT)

The EU must tackle elements of the public that want the Ukraine conflict to be over as soon as possible, and Kiev’s recent offensive in the northeast helped with that, according to Josep Borrell, the top EU official for foreign relations and security. “There is a temptation to abandon [Ukraine] in part of European society,” he told El Mundo newspaper in an interview published on Thursday. People “want to end the war because they cannot bear the consequences, the costs. We have to combat that mentality. The offensive on the northeastern front helps with that.” Borrell was referring to last week’s Ukrainian operation, in which Kiev’s troops pushed Russian forces out of large swathes of Kharkov Region.

Some US officials claimed credit on behalf of the American intelligence community for the advances. According to Borrell, the Ukrainian offensive was a “breath of fresh air” for Brussels since it serves as affirmation that its strategy was “sound.” He has stated on several occasions that Russia had to be defeated on the battlefield for the hostilities in Ukraine to stop. The official told the newspaper that the EU strategy to punish Russia required a long time for sanctions to act, and people should be prepared for it. “It’s like a diet. In a week you may not lose a kilo, but you have to continue,” he said, reiterating the metaphor he used on Tuesday during a speech in the European Parliament.

The EU joined the US in sending military aid to Ukraine and imposing economic sanctions on Russia. It came at a serious cost to European economies, which now have to deal with skyrocketing energy prices and potential shortages of natural gas due to the decision of their governments to decouple from Russian supplies. Borrell downplayed grim predictions that the upcoming winter could become a disaster for the EU. “There are political opposition forces that say we are going to freeze to death. Some of those people who say that are not ideological radicals, they insist that the way we are going is a crazy one,” he said. He suggested that the EU government had to do a better job of “educating” people about the situation.

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“Only naive, short-sighted politicians who know history poorly can talk about victory over Russia on the battlefield.”

US Openly A Party To Ukraine Conflict – Russia (RT)

It is cause for “deep concern” that the US government is “openly boasting” that Ukraine’s battlefield successes were achieved with the Pentagon’s direct involvement, the Russian ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov, said in an interview on Wednesday. “Against this background, Washington’s statements that the US is not a party to the conflict sound absolutely ridiculous and unfounded,” Antonov told RIA Novosti. “Facts and interviews of former and current politicians and generals say otherwise.” “Videos currently shown on Western channels clearly demonstrate that soldiers and officers who speak fluent English, many with pronounced British and American accents, are fighting against us,” the ambassador added.

The US has done everything to turn Ukraine into a dumping ground for its obsolete weapons, but also a testing range for new NATO equipment, Antonov said, pointing out the insatiable appetite of the US military-industrial complex for profits. By the Pentagon’s own admission, the US has sent Ukraine “more than $17.2 billion in security assistance” since 2014, and another $14.5 billion since February. Kiev’s patrons are “hungry for power and money” and not interested in peaceful solutions, said Antonov. There is little to no talk in the West about negotiations, only about sending more weapons to Ukraine, he added. “Their main main goal is to defeat Russia by any means, and subsequently prevent it from playing a key role in the international arena. And if possible, break it into pieces,” the ambassador said.

“They will not stop pushing Ukraine into further suicidal adventures, such as the ‘offensives’ that were doomed from the start.” Ukraine has claimed its recent advances in the Kharkov region are a “turning point” in the conflict. On Monday, the New York Times reported that the US and UK had been involved in planning the operation, including the admission by the Pentagon’s policy chief Colin Kahl that the US military “did do some modeling and some tabletop exercises,” which it shared with Kiev. “The current situation of Washington inciting Kiev against us is an indisputable, obvious fact,”said Antonov. If the Americans go along with Ukraine’s “insane” demands for long-range rockets, he added, “such a scenario would mean direct involvement of the US in a military confrontation with Russia.”

Even so, this will “not lead to real change on the frontline,” Antonov said, “Only naive, short-sighted politicians who know history poorly can talk about victory over Russia on the battlefield.” Russia’s mission is to “lay down the foundations of a multipolar world order and send the American ‘rules-based world order’ into the dustbin of history,” and Moscow’s diplomats “have no doubt that we will achieve victory,” he concluded.

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His own office published the photo. It appears to be gone now.

Zelensky Guard Appears To Wear Nazi Insignia (RT)

One of the armed guards of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has been spotted with insignia resembling a symbol of Nazi Germany unit used during World War II. The image shared by the office of the leader was made during his visit to the recently re-captured town of Izyum on Wednesday. The controversial skull-and-bones image was featured on the back of a heavily armed Ukrainian trooper, who appeared to be part of Zelensky’s security detail during the trip. It can be seen in one of the photos, which the president’s office released on social media. The symbol was the insignia of the SS-Totenkopfverbande units, the part of the Nazi paramilitary Schutzstaffel responsible for security at the death camps.

It was also adopted by the elite Panzer Division ‘Totenkopf’ of the Waffen-SS, which was formed from the death camp guards and fought on the Eastern front and committed multiple war crimes. In modern times, it was adopted by various far-right and nationalist groups in Ukraine, which got their inspiration from Ukrainian nationalist forces that collaborated with the Nazi Germany during World War II and fought against the Soviet Union. Organizations monitoring extremists consider it a hate symbol. In May, Zelensky’s office included a photo of a Ukrainian artillery trooper wearing a similar ‘death head’ patch on his chest in a selection posted on social media on the occasion of the Allied victory in the European theater of war. The same photo was also shared by the country’s defense ministry that day.


Russia cited the influence that extremists groups have in the Ukrainian national guard and military as one of the reasons for sending troops into the country in late February. Zelensky was elected president in 2019 on a platform of reconciliation with rebel forces in the east and normalization of ties with Russia. His initial attempts to deliver on the campaign promises were met with fierce criticisms and street protests by nationalist groups, which called for tougher policies and suppression of Donbass. The Ukrainian president has since reinvented himself as an uncompromising political figure seeking a complete defeat of Russia and its allies and rejecting any calls for peace talks.

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I cannot do Batiushka, the Orthodox priest, justice in the aggregator format. But I can point you to him.

A Turning-Point Once Every 500 Years (Batiushka)

I recall some forty years ago meeting an elderly English lady, a farmer’s wife called Mrs Dove, who had been present as a schoolgirl at the funeral of Queen Victoria. ‘When the old Queen died all those years ago’, she reminisced nostalgically, ‘everything was draped in black and everyone was dressed in black’. Now Victoria’s great-great-granddaughter, the new ‘old Queen’, is dead, the news announced beneath a rainbow over Windsor Castle. This is the town whose name the Queen’s grandfather, George V, had adopted as the family name, instead of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The Windsor name was officially adopted on 17 July 1917, just after the British-orchestrated Russian ‘Revolution’ of 1917, one year to the day before the Tsar and his Family were murdered in Ekaterinburg, on the very frontiers of Europe and Asia. The Russian Tsar had been betrayed by his look-alike cousin, King George V.

Whatever you say about Queen Elizabeth II, she personally had modesty, she had dignity, she had presence, she actually believed in something, she had all that her descendants seem utterly to lack. Perhaps her end was hastened by the behaviour of her son Prince Andrew, her grandson Prince Harry and the imbeciles who inhabit 10 Downing Street, the latest of whom she had to appoint Prime Minister only two days before she died. Why live any longer? She must have been fed up with it all. This is the final, final end of the Protestant Empire of Great Britain (1522-2022) (1), whose collapse began exactly three generations ago in 1947 in India. Perhaps the decline will go swiftly now under the disliked King Charles III (called in Russian Karl III) (2), who finds himself without Queen Diana, the only one who could have saved him. Expect the break-up of the UK to be rapid.

The 96 year-old Queen Elizabeth II died in Scotland, in Victoria’s castle at Balmoral, a relic of the 19th century and its British Empire. Her curious, clipped Germanic accent – no English people talk like that – betrayed the Queen’s foreign origins as the last of the rulers shaped by German Protestantism, imported by the City of London merchant and financial class just over 300 years before. However, it is not only her, it is the other leaders of the Western world, relics of the 20th century, who are dying out too. They are gerontocrats. In the USA Biden, born in the first half of the 20th century and soon to be 80, should really be in an old folk’s home. It is cruel to keep parading him in front of the media like that and asking him to remember things. As for Pope Francis, aged 85, he can hardly walk and says that he too might go early, like his predecessor, still alive at 95, a relic forced to serve in the Hitler Youth.

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“Washington has “doubts” about Germany’s fundamental loyalty to Kiev, questioning whether it wants Ukraine to “win” or just “not to lose.”

American Patience With Germany Wearing Thin – Media (RT)

Berlin appears to be increasingly out of step with its allies across the pond when it comes to arming Ukraine, Germany’s Die Welt daily reported on Thursday, adding that the issue is impacting relations between the NATO allies. The US allegedly wants Germany to take a more resolute approach towards military assistance for Kiev, it said. Last Sunday, the US ambassador to Berlin, Amy Gutmann, told the German broadcaster ZDF that she expects Germany to “take on a greater leadership role.” She acknowledged Berlin’s military assistance to Kiev, but said her expectations are “even higher.” “So far, Germany has done what we asked for,”a US official told Die Welt on Thursday, adding that Berlin could be moving “faster.”

The paper reported that Washington has “doubts” about Germany’s fundamental loyalty to Kiev, questioning whether it wants Ukraine to “win” or just “not to lose.” On Tuesday, the German tabloid Bild claimed that US officials allegedly sent a diplomatic note to Berlin, in which Secretary of State Antony Blinken supposedly said Washington would “welcome” a decision by Germany to send battle tanks to Ukraine while stopping short of directly asking for such a step. A spokeswoman for the US embassy in Berlin, however, denied this claim, telling Bild that no such outreach was made. “It is not true that we told Germany that they had to supply tanks,” a US official also told Die Welt on Thursday, adding that the US would rather see Germany take a greater leadership role, which now “means helping Ukraine.”

Last week, German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht told journalists that Berlin would not be the first to send Western-made tanks to Ukraine when no other nation had done so. The reports of Washington’s dissatisfaction with Germany’s response came as Lambrecht announced a fresh weapons package for Kiev. The new batch will include two Mars II multiple rocket launchers and 200 missiles for them, as well as 50 Dingo armored personnel carriers, she told journalists on Thursday.

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I still haven’t seen anyone explain how the US got so far behind on hypersonics. Spending 10x what Russia spends, and still be 10 years behind.

Pentagon Finds Hypersonic Research Partner (RT)

The Pentagon has agreed to work with Japan to find new ways to defend against hypersonic weapons, as the US rushes to produce a missile to compete with similar platforms under development in China, and already deployed by Russia. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with his Japanese counterpart, Yasukazu Hamada, at the Pentagon headquarters on Wednesday, where they discussed future military coordination between the two nations and focused on China’s “coercive actions” toward Taiwan in recent weeks. “The ministers concurred that Japan and the United States would further accelerate cooperation in the area of equipment and technology to ensure technological edge of the alliance,” including “joint analysis on counter-hypersonic technology,” the Japanese Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The ministry noted that Washington and Tokyo would “cooperate closely and seamlessly” to prevent any “unilateral change in the status quo” in the Indo-Pacific region, where American warships frequently conduct ‘freedom of navigation’ missions through contested waters claimed by Beijing. Both Austin and Hamada “strongly condemned China’s ballistic missile launches in early August,” with Tokyo claiming some of the projectiles landed within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The two also accused Beijing of provocative military drills near Taiwan – which China considers part of its own territory – following a visit to the island by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last month. In the Pentagon’s readout of Wednesday’s meeting, Austin vowed to “modernize the US-Japan alliance, bolster integrated deterrence, and further cooperate with like-minded partners to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific,” though the release made no mention of hypersonic technology.

While various hypersonic missile designs have long been under development by the US defense establishment, no platform has been adopted into service. Following a test of the hypersonic AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) last May, the Air Force declared it a “major accomplishment,”though the missile failed to reach its theoretical top-speed of Mach 20 (or 20 times the speed of sound). China, too, is working on a hypersonic munition, which it has test-fired on a number of occasions, while Russia’s hypersonic Kh-47M2 Kinzhal has been in service for several years, seeing its first real-world operational deployments during the conflict with Ukraine.

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The IAEA cannot choose sides. But it does. Next they’re going to call for Russia to withdraw from the plant, though they know that will never happen.

Moscow Responds To UN Nuclear Watchdog Resolution On Ukrainian Plant (RT)

Russia has criticized the resolution adopted by the UN nuclear watchdog on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant. The document passed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is “anti-Russian” and does not say a single word about the Ukrainian shelling of the facility, Russian diplomats have said. The facility, the largest of its kind in Europe, is located in Ukraine but currently controlled by Russian forces. On Thursday, the IAEA Board of Governors adopted a document demanding Russia “immediately cease all actions against, and at, the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant and any other nuclear facility in Ukraine.” The text also said the board “deplores the Russian Federation’s persistent violent actions against nuclear facilities in Ukraine.”

Russia’s mission to the IAEA responded by saying that the document was “pushed through” by the West, while “the majority of humanity refused to support it.” The resolution passed with 26 votes in favor. Russia and China, which are also on the board, voted against it, while seven nations – Egypt, South Africa, Senegal, Burundi, Vietnam, India, and Pakistan – abstained. Those supporting the document mostly consisted of the US and its allies in Europe and elsewhere. The Russian diplomats also blasted the fact that the resolution fails to mention the shelling of the station, the evidence for which Moscow had provided several times. The officials also accused Western nations of “supporting and shielding” Kiev in “every possible way,” while blaming Ukraine for the attacks.

The document was passed in the wake of the IAEA mission that visited the Zaporozhye plant in early September. On Wednesday, in a phone call with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed the IAEA’s work, which is contributing to the safety of the facility. This was the second resolution adopted by the IAEA amid the Russian military operation in Ukraine. The first one was passed in March before Russian forces had taken control of the power plant. The documents are similar in nature and in both cases were introduced by Canada and Poland on behalf of Ukraine, which is not on the agency’s board, according to Reuters. Moscow has repeatedly accused Ukrainian forces of shelling the grounds of the plant. Kiev has denied the accusations and instead blamed Russia for the incidents, despite the area already being under Moscow’s control.

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George Webb – Investigative Journalist @RealGeorgeWebb1: “Dearie is Special Master. yep, the Carter page FISA guy.”

Special Master Appointed, DOJ Bid To Delay Mar-a-Lago Ruling Rejected (Pol.)

U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon on Thursday rejected a Justice Department demand to let federal prosecutors continue their review of records marked classified that were recovered from former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. In her ruling, Cannon refused to accept department officials’ contention that the records they are trying to review as part of an ongoing criminal investigation remain highly classified or contain extraordinarily sensitive defense information that could damage national security if released. “The Court does not find it appropriate to accept the Government’s conclusions on these important and disputed issues without further review by a neutral third party in an expedited and orderly fashion,” Cannon, a Trump appointee, wrote in her 10-page ruling denying the Justice Department’s request to essentially exclude about 100 documents marked classified from the special master process.

Cannon instead appointed Raymond Dearie, a senior federal judge in New York, to lead an independent review of the seized materials. He was one of two potential special masters proposed by the Trump team, and prosecutors said they found him acceptable even though he was not one of their initial picks. In a signed filing released by the court on Thursday night, Dearie accepted the task. Cannon urged him to complete his review by Nov. 30 — more than a month after the Oct. 17 deadline the Justice Department had most recently asked Cannon to set. While Cannon’s timeline appears to extend Dearie’s review well past the November midterm elections, she did instruct him “to prioritize review of the approximately 100 documents marked as classified (and papers physically attached thereto),” meaning it’s possible prosecutors could regain access to some or all of those materials before they get another look at the other records seized in the FBI’s Aug. 8 search of the Trump’s Florida estate.

Last week, the Justice Department appealed Cannon’s order to appoint a special master and indicated it would seek relief from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals if she did not agree to delay aspects of her ruling by Thursday night. The ruling is another setback for federal prosecutors, who have expressed alarm at the extraordinarily sensitive records they found in boxes intermingled with Trump’s personal items in his Mar-a-Lago storage room, as well as some recovered from his office. The Justice Department has warned that Cannon’s Sept. 5 order — which enjoined the department from furthering its criminal review of the documents seized by FBI agents — had also disrupted a parallel risk assessment of those documents by the intelligence community. Though Cannon allowed that review to continue, the Justice Department emphasized that her order had sown confusion within the executive branch.

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“The silliness of it all is that Trump might be the only Republican–at least top tier Republican–who could lose to either Joe Biden or Kamala Harris in 2024.”

Democrats Are Trying To Trump-Proof The Government (Lucas)

Trump Derangement Syndrome is clearly real. To be clear, it’s not necessarily better or worse than Trump sycophancy. Americans–whether serving in public office or everyday working stiffs–should never base their life around idolatry of or seething hatred for one prominent leader. But, of course, that has happened with Trump. I suppose polarizing is a shorter way to put it, but that term seems so trite. Anyway, the anti-Trump side is presently being more ridiculous and pettier. If Trump sycophancy becomes a legislative agenda, I’ll reconsider that judgment. The silliness of it all is that Trump might be the only Republican–at least top tier Republican–who could lose to either Joe Biden or Kamala Harris in 2024.

While that’s questionable, House Democrats are advancing bills through committee as if they think he’s a sure thing come January 2025 – or water down a second Trump term as much as possible by weakening presidential authority. Also, some of the bills are based on silly anti-Trump conspiracy theories. The bills would effectively politicize executive branch agencies that shouldn’t be. HR 8326, dubbed the Ensuring a Fair and Accurate Census Act would make it more difficult for a president to fire a Census Bureau director, while also granting the director broad new authorities to conduct statistical sampling. It would expand the number of Census Bureau employees with civil service protections. It also constrains future censuses from inquiring about citizenship–which could favor Democrats for enumeration and apportionment.

When the oversight committee advanced the bill in July, committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., complained about the “Trump administration’s illegal efforts to weaponize the Census Bureau for political gain.” House Oversight Committee Democrats Reps. Gerald Connolly of Virginia and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania co-sponsored H.R. 302, dubbed the Preventing a Patronage System Act. The theory is that if Trump is elected, he would eliminate the civil service system and return to a spoils system. The press release for the bill references Trump’s final months in office, when he signed an executive order creating a “Schedule F” category of federal employees.

The order determined that career employees with civil service protections involved with “policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating” positions that are “not normally subject to change as part of a presidential transition” could be more easily removed for insubordination, which was a problem during the Trump administration. This would affect a maximum 50,000 federal employees out of the 2.2 million federal workforce. That’s far from a patronage system. The Whistleblower Protection Improvement Act, or H.R. 2988, certainly is a more innocuous sounding name, since many Republican lawmakers love whistleblowers that rat out Democrats. But this bill practically encourages bad actors in the federal workforce to simply engage in meritless accusations–thus abuse the legal whistleblower protections.

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Filling a vacuum with money.

How Bill Gates And Partners Took Over The Global Covid Response (Pol.)

When Covid-19 struck, the governments of the world weren’t prepared. From America to Europe to Asia, they veered from minimizing the threat to closing their borders in ill-fated attempts to quell a viral spread that soon enveloped the world. While the most powerful nations looked inward, four non-governmental global health organizations began making plans for a life-or-death struggle against a virus that would know no boundaries. What followed was a steady, almost inexorable shift in power from the overwhelmed governments to a group of non-governmental organizations, according to a seven-month investigation by POLITICO journalists based in the U.S. and Europe and the German newspaper WELT.

Armed with expertise, bolstered by contacts at the highest levels of Western nations and empowered by well-grooved relationships with drug makers, the four organizations took on roles often played by governments — but without the accountability of governments. While nations were still debating the seriousness of the pandemic, the groups identified potential vaccine makers and targeted investments in the development of tests, treatments and shots. And they used their clout with the World Health Organization to help create an ambitious worldwide distribution plan for the dissemination of those Covid tools to needy nations, though it would ultimately fail to live up to its original promises.

The four organizations had worked together in the past, and three of them shared a common history. The largest and most powerful was the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, one of the largest philanthropies in the world. Then there was Gavi, the global vaccine organization that Gates helped to found to inoculate people in low-income nations, and the Wellcome Trust, a British research foundation with a multibillion dollar endowment that had worked with the Gates Foundation in previous years. Finally, there was the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, or CEPI, the international vaccine research and development group that Gates and Wellcome both helped to create in 2017.

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Martha’s Vineyard finally gets diversity.

Tucker Carlson Notices the Missing Jubilation in Martha’s Vineyard (CTH)

A strange thing happened. After lecturing the nation on the virtues of mass migration, the white liberal democrats on Martha’s Vineyard did not celebrate the arrival of the non-white immigrants they have been demanding for years. Fox News host Tucker Carlson noted in his monologue that Martha’s Vineyard famous nimby residents, including former President Barack Obama, did not welcome the people of color as one would expect. Instead of celebrating the new diversity, oddly the residents quickly moved to find alternate off island locations to accept the arriving immigrants.

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“Border officials have seen more than 4 million encounters with foreign nationals attempting to cross the southern border since Biden first took office.”

Illinois Governor Declares Emergency Disaster As Migrants Bused In (JTN)

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday issued an emergency disaster proclamation in response to several hundred foreign nationals being bused to the state from the southern border by Texas’ governor. Pritzker activated about 75 members of the Illinois National Guard “to ensure all state resources are available to support asylum seekers arriving nearly daily to Chicago from the state of Texas,” the governor’s office said in a news release. It also “enables the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) and other state agencies, in close coordination with the City of Chicago, Cook County, and other local governments, to ensure the individuals and families receive the assistance they need. This includes transport, emergency shelter and housing, food, health screenings, medical assessments, treatments, and other necessary care and services.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott began busing foreign nationals who crossed the border into Texas illegally to Washington D.C. in April, to New York City this summer, and then to Chicago beginning late last month. All three cities are so-called “sanctuary cities” that proclaim to welcome illegal immigrants and not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. “Today, I signed a disaster proclamation allowing the state to speed up the procurement of the immediate resources needed to help Chicago, Cook County, and other jurisdictions provide humanitarian assistance to the asylum seekers who are being sent to our state with no official advance notice by the Governor of Texas,” Pritzker said in a statement. “Let me be clear: while other states may be treating these vulnerable families as pawns, here in Illinois, we are treating them as people.”

Abbott argues the crisis at the southern border was created by President Joe Biden’s open border policies and has called on the mayors of these sanctuary cities to demand that Biden enforce U.S. immigration law. Border officials have seen more than 4 million encounters with foreign nationals attempting to cross the southern border since Biden first took office. Texas has had to deal with the majority of them. The administration has released hundreds of thousands of them into Texas and other border state communities.

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“probabilistic” modelling..

Switching To Renewable Energy Could Save Trillions (BBC)

Switching from fossil fuels to renewable energy could save the world as much as $12tn (£10.2tn) by 2050, an Oxford University study says. The report said it was wrong and pessimistic to claim that moving quickly towards cleaner energy sources was expensive. Gas prices have soared on mounting concerns over energy supplies. But the researchers say that going green now makes economic sense because of the falling cost of renewables. “Even if you’re a climate denier, you should be on board with what we’re advocating,” Prof Doyne Farmer from the Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School told BBC News. “Our central conclusion is that we should go full speed ahead with the green energy transition because it’s going to save us money,” he said.

The report’s findings are based on looking at historic price data for renewables and fossil fuels and then modelling how they’re likely to change in the future. The data for fossil fuels goes from 2020 back more than 100 years and shows that after accounting for inflation, and market volatility, the price hasn’t changed much. Renewables have only been around for a few decades, so there’s less data. But in that time continual improvements in technology have meant the cost of solar and wind power have fallen rapidly, at a rate approaching 10% a year. The report’s expectation that the price of renewables will continue to fall is based on “probabilistic” modelling, using data on how massive investment and economies of scale have made other similar technologies cheaper.

“Our latest research shows scaling-up key green technologies will continue to drive their costs down, and the faster we go, the more we will save,” says Dr Rupert Way, the report’s lead author from the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment.

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Water man

 

 

 

More hands
https://twitter.com/i/status/1570035223013855233

 

 

 

 

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Home Forums Debt Rattle September 16 2022

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  • #116007

    Pablo Picasso Portrait of Dora Maar 1939   • Fall Like A Thunderbolt (Schryver) • Don’t Listen To Those Asking To Stop Supporting Kiev, EU’s Borr
    [See the full post at: Debt Rattle September 16 2022]

    #116011
    Red
    Participant

    When at the apex predicting future movements to the positive based on past improvements may be a fools errand. Optimism at it’s finest or is it manipulation? I present the following:

    In its Sept. 12 Crop Production report, the USDA forecast the soybean yield at 50.5 bushels per acre, down 2.7% from an all-time high projection of 51.9 bushels per acre last month, and down 1.8% from 51.4 bushels per acre in 2021. Soybean production was estimated at 4.378 billion bushels, down 3.4% from the record-high 4.531 billion bushels projected in August, and down 1.3% from 4.435 billion bushels produced a year ago. The September estimates fell not only well below the average trade expectation of 4.496 billion bushels produced with a yield of 51.5 bushels per acre, but they also landed outside the expected range of trade expectations.

    “People were not positioned well for that kind of a cut, and the market showed their surprise,” said Brian Harris, executive director and owner, Global Risk Management.

    While lower numbers had been expected for corn estimates, the reduction in actual planted and potentially harvested acres was startling, according to analysts. In its March 31 Prospective Plantings report, the USDA reduced the number of projected acres planted to corn in 2022 by 4% to 89.49 million acres. But in the Aug. 12 Crop Production report, the USDA increased the number of acres planted to corn to 89.821 million acres with an estimated 81.84 million acres for harvest. But the Sept. 12 Crop Production report showed those numbers had fallen even below the March 31 projections to 88.608 million acres planted to corn with an expected harvest of 80.844 million acres for grain, down from 93.357 million planted acres and 85.388 million acres harvested in 2021.
    https://www.world-grain.com/articles/17466-surprise-surfaces-in-us-corn-and-soybean-numbers

    #116012
    Afewknowthetruth
    Participant

    ‘I still haven’t seen anyone explain how the US got so far behind on hypersonics. Spending 10x what Russia spends, and still be 10 years behind.’

    America has always been behind Russia in rocket technology.

    In the 1930s it was 10 years behind.

    In the 1940s it was 10n years behind.

    In the 1950s it was 10 years behind.

    In the 1960s it was 10 years behind.

    There is the famous story of how the Americans were shitting themselves when they realised the Russians were going to get to Peenemunde (where the Germans were developing V2 rockets) before they did. The Americans quickly cobbled together ‘Operation Paperclip’ to assist Nazi war criminals to escape through the war lines and get transported to the US, where ‘all was forgiven’ and many of the war criminals were given enormous resources to try to catch up with the Russians.

    Lesser known is the story of how the Russians gathered the German rocket scientists still at Peenemunde when they arrived, and took them for questioning. After a few months the Russians said: “Well that was a waste of time. They couldn’t teach us anything.”

    Then there is the famous story of how the Americans were shitting their pants when the USSR put Sputnik into orbit. And the Americans double shitted themselves when the USSR put a man into orbit around the Earth.

    There are many who do not believe the Americans ever put any men on the Moon, and that it was all staged. One of the multitude of reasons for not believing the official versions of “Moon landings’ was the poor performance of the Saturn V rockets, which did not have sufficient thrust-to-weight ratio to get anything more than a very small payload into orbit around the Earth.

    We note that before international cooperation was sabotaged by the US, it was Russia that was ferrying astronauts to the Space Station.

    It pays to recall the saga of the Starfighters that had a terrible tendency to fall out of the sky.

    Weapons manufacturers learned fairly early in WW2 that quantity, not quality, was what the US military wanted. Thus, the US produced thousands of ‘Ronsons’ -Sherman tanks that were guaranteed to light up at the first strike [by a German armour-piercing round].

    Never forget that ‘The Greatest Nation in the World’ still uses archaic measurements like feet, inches, British Thermal Units, Fahrenheit, calories, foot-poundals etc.. It’s a wonder anyone can make anything that works. Which may explain why little does actually work. And oil is still sold in ‘barrels’ even though wooden barrels were abandoned for the transport of oil more than 100 years ago. One barrel is about 160 litres.

    One can hardly be surprised that the US is rapidly going down the gurgler, now that they are competing with well-educated Russians, well-educated Chinese, well-educated Indians etc.

    By the way, I think you will find that both China and India are 10 years ahead of the US in hypersonic weapons development. Probably Iran too, but I cannot say for certain on that point.

    #116013
    Dr. D
    Participant

    Armstrong says that Charles III will not be impartial and above all things, which has been the Motte and Bailey protecting them. This means the monarchy will effectively fall due to his alliance and equivalence with the WEF, just as King Edward was pushed out for being pro-Nazi.

    Note with inflation at 8.5%: If inflation goes to zero, gas prices do not go back to $2. They only STAY at $4 forever. At 8% inflation prices double every ~10 years. ~50% in five years. I somehow expect your wages will not.

    This seems to be out there, that we can get inflation to zero and “back to normal”. There is no “back to normal” when you do this. It will take 20 years for wages to equalize, or you can have outright deflation and a collapse of the entire financial compounding system.

    Sweden: Four in Five ‘Refugees’ Have Vacationed in the Country they Fled from”

    But if they go back they’ll be killed!!! And they’re so poor they need social welfare or they’ll die, never having the $$$ for a nice international thousand-mile plane ticket. ‘Cause I sure don’t.

    “Philadelphia ‘Soda Tax’ Completely Backfired: Study
    “The soda pop tax actually led to about a 4% increase in purchases of other high-sugar goods in Philadelphia and in neighboring towns…

    What a shock: everything government does is stupid and hurts people. “Government is not reason, it is not eloquence — it is force. Like fire it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master; never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action.” – Geo. Washington

    Who knew that if you used fire to herd people around for no reason, someone would get burned? Besides everyone older than “Three”? Or arsonists who just love fire?

    “States to Ban Gas-Powered Cars Despite Human and Environmental Cost of Electric Vehicles”

    As they’re dumber than infants bawling. There is not enough metal on earth presently to make the number of cars required. It’s so much more environmental than recycling the all-steel cars we have, and we will never, ever use trains. Ever. Because people love trains and support them, so the answer is no.

    So many vaccine articles saying all the things we’ve known for two years. It was from a lab, possibly American. It’s not dangerous, vaccines don’t work and are probably more harmful than the disease. Children are immune and the vaccine is manyfold counterproductive for them. Lockdowns are complete failures and attack and kill children, delaying development. HCQ and IVM worked wonderfully at low cost. Death rates rise from the response, not the disease, which essentially stopped existing months ago. The government knew, paid, and arrested people who refused to kill patients.

    None of it matters because it is real. People still go for boosters, wear masks jogging, and cripple more children in school. No one is questioned, much less arrested. Both narratives exist at once without the slightest hesitation or distress. All things and their opposites are true.

    “Don’t Listen to Those Asking to Stop Supporting Kiev, EU’s Borrell Says (RT)”

    Who are these EU guys again? Did they have like a referendum for transfer of power or something? No? Do they have an army that they can make people do their bidding? No? Then why do we care what they say again? Tell them to shut up and go away – too late to stop before they embarrass themselves.

    American Patience with Germany Wearing Thin – Media (RT)”

    Hahahaahahahaaha! Or else what? Germany not committing suicide fast enough for ya? You’ll invade and occupy them? You’ll provide essentially no HIMARs, no jets, and no troops?

    I have doubts about American loyalty to Kiev. Very grave and well-substantiated ones.

    “these important and disputed issues without further review by a neutral third party”

    Uh-huh. Who would that be?

    “the Justice Department emphasized that her order had sown confusion within the executive branch”

    When normal 100-year procedures are followed, everyone right up to the President is confused. Probably our ships can’t sail and our jets can’t fly they’re so confused about lawyers having to “read legal documents”. Lawyers have never heard of this before. Dog and cats, living together…

    “water down a second Trump term as much as possible”

    More than last time, when they directly refused every order given? About…everything? Reversing Executive Orders, refusing to enforce laws, inventing crimes that didn’t exist, even refusing Commander-in-Chief direct orders to withdraw from wars? (we’re still there.)

    And of course, all those things illegally, when they could have quite legally constrained the executive and also defunded it in Congress. …But that would be following the “law”, which we don’t do.

    …Actually what you’re seeing is the country run by an unelected, unaccountable, secret, un-removable Soviet bureaucracy. Like the EU. All I need is a secret handshake from those guys, self-boostering their own club members, and there’s no country or democracy at all. And there isn’t. Policy hasn’t changed in 50 years despite every possible combination of parties and electees. That’s what people mean by “Deep State.”

    Bill Gates, Globalist Conspiracies” Yes, and he wears that round, colored pin everywhere now, just to make sure we all know he’s not part of some organization called “Global Goals”, which he says he is, on TV, while doing ads and international promos for it.

    All things are true, and simultaneously false.

    “Martha’s Vineyard” Are these the same people who NIMBY’d offshore windmills? Who believe in global warming in 5 years but live at sea level?

    Switching to Renewable Energy Could Save Trillions (BBC)”

    Whoops! That’s a typo. They meant to say “COST Trillions.” Trillions in carbon fuels to dig up all the remaining planet to make those batteries and renewable devices. Which like windmill blades, are not degradable and cannot be recycled. #Winning!

    “Even if you’re a climate denier, you should be on board with what we’re advocating,”

    Here’s a guy who’s really, REALLY bad at math. And Engineering. And Professoring. And Sciencing.

    …And Economicing. Hey buddy: if it were highly cost-effective people would have already converted for free without any need for discussion or persuasion. It would just be “modernizing”. It’s because it’s 1:1 EROEI that no one will bother.

    In other words: you’re a lying liar who lies. And it takes but 60 seconds to know it. But I knew before 60 seconds because “Professor” “Opened mouth”.

    #116015
    oldandtired
    Participant

    @afewknowthetruth

    The metric system was invented by two habitually drunk Frenchmen. They were angry about being sold bottles of wine that didn’t hold enough of their favorite drink. So they decided that the bottle had to hold their new amount of wine, 1 liter. Then they decided that the contents should weigh 1 kilogram. And to be double sure, the two drunks decided that that their wine should take up the volume of 1000 cubic centimeters. The kilometer? That’s how far it took for them to walk off their drunkenness after consuming a liter of their wine. Metric system my *ss.

    #116016
    Henry
    Participant

    When Countess Urslovia von der Crazy stepped out to give her State of the “Animal Farm “ Union address yesterday she was decked out in the gorgeous bright colours of the new European super-state. Unfortunately, a camera crew was not on hand to capture the perfect moment when the regime’s most preferred work-horse, Elenskyy, carried Urslovia onto the podium bare-back.

    It was noted by many of the farm’s preferred animals present, indeed muttered by a few, that the most scarce resource in all of the union, as a result of this war in the east, was not oil, gas, electricity or wheat but actually the dearth of decent camera crews to capture these perfect unifying farm moments.

    More

    #116017
    DarkMatter
    Participant

    ‘I still haven’t seen anyone explain how the US got so far behind on hypersonics. Spending 10x what Russia spends, and still be 10 years behind.’

    Russian weapons are designed by the Russian military. Their goal is effective weapons.
    US weapons are designed by US corporations. Their goal is excessive profits.
    Both are good at what they do. You get what you measure.

    #116018
    John Day
    Participant

    I have not seen a troll-comment since “deflationista” quite posting.

    I think we can all see that 90% of humans depend on fossil-fuel and fossil-water enhanced food production, and that this looks almost certain to decline in the near future, very near.

    The very-near timeline looks mandated by some group…

    To what degree climate-change is man-made and how bad it may be, compared to stuff like the Little-Ice-Age, that just happened from volcanic activity, has enough inherent uncertainty that we won’t likely reach consensus.

    I think it’s ok to disagree and move forward, because we still need to grow gardens and prepare to survive for the next decade with intermittent support, compared to what we have known.
    Intermittent power, intermittent water, intermittent fuel, intermittent money, and harsh extractions by power elites, confiscations of what they want.

    I have a feeling that the “Red Sermon” on the first day of this month of September, was a signal that this-is-the-month for something like a Tet-Offensive by human-sacrificing-elites. (Call them what you will.)
    The rumors of something-like 9/11 or JFK’s assassination, right after fall equinox (entering the darker half-year) may be of any origin, but they came so quickly and widely that I suspect more elite-signaling.

    The month of September is historically that way for darkening sentiment.

    Will it be a nuclear false-flag? The US is directing the shelling of the Zaporozhye Nuke, right?
    Nobody wants to say that, but Ukraine oks their targets with US/NATO, when using the stuff they get from US/NATO.
    I don’t think another Chernobyl will be as dramatic as desired. I suspect that to whip Europe into line, they will want a nuclear warhead. Will they nuke Germany, or pretend that Russia nuked the power plant? They have been planting the thought seeds of Russia using a tactical nuke if things go poorly on the battlefield.

    I can’t foresee what false flag, or where, but Israel is likely to be involved. It is their specialty, after all.
    It is rumored that they have lots of mini-nukes…

    Ideally, Trump would be nuked in Germany, clearly by Putin, with Xi’s help, and that would get everybody in “The West” on the same team.

    #116019
    boscohorowitz
    Participant
    #116020
    John Day
    Participant

    @AFKTT: Whimsical musical interlude about “Man on the Moon”:

    #116021
    boscohorowitz
    Participant

    Re: Tesla on God: One doesn’t pray to physical laws of nature because they are laws. This is why we turn to deities, be they real or imagined.

    Re: Sun Tzu: I agree. I suspect that the next black swan will be such a thunderbolt from the Rus.

    #116022
    John Day
    Participant

    Better than “SWATing”?

    Over 100 Migrants Dropped Off Outside Kamala Harris’ DC Home
    https://www.zerohedge.com/political/over-100-migrants-dropped-outside-kamala-harris-dc-home

    #116024
    Dora
    Participant

    The politicians who create policies have to personally live with the effects of those policies? What a concept.

    #116025
    Antidote
    Participant

    @Afewknowthetruth wrote “There are many who do not believe the Americans ever put any men on the Moon, and that it was all staged.”

    And what do you believe oh great sage of science?

    Raul you bag on @V Arnold for being and old grump and yet suffer this fat headed gorilla who thinks he is in the elite of the few who know what will come?

    And @ John Day your *feelings* are now driving your own prediction of the ever negative future you note daily?

    @Dark Matter wrote ” You get what you measure.” Yes.

    There’s your troll post for the day John Day

    #116026
    Bill7
    Participant

    Another good article from CH Smith today, focusing on DIY- ‘The End of Cheap Food’:https://www.oftwominds.com/blogsept22/end-cheap-food9-22.html

    working on it..

    #116027
    phoenixvoice
    Participant

    *sigh*
    I suppose that I am jaded by my own life experience…
    There is much talk here at TAE about, “Hey, we’ve got plenty of fossil fuel resources; drill baby, drill!” as well as, “We’re in the decline side of fossil fuels, if we cannot learn to peaceably consume less, very rocky days are ahead.”
    With two 16-year-old sons I find myself shuddering at the idea of widespread war…I do not want my sons sucked into some war machine just as they reach the cusp of manhood. I have poured my efforts for all of these years into their well-being….
    And I shake my head, because there is so much energy and resources wasted!
    I tend to come down on the side of figuring that fossil fuels have begun a slow decline. I am concerned about adverse, large-scale effects of human industrial activity on the planet and its ecosystems.
    If humanity could take a step back and really look at what is going on, those of us in the more “civilized” places could realize that the energy and resources that we waste are astronomical. Do we really need ovens with fancy electronic control boards that connect to the internet? How much benefit does that fancy control board give vs. the energy and resources to make it when compared to my 18 year old stove/oven combo that only uses electricity to ignite the gas burners? (Granted…my oven door is not fitting tightly at the moment, and THAT really does need to be addressed.). Why do most folks insist on a new automobile every 3-5 years? (My vehicle is 16 years old and still works great at getting me from point A to point B.). Why do people purchase a bunch of disposable, non-biodegradable plastic sh*t from the holiday display at the grocery store every couple of months? Why do we purchase food in reusable containers, (glass jars with lids, bags, etc.,) throw those containers away, and then purchase additional food and storage containers, often in similar configurations to the ones thrown away? (Buying rolls of bags to take on the walk with the dog?)
    I understand that many out there have not had the “opportunity” that I’ve had during the past decade of trying to provide a secure childhood, free from want and deprivation to my children on an income that is well below the federal poverty limit. They haven’t had to weigh the value they receive from something against the cost. For many, they simply think: “I want it; I’ll get it.”
    (And there are many others that simply believe what society tells them: to get the stuff you want, get employed and work very long hours. At the end of the day they are too exhausted to analyze anything. I used to believe that myself, and almost pursued that course…but my psyche was damaged from the level of stress that I was under the last few years of my marriage, and I could no longer push myself the way I used to do. Something broke in my head when I watched my ex attempt suicide.)

    We don’t need so much of what we have. It is fluff. It will be very difficult for Europeans to get through the winter on very little fossil fuels. However, some good may come of it if it causes them to think about energy, resources, and consumption in a different way, focusing on what truly gives a large benefit and what is nearly superfluous. The WEF thinks it knows us, thinks it can control us with its proto-fascist policies. But if the masses change their ideologies, the WEF will no longer understand the masses and will be unable to steer them.

    #116028
    boscohorowitz
    Participant

    A pretentious and self-absorbed old fool, I feel a need yet to apologize to Michael Reid for the tone of my remarks to him yesterday (as if anything I said or did means much of anything). This guy sings what I meant top convey much better than I did:

    A Place in the Rain

    “…cuz it’s crazy what lovers can do…”

    Turn off the TV and turn off the light
    Turn off the street lamps as well
    Turn off the billboards that scream through the night
    And dream the policemen to hell
    Close all the windows and close all the doors
    Close all the shutters and blinds
    Close down the churches and pray to the whores
    Lay down and then close your eyes
    It’s amazing what comes into view
    As we’re finally breakin’ the chains
    When the temperature rises
    We’ll go to our place in the rain
    Take down the pictures and take out the trash
    Take up the tattered old rugs
    Take up the mattress and count all the cash
    And laugh with the last of the drugs
    Burn all the papers and burn all the wood
    Burn what we can’t understand
    Run up a flag for the old neighborhood
    Sit back and then take my hand
    ‘Cause it’s amazing what lovers can do
    With just a kiss and a glass of champagne
    When the rivers run dry
    We can go to our place in the rain
    Pay off the piper and pay all the bills
    Pay for the getaway car
    Blow out the candles and head for the hills
    Pray that we make it that far
    Run from the poison and run from the flames
    Run from the maddening crowd
    Laugh at the whispers of who’ll take the blame
    And sing all the sinners out loud
    It’s amazing what crazy can do
    When every good citizen’s sane
    When heaven’s a desert
    We’ll go to our place in the rain
    It’s amazing what comes into view
    When you just connect your heart back to your brain
    When heaven’s a desert
    We’ll go to our place in the rain

    #116029
    willem
    Participant

    Don’t Listen to Those Asking To Stop Supporting Kiev, EU’s Borrell Says

    “People want to end the war sanctions because they cannot bear the consequences, the costs.” There, fixed it.

    #116030
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    So, Lizzy 2 has done a runner, in the sincerest of all forms of abdication, leaving Chucky 3 holding the bag. She gave him that Royal receptacle to hold for a moment while she nipped off to Hell to powder her nose ( no, wait, that’s Andrew). Anyway, putting it nicely, the bag is a bog fire, of malodorous smoldering shite, and all the Kings mules and and all the King’s transgendered persons are not doing very well at putting it out. Their efforts to extinguish the blaze before it extinguishes them are only managing to fan the slow smolder into a towering inferno that in all likelihood will be put out, Kellogg Brown & Root style, by a Russian hyper-sonic missile down the palace chimney.

    A more adept monarch with better advisers, might have been able to continue suppressing the flames for a bit longer, but Chuck ain’t no Liz, and his advisers are as mentally and spiritually deficient as he is. When the puppets under-performs, look to the puppeteers.

    Consequently, Old Blighty is burning to the ground, fast, and SOON (mid winter at best) and there is an historically unprecedented heap of swag to divvy up before that happens. No wonder the fight is so big, and so intense. And so urgent. Time is very very short. Winter is almost here.

    Stepping clear of my collapsing house of mixed metaphors, what I’m saying is that Kings, Queens and their embarrassing “Royal Families” are mere outward facing symbols representing the factual structure and the actual ownership of the entire “Kingdom”. All leverage pivots on a single fulcrum, the “Crown”, which itself balances precariously upon a single word : monarchy.

    But make no mistake about the significance of that legally binding symbolism: the factual structure and actual legal ownerships DO, indeed, depend upon broad and binding acceptance of the symbol. The lynch-pin of the entire contraption does rest upon the legal and factual acceptance of that singular fiction.

    If the so-called “Crown” is no longer capable of defending its “ownership” (in courts, banks, battlefields and minds) then that raises an extremely pertinent and enormously large question.

    The the question is, “So who DOES own all this stuff?” If there’s no “Crown” then the question of who owns the swag can no longer be answered with “The Crown owns it all”. At least there is not in a way that can be proved in any court other than it’s own, or won on any battlefield on the Earth (or other realm, for that matter).

    That’s what is being determined now. How bitter must be the pill that it’s looking like ownership of the former holdings of the “Imperial British Crown” will pass to that Empire’s most feared and hated ancestral enemies : Russia and China.

    The Powers that Be BEHIND the throne are as dependent upon the delusion of Monarchy as the monarchy is dependent upon agreement that they “own and command” all of those tracts of land, stacks of gold, faithful vassals and hapless peasants. When the delusion of monarchy collapses then enforceable “proof of ownership” collapse in tandem.

    The United Kingdom and all of its colonies (among which MUST be counted the so-called USA) is utterly dependent on the continuation of the absolutely silly notion that one dorky snob in fancy pants has the capacity . . . . the chops, the simple ABILITY . . . to actually OWN anything. “King” Charles III is just too personally incompetent to keep it all together, and the same goes for his must “trusted” advisers (his puppeteers). The Crown’s backers prop up and maintain the fantasy up so that THEY can “own & command” everything, de facto, through its myriad “ownerships”. And they have screwed it up royal. So now, when the crowned monarchy goes, they go with it UNLESS . . . . they can quickly re-brand the existing con. Some sort of “New” World Order, perhaps. Yeah. Real barf bag material. Not gonna happen.

    Well, they tried, they failed, and the spoils are being divided as we speak.

    The entire 20th Century can be viewed as the attempt to retain World Empire by PRETENDING to hand it over to it’s eldest heir (the USA). That almost worked, but the hand-off turned into a fumble when the other would-be beneficiaries began squabbling over who, REALLY & TRULY, “owns & commands” all of those vast vast vast vast vast “Crown” holdings.

    That battle has been joined, and it is literally epic but it’s not over.

    Synopsis :

    No Crown, no ownership.
    No mercy.
    No kidding.

    #116031
    Figmund Sreud
    Participant

    Stamped out 73 times, … yes!

    F.S.

    #116032
    Armenio Pereira
    Participant

    Why don’t rivers flow in straight lines, from spring to sea?
    It takes a lifetime – sometimes even longer – to find the Path of Least Resistance.
    That’s how rivers roll.
    That’s how we roll, absent-minded.

    Like a river, we sometimes grow restless, in our longing for the sea.
    With omens of deliverance & destruction, the flood is coming.

    #116033
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    @ArmenioPereira

    Very poignantly evocative verse. Neruda murmured praise in his sleep.

    #116034
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    Seems to be a good day for poetry, word-imagery and hatchet burying.

    Jeez, I love this place.

    #116035
    willem
    Participant

    ‘I still haven’t seen anyone explain how the US got so far behind on hypersonics. Spending 10x what Russia spends, and still be 10 years behind.’

    It depends on whether the goal of your ‘defense’ industry is to produce weapons rather than profits and order churn.

    #116036
    John Day
    Participant

    @Antidote: “Troll” is a job , a paid job, as I see it, usually with one human per something like 10 AI bots, to magnify the effect and make it seem like humans.

    “Feelings”, “premonitions”, “intuitions” …
    Different people FEEL differently about attending to “feelings”.
    I’ve done it for a long time. YMMV

    #116037
    Figmund Sreud
    Participant

    @ArmenioPereira – Why don’t rivers flow in straight lines, from spring to sea?
    ______________

    It’s the shape of water, …

    Exploring the Hudson Bay Lowlands with Chris Brackley

    F.S.

    #116038
    John Day
    Participant

    “September Shock Scenario” has no picture, but I got some flooring done this week, some…
    https://drjohnsblog.substack.com/p/september-shock-scenario

    It looks like crunch-time for the western military-financial-spy-propaganda empire. The $US is the value-extraction solvent that feeds the banks, armies, navies and media networks.
    I suspect that the “Red Sermon” , given by “President Biden” on September 1, the first day of the month, marked September as a month of decisive action for the power elites. the two US Marines could not be missed in those visuals.
    September, when the darker half of the year begins, has long been an unsettling time for people, which is notable in stock-markets. We just had the anniversary of 9/11/01, which rapidly opened the door to global war on oil-supplies and any “terrorists” selling oil in anything but $US. The energy behind 9/11 is spent, especially with the humiliating US failure in Afghanistan.
    What kind of justification would be needed, what new-new-Pearl-Harbor might be arranged to fire people up for a global-war-on-Russia-and-China? Can China possibly be split-off to attack Russia?
    What if Donald Trump visited Germany and got blown up with a tactical nuclear warhead by Putin and Xi? Would that unite the west against them? I’m straining, but I never could have planned the hit that was 9/11, either. So many “problems” got solved that day, from asbestos insulation to missing $US trillions from the Pentagon budget, and the oil, “Cheney’s energy policy”.

    What did Xi and Putin need to urgently discuss? It was Xi who left China, so Xi needs something. China’s economy is hobbled by a rapidly decaying financial system, which seems to be a big reason for the lockdowns. Xi is coming up for re-election so to speak, as the President will soon be chosen again by the CCP Standing Committee. Not all players are happy with Xi’s “cult of personality”, or his so-so competence.
    Xi wants all the cards stacked in his favor, military and economic, which is not possible, certainly not Putin’s to give. He wants to avoid the west’s sanctions-tripwire, and also wants to have Russian military support. Xi is not brilliant or very insightful nor is he bold, mainly narcissistic and ruthless, hence worried-a-lot.
    In Thursday’s much anticipated bilateral meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Uzbekistan, the two leaders agreed that the end of a unipolar world where the US dominates is at hand. Putin called it “ugly” and pointed to the rejection of American hegemony by the “vast majority” of countries in his introductory remarks.

    The geopolitical flashpoints of Ukraine and Taiwan were high on the discussion list, with the Russian leader telling Xi the West’s “attempts to create a unipolar world have recently taken on an absolutely ugly shape and are absolutely unacceptable to the vast majority of nations on the planet,” according to a state media translation. However, many Western pundits are now seizing upon a cryptic reference to China’s Xi raising “concerns” over the Ukraine situation.
    https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/putin-tells-xi-us-push-unipolar-world-turning-ugly-china-has-concerns-over-ukraine

    There must be a lot of arm-twisting being brought to bear upon Xi. He is under pressure, and he’s not naturally strong and resolute, just used to winning.
    ​ ​White House spokesman John Kirby said on Thursday that the US wants China to side with Washington and its allies in opposing Russia and its military operation in Ukraine.
    “Our message to China has been consistent: this is not the time for any kind of business as usual with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin,” Kirby told CNN. Failing to condemn Russia, he continued, is leaving China “isolated from the rest of the international community which has largely condemned what [Putin] has done in Ukraine.”
    https://www.rt.com/news/562878-us-warning-china-russia/

    ​ ​”The growth of mutual trade exchanges is undoubtedly facilitated by the consistent policy of our three countries to expand the use of national currencies in commercial settlements,” Putin said on Thursday. He was speaking at a trilateral meeting with the leaders of these countries on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Samarkand.
    ​ ​He noted that earlier on Thursday at a bilateral meeting with Xi Jinping, they stated with satisfaction that in the first quarter of this year, the share of settlements in national currencies in Russia’s trade with China had grown to 27.5%.
    https://tass.com/politics/1508051

    #116040
    John Day
    Participant

    These weapons-systems are the “red-line” Russia is talking about. US/NATO seek to trigger a response by Russia against NATO forces by incrementally increasing provocations.
    ​ ​Something Ukraine has additionally long been asking for is longer-range missile systems. A Monday Wall Street Journal report detailed that Kiev is now requesting from the Pentagon the Army’s Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, a surface-to-surface missile system with the capability of reaching about 190 miles. This would be far and beyond the range of missiles transferred to Ukraine thus far in the conflict.
    https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/us-ukraine-are-talks-transfer-fighter-jets-longer-range-missiles

    Thanks Eleni. This appears to be permanent, the new-normal war-economy. Weapons and billions for war by Manlio Dinucci
    The Ukrainian battlefield is the most subsidized in the world by the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union. This massive investment is aimed at supporting not the Ukrainians, but the Banderists, in total contradiction with the goals of the Alliance during World War II. This money is taken from the social programs of the donor countries, i.e. the Western poor are out of pocket…
    https://www.voltairenet.org/article216998.html

    War of attrition of human and military equipment in Ukraine: Ukraine is burning through Ukrainian conscripted soldiers and also trained military units, as well as depleting NATO weapons stockpiles.
    Russia is burning through artillery and precision missiles, but not soldiers: Who will run out of resources first?

    Who will run out of resources first?

    #116041
    John Day
    Participant

    The US specifies the targets for US-supplied weapons like HIMARS. The US is targeting the nuclear power plant.
    Ukraine has put world on brink of ‘nuclear catastrophe’ – Moscow
    Kiev’s attacks on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant are acts of terrorism, Duma chairman Volodin says
    https://www.rt.com/russia/562741-zaporozhye-nuclear-catastrophe-volodin/

    VIENNA, September 15. /TASS/. Western countries are aware that the Ukrainian side has been shelling the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant (NPP) and bear responsibility for possible nuclear incidents since they have not yet called on Kiev to stop the bombings, Russian Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov said at a session of the IAEA Board of Governors on Thursday.
    https://tass.com/politics/1507985

    Moscow responds to UN resolution on nuclear plant
    Shelling by Kiev’s forces was not even mentioned, Russian diplomats point out
    https://www.rt.com/russia/562892-moscow-un-nuclear-watchdog-ukraine/

    #116042
    John Day
    Participant


    ​Turkey is doing very good business lately…​
    ​ ​In response to Western sanctions that prevented Russians from accessing services like Visa and Mastercard, the Kremlin rolled out the Mir payment system as an alternative. Five of Turkey’s most prominent banks use Mir.
    ​ ​One of the sources speaking with FT said Western nations would no longer allow the Turkish banks to use Mir without occurring risks. “We’ll send a message very clearly that, for example, third-country financial institutions should not be interconnecting with the Mir payment network because, you know, that carries some sanctions- evasion risks,” the official said.
    ​ ​Two of Turkey’s top banks told FT that they would enforce the sanctions, and it appears Russians are being impacted. Middle East Eye reports several Russians at Turkish resorts had their Mir cards declined. However, it is not a blanket ban at hotels, and Mir card users report being able to access ATMs.
    ​ ​Ankara does not appear willing to institute Washington’s sanctions targeting Mir. Turkey’s foreign ministry said that Ankara has a long-standing policy of only enforcing UN-issue sanctions.
    https://libertarianinstitute.org/news/us-eu-will-force-turkey-to-implement-sanctions-on-russia/

    ​ Turkey might just sell extra gas to somebody, right? Pipelines are in place…​
    ​ ​Russia ready to increase gas supplies to Turkey — Deputy Prime Minister
    If Turkish partners increase gas consumption and apply for additional volumes, Russia will ensure these supplies, Alexander Novak says
    https://tass.com/economy/1508037

    Russian LNG supplies to Japan grew by 211.2% in quantity compared to August 2021. In terms of value, imports of Russian LNG soared by more than 380%.​..​
    ​..​Japan’s exports to Russia also grew last month, with shipments of computers increasing 107.1%, and computer parts, 161.6%. However, due to sanctions, supplies of semiconductors to Russia ceased earlier this year. Export of buses and trucks to Russia dropped, while the export of cars increased by 5.8%.
    https://www.rt.com/business/562840-russia-japan-lng-exports/

    The International Energy Agency’s Oil Market Report suggests that global oil demand will grow by 2 million bpd this year, 110,000 bpd lower than last month’s estimates. The revision in oil demand was driven by continued lockdowns in China, where oil demand is set to fall for the first time since 1990. (That means the Chinese economy contracted.)
    https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/IEA-Cuts-Oil-Demand-Forecast-As-Chinas-Covid-Crisis-Continues.html

    #116043
    John Day
    Participant

    ​ Who just shelled Izium? I seem to have forgotten.​ Who was rounding up “collaborators”?
    ​ ​Mass grave of more than 440 bodies found in Izium, Ukraine, police say
    ​ ​President Volodymyr Zelenskiy put the blame on Russia and likened the discovery to what happened in Bucha, on the outskirts of the capital Kyiv in the early stages of the late February invasion by Russian forces. Ukraine and its Western allies have accused the Russian forces of perpetrating war crimes there.
    https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/mass-grave-more-than-440-bodies-found-izium-ukraine-police-2022-09-15/

    Facebook has always been a CIA front, right?
    According to DOJ whistleblowers, Facebook has been spying on Americans’ private messages and reporting them to the FBI if they express ‘anti-government or anti-authority’ statements – including questioning the legitimacy of the 2020 US election.
    ​ ​”It was done outside the legal process and without probable cause,” said one of the whistleblowers, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “Facebook provides the FBI with private conversations which are protected by the First Amendment without any subpoena.”
    https://www.zerohedge.com/political/facebook-spied-private-messages-conservative-right-wing-individuals-then-reported-fbi

    #116044
    anticlimactic
    Participant

    RENEWABLES

    The UK spent 30 billion pounds on wind and solar which could produce as much energy as a 2 billion pound gas-fired power station!

    BUT because this energy is random the gas-fired power station was still needed as backup.

    AND it needed to be on ‘hot standby’ so could produce power quickly. This needed to use half the amount of gas required to produce full output.

    What is worse is that most of that 30 billion was spent on fossil fuels – excavating raw materials, cement production, transport, refining, fabrication, construction. Even workers wages are spent on fossil fuel or its products like food or gadgets. Even then, wind turbines only last about 25 years, and often less, so it will all have to done again. The net result was a large increase in energy prices which left many in fuel poverty.

    This ‘green’ initiative will have used far more fossil fuel than it saves. [Note that this dates from 6 years ago]

    Unfortunately it is not unique. I want there to be some oil left for future generations and to see so much wasted on these pointless projects is depressing.

    This Winter people in many countries will experience the result of Green policies! Perhaps people will realise that ‘Green’ means freezing and starving. Green policies can not be left to the fantasies of activists and politicians. Engineers, accountants and other rational people need to be involved to try and ensure that projects actually produce the desired result, a holistic approach.

    It may also mean that there will be a revision of peoples’ attitudes to green policies. The right wing parties seem to have the majority of seats in Sweden after the current election. I am sure it won’t be the last. I feel it may not be the appeal of right-wing policies but may be the only way to escape the suffering of ‘green’ policies.

    #116045
    boscohorowitz
    Participant

    One of the things websites like this do for its conversationalists is reflect them off each other so they can feel like they’re sane, not the only renegade thinker on the planet.

    Being human, we of course then proceed to compete in debates of Who is Saner than Whom. Who knows the real hidden skinny. And so forth:

    vbn

    fgh

    For those raising wee ones in these ignoble times:

    Lullaby

    #116046
    boscohorowitz
    Participant

    Pamela Lillard,of the above-shared lullaby, died “Pamela Lillard, a long-time resident of Topanga Canyon, passed away unexpectedly on May 13.” (2021)

    She was 64 years old. One expects she was vakzinated per normal due diligence.

    Rain

    I first discovered her as the music behind this world-shaking video:

    Dog Wynz Chizbooger!

    I’ll say goodbye with this:

    Now and Then

    #116047
    citizenx
    Participant

    Russian weapons are designed by the Russian military. Their goal is effective weapons.
    US weapons are designed by US corporations. Their goal is excessive profits.
    Dark Matter

    Spot on. RF payback to the US? When the US criminal Govt was funding Bin Laden/pre Al Quesadilla in Afghanistan- providing weapons, cash, training, intel- every stinger that takes down Rus chopper is a blow to USSR economy. US Govt credits itself with taking down USSR via proxy Afghan and creating its 911 evil doers… 2 birds one stone.

    Jokes on the US now… RF laughing at the US fiat bankrupting itself via Totenkopf Zelenskys Regime. How many more trillions to azov-UKR while Western Europe freezes and collapses from sanctions?
    Well played RF. Clowns like choo choo don’t realize that RF playing the long game in UKR brings the US Regime closer to collapse every $ingle day.

    Why would the RF sacrifice its resources and soldiers when every day brings the US Regime closer to its own self destruction by its own retarded strategies? US Regime creates and supports its own monsters- Al Quesadilla, ISIS, Azov – all the same US sponsored Terrorists and War Criminals cannibalizing itself.

    Rf plays chess, while the US destroys itself. “Grand Chessboard” my ass Brzezinski.

    #116051
    Afewknowthetruth
    Participant

    To answer the question, I believe there is no evidence America had the technology required to transport several men to the Moon, keep them alive for a week or so, and transport them back to the Earth. There is no evidence humans ever landed on the Moon.

    I believe the dimensions of the Lunar Rover do not match the dimensions of the transport system that supposedly took it to the Moon.

    I believe it is not possible for the occupant of a capsule to speak with people on Earth during a landing and there be no engine noise.

    I believe it is impossible for a landing capsule to create no dust-free area, yet people create footprints in dust.

    I believe footage of supposed lunar vehicles corresponds exactly with slowed-down footage of such vehicles driving across sand.

    I believe all the so-called reports came from one source, which had total control over what the general public were presented with.

    I believe there is so much evidence of fakery it would take me all day to present it.

    The fact that YouTube has removed all the documentaries relating to the evidence is a strong indicator the landings were faked.

    The fact that the entire Moon programme came to an abrupt halt 50 years ago and was never resurrected tells an important story.

    #116052
    boscohorowitz
    Participant

    I have no horse in the moon landing hoax race. Either way, the moon is a harsh mistress and I still miss Mike, my only cybernetic friend. But it would be easy to dismiss Afewknowthetruth’s lunar hoax claims as really, really, really stupid batshit crazy, altho I think that one ‘really’ would suffice.

    Wholly Lunar

    Everybody’s got a heretic cow in their backlot. Many people think Darwin was a loon. There are those who swear Biden is not an animatronic hologram. Me, I don’t believe Santa Claus died for our sins.

    The Immortal Claus

    #116053
    Afewknowthetruth
    Participant

    Next week will be very ‘interesting’. The biggest bubble in history cannot be kept inflated any longer. In fact, it is deliberately being popped.

    Not that it matters to most visitors to TAE but the Kiwi dollar slipped below 60c US yesterday; 18 months ago it was 72 cents US. The Euro and Pound are also being pounded.

    I had an interesting conversation with a local, who told me the deceit and crime organastion that pretends to run things around here and steals money from us to give to sociopaths wants to change the name of a street, Pound Street, to something else.

    Nothing to do with fiat currency though. It was the site of the pound.

    I always have trouble with this one, and forgive me for not looking it up.

    He who controls the present controls the past. And he who controls the past controls the future.

    Bad as things are here, I’m happy to not be living in Argentina, or Turkey, or any of the other countries with fiat currency devaluation rates of 60+% per annum.

    #116054
    Veracious Poet
    Participant

    This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience.

    The total influence—economic, political, even spiritual—is felt in every city, every statehouse, every office of the federal government.

    We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.

    In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military–industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists, and will persist.

    We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted.

    Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry (*FAIL*) can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals so that security and liberty may prosper together. ~ Eisenhower’s farewell address, January 17, 1961

    #116055
    Veracious Poet
    Participant

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