Dec 012022
 
 December 1, 2022  Posted by at 9:25 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , ,


Pablo Picasso Coffee maker 1943

 

More Than 100,000 Ukrainian Soldiers Have Died In Conflict – EU (RT)
Von der Leyen’s Comment On Ukrainian Military Losses Retracted (RT)
Kiev Reacts To Redacted EU Assessment Of Its Casualties (RT)
The Global South Births A New Game-Changing Payment System (Escobar)
China Wants More Russian Gas (RT)
Russian Coal Exports Shift To China (RT)
Poland To Charge Ukrainian Refugees For Government-Provided Housing (Az.)
Congress Wants $45B Tacked on to Biden’s Military Budget Request (Celente)
Washington Goes to War Against Twitter and Free Speech (Turley)
Yellen Hints At ‘National Security’ Probe Into Twitter Purchase (RT)
EU Threatens Musk With Twitter Ban (RT)
Musk Says Twitter Clash With Apple A ‘Misunderstanding’ (AFP)
Ex-Twitter Safety Chief: Hunter Biden Laptop Censorship Was A ‘Mistake’ (Fox)
Eric Idle Insists He Wants To Be ‘Cancelled’ (DM)
Cryptome Founder Asks to Be Indicted With Assange (Lauria)

 

 

Brilliant T-shirt sold in Japan.

 

 

Reed Hastings

 

 

 

 

Tucker DealBook

 

 

 

 

Clare Daly

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ursula didn’t get the memo. In 3 parts. First, she posts the number -with video. Then Zelensky protests. Then the video is removed and re-done. Finally, Ukraine reacts: if you post these numbers, we can’t manipulate them anymore.

More Than 100,000 Ukrainian Soldiers Have Died In Conflict – EU (RT)

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has presented the total number of losses estimated to have been suffered by Ukraine in its conflict with Russia. “More than 100,000 Ukrainian military officers have been killed so far,” von der Leyen claimed on Wednesday, while adding that around 20,000 civilian lives have also been lost amid the fighting, which has continued since late February. The head of the European Commission didn’t reveal the sources of the information she provided. In late September, Russia’s Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu stated that Ukrainian losses had to date amounted to more than 61,000 troops, which was ten times higher than those of Russia.


In her address, von der Leyen also proposed to set up a specialized, UN-backed court to investigate and prosecute what she described as “Russia’s crime of aggression.”She also said that a special structure would be created by the EU to manage and invest 300 billion euro (nearly $311 billion) in Russian Central Bank reserves and 19 billion euro of Russian business figures’ assets, which the EU froze after the outbreak of the conflict. The plan is to use the proceeds from those activities to rebuild and assist Ukraine, according to the commission president.

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Some people are convinced it was retracted after US protest. But Ukraine protest would have been enough.

Von der Leyen’s Comment On Ukrainian Military Losses Retracted (RT)

A claim about the number of Ukrainian soldiers killed during its conflict with Russia has been removed from a speech by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on the executive’s official website. “More than 100,000 Ukrainian military officers have been killed so far,” she said during an address earlier on Wednesday, adding that around 20,000 civilians had also died in nine months of fighting. The source of this information was not provided. However, the reference to Kiev’s death toll soon disappeared from the text of the speech on the European Commission’s website. It was also cut from a video of the address on the website and on von der Leyen’s account on Twitter.


The editing was noticed by some media outlets and social media users, who compared the two versions of the statement online. The move was then officially confirmed by the European Commission. The EU executive body’s spokeswoman Dana Spinant took to Twitter to thank those who had “pointed out the inaccuracy” in von der Leyen’s speech. “The estimation used, from external sources, should have referred to casualties, i.e. both killed and injured, and was meant to show Russia’s brutality,” she wrote. In late September, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu stated that Ukrainian losses had by then amounted to more than 61,000 troops, which was ten times greater than Russia’s.

Judge Nap Macgregor

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Oh yeah, she also talked about the stolen Russian assets.

Kiev Reacts To Redacted EU Assessment Of Its Casualties (RT)

A claim that Ukraine has lost more than 100,000 personnel in the conflict with Russia has been deleted from the Twitter account of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Kiev had objected to the figure, saying it was up to President Vladimir Zelensky and top Ukrainian officials to voice such numbers. Zelensky’s spokesman, Sergey Nikoforov, told Ukrainian media on Wednesday that such “sensitive” information should only be made public by the country’s top military commander General Valery Zaluzhny, Defense Minister Aleksey Reznikov, or the president himself. Earlier in the day, the head of the EU executive branch cited an assessment that more than 100,000 Ukrainian troops and over 20,000 civilians have been killed in the conflict with Russia.

The video statement has since been pulled from her Twitter account and replaced with a new version, which omitted the figures. Von der Leyen did not identify the source of the assessment. Earlier in the month, US General Mark Milley, who serves as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that over 100,000 soldiers may have been killed and wounded on each side of the conflict, with 40,000 civilians killed as collateral damage. Milley, speaking at the Economic Club of New York, said that the winter season would cause hostilities to go “static” and open “a window of opportunity” for negotiations. The call for diplomacy reportedly outraged officials in Kiev, who pledged to continue fighting against Russia until it fully regains pre-2014 positions. In her Wednesday address, von der Leyen urged the UN to convene a special tribunal to try Russia for its alleged crimes against Ukraine.

The Commission chief also shared the EU’s plans to invest seized Russian national reserves and “oligarch” money for profit that would later be used to rebuild Ukraine. She estimated Ukraine’s damage at €600 billion ($621bn) so far, which dwarfs the €319 billion ($330bn) of Russian funds blocked by the EU. The assets would only be unfrozen after anti-Russia sanctions are lifted, to be paid in compensation to Ukraine, the official stated. Top Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, have criticized the freezing of assets by the US and its allies, including the EU. At first, they devalued national reserves denominated in dollars and euros through inflation, and later “pawed and pocketed” them, Putin remarked in October.

Read more …

In the background, these preparations continue.

The Global South Births A New Game-Changing Payment System (Escobar)

The Eurasia Economic Union (EAEU) is speeding up its design of a common payment system, which has been closely discussed for nearly a year with the Chinese under the stewardship of Sergei Glazyev, the EAEU’s minister in charge of Integration and Macro-economy. Through its regulatory body, the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC), the EAEU has just extended a very serious proposal to the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) which, crucially, are already on the way to turning into BRICS+: a sort of G20 of the Global South. The system will include a single payment card – in direct competition with Visa and Mastercard – merging the already existing Russian MIR, China’s UnionPay, India’s RuPay, Brazil’s Elo, and others.

That will represent a direct challenge to the western-designed (and enforced) monetary system, head on. And it comes on the heels of BRICS members already transacting their bilateral trade in local currencies, and bypassing the US dollar. This EAEU-BRICS union was long in the making – and will now also move toward prefiguring a further geoeconomic merger with the member nations of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). The EAEU was established in 2015 as a customs union of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus, joined a year later by Armenia and Kyrgyzstan. Vietnam is already an EAEU free trade partner, and recently enshrined SCO member Iran is also clinching a deal. The EAEU is designed to implement free movement of goods, services, capital, and workers between member countries.

Ukraine would have been an EAEU member if not for the Maidan coup in 2014 masterminded by the Barack Obama administration. Vladimir Kovalyov, adviser to the chairman of the EEC, summed it all up to Russian newspaper Izvestia. The focus is to establish a joint financial market, and the priority is to develop a common “exchange space:” “We’ve made substantial progress and now the work is focused on such sectors as banking, insurance, and the stock market.” A new regulatory body for the proposed joint EEU-BRICS financial system will soon be established. Meanwhile, trade and economic cooperation between the EAEU and BRICS have increased 1.5 times in the first half of 2022 alone.

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Not using Russian oil and gas does nothing for climate. You don’t want it, others will use them. And you will be cold.

China Wants More Russian Gas (RT)

Russian gas export to China via the so-called eastern route, the Power of Siberia pipeline, should be steadily increased, according to Huang Yongzhang, Vice President of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). The 3,000 kilometer (1,864 mile) cross-border pipeline started deliveries of Russian natural gas to China in 2019. Its capacity is 61 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas per year, including 38 bcm for export. Last year, Russian gas supplies to China increased by 10.4 bcm via the mega pipeline. “It is necessary to steadily increase gas supplies from Russia to China via the eastern route. The parties continue cooperation in this area, using all its advantages, strengthening and deepening business cooperation,” Yongzhang said on Tuesday at the Russia-China Energy Business Forum.


He also called for the strengthening of the scientific and technical cooperation between the two nations in order to improve the quality of joint work in the oil and gas sector, as well as in the field of green and low-carbon energy. The agreement on gas supplies via the Power of Siberia pipeline was reached in 2014, with Gazprom and CNPC signing a 30-year contract. The $400 billion agreement is Gazprom’s biggest deal ever and the Power of Siberia is the first natural gas pipeline between Russia and China. The Russian energy company is currently working on the Power of Siberia 2 project, which involves construction of a gas pipeline to China through the territory of Mongolia. The pipeline will be capable of delivering as much as 50 billion cubic meters of gas, once operational.

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You can hear the Chinese laughing in the background.

Russian Coal Exports Shift To China (RT)

Russia has this year become the second most important supplier of coal to China, the head of oil giant Rosneft Igor Sechin announced at the Russia-China Energy Business Forum on Tuesday.“Deliveries of high-quality Russian coal to China in [those] ten months of 2022 amounted to 53 million tons. This is about 23% of total imports to China, second place after Indonesia, which supplies 134 million tons,” Sechin said. According to the CEO, in order to further increase coal supplies to Asia, Russia is investing in the development of the Eastern Range of the country’s train-services supplier Russian Railways (OAO). The project is expected to increase transportation capacity to 195 million tons per year.

Russia has dramatically increased exports of energy commodities, including coal, to Asian buyers after the EU suspended coal purchases from the country earlier this year as a Ukraine-related sanction. Chinese purchases of the Russian fossil fuel, in particular, reached a five-year high in September, soaring to 8.54 million tons. It was a 57% year-on-year rise, according to data from China’s General Administration of Customs. Beijing has also been stocking up on Russian oil. Total Russian crude exports to China in the period January to October jumped by 9.5% to nearly 72 million tons, slightly less than what Saudi Arabia, China’s largest supplier, exports to the Asian nation, Sechin said.

The head of Russia’s biggest oil company stressed that both Moscow and Beijing are looking forward to further developing trade relations, particularly in the field of energy. Sechin also noted that the overall trade turnover between Russia and China jumped 33% this year, reaching $153.9 billion in the first ten months. “If these rates are maintained, by the end of this year the trade turnover may reach a record high of $180 billion. We can expect that the goal of reaching $200 billion in trade turnover will be achieved even before the set target date, 2024,” he said.

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“More than a million Ukrainian refugees made a temporary home in Poland..”

Poland To Charge Ukrainian Refugees For Government-Provided Housing (Az.)

Poland plans to charge Ukrainian refugees for food and housing after four months of staying in state accommodation, the government said, Report informs referring to Reuters. More than a million Ukrainian refugees made a temporary home in Poland, Ukraine’s western neighbor, after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, relying on the kindness of strangers who opened up their homes and government aid. But after an initial outpouring of public support for refugees, resources are drying up and refugees are having a harder time finding flats and getting support with Poland facing a cost of living crisis and budget strains.


“Citizens of Ukraine who stay in Poland in collective accommodation centers will participate in the costs of housing and meals,” the government said in a statement. Those staying in such accommodation, for example government-funded hotel rooms or school dormitories, longer than 120 days will have to cover 50% of the cost up to 40 zlotys ($8.87) per day, per person. After 180 days it would be 75% of the cost up to 60 zlotys. Those unable to work because of their age or disability would be excluded, as would pregnant women, according to the plan. The government wants the new rules to apply from March 1, 2023. The bill will go to parliament where it is expected to pass comfortably.

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“..the deal would set the budget at $847 billion for national defense..”

Congress Wants $45B Tacked on to Biden’s Military Budget Request (Celente)

We have long noted that the one issue that can bring together the most hardened liberal Democrats, and the most conservative Republicans is the vote for war. After all, what other issue would you find Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Mitch McConnell agreeing on? It was reported Wednesday that members of the House and Senate Armed Service committees agreed to add $45 billion more to President Joe Biden’s already gargantuan 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, according to a newly released report on Wednesday. Politico, citing four people familiar with the negotiations, reported that the deal would set the budget at $847 billion for national defense, with the possibility of reaching as high as $858 billion.

We reported in July that the House voted in favor of an $850.3 billion national security budget that members say will help the U.S. respond to continued threats and surging inflation. The House passed the bill in a 329-101 vote. The “no” votes included 62 Republicans and 39 Democrats.“With inflation factored in, it is a good increase but it’s essential because of inflation and also the need to continue significant programs,” Sen. Jack Reed, the chair of the Senate Armed Services, said in an interview, according to Politico.As the global economies sink into recession, as world hunger escalates, as inflation spikes and people pay much more to buy a lot less, as world poverty levels increase and the middle class shrinks…countries around the world have increased their military budgets and built up their defenses since the Ukraine War began in February.

But the War Machine Always Wins. And Bill La Plante, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, said months ago that he expected Congress—no matter what party was in control—would approve new weapons purchasing power at levels not seen since the Cold War. “They are going to give us multiyear authority, and they’re going to give us funding to really put into the industrial base,” he told George Mason University at the time. “And I’m talking billions of dollars into the industrial base—to fund these production lines. That, I predict, is going to happen, and it’s happening now. And then people will have to say: ‘I guess they were serious about it.’ But we have not done that since the Cold War.”

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“Despite a creepy Facebook advertising campaign to convince the public to embrace censorship, it has not worked. The public is not buying. They are buying Free Twitter…”

Washington Goes to War Against Twitter and Free Speech (Turley)

Washington this week is in full wartime footing. No, it’s not over the Russian invasion of Ukraine or North Korean missiles or even Chinese expansionism. It is about Twitter and the threat of Elon Musk to restore free speech protections to social media. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has emerged as the bellicose general rallying others to the “censor or die” pressure campaign against Twitter. The problem is that citizens are flocking to Twitter and signing up in record numbers. They want more, not less, free speech. The over two million new sign-ups per day represent a 66% increase over the same period last year, according to figures released by Musk.

A reporter this week was so alarmed that she asked the White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre about the concern that millions are still signing up at Twitter and demanded to know who is “keeping an eye on this” for possible federal action. Unable to convince users to embrace censorship, Clinton and others are pressuring corporations and foreign governments to deter Musk from restoring free speech. Since users are embracing the new Twitter, the campaign has focused on preventing them from signing up by removing the app from the Apple and Google stores. In the meantime, Apple is joining the boycott by withholding advertising revenue to coerce Musk to reverse his free-speech pledge.

Musk, however, is sitting on the ultimate weapon to bring this war to an end: free speech itself. However, it will require more than rhetorical recriminations like Musk asking why Apple executives “hate free speech in America?” The fact is that these media and political figures are becoming more and more alarmed as Musk threatens to release files on the past censorship of stories like the Hunter Biden laptop. Musk has reason to wonder why Apple CEO Tim Cook would join this anti-free speech campaign. The reason is as obvious as it is craven. These boycotts are not about corporations or shareholders. If anything, they are more likely to diminish profits. It is about the executives themselves. Many are allies of figures like Clinton. Others are yielding to these demands to avoid being attacked or tagged by the left.

[..] If Musk carries through on his pledge, the public will have a free speech alternative and they are already speaking loudly by signing up with the company in record numbers. Despite a creepy Facebook advertising campaign to convince the public to embrace censorship, it has not worked. The public is not buying. They are buying Free Twitter. So, the only way to regain control is to prevent people from getting the app or threaten to force Twitter into insolvency. The problem is Musk, an eccentric billionaire who is not easy to intimidate. Musk now stands against a massive alliance of governments, corporations, celebrities, and politicians. He has only the public and free speech on his side. He needs to use both.

DeSantis

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Yellen is so out of her depth here, I suspect that’s why they let her do the talking.

Yellen Hints At ‘National Security’ Probe Into Twitter Purchase (RT)

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said federal officials could seek to launch a review into billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s recent purchase of Twitter if it were deemed to carry national security risks, backtracking after she downplayed any chance for a probe. Speaking at an event hosted by the New York Times on Wednesday, Yellen claimed she had “misspoke” when she said there was “no basis” to investigate Musk or his finances during an interview earlier this month, now saying the government could take that step after all. “I’m not going to say specifically what we are looking at. We don’t comment on what’s in progress,” she said, but added the Treasury “does look at transactions that involve foreign investments in the United States to see if they create national security risk.”

While she stopped short of confirming that a probe was underway, Yellen said “if there are such risks it would be appropriate for the Treasury to have a look.” The secretary’s comments follow earlier reports that the Treasury had already requested approval to begin reviewing Musk’s Twitter deal, though sources told the Washington Post at the time that such actions are “fairly routine” and do not always result in a full-fledged investigation. Earlier this month, President Joe Biden also stated that Musk’s “relationships with other countries is worthy of being looked at,” following reports that foreign investors such as Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal now hold significant stakes in Twitter. However, Biden stressed that he was not claiming the billionaire had done anything “inappropriate,” and did not indicate that he was under investigation.

Musk has faced pressure from abroad as well, with the European Commission recently threatening to ban Twitter outright should the platform run afoul of the EU’s digital regulations. According to a Wednesday report in the Financial Times, the bloc has presented Musk with a “checklist of rules” and demanded he submit to an “extensive independent audit” sometime next year, insisting Twitter must continue to “aggressively” police disinformation and hate speech. The billionaire has repeatedly vowed to make Twitter a bastion of free expression, even suggesting an “amnesty” for previously banned accounts so long as they did not violate the law or post spam. However, critics have argued the more hands-off approach will foster hatred, extremism and misinformation online, with some even urging major platforms like Apple and Google to remove Twitter from their app stores.

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“Musk replied that the DSA [EU’s Digital Services Act] was “very sensible” and should be applied worldwide.”

EU Threatens Musk With Twitter Ban (RT)

As Elon Musk pledged to run a more fair and transparent Twitter that won’t interfere in elections, the EU’s internal market commissioner, Thierry Breton, on Wednesday demanded tougher censorship, reportedly warning that the platform might be banned if it doesn’t comply with the bloc’s laws. “Twitter has failed in trust & safety for a very long time and has interfered in elections,” Musk tweeted on Wednesday, responding to claims by former executive Yoel Roth published by Reuters that his takeover had made the company less safe. “Twitter 2.0 will be far more effective, transparent and even-handed.” Within the hour, Breton tweeted that he welcomed Musk’s “intent to get Twitter 2.0 ready” for the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), a law scheduled to come into force in 2024.

He added that the platform would have to “significantly reinforce content moderation and tackle disinformation,” among other things. Breton attached a short video from a call he held with Musk, though without any sound. According to the Financial Times, however, the EU commissioner actually threatened Musk with a ban unless Twitter complies with a list of demands. This includes not having an “arbitrary” approach to reinstating banned users, “aggressively” pursuing “disinformation” and agreeing to an “extensive independent audit” by next year. Failing to do so would infringe on the DSA, which could expose Twitter to massive fines or even a ban in the EU, Breton reportedly said. According to FT’s sources, Musk replied that the DSA was “very sensible” and should be applied worldwide.

Musk bought Twitter for a reported $44 billion and took ownership of the company on October 27, declaring “the bird is freed.” Within hours, Breton responded that “In Europe, the bird will fly by our rules.” The DSA was approved by the bloc earlier this year. It requires “content moderation” from major social media platforms, so they can swiftly censor “hate speech” or any information that Brussels deems false. The EU has already invoked these powers to ban RT and several other Russian media outlets, with most US-based platforms eagerly complying. The video hosting service Rumble, however, chose to turn off their service in France rather than comply with demands from Paris to censor certain Russian outlets.

Declaring “free speech” – as guaranteed in the US Constitution – to be his guiding principle, Musk has rolled back some of Twitter’s censorship policies and lifted the bans on many “permanently suspended” accounts, including former US president Donald Trump. The decision to reinstate Trump and declare a general amnesty for accounts that hadn’t broken the law was put to a vote on Twitter, with most users voting in favor in both cases.

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“Tim was clear that Apple never considered doing so.”

Musk Says Twitter Clash With Apple A ‘Misunderstanding’ (AFP)

Twitter owner Elon Musk said he met with Apple chief Tim Cook on Wednesday and “resolved the misunderstanding” that prompted him to declare war on the iPhone maker’s App Store. “Among other things, we resolved the misunderstanding about Twitter potentially being removed from the App Store,” Musk tweeted. “Tim was clear that Apple never considered doing so.” Musk also tweeted a video clip of “Apple’s beautiful HQ” in Cupertino, California, noting that he had had a “good conversation” with Cook. The world’s richest person opened fire on the planet’s most valuable company early this week over fees and rules at the App Store, saying Apple had threatened to oust his recently acquired social media platform.

The billionaire CEO had tweeted that Apple “threatened to withhold Twitter from its App Store, but won’t tell us why.” Apple, which has not issued a public statement on the matter, typically tells developers if fixes need to be implemented in apps to conform to App Store policies. Analysts told AFP the clash may have came down to money, with Musk irked that the App Store takes a commission on transactions such as subscriptions. Musk has delayed the relaunch of the Twitter Blue subscription tier intended to have users pay for perks such as account verification check marks. Twitter rolled out Blue early in November, but pulled the plug after impersonators paid for check marks to appear legitimate in what former head of safety and security Yoel Roth referred to as “a disaster.”

Both Apple and Google also require social networking services on their app stores to have effective systems for moderating harmful or abusive content. But since taking over Twitter last month, Musk has cut around half of Twitter’s workforce, including many employees tasked with fighting disinformation, while an unknown number of others have quit.

Tucker Apple

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Musk has promised full disclosure.

Ex-Twitter Safety Chief: Hunter Biden Laptop Censorship Was A ‘Mistake’ (Fox)

The former head of trust and safety at Twitter recently admitted that the social media company’s decision to censor the Hunter Biden laptop story in 2020 was a “mistake.” During a sit down with journalist Kara Swisher, ex-Twitter safety chief Yoel Roth said that despite concerns about the authenticity of the laptop story, it still did not reach a point where he wanted to remove the content — which was later censored anyway. Initial reporting suggested that Roth blocked user access from the October 2020 story, but the former Twitter division lead said the decision was not up to him. “We didn’t know what to believe, we didn’t know what was true, there was smoke — and ultimately for me, it didn’t reach a place where I was comfortable removing this content from Twitter,” Roth said.

“But it set off every single one of my finely tuned APT28 hack and leak campaign alarm bells.” Roth repeatedly reiterated that despite Big Tech companies’ high-alert status and his personal feeling of responsibility to protect the “integrity of conversations” from foreign governments attempting to interfere in elections, it never rose to the level where he believed the story should be censored. “But — so it was a mistake?” Swisher asked. “In my opinion, yes,” he responded. Roth planned to meet with the Department of Homeland Security’s now-defunct Disinformation Governance Board, where the government was expected to ask Twitter to become more involved in efforts to monitor misinformation.

Both Roth and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed they were approached by the FBI prior to the 2020 election, warning the platforms about foreign propaganda and misinformation. When the New York Post’s bombshell report was first published with weeks to go before the 2020 election, Twitter and Facebook were quick to limit or block sharing of the story in an unprecedented display of coordination. Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has also admitted the social media platform was wrong to intervene in the Hunter Biden story. Last week, Twitter’s new CEO Elon Musk said that he might release more information on how the social media company censored the Biden laptop story.

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‘I would like to be cancelled so I can go home and read a book and not have to make an a**e of myself all over the world..’

Eric Idle Insists He Wants To Be ‘Cancelled’ (DM)

Famed English comedian Eric Idle says he wants to be ‘cancelled’ for his comedy. The 76-year-old funnyman, who first rose to fame in the 1960s as a founding member of the Monty Python comedy team, is outspoken about political correctness. He says that there is a lot of bullying going on in the name of decency. ‘I would like to be cancelled so I can go home and read a book and not have to make an a**e of myself all over the world,’ Idle joked in The Daily Telegraph on Tuesday. Idle, who is in Australia to perform a show in Sydney this week, explained in the chat that he thinks comedy is about saying the wrong thing at the right time. ‘You have to remember that Python was offensive when it started. We were not the cuddly old f***ers we are now,’ he told the publication.

‘It was very offensive. The point was absolutely to upset and insult the bourgeois.’ Idle, who is in Australia to perform a show in State Theatre on Thursday, explained that comedy is about saying the wrong thing at the right time, Pictured: Idle in Monty Python’s Life of Brian, a box-office smash despite offending audiences After debuting on the BBC in 1969, Monty Python earned a reputation for outrageous, surreal, often violent and sexual humour. Idle says the point of comedy is to test boundaries and say the ‘unsayable’. ‘And so who are the people saying you can’t do that?’ he says. ‘I don’t understand that. Who is the committee that does this? ‘It sounds a bit like the French Revolution committees, who said, ‘off with his head’. I think a lot of bullying goes on in the name of decency.’

Monty Python, who formally disbanded three decades ago, often attracted notoriety and scandal. Their films Monty Python and The Holy Grail (1975), and Monty’s Python Meaning of Life (1983) became box office hits, while shocking audiences. But it was their 1979 smash Life of Brian, a parody of pious religious movie epics that created a storm of protest around the world. Set in the time of Christ, the film features a climax where the hero, Brian (Graham Chapman), a Jew, is crucified because he has been mistaken as a messiah by the Romans. As he and others hang on crosses, they sing ‘Always Look on The Bright Side of Life,’ a jolly sing along composed by Idle. Condemned by a diverse range of religious groups as blasphemous, Idle says the film would never be made today because ‘you don’t laugh at religion.’

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“Cryptome published the decrypted unredacted State Department Cables on September 1, 2011 prior to publication of the cables by WikiLeaks..”

Cryptome Founder Asks to Be Indicted With Assange (Lauria)

The founder of a U.S.-based website that earlier published the same un-redacted documents that WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange was later indicted for has invited the U.S. Department of Justice to make him a co-defendant with Assange. “Cryptome published the decrypted unredacted State Department Cables on September 1, 2011 prior to publication of the cables by WikiLeaks,” John Young wrote in a Justice Department submission form, which Young posted on Twitter on Tuesday. “No US official has contacted me about publishing the unredacted cables since cryptome published them,” he wrote. “I respectfully request that the Department of Justice add me as a co-defendant in the prosecution of Mr. Assange under the Espionage Act.”

Assange has been charged with possession and dissemination of classified information, some of the same material that Young possesses and disseminated. Young founded Cryptome, which he calls a “free public library” in 1996. It was a precursor of WikiLeaks in publishing raw, classified and unclassified government documents on the internet. Young testified at Assange’s extradition hearing in London in September 2020. His sworn statement says: “I published on Cryptome.org unredacted diplomatic cables on September 1, 2011 under the URL https://cryptome.org/z/z.7z and that publication remains available at the present. … Since my publication on Cryptome.org of the unredacted diplomatic cables, no US law enforcement authority has notified me that this publication of the cables is illegal, consists or contributes to a crime in any way, nor have they asked for them to be removed.”

A cornerstone of the Justice Department’s case against Assange is that he recklessly published State Department cables leaked to him by Army Intelligence Analyst Chelsea Manning, which, the U.S. says, endangered the lives of named U.S. informants. Young is asking the Justice Department why he too hasn’t been prosecuted for publishing these names before Assange did. At Manning’s court martial, Brig. Gen. Robert Carr, testified under oath that no one was actually harmed by the WikiLeaks releases. Then Defense Secretary Robert Gates called the leaks “awkward” and “embarrassing” but said they did only “fairly modest” damage to U.S. foreign interests.

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Home Forums Debt Rattle December 1 2022

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 76 total)
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  • #122351

    Pablo Picasso Coffee maker 1943   • More Than 100,000 Ukrainian Soldiers Have Died In Conflict – EU (RT) • Von der Leyen’s Comment On Ukrainian M
    [See the full post at: Debt Rattle December 1 2022]

    #122352
    Germ
    Participant

    “Mum in coma ‘for days’ after ‘falling ill following covid jab’ ”

    https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/1703636/Covid-jab-vaccine-coma-Guillain-Barr-syndrome-Staffordshire

    The comment section is extraordinary.

    #122353
    Dr. D
    Participant

    “I wish I could have pulled that off. I wish. I didn’t fully understand the goal of it. I was helping Ukraine launder funds for the Democratic Party? I don’t know why Ukraine is laundering funds for the Democratic Party. I don’t know how they would or why they would.” – Sam Bankman Fraud.

    He doesn’t understand money or why people spend it. Got it. He for one has never spent money getting things he wants, like the whole Congressional Bank Regulation Committee. 1) Paying money? 2) To receive items? Waaaaaay too complicated for a MIT math expert like him.

    Also “”I’ve Had A Bad Month” – Bankman-Fried Claims “Didn’t Knowingly Commingle Funds”, Blames Girlfriend” You were her direct boss but it’s her fault. Uh-huh. And when you transferred all assets in FTX to cover her losses, that was her fault too.

    Keep talking SBF. Never stop. It’ s all admissible in court.

    From Dr. Day yesterday, same thing: NATO and the EU were once separate. But NATO is now the entire EU army. Who gutted themselves and buy all their kit from the U.S., the idiots. ..So they could get the army for free. TANSTAAFL. No more Saab fighters, etc. So now, if NATO falls, all “Europe” falls. That’s the downside of MAKING the Yanks be your army so you could live for free. As Jens said, if Ukraine falls, NATO falls. If NATO falls, Europe falls. …And the U.S. will be fine. We’ll just un-empire, which we’ve been fighting for for years. What? Surely no empire can just collapse… Really? If Europe falls where will all the cash flow to? That’s right to Jamie Dimon and Powell’s higher interest rates.

    “…The global system will need to move beyond reliance on the US dollar,”

    Good. Triffon’s paradox was killing us.

    “Let’s have a digital health certificate acknowledged by WHO — if you have been vaccinated or tested properly, then you can move around.”

    Suuuuure, except the tests don’t work, and China is switching off certificates of known-healthy people for political reasons. …And so they are going to dismantle China brick-by-brick until they stop. That’s not winning, that’s losing. We here? We already know. And we didn’t allow it even the FIRST time, much less after going through it already. 15 Days to Stop the Spread. Trust us.

    “required various business sectors to meet a 60% vaccination quota among employees.”

    Sure, except in Russia I can buy a fake vax pass for $100. And Moscow shut down their pro-Western Mayor if I remember (the one who paid $1M to Hunter), when he tried to enforce mandates at businesses.

    Killed more than 100k military…OFFICERS?” Isn’t it at least 10 men to an officer? Let’s just say “men”.

    And looking at the weekend, Ukraine has eggs and food in the stores...but Britain doesn’t? Well, thank Socialism, I guess. Clearly Ukraine is unregulated Capitalism with oligarchs according to the NY Times.

    Don’t know what to say: I guess going hungry doesn’t cure it. Or killing your kids.

    “What we must understand is that just back in the 1980s, the Netherlands was deeply concerned that they would be unable to feed its 17 million people. They were on a mission to produce twice as much food using half as many resources in a country that is just a bit bigger than the state of Maryland.

    Netherlands’ policies to expand food production were accomplished and they became the world’s second-largest exporter of agricultural products by value behind the United States. Therefore, this sudden attack on farming is more than just a U-Turn. With the Netherlands as a major food producer is among the largest exporters of agricultural and food technology, this threatens food shortages spreading as a contagion.

    The Netherlands produces 4 million cows, 13 million pigs, and 104 million chickens annually and is Europe’s biggest meat exporter. The EU is out to upend the economy of the Netherlands all for this fictional Climate Change theory. The Netherlands also provides vegetables to much of Western Europe. They have nearly 24,000 acres — almost twice the size of Manhattan — of crops grown in greenhouses that require less fertilizer and water. Dutch farms use only a half-gallon of water to grow about a pound of tomatoes, while the global average is more than 28 gallons.” –Armstrong

    “These people will not be satisfied until the death rate rises and civil unrest explodes”

    Bingo. Got it in one. They will not succeed at their first-order goal, so therefore the ONLY goal and ONLY outcome is starvation, unrest, and war. That’s Act A through Act Z, no positive outcomes anywhere in between. Why? Merchants of Death, and profits have been good lately…

    “Not using Russian oil and gas does nothing for climate. You don’t want it, others will use them.”

    Yes. But then we wouldn’t be able to use process A – Z to kill people, steal their stuff and have zero effect on climate. When everyone in Oz is dead or depleted, China will find it very easy to occupy and take all the coal they want. Nice going, guys!

    “The Russian energy company is currently working on the Power of Siberia 2 project, which involves construction of a gas pipeline to China through the territory of Mongolia. The pipeline will be capable of delivering as much as 50 billion cubic meters of gas,”

    Yes, but with Peak Oil, there’s no more gas or oil. All gone! So they’re building this pipe but there’s no gas to put in it for 50 years. Right?

    …Or maybe there IS some oil and gas? But it’s inconveniently located in countries we don’t control?

    “In her address, von der Leyen also proposed to set up a specialized, UN-backed court to investigate and prosecute what she described as “Russia’s crime of aggression.”

    So, um. Russia now has to fight to the death? And must, according to her actions, entirely defeat the EU and Western Europe generally? I’m at a loss. Yes, but you’re not supposed to just SAY that. You’re not supposed to SAY your goal is the complete annihilation of Russia, and with such united resolve as Russia’s only possible response must be nuking every European city on earth. Should it?

    Because as above, they really, really need a war to hide that their Plan is A-Z genocide (and stealing stuff) generally.

    “Some people are convinced it was retracted after US protest. But Ukraine protest would have been enough.”

    Ukraine runs the world and is our capital city and world government. Why? What is it about these people that make them so important and powerful to the political class worldwide?

    “Milley, speaking at the Economic Club of New York, said that the winter season would cause hostilities to go “static”

    Huh. That’s interesting. Russia fights especially in winter and that’s exactly what they claim to be doing. Milley doesn’t think so? Why? Because they can’t stop projecting? Like when they talked about corruption, about army depletion and inept weapons, about invasion, then about toppling, then about nuclear, then about having no winter equipment, winter grease and oil, and no war in the cold?

    ““More than a million Ukrainian refugees made a temporary home in Poland..”

    I’m sure Poland has an extra city or two laying around for visitors. I mean, if we can that 2.5 Million every year for decades, surely Krakow…

    And now that they’ve shut off food exports from Holland, they’ll be more able than ever to feed everyone. Nitrogen is the most common gas, and Ammonia is the outcome of some processes of burning water/hydrogen. Definitely need to stop that nitrogen from reaching the atmosphere…that is 70% nitrogen.

    “what other issue would you find Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Mitch McConnell agreeing on?”

    Not just $45B, an EXTRA $45B they didn’t ask for. And printing this $45B will fight inflation.

    What will they spend this lavish sum on? Carter electric Dreadnaughts that can’t get out of harbor. Just like the U.K. Not bullets and artillery and men. That would just be silly.

    “A reporter this week was so alarmed that she asked the White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre about the concern that millions are still signing up at Twitter and demanded to know who is “keeping an eye on this” for possible federal action.”

    Because people are buying products? Send in the Marines.

    “These boycotts are not about corporations or shareholders. If anything, they are more likely to diminish profits.”

    Yes. So by definition they are not “Capitalists”. So what are they?

    “does look at transactions that involve foreign investments in the United States to see if they create national security risk.”

    Buying Twitter and preventing Congressional censorship is a national security risk, but shooting a fleet of satellites into an open international war zone with nuclear powers, all safe: no risk at all. Got it.

    “As Elon Musk pledged to run a more fair and transparent Twitter that won’t interfere in elections,”

    Yes, but this is what they DON’T want. They WANT to tamper with elections. They couldn’t get elected otherwise. Which is what Twitter’s CEO says Twitter was doing. On purpose. Twitter is a dead-loss; what did you think they were selling?

    “Musk tweeted: “Tim was clear that Apple never considered doing so.”

    So. Reporters just made it all up. Then reported it. Then reported on others reporting it. Making the biggest story of the week something that 1) Never happened 2) Totally made up. 3) As complete political activism 4) For their personal agenda 5) AGAIN.

    Again, Journalism 101: YOU are not the story, people. No one cares about you. Shut your lie hole.

    “Ex-Twitter Safety Chief: Hunter Biden Laptop Censorship Was a ‘Mistake’ (Fox)”

    Whut? Who is this statement for? No one’s going to believe it, and half the people don’t want it.

    “We didn’t know what to believe, we didn’t know what was true,”

    Therefore, we stopped all news and all discussion that might debate and discern and resolve, and discover what was true. Ahead of time. Because we didn’t know. That, we never, never want. #Truth is the only enemy. They’re #AntiTruth.

    “the point of comedy is to test boundaries and say the ‘unsayable’.

    And #AntiComedy. Which is why they’re loveless, soulless nags and scolds. Channeling their inner church lady in service of their new religion. Religion of #Bullying.

    “Idle says the film would never be made today because ‘you don’t laugh at religion.’”

    Hahahahaha! Wait: he IS kidding, right? Attacking religion is the One True Religion.™ We attack all religions because OUR religion of sciency-faithiness is not a religion although it’s a belief system based on feelings and narratives that opposes new data, old data, and all data including the discussion of any data at any time by anybody, even non-sciency-faithy church members.

    #122356
    Dr. D
    Participant

    Wait, was Krakow right?

    And Germ wasn’t kidding. I expect some bad comments, but this was like 99% “Vax is deadly intentional bioweapon, all promoters of it should be shot.” In the “Express.uk” Who stopped censoring this and why? Because nothing’s happening, so they assume they’re safe and never will?

    #122357
    aspnaz
    Participant

    If their house is invaded, should a man defend his wife and children? Is that idea simply white patriachy? … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQFp8-Q2EAA … well the majority of comments under this video support the idea that it is not a man’s job to defend his family. Do you really want to live in a world where men think this way? Will it be possible for the west to recover if this is the way the people think? What form of total collapse will be required to snap people out of their internet lives and to see reality again?

    #122358
    oxymoron
    Participant

    Jordan Peterson is pretty convinced we will walk in to a dystopian digital slave world.

    #122359
    Michael Reid
    Participant

    I feel we are in a serious information war among other things.

    What is CDS (Chlorine Dioxide)?

    It looks promising to me and another tool for improved health in the group that I include ivermectin.

    It also seems helpful for those who have received the accelerated death shot.

    https://www.comusav.com/en/preguntas-frecuentes/

    Earlier today I watched the following video that was exploring vax / pcr exposure and blue tooth mac addresses detected in people’s bodies.

    https://www.comusav.com/en/bluetruth/

    Real life seems to be approaching sick science fiction being made real.

    The Chlorine Dioxide looked promising and I am interested what others think.

    #122360
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    @DrD

    You’ll notice that in his meandering equivocations in nonresponsive reply to the simple yes or no question (of if he had laundered money for the Democrat Party) SBF never said “No”.

    I’ll take that as a yes and give him a D- grade in the side-stepping liar snap quiz.

    The journalist interviewer gets an “F” for not following up and pressing for a real answer.

    #122361
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    Sam Bankman Freud can say anything he wants, or nothing at all ( “Yes”, “No”, or “Go piss up a rope”) with amused impunity, secure (he thinks) in the knowledge (he hopes) that nothing will come of it regardless of what he does or doesn’t say. When your team owns the referee (for the moment) there’s no need to worry about fouls.

    Those who wait for justice to be enforced by the as-yet-unidentified-and-unseen powers of institutional Law & Order are waiting for Godot.

    Freedom is not bestowed or granted. It is (and can only ever be) simply exercised. Just like its flip side, slavery. Either you comply with injustice or you don’t. Heroes can stand by your side or back your play, but they can’t actually take your place or BE you.

    This is not advice. I’m just stating the obvious (which has to be re-stated fairly often to have much effect) . . . but eventually it does, and when it does then Katy bar the door.

    #122362
    Ian Graham
    Participant
    #122363
    Ian Graham
    Participant
    #122364
    Mr. House
    Participant

    “ Do you really want to live in a world where men think this way?”

    Sure, it’ll make the entire survival of the fittest thing that much easier.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PQ6335puOc

    #122365
    zerosum
    Participant

    It wasn’t intentional – FTX – Sam Bankman Freud
    ———-
    https://reliefweb.int/report/world/hunger-hotspots-fao-wfp-early-warnings-acute-food-insecurity-june-september-2022-outlook
    According to the May 2022 Hunger Hotspots report, Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Sudan, and Yemen remain at ‘highest alert’ as hotspots with catastrophic conditions, and Afghanistan and Somalia are new entries to this worrisome class since the previous hotspots report in January 2022. These countries all have segments of the population facing IPC phase 5 ‘Catastrophe’ – or at risk of deterioration towards catastrophic conditions, with a total of 750,000 people already facing starvation and death in Ethiopia, Yemen, South Sudan, Somalia and Afghanistan.

    —————
    • Von der Leyen’s Comment On Ukrainian Military Losses Retracted (RT)
    “More than 100,000 Ukrainian military officers have been killed so far,” she said during an address earlier on Wednesday, adding that around 20,000 civilians had also died in nine months of fighting.
    ———-
    You don’t want it, others will use them. And you will be cold.
    • China Wants More Russian Gas (RT)
    You can hear the Chinese laughing in the background.
    • Russian Coal Exports Shift To China (RT)
    ———–
    Take a bow, TAE

    Washington Goes to War Against Twitter and Free Speech


    Washington Goes to War Against Twitter and Free Speech
    The problem is that citizens are flocking to Twitter and signing up in record numbers. They want more, not less, free speech. The over two million new sign-ups per day represent a 66% increase over the same period last year, according to figures released by Musk.
    ———–

    #122366
    oldandtired
    Participant

    IRS

    About 90% of yearly tax returns are filed electronically. Today, the IRS still allows taxpayers to file paper returns. If all taxpayers did file paper returns, how long would it take for the IRS to process them? Asking for a friend.

    #122367
    phoenixvoice
    Participant

    @ aspnaz

    Thank you and I agree.
    I *like* being strong and independent. But I run up against situations where I haven’t the strength to handle it alone — and the typical male does have the physical strength. A couple years back I removed a heavy, tumbled seat from my car — and sprained my thumb. Oh, how it hurt! I couldn’t play guitar for weeks. My spouse asked me — why didn’t you ask me to do it? He is much stronger than I — and I exercise more than he does! I smiled sheepishly and told him that he was right.
    The differences between men and women are not a problem that needs to be fixed or ignored. Rather, they encourage us to come together, giving and receiving. From that giving and receiving we develop strong social bonds that knit families and communities together.

    #122368
    Germ
    Participant

    NSW COVID-19 WEEKLY DATA OVERVIEW
    Epidemiological week 46, ending 19 November 2022

    https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/covid-19/Documents/weekly-covid-overview-20221119.pdf

    Scroll down to Table 1 on Page 4 – See “Vaccination status”

    Only the death-vaxxed are getting sick and going to the ICU.

    YES – the death-vaxxed really ARE fucked!

    #122369

    Rostin Bentham of the CFTC talks before a senate hearing about FTX and “the need for regulation”…
    He keeps mentioning “Ledger X“.

    Sen Marshall (R-Kansas): “Cryptocurrency is a threat to our national security.” Benham agrees.

    #122370
    The Markster
    Participant

    I feel sorry for people who think either Twitter or Elon Musk are in a position to improve the world in any significant way. Just another stupid trap inside an opaque hall of mirrors with a CIA backdoor feature that cannot be closed (WikiLeaks Vault 7).

    Best item today is the brave, epic DOJ trolling by Mr. Young at Cryptome. Way better than the late, empty, insincere CYA editorials by legacy media earlier this week, which are all outweighed by several thousand percentage points via their vindictive authoritarian bile of the last decade. Bravo and a tip of the hat to John Young at Cryptome!

    #122371
    kultsommer
    Participant

    The interview. Watch/listen and weep.
    ://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/30/former-ftx-ceo-sam-bankman-fried-says-i-didnt-ever-try-to-commit-fraud.html

    #122373
    John Day
    Participant

    @Germ: It was good to see the comments section overriding the narrative-moderator with personal anecdotes.

    @Dr.D: This is not possible: “Dutch farms use only a half-gallon of water to grow about a pound of tomatoes, while the global average is more than 28 gallons.”

    #122374
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    I suspect that an enormous proportion of people just can’t quite believe , or get over the fact, that the Elites could be as evil (or stupid) as they so publicly OBVIOUSLY are. Folks keep waiting for those self-destroying morons to come to their senses and stop behaving that way.

    Well, let me clue you in to something about humans. They seldom want to change things when they’re getting everything that they want. That’s who the Elites are. They are the folks who either HAVE or are completely confident about GETTING, all of the things that they want. And preeminent above ALL of the things they want is that they want the unlimited power and capacity to get what THEY want.

    So don’t hold your breath for any of them coming to their senses until reality itself knocks some sense into them.

    #122375

    @Dr.D: This is not possible: “Dutch farms use only a half-gallon of water to grow about a pound of tomatoes, while the global average is more than 28 gallons.”

    Not in soil. But how about hydroponics?

    #122376
    boscohorowitz
    Participant

    I got both in one hard slap to the jay from my old man when I told him to fuck off after he demanded he do something that totally contradicted everything he’d taught me about being a man, a human being, etc. (He was a great guy and felt horrible about what he’d done.)

    But Orwell was just being asymmetrically cute. Where he fumbles, I feel, is in using the word ‘rebel’. All one has to do to become conscious is wander off on a different path for a bit — something we all do now and then — and then pay attention. Rebelling is a different, inherently reactionary act.

    It’s the paying attention that’s so hard, imo. it is uncommon for people to see a thing as just the thing that it is, rather than what they’ve been taught and conditioned to believe the thing is or at least should be.

    But that slap in the face was a great cognitive blessing to me, even if it trashed my home life and family relations. I thank those lucky stars, that I see whirling around my head post-slap, for that adamant rupture of my head from the anal cavity society/school/religion had been telling me was where it belonged.

    ***

    “The founder of a U.S.-based website that earlier published the same un-redacted documents that WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange was later indicted for has invited the U.S. Department of Justice to make him a co-defendant with Assange.”

    John Young strikes me as someone who knows that it takes not just balls but adroit timing to make placing one’s testicles on the public chopping block.

    We look for full-grown black swans, but maybe we forget (I did) that wans are first ducklings before becoming full grown swans.

    I see Elon’s Twitter move as a baby black swan, and John Young’s move as another such ugly duckling, one that will probably ride the info-opening that Elon Twitter has provided. I suppose some tortured genius will feel compelled to lecture me about not placing my faith in the likes of Elon, yadi ya.

    (ahem)

    I have no faith in Elon as a savior of what I deem good and just. I just see him as a thing doing things, things that currently by their nature will foment and support for a while a period of relatively expanded public discourse with considerably improved data hygiene. When I hear people sneer and say how foolish others are for believing in Person X to stand up for what people deem good and just, I hear the sneerer inadvertently/unwittingly confessing that he, too, is scanning the horizon for a savior.

    Whether it’s Who to Blame or Who to Trust, I hear a yearning for Some One to fix things. (In that case, vote for me! I’ll fix your ass!) I too scan the horizon. I wouldn’t even object to a real live holy-rolling Savior come to cleanse the world yadi ya. But mostly I scan the horizon to enjoy its ineffable beauty while I still can.

    ***

    Oh, almost forgot: WES’s anecdotes still rule the cracker barrel circle.

    ***

    Echoing Dr. D., I say that Eric Idle reminds me why Boomers are marginalized by the young.

    ***
    “Who stopped censoring this and why? Because nothing’s happening, so they assume they’re safe and never will?”

    Maybe lack of control as the center cannot hold and the falconer gyres wider from the falconer?

    ***

    (backup): Dogwash

    “The street finds its own use for technology.” I giggle remembering young 90s Gen-X cyberpunks reciting in grave tones such Gibsonisms like holy writ. Either way, that was a good hack.

    #122377
    boscohorowitz
    Participant

    As usual, what almost anyone says about our climate is wonky butthurt bullshit. What we are doing with the questions posed by various climate change hypotheses, and what we propose to do about what we think might be happening with climate change, are so much hot air in an empty room void of any real central defining point. Just air molecules bouncing randomly into each other like they just discovered Boyle’s Law and are furious about being told what to do. (punk rockers pogo dancing against The Man)

    Just as imaginary solutions can breed real problems, so can real problems breed imaginary solutions in a vicious circle. OK. That was a verbal Chinese finger puzzle, but it’s nonetheless true. Should we do something about the weather? Can we do something about the weather? Would it do any good or just the usual more bad? Who knows? We only know that what’s being done in the name of weather is 90% bullshit.

    Oh well. U 2 can Save the Planet one plastic-fibered tote bag at a time!

    What are we saving the planet from?

    Us!

    Who are we saving the planet for?

    Us!

    Who shall we blame when it all falls apart?

    Them!

    And whom are they?

    Not us! We’re not responsible!

    ***

    Today’s Yogi tea tag wisdom: Give thanks for unknown blessings that are already on their way.

    Relevant song:

    It’s what’s inside that counts most…

    ***

    Ruthlessly Xmas Classic:

    Peace on Earth

    ***

    #122378
    boscohorowitz
    Participant

    Out of curiosity, I clicked this video: Pegasus is Sick

    Covid and flu together. VAIDS gonna be so much fun. Fortunately, the hospital at least hydrated him without killing him with whatever passes for “treatment” these days.

    #122379
    boscohorowitz
    Participant

    ‘the falconer gyres wider from the falconer?

    ***’

    #122380
    Bill7
    Participant

    You’re *already* being shaped and governed via your (heh) computer or smartphone; some are just not seeing it yet. If the means are there, they will be used.

    #122381
    boscohorowitz
    Participant

    “This is not possible: “Dutch farms use only a half-gallon of water to grow about a pound of tomatoes, while the global average is more than 28 gallons.”

    Why not? A half gallon of water weighs 4 lbs. 4lbs water to 1 lb potato. If they control evaporation sufficiently, it seems doable. Also, it rains a LOT in Holland, and sky water is free, something only meteorologists count.

    #122382
    boscohorowitz
    Participant

    “YES – the death-vaxxed really ARE fucked!”

    ALL of us are really fucked. Fucked fucked fucked, I say. F_U_C_K_E_ddddddddddddddd!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Hit me!

    The vaxxed are indeed up against it (my youngest son let himself get vaxxed despite my ewarnings; I too have skin in this game). Somehow, it feels good to distract ourselves from our problems by focusing on those of others, even if we wish them well. I recall some dino-rock Boomer singing about how “it’s interesting when people die, give us dirty laundry…”

    Up.. Down… like a punching clown…

    #122383
    Afewknowthetruth
    Participant

    Climate is catastrophe real: all NATOstan responses are both fake and counterproductive.

    Covid catastrophe is fake: all official NATOstan responses are both fake and counterproductive/\.

    NATOstan financial system is fake: all official responses to the catastrophe are fake and counterproductive.

    NATOstan economic catastrophe is real: all official responses are fake and counterproductive.

    NATOstan military catastrophe is real: all official responses are fake and counterproductive.

    Ad infinitum

    #122384
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    About watering Dutch potatoes: the half gallon is probably used to wash the muddy spuds after harvest, because up until then the potatoes are getting all the water they can tolerate from the ground and the sky. Holland is WET in both directions

    #122385
    boscohorowitz
    Participant

    ‘There was a time when I thought that kicking people’s butt would get them to stop making an ass of themselves. I was wrong, and it only proved my ability to make an ass of myself with them.” Robin Morrison aka boscohorowitz

    #122386
    Afewknowthetruth
    Participant

    “Dutch farms use only a half-gallon of water to grow about a pound of tomatoes, while the global average is more than 28 gallons’

    Don’t forget that about a quarter of Holland is below sea level and the Dutch expend a humungous amount of energy on a continuous basis pumping water out.

    Could be a problem when electrical energy becomes too expensive or completely unavailable.

    So could the unstoppable rise in sea level that accompanies planetary overheating become a problem.

    But that ‘problem won’t manifest fully for another decade or so, and by then most Dutch will be dead anyway -killed by their own government.

    #122387
    greco
    Participant

    He says tomato you say potato.
    Let’s call the whole thing off.

    In holland they grow tomatoes above ground. No need to wash the mud off.

    #122388
    zerosum
    Participant

    For the price of housing to be affordable for the grandkids means that our social/economic system must crash first.

    #122389
    Afewknowthetruth
    Participant

    Yes, between them, Huxley and Orwell got most of it right.

    The only major aspects they missed were resource depletion, extermination of wildlife and burgeoning pollution.

    But back in the 1950s and 1940s, when they were thinking and writing about both their present and the likely the future, resources were still rather abundant, there was still quite a lot of wildlife, and industrial humans were only just getting started on the grand project of fucking-up the geochemistry of the only planet we can live on.

    #122390
    Germ
    Participant

    Xavier Becerra, the US Secretary of Health and Human Services tweets that you should get a booster for Covid every two months!

    Hahaha – Covid is now officially both a mental disorder and an IQ test!

    #122391
    Afewknowthetruth
    Participant

    ‘Washington Goes to War Against Twitter and Free Speech’

    I know there was no Twitter then, but Washington’s war on free speech commenced in Mark Twain’s time.

    It got into high gear in the early 1950s, with McCarthyism. Many Americans left America because of it.

    Ditto the war on free speech during the Vietnam War era.

    Shooting students and killing them was considered an appropriate response to expression of rage against the system.

    Now the system prefers to use drones, or polonium, or contract killers to silence dissenters.

    #122392
    Michael Reid
    Participant

    Doug Casey on Global Government vs. the People

    Doug Casey on Global Government vs. the People

    #122394
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    Oops. I seem to have potato sauce all over my face.

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