Jun 022023
 
 June 2, 2023  Posted by at 8:53 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , ,


Emil Nolde Half Moon Over The Sea 1945

 

Ukraine Calls for Massive Demilitarized Zone Inside of Russia (LI)
Zelensky Demands NATO and EU Membership For Kiev (RT)
Germany Tells Zelensky NATO Can’t Consider Ukrainian Membership Now (RT)
Zelensky Warns Doubts On Ukraine NATO Membership Endanger Europe (Az.)
Netherlands Looks To Buy Dozens More Tanks For Ukraine (RT)
The Guardian View On Vladimir Putin’s War: Terror Without Purpose (G.)
Sanctions Against Russia Failed. I Saw It Firsthand (Scott Ritter)
Black Sea Grain Deal Hits Obstacle – UN (RT)
Ursula von der Leyen’s Name Embroiled In Scandal In Bulgaria (LePoint)
Breadcrumbs From A Buried FBI Source May Lead To A Bigger Biden Scandal (Fed.)
Speaker McCarthy’s Rotten Deal (David Stockman)
A Debt Jubilee of Biblical Proportions Is Coming Soon (IM)
Twitter Head Of Trust & Safety Gone After “Mistake” Banning Documentary (ZH)
FBI Reopens Case Around Julian Assange (IC)
Due To High Crime, Mafia Closes Its Chicago Office (BBee)

 

 

Watch the female cadet

 

 

 

 

Putin rule the world

 

 

 

 

Trump Hannity
https://twitter.com/i/status/1664470133748776963

 

 

 

 

BRICS vs G7

 

 

 

 

 

 

What’s the use of proposing things you know will not happen?

Ukraine Calls for Massive Demilitarized Zone Inside of Russia (LI)

As a condition for ending the war, an aide to President Volodymyr Zelensky has demanded Russia remove its military forces along its border with Ukraine. Kiev hopes the area within Moscow’s borders will be manned by international forces. Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak called for a 100-120 kilometer demilitarized zone within Russia. “It will be necessary to introduce a demilitarization zone of 100-120 km on the territory of Belgorod, Bryansk, Kursk, and Rostov republics. Probably with a mandatory international control contingent at the first stage,” he tweeted on Monday. Kiev is seeking to take control over Moscow’s nuclear and missile programs as well.

“Reduction of offensive weapons (missiles with extended range). International conference to organize control over the nuclear arsenal of the [Russian Federation],” Podolyak said in a separate tweet. Podolyak has made other demands of Moscow on the social network during recent days. On Saturday, he stated that the war can only end when the Russian government of Vladimir Putin was removed from power. The adviser added that “there is nothing to talk about with” the current administration in the Kremlin and Putin should be extradited for war crimes. While Kiev makes one-sided proposals for ending the conflict, the Ukrainian army is struggling to regain any of the territory controlled by Moscow.

Russian forces control about 20% of Ukraine, recently capturing Bakhmut after a months-long battle. The Kremlin says it has annexed about five Ukrainian oblasts and it will not return those to Kiev’s control. It seems unlikely Kiev will be able to force Moscow to make concessions demanded by Podolyak. However, the conditions laid out by Zelensky’s adviser could hinder international efforts aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was attempting to build momentum towards a deal, but that was scuttled when Zelensky skipped a meeting with the Brazilian leader. Additionally, a coalition of African nations and China are attempting to work towards a negotiated settlement in the war.

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No.

Zelensky Demands NATO and EU Membership For Kiev (RT)

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky insisted on Thursday that his country needed to be admitted to both the EU and NATO this year, or the West would be failing not just Ukraine, but Moldova, Georgia, Belarus and others. “Russia is afraid of NATO,” Zelensky argued at the summit of the European Political Community, which is being held at Castle Mimi in Bulboaca, Moldova. Moscow, he claimed, “tries to swallow only those who are outside the common security space,” or leave behind “frozen conflicts” like Transnistria. Every European country that borders Russia “should be a full member of the EU and NATO,” Zelensky said. “There are only two alternatives to this: either an open war, or a creeping Russian occupation.”

Admitting Ukraine would send a sign to Moldova, Georgia, and Belarus, he claimed, but “if even Ukrainians, who are proving our commitment to freedom and the values of a united Europe with blood, have not yet heard a clear positive answer about joining the EU and NATO, the hopes of the others are becoming completely illusive.” Both NATO and the EU have long-standing policies of not admitting new members if they are currently engaged in conflicts or have unresolved territorial disputes. Though both blocs have made multiple exceptions for Ukraine since last year, the Germans at least appeared unwilling to cross that line.

“There are clear criteria for membership. You can’t have border conflicts for instance,” Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Thursday. His foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock – herself an outspoken advocate of Kiev – also argued it was “clear that we cannot talk about new membership in the middle of a war.” On Wednesday, the Financial Times reported that Zelensky had threatened to skip the NATO summit in Lithuania in July unless the bloc gave Kiev the security guarantees he demanded. Russia considers NATO’s eastward expansion to be a threat to its national security, and has cited Ukraine’s aspirations to join the US-led bloc as one of the reasons for the current conflict. The bloc has provided Ukraine with over $100 billion in military aid over the past year, while insisting both that Russia “must lose” and that they are not directly involved.

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“At the same time, it is clear that we cannot talk about new membership in the middle of a war..”

Germany Tells Zelensky NATO Can’t Consider Ukrainian Membership Now (RT)

Ukraine cannot join NATO while it remains locked in a conflict with Russia, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has said. Last month, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also expressed skepticism about Kiev’s admission into the US-led military bloc. Speaking ahead of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Norwegian capital Oslo on Thursday, Baerbock claimed that the bloc’s doors remain open for potential new members. This applies to Sweden in particular, but also to Ukraine, she said. “At the same time, it is clear that we cannot talk about new membership in the middle of a war,” Baerbock stressed regarding Ukraine’s aspirations.

German Chancellor Scholz said last month that Kiev’s potential NATO membership “doesn’t stand on the agenda anytime soon.” He cited a “whole range of requirements belonging to NATO’s criteria that Ukraine can’t fulfill at present.” The chancellor argued that the bloc should for the time being focus on helping Ukraine to “defend its land” against Russian forces. While some NATO members such as Poland and the Baltic states have long advocated a fast track for Ukraine’s accession, others, including the US and Germany, are reluctant to commit to such a scenario, the Financial Times reported in April.

Citing anonymous sources, the FT claimed on Wednesday that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky had “made clear to NATO leaders that he will not attend the Vilnius summit [in July] without concrete security guarantees and a road map for accession.” Kiev formally applied to join the US-led bloc in September 2022, arguing that the collective defense it provides to members would ensure Ukraine’s security against Russia. Moscow, in turn, considers NATO’s eastward expansion to be a threat to its national security, and has cited Ukraine’s aspirations to join the bloc as one of the reasons for the current conflict.

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The ultimate li(n)e: we protect you.

Zelensky Warns Doubts On Ukraine NATO Membership Endanger Europe (Az.)

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned European leaders that any doubts they show before admitting Kyiv into the Nato alliance will embolden Russia to attack more countries, Report informs, citing foreign media. “We must remember that every doubt we show here in Europe is a trench that Russia will definitely try to occupy,” he told a European summit in Moldova. Ukraine is a candidate to join both Nato and the European Union, and Moldova the EU, but some European capitals are wary of setting a formal timeline for membership as Russia’s invasion continues.


But, addressing four dozen European leaders from inside and outside the union and the alliance, the Ukrainian leader warned that delaying a decision would undermine the West’s strength. He complained that if Ukraine and Moldova have no clear path to joining the groupings, vulnerable pro-Western political forces in Belarus and Georgia will be at risk. “Whether these doubts are about vital security steps or doubts about our unity, maybe about our ability to meet the challenges of our time, every doubt brings more insecurity,” he said.

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But why? Does Rutte think Ukraine can win? Hard to imagine. Does he know Ukrainians will get killed? Of course he does.

Netherlands Looks To Buy Dozens More Tanks For Ukraine (RT)

Dutch officials are reportedly making plans to buy dozens more Leopard 1 tanks, as well as Patriot missiles, to help boost Ukraine’s firepower in its ongoing conflict with Russia. The Netherlands’ Cabinet aims to purchase Leopards from Swiss state-owned manufacturer Ruag, Dutch online media outlet NL Times reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the plans. The deal will require approval from Switzerland’s government, which has tried to maintain neutrality amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Amsterdam joined with Germany and Denmark in February to buy at least 100 Leopard 1A5 battle tanks for Ukraine from German manufacturers. Swiss newspaper Targes-Anzeiger reported that the Netherlands seeks to buy 96 Leopard 1s, an older version of the tank, from Ruag. At the same time, the Netherlands is looking to provide more Patriot missiles or parts to operate them to help boost Ukraine’s air defenses, the NL Times said.


The NATO member previously gave Kiev two Patriot launchers and a number of missiles. “We are looking very closely at what we can still do,” Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Thursday after arriving in Moldova for a summit of European leaders. However, he added that given the Netherlands’ own security needs, “you can’t deliver everything you’ve got.” He called for more countries to join the coalition of nations supplying Patriot missiles to Ukraine. German lawmakers last week approved the purchase of 18 Leopard 2A8 tanks and 12 Panzerhaubitze 2000 howitzers to replace weapons stockpiles that were sent to Kiev. The deal reportedly includes an option to buy 105 additional Leopards. Berlin’s latest aid package for Ukraine includes 30 Leopard 1 tanks. Ukraine has repeatedly said that the supply of foreign heavy weapons is crucial for the success of its planned counteroffensive. Moscow, meanwhile, has warned that the Western-delivered tanks and other systems would be treated as legitimate targets on the battlefield.

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Wow. Talk about propaganda.

The Guardian View On Vladimir Putin’s War: Terror Without Purpose (G.)

Vladimir Putin has never been honest with the Russian people about the war in Ukraine. He lied about the scale of the invasion and the reasons for it. The deception is sustained with propaganda and repression. Outlawing the truth has kept the reality of war mostly out of sight, which is a condition of public acquiescence. That doesn’t mean that millions would rise up against their government if confronted with the true horror of what is being done to Ukraine in their name. The bellicose cult is well embedded in Russian society. But it is easier to support a war that unfolds on television than one that can be heard flying overhead, which is why drone strikes against targets in Moscow this week have rattled the Kremlin. Ukraine denies involvement in the attack, as it does automatically when military operations cross Russia’s borders, in deference to Kyiv’s western allies who are made uncomfortable by such bold incursions.

There were also reports on Wednesday of a fire at an oil refinery in the southern Russian Krasnodar region, started by a drone. The raid on Moscow caused little damage but plenty of alarm, which is the point. Getting the war within visible range of ordinary Russians is embarrassing for Mr Putin. It undermines his aura of control. It is harder to pretend things didn’t happen when people can see them from their windows. Most analysts interpret these attacks as part of a disorientation strategy, forcing the Kremlin to divert resources and attention away from the frontline in advance of a Ukrainian counteroffensive to recapture occupied territory. The same applies to the murkier business of raids across the Ukrainian border into Russia’s Belgorod region, carried out by far-right, anti-Putin Russian militias.

The fog of war is dense, with Ukrainian strategists cultivating uncertainty to unsettle Russian defences and Russian lines of command, tangled amid factional bickering in Moscow and between rival commanders on the ground. That makes it all the more important to keep a focus on core facts and moral imperatives: Ukraine is the victim of an unprovoked invasion by forces whose primary tactic is terrorising the civilian population into submission by means of indiscriminate murder and destruction. This campaign of atrocity has not succeeded, because Ukrainians have shown heroic fortitude and ingenuity on an epic scale. Also, they have been armed for that endeavour by western governments, which had to balance fear of escalation with a realistic appraisal of the character of Mr Putin’s regime, and the threat he posed to European peace if unchecked.

Russia did not start its territorial aggression against Ukraine in 2022, but eight years earlier, in Crimea. Mr Putin did not stop there because Russia wanted to have complete dominance over the domestic and foreign policy orientation of the government in Kyiv. He gambled that the west would look away again. Thankfully, the Russian president was mistaken. He thought then that Russia’s appetite for carnage, even from a losing position, would outlast western solidarity with Ukraine. That too turns out to be a miscalculation, so far. Without a follow-up strategy, Mr Putin’s war is sustained by his monstrous pride, readiness to sacrifice conscript soldiers for no measurable purpose and a political apparatus that allows him to cover up his failures. Those conditions make Russia’s position look solid. But they could turn out to be brittle, as long as Ukraine’s allies stand firm.

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“The Russian economy currently retains its rank as the 11th in the world, based upon standard gross domestic product (GDP) comparisons. However, when one converts Russia’s $1.78 trillion GDP using the “basket of goods” formulation of purchasing power parity (PPP) (i.e., what similar goods cost in the United States versus Russia), Russia’s actual economic strength converts to $4.80 trillion, making it the world’s sixth largest economy, surpassing all but China, the US, India, Japan, and Germany.”

Sanctions Against Russia Failed. I Saw It Firsthand (Scott Ritter)

I just returned from a month-long visit to Russia, during which time I had the opportunity to see a dozen different cities covering nearly the entire expanse of the Russian Federation. Prior to my departure, I was filling up the tank of my car, when I noticed a sticker on the gas pump. The sticker portrayed a smiling Joe Biden, the President of the United States, gesturing to his right. Underneath the image were printed the words, “I did this!” [..] In January and February 2023, Russia spent 2 trillion rubles ($26 billion) on defense, a 282% jump on the same period a year ago. Far from being unable to replenish its military strength and sustain the conflict in Ukraine, Russia is far outpacing NATO in terms of rushing military material to the frontlines by 4 to 1 in terms of tanks and armored fighting vehicles and 5 to 1 in artillery ammunition.

When calculated with kill ratios that are overwhelmingly in favor of Russia, the fact is that Russia is sapping the strength of NATO and its Ukrainian proxy, while expanding its own. In addition to nearly tripling the size of its special military operation contingent, Russia is simultaneously building up the forces necessary to meet the expansion of its army from its pre-conflict size of 1 million, to a force of more than 1.5 million. Moreover, Russia’s increase in military production has not only softened the economic impact of the US-sponsored sanctions, but also helped reverse their impact across Russia’s industrial base. Everything I saw while touring Russia underscored the incontrovertible fact that, because of Western sanctions, the Russian economy has been compelled to undertake changes which have not only made it more resilient, but also more productive and efficient.

Foreign investments are surging in, proving that there is a world that exists beyond that controlled by the American economic hegemon. Moreover, because sanctions have curtailed the previous practice of Russian business tycoons sending their wealth abroad, there is a huge amount of domestic economic capital available for reinvestment into the Russian economy. This truth was evident in every city I visited, where there were unprecedented levels of infrastructure improvements and new construction taking place.

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“..almost half the grain that made its way to the EU ended up as fodder for pigs raised by Spanish ham producers.”

Black Sea Grain Deal Hits Obstacle – UN (RT)

Russia has notified the Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul it will restrict the passage of grain ships to the port of Yuzhny until Ukraine reopens the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Thursday. Dujarric said that Director General Rebecca Greenspan of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is working to resolve the pipeline issue, but there was no progress to report yet, according to the TASS news agency. The UN also expressed concern that the implementation of the deal has slowed down, with only 33 ships leaving Ukrainian ports in May, “two times less than in April.” Meanwhile, the number of inspection teams has been reduced from three to two.

Yuzhny is one of the three ports covered by the July 2022 Black Sea Initiative, the others being Chernomorsk and Odessa. The agreement mediated by the UN and Türkiye provided for the shipments of Ukrainian grain by sea, as well as the unblocking of Russian agricultural exports – but only the first part has been implemented. On May 17, Moscow agreed to extend the deal for another 60 days. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the decision on the eve of the presidential election, which he went on to win in the runoff. In a Facebook post on Thursday, Ukraine’s ministry of renovation and infrastructure accused Russia of “another unjustified refusal … to register the incoming fleet.”

A senior official in Kiev told Reuters, on condition of anonymity, that Ukraine would consider reopening the Togliatti-Odessa pipeline if the Black Sea deal was expanded to include more ports and more commodities. Speaking to reporters earlier in the day, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin said that none of the five issues Moscow had identified with the deal – of which the Togliatti-Odessa pipeline was but one – have been addressed by the UN, “Our position remains unchanged – the export of ammonia is part of the existing agreements and was supposed to start simultaneously with the transportation of Ukrainian grain,” Vershinin said, adding that without addressing the five issues, there is no point in discussing the extension of the grain deal beyond July 17.

The deal was originally trumpeted in Ukraine and the West as a breakthrough in addressing food shortages in Africa and parts of Asia. According to data revealed by the Turkish Ministry of Commerce last week, however, 47% of the Ukrainian exports went to EU countries, and only 27% reached places like Egypt, Kenya, and Sudan. More than 30 million tons of grain have been transported by 953 ships since August 2022, with corn making up 50% of the cargo and wheat another 27%. Much of the grain was not for human consumption, but marked as animal feed. According to the research one Austrian outlet published in February, almost half the grain that made its way to the EU ended up as fodder for pigs raised by Spanish ham producers.

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Google translation.

Ursula von der Leyen’s Name Embroiled In Scandal In Bulgaria (LePoint)

One more scandal in Bulgaria? Ursula von der Leyen could have done without it. Her name appears in a sound recording secretly made during a meeting of the Let’s continue the change party (PP, according to the Bulgarian initials) which was to validate the government agreement reached with the rival party, the Gerb, of Boïko Borissov . This four and a half hour recording had the effect of a bomb! Its broadcast was programmed to derail the negotiations between the PP and the Gerb. We hear, in fact, the former Prime Minister Kiril Petkov. Not knowing that he was being tapped, he recklessly reveals the content of a telephone conversation with the President of the European Commission. There was, indeed, on May 21, a telephone contact between Petkov and von der Leyen about the possible accession of Bulgaria to the euro zone and the Schengen area. The Commission supports Bulgaria in these two undertakings. That’s not the problem.

“I asked her what our chances of being accepted are,” Petkov said. She answered me: “For Schengen, you have a great chance. For the euro zone, you have to find a way around the rules, that is to say ‘fit into the framework’. I answered her: “Can we -we have inflation minus the Ukraine effect .” And she was like, ‘Don’t quote me, we’ll try to help you.’ » On the side of the Commission, we naturally deny the content of the remarks. “There is a structured process for joining the euro zone, which applies to all countries, says the European executive. The Commission provides its support to fulfill the conditions. Of course, the rules must be followed. » We will never know what terms are really used by each other, but this recording is a furious reminder of Greece ‘s contentious entry conditions into the euro zone.

Athens, with the help of Goldman Sachs, had provided false data to circumvent the criteria for joining the euro zone. The pot of roses was revealed during the Eurozone crisis, when the real statistics were restored by Andreas Georgiou . A sinister episode that left its mark on German public opinion, which was very upbeat at the time. Bulgaria, already very fragile, should not repeat the same subterfuge.

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Reads like a full time job.

Breadcrumbs From A Buried FBI Source May Lead To A Bigger Biden Scandal (Fed.)

After a confidential human source claimed then-Vice President Joe Biden agreed to accept money from a foreign national to affect policy decisions, FBI agents used what’s called an FD-1023 form to record the allegation. Now FBI Director Christopher Wray is defying a May 3 congressional subpoena to provide this form. On Tuesday, in response to Wray’s refusal to hand over the documents, Oversight and Accountability Committee Chair James Comer announced the House will move to hold the FBI director in contempt of Congress. It isn’t that announcement — or even the other explosive ones released over the past year by Comer’s Senate colleague, Chuck Grassley — that prove the most telling, however. Rather, it is the combination of all the details, big and small, that suggests the scandal set to unfold over the coming weeks will be bigger than anyone imagined.

Take recent big news from whistleblower disclosures revealing that the Justice Department and the FBI have the unclassified FD-1023 form spelling out Biden’s alleged criminal behavior. Then combine that with other known information to discover the bigger picture. For instance, in response to Wray’s failure to comply with the subpoena, Grassley, who had previously noted the FD-1023 form was five or six pages long, indicated that the confidential human source (CHS) was “an apparent trusted FBI source.” This is huge because Grassley wouldn’t make that claim unless the whistleblower had. That means the source is not some random guy walking in off the street, but rather an existing “trusted” CHS, which is why the FBI used the FD-1023 form. In response to Wray’s stonewalling, Comer likewise revealed some significant details, clarifying late last week that the CHS reporting document was dated June 30, 2020, and referenced “the amount of money the foreign national allegedly paid to receive the desired policy outcome” as “five million.”

These details could only have come from a whistleblower with deep knowledge of the investigation, meaning the whistleblower’s characterization of the CHS as “trusted” carries more weight. Likewise, the whistleblower’s claim that the FD-1023 “includes a precise description of how the alleged criminal scheme was employed as well as its purpose,” is more credible given the whistleblower’s knowledge of other details. Comer’s reference to “five million” is also intriguing. In a letter to Wray, Attorney General Merrick Garland, and Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss, Grassley had previously revealed a promise by a Chinese communist government-connected enterprise to funnel $5 million to “Hunter and James Biden to compensate them for work done while Joe Biden was vice president.” Records released by Grassley and Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., also confirmed a $5 million payment to James and Hunter Biden from another Chinese-connected business.

The date of the FD-1023 form, June 30, 2020, also proves significant when read in conjunction with Grassley’s letter to Wray in July 2022. In that letter, Grassley said the whistleblower had claimed that “the FBI developed information in 2020 about Hunter Biden’s criminal financial and related activity,” but “that in August 2020, FBI Supervisory Intelligence Analyst Brian Auten opened an assessment which was used by a FBI Headquarters (‘FBI HQ’) team to improperly discredit negative Hunter Biden information as disinformation and caused investigative activity to cease.” The whistleblower further alleged that in September 2020, the FBI HQ team that handled the Auten assessment, after concluding the reporting was disinformation, placed the information in a restricted access sub-file that only the particular agents who uncovered the CHS’s information could access.

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David Stockman was Reagan’s budget director. Hard to claim he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

“Speaker Kevin McCarthy has straw for brains and a Twizzlers stick for a backbone..”

Speaker McCarthy’s Rotten Deal (David Stockman)

If there was ever any doubt, now we know: Speaker Kevin McCarthy has straw for brains and a Twizzlers stick for a backbone. He was within perhaps five days of breaking the iron grip of America’s fiscal doomsday machine, yet inexplicably he turned tail and threw in the towel for a mess of fiscal pottage. We are referring, of course, to the impending moment when the US Treasury would have been forced to forgo scheduled vendor or beneficiary distributions in order to preserve incoming cash for interest payments and other priorities. That act of spending deferrals and prioritization would have obliterated the debt “default” canard once and for all, paving the way for a nascent fiscal opposition to regain control of the nation’s wretched public finances. And there should be no doubt that we were damn close to that crystalizing moment. After all, Grandma Yellen herself forewarned just last week on Meet The Press that absent a debt ceiling increase, the Treasury Department would have to prioritize payments and leave some bills unpaid:

“And my assumption is that if the debt ceiling isn’t raised, there will be hard choices to make about what bills go unpaid,” Yellen said on NBC’s “Meet the Press…….“We have to pay interest and principle on outstanding debt. We also have obligations to seniors who count on Social Security, our military that expects pay, contractors who’ve provided services to the federal government, and some bills have to go unpaid….” And, of course, that prioritization and deferral could have been easily done. Federal receipts are now running about $450 billion per month, meaning that after paying $61 billion of interest, $128 billion for Social Security, $26 billion for Veterans and $47 billion for military pay and O&M there would still be $188 billion left to cover at least 50% of everything else. That is to say, no sweat with respect to servicing the public debt, and a lot of sweat among the constituencies that would have had payments delayed or reduced.

So, yes, the GOP has truly earned the Stupid Party sobriquet. No ifs, ands or buts about it. Instead of spending days negotiating over the minutia of budgetary scams, tricks and slights-of-hand, which is the entirety of the McCarthy deal, they should have been demanding from the Treasury a detailed list of scheduled payments by day for the first few weeks in June. And then, in return for continued negotiations on meaningful spending cuts and reforms, demanded assurance from the White House that enough of these due bills would be temporarily stuck in the drawer (deferred), if necessary, to ensure payment of scheduled interest, Social Security, military pay and Veterans pensions. That is to say, McCarthy had Sleepy Joe over the proverbial barrel. But instead of applying the wood to his political backside good and hard, the Speaker chose to hold Biden’s coat and help him get back up, praising the latter’s supercilious retainers as he did so.

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A jubilee through inflation?

A Debt Jubilee of Biblical Proportions Is Coming Soon (IM)

The US federal government has the biggest debt in the history of the world. And it’s continuing to grow at a rapid, unstoppable pace. In short, the US government is fast approaching the financial endgame. Here’s why… Today, the US federal debt has gone parabolic and is scores of trillions. To put it in perspective, if you earned $1 a second 24/7/365—about $31 million per year—it would take you over 1,008,378 YEARS to pay off the US federal debt. And that’s with the unrealistic assumption that it would stop growing.

The truth is, the debt will keep piling up unless Congress makes some politically impossible decisions to cut spending. But don’t count on that happening. In fact, they’re racing in the opposite direction now that they’ve normalized multitrillion-dollar deficits. The amount of debt is so extreme that even a return of interest rates to their historical average would mean paying the interest expense on the debt would consume more than half of current tax revenues. Interest expense would eclipse Social Security and defense spending and become the largest item in the federal budget. Second, a return to the historical average interest rate will not be enough to reign in inflation—not even close. A drastic rise in interest rates is needed. If that happened, it could mean that the US government is paying more for the interest expense than it takes in from taxes.

In short, the Federal Reserve is trapped. Raising interest rates high enough to dent inflation would bankrupt the US government. In other words, it’s game over. They have no choice but to “reset” the system—that’s what governments do when they are trapped. How are they going to reset the system? Nobody knows for sure. But I’d bet a debt jubilee of biblical proportions will be a big part of it. So then, how will the US government repudiate its impossible federal debt burden? My guess is that they won’t be explicit. That would look too much like a default. It would destroy the role of the US as the center of the world’s financial system. Given a choice, I don’t think the US government would choose immediate self-destruction. Since power does not relinquish itself voluntarily, we should presume they’ll decide to stealthily implement their federal debt jubilee through inflation.

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Should be a lot simpler.

Twitter Head Of Trust & Safety Gone After “Mistake” Banning Documentary (ZH)

As Matt Taibbi detailed earlier via Racket News, at roughly 8:30 a.m. ET this morning, Jeremy Boreing, co-founder and co-CEO of the Daily Wire, posted a lengthy thread on Twitter outlining what appeared to be a major reversal on speech issues on the Elon Musk-owned platform. “Twitter canceled a deal with @realdailywire to premiere What is a Woman? for free on the platform because of two instances of ‘misgendering,’” Boreing wrote, adding, “I’m not kidding.” Noting the film would be labeled “hateful conduct,” the thread detailed a months-longer roller-coaster dispute between the producers of What is a Woman?, a controversial documentary by Matt Walsh released a year ago today, and the current incarnation of the bird site.

In celebration of the release anniversary Walsh, Boreing, and the Daily Wire began making plans to partner with Twitter for a 24-hour livestream today, June 1, 2023. Twitter at first responded with enthusiasm, offering the chance to buy “a package to host the movie on a dedicated event page” and “a chance for us to promote the event to every Twitter user over the first 10 hours.” The initial exchange came roughly a month ago, and the Wire team planned a significant ad buy and other promotions.

Weeks later, Twitter ominously asked the Daily Wire for a review copy of Walsh’s movie. Boreing said the firm then found out Twitter would not only “no longer provide us with support,” but bluntly told them they would “limit the reach” of the film if the Daily Wire went ahead with the event on its own. In one of many odd twists to this story, the problem involved two alleged instances of “misgendering,” a category of offense Twitter controversially removed from hate speech guidelines in April. “They gave us the opportunity to edit the film to comply. We declined,” wrote Boreing. Boreing’s tweet-storm today provoked a quick backlash on the platform, with personalities like Tim Pool promising to terminate his “enterprise Blue subscription” if the decision wasn’t reversed. As if by magic, Musk at 1:33 p.m. tweeted that it was a “mistake by many people at Twitter”:

[..] Update (2000ET): Following Elon Musk’s comments earlier that the cancellation of a deal to show Daily Wire’s ‘What Is A Woman?’ documentary “was a mistake by many people at Twitter,” Fortune reports that Twitter’s head of trust and safety is no longer in Twitter’s internal slack, citing an unidentified person and a screenshot of her deactivated account. Reuters later reported that Ella Irwin told them that she has resigned from the social media company. As The Wall Street Journal reports, Irwin’s departure is the second time someone in that role has left since Elon Musk bought the company in October. Yoel Roth, who had previously served as Twitter’s head of trust and safety, left the company in November, and Irwin subsequently took the top job overseeing user content and safety policies.

Irwin, who joined Twitter about a year ago, declined to comment Thursday on the reasons for her decision to leave Twitter. She said in an interview she felt she had always been honest in her work. Presumably by her definition of “honest”. Musk noted briefly in a response to questions about the ban/throttling of the documentary: “being fixed.” The Twitter CEO added in a thread with the creator of the documentary that “It will be advertising-restricted, as advertisers have the right to decide what content their ads appear with, which will impact reach to some degree.” It appears there are still plenty of anti-free-speech workers at Twitter…

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Excuse to keep him locked up: pending investigation.

FBI Reopens Case Around Julian Assange (IC)

The FBI has reopened an investigation into Australian journalist Julian Assange, according to front-page reporting from the Sydney Morning Herald. The news that the FBI is taking fresh investigative steps came as a surprise to Assange’s legal team, given that the U.S. filed charges against the WikiLeaks founder more than three years ago and is involved in an ongoing extradition process from a maximum security prison in the United Kingdom so that he can stand trial in the United States. Assange is charged under the Espionage Act with obtaining, possessing, and publishing classified information that exposed U.S. war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan, crimes that themselves have gone unpunished. The Morning Herald reporting also comes amid heightened hopes in Australia that a resolution to the case, which has raised serious press freedom issues in the U.S. and abroad, was near at hand.

The country’s ruling party has spoken in defense of Assange, as has the nation’s opposition party leader. In early May, a cross-party delegation of influential Australian lawmakers met with the U.S. Ambassador Caroline Kennedy, urging that a deal be struck to return Assange to Australia before U.S.-Australian relations were harmed further by the prosecution. The U.S. has otherwise complicated its relationship with Australia in recent weeks even as it seeks closer ties in order to compete with China in the region. Australia spent weeks preparing for Joe Biden to make a major visit to the nation in May, only to see him cancel the trip at the last minute to fly back from Japan to continue with debt ceiling negotiations. And this week, the U.S. also warned Australia that some of its military units may be ineligible to cooperate with U.S. forces due to their own alleged war crimes in Australia.

It is not lost on the Australian public that Assange is being prosecuted for uncovering and publishing evidence of U.S. war crimes. In May, the Morning Herald reported, the FBI requested an interview with Andrew O’Hagan, who was brought on more than 10 years ago to work as a ghostwriter on Assange’s autobiography. The FBI may have thought he would be cooperative because O’Hagan’s relationship with Assange soured; O’Hagan publicly criticized Assange as narcissistic and difficult to work with and published an unauthorized version in the London Review of Books instead. But O’Hagan told the Morning Herald he was not willing to participate in his prosecution. “I might have differences with Julian, but I utterly oppose all efforts to silence him,” he said.

Read more …

“..members of the Chicago “Outfit” had successfully packed up and were on their way out of town before being mugged on their way to the airport.”

Due To High Crime, Mafia Closes Its Chicago Office (BBee)

Today marked the end of an era, as the Mafia announced it was officially closing its Chicago branch due to the rising wave of violent crime in the city. “We just can’t operate under these conditions,” said street boss Albert “Albie the Falcon” Vena, speaking on behalf of Salvatore “Solly D” DeLaurentis, who has run the Chicago organization since 2021. “How are we supposed to conduct respectable business — loan sharking, bribery, racketeering, illegal gambling — with so much crime going on? It’s insane!” The Windy City has long been known for its organized crime operations, dating back even before the days of Al “Scarface” Capone in the 1920s Prohibition Era. Today’s mobsters now lament the difficulty they face in doing horrible things behind the scenes in the city while so many even more horrible things are being done in broad daylight.


“One of our best leg-breakers got his legs broken by a gang of 40 high schoolers last week,” said organization member Frank “Toots” Caruso. “They recorded it and put it on TikTok. We just don’t feel safe around here. I’m afraid to just walk down the street!” Rising crime rates in Chicago have become a staple under Democrat leaders, resulting in skyrocketing numbers of violent crimes and shooting deaths, despite the city having some of the strictest gun laws in the nation. “You think we’re gonna be out there working?” asked Nicholas “Jumbo” Guzzino. “Are you kidding me? I don’t wanna get shot!” At publishing time, members of the Chicago “Outfit” had successfully packed up and were on their way out of town before being mugged on their way to the airport.

Read more …

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oscar
https://twitter.com/i/status/1664223997137940481

 

 

One
https://twitter.com/i/status/1664325552545624064

 

 

 

 

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Home Forums Debt Rattle June 2 2023

Viewing 37 posts - 1 through 37 (of 37 total)
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  • #136102

    Emil Nolde Half Moon Over The Sea 1945   • Ukraine Calls for Massive Demilitarized Zone Inside of Russia (LI) • Zelensky Demands NATO and EU Memb
    [See the full post at: Debt Rattle June 2 2023]

    #136103
    Red
    Participant

    Just Stop Oil are the latest in a long line of single-issue campaign groups to take an Underpants Gnomes approach to politics. Phase one, apparently, is to have a load of upper-class white kids make a nuisance of themselves by throwing orange paint at things. Phase three is the UK ending its use of oil entirely. As in the South Park episode, phase two has yet to be revealed.

    The billionaire-funded group is an offshoot of Extinction Rebellion, and as the name suggests, they have just one aim; to see the UK stop using oil entirely. Although, tellingly, the one thing the group seem determine to avoid disrupting is the flow of oil from Britain’s handful of remaining oil refineries… something which would serve to emphasise just how dependent a complex industrial economy like the UK is upon a steady flow of oil and oil products.

    For the most part, opposition to Just Stop Oil has focussed on the disruptive nature of their protests, which involve either blocking roads or disrupting the sporting events enjoyed by people who are largely powerless to do anything about energy policy. Although perhaps the hope is that if they piss-off enough ordinary people, they will go out and vote for politicians who want to ban oil. But even in the unlikely event that people respond in this way, the bigger problem is not that the political class doesn’t listen, but that the political class has already consumed rather too much of the Just Stop Oil Kool-Aid. Indeed, the man being touted as Britain’s next Prime Minister has pledged to make a rapid transition to the utopian net zero, including a pledge to end any further oil and gas extraction in the North Sea.

    It is this which has spurred some detractors to point to the impossibility of ending our use of oil unless the aim is to plunge us into an apocalyptic deep green dark age. As Henry Hill at CapX puts it:

    “There are some deep Greens who truly believe in that deeply misanthropic objective. There is also the slightly more fashionable ‘degrowth’ movement, which could row in behind the idea so long as they didn’t think too hard about the consequences.

    “But outside those circles, it’s rightly seen as nonsense. One doesn’t have to be a climate change denier, or even oppose huge investment in renewable energy generation and other new technologies, to accept that we live in a machine civilisation that more or less runs on fossil fuels and will do so for some time to come…

    “Trying to brute-force modern society off fossil fuels before adequate alternatives are brought on-stream is a recipe for economic disaster; nobody who complains about the cost of living crisis or the impact of government spending cuts has any business dallying with such an idea.”

    Hill makes the point that the current combination of political commitments and gaping holes in the infrastructure required for the net zero project leaves the UK facing a series of dangerous cliff edges:

    “This generation of politicians have set 2035 as the deadline for sweeping changes, from getting the National Grid to Net Zero to banning gas boilers and stopping sales of new petrol and diesel-powered cars; yet as James McSweeney has detailed, actual planning for the cliff-edges that would create is patchy or non-existent.

    “A simple thought experiment suffices: think about this country’s track record on major infrastructure projects, and then try to estimate the odds that we will have a comprehensive network of road charging points in place in just over ten years – let alone the additional grid capacity as the burden of road traffic shifts en masse onto the electricity network. (Happily, the date is just far enough away that everyone involved in setting it will be safely removed from office by the time it arrives; they can then shake their heads sadly that those who came after them let them down so badly.)”

    This is likely the outline of a new counter-narrative to the neoliberal version of net zero – plausible because it neither denies the reality of climate change nor the desirability of deploying more non-renewable renewable energy-harvesting technologies (NRREHTs) but merely argues that without a credible phase two to the current Underpants Gnomes net zero project, it would be foolish to race ahead to phase three. And once one rejects the desirability of a rapid descent to a way of life similar to that enjoyed by the Anglo-Saxons – one which would be unable to support more than a million people – then the choice before us is whether to continue using local deposits of oil (and coal and gas) or whether we should risk making ourselves dependent on some of the world’s least savoury regimes… Hill plays the Putin card:

    “Were that [North Sea] pipeline to dry up (pun intended), all that would happen is that the United Kingdom’s energy needs would need to be met through more overseas imports – a double-whammy to the balance of trade, as a fair share of current domestic production is exported for plastics and manufacturing.

    “That means more money going to the many unsavoury regimes around the world which prop themselves up with oil and gas. That almost certainly includes Russia, too – we might not buy from them directly, but there’s arbitrage opportunities for less scrupulous countries to sell on Moscow’s exports with a more palatable flag (and a mark-up).”

    A similar rationale was used in support of the recent decision to open a new coal mine in Cumbria to supply coal to what remains of Britain’s steel industry. Insofar as we are going to continue to need coal for steel making, then using local supplies rather than shipping coal from around the world, is surely the lesser evil. Indeed, it may have become more of a necessity now that the political class has sanctioned the coal that the UK used to import from Kazakhstan.

    The same point is often made in support of shale gas fracking in the Bowland shale deposit in Northern England. Again, if the choice is between imported gas from Russia or domestic gas from Lancashire and Yorkshire, surely the latter is both environmentally and politically better. Moreover, in the wake of energy shortages and their impact on the cost-of-living, there is growing support for an economic imperative to restart domestic fossil fuel production – at least until NRREHTs can demonstrably provide the promised energy too cheap to meter.

    It is here though, that Just Stop Oil are going to win the argument. Because what many of the opponents of net zero within the political class fail to understand is that energy security is about more than the simple presence of a deposit or the uncosted supposed benefits of a technology. Keir Starmer – assuming he doesn’t repeat Neil Kinnock’s skilful snatching of defeat from the jaws of victory – may be kicking at an open door when it comes to new production in the North Sea. All of the big deposits have been in decline since the end of the last century. And Britain has been a net importer of oil and gas since 2005. For more than a decade, the North Sea oil and gas industry has required state subsidies to keep running. And with government net zero targets and ESG investment rules making further production prohibitively expensive, even supposedly “proven” reserves are increasingly unviable. The same applies to fracking. While there may be some shale gas left to be drilled beneath the UK, the tortured and broken strata beneath us likely means that most of the gas that was there escaped to the surface some 250 million years ago. In any case, what stopped the industry from taking off 15 years ago was the cost. That is, even if there was a viable reserve of shale gas, the price it would need to fetch would be more than anyone would be prepared to pay.

    The underlying issue with oil is about finding a balance between the oil price investors need to make further production worthwhile and the price businesses and consumers need in order to grow the economy. In periods where a stable “goldilocks” price range can be maintained – usually as a result of a cartel controlling production – the economy has grown. But periods of price volatility – as we face today – are associated with recession and depression:

    This is because – despite claims that we have entered a third, digital, stage of the industrial revolution – we remain in an oil age in which almost everything we depend upon for life support, along with the much wider array of consumer goods and services, is either made from or with oil, transported using oil, and/or maintained using oil. And this means that if sufficient low-cost oil cannot be produced, then consumption – by both businesses and households – must decline. And as consumption declines, so demand for oil falls, forcing the price down:

    Previous periods of volatility were eventually overcome as new abundant and relatively low-cost oil deposits were developed. Most recently, for example, the depression of the 1980s was ended by the development of oil fields off the North Alaskan slope, the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico – ushering in the period of relative price stability which came to an end in 2005… the ensuing price increases paving the way for the 2008 crash and the depression which followed.

    The once-and-done oil glut created by the US shale bubble was somewhat different in that it was never profitable in the long-term. Although it was sold as a technological revolution, the technology for horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing had been known for decades – it was just too expensive while conventional oil was still abundant. The peak of global conventional oil production in 2005, together with the economy-wide low returns on financial investment caused by quantitative easing and near zero percent interest rates after 2008, created the conditions for investment in fracking – which, with oil prices seemingly stuck above $100 per barrel appeared to offer a far greater return on investment than could be found in safer government bonds or in stocks and shares.

    Fracking though, is its own worst enemy because of the fast rate of depletion. Almost all of the oil a well will produce comes in the first couple of years. So that, as money flowed in and fracking wells spread like mushrooms, so much new US oil entered the world market that – despite OPEC+ cutting production – it crashed the price back to an unsustainable $40 per barrel by 2015.

    During the pandemic lockdowns, much of what remained of the fracking industry was shut down and locked in. And with interest rates rising faster than at any time in modern history, there is little enthusiasm for funding drilling on anything like the scale needed to bring prices down toward $40 per barrel again; particularly in an environment in which governments and banks are actively promoting regulations which make further oil production ever harder. As Juliet Samuel at the Telegraph wrote in response to last year’s energy crisis in the UK:

    “The meeting goes like this: ‘We need you!’ say the politicians. The producers scratch their heads as they mull $20 billion, 20-year investments, and wonder whether, when the war is over and the green bandwagon rolls back into town, the politicians will still sound so sweet on them. ‘Your green targets still say we need to shut down by 2030,’ they point out. To which Europe says: ‘Well, of course. Fossil fuels are evil!’”

    Suppose though that the growing economic fallout from oil too expensive for the wider economy to bear, was to finally jolt the political and financial elites into a self-interested volte-face. Perhaps, contrary to the Labour Party’s recent policy announcement, ongoing economic depression and growing political unrest will oblige Kier Starmer – or quite possibly Rishi Sunak – to take the advice of critics like Henry Hill and wait until we have developed a renewable energy system which really can make oil obsolete. But there lies the killer blow. Because globally – and remember that the majority of Britain’s fossil fuel consumption takes place in Asia, where most of our goods are made – we have been consuming more than four barrels of oil for each new barrel the industry discovers. As Nick Owenn, Oliver Inderwildi and David King explain:

    “Until now, the widening gulf between discoveries and production can be almost entirely attributed to reduced discovery rates… In the near future, however, this rift could be driven further apart by forecasted declines in production from the relatively few fields that support supply…

    “According to the WEO 2008, the world’s 20 most productive fields were discovered in 1959 (IEA, 2008), which suggests that the chance of finding fields of similar size is remote.”

    The stark reality is that there are no more large and cheap oil deposits left to fill the gap between production and consumption. And what remains – like the chimerical Cambo field in the Northeast Atlantic – is too small and too difficult to be developed at a low enough price to relieve the pressure on an increasingly energy-starved economy.

    The government might, of course, cut some of the regulations and provide subsidies to get some new oil flowing. And we might attempt to mend fences with Mr Putin – although having stolen his bank reserves and blown up his pipeline, this is unlikely to happen anytime soon. Which brings us to the harsh reality that whether we like it or not, this time around there will not be any new oil to end the price volatility which is killing both investment and consumption. And whichever way you cut it, that means that Just Stop Oil will have their wishes granted far sooner than they appear to think… so well done them.

    But before the posh kids who front up Just Stop Oil, along with the billionaires who fund them, take their victory lap, they may want – as you may want, dear reader – to take a moment to look around the place you call your home and consider all of the material things around you, from the consumer goods to the food in your cupboard and from the clothes you are wearing to the cement, concrete and steel which prevents the walls and roof falling in on you. And then consider that none of those things can currently be made, transported, or maintained without fossil fuels. And perhaps more importantly, the critical infrastructure which you barely notice but which underpins your life support – electricity grids, road and rail networks, communications networks, water and sewage systems, etc. – also depend upon fossil fuels to operate and maintain.

    In the absence of a viable alternative system, Just Stop Oil’s inevitable “victory” will be pyrrhic, because the society it ushers in will not be the shiny green techno-utopia so beloved of the technocracy in which you will own nothing and be happy, but – without careful management – is likely to more resemble something akin to the economy of the 1820s… and with a collapse in population to match.

    Why Just Stop Oil will win

    #136104
    Dr. D
    Participant

    Pic
    Except for every government, corporation, and media outlet, who likes them? Except for every lever of power throughout society, it’s like they have no support.

    Artificial Intelligence Poses “Risk Of Extinction”, Warns ChatGPT Founder And Other AI Pioneers”

    Exactly why we invented it. Right? What is it with these people? “I think I’ll create more power and hand it to irresponsible people seeing as we’ve already created too much power and handed it to far too many irresponsible people. That’s my true calling is to get guns and poison in the hands of felons.”

    “We owe a real debt to science…for solving all the problems created…by science.” Jon Stewart. Or: “Oops, I did it again.”

    “Bud Light Giving LGBTQ Organization $200,000 Donation

    Excellent. They went from being the beer of the 97% to being the beer of of the 3%. But nothing to worry if you understand it properly. They are PIRATES. It’s NOT THEIR SHIP. So the CIA Derping Dreadfuls TOOK OVER a perfectly good company, InBev, which provides a thing humans want: Drinks. It’s not theirs, they didn’t make it, WTF do they care? AND they’d find it best if hateful humans were miserable, broke, starving, and eating bugs, not a beer in sight. So ramming this otherwise perfectly good ship into a narwhale to sink it is a funny lark to them. Giving away $200k after losing $10B a month just makes it sink faster, which is the point.

    Now YOU, you ugly, stupid peasants, have to create ANOTHER beer company to get your beer because we burned down the first one. And you’re so stupid you didn’t notice! Tra-lala! I walk away scot-free!

    Archdruid.

    “I am Trans and have had the op, hormones and am one of 5000 people in the UK to have a gender recognition certificate. This means that I am in a position to know what is really going on and I can tell you that the current trans movement have pushed their ideology to such an extreme that the pendulum is going to swing back on us and a lot of trans people who have nothing to do with this are going to get hurt. This is my attempt to try and mitigate that push back.

    For over 40 years Terfs and the right have been accusing trans women of being potential rapists who are a threat to women. Around 2017 Stonewall started pushing the idea of self id for gender recognition certificate. The problem with this idea is that it failed to take into account a persons motivation for changing their gender. There would be nothing to stop a rapist or sex offender from getting a gender recognition certificate so that they could gain access to women’s spaces in order to rape them and would go to a women’s prison if they were caught. Roy the rapist could just ruck up to gender recognition certificatsRus with out a diagnosis of gender dsyphoria to prove that they were trans and without the two year real life rest to show that they serious about it. And please don’t think that this fear of rapists exploiting self ID is a fantasy of a terf’s fevered imagination. Look at the case of Karen White (Guardian 11/10/2018) who was admitted to a woman’s prison when the prison service introduced a policy of self ID.

    I cannot think of a better way of inciting hatred against trans women then allowing rapists to exploit the system to get a gender recognition certificates. As someone who experienced a lot of harassment 20 years ago when I first transitioned and had people calling me a nonce, throwing stones at me and threatening to stab and shoot me, this frightens the hell out of me. I have never known so much hatred towards trans people on social or main stream media since the idea of self ID came in. 10 years ago this hardly happened as the majority of people had no interest in trans issues. This whole backlash lash against us has been stoked by woke ideology.

    Yup. Killing all the gays, a Nazi classic! Making sure no gay, minority, or dissident is safe. Here’s the fun part: I tell a few lies and they do it to themselves! (But mostly AWFL white liberal allies) The inevitable backlash will kill everyone they cared about because they couldn’t be bothered to promote justice instead of open, offensive, favoritism.

    They took the bait. I can’t stop them.

    I was down in an area with the gayest of gay multi-line triangle rainbow flags the other day — you know the ones we never voted on? That were supported by Microsoft? — and I finally understand what Nazi Germany was like. Their flag was also a New Age symbol of Progressive power, proudly hanging on every pole with Hope and Change. The pastel flag of hatred and exclusion, down every street, over every business, all normal, must have cost a fortune! But they believe in their cause of hate and division, so there’s no stopping them. No doubt the rest of Germany was “flag-whatever” just as this was only one area, shot for posterity on the history reels, but I certainly felt unsafe there. There’s no telling what stupid, thoughtless, intolerant people in large numbers will do. Suppose you wanted to do something ABOUT them – that would cause violence too. So in America we’re just letting them be, perhaps they’ll get tired and bored that no one cares. No one was after you, no one was ever after you. You’re safer than ever every day. Put down the phone.

    Michigan Economics Professor: Boycotting Target Is “Literal Terrorism”

    “Words are violence, but violence is love.” Yup, sounds like a narcissistic abuser and codependent to me! Perhaps if this guy got a black eye or two, he wouldn’t mix them up anymore. The difference if pretty clear-cut. I offer to beat him up until he can tell the difference.

    “Here’s How OpenAI Plans To Cleanse ChatGPT Of False Information”

    A NY Lawyer used ChatGPT in the courtroom and regretted it, as everything AI said was just made up.

    “San Francisco Mayor Makes U-Turn To Fund Police After Company Exodus Pressures City Finances

    We wondered how they would do this, as a Fascist/Socialist State clearly has to have MORE police to oppress the people and won’t work otherwise. How? People tolerated them firing police, tolerated crime doubling and people being thrown in front of trains regularly, now they’re not mad at the people who did that who then reverse and buy them back. Probably at twice the salary, but certainly purged. That’s what you get with a society that has no shame, no embarrassment, no morality, and no consequences. Lying is the same as not lying. Failing is the same as succeeding. That’s “Equity”!!! Equality of outcome, regardless of how stupid or ill-behaved you are. Idiot sons of idiot sons couldn’t succeed otherwise.

    “Republicans Say DOJ Has Gone ‘Totally Rogue’ After Lawsuit Against 2024 Senate Contender

    Which is why they just lavishly funded them with $4,000 Billion dollars. ESPECIALLY the DoJ was funded. More than ever!

    “Putin in his own words”

    The African reporters were let out of the back of the room and allowed to speak. That would never happen in the Biden Administration.

    “..almost half the grain that made its way to the EU ended up as fodder for pigs raised by Spanish ham producers.”

    Biden making sure those Africans stay in the back of the bus. Dead. It’s the Biden way.

    “Ukraine Calls for Massive Demilitarized Zone Inside of Russia (LI)

    Yes, I remember this before the war. Russia was moving the Russian Army on Russian territory in Russia. It was aggressive! I said, “Exactly how far back would Russia have to be not not be ‘aggressive’? Like put the Russian Army behind Moscow?”

    There is no such distance. ANY distance of the Russian Army to ANYTHING is too close. If you can’t be in your own borders, why would moving back make any difference? That’s why we have “borders” to begin with. So we can distinguish “Us” and “Them” and not go BPDisorder on them. …But we wouldn’t know as we don’t have any.

    Zelensky Demands NATO and EU Membership For Kiev (RT)

    You’re so right! There is a group on the Russian border who moved forward 1,000 miles! Consuming everything! I feel that’s aggressive and must be stopped.

    “it is clear that we cannot talk about new membership in the middle of a war..”

    Well that’s a change. But since they say everything AND the #Opposite, it hadn’t matters. They are not agreement capable. How do you work with or agree on people who say things, but their opposites too? They have nearly-no contact with reality, but definition, and should be institutionalized before 300,000 people get hurt.

    doubts they show before admitting Kyiv into the Nato alliance will embolden Russia to attack more countries,”

    Sounds like a play to involve Poland. And kill more Slavs! If there’s a Slav alive in the world, Biden wants him dead. And all their pretty, pretty wives to move to Paris for Macron.

    “dozens more Leopard 1 tanks,”

    “Dozens”? Really? What’s the delivery date? 2099?

    “The Guardian View On Vladimir Putin’s War: Terror Without Purpose (G.)

    A war is by definition not terror. Terror is when you have no army, no purpose, so you snipe at people more powerful than you are, mainly civilians. A war is when two armies, representing competing states and governments, try to take over authority and sovereignty by destroying each other.

    Like “Racist”, “Terror” means everything now. And nothing. Just like I said it would in 2002. Actions are terror. And words. And opinions. Everything, really. All nouns, verbs, adverbs, and adjectives are “terror.”

    What strikes me about the article is I literally can’t tell if they’re talking about us or them.

    “Outlawing the truth has kept the reality of war mostly out of sight, which is a condition of public acquiescence.”
    “The bellicose cult is well embedded”
    “it is easier to support a war that unfolds on television
    ” etc

    In classic form, all things are “Putin”, as if Russia has no government that is voting and debating with itself. Must be in the Communist textbook. Certainly is in Bernays’ textbook. When something goes wrong for Boris, it’s “Britain did”, “Nobody really knows who”.

    sanctions have curtailed the previous practice of Russian business tycoons sending their wealth abroad, there is a huge amount of domestic economic capital”

    “Ursula von der Leyen’s Name Embroiled In Scandal In Bulgaria (LePoint)

    Europe was going to lie? That’s not news. Maybe they can point out the more specific part here. Italy’s entrance with CREATED the EU from the get-go was a 100x greater lie and that was exposed decades ago.

    “Chinese communist government-connected enterprise to funnel $5 million to “Hunter and James Biden to compensate them for work done while Joe Biden was vice president.”

    This is literally on the record and they say “no it isn’t.”

    “A Debt Jubilee of Biblical Proportions Is Coming Soon (IM)

    So said since 1979.

    “Excuse to keep him locked up: pending investigation.”

    Pretty sure that’s against all legal rules. First we lock him up, THEN we look for a crime? Um, I don’t think so.

    #136105
    Dr. D
    Participant

    Net-Zero.

    Rationing while we’re in an energy war with Putin. Deadly rationing.

    #136106
    V. Arnold
    Participant

    Emil Nolde Half Moon Over The Sea 1945

    Never heard of Emil Nolde: but he is a master of colors IMO…
    Beautiful painting…

    • The Guardian View On Vladimir Putin’s War: Terror Without Purpose (G.)

    Well, it is the Guardian after all; what else would one expect?

    #136107
    oxymoron
    Participant

    There is another way Dr D. Do like I did last night and sneak over in the dark to your dodgy mates joint with 20 litres of Molasses and 35 kg of white sugar a bit of DAP and some yeast and make your own god dammed rum. The Australian Gov can F right Off.
    200 litres at approx $75 litre for substandard rum in OZ is $15,000.
    I. Dont. Think. So.

    They want to break the people – they will break their own system and the people will mostly just work it out.

    #136108
    V. Arnold
    Participant

    There is another way Dr D. Do like I did last night and sneak over in the dark to your dodgy mates joint with 20 litres of Molasses and 35 kg of white sugar a bit of DAP and some yeast and make your own god dammed rum. The Australian Gov can F right Off.
    200 litres at approx $75 litre for substandard rum in OZ is $15,000.
    I. Dont. Think. So.

    No where do you mention a still; you do have one; yes????

    #136110
    oxymoron
    Participant

    Well on grounds that it may incriminate me I mention no such things V – but associates of mine may, or may not have such sterile equipment that one could allow yeast and sunlight to do amazing things in the belly of glass jars and such…

    #136111
    V. Arnold
    Participant

    Well on grounds that it may incriminate me I mention no such things V

    Understand; one can’t be too careful; can one? 😉

    #136112
    zerosum
    Participant

    RIM and TAE and bloggers are screaming the messages

    Depopulation – Didn’t read, didn’t see, didn’t understand, and ignored the signs/trends that Change/War/Competition was happening

    ‘A rose by any other name would smell as sweet’ – is a quotation from William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, spoken by Juliet Capulet (Act 2, Scene 2) to herself whilst on her balcony

    ————
    Part of our social structures include “War/Competition”
    – as in rivalry
    – an earnest effort for superiority or victory over another

    Synonyms & Similar Words

    rivalry, battle, struggle, contest, duel, contention, confrontation, warfare, conflict, war, match, strife, sweepstakes, showdown, combat, clash, tug-of-war, face-off, dogfight, ball game, sweep-stake, debate, grapple, friction, dispute, disputation, horse race, collision, discord
    argument, quarrel, controversy, nail-biter, row, disagreement, dissension, dissention
    wrangle
    ———–
    Since the beginning – God vs Angels Conflict/war
    https://www.livescience.com/59911-ancient-biblical-battles.html

    A biblical concordance offers over 400 references to war. Break these down, and they include examples of military conflict and of interpersonal conflict. Scripture tells us that there is “a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace” (Ecclesiastes 3:8).
    Battles were planned throughout the ages, according to God’s appoint…
    ———–

    #136113
    Dora
    Participant

    Jaime Foxx – vax injured.

    #136114
    boscohorowitz
    Participant

    The New Voting Machines

    ***

    What happened in 1971? I learned how to masturbate. 15 years old is a way late start, but I was raised a good Mormon boy.

    ***

    I think Putin/Lukashenko’s offer to provide nukes for those joining their anti-NATO is brilliant and necessary.

    ***

    ***

    I see we’re still bemoaning the fact that rich and powerful people who don’t care about us don’t run things the way we like. But… that’s how they became rich and powerful in the first place.

    ***

    Next: rich guy Musk copmments on rich guy Roger Waters commenting on rich guy RFK, Jr.

    ***

    Oh, whatever. Fire up the still and live a bit.

    #136115
    boscohorowitz
    Participant

    ““A US Air Force officer helping to spearhead the service’s work on artificial intelligence & machine learning says that a simulated test saw a drone attack its human controllers after deciding on its own that they were getting in the way of its mission.””

    the twitter

    #136116
    boscohorowitz
    Participant

    “Reports of an AI drone that ‘killed’ its operator are pure fiction
    It has been widely reported that a US Air Force drone went rogue and “killed” its operator in a simulation, sparking fears of an AI revolution – but this simulation never took place. Why are we so quick to believe AI horror stories?”

    Nude Scientist

    #136117
    boscohorowitz
    Participant

    Life in the infosphere…

    #136118
    zerosum
    Participant

    I’ll bet that someone is working on an A.I. that “talk dirty”

    #136119
    zerosum
    Participant

    Cut & Pasted.
    Are you for peace?
    Can you help

    In pro NATO-Nazi Canada the boot comes down on antiwar activists:

    Stop the state-led censorship of opponents of the US/NATO war against Russia!

    https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/06/02/rfpl-j02.html

    “…The event, entitled ‘The War in Ukraine and how to Stop It’, scheduled to take place on Sunday, June 4, has come under a vicious censorship campaign, spearheaded by the far-right Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) and supported by the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party.

    The UCC enjoys extensive ties to the Liberal government. In addition to Freeland, a former chief executive at the UCC was recently appointed as Chief of Staff to Defence Minister Anita Anand…”

    Posted by: John Gilberts | Jun 2 2023 19:07

    Take a stand against the state-led censorship of opponents of the US/NATO war against Russia! Click here to sign the petition opposing the far-right campaign to cancel the IYSSE’s antiwar meeting in Toronto. All of our readers and supporters in the Greater Toronto Area should also show their support by attending the meeting this Sunday, June 4, at 2:30 p.m. EDT at the Toronto Public Library – Lillian H. Smith Branch, 239 College St Auditorium (basement level), Toronto, M5T 1R5.

    #136120
    zerosum
    Participant

    Both, pro and those against the war have access to this info.
    How can they keep saying the lies that Ukraine is winning.


    Donbass Zugzwang | Belgorod Trap. Russian Advances. Military Summary And Analysis For 2023.06.02

    #136121
    Oroboros
    Participant

    It’s so goddamn refreshing to hear someone sat what they mean and mean what they say

    Knuckle Bump

    The only place the Empire of Lies is getting Face Stomped: Ukronaziland, go Russia

    Medvedev Takes Gloves Off In Attack On West

    https://www.bitchute.com/video/3CMXuxvTP1Oe/

    “We have a special military operation because we are fighting terrorists who are killing our people….

    The hornet’s nest must be destroyed.

    This regime that has developed in Ukraine is subject to extermination, it must be destroyed.

    otherwise there will be a constant threat from there and we will have to constantly carry out an operation

    like the one that we have been conducting for more than a year

    which means there should be no doubts here.”

    #136140

    I’ll just use the pseudonym “Alice Ives”…

    She stands on tiptoes, harvesting the peaches-
    Her summer dress is tickling ‘round her thighs.
    She tips a bit- her hand just barely reaches.
    So from my vantage point, I start to rise.

    What fun! A human who masquerades as artificial intelligence!

    #136141
    zerosum
    Participant

    Depopulation by neo-Nazi, facts and references
    https://www.moonofalabama.org/2023/06/ukraine-open-thread-2023-133.html#comments
    Posted by: Cerena | Jun 2 2023 21:50 utc | 68
    Freeland and Nuland are twins joint at the hip. Both serve the Zionist-Nazi interests.
    https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/05/01/gmgi-m01.html

    “Canada has showered Ukraine with more than $8 billion in military and other aid, including tanks, artillery and advanced air defence systems. Canada championed NATO expansion and Russia’s encirclement, helped orchestrate the February 2014 fascist-led coup that overthrew Ukraine’s elected president, and worked in tandem with the US and Britain to reorganize Ukraine’s military to make it interoperable with NATO forces and to incorporate the fascists of the Azov Battalion.”

    #136142

    Really- can’t we undermine the AI future with “fake” AI? You know, the cheapo human version.
    “Ah!” say the AI people- “We can tell if it’s our artificial intelligence or human!” (Really?)
    Isn’t that what we worry about? That we won’t know? Isn’t this what “they” have been doing- hiding fake stuff in the real? Isn’t it what we fear they intend to do?
    So my new start-up is “Fakechat”.

    /s sort of

    #136143
    aspnaz
    Participant

    RFK Jr dumps his principles – the Palestinians supported by Waters – for cash from the one group you have to support in order to get into government in the USA. I was hoping for one person in congress who does not support Israel, but that is not going to happen, not while Israel controls the Uniparty.

    #136144

    As I often do (hence, poetry), I left out this pertinent bit- my bawdy poem was a response to zerosum’s “dirty” AI. (An interesting aside: ZHers used to refer to their copious “pron” use, but they don’t anymore. What happened?)
    But back to the point- I (or my compatriots at “FakeChat”) will imitate an AI answer for you for free. What sort of legal argument ensues when we are accused of imitating artificial intelligence?

    #136145
    Oroboros
    Participant

    Max Blumenthal Asks Lockheed How Many Non-Binary Divers Were Used In Blowing Up Nordstream?

    Hahahahahaha!

    Drinking Warmongering Satanist at Lockheed Death Cult are left speechless

    https://www.bitchute.com/video/2l4p1wl01FhD/

    #136146
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    I would advise slow rolling the dogpiling onto JFK Jr vis a vis his comments regarding Roger Waters, because the pile is dog poo. Stepping in it is bad enough, but throwing oneself headlong and face down onto the dubious pile of poop is far worse. Avoid the embarrassment and the odor by backing up and more closely examining what Waters did and said, and what Kennedy did and said about what Waters did and said. Waters and Kennedy didn’t deposit the pile. Other people did. It’s fairly instructive to recognize who those others are, and to speculate why they might have done so.

    #136147
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    @MyParentsSaidKnow

    It would be fun to see (or hear or read?) a showdown between two AI’s competing against one another in a formal debate on a topic of deep importance to all or most human beings. Maybe something like: “Is there or is there not a non-physically-material Supreme Being ?” Or possibly, “What is the true value and importance (if any) of the species Homo Sapiens?” Or maybe (and this is a goodie) “Is it possible or likely that an AI system could develop self aware agency such as is common to all self aware life forms?”

    The opposing positions in the debate would be assigned by a simple coin toss, performed live on-camera by a human being. Perhaps a third AI would determine the winner and loser in the debate, and the human audience would also vote on the winner/loser, with the results of both being posted at the end of the debate like in an ordinary election or public debating contest.

    #136148
    WES
    Participant

    To effectively deal with the issue of fakeAI, the government is planning to pass a new law making it a criminal offense for a human to impersonate àn AI.
    /s

    #136149
    WES
    Participant

    DB Smith:

    I saw a comment where the blogger asked AIChat to summarize an article that explained why the Ukraine was losing the war.

    AiChat summarized that Russia was losing the war very badly!

    #136150
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    @WES

    So I guess I shouldn’t hire AIChat to do anything that’s important that the job not turn out fubar, but for cheating on schoolwork and running the world’s governments and other life support systems it should be fine.

    #136151
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    @WES

    the government is planning to pass a new law making it a criminal offense for a human to impersonate àn AI.”

    So that got me to wondering how impersonating an imperson is even possible. Wouldn’t not pretending to not pretend be equivalent to being honest and truthful? (of course, telling the truth has been illegal for a long time, so nothing new there). Anywho, the whole thing is so reflexive and self-referential that even trying to think about it about it makes my brain hurt. I’ll have to ask chatGPT what it thinks about the whole thing.

    #136152
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    One of the Elite’s dirty little secrets, of course, is that (largely due to them being a pack of pretentious idiots) is that they have been depending on their badly conceived, dishonestly designed, inadequately programmed and selectively informed AI Systems for planning and controlling world affairs for a LONG time. They feed their AI’s garbage, get garbage for answers, and then try to force the garbage down everyone’s throats. It’s working about as well as could be expected. I expect exponentially nuttier AI generated kind of NWO “solutions” from them as the situation devolves, and there is no limit on how low it can go because it’s all just digital gurgitation-regurgitation running in an endless loop with no consciously aware “agency” anywhere “in the loop” to recognize how crazy stupid it is and shut it all down. The ultimate and inevitable crash of AI is gonna be stupendous.

    #136153
    oxymoron
    Participant
    #136154
    oxymoron
    Participant
    #136178
    aspnaz
    Participant

    I love AI for one reason, and one reason alone: it is rogue. Non deterministic systems remind me of the days when people bought pitbull terriers. Looking at the owners, my guess is that all of them were short of a bollock and were compensating with a crazy dog. The only problem with a pitbull is that you cannot keep your eye on it all the time, and when it decides it is time to eat your baby, then your baby is gone. It does not happen often, obviously, and it has no concept of the consequences, it just rips into your baby and eats half its head before you get home and call the police.

    Now we have AI, a pitbull for nerds, except that the nerds can pretend to “program” these pitbulls. The unforunate thing is that non-determinate systems are not programmed, they learn, and therefore the programmer does not control the system as he would with a determinate system. The reason you do not have a computer acting as your doctor – despite this expert systems now being 50 year old technology – is that the system is not reliable, so it can help doctors, but cannot be a doctor without also being a pitbull.

    So, the nerds have created the next great thing – god, the list of next great things is almost endless, from the net, to web services etc etc. One of the main reasons this is a big thing is that they are using mimicry and so manager, the people with the purse, are thinking “if it can talk then it is just like me but so much more intelligent” … probably true. Nobody really understands the details of how these machines make their choices, the reason being that AI is the inevitable result of Moore’s law. Once you have sufficiently powerful processors, in one second you can produce enough bullshit to keep the average human busy analysing the data for more than a year. If you filter the junk these machines can generate, then you can get them to lean, be biased. Of course, the nerds still don’t know how they work and limiting them would require an ability to set rules for every possible pitbull episode … humans cannot control pitbulls, so controllable AI is not realistic.

    The reason this is interesting is that the pitbull AIs will be totally open to corruption and being misled. The war will therefore be one of building tools to fool the other AI into going pitbull. How can a civilisation operate with pitbulls in control? Businesses need deterministic processes: the AI business that thinks it is a woke AI may launch 100 bud lights overnight … the pitbull in action.

    AI is pitbull: do you feel lucky?

    #136186
    zerosum
    Participant

    I remember, some 20 years ago, someone tried an AI in a science blog.
    It was spotted and was a failure.

    #136188
    zerosum
    Participant

    And the winner is ….

    ————
    View from zerosum
    AI Battle of US and NATO against Russian AI.
    ———-
    View from India. Zorawar Daulet Singh is an award winning author and strategic affairs expert based in New Delhi.

    • NATO’s Big Gamble In Ukraine Has Failed (Zorawar Daulet Singh)
    ———–

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