Internet thought of the day: It doesn’t matter if there is no real charge to prosecute anyone; the process will be the punishment.
Something to look forward to, file under ‘bohica’: Biden Regime to Reinstate COVID-19 Restrictions Beginning with Mask Mandate as “COVID Cases Rise”, Say TSA and Border Patrol Whistleblowers.
Well, it’s 8 AM, time to go outside to my Office. Lots of yard work to get done before it gets too hot. Going to be in the 90’s with humidity the entire week coming up. But my neighbor thinks it will be an early winter and I think he is right. Getting out into the yard takes my mind off the S show we have. Priorities.
THE CASE FOR TRUMPTIMISM [from Powerline]
“The survey results Scott cites certainly offer powerful evidence of the imprudence of nominating Trump again. And yet. . .
Let’s consider some facts that argue the case for what I call “Trumptimism” as distinct from optimism. (As podcast listeners know, “Lucretia” likes to attack me for being an “infernal optimist.” Let’s see what she makes of this!)
Trump is today, quite simply, the dominant and defining political figure in the world. Full stop. He’s almost Hegelian. In some way that can’t be rationally explained (which would make Hegel’s head explode, but that’s part of the fun), it is hard to see how he can be stopped. Like Patton in that great scene in the movie, he must be allowed to fulfill his destiny. It would not surprise me at all if, against all odds and indictments, he ends up back in the White House in 2025. Homer nods—along with Hegel.
The surveys Scott notes are likely correct in conveying general negative public sentiment about Trump. If the election is decided on assessments of Trump’s character, he loses. But. . .
If the election is a referendum on Biden against Trump, it is surely much closer. Consider: I think there was only one reputable poll in 2016 that found Trump ahead in the popular vote, and in 2020 there were no polls that ever found him ahead. In the last few months there have been several reputable polls showing Trump ahead of Biden, in some cases by 5 points or more. The indictments have blunted that position. But several polls this week still put Biden ahead by just 1 point—essentially a dead heat. If Trump and Biden are only 1 point apart in November of next year, Trump wins. Worth remembering, too, that down-ballot Republicans mostly ran ahead of Trump in both 2016 and 2020.
It is astounding that with all the indictments of Trump, he’s still polling even with Biden. (See Point #1 above.)
The hazard for Trump and Republicans is if Democrats pull a bait and switch, and push Biden and Harris aside in favor of a younger ticket (Newsom-Klobuchar, or Polis-Whitmer/Whitmer-Polis), which would likely defeat Trump.”
1. Reliance on polls is always foolish and especially so at this point in the cycle. Polls are generally awful and particularly so in times of shifting attitudes. It’s impossible to properly guess about the electorate’s makeup so as to adjust the results from the samples.
2. Remember when all the experts were sure that Clinton’s lies would do serious damage to him. And it didn’t. The conventional wisdom about scandal, crimes, and corruption proved totally inaccurate.
3. Trump’s crimes are all fiction. How does an electorate digest relentless persecution and prosecution for fictitious crimes? No one knows. Never happened before. No one has any way to know.
4. Biden’s crimes and corruption are real. And we are just now beginning to get some real coverage of all of it from the news media. Will it matter? No one knows.
5. The inverted real curve and a host of other economic indicators have been pointing to recession. What will the economy be like in 12 months? No one knows. We’ve never had this kind of fiscal orgy during an expansion. Most sane people realize it will cause all manner of ugly dislocations over time. But when? No one knows.
6. How will the covidiocy impact political affiliation? One would think that the voters would punish those who pushed the mandates, the censorship, the relentless lies and the reckless destruction of the health and futures of so many. One would think. But who knows?
The hubris required to state with any certainty how all this will play out is off the charts. Never fumble the humble.
A group of frat kids from Cumberland once went to Atlanta to play John Heisman’s Georgia Tech football team. They did it to save the school $500. They got crushed 222-0. It didn’t take long for most of the kids to stop playing hard. No point ending up in the hospital. At some point in the game a Cumberland ball carrier fumbled the ball, and it bounced toward a teammate. Having fumbled it, he implored his friend, “Pick it up, pick it up!”
Knowing it would likely be painful to be tackled by a group of large brutes from Tech if he picked it up, the teammate responded, “You fumbled it. You pick it up!”
There’s a whole lot of humble fumbling going on these days. We’d all be wise to pick it up.
“Trump’s crimes are all fiction. How does an electorate digest relentless persecution and prosecution for fictitious crimes? No one knows. Never happened before. No one has any way to know.”
“Biden’s crimes and corruption are real. And we are just now beginning to get some real coverage of all of it from the news media. Will it matter? No one knows.”
This is the simple choice that must be presented to America, Democrats having lost the moral standing to be elected to govern the United States.
There is only one person with the standing and courage to proclaim that fact. If we let the Democrats use lawfare to scare us into casting off Trump, we might as well just let them select what crook gets to be first at the trough next.
I’d rather elect someone who would put the hundreds of lawfare practitioners in fear of their freedom, or in some cases, their lives.
Ack! Criss-cross your cords. If you do a zig-zag, it will pull the garment askew and you will have two knots to tie. Uncomfortable. Also, at the end of the day your knots have been tugged tight for hours.
Another thing that the Republicans need to do is to show the American people that Biden is not the only crook:
Obama knew,
Hillary knew,
Holder knew,
Pelosi knew,
Comey knew,
Brennan knew,
Kerry knew,
Dozens of White House staff knew,
Dozens of House staff knew,
Dozens of Senate staff knew,
Dozens of Diplomats knew,
Dozens of Bureaucrats knew.
You begin to understand why the mad gang-up on Trump. He has the ability, with a Republican Congress, of destroying the Democrat Party. If he does not get to do so, the Democrats will complete the job of destroying the integrity of the US government, a task they must increasingly view as existential to themselves.
Just another open-thread comment about something I read.
At “The American Mind,” David Goldman (aka Spengler) recently published an article entitled “Western Civilization, Chinese Style” (https://tinyurl.com/ms5prcfp).
Goldman links China’s rise to its appropriation of what was once called Western Civilization. At the same time, American Marxists (aka The Woke) have abandoned our civilization for tribal culture and totalitarian government.
Of course, Goldman doesn’t argue that China’s appropriation of Western high culture is the sole cause of China’s economic growth. But he does assert that a large part of China’s cultural success is paradoxically due to this particular kind of westernization.
I’ve never been to China, and I’m no expert on its politics or history, but I think Goldman’s brief article is worth a look.
Here are two example paragraphs:
“Chinese IP theft isn’t simply a matter of this or that technological advancement. It’s much deeper and broader than that: it’s about claiming and replicating the source of innovation. China is engaged in what might be termed the boldest act of IP theft in world history, or to borrow a Woke expression, the most egregious act of cultural appropriation ever. It is ‘stealing’ Western high culture.”
“The America of John F. Kennedy could outpace China in science and technology. But that also was a country that devoted more than 10% of the federal budget to R&D, compared to just 3% today, and a White House that featured performances by Pablo Casals rather than rappers. If we abandon the spiritual sources of our creativity, we will have no one but ourselves to blame if China dominates the world economy.”
Goldman links China’s rise to its appropriation of what was once called Western Civilization.
Goldman has been pushing that for years. There might be some truth to it, but Goldman’s record is mixed. He is in love with grand ideas.
I’ve been to China but that doesn’t make me an expert. This is what I saw:
A polluted country. Polluted air, water, and litter along the roads.
A country with beautiful new buildings that had water in the faucets that wasn’t safe to drink, and rudimentary toilet facilities in the Shanghai airport. I call it the big diamonds, ragged underwear approach to infrastructure.
Very crowded cities. Lots of people everywhere. All competing for space. When I was at the Great Wall, I had to push and shove to make my way through the crowd. They’re used to that kind of crowding.
Hard working and enterprising people. It snowed the day we were going to the Great Wall. As we left our hotel, there were vendors with warm hats, gloves, and even parkas waiting near the bus that was taking us to the Wall. When we visited Tiananmen Square, there were vendors hawking all kinds of small merchandise that could be easily carried. Everywhere we went, people were hard at work.
A reverence for their history. The cleanest, most well-kept sites we visited were historical sites from previous dynasties.
They don’t mind manhandling the round-eyed devils. Airport security gave extra attention to we Americans. It was just short of a strip search and was not done with any gentleness.
We could see they’ve come a long way and recognize their work ethic and competitiveness. But with the size of their population, the investment and enterprises they need to continue to raise everyone’s standard of living is an ongoing problem.
Communism didn’t seem to be evident except in Beijing where the seat of government is next to Tiananmen Square.
An interesting place to visit. Too bad they want so badly to prove the superiority of their system that they’re willing to be belligerent toward other nations.
Because of the imbalances in their economy and the sheer numbers of people, they could end up with an economic nightmare at some point. Time will tell.
The author of this piece seems to believe that they’re actually going to allow Trump to do this(!)
But—just a second—what if TRYING to prove that the 2020 elections were stolen IS (or will soon be) a Federal CRIME?? (E.g., 200 years in Leavenworth, with half off for good behavior??)
Heck, what if SUCCESSFULLY PROVING that the 2020 election were stolen IS (or will soon be) a Federal Crime??
Barry Meislin:
I would think that proving it would be a capital offense.
Honest A. Blinken at it again.
(Shows us all why he particularly suited to serve in “Biden”‘s cabinet….)
Maur: Lahaina fire ghastliness, as seen and reported by the Daily Mail. The unofficial death toll s far greater than 111 reported. Sources on scene say 480. And with some 1,000 people reported missing, by my reckoning that’s going to tally to around one thousand.
How much of the debris field that’s been search d remain low – only 13% in ne estimate. 25% in another.
Daily Mail:
Support for higher figure dead “comes to light with Southwest flight attendant Sarah Trost, 30, of Sacramento, California, posting a video to TikTok on Tuesday sharing details of a conversation with a part-time morgue worker who drove her shuttle from the airport to her hotel that day.
“Trost said the man had also told her that 480 people have been confirmed dead as Allisen claims, and that authorities have actually only searched 13 percent of Lahaina so far.
“The morgue worker, who is volunteering in the search, also described finding scores of bodies, adding that many were families – including young children – who had died at their homes in each other’s’ arms, unable to escape the flames.
“ ‘He found so many children, children and moms holding each other. Infants, toddlers, the unimaginable. Husbands and wives, whole entire [families] in a room just huddling together, burning to death,’ Trost said.
“ ‘It’s all bones. So he’s grabbing the bones with the ash shoveling them into body bags. They have no more room on the island in the morgue so they’re shipping in containers to hold those body bags.’
“Many of the bodies have been left unrecognizable by the fire with authorities asking friends and family of the more than 1,000 people still missing to submit their DNA so the remains of their loved ones can be identified.”
Ray Van Dune at 12:08 — Do YOU have a copy of Molly Ball’s defensive screed in Time mag, Feb 2021? EVERYONE should. You can’t unblock your grasp of Far Left Democrats and its Uniparty enablers after closely reading it.
Looking at the many Youtube videos of traffic stops, arrests for things like shoplifting, and far more serious offenses, you can observe a pattern of behavior of all involved.
Part of the success of the Left’s Long March which is just coming to fruition is increasing lawlessness and crime–you have often intimidated police–afraid of law suits, notoriety, and being sacrificed to leftist mobs over ginned up injustices and racism–declining to make many arrests which they should be making, followed by leftist judges and prosecutors declining to prosecute criminal acts, or being extremely lenient, and perps who think that they have far more rights–when stopped–then they do.
But boy can they resist, the women especially cursing the cops, punching, kicking, scratching, spitting, and screeching their heads off, the “sovereign citizens ” refusing to produce documents, give their names, cooperate, or get out of their cars.
And in many cases those arrested for lesser offenses have the charges dismissed or very much downgraded, and they are released and out on the street the next day or two after arrest.
The “sovereign citizens,” claim to not be subject to the authority of any Federal or State laws, deliberately don’t have or produce drivers licenses, use phony or no license plates, claim that they do not have to obey police officers who initiate traffic stops, don’t have to identify themselves, try to demand that a “supervisor” come on the scene and, among other lunacy–make the ridiculous claim that, since they have supposedly patented their names, the cops have to pay them thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars to get them to disclose those names–to use them, that they can’t be stopped while driving their cars because they are not driving but are “traveling,” and a whole host of other fictitious legal doctrines and rights which don’t exist–the voluminous phony supposedly “legal” paperwork they hand the cops and courts included.
Talk about chewing up many hours of many policemen’s time, which could be much better spent investigating, or even–heaven forbid–actually stopping much more serious crime.
And that’s what happens when you don’t strictly and vigorously enforce the law–respect for the law decreases, lawlessness and crime become more widespread and increase, and law breakers become more and more defiant.
@ JJ “I’ve been to China but that doesn’t make me an expert. This is what I saw:”
• Your post brought back fond memories for me – and led me to dig up some old emails & pics tonight.
• 100% agree: a) had to push and shove, b) A polluted country, c) Communism didn’t seem to be evident
a) My GF Y met me at Shang Hai airport, and I almost got separated from her getting on the bullet train to Nanjing because a family with young children pushed in between us at the last moment – and I did not want to shove the children to get on as the doors were closing. Grabbed Y by her coat collar a jerked her out of the train – before she could even react – then explained what happened. She smiled and told me: It’s China, shove them – any entrance/ exit: trains, buses, elevators, stairs, etc. – otherwise, you will never get anywhere. She was right.
b) We were stocking up on some odds & ends before hitting the road, and I started to set one of the bags down on the sidewalk. Y shrieked: No. She then smiled and told me to never let anything but your shoes touch the filthy sidewalks or roads in China – the Chinese throw anything & everything on the ground, eject spit & mucous constantly, let their kids pee & poop everywhere, etc. She was right.
c) After a few days in Nanjing I commented to my GF that I expected to see more evidence of the Communist party. She told me that this is still very much a communist country. And that she made the same comment to one of her uni colleagues when she first arrived several years ago. Their response was: Yes, we now look Western on the surface; but this country is till 100% communist underneath – do not be fooled. He went on to point out that the reason the uni provides on campus apartments to all the foreign staff is so that they can monitor you: apt bugged, trash searched, etc. She was right
Note: Laos – which had just recently opened up to westerners – looked exactly like I though China would (communist party banners, flags, military everywhere).
• ~30 years ago, I spent a winter break in China & Loas – had a GF that was a Japanese citizen, and she was teaching at Nanjing University (grad school, Japanese literature). Had a terrific time, and pulled some thoughts that I shared with friends – please see below. Again, thank you for bringing back some fond memories.
***
• The Shang Hai to Nanjing Bullet train was definitely the way to go – smooth, modern, fast.
• But all of the other trains were transport & entertainment.
• Traveling in countries with populations over a billion means everything is always crowded & chaotic.
• Massive train stations, jam packed with people, guys on bullhorns barking out directions, people pushing & shoving, barely controlled chaos. Plus, we were traveling during New Years – everyone one road to ancestral home.
• Y would figure out which ticket window we needed to get to – different windows sold different destination tickets, about 50 windows, little signage – rarely English outside of big cities – lines were massive – so getting right really mattered.
• Then Y would press up behind me, hold on tight, and I would slowly move through the crowd like an iceberg (would not mow people down, but would not be stopped either) – stepping aside, personal space, etc. are not the Chinese way, and I was so much bigger than everyone else.
• Being bigger also came in handy when it came to keeping our place in line, people would try to cut in line constantly if they spotted even a 6-inch gap – they few who tried with me got hip checked into space (put a smile on everyone else’s face).
• Once we left the big cities, folks were not used to seeing Westerners.
• Entire car – jam packed with people on benches, trash 6″ inches deep, etc. – would go silent when I boarded.
• Girls would ask Y if they could take a pic with me – part rock star/ part freak show.
• Would not see another western face until we reached another big city.
• Had an overnight ticket one time, car packed & stacked with 3-high bunk beds from end-to-end, no seats, no heat.
• Gave ticket to conductor, climb into bunk – pillow & wool blanket – and she would wake you at your destination.
• It was winter, snow coming down hard, left clothes & wool cap on, was warm under my blanket, nippy around my face, and I let the train rock me to sleep – I slept GREAT.
• Scored a private cabin one time – nice, but not as many stories.
***
Greetings from Laos PDR. Yep, Laos. And no, I did not get on the wrong flight.
Long-story-short, Y’s’ boss gave her a last minute ‘must do’ assignment – which she could not complete in Oz. And as we talked on Friday night – she stated she was still going to fly to Oz on Sat. But she may not have a job when she gets back. At first, I thought she was kidding. She wasn’t. I told her it wasn’t worth her job – let’s make another plan.
Since she teaches at Nanjing University (China) it made sense for me to meet her there – give her time to complete the assignment while I was chasing down a Chinese visa, plane ticket, yadda-ya.
Spent the first 16 days in China – trying to go trekking somewhere. Ruled out the Great Wall/ Beijing – it’s around 5-7 F during the day. And pretty much everywhere else North or West (frigid in Winter). So, we he headed South to Zhangjiajie (Hunan province), to do some trekking in the Wulingyuan mountain area. No luck. The snow was so deep in the mountains that all the roads were closed – and we could not even get to the mountains/ do any hiking there. So, we just moved on/ hopped on a train – it looked like a scene from National Geographic – the only thing missing was the pigs & chickens. The cars were jammed pack, not enough seats, baggage/ food/ drinks everywhere. Trash all over the floor. The woman facing me had a toddler who was wearing the pants with a split seat. I just knew that he was going to poop on my boots at some time. We ended up in the dining car – which was practically empty because lunch cost as much as the ticket (still dirt cheap) – and most of the locals cannot afford both.
Next stop Fenghuang. Small, old walled city (1500’s) – that was great to walk around (and get lost in the narrow, stone streets/ alleys). The rub is most of the stone was covered in ice and they lost power the second day due to heavy snow in the surrounding mountains. The daytime temp was ~20-32 F – and we wore most of our clothes to bed and spooned together under the duvets.
We were going to leave on the 2nd day but very few buses were running due to the icy roads. So, we stayed a 3rd day. While we were walking around (partly to stay warm), we stopped to look at a crowd of people around some charcoal fires – heat – the men immediately began to ply me with whiskey and cigarettes ^^ – while someone wrapped a white strip of cloth around my head (color of funerals). Turns out we stumbled onto a Chinese “Irish Wake” (the Grandmother). Then they invited us to the family compound to eat – a nephew was in law school and he spoke English, acted as the translator – one of the Uncles took me by the hand, and we walked hand-in-hand through the village on our way to dinner. Y just walked behind us laughing and complimenting me on my new boyfriend (hey, when in Rome…).
The dinner was epic – like something out of a movie. Big courtyard, hundreds of people, lots of folks crowding around our table and talking and laughing with me like I understood everything they said. But hey, we can all connect over laughter & smiles, right. They handed plate after plate of food to us – veggies, pork, beef, chicken (with all the “cuts” – head, feet, etc) – plus, more whiskey/ moonshine, cigarettes. As I was chowing down on a bowlful of something they gave me, realized that it had an odd “texture” – then I took a harder look at the bowl. I swear, there were tadpoles in some kind of white sauce in the bowl. Luckily, this is China – plus everyone was pretty lit – I just dumped the rest of the tadpoles out of my bowl onto the ground (they just throw everything on the floor – bones, etc). We managed to beg off before we got too hammered to find our way back to our guest house (tucked down a 5 ft wide, unlit ally – terribly hard to find in the dark).
After a couple of bus rides, we made our way back to a city (Guiyang) – then bought ‘hard sleeper’ tickets. The train left at ~09:00PM and I had a bottom bunk in a three-bunk tier. We did get a thin mattress & blanket – but no heat. So, I left my jacket and clothes on and slept great as the train plowed across the frigid Hunan province night to another city close to the warmer Yunnan province. It wasn’t quite a Dr. Zhivago train ride – but it had the flavor.
FYI – Once we left Shanghai, and until we reached Kunming, I was usually the only western face around. Most people just stared, some of the young girls would ask Y if they could take their picture with me – but most would just walk-up, say hi, smile, and then walk away.
We were lucky enough to get tickets to Kunming – and they were ‘soft sleeper’. Private ‘room’, soft beds and pillows – and heat. Just getting around China has been half the fun. It’s huge – and a mixture of modern and 2nd world transportation.
FYI – we were lucky as hxll to get out of Hunan province. The trains can’t run, power is out, the army is delivering food supplies to villages, etc. It even snowed in Shanghai (a rarity).
FYI2 – we just finished a week trekking in the mountains outside of Luang Prabang. Stayed in mountain village, thatched huts on stilts, at night – with the pigs, chickens, ducks, goats, et al too. Then spent a week kayaking down the Nam Ou river to the mighty Mekong river.
OK, I need to wrap this up – I’ll tell you about Yunnan province and more about Laos when I get back.
Have fun, stay warm – we’ll chat later.
^^ = Have often been invited to share tea/ hooch/ cigarettes/ food on my travels – and even when I had my doubts, ‘Yes, thank you’ is really the only acceptable answer. One of my favorite hooch stories is when I took hits from a metal pot of fermented berries being passed around – while spending the night in a hut on my way to Everest base camp (winter trekking Himalayas) – using the same metal straw as everyone else (all Nepalese), and everyone else had a stream of mucus running out of their nostrils – was pretty sure I was going to catch something, and hoping there was a treatment for it. Now, I don’t smoke; but always accept tobacco/ cigarettes – except the time I was offered opium in India – so glad I asked ‘What is this’ before I took a hit off the pipe that granddad was passing around after tea – they understood why I passed.
RE: Evaluations the potential threat from UFOs, and whoever or whatever is behind them
Tom DeLonge, who was the motivating force behind the formation of the “To The Stars Academy,” has recently written in a Tweet—sorry I’m not on Twitter, and can’t find the original tweet, but many people have referred to it–saying that he now understands the reasons for the initial secrecy surrounding the UFO phenomenon—which he didn’t delineate, but whose momentousness he characterizes as being the equivalent of 9/11, WWII, and COVID combined—and the absolutely essential necessity of keeping knowledge of the existence of human crash retrieval, reverse engineering programs,and any progress in them from the “Others.”
(I presume the crushing knowledge which motivates the secrecy about NHIs and UFOs is that these “Others” are so vastly superior in terms of technology, that we are totally defenseless before them; that they can do whatever they want with us, with our planet, and with our solar system.
Thus, these crash retrieval and reverse engineering programs are designed to help us humans develop the technology and weapons to allow us to at least hold our own against these “Others.”)
The problem with this is that, if these NHIs, these “”Others,” have vastly superior surveillance technology, or if they even just keep an eye on what has been being said in human popular culture —in books, in movies, on TV, on the Internet, on the Radio, in artwork, and in video games (just a few stealthed satellites orbiting the Earth would likely do it)—over time these “Others” would become aware that there was such a program.
Moreover, it is not just in surveillance technology that these NHIs or “Others” supposedly have overwhelming advantages over us.
Note, for instance, the capabilities outlined in the infamous slide 9 of a 9 slide deck presentation given by AATIP, and Lou Elizondo’s evaluation of what it says *
“The science exists for an enemy of the United States to manipulate both physical and cognitive environments in order to penetrate U.S. facilities, influence decision makers, and compromise national security.”
* Psychotronic weapons
* Cognitive human interface (CHI)
* Penetration of solid surfaces
* Instantaneous sensor disassembly
* Alteration/Manipulation of biological organisms
* Anomalies in the space/time construct
* Unique cognitive human interface experiences
DOD Advantages
* DOD has been involved in similar experiments in the past
* DOD has relationships with renowned subject matter experts
* DOD controls several facilities where activities have been detected
“What was considered “phenomena” is now quantum physics.””
that guy—When I arrived in Japan in the early 60s at age 18, it was quite a culture shock to see little old ladies in kimonos just squat down and relieve themselves in the streets, and mothers holding their infants out a bus widow so they could relieve themselves on anyone unfortunate enough to not notice them as they walked by the side of the bus.
I don’t know if any of this behavior still goes on today in Japan.
Open Thread Sunday: Russo-Ukraine war (1 of 3)
NATO Rearmament & Spending in 2023 – Is NATO answering the Russian Challenge? – Perun
Smartphone – link and timestamps to follow in 2 an 3 of 3.
yet germany is trying to get out of it’s designated contribution, they are only the strongest economy in europe
Snow on Pine:
What was once considered essential for the understanding of the universe, say ” the ether” or “dark matter” proved to be, poof!, not so fundamental after all.
Look, squirrel! (UFO, NHI, …)
“There may or may not be any substance to the lawfare; often just the (expensive) process is the intended punishment.”
Timestamps:
00:00 — The Race To Rearm: NATO Spending In 2023
02:31 — What Am I Talking About?
03:01 — Data Interpretation
06:43 — The Pre-invasion Picture
10:39 — NATO Responds – 2022
19:59 — NATO Figures – 2023
27:32 — National Examples
27:41 — The US
29:26 — Poland
32:33 — Germany
34:36 — Canada
36:35 — Additional Budget Drivers
44:17 — In Perspective
48:24 — Conclusion
49:23 — Channel Update
One stop shopping! (Actually I’m not spamming the thread.)
Bonus Open Thread Sunday Russo-Ukraine War.
What Ukraine war slang really means | Russia Ukraine update – Daily Mail
In the last month or so I have pointed to a number of indicators demonstrating that, in many ways–demographically, economically–China is in desperate shape, and the signs are that things are only going to get worse.
This week one of China’s biggest real estate companies, Evergrande, filed for bankruptcy, and, as well, a major financial services company, reportedly with trillions of yuan under it’s management, was reported to have missed payments on some thirty of it’s products.
Now comes this story, reporting that the number of inbound overseas tourists visiting China in this first quarter declined a staggering 99%, down from the pre-COVID quarterly figure of 3.7 million foreign tourists, to the current figure of only 52,000.*
One wonders if some of this precipitous decline isn’t due to more aware people who understand that China is to blame for the pandemic, and are refusing to visit that country, and enrich it, to prop it up with their tourist dollars.
You begin to understand why the mad gang-up on Trump. He has the ability, with a Republican Congress, of destroying the Democrat Party.
Ray Van Dune:
Exactly.
I think some, but not all, of the increasingly overt authoritarianism we see from Democrats is because they’ve doubled down on the “By Any Means Necessary” card so often, they have veered into blatantly illegal, unconstitutional, immoral means which could indeed destroy the Dem Party, if subjected to the barest fair legal scrutiny.
@ Snow on Pine
“When I arrived in Japan in the early 60s at age 18, it was quite a culture shock…”
• OK, your memories made me laugh – WTH.
• Have to admit I am a little envious – both witnessing the rebirth of a nation, and doing so while it still had a dominant non-western identity.
• Have yet to have the chance to explore Japan – but always enjoyed my parent’ stories.
• They lived there in the early 50s – no kids – traditional house with rice paper walls, soaking tub, etc. – and they had many interesting & funny stories.
• As a boy I was fascinated by a picture of their lawn being cut by ~12 gardeners – with scissors – and I was also fascinated by some of the art that they brought home.
• Happy to read any other memories that you wish to share.
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Internet thought of the day: It doesn’t matter if there is no real charge to prosecute anyone; the process will be the punishment.
Something to look forward to, file under ‘bohica’: Biden Regime to Reinstate COVID-19 Restrictions Beginning with Mask Mandate as “COVID Cases Rise”, Say TSA and Border Patrol Whistleblowers.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/08/just-time-election-biden-regime-reinstate-covid-19/
Well, it’s 8 AM, time to go outside to my Office. Lots of yard work to get done before it gets too hot. Going to be in the 90’s with humidity the entire week coming up. But my neighbor thinks it will be an early winter and I think he is right. Getting out into the yard takes my mind off the S show we have. Priorities.
THE CASE FOR TRUMPTIMISM [from Powerline]
“The survey results Scott cites certainly offer powerful evidence of the imprudence of nominating Trump again. And yet. . .
Let’s consider some facts that argue the case for what I call “Trumptimism” as distinct from optimism. (As podcast listeners know, “Lucretia” likes to attack me for being an “infernal optimist.” Let’s see what she makes of this!)
Trump is today, quite simply, the dominant and defining political figure in the world. Full stop. He’s almost Hegelian. In some way that can’t be rationally explained (which would make Hegel’s head explode, but that’s part of the fun), it is hard to see how he can be stopped. Like Patton in that great scene in the movie, he must be allowed to fulfill his destiny. It would not surprise me at all if, against all odds and indictments, he ends up back in the White House in 2025. Homer nods—along with Hegel.
The surveys Scott notes are likely correct in conveying general negative public sentiment about Trump. If the election is decided on assessments of Trump’s character, he loses. But. . .
If the election is a referendum on Biden against Trump, it is surely much closer. Consider: I think there was only one reputable poll in 2016 that found Trump ahead in the popular vote, and in 2020 there were no polls that ever found him ahead. In the last few months there have been several reputable polls showing Trump ahead of Biden, in some cases by 5 points or more. The indictments have blunted that position. But several polls this week still put Biden ahead by just 1 point—essentially a dead heat. If Trump and Biden are only 1 point apart in November of next year, Trump wins. Worth remembering, too, that down-ballot Republicans mostly ran ahead of Trump in both 2016 and 2020.
It is astounding that with all the indictments of Trump, he’s still polling even with Biden. (See Point #1 above.)
The hazard for Trump and Republicans is if Democrats pull a bait and switch, and push Biden and Harris aside in favor of a younger ticket (Newsom-Klobuchar, or Polis-Whitmer/Whitmer-Polis), which would likely defeat Trump.”
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2023/08/the-case-for-trumptimism.php#disqus_thread
1. Reliance on polls is always foolish and especially so at this point in the cycle. Polls are generally awful and particularly so in times of shifting attitudes. It’s impossible to properly guess about the electorate’s makeup so as to adjust the results from the samples.
2. Remember when all the experts were sure that Clinton’s lies would do serious damage to him. And it didn’t. The conventional wisdom about scandal, crimes, and corruption proved totally inaccurate.
3. Trump’s crimes are all fiction. How does an electorate digest relentless persecution and prosecution for fictitious crimes? No one knows. Never happened before. No one has any way to know.
4. Biden’s crimes and corruption are real. And we are just now beginning to get some real coverage of all of it from the news media. Will it matter? No one knows.
5. The inverted real curve and a host of other economic indicators have been pointing to recession. What will the economy be like in 12 months? No one knows. We’ve never had this kind of fiscal orgy during an expansion. Most sane people realize it will cause all manner of ugly dislocations over time. But when? No one knows.
6. How will the covidiocy impact political affiliation? One would think that the voters would punish those who pushed the mandates, the censorship, the relentless lies and the reckless destruction of the health and futures of so many. One would think. But who knows?
The hubris required to state with any certainty how all this will play out is off the charts. Never fumble the humble.
A group of frat kids from Cumberland once went to Atlanta to play John Heisman’s Georgia Tech football team. They did it to save the school $500. They got crushed 222-0. It didn’t take long for most of the kids to stop playing hard. No point ending up in the hospital. At some point in the game a Cumberland ball carrier fumbled the ball, and it bounced toward a teammate. Having fumbled it, he implored his friend, “Pick it up, pick it up!”
Knowing it would likely be painful to be tackled by a group of large brutes from Tech if he picked it up, the teammate responded, “You fumbled it. You pick it up!”
There’s a whole lot of humble fumbling going on these days. We’d all be wise to pick it up.
“Trump’s crimes are all fiction. How does an electorate digest relentless persecution and prosecution for fictitious crimes? No one knows. Never happened before. No one has any way to know.”
“Biden’s crimes and corruption are real. And we are just now beginning to get some real coverage of all of it from the news media. Will it matter? No one knows.”
This is the simple choice that must be presented to America, Democrats having lost the moral standing to be elected to govern the United States.
There is only one person with the standing and courage to proclaim that fact. If we let the Democrats use lawfare to scare us into casting off Trump, we might as well just let them select what crook gets to be first at the trough next.
I’d rather elect someone who would put the hundreds of lawfare practitioners in fear of their freedom, or in some cases, their lives.
This is the hill, right here, folks!
Maybe, just maybe…
https://granitegrok.com/blog/2023/08/its-not-republican-vs-democrat-its-the-rich-men-north-of-richmond-versus-us
Ack! Criss-cross your cords. If you do a zig-zag, it will pull the garment askew and you will have two knots to tie. Uncomfortable. Also, at the end of the day your knots have been tugged tight for hours.
Another thing that the Republicans need to do is to show the American people that Biden is not the only crook:
Obama knew,
Hillary knew,
Holder knew,
Pelosi knew,
Comey knew,
Brennan knew,
Kerry knew,
Dozens of White House staff knew,
Dozens of House staff knew,
Dozens of Senate staff knew,
Dozens of Diplomats knew,
Dozens of Bureaucrats knew.
You begin to understand why the mad gang-up on Trump. He has the ability, with a Republican Congress, of destroying the Democrat Party. If he does not get to do so, the Democrats will complete the job of destroying the integrity of the US government, a task they must increasingly view as existential to themselves.
Just another open-thread comment about something I read.
At “The American Mind,” David Goldman (aka Spengler) recently published an article entitled “Western Civilization, Chinese Style” (https://tinyurl.com/ms5prcfp).
Goldman links China’s rise to its appropriation of what was once called Western Civilization. At the same time, American Marxists (aka The Woke) have abandoned our civilization for tribal culture and totalitarian government.
Of course, Goldman doesn’t argue that China’s appropriation of Western high culture is the sole cause of China’s economic growth. But he does assert that a large part of China’s cultural success is paradoxically due to this particular kind of westernization.
I’ve never been to China, and I’m no expert on its politics or history, but I think Goldman’s brief article is worth a look.
Here are two example paragraphs:
“Chinese IP theft isn’t simply a matter of this or that technological advancement. It’s much deeper and broader than that: it’s about claiming and replicating the source of innovation. China is engaged in what might be termed the boldest act of IP theft in world history, or to borrow a Woke expression, the most egregious act of cultural appropriation ever. It is ‘stealing’ Western high culture.”
“The America of John F. Kennedy could outpace China in science and technology. But that also was a country that devoted more than 10% of the federal budget to R&D, compared to just 3% today, and a White House that featured performances by Pablo Casals rather than rappers. If we abandon the spiritual sources of our creativity, we will have no one but ourselves to blame if China dominates the world economy.”
Goldman links China’s rise to its appropriation of what was once called Western Civilization.
Goldman has been pushing that for years. There might be some truth to it, but Goldman’s record is mixed. He is in love with grand ideas.
I’ve been to China but that doesn’t make me an expert. This is what I saw:
A polluted country. Polluted air, water, and litter along the roads.
A country with beautiful new buildings that had water in the faucets that wasn’t safe to drink, and rudimentary toilet facilities in the Shanghai airport. I call it the big diamonds, ragged underwear approach to infrastructure.
Very crowded cities. Lots of people everywhere. All competing for space. When I was at the Great Wall, I had to push and shove to make my way through the crowd. They’re used to that kind of crowding.
Hard working and enterprising people. It snowed the day we were going to the Great Wall. As we left our hotel, there were vendors with warm hats, gloves, and even parkas waiting near the bus that was taking us to the Wall. When we visited Tiananmen Square, there were vendors hawking all kinds of small merchandise that could be easily carried. Everywhere we went, people were hard at work.
A reverence for their history. The cleanest, most well-kept sites we visited were historical sites from previous dynasties.
They don’t mind manhandling the round-eyed devils. Airport security gave extra attention to we Americans. It was just short of a strip search and was not done with any gentleness.
We could see they’ve come a long way and recognize their work ethic and competitiveness. But with the size of their population, the investment and enterprises they need to continue to raise everyone’s standard of living is an ongoing problem.
Communism didn’t seem to be evident except in Beijing where the seat of government is next to Tiananmen Square.
An interesting place to visit. Too bad they want so badly to prove the superiority of their system that they’re willing to be belligerent toward other nations.
Because of the imbalances in their economy and the sheer numbers of people, they could end up with an economic nightmare at some point. Time will tell.
Hmm. Are we looking at the biggest backfire in the history of humankind?
“Trump Can Prove It”—
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/trump-can-prove-it
The author of this piece seems to believe that they’re actually going to allow Trump to do this(!)
But—just a second—what if TRYING to prove that the 2020 elections were stolen IS (or will soon be) a Federal CRIME?? (E.g., 200 years in Leavenworth, with half off for good behavior??)
Heck, what if SUCCESSFULLY PROVING that the 2020 election were stolen IS (or will soon be) a Federal Crime??
Barry Meislin:
I would think that proving it would be a capital offense.
Honest A. Blinken at it again.
(Shows us all why he particularly suited to serve in “Biden”‘s cabinet….)
“Blinken omitted key docs related to Afghan withdrawal in response to House Foreign Affairs chair;
“The Needle and the Haystack: Though the State Department provided about 300 docs to House Foreign Affairs Committee it didn’t include eight potentially critical documents that Chairman McCaul requested in his August 9 letter to Secretary Blinken”—
https://justthenews.com/government/congress/blinken-omitted-key-docs-related-afghan-withdraw-response-house-foreign-affairs
Bill, oh Bill, your own border doesn’t exist anymore, what say ye?
https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fgeopolitical%2Fwarmongering-neocons-spend-2-million-ads-ukraine-war
Going once, going twice…. Sold! https://nypost.com/2023/08/19/biden-sells-border-wall-parts-to-thwart-gop-push-to-use-them/
Maur: Lahaina fire ghastliness, as seen and reported by the Daily Mail. The unofficial death toll s far greater than 111 reported. Sources on scene say 480. And with some 1,000 people reported missing, by my reckoning that’s going to tally to around one thousand.
How much of the debris field that’s been search d remain low – only 13% in ne estimate. 25% in another.
Daily Mail:
Support for higher figure dead “comes to light with Southwest flight attendant Sarah Trost, 30, of Sacramento, California, posting a video to TikTok on Tuesday sharing details of a conversation with a part-time morgue worker who drove her shuttle from the airport to her hotel that day.
“Trost said the man had also told her that 480 people have been confirmed dead as Allisen claims, and that authorities have actually only searched 13 percent of Lahaina so far.
“The morgue worker, who is volunteering in the search, also described finding scores of bodies, adding that many were families – including young children – who had died at their homes in each other’s’ arms, unable to escape the flames.
“ ‘He found so many children, children and moms holding each other. Infants, toddlers, the unimaginable. Husbands and wives, whole entire [families] in a room just huddling together, burning to death,’ Trost said.
“ ‘It’s all bones. So he’s grabbing the bones with the ash shoveling them into body bags. They have no more room on the island in the morgue so they’re shipping in containers to hold those body bags.’
“Many of the bodies have been left unrecognizable by the fire with authorities asking friends and family of the more than 1,000 people still missing to submit their DNA so the remains of their loved ones can be identified.”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12420893/Maui-wildfires-death-toll-update.html?ico=embedded
9/11 comes to Hawaii.
Ray Van Dune at 12:08 — Do YOU have a copy of Molly Ball’s defensive screed in Time mag, Feb 2021? EVERYONE should. You can’t unblock your grasp of Far Left Democrats and its Uniparty enablers after closely reading it.
Looking at the many Youtube videos of traffic stops, arrests for things like shoplifting, and far more serious offenses, you can observe a pattern of behavior of all involved.
Part of the success of the Left’s Long March which is just coming to fruition is increasing lawlessness and crime–you have often intimidated police–afraid of law suits, notoriety, and being sacrificed to leftist mobs over ginned up injustices and racism–declining to make many arrests which they should be making, followed by leftist judges and prosecutors declining to prosecute criminal acts, or being extremely lenient, and perps who think that they have far more rights–when stopped–then they do.
But boy can they resist, the women especially cursing the cops, punching, kicking, scratching, spitting, and screeching their heads off, the “sovereign citizens ” refusing to produce documents, give their names, cooperate, or get out of their cars.
And in many cases those arrested for lesser offenses have the charges dismissed or very much downgraded, and they are released and out on the street the next day or two after arrest.
The “sovereign citizens,” claim to not be subject to the authority of any Federal or State laws, deliberately don’t have or produce drivers licenses, use phony or no license plates, claim that they do not have to obey police officers who initiate traffic stops, don’t have to identify themselves, try to demand that a “supervisor” come on the scene and, among other lunacy–make the ridiculous claim that, since they have supposedly patented their names, the cops have to pay them thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars to get them to disclose those names–to use them, that they can’t be stopped while driving their cars because they are not driving but are “traveling,” and a whole host of other fictitious legal doctrines and rights which don’t exist–the voluminous phony supposedly “legal” paperwork they hand the cops and courts included.
Talk about chewing up many hours of many policemen’s time, which could be much better spent investigating, or even–heaven forbid–actually stopping much more serious crime.
And that’s what happens when you don’t strictly and vigorously enforce the law–respect for the law decreases, lawlessness and crime become more widespread and increase, and law breakers become more and more defiant.
@ JJ “I’ve been to China but that doesn’t make me an expert. This is what I saw:”
• Your post brought back fond memories for me – and led me to dig up some old emails & pics tonight.
• 100% agree: a) had to push and shove, b) A polluted country, c) Communism didn’t seem to be evident
a) My GF Y met me at Shang Hai airport, and I almost got separated from her getting on the bullet train to Nanjing because a family with young children pushed in between us at the last moment – and I did not want to shove the children to get on as the doors were closing. Grabbed Y by her coat collar a jerked her out of the train – before she could even react – then explained what happened. She smiled and told me: It’s China, shove them – any entrance/ exit: trains, buses, elevators, stairs, etc. – otherwise, you will never get anywhere. She was right.
b) We were stocking up on some odds & ends before hitting the road, and I started to set one of the bags down on the sidewalk. Y shrieked: No. She then smiled and told me to never let anything but your shoes touch the filthy sidewalks or roads in China – the Chinese throw anything & everything on the ground, eject spit & mucous constantly, let their kids pee & poop everywhere, etc. She was right.
c) After a few days in Nanjing I commented to my GF that I expected to see more evidence of the Communist party. She told me that this is still very much a communist country. And that she made the same comment to one of her uni colleagues when she first arrived several years ago. Their response was: Yes, we now look Western on the surface; but this country is till 100% communist underneath – do not be fooled. He went on to point out that the reason the uni provides on campus apartments to all the foreign staff is so that they can monitor you: apt bugged, trash searched, etc. She was right
Note: Laos – which had just recently opened up to westerners – looked exactly like I though China would (communist party banners, flags, military everywhere).
• ~30 years ago, I spent a winter break in China & Loas – had a GF that was a Japanese citizen, and she was teaching at Nanjing University (grad school, Japanese literature). Had a terrific time, and pulled some thoughts that I shared with friends – please see below. Again, thank you for bringing back some fond memories.
***
• The Shang Hai to Nanjing Bullet train was definitely the way to go – smooth, modern, fast.
• But all of the other trains were transport & entertainment.
• Traveling in countries with populations over a billion means everything is always crowded & chaotic.
• Massive train stations, jam packed with people, guys on bullhorns barking out directions, people pushing & shoving, barely controlled chaos. Plus, we were traveling during New Years – everyone one road to ancestral home.
• Y would figure out which ticket window we needed to get to – different windows sold different destination tickets, about 50 windows, little signage – rarely English outside of big cities – lines were massive – so getting right really mattered.
• Then Y would press up behind me, hold on tight, and I would slowly move through the crowd like an iceberg (would not mow people down, but would not be stopped either) – stepping aside, personal space, etc. are not the Chinese way, and I was so much bigger than everyone else.
• Being bigger also came in handy when it came to keeping our place in line, people would try to cut in line constantly if they spotted even a 6-inch gap – they few who tried with me got hip checked into space (put a smile on everyone else’s face).
• Once we left the big cities, folks were not used to seeing Westerners.
• Entire car – jam packed with people on benches, trash 6″ inches deep, etc. – would go silent when I boarded.
• Girls would ask Y if they could take a pic with me – part rock star/ part freak show.
• Would not see another western face until we reached another big city.
• Had an overnight ticket one time, car packed & stacked with 3-high bunk beds from end-to-end, no seats, no heat.
• Gave ticket to conductor, climb into bunk – pillow & wool blanket – and she would wake you at your destination.
• It was winter, snow coming down hard, left clothes & wool cap on, was warm under my blanket, nippy around my face, and I let the train rock me to sleep – I slept GREAT.
• Scored a private cabin one time – nice, but not as many stories.
***
Greetings from Laos PDR. Yep, Laos. And no, I did not get on the wrong flight.
Long-story-short, Y’s’ boss gave her a last minute ‘must do’ assignment – which she could not complete in Oz. And as we talked on Friday night – she stated she was still going to fly to Oz on Sat. But she may not have a job when she gets back. At first, I thought she was kidding. She wasn’t. I told her it wasn’t worth her job – let’s make another plan.
Since she teaches at Nanjing University (China) it made sense for me to meet her there – give her time to complete the assignment while I was chasing down a Chinese visa, plane ticket, yadda-ya.
Spent the first 16 days in China – trying to go trekking somewhere. Ruled out the Great Wall/ Beijing – it’s around 5-7 F during the day. And pretty much everywhere else North or West (frigid in Winter). So, we he headed South to Zhangjiajie (Hunan province), to do some trekking in the Wulingyuan mountain area. No luck. The snow was so deep in the mountains that all the roads were closed – and we could not even get to the mountains/ do any hiking there. So, we just moved on/ hopped on a train – it looked like a scene from National Geographic – the only thing missing was the pigs & chickens. The cars were jammed pack, not enough seats, baggage/ food/ drinks everywhere. Trash all over the floor. The woman facing me had a toddler who was wearing the pants with a split seat. I just knew that he was going to poop on my boots at some time. We ended up in the dining car – which was practically empty because lunch cost as much as the ticket (still dirt cheap) – and most of the locals cannot afford both.
Next stop Fenghuang. Small, old walled city (1500’s) – that was great to walk around (and get lost in the narrow, stone streets/ alleys). The rub is most of the stone was covered in ice and they lost power the second day due to heavy snow in the surrounding mountains. The daytime temp was ~20-32 F – and we wore most of our clothes to bed and spooned together under the duvets.
We were going to leave on the 2nd day but very few buses were running due to the icy roads. So, we stayed a 3rd day. While we were walking around (partly to stay warm), we stopped to look at a crowd of people around some charcoal fires – heat – the men immediately began to ply me with whiskey and cigarettes ^^ – while someone wrapped a white strip of cloth around my head (color of funerals). Turns out we stumbled onto a Chinese “Irish Wake” (the Grandmother). Then they invited us to the family compound to eat – a nephew was in law school and he spoke English, acted as the translator – one of the Uncles took me by the hand, and we walked hand-in-hand through the village on our way to dinner. Y just walked behind us laughing and complimenting me on my new boyfriend (hey, when in Rome…).
The dinner was epic – like something out of a movie. Big courtyard, hundreds of people, lots of folks crowding around our table and talking and laughing with me like I understood everything they said. But hey, we can all connect over laughter & smiles, right. They handed plate after plate of food to us – veggies, pork, beef, chicken (with all the “cuts” – head, feet, etc) – plus, more whiskey/ moonshine, cigarettes. As I was chowing down on a bowlful of something they gave me, realized that it had an odd “texture” – then I took a harder look at the bowl. I swear, there were tadpoles in some kind of white sauce in the bowl. Luckily, this is China – plus everyone was pretty lit – I just dumped the rest of the tadpoles out of my bowl onto the ground (they just throw everything on the floor – bones, etc). We managed to beg off before we got too hammered to find our way back to our guest house (tucked down a 5 ft wide, unlit ally – terribly hard to find in the dark).
After a couple of bus rides, we made our way back to a city (Guiyang) – then bought ‘hard sleeper’ tickets. The train left at ~09:00PM and I had a bottom bunk in a three-bunk tier. We did get a thin mattress & blanket – but no heat. So, I left my jacket and clothes on and slept great as the train plowed across the frigid Hunan province night to another city close to the warmer Yunnan province. It wasn’t quite a Dr. Zhivago train ride – but it had the flavor.
FYI – Once we left Shanghai, and until we reached Kunming, I was usually the only western face around. Most people just stared, some of the young girls would ask Y if they could take their picture with me – but most would just walk-up, say hi, smile, and then walk away.
We were lucky enough to get tickets to Kunming – and they were ‘soft sleeper’. Private ‘room’, soft beds and pillows – and heat. Just getting around China has been half the fun. It’s huge – and a mixture of modern and 2nd world transportation.
FYI – we were lucky as hxll to get out of Hunan province. The trains can’t run, power is out, the army is delivering food supplies to villages, etc. It even snowed in Shanghai (a rarity).
FYI2 – we just finished a week trekking in the mountains outside of Luang Prabang. Stayed in mountain village, thatched huts on stilts, at night – with the pigs, chickens, ducks, goats, et al too. Then spent a week kayaking down the Nam Ou river to the mighty Mekong river.
OK, I need to wrap this up – I’ll tell you about Yunnan province and more about Laos when I get back.
Have fun, stay warm – we’ll chat later.
^^ = Have often been invited to share tea/ hooch/ cigarettes/ food on my travels – and even when I had my doubts, ‘Yes, thank you’ is really the only acceptable answer. One of my favorite hooch stories is when I took hits from a metal pot of fermented berries being passed around – while spending the night in a hut on my way to Everest base camp (winter trekking Himalayas) – using the same metal straw as everyone else (all Nepalese), and everyone else had a stream of mucus running out of their nostrils – was pretty sure I was going to catch something, and hoping there was a treatment for it. Now, I don’t smoke; but always accept tobacco/ cigarettes – except the time I was offered opium in India – so glad I asked ‘What is this’ before I took a hit off the pipe that granddad was passing around after tea – they understood why I passed.
RE: Evaluations the potential threat from UFOs, and whoever or whatever is behind them
Tom DeLonge, who was the motivating force behind the formation of the “To The Stars Academy,” has recently written in a Tweet—sorry I’m not on Twitter, and can’t find the original tweet, but many people have referred to it–saying that he now understands the reasons for the initial secrecy surrounding the UFO phenomenon—which he didn’t delineate, but whose momentousness he characterizes as being the equivalent of 9/11, WWII, and COVID combined—and the absolutely essential necessity of keeping knowledge of the existence of human crash retrieval, reverse engineering programs,and any progress in them from the “Others.”
(I presume the crushing knowledge which motivates the secrecy about NHIs and UFOs is that these “Others” are so vastly superior in terms of technology, that we are totally defenseless before them; that they can do whatever they want with us, with our planet, and with our solar system.
Thus, these crash retrieval and reverse engineering programs are designed to help us humans develop the technology and weapons to allow us to at least hold our own against these “Others.”)
The problem with this is that, if these NHIs, these “”Others,” have vastly superior surveillance technology, or if they even just keep an eye on what has been being said in human popular culture —in books, in movies, on TV, on the Internet, on the Radio, in artwork, and in video games (just a few stealthed satellites orbiting the Earth would likely do it)—over time these “Others” would become aware that there was such a program.
Moreover, it is not just in surveillance technology that these NHIs or “Others” supposedly have overwhelming advantages over us.
Note, for instance, the capabilities outlined in the infamous slide 9 of a 9 slide deck presentation given by AATIP, and Lou Elizondo’s evaluation of what it says *
“The science exists for an enemy of the United States to manipulate both physical and cognitive environments in order to penetrate U.S. facilities, influence decision makers, and compromise national security.”
* Psychotronic weapons
* Cognitive human interface (CHI)
* Penetration of solid surfaces
* Instantaneous sensor disassembly
* Alteration/Manipulation of biological organisms
* Anomalies in the space/time construct
* Unique cognitive human interface experiences
DOD Advantages
* DOD has been involved in similar experiments in the past
* DOD has relationships with renowned subject matter experts
* DOD controls several facilities where activities have been detected
“What was considered “phenomena” is now quantum physics.””
*See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPLJJRxdq98
that guy—When I arrived in Japan in the early 60s at age 18, it was quite a culture shock to see little old ladies in kimonos just squat down and relieve themselves in the streets, and mothers holding their infants out a bus widow so they could relieve themselves on anyone unfortunate enough to not notice them as they walked by the side of the bus.
I don’t know if any of this behavior still goes on today in Japan.
Open Thread Sunday: Russo-Ukraine war (1 of 3)
NATO Rearmament & Spending in 2023 – Is NATO answering the Russian Challenge? – Perun
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6mU_b_mqCZI
Smartphone – link and timestamps to follow in 2 an 3 of 3.
yet germany is trying to get out of it’s designated contribution, they are only the strongest economy in europe
Snow on Pine:
What was once considered essential for the understanding of the universe, say ” the ether” or “dark matter” proved to be, poof!, not so fundamental after all.
Look, squirrel! (UFO, NHI, …)
“There may or may not be any substance to the lawfare; often just the (expensive) process is the intended punishment.”
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/08/19/climate-lawfare/
But wait there is more. Sunday Open Thread.
Russo-Ukraine War
NATO Rearmament & Spending in 2023 – Is NATO answering the Russian Challenge? – Perun
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mU_b_mqCZI
One stop shopping! (Actually I’m not spamming the thread.)
Bonus Open Thread Sunday Russo-Ukraine War.
What Ukraine war slang really means | Russia Ukraine update – Daily Mail
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWQtW9Y4ryw
“Orc”
“Cargo 200/300”
“Macronite”
“Goodwill gesture”
“Banderite”
“Mobic”
And many others.
Dr. Rand Paul: Requiring 3 COVID vaccines for college freshman is not just bad science but malpractice
https://twitter.com/RandPaul/status/1692520150627479638
In the last month or so I have pointed to a number of indicators demonstrating that, in many ways–demographically, economically–China is in desperate shape, and the signs are that things are only going to get worse.
This week one of China’s biggest real estate companies, Evergrande, filed for bankruptcy, and, as well, a major financial services company, reportedly with trillions of yuan under it’s management, was reported to have missed payments on some thirty of it’s products.
Now comes this story, reporting that the number of inbound overseas tourists visiting China in this first quarter declined a staggering 99%, down from the pre-COVID quarterly figure of 3.7 million foreign tourists, to the current figure of only 52,000.*
One wonders if some of this precipitous decline isn’t due to more aware people who understand that China is to blame for the pandemic, and are refusing to visit that country, and enrich it, to prop it up with their tourist dollars.
* See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3FVBM-2Tao
“We are at a revolutionary moment….” And yet Vivek Ramaswamy is optimistic. More optimistic than ever.
Listen beyond the talk about podcasting and spoken books, as interesting as it is. Then go on to the next 20 minutes.
If you you keep going to 46-7m, Peterson there usefully outlines differences between Trump, DiSantis, and Ramaswamy as Presidential candidates.
https://althouse.blogspot.com/2023/08/jordan-peterson-and-vivek-ramaswami.html
You begin to understand why the mad gang-up on Trump. He has the ability, with a Republican Congress, of destroying the Democrat Party.
Ray Van Dune:
Exactly.
I think some, but not all, of the increasingly overt authoritarianism we see from Democrats is because they’ve doubled down on the “By Any Means Necessary” card so often, they have veered into blatantly illegal, unconstitutional, immoral means which could indeed destroy the Dem Party, if subjected to the barest fair legal scrutiny.
@ Snow on Pine
“When I arrived in Japan in the early 60s at age 18, it was quite a culture shock…”
• OK, your memories made me laugh – WTH.
• Have to admit I am a little envious – both witnessing the rebirth of a nation, and doing so while it still had a dominant non-western identity.
• Have yet to have the chance to explore Japan – but always enjoyed my parent’ stories.
• They lived there in the early 50s – no kids – traditional house with rice paper walls, soaking tub, etc. – and they had many interesting & funny stories.
• As a boy I was fascinated by a picture of their lawn being cut by ~12 gardeners – with scissors – and I was also fascinated by some of the art that they brought home.
• Happy to read any other memories that you wish to share.