2022/07/27 02:00:02
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It’s hard to remember, for those of you that don’t outright know, that there was a time when the music industry actually tried to figure out the interests and tastes of music loving kids throughout the USA, if not the world. Nowadays the music industry just puts out the lamest crap imaginable and dictates peoples taste or lack thereof. Our generation would have never bought industry made rock clones or people that came up through corporate shows like American Idol or The Voice.
https://fivegunswest.blogspot.com/2015/07/deuce-coupes-little-hondas-beatles-help.html
That is the same in Brazil. It seems to be the same all around the world. No newspapers: they are just press releases of the deep state or the powerful. Everything is money.
I can imagine it is the same although it may look different from here. From here, Brazil appears to have a hugely wild and multi-varied music scene. Actually, many scenes. Brazilian music fans are much more passionate about their tastes than US fans. I played several times in Brazil and they were great incredible fans.
And yes, the press, how depressing.
Yes, we have plenty of creative musicians, but if you turn on the radio or the TV, probably you will hear or see the worst of them. When I was young, radio was a source of new musicians. Programs of “calouros”, that means anybody, similar to the voice but much more democratic, allowed the public and the managers of other shows to select the good ones. And they invited the already known good ones to participate in the other shows. Nowadays they do not invite the “expensive” ones and fill the shows with cheap trash. Public in general does not have means to improve their taste. Also, the dial is full of pseudo religion programs, that ones for which “templo é dinheiro” (“temple is money”), a little variant of “tempo é dinheiro” (“time is money”), or “Jesus é o caminho e eu sou o pedágio” (“Jesus is the way and I am the toll”). Hard and sad times.
But, you have a huge huge music treasury from the past to draw on still. Many arts and styles. No one needs to go hungry in bed with regard to música boa in Brazil :-). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YaOWBvx_Ms Naquela mesa
When in Las Vegas (very seldom), I can’t help but notice what you said, and I imagine its more golden days, with great cabaret singers that are world famous and who now are either too old or dead. Now, it’s people I don’t know and whom I don’t see as great artists. The same applies even to comedians, like we can see in the U.S. with the ones who replaced Johnny Carson and David Letterman. There’s no good music but plenty of good food and acrobats and magicians and dancers. Well, one has to get lucky and find a “nobody” singing at one of the hotel lounges where you just see and buy something to watch for free for as long as you want. In fact, the last two good singers that I can remember listening to there, were such singers (they didn’t “make it”). We can sing as good or better than the stars of today. It has reached that point!
«industry actually tried to figure out the interests and tastes of [customers]» already implies that feedback is not sufficient. Now it became irrelevant.
Copyright laws were introduced to protect the creators from the publishers. Intellectual Property laws were introduced to protect those same publishers. Anything the shills spin to the contrary is just that: spin.
There was an artist formerly known as Prince. There won’t be a rapper (for example) formerly known as anything, because should any problem of this sort arise, it’s trivial to just stop inflating his flotation device, and he will sink back to his natural level of obscurity. So the disposable rappers suck up to the publishing oligopoly because they are disposable and know it. The publishing oligopoly greatly prefers them because they are disposable, sucking up is just a bonus.
And that was before Zombie Economy (see http://www.unqualified-reservations.org/2009/04/america-zombie-nation/ ) made feasible utterly insane stunts, like Disney buying Star Wars brand just to sink it.
White Helmets, Ukraine version?
Saw this on zerohedge, but here is the link to the original article
https://taibbi.substack.com/p/activism-uncensored-the-not-calm?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
“Activism, Uncensored: The “Not Calm Hearts” in Kharkiv, Ukraine
With bombs falling all around, embattled videographer Jon Farina visited with the abandoned poor and elderly at ground zero of the Russia-Ukraine war. An exclusive mini-documentary”
So 4 young, capable guys of military age in Kharkiv, who were not conscripted for some reason, and throughout this whole 2 weeks shoot are rather clean and well coiffed, down to the perfectly groomed beard day after day – to me seems more like a white helmet version for propaganda reasons than a legit private effort. The amount of food they are hauling would require considerable amounts of money, claiming all comes in via paypal donations. Question is of course who exactly funds their paypal account. I may be wrong, but the whole thing just does not make much sense and seems so staged. Any native russian speakers here to see if these guys speak with an accent or something indicating that they are not actually locals? Disappointing that this was produced by Matt Taibbi. Also notable that food gets to supermarkets somehow and restaurants turned into military kitchens but not to residents…
Comments?
I would appreciate some opinions on this. Thanks.
Just another spontaneous manifestation of people’s will, with all logistics growing on trees courtesy of Gaya™, nothing to see here.
See also: “Non-Governmental Organizations” (see also: “protesting too much”).
i would strongly like to recommend listening to BLOWBACK an american comedy podcast on american war misadventures, in its 3 season, previously covering the iraq, cuba and currently covering the Korean war,
https://blowback.supportingcast.fm/
it funny, poignant, sad as they marvel at the clusterfuck of American foreign policy foolishness.
i find it entertaining and illuminating as they cover some forgotten story lines and forgotten characters, well researched and great sound production, from music to interviews to old sound bites
American foreign policy is not foolishness. You have Harvard, Yale, MIT and so many other very good universities to educate the decision makers.
The problem is that the american people do not think in their real interests, their real needs. Health, education, salaries, security. So the decision makers them them that the enemy is China, is Russia, is Afghanistan (ask your friends if they know where Afghanistan is located) and so they think US is under attack and destroy other countries while are being robbed by the decision makers. The famous deep state, sponsored by both democratic and republican politicians. The taxpayers pay for the biggest terrorist organization in the world: the CIA, and they cannot say they do not know what CIA is, as far even Hollywood movies tell exactly what it is: an organization to kidnapp, kill, torture etc people in other countries without legal power to do so and without a proper trial of the victims.
In the Netherlands we have problems with subsidence due to gas and salt extraction. Now the Netherlands is very densely populated, but I wonder what the situation is with the soil subsidence in Russia due to gas extraction. I can’t find much about it either.
Two thirds of Russian soil is in permafrost regions. Most of the gas is taken out of arctic regions. So you have low population density plus soil that is solid as a rock because it is permanently frozen. Or drilling is seabound.
Some of the permafrost started thawing in recent years though, causing problems for buildings and infrastructure, including pipelines. Yes, it is becoming a problem.
Also sinkholes are not that uncommon in parts of Russia. Here is one city that is affected as it sits atop of a potash mine:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SIb9qRIi0E
Add melting permafrost to mining, plus previously frozen methane deposits bubbling up as they thaw and it can get pretty dramatic at times.
Tnx :)
“frozen methane deposits bubbling”…….actually this is huge and more than dramatic.
A global farting disaster threatening the entire humanity if we dont do something and act not tomorrow but today. Our dream of a green new world bursting at the seams.
The International community must interfere as we cant leave this to the Russians alone. (sarc)
It has been reported that it looks like the Allies are going on the offensive today:
‘It’s VERY LOUD at the front today, and there are rumours of an offensive.
Heavy shelling of the afu positions has been taking place along the entire front line in the Donbass since early morning. Donetsk, Makiivka and Gorlovka can hear the powerful work of our artillery. Channels from the enemy side report a powerful processing of the front edge of the afu in the area of the locality of Avdiivka. Artillery strikes on the afu strongholds are carried out in a “non-stop” mode.’
Can anyone else confirm?
Perhaps a grand finale signaling the end of the show, wouldn’t that be great?
I don’t understand: Russian AWAC aircraft and other radars see everything that moves and fires a shot on the ground and in the air in Ukraine. Why is it that Russia is not knocking out everything that fires a shot with missiles and aircraft for I know they have the technology and capabilities to do that ??
Friend Emmett> Perhaps there is Strategy to bleed off ammo and weapons and trained (capable) and other nazi assets in a moderate or gradual way…fight hard enough, just, to invite the “giving” in a controlled violence. If Ruski goes too fast the nazis might retreat…when the entire idea to to de-militarize and de-nazify… Is Strategy of bleeding the opponent in traps, kettles.
404 using Slavic people as “human shields” is problem from vantage of aircraft. Infantry, meter by meter, is far more measured and avoids the not-good of blasting women and children kept captive under nazi cannons.
And when 404 is finished? Polish nazis, it is said, come next…best not to frighten opponent excessively? I think so…but it’s a guess.
Infantry is the only form that really works to liberate a landscape.
Artillery moves. They fire a salvo and move.
So, you need drones overhead to track and give new coordinates.
This is a drone and missile war, as all wars will be.
One area of weaponry the Russians were deficient in was UAVs, particularly attack drones, armed so when they spot a target, they can hit it with an explosive.
Of late, in all regions of the SMO, Russia has been destroying artillery of all forms. You can assume they have added more drones to the airspace.
They also have sent more special forces to target strikes very close to civilian infrastructure. But note well that they are operating in very fortified zones, heavily mined, with crossfire zones to traverse. It’s slow work. It could take a few days to reach where the arty is staged. But then we get “100 Ukies killed, artillery destroyed” from MOD reports. It’s almost daily.
In recent days we have many reports of Russian Aerospace using missiles on these sites, which means Ukie air defenses have been attrited in the zone and the fighter bombers can work with impunity.
I agree. That’s what I too see. I was viewing it philosophically, as in the classic idea that a space is not liberated in the final analysis unless the army walks through it at will. Infantry being whatever, feet or whatever. With infantry a general can for example, order, square meter by square meter, the separation of redheads from blonds in a liberated space. I agree also about the drones. They say the Sultan is said to be making a sales deal with Rus, turkbirds for sale.
Don’t know about that situation but here’s something else.(?? ) Hundreds of new Chechen soldiers are boarding aircraft from Chechnya, wearing black police-style uniforms with large patches on the shirt back saying “To Kiev.” Makes you wonder.
https://halturnerradioshow.com/index.php/en/news-page/world/hundreds-of-chechen-soldiers-uniform-patches-say-to-kiev
Dear hard-to-find cafe,
One gets such nice surprises when buying used books. My first was when I bought the last book written by Ludwig von Mises, “The Foundations of Economic Science” (1962), for one dollar (found it among books discarded by the university library). It had a dedication to someone with his signature. I bought from eBay a used book of the Pastorals and Georgics of the Roman poet Virgil (Publius Vergilius Maro (70 BC-19 BC) in Spanish. I saw the signature of the previous owner with what looked like a scholarly notation below, and I checked on the Internet. He was Nicholas Horsfall, “considered one of the world’s leading interpreters of Virgil.” There too, I saw something odd, a “combo” of Immanuel Kant’s “Critik of Pure Reason” (1838) and the book, “An Analysis of Kant’s Critik of Pure Reason” (1844), the only book written by the translator of said Critik (Francis Haywood). His 1838 work had been the first ever English translation of Kant’s main work and the best translation in my opinion. For some reason, the author chose to remain anonymous and only revealed his name for the second edition 10 years later. There could be no such combo, so I didn’t really know what I would receive. The price was good (too low), and it would have had to be too high for me not to get it, this being something hard to find which could have been much more expensive. It was a combo all right, one specially arranged for by the owner who had purchased them individually in the 19th century. “Who would do something like that in the 19th century?” I wondered. He had signed his name in small letters on the front or each book, John Steinfort Kidney (1819-1911). I then learned he wrote several good books in the 1880s, “Christian Doctrine Harmonized” (two large tomes), “The Beautiful and the Sublime” about philosophy, “Hegel’s Aesthetics”, and more. These are the ones I got from ebay and amazon. After a few years of this, I already have the library I wanted to have. You know, it happens that in the process of choosing and buying, you find the essence of what you need to know. The “Combo” is of such excellent quality that I imagine it was made at his request by the publisher of his books, G. P. Putnam’s Sons (similar quality as his books).
The special combo book was sold for $140.
Can saker made a military analysis about so-called Kherson offensive? Lots of noise everywhere In telegram and media. I am little bit puzzle. For this type situations, I always waiting for saker analysis….
Welcome back Mr P!
You’ve been sorely missed..
I’ve been aware and like Mrs A got your back!
It is dizzying trying to keep pace w/ events. You expressed it best, “Europe is being brought to revolution, to say it baldly.” It has indeed been a cruel hot summer- but foremost for the demons of Technocracy and associated Oligarchy. And the people largely spared so far. So exhilarating to see! Merciful of Russians too, to work towards denouements now, rather than during cold winter.
I agree, it’s chiefly the economic and energy weapons at work. I would guesstimate 70% economic, 20% kinetic, 10% (self-inflicted) informational. In fact, part of what endears Russian to Global South is their poor skill in dissembling and PR; what you see is what you get. Something you can hang a hat on! And the skill of calibration of the pain dial, knowing the particular weaknesses of the enemy! I hope I get to see the writing of how the Chinese influenced these days. I see their handiwork. The subtlety at work is seen only in ancient Asian civilizations. Like Russians currently collecting arms “donations” from the spendthrift West, once Ukies run away or sell them or are forcefully taken, here’s another example of how to collect arrow donations in straw receptacles by tricking rash enemies..
Timelines are shifting. Agenda 2030 now needs be done by 2024-25 tops to have a chance.. the loons believed their own lies of the End of History and slacked off Thomas Friedman’s mailed “hidden fist” and deindustrialized too soon. And how much did the Syrian Campaign, especially Operation Timber Sycamore, as well as the long duration to grind the M.E., work towards depleting NATO arms stocks, resulting in the knock-on effects of the epochal catastrophe we see now in arriving with insufficient quantity and quality to the Ukraine?? Meyssan noted back then,
Syria was the first Black Hole which consumed the West, thanks to resolute Syrians & Allies.
Iraq and Afghanistan did their part too, in delaying “7 countries in 5 years”.. At the end of the day, PR bull and the Metaverse have limited effectiveness on steppe campaigns.
ZZzzzzzzzz……………
“One area of weaponry the Russians were deficient in was UAVs, particularly attack drones,”
Larch can you imagine Russians wielding Bayraktar (in addition to Iranian) drones soon?! The plot twists of fate.. The AZE worked centuries to build up the Turks and the Caucasians against Russia.. who now may BOTH be frontline facing the AZE!
Hi Uncle Davy,
Sorry, got sidetracked partying with my African compañeros.
Regarding our discussion from last MFC.. there are just too many variables, and crazy actors, and generalized turmoil in the dissolution of our end of epoch, to have meaningful short- and mid-term view. And the spiritual dimension is paramount in this denouement. The AZE and its minions are guaranteed of losing, as evil always does, but they are capable of tremendous harm even during their death spasms..
I knew Europe (and USA) would be attacked because their NWO requires a global slave plantation. You cannot have the prosperous Golden Billion in such a dystopia. “The bigger you are, the Harder you fall.” As the SMO is grinding down Nazis in the Ukraine, the foremost project of the NWO currently is grinding down western prosperity and future prospects.. And their twisted functionaries cackled of this intent as early as 75 years ago, such as these two minions. Davos too, “You will have nothing, and Be happy.” I think the Russians and Chinese played along with most of their schemes (WHO, Sustainability, environmentalism, WEF..) because they realized the providential outcome! Why interrupt madmen busy leveling themselves?! Altogether the least painful way to overcome an implacable millennial enemy.. let him show himself right off the stage with a minimum of fuss. China even subsidized the rope, bullets, opium and other implements of suiciding these last decades, to help the cause along.
“[1] Iran & Iraq will be spared under the auspices of Russia & China”
This is my hope. However, Iran was the last of the 7 nations in 5 years memo “revealed” by lying Wesley Clarke. They will do it, and finally pull the trigger, even in agony. And Eschatology foretold Persian destruction after the Arabs. The only question is when..
The last 20 years took care of the Arabs’ destruction. They are largely leveled to barely subsistence state, with the oil-rich peninsular Arabs the last remaining standing whole. And they are already few in number, decadent and will be easily consumed in the cross-fire when the time comes to attack Iran… they were also left for last since they underwrite the dying Petrodollar system..
“[2] W.r.t to Arab absolute monarchies .. the City of London still holds the whip hand”
Fully agreed. Additionally, their monarchies appear in a bizarre symbiosis with the Anglo-Dutch-other EU dynasties. My father noted when the last KSA king died, British flags were flown at half-mast for several days. They are emotionally invested in each other. How much of London and the wider “Shire” is property of Arabs?? Or Canadian farmland, and other Anglo domains? And these linkages exist for going on 300 years now.. this is why I maintain GCC will never jump from the AZE Titanic, public shows and tactical maneuvers notwithstanding.
“[3] India is always the wild card, as its diaspora see themselves as the successors of the British East India Co.”
This is my great fear. Every people have a weakness and a longing. For many Arab and Indian oligarchs and comprador elites, and many others, it is joining the pretensions and dilettante lifestyle and “rule” of the British Empire. There is something about this great enduring successor of Ancient Rome which still captivates their limited imaginations. The Americans are (were?) feared and endured, but the British emulated by other elites worldwide. There is a visceral need to ape their former glorious British lords. It is pitiful. It bespeaks of great insecurity, inferiority complex, lack of education and historical awareness and a sense of balance and contentedness in this life. It is what it is.
However, these Indian elites – not only diaspora but more importantly, within India itself today – can change all calculations. The big three of South Asia alone, Indian-Pakistan-Bangladesh, form 1.81 billion or 23 % of humanity! About 1 in 4 men. Look at what the AZE is doing to Sri Lanka. It is a warning to the other comprador elites, especially of South Asia, and a way to retain their rotten services.. we will see.
The best case scenario is for India to continue current trajectory and assume full position as peer in a dignified new multipolar world. the worst case is to become an Australia and to sacrifice its future in abject vassalage to AZE – and waging nuclear war on Pakistan-China! God forbid. But there are some messianic crazies among the RSS and other nationalists / far-right around Modi, willing to lose a few hundred millions to subjugate Pakistan and wrest Himalayan water sources from China.. a mid-case scenario is to go partially rogue, leading to entire South Asia being walled off from BRI and Eurasian connectivity.. we will see. But I agree, India is the joker of this deck, due to oligarchic insouciance.
PS – we talked a lot of Bavaria this summer – site of the G7 at the former Nazi retreat, Hitler’s old stomping grounds and the Eagle’s Nest, birthplace of the Illuminati, etc.. I just learned another oddity which perhaps helps explain current gas issues: the headquarters of Siemens is in Munich, Bavaria! Alotta evil in one place. Even Lufthansa in current major strikes has HQ in Munich. This Catholic Bavaria I think has most heft and organization in Germany and along with Frankfurt rules western Europe. I agree with Martyanov that Europe is not as innocent and feckless as it dresses up – being mere vassals, bought, occupied, helpless in front of Anglo-American domination.. there is deep ideological synergy among oligarchs in the south of Germany, south of France, Switzerland, north of Italy, etc. with the Anglo-Dutch-Vatican consort. They are heads of a Hydra. Among the proofs are the suddenness with which the barbaric Russian cancellation was turned on and how Russians started using the phrase “the collective [or combined] West.”
ZZzzzzzzzz……………
Alabama, why so cheeky with our Elder, Mr P, in the last MFC, lol! Here’s more on Lake Meade / Hoover Dam.
Apparently the satanists are fixated on killing off Lake Meade for several reasons. One is biblical mockery. I’ll expound soon hopefully. It is a deep tale for another time.
“India is always the wild card, as its diaspora see themselves as the successors of the British East India Co.”
India was well and truly impoverished by the British colonial rule, and is still in the process of standing up in its own two feet, in order to become a sovereign power. After the dissolution of the USSR, India found itself in a precarious position and, perforce, slowly aligned with the global economy. Yet, as time moves on, India can hope for better understanding and realisation of it’s position in the comity of nations.
An interesting article recently published by an Indian author –
https://www.firstpost.com/opinion/from-caatsa-waiver-for-india-to-chastened-visit-to-saudi-arabia-why-biden-is-making-conciliatory-noises-10961801.html
I wonder if you might not enjoy the old Rumpole “Rumpole of the Bailey S6E5 the quacks” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQtfSi1OprA
But perhaps you know it…
In Mortimer’s heart, it seems, Magna Carta was still, moderately, remembered… (Longtimeago I attended a criminal trial at the Old Baily…1962, I think. Chatted up a lady barrister on the stairs…, got drunk on a foggy night, and raced ’round London in a Morris, in the rain…a bit too young then to be drunk late at night in any city…but great fun!)…
Mortimer and his Rumpole seem all quite innocent by the light to-day…alas! Horace would have got Assange released….
Sudhi, this is undoubtedly true, and for most of the world which was plundered too. However, they have been independent for 75 years.. China raised 800M from poverty in half that time.. at this point the onus is on Indian leadership. Africa has same issue. We have to stop giving the leaders a free pass.
MK Badhrakumar often laments the small-mindedness of Indian elites and politicians. They appear to live inside the Bollywood section of the Metaverse! Motivated by inconsequential matters such as recreating their own lush British Raj. So India does not advance as it should. Where is the single-mindedness of the Chinese and Russian deep-states? I understand the need for strategic ambiguity but not at cost of being left behind and at same time unreliable in the eyes of both sides!
A true Reset IS coming, where performance metrics may determine the QOL and even lifespan of elites. See Sri Lanka. Ultimately the fish rots from the head and our internal 5th columns are the larger problem.
ZZzzzzzzzz……………
Mr P, that was hilarious. No did not know old Rumpole quacks, thanks. There are too many shows and I rarely watched TV in past.. As a child, I did watch most Benny Hill and some others of that era. Delightful antidotes to current woke madness.
However, since civil rights era in US (among can of worms opened leading to current Wokeness) most Docs are self-conscious of litigation due to spurious claims and so we have been taught since 1990s really to never see a female patient alone in the patient room – there has to be a third person as chaperone, whether a relative or nurse. And we do not have the leisure to molest patients anymore, lol! In the good old days before the 1980s, we saw few patients, maybe 10-15 in a day? 20 tops in a crunch. Nowadays we have standard 24 patients per day, and many see 32-40 per day trying to keep up with Medicare/Medicaid/insurance shenanigans. And keeping up with the Benjamins. Docs like all other paths have become wage slaves, like child Conan at the human hamster wheel. Do not let high incomes fool you. Most docs live foolishly beyond their means, deep in debt and living paycheck to paycheck like all other Americans..
Additionally you now have bizarre reverse harassment! Twisted folks playing out their cosplay paraphilias on us!! I have been victim myself several times. I realized afterwards that an unwarranted gynecologic or breast exam was solicited for personal titillation.. no medical necessity whatsoever. I used to be tall and handsome (like smoothie, lol) but have adopted a Yul Brynner-like shaven pate and graying bristling beard which ensemble is intimidating and does cool passions. We live in sad days where even the fairer sex have notches on the belt! Fortunately I have been able to retreat into academic medicine. It’s a crazy world
Yes, I grew up, until1955, with close relatives who were Quaker MD’s, and heard stories from them and other relatives who were lawyers – all telling horror stories in torts and malpractice…your academy path is entirely understandable, and, though sad, perhaps, also rational. The three relative brothers were in WW1 Captains in Medical Corps…I have originals of their commissions. Their father, also an MD, was in the Union Army, then a POW, released in a swap (the name called out was for a man who had died (Libby Prison!) – and since he was 14…the older fellas pushed him out and he was exchanged under the dead man’s name…thence off to re-join, this time with Sherman, all the way to the sea. My own conception and birth balanced on that prisoner swap…not to mention the lead and shrapnel… Incidentally, in WW1, not one of the family, including the three brothers, got the “Spanish Flu”… They relied on sunshine and hygiene, soap and hot water, mostly, while treating soldiers. In civilian practice all three, and their father, carried pistols in their bag when they did house calls at night…Quaker doctors carrying .38 revolvers.
Having slept, I am sure London and the visit to the central criminal court, and the bemused pretty barrister lady, was 1963…out on the town with an American architect and his professor wife. In those days late at night in rain, London had very little automobile traffic, and the locomotives I recall were steam. There were still the corrugated steel sheet bomb shelters, here and there, and vacant spaces.
I too have adopted a style of visage, with shades and short bristling grey beard…though there is still just enough hair for a pony tail…which goes nicely with the motorcycles…the fairly rare excursions. I expect to acquire the bald pate in the not-distant future. Nevertheless, BPR 122/66/50/ O2 99% and good 20/20 corrected with only a hint of cataract – as the sun rose to-day, so I may expect ? The tables suggest 93 when the drop happens. But as “Doctor Rammat” said, we are all close to death. No guarantees.
I am delighted to learn that Rumpole and the Quacks was fun! Mortimer was a aficionado of the old left, as am I. That series was new during the “O-J Trial”…and there were several learned lawyer-professors with whom I enjoyed Mortimer’s imaginary Magna Carta dreams. MC is entirely evaporated now, of course. Actually a lesson on MC was my introduction to law…as if it was set in stone…whilst simultaneously we also realized the nazi heart and thus knew MC was simply a a temporary mitigation.
The futility of pursuing law was self-evident after the McCarthy business, which touched the family rather brutally, and especially after I learned from eye-witness professional soldiers about Korea and, later, Vietnam. Here, btw, I repeat, I was taught by one of these active duty professionals that soon to be adopted M16 was a prohibited weapon and bullet in law…and I confirmed this by email not too many years ago… My second contact was a professional arms control expert in Europe. It’s a great mystery to me why my parents, both from old Quaker families, placed me as a child in a military academy…where I learned the manual of arms and drill even before learning to read… I suppose the idea was either an MD in the military or a lawyer in the military…as, from their viewpoint then, the US had “won the war” and the UN and the USSR and the recent alliance made it look logical. Mother especially admired the Red Army, and began to cry talking about it, and she was a secret Marxist. I enjoyed the academy and the discipline structure of known rules, and especially the rifle range time. The idea of shooting a man, however, never crossed my mind. It’s my opinion, BTW, that people and dogs carry the same lesson, they can be bred for viciousness, or for kindness, and places in between…and Quakers tend to “marry in” – and thus the military and “Quakerness” are dipoles with little room for compromise…Brother Smedley summed it up as to where the balance lies..”There are only two things we should fight for. One is the defense of our homes and the other is the Bill of Rights.” Smedley was a Quaker, and a Marine. We when see Brother Ritter I recall the juxtaposition between good and not-good that Smedley lived inside. So, I think, does Brother Ritter. A schizophrenic place.
The garden here is much in harvest, tables of baskets all ’round the digs, all filled to the top. It seems that for the future I may have to pipe tall risers with misters to cool things when temperature gets past 40 C and a bit. Plenty of H2O…a river flows under us, as hydrologic flow…but I want that solar power, this here party ain’t a gunna last…but so far the electric power is fairly cheap. Not urgent. Yet.
A note on downwell water pumps. These are rated in starts, as it is starting and stopping that eats the bits. Run time in clean water is nearly irrelevant. The water lubricates the critical parts and they don’t touch except at start and stop. Properly sized, a pump in a clean well (sand can be a bad) can last for many years. I want a spare…one that will accept DC without passing through a pile of electronics.
Heh. Spoilers below:
Young Docs are a dying breed here in Canada, we lost five in Ontario this past few weeks. Shame, especially with an already over taxed system. Not pointing fingers, but, like is that considered normal?
Foolish doctors? Foolish people AHH, most living far beyond any semblance of normalcy, many lost in the materialism of our world today. No self restraint, no sense of moderation. Up here it’s reported most people are two pay cheques away from a bread line. It’s a confusing conundrum, to save, or not to save. Life having so many unknowns.
Cheers M
Thanks Mr P for the hilarious video from “Rumpole of the Bailey”, never knew of this genre. He laughs best that laughs last, I suppose, “Dr Remat” successfully made an an omelette without breaking eggs in the episode.
I am delighted to hear you enjoyed the Great Barrister at Law. Indeed, dear VVP and his cohort seem quite resolved to create the omelette in much the same way. It is, I think, the way of the good.
BURNT NORTON
By TS Eliot
Time present and time past
Are both perhaps present in time future,
And time future contained in time past.
If all time is eternally present
All time is unredeemable.
What might have been is an abstraction
Remaining a perpetual possibility
Only in a world of speculation.
What might have been and what has been
Point to one end, which is always present.
Footfalls echo in the memory
Down the passage which we did not take
Towards the door we never opened
Into the rose-garden. My words echo
Thus, in your mind.
But to what purpose
Disturbing the dust on a bowl of rose-leaves
I do not know.
http://www.davidgorman.com/4quartets/1-norton.htm
It’s a rare constellation this week: Mars unites with Uranus, the toppler, the fighter with the spirit of universe. Only once in 16 months, and this year even Mercury, by square , is attendant.
Next week Sun, hence the center, will be attendant. Definitely more two decisively Weeks. And
this Mars/Uranus couple in Taurus is mirroring the spirit of the authority in advance.
What a year!
30. Week 2022
https://astromundanediary.blogspot.com/2022/07/two-weeks-of-breakthrough-and-care-by.html
Journalist Karmen W Švegl reporting for Radio Slovenia first program today from a train to Odesa Ukraine.
She said that Ukrainians are terrified about 15 Russian ships in the Black Sea. There was attack on a hotel and on a sea resort. Russia is attacking civilian buildings. And then in the same report. The train is full of holiday makers. They go to the sea near Odesa to rest from the suffering of war. The train was from Lvov.
Let’s think a little. You don’t go to the sea if you are afraid of an invasion. The state forbids this. You don’t use the trains if the enemy is regulary doing war crimes. They were civilian buses and trains hit in Serbia in 1999. You also don’t go to the sea if the resorts are under constant attack.
I don’t understand how can be possible to lie in such a way. Propaganda should be at a higher level, not just so simple. People are living 500 km from the enemy and are afraid of and then go to the vacation close to the enemy. It doesn’t matter if resorts are bombed, if the ships are at sea. They need some rest from the war. But they have more rest at home? How low are the mental capacities of the European nations to believe in a such nonsense.
Same as with all those gretins who are OMG so very very scared of
Global Warming™Climate Change™Climate Disruption™Cow Fart Apocalypse, yet somehow don’t move to Alaska and Canada, but fly to tropical resorts to wring hands together.Consistency is not required anymore.
One of the most famous Russian correspondents in this struggle. Has written a piece echoing what I have been saying since the SMO started. Unlike he,I didn’t think until recently that Russia should actually join the liberated territories to Russia directly. But instead should form them into 2 states,Novorossia,and a Ukraine/Malarussia. But either way would be better than the way things were pre-February 24th:
VGTRK reporter Alexander Sladkov
WHAT EXPECTS UKRAINE AFTER THE COMPLETION OF THE NEC? MY PERSONAL OPINION.
In territorial terms: all of Ukraine will go to Russia. All. For if you leave at least one square meter to the Ukronazis, they will not grow bread on it, but will prepare anti-Russian saboteurs.
Politically: no autonomous republics (only Donbass deserved it), but only full-fledged regions of Russia. In the conquered territories, one must behave like a conqueror, and not a humble guest. The people love the owners, not the mumblings.
In military terms: first there will be a period of defeat of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and national bands. The generals of the Ministry of Defense are in charge at this stage. The second period is the search for and neutralization of the ringleaders, the defeat of gangs and the Ukrainian underground. This is the time of the Cheka, the FSB will lead. The third period is the complete cessation of the power resistance of the remnants of the Ukronazis. This period belongs to the Russian Guard.
At the same time, the formation of Russian military units, units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the FSB will begin on the territory of the former Ukraine. At first, only 10% of local residents will be in them, then 30, 50%. And so on until the normal rotation of the security forces throughout Russia begins.
If we grow corruption and embezzlement on this territory, nothing will help us, the Ukrainian project will die, and this will be an inglorious story. An uncompromising approach to corruption a la Ramzan Akhmatovich is needed here. And the budgets here will be fat, crooks with a reputation will be mo-o-ore!
For any revanchist thought – the guillotine. For stealing the budget – execution, for a false report on the situation in the entrusted region – execution, for proven sabotage – to shoot (I do not mind).
No sharing with Romania, England, Hungary, and even more so Poland. They are enemies. And the contribution to helping Bandera should be evaluated for each of the 50 whore countries, from the United States to Moldova. In the future (to be adopted by law), each such country must pay an indemnity. Not immediately, in parts, let each contract take this into account.
https://t.me/vicktop55/5316
And as a bonus Gonzalo Lira’s great Roundtable #5. Really excellent discussion on this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtf1yod_p4w
Hey Uncle Bob,
I so appreciate the link to the Gonzalo roundtable. Quite informative.
Though I may and do disagree with a variety of points made by this entourage, I appreciated all they had say.
Thank you for the link.
“A slap for Big Tech” This week the EU adopted the Digital Markets Act, DMA
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-Th5inkQ0yk
“The Digital Markets Act is the EU’s new law to make the digital sector fairer and contestable. In order to do so, the Digital Markets Act (“DMA”) establishes a set of narrowly defined objective criteria for qualifying a large online platform as a so-called “gatekeeper”. Only “gatekeepers” will have to comply with the do’s and don’ts listed under the DMA.”
https://competition-policy.ec.europa.eu/sectors/ict/dma_en
As a general rule, I hate to see people in pain. I do make an exception to this rule when it comes to gvt though, then I love it.
And I’m loving it right now b/c we are officially in a technical recession by the gvts own long standing definition of one, 2 consecutive quarters of negative growth.
But the pain of reporting this statistic for what it is, negative economic news, is so great that new terms are being created to cushion the news and soften the criticism of, not how you got here,(the important stuff) but how you are going to get out.(the important political stuff)
Another black eye, another straw on the gvts back, and yes as usual they will brush this off to address a worse black eye, the guns, the riots, the kids being asked in school if they think they are a boy or a girl.
I mean seriously folks, we are morphing into something not even recognizable by standards just 20 years ago.
So grab your neck brace and enjoy the coaster ride, its promises to be a rough and tumble one.
I don’t know if this is politically motivated or not, but towns and cities are now practicing their response to a school shooting w/o telling the officers to (I imagine) see who then doesn’t jump in to save the kids as is required by their position.
You cant make this stuff up people, its really happening.
Hungary gets the picture. https://www.rt.com/news/559516-hungary-orban-world-order/
Perspectives from lower ground…
While viewing global events and their effects from the bird’s nest, it is useful to also lay upon the grass and look at things from that vantage point.
Here is a middle to upper class Russian speaking about the changes this year in relation to his vacationing experience. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpLErDhHSi8
Europe is staring at a miserable winter from many regards as is the US (at least the everyday people). Russians, though not in as challenging of a position, has and is (according to this gentleman) feeling the impacts of a sanctioned economy and a dramatically changed geopolitical reality. Is the future brighter for Russians than the West? Odds are that it is; still today, most of us struggle more.
An article just published on ZeroHedge – https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/why-chinas-youth-unemployment-has-hit-record-193
It discusses the high unemployment of younger Chinese – almost 20% and how that affects their attitude toward things. The article misstates that half of a similar demographic of US youth experience unemployment. I would differ on that as I have read many articles from numerous sources (producing far more accurate stats imo) over many recent weeks and months and spoken with people on the street. In the US, it would appear that somewhere around 20% unemployment of young people is a conservative estimate. Many young and not so young in the US have given up on the economy and do not have a rosy view whatsoever for their future. Unfortunately, this is likely a very realistic view; at least for the next couple to few years and that does not take into account factors not directly related to the economy.
People’s standard of living (with some exceptions) is on a downward spiral. When the acts of those sitting on thrones take everything away from the majority, chaos ensues. We witness this with Sri Lanka, Argentina may be next, then Panama, then ? Throw a dart at the global map. These throne sitters seem to think that they can control the outcome of their inflicted chaos and bring about a version of order that favors themselves. In the fog of war and in the midst of chaos – no predicted outcome is certain except that many will suffer horribly.
There’s a saying that goes something like this, “When those who just wish to be left alone are not and this is repeated with no end in sight, then those that wish to be left alone experience a mental shift, one they did not want as it changes who they are. Yet, it happens and is embraced as they feel they have no choice except to surrender to the will of others or fight in the hopes of regaining their individual sovereignty. When they do make that mental shift from community member to warrior, they do so with a vengeance that is all in, extreme, and completely without mercy.”
Those who would incite chaos would do well to keep this in mind.
Today no news is generally bad news not shown.
And the quiet stirring about the generator explosion out west has the ring of bad news silence, but not bad enough to cause some other problem yet.
But if there were good news to come out of the explosion, we would have heard about that by now, and since there is still silence, i’m guessing there are still a few people not sleeping well after a week of constant, monitorazations.
Please, Friend, tell us more…” the generator explosion out west ” ?? This news is unknown to me.
(some generators use hydrogen gas (H2) for internal cooling – and these sometimes lose positive pressure, air leaks in…and gehbango!…but of course there are many paths to explosions)
Where did the machine live, and, presumably, die?
( https://www.powerservicesgroup.com/2016/03/why-use-hydrogen-to-cool-a-generator/ )
Its the lack of relevant news that is important, not speculation on how its cooled. My guess is oil, and the oil could be boiling due to low water levels. But since we have not heard about the good news of how the transformer exploded and there are no problems w/the others, we can assume the news is bad, but just has not reached us yet. Is this a fair conclusion?
Ah! Many thanks…a transformer, not a generator…Generally power transformers are astonishingly efficient, something like 97%, but that 3% waste manifests as heat…so they’re cooled either by air, as in small applications, or by oil in larger application…such as a power station – like Hoover Dam hydro.
I’ve done switchgear repairs at sub-stations and worked with high voltage fellas, long time ago…so this is possibly an obsolete opinion:
This oil also insulates the internals in a dielectric way. At one time chlorinated oils were used, these are “PCB” oils…the PCB oils have better heat transfer and they are non-combustible. Nowadays the PCB oils are prohibited for obvious reasons. But setting aside that toxic history…they’re filled with mineral oils.
Periodically they must be shut down and drained – all oil-cooled/insulated transformers shed internally (the AC creates vibration) and a sort of oily mud collects inside…this mud has to be mucked-out, and it’s a nasty job.
Since the windings, the wire wound internals, consist of copper, and the core of steel laminates, I assume that the mud is somewhat conductive…and we’re talking of very high voltages…the rest, if you don’t do the oil analysis and maintenance…bang!
Also, if oil leaks out…bang! Also the dielectric characteristics diminish as temperature rises…making bang easier to get.
I put in a high voltage transformer oil filled xfmr once…it was part of a radiation lab and used to produce gamma radiation. There can be zero gas bubbles or voids, otherwise…bang is a distinct possibility. To assure zero gas, we lowered internal pressure to as low a torr as we could get, using a 3 stage vacuum pump, then piped in the insulating oil…the place was lousy with PhD boffins…they even had PuO in very small quantities..hellofaplace to have a transformer!! Or an oil fire, or a bang! There was also a lot of Cobalt 60…
Xfmr windings are also coated with special varnish… (as an aside these varnishes are a chemical engineering specialty, not many experts. The writer (whose work I recommend) Primo Levy was one of these rare experts.)
I think that modern computerized switchgear is capable of detecting an imminent Xfmr arc and cutting the power fast enough to prevent an explosion…that’s opinion…and anyway in the example, it did not.
“lack of relevant news that is important”…yes, it is. Since these electrical machines behave in reliable and predictable ways, the silence (best guess) indicates that the management at HDH failed, or the fellas “pencil whipped” the maintenance. Silence, after a phuckup, is normal. “Bang!” happens if the machine is not maintained….rather like any big machine that’s not cared for properly…and all machines have a death wish.
The machine itself tells you, in a forensic sense, what happened. I very much doubt that there’s a darker explanation, other than lousy maintenance. Working at a hydro is a gravy-train, people get lazy, mostly nothing happens…until it does.
In Wyoming, when you see the track of a critter, you don’t look for Zebra. Occam’s Razor an’ all of that.
At https://folsompowerhouse.org/ there’s a photograph of some very old oil-filled Xfmrs…I have often wondered if they got the PCB oils out of there…
Westinghouse hired a real oddball…”Hugo” Charles Proteus Steinmetz (see wiki). He was the fella that made Xfmrs efficient.
Heads up!
These 2 tweets explain why the US is set for civil war / revolution, if the Democrats seek to grant the vote to illegal immigrants before the November Mid-term elections to try to retain control of the House & the Senate:
1. White House spokesperson: “Republicans are using migrants as a political tool.”
https://twitter.com/disclosetv/status/1552757542702522369
2. The US is facing record numbers of migrant “encounters” at the S-W border last & this fiscal year.
https://twitter.com/disclosetv/status/1552760356455456769
Great banter today ladies and gents, uplifting on a cool Friday morning. The coolness here is giving the garden tomatoes and certain other veggies fits. It’s a flipped coin, things that suffer summer heat are thriving. Today we’ll test the beats pickled last week.
Cheers M
This weekend is a critical test of relations and intentions. It appears Nancy is on her way to Taiwan to deliver the good news of continued chip cooperation, along with anything else needed to complete the future required tasks, ie: protection money and or weapons.
And the Chinese have already stated that any resources devoted to the two Chinese system will be militarily shot down now, rather than simply observed.
And by now people should know that along with high level diplomatic personnel, goes secret weapons and or cash to keep operating in said country.
So could this be show time? Which is No Time, for changing your mind.
As General Turgidson said, “It looks pretty hairy”. https://www.rt.com/news/559859-china-army-taiwan-war/
https://youtu.be/snTaSJk0n_Y
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202207/1271742.shtml
Seriously, is zugswang…for China and for the nazis… I can’t imagine a path other that the bad.
https://youtu.be/siZQX98TsJ0
“are these the nazis?” https://youtu.be/qLs6gVCGJ5w
https://youtu.be/iSZJbJ4Mfis (Vera Lynn, We’ll meet again)
It may be critical test, but it looks to me more like a total fubar than a test…
Let us pray that the “spooky action at a distance man” lets war be avoided… Well, it can’t hurt…
There have been so many “whispers from God” that have been ignored it’s to be expected that God will “throw rocks”.
Nancy doesnt care. She laughs her arse off at China’s threat which they never would have courage to realize.
As a woman she knows men’s weaknesses and thats why US sends her as one more provocation.
There may be people in her circle that would be highly gratified to: A) start a war with China, and, B) delighted if the Great Lady, uh, was “among the first “casualties”. An heroic passing…they’ll re-name a road somewhere.
I recall that, last time the US fought the PLA, the PLA defeated the US, with little more than the Moral Law, Sun Tsu, and antique bolt action rifles. Man, the stories from Korea will chill the soul. They nearly pushed the US into the sea. This time? No more “Mr Nice Guy”.
https://youtu.be/WjihZPxNTGU?list=PLJPEbKQEnOROz4903Nva2lHhPh9N9dEir (Yalu, Korea film) I recommend the very long film.
They say the senile guy is senile, but they also say that Dear Lady Nancy is also in a similar state.
Last time the PLA MIG 15 pilots under training by USSR were so poorly fed that they were unable to fly a mission…this time they are in top form, and seem to relish the opportunity. (The pilot nutrition problem was solved by the USSR, and then the fellas did well)
I must rush down to Stumpy the bookmaker…before the odds change. $20 on the PLA.
She knows nothing of the sort, she is less than the fiddle you claim her to be.
Perfidious Albion at it again!
July 13: Venezuela’s gold is still frozen in the Bank of England (BoE). The issue returned to the UK courts and the UK government just reaffirmed its recognition of Juan Guaidó. The UK courts are effectively being asked to legitimate piracy.
30 July: The UK High Court has ruled in favor of the Juan Guaidó board in the Venezuelan gold case Venezuela’s highest court (STJ) quashed Guaidó’s appointment of an “ad-hoc board” to the Central Bank of Venezuela but the UK court ruled that STJ judgments cannot be recognised
Just a reminder. last time I looked the BoE holds 37 nations’ gold reserves.
Ever wondered why Norway wasted years of diplomatic efforts negotiating the Oslo Accords I & II between the Palestinians and the zionist entity, which the zionist entity reneged on immediately following 9/11?
@Sudhi
Thought you might be interested in this article Sudhi.
How Britain stole $45 Trillion from India – And lied about it (Dec 2018) ….
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2018/12/19/how-britain-stole-45-trillion-from-india
Not to mention, the famines which killed between 1 – 11 millions of Indians on a fairly regular basis (almost every decade) under the British Raj. These were deliberate acts of economic warfare, see:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_major_famines_in_India_during_British_rule
In addition, the problem with the Indian economy is the British Raj saddled it with inefficient state monopolies, that, and the caste system. Indians still react to this day when certain people’s last names are mentioned in conversation.
Its in the purview of every country to determine its own economic development model. The Chinese chose Ordo-liberalism (from the Germans) i.e. state-directed development.
See: China’s ‘Erhardian Bargain’
“… German ordoliberalism may have much in common with contemporary economic policy in China”
https://www.eastasiaforum.org/tag/ordoliberalism/
As Mr P. mentioned, in the History of Economics (which should be taught at every university) the nations of Japan, France, Germany & the US all developed behind protectionist barriers, i.e. tariffs, quotas & subsidies. The BS argument of “free trade” was promulgated by the leading industrial power at the time – the UK – but that was only because the UK had its civil war (1648-88) first – before France’s Revolution (1789) & before the US (1860-65). Of Course Germany didnt even unify until 1870
Sidebar: With the exception of the market for fresh fruit & vegies i.e. many sellers & many buyers (no *single buyer or *single seller can influence price), there’s really no such thing as a “free market”, given the level of oligopoly & monopoly which exists in many of the world’s markets.
With similar sized populations & land areas, the Chinese have lifted ~800millions out of poverty in roughly 40 years – a truly remarkable human achievement. India’s middle class is ~300 million.
India’s elites still side with ‘Mother England’. Look no further than Establishment 22 – used by India to destabilize China-India relations since 1962, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Frontier_Force
(yet another plank of the UK-US’s China -Containment policy)
The appalling hypocrisy of the collective West is in any nation that is NOT a US/NATO ally – its a target for ‘balkanization’ – but any country that is an ally or satrapy – its borders are sacrosanct.
See how it works?
The disgusting NY Times – controlled by the Sulzberger family since 1896
Look at the headline: U.S. Officials Grow More Concerned About Potential Action by China on Taiwan
… but buried in the 8th paragraph:
“U.S. officials say they are not aware of any specific piece of intelligence indicating the Chinese leadership has decided to move soon on Taiwan.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/25/us/politics/china-taiwan-biden-pelosi.html
A recent survey revealed 76% of readers only read the headlines
Just one family – in a million – facing extreme hardship, nationwide:
https://www.pressherald.com/2022/07/24/nobody-would-choose-this-a-turnpike-rest-area-and-a-van-become-home-for-one-maine-family/
This is America.
This is INSANE !!
Knowing how absurd & obcene that wasting of huge amounts of money actually is.
From the Pentagon’s black holes of trillions of dollars to all sorts of corruption(It’s estimated that about 85!!%!! of those billions dedicated to Iraq & Afghanistan ‘re-building’ simply vanished!). And whatever else meanwhile.
Now spendind almost 70 billion fighting a proxy war in Ukraine, whitewashing fascist & nazis, killing tens of thousand of soldiers!!
And yet no money left to comprehensively fight proverty(in some places even extreme forms), renting madness, food insecurities, healthcare’s deep swamps and ending fiancially supporting programs like feeding underprivileged students at school and children in medical treatments! (According about estimations about 1,5 to 3,2 million)
In over 30 cities feeding the homeless is a felony now, soon in at least 10 states ‘camping'(concerning homeless people) on state owned proverty, like under bridges, will be a felony also.
Being homeless, the real numbers are much bigger than just 600,000, feels more and more like being a criminal.
Disgusting !
I guess nobody told you where you were huh?
That’s what you get for trusting the system.
Noting that SPAR 19 https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SPAR19 aloft and jetting to Asia with the Great Intellectual Lady of Celestial Wisdom “Nancy” aboard, is a US military aircraft. As such, this aircraft is ultimately under the control of the senile fella…who can order the aircraft to divert to one of the nazi bases that sully the Pacific…perhaps an “oil leak” might lead to landing at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnston_Island_Air_Force_Base
The Chinese say the Fine Lady is under the control of El Presidente. They’re obviously correct.
As I recall, the re-call code-prefix is “OPE”.
After “emergency landing” @ Johnstons Island, the Fine Lady would naturally be free to swim in any direction she chooses.
More gravely, I recall how U2 in 1960 is said to have been sabotaged by occult nazi cabal in serendipity with bigbig Eisenhower confabulation with USSR in Europe…thus fubaring that critical meeting…