b,
Go for a hike/walk/stroll.
We have a particularly good outdoors day
where I am.
At this time of the year the trees and gardens
change day to day. A walk becomes a discovery.
Ever hear of the book:
The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs
by Tristan Gooley
Check it out.

Posted by: librul | Mar 26 2021 16:35 utc | 4

Be well and refresh yourself! We need you and your “ A” game ❗️

Posted by: Bill Ziebell | Mar 26 2021 16:54 utc | 6

Take a good rest.
You deserve it.
You do a good job.

Posted by: Mike from Jersey | Mar 26 2021 17:06 utc | 8

Happy returns! And avoid “haverim yoffim ” — false friends, by cry thus now and then: “The thief’s hat is on fire!”.

Posted by: Tollef Ås/秋涛乐 | Mar 26 2021 17:17 utc | 10

I’ll be doing the same for the entire month of April to visit family on the East Coast that’s now been delayed for over two years. It’ll be a road trip, so we’ll get to view the devastation done by Neoliberalism and the pandemic up close instead of flying over it all. We’ll also visit some geologic splendor that will uplift our spirits.
Have a good rest, b!! You’ve earned lots of time away from the keyboard.

Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 26 2021 17:37 utc | 12

Time for my own walk in some natural beauty.
Later

Posted by: librul | Mar 26 2021 17:47 utc | 14

“If you have a flaw, it’s that you demand perfection….that is IF you have a flaw”
—–Milhaus VanHouten

Posted by: Chevrus | Mar 26 2021 18:21 utc | 16

Hemiola@15
“Does anyone else here have ideas?”
Yes, the longer this drags on the more PTB will resist and sanction anyone who claims a cheap simple solution.
India is having a bit of a resurgence in new cases and a noticeable increase in deaths. By Western standards they are still outperforming anyone (except the few places that succeeded in closing borders to covid). They are distributing vast numbers of doses of ivermectin/zinc/doxycycline for free. It is all exceptionally safe, no reason not to pass it out. The ivermectin is prophylactic as well as an early/late/post treatment. So why the resurgence? Because in Mumbai/Maharashtra the brainwashed will not have poor mans medicine. They want remdesivir. With over one billion neighbors who have moved on, reopened, put covid in the past, the Western brainwash is powerful. The narrative is more powerful than a billion examples.

Posted by: oldhippie | Mar 26 2021 18:38 utc | 18

b:
You are a resource for the world. Take care, re-energize, enjoy life’s simple pleasures and clear your thoughts.
Be well, Bernhard

Posted by: Red Ryder | Mar 26 2021 18:39 utc | 20

It’s unrelated to the topic, but my favorite Simpsons quote:
“Principal Skinner: Well, I was wrong. The lizards are a godsend.
Lisa: But isn’t that a bit short-sighted? What happens when we’re overrun by lizards?
Principal Skinner: No problem. We simply unleash wave after wave of Chinese needle snakes. They’ll wipe out the lizards.
Lisa: But aren’t the snakes even worse?
Principal Skinner: Yes, but we’re prepared for that. We’ve lined up a fabulous type of gorilla that thrives on snake meat.
Lisa: Then we’re stuck with gorillas!
Principal Skinner: No, that’s the beautiful part. When wintertime rolls around, the gorillas simply freeze to death.”
I don’t know why I like that sequence so much!

Posted by: Hippo Dave | Mar 26 2021 19:21 utc | 22

Get away from all the hate & poison – stay safe, happy and healthy 🙂

Posted by: Erast Fandorin | Mar 26 2021 19:35 utc | 24

Thanks for the platform b, and have a good hiatus..
In the interim, there’s this;
Yemeni forces, allies shoot down US MQ-9 Reaper drone in Ma’rib
…from PressTV, Tehran
https://www.veteranstoday.com/2021/03/26/us-still-fully-engaged-in-crushing-yemen-with-hi-tech-weaponry/

Posted by: vetinLA | Mar 26 2021 19:58 utc | 26

arby @ 27; This should do it, with regards to cost;
https://nation.time.com/2012/02/28/2-the-mq-9s-cost-and-performance/

Posted by: vetinLA | Mar 26 2021 20:14 utc | 28

Hippo Dave @ 22:
We did those experiments here in Australia decades ago and ended up with cane toads.

Posted by: Jen | Mar 26 2021 20:19 utc | 30

Yeah Hippo Dave!
Why …? Mebe because it exemplefies the utter stupidity and lack of foresight and planning our species seems to be afflicted with?

Posted by: Chevrus | Mar 26 2021 20:35 utc | 32

Mr. Bernard F.
No surprises there.
Leave it to a Shia Muslim Iranian to articulate an intelligent position.
I wonder where the other Muslims – not-Iranian, non-Shia – are?
Still talking of UN or of International Community, I guess.

Posted by: fyi | Mar 26 2021 20:46 utc | 34

Old Hippie @ 18
Same Western brainwash in South Africa it seems but it’s being challenged by The People’s Medicine Campaign grassroots activists:
Shabnam Palesa Mohamed, discusses state of Ivermectin in South Africa
Also an extensive ivermectin review in the Japanese Journal of Antibiotics co-authored by the Nobel Prize winner Japanese scientist Dr Satoshi Omura who discovered the molecule is worth a read:
Global trends in clinical studies of Ivermectin in Covid-19

Posted by: Hemiola | Mar 26 2021 20:52 utc | 36

You are the best, b. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Hope you enjoy your break.

Posted by: oglalla | Mar 26 2021 21:38 utc | 38

AB17 have I got great news!
(and for you too, b)
@Posted by: AB17 | Mar 26 2021 17:15 utc | 9
I took a wonderful walk this afternoon and as tends to happen an idea popped in.
I recalled a close associate that had SAD (or so he claimed) and he raved about the solution he had found.
First, what is SAD? Per the Mayo Clinic it is:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/seasonal-affective-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20364651

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that’s related to changes in seasons — SAD begins and ends at about the same times every year. If you’re like most people with SAD, your symptoms start in the fall and continue into the winter months, sapping your energy and making you feel moody. Less often, SAD causes depression in the spring or early summer.
Treatment for SAD may include light therapy (phototherapy), medications and psychotherapy.

My friend used a device that looks like a Walkman with Earphones.
The device sends yellow light into receptors…here…read about it.
http://www.beatthewinterblues.info/light-therapy-through-ears/

Photosensitive Proteins in The Brain
Recent studies emphasize that not only the eyes are photosensitive, but also the brain. The researchers got the idea to start the investigation by examining some animals in which the skull is transparent so the light reaches the brain. Namely, the brain tissue contains photoreceptors in the form of photosensitive proteins such as melanopsin and panopsin. There are so far 18 places in the brain where these proteins were marked. It is scientifically proven that light administration via ear channels improves the integration and functional connectivity of the neural network in the brain.

Wish I had remembered it earlier for you.

Posted by: librul | Mar 26 2021 22:02 utc | 40

Karlof1 @ 12 —
Visiting family? Think about what you can bring up and all the divisive subjects to avoid talking about. Unfortunately, I find there’s not much remaining that doesn’t elicit strong reactions and potential animosity. There’s a tendency these days for people to ‘label’ you based on preconceived categories as encapsulated in MSM’s definitions of deviation from the norm — “extremist” “anti-vaxxer” “conspiracy theorist” “left-wing” “right-wing” “racist” “hater” “bigot” “greenie” “doomer” “pinko” “wingnut” etc. I see it here too occasionally: “You’ve cast your lot with the Trumper camp” or such. There is no room for reasoned discussion because anything one expresses that violates the taboos of official narratives, regardless of the facts that support it, smears one into one of those categories. This is what the MSM have fostered in their orchestrated program to channel thought and shame dissent.
So we’re pretty much down to chit-chat about mundanities in our relations with most others who are steeped in their everyday mainstream news and convinced they know all they need to know.
Hopefully, you will have Internet access and will be able to come here for relief.

Posted by: norecovery | Mar 26 2021 22:10 utc | 42

This typo was Freudian, when I forgot the “l”

Posted by: E | Mar 26 2021 22:39 utc | 44

Misery loves company. My latest software delivery project has burned me out too. Glad to see I’m not alone.

Posted by: Arch Bungle | Mar 26 2021 22:57 utc | 46

On post#31, I titled on “Blinken’s Parisian pose of oblivious nonchalance”, a caracterisation by Ramin Mazaheri. But
Is Sergeï Lavrov talking with oblivious nonchalance?
Lavrov met Wang Yi, on March 23, 2021. At the end of the meeting was the traditional press conference, available on the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia.
https://www.mid.ru/fr/foreign_policy/news/-/asset_publisher/cKNonkJE02Bw/content/id/4647898?p_p_id=101_INSTANCE_cKNonkJE02Bw&_101_INSTANCE_cKNonkJE02Bw_languageId=en_GB/“
You will find more clearly stated, in Russian and in one of the languages of your choice,how Lavrov calmy pointed out once again that Russia and China continue their close and fruitful cooperation in virtually all spheres on the international stage.
But the most amazing thing is Lavrov’s last closing sentence, which only appeared to me in the German version.
In Russian, he said “Нока задноте беремен”, which is translated into English as “all has been quiet on the Western front”.
Polite nonchalance?
BUT into German as ” Im Westen nichts Neues”
Bingo! Not anymore nonchalance! That is the title of a book of world importance!
And it turns out that “На садном фронте беремен” is indeed the Russian title of the book of Erich Maria Remarque.
https://www.livelib.ru/book/1000194395-na-zapadnom-fronte-bez-peremen-erih-mariya-remark
And I googled it “all quiet on Western front” is the English title too.
This book, profoundly pacifist, the consciousness of a 19-year-old German youth subjected to a patriotic cranial stuffing who voluntarily enlisted in the German army. The brutality of life at the front will make Paul and his friends discover that their ideals of patriotism and nationalism are no more than clichés not fit to the real world.
Looks like an HEAVY message to german partners.
For french nonchalance, no solution.

Posted by: Bernard F. | Mar 26 2021 23:43 utc | 48

Enjoy your well earned rest. I and so many others value and appreciate all that you do.
Thank you.
Also: I would like to contribute some more $ but my addled brain (early stages of Biden’s syndrome?) doesn’t remember how to go about it, please let me know when you have a chance.

Posted by: 4 corners Bill | Mar 27 2021 0:27 utc | 50

@ NemesisCalling about your post| Mar 25 2021 16:08 utc | 146
Thanks for the question, interesting…. Why do we think our politician are prostituted?
It’s late in Europe, must sleep. But I’m preparing an antwort.

Posted by: Bernard F. | Mar 27 2021 1:11 utc | 52

relax and enjoy b ~ then come back to us safe and sound.

Posted by: annie | Mar 27 2021 1:24 utc | 54

Different barflies are writing about light therapy so let me add my $0.02
I have a book titled Light Therapies by Anadi Martel and it was translated from French in 2018, originally out in 2016. In the first half of the book he updates ones knowledge of the science to date about light including 2 significant findings in the past 20 years.
The one out at the turn of the new century was about our non-visual optic pathway input to the superachiasmatic nucleus which controls circadian rhythm, internal organs, blood pressure, release of glucose by the liver, production of urine in bladder, etc. The science is ongoing and while the circadian rhythm disruptions can be linked to the spikes of blue spectrum light from CFL and LED lights, how the other bodily functions are effected by light is still a mystery. One part of that mystery is the discovery of a new type of glia cells called Muller cells and they are the living fiber optic cells that transport light to the superachiasmatic nucleus photoreceptor cells that are behind the rods/cones of our vision.
The 2nd significant finding is that, like plants with photosynthesis, humans are powered by certain frequencies of light. A Russian scientist, named Tiina Karu spent over 20 years proving the existence of a concept she calls photobiomodulation. She discovered that light frequencies peaking in the 400nm, 620nm, 680nm, 760nm and 820nm ranges caused the enzyme cytochrome c oxidase to absorb photos from the light at those frequencies previously mentioned. This photobiomodulation event produces ATP, increases motility and cell divisions; and it regenerates DNA….YES, it heals mitochondria in cells.
I have a Medlight 630PRO that utilizes this technology to help me with pain management

Posted by: psychohistorian | Mar 27 2021 1:35 utc | 56

Bernard F, that is fascinating about the famous anti war novel Lavrov cited in his last closing sentence “Im Westen nichts Neues”. I am reading about it now (english translation of German wiki), the brutality of war. thank you so much.

Posted by: annie | Mar 27 2021 1:56 utc | 58

Stay safe

Posted by: Dogon Priest | Mar 27 2021 3:22 utc | 60

Biden urges Supreme Court to allow cops to seize guns without warrant
The PTB has realized the masses had enough of their domestic propaganda, and is pushing to deny whatever little real power the latter still possess.

Posted by: J W | Mar 27 2021 3:34 utc | 62

Below is a short Reuters quote with implications like cotton
”
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai on Friday said she was maintaining the threat of U.S. tariffs on goods from Austria, Britain, India, Italy, Spain and Turkey in retaliation for their digital services taxes.
”
Digital services, unless locked into Central Banking Mafia, should be able to produced for each country and its the in-between that needs to be taken out of the hands of the BIS and turned into a public clearing house.
The whole intertube thing needs to be discussed in public. Is it a public service and to what degree? What interchange rules are negotiated core to international communication? Tough nuts to crack even without the current dying empire bullying

Posted by: psychohistorian | Mar 27 2021 5:03 utc | 64

@48 Bernard F
He said in Russian «Но пока на западном фронте без перемен» Which in English is “But so far there has been no change on the western front” but was translated as “But so far, all has been quiet on the Western front”. A pointed comment.

Posted by: Peter Williams | Mar 27 2021 5:32 utc | 66

Good for you, B! I’m very glad you’re taking the break you need – I hope it has plenty of freshness and natural beauty in it – parks, gardens, wilderness – whatever makes most sense for where you are.
With all good wishes and prayers, and gratitude for the info and analysis you give so much of.

Posted by: Hope | Mar 27 2021 7:12 utc | 68

Jacobin’s Bhasakar Sunkara has a very good interview with Ecuador’s Andrés Arauz probably a month, maybe 6 weeks ago, covers lots of concepts and dynamics playing out in Latin America, Africa and the Mid East. Arauz is good at giving snapshots of how these actions have played out in Ecuador, helped me and could help all of us, I think. I believe he will win the election April 11 and will strongly support Bolivia, Venezuela, Nicaragua,Cuba. If they don’t kill him he will emerge as a leader in the Latin American belt and road initiative. Mexico and Argentina have very rich, embedded right wing elites and the left is not nearly as strong as in Venezuela, Nicaragua, Bolivia and even Ecuador but the left appears to be ascending in Mexico and Argentina for now– Arauz’s victory and re-consolidation–and deepening– of Correa’s power will strengthen all anti-imperial movements in Latin America.
https://jacobinmag.com/2021/02/andres-arauz-ecuador-elections/
a few topics covered in the interview:
High praise for Bolivia’s MAS- “In Bolivia, however, there was the prosperous melding of the objectives of a progressive left and indigenous movements — that’s what allowed for the MAS’s consolidation.”
Lasso vs Yaku Perez- the interview was before Lasso was determined as the 2nd candidate (I was surprised) and Arauz said he would be able to defeat Lasso more easily– refreshingly candid and blunt “If it’s Yaku Pérez, it’ll be a much more contested fight.”
IMF- again, candid, “It’s no secret that the IMF represents financial capital above all and that will be a head-on confrontation on both practical and ideological grounds.”
Bottom line, Arauz appears humble, courageous, astute, strongly tied to Correa’s network, working to adapt Bolivia’s melding of the left and the indigenous. U.S. knows Correa and they don’t like him. Arauz will be a seamless continuation, bad news for the empire. I see a landslide victory on April 11 similar to Bolivia, too big to steal.

Posted by: migueljose | Mar 27 2021 9:24 utc | 70

Take a holiday and enjoy it. You deserve it.
Fresh air and sun is what we all need.
*
While you can! The French overlord (Macron) has ordered that in the town in which I live, masks must be worn at all times. We are not allowed to leave the house and walk round the local “lake” (big pond), or go into town without a mask. I’ll be polite as I have several words which describe my feelings – but they are not for “sensitive ears”.
****
I’m with Caitlin, we do have at least two weapons to use, Truth and Ridicule.
****
All’s quiet on the western front; I once became interested in WWI. (Student days). The “reality” offered to the public was not complete even then, and is very similar to the regular media “turbowashing” of violence today. So younger generations become accustomed to seeing “cleaned” versions of the results.
1) (From “unofficial” reports) The first thing that “you noticed” when arriving at the front was the overwhelming stench. Rotting bodies, s**t, and anything else ………
People lived in that for years. Think about it.
2) I came across a pamphlet with photos made after the war about certain survivors. Ones hit with dum-dum bullets, jaws ripped off, horrible wounds, you don’t even know how some survived. BUT, the point being that those poor bastards were then kept alive in special homes/clinics, as there was no esthetic surgery in those days. Never to be let out, as too horrible for others eyes to see.
They would have lived quite a long time too, as most would have been in their early twenties.
I became anti-war at about the same time.

Posted by: Stonebird | Mar 27 2021 9:32 utc | 72

I just realized that both Bolivia’s Arce and Ecuador’s Arauz understand finance and were top level finance ministers in the previous leftist administrations. That’s a big deal, IMO.

Posted by: migueljose | Mar 27 2021 9:59 utc | 74

ZOOM to pay $0 in taxes on $660 million in profits…. https://www.dailywire.com/news/zoom-profits-in-2020-660-million-zoom-tax-payment-in-2021-0
USA Today: Christian Values Are “Archaic”; Oral Roberts U. Should be Banned
https://thenewamerican.com/usa-today-christian-values-are-archaic-oral-roberts-u-should-be-banned/
The Denial of Evil
https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2021/02/denial-evil-dennis-prager/
What if Hunter Biden was Black?
https://torrancestephensphd.substack.com/p/what-if-hunter-biden-was-black
Study: Chemical That Causes Penises to Shrink Found in Face Masks
https://news.sky.com/story/human-penises-are-shrinking-because-of-pollution-warns-scientist-12255106

Posted by: Dogon Priest | Mar 27 2021 11:25 utc | 76

snake@71 thinks “IANAL” is a valid excuse. No, it is not. There is no excuse for leaving out words that change the meaning. It is a dishonest lawyer who does that sort of thing. The second amendment reads “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” A militia is the people in arms, as opposed to a professional military. The key phrase here is “well-regulated” which means, organized by a government body. In context it means the state, which today means the militia is the National Guard. The days when the local town had elections for officers and trained on the village green are long gone. Further, the part about the security of the free state means that the *states* should have their own military, not that any random person can designate themselves a soldier. (Or is it “warrior,” in the deranged ideology of today?)
The proviso about well-regulated are almost certainly about reserving the right to the government to disarm bands of irregulars committing crimes under guise of pretending to be outraged citizens. In 1763 there were the notorious Paxton Boys, a party of seventeenth century snakes who got drunk then massacred a group of Conestoga Indians, a peaceful farming group, heavily Christian (if not wholly as I recall,) for, well, basically, shits and giggles. Local authorities tried to prosecute the murderers for murder, but the fellow snakes on the ground jury nullified the cases. Unsatisfied with getting away with murder, the Paxton Boys and their fellow snakes tried to intimidate the Pennsylvania assembly by marching in armed. The shame and humiliation earned for their supposed cause, draining the swamp of politics in the capital who looked down on the frontier deplorables. It was the swamp creatures who won the next election. The modern conservative is far more to the right of the patriots of the epoch of the American Revolution. Today’s conservatives would have been Tories to a man, the loyalists sucking up to Howe in New York City or killing patriots in the South.
Incidentally, also in “IANAL” subterfuge, patents are not a law to be repealed, but a part of the constitution. Article 1 Section 8 Clause “To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries.” Also, if “PLC” were truly meaningful it would include trademarks and logos, where the tyrannical government infringes the freedom of the people to insist that no one can slap a Harley Davidson logo on their knockoff motorcycle. Or send out a letter claiming to be from the bank.

Posted by: steven t johnson | Mar 27 2021 12:57 utc | 78

@ Stonebird | Mar 27 2021 9:32 utc | 72
These face-wounded people were called “Les Gueules Cassées”. That was affectionate and respectful.
As a child, I still met survivors, 50 years after the war. The National Lottery was created “for them”, I knew the last tickets of this lottery,
tickets of this lottery of “Les Gueules Cassées”
we even had to sell them every year as an extracurricular activity.
An Wiki link in english for Les Gueules cassées
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gueules_cass%C3%A9es?wprov=sfla1
Then Hollywood took it upon itself to make the war more attractive. There have been a few deviants, but Starwars, Clooney and Inglorious Bastards have put everything back in order to motivate the next generation.

Posted by: Bernard F. | Mar 27 2021 13:38 utc | 80

Take care of yourself, Bernhard, been wondering how you managed to keep this up all those years.

Posted by: LeaNder | Mar 27 2021 14:06 utc | 82

@ Peter Williams | Mar 27 2021 5:32 utc | 66
Yes, translation is not word for word, but in order to point at the message. Could be:
Whatever your langage, just read:
“All Quiet on the Western Front”
” Im Westen nichts Neues”
“На садном фронте беремен”
___of Erich Maria Remarque.

Do you really want Europe back to the Trench warfare?

“Following World War I, “trench warfare” became a byword for stalemate, attrition, sieges, and futility in conflict.”

Posted by: Bernard F. | Mar 27 2021 14:19 utc | 84

oldhippie @79
I must protest your dismissal of that poster. It is invaluable to the community to have such a reliable advocate for the empire keeping us abreast of the current establishment narrative du jour and giving us the imperial perspective on issues. Granted the poster would be an even greater value to the community if it were more forthright about its service to the elites, but perhaps another poser providing a disclaimer for it once per discussion thread or so would be sufficient?

Posted by: William Gruff | Mar 27 2021 14:47 utc | 86

Posted by: Bernard F. | Mar 27 2021 14:19 utc | 84
Correct the name in Russian, На западном фронте без перемен, Peter has got it right transliterated. The name of the book translates differently in every language, “Sin Novedad en el Frente” No news from the front in Spanish, “Á l’ouest rien de nouveau” To the West nothing new..
But Lavrov’s hint is more than clear, from the West came Sigismund, Napoleon and Hitler, the latter two with a coalition of basically the whole of Europe. Too bad we cannot post images otherwise I’d show you how the French are depicted at the entrance of the Monastery in Borodino where both the French and German armies confronted the Russians. As you know the French got further than the Germans, they made it to Moscow but the retreat was a disaster.
I have a better picture but found this one, watch the French emblem, a one headed eagle on the floor, compared to the two headed eagle of the Russian empire.
Spaso-Borodinsky Monastyr Bas-relief

Posted by: Paco | Mar 27 2021 15:34 utc | 88

Have a good rest, b. I’ve been reading Cosmos, and it’s a wonderful font of optimism.
I think most in the bar know what the entire text of the US constitution’s second amendment is at this point (snake’s post included an elipsis before and after the portion of the text he was focusing on; the elipsis indicates that commonly known words are being omitted). I think what most get hung up on (as far as the second amendment is concerned) is the term “people.” To just which “people” is this referring? It’s the same with “the senate and the people of Rome;” does “people” refer to the commoners, or the landed gentry that make the laws? My personal opinion is this “popular” expression is a fig leaf of camaraderie employed by the gentry to generate popular support for whatever law the gentry is attempting to promulgate. Was the second amendment a genuine “fail safe” measure to prevent the emergence of tyranny? It’s entirely possible; there were obviously some amongst the landed gentry of the time who were somewhat more altruistically motivated than others, hence the inclusion of the Bill of Rights in the constitution.
At this point though, the argument is rather moot; there are now a lot of people in the US who own a lot of guns, which are far scarier than pitchforks ever were. That the issue of curtailing private gun ownership (full disclosure; I don’t own a firearm) is becoming prominent indicates to me that the gentry are increasingly concerned that a “quatorze juillet” moment may be in the offing (along with their effing heads).
Thanks again for keeping the bar open, b. See ya when you get back.

Posted by: robjira | Mar 27 2021 15:57 utc | 90

Hypocrisy illustrated:
How Sanctions Hurt Iranian Women: The decimation of the Iranian economy since the U.S. left the nuclear deal is crippling the people who have been working for reform.
If you literally go some centimeters to the left of the NYT home page you can read this:
China, With $400 Billion Iran Deal, Could Deepen Influence in Mideast: The countries signed a sweeping pact that calls for Chinese investments in Iran in exchange for oil, potentially easing Iran’s international isolation.
In other words, “people who have been working for reform” = color revolutionaries in Iran.

Posted by: vk | Mar 27 2021 16:27 utc | 92

Great! You’re taking a vacation, b. That means I can too––from keeping up with your heavy output on MoA. Now all I have to do is keep up with the inexhaustible commenters. But I’m learning to distinguish between whom to give a slow read or a half-lid glance.

Posted by: Jay-Ottawa | Mar 27 2021 16:55 utc | 94

Interesting comparison of the reactions of the respective UK governments to the HK Flu in 68-70 and the Corona virus today.
https://sputniknews.com/columnists/202103261082459731-hong-kong-flu-and-covid-how-no-lockdown-harold-wilson-proved-to-be-better-pm-than-boris-johnson/
“Consider how both men reacted when faced with an epidemic. Wilson’s Labour government not only didn’t lock the country down in the winters of 1968-9 or 1969-70, it’s hard to imagine they even considered it. Life went on as normal. The pubs and nightclubs were full, people attended football matches, race meetings, theatre performances and concerts (where they were still allowed to smoke!), and met up with their friends and family whenever they wanted to.
…
Even this week, when deaths “with Covid” fell to just 17, Johnson was giving dire warnings about the inevitability of a “third wave” washing up on our shores. Now – having got the Coronavirus Act renewed for another six months, Britain’s wannabee Roman dictator is threatening us with “vaccine passports” just to go to the pub.
…
When we look back at the Britain of 1968-70 we see a very different country. For a start, our politicians were of a much higher calibre than today’s third-raters. Harold Wilson and his Cabinet colleagues were from the “Golden” WW2 generation, people who wouldn’t have pressed the “Panic” button when Neil Ferguson – whose ludicrous predictions were used to justify the March 2020 lockdown – came into the room and said, “I’ve done some modelling”.
…
We had a very different media too. There was no breakfast tv, so no hyperventilating “Piers for Fears” Morgan types calling people “Hong Kong Flu idiots” for going to Bournemouth beach on a sunny day in the summer of ’69. The press was much less sensationalist than today- and there were no rolling 24-hours news channels either. And there was no Internet.
The net result of the above was that Britain was a much calmer society. Reason and evidence came above emotionalism in public debate. “That generation approached viruses with calm, rationality and intelligence,” says Jeffrey Tucker, of the American Institute for Economic Research.
…
But of course, those who seek to cause alarm today do so for a reason. Johnson is clearly attempting to hype Coronavirus fears in order to implement the World Economic Forum’s chillingly dystopian “Great Reset” programme.
…
And of course, in the late 1960s, there was no Bill Gates, that strange computer-software multi-billionaire with the squeaky Kermit the Frog-style voice who is able to buy incredible influence in the field of public health due to his extraordinary wealth.
Today, largely because of Gates, “public health” has been reduced to vaccine promotion, but in the post-war era it was much broader and involved things like giving school children cod liver oil (a rich source of important vitamins) and encouraging people to “go to work on an egg”.

Posted by: Bluedotterel | Mar 27 2021 18:09 utc | 96

Re: steven t johnson | Mar 27 2021 13:58 utc | 81
Well Steven, you appear to be conflating the Constitutional passages of Article 1 Section 8, and the Second Amendment. Actually, Article 1 Section 8 says:
-// U.S. Constitution – Article 1 Section 8
The Congress shall have Power to…
[…]
To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries; […] //-
That’s it.
It says Congress has the ‘power to’… It does not say that Congress ‘must’.
I have the ‘power to’ dig a hole in the forest and sit in it all day. But it is probably not something I ‘shall’ do.
I consider the Second Amendment to be the most confusing thing I have almost believed I have understood.
Trademarks are a necessity, but the world would be a significantly better place if all the patent and copyright laws were abolished.

Posted by: blues | Mar 27 2021 18:46 utc | 98

New Regis Tremblay/Tex Bentley interview vid is up. Bentley’s account of US/NATO brass and Special Forces at the Donbass LOC sounds believable. His comment that it is when not if is also believable. IMO, which is worth what you paid for it, he is wrong about Russia going to Kiev. No need. When hostilities begin Ukraine will cease to exist, rats will jump ship and head for Polish border. It will be hard to construct a narrative of anything but a massive defeat. I simply have no idea and no opinion how that defeat will be handled in US.
Please anyone who has any idea what is happening in Ukraine post it.

Posted by: Oldhippie | Mar 27 2021 19:11 utc | 100