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January 4, 2022
Slow News Day
Comments
Over the holidays I came across this 9-minute Youtube clip that I thought was packed with the truth about what the USA does, and why.
Syrian Ambassador to China H. E. Imad Moustapha’s talk during the “International Forum on Democracy: the Shared Human Values”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2A-tuK23zY
Posted by: Canadian Cents | Jan 4 2022 18:51 utc | 2
Here’s another clip from over the holidays that I thought was great and should be heard. It’s a 5-minute video from the People’s Summit for Climate Justice in Glasgow during COP26 with historian and scholar Vijay Prashad calling out the West on climate change:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bho6xY-jSuE
Posted by: Canadian Cents | Jan 4 2022 19:03 utc | 3
I think that events are happening but not being reported like the private banking bailouts and the drone attacks of empire’s military folk in Iraq and Syria that I am reading snippets about.
If something happens but the MSM does not report about it then did it really happen?…..I think about the Crab Nebula that went supernova in 1054 and was seen for months in the night and day sky but is unrecorded in “empire” history even though noted in China, Japan and Baghdad.
Posted by: psychohistorian | Jan 4 2022 19:05 utc | 4
Thanks to commentator y from the “The Federal Government’s Covid Failure Becomes Even More Apparent” thread @207 asking:
The post about a meeting btw Putin and popova disappeared.
Could you post the link please?
I now know which comment John referred to in reply to what seems to be a new troll using the moniker Heather.
I provided a machine translation of the annual informal meeting of the CIS heads-of-state, which as far as I can tell wasn’t translated into English. I did so on that thread because of the discussion provided by Ms. Popova to those heads of state about where the CIS stood regarding the pandemic because it was most certainly relevant to the thread’s topic. Yes, it was a long transcript and also very informative, which is why I provided it as my aim in participating on this board has always been to inform and educate. As I recall, I even asked for b’s indulgence for such a long posting. Unfortunately, it only provoked the one comment by y, likely because all others scrolled past it despite the information it contained. I’d never have noticed it’s removal, but I thank John for the info so that I could answer y’s query. I’m hoping y will discover my answer above.
Posted by: John Cleary | Jan 4 2022 19:33 utc | 7
Norwegian ip, sc works fine here.
Posted by: Per/Norway | Jan 4 2022 19:36 utc | 7
I recently watched “The Testimonies Project”, an ongoing video document of injuries and health issues suffered by Israelis who received the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA jabs against COVID-19. The video is made by the Israeli People’s Committee, an independent organisation collecting data on COVID-19 vaccine-related injuries since the vaccine roll-out started in Israel at least year ago. Apparently for some reason the Israeli Ministry of Health is not collecting information on vaccine-related injuries and adverse reactions.
The video makes for very harrowing and depressing viewing. Several interviewees say they got the vaccine under duress from their employers. The video is structured according to the nature of injuries suffered, with interviews of people who had heart conditions coming first. Other injuries include neurological issues, skin rashes including a case of shingles, and cases of women suffering miscarriages.
A Google search for the video and its makers will take barflies to the website featuring the video.
For much of 2021, the only COVID-19 vaccine available in Israel was the Pfizer mRNA product. Israel has begun offering the Moderna product as well. Some of us may recall seeing news that back in 2020, the then PM Binyamin Netanyahu, in an effort to appeal to the electorate (and stave off the court trial that would him and wife Sara to jail for bribery, blackmail and misappropriation of public funds), lobbied hard with Pfizer and perhaps not a few politicians in Europe and North America to put Israel at the front of the scramble for vaccines. There is also a little question about what exactly is in the fine print of the contract Netanyahu might have signed with Pfizer in order to get the vaccine before everyone else.
Significantly Israel refused to share its Pfizer shots with the Palestinians who I understand have had to get Sputnik vaccines at least.
Posted by: Jen | Jan 4 2022 19:36 utc | 8
@9 – Lucky for the Palestinians.
I have two friends who have had miscarriages post jab. Another friend’s 18 year old son with heart swelling post jab.
Cause and effect?
Posted by: lex talionis | Jan 4 2022 19:48 utc | 9
America’s addiction to pornography and by that I mean Neocon pornography …
Designated Survivor https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5296406/?ref_=hm_rvi_tt_i_1
The show has an interesting premise. Joe everyman gets thrust into the Presidency as a result of a terror plot killing the President, Congress, the Supreme Court and leaving a lowly Cabinet member to carry the torch. This is a beautiful setup for the underestimated servant rising to the challenge.
BTW this is a domestic terror plot, the Neocon porn is crafted into the first two seasons.
The President is able to stand up to third world dictators who attempt to ‘take advantage’ of our perceived weakness. This culminates in a two part episode where our hero leads a war against ‘Brunami (Iran)’ with every single beloved cliché.
The first two seasons were received well but S3 was panned for being too liberal and the highest rated episodes featured our President showing U.S. leadership to the rest of the world.
Interestingly, the writers slipped up and revealed a truth. Our President scolded the Ambassador of Brunami,
‘Tell your Emir that we will keep bombing his infrastructure until the people hunt him down in the streets’.
So there you have it. Neocons admit that we target civilians, increasing their misery, in order to force them to take action. So anyone who says, ‘we are for the great people of …’ is lying.
Posted by: Christian J. Chuba | Jan 4 2022 19:51 utc | 10
Within the USSR, it was policy for most state-owned corporations to furnish social facilities–from housing to entertainment to medical facilities to schools, etc.–for their staff and their families. This policy was resurrected by Putin and is part of the national goals policy. It’s in Russian only, but today’s conversation with Boris Obnosov, General Director of Tactical Missile Armament Corporation clearly shows just how far along this policy has come and might educate some as to Russian reality. What follows is an example:
“Boris Obnosov: On the research and development side. Recently, and not even recently, in the last decade, probably 15 years, we have been paying very serious attention to the issue of preparation, starting not only with students, but also with school. Each enterprise in our country patronizes a number of schools and gymnasiums in its own city. We have a very powerful department at MAI, where we prepare students in our profile. We have a whole faculty in Reutov from MSTU and the department of MSTU. Each final enterprise, whether it is Perm, whether it is Omsk, whether it is Orenburg, maintains its departments in those universities or institutes that are located in a particular region.”
As one might assume, this conversation reveals several other interesting bits of information, but I’ll allow barflies to discover what those are on their own.
Here’s some news. Different strokes for different folks:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-04/novak-djokovic-says-received-an-exemption-to-enter-australia/100738536
https://www.tennisworldusa.org/tennis/news/Novak_Djokovic/107117/craig-tiley-indicates-there-will-be-unvaccinated-players-at-australian-open/
Meanwhile, in separate incidents people in Melbourne, home of the Australian Open, are self immolating over mandates to ‘send them a message.’
It’s time for Australian politicians enter a state of shiva, I’ll supply the fuel.
Posted by: Paul | Jan 4 2022 20:01 utc | 12
Thank you Per.
This is what I get
403 Forbidden
В доступе на страницу отказано
Что случилось и как исправить?
— Неверные права на каталоги или файлы
Верные права на папки: 755, на файлы: 644. Если у вас назначены другие, исправьте по инструкции.
— Ограничение доступа через .htaccess
Переименуйте файл .htaccess. Например, в .htaccess_old. После проверьте, работает ли сайт.
Posted by: John Cleary | Jan 4 2022 20:03 utc | 13
Something is up in Kazakhstan right now. Could be early arrangements for a destabilization campaign/color revolution. No certainty yet, but maybe wise to have an eye on it
Posted by: v | Jan 4 2022 20:05 utc | 14
https://publikumskonferenz.de/blog/2021/12/31/ene-mene-muh-und-raus-bist-du-rt-de/
Fine article about Absurdistan of Germany which can’t permit its poor sheeple to watch RT Deutsch on TV. Oh,the Horror. Since RTde-YT(they counted 528 million view clicks until Google finished the channel in 2021 among loud applause from goverment officials & mass media) is gone and also RT Deutsch had to shut down the question now is how long will it take to get rid of DE.RT.com(which is quite successful in the BRD)??!!
Of course, use your translations tools.
Posted by: MD | Jan 4 2022 20:19 utc | 16
@15 v –
Thank you for that bit of information! I am wrapping up a documentary on the Kazakhstan. I guess Abliazov got access to some of his bank accounts to fund the opposition. Maybe he joined forces with Kazhagelden. VoA & Radio Free Liberty need some footage. The Soros Open Wallet Foundation comes in to help, too.
Bad bad Nazarbayev.
Posted by: lex talionis | Jan 4 2022 20:24 utc | 17
Posted by: v | Jan 4 2022 20:05 utc | 15
Kazakhstan has loosened the fuel subsidies on LPG; price has nearly doubled in 48 hours; people pissed off.
President is having a rethink; couldn’t imagine why?
I’d wager good money that certain other countries are encouraging the unhappiness.
Willing to take a guess?
Posted by: HossCara | Jan 4 2022 20:26 utc | 18
2021 Retrospective from an American’s Perspective
What a year! Here’s the list of events and emerging trends I thought most significant:
Social Divide Intensifies
The alienation factor between the coastal hi-population centers and the rest of the country (euphemistically called “flyover country”) is still intensifying, and it’s pretty bitter. The culture war, the income disparity and the town-by-town economic obliteration of flyover is making people really mad, and the politicians and the media are making things badly worse. We can’t get much done at the Federal level, and even local politics have become just plain toxic.
Inflation crashed the Party
We all knew it would happen: inflation finally got away from the Fed, and it’s got a lot of legs. This single fact changes a lot: massive stim-paks and long-term low rates are getting iffy, maybe not possible for the next few years. Stock market, real estate market, all those majestic bubbles that have held our economy afloat are now in question. This year may mark the first time Americans have to choose between Defense and social services. The beginning of the end of Borrowing as a Lifestyle has arrived.
Two Against One
We’ve decided to take on China and Russia at the same time, and on the economic, military and technical levels. Remember, this was our idea, too.
Anglosphere Circles the Wagons
Anglos have figured out that Asia’s gonna integrate, and it’s going to be US .vs. Them from here on out. Injuns are about to attack, so we have to circle the wagons. Great Britain was wrested from EU, Australia pulled from China’s grasp, and public TV is chock-a-block with shows about how wonderful Britain is, and they’re the well-spring of our cultural heritage, and aren’t those castles just the coolest thing? And don’tcha yearn for a proper Royalty to put things right?
If you’ve ever wondered how much the media serves government policy, it’s on-display, in spades. I’ve never seen this much, this fast. Those wagons are moving lickety-split.
The Elites Start Worrying About Survival
There are a few very good books written by Wall Street veterans that came out this year, and the theme is “our Western civilization is waning fast, as Empires often do, and we need to change policy NOW”. “The Great Rupture” by Victor Schvets came out first, and a few months later the one by Ray Dalio of Bridgewater Associates (top-tier hedge fund) came out. What’s most interesting about Dalio’s book is the list of A-list WallStreeters and Politicos that sang its praises. The fact that these books were written by these authors, and hawked in the streets by the A-listers tells you plenty. They’re worried.
Carbon Exit Accelerates
Most of the auto majors have committed themselves this year to being all-electric by 2030 or so. In the U.S., 68% of our petroleum consumption is for internal combustion engines of our cars, trucks and trains. This fact has dawned on petroleum companies and investors. The companies aren’t spending any more money on exploration, and the stockholders are demanding the companies start diversifying out of petroleum.
Rapid Obsolescence
The plight of the petroleum companies is only the tip of the iceberg. A great deal of any (not just American) existing industrial infrastructure is entering a new phase of rapid obsolescence. Transportation, agriculture, energy production, commercial real estate, mining, manufacturing – a pretty big part of our entire economy, is using plant and equipment that is rapidly approaching the end of its economic utility.
Workers Stop Commuting, and Some Fire their Job
Work-life got fundamentally and permanently changed by Covid and the related stim-paks. We all knew telework would happen, but nobody thought it would happen this fast or this much. And it’s permanent. Workers don’t want to return to the office. What’s more, they don’t want to return to their crappy jobs, and the Stim-Paks support that trend. These workers are starting home-based businesses at at the fastest pace I can remember, and I go back a ways. These people are starting businesses partly because they want to (sick of the Old Job), and partly because they have to (their industry changed, maybe from automation, maybe from Covid)
What are the biggest emergent trends of 2021 in your part of the world?
Posted by: Tom Pfotzer | Jan 4 2022 20:29 utc | 19
Enjoy something uplifting while waiting for the 2022 geopolitical shitshow to start:
https://webb.nasa.gov/content/webbLaunch/deploymentExplorer.html
Posted by: digital dinosaur | Jan 4 2022 20:35 utc | 20
Senior Israeli Diplomat Yuval Rotem explains israël’s Bright Relations With Turkey. By Aluf Benn, Editor-in-chief of Haaretz.
Some extracts:
Yuval Rotem is a senior diplomat and he was the previous Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel.
(…) « In my opinion it’s true that the Mavi Marmara incident had an impact on the political atmosphere but if you look closely, you’ll see that Turkey actually was in need of such a crisis in order to induce to the Muslim world that it is confronting Israel. We had no problem with that of course as long as it didn’t hurt our strategic and economic goals. I can’t confirm but there were rumors back then that there was an agreement behind the scenes. They wanted us to inflame the situation to silence critics of their deep relations with the state of Israel. »
(…) « it is a part of the game when Erdogan speaks against us in the media. whereas, he gets closer and closer to us in important geopolitical challenges.
Additionally, both countries want to alleviate the humanitarian conditions in Iraq and have common interests in Syria and Azerbaijan. So, there are many areas where we are working together especially in these three countries. »
(…) « It’s not in our interest that savage governments like those in Iraq and Syria have control over the Euphrates and Tigris. We must have a leverage and what’s better than having control over their water resources? The best way to control the rivers was to build dams and that’s what we did in Turkey. »
I guess you are not worried about possible environmental catastrophes in the future then, actually the amount of water in the downstream of both the Euphrates and Tigris has decreased in a terrible way and it has affected the agriculture of Syria and Iraq severely.
« There are consequences for everything. We are willing to help whoever needs our high-tech agriculture industry. We are also ready to sell drinkable water to countries that lack enough drinkable water. »
« Turkey’s territorial connection to Azerbaijan can be its biggest economic score. Because Turkey has the potential to connect the Mediterranean coast to the Caspian Sea. So, this alone shows the importance of this trilateral relationship. This connection will tighten Iran’s security and military blockade.(…) Armenia is in a state of disintegration and can’t resist Erdogan’s will. I hope that by the end of 2022 turkey’s territorial connection to Azerbaijan will be accomplished. Tel Aviv and Ankara are ready to make big concessions to Russia in order to make this happen. »
Posted by: Leuk | Jan 4 2022 20:37 utc | 21
How to escape Google
https://swprs.org/how-to-escape-google/
And never forget
Is Wikipedia an open encyclopedia or a covert disinformation operation?
https://swprs.org/wikipedia-disinformation-operation/
Posted by: MD | Jan 4 2022 20:39 utc | 22
Trouble on Russias border?
kazakhsttan-fuel-prices-unrest
Posted by: Dim sim | Jan 4 2022 21:07 utc | 23
@Posted by: MD | Jan 4 2022 20:39 utc | 24
People still use Google?
I use as my homepage:
https://start.duckduckgo.com/
Posted by: librul | Jan 4 2022 21:10 utc | 24
“Slow News Day”
So when does the principle and interest come with a vengeance?
Posted by: William Haught | Jan 4 2022 21:24 utc | 25
When the elites have finished trashing and crashing this country (USofA)
they will flee the mess they have made and escape to other lands with
their ill-gotten caches.
What will be our subsequent options for dealing with them?
Posted by: librul | Jan 4 2022 21:26 utc | 26
Here’s a story that deserves B’s attention:
Death claims made on insurance claims up by 40% since last year among working-age people inIndiana says insurance company.
“We’ve never seen anything like this”.
https://www.zerohedge.com/medical/what-if-largest-experiment-human-beings-history-failure
Posted by: Ed | Jan 4 2022 21:35 utc | 27
My aim in participating on this board has always been to inform and educate.
Karlof1
I am a very long *years* lurker, but obviously only very recently plonked myself on a barstool.
I always read your posts. I read the CIS heads of state meeting and Popova’s report was indeed interesting.
It was worthy of pulling out as a stand-alone piece, rather than lost in the comments. I can’t comprehend why it would be scrubbed.
It’s exactly the info I (and many) others I am sure) are looking for as it will never be covered in western media.
I just ignored Heather and her rant, but that it bothered you is a reminder that we are “real” people behind the posts.
And just like in real life, I need to say “thank you” more often.
For every “heather” be assured there are many many many more of us who absolutely appreciate what you contribute.
Thank you.
Posted by: Melaleuca | Jan 4 2022 21:38 utc | 28
@28 librul – Hopefully we will have learned a lesson and then we shall get on with business of rebuilding and bringing back our industy. We will teach the children math, science and definitely history. We will look at the bad things in the past of this country, as well as the good. And we will all work on our marksmanship and gun control. Use both hands.
And I wish that on every other country that has fallen victim to the neo-liberalist neo-conservative plague. A pox upon them. Wait… They’re good at that.
Posted by: lex talionis | Jan 4 2022 21:40 utc | 29
Tom Pfotzer Jan 4 2022 20:29 utc | 21:
Most of the auto majors have committed themselves this year to being all-electric by 2030 or so. In the U.S., 68% of our petroleum consumption is for internal combustion engines of our cars, trucks and trains.
Me: For the two or three trillion spent on GRAFTghanistan we could have probably had a PRT system and require all vehicles to be electrified rail capable with an engine and/or battery (often smaller would then be practical) for off-rail capability optional. Electrically powered transit would then be much more practical and less resource intensive. The pineapple is already quite far up the Chihuahua’s backside.
Alternatively, we probably could have had a space pier made out of something light and strong such as carbon fiber 100 km high and hundreds of km long for launching payloads electromagnetically into space, at least if the necessary technology is / was available.
But hey, neoliberal, neocons with Piled Higher and Deeper degrees in political science and “economics” (as opposed to political economy) think transforming Libyan buildings into rubble was a great investment and a great way to demonstrate American Exceptionalism, so what do I know?
Posted by: William Haught | Jan 4 2022 21:45 utc | 30
@Posted by: Ed | Jan 4 2022 21:35 utc | 29
There is a clock ticking on your post.
I am taking bets on how long until it disappears.
Posted by: librul | Jan 4 2022 21:47 utc | 31
Actually, probably more like $200 to $300 billion on Graftghanistan and $1.8 or $2.7 trillion on SuperYachts and supermansions.
Posted by: William Haught | Jan 4 2022 21:48 utc | 32
COVID report 1/3/22:
# of new cases today: 1,017,376
7 day average: 480,916
Compare with the “huge” spike for the winder of 2020-2021:
# of new cases today: 300,777 (January 8, 2021 – the peak day)
7 day average: 259,616
All those proclaiming “following the science” for the last year are clearly smoking crack.
Posted by: c1ue | Jan 4 2022 21:54 utc | 33
agree with the sentiment lex but aren’t we getting a bit ahead of ourselves?
there are more intelligent and driven people than us, with all the advantages of a view from the top, who will already have half a dozen things in the works to distract from any coherent analysis of the last two years
i wish i knew which conspiracy theories were going to come true this year! the path from vax passport to digital currency and social credit already seems like a done deal, but what will be the distraction?
Posted by: Rae | Jan 4 2022 21:54 utc | 34
@Posted by: Ed | Jan 4 2022 21:35 utc | 29
Isn’t the subconscious interesting. I had read your linked story yesterday or very late last night.
Compare the last line of your linked story to my post @1. The subconscious doesn’t care about plagiarism.
“Trusted News Initiative”. George Orwell must be spinning in his grave.
Posted by: librul | Jan 4 2022 21:57 utc | 35
A Canadian province is reporting a previously unknown neurological illness. Investigations have been ongoing since spring 2020 but the illness was not publicly reported until March 2021.
There are an increasing number of victims. The victims appear to be mostly young people, a cohort not known for a prevalaence of neurological illness. There is also evidence of communicability between individuals.
https://thewalrus.ca/new-brunswicks-medical-mystery/
New Brunswick’s Mystery Disease: Why Did the Province Shut Out Federal Experts?
The provincial government’s closed-door investigation has confused experts, stoked fears, and missed an opportunity to solve a possible new brain disorder
Reporting suggests that the Provincial government seeks to clamp down on reporting. The number of victims has doubled. The Trudeau government has backedaway from any formal intervention and assistance from outside institutions such as Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins University has been refused. It is unknown if the WHO has been notified as per Canada’s international oblgations. Federal scientists have been “muzzled” by federal health authorities at the request of the province. The provincial health inquiry “not only appears to be behind schedule but is being conducted in secret, with some family members required to sign non-disclosure agreements before participating.”
The province’s chief medical officer of health, Eilish Cleary was researching the human-health effects of glyphosate, a powerful herbicide (and potential carcinogen, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer) used in abundance by NB Power and J.D. Irving, the forestry arm of the wealthy Irving family business before being fired. No reason was given for Cleary’s firing, but environmental advocates and opposition politicians have suggested corporate interference. In 2016, Cleary received a $720,000 severance package in exchange for signing a nondisclosure agreement. Speaking to the CBC in 2017, Mario Levesque, a political science professor at Mount Allison University, called the payment “hush money.”
New Brinswick is not a wealthy province and that high six figure severance is grounds for concern.
The Guardian on January 3 2022 reported a whistlblower claiming:
The official number of cases under investigation, 48, remains unchanged since it was first announced in early spring 2021. But multiple sources say the cluster could now be as many as 150 people, with a backlog of cases involving young people still requiring further assessment.
One suspected case involved a man who was developing symptoms of dementia and ataxia. His wife, who was his caregiver, suddenly began losing sleep and experiencing muscle wasting, dementia and hallucinations. Now her condition is worse than his.
A woman in her 30s was described as non-verbal, is feeding with a tube and drools excessively. Her caregiver, a nursing student in her 20s, also recently started showing symptoms of neurological decline.
In another case, a young mother quickly lost nearly 60 pounds, developed insomnia and began hallucinating. Brain imaging showed advanced signs of atrophy.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/02/neurological-illness-affecting-young-adults-canada
After all the Western finger pointing at Wuhan and the claims of inaction, incomptence and deliberate concealment, one would think Canada would deliver a better response to its citizens and to the international community which which it has signed treaties. New Brunswick is but a plane flight from everywhere. Nations should be held accountable for public health failures that imperil the global community.
Posted by: Sushi | Jan 4 2022 22:03 utc | 36
@Tom Pfotzer #21
If there is one thing we can be sure of: it is that American Automakers don’t matter.
All of the growth going forward is going to be elsewhere – who cares what inbred, PMC-focused, technotopian retards in the US think? Let’s be clear that this isn’t an opinion but rather one based on fact. A major portion for the massive swings in US energy prices in the past 2 year is precisely because of dumbass ESG efforts.
Dumbass ESG efforts are why US and Europeans energy companies cannot expand energy production even now that they want to.
Dumbass ESG efforts are why even an inherently capital protective investor like Harris Kupperman has been buying 2023, 2024 and 2025 oil commodity contract collars aimed at a strike price of $100 (present price is around $77). He is so confident that that ongoing resurgence in world demand for energy in general and oil in particular, plus that the US and European energy companies are so incompetent/ESG hobbled, that he’s put serious cash in on short dated derivatives.
So no, I draw an entirely different conclusion than you: You have clearly taken the Western PMC bullshit entirely to heart; the ongoing march of energy, commodity and all other prices clearly show something fundamentally different is at work.
Posted by: c1ue | Jan 4 2022 22:04 utc | 37
does anyone have any contact with ‘black bread’?
i don’t think it should be ignored that someone who was feeling intensely isolated and ostracised while becoming ‘increasingly unstable’ was banned from what is potentially one of their few interactions with other humans
a bit of compassion goes a long way
Posted by: Rae | Jan 4 2022 22:08 utc | 38
Tell me, is this site exclusively Pro Russian? Do you ever post Russ negative articles? Are posters ever inclined to disagree with Russ position? Does Putin every do wrong by you? Is the su57 / pantseer / s400 / nuclear torpedo etc without fail, the greatest miracle weapon of all time that the foolish West just cannot ever hope to match? Is conservative Christian culture the only right one? The homophobic laws introduced and general culture of Russia acceptable to your morals and instinct for personal freedoms? Are all protests Western led? What about France, who leads those protests? Netherlands too, that USA? Does Finland want to be Russian again?
Posted by: debil | Jan 4 2022 22:08 utc | 39
@karlof1,
Thank you for your efforts! They are sincerely appreciated.
You have likely vetted the VK site, I’m sure. Being that I live in the U.S., I am circumspect to a degree. Is there any doubt or hesitation that is warranted to signing up to the site, rather than simply reading the posts?
Posted by: donten | Jan 4 2022 22:14 utc | 40
more from the energy world, this time from China
(1) Fusion power gets closer: “EAST” tokamak, plasma at 70 million C, runs for 17 minutes (!)
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2021-12-31/China-s-artificial-sun-smashes-1000-second-fusion-world-record-16rlFJZzHqM/index.html
(2) Hydro buildout round-two: 3.6 GW pumped station is commissioned. Has 300MW turbines, but earlier this year they already demonstrated domestically manufactured 1GW turbines at the last big round-one hydro site that was commissioned. Future plans for these: additional +30GW by 2025, and another +60GW for 2026-2030
https://www.pv-magazine.com/2022/01/04/state-grid-of-china-switches-on-worlds-largest-pumped-hydro-station/
(3) Regular nuclear power, Small modular reactor. 200MW unit hooked up to grid. Not really the first, and the “small” scale doesn’t actually make sense for Chinese use. Still, it is a unique Helium cooled design. Not sure if that’s good or bad.
https://interestingengineering.com/the-worlds-first-small-modular-nuclear-reactor-is-sending-power-to-the-grid
(4) The final generation of coal power starts deployment: 1GW unit commissioned. These will retire smaller existing units. The enormous scale allows higher efficiency and better pollution control. They’ll probably run for 30 years
https://www.powermag.com/first-1-gw-unit-of-major-china-coal-fired-plant-comes-online/
Posted by: ptb | Jan 4 2022 22:16 utc | 41
@36 – Ukraine and Central Asia totally heat up and Russia is forced to react. Israel Pulling some stunt with Iran and then the USSA has to come to their aid.
Or some smallpox at a few airports quickly spreading worldwide. I think those scenarios sound likely. We can add several mass shooting blamed on this or that form of radicalization, or better yet, a distrust of the election process in the midterm elections in the USSA this November. That coupled with some state based violence by police forces that can be blamed on racism. Quick rioting to follow, small businesses crushed and a lot of cheap real estate in a few weeks.
What I really wish would happen would be a massive electromagnetic pulse that would bring down all computer networks.
I would miss everyone here, though.
Posted by: lex talionis | Jan 4 2022 22:17 utc | 42
@Posted by: debil | Jan 4 2022 22:08 utc | 41
“Tell me, is this site exclusively Pro Russian?”
Nyet
Posted by: librul | Jan 4 2022 22:21 utc | 43
Well, if you live in Albuquerque, New Mexico (I don’t):
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Riding a bus in Albuquerque is officially free through at least the end of the year. The city’s Zero-Fare pilot program started on January 1. That means everyone rides for free on ABQ Ride, ART, and Sun Vans.
Maybe it will start a trend?
Posted by: juliania | Jan 4 2022 22:21 utc | 44
@Posted by: juliania | Jan 4 2022 22:21 utc | 46
I lived in a city once
where they paid you to ride their damn buses.
Posted by: librul | Jan 4 2022 22:23 utc | 45
‘Keep your kids away from the Unvaccinated’…
Biden told parents to not let their children play with kids who aren’t vaccinated.
“And for parents with kids too young to be vaccinated, surround your kids with people who are vaccinated,”
Posted by: Kzf | Jan 4 2022 22:23 utc | 46
Now this guy had it figured out ears ago;
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/2d/1e/18/2d1e181886fce802189549769025aa18.jpg
Same problem today
Posted by: vetinLA | Jan 4 2022 22:24 utc | 47
@Posted by: Kzf | Jan 4 2022 22:23 utc | 48
“Biden told parents to not let their children play with kids who aren’t vaccinated.”…
and, kids, especially don’t let the unvaccinated play with your toys,
and make grandma show her passport before kissing you good night”
Posted by: librul | Jan 4 2022 22:27 utc | 48
The English transcript of the long conversation between Lavrov and Solovyov is now complete for those who have yet to read this very important discourse. Much bile was aimed at Biden’s intellectual capacity, but Lavrov and Putin have always provided a decidedly oppositional assessment that IMO we should take seriously. What follows explains why:
“Sergey Lavrov: Sometimes all these misgivings regarding the Russian Federation are nothing more than hysteria. Not all suffer from it. I do not see any hysteria of this kind among prominent, reputable leaders. I have mentioned the Geneva meeting between Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden several times already. They had a serious conversation on specific steps and understood very well that we have diverging views on key matters. Still, they talked to each other as serious, adult people and seasoned politicians, and at the end of the day, managed to outline directions for dialogue. We have not had such dialogue for many years.” [My Emphasis]
So are we to assume from Lavrov–who’s in an excellent position to know–that Biden is a more “reputable leader”–more responsible–than either Obama or Trump? In the very next paragraph Lavrov says the following:
“People in NATO are not ‘serious adults.’ The alliance sought to revive communication channels between Moscow and Washington, but at the same time moved to sever these ties. Jens Stoltenberg expelled eight people. We are now limited to 10 employees, including technical staff. We cannot have anyone beyond this number in Brussels. We cannot work this way. There are people who understand the need for dialogue no matter the circumstances, but there are also those who think otherwise. You have mentioned Michael McFaul. I can name quite a few other people, including both former and current officials in the Baltic states and Poland (I am not even speaking of Ukraine). They respond to anything Russia does in a hysterical manner and without even trying to get to the bottom of the issue, see it as we see it, or hear our arguments. Sometimes, this hysteria reminds me of our opponents as portrayed by the Kukryniksy cartoonists. Many are those who want to reach these heights and stay there. I do hope that our Western partners show common sense. Despite all the electoral upheavals and the consequences they lead to, as we can now see in Germany where you have a hedgehog and a timid deer pulling the same sledge, mature politicians are always needed.” [My Emphasis]
Much more follows that I’d very much like to cite but will only provide this next bit since it illustrates a part of Lavrov’s personality few have likely seen:
“Vladimir Solovyov: So we will not turn into North Korea in terms of being fully isolated from the West, prohibiting travel and deliveries of goods?
“Sergey Lavrov: I cannot answer for crazy people – this is where they are pushing the Western countries. I have not seen people of this kind calling the shots in the West, at least for now. I cannot vouch for crazy people trying to whip up hysteria in the Baltic states, Ukraine and Poland. I am certain that even if this unbelievable scenario does materialise in one way or another, we will find an answer.”
The times are very tense. IMO, people must strive to be as informed as possible about events, particularly where BigLie Media rules. There’s a vast amount of news to be read about–BUT–you need to know where/how to look for it. I provide some; b provides some, and our many barflies provide some. Yes, it’s very hard to keep abreast, hold down a job and manage a family. To fulfill the role of Citizen, people must be as informed as possible by genuine facts, not bullshit.
If Black Bread is reading this,
we the compassionate barflies,
send you a collective salute and hug.
Posted by: librul | Jan 4 2022 22:30 utc | 50
Chris Hedges on the Maxwell trial;
https://consortiumnews.com/2021/12/07/chris-hedges-american-satyricon/
Posted by: vetinLA | Jan 4 2022 22:33 utc | 51
A long article about China by Peter Hessler:
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/01/03/chinas-reform-generation-adapts-to-life-in-the-middle-class
Hessler seems to have lived in China since the 90ies. Although writing for the New Yorker, he doesnt seem anti-Chinese.
The article is about a cohort, the class he taught in the 90ies, which he’s tried to follow for more than 2 decades now. It’s more like a series of anecdotes than a statistical study. His students were mostly dirt poor from rural Sichuan. Some are now rich driving German cars and hoarding real estate.
Interesting article, maybe appropriate for a slow news day.
Posted by: Robert Macaire | Jan 4 2022 22:59 utc | 52
Melaleuca @30 & donten @42–
Thanks very much for your replies and support; I’m greatly appreciative!!
As I’ve written far more than twice, MoA is inhabited by some very sophisticated trolls, some of whom are clever enough to gain the confidence of other barflies. I once sought to expose such trolls, but doing so is a vast waste of precious time and energy; so, I no longer try, nor do I pass judgment on b’s decisions. The recent troll outed itself immediately and was further compromised by others, although others remain.
As for the specific question about VK, I use it without any problems, nor did I expect any, unlike FB, where my wife continues to have a longstanding account. The only restriction VK imposes is No Porn or solicitation for such sites. My articles mirror the political position I display here, and the reason for my VK Space is as I state: Looking for clues at the scene of the current crime and those that came before. Those barflies that have joined VK to communicate directly with me and read my articles are satisfied as far as I know. My daughter would certainly tell me if she experienced anything untoward, but she hasn’t. And there are a great many other individuals and groups worthy of knowing beyond me.
John Cleary @7–
It seems SC hasn’t updated itself since January 2. But it’s become a target of the West’s censors, so it might be having issues.
@39 C1ue. The bombast boy.
I got tickled by your response; anyone that suggests that petroleum motor fuels are on their way out is an ESG fool according to your perspective.
Rebut this, Big Mouth:
Electric cars are simpler, cheaper, more efficient, have more torque. ICE can’t compete. ICE accounts for most of petroleum consumption. Nearly every automaker worldwide understands this, and they, not you, are the decision-maker. (fortunately for their investors).
When the auto industry moves to electric, the petroleum industry is going to get hammered. 50% of a barrel of oil goes to to motor fuels. If 50% of production has to be reformed/cracked/synthesized to another product, there better be a lot, and I mean a lot of demand for that “other product”. Which “other product” did you have in mind, C1ue?
Got any bombast on that score?
The oil majors are shifting from motor fuel to gas, as it’s got more run-room. Is Russia building petroleum pipelines, or gas pipelines? Which is it, Mr. Drive-by-Put-Down?
Kuppy is a short-term, opportunistic investor. Read his materials, he’ll tell you so straight up. It’s perfectly plausible that petroleum will spike in the short term, since new exploration/production investment is curtailed. But the majors, who have better info than you do, aren’t currently going for it, and probably shouldn’t. Nobody can predict the future with certainty, but the majors – all of them – are planning for an exit from petroleum/motor fuels production.
Gas is a different story. It may last decades longer, but not many decades.
======== Lest I spend too much time jousting with fools, may I turn my attention to …
@32, William Haught:
Yes, indeed. All your points are valid. A grand lack of imagination and courage – not just graft and greed – has precluded the U.S. from becoming a really Great country. We could have done it, and .. maybe still might.
But not with our current values… and – astonishingly – that’s what the likes of Schvets and Dalio advocate, or at least circle around. They know what’s necessary, but they don’t know how to get it.
Posted by: Tom Pfotzer | Jan 4 2022 23:05 utc | 54
Hey Ed. Israel all cause mortality up in younger cohorts too.
Debil. CNN is that way.
Black bread: don’t know you. Didn’t get to see your posts. Substack is the place you want to be. Dr Robert Malone is a good start. Steve Kirch. Eugyppius.
Posted by: Jezabeel | Jan 4 2022 23:12 utc | 55
What will be our subsequent options for dealing with them?
librul | Jan 4 2022 21:26 utc | 28:
Just do what the mafia does to people that crosses them.
Posted by: Ian2 | Jan 4 2022 23:19 utc | 56
@Posted by: William Haught | Jan 4 2022 21:45 utc | 32
People continuously mistake flows (new EV car sales) for stocks (the number of ICE cars on the road).
– In China up to 85% of new car sales are additions to the fleet, so even with an EV market share of 80% the ICE car fleet would not shrink
– In Europe its about 20-30%, so the current EU EV market share has not yet even made a dent
– In the US its about 5%, but EV share is about 4% currently.
The average car in the US stays on the road for at least 12 years. Also many of the displaced cars end up in Africa etc. as used cars to be driven for many more years. Plus new car sales are growing fast in Asia etc. EV’s won’t have a significant impact on global oil demand until very late this decade, and even then growth in petrochemical demand will offset the reduction. Just another ecomodernist “fix” that isn’t.
Oh, and the GHG emissions of EV’s happen up front in production with the emission saving years spread out. So increasing production of EVs will also offset those yearly GHG “dividends” from EV usage until EVs approach a plateau of production.
Mass public transit and degrowth is what is required.
Since I have been already condemned by the santons here, let me at least point out, for clarifying purpose, what uncle Phil thinks of those who while affirming they are “communists”, still support the current dictatorship ha out which they have no word of criticism, in spite of one of the tasks of any serious communist being that of ruthless criticism, more against alleged allies than on declared enemies…
https://mobile.twitter.com/PhilGreaves01/status/1476589081110929411
Posted by: Heather | Jan 4 2022 23:26 utc | 58
Covid-19: Emmanuel Macron says he « very much wants to piss off » the non-vaccinated « until the end ».
In an interview with Le Parisien, the President of the Republic severely criticizes the French who have not yet received any dose. Five million people described as “irresponsible” who are no longer, according to him, “citizens”. (…)
“It’s a very small minority that is resistant. This one, how do we reduce it?”, Emmanuel Macron pretends to wonder, and continues: “We’re reducing it, sorry to say, like this, by screwing it up even more.”
He adds:
” Well, in this case, the non-vaccinated, I really want to piss them off. And so we’re going to continue to do it, until the end”.
Posted by: Leuk | Jan 4 2022 23:26 utc | 59
@Posted by: Tom Pfotzer | Jan 4 2022 23:05 utc | 56
See my comment #59 above. Also, natural gas is worse than coal when fugitive methane emissions are taken into account; shown by the rapidly increasing atmospheric levels of methane (a gas with a 100 time worse climate impact than CO2 over a 20 year period).
We will be lucky if GHG emissions are lower in 2030 than in 2022, with the latter looking like it will be the year of a new report in GHG emissions.
For this decade, the mixture of oil depletion and record low oil discoveries may keep quite a high use under the oil price.
From the previous open thread:
Posted by: BM | Jan 4 2022 17:21 utc | 274
In an earlier post a fortnight or so ago I suggested creating an open source sql database from the VAERS data, by means of which anyone could – reproducably – make much more powerful interrogations of the data rather easily. Have you tried doing that? Watching some video proves nothing. If you download that data from VAERS for yourself and convert it to sql, the SQL commands you use to do so can equally be used by anyone else to reproduce whatever you might find.
As it happens Paardekooper must have read you, ability to query the VAERS data and much more is online at:
www (dot) howbad (dot) info
Posted by: GN | Jan 4 2022 23:37 utc | 61
Also, for clarifying purpose, an related to Russia and China, some evidence by another uncle..
https://mobile.twitter.com/Zis1941/status/1478440874128416768
Posted by: Heather | Jan 4 2022 23:38 utc | 62
@ karlof1 | Jan 4 2022 19:24 utc
I did not scroll past your generous contribution to the discussion but read it in full as usual, this said to counter a misconception you may have about some of us barflies. ( I am a reticent person and do not give enough praise when praise is due, let alone the rest of it.)
If you had not published that translation, I would not have been cognizant of it. Thank you for your work and professionalism.
I especially like ms popova’s words about viruses which you paraphrased. Her words struck me more profoundly — I wish I could remember them exactly, something like one knows a virus is alive by its constant morphing into a new configuration.
Posted by: suzan | Jan 4 2022 23:48 utc | 63
As this is a slow news day can I liven things up a bit?
It’s about Blair, and his KG, and what he did for her to earn it and why he must be “cleaned up” immediately.
Can I encourage all European governments to look up their records for the European “summit” in the summer of 2000?
Look for the interaction between Schroeder and Fischer of Germany with Blair of the UK.
Blair got caught. He was always a straw man. Just like Major.
And just like Major what makes it legal ex-post is the KG.
You see its Malcolm Wall and Anglia Television all over again, at a much much higher level.
Check it out for yourselves.
But don’t try to claim, at some point in the future, that you didn’t know.
Posted by: John Cleary | Jan 5 2022 0:05 utc | 65
@Posted by: Leuk | Jan 4 2022 23:26 utc | 61
That is only a way to provoke violence from the unvaccinated citizens, so that he could do the only thing will save him from defeat, martial law. The French people, even those amongst his voters, will understand what kind of tyrant this petit napoleón has turned out to be.
They will become aware you do not make your way out of fascism through compliance..
He lies all the time, there are many more people unvaccinated in France than 5 million, hence his rage..
Stripping half the population of citizenry by verbal decree as that will not wash..
Posted by: Heather | Jan 5 2022 0:13 utc | 66
Canada, U.S., Honduras
Kawsachunnews’ Camila Escalante in Toronto,Canada, interviews Canadian Grahame Russell, who gives a short, well summarized description of Canada’s role as a key cog in the Empire. Russell lays out Honduras’ history since the 2009 coup, ties together the collusion and support from Obama, Canada’s mining oligarchs, pretty boy Trudeau’s embrace of the money people, all the way to the current caravans. All connected.
https://orinocotribune.com/how-canada-propped-up-the-honduran-narco-regime/
Posted by: migueljose | Jan 5 2022 0:17 utc | 67
Posted by: debil | 41
debris. (Autocorrect, but I like it)
The “world” is awash with anti Russian narrative. The point of a blog like this is to offer a small sliver of an alternative view.
Posted by: Melaleuca | Jan 5 2022 0:19 utc | 68
@66 – I think the usual cast of characters, USAID, Open Wallet Foundation, other NGOs are exploiting people angered by a hike in gas prices. The discontent is being used to cause troubles on both Russian and Chinese borders. I have a friend in Almaty. I haven’t heard any news from her.
Here is a link to an article on ZH.
Kazakhstan on ZH
It seems like the usual color revolution kind of tactics. Some disgruntled oligarch who robbed the country and fled ( Abliazov? ) poured some dough into some peoples’ pockets. Fireworks follow. There were similar riots in Zhanaozen a few years back on the country’s independence day. We’ll see what happens. Tokayev, the president seems to have caved in pretty quickly which will only encourage the radical elements.
I think it’s another attempt to derail the Belt Road Initiative and Eurasian integration. But what do I know?
Posted by: lex talionis | Jan 5 2022 0:20 utc | 69
Nick | 66
>What is happening in Kazakhstan?
Some pretty heavy anitfa Soros NED style color crap.
Here’s a Twitter with some vision.
Not endorsing the tweep. But it’s on the ground vision.
https://twitter.com/ThomasVLinge
Posted by: Melaleuca | Jan 5 2022 0:25 utc | 70
Debil, Denil, Dev.. Etc, it’s moronic, дебил, anyway keeping an eye on Kazakh developments on aljazeera, general TV news I see a lot of footage they’re using is from the same hanna liubakova that was so central to the Belarus mayhem, strikes me as odd she’d pop up or also be such a key figure for media here.
https://mobile.twitter.com/hannaliubakova
Simply coincidence, Eurasia specialist?
But anyway, I didn’t realise this site was so Kremlin heavy, alternative viewpoints are interesting and valuable but the kind of lockstep war footing and worship of Russian state and military on display at times here is ugly, sure carry a big stick is a good saying so two speak but patience is the best.
Posted by: debil | Jan 5 2022 0:58 utc | 71
Turkey’s Erdogan to visit Saudi Arabia in February
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/turkey-saudi-arabia-erdogan-visit-february
>Kassogi murder point of contention
>”Saudi businesses have endorsed an unofficial boycott of Turkish goods, resulting in a more than 90 percent drop in Turkish exports to the kingdom. Late last month, Turkey raised its concerns regarding this boycott to the World Trade Organisation (WTO)”
> The Saudis felt like they have been getting excluded in this regional reconciliation. They would like to be a part of it.”
>Turkey and the UAE repaired ties last year after nearly 10 years, with Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi also now reconciled with Ankara’s ally Qatar.
>These developments are all tied to the Biden administration’s policies in the region – especially regarding Iran – as neither the UAE nor Saudi Arabia wants to be left to stand alone against Tehran.
Posted by: Melaleuca | Jan 5 2022 1:00 utc | 72
Just came across another great YouTube clip, so I’ll make it a trio in addition to the ones I posted at comments 2 and 3.
This one’s about 4-minutes, with the Chief News Editor of SCMP speaking some truths, including some great quotes from Chris Hedges and George Galloway:
The insufferable hypocrisy of Western governments hell-bent on destroying Julian Assange
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfVGludKPWM
Not expecting anything like that from a chief news editor from our “free press” establishment news media outlets that stick to official talking points.
Boycott-divest-sanction the UKUSA yakuza until they free persecuted political dissident Assange.
Posted by: Canadian Cents | Jan 5 2022 1:03 utc | 74
suzan @65–
Thanks for your reply! I reread the transcript to find the passage you mentioned and there are two that sorta fit your description:
“This is indeed an expected and yet unexpected change in the virus. The virus has not changed throughout 2020. We observed very little variability. But, unfortunately, at the end of 2020, the first changes that were found in both South Africa and the UK with the delta strain – the virus demonstrated its variability. Viruses must change, this is their peculiarity, this is their property, they simply do not develop otherwise.”
Later:
“Anna Popova: No virus stops in its development, and it is impossible to expect omicron to be the final version. “Omicron” is already more contagious today, but it causes less severe cases. What will be the next one, today it is impossible to say. But any virus lives only when it changes.”
My short note about symbiosis within the Microcosmos was a gesture toward you as it denotes my being a student of the late exemplary Dr. Lynn Margulis, who I view as one of the world’s top microbiologists and evolutionists. Her technical papers and books written for laypeople in association with her son Dorian Sagan are as fascinating as they’re educational.
Thanks again for your feedback!
Posted by: librul | Jan 4 2022 18:45 utc | 1
Trusted News Initiative (TNI)
Orwell rolled his eyes.
Me: More like Trussed News Initiative, Hog-tied News Initiative, etc. — as in journalistic Kama Sultra. Wait, that is too kind, unlike Lavrov, a master of understatement better at it than any Brit, I’d say a journalistic 50 Shades of Darkest BSDM equivalent to what the regime of Bone Saw Man does unannounced in the middle of streets before hoisting up the severed head with a crane.
What is there sources guests on Fox Hasbara and Fox Plunderbound such as Jamal the GAFFEr (as in one who makes gaffes)?
Posted by: William Haught | Jan 5 2022 1:31 utc | 76
or stated another way — Zionist, Neocon, neoliberal, warmongering, corporatist violence porn.
Posted by: William Haught | Jan 5 2022 1:35 utc | 77
@Roger 59, 62
Good points re: installed base of autos .vs. the rate of fleet turnover. It won’t happen fast – it’ll take at least the decade you suggest, maybe even more.
But it is happening, and a decade isn’t that long a time.
What really surprised me about this year, Roger, was the impact of Covid on work life. I really didn’t see that coming, and I was also surprised about the effect Covid had on supply chains was *just* the opportunity that producers were looking for to jack up prices. There was a great big huge amount of repressed price-increases that jumped out, and I’ll say it again, I was surprised at the time by it. I was one of those people that thought the inflation was going to be “transitory”. The supply chain kinks – the rubric – actually was transitory. The pent-up price-increase motivation – and the stim-money to pay for those price rises…that was a bit of a surprise.
Wolf Richter called it dead-on as it happened over at WolfStreet…back in May or June of this year, well before Wall Street took heed, and before it really showed up in the official numbers. Wolf is a smart man.
The one thing about Covid that didn’t surprise me was the effect it had on commuting, and it’s possible that this trend of work-from-home may have significant cultural and purchase-decision-making impact. I’m seeing a lot of opt-out type thinking showing up in places – official, culturally-sanctioned places that you’d not really expect it.
==== Separately…
I’ve been working for years to design and build a greenhouse that uses no fossil fuels, but can produce almost as much in winter as spring, summer and fall. Today I see, for the first time, a design and the specialized materials to implement it, imported from China into Alberta CA (cold, cold, cloudy winters). It’s a good design.
Came out of China.
Greenhouses, esp for Russia, Mongolia, Canada, China are a really interesting idea, because they fundamentally change the dynamic about where you live, what your lifestyle is, what inputs you need to have a decent life.
I’m not sure that China is going to industrialize the way we did. They’re doing it much later in the sweep of technological innovation, and they have a much bigger palette of options than we did. It’s going to look pretty different. I’m wondering how much more investment they’re going to make in the big-city, intensive-capital pattern.
Posted by: Tom Pfotzer | Jan 5 2022 1:39 utc | 78
Coincidence of the day :
Color revolution over price of retail lng in kazakhstan.
Neighboring Tioumen Refinery on fire.
Posted by: Nems | Jan 5 2022 1:40 utc | 79
@ debil 73 – That is quite interesting about Hanna Liubakova. Atlantic Council, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. You solidified my opinion that it is a total color revolution with some propaganda boots on the ground.
I don’t think MoA is so Kremlin heavy, as you say. I think the opinions expressed here by the boss and commenters are pretty balance. There is a German word, Putinversteher. Literally, a Putin understander. I think people here simply realize the great accomplishments of Russia pulling itself up from the abyss after the Soviet Union fell. They also see how the Atlantacists have gone after them – and the rest of the world – tooth and nail. But that is just my viewpoint. I certainly don’t wish to speak for anyone but myself.
I for one really admire the Russians for all their accomplishments and also for doing their part to end “The End of History” so pompously pronounced by Francis Fukayama.
But I must admit I do have a crush on Sergei Lavrov.
Posted by: lex talionis | Jan 5 2022 1:48 utc | 80
Lithuanian President Rebukes Government Over Taiwan Controversy
Milda Seputyte, Bloomberg News
(Bloomberg) — Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said the government’s decision to allow Taiwan to open a representative office using the island’s name was a mistake, wading into a controversy that’s upended the Baltic nation’s relationship with China.
The criticism by the head of state in a radio interview comes after tensions between China and Lithuania triggered friction between Beijing and the European Union. Taiwan opened the office in the capital, Vilnius, in November under the name of Taiwan, a move viewed by the Chinese government as a violation of its one-China principle.
Nauseda, who oversees foreign policy and represents Lithuania at EU summits, said both Lithuania and Taiwan are free to open representative offices that hold no diplomatic status and regretted that “the name of the office has become the key factor that now affects relations with China.”
“I would think that, not the opening of the Taiwanese office, but the name of it was the mistake, something with which I wasn’t consulted,” Nauseda said in the interview with Ziniu Radijas on Tuesday.
China responded to the opening by downgrading diplomatic ties with Lithuania, recalling its ambassador and allegedly halting clearance for Lithuanian exports, which prompted the EU to raise the dispute with the World Trade Organization. China has denied it’s blocking Lithuania’s exports.
Lithuania pulled out its diplomats from its embassy in Beijing in December after the Chinese Foreign Ministry demanded the return of the envoys’ diplomatic identification cards.
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/lithuanian-president-rebukes-government-over-taiwan-controversy-1.1702787
Posted by: daffyDuct | Jan 5 2022 1:50 utc | 81
Below is a link from ZH that summarizes what is happening in Syria/Iraq from a Western perspective
US Launches Preemptive Strike On “Rocket Sites” Near Occupied Syrian Oil Fields
The posting makes it sound like all the bad drones are being shot down easily and all is well in support of the illegal empire hold on the oil fields in Syria
Posted by: psychohistorian | Jan 5 2022 2:01 utc | 82
MoA barflies are familiar with the recent interest in Mass Formation Psychosis and probably won’t be surprised by the following
Below is a posting about the way that Google has been manipulating results for this term
Google Manipulates Results as Searches ‘Mass Formation Psychosis’ Explode Due to Collapsing Covid Narrative
How many people want to live and raise family in a society like this? Raise your hands…./s
Posted by: psychohistorian | Jan 5 2022 2:10 utc | 83
NUR-SULTAN, January 5. /TASS/. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Wednesday accepted the resignation of the country’s government, which will continue performing its duties until a new cabinet of ministers is formed.
A presidential decree, published on Wednesday, says that “in accordance with Article 70 of the Republic of Kazakhstan, I hereby resolve to accept the resignation of the government of the Republic of Kazakhstan.”
“Smailov Alikhan Askhanovich is to be vested with interim duties of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan,” it says.
In accordance with the document, government members will continue their duties until a new government is formed.
https://tass.com/world/1383927
Posted by: Melaleuca | Jan 5 2022 2:19 utc | 84
karlof1 @6,many thanks for the link to the informal CIS conversations. Very helpful of you to repost.
Posted by: juliania | Jan 5 2022 2:25 utc | 85
China has scored a devastating propaganda coup against India. They posted a 45 second video in front of some rocks of Chinese troops unfurling the national flag and singing the national anthem and claimed it was from Galwan, where the clashes were in 2020. The video has the Congress Party supporters screaming at Modi for “giving away Indian territory”, and the Modi regime (while deafeningly silent about China) attacking the Congress about totally irrelevant stuff. Meanwhile the Indian Army claimed that the Chinese video was “not in territory claimed by India”, which refused to satisfy the Congress. It claims simultaneously that the Indian Army is “strong enough to beat China” and at the same time refuses to believe it about the video being in Chinese territory.
The video is here:
https://mobile.twitter.com/srinivasiyc/status/1477641333321859072
Posted by: Biswapriya Purkayast | Jan 5 2022 2:30 utc | 86
Tom Pfotzer | Jan 4 2022 23:05 utc | 56
Thermodynamics, Fossil Fuels and Renewables, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly[*] — Part I
Meet the cast
Few people know or understand the “thermo-whatsit” word. Even fewer understand why it could be cast in the role of the “Good”. Still, aware of it or not, understand it or not, like it or not, thermodynamics has become a crucial matter. So long as all abide by its principles, it will remain the “Good”. If not, it will turn ruthlessly into something much worse than “Ugly”, lethal… We will look at the Good without the complicated maths most can’t understand.
Now, in turn, after over 50 years of denials and procrastination, bar a few die-hard deniers, the consensus has finally emerged casting Fossil Fuels as the “Bad”. The climate is heating so we have to “decarbonise”, it’s obvious… Surely there cannot be any more doubt about this? But… is it that so simple? Well no, as we will see.
Then, casting Renewables as the “Ugly”? How could that be? After decades of call to action on the part of “Greens”, countless marches and protests by environmentalists and kids worried about their lack of a future. Is it not the case that more and more Central Bankers, financiers, investment bankers, fund managers, venture capitalists, and investment analysts, as well as endless NGOs, governmental bodies, United Nations bodies, and politicians, contrast the dangers of “stranded assets”, the wealth destroying potential of climate change, and the loss prospects in the trillions of dollars, Euros or whatever currencies, on the one hand, with, on the other hand, the potential of huge returns from investing in businesses tackling the Climate Emergency, developing sustainability, building an “energy transition”, in short “greening” everything? In many countries, hundreds of pundits marvel about “renewable power” being now “cheaper than coal” … They talk of the Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) investing “megatrend” and investing in “renewables” disrupting fossil fuels and the automotive sectors, meaning photovoltaics (PVs) and wind turbines (WTs), with their complements in Li batteries and electric vehicles (EVs).
. . .
Instead, in what follows we will discover how and why the Good, the Bad and the Ugly drama is not at all what it is construed to be, due to a whole herd of “elephants-in-the-room” that have remained invisible to the world’s decision-making elites for over 270 years… and that have begun rampaging through the industrial world with likely lethal consequences — as summarised in Figure 1.
Posted by: pogohere | Jan 5 2022 3:28 utc | 87
In defense of vaccine mandates, by University of Toronto law professor:
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-vaccine-mandates-are-justified-as-a-matter-of-community-self-defence/
“As a matter of law, vaccine mandates are unquestionably legal. In law, the only question is when, not if, they should be introduced.”
“Vaccine mandates are legal because the balance they strike is fair. COVID-19 has taken enough lives; the time has come to stop the killing.”
Posted by: Prof | Jan 5 2022 3:37 utc | 88
@ 90 prof.. from a friend…
“The latest data from the UK suggests the vaccine is now only effective for 10 weeks for omicron. Such a poor vaccine should never have been used en masse. It should never have been mandated. It should have been aimed at high risk people only. Some vaccines work really well – rabies, measles, parvo, tetanus, smallpox etc. Some vaccines don’t work well – pertussis, dengue, RSV. Every corona vaccine for every species in the last 50 years has been poor. This one is no different. Even smallpox vaccine, which does work well, was used more judiciously than this one. Here is a quote from the WHO on smallpox eradication: “Before 1967, the smallpox eradication strategy relied on mass vaccination. However, this strategy was ineffective in densely populated regions where containment measures proved more effective”.
Smallpox Eradication Programme – SEP (1966-1980)
Posted by: james | Jan 5 2022 3:46 utc | 89
Re Khazakstan;
Am reminded of Karl Rove: We are an Empire today, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you are studying that reality -judiciously as you will- we’ll act again creating other new realities which you can study too….”
So while Russia is complaining about it’s shoes being squeezed, the Empire is striking in Kazakstan to install a US puppet.
Time to invade Kazakstan and set the record straight.
No need for a new Belarus. And let it be known that this is part of the RED LINE.
Posted by: CarlD | Jan 5 2022 3:50 utc | 90
Surely surely shirley
Russia, China and Kazakhstan itself coulda seen this coming
Posted by: Melaleuca | Jan 5 2022 4:04 utc | 91
On UAE and its game on behalf of UKUSAi.
Here at The Cradle.
So how was all this achieved by a 50-year old emirate with a population of just over one million?
Certainly, none of this was possible without an American green light and the complete cluelessness of the Saudi crown prince.
Unlike his Saudi counterpart, MbZ is viewed in Washington (and London, for that matter) as a trustworthy ally who can achieve US foreign policy interests in the region without the public embarrassment associated with MbS.
Accordingly, the Bab al-Mandab strait fell neatly into a vital component of the Cold War 2.0 buildup between China and the US. The Arab ally that can control this essential strait will give the US leverage with which to jeopardize the Maritime Silk Road. Hence, its support for the ongoing conflict in Yemen.
MbZ also knew how to keep the UAE in the shadows by taking advantage – as he always does – of MbS’ inexperience and ignorance in matters related to geopolitics.
Posted by: uncle tungsten | Jan 5 2022 4:23 utc | 92
“As a matter of law, vaccine mandates are unquestionably legal. In law, the only question is when, not if, they should be introduced.”
Prof | Jan 5 2022 3:37 utc | 90:
Ha. Anything can be considered legal when the criminals are in charge.
Posted by: Ian2 | Jan 5 2022 4:44 utc | 93
re#84 psychohistorian,
you missed the best part of that story, the US is launching “Preemptive Strikes” on sites after US bases were targeted by drone attacks; has the definition of “Preemptive” changed recently? They should have used the word “retaliatory”, but I guess that would reinforce the embarrassing truth that the US forces there are sitting ducks to drone and missile strikes, so I guess they decided to say “Preemptive” to make it seem that they are being proactive and mobile, as opposed to static and reactive.
Posted by: Kadath | Jan 5 2022 4:53 utc | 94
psychohistorian #85
How many people want to live and raise family in a society like this? Raise your hands…./s
My family are fully versed on who the enemy is and how to detect its machinations. It is a vibrant dialogue :))
Posted by: uncle tungsten | Jan 5 2022 5:04 utc | 95
@90 Prof
I took a look at the law the professor cites. Not going to quibble.
Then I looked at the facts that the professor cites:
“…a fact that unvaccinated people are much more likely to become infected and spread the disease. Science has proven that unvaccinated bodies are ideal incubators where new variants can grow and mutate”
Man is full of shit.
[Sidebar: asymptomatic transmission doesn’t happen. Vaccine-free people aren’t going to culture viral mutation without being sick and noticing it. They’re going to get sick and isolate. Vaccinated people will culture the virus without noticeable symptoms, and will encourage mutation and spread the breakthrough. FFS, we’re two years into this thing. Some things are known.]
Let’s bring it to a court of law where the fact situation will be argued, demonstrated, and adjudicated.
I suspect his law will stand (preliminary opinion only).
His “facts” aren’t worth the pixels spent on reproducing his bullshit.
Posted by: Grieved | Jan 5 2022 5:46 utc | 96
@Posted by: Tom Pfotzer | Jan 5 2022 1:39 utc | 80
US CEOs used the “just in time” philosophy to squeeze out any and all resilience in the US supply chain, then added on top global supply chains spanning many, many nations and mass outsourcing. All of which of course reduced expenses and increased the worth of their stock options. Then add on a few decades of pathetic levels of state investment in infrastructure, needed to help reduce the taxes for said CEOs, and hay presto you have the perfect cake baked for high sensitivity to disruptions. Oh, and casualize the truck drivers to halve their pay and refuse to increase pay to “let the market work” to remove driver shortages (and perhaps put portapotties in the ports and other places where drivers must wait after long drives).
China has a strong state to stop shit like that happening, and invest in good public infrastructure – like automated efficient ports, trains, subways, buses, and good roads. Still won’t save us short of controlled degrowth, but they will also things out a lot longer.
pogohere #89
Thank you but I prefer my waffles actually completed ie thermodynamically proven. That oddity was published by medium because it took the reader nowhere and planted seeds of doubt about any alternative possibility, and left them with the illusion that they had found an erudite discourse. I get figure 1 and lament that is missing the entire elephant in the room and rather focused on a cabbage.
Posted by: uncle tungsten | Jan 5 2022 6:15 utc | 98
>Emmanuel Macron denounced France’s 5 million unvaccinated as “non-citizens” and vows: “I really want to piss them off. And so we will continue to do so, to the bitter end. That’s the strategy.” (Le Parisien)
>Germany’s Health Minister Lauterbach: “We cannot wait for compulsory vaccinations to become obsolete because we have a very high level of infections. Omicron as ‘dirty vaccination’ is not an alternative to mandatory vaccinations.” (RND)
>UK PM Boris Johnson says no new Covid curbs and the country can “ride out” the Omicron wave.
>Britain does not see a surge in mortality amid #Omicron wave – Chief Medical Officer Sir Whitty
> French government wants to enact drastic new restrictions on the unvaccinated starting January 15. They expected to fast-track the bill through parliament.
>U.S. reports 1 million Covid cases today (incl. backlogs)
>Judge approves Ghislaine Maxwell to get a “booster” shot.
> FDA grants emergency authorization for Pfizer’s “booster” injections in children and teens ages 12-15.
> The Pfizer “booster” injection for children in the U.S. receives emergency authorization on the basis of “real-world” data from Israel. No clinical trials are cited in the FDA press release.
>twitter poll: Do you trust the official Covid figures provided by your country’s government agencies. 69k response. 89.5% reply “no”.
>PM Bennett expects up to 50,000 cases per day at the height of the emerging #Omicron wave. Israel has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world
Sources: @disclosetv
Posted by: Melaleuca | Jan 5 2022 6:18 utc | 99
@ Julie & William Gruff – from the earlier open thread
I wanted to combine Julie’s link to John Campbell’s latest video with William Gruff’s speculation that a “white hat” force injected Omicron into the viral landscape as a means of bringing the pandemic to an end.
Because if this was the case, they did a great job with this super-transmissible, antibody-creating virus.
~~
Campbell interprets the latest scientific study from South Africa to tell us in plain words that Omicron is displacing Delta. This is exactly how it’s working, and it’s how he titles his latest video:
Omicron is displacing delta science [18 minutes]
Campbell as he explains the results from the study tells us, in the same moment that he himself realizes, how perfectly the Omicron is working. It’s a wonderful moment.
In sum:
1. Campbell shows that Beta variant was no good against Delta variant, which is why some people had the attack twice.
2. But Delta antibodies don’t protect against Omicron – which is why everyone is going to get it.
3. Yet Omicron protects against any new Delta.
Go figure. Or go rejoice.
Delta (which was truly bad) is on its way out. Omicron (which is mild enough for my local newspaper to make light of it – see below) is displacing it (and with beautiful deviousness if one suspects an oriental hand in this mechanism).
~~
My local newspaper in Small Town, Texas (it’s also a quality rag, and with superb writers on staff) spoke today through the publisher in the editorial column of Omicron, in this way:
“2021 is in the rear view. Now we hope that Omicron turns out to be the Covid everyone catches, and no one notices they have it, and we can return to normality.”
This is Jimmy Stewart America, a place that celebrates “It’s a Wonderful Life”. If they’re talking about it this way in this place, something big is happening.
Does Omicron play in Peoria? Apparently so. Blockbuster, baby.
Posted by: Grieved | Jan 5 2022 6:19 utc | 100