Though leary of him, I love the way he explains things in simple, clear and often visionary language. The section on Twitter around 30 mins well worth a listen.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=P7wUNMyK3Gs
He predicts it could become one of the most valuable companies in the world but also goes through the Blue check fees and speech moderation issues quite lucidly. He is a much better journalist that way than most of the professionals in that field…

Posted by: Scorpion | Nov 6 2022 15:52 utc | 4

Pakistan today: The wounded Khan, worried Generals and political chaos

Posted by: Antonym | Nov 6 2022 15:55 utc | 6

@Opport Knocks: Are you seriously suggesting that any British monarch would be consulted or asked to sign off on something like Nordstream sabotage?
..
I’m not exactly sure. I’m a dumb American and I’m just a normal civilian observer like most others here. But the Nord Stream attack was wildly beyond scope of British military special operations, wasn’t it? Who would manage plausible deniability and cover up or sign off on that? Liz Truss didn’t come up with the plan, someone pitched it to Boris Johnson at the very least. But if there wasn’t a real state need for something like that, wouldn’t Britain long term be opening herself up for major international settlements related to the pollution released by the attack? Unless there was a really big reason it could be overlooked in the long run, like WW3? A new monarch might not want to be seen as leading the country into war overtly. Wouldn’t he need to be in line with what the spooks or military intelligence were directing?

Posted by: super extra | Nov 6 2022 16:13 utc | 8

the comment section of the article – US chip-gear makers told to wait for relief from China curbs – SCMP
is especially insightful… 10 comments all worth reading..

Posted by: james | Nov 6 2022 16:31 utc | 10

The presidents of Venezuela and Colombia
met in Caracas last week and discussed bilateral and international relations.

Strengthen commercial / economical relations
Safety of the common border, which is under control of the Mafia
Re-vitalization of commercial exchanges in the border regions (farmers mentioned)
Investigate and reconstruct the strategy against drug trafficking
Protection of Amazonia
Re-entry of Venezuela in the Andes Community CAN
Re-incorporation of Venezuela in the Inter-American human Rights Commission CDIH
Strengthening of the Community of Latin American States CELAC
Multilateral mission for UN proposals
Common policy for the Climate Conference COP 27 in Egypt
…

This Source labels the meeting “historic” while Western MSM keep a total silence, probably still waiting for the official narrative of Guaido’s handlers in D.C.

Posted by: OttoE | Nov 6 2022 16:34 utc | 12

@Scorpion | Nov 6 2022 16:32 utc | 12

Report from a good writer who lives part of the year in Europe and part in Russia.

Reminder: Russia is in Europe

Posted by: Norwegian | Nov 6 2022 16:41 utc | 14

@ super extra | Nov 6 2022 16:53 utc | 16
thanks.. i’m in canada- not in the uk, so don’t follow that as closely as you.. yes – politicians and the monarchy as the pr arm of the state – i agree… there is a lot of haphazard shit happening that is not easy to explain here.. corporations have an undue influence on the politicians, but i think so much of this ‘get russia meme’ is being driven by the intel agencies – 5 or 6 eyes, which have their own agenda which happens to align with the banking, military and energy complex… so in this sense – the intel agencies are aligned with many important corporations.. the politicians seem to cater to them more then anything else.. and i really think it is about the money… how to sustain this financial ponzi scheme for as long as possible? it seems to require eating up the resources of everyone, but russia – ukraine is an especially juicy target that hasn’t come under western dominance yet… it is looking like it might not either, no matter how much russia is demonized.. and the uk excels at this with its novichok and etc. etc. bullshit… it seems like the uk is just another usual servant to these financial interests, whether that be serving the city of london, or the federal reserve… that is about as far as i can go in understanding the mess the world is in today… cheers..

Posted by: james | Nov 6 2022 17:05 utc | 16

@ james | Nov 6 2022 17:05 utc | 17
In full agreement! I think I find this specific tidbit juicy since it seems like we may be on a path to de-escalation and the US washing it’s hands of this affair and I am very curious to see which entities are shouldered with the blame. Cheers

Posted by: super extra | Nov 6 2022 17:19 utc | 18

Fires from exploding e-bike batteries multiply in NYC, sometimes fatally – NPR.org

Four times a week on average, an e-bike or e-scooter battery catches fire in New York City.
Sometimes, it does so on the street, but more often, it happens when the owner is recharging the lithium ion battery. A mismatched charger won’t always turn off automatically when the battery’s fully charged, and keeps heating up. Or, the highly flammable electrolyte inside the battery’s cells leaks out of its casing and ignites, setting off a chain reaction.
“These bikes when they fail, they fail like a blowtorch,” said Dan Flynn, the chief fire marshal at the New York Fire Department. “We’ve seen incidents where people have described them as explosive — incidents where they actually have so much power, they’re actually blowing walls down in between rooms and apartments.”

Yet another example of unready technology being pushed into mainstream.
Note that I have extensive first-hand experience with electrical transport devices. I formed a startup in 2008 to map city parking regulations, so that people could both understand what the parking regs are (most don’t, or learn by getting tickets) followed by parking availability notices when users left their spots.
In order to get the data, I determined that an electrical scooter was the best way. No city outside of New York has any idea whatsoever what the actual overall parking regulation situation is at any given point, much less things like utilization or inventory.
The first electric scooter was lead-acid. It worked great except it only had a 5 to 10 mile range. It meant I could only work about 3 hours before it ran out of juice. I then duly switched to lithium, eventually creating a custom rig with a literal double max pack of lithium batteries that would enable the scooter to go 50 miles between charges which was sufficient for a full day of mapping.
There were many problems: the electric motors were reliable EXCEPT they used a copper brush to transfer electricity into the motor. The copper brush, unsurprisingly, was not designed for heavy use such as what I was using them for, so I wound up becoming an expert at disassembling the engine to replace the rotor brushes. Electric cars and presumably the e-bikes today use brushless motors, so that problem is resolved hopefully.
The scooters themselves were not watertight. The company that designs the particular ones I used is in Utah and these were clearly never intended for operation during rain even when unmodified – much less after I had installed the double-decker max battery pack.
There were also other issues: the setup had a brake in front, but in practice this meant that braking hard would cause the rider to flip over the axis of the front wheel. Riding on the sidewalks wasn’t illegal back then, but I learned quickly not to do so because it would literally scare the crap out of people; a 6 foot tall person raised another 6 inches off the ground, going at 15-25 mph, coming at you right when you step out of your doorway or a shop/restaurant exit is understandably a shock.
It actually turned out that riding in bike lanes or the side of the road was far more efficient, and the motor+brake setup to slow/stop/reaccelerate meant I never had any issues with car doors opening or whatever. Riding while standing upright also meant I had a better view of traffic than most cars (my height + the scooter lift meant I was looking over regular car rooftops).
I never had a fire, but I definitely experienced battery runaway, short circuits, etc etc although I never had a problem with the basic structure (framework, brakes etc).
So I am not the least bit surprised that the half-assed, over-powered, under-cooled, under-tested and heavily used e-bikes are having problems. Note that I will bet money that these fires are primarily occurring with people using them for work – specifically food delivery.
I do think that there is a future with e-bikes and delivery – I actually looked at a grocery delivery setup using e-bikes. Buy from restaurant supply stores, add a % fee and break up for sale and transport to consumers. Unlike with Uber Eats or Safeway delivery or Instakart, the objective would not be concierge type wannabe rich people whim deliveries, but fairly regular weekly or twice weekly grocery deliveries. And with e-bikes, you can employ teenagers to deliver food, don’t have to worry about parking etc etc.
But ultimately, there are better efforts to focus on.

Posted by: c1ue | Nov 6 2022 17:24 utc | 20

@Scorpion #5
I wrote about Twitter’s valuation potential not only back when the purchase was first mooted, months ago, but again 2 days ago in the previous OT thread.
I think people are smoking crack if they think Twitter will be completely reformed any time quickly, equally that they are naive if they think Musk is doing this for ideological reasons.
But the profit potential is absolutely there – and that is something which is reliable. The complication then is that it will put Twitter in direct conflict with the Deep State; the infiltration of the Deep State and its minions into the existing tech companies (see Unit 8200 link above as well as previous reports of NSA/FBI ex- and present- employees working in the tech titans) wasn’t all push, it was also some pull.
The thing is: Musk’s track record is entirely in going along with PMC+liberal government initiatives: SolarCity, Tesla or sidestepping government (Paypal) – so it is far from clear how willing and/or able he is to withstand the regulatory/bureaucratic/societal attack that he is going to be subject to.
Time will tell.

Posted by: c1ue | Nov 6 2022 17:32 utc | 22

“If extraterrestrial life sent us a message tomorrow, how would humanity respond? According to researchers, we don’t know yet — and that’s a problem.
That’s why, for the first time in 35 years, a team of policy experts and scientists have united to establish a set of alien-contact protocols for the entire world to follow in the event of a sudden encounter with E.T.”…
https://www.livescience.com/alien-contact-protocol.html
IOW the first thing the extraterrestrials will hear is woke/pedophile propaganda and how all the world “stands with” the persecuted Nazi saints of a place called “Ukraine”. Plus supply-side economics.
The real answer to how humanity should respond, of course, is keep yer mouth shut. But no one any longer is capable of this, and least of all those with power or who worship power.

Posted by: Flying Dutchman | Nov 6 2022 17:39 utc | 24

That Russia is NOT in Europe, and is therefore fair game for invasion, has been a typical bullshit argument, used by Napoleon and Hitler, most probably used by Sweden and Poland as well in past centuries.
Interestingly, ancient Greeks hadn’t a clear and definitive view of the borders between continents, but some actually put Europe all the way to the Eastern ocean – meaning basically anything above Caspian Sea and Himalayas (or Altai, but they didn’t really know it) was “Europe”, so at least the whole of Siberia. Of course, other Greeks put the limit on the Don. Then, with better knowledge of the area, some put the border at Don then Volga, and eventually it was settled on the Volga proper – still, Muscowy was most of the time considered to be in Europe, the key unsettled issue was more the South-Eastern border, in the Caucasus area.
Right now, the only possible dispute left is about border in the Caucasus – I tend to favour the Caucasus ridge as the best line, since cutting across lowlands of Georgia and Azerbaijan doesn’t make much sense.

Posted by: Clueless Joe | Nov 6 2022 18:10 utc | 26

I can’t find any reference in my search to a “3rd Ecumenical Council of 435” The Orthodox Wiki has the following, as does regular wikipedia:

The Third Ecumenical Council was held in Ephesus, Asia Minor, in 431 under Emperor Theodosius II, grandson of Theodosius the Great. It is also known as the Council of Ephesus. Approximately 200 bishops were present, though procedings began in haste before the arrival of the bishops from the west. The procedings were conducted in a heated atmosphere of confrontation and recriminations. It was the third of the Ecumenical Councils, and was chiefly concerned with Nestorianism…
…According to the Council, Nestorianism overemphasized the human nature of Christ at the expense of the divine. The Council denounced Patriarch Nestorius’ teaching as erroneous. Nestorius taught that the Virgin Mary gave birth to a man, Jesus Christ, not God the Logos. The Logos only dwelt in Christ, as in a Temple (Christ, therefore, was only Theophoros: the “Bearer of God.”) Consequently, the Virgin Mary should be called Christotokos (“Mother of Christ”) and not Theotokos (“Birth-giver of God”).
The Council decreed that Christ was one person, not two separate “people”: fully God and fully man, with a rational soul and body. The Virgin Mary is Theotokos because she gave birth not to a mere man but to God as a man. The union of the two natures of Christ took place in such a fashion that one did not disturb the other.
The Council also declared the text of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed to be complete and forbade any additional change to it. In addition, it condemned Pelagianism…

It is to be noted that Rome apparently was not present, so I am supposing what Pepe refers to is a council in Rome itself, but my search came up empty. Perhaps another better informed can explain the discrepancy.

Posted by: juliania | Nov 6 2022 19:11 utc | 28

@lex talionis #23
I’ve literally been on every single street in San Francisco because I did that whole city by myself over 2 weeks as a proof of concept. The hills and highways have created a lot of interesting little neighborhoods and quirky corners.
Among other things: the streets that are publicly called the steepest, aren’t actually. There is one street which was so steep that my scooter – even fully charged – couldn’t go more than a few feet up it. It felt more vertical than 45 degrees particularly half a block in, but I’m sure that was just the sweat blinding me…
The parts which tourists see are completely boring in comparison.
And no, 19th/Castro/Market isn’t that exciting. Far more exciting was going through Hunter’s Point/Bayview, the Western Addition, and the Tenderloin. I witnessed a known down, drag out fight between 2-50+ or 60+ dark skinned men using hardwood cudgels/walking sticks on a Sunday morning at 9 am…

Posted by: c1ue | Nov 6 2022 19:13 utc | 30

Yet more proof that the fossil fuel industries are not investing in capex – much less typical high energy price capex
US rig count still 305 below pre-pandemic levels – oilprice.com

The number of total active drilling rigs in the United States rose by 2 this week, according to new data from Baker Hughes published on Friday.
The total rig count increased to 770 this week—220 rigs higher than the rig count this time in 2021, and 305 rigs lower than the rig count at the beginning of 2019, prior to the pandemic.
Oil rigs in the United States rose by 3 this week, to 613. Gas rigs fell 1 to 155. Miscellaneous rigs stayed the same at 2.
The rig count in the Permian Basin held steady again this week at 346. Rigs in the Eagle Ford also remained unchanged at 70.
Primary Vision’s Frac Spread Count, an estimate of the number of crews completing unfinished wells—a more frugal use of finances than drilling new wells—slipped in week ending October 28—the first decrease in eight weeks. The frac spread count is now 293, down 5 from the previous week. This compares to 290 a month ago and 266 a year ago.
Crude oil production in the United States fell in the week to October 28, to 11.9 million bpd, according to the latest weekly EIA estimates. U.S. production levels are up just 200,000 bpd so far this year and just 400,000 bpd versus a year ago.

Note average oil price was $64 in 2019 and average natural gas price was $2.57 per mcf vs. ~$92 and ~$6.40 now.
If you demonize an entire industry ranging from cancelling leases and pipelines, to cessation of new leases, to windfall taxes and to constant public threats to legislate the cessation of fossil fuels by 2035 (13 years from now), it shouldn’t be too surprising that fossil fuel companies decide not to invest billions of dollars in continuing to explore and develop new supply of fossil fuels.
I have been saying this for some time – and despite now over a year of high gasoline prices, there is still no sign of structural changes on either side of the supply/demand equation.
Meaning unless the magical benefits of alternative transport/alternative fuels/smart grids/insert nonsense term du jour here start occurring real soon – the inflation and erosion of standards of living isn’t going to go away any time soon.

Posted by: c1ue | Nov 6 2022 19:22 utc | 32

@ c1ue – Indeed. HP, Sunnyside, Visitation Valley, TL, the ‘mo, Inner Mission were quite interesting. I remember the old SF, too. I was always in the outer avenues, though. Ocean Beach!
Sorry to everyone else for a little Bay Area reminiscing,

Posted by: lex talionis | Nov 6 2022 19:46 utc | 34

Super Extra @ 1:
Many if not most of us MoA barflies would agree with you that elements within MI6, the 77th Brigade, GCHQ and the British Foreign Office work closely with their counterparts in the US to the extent that departmental and natiional loyalties are blurred and everyone involved is really working for his or her own financial gain.
Where your argument falls apart is in assuming that the British monarch has a role in this whole operation similar to that of a President or a Senate. The British monarch’s role is meant to be strictly ceremonial and to defer to the Prime Minister, though in practice the monarch (and on past occasions, even Prince Phillip and Prince Charles through the latter’s “spider memos” to Cabinet ministers and attempts to change the British FOI legislation so that his expenditures and sources of money are less open to public scrutiny) has been able to exert some influence on political decision-making.
If King Charles III has any role to play, it will continue to be in some form of behind-the-scenes lobbying on behalf of a company supplying equipment or staff to MI6 or other British intel agencies to carry out covert activities – a company whose owners or managers happen to be chums and/or financial benefactors of the King.

Posted by: Jen | Nov 6 2022 20:10 utc | 36

@ Jen, thanks. I know the monarch’s role in the actual government is slim. The reason I think it is worthy of conjecture is that the Tory party has gone through 5 (I think) prime ministers since the last general election. One quits, another is chosen by the party, then that person forms a cabinet, and then the monarch is asked for their assent before the new government takes over. Here is WaPo on the ceremony:
King Charles III plays role his mother did in UK power transition

Britain is a constitutional monarchy and one of the few powers that the monarch has left is the ability to appoint the prime minister. In theory, the king could exert some personal choice; in practice, he automatically appoints the person who can command a majority in the House of Commons.

What if Charles had instead persuaded Truss to call a general election? I realize this is totally unlikely but I think it is really interesting to speculate why, after 4? 5? prime ministers since the last general election, and mounting domestic crises, the new king did not do so?

Posted by: super extra | Nov 6 2022 22:01 utc | 38

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Nov 6 2022 22:24 utc | 39
In perhaps an answer to my own question about PayPal, yes, now looking way back in fact it was used as a way to avoid paying sales tax, so that’s probably what c1ue was talking about. I was thinking more recently. Now most states have forced online retailers to collect their taxes, even when said retailer doesn’t have a physical presence in the state (I could be slightly off on that part). Always thought that was more of an eBay specific thing though. I suppose that PayPal’s cooperation with the deep state may have even coincided with the whole sales tax thing.

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Nov 6 2022 22:30 utc | 40

According to the FM PRC report REF BY B, Chancellor Scholz expressed :

Germany wants to maintain communication and coordination with China to better safeguard regional and global peace and security.
China is an important trading partner for Germany and for Europe as a whole.
Germany firmly supports trade liberalization, supports economic globalization, and opposes decoupling.
Germany stands ready for closer trade and economic cooperation with China, and supports more mutual investment between Chinese and German businesses.
On issues where the two countries’ positions diverge, Germany is willing to exchange views with China to increase mutual understanding and trust, and stabilize, cement and grow bilateral ties.
A multi-polar world is needed in which the role and influence of emerging countries can be taken seriously.
Germany opposes bloc confrontation for which politicians should be held responsible.
Germany will play its role in furthering Europe-China relations.
https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/zxxx_662805/202211/t20221104_10800546.html

It’s kind of schizophrenic … does ‘Germany’ really know what it wants? Does Chancellor Scholz?
German companies hail Scholz visit as beneficial for business
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202211/1278794.shtml
Despite diplomatic words about what Germany and China have in common, experts say that Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s trip both contravened German government strategy and endangered EU unity.
https://www.dw.com/en/german-leaders-trip-to-china-raised-more-doubts-than-congratulations/a-63658657
A European MP from Germany’s Green Party, a partner in Scholz’s coalition government, says China policy can’t be ‘unilaterally defined by the chancellor’
https://www.msn.com/en-xl/news/other/german-lawmaker-joins-talks-with-taiwan-e2-80-99s-president-criticises-chancellor-olaf-scholz-e2-80-99s-e2-80-98unilateral-e2-80-99-china-policy/ar-AA13I9rI
Meanwhile on Friday, G-7 diplomats met in Germany to rally support for Ukraine and coalesced around suspicion of China’s increasing assertiveness amid a wide range of global crises.
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/germanys-scholz-china-amid-trade-ukraine-rights-issues-92639554

Posted by: SeanAU | Nov 6 2022 22:36 utc | 42

According to the FM PRC report REF BY B, Chancellor Scholz expressed :

Germany wants to maintain communication and coordination with China to better safeguard regional and global peace and security.
China is an important trading partner for Germany and for Europe as a whole.
Germany firmly supports trade liberalization, supports economic globalization, and opposes decoupling.
Germany stands ready for closer trade and economic cooperation with China, and supports more mutual investment between Chinese and German businesses.
On issues where the two countries’ positions diverge, Germany is willing to exchange views with China to increase mutual understanding and trust, and stabilize, cement and grow bilateral ties.
A multi-polar world is needed in which the role and influence of emerging countries can be taken seriously.
Germany opposes bloc confrontation for which politicians should be held responsible.
Germany will play its role in furthering Europe-China relations.
fmprc.gov.cn/eng/zxxx_662805/202211/t20221104_10800546.html

It’s kind of schizophrenic … does ‘Germany’ really know what it wants? Does Chancellor Scholz?
German companies hail Scholz visit as beneficial for business
globaltimes.cn/page/202211/1278794.shtml
Despite diplomatic words about what Germany and China have in common, experts say that Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s trip both contravened German government strategy and endangered EU unity.
dw.com/en/german-leaders-trip-to-china-raised-more-doubts-than-congratulations/a-63658657
A European MP from Germany’s Green Party, a partner in Scholz’s coalition government, says China policy can’t be ‘unilaterally defined by the chancellor’
msn.com/en-xl/news/other/german-lawmaker-joins-talks-with-taiwan-e2-80-99s-president-criticises-chancellor-olaf-scholz-e2-80-99s-e2-80-98unilateral-e2-80-99-china-policy/ar-AA13I9rI
Meanwhile on Friday, G-7 diplomats met in Germany to rally support for Ukraine and coalesced around suspicion of China’s increasing assertiveness amid a wide range of global crises.
abcnews.go.com
2nd attempt

Posted by: SeanAU | Nov 6 2022 22:41 utc | 44

TQC @ 45
Couldn’t count the times I’ve been asked to remove the front brake of a bicycle because it is “dangerous”.
On braking weight shifts forward. Braking downhill rear wheel supports near zero weight. Front brake always does the heavy work.
That designers have no knowledge of bicycles is why so many e-bikes are so pathetic. Once the decision has bee made to toss off a design lightheartedly, because it’s only a bike, nothing good happens.

Posted by: oldhippie | Nov 6 2022 23:11 utc | 46

Your “common usage” is wrong. I know the fascistic EU is trying to hijack the term Europe, but that does not make it right.
Posted by: Norwegian | Nov 6 2022 17:31 utc | 21
I am glad to learn you are correct. I believe I have confused the term ‘western Europe’ with ‘Europe.’ I have always regarded Russia as part of European civilization/culture but thought it was technically outside. Probably this is because when I was growing up during the Cold War era it basically was.
So thanks for setting me straight on that. I didn’t look carefully at the map on the wiki page – my bad!

Posted by: Scorpion | Nov 6 2022 23:25 utc | 48

c1ue wrote:
Yet another example of unready technology being pushed into mainstream.
_____________________________________________________
For about 50 years during its infancy the internal combustion engine gave lead poisoning to everyone who was anywhere near it. But according to c1ue that’s OK because it was all done for the benefit of the Oil Companies. Anything not for the benefit of the Oil Cos isn’t allowed any room for error or any time for development.

Posted by: jinn | Nov 6 2022 23:42 utc | 50

Regarding Musk & Twitter: he simply has no clue what to do with it, just look at the hundreds of text messages which got released by the court – you can watch billionaires throwing millions and billions around and talking like morons… totally clueless 🙂
Here’s the PDF, scroll down to page 82 for the text messages:
https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/23108357/redacted-version-of-exhibits-a-j-to-letter-to-the-honorable-kathaleen-st-j-mccormick-from-edward-b.pdf
(if you’re on a Mac then select the relevant pages and press CMD-R to rotate the pages for better readability).
Oh, and if you’re too lazy to then here’s a good summary:
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2022/09/elon-musk-texts-twitter-trial-jack-dorsey/671619/

Posted by: Zet | Nov 6 2022 23:49 utc | 52

Scorpion #17
Citing wikipedia as your reference!
Seriously?
Surely you jest or have been imbibing in the cellar.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Nov 7 2022 0:14 utc | 54

Posted by: oldhippie | Nov 6 2022 23:11 utc | 46
If you use the technique I mentioned for steep downhill riding, the back brake can be relied upon to provide plenty of braking because your weight has been shifted back over the rear axle. Of course the front brake is used as well. I’ve had numerous bikes with cantilever, V and disc (hydraulic, cable actuated) over the years and some of those front discs really have serious stopping power, to the point that some bike shops have decreased the tension or pressure on the front slightly when selling to novice riders.
As with any vehicle on wheels, like you said, the front brake is doing most of the work 90% of the time (back brake only for controlled skids and whatnot). I’ve owned a number of performance cars as well and invariably they have the multi-piston calipers and large diameter rotors on the front. Most people doing normal driving should probably only have to get their rear brakes serviced every third or fourth time the front brakes are, but shops tend to do both at once to make more money. I do my own brakes.

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Nov 7 2022 0:25 utc | 56

Posted by: Jen | Nov 6 2022 20:21 utc | 37
That is true. Isn’t that what I said? Rome sent three delegates, but they arrived late. And neither emperor attended. The point I was disagreeing with was Pepe’s contention that the council asserted Rome’s absolute supremacy. At this early stage I don’t see that to be the case.

Posted by: juliania | Nov 7 2022 0:54 utc | 58

Halfway expected b to include this link in today’s Week in Review.
Why is the NYT still hyping Russiagate?

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Nov 7 2022 0:59 utc | 60

Melaleuca | Nov 7 2022 0:59 utc | 59
Have saved your comment with its links. I will go through them soon. I have been calling the mRNA US big pharma vaccines the 737 Max vaccines for some time now as like with the aircraft approval authority in the US, US big pharma will be in bed with the drug approval authority.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Nov 7 2022 1:13 utc | 62

“I do think that there is a future with e-bikes and delivery – I actually looked at a grocery delivery setup using e-bikes. Buy from restaurant supply stores, add a % fee and break up for sale and transport to consumers. Unlike with Uber Eats or Safeway delivery or Instakart, the objective would not be concierge type wannabe rich people whim deliveries, but fairly regular weekly or twice weekly grocery deliveries. And with e-bikes, you can employ teenagers to deliver food, don’t have to worry about parking etc etc.”
Posted by: c1ue | Nov 6 2022 17:24 utc | 20
Your dream came true in Shenzhen a few years ago. Now there are about four or five such delivery companies here, the bikes of each carry their trademark colour, red, blue, yellow etc. Riders are paid a pittance so they are ridden furiously to make any sort of income. (Reading this, my wife has just told me that they have to provide the bikes themselves!) Furthermore just about everyone in Shenzhen who does not have a car seems to to own one. I was looking in a shop yesterday, really smart scooters like the old Vespas start from about $300. They are supposedly forbidden from riding on the roads (though many do): on some pavements in busy streets the pedestrians are outnumbered by electric bike riders, walking has become a hazardous exercise. They do not obey traffic rules (in fact nothing with fewer than four wheels does) so they ignore traffic signals including pedestrian lights. I have seen the results of appalling collisions with vehicles at crossing points. I have been struck three times on pedestrian crossings while on a green light.
Fires seem rare but they do occur. There are vast arrays of public charging points, I suspect that they are built to high standards. Charging within buildings is discouraged or illegal, probably that is where incidents occur.
Be careful about what you wish. It may come true!

Posted by: Walt | Nov 7 2022 1:23 utc | 64

“In Poland, crews are being trained on Abrams tanks. These will enter service with the 18th Mechanized Division, near the borders of Ukraine and Belarus.”
https://mobile.twitter.com/beverley_kyle/status/1587803189423783937
Also from “trust me bro” sources on twitter:
>Poland bought 250 SEPv3s and will get 116 M1A1 SA (which will be modified/upgraded) as an exchange for T-72s that were sent to Ukraine, also Poland bought 1000 K2 Black Panthers from Korea and will also have to modify them.
> 1000 Black Panther tanks from Korea are some serious hardware.
At least as good as the upcoming Abrams SEPv4 or better.
Plus Poland will be manufacturing locally under licence which allows for easier future modifications.
Poland will have the largest tank force in Europe
> Add the 96 Apaches
> Poland wanted 500 HIMARS but no one took itseriously (obviously) also USA couldnt deliver any HIMARS in the designated time frame (now).. that’s why Poland reached out to Koreans coz they can do it.
> Manufacturing capacity is the issue at the moment for HIMARS. Lots of countries already with orders ahead of Poland.
Putin says Poland has plans for western Ukraine…
In Ukraine :
“Residents of one of the residential complexes in #Kyiv unfurled a large joint flag of #Ukraine️ and #Poland and walked with it down the street.
Ukraine and Poland – together!”
[= More theatrics. In other uploads queues for water are streets long.
But sure. People have time and motivation to create giant flags.]
[or is a paid psy op in play????]
https://mobile.twitter.com/Feher_Junior/status/1586675594162585604
While the number of killed Ukrainian soldiers is unconfirmed.
Scenes like this memorial are increasingly appearing on social media.
Each flag= 1 man
https://mobile.twitter.com/UAarmy_animals/status/1588188711065354240
I guess this is why they are called foxholes:
https://mobile.twitter.com/UAarmy_animals/status/1588188711065354240
Nice artwork. Shame it’s all theatrics.
“video of how the mural was created in honor of the “Ghost of #Kyiv”
https://mobile.twitter.com/Feher_Junior/status/1589194182224384001
[[twitter is loading reeeeeal slow for me today. Did Elon sack the guy that peddles the e-bike that keeps the show running?]]

Posted by: Melaleuca | Nov 7 2022 1:45 utc | 66

Grieved | Nov 7 2022 1:14 utc | 63
Much appreciated.
Peter AU1 | Nov 7 2022 1:13 utc | 62
Pls see the correct link from Grieved.
There’s so much material out there now.
Look at that graph. Hug your grandchildren if you have them.
I wonder how people can’t see what is happening.
But then… there’s my post of a building-sized mural of the fictional Ghost of Kiev….. proving people believe what they want.
[I have screenshots of the 4chan thread where the Ghost of Kiev was created]
[And manifested into flesh within hours by retweets from Dan Crenshaw and Adam Kinzinger]
And then Zelensky gave an award to some guy who, it was claimed, was the “actual Ghost of Kiev”.
Pure Hollywood…. All just scripts…sometimes a real person has their life fictionalised and sometimes a fictional character is “brought to life”.
Which makes some of us wonder how … with the narrative so tightly controlled.. how so much damning evidence on what vexed us about both the experimental gene therapy and the Ukraine war is now being revealed.

Posted by: Melaleuca | Nov 7 2022 2:14 utc | 68

juliania | Nov 7 2022 1:24 utc | 65
“So, as Dostoievski has Alyosha say in his final novel, not all Catholics are like the Grand Inquisitor.”
Dostoevsky didn’t live to write volume two of Brothers Karamazov, but in a letter not long before his death he wrote that he expected Alyosha eventually to become an atheist.

Posted by: Flying Dutchman | Nov 7 2022 2:24 utc | 70

In response to
”
[[twitter is loading reeeeeal slow for me today. Did Elon sack the guy that peddles the e-bike that keeps the show running?]]
Posted by: Melaleuca | Nov 7 2022 1:45 utc | 66
”
I read some headline today that said some of the laid off Twitter folks are being called back…maybe the techie part.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Nov 7 2022 3:10 utc | 72

Posted by: Flying Dutchman | Nov 7 2022 2:24 utc | 70
Thanks for responding. It’s hard to imagine a Volume Two. I have a feeling it is still being written as he says in his ‘From the Author’ — in our time.

Posted by: juliania | Nov 7 2022 3:14 utc | 74

Super Extra @ 38:
That would be an interesting scenario: the new monarch takes advantage of the crisis in the Tory Party to insist that a general election be held. This might have brought in a Labour government under Sir Keir Starmer as Prime Minister. (This could happen anyway, later rather than sooner, if the Tory Party’s current woes continue.)
It would have been perhaps the only time King Charles III got the chance to act in the way he wants, to change the course of British politics and secure a unique place in British political history.
Why didn’t he do it? Perhaps at this very early stage of his reign, the King was mindful of the impression any actions of his would have on the public during the leadership crisis. (Unlikely perhaps – does Charles have the self-awareness to know what effects and impacts on others his behaviour has?) Charles had already come under attack for dishing out honours to Saudi billionaires writing cheques to his Prince of Wales charities. He didn’t need or want any other attacks insinuating some other underhanded actions. Even though insisting on a general election to find Liz Truss’s replacement might have been the right thing to do, the media could have spun this in a negative fashion to make Charles look like an arrogant twit.
I understand also that Charles was on tour through Britain and Northern Ireland at the time Truss resigned.

Posted by: Jen | Nov 7 2022 3:29 utc | 76

Melaleuca | Nov 7 2022 2:14 utc | 68
I read a US special forces training manual some years back. I wish I could dig up that pdf again. Very much about regime change via hybrid warfare. Perhaps CIA rather than pentagon. But there was a graph, it was a circle with a line across the lower part of the circle and a line across the upper part of the circle. 10%, 80%, 10%.
If it was a regime change operate the top 10% was the regime they wished to change but were aware. The lower 10% would be their in country allies. The middle 80% were the dumbfuck sheeple that are susceptible to psyops.
What we have now in the west is the lower 10% aware of the bullshit and inhabiting blogs like this, and the upper 10% is the neo-con pied pipers fully aware of what the are doing but the blind sheeples loyal follow the pied piper. It is going to take great hardship to break the trance the 80% sheeple group are in. All following the pied piper.
The crash of the western financial system is I think the only thing that will break the trance of the sheeple who are following the pied piper.
Have saved Grieved’s link.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Nov 7 2022 4:07 utc | 78

@PeterAu.
Having now completely moved on from any attempt to inform/educate/coach family and close connections… I now amuse myself with drive-by truth-bombs in random public anonymous settings. Ie:
Saturday, local farmers market.
I’m buying eggs. Getting an assurance he’s known the supplier personally for 20+ years…
Woman {rudely} interrupts: “You got any peach jam.. (stall holder has 10 acre peach orchard)….(over should she says to companion – who is now overtly elbowing me away …I know he makes it himself) (smiles ingratiatingly at jam making | egg selling man).
He says: “I have the fruit in the freezer, but I can’t get the glass jars”.
As I take my change, I butt in with:
“Probably shouldn’t have gone to war with Russia”….
Dumbfounded dumbfuk looks.
“Well… gas prices are so high in Europe, Germany has closed down its largest glass making factory.
He says: My jars don’t come from Germany.
Me: shrug. “Close down one of the biggest factories in the world, it causes a knock-on global shortage. ~ His hand freezes mid transaction.
Me: Thanks for the eggs. Keep doing the organics. {smile}…Cheers…. (Move away at a semi-quick pace.)
Starting to excel at | thoroughly enjoy | this guerrilla truth-bombing ….
It’s fun to look back from a distance and see the body language = confusion and “what did I just hear?”
Anecdotal complaints from
Hairdresser…. Can’t get the hairspray she prefers… there’s none anywhere
Plumber …… treated pine.. some types of plastic fittings ……prices on small (but essential) items are doubling each month…
Pet store … the brand of “good” treats for goodboy not available for months now……
It’s probably nothing….

Posted by: Melaleuca | Nov 7 2022 4:54 utc | 80

Posted by: oldhippie | Nov 7 2022 3:31 utc | 77
Haha, yep. I’ve still got a pair of cargo shorts with a very strange wear pattern that might look like something really kinky to non-cyclists. Thing is, you don’t want that if your tires are extra knobby. Your crotch dragging on the knobs could easily be a better mode of braking than the levers. Standstill, downhill.
But for sure, on steeeep downhill grades where you’re not confident, start off with full braking force, modulate the levers and let gravity bring you down the hill nice and slowly. Not even professionals would look upon that negatively. I’ve done it a million times. Wish there was an equivalent technique for skiing ;-).
Posted by: bevin | Nov 7 2022 2:39 utc | 71
I think it probably hadn’t hit b’s radar by the time he hit publish. It was just put up at Scheerpost late this morning US time, IIRC. They could use some copy editors, for sure, but the article is maddening. The NYT is tabloid level bullshit now on anything other than movie and restaurant reviews.

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Nov 7 2022 5:43 utc | 82

@Scorpion | Nov 6 2022 23:25 utc | 48

So thanks for setting me straight on that. I didn’t look carefully at the map on the wiki page – my bad!

All good!

Posted by: Norwegian | Nov 7 2022 6:42 utc | 84

Having lived in Shanghai for coming close to a decade now I’ve never seen an electric scooter catching fire. Like the HSR it is one of China’s great liberators for civilian movements. They’re faster than bikes, much cheaper than cars and allow citizens of all social classes to head to work, send children to school, opened up the courier and delivery industry which has been a boon for the under-educated class who only has high school education, carry heavy tools and equipments across long distances which is handy for repairmen and and blue collar workers, while remaining easy to maintain or fix.

Posted by: bonks | Nov 7 2022 7:10 utc | 86

Here’s a thought for all you USAians maybe casting your vote for something.
Ted Rall:
“Be realistic. Demand the impossible.” — Situationist slogan, 1968
Here’s What a Progressive Platform Looks Like

Demand No. 1: The $30-per-hour minimum wage
Not phased in over so many years that today’s $30 is worth $20 by the time it takes effect. Thirty dollars an hour for all workers, no exceptions, now. This is an eminently reasonable demand. If anything, it’s too little to ask. The current federal minimum wage, $7.25, is a sick joke. Congress’ abdication of its moral duty to reward American workers for their extraordinary productivity by increasing the minimum wage at or faster than inflation has eroded the base salary since the Vietnam era. Corporate profits have soared as workers’ wages have stagnated.
The federal minimum wage was $1.60 in 1968. Adjusting for the official inflation rate, that’s $30.00 today. Let’s party like it’s 1968.

There are four more Demands and he promises even more in a later edition.
May you get some joy from the big day tomorrow.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Nov 7 2022 7:38 utc | 88

@James @super extra
One of you from the U.S. and the other from Canada and neither of you understand the constitutional monarchy system in the U.K. The monarch does not get involved, is not allowed to get involved, in political decisions. If anything they would be informed after the event, if at all.

Posted by: Palinurus | Nov 7 2022 8:48 utc | 90

“I am curious in general how China is evolving their management of e-bikes and other private initiatives that start to reflect on public policy….like human safety?
In America we developed regulations of industry and then did not continue to evolve those relationships. Over time, money buried/removed the regulations and PR took care of the public perception. Do you feel comfortable that China government will retain primacy over all national/international organizations?”
Posted by: psychohistorian | Nov 7 2022 3:18 utc | 75
I don’t feel qualified to give a comprehensive answer but can give some examples based on my experiences.
Dealing with e-bikes and such matters relating to public safety is the responsibility of the lowest of three or four levels of government (there is a form of democracy which works its way up to the office of the presidency itself, but that is a matter for another time). This is the community office level which approximates to the town council in the UK or barangay in the Philippines. Their style of government in this respect seems largely reactive, and their ideas of priority vary from place to place so enforcement of regulations is seen to be uneven. For example, the e-bikes are supposed to bear a registration plate. In the eastern districts of Shenzhen this sees pretty much 100% compliance, but here in our western part it looks to be about 10%.
Here’s an actual example of the community office in action in which I was involved. In our apartment block of 30 floors there are three fire doors on each level protecting the fire escape. I routinely walk between the 6th and 9th floor and some time ago every fire door of the 12 had become defective, because some inhabitants had been jamming them open with wads of paper, eventually destroying the closure mechanism. I complained to the property office several times which had no effect. I went to the police station but they showed no interest. Finally I went to the community office to register a complaint. An officer visited and told the property managers to put it right. Their response was to incompletely repair one door. There seems to have been no follow up visit and that’s how the situation remains to today. God help us all if we have a repeat of Grenfell here.
As for our business here, originally a Representative Office but now a fully fledged Foreign Enterprise, we just get on with it, we deal wholly with other private businesses, we pay our taxes and receive no official interference at all. The same can not be said of some of my acquaintance, this is not through government policy but, shall we say, a little private enterprise on the part of the overseers.
Overall I would say that my first impressions of China 15 years ago were that it had law but no rule of law. To some extent I feel that to be the situation still but the situation improves steadily.

Posted by: Walt | Nov 7 2022 9:21 utc | 92

Referring to: Berlin Goes to Beijing: The Real Deal – Pepe Escobar / UNZ
Posted by: SeanAU | Nov 7 2022 1:56 utc | 67
Posted by: SeanAU | Nov 7 2022 7:15 utc | 87
Honestly, I have no clue what Mr Escobar was smoking when he penned that prose. You right on the money in nothing that in the real world there is no trace of that super-magic Germany-Russia-China ‘Entente’ across the Asia. And not much talks of those peace talks on the Ukraine-Russia subject. The Ukr/Rus issue probably did come up, but as a side-note only. (everywhere where he travels (e.g. Saudi Arabia and Qatar) Herr Scholz tries to enrol his hosts to talk to Russia.
Uwe Parpart/AsiaTimes has a report (here: Olaf Scholz’s peace mission to China) that is closer to the mark and he does mention that talks about “Peace” where on the agenda – Chips war at the front though. Some of the German businesses stand to lose quite a bit if things go really bad in that field.
I am quite sure that the delegation of Japanese parliamentarians that visited China recently had just the same messages. For the best part of the last 20 years or so Germany esp. but Japan as well have tried to moderate the warmongering hysteria coming out of the Mediocre Empire both openly and through all sort of backchannels.

Posted by: phiw13 | Nov 7 2022 12:21 utc | 94

@jinn #50
Thanks for contributing another example of your idiocy.
The first 50 years of the internal combustion engine were the greatest expansion of European and American prosperity ever seen.
Was it perfect? No but then again, there are no perfect solutions.
And since then, better technology has been created and put into place.
Only dumbshits like you cannot understand that the real world is what it is – not what you want it to be.
Of course, this is already clear from your refusal to acknowledge the enormous subsidies paid for corn ethanol production – a practice which is destructive in literally every sense: food, pollution, land use, energy efficiency, etc etc.

Posted by: c1ue | Nov 7 2022 14:20 utc | 96

@c1ue | Nov 7 2022 14:25 utc | 97
Batteries are adjunct to the Carnot cycle. This simple fact is lost on new energy advocates.

Posted by: too scents | Nov 7 2022 14:30 utc | 98

@Tom_Q_Collins #40
No, Paypal was not heavily involved in the sales tax wars.
Don’t forget that sales tax is a state issue, not a federal one.
The Paypal/Deep State connection is unquestionably via the AML/”terror financing” front.

Posted by: c1ue | Nov 7 2022 14:37 utc | 100