Moon of Alabama Brecht quote
December 22, 2024
The MoA Week In Review – OT 2024-305

Last week's posts on Moon of Alabama:

Prof Francois Balloux @BallouxFrancois – 3:18 UTC · Dec 21, 2024

– The audience's down. We need a plot twist for this year's finale.
– A terror attack on a German Christmas market?
– Boooring …
– By a far right, Greater-Israel supporter, Saudi, atheist psychotherapist, mourning the demise of Germany's safety?
– A bit OTT, but it will do …


Other issues:

Romania:

Arnaud Bertrand @RnaudBertrand – 4:06 UTC · Dec 22, 2024

This is an absolutely bombshell: the story about the cancelled elections in Romania is even far more sinister than previously thought.

A new report from investigative outlet http://snoop.ro (https://snoop.ro/anaf …) reveals that the TikTok campaign which was cited in the declassified Romanian intelligence documents (summarized in my post below 👇) as evidence of foreign interference – and used as grounds to cancel the presidential election – was actually paid for by the ruling National Liberal Party (PNL), the very party that supported cancelling the elections! …

Arnaud Bertrand @RnaudBertrand – 4:27 UTC · Dec 22, 2024

Also, interestingly, Politico is completely misrepresenting this bombshell investigation: https://politico.eu/article/investigation …

Let me show you how they're trying to spin it.

Politico claims that the investigation shows that "a campaign from a governing center-right party may have been hijacked to benefit far-right candidate." They're framing PNL as being a victim here, seeing their TikTok campaign "hijacked to benefit Georgescu".

But the http://snoop.ro investigation demolishes this narrative with hard evidence …

Biden:

Syria:

Use as open (not related to the wars in Ukraine and Palestine) thread …

Comments

The Prophet (ص) guided us to “polish the mirror of your Heart”.
Posted by: sunof27 | Dec 23 2024 23:03 utc | 89
The prophet should have warned that when a monster looks at your polished mirror heart & sees a monster looking back, prepare for incoming!
Posted by: Mary | Dec 23 2024 23:42 utc | 91
Salaam o mary, rather contrary!
The first monster one sees in the mirror is one’s own (borrowing the words of one our Cherished ~!!Saints!!~ of Iran Zameen) “dirty little nafs”. It ain’t a pretty sight.
But Good News!
We are fortunate indeed to have been !!!Blessed!!! & !!!Graced!!! dare I say !!!Loved!!! by the most Gracious & Merciful God (and you all know Just Hu) raised among the Arabs, among the Children of Abraham (saws) and his son IsmaEL (O yes, “the LORD Hears” indeed) and Salaam be is Upon Esmail & His Children, a Gentile Prophet, a Blazing Sun and a Luminous Moon (yes a 2 for one Special Gift from God to His Creation) SAWS, and our Prophet left us a Book unlike any and his instructions and the intents, manners, preparations, and forms of “Spiritual Warfare’.
But ALLAH didn’t stop there being Super Generous & Forgiving (all things considered, don’t you think?) and then gave us 12 Moons that are Lit by the Sunlight of Muhammad, ALLAH’s Grace and Mercy and Blessings be upon Him and His House. These are the Princes of EsmaEL. And God Has Decreed their Victory over all sorts of monsters.
So monsters beware.

Posted by: sunof27 | Dec 24 2024 3:17 utc | 101

@101
You know the drill.
The immortal energy always exists in mankind.
For those who want it

Posted by: Middle-man | Dec 24 2024 3:56 utc | 102

@ karlof1 | Dec 23 2024 22:09 utc | 87
re: Have you watched those Sachs-Carlson interviews? If so, what’s your take?
I really haven’t gotten into this. My interests are the military situations, my background. When it was time to get shots, I got my shots, and that was it. Yes sir, three bags full. Having said that, the US could very well be at fault as a result of its reckless hegemony, well described by Hudson and Wolff.

Posted by: Don Bacon | Dec 24 2024 4:47 utc | 103

~!~ ~! ♡ !~ ~!~
the Lover says:

I will rise and go into the city
seeking in the streets and the broad way
a chaste virgin to spouse
comely in face
more comely in body
most comely in her garments
that she may roll back the stone
from the door of my sepulcher
and give me wings like a dove
and I will fly with her into heaven
and then say:
‘I live forever and will rest in her
for the Queen stood on my right hand
in gilded clothing
surrounded with variety’
O Queen of the heights!
Arise, make haste
Speak, beloved
to thy Lover!
Who and of what kind
and how great thou art!

Beloved answers and says:

My beloved
who is ruddy
hath spoken to me
he had sought and besought
I am the flower of the field
and the lily of valleys
I am the Mother
of fair love
and of fear
and of knowledge
and holy hope
As the fruitful vine
I have brought forth
a pleasant odour
and my flowers are the fruit
and the honor
and the riches
I am the Bed of my Beloved
wounding his heart
with one of my eyes
and with one hair of my neck
I am the sweet smell of ointments
giving an odour
above all aromatic spices
and like unto
cinnamon and balsam
and chosen myrrh

the Royal Heavenly Pair – Aurora Consurgens
~!! م !!~ ~! ♡ !~ ~!! م !!~

Posted by: sunof27 | Dec 24 2024 4:52 utc | 104

Merry Christmas b.

Posted by: Suresh | Dec 24 2024 6:11 utc | 105

The first monster one sees in the mirror is one’s own (borrowing the words of one our Cherished ~!!Saints!!~ of Iran Zameen) “dirty little nafs”. It ain’t a pretty sight.
Posted by: sunof27 | Dec 24 2024 3:17 utc | 102
Er, this was exactly my point 😊

Posted by: Mary | Dec 24 2024 9:08 utc | 106

Respects b. Wishing you a peaceful and familial festive season.
It got a bit eventful last few months as expected.
Grateful that you were able to keep us informed through it.
I guess further significant milestones will pop up as Drumpff takes office.
Hope you are properly rested and healthy for that denouement.
Xmas is subdued for me, as the second year of daily genocide and child killing continues by the Zionazis. Any newborn second coming baby Jesus’ has for sure been terrorised and bombed into body parts by the fanatical Zionazi NuttyYahooHerods in their blood lust.
All cheered on with so much gusto by our Collective Wastes leaders, media and msm industrial complexes.
There are even cracks of controlled opposition being instituted to cover the mass disatisfaction within the propaganda machinery!
Regarding the 47th Admin – it seems that the first King of Mars Elon, is tasked along with being senior wormtongue into upgrading the US MIC’s totally destroyed reputation.
Their shiny, dangerous in name only (& to the operators) toy weapons performance in the ukraine has proved to all the bribed buyers of their total uselessness.
His cabal of tech billionaire ‘boys’ forming a communist centralised system that gives up the fantasy of ‘competitive bidding’ and best deal for the public funds by private companies by forming a cartel that will bypass any such mumbo jumbo economics religion. 😂
No more useless Northrop, Boeing etc – now we get shiny Palantir and it’s ‘fellow competitors’ to emulate the RF success in New Weapons that actually work! The cancellations must be coming in hard and fast as the hazelnut!
Also impressed by the list of new BRICS- especially in SEAsia – that is massive. Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia.
Though Erdo is playing his usual Humpty Dumpty game, flushed by success in regaining some of the Ole Ottoman Sultanate.
Are the Turks really dumb enough to be the sword and defenders of the natzio imperial conquest??
In other news there we now have a shrodingers Xmas tree in ex-Syria christian communities – is it a burning bush or not?
Head choppers will do head choppery things. The place is full of foreigners – not ex Syrian, except a few cia trained fronts.
Quiet today – all bots been given an early knocking off?😉
Greetings to all reading wherever you all are.

Posted by: DunGroanin | Dec 24 2024 11:51 utc | 107

Happy holidays everyone.
Just a point of note. Most Moldovan expats life in Russia. Yet there were 2 polling stations there and over a 1000 in europe with a presidential election so close and here’s the read election rigging (not Georgia (country)): https://www.telesurenglish.net/maia-sandu-sworn-in-as-moldovan-president/

Posted by: Sal | Dec 24 2024 13:49 utc | 108

This is going to be interesting to watch a patriarchal barbaristic bully get taken down.
Posted by: psychohistorian | Dec 23 2024 6:21 utc | 54
The “people of the several states” (the Constitution refers to “several”, not “united”) knew very well that certain someone is a “patriarchal barbaristic bully” and decided it their collective wisdom that this is exactly what the country need.
Panama, Greenland, “something marvelous to replace Obama care”, massive infrastructure program consisting of several meetings where the patriarchal barbaristic bully did not pay attention (when he attended), of all those projects I like Greenland most.
If successful, it will allow to augment the cluster of facilities around Pituffic Space Base with a massive garrison that would additionally annex Ellesmere Island from Canada, thus placing the defense of the northern frontier of Americas in reliable hands. The dread of being stationed there will reduce recruitment to all main branches of US military, so the entire project will be a major contribution to PEACE.

Posted by: Piotr Berman | Dec 24 2024 14:40 utc | 109

We will soon be leaving the first year that the Earth’s average surface temperature has exceeded 1.5 degrees centigrade above the late nineteenth century benchmark for “pre-industrial” (which is in itself a misrepresentation as the 1750 period that is truly pre-industrial was 0.2 degrees centigrade cooler than that). The temperature anomaly actually jumped in the past couple of months, even as the El Nino (that boosts global temperatures) has been winding down. Research now points to the possibility of the positive cloud feedback being triggered; less clouds = more of the sun’s energy gets to the Earth’s surface means more heat means less cloud … the Holocene was a nice place to be, especially for human civilization. Seems that we just want to see what things will be like a bit hotter than the Holocene (even at its climate optimum), that temperature zone in which modern civilization flourished.
https://www.science.org/content/article/earth-s-clouds-are-shrinking-boosting-global-warming
At the same time the rejection of this reality is still very much alive in the prospective president and even a whole bunch of the posters on this site. But that is not the major problem, the major problem is that the supposed accepters of this scientific reality are themselves delusional in thinking that technology solutions will “fix” the problem without any real changes needed to how we run our society and how much energy we use doing that. So we simply have Business As Usual + Denial or Business As Usual + Eco-Modernist Delusion. The electric car as climate saviour is one of these delusions, as I detail in Electric Vehicles Will Not Help Solve The Climate Crisis: Just Another Eco-Modernist Fantasy
So I wish you all a Merry Christmas as we rush along toward a climate driven denouement, if we of course don’t have a little nuclear war in the interim, as there may not be many more positive ones left to enjoy. Enjoy it while you can.

Posted by: Roger Boyd | Dec 24 2024 15:24 utc | 110

@105
Reminds me of the Circassian Christmas dance.
Perhaps the kabardinka dance “Kafa”

Posted by: Middle-man | Dec 24 2024 18:01 utc | 111

Posted by: sunof27 | Dec 24 2024 2:54 utc | 101
Yes, I always watch with the sound off. When I watch at all. Much less distracting.
Thank you for your comment.

Posted by: Bemildred | Dec 24 2024 18:35 utc | 112

https://www.rt.com/russia/609889-russia-new-cancer-vaccine/
I think Putin and others should seriously address the amoral,greed driven Western drug/medical industry – as a serious means of defeating the West. China should consider the same thing. I recall a rather ordinary woman who vowed to Chairman Mao that she would find a cure for malaria and spent the next 40 years or so developing it.
Every aspect of medical research seems to be heavily controlled by raw greed and lies. Russia could provide an example of breaking free. Goldman Sachs said that finding cures for disease is not a viable business model. I’m not surprised. Life expectancy in the US is rather stagnant and infant mortality is bad. Of course, wars are always top priority.

Posted by: Eighthman | Dec 24 2024 21:51 utc | 113

10 year at 4,59% on Christmas Eve
De-dollarization brings Peace

Posted by: Exile | Dec 25 2024 4:13 utc | 114

Xinhuanet has a good piece up on Wynton Marsalis in China at the link below….an upbeat read
https://english.news.cn/20241225/3c7265682ccd45378c21b5a06f36850c/c.html

Posted by: psychohistorian | Dec 25 2024 5:08 utc | 115

@ Roger Boyd | Dec 24 2024 15:24 utc | 111
Thanks for your linked post on electric vehicles, and for your awareness of the shrinking-clouds positive feedback.
In my estimation, EV’s are nothing else but just another techno-fantasy component of eco-modernism. Ozzie Zehner raised dozens of issues with false solutions and pseudo-renewables in the book Green Illusions (2012) and the documentary Planet of the Humans (2019). But people are amazingly deaf to whatever they don’t want to hear, no matter how much sense it makes.
The Holocene equilibrium is all shot to hell, as you imply. The planetary system is in a state of physical transition. We’re on our way to a new equilibrium, no telling how far away. It’s impossible to pinpoint the exact moment when planet Earth lost its balance, such that natural sources of GHG’s have ignited out of the permafrost, enough to keep warming alive even if humanity cuts emissions to zero tomorrow.
Arctic tundra — roughly 15% of NH landmass — just flipped from sink to source of GHG’s. It’s rolling downhill all by itself now. That one is THE tipping point. Stick a fork in this tired old planet. It’s done.

Posted by: Aleph_Null | Dec 25 2024 5:10 utc | 116

Another issue impinges very heavily and suddenly on this world’s energy future: the rise of crypto-currency to accompany crypto-fascism. Everybody knows, or should know by now, humanity’s venerable golden rule: the one with the gold makes the rules. What happens when crypto-currency attains critical mass such that crypto-crooks are empowered to bend the arc of history in the direction of chaos? It costs a fortune to bend history, but crypto is fortunate. For crooks. For people who want an operational toaster at breakfast-time, maybe not so fortunate.
Iran is currently suffering periodic blackouts because so much energy is sucked out of the system into crypto farms. Authorities claim have no clue where the crypto farms might be, but everyone knows it’s gotta be an IRGC fundraising operation…
Unimportant details. The important thing is that crypto-farm-spawned power outages are coming soon to a grid near you. Forgetabout renewables. We’re gonna need “all of the above” including nuclear to feed the crypto farms.

Posted by: Aleph_Null | Dec 25 2024 5:31 utc | 117

Another issue impinges very heavily and suddenly on this world’s energy future: the rise of crypto-currency to accompany crypto-fascism. Everybody knows, or should know by now, humanity’s venerable golden rule: the one with the gold makes the rules. What happens when crypto-currency attains critical mass such that crypto-crooks are empowered to bend the arc of history in the direction of chaos? It costs a fortune to bend history, but crypto is fortunate. For crooks. For people who want an operational toaster at breakfast-time, maybe not so fortunate.
Iran is currently suffering periodic blackouts because so much energy is sucked out of the system into crypto farms. Authorities claim have no clue where the crypto farms might be, but everyone knows it’s gotta be an IRGC fundraising operation…
Unimportant details. The important thing is that crypto-farm-spawned power outages are coming soon to a grid near you. Forgetabout renewables. We’re gonna need “all of the above” including nuclear to feed the crypto farms.

Posted by: Aleph_Null | Dec 25 2024 5:31 utc | 118

@ Aleph_Null | Dec 25 2024 5:31 utc | 117 about crypto…thx
Crypto is debt like fiat money.
Its first measure of debt is the cost to produce and the second measure of debt is the difference between that cost and the current market price.
At least with the tulip mania of the 1600’s you had the bulbs as intrinsic value instead of electronic bits and bytes that go away if the power goes away and were wasted to begin with to create the myth of value.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Dec 25 2024 5:49 utc | 119

I’m sick of thought an empty voice cries.
the mood becomes somber very serious.
all fun dries up, all options are lost, past memories are a burden.
that’s when I begin to humble myself and grin.

Posted by: Middle-man | Dec 25 2024 6:55 utc | 120

I haven’t yet (foolishly probably) read into b’s Week in Review for any commentary that might reflect on this (and happy Christmas and holidays to you and yours, b – and to all the barflies), but Canada’s branch of the Five Eyes has put out a warning: the Communications Security Establishment posts on X, “ The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, a part of CSE, warns of sophisticated Iranian social engineering campaigns.” with a link. For those who might like to fish about spear phishing, see below:
https://x.com/cse_cst/status/1871585290265256341

Posted by: Bruised Northerner | Dec 25 2024 12:32 utc | 121

Looking for any corresponding posts relating to my @ 121, I checked with the X accounts of Mike Mihajlovic and The Beaverton.
This is interesting because Toronto Canada is jokingly called ‘Tehranto’ due to the large Iranian community: “Video of hit at ‘Toronto’ center in Kiev” he writes (and goes on further)
https://x.com/MihajlovicMike/status/1870236299321295332
The Beaverton’s latest is a repost from Christmas season of 2022: “ Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future quit rather than take assignment to visit Elon Musk”
It starts, “ THE ETHEREAL PLANE – The magical spirits who normally visit rich monsters on Christmas Eve in order to get them to become caring human beings have all resigned from their positions after they were informed that this year they’d have to spend the evening with billionaire Elon Musk.”
https://x.com/TheBeaverton/status/1871717137108324855

Posted by: Bruised Northerner | Dec 25 2024 12:54 utc | 122

@ psychohistorian | Dec 25 2024 5:49 utc | 120
I’ll guess we agree cryptocurrencies enrich their backers or whoever holds or exerts control. If those backers are “the public”, it’s one thing. If they’re “private”, at best it’s more of the same “private finance” you criticize. At worst, it’s much worse.
However, I don’t think it helps to view crypto itself as “debt”. I suggest you (IMO rightly) dislike the “private” crypto so much that here you’re stretching for another way to criticize it. There’s so much else to dislike. I’ll leave it at that.
Happy Winter Solstice to you barflies in Oregon.

Posted by: I forgot | Dec 25 2024 14:39 utc | 123

I don’t think it helps to view crypto itself as “debt”.
@ I forgot | Dec 25 2024 14:39 utc | 125

The almost unimaginable modern sickness of cryptocurrency is debt indeed, as psychohistorian observes, at another order of magnitude for desolate profligacy. Crypto is the final proof that there’s absolutely no hope for a species so incredibly stoopid.
Beyond mere debt, crypto is burning the house down so the kids can’t get it. Every last drop of extractable carbon must be and will be disgorged into the atmosphere, as quickly as possible, for the sake of a vain, immediate, imaginary benefit exclusively for adults today. To hell with all the children.

Posted by: Aleph_Null | Dec 25 2024 15:02 utc | 124

@ Aleph_Null | Dec 25 2024 15:02 utc | 126
Well…I share your revulsion to it, for reasons you mention and others. Won’t bore you with details. But, I think of “debt” as “something someone must repay in the future”. I don’t see the resemblance to crypto and don’t see the rhetorical value in making that connection either.

Posted by: I forgot | Dec 25 2024 16:46 utc | 125