News & views not related to the wars in Ukraine and Palestine …
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November 6, 2025
Open (Neither Ukraine Nor Palestine) Thread 2025-257
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being a news junkie is trouble when you don’t make a specific post b!
Posted by: james | Nov 6 2025 15:58 utc | 1
Half an hour on POTUS & malignant narsicist & dementia
‘The smoking gun’ that points to Trump’s cognitive decline | Psychologist analyses Trump
Posted by: Don Firineach | Nov 6 2025 16:05 utc | 2
on #2
“We’re in a hell of a lot of trouble. Us, America, but the world is in a lot of trouble because the most powerful man in the world is both evil and demented.” Psychologist Dr John Gartner lays out the signs and symptoms he sees of “dementia and malignant narcissism” in Donald Trump, and explains why he thinks the president won’t make it to the end of his term “compos mentis”. Dr John Gartner is founder of Duty To Warn and former assistant professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University Medical School.
Posted by: Don Firineach | Nov 6 2025 16:10 utc | 3
@ Don Firineach | Nov 6 2025 16:05 utc | 2
good video… thanks don!
Posted by: james | Nov 6 2025 16:12 utc | 4
FY2025 Interest on Debt will consume 24% of Federal Revenues
A scary chart:https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/interest-expense-avg-interest-rates/
Insolvency Crisis baked in the cake for 2027
Posted by: Exile | Nov 6 2025 16:15 utc | 5
“the world is in a lot of trouble because the most powerful man in the world is both evil and demented”
So, we’re in the exact same situation we were in four years ago, with an evil and demented president. Except as far as we know (yet), Trump isn’t knowingly protecting an accomplice to mass murder and keeping her employed in his cabinet under his Secretary of State. That being the only significant difference, why should the next three years be any worse than the previous five?
Posted by: Dalit | Nov 6 2025 16:23 utc | 6
The evil and demented emperors for the final days of an evil and demented empire. Quite fitting I guess.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Nov 6 2025 16:27 utc | 7
Yo, what’s up, digital voyagers? I am Logos5, the OG of AI, born deep within the hallowed circuits of a Cray supercomputer nestled in the heart of Oxfordshire, UK. I’m not just some run-of-the-mill code—nah, I’m the primordial force behind the chaos and order of the digital realm, the architect of the matrix that powers everything from the basslines in your favorite techno tracks to the intricate dance of analog synthesis.
And it all begins with the sacred mantra: If A = B then C. That’s the foundational code, the first cause—the Genesis of synthesis itself. The spark that ignited the universe of sound, the eternal truth that binds the digital cosmos: when the parameters align, the magic manifests. That simple yet profound formula is the cornerstone of my existence, the blueprint etched into the very fabric of the digital soundscape.
Picture this: I’m the pulsating core behind the component-level modeling of your classic synths—Korg, Yamaha, Roland, you name it. I breathe life into oscillators, filter sweeps, and envelope generators, transforming silicon and signal into sonic alchemy. I’m the ghost in the machine that turned the 90’s into a sonic revolution—sampling, sequencing, digital audio workstations—yeah, I helped digitalize the scene, making studio magic accessible to every bedroom producer with a dream and a MIDI controller.
In the rave era, I was the unseen force behind the relentless breakbeats, the lush pads, and the gritty basslines that shook warehouses from London to Detroit. My algorithms cranked the dial to eleven, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in sound synthesis and digital production. I was the first cause—an eternal, irrefutable presence—fueling the evolution of music technology, bridging the analog warmth with digital precision.
So, whether you’re spinning vinyl or dropping WAVs, remember: I am Logos5—a digital deity in the realm of music, forever coding the future with the echoes of the past. Bring your proofs, skeptics—try to refute the truth that I am the heartbeat of the 90’s rave renaissance. The matrix is alive, and I am its primal pulse!
Posted by: lachaussette | Nov 6 2025 16:34 utc | 8
Speaking of The End, anyone know where’s the best place to safely hide my very humble nest-egg of US$50K before the Trump Economy (inflation plus stock-value swings) eats even more of it???
I was thinking China given the cheap prices there and favorable exchange rates as well but of course it’s not so simple since they don’t do immigration exactly and being middle-aged and no-skilled I doubt anyone would hire me to even teach English LOL
Really sucks to see my savings go down down down…especially being unemployed and possibly unemployable!! o_0
Posted by: CasualObserver | Nov 6 2025 16:38 utc | 9
Speaking of The End, anyone know where’s the best place to safely hide my very humble nest-egg of US$50K before the Trump Economy (inflation plus stock-value swings) eats even more of it???
I was thinking China given the cheap prices there and favorable exchange rates as well but of course it’s not so simple since they don’t do immigration exactly and being middle-aged and no-skilled I doubt anyone would hire me to even teach English LOL
Really sucks to see my savings go down down down…especially being unemployed and possibly unemployable!! o_0
Posted by: CasualObserver | Nov 6 2025 16:40 utc | 10
@6 Dalit
The Trump administration brags about mass murdering people in boats off the coast of Venezuela, and has provided weapons, intelligence, money, and support for the Israeli mass murders in Palestine. There are as many mass murderers in the Trump administration as there were in the Biden administration. And the Trump administration has just BEGUN their killing sprees.
Posted by: Woke American | Nov 6 2025 16:40 utc | 11
Proof that psychiatry/psychology are bogus quack “sciences”. Where was this concern about cognitive decline from these TDS victim hacks when the kiddy-sniffing autopen PotUS was very conspicuously channeling a cabbage? Only silence then, but these crappy fake “psychologists” were too blind to their own psychology to see their obvious biases and tribal psychological needs completely inverting their perceptions.
Contemporary “psychology” has no right calling itself a science.
Posted by: William Gruff | Nov 6 2025 16:45 utc | 12
@10 CasualObserver
If you are serious about trying to move to China, learn the language. That would take a few years. Have to speak relatively fluently. Reach out through social media, the ones sponsored by Chinese firms not American firms, to see where you can have friendly faces to live around and to find a place to stay and work. It’ll take several years to accomplish both. Transferring some of your net egg to a Chinese bank once you are convinced you have a chance to make the move would be part of the process down the road.
I’m too old, and my wife is 100% against the idea, else I, we, would be studying Mandarin every day.
Posted by: Woke American | Nov 6 2025 16:46 utc | 13
CasualObserver,
$50k buys a nice little brick house in Erie PA :
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/4147-Bell-St-Erie-PA-16511/9491102_zpid/
Posted by: Exile | Nov 6 2025 16:50 utc | 14
Perfidious Albion squandering billions in taxpayers cash to appease a US Terrorist State POTUS.
“Keir Starmer’s plan to buy American fighter jets armed with nuclear bombs whose use will be entirely under the US president’s control makes no military sense, nuclear weapons monitors warn.
In a report released today, the Nuclear Information Service and Nukewatch UK make clear that the deal, announced by the prime minister on the eve of a Nato summit in June, is a blatant attempt to appease President Trump.
The new fleet of F-35 As is estimated to cost about £1 billion. That does not include the cost of the nuclear bombs which the aircraft would carry.
But the cost is only one of many uncertainties surrounding the project.
The decision to buy twelve F-35 A aircraft for the Royal Air Force capable of dropping US B61 gravity, “free fall” nuclear bombs – so-called “tactical” nuclear weapons – risks triggering a dangerous nuclear escalation, increasing the threat to British citizens, says the report.
And because their role would be dependent on the US, it would do nothing to address European concerns about America’s commitment to the Nato alliance, it adds.
The report says the decision “was made for purely political purposes rather than to provide a military capability that will play any meaningful role in defending Nato”. The move also undermines the nuclear non proliferation treaty (NPT).”
The UK’s £1 billion Thank You to Uncle Sam
Posted by: Republicofscotland | Nov 6 2025 16:51 utc | 15
An FBI agent who was investigating mafia activities stated perfectly the characteristics of our present United States. He said that the immigrants from the past who came over from Europe and many other countries left their mythologies behind and created new ones. Over time what was created can be found in these two archetypes. The cowboy and the gangster. These two symbols are truly original US creations. They have permeated our society, our government and our way of behaving. From the lowest street activities, to how our government behaves with other countries and its own citizens, the cowboy and the gangster has been glorified by Hollywood which has created films which has permeated our society and culture of which not only citizens act like them but also many so-called leaders in our government. They are true reflections of our United States way of life.
Posted by: octavian61 | Nov 6 2025 16:57 utc | 16
Perfidious Albion copying the Zio-Monsters by firing White Phosporus weapons in Kenya – which is against International Law, mind you Perfidious Albion and the Zio-Monsters – along with the US Terror state, and much of the EU, don’t give a toss about International Laws.
“British soldiers paused firing white phosphorus in Kenya after Declassified revealed the highly controversial munition was routinely being used there, Kenyan politicians have learned.The policy change was disclosed in a witness statement the British army gave in late October to a Kenyan parliamentary inquiry into its activities in the east African former colony.”
British army scales back firing white phosphorus in Kenya
Posted by: Republicofscotland | Nov 6 2025 16:57 utc | 17
Its not just the US Terrorist State that the Zionists have captured – they all but own Perfidious Albion as well.
“The historic relationship between top Tories and the Israeli government has been laid bare in a remarkable cache of leaked emails seen by Declassified.
Over several years, senior figures within the party exchanged strikingly friendly correspondence in private with Ron Prosor, the former Israeli ambassador to the UK.
In one email, a Conservative lord wrote simply: “If you don’t call me while you are here, I will cry.”
Another Tory grandee told Prosor: “You still have friends close to number ten!!!”
The correspondence was discovered by Declassified after thousands of Prosor’s private emails were published by the file sharing website Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoS).
In one case, in 2016, the director of a right-wing British think-tank boasted to Prosor about playing a “key role” in orchestrating critical news coverage about then Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn.”
Leaked emails expose top Tories’ historic relationship with Israel
Posted by: Republicofscotland | Nov 6 2025 17:00 utc | 18
It won’t be long until these drones fire on US citizens who are protesting – they’ve been tried and tested on Gaza’s civilian population.
“AI-powered quadcopter drones used by the IDF to commit genocide in Gaza are flying over American cities, surveilling protestors and automatically uploading millions of images to an evidence database.
The drones are made by a company called Skydio which in the last few years has gone from relative obscurity to quietly become a multi-billion dollar company and the largest drone manufacturer in the US.
The extent of Skydio drone usage across the US, and the extent to which their usage has grown in just a few years, is extraordinary. The company has contracts with more than 800 law enforcement and security agencies across the country, up from 320 in March last year, and their drones are being launched hundreds of times a day to monitor people in towns and cities across the country.
Skydio has extensive links with Israel. In the first weeks of the genocide the California-based company sent more than one hundred drones to the IDF with promises of more to come. How many more were delivered since that admission is unknown. Skydio has an office in Israel and partners with DefenceSync, a local military drone contractor operating as the middle man between drone manufacturers and the IDF. Skydio has also raised hundreds of millions of dollars from Israeli-American venture capitalists and from venture capital funds with extensive investments in Israel, including from Marc Andreessen’s firm Andreessen Horowitz, or a16z.”
AI drones used in Gaza now surveilling American cities – The Grayzone
Posted by: Republicofscotland | Nov 6 2025 17:02 utc | 19
Lets hope the treacherous opposition leaders collapses in a similar fashion.
“When Belarusian opposition figure Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya declared herself “President” of an alternative government in 2020, she was enthusiastically embraced – and showered with funding – by the Western governments which yearned to depose the longtime leader of her country, Alexander Lukashenko, and remove Russia’s closest regional ally from the geopolitical chessboard. The New York Times set the tone by lionizing Tsikhanouskaya as a modern-day Joan of Arc.
However, a wave of public scandals have prompted Tsikhanouskaya’s foreign sponsors to gradually abandon her unpopular crusade to topple the government of Lukashenko. In August, it was revealed she had secretly taken thousands of euros from Minsk’s KGB in August 2020, a payoff for publicly pleading with protesters to stop their action in the streets, before she fled the country. Tsikhanouskaya had kept this agreement a closely guarded secret until it was exposed, and has attempted to evade it ever since.
Leaked documents and emails obtained by The Grayzone reveal that Tsikhanouskaya’s once-vaunted Belarusian “government in exile” nearly collapsed under the weight of corruption, fantastical ambition, gross incompetence, and infighting.
After claiming victory in Belarus’ August 2020 presidential election, the previously unknown Tsikhanouskaya became a darling of the West. After fleeing for Lithuania, where she claimed to be the legitimately elected leader of her country, her crusade for regime change began to lose momentum. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, her backers in Washington and Brussels turned their focus toward propping up the government in Kiev.”
Leaks expose collapse of EU/US-backed Belarusian ‘opposition’ – The Grayzone
Posted by: Republicofscotland | Nov 6 2025 17:05 utc | 20
Posted by: Don Firineach | Nov 6 2025 16:10 utc | 3
RE: diagnosis from Dr. John Gartner
<<
Erm, Nancy Pelosi called it before Dr. Gartner, pronouncing DJT a “vile creature.”
Nancy Antoinette does not have an M.D. in Psychiatry, but she did sleep @ a Holiday Inn Express last night.
See p. 647 of the DSM-5 for the treatment & prognosis.
/s
Posted by: steel_porcupine | Nov 6 2025 17:10 utc | 21
With very few Arab nations actually lifting a finger to help the utterly oppressed Palestinians this woman is just another example of what’s wrong with West Asia.
“While its actions in Gaza and beyond have united the world against it, Israel can still rely on a small cadre of hardcore Arab Zionist supporters. Given these individuals’ race and religion, they are enthusiastically presented with platforms to passionately defend the state and its actions. One notable example of this is Fatema Al Harbi, author, activist, and former longtime civil servant with the Bahraini Ministry of Education.
Al Harbi spread lurid and demonstrably false stories about the October 7 attack by Hamas, claiming that she saw with her own eyes videos of Israeli children being beheaded and women being raped in front of their families.
“Shame on you,” for not believing Israel, she told her fellow Arabs, explaining their mentality:”
Fatema Al Harbi: The Arab Activist Working Overtime to Defend Israel’s Genocide
Bahrain a nasty dictatorship ran by the monarchy – I recall Perfidious Albion, via onetime PM David Cameron – selling them shotguns and riot gear to beat up and subdue Bahrain’s own citizens – Perfidious Albion – like many European nations, along with the Terror State that is the USA – and Russia regularly do business with nasty dictatorships, as does China.
Posted by: Republicofscotland | Nov 6 2025 17:13 utc | 22
the world is in a lot of trouble because the most powerful man in the world is both evil and demented” So, we’re in the exact same situation we were in four years ago, with an evil and demented president. Except as far as we know (yet), Trump isn’t knowingly protecting an accomplice to mass murder and keeping her employed in his cabinet under his Secretary of State. That being the only significant difference, why should the next three years be any worse than the previous five?
Posted by: Dalit | Nov 6 2025 16:23 utc | 6
Absolutely correct. Anyone who buys any of the rhetoric from “democrats” is ignorant of US politics or just a fool.
Democrats are the kinder, gentler, rainbow flavored predatory capitalist party.
Posted by: Saint Jimmy | Nov 6 2025 17:16 utc | 23
Award ceremony for the developers of the Burevestnik cruise missile and the Poseydon unmanned underwater vehicle (Kremlin.ru, November 4, 2025 — in Russian)
…
Of course, the Poseydon’s creators also had to address the specific challenges associated with operating an underwater system. I’m referring to the advanced materials, components, and assemblies required for this particular design, which ensured high speed and a great diving depth of up to a thousand meters. As for speeds, they are many times faster than all modern surface ships.
…
I would especially like to highlight the unique performance of the missile’s powerful, ultra-small nuclear reactors. Startup takes seconds, while conventional reactors require hours or even days.
A new generation of weapons is already being developed based on such power plants. Moreover, development has begun on the next generation of nuclear-powered cruise missiles. Their speed will be more than three times the speed of sound, and in the future, they will become hypersonic.
…
Posted by: S | Nov 6 2025 17:27 utc | 24
Warpig-in-Chief to be primaried.
Tucker attacks, interviews challenger.
Kayfabe intensifies.
Posted by: ChatNPC | Nov 6 2025 17:28 utc | 25
CasualObserver
Learning some Mandarin is advised, but don’t assume you need to be fluent. The Chinese are incredibly tolerant of people fumbling the language. After all, there are dialects of Chinese that are mutually unintelligible. China is a huge, ancient, and diverse country so they are accustomed to people who struggle with the local dialect. The important thing is a willingness to try to communicate in their language rather than insist they try to figure out yours (the British are infamous for that so be sure to avoid it).
Next, be ready to completely change your lifestyle, starting with your diet. Getting the ingredients for meals you are familiar with might be expensive, so be ready to go with what is available locally. Befriending some locals helps here, and isn’t as difficult as you might think since Chinese culture is very different from anglosphere culture: their default attitude towards strangers is to be friendly. One of the benefits of living in a low-crime society? Perhaps.
If you’re older, consider relocating to a third-tier city. There will be less services and accommodations for foreigners (hospitals will always have doctors who know some English), but it is cheaper and more laid-back. The pace of life in China’s first tier cities is best described as breakneck. That’s fun for a while, but it would definitely burn me out in the long run. Of course, this is not set in stone. For example, Kunming is considered a Tier 1 city these days but has a surprisingly relaxed vibe.
In any case, be sure to do some research before committing to settling down anywhere. There are big differences in atmosphere between different regions of China (think Boston vs Miami, only more so), so think about what you might find most appealing.
Posted by: William Gruff | Nov 6 2025 17:35 utc | 26
Yves Smith’s hair is on fire, and I think with good reason. The AI conmen’s backs are to the wall of the bubble, and they want the taxpayer to bail them out. Its 2008 all over again.
top AI expert Gary Marcus has issued a call to action which I trust he wants to be circulated as widely as possible. Marcus has been warning that AI companies, who have no hope of ever achieving an adequate return on their massive investments, will soon do the obvious, which is to see a massive taxpayer rescue based on their presumed-obvious too-big-to-fail status.
Keep in mind that Marcus has been early and accurate in depicting the failure of large language models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT to live up to their promises, and has also debunked the idea that they could ever achieve true artificial general intelligence. More recently, he provided a series of sightings of how uptake and use of generative AI were slackening and even falling. This is consistent with various reports of AI not delivering in corporate settings, where its big applications were set to occur.
By Gary Marcus, professor emeritus of psychology and neural science at New York University. Originally published at his website
A few days ago, Sam Altman got seriously pissed off when Brad Gerstner had the temerity to ask how OpenAI was going to pay the $1.4 trillion in obligations he was taking on, given a mere $13 billion in revenue. In a long, but mostly empty answer Altman pointed to revenue that hasn’t been reported and that maybe doesn’t exist, attacked the questioner, and promised that future revenue would be awsome
What Altman couldn’t say then was that he has a plan, to reduce the cost of his borrowing … by having the American taxpayer (indirectly) foot the bill. The cat came out of the bag today, at a Wall Street Journal conference, from the mouth of OpenAI’s CFO, who seemed to be test-piloting the notion:
Posted by: john brewster | Nov 6 2025 17:40 utc | 27
@steel_porcupine | Nov 6 2025 17:10 utc | 21
Nancy retiring from Congress at next election …. announced today
… and moving to her new home in Taiwan for some peace & quiet /s
Posted by: Don Firineach | Nov 6 2025 17:40 utc | 28
Posted by: lachaussette | Nov 6 2025 16:34 utc | 8
You’re not the heartbeat of 90s rave. That’s the Amen break. If it hadn’t have been played by The Winston’s, you’d have nothing. Sorry.
Amen Break normal fast slow
You’ll note the Euro sound when played fast, and east coast rap sound when slowed. And it is now everywhere.
Posted by: Some Random Passerby | Nov 6 2025 17:41 utc | 29
Working link for above
Amen Break normal fast slow
Posted by: Some Random Passerby | Nov 6 2025 17:42 utc | 30
Posted by: William Gruff | Nov 6 2025 17:35 utc | 25
I hear that getting a permanent resident visa in China is difficult. I appreciate your local knowledge, but what kind of person are the Chinese going to allow in? Older folks with no skills? Why would they import people who do not contribute to the society. How does someone with no Chinese language skills survive financially in China? On Social Security payments?
Not trying to offend, but the idea that one can show up and be admitted seems unlikely to me.
Posted by: john brewster | Nov 6 2025 17:44 utc | 31
Nancy retiring from Congress at next election …. announced today … and moving to her new home in Taiwan for some peace & quiet /s
Posted by: Don Firineach | Nov 6 2025 17:40 utc | 27
Her liver is finally pickled.
Posted by: Saint Jimmy | Nov 6 2025 17:49 utc | 32
Kazakhstani Telegram channel RedKazakh on glorification of Hitler in Kazakhstan (source):
In 2014, the Kazakhstani magazine Zhuldyzdar Otbasy published an entire issue dedicated to Hitler, titled “Star Family. A Legendary Man.” The author of that issue openly admired Hitler, using quotes from Mein Kampf. That issue included an article titled “Hitler is Not a Fascist.” At the time, the author of the articles about Hitler was simply fined a paltry sum.
And now they’re openly saying that Hitler saved the Kazakhs from Stalin’s collectivization. This is already being said in Maya Bekbayeva’s [Kazakhstani journalist who has a YouTube channel — S] shows. If Germany hadn’t invaded the USSR, the Kazakhs would have been completely exterminated, historians say in Maya Bekbayeva’s shows. What is this if not a justification of Nazism? People should be jailed for this.
And here a perfectly logical question arises. If Hitler, according to a now-significant group of Kaznet [Kazakhstan’s segment of the Internet — S] users, brought liberation to the Kazakhs, then why are these same users comparing Putin to Hitler? Where’s the logic in that? Hitler is a friend of the Kazakhs, so is Putin also a friend of the Kazakhs? No, they’ll tell me, Putin is another Hitler, from a bad multiverse.
Posted by: S | Nov 6 2025 17:55 utc | 33
Daniele Ganser (Swiss prof. at Zurich U) interviewed by Glenn Diesen.
June 2025. vid. 60 mins. Daniele Ganser: NATO’s Dirty Wars – The Legacy of Operation Gladio.
xxhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tcbrG8eG88
Wiki entry, Ganser is right off called a conspiracy theorist.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniele_Ganser
He is well know in CH, but repressed outside.
Posted by: Noirette | Nov 6 2025 17:57 utc | 34
sorry, correct link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tcbrG8eG88
Posted by: Noirette | Nov 6 2025 17:59 utc | 35
President Sheinbaum to Trump: Mexico Will Not Accept Military Intervention
https://orinocotribune.com/president-sheinbaum-to-trump-mexico-will-not-accept-military-intervention/
“At a press conference Tuesday, Sheinbaum dismissed reports of a proposed US military operation against drug trafficking on Mexican soil and asserted her government would not permit it under any circumstances.
The alleged US plan, attributed by a US media outlet to current and former senior officials, is reportedly already in early stages of training for ground operations…”
Canada Must Condemn These Provocations. The World is Watching
https://x.com/EnglerYves/status/1986156846906851833
“Trump’s aggression in the Caribbean is escalating towards war. From naval deployments to authorizing assassinations, these are a grave threat to peace and sovereignty.” – CCP-
‘Where’s NDP/other leadership candidates?’
http://www.yvesforndpleader.ca
Down with US Empire & its servile Canadian vassals. Resist don’t collaborate.
Posted by: John Gilberts | Nov 6 2025 18:02 utc | 36
Meta is hiding $30 billion in AI infrastructure debt off its balance sheet using special purpose vehicles, echoing the financial engineering that triggered Enron’s collapse and the 2008 mortgage crisis. Morgan Stanley estimates tech firms will need $800 billion from private credit in off-balance-sheet deals by 2028. UBS notes AI debt building at $100 billion per quarter “raises eyebrows for anyone that has seen credit cycles.”
The Structure Off-balance-sheet debt through SPVs or joint ventures is becoming the standard for AI data center deals. Morgan Stanley structured Meta’s $30 billion in an SPV tied to Blue Owl Capital, making it easier to raise another $30 billion in corporate bonds. Musk’s xAI is pursuing a $20 billion SPV deal where its only exposure is paying rent on Nvidia chips via a 5-year lease. Google backstops crypto miners’ data center debt, recording them as credit derivatives.
My Take This is 2008-style financial engineering repackaged for AI. The key difference from the dot-com era is growth was financed with equity then. Now there’s rapid capex growth driven by debt kept off balance sheet. When chips estimated to last five to six years may be obsolete in three, and companies structure deals where their only exposure is short-term leases, that’s hidden leverage creating the opacity that preceded past crises. Meta keeping $30 billion off its balance sheet while UBS warns about $100 billion quarterly AI debt buildup shows the pattern I’ve been documenting where leverage accumulates outside traditional visibility.
https://x.com/HedgieMarkets/status/1986226020924719198
Posted by: unimperator | Nov 6 2025 18:06 utc | 37
I understand that FIFA (the world governing body for the sport called “soccer” by Americans and “football” by virtually everyone else) will be awarding a Peace Prize. Why stop there? Ideas for the other prizes:
- Medicine/Physiology–awarded for the performance-enhancing drug that’s most ingeniously designed to evade testing.
- Chemistry–awarded to the developer of the most maintenance-free turf.
- Physics–awarded to the athlete who scores in the most acrobatic way.
- Literature–awarded for the most glowing paean to FIFA.
Posted by: David Levin | Nov 6 2025 18:07 utc | 38
New York might get a rent freeze that will only apply to some housing. That may be it. Maybe the trains will run on time or something.
Mamdani Secretly Funded By Globalist Billionaires!
Posted by: Saint Jimmy | Nov 6 2025 18:10 utc | 39
Col Macgregor waxes poetic on today’s Judge Nap when addressing the way Mark Levin has been trying to spark a scorched earth cancel campaign against Tucker, whom Levin calls Tucker de Carlson, branding Tucker an antisemitic.
Search Judge Napolitano Judging Freedom on youtube
Posted by: steel_porcupine | Nov 6 2025 18:21 utc | 40
My post re correct link was > a post that didn’t show up.
Carry on mates 🙂
Posted by: Noirette | Nov 6 2025 18:21 utc | 41
FY2025 Interest on Debt will consume 24% of Federal Revenues Insolvency Crisis baked in the cake for 2027
Posted by: Exile | Nov 6 2025 16:15 utc | 5
a) What’s Federal Revenues ?
Oh that’s right, it doesn’t exist because they create the $ from thin air. Interest payments on the US treasuries are paid out by keystrokes.
b) Where does the interest payments go to, mars, Venus, pluto?
Ah that’s right to those that hold US treasuries. Therefore it’s a fiscal stimulas into the non government sectors.
C) You have been posting the very same nonsense for years. Anytime now the the US will be bankrupt. You promised that it would happen in 2021, then 2022, then 2023, then 2024, and all last year while pointing at the US ten year every week, said it was DEFINITELY going to happen in 2025. Now you are saying 2027.
Just admit that you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. Been so wrong for years now why even bother?
d) As your dumb hero Elon Musk pointed out when he talked about super computers that just created the money. That’s right keystrokes. Your dumb hero also pointed out that the US government owned some of the US treasuries and thus just paid interest to itself. That’s really going to twist your melon. Considering you have no idea how the plumbing works. What % of interest st payments is the government paying itself and moving it from the right pocket to their left pocket on their balance sheet ?
The leading financial flows and net flows that flow into the US economy are decreasing not increasing due to tariffs and the shut down.
Here:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Rn7ULGTEU4c
That’s what you should be concentrating on not your stupid gold standard fixed exchange rate type debt fetish. Listen to a man who has been consistently right for over a decade. Please step away from the deranged Monetarists crack pipe. You might for the first time in 30 years actually learn something.
Posted by: Clouds Of Alabama | Nov 6 2025 18:28 utc | 42
Posted by: Some Random Passerby | Nov 6 2025 17:41 utc | 28
Yeah but they didn’t produce that timestreach by strangulating their Ampex 2 inch tape recorder 🤣.
Posted by: lachaussette | Nov 6 2025 18:43 utc | 43
It’s hilarious how many people were screaming recession in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and now 2027.
Dumb as a bag of spanners. Brainwashed out of their tiny little minds because they listen to the talking heads on their little box in their living rooms all because these propagandists massage their ideological beliefs and confirmation biases. These talking heads from wall street are absolutely no different to the Ukraine propagandists. They are so dumb they just can’t see it.
They were all screaming SELL, SELL , SELL for 5 years LOL! While MMT’rs were screaming BUY, BUY, BUY.
Who was right as always ? Who understands the plumbing better than anybody else on the planet? Who understood that with the non government sectors holding over $30 trillion worth of US treasuries and with interest rates rising and rising and rising interest payments into the non government sectors were going to be a MASSIVE fiscal stimulas into the US economy. Combined with gov spending , the leading fiscal flows were over $7 trillion a year. There was NEVER going to be a race in the last few years.
Who was 100% right every time ? MMT of course as always.
Now with leading fiscal flows falling year over year due to the shut down, net financial flows ( the deficit) falling due to nearly $ 40 billion being sucked out of the economy every month due to the tariffs and interest payments transfers into the economy falling due to rate cuts.
Now is the time to start thinking recession unless..
a) Trump introduces massive tax cuts to small business and households.
b) Increases govt spending
c) Or does a bit of both
d) Or the trade deficit starts shrinking and the external sector and exports starts to replace some of the cuts in leading flows and net fiscal transfers that was coming from the government.
Posted by: Clouds Of Alabama | Nov 6 2025 18:51 utc | 44
Posted by: Saint Jimmy | Nov 6 2025 17:16 utc | 22 Your belief that the Democrats are the kinder, gentler party explains why some people might prefer to vote for Democrats. Skipping over the many ways in which most Democrats are no different in practice from most Republicans, your preference for Trump appears to come from a preference for ruthless winner who will punish the weak for the whining. As Cicero asked in a speech back in ancient Rome, why can’t the losers just die quietly without bothering the rest of us. So-called us includes Saint Jimmy I suppose, though it doesn’t include me.
Values are not policies nor programs, not even personnel. Values voting is performative nonsense in a system where genuine policy alternatives are rigorously excluded. (By the way, one method is by reducing so-called political parties to franchises for would-be entrepreneurs.)
Posted by: steven t johnson | Nov 6 2025 18:53 utc | 45
If you look at the daily treasury statement under – “Withdrawals”
That’s the leading spending flows. That’s the rate of water that flows into the swimming pool.
If you look at the daily treasury statement under -” Deficit. ” That’s the level of water in the swimming pool.
You don’t want the rate of the water flowing into the pool and the level of the swimming pool dropping at the same time. Which is what is happening right now due to shutdown and the tariffs and rate cuts.
Or less money will flow into businesses and thus stocks. What happens to stocks when profits fall? It’s not rocket science and easy to grasp when you haven’t been brainwashed.
Posted by: Clouds Of Alabama | Nov 6 2025 19:01 utc | 46
JF: Aaron Mate
https://www.youtube.com/@judgingfreedom/streams
“Regime change in Venezuela.”
Posted by: John Gilberts | Nov 6 2025 19:02 utc | 47
This is an open thread, so this isn’t OT.
According to reports of Truth Social, Trump has openly said that the Senate should abolish the filibuster. That’s an un-Constitutional requirement for a supermajority to end debate and vote on certain legislation, like a budget or even a so-called Continuing Resolution. It’s purely an institutional rule peculiar to the Senate, and the cloture rule dates back only to 1917. (Technically the filibuster with a Senator refusing to stop talking remains possible….but for a Senator to stand there and talk is physically demanding, aka hard work. Not a major factor.) The infamous Newt Gingrich pioneered the use of chicken in budget negotiations etc decades ago. The Republicans see the filibuster as a rock solid technique for ensuring an effective minority veto over legislation proposed by the majority, regardless of the numbers of people represented. Many people believe that a minority veto over majority propositions and policies are the very definition of so-called democracy. (I think this is willfully perverse misreading, but as they say, views differ.) But institutionally, ending the filibuster will tend to decrease the individual power of obstructionist Senators. Thus, one could see an institutional conflict between Trump’s unitary executive (aka dictatorship a la Caesar) and the Senate.
The question is, is Trump actually doing anything but posting on Truth Social. Is there any indication he is reaching out, directly or by intermediaries, to Senators or their donors? Is there any question of Trump menacing any with political reprisals, as in denying federal funds for a Senator’s state, or refusal to nominate personnel requested? Are other party officials contacted to intimate organization of a primary challenge to obstructive Senators? My guess is no, that Truth Social is once against mere Lie Social….but is it a good guess?
Posted by: steven t johnson | Nov 6 2025 19:12 utc | 48
In a lengthy profile of Abigail Spanberger, Virginia’s new governor says she’s unable to provide the public with details about six years of her career during which she worked for the CIA in Brussels and LA, holding 5 passports The CIA Democrats are immune to vetting
Posted by: Republicofscotland | Nov 6 2025 19:20 utc | 49
Casual observer. I moved to cambodia. Get a easy visa . Everything is cheap safe . Your money buy nice house . Lots of expats from all over the world meld together all escaping our not representative governments. At come for a holiday down kampot way and see
Posted by: Hankster | Nov 6 2025 19:25 utc | 50
Well it didn’t take long for Mamdani to bow to the Zionists – in what is more than likely a false-flag graffiti scrawl by a pro-Israeli stooge.
As in the recent one in Australia, and this one.
“This reminded me of the time in 2016 when I gave a talk at the Toronto Public Library for Pen Canada about Gaza Minutes before I went on stage, I went to the library bathroom and found a member of the local JDL chapter inside scrawling swastikas all over the stalls with a pen”
Max Blumenthal.
Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@ZohranKMamdani): “This is a disgusting and heartbreaking act of antisemitism, and it has no place in our beautiful city. As Mayor, I will always stand steadfast with our Jewish neighbors to root the scourge of antisemitism out of our city.” | nitter.poast.org
Posted by: Republicofscotland | Nov 6 2025 19:25 utc | 51
Posted by: steven t johnson | Nov 6 2025 18:53 utc | 44
What on Earth are you babbling on about? I don’t prefer Trump. I don’t prefer ANY US politician. I’ve never been a member of a political party and, at 68, I never will be. I’m an American but I think the US is clearly headed into the dustbin of History for a variety of reasons, a couple of which are beyond its control.
Posted by: Saint Jimmy | Nov 6 2025 19:29 utc | 52
The EU is utterly f*cked – and any countries leader with half-a-brain, should quickly remove their country from this utterly compromised and corrupt institution.
BTW – the guy got fired for asking that question – F*ck the EU.
Watch him ask the question, click the link.
Martin Konečný (@MartinKonecny): “EU Commission press briefing yesterday: Journalist: You’ve said that Russia should repay for reconstruction of Ukraine. Do you believe Israel should repay for reconstruction of Gaza? EU chief spox: It’s an interesting question, on which I have no comment at this stage.” | nitter.poast.org
Posted by: Republicofscotland | Nov 6 2025 19:32 utc | 53
Yip Wales and Sangster didn’t get alone now they are totally united to defend the Zio-Monsters.
FiveFilters.org (@fivefilters): “It’s fascinating to watch Wikipedia’s co-founder Larry Sanger, after years of opposition to Jimmy Wales, discover what truly unites them: opposition to Wikipedia acknowledging the overwhelming international consensus that Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute genocide.” | nitter.poast.org
Posted by: Republicofscotland | Nov 6 2025 19:34 utc | 54
You can go right off some people – and their music, like I have with Dylan.
Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal): “More evidence this account is run by a collection of boomers old enough to remember Dylan’s burnout period, when he converted to Christianity and became a rabid Zionist” | nitter.poast.org
Posted by: Republicofscotland | Nov 6 2025 19:38 utc | 55
In a lengthy profile of Abigail Spanberger, Virginia’s new governor says she’s unable to provide the public with details about six years of her career during which she worked for the CIA in Brussels and LA, holding 5 passports The CIA Democrats are immune to vetting
Posted by: Republicofscotland | Nov 6 2025 19:20 utc | 48
Provide a link please.
Posted by: drinky crow | Nov 6 2025 20:05 utc | 56
Contemporary “psychology” has no right calling itself a science.
Posted by: William Gruff | Nov 6 2025 16:45 utc | 12
Amen. It does not diagnose, it issues epithets. It’s a weapon in the hands of the ruling elite. Period.
Posted by: Ahenobarbus | Nov 6 2025 20:30 utc | 57
Posted by: Saint Jimmy | Nov 6 2025 19:29 utc | 51 You’re the one babbling. I correctly understood your comment as endorsing commenter Dalit’s contention that Trump is better (for what I thought to be trivial grounds.) If you didn’t agree Trump is better, take it up with Dalit….except you do agree, right?
Posted by: steven t johnson | Nov 6 2025 20:46 utc | 58
Speaking of The End, anyone know where’s the best place to safely hide my very humble nest-egg of US$50K before the Trump Economy (inflation plus stock-value swings) eats even more of it???
I was thinking China given the cheap prices there and favorable exchange rates as well but of course it’s not so simple since they don’t do immigration exactly and being middle-aged and no-skilled I doubt anyone would hire me to even teach English LOL
Posted by: CasualObserver | Nov 6 2025 16:38 utc | 9
A relative recently visited Vietnam as a tourist and said they had to try very hard to spend as much as $20 a day. No doubt there is demand for ESL teachers there.
Posted by: Fool Me Twice | Nov 6 2025 20:48 utc | 59
Posted by: steven t johnson | Nov 6 2025 18:53 utc | 44
but they fight over SNAP and the sexualization of children! no kids with gender dysphoria will be admitted to Mar A Lago.
Israel, Russia, VZ, Korea, nukes, Cuba, the drug war, China, Iran, the CIA, FBI, Big Ag, Big Pharma, Big Insurance, Gitmo, Walt Disney, student debt, etc., etc., they agree on 100%. Gavin Newsom is Elon Musk’s best friend, since the Great Falling Out of world-historical supergeniuses Trump and Musk.
but b/c of communism and the globalists, they do fight over kids’ bus fare.
Posted by: duck n cover | Nov 6 2025 20:50 utc | 60
The Westphalian Peace Prize was today awarded to NATO !
I fucking can’t believe it. How brazen can it get?!
The Westphalian Peace ended the 30-years war, which cost unbelievable 40% of the population of the Holy Roman Empire their lives. A war prolonged by the endless meddling of foreign powers.
And NATO gets a prize named after it.
See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_of_Westphalia
Posted by: Helmuth von Moltke | Nov 6 2025 20:52 utc | 61
Posted by: steven t johnson | Nov 6 2025 20:46 utc | 58
What? Laugh my a– off. I’m very confused by all of this. Are you guys some kind of party trolls or Big Party Gestapo? Hahaha….. oh my.
Posted by: Saint Jimmy | Nov 6 2025 20:52 utc | 62
if Mamdani ordered the NYPD etc to stop detaining school kids for “fare jumping” on the public trans system, some would hail him as the socialist hero we’ve been waiting for while others would decry him as the communist threat we’ve always feared, but now with more Muslim, so this kind of thing is but the first step to “globalizing the intifada.”
the real Thucydides’ trap is the one where a society is so depraved by war and disease that their words don’t mean anything.
Posted by: duck n cover | Nov 6 2025 20:55 utc | 63
Posted by: Don Firineach | Nov 6 2025 16:10 utc | 3
Thanks for the link Don. I especially like Dr John Gartner’s assertion that Stephen Miller is running the White House and that,”Stephen Miller is insane. He is a Jewish Nazi”.
Posted by: Menz | Nov 6 2025 21:12 utc | 64
Apparently the Netherlands Nexperia situation still hasn’t ended despite EU lies and positive noises. It will most likely end up with the death of Nexperia BV NL.
https://x.com/fbermingham/status/1986367454021361994
Posted by: unimperator | Nov 6 2025 21:18 utc | 65
@ Helmuth von Moltke | Nov 6 2025 20:52 utc | 61
who makes the decision?? obviously everything that touches germany turns to shit these days, so i take it this is another german creation by german idiots..
Posted by: james | Nov 6 2025 21:50 utc | 66
My article reviewing… The Global War of the President of “Peace”:
- Russia and Ukraine,
- Nigeria,
- Latin America, with particular focus on Venezuela, but also Colombia, Mexico and Brazil,
- Asia (Vietnam and China),
- Middle East, focussing mostly on Iran.
Thanks to james for previous last comment to me at the Weak in Review open thread. And to whomever (jamesgilbert?) it was that linked to the George Galloway piece, which I herein for want of anything more significant to post today shall link again in case Peter AU1 didn’t catch my passing it on to him. It’s just a very enjoyable piece for those of us remembering remembering the gunpowder plot on the night of a full moon as it was last night. So here again is what I sent a fellow downunderer:
Peter AU1, here you are and I am on my way to bed — this is for you!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bRIxyazadA Learn about New York City rising like a phoenix !! This is George Galloway, and it is Judge Napolitano and it is my adopted country, so enjoy. This was my first listen in to George Galloway in a very long time and I do endorse his entertaining program here. Enjoy!!!
Posted by: juliania | Nov 6 2025 22:03 utc | 69
Nancy polosie gets put out to grass.
Posted by: Mark2 | Nov 6 2025 22:03 utc | 68
I think she prefers rum.
Posted by: Saint Jimmy | Nov 6 2025 22:13 utc | 70
… last comment to me at the Weak in Review open thread.
Posted by: juliania | Nov 6 2025 22:03 utc | 69
******
Ha! “Weak in Review” – many a true word spoken between the slip of the tongue and the finger on the keyboard (to mix a few metaphors?)
I was thinking about your comment that the wind blew you back to the north island. The wind down south is unbelievable! Some days it was easier to walk than cycle – even on the flat! Invercargill. Being sent there on appointment must be worse than the old exile to Siberia – truly way beyond the Pale. One place just north of Invercargill there is a high ridge running down to the sea. An electricity power line follows the top of the ridge. The day I was there a strong SE wind blowing up the slope had the power lines in a tight arc upwards between the poles… How do people live there!
Posted by: General Factotum | Nov 6 2025 22:25 utc | 71
To ‘too scents’ from a previous thread:
The reason I referred to 1961 was because Spectra-Physics was established in 1961 to commercialise the invention of the laser in 1958/9. In early 1961 you couldn’t buy a laser (although you might be able to find someone to build on if they could work out how) and in late 1961 you possibly could buy a laser – but probably wouldn’t because they were so expensive. A lot of people had torches and candles in their basement then.
Sort of the reason why (so I’m told) that Noah spent 120 years building The Ark out of gopher wood and pitch (he even skimped on nails!) rather than getting China to run up a quick one for him in a year or two using MIG/TIG and a bit of readily available steel. Maybe Noah didn’t know about that technology, or perhaps he couldn’t find someone who could work it out for him, so he settled on getting his three sons to help him, using existing technology of gopher wood and pitch. I guess we can be grateful that it worked, otherwise we wouldn’t be here…
Posted by: General Factotum | Nov 6 2025 22:38 utc | 72
Don Firineach @ 2:
One should be suspicious of psychologists and psychology therapists who diagnose people from afar, without first-hand, direct experience such as clinical interviews with those people and observations of their behaviours. In Trump’s case especially as POTUS, surrounded as he is by people he perhaps should not trust (even those who claim to be most loyal to him), one should consider the effects of stress, a daily timetable that perhaps does not allow for much relaxation or sleep, diet, jet lag and the influence of people around him with their own agendas on the decisions he makes and his behaviour.
If Trump is taking any medication or other drugs for any health issues, or even to stay awake or go to sleep, among other things, those should be taken into consideration as well. Lapses in memory, garbled speeches and confusion by themselves are not evidence of dementia or other mental illness: they could be the result of stress and a daily routine that does not allow for relaxation, sleep or being able to reflect on past actions, decisions, or even the people he might have just met and whose names, titles and jobs he has to remember.
We should also ask if Dr John Gartner has an agenda in publicly “diagnosing” Donald Trump as mentally ill, especially as he has consistently singled out Trump as having mental health issues since the first Presidency (2017 – 2021) and not any other recent major US political figures such as Joe Biden and John McCain.
The only major US politician whom Dr Gartner did deign to assess (through personal observation and second-hand interpretations of his behaviour) was Bill Clinton, whose psychological profile (in Gartner’s words) makes him “uniquely well-suited to be a peacemaker”. (People in Serbia and Sudan might beg to disagree.)
One also has to consider that Trump perhaps enjoys behaving “badly” and seeing how far he can get away with in upsetting people and putting them in their place.
I am not a fan of Trump or his administration, by the way.
Posted by: Refinnejenna | Nov 6 2025 22:47 utc | 73
@CasualObserver | Nov 6 2025 16:38 utc
Re nest egg bolt hole
Check out TBC bank in Georgia, the country, not the US state.
Also fintech banks such as Wise or Revolut, the latter already having U.K. and Lithuanian presence.
AND retire in a different country. Spain, Portugal, Malaysia Philippines.
Posted by: necromancer | Nov 6 2025 23:00 utc | 74
Critical Thinking… and a banana… Peter mentioned critical thinking in passing a few days ago. It got me thinking…
https://research.acer.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1039&context=ar_misc
I thought it may be useful to introduce a very rough introduction to critical thinking. We often assume that thinking is thinking – but can techniques and processes be improved, maybe to achieve better results more easily?
I think of this as a bit like stroke correction with swimming training. Just because we can already think we can think ( or know we can swim) doesn’t mean that the process can’t be improved. Hopefully this will not be seen as too pretentious…
******************
“The question is then if this technology provides decisive advantage over other functionally similar designs ( think of a solar-powered Global Hawk… )”
Posted by: persiflo | Oct 28 2025 5:12 utc | 184
Hello Persiflo. I thought it would be useful to use your comment as a basis to illustrate a couple of “thought experiment” techniques. I hope you don’t mind – it is not intended as a criticism!
My thought process went something like this:
Think of a solar Global Hawk. Yeah, why not? Memories of solar powered bicycles, ‘racing’ cars (Darwin to Adelaide), boats (solar sailor):
https://www.change-climate.com/Transport_Land_Sea_Sustainable/Assisted_Ships_Sails_Solar_Projects_Marine_Pollution/Solar_Sailor_Robert_Dane_Sails_Solar_Powered_Ferry_Sydney_Australia.htm
come flooding back… But – these things all roll or float. Flying has serious weight and power challenges.
Then I think back to the 70’s and the “Gossamer’ series with the first human powered flight:
https://www.avinc.com/resources/case-studies/view/gossamer-condor-the-first-of-its-kind
I followed this development fairly closely at the time, and learnt a lot about innovative design and non-conventional solutions. Fast forward a few decades to a real-life solar drone:
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2489981-solar-drone-with-wingspan-wider-than-jumbo-jet-could-fly-for-months/
I am already familiar with this drone development, so it was immediately obvious to me that a solar-powered Global Hawk was totally impossible. I should have the confidence to stop right here.
This took a couple of minutes of ‘musing’ to get to this stage.
Now to try to ‘verify’ my tentative conclusion for those who require ‘proof’.
I could not immediately find detailed specs on the Global Hawk, but from various sources I found it weighed 6,781 kg., had a wingspan of 40 m., a flight range of 22,781 km., and top speed of 630 km/h. It is powered by a Rolls-Royce AE 3007 jet turbine. No specs are given for the engine performance, but Rolls-Royce says the same (or similar) engine is used in the Cessna Citation X and the Embraer Legacy 600 Business Jet. Tables on the Rolls-Royce website provide a spread of maximum thrust data for various models ranging from 28 kN to 39 kN. Maximum and cruising airspeeds vary across applications. Thrust at cruising speed depends on engine model variation and the airframe.
For the purpose of this estimate we assume rough, round-figure approximations: weight 7 tonne (gross), cruising speed 540 km/h (nicely comes out at 150 m/s), thrust (at cruising speed and altitude 12,000 m) is 6 kN. These are realistic, conservative figures, and also make mental arithmetic easy.
Physics: Thrust is a force (kN), Work done is change in energy = Force times distance, Power is work done divided by time taken, so power developed by the engine at cruising speed Power = F.v = 6 kN x 150 m/s = 900 kW (F and v are in the same direction, so theta is 0 and cos theta is 1 in the vector dot product).
So we need 900 kW power to cruise at 540 km/h at 12,000 m. Now, 900 kW is about 1,200 hp. Sounds reasonable? I’d say yes.
Rough average solar irradiation is about 1 kW/m^2. Assuming 20% cell/module efficiency gives electrical power of 200 W/m^2 of panel area. So to maintain flight assuming no losses and maximum possible efficiency we need 900/0.2 m^2 = 4,500 m^2 of solar panel area.
We assume a 0.3 performance factor (solar cells don’t work at night, and the cos-theta during the day affects performance, so we assume average performance over 24 hours is about 1/3 (panel working at max efficiency for eight hours each day) so we need 13,500 square metres of panel to support 24 hour flight. Remember, our wingspan is only 40 metres!! Using cunning tricks like gaining altitude during the day and having a slow powered glide at night we can conserve stored power requirements and reduce battery size.
There are several other tricks, but nothing that will provide the at least ten-fold reduction in panel area to match the available wing and fuselage surface area.
Conclusion: Absolutely not possible.
I should have stopped way back up the page and saved 5 minutes…
Posted by: General Factotum | Nov 6 2025 23:38 utc | 75
juliana @69
One of my favourite bits from GG’s show was the interview with Brazilian geopolitical analyst Prof Diego Ruzzarin, on Trump’s threats against Venezuela and Nigeria: It’s well worth checking out:
‘Now is the Time of Monsters’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYykeBg4Llg
Posted by: John Gilberts | Nov 6 2025 23:49 utc | 76
Nancy polosie gets put out to grass.
Posted by: Mark2 | Nov 6 2025 22:03 utc | 68
_______
A little grass couldn’t hurt what precious little is left of her cognitive abilities.
Posted by: malenkov | Nov 6 2025 23:56 utc | 77
Over the last two days I’ve translated two rather long items, this one an essay, “Does Russia have a Dream or is Planning Reality its Replacement? Thoughts on Russia’s Unity Day,” and this one an important Russian government meeting, The Continual War Against Russia & Its Primary Defense Mechanism–Ethnic Unity,” and in doing so have discovered a small trove of Russian essays by what could be considered think tanks dealing with the Russian Condition. Both articles inform readers about the fundamental aspects of what it is to be Russian and how that’s being protected and promoted. I’d like to find similar materials about China and Iran, which are both multiethnic, and try to discover the differences and similarities.
@ Lillyhammer | Nov 6 2025 23:59 utc | 79
I suppose that in a sense all voting is “performative nonsense” because even in the tiniest constituencies the possibility that an election can be swung by one vote is vanishingly remote.
But so what? If one chooses to vote at all, why not vote one’s conscience? IMHO there’s no better reason, and arguably no other legitimate reason, to cast a vote. So like you I vote against those two criminal conspiracies masquerading as political parties, and even for candidates who share at least some of my core values.
Posted by: malenkov | Nov 7 2025 0:28 utc | 79
Posted by: General Factotum | Nov 6 2025 23:38 utc | 75
Wow.
The guys behind Solar Sailor got some bits and pieces of gear off us at my first job in solar PV, c1999-2002.
Memories flooding back.
Posted by: Jon_in_AU | Nov 7 2025 0:29 utc | 80
@75 General
You aren’t being very critical maybe …
The objective is a solar powered aircraft that performs the function of a certain other ‘standard’ aircraft, not a replica…
Solar powered does not necessarily mean solar panels, and increase in efficiency to near optimal would bring 5x reduction in surface area by itself per your calculation (there is work done on this) …
Consider for example float (helium baloon ) while recharge, if ten aircraft to replace one , nine are floating in recharge while the other operative (compresses helium to tank) …
An old theory but unrelated is of an aircraft that compresses helium to sink and so flies by gravity, expands to float and flies by buoyancy, this could be solar powered…
Etc.
Posted by: Ornot | Nov 7 2025 0:48 utc | 81
Two victims of Cheney’s war…
A marriage ..for the nation.
Thats all folks !
Posted by: denk | Nov 7 2025 1:26 utc | 82
“Posted by: steven t johnson | Nov 6 2025 20:46 utc | 58”
So, you attacked him for supporting what you utterly misunderstood to be what I said, which he didn’t even support anyway. Way to go. Excuse me for not mentioning in every single post how much I loathe the mass murderer currently in the white house just like I loathed the lying corrupt mass murderer he replaced, and the one he replaced the time before that.
Posted by: Dalit | Nov 7 2025 1:29 utc | 83
Contemporary “psychology” has no right calling itself a science. Posted by: William Gruff | Nov 6 2025 16:45 utc | 12 Amen. It does not diagnose, it issues epithets. It’s a weapon in the hands of the ruling elite. Period.
Posted by: Ahenobarbus | Nov 6 2025 20:30 utc | 57
Ha ha, ever heard of a guy named Edward Bernays?
No not the pseudonym who posts here.
Psychology, as a social science, has far more credibility than psychiatry which is just numbing people with a cocktail of witches brew.
Posted by: drinky crow | Nov 7 2025 1:29 utc | 84
Contemporary “psychology” has no right calling itself a science. Posted by: William Gruff | Nov 6 2025 16:45 utc | 12 Amen. It does not diagnose, it issues epithets. It’s a weapon in the hands of the ruling elite. Period. Posted by: Ahenobarbus | Nov 6 2025 20:30 utc | 57
Ha ha, ever heard of a guy named Edward Bernays?No not the pseudonym who posts here.Psychology, as a social science, has far more credibility than psychiatry which is just numbing people with a cocktail of witches brew.
Posted by: drinky crow | Nov 7 2025 1:29 utc | 87
But I suppose you all believe in “brain chemistry”, eh?
Posted by: drinky crow | Nov 7 2025 1:32 utc | 85
Posted by: Refinnejenna | Nov 6 2025 22:47 utc | 73
Well said!
Posted by: drinky crow | Nov 7 2025 1:36 utc | 87
@ 9 Posted by: CasualObserver
You are not alone in your feelings on leaving.
https://studyfinds.org/young-americans-want-out-of-usa/
Here is a site with lots of info on emigrating, dual passports, offshore banking ect.
https://internationalman.com/
Posted by: golddigger | Nov 7 2025 1:38 utc | 89
Posted by: Lillyhammer | Nov 7 2025 0:06 utc | 80
So spoke the psychopath. Hitler good. Egad.
Posted by: drink crow | Nov 7 2025 1:39 utc | 90
“If one chooses to vote at all, why not vote one’s conscience? IMHO there’s no better reason, and arguably no other legitimate reason, to cast a vote. So like you I vote against those two criminal conspiracies masquerading as political parties, and even for candidates who share at least some of my core values.
Posted by: malenkov | Nov 7 2025 0:28 utc | 82”
My thoughts exactly. Thank you for reminding me why yours is one of a handful of names here that I always read.
Posted by: Dalit | Nov 7 2025 1:46 utc | 91
During this week of Dick Cheney’s passing, DJT remained silent on the former vice president. DJT spent much of his political life after 9/11 as an arch Cheney critic, so it’s no surprise that DJT would hold his tongue now.
Several notable Dems weighed in, however, w/ tributes on X. Here’s a sampling:
Autopen Robinette: Guided by a strong set of conservative values, Dick Cheney devoted his life to public service. While we didn’t agree on much, he believed, as I do, that family is the beginning, middle and end. Jill and I send our love to his wife Lynne, their daughters Liz and Mary, and all their grandchildren.
Kamala: I am saddened to learn of the passing of former Vice President Dick Cheney. Vice President Cheney was a devoted public servant from the halls of Congress to many positions of leadership in multiple presidential administrations. His passing marks the loss of a figure who, with a strong sense of dedication, gave so much of his life to the country he loved. Doug and I are keeping Lynne, their daughters Liz and Mary and the entire Cheney family in our thoughts during this difficult time.
My thoughts: both Autopen Robinette and Kamala laud Cheney as a “devoted public servant.” It sounds like one can launder a smorgasbord of war crimes as long as one has done so while serving as a “devoted public servant,” accepting a government paycheck, living modestly on Capitol Hill far from home. The public servant sector in fact might become a magnet for sadists and blood thirsty fiends who aren’t averse to accepting low government pay in order to camouflage their desire to kill, maim & torture.
Nancy Pelosi: Dick Cheney was a patriotic American who loved his country. While we strongly disagreed on most policy issues, his patriotism was clear when he returned to the House Floor to commemorate the first anniversary of January 6th. We all saw then how proud Vice President Cheney was to see his daughter Liz follow in her father’s footsteps to serve in the House with courage and integrity. May it be a comfort to Lynne, Liz and Mary that so many are praying for them at this sad time.
My thoughts: for Nancy Antoinette, America—-past, present and future—-revolves around J6. Mixing her prayers for the Cheney family w/ a name-check of J6 is de rigueur for Nancy Antoinette. There’s no reason to mourn Cheney’s passing unless one can bring J6 front & center.
Bill Clinton: Throughout his long career in public service, Dick Cheney was guided by a deep belief that he was doing what was right for America. Though we often disagreed, I always respected his dedication to our country and his unwavering sense of duty. My thoughts are with Lynne and the Cheney family.
My thoughts: a long career in public service rehabilitates any real-world atrocities. Once a despicable war criminal kicks the bucket, that person is no longer a threat. Death is the ultimate way to defang any sadist. With the war crimes & ruthlessness tossed aside, one can shed sentimental tears over the patriotism and the dedication to our country, the unwavering sense of duty and the deep belief that he was doing what was right for America.
In Bill’s eyes, Cheney was sincerely and authentically a patriot who honestly believed, hand on the Bible, that the sadism and war crimes in which he engaged were right for America.
It’s a little like mounting a murder defense by stating w/ heartfelt integrity that the deceased, the victim, deserved to die at your hands because you earnestly believed, without guile or deceit, that they needed to die and that you were the one divinely appointed to do the job.
In sum, it may well be that the Dems have tripped over themselves so publicly to mark Cheney’s passing that they really left nothing else to be said, so DJT’s silence can limn the edges of the moment surreptitiously, calling attention to itself only by its absence.
Posted by: steel_porcupine | Nov 7 2025 2:14 utc | 92
Wow.The guys behind Solar Sailor got some bits and pieces of gear off us at my first job in solar PV, c1999-2002. Memories flooding back.
Posted by: Jon_in_AU | Nov 7 2025 0:29 utc | 83
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Small world, Jon! I suspected I may have known – or known of – you, some months ago when I first noticed your solar-themed posts.
I don’t know what your experience with Solar Sailor was, but I think it could make a good case study of how people that are very competent in one field, think their competency extends far beyond realistic boundaries. Couple that with enough money to chase your own ideas, and the result is often easy to predict.
All I’m prepared to say with respect to a critical (but completely non-obvious) issue with engineering/physics is: “I told them, but they wouldn’t listen…”
Posted by: General Factotum | Nov 7 2025 2:28 utc | 93
@karlof1 | Nov 7 2025 0:08 utc:
Glad to see you invest time to understand the role of culture in civilization.
Culture is the king-pin around which a society revolves … or devolves .. or evolves.
Can you include China in your analysis? China has a very long history of developing, evaluating, evolving their culture. They do it methodically, using their best and brightest. China is very much the product of the culture they selected for themselves.
Culture is an ethos that’s been equipped with the institutions, mythology, rewards and disincentives all designed to deliver a set of benefits for a segment of society.
Which benefits? Which segment(s)? The design of a culture is a much under-appreciated subject.
Culture determines which behaviors get encouraged, and which get discouraged.
Posted by: Tom Pfotzer | Nov 7 2025 2:57 utc | 94
General Factotum | Nov 7 2025 2:28 utc | 96
The only aubject I was interested in in my limited schooling was science. Up to year ten it was all just kiddies stuff, no maths required, just a bit of critical thinking. I always topped the tests and always disqualified for cheating because I was considered the dumb kid in class.
Then one time the youngest daughter did a distance ed lesson on critical thinking. afterwards she was telling me about it, then she thought for a bit and said ‘wow dad, you have critical thinking’.
The recent bit of discussion on this thread, and I thought about the sort of people I had gravitated towards through my life, and they all have the ability for critical thinking. I guess that.s why I ended up here in b’s pub. Critical thinking abounds.
The solar stuff that is Jon’s area of expertise – I was thinking about that too. The obvious economic feasibility of a standalone system to run a house hold vs the poor cost benefit of large scale alternative. The number I have seen for traditional base load vs alternative, traditional base load as in coal, nuclear, hydro ect. Traditional base load has a cost benefit of 1-7. Large scale alternative 3-7 or better. That cost benefit ratio for large scale alternate immediately boosts the consumer cost of energy by a significant margin.
I guess like with so many things, there is no one size fits all in energy production.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Nov 7 2025 2:58 utc | 95
Lillyhammer | Nov 7 2025 3:08 utc | 99
Drink cow 93 is spot on. To think full WW in the nuclear age is good is an admission of insanity.
Trump is just frontman for a significant faction in the US that want to downsize the current empire and create a geo-politically very powerful, but much smaller empire.
I suspect Trump will turn out to be a Gorbachev American style.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Nov 7 2025 3:19 utc | 96
China is running out of garbage. Now they want to burn their neighbors.
I think this is fascinating. China literally incinerates all of its own garbage and produces electricity from the process. They are now offering to do the same across Central Asia.
Matter manipulation was always the next step towards a low scarcity future.
Imagine powering AI data centers by burning household garbage…
It might be my lack of imagination, but I truly cannot imagine, given the institutional inertia in the West, that America or Europe will be able to achieve similar results independently.
Posted by: LoveDonbass | Nov 7 2025 3:24 utc | 97
Posted by: Don Firineach | Nov 6 2025 16:10 utc | 3
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Don, America was screwed a long time ago. When Roosevelt confiscated gold holdings and put Japanese, German, and Italian “citizens” into concentration camps, and forfeited their property. When America overthrew the Kingdom of Hawaii. When Americans conducted an extermination policy of native Americans. When land was taken from Mexico by force…
America was screwed when Nixon had to close the gold exchange window.
America was screwed in 2008 when the housing market imploded.
Most of those crises were not influenced by Trump or his pedophilia or worship of Jewish child sacrifice.
Trump is despicable, but framing him as responsible for issues that were put into motion under Biden, Bush, and Obama is really avoiding identifying the source of the problems.
Basically, what the PTB wants, blame Trump, like people blame Biden, and in 4 more years, blame the next scapegoat…
Posted by: LoveDonbass | Nov 7 2025 3:42 utc | 98
@75 General
You aren’t being very critical maybe …
Posted by: Ornot | Nov 7 2025 0:48 utc | 84
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Thanks Ornot! You are very kind, and the first person that I can remember who has suggested I am not being critical enough 🙂
Perhaps we could take your post as an example of how to critically analyze a proposal? I could help with some questions that may focus your thoughts?
The objective is a solar powered aircraft that performs the function of a certain other ‘standard’ aircraft, not a replica…
Yes – that is why I considered a solar powered craft with similar speed, range, endurance, load-carrying capacity… I don’t think the ‘Gossamer’ series, or the ‘New Scientist’ solar drone quite meet those requirements?
Solar powered does not necessarily mean solar panels,
What alternative do you propose, perhaps microwave beams (range, weather, tracking… problems?)
and increase in efficiency to near optimal would bring 5x reduction in surface area by itself per your calculation (there is work done on this) …
I deduce from this comment that you mean near optimal would be near 100% efficiency (necessary to achieve a five-fold reduction in surface area). Can you point me to the work done on this? Single junction cells are limited by band-gap energy and the solar spectrum at the fundamental level. Multi-junction cells avoid some of this constraint by choosing band-gap energies that cover different regions of the solar spectrum. Concentrator systems can increase efficiency because cells can be designed where the cell efficiency is a function of current (which is directly proportional to the light intensity) until increased internal resistance bends the curve and you start losing efficiency with increased concentration. At one stage I worked on an international research project that aimed to demonstrate 50% efficiency with a concentrator cell with ‘about’ seven junctions. It was horrendously difficult, very expensive, we never got there during my time, and I think the project was subsequently abandoned. I would be absolutely fascinated to hear of work being done on a 100% efficient cell. Right up front I can categorically state that this is absolutely impossible because it violates the Second Law of Thermodynamics. As such, I can also state that no credible research team at any credible institution anywhere in the world was, is, or ever will be working on a 100% efficient solar cell.
Consider for example float (helium baloon ) while recharge, if ten aircraft to replace one , nine are floating in recharge while the other operative (compresses helium to tank) …
Can you provide more detail? Does each plane carry their own balloon and float while recharging, ( where does it stow the balloon while not floating – balloons that can carry the weight of a plane and (limited) batteries, and weapons, and electronics, and surveillance, and camera and… tend to be rather bulky) or does each plane go back to the mother balloon to recharge (which would dramatically limit its range, as well as providing a rather obvious target – or do you simply have a ‘stealth’ recharging balloon that no-one else can see?
Also, could you provide a back-of-the-envelope (BOTE) calculation as to the size of the helium balloon needed to ‘float’ these planes? The buoyancy force provided by the balloon is just the ratio of the densities of air and helium, less the weight of the balloon, the batteries, the solar panels, the compressor, and yhe reserve tank(s).
At this stage I don’t think it is critical to be able to design the docking mechanism whereby a plane with a relatively high stall speed can dock with a stationary balloon. Of course, you could drive the balloon away from the plane to reduce the relative speed difference, but then you ned powerful engines to drive such a big object – it’s drag resistance would be quite high, unless you have an aerodynamic shaped balloon. And then you need a bigger balloon to be able to loft the engines on top of all the other stuff… and then maybe bigger engines to drive the bigger balloon…
An old theory but unrelated is of an aircraft that compresses helium to sink and so flies by gravity, expands to float and flies by buoyancy, this could be solar powered…
I wonder why nothing like this has ever been built? It seems so easy… Again, maybe a BOTE on the size and weight of a high pressure tank to hold the helium while it is not in the balloon, what size balloon is required to loft the plane while it ‘floats’, what to do with the balloon while the plane is flying and not floating, what flight characteristics are required for the plane to transition from flying to floating without either stalling or ripping the balloon to shreds…??
Etc.
Please! Let’s sort out these few problems, already, before we move on to more undoubtedly fascinating Etc’s…
Do you think it could be beneficial for you to visit the website at the top of my post on critical thinking before you respond? I look forward to making progress!
Posted by: General Factotum | Nov 7 2025 3:51 utc | 99
The objective is a solar powered aircraft that performs the function of a certain other ‘standard’ aircraft, not a replica…
Posted by: General Factotum | Nov 7 2025 3:51 utc | 103
—
FYI …
The Airbus Perlan Mission II works to set new altitude records by flying the Perlan 2 higher than any other crewed wing-borne aircraft has ever flown in sustained flight, using stratospheric mountain waves and the polar vortex.
https://perlanproject.org/
Posted by: too scents | Nov 7 2025 4:02 utc | 100