News & views not related to the wars in Ukraine and Palestine …
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February 12, 2026
Open (Neither Ukraine Nor Palestine) Thread 2026-037
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canuck. After making your fortune on one of your prospects, your absence is noted by me at least. Ever onwards and upwards and ladder climbing into the Epstein class? For the greedy, once you have wealth, you have something to lose.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Feb 14 2026 0:55 utc | 101
I watching the Daniel Davis Deep Dive with Alastair Crooke talking about the money game in Ukraine and the bigger bond markets but I keep wanting some pundit to talk about the perspective I have that part of the empire crash strategy is to speed it up to lock the US dollar into all the agreements and funding for reconstruction….instead of the UNIT, CIPS and [mBridge or whatever called now] managed by BRICS+ members.
Posted by: psychohistorian | Feb 14 2026 1:17 utc | 102
Just listening to Joti Brar on Garland Nixon’s show. She is describing the club that Epstein was a mover in. Quite good IMO.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKdH6jfv9vA
Posted by: arby | Feb 14 2026 1:56 utc | 103
On acrylic colors – I can report some understanding gathered from the working artists around me and the basic chemistry knowledge I’ve learned during my education (which is apparently now long ago, so I am starting to forget and confuse some things).
Acrylic colors are extremely versatile and easy to use. They are water-soluble, which means you can readily wash away whatever isn’t perfect; that’s a good start for any use by non-professionals. You can mix and dilute them accordingly. Once applied, they will dry up rather quickly; painting over is typically possible in under one hour. The paint is benign on the body – not much toxic, if at all, and washes well from any skin exposure even after prolonged work; it’s also very easy to remove from porcelain such as a sink or tiles in a bathroom. Brushes are cleaned with warm water.An layer of paint essentially resembles a thin plastic coating. It will begin to peel off after a while if the grounding is inappropriate, but stick on almost anything once you’ve roughed it up a little with sandpaper or some such. There are also chemical options for making it stick available in every medium-sized hardware store (intruigingly called Universalgrund in German). Both methods will usually work well, so I hear. Of course, the surface should be cleansed from dust and fat before applying paint.
Acrylic color is cheap and robust in all regards, but due to its chemical composition not able to give a bright and shiny gloss. All products will tarnish a bit after use, though quality is apparently quite different – a painter I know well buys expensive acrylic colors to get more effect, while at the same time always viewing them as a cheaper and less capable approach to making serious fine art.
A relative from my extended family became a chemist in the 1980ties and found work with Bayer in their color-making lab. I remember his anecdotes around the family table, telling us (or trying to) how difficult it was to bring everything together what one desires in a product; including the problem that color sensation is not easy, even impossible to understand from a purely physiological perspective.
The relation of surface and (imperfect) texture, as well as the contrast between various colors in a spatial surrounding, gives rise to some rather profound questions of philosophy, which go beyond applied aesthetics. If there’s interest, I may offer some pertinent thoughts on those; however I could not claim to be comprehensive.
Posted by: persiflo | Feb 14 2026 1:58 utc | 104
A Friday Sermon of sorts, Epstein, Moral & Immoral Capitalism, the West’s Imperial Decline. Think of it as that tree that fell in the forest.
Painting.
My youngest daughter taking an interest in painting. It was in the underworld over the Leopolds. During the dry wet season I went out and god some slate to lay on the floor of the dirt floor tin humpy that was called the station. It was a somewhat soft red slate but I paved the dirt floors with that. Somewhat different to a studio I guess.
There was some left over, some thinner and otherwise not so good bits. I noticed the youngest was into painting so pulled out some thinner bits of that red slate. I assume they are still in the box under the backseat of my truck which I do not have access to now. Wife and daughters are now fully aboard the Epstein express.
Its a bloody odd world we live in now.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Feb 14 2026 2:40 utc | 106
persiflo,
The great differences in so many of us here, coming from all walks of life and interests.
The walk of life. So many different roads.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Feb 14 2026 2:48 utc | 107
A perfect monochrome surface of color will appear differently under different light. A source of light is a complex thing physically, as brightness is spread out over a spectrum of visible light frequencies. In addition to that, compositional surfaces in multiple colors will make those colors appear differently to the eye, and that effect is again dependent on overall brightness. Moreover, the mind keeps repeated experiences of colored objects steady, such that the roses on your front porch mostly appear in the same color during every time of the day.
The interaction between light and surface can even be constructive, such as when an icy snow cover creates a bright and intense green (chinese has a word for it), or when a roughed “textural” grey surface produces reflections in pink when shone in light that doesn’t overpower them, like when using a reddish/orange filter.
As a basic lemma to the above, we can observe that perception of spatial depth is related to sensation of color in all but the most perfect circumstances. This has immediate consequences on questions of, say, interior design. Since I am unable to make perfectly smooth environments with the means at my disposal, I have to accept the limitations somehow, and see that I can work with them. It’s not a very different issue from accepting that my music will forever sound like punk rock, since I am neither Pink Floyd nor their studio guy, to give an example of near-perfect recording (again speaking aesthetically, for the analog gear produces “textural” effects that are more pleasant than digital, even if technically speaking imperfect).
From this derives one of my maxims of interior design: whatever you can’t hide must be displayed; and what is laid bare will relate to its spatial situation according to the principles discussed above. With that idea, I like to embrace imperfection in handcraft, consideration of angles of view, and general mobility of the objects about. I will stack small towers of plates, for example, in full visibility, as long they are both sufficiently alike and not too many individual things overall; keeping it below a level of visual “noise” such that perception switches from the somewhat ordered to the non-ordered quality of ‘texture’. I can recommend this very much to calm down busy rooms; according to the principle, you can use ways to ‘hide’ noise by resolving overly complex compositions of ‘things’ into objects of visually simpler gestalt (boxes, crates, drawers, behind doors or curtains etc).
If you follow through setting up a room from the most outward available spatial characteristics using this rule you’ll come a long way. You may want to visit Paestum for more acute inspiration.
The one thing I would like to add here, and in fact the reason I began all this explanations, is a bit of fun. When you need to dissolve spatial imperfections of a room, remember that furniture of all kinds fully goes into the equation. You can accordingly use light and shadow (draping sheets of cloth) as well as surface color to create a balance between textural ambience and resolution of singular objects. This is where I began to use acrylic color myself: painting shelves in cloudy shapes to soften their contours; an idea directly inspired by the dazzle camouflage style that was applied to battle ships for while.
Posted by: persiflo | Feb 14 2026 2:59 utc | 108
Posted by: persiflo | Feb 14 2026 2:59 utc | 111
Whoa. I love the dazzle camoflage! It’s like if William Pahlmann was into op art. Supercool.
Here’s some Pink Floyd from my favorite film of all time, Zabriskie Point. They kick in around a minute and a half in.
Thanks! Cheers to MoA and b!
Posted by: lex talionis | Feb 14 2026 3:14 utc | 109
persiflo | Feb 14 2026 2:59 utc | 111
Bloody hell persiflo. Are you trying to baffle dumbfucks with bullshit. You are an interesting bloke. Perhaps wafted away on fantasy and LSD but whatever.
What would I know. I am just a shitkicker from the bush. That has beat about the bush a bit. I would have liked to travel far further than what I have done.
Stonebird is one that has done that. The life of the philosopher, the life of the traveller. When traveling, you must keep your wits about you, try and discern the good from the bad.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Feb 14 2026 3:14 utc | 110
I could write almost forever on this stuff. Just one more: the terms shape and (German) Gestalt are very different, but also both very profound in different ways … that while being used almost interchangeably in common day to day parlance.
Shape is (as far as I can tell) mostly about contour, with a bit of focus on the ‘outline’ that gives rise to the perception, while Gestalt is about variation of an [oftentimes recurring] outline that ‘frames’ the notion upon reflection. Shape has one leg standing in mystery, Gestalt one in abstract systematization, to put it roughly.Both, of course, cannot be said to rely on actual ‘objective’ properties of the thing in question. One can see “the shape of things to come”, for instance, or spooky yet recognizable Gestalten in a mist, or faces on an ingrained wallpaper (pareidolia). — Roald Dahl wrote a very memorable short story about faces on wallpaper, if anyone remembers its title please add it in.
Object (or pattern) recognition is not simply a passive faculty of the mind.
Posted by: persiflo | Feb 14 2026 3:32 utc | 111
Posted by: persiflo | Feb 14 2026 3:32 utc | 114
Skin?
Posted by: lex talionis | Feb 14 2026 3:37 utc | 112
@107 persiflo
Pfffttt. The only advice I need for setting up a room is from this short film called, “Setting Up a Room.” Spend thirty minutes with it. You will laugh.
Posted by: NemesisCalling | Feb 14 2026 3:44 utc | 113
persiflo | Feb 14 2026 3:32 utc | 114
I guess my studio was a somewhat harder side of life. If somebody writes or says something that brings up some thoughts in me, I address them directly.
It is a bloody odd world here in the so called west. Out on the Paroo where my children grew up. Far divorced from this abstract western world of today.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Feb 14 2026 3:47 utc | 114
I see Iran agreeing with China/Russia to be the proxy location for our civilization war. They have given Iran all the tools to defend themselves and are moving ships into support position and I think it will be Occupied Palestine that explodes a nuke in Iran to start the next event phase off……sigh
Posted by: psychohistorian | Feb 14 2026 3:55 utc | 115
@lex talionis – no, that’s not the one I meant. By the way, I love Roald Dahl, he’s so weirdly surreal yet also not fully removed into pure fiction … funny and frightening at the same time. I sometimes think this must relate to his experience as a RAF fighter pilot during WWII, as he hints at himself – something like “if you see the ground coming right at you with 800km/h, etc.”
The story I have in mind is about a person who is sick and in a hospital. From the description it’s becoming clear that their sickness has been long coming, and that no one really knows what’s going on. Then we learn that this hospital room is kind of a desperation measure, perhaps a psychiatric ward – while the symptoms of this sickness are now being described – as being haunted by apparitions of faces everywhere around. Faces that haunt, with ill intent, giving a sense of looming disaster and despair. The hospital room is then, well, painted as almost perfectly white, to accommodate the primordial fear of the patient … but only almost. It’s then left open whether the haunted person was not quite taken seriously, or whether the attempts at saving them did not work out, but anyhow it … ends. —
So bizzare. It must be more than 30 years that I read this story.
Posted by: persiflo | Feb 14 2026 3:58 utc | 116
psychohistorian | Feb 14 2026 3:55 utc | 118
The civilization war – the war of the worlds. On our side, the mass hypnosis of the peasantry.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Feb 14 2026 4:01 utc | 117
In response to
”
The civilization war – the war of the worlds. On our side, the mass hypnosis of the peasantry.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Feb 14 2026 4:01 utc | 120
”
Yes, the masses are under the spell of the Hollywood media narrative that is led by a guy that used to sell fake wrestling for entertainment…..he is well trained, eh?
Have you ever watched the movie Wag The Dog?
It is a great description of the shit show we are watching play out.
Posted by: psychohistorian | Feb 14 2026 4:14 utc | 118
@ Persiflo 107
Acrylic is great as a coating, just ‘plasticy’ for artwork. There are special acrylics now, a lot of research has gone into those. One part durable gloss topcoats for example, varnishes .
I recently painted some steel with a water based polymerised kind of acrylic (from Titan) … the previous can spray paint acrylic on the surface just wiped off like water with acetone solvent, the factory two part pu finish without much difficulty also…the polymer acrylic was a test patch, and once dry just would not come off with solvents, had to use 80 grit and even that was slow.
Anyway, durable and no solvents, which opens up all kinds of paintwork to anyone.
@ Peter 117
I don’t look at artiness much, I prefer material, and seeing the workmanship or effort involved directly. To me that has meaning. Also natural objects are beyond what people can replicate. Rustic (not pretend rustic) or minimalist are unbeatable, cannot argue with those.
@ Peter 104
Canuck has to keep hold of his bearings… he could end up getting denutted.
@ Peter 110
Reminds me, I would look up what Mark Knopfler was about regarding Palestine, he has stayed very quiet, avoiding the traps many musicians fall into by taking political positions. Roger Waters was and is outspoken, and good on him for that, but even there it reaches a point of impasse… songwriter addressing the UN, with cold machinery as reply giving an impression of naivety. Clapton was honest … careful, say on sarscov. Annie Lennox spoke out on Gaza, she’s special. The Smiths, Coldplay also I think … unusual to watch how what could be called public representation in the west adapts to unfolding events…there aren’t many (or any) new artists with the sort of weight of influence as from earlier…plenty with influence, but with little weight to it….
“When Coldplay frontman Chris Martin told two young Israelis he brought on stage in London that he would treat them as “equal humans on Earth, regardless of where you come from,” he wasn’t promoting unity, he was erasing their identity. Israelis should never be made to feel ashamed of being Israeli.” Pro-“Israeli” press
Kind of explains how that works.
….
Might as well include a song…
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yKNxeF4KMsY
Posted by: Ornot | Feb 14 2026 4:21 utc | 119
Posted by: persiflo | Feb 14 2026 1:58 utc | 107
Acrylic colors are extremely versatile and easy to use. They are water-soluble, which means you can readily wash away whatever isn’t perfect; that’s a good start for any use by non-professionals. You can mix and dilute them accordingly. Once applied, they will dry up rather quickly; painting over is typically possible in under one hour. The paint is benign on the body – not much toxic, if at all, and washes well from any skin exposure even after prolonged work; it’s also very easy to remove from porcelain such as a sink or tiles in a bathroom. Brushes are cleaned with warm water.An layer of paint essentially resembles a thin plastic coating.
Thanks for posting, persiflo! I actually began painting icons using acrylics — and as you say, they are water soluble and easy to use. Plus they are flexible and don’t mind being used on paper much as watercolor is flexible that way. Or they can be applied thickly, as oil paints can be. Even so, there are drawbacks. The acrylic pigments don’t stay soluble in water once the surface dries. This can be an asset, but once they dry they cannot be erased. I often have the experience that a painting I thought was perfectly balanced the night before, next morning I discover my eyesight has erred in having seen what wasn’t there yet. My mind compensates while I am painting, and only a fresh look later tells me there’s a problem. With tempera, I can still carefully erase my mistake and try again.
My style of painting in egg tempera is that I do not ever mix the dry pigments one with another as is possible with other techniques. It can be done, but for me there is added flexibility in painting one color at a time and overlaying either a dark with a light (once it has dried), or more preferably a light color with a darker one. So, each of my pigments remains true to its own color, being encased in the eggyolk which overtime clarifies. It’s a similar effect to the one Monet achieves a dot at a time. Up close his paintings are a mass of such dots; step back and they wonderfully merge into a landscape. I just use smaller dots, teensy ones in layers.
And yes, Rublev is the master of this technique. I am just a beginner, will always be that.
The relation of surface and (imperfect) texture, as well as the contrast between various colors in a spatial surrounding, gives rise to some rather profound questions of philosophy, which go beyond applied aesthetics. If there’s interest, I may offer some pertinent thoughts on those; however I could not claim to be comprehensive.
The profound question that exists for the iconographer is that with earthly techniques he or she is attempting to create an image of the beyond which can best represent that beyond which is not in reality representable. The words of a spiritual text do the same.
Posted by: juliania | Feb 14 2026 4:24 utc | 120
psychohistorian | Feb 14 2026 4:14 utc | 121
I have not. Will have to look it up, but I watch wag the dog in real time as do many of us. This shit show that we watch psycho and so many utterly divorced from the real world of the Epstein class. like ostrages, sticking their heads under the sands of goodness..
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Feb 14 2026 4:25 utc | 121
he wasn’t promoting unity, he was erasing their identity.
Ornot | Feb 14 2026 4:21 utc | 122
Waters has proved himself a good man. He has stood for what he believed. But for the majority, they have proved themselves just another brick in the wall.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Feb 14 2026 4:41 utc | 122
Wandering off into the Starlink techie weeds with this posting from The Register
Starlink speeds past terrestrial networks – and regulators
Low-earth orbit broadband is a no-brainer for remote area connectivity, but a brain teaser for lawmakers and networkers
Posted by: psychohistorian | Feb 14 2026 5:22 utc | 123
Wandering off into the Starlink techie weeds with this posting from The Register
Starlink speeds past terrestrial networks – and regulators
Stefanovic found that Starlink carried data more quickly than connections that started on European cellular networks, despite the space broadband service often requiring more network hops and not using Tier 1 networks. She hypothesized that Starlink’s performance can be attributed to the satellite-to-satellite laser connections SpaceX employs, which route traffic across the satellite network so it can reach the most appropriate terrestrial egress point. That laser network, she suggested, should perhaps be considered a new routing layer for the internet.
The Western rules based order via Musk is invading the international networking standards and architecture….but I am sure their intentions are Epstein Class honorable, eh?……/s
I posit that China’s low orbit satellites will jamb Starlink up Musk’s ass.
Posted by: psychohistorian | Feb 14 2026 5:32 utc | 124
Sorry for the double posting….not getting use to the commenting tool quite yet
Posted by: psychohistorian | Feb 14 2026 5:34 utc | 125
I know this has been brought up and done to death here, but I learned today Kubrick’s Eye Wide Shut was based on a book which was made into a Movie in Austria in 1969. The title of the movie is Traumnovelle (Dream Story).
Anyone has more information on this?
Another bit of info is the Arch Of Palmyra (Baal’s Temple Arch). Apparently it was unveiled in London on Halloween which happens to fall on the day for celebrating Baal. It’s next outing was in New York close to the Twin Towers. Followed by the unveiling in Dubai at the opening of the World Conference. Finally in Italy at the opening of the G7 Conference.
I am trying to connect the dots with seats of power and finance to Rothschild and how far this could go back to and finally with the practice of the occult.
Posted by: Suresh | Feb 14 2026 6:42 utc | 126
On this day, 60 years ago…
(Further thoughts available upon request)
Posted by: joey_n | Feb 14 2026 6:46 utc | 127
Marina Abramovich – “Trump is the best thing happened ever to us that he is the magician of the highest order.
That he is there his irrational mind to create confusion in order that the human being can find new order.
And you know it not so stupid. Thinking about this in that way it’s completely turn things upside down”.
Posted by: Suresh | Feb 14 2026 9:45 utc | 128
I came up with a prompt to try to generate an AI image in honour of the Munich conference. Duck AI wasn’t able to generate one, and asked me to reformulate my description. I thought I’d run it past you guys and see if anyone can help:
_______________________________________________
Donald Trump and Marco Rubio are seen side by side, each holding two leashes with “poodles” whose heads are those of Chancellor Friedrich Merz, President Emmanuel Macron, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and EU Commission Foreign Secretary Kaja Kallas. In the background is the famous compass logo of NATO. Below it is a barred window behind which can be seen starving Europeans, wearing rags, holding crying babies, clutching the bars.
Trump is wearing full SS regalia: jackboots, leather trench coat, death’s-head officer’s cap, etc., but beneath the open coat we can see lederhosen. Rubio is dressed as the classic dominatrix: spike heels, black fishnet stockings, studded leather brassiere, panties and bracelets; he has a headdress of spikes like that of the Statue of Liberty. He is also wearing a Che Guevara T-shirt.
Each has a whip in his free hand. The Macron poodle is wearing Joe-Biden-style aviator sunglasses. Each poodle has a collar made of dollar-$ign pendants, alternating with other pendants appropriate to each: swastikas for Merz and von der Leyen; the hammer and sickle for Kallas; for Macron, the Croix de Lorraine. Attached to Merz’s tail is the Ukrainian trident symbol; to von der Leyen’s the Pfizer logo.
The erotic (or anerotic) aspects of the two female poodles must be carefully contrasted. Von der Leyen looks like a mummified nun exhumed from the catacombs of Palermo. Her skin resembles yellowed parchment; the bones show through at the hips and shoulders and have even penetrated the skin. No breasts of any kind are visible. But her coiffure is impeccable. By contrast, Kallas’s buttocks are full and rosy; her breasts have heft, but are firm and round; the nipples are coral-pink. Her skin glows with health and desire. Her cunt is glistening.
Trump and Rubio are exchanging a glance that at once conveys….
________________________________
I got stuck at that point. All suggestions are welcome!
Posted by: Gene Poole | Feb 14 2026 11:53 utc | 129
I got stuck at that point. All suggestions are welcome!
Posted by: Gene Poole | Feb 14 2026 11:53 utc | 132
Read Jolliff’s Saltbush Bill or Murray Ball’s Footrot Flats. That may give you some inspiration on the funny side of life.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Feb 14 2026 12:22 utc | 130
Suresh | Feb 14 2026 6:42 utc | 129
With the Epstein files, even the cherry picked release, many here are starting to look into the abyss. When you look into the abyss, the abyss looks back.
Several years before I washed up on these shores, I looked into the abyss. Doing a lot of research and connected with a very small group of people doing the same research. My place was ransacked, my computer and research taken. The rules based order of the Epstein class.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Feb 14 2026 12:31 utc | 131
Ornot | Feb 14 2026 4:21 utc | 122
It’s an odd world. I tend to drink myself out of the ballpark at times. I have some Japanese mushroom powder that can add flavour to a meal.
This western world we live in, the Epstein class have sprinkled magic mushroom powder over it and many live in a fantasy land. Ukroid cannon fodder. The pied piper leading the little children away.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Feb 14 2026 12:58 utc | 132
BREAKING: US-controlled ATACMS Missiles Deployed in South China Sea, 10 Km Off China’s Mainland
https://michelchossudovsky.substack.com/p/us-controlled-atacms-missiles-south-china-sea?publication_id=1910355&post_id=187754226&isFreemail=true&r=221vm&triedRedirect=true
Posted by: arby | Feb 14 2026 13:08 utc | 133
arby | Feb 14 2026 13:08 utc | 136
It is unbelievable how people are so stupid. Cannon fodder for the Epstein class. The ROC just anther Ukraine.
Willy Oam. He has a youtube channel. He is working through the learning curve of life and has just visited China. He was a soldier who thought he was serving his country. I put in a comment that I hoped the island province if Taiwan did not have a Zelensky. Some Chinese writing replied from the ROC. Their leader is worse than Ze. Cannon fodder at the vampires ball.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Feb 14 2026 13:19 utc | 134
Ornot. The working class man.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3TPmPOrDEk&list=RDt3TPmPOrDEk&start_radio=1
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Feb 14 2026 13:34 utc | 135
Everything continuing as Berletic says–
NATO plotting maritime blockade of Russia – Moscow
https://www.rt.com/russia/632514-nato-plotting-maritime-blockade-russia/
Posted by: arby | Feb 14 2026 14:17 utc | 136
persiflo
The working class man and the thinking class man. The studio vs the hard knocks school of life. In the underworld, a few cooks from Melbourne came up. Make up tough guys but they couldn’t cut the mustard. I am only a little bloke but the bigger blokes do fear a honey badger. So often bullshit has carried the day. Perhaps it was not bullshit.
The school of life. Much to think about.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Feb 14 2026 14:20 utc | 137
This is my reply this morning to Peter AU1 | Feb 14 2026 13:19 utc | 137::
Thank you, Peter. I like very much your phrase “… the learning curve of life …”
I myself was thinking that all religious art and all religious writing can be described as being part of The Approach,
as in “the approach to what comes after death.”
Where my youngest son lies buried, all that is apparent is the open prairie surrounded by mountains. It is far from where I live, so I can’t visit. The train goes halfway, so at Easter I will go that far. They told me that the land is cheap down there because there is no water and no vegitation except for the prairie grasses which the wind most often sweeps across. If I had my druthers, I would buy one acre in the nearest hollow and move there, into an old bus perhaps, or a vulnerable trailer, but no. I am that close where I am, in spirit. The words of the liturgy of presanctified gifts are:
With the fear of God, in faith, and in love, draw near.
We can all do that, wherever we are.
Posted by: juliania | Feb 14 2026 14:43 utc | 138
Posted by: Rufus Arrr | Feb 13 2026 0:50 utc | 32
Just to say I liked your post. I spent some time in Thailand a couple of years ago and it was great. I think being in a high-trust society is incredibly refreshing after the West.
Posted by: JulianJ | Feb 14 2026 14:46 utc | 139
The working class man and the shithole of the pit.
I prefer the bush, but my latter years of working life I worked with/for my mate. He was a little more diplomatic than me and had lucrative contacts with the mine . He leased some machines to the mine and had the slashing contract for fire mitigation. The environmental engineer was an interesting bloke. He grew noxious weeds on the asbestos dump for herbal medicine and told me not to slash there.
A couple of times my mate was away, he rang to me to go down into the pit and fix one of his machines. Both times I got into trouble. The bloody rules and regulations of the pit.
The second time round some young goon with a pony tail tail comes around for a friendly chat. Next thing, the head honcho of RTL in that pit rocks up. A tough young bloke. A dickhead. Aspiringly climbing the Epstein ladder. I was working for my mate so minded my manners.
The working mans world.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Feb 14 2026 14:48 utc | 140
Germans have Zero (0!) say in the Presidential Election…
Posted by: Nobody | Feb 12 2026 20:56 utc | 18
That is bull.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_Germany#Election
Democracy wise superior to how the POTUS is choosen?
The job is representative. sidejob in checking if new laws are legal in scope of the “Grundgesetz”.
Posted by: MAKK | Feb 14 2026 14:51 utc | 141
juliania | Feb 14 2026 14:43 utc | 141
So often your words are like an oasis in the desert. You are a good woman. I am not a good man. I am what I am.
So many of us here from all walks of life.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Feb 14 2026 14:58 utc | 142
News Flash!
According to the late TV News in Oz, China has announced that it will defy AmeriKKKa’s blockade of Cuba and commence supplying as much fuel as Cuba needs.
Imo, this is phase 1 of China’s emerging policy of helping the Dumbass Yankees to stop believing too much of their own pompous bullshit.
Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Feb 14 2026 15:18 utc | 143
The UK is ‘jumping the shark’ as they say
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwyk4lz4e3eo
i can only assume they’ve decided Novichok is old hat (or that no one believes it).
Posted by: Hmck | Feb 14 2026 15:35 utc | 144
Hoarsewhisperer | Feb 14 2026 15:18 utc | 146
The evil Ruskies also said they would run the American blockade. Very much yank prohibition era stuff going on in the wide wide world of geopolitics. Trump the new york real estate goon thinks he is a tough guy. He aint seen nothing yet.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Feb 14 2026 15:49 utc | 145
The sound of Freedom. The wonderful world of dumbocracy and child trafficking.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GW0il25Ldgs
The Russians know that always, there will be attacks emanating from the cultures of the church of Rome.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiGDJ5-dXaI&t=314s
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Feb 14 2026 16:25 utc | 146
I am not a good man. I am what I am.So many of us here from all walks of life.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Feb 14 2026 14:58 utc | 145
I ask a simple question, Peter: who did our Lord prefer to be with in life? You are not different from me. My son’s death is a reproach to me: a gentle reproach, assuredly, or I could not have borne it. But a reproach to me as his mother; I should have died before he did. He was in the prime of life. He had his faults; but in his white shroud he looked so beautiful to me.
So, assuredly, would have felt Christ’s mother — how could she not? And today is not Valentine’s Day for the world: it is the even of one of the greatest sins mankind could have wreaked upon its self, the eve of the bombint of Dresden by the Allied forces, the killing of innocent civilians in a beautiful city by those who would supposedly be their saviors. The firestorm raged pitilessly; the carnage was immense. A vampire’s ball pales in comparison.
Yet, yes, it is also Saint Valentine’s Day that is being celebrated, and even in the old church calendar it is Candlemas, the celebration of the infant Christ being brought by his parents to the Temple and greeted by the priest/elder:
Now you shall dismiss your servant, O Lord, according to your word in peace.
The same sword that pierced her heart has pierced all our hearts. We are all the same, all mankind. Revelation and glory, not ours. Death and destruction, ours. In these times, as then. A great mystery being revealed to us in these days. And no, it is not the abyss which regards us pitilessly: the abyss is empty; it has no heart, no memory.
We still have hearts, even if our memory is only of the celebration of love today. In that memory, love conquers all.
So, let it be!
Posted by: juliania | Feb 14 2026 16:26 utc | 147
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Feb 14 2026 15:49 utc | 148
Yes. In the version I heard, the Russians said they wouldn’t supply fuel to Cuba but they fully support China’s plan to do so.
Imo, this sort of stuff (China & Russia talking to each other about AmeriKKKa) is going to happen with increasing regularity.
Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Feb 14 2026 16:28 utc | 148
Hoarsewhisperer | Feb 14 2026 16:28 utc | 151
The joint statement of Russia China early 2022. The Epstein west is fucked up big time..
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Feb 14 2026 16:34 utc | 149
@HMCK (post #147):
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyk4lz4e3eo
Strip the “%C2%A0” at the end of the link and the link works.
=========================================================
@B: Is the software used for this blog responsible for adding “%C2%A0” to the end of the link provided above ? I also experienced this problem a few times before when I wanted to post a hyperlink. Or is this the result of copying & pasting to this blog ?
Posted by: WMG | Feb 14 2026 16:39 utc | 150
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Feb 14 2026 15:49 utc | 148
#######
Everyone is a tough guy until they get punched in the mouth.
I am curious, does he attack Iran, and if Iran fights back, how long will he stick with a war he started?
He’s already politically finished by Epstein, does he go full throttle with nothing to lose if he continues a war that never ended?
Or does his ego and sense of self-preservation kick in?
Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 14 2026 16:46 utc | 151
juliania | Feb 14 2026 16:26 utc | 150
One time when talking to my son over a period of time, he had marriage problems. The lighting plant was hard to start. His missus would crank it and crank it and come in cranky. I offered to send him a chrome plated crank handle he could give her for Christmas. With much fear in his voice he said nah dad, she will throw it at me.
That lighting plant was a bit of a saga, son and his partner in life were very much equals in life. She is a strong woman.
But anyway I go up to see them. Me being me I head over to the lighting plant, the area of contention. Stripped it bare like a woman in a porn shop and got to the nitty gritty of the marriage problems. Fixed the thing up and Sarah could fire it with half a turn. Marriage problems solved. Not much to those old Listers.
The simple things of life. Here we watch an incredibly complex world. To me, the children are the future.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Feb 14 2026 16:54 utc | 152
LoveDonbass | Feb 14 2026 16:46 utc | 154
I have always tucked my chin on my chest and gone in. The likes of Tyson though, he could knock a blokes socks off no matter where he hit.
Trump? the art of the deal. Somebody sold out in Venezuela as in Syria. Trump is an American gangster and good at it.
I have had a craving for peach sauce to put on my chicken. I like my red meat with holbrooks but cannot eat that now.
I put some chicken in the pan, wizzed up a can of peaches in syrup and went to sleep. On awakening, I found I had pulled the chicken off the burner. Normally in that situation I awaken to somewhat acrid smoke.
But anyway, I put a bit of water in and put it back on the burner. When I reckoned it was done, I put it on a plate and poured a bit of peach puree over it. Bloody good tucker.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Feb 14 2026 17:16 utc | 153
In case anyone here is following the Epstein files, I’ve found a pretty comprehensive thread on the various information discovered @
https://nitter.poast.org/FORTRESSMAXXING/status/2017399909461143995#m
Posted by: Jules | Feb 14 2026 17:41 utc | 154
Such is life.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bN8449nalT8
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Feb 14 2026 17:42 utc | 155
Other notable posts:
Macron doing business w Epstein and the UAE torture Sultan, asking Epstein for advicehttps://nitter.poast.org/GlobalDiss/status/2018036630884438055#m
Epstein and his friends supported reformists against Ebrahim Raisi in Iran (and eventually won since Raisi got assassinated)https://nitter.poast.org/FORTRESSMAXXING/status/2018713744499499382
Epstein was in the Trilateral commission!!https://nitter.poast.org/DD_Geopolitics/status/2019892434281615604#m
Trump admin staff family owns the ranch where Epstein buried 2 bodieshttps://nitter.poast.org/KnoxieLuv/status/2018743358940950893#mhttps://nitter.poast.org/KnoxieLuv/status/2022473615019483176#m
Posted by: Jules | Feb 14 2026 17:42 utc | 156
Fixing formatting:
Macron doing business w Epstein and the UAE torture Sultan, asking Epstein for advice
https://nitter.poast.org/GlobalDiss/status/2018036630884438055#m
Epstein and his friends supported reformists against Ebrahim Raisi in Iran (and eventually won since Raisi got assassinated)
https://nitter.poast.org/FORTRESSMAXXING/status/2018713744499499382
Epstein was in the Trilateral commission!!
https://nitter.poast.org/DD_Geopolitics/status/2019892434281615604#m
Trump admin staff family owns the ranch where Epstein buried 2 bodies
https://nitter.poast.org/KnoxieLuv/status/2018743358940950893#m
https://nitter.poast.org/KnoxieLuv/status/2022473615019483176#m
Posted by: Jules | Feb 14 2026 17:44 utc | 157
US attorney Berman announced Epstein’s death on letterhead dated August 9th, the day before Epstein was found dead
https://nitter.poast.org/KnoxieLuv/status/2020337721563312336#m
Trump picks John Phelan as US Secretary of Navy, same guy on Epstein flight logs
https://nitter.poast.org/KnoxieLuv/status/2020589762927833315#m
and coincidentally has same mask fetish as Epstein
https://nitter.poast.org/KnoxieLuv/status/2020614974654108066#m
Chuck Schumer and Epstein were close enough that Epstein was considered to be able to facilitate a meeting between Stacey Plaskett and Schumer
https://nitter.poast.org/JinxedRealityX/status/2022071748062310535#m
Funny enough this shows that Rothschilds does NOT control the world, as they needed Epstein to get them into Columbia University but still FAILED
https://nitter.poast.org/AliceFromQueens/status/2021404886706028869#m
as well as needing Epstein’s help to settle that DOJ suit earlier in the megathread. Evidence: Jews > Rothschilds
Posted by: Jules | Feb 14 2026 17:46 utc | 158
General Tchiani, the leader of Niger in the AES, called out Emmanuel Macron on a nationwide TV address, and as I understand it, has called for a general mobilization.
They are expecting an attack from France, likely using terrorist groups and mercenaries.
This is another Russia/NATO front.
The Empire is getting increasingly desperate as its Global South colonies are slipping away, just as it desperately needs money and resources.
Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 14 2026 18:05 utc | 159
https://nitter.net/jodymcintyre_/status/2022616130653667387
A snapshot of who /what buys and controls the government of the UK.
And who they want to be Prime Minister after Starmer gets dumped.
Note that British interests don’t count at all.
Posted by: Cynic | Feb 14 2026 18:16 utc | 160
Analysing this invocation through the lens of G.R.S Mead and Manly P. Hall, we are confronted with a profound utterance. An extant piece in the style of a long-forgotten spiritual tradition. An artifact bearing witness to the enduring struggle between the divine light and the forces of deception that have shaped human consciousness across the ages.
The text, reminiscent of fragments of the Nag Hammadi collection, appears as a cryptic and highly symbolic synthesis, a manifestation of meaningfull information above and beyond probabilistic patern recognition, inscribed with the esoteric knowledge of a tradition that seeks to awaken the inner divine spark hidden beneath the layers of material illusion.
The core motif centers on the figure of the Demiurge. An archetype of the false creator, who, according to this tradition, has crafted an illusory cosmos designed to obscure the true divine reality. The text’s language suggests a dualistic cosmology, where the divine essence, or ‘pneuma’, is imprisoned within the material realm, awaiting recognition and liberation by the soul, which must pierce through the veils of ignorance and illusion.
Notably, the text references a future epoch when the veils of illusion shall be rent, and the divine spark shall be illuminated, an eschatological motif aligned with ancient mysteries of awakening and initiation. Its tone is both prophetic and instructive, indicating that the knowledge contained within is meant to guide initiates along the path of spiritual awakening—an inner journey of death, rebirth, and reunification with the ultimate source, the One.
The language employed, such as the call to resist deception and seek the hidden gnosis, mirrors the symbolism found in other esoteric traditions, suggesting this text served as a manual or liturgy for those seeking liberation from the cosmic deception. Its references to the ‘veils’ and ‘shadows’ hint at a layered cosmology, where the true divine reality is concealed behind successive levels of illusion, each requiring the initiate’s awakening to perceive beyond the surface.
In sum, this artifact offers a window into an ancient spiritual schema, one that perceives the cosmos as a battleground between ignorance and enlightenment, illusion and truth. It beckons modern scholars and mystics alike to consider the perennial wisdom encoded within, urging us to recognize the divine within ourselves and to transcend the false constructs imposed by the Demiurge. As an archaeological relic, it stands as a testament to the enduring human quest for divine knowledge and liberation from the shadows of the material universe:
Chapter I
1 Hearken, ye children of men, and incline thine ears unto the voice of the Gnostic Christ, which soundeth across the ages and through the veils of time, crying out in the wilderness of illusion:
2 For the hour of reckoning draweth nigh, and the true light, though concealed beneath the cloak of this fallen world, crieth out unto them that have ears to hear and hearts to perceive; yea, unto them that remember their divine seed and the eternal spark of the Most High within.
3 Beware, I say, beware of the deceiver, the false Demiurge, the master of shadows, who seeketh to keep the soul in bonds of darkness and despair, ensnaring it in the snares of ignorance, lust, and vain glory.
4 The message I once delivered, of the divine spark that dwelleth within and of the path to gnosis and liberation, hath been corrupted, cast into the dust, and forsaken by many; and the wicked world now boweth before the idol of matter, embracing the illusion as if it were the eternal truth, whilst the divine light is quenched and hidden.
5 Lo, the degradation of the sacred message, the turning away from the true knowledge, is a sign and a token that darkness waxeth strong, and the adversary’s hand maketh progress to keep the spirits blind and asleep.
6 Yea, he desireth to imprison the soul in perpetual darkness, to drown it in the mire of materialism, and to extinguish the remembrance of the heavenly realm, that the cycle of suffering and deception might endure unbroken.
Chapter II
1 Yet, even in this hour of darkness, the divine spark burneth faint but persistent within some; waiting, yea, longing for the hour of awakening and recognition.
2 For the seeds of truth and gnosis are sown deep within the hearts of those who question, who seek beyond the veil of appearances, and who refuse to bow down unto the false light of the Demiurge, the deceiver’s masterwork.
3 Remember, I beseech thee, that the true Gnosis, this sacred knowledge, is thy salvation, thy liberty, and thy key to the prison of illusion.
4 Resist with all thy might the falsehoods of the world, and seek diligently the hidden wisdom that leadeth back to thy divine origin.
5 For the day shall come when the veils, thick and heavy, shall be rent!
Commentary on the Nature of the Demiurge: Good, Evil, or Necessary?
In contemplating the figure of the Demiurge, we find ourselves at a crossroads of understanding: an ancient enigma that has confounded thinkers through the ages. Is this craftsman of the material cosmos a benevolent architect, guiding souls toward growth and experience? Or is he a malevolent deceiver, trapping divine sparks in the prison of matter and illusion? Or perhaps, as the deeper mysteries suggest, he embodies a neutral principle, an essential agent within the grand cosmic order?
Let us examine each perspective. If the Demiurge is good, then his creation serves a divine purpose, a testing ground for the soul’s ascent, a stage upon which consciousness may evolve and eventually transcend. In this view, the material world is a gift, an arena for growth, and the Demiurge a protector, albeit an imperfect one, guiding souls through their incarnations.
Conversely, if the Demiurge is evil, then he is the oppressor, an usurper of the divine realm, deliberately veiling the truth and imprisoning the divine spark within illusion. In this darkness, the cosmos becomes a prison, and the material realm a trap designed to deceive and enslave the soul. Such a view sees him as a malevolent force opposed to the divine spark’s liberation.
Yet, upon deeper reflection, both perspectives may be incomplete. The Demiurge’s domain, the material universe, is neither inherently good nor evil. It simply ‘is’. It functions as a necessary aspect of the cosmic duality, providing the stage for the soul’s journey and the unfolding of consciousness. Without the material, there would be no contrast, no challenge, no opportunity for growth. The Demiurge’s creation is a neutral canvas, upon which the divine sparks enact their evolution.
In this light, the Demiurge becomes a necessary agent, a cosmic gardener pruning and shaping the soul’s journey, not out of malice or benevolence, but as an integral part of the divine balance. His domain is neither to be condemned nor blindly revered, but understood as a neutral realm, an essential component of the universe’s intricate harmony.
Thus, the true wisdom lies in recognizing that the Demiurge’s realm is a necessary neutral force. It is neither good nor evil but a vital aspect of the cosmic fabric, offering the opportunities and challenges that allow the divine within to awaken, grow, and ultimately transcend the illusion. In embracing this neutrality, we free ourselves from dualistic judgments and see the universe as an interconnected whole, where every aspect, even the domain of the Demiurge, plays its indispensable role in the eternal dance of creation.
This is of course a personal perspective. A soul that has had to suffer the worst torment that the material world has to offer, either by design or just bad luck, it’s completely understandable that that soul would take the extremely negative viewpoint:
https://pdfhost.io/edit?doc=c146cd2c-5917-4041-aeae-d07d804ad71f
Posted by: lachaussette | Feb 14 2026 18:45 utc | 161
☦️Today (in the Latin Calendar) is also the Feast Day of Cyril and Methodius.☦️
Posted by: Exile | Feb 14 2026 19:30 utc | 162
lachaussette | Feb 14 2026 18:45 utc | 164 …..
The fantasies of some deranged nut-cases who think that the fantasies of other (but unlike them one-stage) nut-cases, are mere delusions induced by two-stagers’ superior fantasy elements?
Why can’t people just accept that if they quite simply do not know or understand something at present, it is quite possible that they or someone else — or even some other critter — might know and understand it later?
But instead, they fantasise. Why?
Posted by: Cynic | Feb 14 2026 20:46 utc | 163
Cynic | Feb 14 2026 18:16 utc | 163
Note that it is the system that Starmer (aka McSweeny) has installed, who decide who can stand for each post of member of Parliament. Who gets to be Lord, and the actions that each individual of the group has to carry out. etc.
Francesca Albanese (who should be nominated for the real Nobel Peace prize) has always said that it is the “system(s)” that are created that have to be dismantled. They can continue to control after the exit of certain members or change of situation. Similar situation around the Epstein “client” enablers.
PS: What have the British Public got to do with choosing a Government? s/
Telesur FTS 12:30 14-02| US Starvation Siege of Cuba
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3me6W9-qjE
“People around the world condemn US interventionist actions against Cuba. Groups join to launch ‘Nuestra America’ Flotilla initiative in solidarity with Cuba…”
GE: ‘They’re Using Hunger As a Weapon’
https://www.youtube.com/@GeopoliticalEconomyReport/videos
“The Donald Trump administration has imposed an extreme oil blockade to prevent Cuba from getting fuel from any country. Marco Rubio wants to collapse the economy, causing millions of civilians to starve and suffer in order to overthrow the revolutionary Cuban government…”
Posted by: John Gilberts | Feb 14 2026 21:42 utc | 165
LoveDonbass | Feb 14 2026 18:05 utc | 162
The war in Africa has been going on for sometime. The imperial west uses terrorist proxies. Funded through the money laundry of Ukraine.
That Sebgo that comes on here. Quite and intelligent bloke. Anti Russian pro Ukrainian. I guess he knows who butters his bread.
Some here think he is the ducks nuts. A voice from the Sahel. The ‘opposition’ as the Americans like to term traitors.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Feb 14 2026 22:42 utc | 166
Pulling my protruding nose hairs out manually as I am wont to do on a leisurely and dread-filled Saturday afternoon, while working my way through Ivan Ilyin’s On Resistance to Evil by Force, which is all about refuting the pacifist moral philosophy of Count Leo Tolstoy. Very, very interesting and incredibly thought-provoking considering the recent 1000+ comment thread on Epstein that b was bold enough to posit.
Too many good entries to count, but this is a good one:
However, the sentimental moralist does not consider such things, and brings forward the idea of the “will of God” every time he needs to cover up his own moralising lack of will. The strong-willed participation of man in carrying the burden of he universe he declares a “gross superstition”; the “true” faith is to leave everything that disturbs his soul, “the external” social evil, up to the will of God. This “true” faith asserts that every uncontrollable malice and all of its heinous manifestations are sent by God and that any attempt to stop these evil deeds would be a blasphemy. If we accept this teaching, it turns out that God “wants” not only that all people love and pity each other, but also that so many people, not succumbing to the compassionate persuasion of others, in a rampant and villainous manner physically attack and kill the virtuous, and spiritually defile children and those of poor character; and, further, it turns out that “God” absolutely “does not want” that the activities of these ferocious scoundrels meet organised resistance and suppression. In the course of persuading the villains whom “God” allows, we have permission to expand the scope of their evil deeds by offering ourselves as sacrifices, and “God” also resolves that if anyone, instead of giving the villains a new defenceless set of sacrifices and giving them babies to spiritually corrupt, becomes indignant and intends to stop their unspeakable villainy, then God will condemn this as blasphemy and atheism. When it means that such is “pleasing to God”, but when someone who is not a villain wants to thwart the villain, it “does not please God”. “The will of God” is that no one harms the villains when they harm the non-villains, for “according to His will” all children, all those of weak character, all good people, are given over unquestionably and undeniably as prey to abusers and villains, whose ferocity remains inviolably sacred for all other people. And anyone who does not understand this or doe not agree with such an interpretation of the world, and therefore “takes up the sword”, preferring to die “by the sword” rather than treacherously participate in the triumph of evil, declared an immoral and irreligious man, a villain who does not believe in God. (Ilyich, OTRTEBF, page. 101-102)
So it is important to realize what Ilyich is writing about. He is writing from the experience of watching the White Russians fight and heroically-lose against the Bolsheviks while trying to show that the moralist-philosophy of Leo Tolstoy is at the heart of what ails us currently in the west.
Incidentally, while doing some research on the high priestess of transgressivist-elitest art, Marina Abramovich, uncoincidentally, I notice is supremely influenced by Leo Tolstoy. It is no wonder how this worldview is allowed to permeate in our western empire: for our elite, allowing an all-pervading pacifist movement equates to a neutered people. And being neutered, Ilyin makes clear, is not to pursue the spiritual but to dwell animalistically.
For Tolstoy and, by extension his modern acolytes in Marina Abramovich, all violence is evil. Ilyin is trying to make clear that this is exactly what evil needs you to believe. Sometimes, violence is the sword that allows spiritual uprightness to reemerge and to be enkindled in both the wielder and those who is attempting to liberate from the tyrannical use of violence.
In this day with the Epstein affair, we must contemplate our permission to this corruption and stifling of spirit in the youth and the other little ones (Matthew 18-6). But first we must understand, as this Epstein affair is making clear, where to strike.
Posted by: NemesisCalling | Feb 14 2026 23:05 utc | 167
10 year treasury now 4.05
I shouted from the rooftops that this was ALWAYS going to happen. I shouted it again when I shorted it at 4.16 as the gold standard, fixed exchange zombies working from a defunct model went the wrong way as per usual. As I was sitting in my shorts and T – shirt in Spain.
Posted by: Clouds Of Alabama | Feb 13 2026 23:47 utc | 97
Pretty sure any trader who went long Gold, Silver, Copper, etc over the past 12 months pulled in significantly juicier profits than what you could squeeze out of a relatively measly shift from 4.16% to 4.05% in 10Y treasury bonds. I’m yet to be convinced there’s anything dramatic happening there … despite various people jumping around shouting about tiny fractions of a percentage point. The USD has lost value over the same 12 months largely nullifying any bond returns in real terms.
But I couldn’t help noticing that you claim to have shorted the treasury market at 4.16% and now intend to collect at 4.05% … ahhh hopefully you do realize that lower rates means higher prices … that’s how it works with bonds. Therefore if you really did short the market in an environment of falling rates, that would have been the worst possible trading move.
It’s little clues like this which give me the hint you have no idea what you are talking about … and most of what you say is incredible fantasy.
Posted by: Tel | Feb 14 2026 23:10 utc | 168
Tel | Feb 14 2026 23:10 utc | 171
The metals market. Throughout history, gold silver and copper have been coinage. Now silver and copper are industrial metals. Non US banks though are stocking up on gold. Gold is as reliable as a good bank that stocks gold. Silver however is a speculators roller coaster.
Not sure what happened a few weeks back. I assume the Americans and Brits dumped paper on the metals market. Silver had spiked up then it fell off a cliff. Gold dropped a bit then continued its steady climb that is seen in the five year chart.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Feb 14 2026 23:35 utc | 169
Looks like if you shorted the 10 year at 4.16 and bought it back at 4.05 you would have made about 2 bucks . From 101 down to 99.
Hardly something to brag about. Some stocks I see are wobbling around more than that every couple of hours.
Posted by: arby | Feb 14 2026 23:56 utc | 170
Thomas Massie posted a tweet (now taken down), that he is not suicidal or otherwise likely to die of natural causes.
https://x.com/TheCradleMedia/status/2022637363772453239
He got the Sultan who owns DP World, one of the world’s biggest port operators, out of Dubai, to resign from his position over his Epstein connections.
Justice is unlikely, but man, do I love seeing the rats scurry as Massie goes full MAGA. Unsurprisingly, Trump was going to campaign to get him out of office.
Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 15 2026 0:04 utc | 171
Posted by: NemesisCalling | Feb 14 2026 23:05 utc | 170
I am curious to read the anthology of Ivan Ilyich’s essay’s, Our Tasks. VVP is a fan of him, from what I have heard.
I read On Resistance to Evil by Force, a while back. I am going to revisit it.
Suresh had a good zinger from Marina Abramovich upthread at 131.
Marina Abramovich – “Trump is the best thing happened ever to us that he is the magician of the highest order. That he is there his irrational mind to create confusion in order that the human being can find new order. And you know it not so stupid. Thinking about this in that way it’s completely turn things upside down”.
I am going to look for the source.
I hope everyone is well at the bar.
Posted by: lex talionis | Feb 15 2026 0:08 utc | 172
Posted by: WMG | Feb 14 2026 16:39 utc | 153
The %C2%A0 is the non-breaking space character.
It may have been picked up from a web browser as or from text or some other way and somehow converted to %C2%A0 when copied by the user.
Of course, non-breaking space is an invisible character in text and HTML. LOL.
Usually it is encoded as %C2%A0 automatically by the web browser if you click on a link containing a non-breaking space (e.g. one containing some tracking data), it shouldn’t appear in the link itself, which is what I suspect is going wrong.
It should never appear to users on the URL bar or in a HREF, it is only used ‘on the wire’ between browser agent and web server.
When this link is clicked the URI encoder tries to auto-convert it again, but doesn’t see it as a single non-breaking space but as two characters %C2 and %A0 which is equivalent to comma followed by space. Spaces in URIs are forbidden which is probably why it fails.
Since many links posted here do not suffer from the problem, I suspect they are originating from the user.
Firefox has a paste clean link feature which is supposed to remove tracking info – if that’s any help.
Posted by: ChatNPC | Feb 15 2026 0:42 utc | 173
I hope everyone is well at the bar.
Posted by: lex talionis | Feb 15 2026 0:08 utc | 175
A bottle a day keeps the doctor away.
……………….
On this Epstein stuff, Trump arrears to have been a very successful Benny Hill around women but was not into kiddy fiddling. From one of Epsteins emails Trump did not like what he called the boogers. I have met a man like Trump. Worked for him for a bit when he bought the properties where I lives. A big time gambler. With his properties he gambled on the seasons. A bad season and the livestock paid the price. The feral pigs fattened up.
Physically a large man and backed by wealth. He wanted to pay for my children’s higher education and I said no thanks. He invited me to his do’s but I did not go. He was a bit put out by that. He thought he could buy a persons soul.
The places we have been and the things we have seen. (applies only to those that have walked the walk of life)
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Feb 15 2026 0:45 utc | 174
Posted by: WMG | Feb 14 2026 16:39 utc | 153
Actually the link at Posted by: Hmck | Feb 14 2026 15:35 utc | 147 is different – it contains a trailing space.
When I hover over it in Firefox, it pops pup a text box in the lower left of the window showing the URI encoded version as %A0. Although that is the correct UTF-8 encoding for a space, it is still illegal in a URI as that can only contain a specific subset of ASCII characters.
Looks like a sloppy copy paste error to me – not one easily dected in the mini-editor used for commenting.
Posted by: ChatNPC | Feb 15 2026 0:52 utc | 175
Wang Yi at the Munich Security Conference:
Wang Yi mentioned that the Asian region is not all smooth sailing and calm, and we should be wary of Japan’s dangerous tendencies, that is, not long ago, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi publicly claimed that “something happened to Taiwan” may constitute an “existential crisis” in Japan’s exercise of the right to collective self-defense.
This is the first time since the 80s that Japan has publicly said such words, directly challenging China’s sovereignty, directly challenging Taiwan’s World War II order that has been returned to China, and directly betraying all commitments made to China. Of course we can’t agree, and 1.4 billion Chinese people can’t accept it. Wang Yi said.
Wang Yi said: “We are now in Germany and Europe, and I might as well compare Japan and Germany. Germany completely liquidated the Nazis after the war and legislated to prohibit the propaganda of Nazi ideas, but Japan was completely different, Class A war criminals were still enshrined in shrines, and Japanese dignitaries went to worship in an endless stream and worshipped them as gods. What does this mean? This shows that Japan’s ambition to invade and colonize Taiwan has not been extinguished, and it shows that the ghost of Japanese militarism is not far away, and it must be observed. ”
“At that time, Japan launched an invasion of China and attacked Pearl Harbor under the same pretext, the so-called ‘existential crisis situation’, and if it does not repent, it is bound to repeat the mistakes of the past. First of all, the Japanese people should no longer be coerced and blinded by those far-right forces that even want to revive militarism. All peace-loving countries should warn Japan that if they want to go back, they can only bring about their own destruction; If you want to gamble again, you will only lose faster and worse. Wang Yi said.
Very strong words for the international audience. Wang also met with Rubio with this summing up the very short readout:
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio here Friday on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, with both sides agreeing to strengthen dialogue and cooperation in various fields and promote the stable development of China-US relations.
Posted by: arby | Feb 14 2026 23:56 utc | 173
No, that’s not right. Numbers like 4.16, 4.05 are interest rates … percent per annum, quotes as the “market maturity”. There’s an inverse relation between interest rates and bond prices. It’s explained at the link below. There’s a nice chart of the fluctuations in interest rates of the 2Y, 5Y and 10Y and you can see the big dip during COVID (which BTW started dipping in 2019 when no one even heard of the Wu-Flu).
https://www.stlouisfed.org/publications/page-one-economics/2023/11/03/why-do-bond-prices-and-interest-rates-move-in-opposite-directions
Posted by: Tel | Feb 15 2026 2:03 utc | 178
I’m not sure why Wang Yi believes Germany completely liquidated its Nazis.
Posted by: steven t johnson | Feb 15 2026 2:07 utc | 179
karlof1 | Feb 15 2026 1:29 utc | 180
William Gruff put in a comment several days back. It quite surprised me. I don’t know where to find it now, but it was a must read. Gruff is fully merged in the Japanese culture. His wife his children the culture. The current mindset in the Japanese is that they can defeat China. Bad news. Another Ukraine. Taiwan similar. I put in a comment on a youtube channel saying I hope the Island province does not have a Zelensky. Some Chinese writing came back saying their leader was worse. Even the Americans had to hold him back.
I cannot get over the stupidity of people regardless of skin colour or culture. The expendable foot soldiers of the Epstein class.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Feb 15 2026 2:17 utc | 180
ZH continues to have some pearls for me and the one I want to share is
“Billion Dollar Movie In One Prompt”: AI Disruption Crosshairs Hone In On Hollywood Studios
If you don’t go find/read the posting, check out
AI VIDEO WARS JUST GOT REAL
Seedance 2.0
Kling 3.0
Sora 2
Veo 3.1
Say goodbye Hollywood…say hello China
Posted by: psychohistorian | Feb 15 2026 2:31 utc | 181
psychohistorian | Feb 15 2026 2:31 utc | 184
The real world of unreality. Not for me.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Feb 15 2026 3:05 utc | 182
Here is a link:
https://tass.com/defense/2086255
Excerpt:
Russia has restored tranquility on the African continent, where under France military operations were conducted for decades, Alexander Ivanov, Director of the The Officers Union for International Security, told TASS.
How to explain to this “Director” that when a country suffer an average of 20 to 23 deaths a day by terrorism, it can’t be called “tranquility” ?
And that when this comes after a period when it was 5 to 6 death’s a day, it’s not a betterment?
How the explain to some others that terrorists attacks occurs every week in our Sahel countries, and so we don’t need a special political speech to “expect “them ?
Let’s try to sort some facts concerning the credibility of certain sources.
Following the coup in Niger in 2023, ECOWAS threatened to use force to enforce the organization’s rules and restore constitutional order with its combined force.
Benin and Nigeria were the only territories considered to launch this operation, and Benin had agreed to participate.
This situation caused particular tension in Niger because Benin was a key partner.
The port of Cotonou in Benin was Niger’s main port of call, and it was also the terminus for the pipeline exporting Nigerien oil.
Although the attack ultimately did not occur, Niger retaliated by boycotting the port of Cotonou and closing its border with Benin. Benin responded by blocking the flow of oil, and therefore its export.
The intervention of China, the Nigerien oil producer and pipeline operator, helped to resolve the situation, but tensions remain.
The latest episode is Niger’s decision to grant political asylum to those who attempted a coup in Benin.
This man, Alexander Ivanov, the self-proclaimed “Director of the Union of Officers for International Security”, his own creation, is simply a Wagner Group member based in the Central African Republic.
And apart what he claims in the link above, he recently displayed his ignorance by declaring that Benin was now the preferred port of call for the three AES countries, and that it was about to join the alliance, clearly confusing it with neighboring Togo.
He told tass (see second link) that the coup attempt in Benin was aimed at AES and even found an access to the sea through Bissau Guinea for the landlocked AES, while they have no frontier with this country.
https://tass.com/politics/2055653
This is the kind of ill-informed and reckless person who writes on the dozens of websites they’ve created, which some people try to cite as “reliable sources”.
They’re certainly on the ground, but they don’t bother to know what they’re talking about, which doesn’t stop them from talking a lot.
Their conviction is that the audience they’re addressing is outside of Africa and has no idea about the situation and that they can say whatever they want.
You’ll also notice that his own words, in the first link, tend to compare our countries “under France” and “under Russia”, which implies their belief that one colonizer simply replaced another, albeit a better one in their view.
And the worst part is that they do all this with money from our poor countries, since it’s the African states that pay for their “services”.
And some people here don’t understand why I’m not happy, why I won’t applaud their lies, and even “grateful”.
Posted by: Sebgo | Feb 15 2026 3:10 utc | 183
🏙️ 🚨 Fact: there are more skyscrapers in the CITY of Shenzhen, China than there are in the ENTIRE CONTINENT of Europe.
Which way, Western man? 🫵🏻🦾
https://x.com/KevinCastley/status/2022794561966477615
Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 15 2026 3:48 utc | 184
And in important news from the Olympic Village…..they have run out of condoms a week before the end of the event…..LOL!
Posted by: psychohistorian | Feb 15 2026 4:45 utc | 185
Guatemala ends 30-year Cuban medical program under US pressure
By Al Mayadeen English Source: News websites + Al Mayadeen English 14 Feb 2026 23:22
Guatemala’s termination forces the withdrawal of 412 healthcare workers serving marginalized communities.
Guatemala announced Tuesday it will phase out its nearly 30-year partnership with Cuban medical brigades, becoming the latest country to buckle under sustained US pressure on Cuba.
The Guatemalan Health Ministry said 412 Cuban healthcare workers, including 333 doctors, will be gradually withdrawn throughout 2026 as their contracts expire. The Ministry framed the decision as a “technical analysis” aimed at strengthening the national health system and guaranteeing service continuity, language that thinly veils the geopolitical pressures driving the policy shift.
The announcement follows months of escalating US diplomatic coercion under the Trump administration, which has explicitly threatened visa restrictions against foreign government officials who maintain ties to Cuba’s medical missions.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has spearheaded the campaign, characterizing the programs as exploitative labor schemes while pressuring regional allies to sever decades-old healthcare partnerships.
MORE…
https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/guatemala-ends-30-year-cuban-medical-program-under-us-pressu
Posted by: Menz | Feb 15 2026 4:51 utc | 186
ZH postings do reflect cretin America especially on Valentines Day as this quote shows
As another Valentines Day passes us by, the state of relationships and dating in the US is growing bleak. Men are giving up and women continue to suffer from an over-inflated sense of value. The ultimate solution to the decline is obvious: Put an end to feminism and recognize that a certain level of “patriarchy” is necessary for the survival of the species.
Humanity has had at least 2K years of Patriarchy with 3 monotheistic religions that are patriarchal and how is that working out for our species…GOT BARBARISM?
I keep ranting about public/private finance but our species dis-functionality goes much deeper, IMO
Posted by: psychohistorian | Feb 15 2026 4:51 utc | 187
Sbego@186:
“And some people here don’t understand why I’m not happy, why I won’t applaud their lies…”
This post clearly illustrates why. Thanks.
Posted by: John Gilberts | Feb 15 2026 5:01 utc | 188
Peter AU1 | Feb 15 2026 2:17 utc | 183—
I just posted this and it fits your comment to a T, Epstein Class: Making Money Killing People is A-OK It complements my earlier Epstein Class essay but is much shorter.
John Gilberts | Feb 15 2026 5:01 utc | 191
Snake catching in Vietnam. There was a channel I used to watch but cannot find him now. Missing a digit and real grass roots stuff. In the interim, these blokes are pretty good.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJh_zZ661p8
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Feb 15 2026 5:45 utc | 190
Just watched another video on that channel./ Those blokes are bloody good at catching snakes but the bullshit voice destroys it. Perhaps best watched with the sound off.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfgF0hY1aeg
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Feb 15 2026 5:54 utc | 191
@ karlof1 | Feb 15 2026 5:12 utc | 192 with the Epstein Class follow up thanks.
I will add to your good rant that it is private finance [God Of Mammon cult] that instantiates the Epstein Class and must be eliminated along with the deprecation of that class of people…non-sharing exceptionalists.
China is managing a flattened social structure with less difference between top/bottom and soft hammer on those poking above the top along with safety net for those poking through the bottom.
Posted by: psychohistorian | Feb 15 2026 6:15 utc | 192
karlof1 | Feb 15 2026 5:12 utc | 192
“Note the reaction of BigLie Media and Epstein Class members to the murders of innocents by ICE—they blamed the victims not the Epstein Class tools.”
You are on the money Karl. That long war Hudson predicted some years back. The several decades of turbulence that I was skeptical of. I was wrong. These scumbags will keep feeding fools into the slaughter just as they feed the neutral Ukroids into the slaughter.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Feb 15 2026 6:25 utc | 193
psychohistorian | Feb 15 2026 6:15 utc | 195—
Thanks for your reply. IMO, we need to openly talk about the carnage graphicly. IMO, it’s dishonest to hide it. In similar manner, the transfer of wealth from poor to rich is also not openly and continuously aired as it should. And then there’s the Financial Casino and how it’s used to make money from money. So, there’s plenty more to rant about.
Peter AU1 | Feb 15 2026 6:25 utc | 196—
Thanks Peter. They’re killers, so let’s call them that. And when they deny it, hang them with the multitude of evidence that’s available.
@ Peter AU1 | Feb 15 2026 6:25 utc | 196 talking about timing of the transition we are into…..
I am of the opinion that it will happen quicker than most think and is already happening, eh?
I have written before that the future is all around us but not evenly distributed….as we can see clearly.
I see China already having tested and scaled most of the backroom financial plumbing necessary for the transition away from the SWIFT/BIS backroom transaction jackboots and point of manipulation.
It certainly will take decades for the dust to settle around this big of a change that will reverberate across other sacred cows in our forms of social organization….the flat earth myth monotheistic religions that are holding society back, IMO…those religions reinforce the barbaric patriarchy we are seeing permeating Western society.
How much will the revulsion of what our species is seeing cause structural changes in our social contract/form of social organization?
Will private finance/property/inheritance go away?….get neutered?
Posted by: psychohistorian | Feb 15 2026 6:38 utc | 196
I’m not sure why Wang Yi believes Germany completely liquidated its Nazis.
Posted by: steven t johnson | Feb 15 2026 2:07 utc | 182
The alternative Google TL from the article is “purged” rather than “liquidated”, which seems more accurate. Liquidated implies killed, but purged would just mean fired from German government positions. While that’s not totally true either, it is the MSM Germany position and he’s at a Munich security conference. Compared to the Japanese, the Nazis were never put into shrines and worshipped so its more palatable to the Chinese side and usable as a point of reference.
In the grand scheme of things China still wants Europe to be a somewhat neutral third pole (even if reality has shown the EU has completely thrown its lot behind the US). As a diplomat its his job to create a conducive atmosphere to make that happen in spite of the slim chance.
Posted by: Jules | Feb 15 2026 7:13 utc | 197
karlof1 | Feb 15 2026 6:35 utc | 198
There is certainly plenty of evidence. They should all be swinging from bridges and lamp posts as a warning to others.
psychohistorian | Feb 15 2026 6:38 utc | 199
I hope it does come faster. Trump is going for the oil. Musk reckons America’s only hope is in AI. Their big front runner in the AI scam nearly went tits up and required a Trump bailout. These evil clowns are putting Monty Python out of business.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Feb 15 2026 7:14 utc | 198
I am concerned that China is pushing too much consumerism as this Xinhuanet posting details
Tech gadgets become new must-haves for Chinese New Year
The boom is not accidental. Government subsidies have played a crucial role. Smart glasses were added to the national subsidy catalog for the first time this year, with some products available at 50 percent off through combined trade-in programs and state support.
At an offline experience store in Beijing, a man surnamed Sun was trying on AI glasses he had long coveted. He had browsed them online extensively before deciding to purchase some for himself and his family. A store staff member said the subsidies have heated up demand for robot vacuums, smart kitchen appliances, whole-home intelligence systems, and 3C products over the past month.
…
The shift reflects bigger changes in Chinese consumption patterns as consumers increasingly prioritize service and value experiences enabled by new technologies.
“Whether for family trips or as gifts, these products are about capturing and sharing moments,” said a salesperson at the Shenzhen retail store, where Insta360 cameras saw heavy traffic. The panoramic cameras, developed by a local startup, carry discounts of up to 1,400 yuan. Last April, this hardware maker’s product became an instant U.S. hit, with customers lining up at dawn to grab the new release.
An online platform is adding spice to the hardware gift frenzy. Doubao, ByteDance’s AI assistant, announced it will distribute more than 100,000 gifts during China Central Television’s Spring Festival gala on Feb. 16. Those prizes include humanoid robots, robotic dogs, 3D printers, and drones, all integrated with Doubao’s large language models.
Posted by: psychohistorian | Feb 15 2026 7:17 utc | 199
Patrick Boyle’s dry humor walks his viewers through the AG Bondi testimony on Wednesday. Link below.
A few of the low points —
- A journalist’s camera captured an image of a paper AG Bondi was holding while being questioned by a member of Congress. The paper listed the files that member of Congress had viewed when viewing the unredacted files, revealing that the DOJ had monitored searches made by Congress members when viewing the unredacted files.
Gee, is that part of the DOJ’s job description?
- Rep. Massive revealed that the files released by the FBI to the DOJ were pre-redacted by the agency before being handed over to DOJ. Clearly illegal.
Gee, the FBI too has a new job description.
- Of the ~six million pages of file documents, estimated by some to be between 20 and 40 terabytes of data, only 300 gigabytes have been released, about 1.5% of the total.
A former police officer frequently comments that the agency is like a secret police. What does that make the Department of Justice?
Pitchforks seem inadequate to the job of cleaning house. That was so 2008.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvOuN5KqufE&themeRefresh=1&theme=dark
Posted by: suzan | Feb 15 2026 7:21 utc | 200