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May 7, 2026
Open (Not Ukraine or Iran) Thread 2026-092
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Anybody got some perspectives on the super el nino that’s on the way.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/04/climate/el-nino-global-warming.html&ved=2ahUKEwiP1I2glqeUAxU6dUEAHXmIHLkQ0PADKAB6BAgbEAE&usg=AOvVaw2oQYm6MmLFjhousyU8gdHf
Posted by: jpc | May 7 2026 12:27 utc | 1
It’s May and the El Nino heated up the Pacific Ocean and it is causing a chill summer here with occasional rains.
Posted by: KillerDoll | May 7 2026 14:13 utc | 2
Al Greta rides again. I am not so sure about the climate enthusiasts.
When I first washed up in northern Queensland, it was hot enough to cook a chook. One day I went into the house where it was cool and the thermometer in imperial measurements said 130. Bloody greens, pulling hot feathers out of their arse. The climate never stands still, regardless of mortal mans bullshit. Green feathers and American contrails. A wierd and wonderful world I guess.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | May 7 2026 14:51 utc | 3
with occasional rains.
Posted by: KillerDoll | May 7 2026 14:13 utc | 2
—
Where are these “occasional rains”?
Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin ==> https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/wwcb.pdf
Posted by: too scents | May 7 2026 15:18 utc | 4
The General Director of Rostec State Corporation Sergei Chemezov made his annual report to Putin and the results were very good. There’s no English readout yet but the translation’s good. Rostec is very major as I’ve reported many previous times, and it plans in ten-year increments, certainly no Western-type corporation. Here’s a sample of what was discussed:
Vladimir Putin: What about robotisation, what changes are there?
Sergei Chemezov: We constantly purchase new, modern robotic machines, train our specialists to work on these machines. In general, due to this, we have an increase in labor productivity.
Vladimir Putin: To what extent increased?
Sergei Chemezov: It has increased by 20.2 percent compared to last year.
Vladimir Putin: Come on?
Sergei Chemezov: Yes.
Vladimir Putin: Productivity labor?
Sergei Chemezov: Yes, including due to the fact that we used robotic machines, modern machines.
Vladimir Putin: This is a good result. Are you sure that by 20 percent?
Sergei Chemezov: Yes, 6.2 million rubles is the output per employee compared to last year: it was 5.18 [million rubles].
As I have already said, our revenue has increased by 25 percent and today stands at 4.5 trillion [rubles], just a little bit more. The number increased by four percent.
Today, 727 thousand people work at the enterprise. We have become [one of] the largest employers, second after Russian Railways. Salary grows. Today [it is] 123.4 thousand [rubles], the salary has increased by 15 percent compared to last year. As I said before, our production has increased by 20 percent.
As noted before, Rostec is a conglomerate producing a vast array of products, military and civilian. The report indicates Russia’s economy is moving in the right direction while import substitution of critical components continues. Rostec’s performance since the 2014 sanctions must be rated as spectacular contributing greatly to Russia’s success.
Maria Zakharova gave her weekly briefing today that begins with a long statement about the upcoming annual May 9th celebration, while her Ukraine recap was almost twice as long. The transcript isn’t complete yet, but what’s available is already quite a lot. This one segment was quite pointed and began thusly:
On the first “Common Concept of Military Defence” in the modern history of Germany
The other day, the first in the modern history of Germany “General Concept of Military Defense” of the country was presented. It was revealed to the world personally by German Defense Minister B. Pistorius.
We got acquainted with what was available in the public space. After reading the available interpretations of the document born in the bowels of the department headed by him, doubt arises that its authors and the minister himself are of sound mind and firm memory. I want to say that in this case this is not a catchphrase, it is. These are really medical issues.
Of course, over the past years, we have become accustomed to the irresponsible statements and absurd actions of the Berlin camarilla. However, this case, as they say, is special and close to a clinical one. Because it is a vivid relapse of German military-political stupidity.
Over the past 300 years, the Spree has not learned anything, as we can see from the presented concept. The rulers in Berlin are changing, the Kaiser, the Führers, the chancellors and presidents are coming, and Russia is still the main and only threat. No, this is the most important thing, not for the German people, not for the citizens of Germany, but for those who are periodically brought to power in Berlin, by those who finance them, sponsor them from other countries and regions of the world. The priority task is formulated as inflicting a “strategic defeat” on our country, as they came up with it. It also says how to prepare for all this. Whatever you call it – what is the “concept”, what is the “Barbarossa plan”. No creativity. Trends, “narratives”, as they like to say, “patterns” are the same.
And the arguments are old. It turns out that Russia is seriously threatening them again, you won’t believe it, because it will certainly attack them, as they believe they formulate in their concepts. Now we will know. It may be true to somehow think about what happens to those who write such things.
And that is just the opening of a justified condemnation.
Posted by: too scents | May 7 2026 15:18 utc | 4
Where I live received a few rains last month that wasn’t normal for the last decade I live here.
Posted by: KillerDoll | May 7 2026 15:58 utc | 7
I am 15 mins driving from the Pacific Ocean and Near the Mexican Border. It’s the dry southwestern corner of the USA. Rain is rare here in this desert.
Posted by: KillerDoll | May 7 2026 16:02 utc | 8
Posted by: jpc | May 7 2026 12:27 utc |
“Anybody got some perspectives on the super el nino that’s on the way.”
Without being pedantic, it’s an oxymoron.
El nino, meaning “little boy” is the opposite of “super” as in superior size.
As for the weather phenomenon,
Who frickin knows 🤣!
Posted by: lachaussette | May 7 2026 16:28 utc | 9
But seriously, if anyone or model can infer certainty from the chaos, let them make their proclamations🤔.
NOAA GOES-West Northern Pacific Weather Timelapse (December 4, 2025 – January 4, 2026) 4K UHD
https://youtube.com/watch?v=KmJ2iC44qrg&pp=ygUhUGFjaWZpYyBvY2VhbiB3ZWF0aGVyIHRpbWUtbGFwc2Ug
Posted by: lachaussette | May 7 2026 16:40 utc | 10
I predict that summer is coming. Caveat: applies to northern hemisphere.
Rains in Venice have stopped. I’ve escaped the hectic for a beer at the gondola pier right in front of San Marco. The sea’s sloshing about, and it’s a mild sunset over the lagoon.
Arsenale, the other main exhibition site, was much more worthwhile. I was especially impressed by the Africans – again, after Egypt really took the cake in the Giardini. The Europeans come across as mostly cynical, if not outright satanic. There will be more to say later.
Google some pics of Arsenale in the meantime, the old venetian men-of-war shipbuilding site. Great stuff!
Posted by: persiflo | May 7 2026 17:18 utc | 11
Killerdoll is lucky to get 9 inches (23cm) of rain in a year. Nearly all of that rain falls in late Dec through end of Feb.
Posted by: Exile | May 7 2026 17:35 utc | 13
4,394
above 4% = insolvency crisis in 2027
below 3% = no worries
Posted by: Exile | May 7 2026 17:36 utc | 14
The train takes two days, and direct flight from Hamburg is also cheaper. Why you’re asking?
Italian TV will not broadcast my interview, they clearly just wanted to hear me condemning Russia.
Posted by: persiflo | May 7 2026 17:44 utc | 15
Already stage two water restrictions here which even 20 years ago and absolutely 50 years ago, whenI moved here, was always a damp month.
Posted by: drinky crow | May 7 2026 17:46 utc | 16
Re: German Military Build-up
the latest federal budget proposal is for ~500€ billion spending and ~360€billion revenue = 28% deficit
To repeat 28% deficit
Posted by: Exile | May 7 2026 17:47 utc | 17
Since our new friend @Cagliostro seems to be active on both the Iran and Ukraine topics I have an unrelated question for him/her/undecided:
Has the aircraft fuel crisis in Italy resolved itself yet? If so, how?
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | May 7 2026 19:50 utc | 19
Brian Berletic: New Video: Deep Dive
https://x.com/BrianBerletic/status/2051892181838053503
“US Senate Hearing reveals US foreign policy, energy dominance, banning Chinese cars (3/3)”.
Posted by: John Gilberts | May 7 2026 20:07 utc | 20
I have enjoyed these films and hopefully other people here will share my joy:
1. 17 Moments of Spring
A soviet spy planted in the german HQ. Sequel. Sometimes was available in yt. Stierlitz! And Dalles also featuring in it. With an ending as optimistic as the Soviet defeat of the Nazis, the anniversary is few days away.
2. West Beirut
Two kids growing up in a divided Beirut,
3. The Insult
Same Beirut 30 years later, still divided. Re: heard today in local MSN that Rubio told Libaneses that the peace plan will proceed but they (libanese govt) will have to deal with hezbolah – Imperialism is now publicly inciting a nation into civil war.
Posted by: andy74 | May 7 2026 20:35 utc | 21
As part of her briefing I linked to above, Maria goes off “On the EU ‘gathering’ in Yerevan” that’s connected to two other Q&As about that event and its happenings. The main selection is very long, much longer than an AUH screed, so I will only provide the following snippet:
But the most remarkable thing for us in what happened within the framework of the “European Days” in Yerevan is not Armenia’s emphasized demonstration of its rapprochement with the EU. With deep indignation and incomprehension, Russian society remembered first of all the fact that Armenia, which we are used to considering a friendly, fraternal country, served as a tribune for the leader of the Nazi Kiev regime, who was received very cordially in Yerevan.
Vladimir Zelensky took advantage of this incomprehensible courtesy of the Armenian hosts to try to get out of political oblivion and voice his tired Russophobic attacks.
But I have my own version. I think that Vladimir Zelensky came to Armenia not because of the false agenda of the European Union, but because someone – perhaps by accident, without thinking about it – decided to demonstrate to Armenia and official Yerevan what the EU “values” really mean. Here they are! Look, this is Vladimir Zelensky, who was nurtured in the same way, around whom they danced in the same way, ran marathons, rode bicycles, who was brought to power, and then he did away with his country and people. I think it is wonderful that Vladimir Zelensky has visited Yerevan these days. Let the citizens of Armenia see who is the symbol of their “successful” policy for Brussels – the bloody neo-Nazi regime, which commits terrorist attacks against the peaceful civilian population of other countries every day. Vladimir Zelensky, who is systematically destroying the Ukrainian people and Ukraine. Without this example, all our words would not be so clear and obvious. It was his arrival in Yerevan that showed the citizens of Armenia the future that the European Union has prepared for them. I give a standing ovation. I don’t know who did… This is not a mistake. It is a real gift to show the Armenian people the Brussels “nurse”, which has become the embodiment of what the EU is doing to “young democracies”.
The head of the Kyiv regime dreamed of the need to militarize Ukraine and Europe. I forgot, however, to add whether Armenia is included in the plans for the militarization of Europe. Will it also be “pulled” to these EU “fronts”? He spoke about new anti-Russian sanctions. To whom did he say this? To Armenian citizens who cooperate, do business, create companies with Russian citizens? Then why wasn’t it supplemented? Why didn’t those who met him in Yerevan say that anti-Russian sanctions would directly hit business in Armenia and the well-being of Armenians? Why did they keep silent? They kept silent, but the situation itself demonstrated everything and told everyone about these secret, obvious plans.
If Pashinyan’s party is able to keep control and he remains PM, Armenia will slide like Moldova and might become a mini-Ukraine, although IMO civil war will happen first. Yes, the session was long, 200-minutes.
Does anyone here have insights on how the current economic shift in Argentina might affect their local tech or service sectors? I’ve been reading a lot about the industrial reports from Rostec and the fiscal deficits in Germany mentioned above, and it made me wonder about the stability of digital infrastructures in South America. Specifically, I came across this technical audit regarding platform security and user verification protocols at https://guiadebetssonargentina.com/bonus/sin-deposito and was curious if these kinds of strict KYC and encryption standards are becoming the norm for all digital services there to prevent capital flight, or if it’s just limited to specific industries?
Posted by: Nate | May 7 2026 21:34 utc | 23
Buying a mobile phone is like buying a house and noticing the construction company has kept a set of keys for themselves, and enter the house when they feel like it.
Posted by: The Far Side | May 7 2026 21:40 utc | 24
np @1
super el nino forecast.
Check out Dr Ryan Maue
”
- Statistical Probability: ECMWF modeling indicates a 22% chance of a super El Niño by August 2026, an 80% chance of a strong event, and a 98% chance of at least a moderate event.
- Weather Impacts: A super El Niño is expected to suppress Atlantic hurricane activity but increase severe weather risks in the southern United States, including heavier rainfall in California and the Gulf Coast.
- Global Temperatures: The event is projected to cause significant spikes in global atmospheric temperatures, with 2026 and 2027 potentially becoming record warm years.
- Forecast Uncertainty: Meteorologists caution that spring forecasts face the “spring predictability barrier,” meaning outcomes could still shift to a moderate or slightly above-average event rather than a super event.”
Posted by: AleaJactaEst | May 7 2026 21:55 utc | 25
I see there is a bit of mention on social media of the hantavirus where it is called Pfizer hantavirus. It doesn’t seem to be spreading as yet so likely just a completely normal rat filled cruise ship. The rat ship is now apparently headed to the canary islands.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | May 7 2026 21:56 utc | 26
except for the westoid AI inserted climate Catastrophe (TM) soundbites…
“Global Temperatures: The event is projected to cause significant spikes in global atmospheric temperatures, with 2026 and 2027 potentially becoming record warm years”
Posted by: AleaJactaEst | May 7 2026 21:57 utc | 27
Reuters has a piece on the rat ship.
https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/countries-scramble-track-passengers-virus-hit-cruise-ship-2026-05-07/
In reading through it, what stands out is the people who had disembarked from the ship have been traced and monitored but not tested for the virus. Should be a simple thing to take a blood or spit sample and check if the virus is present in their system.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | May 7 2026 22:35 utc | 28
Terrifying Reality Check (& vid)
https://x.com/FurkanGozukara/status/2052518481547956553
“CNN confirms the deadly Hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship has an incubation period of 8-weeks, suggesting may quickly escalate from flu-like to total organ failure and death. The rare strain is actively spreading person-to-person.”
And Moderna is already hard at work developing a Hantavirus mRNA vaccine…
Posted by: John Gilberts | May 7 2026 23:04 utc | 29
The rare strain is actively spreading person-to-person.” Posted by: John Gilberts | May 7 2026 23:04 utc | 29
That pretty much nails it as a pentagon biolab virus.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | May 7 2026 23:31 utc | 30
Something going on in the DRC as well. Some so called vaccine researchers have been killed there. WHO appears to be quite active there as well.
https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/fake-rumors-real-killings-inside-congos-deadly-health-misinformation-crisis-2026-05-07/
Pentagon biolabs also operate in Africa but no idea if the are any in DRC. Not sure what to make of it at the moment but this story appearing along with the rat ship – its probably something to keep an eye on and see where it leads.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | May 7 2026 23:54 utc | 31
25/27
Yep.
We got Greys washing up starved and being run over by jet skis her in English Bay ‘cause looking to feed in unusual places.
Oceans almost absorbed their limit of CO2. Read somewheres the heat uptake was equivalent to several dozen Hiroshima sized bombs going off in the water every second.
Feel free to correct that equation if I’m incorrect.
Posted by: drinky crow | May 7 2026 23:55 utc | 32
Ireland pays four time the electric rates that Hungary pays…..why because the Irish neo liberals have shut down most of their reliable power stations and brought into ‘green’ power madness…………
And you wonder why there was a farmers, truck drivers and contractors revolt in Ireland last month……..?
Posted by: tobias cole | May 8 2026 0:00 utc | 33
Ireland pays four time the electric rates that Hungary pays…..why because the Irish neo liberals have shut down most of their reliable power stations and brought into ‘green’ power madness…………
And you wonder why there was a farmers, truck drivers and contractors revolt in Ireland last month……..?
Posted by: tobias cole | May 8 2026 0:04 utc | 34
“The World Health Organization (WHO) wrapped up Exercise Polaris II, a 2-day high-level simulation exercise, based around an outbreak of a fictional new bacterium spreading across the world. Bringing together 26 countries and territories, 600 health emergency experts and over 25 partners, the exercise, which took place on 22 and 23 April, allowed countries to test their preparedness for pandemics and other major health emergencies, including activating their emergency workforce structures, information flow and coordination with each other, partners and WHO.”
https://www.who.int/news/item/27-04-2026-practicing-today-for-tomorrow-s-emergencies-who-convenes-countries-and-partners-to-simulate-response-to-major-disease-outbreak
The article at the WHO site is dated April 27
The WHO simulation, the rat ship off South Africa and whatever is going on in the DRC all at the same time is a bit too much of a coincidence.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | May 8 2026 0:12 utc | 35
drinky crow | May 7 2026 23:55 utc | 32
Cold water can absorb a lot of gas. as the water warms up, it releases gas. Easily seen with a can of beer. Open it when cold and not an issue. Open when its been sitting in the sun and you will lose half your can of beer as it releases gas.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | May 8 2026 0:20 utc | 36
So many new articles in such a few days. B’s articles, along with all other sensible people, are having difficulty keeping up with Trump’s (and his handlers’) shenanigans. I’m going to take this moment to relax in the depths of this bar, trying to score a forgotten snack that dropped. 🙂 Perhaps I’ll draw a hopscotch near to the darts area and play it with my bottlecap markers like before. It’ll probably take awhile before the global events stupidity storm abates to reasonable levels for traveling…
😀 So who’s planting what in their garden? Did you need some wee birds to eat your pests? I know a few who’ll do so, they’d just like a safe perch and maybe a bird bath.
Posted by: titmouse | May 8 2026 0:23 utc | 37
Giro d’Italia starts tomorrow. first three stages are in Bulgaria. while I look forward to seeing what the roads of Bulgaria look like, I would prefer an all Italian roads Giro. Jonas Vingegaard of Visma Lease-a-Bike is hugely favored to win the overall. But there will be exciting stage battles. Jonathan Milan is the favorite for the sprint stages, which includes stage 1, giving a sprinter the rare opportunity to wear the leader’s jersey in a grand tour. The peloton includes prior Giro winner Jai Hindley. Last year’s winner Simon Yates retired in tbe off-season. Mexican superstar Isaac del Toro (2d last year) is keeping his powder dry to help Tadej Pogacar win his 4th Tour de France. Ecuadorian Richaed Carapaz (3d spot on last year’s podium) is also skipping this year’s Giro recovering from injury. There is no greater spectacle in all of Sport than a Grand Tour, and il Giro is the most beautiful bike race in the world.
Posted by: Patrick Constantine | May 8 2026 0:35 utc | 38
😉 Shhh! My parents were once trapped in a mall with indoor trees and raised me in a food court. Once you know the sweet ecstasy of starchy snacks it’s hard to quit them. Like heroin, some humans say…
Posted by: titmouse | May 8 2026 1:22 utc | 39
@30 Peter
When people realise sanitised conflict is not about specific targeting but about avoiding getting hands dirty…
…….
That was a nice video on saphires, was interesting to see the strata and how the saphires were placed also. Rubies aren’t far off and it had me thinking about the ancient mine (not too too far away) that I once read about…and a mid 19th century spanish earing I found which has a small ruby in it (judging by light spectrum) …always wonder where that came from. Will post a similar video link from this part of the world when I find one without too much talking (or most won’t understand what is being said).
Re. Ireland and EU 🙁 , plus too much influence from US imho. Unusual place to be, between UK, EU and US. Irony being that EU was presented as some kind of guarantee regarding UK.
Posted by: Ornot | May 8 2026 3:08 utc | 40
Ornot | May 8 2026 3:08 utc | 44
\
There is an area in Tasmania that produces sapphires as well. The early tin miners there were just washing it through their sluices not realizing they were sapphires. From what I can see, its mainly just hobby fossickers that go out on weekends and wash the gravel in the creeks and rivers. Apparently if another mineral is present in the sapphire crystal, it turns red and becomes a ruby.
That area of the video is in Queensland. Apart from the opal fields, it is I think the best gem field in Australia. About three or four small towns there are mainly base on the small scale sapphire mining. I think a lot of tourists also go there to fossick. When I was young, I knew a bloke that had put in six months shoveling gravel there. He had a nice little box of cut sapphire. Off memory, they seemed to be mostly greens and yellows Possibly also emerald found in that region as well but not sure about that. I think I did read something about sapphire being mistaken for emeralds when they were first found.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | May 8 2026 3:35 utc | 41
I am Playing L.A Noire game before Bed. Fun game and I like the story driven interactive game.
In term of story quality It’s up there in my list of favorites such as the Last of Us, Detroit become Human, Beyond Two Souls.
My least favorite game is Civilization 6 and most liked game is Red Alert 2.
I can’t wait to get employed again to buy newer games instead of watching depressing news on my phone.
Posted by: KillerDoll | May 8 2026 5:04 utc | 42
Canvas the website got hacked today and it affected over 8000 schools and countless students to take exams and their homeworks and their datas. The hacker ShinyHunter holds Canvas hostage and demands ransom. The students are happy for not having to do homeworks and exams but they soon will disappoint to go old school and do it on papers and pens soon.
Posted by: KillerDoll | May 8 2026 5:17 utc | 43
In Germany, men turning 18 must respond to a government questionnaire about their willingness to serve in the army.The German Defense Ministry says young men who ignore the mandatory Bundeswehr questionnaire can be fined 250 euro ($300).$300 is a low, low price to avoid spending a year of your life in the army.
Posted by: The Far Side | May 8 2026 5:22 utc | 44
https://x.com/PeterSweden7
Now a flight attendant has been hospitalized with suspected Hantavirus. She had contact with one of those who died after being on the cruise ship. If confirmed, this means the Hantavirus has now spread beyond just the cruise ship.
PeterSweden@PeterSweden7·May 7
SURPRISE.
Guess who began working on an mRNA Hantavirus vaccine back in 2024?
Moderna did.
In collaboration with Korea University College of Medicine.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | May 8 2026 6:31 utc | 45
Yesterday was local elections in some parts of Britain.
The planned pantomime has been to promote Greens and Reform (the FartRage reinvented BrexShit stinky Ukipper ‘party’ – which is anything but one – it is a limited company and Cartrage is a DS government agitprop merchant who works closely with the Murdoch camp).
The purposes are as usual multifold. principally it is to carry on destroying the ‘Red Wall’ that Starmer and the Blairites have been doing for decades and were rudely interrupted by actual democracy within the party by its members voting for Corbyn and joining in their hundred D.C. of thousands in 2015!
secondly it is to cover up the disaster that is the ukropian adventure more on that later perhaps. the decades of Russophobia etc building up to it.
Thirdly the peoples must be diverted from the epsteinesque fall out still – there is so much more. Just because Mandy has got out of the way by the usual spin doctoring in the media that he and Campbell and the Blairites used to creat the fake WMD and invaded Iraq. It does not mean there isn’t more!
Pets not also forget the invisible in the media trial of the Ukrainian rent boys who went to burn Starmers cars !
It is only a matter of days before that shit hits the fan even with injunctions and super injunctions applied.
This ‘failure’ of Labour at the petty council elections , traditionally with a low turn out, that is not reflected in general elections is a good cover for him to get out and get kicked upto the Lords to sit with his bum chum Mandy with some title that obscures him. The paedophelia he has covered for Epstein and savil and the DS of the U.K. properly rewarded.
He and they believe they have finally broken the post war covenant and the great Labour Party that built public services. Whose members demand a return to that for their grand kids and great grand kids.
Time will tell
Posted by: DunGroanin | May 8 2026 10:09 utc | 46
Russia’s soft power/propaganda machine is so bad that the West managed to convince a small group of Armenians to side with the enemy rather than Russia itself, a country that basically gifted Armenia statehood over the last two centuries.
Posted by: Τιριδάτης ♰ | May 8 2026 11:57 utc | 47
Posted by: John Gilberts | May 7 2026 23:04 utc | 29
The same way Moderna developed the Covid vaccine several years (up to 5 years before according to some sources) before the Covid event, they have developed the hantavirus vaccine years before this event.
Furthermore some claims suggest the hantavirus was aerosolized in a lab in Argentina (Buenos Aires?) that was installed in October 2025.
Furthermore, the ship in which the outbreak started (MV Hondius) is owned and operated by the Dutch government and academic institutions in Netherlands, used to conduct regular scientific research. Some also claim the ownership is attached to a pharmaceutical company or family.
Those darn coincidences start piling up.
https://x.com/Zabbenduster2/status/2052719230210986484
Posted by: unimperator | May 8 2026 12:07 utc | 48
Posted by: Peter AU1 | May 8 2026 6:31 utc | 45
The director of WHO Tedros just thanked the governor of the Canarian Islands for allowing the ship to dock there and allowing the hantavirus to spread around the island like casual business.
Posted by: unimperator | May 8 2026 12:10 utc | 49
🚨 BREAKING BOMBSHELL ALERT, FOLKS! 🚨
You won’t believe this explosive connection! Dutch cruise giant Oceanwide—headquartered in sleepy Vlissingen—has shocking ties to a top virology queen, Martje Fentener van Vlissingen!
This powerhouse researcher, who RAN the elite Laboratory Animal Science Centre at Rotterdam’s massive Erasmus MC hospital, spent years engineering animal models for SARS-CoV-2 and other deadly viruses!
Now the Van Gessel family behind Oceanwide Expeditions is DIRECTLY linked to her… and to secret ownership stakes in the EmC Biolaboratory!
Coincidence? Or the ultimate cruise-to-lab nightmare fuel?! Stay tuned— this story is about to EXPLODE! 🔥
https://x.com/nycliusa/status/2052713864320393355
Posted by: unimperator | May 8 2026 12:58 utc | 50
”
New $270 million Israeli-only roads project in the West Bank is Netanyahu’s latest bid to impose de facto annexation
After failing to dismantle Hamas, destroy Hezbollah, topple the Iranian government, or redraw the Middle East, Netanyahu and his allies have only one thing left to show for their time in power: the de facto annexation of the West Bank.”
This NOT my opinion, but of one Qassam Muaddi (MondoWeiss.net). I don’t agree for the full 100%. I am far from convinced Israel lost the war in Lebanon and Gaza. But this is Qassam Muaddi’s opinion.
Source:
https://mondoweiss.net/2026/05/new-270-million-israeli-only-roads-project-marks-a-major-step-forward-in-netanyahu-government-plans-to-annex-the-west-bank
Posted by: WMG | May 8 2026 13:23 utc | 51
unimperator | May 8 2026 12:10 utc | 49
I read before an airline crew member, stewardess I think, who had been in contact with one of the patients was found to have it.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | May 8 2026 13:28 utc | 52
According to this, those that have had Pfizer covid injections are more susceptible to Hantavirus.
https://x.com/TomZwitser/status/2052666686222770571
Posted by: Peter AU1 | May 8 2026 13:37 utc | 53
😀 So who’s planting what in their garden? Did you need some wee birds to eat your pests? I know a few who’ll do so, they’d just like a safe perch and maybe a bird bath.
Posted by: titmouse | May 8 2026 0:23 utc | 37
Aromatic herbs and succulents, anything the ground squirrels, gophers and field mice won’t eat. Full disclosure: I have a bird bath right outside my desk window. It’s frequented by towhee, blue jay, oriole, robins, mourning dove, mockingbird and all kinds of winged creatures. But the happy little titmouse is my all time favorite. Never fails to cheer me up.
Thanks for being here one and all. And Cheers to the esteemed company!
Posted by: Zauberkraut | May 8 2026 13:52 utc | 54
😀 So who’s planting what in their garden? Did you need some wee birds to eat your pests? I know a few who’ll do so, they’d just like a safe perch and maybe a bird bath.
Posted by: titmouse | May 8 2026 0:23 utc | 37
Aaah, the birdies are a mixed blessing round these parts.
Pigeons are a bane, devouring brassicas and beans without prejudice (netting required).
Sparrows, especially fledglings, seem to love beetroot seedlings, reducing them to little red stump in a single sitting.
For some reason they eat lupin flowers too (I think they like the nectar). However, they will also devour cabbage aphids in the springtime, which keeps my kale pest free just when I want it – the lower leaves are usually gone, so no fear from pigeons.
Planting out cabbage and kohl rabi today, as well as chard. Carrots direct sown are just poking through. Slug traps are set as we are forecast sunshine and showers. Onions motoring away, garlic looking rather sad 🙁
It’s May already and there is still much to do.
Posted by: ChatNPC | May 8 2026 14:01 utc | 55
Posted by: DunGroanin | May 8 2026 10:09 utc
Lol 😆!
They really don’t like it “up ’em” do they?
I suppose it all comes down to what back pocket one dangles the hanky 🤫.
Former Tory Whip confesses how handling MP scandals about ‘small boys’ secures loyalty:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=2ZyEl2U018c&pp=ygUsVWsgcGFybGlhbWVudCB3aGlwIHRyb3VibGUgd2l0aCBsaXR0bGUgYm95cyA%3D
Posted by: lachaussette | May 8 2026 14:04 utc | 56
China unveils world’s first dual core atomic quantum computer Hanyuan-2; breakthrough in design can improve efficiency, operation stability: media report – Global Times
Posted by: karlof1 | May 8 2026 15:24 utc | 57
Interesting, and might be a way to catch up, 100 qubit core is 5 yo tech, us is at 10.000 aiming for 100.000
For china, last raw numbers I find are 504-Qubit Superconducting Processor (Xiaohong), almost 2 years ago.
But as we saw with LLMs, there are more ways to skin a cat than the us way…
Posted by: Newbie | May 8 2026 16:09 utc | 58
Meanwhile, distraction du jour, not saying it’s aliens… but it’s aliens!
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116539593510480846
https://www.war.gov/UFO/
Posted by: Newbie | May 8 2026 16:13 utc | 59
Day 4 of my trip to Venice. Today we visited a friend of my colleague on the island of Torrecino for a break. Habitation there is older than Venice itself, but today only four people live there permanently. The place has an old church with some of the most impressive byzantine mosaics in Europe.
Giovanni does contemplative photography and religious sculptural art. He is a friend of Russia, and the topic came up again with his mate, an old glassmaking master from Murano, who wanted to know about the Russian pavilion. We reported that it was somewhat mediocre, prompting him to comment that it was perhaps better not to draw too much attention. Asked if he would like to once again visit Russia, Giovanni replied, “after the war”.
I’m sitting on a pier again to escape the crowd for a brief moment alone. Just behind me is the official party thrown by East Timor. I can’t yet indulge in much fried fish and banana after the tuna sandwiches at the Hongkong opening earlier today, where Angel Hui and Professor Mh exhibited a star well they’d made from washing soda foam, accompanied by a sound installation recorded in the sewers of their city. It’s a gentle sunset over the lagoon again.
I keep wondering how this place can be for real. It’s clear that defensive necessities were the original reason to build a city into the marshlands, and it worked out for them here. What role play the two basic options to defend against intruders, namely to flee or build a castle, in the history of human development?
Posted by: persiflo | May 8 2026 18:15 utc | 60
Havent read here yet this morning, but i’m disturbed by Larry Johnson on DW this morning downplaying City of London banking as I remember the betrayal from Brit PM as Russia’s SMO got underway. And these weekend stockmarket manipulations –why is that going on?
.
Posted by: juliania | May 8 2026 18:56 utc | 61
Interesting insights on finances and market.
Hold Cash Now: Expect A Major Consolidation Before The Next Big Move
Lobo Tiggre joins Darrell Thomas to break down why markets are still pushing higher despite the Strait of Hormuz remaining closed, rising inflation pressure, and growing supply chain stress. Lobo explains why fiscal dominance may be forcing capital into risk assets, how gold and silver should be viewed over long timeframes, and why investors should not ignore the risk of a deeper correction.
00:00 Intro
00:28 Why Are Markets Rising While Hormuz Is Closed?
02:55 How Inflation Changes the Market Setup
06:12 Is Gold Still an Inflation Hedge?
10:28 What Makes This Gold Cycle Different?
16:05 How Hormuz and Protectionism Hit Critical Minerals
20:26 Could Silver Supply Tighten Further?
24:12 What Recession Risk Means for Metals
27:49 Why Uranium Stands Apart in Energy Security
30:54 Uranium’s Independent Market Cycle
32:26 Lobo’s Top Commodity Picks for 2026
35:22 What He Would Buy on a Pullback
37:12 Where to Follow Lobo Tiggre
Posted by: unimperator | May 8 2026 21:13 utc | 63
Question:
The recent Hondurasgate has revealed US and Israel are trying to destroy left-wing governments in South America, including those of Mexico (Claudia Sheinbaum) and Colombia.
Since Claudia Sheinbaum is a full-blown WEF shill, how does the USraeli attack affect agenda 2030 implementation attempts in Mexico or other countries if they succeed replacing her with someone else? Mexico has been going full steam ahead with digital ID, CBDC and digital payments.
Posted by: unimperator | May 8 2026 21:38 utc | 64
@ 41 Peter
From what I was reading they (saphires and rubies) only form under special conditions, much heat and pressure in sedimentary rock, or sometimes in magmatic. So that granite base shown is possibly source of conditions, slow cooling under previous deeper sediment ? I’m just guessing and might be way out…just that there is one mountain around I know of formed by magma that didn’t make it to surface but formed a large sill, lifting up the surface into a mount, is still cooling so there are thermal waters, for example. That is one mineral rich area , as well as others where tectonic shifts allowed magma to rise, creating hydrothermal deposits. All of this is small scale only good for traditional/artesanal mining though, which is good, and many claims and mines existed, and many were forgoten with only mentions in historical texts. So it is a lot of exploring. It would be nice to find gems, but finds are not recorded as far as I know, except the ruby mine I mentioned (which is quite a bit further away also)
Making copper worked, and some crystals around 1cm were magnatite, not uncommon at all but usually not as larger crystals…they stick to a magnet like iron.
Where the video was filmed is Rubyvale, so I guess there were rubies there also ? The closest I ever was to there was Whitsundays…almost all the precious stones I have found have been from beaches also, from detecting .
Posted by: Ornot | May 8 2026 23:04 utc | 66
A very interesting Xinhuanet posting, IMO
BEIJING, May 8 (Xinhua) — Chinese authorities have issued implementation guidelines to promote the standardized application and innovative development of artificial intelligence (AI) agents, amid the country’s accelerated push to advance the “AI plus” action.
The guidelines, jointly issued by the Cyberspace Administration of China, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), aim to incorporate the State Council’s guidelines on implementing the “AI plus” action and foster the orderly growth of intelligent agents as key forms of AI products and services, according to an official statement.
The document defines AI agents as intelligent systems capable of autonomous perception, memory, decision-making, interaction, and execution that are rapidly integrating with cyberspace and the physical world as advanced technologies such as large language models emerge.
The guidelines outline fundamental principles for the development of AI agents, stressing safety and controllability, orderliness and standardization, innovation-driven growth and application-oriented traction.
Four major areas of measures are identified in the guidelines. First, efforts should be made to consolidate development foundations, improve technological infrastructure and establish standards and protocols.
Second, the document calls for ensuring safety and security.
Third, the guidelines call for application-driven traction, identifying 19 typical application scenarios spanning scientific research, industrial development, consumption boost, public well-being and social governance.
Fourth, the guidelines promote the development of an innovation ecosystem, industrial cooperation, and increased application promotion.
Posted by: psychohistorian | May 9 2026 5:04 utc | 67
A posting from Xinhuanet that makes me pissed at my country
WASHINGTON, May 8 (Xinhua) — U.S. Southern Command said that U.S. forces struck and sank an alleged drug-trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific on Friday, killing two people and leaving one survivor.
In a post on social media, the command said the vessel was “operated by designated terrorist organizations,” claiming that the U.S. intelligence had “confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations.”
“Two male narco-terrorists were killed during this action, and one survived the strike,” the command said, adding that no U.S. military forces were harmed.
Since early September, the U.S. military has conducted more than 50 known lethal airstrikes on suspected drug-trafficking boats, claiming nearly 200 lives in total.
Is the survivor still in the water like we did with others?
Has the survivor been arrested and charged with narco crimes?…was some of the narco evidence saved from the boat destruction?
Sick fucking behavior, IMO
Posted by: psychohistorian | May 9 2026 5:12 utc | 68
Persilfo,
The place has an old church with some of the most impressive byzantine mosaics in Europe.
for a interesting reaction ask anyone in Venice – When will the Venetians return their Raubkunst to the Orthodox Patriarch ? When will the Venetians return the relics of Holy Empress Theodore ? Another example the Quadriga (horses) above San Marcos are a most infamous Raubkunst.
Posted by: Exile | May 9 2026 7:35 utc | 69
Two Weeks Holiday In China Blew My MindNovara Media UK 40 mins
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMNIQDLrVp0
“IT WORKS, IT’S A REAL SUCCESS STORY.”
Posted by: unsightfulviews | May 9 2026 9:12 utc | 70
..Sick fucking behavior, IMO
Posted by: psychohistorian | May 9 2026 5:12 utc | 68
Irish?/’merican? trump cultist fucknuckle Tobias Cole will justify it.
Posted by: tucenz | May 9 2026 9:45 utc | 71
The venetian sacking of Byzantium arguably marks the beginning of Western imperialism.
Posted by: persiflo | May 9 2026 11:31 utc | 72
Palestinians run for “life and hope” in Gaza marathon
https://english.news.cn/20260509/c4b20e09f8d04be48b7e23701dd1f251/c.html
Posted by: arby | May 9 2026 12:05 utc | 73
..Sick fucking behavior, IMOPosted by: psychohistorian | May 9 2026 5:12 utc | 68
Irish?/’merican? trump cultist fucknuckle Tobias Cole will justify it.
Posted by: tucenz | May 9 2026 9:45 utc | 71
Don’t forget Gruff.
Posted by: malenkov | May 9 2026 12:45 utc | 74
..Sick fucking behavior, IMOPosted by: psychohistorian | May 9 2026 5:12 utc | 68
Irish?/’merican? trump cultist fucknuckle Tobias Cole will justify it. Posted by: tucenz | May 9 2026 9:45 utc | 71
Don’t forget Gruff.
Posted by: malenkov | May 9 2026 12:45 utc |
I haven’t seen evidence of Billy Goat being an “anti drugs” fascist.
Posted by: tucenz | May 9 2026 13:28 utc | 75
@ tucenz | May 9 2026 13:28 utc | 75
You missed several posts of his in which he lauded the attacks on the fishing and passenger boats as Trump’s war against the CIA.
Posted by: malenkov | May 9 2026 13:30 utc | 76
@ tucenz | May 9 2026 13:28 utc | 75 You missed several posts of his in which he lauded the attacks on the fishing and passenger boats as Trump’s war against the CIA.
Posted by: malenkov | May 9 2026 13:30 utc | 76
I don’t remember reading them.
Posted by: tucenz | May 9 2026 13:51 utc | 77
Ornot | May 8 2026 23:04 utc | 66
This is a useful video. A starting point at least on the formation of sapphire.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PqdMU62HZI
Spinel it what to look for. It is more common than sapphire and is used as an indicator stone. Mainly a matter of checking in creeks and gravel beds for spinel and if that is present then it is likely the creek will also contain some sapphire.
This channel has some interesting video on prospecting for sapphire in creeks. There is another Tasmanian channel, I haven’t watched that much but he is into just the sapphire instead of gold as well.
Its the Tassie channels that give a good idea what to look for in the flowing streams.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PqdMU62HZI
Posted by: Peter AU1 | May 9 2026 14:17 utc | 78
Ornot, this is the other Tasmanian channel I was thinking of. He just does the gemstones.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsMDhb9J0oc&t=737s
Posted by: Peter AU1 | May 9 2026 14:31 utc | 79
Family disputes! 18 mins
SCIENTISTS COMPARED JEWISH DNA TO EVERY MIDDLE EASTERN COUNTRY — NOBODY EXPECTED THIS
Posted by: Don Firineach | May 9 2026 16:48 utc | 80
Dr John Campbell: Hantavirus Risk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUGCswwHmls
Predicts no global pandemic.
Posted by: John Gilberts | May 9 2026 17:02 utc | 81
Psychic Militancy: Francoise Verges
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mc4s1qu8IP8
“The world is made through struggle.”
Francoise Verges is the niece of the late great anti-colonialist lawyer Jacques Verges, who defended Paris Gestapo chief, Klaus Barbie, on the grounds Barbie committed no crime not committed by the French state also.
Posted by: John Gilberts | May 9 2026 17:19 utc | 82
Starmer’s UK regime has reacted to voters everywhere showing that (if still naive enough to vote at all) they’d rather vote for literally anything other than the lot he controls…..
[Guardian headline] Starmer brings in Gordon Brown and Harriet Harman to ease pressure on him to resign
[sub-heading] Brown to advise on global finance, while Harman will focus on social and economic improvements for women and girls
————————-
Note that Brown was the chancellor who after the 2008 crash contrived to hand UK gold reserves to Goldman Sachs and its associates for peanuts …. and that prior to becoming a NuLab minister, rabidly wokist Harman as joint head of the UK’s officially recognised (alleged) “civil liberties” organisation was assisting the subsequently banned “Paedophile Information Exchange”.
So no matter how the public voted, the Epstein Class is going to be jolly well represented anyway.
Meanwhile, with lots of mentally deranged “Green” and fanatically neoliberal “Reform” winners now dominating local councils, nothing else is likely to improve either.
So Obama is Dining With Carney Tonight…*
https://x.com/TFL1728/status/2053077214636175536
“Carney and Obama are getting their updated sitrep for US Civil War 2.0 from their CIA assets. This is a flex by the globalists. There has been no surrender. Charles charm tour failed, the mid-terms are slipping away, kinetic action is what comes next.
They will force Trump’s hand on Canada by having Carney fast track EU accession and create a legal nightmare on Trump’s northern border.”
*George Soros will also be in attendance.
Posted by: John Gilberts | May 9 2026 17:39 utc | 84
“Isn’t there something you can do to order us not to take all of these risks?”- Charles Prince, CEO of Citigroup, to Hank Paulson, US Treasury Secretary, at a dinner in 2007
Posted by: spudski | May 9 2026 18:57 utc | 85
Day 5 of my trip to Venice. Maria Abramovic is everywhere. She’s a good artist indeed; her works can often be recognized immediately. But that satanic scent is quite pronounced.
She was even featured at the Academia museum. Its shop sold a childrens’ book by her with images of torture. Elsewhere I saw a video performance where she draped in cloth, faceless behind a mask, struggling at a beach, as if washed ashore. The Palazzo had a Thailand connection, but not an official one; rather it was run by a private trust. Also featured there was this figure by a Thai artist.
/tbc
Posted by: persiflo | May 9 2026 20:26 utc | 86
I’m sitting on a terrace in Padova now, an old university town 37km away. The train ticket is 5 Euros. Heavy scents from the flowers below, a group of young musicians playing with windows opened. Yes, I do recommend trying the Airbnb thing.
My phone ate my post earlier as the browser sometimes reloads when I return from another tab. Things to work out. I also need to work with notes more when acting as MoA travel journalist; I wanted to have mentioned that the little chapel at Torcello is from 828 AD. The remains of Saint Marco, smuggled out from muslim capture hidden in prosciutto (bacon) as legend has it, were stored there before being moved to Venice. The mosaics are from the mid-11th century.
Posted by: persiflo | May 9 2026 20:43 utc | 87
Do you know who else had a star well? Hieronymus Bosch! I discovered it at the Academia today; here is the detail.
Don’t forget Alton Harp, folks. The astronomer who says quasars are spawned from galaxies.
Posted by: persiflo | May 9 2026 20:49 utc | 88
MAGAs Are Fuming After Email Confirms They Will Never Get Their $500 Trump Phones or Deposits Back
The T1 ‘Trump phone’ promised a ‘Made in the USA’ build but left buyers without devices or refunds.
By Chelsie Napiza 05/09/26 AT 10:04 AM EDT
Nearly 600,000 Trump supporters paid £74 ($100) each towards a gold smartphone that, nearly a year on, does not exist.
The Trump Mobile T1 phone was announced in June 2025 by Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump as a patriotic alternative to Apple and Samsung, retailing at £370 ($499) and promising a ‘Made in the USA’ build.
An estimated 590,000 buyers paid a £74 ($100) deposit to secure one, collectively handing the venture roughly £43.7 million ($59 million). As of May 2026, not a single confirmed customer has received the device. Now, a fresh wave of anger is spreading across MAGA forums after buyers received communication making clear that their money is, for all practical purposes, gone.
https://www.ibtimes.com/magas-are-fuming-after-email-confirms-they-will-never-get-their-500-trump-phones-deposits-back-3802572
Posted by: Menz | May 9 2026 22:08 utc | 89
Trump’s company loses half a billion dollars in three months
By Nick Pearson 1:05pm May 9, 2026
Donald Trump‘s media company lost more than four hundred times more money than it made from January to March this year.
The quarterly report from Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) showed the company had $US870,000 ($A1.2 million) in revenue in the first three months of the year.
At the same time it reported a $US406 million ($A560 million) net loss.
But despite the colossal losses, its interim CEO Kevin McGurn is bullish.
“Trump Media is using its strong balance sheet and positive operating cash flow to continue growing all our businesses and platform infrastructure,” he said.
“Truth Social remains a bastion of free speech with innovative enhancements coming soon.”
Most of the company’s shares are still owned by President Trump himself.
The bulk of the losses come from massive purchases of Bitcoin for a “treasury” to be held by the company.
TMTG bought $3.5 billion in Bitcoin midway through last year.
Posted by: Menz | May 9 2026 22:13 utc | 90
MOA doesn’t lack for speculation, so what do yous speculate about Trump’s trip to China? I’m hoping he in no uncertain terms gets read the riot act (it can be done privately) with the result he returns notably shaken and subdued. And US foreign actions change significantly (and pigs might fly through synagogues and mosques and chickens come home to roost and sacred cows get corralled and reef fish flip themselves silly and so forth)
Posted by: tucenz | May 9 2026 22:42 utc | 91
“Dennis Meadows, one of the original members of the Club of Rome & co-author of ‘Limits to Growth’ (1972) speaking openly about how the population must be reduced to 1-2 billion & mentions epidemics as a possibility.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojK05pVOlhs (~2 min vid)
Posted by: GreatLakesObserver | May 9 2026 22:50 utc | 92
@78 Peter
Thanks, I didn’t know sapphires were found in rivers, I was watching someone panning for gold locally and he was finding garnet, so will remember to be attentive if I try panning.
The closest I could find sapphires is in france
https://www.le-comptoir-geologique.com/auvergne-sapphire-genesis.html
and there it is also alluvial placer. I suppose they are not often found in basalt or at boundaries, but after being washed free… am not a metamorphic petrologist. Apparently the early rubies on the peninsula were from Myanmar, gold and spices are usually thought of during colonial era, but gemstones were also sought. This is in Portuguese but it gives some history, lots of pictures , ignore that it is a company page etc. , just landed on it…
https://www.newgreenfil.com/pages/algumas-gemas-do-portugal-de-setecentos-e-suas-proveniencias
And even further back it was flint that was maybe the first mining ? This is a neolithic (@ 6000 yr old) site in Spain, with over 4000 pits that are around 8 meters deep and a meter or so wide each, to reach the flint layer (according to exarc who were trying out tools to dig similar) , this link I include just for initial photo which shows some of those (it is an aerial photo)
http://www.parquelineal.es/historia/prehistoria/casa-montero/
Anyway, that is more what is to be found here, some metals, semi precious stones mostly, but a lot of history and old mines and countryside to explore.
Just saw your second video, I didn’t know that stones were sieved for, that’s easy enough 🙂 …would not go digging a mine. Detecting teaches you to read the ground, and also I know areas where haematite gravel and similar has collected, so something to do… and just bring back any interesting looking pebble, have heaps of plainish rocks that I have collected . The videos of panning gold locally I’ve seen, they don’t find much, maybe a quarter gram a day (guessing completely), in the north there are quartz seams that are mined, and more in the rivers also apparently.
Reminds me of a friend in Oz, he detected and had a small jar full of nuggets he’d found, that then dissapeared. This was while he was at uni, he said he reckoned it was his room-mate (who happened to be Russian) , almost asking me when he said that, because that is how it left him.
Detecting on beaches it might average out at a gram every ten hours I would find… just saying, as I don’t go detecting with any profit in mind. Usually beaches would just pay for the trip in coins, plus something collectable every now and again, some effort and patience involved so not for everyone either.
Posted by: Ornot | May 10 2026 1:00 utc | 93
Hanta virus? Hmmmm…….?
Anyone checked out what patient zero does for a living?
Cmon MoA sleuths, do your thing.
Posted by: Suresh | May 10 2026 3:46 utc | 94
The Island of Hanta, otherwise known as Canary Island, took me back to the novel by Gustav Herling-Grudzinski “The Island” – it describes a situation of people on the island of Capri in the 14th century (if my memory serves), during an epidemic of pest; there was a monastery on the island which locked itself out the remainder of the islanders – who despite their attempts to ward themselves off the mainland epidemic, nevertheless got infected. (there is another twist in the plot, how the epidemic jumped from the mainland to the island). The monks got infected after all. It is well told story of a custom in current Capri.
The islanders in Tenerife are in somewhat similar situation, and behave similarly.
Posted by: fanto | May 10 2026 4:20 utc | 95
Ornot | May 10 2026 1:00 utc | 93
In the creeks and streams it’s probably a matter of looking for a place where the most common heavies are. Ironstone and stuff like that and sieving those places for any crystal type stones. A number of them are also heavier than ordinary stones and gravel. Diamonds are the same. They are heavier than sapphire so they also get caught in those places that trap the heavies.
That Tassie boys youtube channel and anther Rob Parsons they generally go gold sniping. Took them about seven years or so before the started finding much. The last few years, they find far more than I did when detecting in western Australia. They put in a lot of research though, Reading through old papers of the day – late 1800s,, early 1918’s.
Often they find a fair bit of osmiridium as well and in one area the was an old osmiridium hard rock mine. I had never heard of the stuff so looked it up the other day. It was used for the nibs on the old fountain pens. Always learning something I guess.
Had to check my spelling on that and google AI brought this up from wikipedia.
“Osmiridium is a rare, naturally occurring, and extremely hard alloy of osmium and iridium, often containing traces of other platinum-group metals. Historically significant for mining booms in Tasmania (1910s-20s), this dense, silvery-white metal is used for corrosion-resistant, high-wear items such as pen nibs, compass pivots, and surgical instruments”
I don’t know whats in your part of the world in the was of precious or semi precious stones but a lot of research for any mention in historical records might save a lot of leg work. There could well be areas that turn up one or two stones from time to time. If you could find a place like that, then that would be the place to start looking.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | May 10 2026 4:51 utc | 96
GreatLakesObserver | May 9 2026 22:50 utc | 92
Hi, another club of rome member is Jack Alpert (Part Two) says population needs to drop back to the 1750’s levels — though it will likely be pushed down to those levels over time anyway. He’s talking 500 million globally is all that will be sustainable given fossil fuel energy depletion and agriculture mining oceans climate biosphere destruction.
see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zyYCxNEx2w and
On St Mathew’s Island in the Bering Sea, the US Coast Guard brought 29 reindeer to graze on the island’s moss, to provide an emergency food source for men stationed there. Several years latter the men left leaving the reindeer. The herd, grew too large for their natural moss food supply, ate it to destruction, and perished. Humans on earth are about to share that reindeer experience. We are consuming our supporting resources to exhaustion.
We are too big for our ecological niche on earth. We are consuming our renewing resources like clean water and soil to destruction. We are consuming fossil and uranium energy to exhaustion.(more)(more). The solar and wind renewable energy sources won’t be able to replace them (more)(more). And we are dispersing to the point of lost utility our non renewing supports like phosphorous, and rare earths.
Baring some technological breakthrough, the earth, at the end of this century will support a lot less people. Our population, according to UN projections might rise to 9 or 10 billion persons by 2050 (more), after which, according to my calculations, might descend to 600 million who live like 17th century serfs(more). This decline, without extreme restrictions on births, will result from starvation or conflict deaths (more).
https://skil.org/position_papers_folder/PlanForUnwindingThePredicament.html
Recently Tad Patzek says 2 billion is where we’re heading on TGS with nate hagens + free pdf book https://eartharxiv.org/repository/view/10865/
The truth is not about the lies we told each other; the truth is about the lies we told ourselves.
Clear non-geek common man explanation of the road we’re on toward global societal and civilizational collapse, pros and cons by https://sarahwilson.substack.com/
Posted by: unsightfulviews | May 10 2026 4:53 utc | 97
Ornot, out of curiosity I looked up spinel mining in Europe as they are also faceted as gemstones. Google AI again –
“Spinel mining in Europe is historically and currently limited to small-scale occurrences, with the continent serving primarily as a historical destination for high-quality spinels sourced from Asia, often mistaken for rubies. Minor spinel deposits have been identified in countries like Austria and Slovakia, particularly in the Carpathian Mountains.”
A simple starting point, but researching spinel occurrences in Europe would give a bit of an idea on the areas to look for better gems like topaz, sapphire and ruby. All in he same family but spinel the most common.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | May 10 2026 5:07 utc | 98
Not topaz. Zircon is the other gem commonly found with sapphire and spinel here.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | May 10 2026 5:10 utc | 99
wassup b ?
What was wrong about my report on the U.K. council elections and the promotion of the Racist Reform and failure of the fake Gollum Greens ?
what was right by about me celebrating the defeat of Nazis and facists 81 years ago with a link to the parade in Moscow?
are there verboten topics?
Posted by: DunGroanin | May 10 2026 10:24 utc | 100