Typepad, the system and hosting service this blog is running on, will soon close down.

This week the Moon of Alabama blog will, hopefully, move onto a new blogging system and a new hosting service.

I have tried to prepare for the move to be as smooth as possible. However – experience says that any such move hardly ever happens without severe hick-ups.

This will take all the time I have and, until the move is done, there will be few if any new posts.

At some point I will close the comments on the old side and open them on the new one. I will then change the name-server entries to direct all requests for moonofalabama.org to the new physical server. This changeover will take some time to proliferate throughout the distributed global Domain Name Service (DNS).

If you are experiencing problems reaching Moon of Alabama just wait a while, maybe even a day, and try again.

Since Typepad announced its close down its service has deteriorated. Some blog functions have stopped working and the help desk has become unresponsive. It may therefore take some time to put the complete archives onto the new server. The last two or three weeks of posts and comments will, at first, likely be missing. I will try to correct that as soon as possible but will depend on Typepad to be able to do this.

I'll see you at the new site …

News & views related to the war in Palestine …

News & views related to the war in Ukraine …

News & views not related to the wars in Ukraine and Palestine …

A way over detailed essay looks at the rise of U.S. electricity prices:

What’s Happening to Wholesale Electricity Prices? – Construction Physics

Mark Ames delivers a short, not-AI driven, summary of the problem:

Mark Ames @MarkAmesExiled – 21:53 utc · Sep 20, 2025

AI tithe on all Americans, so that a handful of billionaires can become trillionaires

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Given that most of the current 'Artificial Intelligence' Large Language Models (LLMs) are Garbage In, Garbage Out systems I find it difficult to justify their social costs.

News & views related to the war in Palestine …

News & views related to the war in Ukraine …

Last week's posts on Moon of Alabama:

• Sep 15 – Ukraine – As 'Security Guarantees' Get Buried Other Stupid Ideas Emerge
  Related:
  – UKRAINIAN NEOFASCISM – War Time Developments: Part 1 ‘Azov’ and Part 2 ‘Right Sector’ – Gordon Hahn
  – Ukraine’s Supply Runs Turn to Nightmares as Drones Menace Roads Far Beyond the Front – WSJ via MSN
  – Security guarantees for Ukraine require readiness to fight Russia, says Finland’s president – Guardian

• Sep 16 – On Free Speech Hypocrisy – by JD Vance
  Related:
  – The Pendulum Swings: Free Speech Falls Under Tread of Prophecy – Simplicius
  – Billionaire Bill Ackman convened stormy Israel ‘intervention’ with Charlie Kirk, sources say – Grayzone
  – I went to a Charlie Kirk memorial event – Michael Tracey
  – “The Kirk narrative doesn’t hold.” – The Floutist

• Sep 17 – The Obvious Is Now Official – Israel Commits Genocide
  Related:
  – List of experts and organisations describing Israel’s attack on Gaza as genocide – Ian Sinclair
  – Israel “falsifying” Palestinian rapes to further Gaza genocide – Electronic Intifada
  – Israel's Gaza City demolitions fan fears of permanent removal[?!?] of Palestinians – Reuters

  – Wounds and Weapons: Israel as Unhealed Trauma – Joseph Dana
  – Israel is waging a holocaust in Gaza. Denazification is our only remedy – 972mag
  – Israel’s Intelligence Service Mossad: The Myth of “Long Arms” and the Reality of Failure – Elijah Magnier
  – Netanyahu Depicts Grim Economic Future for Israel, Need to Become an Autarky, “Super Sparta” Due to Isolation; Are There More Meanings? – Naked Capitalism

• Sep 18 – Saudi Arabia's Defense Pact With Pakistan Is A Strategic Loss For The U.S. of A.
  Related:
  – Pakistan says its nuclear program can be made available to Saudi Arabia under defense pact – AP
  – Petrodollars and the ‘Islamic bomb’: how a Saudi-Pakistan pact was forged (archived) – Financial Times
  – India’s influence in the Middle East: balancing energy, workers, and Saudi-Pakistan defense pact – Jerusalem Post

• Sep 19 – Poland's Attempt To Blackmail China Will Hurt Itself Most
  Related:
  – Poland border closure choking China-EU rail trade – Asia Times

• Sep 20 – Media Disguise Airspace Violation Claims
  Related:
  – Estonian scenario of the Third World War. What is the danger of the incident with Russian aircraft? (in Russian) – Strana

Suresh Nirody – snirody.eth @snirody – 15:22 utc · Sep 20, 2025

Hmm, it might have been helpful if the Estonian MOD had labeled the purple line on their map. They imply that it is "Estonian airspace" since that shows the "violation" but they don't actually say if it shows their 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 or their 𝐄𝐄𝐙.
map

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Other issues:

Cont. reading: The MoA Week In Review – OT 2025-215

The warmongering stunts by the east European states and NATO are laughable.

Russian Fighter Jets Enter Airspace of Estonia, a NATO Member (archived) – NY Times, Sep 19 2025
Estonia’s foreign minister described the flights, which lasted for an unusually long 12 minutes, as an “unprecedentedly brazen” intrusion.

Three Russian fighter jets violated Estonia’s airspace on Friday for an unusually long period, some 12 minutes, in what Estonia’s foreign minister called an “unprecedentedly brazen” intrusion over the NATO country.

NATO responded to intercept the Russian jets, Allison Hart, the military alliance’s spokeswoman, said in a statement on X. “This is yet another example of reckless Russian behavior and NATO’s ability to respond,” she said.
…
Tensions were already high after at least 21 Russian drones flew in Polish airspace 10 days ago, prompting NATO to scramble fighter jets to shoot down some of them. That incursion was regarded by Polish officials, who provided an updated count of the drones, as a deliberate effort to test the alliance’s readiness and a dangerous escalation of the war in Ukraine.

The unarmed Russian Gebera decoy drones that flew over Poland do a have a range of some 600 kilometer (370 mi). If they had been launched from behind Russian lines they would not have reached Poland. The drones were most likely found in Ukraine, patched up and reprogrammed by Ukrainian services, and sent towards Poland. They were just on the ways Ukraine tries to drag NATO into its war. 

The 'unprecedentedly brazen intrusion' into the airspace of Estonia, if it has happened at all, did not take place over Estonia's mainland but near Vaindloo, an uninhabited rock in the Gulf of Finland in the Baltic Sea, some 26 kilometer (16 mi) north of the Estonian coast.

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The NY Times piece does, of course, NOT mention that. It is worded to make the reader believe that Estonia was somehow endangered.

The Russian military says that its jets did not violate Estonian airspace:

Cont. reading: Media Disguise Airspace Violation Claims

Over the last decade China developed the longest railway in the world running more than 8,000 miles from the east coast of China to Spain.

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The line crosses China, Russia, Belarus and Poland before splitting up into various European connections.

Over the last year the railway has carried goods between China and Europe at a value of about $25 billion.

The line is now blocked:

Poland’s decision to close its border with Belarus in response to thequadrennial Zapad-2025 military exercises and Russian drone incursion on September 10 has abruptly severed one of the fastest-growing trade arteries between China and the EU.
…
The impact of the closure of the Belarusian border is significant. The land corridor already represents 3.7% of all EU–China trade, up from 2.1% a year earlier. While that share remains small compared to seaborne shipments, its importance lies in speed and reliability.
…
Poland’s government underlined that the decision was driven by security imperatives rather than economics. Warsaw stated that “the logic of trade” was being replaced by “the logic of security,” underscoring the geopolitical risks attached to the Belt and Road corridors.

The Zapad-2025 military exercises is long over but Poland continues to block the railroad.

Its government is taking Europe's trade with China as hostage to press China to change its policy towards Russia:

Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski has said that during his meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in a suburb of Warsaw on Monday 15 September, he will insist that China put pressure on Russia to stop "a hybrid operation" on Poland’s eastern border, which has led to the closure of Beijing’s key trade route to Europe.
…
Tensions escalated in May last year, when a Polish border guard was attacked and killed by a migrant.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk accused Belarus and Russia of weaponising migration.

Last year, Warsaw threatened to block the export route to the European Union to secure China’s help. Polish then-president Andrzej Duda raised the border tensions issue during his visit to Beijing, which "helped for a few months", Sikorski said.

"But unfortunately, this hybrid operation has intensified again. So, we need to talk again," he added.

Interestingly the Chinese reporting on the meeting between Wang Ye and Sikorski did not mention the blocking:

Cont. reading: Poland’s Attempt To Blackmail China Will Hurt Itself Most

News & views related to the war in Palestine …

News & views related to the war in Ukraine …

News & views not related to the wars in Ukraine and Palestine …

Back in 2012 U.S. foreign policy analysts were concerned about a possible nuclear alliance between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Scholars from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and the Stimson Center wrote an essay about it:

The Pak-Saudi Nuke, and How to Stop It – The American Interest, March 2012

The opening paragraph:

One morning, perhaps in the not too distant future, the President of the United States may wake up to an announcement that, given new dangers in the Middle East, the Saudi government has requested the stationing of Pakistani troops on Saudi soil. The announcement might go on to explain that these troops will also bring with them the full complement of conventional and strategic weapons necessary to ensure their security and that of Saudi Arabia. Word would quickly follow from Islamabad that Pakistan has accepted a generous aid package and low-priced oil from Saudi Arabia. Both parties would stress that the agreement simply reaffirms their decades-long special relationship.

As Pakistan is a nuclear weapons state one had to assume that any such a pact would supply Saudi Arabia with nuclear weapons. It was something that the U.S. and its sidekick Israel were very concerned about.

It was assumed at that time that the reason for such a move by Saudi Arabia would be its concern over Iran and its nuclear program:

Over the past decade, Saudi Arabia’s threat perception has sharpened as the dangers from Iran have grown along with doubts about the reliability of U.S. protection.

The time to wake up to a new Saudi-Pakistani alliance has finally come today:

Saudi Arabia signs ‘strategic mutual defence’ pact with Pakistan (archived) – Financial Times

But the strategic circumstance under which the alliance happens are very different from those that had been envisioned in 2012 essay:

Saudi Arabia has signed a “strategic mutual defence” pact with Pakistan, signalling to the US and Israel that the kingdom is willing to diversify its security alliances as it looks to bolster its deterrence.

The agreement with the nuclear-armed south Asian state comes a week after Gulf states — traditionally reliant on the US as their security guarantor — were deeply rattled by Israel’s missile strikes targeting Hamas’s political leaders in Qatar.

“We hope it will reinforce our deterrence — aggression against one is aggression against the other,” a senior Saudi official told the Financial Times. “This is a comprehensive defence agreement that will utilise all defensive and military means deemed necessary depending on the specific threat.”

This is a NATO Article 5 like pact. 'All means deemed necessary', as empathized, undoubtedly includes Pakistan's nuclear weapons.

The U.S. was, the FT say, not at all involved in it:

Cont. reading: Saudi Arabia’s Defense Pact With Pakistan Is A Strategic Loss For The U.S. of A.

In relation to the attacks along the evacuation routes and within designated safe areas, the Commission found that the Israeli security forces had clear knowledge of the presence of Palestinian civilians, including children. Nevertheless, Israeli security forces shot at and killed civilians, including children who were holding makeshift white flags. Some children, including toddlers, were shot in the head by snipers.

The above excerpt (IV. B. ii. f. 215.) is from this report.

From the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights:

Legal analysis of the conduct of Israel in Gaza pursuant to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (pdf)
by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel

I. 3.
In its previous reports to the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly, the Commission found that the Israeli security forces have committed crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza, including extermination, torture, rape, sexual violence and other inhumane acts, inhuman treatment, forcible transfer, persecution based on gender and starvation as a method of warfare. Furthermore, the Commission found that the Israeli authorities have (i) destroyed in part the reproductive capacity of the Palestinians in Gaza as a group, including by imposing measures intended to prevent births; and (ii) deliberately inflicted conditions of life calculated to bring about the physical destruction of Palestinians as a group, both of which are underlying acts of genocide in the Rome Statute and the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (“Genocide Convention”)

I. 4.
Having concluded that the Israeli security forces committed crimes against humanity, war crimes and the actus reus of two underlying acts of genocide in Gaza, the Commission now addresses the issue of genocide. …

There follows an analysis of the events. The legal definition of genocide requires intent. After having reviewed official statements by the government of Israel the Commission concludes:

Cont. reading: The Obvious Is Now Official – Israel Commits Genocide

February 2025:

In Munich, Vance accuses European politicians of censoring free speech – Reuters

U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Friday took a swipe at European governments for what he described as their censorship of free speech and their political opponents, …
…
Vance adopted a confrontational tone, accusing European politicians of what he said was a fear of their own people and warned them that the real threat against their democracy was not from Russia or China.

"The threat I worry the most about vis-à-vis Europe is not Russia, it's not China, it's not any other external actor. What I worry about is the threat from within, the retreat of Europe from some its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America," Vance said.
…
.. he said Brussels had shut down social media over hateful content, and criticized Germany for what he described as raids against its own citizens for posting anti-feminist comments, Sweden for convicting a Christian activist, and United Kingdom for backsliding on religious rights.

September 2025:

Vance calls for action against those celebrating Kirk’s assassination – AP via The Christian Index

Vice President JD Vance on Monday joined those demanding consequences for those who have cheered Charlie Kirk's assassination, calling on the public to turn in anyone who celebrate the assassination of his friend and political ally and encourage further violence.

“When you see someone celebrating Charlie’s murder, call them out,” Vance urged listeners on the slain activist’s podcast Monday. “And hell, call their employer.”

Vance's call also included a vow to target some of the biggest funders of liberal causes, as conservatives stepped up their targeting of private individuals for their comments celebrating the killing and encouraging more violence.

Republican-controlled states such as Florida, Oklahoma, and Texas have launched investigations of teachers accused of inappropriate statements after last week’s assassination. The U.S. military has invited members of the public to report those who “celebrate or mock” the killing and said some troops have already been removed for their comments.

At the same time, the Trump administration has vowed to target what it contends is a vast liberal network that inspired the shooter.

Two weeks ago the Foreign Minister of Poland Radosław Sikorski visited Washington and was proud to be included in talks about 'security guarantees' for Ukraine. His ministry announced:

Secretary of State Rubio declared that Poland will be involved in arrangements to reliably provide Ukraine with future security guarantees. He said that the United States aims to guarantee a lasting peace in Ukraine.

But now Sikorski is, rightfully one must say, doubting the usefulness of any 'security guarantees':

The security guarantees currently being discussed for Ukraine are unlikely to work in the event of a new invasion, since there are no hunters in the West to fight with Russia. This was stated by Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski.

"If we provide Ukraine with security guarantees, we say that we can start a war against Russia. And I don't think it's convincing that there is trust in it. Anyone who wants to fight with Russia can start it right now. But I don't see any takers," Sikorsky said.

There will never be any takers. Can we now finally bury that 'security guarantee' nonsense?

But Sikorski, being a neo-conservative, is still trying to push others into fighting with Russia:

Cont. reading: Ukraine – As ‘Security Guarantees’ Get Buried Other Stupid Ideas Emerge

News & views related to the war in Palestine …

News & views related to the war in Ukraine …

Last week's posts on Moon of Alabama:

• Sep 8 – Ukraine's Victory Redefined
• Sep 9 – NYT Pushes Another Scare Report About Nuclear Sites In Ukraine
  Related:
  – We won’t stop until Putin falls, say the Russians fighting against him –Telegraph (another Nazi puff piece)
  – Men Up to 65 Aggressively Conscribed from Ukrainian Streets by Forceful Press Gangs (archived) – Daily Mail

  – Lockheed Martin, lamb chops, and landlocked navies: the real story of NATO expansion and how this Yale historian trid to stop it – Brian McDonald
  – NATO launches new command headquarters in Finland, 200 km from Russian border – TASS
  – The Beginning of the End of NATO – Robert Kagan / Atlantic
  If Putin had at any time decided to bomb the supply lines to Ukraine from Poland, Romania, or Slovakia, he would have been within his rights to do so.

• Sep 11 – When You Try To Remove A Piece Of Art And Accidentally Make It Better
  Related:
  – Banksy mural of a judge beating a protester is scrubbed from London court – AP
  – The Ghostly Brilliance of Banksy’s Anti-War Masterpiece – American Conservative

• Sep 12 – A.I. Valuations Reach La La Land
  Related:
  – World's first AI minister will eliminate corruption, says Albania's PM – BBC
  – How thousands of ‘overworked, underpaid’ humans train Google’s AI to seem smart – Guardian
  – Oracle’s astonishing jam-tomorrow OpenAI trade (archived) – Financial Times
  – How Oracle’s Larry Ellison rode the AI ‘tsunami’ (archived) – Financial Times

  – UAE just dropped K2-Think world’s fastest open-source AI reasoning model … – Ihtesham Haider
  – K2-Think: A Parameter-Efficient Reasoning System – arXiv
  – www.k2think.ai/guest – IFM

• Sep 13 – Trump Calls European's Sanction Bluff
  Related:
  – The U.S.-Europe Divide on How to Hurt Moscow – Foreign Policy
  – US to urge G7 to impose high tariffs on China and India (archived) – Financial Times
  – Trump demands NATO action on Russian oil before any U.S. sanctions – Washington Post via MSN
  – Trump threw India under the bus to appease China but things only got complicated – Indian Punchline
  – Joint Statement from Secretary Bessent and Ambassador Greer on Emergency G7 Finance Call – Treasury
  – Trump’s Economic Team Pursues the Chimera of Collapsing the Russian Economy – Sonar21

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Other issues:

Cont. reading: The MoA Week In Review – OT 2025-209