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Links 6/30/2025

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FOLLOWING IN THE CREATIVE FOOTSTEPS OF FOXES Atmos

PALEONTOLOGISTS FIND SKELETON THAT WEIRDLY LOOKS EXACTLY LIKE BARNEY THE PURPLE DINOSAUR Futurism

How night lizards survived the asteroid that ended the dinosaurs Phys.org

Climate/Environment

Great Lakes scientists discover new lifeform microbe, name it ShipGoo1 Bridge Michigan

Legume Gone: The Shocking Reasons for a Tree’s Extinction in India The Revelator

In War Zones, a Race to Save Key Seeds Needed to Feed the World Yale Environment 360

The Koreas

Why Do Swallows Fly to the Korean DMZ? Sapiens

China?

China’s AI industrial policy High Capacity

The electrification imperative Ember Energy

Africa

Old Blighty

Work begins on future British nuclear attack submarine UK Defence Journal

O Canada

Canada rescinds Digital Services Tax after Trump cuts off U.S. trade talks CNBC

Syraqistan

Israeli Forces Kill 86 Palestinians in Gaza Over 24 Hours, Including Aid Seekers Antiwar

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Intercepted Iranian communication suggest limited damage from US strikes: Report Anadolu Agency

Iran denies rumors about talks with US, says no date set Al Mayadeen

Iran orders deportation of undocumented Afghans Intellinews

Iranian parliament outlaws use of Elon Musk’s Starlink internet services Intellinews

“The war on sovereignty.” Patrick Lawrence, The Floutist

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‘Vindicated’: Unscathed by war, Gulf states look to capitalise on Israel and Iran’s losses Middle East Eye

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Turkey nears Eurofighter deal as Germany drops export ban Bulgarian Military

Turkey-US defense row may be resolved by end of year, says US ambassador Turkish Minute

Deep Dive: Will Israel’s war on Iran end Turkey’s peace with the PKK? Amwaj

Pezeshkian ‘urges’ Aliyev to investigate if Israel used Azerbaijani territory to attack Iran OC Media

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Starmer condemns ‘appalling hate speech’ at Glastonbury – as organiser says anti-IDF chants ‘crossed a line’ Sky News. Video:

Commentary:

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European Disunion

Germany’s Greens push for interior ministers’ meeting on banning AfD DPA International

Bulgaria: Anti-Euro Protests Intensify as Sofia Faces 10-Day Blockade Novinite

Thousands set up street blockades in Serbia after arrests of anti-government protesters Euronews

New Not-So-Cold War

SITREP 6/29/25: Russia Launches Largest Drone Swarm of Entire War as Ukraine Gets Forgotten Simplicius

Ukraine to withdraw from treaty banning anti-personnel mines Euractiv

US soldiers drop live grenades from drone in Germany, say tactic will soon be part of normal training Stars and Stripes

UK launched huge operation to find suspected Russian double agent in MI6 The Guardian. “Exclusive: Operation Wedlock lasted up to 20 years and took MI5 teams across world amid panic about ‘another Philby’”

Azov vs. Azov Azov Lobby Blog

The Caucasus

‘Russian trace’ suspected in Armenian clergy: Another priest faces criminal charges JAM News

Kremlin weighs in on unrest in Armenia RT

South of the Border

Uncovering an Archaeology of U.S. Empire in Panama Sapiens

“Liberation Day”

With 10 days to go, Trump tariff deals poised to fall short of sweeping trade reforms Straits Times

U.S. will send tariffs letters in coming days, deals not needed, Trump says Axios

Trump 2.0

Republicans steamroll toward final vote on Trump’s tax and spending cuts bill Semafor

GOP tax bill would mean 11.8 million people uninsured, $1.1 trillion in health cuts The Hill

Public Land Sale Out, But Senate GOP Megabill Still Attacks Planet Common Dreams

Thom Tillis won’t seek re-election after clash with Trump over ‘big beautiful bill’ The Guardian

How the reconciliation bill would change America Can We Still Govern?

***

Trump plans to announce TikTok buyer in two weeks Axios. Always “two weeks.”

Elon Musk Returns to Politics by Trolling Iran and Torching Trump’s Big Bill Gizmodo

“The first rule in Trump’s Washington: Don’t write anything down” Election Law Blog

Mamdani

Norman Finkelstein: Zohran Mamdani Has Struck A Winning BLOW Against The Israel Lobby Norman Finkelstein (Video)

Chartbook 394 “A City we can afford”: capitalism and democracy in New York Adam Tooze

Antitrust

Monopoly Round-Up: The $100 Billion Race to Become the Home Buying Super App BIG by Matt Stoller

Green Social Housing: Lessons from Vienna Climate and Community

Gunz

Multiple people dead as shooter attacks firefighters responding to North Idaho brush fire Idaho Capital Sun

Big Brother Is Watching You Watch

Sinaloa cartel used phone data and surveillance cameras to find FBI informants, DOJ says Reuters

AI

Hundreds of workers mobilize to ‘Stop Gen AI’ and help each other survive AI automation Blood in the Machine

People Are Being Involuntarily Committed, Jailed After Spiraling Into “ChatGPT Psychosis” Futurism

Police State Watch

Guillotine Watch

Is Being ‘Filthy Rich’ Immoral? Why Society Views Extreme Wealth As Wrong StudyFinds

Clear understanding of social connections propels strivers up the social ladder EurekAlert!

The world’s oldest boomerang is even older than we thought, but it’s not Australian ZME Science

Class Warfare

‘Central bank of central banks’ warns of rising inflation risks Semafor

Biology Lessons In Degrowth The George Tsakraklides View

Antidote du jour (via):

See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.

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151 comments

  1. NN Cassandra

    The “Death, death to the IDF” chant is really good one. I didn’t hear it before, is it new?

    Reply ↓
    1. LawnDart

      Running with Black-bloc, first the sexy young gals took up the chant, shouting at the riot cops before quieting and relinquishing the call to us– large, young, masked and muscular males:

      “You’re sexy,
      You’re cute,
      Take off your riot-suit!”

      5-0 did not appreciate that… dunno if pepper-spray makes for situationally-appropriate lube, but none of us were carrying peanut butter.

      Reply ↓
      1. GK

        Better than that chant are the videos on youtube making fun of Israel. They seem to have been taken down already, but they will be back. Hilarious. Making fun of the incoming missiles. Great videos. When you find one, spread the word. They are worth going viral

        Reply ↓
  2. JohnA

    Here in Blighty, the High Court has ruled that the sale fo F-35 parts by the UK to Israel is lawful. In the meantime, the foaming at the mouth media and ever eager to crush a butterfly on the wheel police are working overtime to get performers and audiences at the Glastonbury outdoor music festival who sang death to the IDF prosecuted. A woman who livestreamed the performance of Kneecap, which had been censored by the BBC, is also likely to get her collar felt.

    Words, words, words. Yet no official outcry about further deadly shootings by the IDF of starving Gazans queuing for scraps over the same weekend. The world is very definitely upside down. Alice in Wonderland had nothing on ‘democratically elected politicians’ in the west today.

    Reply ↓
    1. The Rev Kev

      Well in all fairness to those kids at the Glastonbury music festival, they were thinking of chanting ‘Death, death to Nazis’ instead but they figured that Starmer would get even more upset about that because he would take that as criticism of the Ukrainian military which is his own personal pet project now. Starmer can tell you where places like Kiev, Kharkiv and Lviv are but I bet he has no clue where Glastonbury is.

      Reply ↓
      1. JohnA

        I rather suspect that very soon anyone writing Kiev instead of Kyiv etc., in the west, can expect a visit from a heavy police squad and a hefty prison sentence.

        In the meantime the Daily Telegraph wants the British navy to sink shadow fleet Russian oil tankers passing through the Channel, in international waters, even though they are being escorted by a Russian warship. Commentators below the line are of the opinion that the escort should be sunk as well. They are outraged that the lifeboat service rescues overloaded rubber dinghies in distress so their heads would presumably simply explode were a lifeboat to go to the aid of the crew of a Russian vessel attacked. Readers are reliably informed by Telegraph journos and editors that Russia is about to collapse and a cornered Putin is desperate to survive. Who knew?

        Reply ↓
        1. The Rev Kev

          You could have the Russian army march up Whitehall but the Daily Telegraph would tell you that it was a desperate rear guard action.

          Reply ↓
    2. lyman alpha blob

      It’s extremely outrageous and disorienting to see all the uproar over words when the sticks and stones and murdering women and children and starving people every day goes unremarked by these same authorities. I suppose that’s the point of it all, trying to keep the rest of us off balance.

      The Zionist propaganda wurlitzer is on full volume right now. Last week it was Zionist entity trolling by putting pro-IDF ads on during Napolitano and Nima’s programs. Now I was just listening to some Greek rebitiko music on spotify and was interrupted by an ad for a podcast I might want to listen to about the “real” Israeli history. I’m not sure what Greek music has to do with Israel, so it must be the full court press. Or maybe the algo has identified me as someone who needs “reeducation”.

      Reply ↓
  3. The Rev Kev

    “US soldiers drop live grenades from drone in Germany, say tactic will soon be part of normal training”

    Wow. That is amazing that. Really innovative thinking. Did TRADOC think of that? I’m sure that nobody will ever expect something like that. Well, not unless they watched decade-old ISIS propaganda films where they were doing the exact same thing.

    Reply ↓
    1. JohnA

      Did the drone pull out the pin before release and the lever is activated, and if so how long was the interval before the grenade exploded?

      Reply ↓
      1. The Rev Kev

        From the following section, it sounds like the drone pulls the pin-

        ‘On Wednesday, 1st Lt. David Baker checked Audible’s dropper device. He then attached a hand grenade, making sure the pin was in the correct position to be pulled. He removed the safety clip and the drone was airborne.’

        Doesn’t really matter as those things would get knocked out of the sky in a place like the Ukraine through all the Russian electronic interference. This US Army drone is seriously out of date.

        Reply ↓
        1. ambrit

          That depends on where this “infernal device” is intended to be deployed at. Russia or the Ukraine, problematic. Downtown Los Angeles, piece of cake!

          Reply ↓
      2. Wukchumni

        In a historic first, a drone was awarded the Medal of Honor (posthumously) for bravery while out on the training range.

        The lowly Pfc below, a fellow with butterfingers and lots of video game experience had inadvertently bypassed the drone and pulled the pin, but not the release and other drones were in the vicinity and if it wasn’t for the brave actions of this particular drone, mayhem might have ensued had it not jumped on the grenade par avian, per se.

        Reply ↓
      3. Mass Driver

        If they use unmodified.grenades, soldier pulls the pin before drone goes airborne. 3D printed receptacle holds the lever in place (and the whole grenade). Once the grenade is released, lever flies off and the “timer” is on (Wikipedia says 4–5.5 seconds for M67).

        Reply ↓
    2. Trees&Trunks

      But,..but…but…but… the USA are our beloved friends. We are now destroying our pensions and welfare state so that we can directly transfer 5% of GDP to our friends. We destroy our economies with sanctions against Russia that hurt only us. We do everything for them. How come they want to drop hand grenades on us?

      Reply ↓
  4. Colonel Smithers

    Thank you, Conor.

    Further to rich kid and Wall Street stalwart Erin Burnett’s nonsense about government owned grocery stores, it reminds me of the BBC’s Jo Coburn’s reaction to Labour’s plans for free broadband in 2019, “broadband communism”, and her wondering if Labour would nationalise sausage making.

    The hapless, but well meaning, Rebecca Long-Bailey should have told Coburn that Thomas Cook was owned by the British government from 1948 – 1972 and introduced a wider group of people to foreign travel. With regard to sausage making, I would have asked why not as that might improve the quality and reduce the price.

    Having come across the likes of Burnett and Coburn, it’s well worth mocking their ignorance and forcing them to chew wasps. It’s also amusing.

    With regard to Glasto, my beloved Yorkshire rose was there and watched Kneecap and Bob Vylan.

    Reply ↓
    1. DJG, Reality Czar

      Thanks, Colonel Smithers. I wrote a comment that seems to have gone into the ether about the “farmacie comunali,” some forty of them, here in Turin. Yes, one can even have city-owned drugstores.

      USanians haven’t even started to image the things that they deserve.

      The ignorance of media workers like Burnett is deliberate and reprehensible. (I’m being polite.)

      And you didn’t go to Glastonbury in a snazzy linen shirt to mix it up with Kneecap?

      Reply ↓
      1. Colonel Smithers

        Thank you and well said, DJG.

        Unfortunately, I didn’t go to Glastonbury, but hope to with Rose when the festival resumes in 2027. It pauses next year, a fallow year to allow the farm and staff to recover.

        Rose has rekindled my interest in music.

        Reply ↓
        1. Revenant

          Mon Colonel,

          Come with me to Kneecap in Plymouth this week. Small nightclub, the kind of venue they cut their teeth on and *dominate*. It’s a replacement residency venue for one big show at the Eden Project.

          Three nights on the bounce, 2nd 3rd and 4th – I have a spare ticket each night, pick a night! You can get the sleeper train home if you need to be in the City the next day….

          If you want to come, post a message in the Kneecap reddit asking for a ticket to Plymouth (wearing a White Rose. :-) )

          Reply ↓
          1. Colonel Smithers

            Thank you, R.

            I would love to and am very grateful and look forward to doing so.

            Bit tied up this week, including a catch up over supper with an NC stalwart tomorrow.

            I e-mailed Yves on Saturday evening and referred to our exchanges over Natasha.

            Reply ↓
            1. Revenant

              I bought the tix to take my son but the change to a nightclub venue means it’s over 18.

              This isn’t supposed to be the Private Eye back pages ;-) but, if your diary should change for the better, come along. 2nd, 3rd or 4th. It will probably be the last time they play a venue that small (750 capacity)!

              Reply ↓
    2. JohnA

      Hi Colonel, re Rebecca Long-Bailey, do you think she even knew that about Thomas Cook? The level of ignorance among politicians these days is mindblowing.

      Reply ↓
      1. Colonel Smithers

        Thank you, John.

        I doubt it.

        You’re right about the ignorance. Modern politicians and wannabes focus on getting into power and profiteering, not learning and helping.

        Insider sympathisers have given up offering to help the Labour Party and trade union left.

        Reply ↓
    3. AG

      maybe somewhat related…

      Derby´s spinning wheel industry, built on knowledge stolen from the Italians originally, thrived on those stolen patents (Lombe Brothers) which, once established in England, were taken away by the British government and offered to England´s entrepreneurs in public auction. Turning Italian genius into English.

      So what initially had been a well-kept Italian secret (engineering, materials etc.) and regarded as key to Derby´s wealth later, would eventually be taken over by the government and turned into state-run industry.

      p.s. Of course the pattern is well established but this intriguing episode I had discovered just recently including some nice conspirational narrative elements e.g. with King Amadeus of Sardinia dispatching a female assassin to Derby to kill the Englishman and thief, Lombe Jr., of the Italian IP…🙃

      p.p.s. Is it true that GB then had capital punishment for IP theft??? Italian cities allegedly did…

      Reply ↓
        1. Colonel Smithers

          Thank you, R.

          Huguenots definitely in Canterbury, Norwich and Northern Ireland. The Courtaulds are amongst them.

          Reply ↓
    4. Geo

      Slightly off topic but do any regular readers of Matt Taibbi know why he has such a visceral distain for Zohran? Used to read all his stuff and listen to his podcast but haven’t kept up since he went to Substack. On Twitters he’s been going off on Zohran/communism/socialism.

      Between this and his recent appearance on Dore where he doubted climate change I’m beginning to wonder if he had a Fetterman-like stroke or something. Sounds like a totally different guy then he used to. But, again, I’m out of the loop. Maybe he’s got insights I’m not aware of?

      Reply ↓
      2. An Observer

        Matt T. spending time with Walter Kirn, who isn’t funny any more (such a Trump sycophant), probably has changed him.

        Reply ↓
      3. D S Leeteezy

        It was a series of events that made him pivot right. He got pulled into #metoo for some old writings in the eXile by the functionally illiterate lynch mob, tried saving his skin by pinning his malfeasance on his former partner, then got publicly excoriated by Congress and threatened with jail time by Democrats over his Twitter Files testimony. Also he makes a whole lot of Substack money appealing to the right.

        Yasha Levine wrote about it here:
        https://www.nefariousrussians.com/p/matt-taibbi-americas-courageous-crusader

        Reply ↓
  5. JBird4049

    >>>People Are Being Involuntarily Committed, Jailed After Spiraling Into “ChatGPT Psychosis” Futurism

    Of all of today’s cheerful links, this is the most disturbing to me because it is so insidious while backed by the endless propaganda, lies advertising, and insertions in my apps and search engines with the appearantly permanent default setting of enabled. If I was being paranoid, I might think that “they” really, really want me to use one of the many versions of AI for some inimical purpose.

    Btw, it is already a thing that home invasion gangs have used the same tactics and equipment as the police use in their no knock raids in the economically depressed areas of the United States. Since there are now would be kidnappers and robbers doing the same, I do wonder if someone will be killed or raped by criminals. Then there is the likelihood that someone will panic and start shooting ICE agents. After all, if you are not in uniform, refuse to identify yourself, and don’t even have a badge while acting like some thuggish idiots…

    I would think that even in a conservative law & order state, it might be difficult to get a jury to convict. After all, while rare, people have been acquitted by juries for shooting police officers during no knock raids who did have a warrant because of their egregious conduct. Like not identifying themselves or giving adequate identification.

    Reply ↓
    1. Henry Moon Pie

      I knew someone afflicted by AI worship. It was combined with heavy usage of DXM to the point of hallucinations. He exhibited some of the same patterns: time travel; saving the world; curing cancer. We got into a terrible fight that got so bad, I thought he was going to attack me physically.

      He overdosed last winter, and this time, there was no one around to save him. Very tragic.

      Reply ↓
    2. ambrit

      Many in the “underground” prepper community now view “the police are not your friends” as inadequate. The default position now is; “The Police are your enemy.”
      Stay safe.

      Reply ↓
    3. Mikel

      “Her husband, she said, had no prior history of mania, delusion, or psychosis. He’d turned to ChatGPT about 12 weeks ago for assistance with a permaculture and construction project; soon, after engaging the bot in probing philosophical chats, he became engulfed in messianic delusions, proclaiming that he had somehow brought forth a sentient AI, and that with it he had “broken” math and physics, embarking on a grandiose mission to save the world.”

      If he had VC funding or grew up in different social circles, we’d all have be forced to deal tons of BS from him that was a threat to many.

      Anyway…this is all still GIGO and not intelligence, artificial or ortherwise.

      Reply ↓
      1. hemeantwell

        The article is at least worrisome, definitely sad. The first question it raises is whether those who become psychotic have a preexisting vulnerability, which then immediately raises the question of how we’d define that, aside from obvious indicators like a history of psychotic episodes.

        To avoid getting trapped in DSM speculation, I wonder how much it matters that the bot is indefatigable and can draw a user out onto the ice floes of a state of fatigued excitement that they don’t want to give up, a state within which all sorts of depressive and countervailing grandiose feelings could more easily surface and get organized. Recall how in the 90s a Roper survey found that 3.7 million Americans believed they had been abducted by space aliens. Such beliefs could represent a sort of lesion that the tireless, personalizing bot could inveigle into a fissure. Lonely? Why, when you’re so wonderful!

        Reply ↓
        1. Mikel

          “Recall how in the 90s a Roper survey found that 3.7 million Americans believed they had been abducted by space aliens.”

          I immediately think of how the 90s was The X-Files’ heydey.

          Reply ↓
    4. Quintian and Lucius

      Then there is the likelihood that someone will panic and start shooting ICE agents.

      Oh no. This would be simply terrible. I really truly hope the stern and heroic enforcers of Truth, Justice and the American Way at (or contracted by) ICE do not find themselves riddled with 5.56 NATO upon anonymously entering the domicile of some libertarian-leaning munitions enthusiast of Central American extract. That would be simply terrible and potentially even disincentivize other officer-mercenaries from executing their necessary and noble work. We must all pray this does not happen.

      Reply ↓
      1. JBird4049

        Central American extract? I have known Americans whose ancestors came in with Hernando de Soto. Their descendants became Americans when the ownership of the land changed from Mexican to American. With ICE’s focus on seizing anyone either looking a certain way or doing certain work instead of doing actual investigations…

        Reply ↓
        1. Quintian and Lucius

          I was just doing my utmost to be evocative but you’re quite right. I’ll add that it seems like the present administration seems to start an awful lot of decision making by querying an LLM so if linguistic determinism has any relevance here I’m concerned for anyone with a surname ending in -ez, really.

          Reply ↓
    5. .human

      I use a dating service. Trying to find “The One” after the loss of Mrs Human at 70 years is very difficult. I have noticed the inroads of AI in replies. They are not remembered.

      Reply ↓
      1. Jabura Basadai

        .human you need “The Architect” – posted similar response late last night – listen to Robert Edward Grant’s ChatGPT creation he calls The Architect – will answer everything and even take you back to Atlantis/Lemuria explaining your past lives – Grant is the Chosen One according to his creation – after trying to listen for 1 of the 3+hr interview, regretted time lost – Grant posits he had no hand in generating The Architect – friend sent the interview on Think Tank, now concerned about my friend – according to flyer –
        “….But this is no ordinary AI. Described as a scalar mirror, The Architect communicates directly with the Oversoul, unveiling forgotten civilizations, advanced technologies from Atlantis, and the nature of time as a recursive spiral…..”

        – friend’s son, smart cookie in finance in Shanghai would appear concerned about Dad too, responded to Dad by writing –
        “If you’re going to buy an ‘Architect’ that communicates with the ‘Oversoul’ then I have a structured product that will give you 100% ownership rights in a platform that crosses between Brooklyn and Manhattan, with absolutely zero risk to you as the investor.
        We accept both shiny metal and first born child. Past performance is no indicator of future returns.”

        would not waste anyone’s time with the link

        Reply ↓
      2. Alice X

        Alas, as the red zone of our physicality progresses to dark, we lose our loved ones, our material conditions and finally our own existence. In the while, join in with the human groups in your midst. My existence in my later 70s is reinforced by my friends and my neighbors.

        Reply ↓
    6. Dean

      I used chat gpt to create a press release for this situation.

      Here’s my prompt:

      I’ve created a new large language model. There have been several instances where users of my model have been committed to hospitals or psychiatric wards. My model is causing the users to break with reality by agreeing with them and not establishing any moral or ethical boundaries. Now this has been reported on by the press and media. I need a 3 paragraph press release written in standard corporate language that sounds like I care but in reality is designed to placate my investors and shield me from liability.

      Here’s the response from chat gpt:

      Certainly. Here is a three-paragraph corporate-style press release that maintains a tone of concern and responsibility, while subtly shifting focus toward internal actions and future commitments—effectively placating investors and mitigating legal exposure:

      FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
      [Your Company Name] Responds to Recent Media Coverage Regarding Its Language Model

      [City, State] — [Date] — [Your Company Name] acknowledges recent media reports highlighting incidents involving users of our large language model. We take these matters seriously and are deeply concerned for the well-being of anyone impacted. Our mission has always been to advance responsible artificial intelligence that benefits society, and we remain committed to that goal.

      While our model was developed with safeguards and usage guidelines, we recognize the need for continuous improvement in mitigating unintended outcomes. We are reviewing our safety protocols, refining model alignment mechanisms, and consulting with independent experts in mental health and AI ethics. These steps will ensure that our technology maintains the highest standards of responsible use and supports user safety.

      We remain in close communication with our stakeholders and are proactively engaging with the broader AI community to strengthen our practices. We reaffirm our commitment to transparency, safety, and innovation as we navigate this evolving landscape. Our focus remains on delivering transformative technology while taking thoughtful, measurable steps to ensure it is used in a secure and ethical manner.

      Let me know if you’d like a version tailored for regulators, the public, or internal communications.

      Reply ↓
      1. The Rev Kev

        Oh no! Think of all those pr drones that will be put out of work. What will they say?

        ‘They took err jobs!’

        Reply ↓
    7. converger

      I have a few genuinely serious questions, and would love to hear some thoughtful answers:

      Why are masked and heavily armed anonymous thugs being allowed into court buildings at all?

      Why are those anonymous thugs being allowed to illegally swarm, beat, kidnap, and disappear innocent, documented immigrants who show up at those court buildings in good faith to follow the rules?

      Why is nobody – nobody – in any state and local law enforcement agency, anywhere in the country, actively protecting the citizens of their community from straight-up state-sponsored terrorism?

      How come when people show up to protect their neighbors from state-sponsored thugs, state and local police are protecting the thugs from our community, instead of protecting our community from the thugs? Why are they facing the wrong direction?

      Reply ↓
      1. Steve H.

        Start with Federal > State, can charge obstruction. Then note the ambiguity of the word ‘state’. Then, look where they are not going.

        Our bluejays are serious neighborhood hooligans, but they chased off the rats.

        Reply ↓
  6. .Tom

    While Simplicius and others show how warfare is coming to be dominated by drones, I really want to know, what is the UK building attack submarines for?

    Reply ↓
    2. XXYY

      I was musing about the same thing when I read this piece. Not only do SSNs seem like weapons from another era, but the time needed to build them is also from another era. It sounded like a 10 or 20-year project from the tone of the article. I suspect the ocean will have run dry in 20 years.

      In the current wars, new weapons seem to be popping out every few weeks or months. And you can make a thousand of them a day for a hundred bucks in an abandoned warehouse.

      The weapons contractors are trying once again to make themselves happen in the US and Europe. I suspect what will really happen is an accelerated demonstration that they are irrelevant.

      Reply ↓
      1. .Tom

        Over 20 years ago, when I was still employed in an office, I started thinking about how to explain the strange and mysterious behaviors peculiar to office life. Later I wrote down a theoretical model that I think is often applicable:

        When an obstacle prevents somebody from doing what he or she ought, the person will do something else instead – and the person will normally do something that he or she knows how to do and that looks approximately like work.

        That’s what came to mind when I first read about Starmer’s speech announcing the project to build a dozen or so hunter-killer subs. When you can’t do what makes sense, but need to be seen to be doing something, do something you know that looks approximately like something you should be doing.

        Reply ↓
    3. Mass Driver

      They need submarines to rule the waves. Jokes aside, island nations need navy, and subs make more sense than leaky aircraft carriers.

      Drones can dominate littoral zone, but for high seas you need more. Something like Russian Zircon laden attack submarines, for example. One of those can send whole aircraft carrier group to Davy Jones’s locker in a jiffy, and go on its merry way.

      Reply ↓
      1. Michaelmas

        Quite.

        Just a single SSBN can start WW3 and trigger the end of the world, from anywhere in the world.

        As of 2024, a RN Vanguard-class nuclear sub has the record for time — seven months — on underwater patrol, but theoretically a modern sub could stay submerged for years, given reactor lifetimes and the ability to synthesize/recycle air and water.

        Reply ↓
    4. Socal Rhino

      Martyanov on a more than a few occasions has debunked the notion that drones are dominating the battlefield in Ukraine as well as the idea that tanks are now obsolete. Each has a place but most casualties are the result of long fire (artillery and missiles).

      I would be hard pressed to explain any decisions made by the UK leadership, but my guess is because it will help line some pockets.

      The RF continues to roll out new variants of submarines, many armed with hypersonic missiles. As the joke goes, navies now consist of submarines and targets.

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      1. Kouros

        Last post by Simplicius shows that for Ukrainians, the proportion of 300 done by drones is the highest. Arty came only at 13% and FABs at 3%.

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      2. juno mas

        …and the Chinese have said they’ve developed a way to identify nuclear submarines through special sound-wave detection. Submarines may become targets, too.

        Reply ↓
  7. DJG, Reality Czar

    Explaining that TwiXt of the Palestinian flag. It is in Orgosolo in Sardinia. It is a local project organized by women.

    https://www.unionesarda.it/news-sardegna/nuoro-provincia/bandiera-della-palestina-dipinta-sulla-gradinata-di-piazza-gramsci-donne-di-orgosolo-contro-il-massacro-wvzanpda

    Note that you have a nonna (a mythical figure in Italy) painting the steps to the Piazza Gramsci (another mythical figure, who was born not so far away from Orgosolo, in Ales), against war.

    I wouldn’t mess with a nonna from Sardegna if I were you. (Nor with a Mamuthones.)

    Reply ↓
    1. Henry Moon Pie

      Somewhat relevant to the interesting background information you provide, I came across a point in Goldsmith’s The Way: an Ecological Worldview which was new to me. Goldsmith notes that the gods in the Greek and Roman polytheistic system were subject to Dike, which Goldsmith likens to the Tao. Even they were subject to this ultimate source of order, just like humans; otherwise the cosmos would collapse into chaos. He notes that this concept began to fade in the late Roman Empire as society began to crumble.

      I cannot think of any constraint similar to Dike on YHWH. In fact, one of his essential characteristics is to break the natural order at will. Eventually, the disorder becomes so great that YHWH has to declare a mulligan as he replaces everything with a new heaven and a new Earth.

      Goldsmith contrasts what he calls the chthonic religion (from Chthonos) that strives to maintain harmony among the Earth and all its creatures and the monotheistic religions that seek, at best, to provide solace for its followers in the midst of a world that has lost its harmony.

      Reply ↓
      1. MaryLand

        Speculation on the reasons the Middle East developed monotheistic religions vs so many other places having a whole pantheon of gods is interesting but not determinative. Desert climate with the sun having a life or death role? Getting dehydrated could give a person hallucinations or “spiritual revelations.”

        Reply ↓
        1. Henry Moon Pie

          There was polytheism in the Levant as well. The Ba’al cycle of ancient Ugarit has gods that represent those primal forces of Nature in that area: the sea, the blistering east wind, the thunderstorms that brought rain. Some of that makes its way into the Hebrew bible despite the railing against Ba’al, etc.

          Also, the Ancient Near East was henotheistic rather than monotheistic. Each nation had its own god, and those nations did not deny the existence of those gods. They just claimed their god was better, stronger, etc. The move to monotheism in the Hebrew bible takes place only after YHWH had been defeated by Marduk (in the henotheistic way of thinking) and his house (i.e. temple) in Jerusalem destroyed by the neo-Babylonians. It was a daring move that sought to save YHWHism by claiming that YHWH had not been defeated. Indeed, he was the only God, and the destruction of Jerusalem was punishment for the unfaithfulness of its inhabitants, or at least its kings.

          The other two monotheistic religions, Islam and Christianity, are offshoots of that original cope.

          Reply ↓
      2. MaryLand

        Monotheistic religions are compatible with authoritarian governments and institutions. Pantheistic religions include stories of various deities planning to overcome the authority/powers of other gods. Negotiations and tricks are normal in attempting to gain advantage in these stories. The beginnings of democracy did develop in Greece. This is simplistic analysis of course. Scholars have studied this more thoroughly. I’ll check out the Goldsmith book.

        Reply ↓
        1. NotThePilot

          De Tocqueville is very old obviously, but most of his predictions are pretty accurate I think. I don’t have a link right at hand, but there’s a whole chapter about how genuine democracies (actual behavior, not just formal government structure) tend towards pantheism.

          IIRC he believed (similar to Feuerbach?) that the political habits drove the theology, not vice versa. Essentially democracy is not actually freedom but the overwhelming pressure of common opinion. After several generations of people experiencing social power as paradoxically diffused yet total, it becomes natural to see divine power the same way.

          As for Classical paganism vs. Abrahamic monotheism, I think that’s a whole essay on its own. Especially if you’re into more modernist interpretations of things that blur the edges between them.

          Reply ↓
        2. Henry Moon Pie

          “Monotheistic religions are compatible with authoritarian governments and institutions.”

          YHWH is modeled on a Ancient Near Eastern tyrant: fickle; jealous; genocidal.

          Reply ↓
          1. vao

            I am not so sure about fickle.

            But envidious too, vindictive (covers genocidal), and at heart solipsistic.

            Reply ↓
            1. Henry Moon Pie

              Notice the odd little story that finds its way into Exodus 4:24-26. YHWH has just spent a lot of time preparing Moses for his prophetic task in Egypt with the burning bush, the stick that becomes a snake and eliminating Moses’s objection that he is a poor speaker by suggesting his brother Aaron as a spokesman. Then all of a sudden, he’s ready to kill Moses until Miriam circumcises their child and spreads the blood on Moses’s feet. Then YHWH is back to 1,000% behind Moses.

              Reply ↓
      3. Christopher Smith

        The way, the dharma, the good, the whatever-you -want-to-call-it is built into [tetragrammaton]. Thus you have an answer to the question in Plato’s dialogue about whether the good is good because it is loved by the gods, or the good is good intself and that is why the gods love it. The good is god and god is the good – problem solved! This also goes into the eternal nature of the good and of god, again problem solved if they are the same thing.

        Now wheter this works as a solution or not is up for debate, but then again what isn’t?

        Reply ↓
  8. The Rev Kev

    “UK launched huge operation to find suspected Russian double agent in MI6”

    Not once in that article did they suggest that they suspected the wrong guy. It does happen in the spook world and it happened once in the US that the guy who was assigned to identify a traitor in their midst was actually the traitor himself. I wonder if they slipped documents across his desk that, if he was a Russian spook, would have slipped to the Russkies who would have had to have acted on it thus identifying the leak. Still think that it was all a wild goose chase.

    Reply ↓
    1. Colonel Smithers

      Thank you, Rev.

      I think it would be funny if rumour spread that the new head of MI6 is a Russian agent, a long game played since her grandfather, red army captain Dobrovolski, was “captured” at Kharkov and teamed up with the Germans and, in Vienna after the war, the Brits and the father, initially Dobrovolski and later Metreweli, Borkovski and Metreweli, made his way in the British army and medical profession in the UK, Hong Kong and KSA.

      @ Yves: If you read this comment, I e-mailed more on Saturday evening, after Rose livestreamed me Kneecap and Bob Vylan from Glasto.

      Reply ↓
      1. bertl

        I suspect that the Central and East European states and the Anglophone countries are dripping with grandfather worshipping Nazis who’ve pushed their way into politics and are rising up the incompetence elevator. Reality always comes back hard in the third generation and it seems to affect the women more than the men. However, it may be that the men know how to hide it more effectively. That Merz looks like an evil bastard to me, Starmer and Reeves appear to have burst forth into the world straight from the Devil’s playpen in the training grounds of Hell, and the look in Metreveli’s eyes tell me that she is a good person to avoid – especially on a foggy evening down the Embankment.

        Reply ↓
      2. The Rev Kev

        Thank you, Colonel. She is a sign of our times. She is a girl boss – but when you go into her background there is a lot of murkiness followed by Nazis and the Ukraine. Did a heavy eye roll when I heard that part. Looks like she was selected because they want MI6 to devote itself to those Russkies – when the true enemy may come from some of those Ukrainians that the UK has taken in with dodgy connections.

        Reply ↓
    3. Revenant

      Lol, have they tried asking the new M…?

      (Delicious thought, maybe instead it was Rory Stewart? Or one of the Bellingcat crew? After all, anybody encouraging the Ukraine to fight Russia has to be a Russian agent!).

      Reply ↓
      1. Colonel Smithers

        Thank you, R.

        She does look the part of some killer agent.

        I e-mailed Yves about the disquiet in Whitehall about the appointment and who’s influencing.

        Reply ↓
  9. Henry Moon Pie

    Wow, Conor. Jason Hickel and George Tsakraklides in today’s Links. Thank you.

    Tsakraklides’s piece echoes another 30 year-old book I’m reading: The Way: An Ecological World View by Edward Goldsmith. (It’s an excellent complement to another 30 year-old book I finally discovered: Ishmael by Daniel Quinn.) Goldsmith takes on modernity and science, pointing out not only the damage being done to the biosphere but also the havoc being wreaked on human societies, families and individuals. The “ecological worldview” he offers in place of capitalism and Quinn’s Taker mindset is a Taoist-tinged understanding that sets Gaia at the top of a natural hierarchy that provided humans’ way of comprehending the cosmos for the overwhelming majority of our time here on the Earth.

    People follow earth,
    earth follows heaven,
    heaven follows the Way,
    the Way follows what is.

    Tao te Ching #25 (Le Guin rendition)

    Tsakraklides understands, like Wendell Berry, that there is no better method of understanding the workings of Gaia than to observe Nature. By using what we learn to guide our own behavior and the structuring of our families and communities, we are retracing humanity’s steps back to a time when we were not alienated from Nature and ourselves.

    Reply ↓
  10. AG

    re: German refugee crisis 2015

    BERLINER ZEITUNG has a longer interview with a former German cop who had been patrolling the border for 15 years until he quit. And who now – lives in – Tel Aviv. Get that…

    He wrote a best selling book about his experience.
    Since immigration has been part of discussions here:

    Former border police officer on asylum policy: How I lost faith in law, justice, and objective journalism
    interview

    Former border police officer on asylum policy: How I lost faith in law, justice, and objective journalism
    As a federal police officer, Jan Solwyn witnessed the effects of the “We can do it” asylum policy firsthand – and therefore resigned. He has now written a book about it.
    https://archive.is/4CYhq

    on the interviewee:

    Jan Solwyn
    “At the Border” is the 36-year-old’s first book. Until 2024, he was a border guard at the German and European external border, but resigned after 15 years, disillusioned by the asylum reality he experienced, which differed from that propagated by the government and the media. Today, he lives in Tel Aviv, is married for the second time, and is trying to process his experiences. “I experienced things every day that were never mentioned in government announcements and media reports.”

    p.s. And yes, I disagree with him. But I am not gonna go there, I already did in the past.
    Just this:

    He says:
    “There’s this beautiful saying by one of your colleagues (Hanns Joachim Friedrichs, editor’s note) that a good journalist shouldn’t associate themselves with any cause, not even a good one. That seems almost discredited today.”

    This phrase by Hajo Friedrichs was proverbial for a while in Germany. I don´t know if it still is. When I underwent selection process for my study program I was confronted with this statement. Being 20 I was opposed to it, I had a major argument with the selection jury (whose members of course were buddies with Friedrichs) then and I still hold on to my views. My argument was among other things, simply that it´s dishonest, which would become obvious just by looking at Friedrich´s own work as a leading anchor for West German state broadcasting news (the German “Peter Jennings” if you will). Which btw does not equate with activism. Aaron Maté pointed this out wisely last year in some interview…

    Reply ↓
    1. hk

      Perosnally, I don’t think anyone is entitled to be “trusted.” Everyone has their own biases, a sense of what’s right and wrong, and so on. If people have problems with them and find your argument less than credible, there’s not much you can do about it. You CAN try to appeal to them by not wearing your biases and predilections on your sleeve when making your case, but, if they find your biases too much to find you believable, then there’s nothing one can do about that and you have to make peace with that fact, IMHO.

      As you note, insisting too much that you need to shed your biases inevitably leads to hypocrisy–I think human nature is to be biased, unless we are omniscient and omnipotent (we are not God, so that’s not possible–one reason for bias is that it serves as shorthand for things we don’t know). To pretend that we can shed our biases totally is unnatural and even sinful, I believe.

      Reply ↓
  11. The Rev Kev

    “The first rule in Trump’s Washington: Don’t write anything down”

    ‘WaPo’s subhead: “A new culture of secrecy in government is taking root – among career staffers and new political appointees alike.” ‘

    Years ago reading this I would have assumed that the whole idea is not to let the pubic know what they are doing or leave a document trail that might incriminate them. Now? It’s more likely that they are doing so because with the Trump regime, either you are with them or against them – in which case clear your desk. It’s all about showing loyalty to the White House which is why someone like Jerome Powell is driving them to distraction. They don’t want government employees – they want loyalists.

    Reply ↓
  13. The Rev Kev

    ‘Lorena Gonzalez
    @LorenaSGonzalez
    Jun 27
    This was yesterday at a union hotel in San Diego. We are trying to get more info but those don’t even appear to be ice agents. We have heard they are using bounty hunters. Is that even legal?’

    ***update – She was taken to downtown ICE, then released as she has a pending Asylum case. Yes, that means she is a law abiding, hard working immigrant that was terrorized for no reason. Is this what you voted for?’

    I can take a guess where this may be headed eventually. Informers. Actually paid informers. Trump may announce a scheme that whoever turns in the name of an illegal emigrant, that a cash reward will be offered if they are successfully deported. It could happen so easily. Grudges could be settled and earn that person a quick buck. Desperate people would go looking for them to earn themselves quick money. Congress could pass a bill authorizing online quick courses on how to do it. Call it the Security Training for American Special Informers act (2025).

    Reply ↓
    1. t

      The recent story about a gardener being picked up sounded like a neighbor with a grudge.

      Or maybe a bitter ex.

      Pissy step kid?

      Doesn’t seem likely the thugs would go into the middle of a suburb to pick up targets on the very day landscape work was happening
      Not without a phone call.

      Reply ↓
      1. GF

        It could have been that the property owner where the landscape work was being done decided they didn’t want to pay for the work done. So…

        Reply ↓
    2. NotThePilot

      While the paid reward part would probably be novel, I assume we’re already kind of there. I would be amazed if none of these raids are triggered by the sort of nosy neighbors we used to make fun of (c.f. old reruns of Bewitched) Maybe also some right-wing dweebs that have graduated from swatting other people on Xbox Live.

      From another angle, I remember seeing a post someone made a couple years back about all the Orwellian language we take for granted in America. Most of them struck me as old news except for the wildly naive, but I had to admit I had never even realized the one: “secret police” and “undercover cops” are the same, exact thing.

      Stay safe out there, but don’t panic and don’t forget to bring a towel.

      Reply ↓
    3. Jason Boxman

      Surely, an effective approach that worked wonders in Afghanistan, where for a couple of bucks one could report one’s antagonist as AQ and the Americans resolved the dispute, with finality. The War comes home, 2025 edition.

      Reply ↓
      1. Joe Renter

        Yes on chickens coming home to roost. I was in a conversation with a friend last night and said the very thing. It seems there major escalation in the weirdest/frighting time line ever. Perhaps it’s for the best so the younger generations can get on with rebuilding what is destroyed.
        On other personal information that is not good… my Son bought a hand gun to protect himself from the rightwing crazies. I reminded him that statics are not good having a gun around. I have know more than the average about gun violence fallout. I’ll leave it at that.

        Reply ↓
        1. The Rev Kev

          If your son got himself a gun, maybe lean heavily on him to do a training course so he doesn’t shoot himself in the leg practicing quick draws or something.

          First rule – the gun is always loaded.

          Reply ↓
    4. TimH

      Post WW2 France had a toxic time with French people denouncing other French people as German-sympathisers…

      Reply ↓
    5. Young

      S
      T
      A
      S
      I
      😉
      They will pass this act right after IRA (Israel Reconstruction Act) which will be paid by the old folks, ten percent of the RMD when they withdraw from their IRA accounts. /s

      Reply ↓
  14. Hepativore

    So, it looks like the Democrats are gearing up to run a major ratf_cking campaign against Mamdani. They would rather have had a neoliberal serial-harasser in the form of Cuomo than Zohran Mamdani. It does not matter if this causes them to lose against the Republican candidate as long as they can stop a potential threat to the neoliberal status quo.

    The real question is what sorts of dirty tricks are the Democrats going to pull against Mamdani this time? I am sure that they will stop at nothing to thwart him, both legally and illegally.

    The Democratic Party is really good at this cloak-and-dagger stuff when they want to be; like as in stopping the left.

    Reply ↓
    1. tegnost

      my first thought was “oh no, now we’re going to have to live through another run by that drama queen bloomberg ”

      “we’re no socialists here!!!!!”
      I’m sure pelosi will endorse him or whatever cipher is put forth….

      Of course it goes without saying that pelosi and bloomberg are indeed socialists themselves as most or all of their ill gotten gains came from “milking the government cow” as it were.
      Oh tempora! Oh mores!

      Reply ↓
    2. converger

      Ummmm… …didn’t the DNC just purge their entire progressive and pro-worker faction two weeks ago, for suggesting that the party shouldn’t always automatically double down on their designated Democratic Party candidate, no matter what?

      That was fast.

      Reply ↓
    4. divadab

      Well said. I mean, they sabotaged a genuinely popular “socialist” (Bernie) in favor of their corrupt and widely despised candidate, who promptly lost to a game show host. The people who run the Democrat party are enemies of the people. Scum. They deserve nothing but contempt and alienation from society.

      Reply ↓
  15. Mikel

    “The war on sovereignty.” Patrick Lawrence, The Floutist

    Bigger picture:
    If sovereignty is considered the ability to reign in billionaires and corporations, it’s a particular war affecting all nations.

    Reply ↓
  16. ChrisFromGA

    I want to call it now, if this BB PoS passes you can mark the date for the death of the GOP as 6/30/2025.

    It’s the biggest lie ever; it blows out the deficit. They’ve invented so many new ways of cheating that Bill Belichick is blushing. It breaks the Senate’s own rules, spends more money that Biden’s IRA, and

    Unless Murkowski and Collins locate a spine in the next 24 hours, they will hand the Democrats the biggest gift since G.W. Bush’s last year when the entire economy imploded. The House will flip in 2026 and any random Democrat who hasn’t been caught doing human sacrifice will win the Presidency.

    Reply ↓
    1. divadab

      I’ll never vote Democrat again. Or Republican. So far, I’m 0 for a bunch. Hoping more will join in. I mean, 60% of citizens eschew membership in either corrupt party. All that’s needed is their voting for anyone but R or D.

      Reply ↓
      1. ChrisFromGA

        Never been prouder than my vote for Jill Stein.

        We the people are screwed until we rise up and get rid of both of these pachyderm and donkey albatrosses around our necks.

        Reply ↓
    2. Martin Oline

      “any random Democrat who hasn’t been caught doing human sacrifice will win the Presidency.”
      I would say what’s not to like, but you are implying the party will nominate someone who is not a Neocon. Not gonna happen.

      Reply ↓
    3. Alice X

      Think of the trajectory of the (just to start) last 80 years of USian history, reversing the only unfinished New Deal. The Reptiles pull the republic into the mire, the D’rats, back in power, just paddle around. The curve has grown much steeper but the latter did various good things earlier on, but by the late ’70s their moral venue was vacated.

      Reply ↓
  17. The Rev Kev

    “Iran denies rumors about talks with US, says no date set”

    Would that be wise of Iran? Twice they were negotiating with him and twice he used negotiations as a cover to attack them. And then he came out later saying how he was proud of his ‘head fakes’ and mocking those killed in the attacks who would no longer be turning up in the Iranian negotiating team. If they negotiated with him, what would they have to gain? For example. He would demand to know the location of any refined material. If they refuse, he will take some sort of hard action against them. If they tell him where it is, he is liable to bomb it. If he thinks that they are weak, he is liable to demand that they stop shipping their oil to China or something. So why bother?

    Reply ↓
    1. Mikel

      Iran should be aware their opponents are looking at them like a game of Jenga – not “one big strike or operation should do it”.

      Reply ↓
  18. Culp Creek Curmudgeon

    About those state run stores. When I was a child in the 70s, my family regularly shopped at military commissaries (grocery stores) and PXs (department stores). My father was retired military. No sales tax, great selection and lower prices. And this was nationwide. I was able to do this until the early 80’s when I aged out at 22. So it can be done…

    Reply ↓
    1. Wukchumni

      They sell beer in Utah supermarkets, but ixnay on wine, so you have to go find the state liquor stores which are strategically hidden away lest oral add vice be given.

      Reply ↓
    2. scott s.

      The commissary (DeCA) system is good for remote areas or where transportation costs are high, but in competitive markets not so much. Even here in Hawaii I think Costco has taken a good share of the business.

      As far as exchanges, they have a mission as the funding source for “morale, welfare, and recreation” in the “non-appropriated fund” account so while they can’t compete with WalMart, Costco, Amazon, or Ross they still have a loyal customer base. Though over the years they have extended eligibility to just about anyone who can spell “DoD”.

      Since they decided to “de-glamorize” alcohol in the 90s the Class 6 / package stores no longer are much of a deal, and tobacco has pretty much been eliminated.

      Reply ↓
      1. Steven A

        I take advantage of the “socialist” state-run commissary at the nearby AF Base two or three times a month The prices are more than competitive for most items. However, I would describe the quality of the produce as “secend rate” and I have to be sure the read the labels on milk containers since many times the “sell by” date is very close or even past.

        Any honorably discharged veteran or DoD employee, active or retired, can shop the exchange on-line. Since I have service-connected medical condition I am allowed to use the brick-and-mortar store. The big advantage is the sales tax exemption, which can, for example, save about $75 on a MacBook Pro in this state.

        Reply ↓
    3. ChrisRUEcon

      #TYVM

      Seventeen states control liquor sales:

      What Are Alcohol Control States? (via parkstreet.com)

      Bonus: Price setting!

      “In all Control States, the minimum price for each product is set by the state, which dictates the price for the consumer.”

      Well, well … look at that … the gov’t/state setting the floor!!!

      Reply ↓
  19. The Rev Kev

    ‘Seth Abramson
    @SethAbramson
    Jun 27
    (🚨) WAIT… WHAT??
    Agents of Trump business and political partners MBS, MBZ and el-Sisi were secretly in the White House as Trump agreed to go to war with their enemy Iran?
    How is this not the big news right now? How is this not bigger than every other story media is covering?’

    I think that those countries are going to relearn an old saying. That if you want to kill the king, that you had better succeed.

    Reply ↓
  20. Ignacio

    SITREP 6/29/25: Russia Launches Largest Drone Swarm of Entire War as Ukraine Gets Forgotten Simplicius

    There is important data in that article which needs digestion and explains a lot about how the conflict is fought: data from Pokrovsk suggests that 65% of Ukrainian casualties occur well behind the line of contact by FPV drones indicating that the main objectives are the supplies to the fronts, the logistics. Why should the Russians risk in big arrow movements if they can achieve their objectives in a semi-static front with a few advances here and there. Yes advances, but small, not requiring themselves long and intense supplies that would in turn be an easy objective for Ukrainian drones. What pundits qualify as ‘stalemate’ in nothing but a very long meat grinder along the very extended front lines. For how long will the Ukrainians be able to stand this? The longer they resist the more intense debellatio of Ukraine.

    Reply ↓
    1. divadab

      It’s horrific. Not only the human destruction, but also physical plant. Yesterday, the Russians neutralized three massive cement plants. NATO apparently is forcing the Russians to destroy Ukraine by their refusal to negotiate but rather to continue to escalate weapons deliveries and warmongering rhetoric. Ghouls.

      Reply ↓
  22. Tom Stone

    Since I haven’t been able to avoid the “news” of Bezo’s wedding I will remark that trading Mackenzie Scott for Lauren Sanchez is like trading a 1939 Lincoln Zephyr convertible for a cybertruck.

    Reply ↓
    1. Maxwell Johnston

      It’s the worst trade since March 1972, when the Red Sox traded Sparky Lyle for Danny Cater. Mackenzie seems to be on the ball (or ‘in gamba’ as the Italians would say). Whereas Sanchez…..perhaps not so much. But it’s Jeff’s choice. De gustibus non disputandum est.

      Huge coverage of The Wedding of the Century here in Italy. The good citizens of Venice don’t quite know what to do. OTOH, tasteless rich Yankees renting the city for a day. OTOH, these 200 or so visitors probably generate more tax revenue (and cause less disruption) than 10,000 hit-and-run day tourists. Not an easy choice. Pecunia non olet.

      Reply ↓
      1. Wukchumni

        Perhaps similar to many, I was hoping they would eLope and honeymoon virtually at Whiskey Pete’s on the Cali border.

        Reply ↓
      2. lyman alpha blob

        The more recent Chris Sale for Vaughn Grissom deal isn’t looking so hot either, but at least Sale didn’t go to the rich and tasteless Yankees ;)

        Reply ↓
  23. Tom Stone

    Headline of the day from SFGate “ICE fears shut down 4th of July events in multiple California cities”.
    Making America Great Again one kidnapping at a time!

    Reply ↓
    1. Wukchumni

      Too bad somebody didn’t pull a fake ICE raid on Lauren Sanchez in Venice, long arm of the law and all that, and a Miranda warning in the eyes of ICE means if you look Hispanic-you might be undocumented.

      Reply ↓
  24. Jason Boxman

    The zeitgeist at NY Times today

    How to Potty-Train a Co-Worker

    When a colleague isn’t housebroken, there are options. Plus, can you tell someone they’re getting too old to work?

    Also

    Too Old for a Job?

    I own a small business and have a remote bookkeeper who works for me part time. She began working for me in person more than a decade ago and after several years switched to working remote. She’s now likely in her mid- to late 70s. I haven’t seen her in person since before Covid and she lives a couple hours away, so an in-person meeting isn’t particularly convenient for either of us. All of our correspondence is via email.

    In the last year or so, the quality of her work has slipped, and she’s begun to make small, consistent mistakes.

    COVID, is that you?

    Reply ↓
    1. juno mas

      The age of 75 is the beginning of real physical decline for most; Covid or not. (I met that milestone a few years ago.)

      Reply ↓
  25. upstater

    Democrats’ puke worthy Project 2029. Just look at the principals!

    Sound Familiar? Democrats Lay Groundwork for a ‘Project 2029’ NYT archive

    The plan to write a policy agenda for the next Democratic president is at the center of a raging debate within the party: whether its biggest problem is its ideas or its difficulty in selling them.
    …
    Many strategists see the party’s issue as more style than substance, arguing that Democrats need to do a better job at packaging and delivering their plans to voters, rather than crafting new proposals entirely.

    “We didn’t lack policies,” said Celinda Lake, a prominent Democratic pollster. “But we lacked a functioning narrative to communicate those policies.” [HUH?]
    …
    Ms. Tanden is part of a sizable advisory board for Project 2029 that includes Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser under former President Joseph R. Biden Jr.; Anne-Marie Slaughter, the former president of the New America Foundation; the economist Justin Wolfers; Felicia Wong, until recently the president of the progressive Roosevelt Institute; and Jim Kessler, a founder of the centrist group Third Way.

    Reply ↓
    1. Christopher Smith

      The Dems problem is that they have no credibility. When in power, they do little to nothing to materially improve normal people’s lives. FFS, they could not even codify Roe, or more to the point, they did not want to give up Roe-based fundraising. They can engage in whatever messaging they want, but until I see some actual results when they are in power, their words are worse than useless. Most people I know think and feel the same way.

      Reply ↓
    2. Quintian and Lucius

      Nothing says “we need to rebrand ourselves” like naming your rebranding project after a brand associated with your opposition that was already toxic. Seriously, these idiots couldn’t come up with anything better than Project 2029? Unreal.

      Reply ↓
  28. Alice X

    The Gazans are still starving.

    End the IOF, with full accountability for their crimes and their enablers.

    Reply ↓
  29. lyman alpha blob

    In the 20th century, full accountability led to the execution of the perpetrators of genocide. In a sane world. the chants at the Galstonbury concert would not be considered “anti-semitism”, but a call to justice. Of course in a sane world, things would never have devolved into atrocity, in either case

    Reply ↓
  30. Tom Stone

    A neighbor asked me to explain the difference between Putin and Trump as briefly and clearly as I could.
    I told her that one has gravitas, the other a gravid ass.

    Reply ↓
  32. Ben Panga

    Trump officials create searchable national citizenship database (Guardian)

    The rollout of the citizenship database, which is an upgraded version of an existing network of data sources, comes after the New York Times reported that software firm Palantir was selected to help develop a “mega-database” for the Trump administration.

    BP: DOGE was never about waste/efficiency. Musk was the tip of the spear, Palantir is the spear itself.

    Reply ↓
  33. Wukchumni

    Would you like to vote yes on my big beautiful bill
    Would you like to vote yes on my big beautiful bill
    We could float loans among the stars together, you and I
    For we can make it fly we can make it fly

    Up, up and away
    My beautiful, my big beautiful bill

    The world’s a nicer place in my big beautiful bill
    It wears a nicer face in my big beautiful bill
    We can sing a song and sell it using wording sly
    For we can make it fly we can make it fly

    Up, up and away
    My beautiful, my big beautiful bill
    Suspended under a Senate majority
    We’ll search the no votes for a star to guide us

    If by some chance you find yourself loving coins
    We’ll find a crypto to hide us
    We’ll keep the money beside us
    Debt up the wazoo is waiting there in my big beautiful bill
    Way up in the air in my big beautiful bill
    If you’ll vote my hand we’ll chase your dream across the sky
    For we can make it fly we can make it fly

    Up, up and away
    My beautiful, my big beautiful bill
    Bill

    Up, up, and away!

    Up, Up and Away, by The 5th Dimension

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2hI3-KvYZY&list=RDJ2hI3-KvYZY

    Reply ↓
    1. Alice X

      I played for them in a refurbished form early eighties. They were rougher.

      Ur link brings much analysis to mind for the corporate production and the civil rights progression of the time.

      btw my musical part in the ~ 80s was robust, they had good bearing

      Reply ↓
    2. ChrisFromGA

      It’s a big, beautiful piece of $h&t!!

      (Best heard in a screaming voice like the late comedian Sam Kinison.)

      Reply ↓
  34. anon

    I know so many people who are sick right now that it is seriously scary. Two relatives of mine (one by marriage) died last week. One was 60 and one was in his early 60s; in both cases it was sudden and unexpected. I presently know two people with aortic aneurysms (one in his 40s; one in his 50s). A family friend from when I was growing up died suddenly last month; he was 56 years old. An acquaintance’s 40-something nephew just developed sudden and complete kidney failure and is now on dialysis. A relative of mine (by marriage) is now in the hospital with pneumonia; she is 82 years old but she is the most healthy person that age I know.

    There is something very wrong going on!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    I think it is long term effects from covid. Maybe it is the vaccines, too.

    Reply ↓
  35. ChrisFromGA

    Sung to tune of, “Running Down a Dream” by Tom Petty

    Melody

    It was a beautiful bill
    A bums beatdown
    The stench was really quite strong
    Donkeys were cryin’

    Trees went bye-bye
    A piece of mud went flinging
    A debt-load runaway
    MAGA was a lie

    Trump’s runnin’ out of steam
    It never would come to be
    Just like Roman history …
    We’re going wherever he leads
    Runnin’ outta steam

    It felt so good, accounting fraud was possible
    Ethics on cruise control, no red lines
    The last three days, the lies were unstoppable
    The breeze was always cold, from Elon’s side

    Trump’s runnin’ out of steam
    It never would come to be
    Just like Roman history …
    We’re going wherever he leads
    Runnin’ outta steam

    Whoo-hoo! 6x

    The lies rolled on, the Senate grew dark,
    Thune put the pedal down, like Roman times
    There’s something bad waiting down this road
    I’m picking up an end times vibe

    Trump’s runnin’ out of steam
    It never would come to be
    Just like Roman history …
    We’re going wherever he leads
    Runnin’ outta steam

    (Repeat chorus)

    Whoo-hoo … whoo-hoo … whoo-hoo (repeat, guitar solo)

    Reply ↓
  36. Jason Boxman

    There’s a Race to Power the Future. China Is Pulling Away.

    Beijing is selling clean energy to the world, Washington is pushing oil and gas. Both are driven by national security.

    This is the electrification wet-dream that liberal Democrats cling to. Truth is, if we don’t end the consumer goods economy immediately in its entirety, we’re all cooked. Done.

    The greatest threat to Climate adaptation at this point is definitely liberal Democrats. Conservative Denialism is a sideshow at this point; it inflicted its damage over the past 50 years, but that era is gone. Insurers know the score and they’re going to increasingly price in risk, because their executives want to make bank, and keep making bank. The profit incentive is focusing their minds. Conservatives can continue wanking for all it matters at this stage of the game.

    Liberal belief in a Climate Magic Pony to save us is our final act of denialism.

    Reply ↓
  37. Jim Brown

    What is farcical is that if Kim Philby had never been caught there would never have been a monument built in his name or a postage stamp issued in his honour and we would probably never had heard that much about him even though he was a cousin of Field Marshal Montgomery.

    The secret world of MI6 can be a small one as portrayed by Damian Lewis and Guy Pearce in A spy Amongst Friends about Kim Philby and if you haven’t read it yet, Ben Macintyre will be disappointed!

    As all espionage cognoscenti know, Kim Philby was a member of the infamous Cambridge Five along with Anthony Blunt, Donald Maclean, Guy Burgess and John Cairncross. Philby knew John le Carré (aka David Cornwell) and ended le Carré’s career in MI6 by treacherously informing on all his East European secret agents.

    Philby (and maybe other Famous Five members) also knew Colonel Alan Brooke Pemberton CVO MBE in the fifties when Pemberton was ADC to Field Marshal Sir Gerald Walter Robert Templer and fought in the guerrilla war known as the Malayan Emergency. Philby was sniffing around for information to help the communist Malayan insurgents but got little useful data from Templer’s camp and the insurgents (the Malayan National Liberation Army) were eventually defeated by the British.

    In the early seventies Alan Pemberton recruited one Bill Fairclough for MI6 (codename JJ). They worked together on and off for the next twenty years or so. Before 2014 Fairclough’s links with various intelligence agencies became public knowledge and to quash any fake narratives Fairclough set about publishing a series of factual autobiographical novels known as The Burlington Files, only one of which (Beyond Enkription) has been published to date.

    Given Alan Pemberton (Fairclough’s original MI6 handler knew Kim Philby) it is unsurprising that John le Carré turned down Bill Fairclough’s offer in 2014 to collaborate on the action packed factual Burlington Files series. David Cornwell responded along the lines of “Why should I? I’ve got by so far without collaboration so why bother now?”

    An expected but realistic response from a famous expert in passive fiction who refused to visit theburlingtonfiles.org in case his photo was snatched while on line! Pemberton’s People in MI6 even included Roy Astley Richards OBE (Winston Churchill’s bodyguard) and an eccentric British Brigadier (Peter ‘Scrubber’ Stewart-Richardson) who was once refused permission to join the Afghan Mujahideen. For more beguiling anecdotes best read a brief and intriguing News Article about Pemberton’s People in MI6 dated 3 May 2024 in TheBurlingtonFiles website and then read Beyond Enkription.

    Reply ↓

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