Home » Open thread 9/3/2024

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Open thread 9/3/2024 — 27 Comments

  1. I see “bikini” photos on the Daily Mail. These ’20s bathing suits are more attractive and more comfortable.

  2. in time te Middle Kingdom will take a slice, but probably not before Taiwan, China who hasn’t really been at war in any substantive way since 1979 and that was with Vietnam

  3. Nice to see Florida back on its feet again after the 1926 hurricane.

    Today is primary day. Republicans are only contesting one office and I don’t know how to choose between them — none of them is going to win anyway. Maybe I’ll take a Democrat ballot to vote against the woman from the next town over who showed up in a youtube ad trying to turn the vote for a relatively unimportant state office into a referendum on abortion (and her own abortion), which isn’t in any way a real issue in the race or in the state. Affluent White Female Liberal cosplay has made politics even worse than it usually was.

  4. so apparently the nashville shooter manifesto was released, and it was worse than we though,only samizdat outlets have it,

  5. Robert Reich and Hillary Clinton agree — Musk is a dangerous threat to us and others through his X social media platform and must be utterly stopped, even if it takes his arrest.

    But Jonathan Turley is on the case. Speech tyrants are everywhere all the rage, permitting only their “light.”

    Here’s an excerpt:

    Like Hillary Clinton, Reich is calling on foreign governments and censors to silence American citizens including Musk: “Regulators around the world should threaten Musk with arrest if he doesn’t stop disseminating lies and hate on X.”

    He even appears willing to undermine national security programs to stop unfettered free speech. He called for the U.S. government to cut off contracts with his companies despite their critical role in various national security efforts, including the possible rescue of the stranded two astronauts currently in space.

    None of that matters to Reich who appears to view free speech as a greater threat to our nation: “Why is the US government allowing Musk’s satellites and rocket launchers to become crucial to the nation’s security when he’s shown utter disregard for the public interest? Why give Musk more economic power when he repeatedly abuses it and demonstrates contempt for the public good?”

    Reich’s call to regulate speech in the public interest is the Siren’s Call of every authoritarian regime in history. He will presumably tell us what speech is no longer tolerable for public policy reasons.

    Our “Indispensable Right” will, according to Reich, be safely in the hands of the European censors who can protect us from errant and dangerous thoughts.
    https://www.zerohedge.com/political/robert-reich-calls-arrest-elon-musk-resisting-censorship

    I recall the siren, decades ago, of a certain health and eating star, Susan Powter, whose signal to the public problem was “Stop the madness!”

    Well. Then “Stop The Madness!”

  6. RE: UFOs and NHIs, “the folks from out of town”

    As more and more evidence accumulates, more whistleblowers appear, and more and more people in the know feel they are able to drop more and more pieces of information, I’m guessing that an increasing number of formerly asleep people are starting to wake up to the startling fact that UFOs are a real physical (and perhaps also partly non-physical or mental) phenomenon, and so are the NHIs directing them, and that, “we are not alone.”

    Some of the next questions which naturally arise are, what is the nature of these NHI’s, and what might they want with us, with planet Earth and, potentially, with our Solar System?

    In evaluating the possible motives of these NHIs—which Lou Elizondo has recently humorously characterized as “the folks from out of town”–I suspect in an attempt to make these NHIs seem less scary–Elizondo has pointed out that, while they have been and are obviously surveilling us–and especially our military and atomic assets–they have not done anything obvious to help the people of this Earth—not stopped our development and use of atomic weapons, or their spread, not stopped various wars or assorted genocides, starvation, or pandemics around the world.

    Thus, there is no evidence to prove their active beneficence.

    There are, however, as Elizondo points out, the well documented 1977 attacks by UFOs against the people of the island of Colares in Brazil, which terrified many, and injured, or even killed, some of the natives who lived there.

    There are also all of the reports of Abductions, and the reported extraction of human sperm and ova, leading to some reports of the apparent production of alien-human hybrids.

    Kidnapping and the violation of people’s bodies against their wills, certainly does not seem to be a benevolent act.

    Cattle Mutilations? The extraction of some critical biological material, just sadism, or deliberately bizarre, violent, and senseless acts, designed to confuse, and just “mess” with us?

    (I’m discounting the well documented, harmful biological effects which have been visited upon those humans who have just gotten too close to the energy fields which apparently surround UFOs. This damage appears to be accidental.)

    Thus, there is some proof of deliberate NHI malevolence

    Looking at the many reports, my guess is that we are dealing with a number of different species of actors—so far, from their actions or the lack thereof, some neutral, some malevolent—and each with its own agenda, and MO.

    But, if there are actually any benevolent NHIs out there, they have yet to act in our behalf, at least in any way that we are aware of.

    What do these “people from out of town” want?

    Some particular mineral, biological, or chemical resources, human created artifacts—art works, music, literature, genetic material or, are we and our human antics just “entertainment,” Jerry Springer writ large?

    Any of the above, all of the above, or something we would have trouble even recognizing, or understanding as being of some use or value?

    Who knows?

  7. It’s worth a regular trip to your site just to see the interesting video clips you post, although it is not the only reason to visit.

  8. Ever had the experience of talking about something or some product and, then, seemingly miraculously, an ad for that type of product shows up on your computer soon after, sometimes even the same day?

    Well, it appears that some companies are listening in–via your cellphone–to your conversations, and directing ads to you, based on those conversations.*

    * See https://nypost.com/2024/09/03/business/marketing-firm-spies-on-you-through-your-phones-microphone-report/

  9. Snow on Pine (12:22 pm):
    RE: UFOs and NHIs, “the folks from out of town”

    Snow on Pine, I really appreciate your periodic updates regarding UFOs/NHIs. It’s something that interests me a great deal. I occasionally look deeper into this event or that event, but I do not take the time to delve deeply into the subject on a continuing basis. Your occasional posts on the subject whet my appetite.

    So, be aware that there’s at least one neophile out there who is interested in whatever you find on the subject that may be of interest. Thanxabunch!

  10. M J R–Of course, it could be said that there is evidence of what we humans might see as some NHIs trying to be benevolent, if you count the many reported telepathic communications from various NHIs, who land, or appear, and warn about us humans destroying our environment, or being on the precipice of a cataclysmic or even and “extinction level” nuclear war.

    Then, on the other hand, you have the Aliens who, according to his books, initially raped Whitley Strieber, as what he calls an “initiatory experience,” and who now,he says, interact with him and communicate their “wisdom” to with him on a routine basis (some Stockholm syndrome there?).

    That’s why, as Lou Elizondo and others have said/speculated, it looks like we are not being “visited” by just one species of NHIs but by several, each with it’s own agenda and objectives.

    The problem being that, in the face of such demonstrated “force majeure,” we humans–and, I note, our militaries as well–are apparently powerless.

  11. Snow on Pine,

    It’s occurred to me in the past, how NHIs “warn about us humans destroying our environment, or being on the precipice of a cataclysmic or even and ‘extinction level’ nuclear war.”

    What’s occurred to me is that I’ve yet to hear/read about an NHI (or collection of them?) extol the virtues of free market economics, for example. All the NHI warnings and such seem to be left-oriented. Am I mistaken? Have you ever heard/seen a communication from NHIs that might reasonably be called right-oriented?

    To me (unless I am mistaken), it lends credence to the hypothesis that such NHI communications really originate in the minds of humans, particularly afflicting those humans who are very susceptible to
    – mental suggestibility, and
    – embracing thought-free platitudes.

    I confess I am pretty skeptical of Whitley Strieber, based on looking into his claims many years ago, and I’ll leave it at that.

    I’m a little familiar with the idea that there are many species of NHIs; my best reaction is, why the h#ll not? Why should there be only one species of “folks from out of town”?

    Finally, yes, we evidently are powerless against these beings/forces. So be it.

  12. Are we there yet?

    “The aim of constantly lying is not to make people believe a lie, but to ensure that no one believes in anything anymore. A people that can no longer distinguish between truth and lies cannot distinguish between good and evil. And such a people, deprived of the power of thought and judgment, without knowing it or wanting it, are completely subjected to the empire of lies. With such people you can do whatever you want.”
    ~Hannah Arendt,

  13. Now, within the past couple of years, one UFO snooping around San Diego area military facilities sauntered out to sea, where it then descended and submerged itself under the water. I know of no reports of it reappearing later.

    Here’s where I’m going with this. If there’s an NHI underwater/underground base here on earth, I imagine it would be in the NHIs’ self-interest to lobby for a clean environment and (especially) against human-instigated nuclear war.

    I cannot see it being in the NHIs’ self-interest to advocate for the adoption of free market economics among humans. (Why would they care?) So there’s that . . .

  14. My grandmother was a flapper.

    The clip is interesting. With color, sound and motion it looks like the Florida beach scenes I grow up in — only different clothes and more of them. I can smell the salt air and feel the muffled crunch of the sand under my feet.

    B&W stills from other eras don’t look quite real to me.

  15. Brian E (7:37 pm) asks, “Are we there yet?”

    We’re not quite there, but the trajectory is not encouraging.

    Arendt asserts, “A people that can no longer distinguish between truth and lies cannot distinguish between good and evil.”

    It seems to me that a people can nonetheless “distinguish between good and evil,” even when it has become difficult/impossible to “distinguish between truth and lies.”

    I think that people with good motives and good hearts may end up pursuing courses of action based on lies, and in that process end up supporting very evil courses of action. But the distinguishing between good and evil will still be there.

    Presumably, were they to awaken to truth(s), then the courses of action will change into good courses of action, but by what mechanism/process are people going to awaken to truth(s)? — especially since “a mind is a difficult thing to change”.

  16. huxley,

    My grandmother was also a flapper. I was surprised when I saw an old photo of her in standard, flapper attire. Not surprised she was strong and independent in her single days, I just never imagined she had time for leisure. It was heart warming to learn that about her!

  17. A fascinating look into the cultural norms my father in 1922 was born into, a WWII Vet and the finest man I’ve ever known.

  18. Tucker Carlson gave an effusive welcome to one Darryl Cooper, a podcaster who has published no books. Mr. Cooper’s project appears to be to propagate the historiography of David Irving and Mark Weber for another generation.

  19. Art Deco, I’ve been wondering if anyone would comment about Tucker Carlson giving a warm welcome to such a misguided historical presentation. Sad to see Carlson’s mind degenerating.

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