I just love this couple. They are so genuinely touching:
Comments
Open thread 11/25/2024 — 45 Comments
“There’s never any election fraud – except when there is”
• Many are aware of the significant/ historic records and gains in Trump’ 2024 election victory.
• Have been looking at some other historical compares/ trends – not in the headlines – and turned my attention to the 2020 v. 2024 Bellwether County results (see link below).
• Trump won most of the Bellwether Counties in 2024 – like he did in 2016 & 2020 – and just like that the Bellwether Counties went back to being an accurate predictor of which candidate would win.
• In 2020 Biden lost almost every Bellwether County – which collectively have predicted the winner of the presidential race correctly since 1980, some longer – and yet the public was told there were no indications of fraud in 2020.
• This year may have been ‘To Big to Rig’, or maybe some of the 2020 cheaters could not do that again in 2024, or something else.
Reading a new biography of Antoine de St-Exupery…In addition to St-Exupery’s literary work, his interaction with local tribesmen in North Africa, and his love affairs, the book extensively discusses the courageous work in reliable airmail service that was pioneered by St-Ex and his friends. Reminded me of a post I wrote several years ago and just updated & reposted: Lighted Airways and the Radio Range.
Yeah, I like the MerchantOfAlba couple and even that song. Noticed some weeks back that when I’m using the Epic browser the videos don’t work at neo blog. Epic has an encrypted proxy and when it is on then the videos don’t work…
Must have been around 1977 that song appeared on the air. Overpraised and overplayed.
==
Reading the Billboard 100 for 1977 is a reminder of how much that is popular in the moment is forgotten or best forgotten.
==
Some, maybe still of interest (or, maybe, just nostalgia):
== https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dJ30dREjaE
== https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHa1hiFYbFQ
Sayer is still performing! Had no idea he was British. Looks good for his age. Still has the curly mop of hair. Wonder if his falsetto is still strong?
Did anyone else listen to DJT on the John Solomon’s podcast last month? It was the Oct 23rd edition, titled ‘Donald Trump reveals to John Solomon what he might do with gain of function research, believed to be center of Wuhan lab outbreak?’
Trumps answer, starting at the 12:50 mark, was nonresponsive.
Here is John’s question:
“People still reeling from the damage of the COVID-19 pandemic and what China did. We now know the truth. You were right. It did emanate from Wuhan. And our best scientists, our best FBI experts think that gain of function research was the impetus for this. That got restarted about a decade ago. If you’re president, do you consider an executive order saying no more gain of function research?”
Here is Trump’s answer: “I think that’s something we would certainly discuss.” From there he goes on to remind us that he was against giving money to China (not necessarily against gain-of-function research), and that he maintained from the start that the virus began in Wuhan.
And that’s it. My heart sank.
I premise that Biden’s 2020 winning margin could not have been achieved without the human-caused pandemic. Does Trump not appreciate this? Does he not understand what ‘gain-of-function’ means? I don’t care where the research is conducted, it’s a terrible idea concocted by people who don’t hold the best interests of me and my family in mind. Not a penny of my tax dollars should support it, punctum. We should conduct our foreign relations so as to combat any such activity. What’s to ‘discuss?’
Per Hot Air, the French paper Le Monde is reporting that the UK and France are discussing sending troops to Ukraine in anticipation of Trump reducing US aid. The reporting also suggests that Biden is considering giving Zelensky nukes.
If there is any truth to this, it is absolutely insane. My view of Trump is well-known around here. Whatever his warts, however much I doubt that he can successfully reform the administrative state, Trump can’t take office soon enough. Either intentionally or through ideological blindness, these fools are going to provoke a nuclear exchange.
Daily update by Willy OAM, a former Australian soldier covering the Ukraine-Russia War. Willy spent 6-1/2 months in Ukraine and has a good knowledge of the war.
Fast forward to minute 25 where Willy discusses a recent Economist article about the situation on the front in the Zaporizhia region where there is speculation Russia will attack this winter.
Jim re “gain of function” & Trump:
I don’t take his answer how you have.
Interview didn’t force the question.
That said, I agree we shouldn’t fund or allow it, anywhere we have control.
I hope RFK Jr, Dr. Oz, et al, agree, & do any convincing needed!!
The level of psy-ops propaganda is reaching defcon 5.
The same David Strom also has an article asking the question whether Germany should invoke Article 5 against Ukraine for blowing up the Nord Stream pipeline.
Brian E – It was the Wall Street Journal that quoted a “a senior German official familiar with the probe” musing about whether Article 5 of the NATO treaty could be invoked against Ukraine. Strom at HotAir just cited the WSJ story the same way that he cited Le Monde today. The WSJ Editorial page, at least, is very pro-Ukraine, although I think the cited article is from the newsroom side.
And the story that Zelensky purportedly ordered that the pipeline NOT be bombed immediately before it was sounds a lot like a CYA move to me.
You’re probably not wrong about psy-ops. Who knows what is actually going on.
Thanks all for reminding me how bad I hated the 70’s.
Biden can’t give Ukraine nukes. Also gain of function research is a war crime.
Was thinking this morning about the martyr William Tyndale.
Famous last words, “Lord ! Open the eyes of the King of England ! “
Re: Leo Sayer “When I Need You” reaction
My goodness. I knew I had heard that melody from somewhere. Leonard Cohen strikes again:
___________________________________
Leonard Cohen sued Hammond and Bayer Sager over a piece of the chorus melody [of “When I Need You”] that was similar to his “Famous Blue Raincoat.”
Even though Hammond wrote the music, Bayer Sager was still party to the claim because the credit attributed the music and lyrics to both of them.
Cohen recalled to the Globe & Mail in 2006: “Somebody sued them on my behalf… and they did settle, even though they hired a musicologist, who said that particular motif was in the public domain and, in fact, could be traced back as far as Schubert.”
I once memorized the lyrics to “Famous Blue Raincoat” while I had a summer job literally sweeping the beach clean and straight for a posh Sarasota hotel.
It’s one of Cohen’s greatest songs IMO. It’s a song about a love triangle. but the trick is that the male base points aren’t two competing men, but the two sides of Cohen himself — the everyman guy and the flamboyant, questing romantic.
______________________________________
And what can I tell you my brother, my killer?
What can I possibly say?
I guess that I miss you. I guess I forgive you
I’m glad you stood in my way
If you ever come by here for Jane or for me
Well, your enemy is sleeping and his woman is free
When my ship came in, I bought my own Famous Blue Raincoat. Though I rarely feel worthy to wear it.
”Either intentionally or through ideological blindness, these fools are going to provoke a nuclear exchange.”
Why does this surprise you? Russia is genociding the Ukraine. The Ukrainians don’t want to be genocided. They prefer to fight back with conventional weapons, but since we’ve stopped giving them Abrams and Bradleys, they’re looking for other weapons to use. One way or another, they will eventually find them.
America’s cutting off of aid will **not** end the war. It will extend it — and increase the death toll on both sides.
This is not hard to see for most people, but some people have what you call “ideological blindness.”
”The same David Strom also has an article asking the question whether Germany should invoke Article 5 against Ukraine for blowing up the Nord Stream pipeline.”
Oh good grief! Why would Germany call upon a military alliance to attack an ally because a pipeline belonging to an enemy that wasn’t even being used blew up?
Talk about ideological blindness!
This was the Leo Sayer song I remember being played endlessly on the radio.
I see the 13 Minute Club has gained two new members; hair on fire, 1000 days of it.
One of the issues I have with the Ukraine-Russia War is the tendency of Ukraine hawks to engage in faulty thinking. It’s displayed in comments here, where the argument is ‘on the one hand Russia is about to lose it’s ability to keep up with manpower and equipment demands based on their attritional warmaking, but at the same time if we don’t totally defeat the Russians now, they’ll roll through Ukraine and endanger Europe’.
We see that on display in this conversation between Ward Carroll and Dr. Justin Bronk.
Dr. Bronk rightfully points out that a few of NATO members are still failing to live up to their 2% defense commitment and he even chides them for it. Ward than postulates that Trump could just raise his demands to 2.5% or even 3%.
Remember, it wasn’t Trump that set the 2% threshold on defense spending. That was agreed upon by NATO members in 2014 in response to defense concerns following Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
But why shouldn’t NATO countries spend 2.5% or even 3% on defense if that’s what it takes to be secure from Russian aggression? Isn’t that the definition of “peace through strength”?
Recently mkent made the point that it was going to take decades for Russia to completely take the four oblasts they annexed in Ukraine based on the progress they were currently making.
But we’re to believe Russia will conquer all of Ukraine and even Europe if they aren’t driven out of eastern Ukraine now. That is the argument against settling the war now on terms that will most likely be favorable to Russia. They argue it will only delay the inevitable because once Russia reloads it will be on to Kyiv. Forget that Russia has only progressed 1/3 of the way to Kyiv at the cost of 200,000 deaths and a severe strain on the Russian economy.
No one even suggests there is a third alternative– that Ukraine and the European countries “reload” as well. That Ukraine and the Europeans spend sufficient money to create their own “peace through strength.”
This is the fallacy of their reasoning. What they are wishing for is the US to spend it’s capital defeating Russia for the benefit of Ukraine and Europe– while they, for the most part, have no intention of realistically providing a level of defense spending that would thwart Russia’s ambitions. That conclusion seems obvious based on what little the Europeans have done after recognizing Russia’s ambitions and now they see the aggression their reluctance to raise their defense spending to counter the perceived Russian threat.
We would be better served to settle the war now and spend the money to strengthen Ukraine while chiding the European countries to provide for their own defense. That is the best way to prevent future ambitions by Russia.
‘NATO is a defensive alliance. If France and/or the UK were to send troops into Ukraine to fight, this would not obligate the US to respond in any way. Those countries would be engaging in war outside of NATO.
What would be problematic would be the response when and if Russia retaliated by a strike directly on one of those countries. But even that wouldn’t require a direct military response.
Regarding Article 5: This assistance is taken forward in concert with other Allies. It is not necessarily military and depends on the material resources of each country. It is therefore left to the judgment of each individual member country to determine how it will contribute. Each country will consult with the other members, bearing in mind that the ultimate aim is to “to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area”.
It appears Washington DC is a very small town. This explains how Julia Nesheiwat got on the radar for Surgeon General, given her positions on COVID 19 vaccines.
This is a twofer. Mike Waltz talks to Fox News as well.
Mike Waltz is married to Julia Nesheiwat, the sister of Surgeon General nominee Janette Nesheiwat.
Julia, who -like all other people who work in DC silos- has never taken a married name. Julia Nesheiwat was born in Carmel, New York, in 1975 to Jordanian Christian immigrants and raised in Umatilla, Florida. She has a BA from Stetson University, an MA from Georgetown, and a PhD from Tokyo Tech.
Julia Nesheiwat became a military intelligence officer. She received the Bronze Star Medal during Operation Enduring Freedom in Iraq. She departed the military as captain. Julia Nesheiwat served in several U.S. administrations. Under George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump, she held senior national security and economic policy positions. Her most notable role was as Trump’s 10th Homeland Security Advisor from 2020 to 2021. Her Bush administration posts included State Department seniority and Office of the Director of National Intelligence Policy Chief.
Suffice to say their bedroom conversations are likely Intel Community shop talk.
“Oh good grief! Why would Germany call upon a military alliance to attack an ally because a pipeline belonging to an enemy that wasn’t even being used blew up?”
It wouldn’t. The German official was suggesting that it COULD because said ally appears to have destroyed a piece of German infrastructure. The article suggests that the destruction of the Nordstream occurred in German territory. Does that mean that Germany should invoke NATO against Ukraine? No. Is it raining to the conversation, though? Absolutely.
“Russia is genociding the Ukraine. The Ukrainians don’t want to be genocided. They prefer to fight back with conventional weapons, but since we’ve stopped giving them Abrams and Bradleys, they’re looking for other weapons to use. One way or another, they will eventually find them.”
Or – we help negotiate an end to the conflict that gives both sides less than what they want and prevents a wider, potentially nuclear war. Putin is a barbaric thug. That doesn’t mean that we have an obligation to fight a world war or that we all need to die in a nuclear exchange. If we believed that Putin was bent on creating a new Russia empire and stretching it into central or western Europe, then yes we might need to go all in to defeat him, but I see no indication that he, or his military, are in any shape to do that or that he’s particularly eager for a war with NATO.
Gazprom is a Russian firm but thr financing came from a German bank Dresdnee which had a former stasi agent on its board it runs by vyborg which used to be swedish territory till the 2nd war with Russia thus ends the lesson
Hello. I’m close to the end of reading the first volume of Kotkin’s Stalin bio. He makes an interesting case for unraveling the puzzle of the man and I do feel I understand quite a bit more than I used to. It looks as if 1927-28 was a critical period. But now I find there are two more volumes to read… Vol. 2 has been in circulation for some time and Vol. 3 isn’t even out yet.
It seems that the pro-Russia/Iran supporters in the Republican party are going to put Putin’s paid Russian Trolls out of a job—good, that’ll put them on the frontline in Ukraine where Russia needs more troops.
pro-Russia/Iran American support seems to be taking a page out of the DEMs MSM’s playbook over the past week or two – not quite 24/7 yet, but obviously trying to approach that ability.
The pro-Russia/Iran supporters in the Republican party are now pushing the ol’ Tale — supporting the ‘Rapist‘ whilst telling the ‘Rape Victim‘ to just lay back ‘n enjoy it.
Sebastian Gorka, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick as senior director for counterterrorism, made several statements in favor of Israel recently, including that “Palestine” doesn’t exist and that IDF generals should forget about diplomacy and focus on defeating terrorists militarily.
***
“Why can’t you talk about genocide in Gaza? And is that the same with all of the Trump team?” the host of an RT talk show asked Gorka, who responded, “Because there isn’t any genocide in Gaza. There is no such thing as Palestine.”
Gorka added that the “etymology of the word Palestinian” is a “name invented by the Roman Empire to insult Jews.” The host informed Gorka that “the rest of the world disagrees with you.” Gorka replied, “I’m glad you talk for the rest of the world.”
The host, Afshin Rattansi, cited the United Nation’s support for Palestinians, launching Gorka on a monologue about the international body.
“The United Nations that sends people in blue helmets to rape little girls in Africa,” he said. “Why did I not listen to the United Nations? What a clown show, really. As far as I’m concerned, the United Nations could be pushed into the Hudson, OK? What have they done to solve anything of late except create child prostitution rackets in Africa?”
Some supporters of President-elect Donald Trump have been disappointed by his picks to fill out his new national security team, even lobbing accusations of them being “neocons” — but individuals familiar with the transition and the president-elect’s foreign policy record said those picks can be put to use accomplishing an America First agenda.
For Secretary of State, Trump tapped Sen. Marco Rubio, along with Rep. Michael Waltz for National Security Advisor and Rep. Elise Stefanik for United Nations Ambassador. The picks turned heads because they are viewed as having more “hawkish” beliefs.
“If you take a look at what Trump is doing across his cabinet picks, he’s building the MAGA movement to go well beyond his Republican base, which is why he’s plugged in Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F Kennedy. He’s making a bigger tent, and that is the stuff of legacy” …
***
“Trump is now savvy about how Washington works, and likely knows he needs the neocons. They’re more entrenched in D.C. than America first…
***
“I think that ideology doesn’t really mean that much, whether it’s neocon or isolationist or Jacksonian or Hamiltonian. At the end of the day, Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, are going to test President Trump in some way…
We’ll see. Trump is way ahead of Feb. 2017 and looks to hit the ground running this time. Firmly believe that CoS Susie Wiles is his best pick yet, and that she may be responsible for his unusual silence…
Re: Stalin
Philip Sells:
I’ve read that after the Nazi invasion of the USSR in WW II and things were going badly, Stalin disappeared to his dacha somewhere and just got drunk for several days.
Anything to that?
huxley, I guess I’ll let you know when I get there. That will probably be in the first couple of chapters of the promised volume number three.
Solzhenitsyn mentions something like this in one of his novels, perhaps it was “The First Circle”.
IIRC, on hearing that the Germans had launched Operation Barbarossa—meaning that Hitler had shredded the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, Stalin went into a deep funk because, according to Solzhenitsyn, he had previously believed that Hitler was the ONLY true friend he had….
(In addition to this bitter personal betrayal, just how much Stalin was ALSO thinking of the cream of the Soviet officers corps, which he had just recently executed, is open to question….)
Day by Day cartoons are all over The View – LEGAL NOTE
The legal notes — which are disclaimers provided by the subjects’ lawyers — pertained to remarks made on-air by hosts Joy Behar, Sara Haines, Ana Navarro, Sunny Hostin and Alyssa Farah Griffin.
***
“One minute, I just got a note,” Behar told the audience while looking down at her device. “We have to clarify that Santos eventually reached a plea deal after pleading guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.”
***
In the same segment, the “View” ladies discussed sexual assault allegations made against Trump’s first pick for attorney general, Matt Gaetz, and for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth.
***
“I have a legal note,” she stated. “Matt Gaetz has long denied all allegations and has not been charged with any crime.”
“Also, another legal note,” Hostin continued. “Pete Hegseth’s lawyer said he paid [his assault accuser] in 2023 to head off the threat of a baseless lawsuit. He has denied any wrongdoing. “
Several minutes later, Hostin — a onetime prosecutor — issued a fourth legal disclaimer pertaining to Pam Bondi, Trump’s new nominee for attorney general.
“I’m sorry everyone, I have another legal note,” Hostin told the audience, to which Behar could be heard groaning, “Oh my God.”
*** “We’re going to call [the show] ‘The Legal Note,’” Behar quipped.
Walmart’s pivot is the latest domino to fall in a growing conservative crusade against DEI initiatives and underscores the increasing pressures faced by corporate America as it continues to navigate the fallout from the Supreme Court’s ruling in June 2023 that ended affirmative action in college admissions.
Looks like the Pendulum has definitely started its swing back. ‘Thangs can move slow, but the election showed there had been a huge move away from Child Butchery & Govt pushing parents aside in order to brainwash innocent Children.
Dissident soviet historiam Roy Medvedev treats at some length of Stalin’s dissappearance at the onset of Operation Barbarossa in his book “Let History Judge”.
This story has tentacles back through, not just the Biden administration, but all the way back to the Obama administration, and it could be something that jeopardizes the broader green energy agenda and the future of leftist solar projects on federal lands. At least one congresswoman is already formally pressing the DOJ for answers, and more members of Congress are likely to get involved soon. It could even have major implications for the incoming administration’s energy policy.
From memory, McMeekin (Stalin’s War) does write a bit about this. He claims well placed spies were well aware of Barbarossa, and even knew the date of the attack. But, as huxley put it, …and things were going badly, Stalin disappeared. I believe it was during the schocking rapid advance phase of the German assault, when Ukrainian troops were putting up virtually no resistance, that Stalin pulled his disappearing act. I could have the timing a bit wrong here, and I can’t remember if it was fact or urban legend.
yes, Stalin had two sets of informers, there was the Rote Kapelle, and then there was Demidov, an agent named Monarch,* who operated inside the white Russian community in Germany, both tipped him off, of course since the Abwehr was not actually operating as active intelligence, in the lead up to Barbarossa,
*I found that out from max hastings previous work on ciphers and spyrings,
Miguel: and Richard Sorge in Japan, who passed on information about the impending invasion from sources in the German embassy in Tokyo. Stalin ignored it.
One of the issues I have with the Ukraine-Russia War is the tendency of Ukraine hawks to engage in faulty thinking.
==
The supposedly unfaulty thinking of Putin partisans has been telling all of us for 21 months that Ukrainian resistance will collapse any day now.
“…21 months that Ukrainian resistance will collapse any day now.” -Art Deco
The flip side of that was Russia was running out of missiles and their soldier were fighting with shovels. Neither has turned out to be true.
The point of my comment was there is a third strategy that doesn’t require the loss of several hundred thousand more lives.
Ukraine’s claims that 700,000 Russian soldiers have died already and westerrn sources estimate that 100-200,000 Ukrainians have died. The war needs to end. Continuing the war with similar deaths and then settling the war with collapse or negotiations is cruel on our part, IMO.
The point of my comment was there is a third strategy that can maintain Ukraine as a sovereign nation. It’s going to take hundreds of billions of dollars to rebuild Ukraine’s infrastructure and economy. Right now Ukraine’s government is running a 50% deficit.
The longer the war lasts, the more likely the millions of Ukrainians that fled the country won’t return.
The European countries and Ukraine can embark on a strategy of “peace through strength”. Create a defensive military strength that will deter any future Russian aggression west. That is the best strategy.
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“There’s never any election fraud – except when there is”
• Many are aware of the significant/ historic records and gains in Trump’ 2024 election victory.
• Have been looking at some other historical compares/ trends – not in the headlines – and turned my attention to the 2020 v. 2024 Bellwether County results (see link below).
https://salliesrebuildingamerica.com/bellwether-counties-2020-2/#google_vignette
• Trump won most of the Bellwether Counties in 2024 – like he did in 2016 & 2020 – and just like that the Bellwether Counties went back to being an accurate predictor of which candidate would win.
• In 2020 Biden lost almost every Bellwether County – which collectively have predicted the winner of the presidential race correctly since 1980, some longer – and yet the public was told there were no indications of fraud in 2020.
• This year may have been ‘To Big to Rig’, or maybe some of the 2020 cheaters could not do that again in 2024, or something else.
Reading a new biography of Antoine de St-Exupery…In addition to St-Exupery’s literary work, his interaction with local tribesmen in North Africa, and his love affairs, the book extensively discusses the courageous work in reliable airmail service that was pioneered by St-Ex and his friends. Reminded me of a post I wrote several years ago and just updated & reposted: Lighted Airways and the Radio Range.
https://chicagoboyz.net/archives/72417.html
Yeah, I like the MerchantOfAlba couple and even that song. Noticed some weeks back that when I’m using the Epic browser the videos don’t work at neo blog. Epic has an encrypted proxy and when it is on then the videos don’t work…
Must have been around 1977 that song appeared on the air. Overpraised and overplayed.
==
Reading the Billboard 100 for 1977 is a reminder of how much that is popular in the moment is forgotten or best forgotten.
==
Some, maybe still of interest (or, maybe, just nostalgia):
==
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dJ30dREjaE
==
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHa1hiFYbFQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xH7cSSKnkL4
==
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYRjvH1NGVo
Sayer is still performing! Had no idea he was British. Looks good for his age. Still has the curly mop of hair. Wonder if his falsetto is still strong?
https://www.thequeenshall.net/whats-on/leo-sayer-still-feel-dancing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rzk3x3HZbJI
==
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYTfV5o2ZMY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETFvmkIA6S4
==
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrF4nF8VUb4
(Who will be nostalgic for 2024?)
Did anyone else listen to DJT on the John Solomon’s podcast last month? It was the Oct 23rd edition, titled ‘Donald Trump reveals to John Solomon what he might do with gain of function research, believed to be center of Wuhan lab outbreak?’
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/donald-trump-reveals-to-john-solomon-what-he-might/id1495251160?i=1000674222729
Trumps answer, starting at the 12:50 mark, was nonresponsive.
Here is John’s question:
“People still reeling from the damage of the COVID-19 pandemic and what China did. We now know the truth. You were right. It did emanate from Wuhan. And our best scientists, our best FBI experts think that gain of function research was the impetus for this. That got restarted about a decade ago. If you’re president, do you consider an executive order saying no more gain of function research?”
Here is Trump’s answer: “I think that’s something we would certainly discuss.” From there he goes on to remind us that he was against giving money to China (not necessarily against gain-of-function research), and that he maintained from the start that the virus began in Wuhan.
And that’s it. My heart sank.
I premise that Biden’s 2020 winning margin could not have been achieved without the human-caused pandemic. Does Trump not appreciate this? Does he not understand what ‘gain-of-function’ means? I don’t care where the research is conducted, it’s a terrible idea concocted by people who don’t hold the best interests of me and my family in mind. Not a penny of my tax dollars should support it, punctum. We should conduct our foreign relations so as to combat any such activity. What’s to ‘discuss?’
“I premise that Biden’s 2020 winning margin could not have been achieved without
the human-caused pandemic”massive ballot dumps in the wee hours of 11/04/20.There, fixed it for ya.
Per Hot Air, the French paper Le Monde is reporting that the UK and France are discussing sending troops to Ukraine in anticipation of Trump reducing US aid. The reporting also suggests that Biden is considering giving Zelensky nukes.
If there is any truth to this, it is absolutely insane. My view of Trump is well-known around here. Whatever his warts, however much I doubt that he can successfully reform the administrative state, Trump can’t take office soon enough. Either intentionally or through ideological blindness, these fools are going to provoke a nuclear exchange.
https://hotair.com/david-strom/2024/11/25/uk-and-france-in-talks-to-send-troops-to-ukraine-n3797330
Daily update by Willy OAM, a former Australian soldier covering the Ukraine-Russia War. Willy spent 6-1/2 months in Ukraine and has a good knowledge of the war.
Fast forward to minute 25 where Willy discusses a recent Economist article about the situation on the front in the Zaporizhia region where there is speculation Russia will attack this winter.
Frontline Freefall – Huge Territory Losses | Manpower CRISIS – Significant Retreat | Ukraine Update
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5q0gjjRPr4
Jim re “gain of function” & Trump:
I don’t take his answer how you have.
Interview didn’t force the question.
That said, I agree we shouldn’t fund or allow it, anywhere we have control.
I hope RFK Jr, Dr. Oz, et al, agree, & do any convincing needed!!
The level of psy-ops propaganda is reaching defcon 5.
The same David Strom also has an article asking the question whether Germany should invoke Article 5 against Ukraine for blowing up the Nord Stream pipeline.
Should Germany Invoke Article 5 of NATO Treaty Against Ukraine?
https://hotair.com/david-strom/2024/08/16/should-germany-invoke-article-5-of-nato-treaty-against-ukraine-n3793210
Brian E – It was the Wall Street Journal that quoted a “a senior German official familiar with the probe” musing about whether Article 5 of the NATO treaty could be invoked against Ukraine. Strom at HotAir just cited the WSJ story the same way that he cited Le Monde today. The WSJ Editorial page, at least, is very pro-Ukraine, although I think the cited article is from the newsroom side.
And the story that Zelensky purportedly ordered that the pipeline NOT be bombed immediately before it was sounds a lot like a CYA move to me.
You’re probably not wrong about psy-ops. Who knows what is actually going on.
https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/nord-stream-pipeline-explosion-real-story-da24839c
Thanks all for reminding me how bad I hated the 70’s.
Biden can’t give Ukraine nukes. Also gain of function research is a war crime.
Was thinking this morning about the martyr William Tyndale.
Famous last words, “Lord ! Open the eyes of the King of England ! “
Re: Leo Sayer “When I Need You” reaction
My goodness. I knew I had heard that melody from somewhere. Leonard Cohen strikes again:
___________________________________
Leonard Cohen sued Hammond and Bayer Sager over a piece of the chorus melody [of “When I Need You”] that was similar to his “Famous Blue Raincoat.”
Even though Hammond wrote the music, Bayer Sager was still party to the claim because the credit attributed the music and lyrics to both of them.
Cohen recalled to the Globe & Mail in 2006: “Somebody sued them on my behalf… and they did settle, even though they hired a musicologist, who said that particular motif was in the public domain and, in fact, could be traced back as far as Schubert.”
https://www.songfacts.com/facts/leo-sayer/when-i-need-you
I once memorized the lyrics to “Famous Blue Raincoat” while I had a summer job literally sweeping the beach clean and straight for a posh Sarasota hotel.
It’s one of Cohen’s greatest songs IMO. It’s a song about a love triangle. but the trick is that the male base points aren’t two competing men, but the two sides of Cohen himself — the everyman guy and the flamboyant, questing romantic.
______________________________________
And what can I tell you my brother, my killer?
What can I possibly say?
I guess that I miss you. I guess I forgive you
I’m glad you stood in my way
If you ever come by here for Jane or for me
Well, your enemy is sleeping and his woman is free
–“Leonard Cohen ‘Famous Blue Raincoat’ (+lyrics)”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-v2BgQKJac
______________________________________
When my ship came in, I bought my own Famous Blue Raincoat. Though I rarely feel worthy to wear it.
”Either intentionally or through ideological blindness, these fools are going to provoke a nuclear exchange.”
Why does this surprise you? Russia is genociding the Ukraine. The Ukrainians don’t want to be genocided. They prefer to fight back with conventional weapons, but since we’ve stopped giving them Abrams and Bradleys, they’re looking for other weapons to use. One way or another, they will eventually find them.
America’s cutting off of aid will **not** end the war. It will extend it — and increase the death toll on both sides.
This is not hard to see for most people, but some people have what you call “ideological blindness.”
”The same David Strom also has an article asking the question whether Germany should invoke Article 5 against Ukraine for blowing up the Nord Stream pipeline.”
Oh good grief! Why would Germany call upon a military alliance to attack an ally because a pipeline belonging to an enemy that wasn’t even being used blew up?
Talk about ideological blindness!
This was the Leo Sayer song I remember being played endlessly on the radio.
Leo Sayer – Long Tall Glasses (I Can Dance) [Official HD Music Video]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCiFm31O7AY
I see the 13 Minute Club has gained two new members; hair on fire, 1000 days of it.
One of the issues I have with the Ukraine-Russia War is the tendency of Ukraine hawks to engage in faulty thinking. It’s displayed in comments here, where the argument is ‘on the one hand Russia is about to lose it’s ability to keep up with manpower and equipment demands based on their attritional warmaking, but at the same time if we don’t totally defeat the Russians now, they’ll roll through Ukraine and endanger Europe’.
We see that on display in this conversation between Ward Carroll and Dr. Justin Bronk.
Dr. Bronk rightfully points out that a few of NATO members are still failing to live up to their 2% defense commitment and he even chides them for it. Ward than postulates that Trump could just raise his demands to 2.5% or even 3%.
Remember, it wasn’t Trump that set the 2% threshold on defense spending. That was agreed upon by NATO members in 2014 in response to defense concerns following Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
But why shouldn’t NATO countries spend 2.5% or even 3% on defense if that’s what it takes to be secure from Russian aggression? Isn’t that the definition of “peace through strength”?
Recently mkent made the point that it was going to take decades for Russia to completely take the four oblasts they annexed in Ukraine based on the progress they were currently making.
But we’re to believe Russia will conquer all of Ukraine and even Europe if they aren’t driven out of eastern Ukraine now. That is the argument against settling the war now on terms that will most likely be favorable to Russia. They argue it will only delay the inevitable because once Russia reloads it will be on to Kyiv. Forget that Russia has only progressed 1/3 of the way to Kyiv at the cost of 200,000 deaths and a severe strain on the Russian economy.
No one even suggests there is a third alternative– that Ukraine and the European countries “reload” as well. That Ukraine and the Europeans spend sufficient money to create their own “peace through strength.”
This is the fallacy of their reasoning. What they are wishing for is the US to spend it’s capital defeating Russia for the benefit of Ukraine and Europe– while they, for the most part, have no intention of realistically providing a level of defense spending that would thwart Russia’s ambitions. That conclusion seems obvious based on what little the Europeans have done after recognizing Russia’s ambitions and now they see the aggression their reluctance to raise their defense spending to counter the perceived Russian threat.
We would be better served to settle the war now and spend the money to strengthen Ukraine while chiding the European countries to provide for their own defense. That is the best way to prevent future ambitions by Russia.
Deep Intel on Escalation of the War in Ukraine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RB9tD1hmJIU
‘NATO is a defensive alliance. If France and/or the UK were to send troops into Ukraine to fight, this would not obligate the US to respond in any way. Those countries would be engaging in war outside of NATO.
What would be problematic would be the response when and if Russia retaliated by a strike directly on one of those countries. But even that wouldn’t require a direct military response.
It appears Washington DC is a very small town. This explains how Julia Nesheiwat got on the radar for Surgeon General, given her positions on COVID 19 vaccines.
This is a twofer. Mike Waltz talks to Fox News as well.
Incoming National Security Advisor Mike Waltz Outlines His Priorities for Trump Administration
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2024/11/24/incoming-national-security-advisor-mike-waltz-outlines-his-priorities-for-trump-administration/#more-266655
mkent –
“Oh good grief! Why would Germany call upon a military alliance to attack an ally because a pipeline belonging to an enemy that wasn’t even being used blew up?”
It wouldn’t. The German official was suggesting that it COULD because said ally appears to have destroyed a piece of German infrastructure. The article suggests that the destruction of the Nordstream occurred in German territory. Does that mean that Germany should invoke NATO against Ukraine? No. Is it raining to the conversation, though? Absolutely.
“Russia is genociding the Ukraine. The Ukrainians don’t want to be genocided. They prefer to fight back with conventional weapons, but since we’ve stopped giving them Abrams and Bradleys, they’re looking for other weapons to use. One way or another, they will eventually find them.”
Or – we help negotiate an end to the conflict that gives both sides less than what they want and prevents a wider, potentially nuclear war. Putin is a barbaric thug. That doesn’t mean that we have an obligation to fight a world war or that we all need to die in a nuclear exchange. If we believed that Putin was bent on creating a new Russia empire and stretching it into central or western Europe, then yes we might need to go all in to defeat him, but I see no indication that he, or his military, are in any shape to do that or that he’s particularly eager for a war with NATO.
Gazprom is a Russian firm but thr financing came from a German bank Dresdnee which had a former stasi agent on its board it runs by vyborg which used to be swedish territory till the 2nd war with Russia thus ends the lesson
Hello. I’m close to the end of reading the first volume of Kotkin’s Stalin bio. He makes an interesting case for unraveling the puzzle of the man and I do feel I understand quite a bit more than I used to. It looks as if 1927-28 was a critical period. But now I find there are two more volumes to read… Vol. 2 has been in circulation for some time and Vol. 3 isn’t even out yet.
It seems that the pro-Russia/Iran supporters in the Republican party are going to put Putin’s paid Russian Trolls out of a job—good, that’ll put them on the frontline in Ukraine where Russia needs more troops.
pro-Russia/Iran American support seems to be taking a page out of the DEMs MSM’s playbook over the past week or two – not quite 24/7 yet, but obviously trying to approach that ability.
The pro-Russia/Iran supporters in the Republican party are now pushing the ol’ Tale — supporting the ‘Rapist‘ whilst telling the ‘Rape Victim‘ to just lay back ‘n enjoy it.
We’ll see how that works out in 2026…
Trump Security Maven Gorka: ‘No Such Thing as Palestine’
Gotta love this hard hitting pick!
‘Speak Their Language’: Insiders Explain How Trump Can Use ‘NeoCon’ Cabinet Picks To Advance MAGA Agenda – whilst the pro-Russia/Iran wing of the Republican party drools over the idea of handing Ukraine over to the Russians—hence making the Russia/Iran/North Korea Axis of Evil even more powerful…it seems that Trump may have other plans:
We’ll see. Trump is way ahead of Feb. 2017 and looks to hit the ground running this time. Firmly believe that CoS Susie Wiles is his best pick yet, and that she may be responsible for his unusual silence…
Re: Stalin
Philip Sells:
I’ve read that after the Nazi invasion of the USSR in WW II and things were going badly, Stalin disappeared to his dacha somewhere and just got drunk for several days.
Anything to that?
huxley, I guess I’ll let you know when I get there. That will probably be in the first couple of chapters of the promised volume number three.
Solzhenitsyn mentions something like this in one of his novels, perhaps it was “The First Circle”.
IIRC, on hearing that the Germans had launched Operation Barbarossa—meaning that Hitler had shredded the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, Stalin went into a deep funk because, according to Solzhenitsyn, he had previously believed that Hitler was the ONLY true friend he had….
(In addition to this bitter personal betrayal, just how much Stalin was ALSO thinking of the cream of the Soviet officers corps, which he had just recently executed, is open to question….)
Day by Day cartoons are all over The View – LEGAL NOTE
Then:
‘The View’ hosts forced to issue four ‘legal notes’ in a single episode spent trashing Trump’s cabinet picks
World’s largest retailer Walmart nixes DEI and LGBT-themed products after pressure from conservative activist: ‘This will send shockwaves’
Looks like the Pendulum has definitely started its swing back. ‘Thangs can move slow, but the election showed there had been a huge move away from Child Butchery & Govt pushing parents aside in order to brainwash innocent Children.
Dissident soviet historiam Roy Medvedev treats at some length of Stalin’s dissappearance at the onset of Operation Barbarossa in his book “Let History Judge”.
Crescent Dunes: Biden DOJ Moved on Election Night to Cover Up Alleged Solar Energy Scandal that Cost Taxpayers Hundreds of Millions
From memory, McMeekin (Stalin’s War) does write a bit about this. He claims well placed spies were well aware of Barbarossa, and even knew the date of the attack. But, as huxley put it, …and things were going badly, Stalin disappeared. I believe it was during the schocking rapid advance phase of the German assault, when Ukrainian troops were putting up virtually no resistance, that Stalin pulled his disappearing act. I could have the timing a bit wrong here, and I can’t remember if it was fact or urban legend.
yes, Stalin had two sets of informers, there was the Rote Kapelle, and then there was Demidov, an agent named Monarch,* who operated inside the white Russian community in Germany, both tipped him off, of course since the Abwehr was not actually operating as active intelligence, in the lead up to Barbarossa,
*I found that out from max hastings previous work on ciphers and spyrings,
Miguel: and Richard Sorge in Japan, who passed on information about the impending invasion from sources in the German embassy in Tokyo. Stalin ignored it.
One of the issues I have with the Ukraine-Russia War is the tendency of Ukraine hawks to engage in faulty thinking.
==
The supposedly unfaulty thinking of Putin partisans has been telling all of us for 21 months that Ukrainian resistance will collapse any day now.
“…21 months that Ukrainian resistance will collapse any day now.” -Art Deco
The flip side of that was Russia was running out of missiles and their soldier were fighting with shovels. Neither has turned out to be true.
The point of my comment was there is a third strategy that doesn’t require the loss of several hundred thousand more lives.
Ukraine’s claims that 700,000 Russian soldiers have died already and westerrn sources estimate that 100-200,000 Ukrainians have died. The war needs to end. Continuing the war with similar deaths and then settling the war with collapse or negotiations is cruel on our part, IMO.
The point of my comment was there is a third strategy that can maintain Ukraine as a sovereign nation. It’s going to take hundreds of billions of dollars to rebuild Ukraine’s infrastructure and economy. Right now Ukraine’s government is running a 50% deficit.
The longer the war lasts, the more likely the millions of Ukrainians that fled the country won’t return.
The European countries and Ukraine can embark on a strategy of “peace through strength”. Create a defensive military strength that will deter any future Russian aggression west. That is the best strategy.