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Open thread 9/5/2024 — 37 Comments

1. …upper body and epaulement which are usually the last elements of a ballet dancer to mature:

   neo:

   Interesting. Recent research in language acquisition shows there are definite stages in a standard order to acquiring a language.

   In French the subjunctive mood — like “If I were a carpenter” — is the last big piece of the puzzle to go into place. I know I’m not there yet.

   The French use the subjunctive a lot. In spoken American English the subjunctive has practically disappeared.

2. This blog post by Andrea Widburg is interesting for a couple reasons. First, she talks about her past some and it seems she is a political changer. Second, this new movie, which is the main topic, is rather bizarre and curious.

   The film is adapted from a recent novel written by Rachel Yoder, who apparently was raised in a Mennonite commune in eastern Ohio.

3. https://www.martyrmade.com/podcast-parts/19-the-anti-humans

4. I know the Ukraine war doesn’t hold a lot of interest here (and that’s alright), but if you want a glimpse of the future of warfare, take a look at the drone footage in this video.

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_hK-odHRiU

   The whole video is only seven minutes long, but the drone footage starts about halfway through if you want to jump ahead.

   It turns out that the innovative part of the Soviet Union wasn’t Russia. It was Ukraine.

5. the Times the Post, most of the other papers haven’t apologized for Duranty, the Post came a little later, Mr Jones is instructive about that, with cameos from Orwell, and Muggeridge, the only paper that really did tell the Truth, was a Hearst paper, the Sulzberger’s contribution was truly evil as it was for the bulk of Segregation era and
   the same under slavery,
   there’s a reason for that, these publications are pushing for policies under Net Zero, which will lead to exactly that same place, Zero as in Year Zero, this is what we have seen in Holland and Germany and other places, Now Xi is responsible for 10 million dead (ball park figures) he has enabled Putin, in what I consider a great blunder, which he would not have entertained under Trump

   so drones, well thats very exciting, until they start being targeted at us, as the Chinese say interesting times,
   I don’t trust Russians ask me why, but those that went along with Lenin and Stalin and Brezhnev, lets leave out Andropov well they should reserve a little judgement,

6. huxley, if only American teachers were to teach proper English grammar, public communications would be much improved. This would only be possible if American teachers knew proper English grammar.

7. Kate:

   I’m so grateful I learned the parts of speech and how to diagram a sentence in 8th grade!

8. mkent – thanks for the link!

   It turns out that the innovative part of the Soviet Union wasn’t Russia. It was Ukraine.

   Too true, and this war has shown that the Russians have sorely missed that innovation. If Ukraine can hold on a little longer, they will become a popular supplier of drone warfare products—both offensively & defensively.

   Meanwhile, Russia & Iran become much closer, and many ardent supporters of Israel seem to ignore what that connection means in terms of Israel’s long-term survival.

   Israel’s & Ukraine’s survival may be closer connected than the pro-Russian Americans realize…

9. mkent:

   You don’t think the Ukraine war holds much interest here? Is that some sort of humor? It’s been discussed over and over for many years, with an enormous number of posts and comments.

10. seeing as Putin preferred Biden and the Iranian preferred Biden, and by extension Harris, and the Qataris prefer Biden,

11. Neo:

    No offense was intended (hence the parenthetical). It’s just that unlike the Gaza war, the Ukraine war lately only draws comments from about a half dozen of us. And that’s OK. I only mentioned it because I don’t want to force people to talk about it if they’d rather not. So it’s “In the spirit of the open thread, here’s something I found interesting.” Again, no offense intended.

12. I do think that the Ukraine war technologies, and also some of the Israeli innovations, are changing warfare. I hope our military leaders are paying attention, in between DEI training sessions.

13. mkent:

    No offense taken. Your remark merely surprised me, because the Ukraine War been covered here so extensively.

    I would add that the relative lack of comments these days, years into the war, lies in the fact that most people have already said their piece many times, taken sides, and have little or nothing to add – not that they don’t care about it.

14. Neo, that’s my position. In addition, there are more important issues that need to be addressed right now.

    The Russia-Ukraine war may be decided sooner rather than later–whether or not President Trump is re-elected. Zelensky has talked at length about another peace conference by the end of this year, which he wanted Russia to attend.

    It’s also tedious that the Ukraine propagandists accuse anyone not wanting to see Ukraine reduced to rubble as Putin/Russia apologists.

15. Brian E:

    You write, “It’s also tedious that the Ukraine propagandists accuse anyone not wanting to see Ukraine reduced to rubble as Putin/Russia apologists.”

    I do not think that’s a fair characterization of most of those who support Ukraine’s side – if that’s what you’re trying to say. For the most part they are not “Ukraine propagandists” and they themselves do NOT want to see Ukraine reduced to rubble. If someone is considered a Putin/Russia apologist, it’s sometimes (not always) because that’s what that person is.

    Yes, there are also plenty of people in-between who sincerely want the war to end and lean to one side or the other.

16. Contrary Speculations snippets:

    • Ax yourself a question (as Kamala Harris might put it): If you are an ambitious Democrat—say, Gavin Gruesom, Wretched Whitmer, Josh Shaprio, etc—do you really want Kamala Harris to win this election?

    • Thesis: The worst thing that could happen to the Democratic Party would be a Kamala Harris presidency. You think Carter was bad for long-term Democratic prospects? A Harris loss should lead to a reckoning inside the Democratic Party as happened after their successive drubbings from 1980 through 1988. That reckoning required the party to moderate.

17. I’m talking about om and mkent. I’ve tried to make my position clear, that I think the citizens of the Donbas and Crimea were justified in seeking independence after the violent overthrow of the Ukrainian president in 2014.
    I don’t consider that position pro-Russian.
    Even Turtler has distanced himself from om’s snark.
    As to mkent, twice now he’s just spouted falsehoods about the events surrounding the Ukrainian president’s overthrow. Facts that are demonstrably false. I think it’s fair to consider them propagandists.

18. Brian E:

    If you’re talking about a certain person or persons, it makes it clearer if you mention that at the outset.

19. Karmi:

    It would depend whether the ambitious candidate is a committed leftist or not, and how much damage they think a Trump candidacy would do to the Cause.

20. Brian E:

    I think it’s fair to consider them propagandists.

    I’ve kept an eye out for paid Russian Trolls for quite some time now. During this time, I have found that almost all Russian Trolls I have discovered start by calling anyone supporting Ukraine (in this unprovoked war by Russia) a ‘Ukraine’ or ‘Ukrainian’ something, e.g., something like propagandist.

    Many commenters suggest that a pro-Ukrainian go and join the Ukrainian military, so have eliminated that as an indicator…

    You have been the exception, but I don’t know why. Until I know better, you are just a pro-Russia American, who—like Trump, is mad at Ukraine for not serving up Joe Biden’s head on a platter.

    Another thing I never cared for about Trump – asking Ukraine (a sovereign nation) to rat out your upcoming political opponent…end of my discussion on this.

21. Regarding the attempted Trump assassination: How many coincidences does it take before it’s officially a conspiracy?

    Why weren’t SS snipers positioned on the building the shooter shot from?
    Why were the SS snipers facing the direction that the shots came from shielded by a tree from seeing the shooter from the time he climbed on the AGR buildings until he fired at the president?
    Why did the Butler Co. sniper leave his post approx. 6 minutes before the assassination attempt, a post which gave him a direct line of sight to the position the shooter took?
    Where was the second sniper during this time? Why wasn’t he in his assigned position– which would have given him a direct sight to the shooter?
    Why didn’t the SS pick up the radios assigned to them by local law enforcement which would have given them direct communication with all of the local LEOs?
    Why didn’t SS remove Trump from the stage when they learned of the shooter?
    How did Crooks know the position he shot from wouldn’t be covered?
    How did he know there would be no line of sight by the SS snipers the entire time he traversed the AGR buildings?

    Peak Prosperity – Why Aren’t Investigators Asking the Right Questions of the Right People?
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JhA5wQ1y0I

    I think it would also be beneficial to look back at past outdoor Trump rallies and see if all of the rallies had huge lapses of security that could have resulted in assassination attempts.

22. Karmi, I originally believed the US narrative that the Revolution of Dignity was all Russia’s doing. As I looked into it closer, the more it became clear that Ukraine made serious mistakes that led to the events in the Donbas and Crimea.

    The discussion about Ukraine has been going on here for at least two years.

    This is the first text file I have concerning Ukraine, dated 12/19/22. I made this comment on Althouse, but we were having similar conversations on Neo’s blog as well.

    In February 2014, the Revolution of Dignity culminated with the flight of then-President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych to Crimea and then Russia.
    The action did not follow the impeachment process as specified by the Constitution of Ukraine; instead, the Verkhovna Rada declared that Yanukovych “withdrew from his duties in an unconstitutional manner” and cited “circumstances of extreme urgency” as the reason for early elections. Oleksandr Turchynov was then voted Chairman of the Rada and became acting President and Prime Minister of Ukraine.

    The vote came an hour after Yanukovych said in a televised address that he would not resign. He subsequently declared himself to still be “the legitimate head of the Ukrainian state elected in a free vote by Ukrainian citizens”.[5]

    Greg the Class Trader,
    Two Points.
    1. Yanukovych feared for his life. He was not impeached. The only legal way to remove the President was to follow the rules of impeachment. Therefore, it was illegal and fits the definition of a coup.
    The 1996 and the 2004 constitutions are uniform when it comes to the reasons for removing a president, with Article 111 stating the parliament has the right to initiate a procedure of impeachment “if he commits treason or other crime.”
    The hasty February 22 vote violated constitutional guidelines, which call for a review of the case by Ukraine’s Constitutional Court and a three-fourths majority vote by the Verkhovna Rada — 338 lawmakers (as you noted, there were only 328 votes to remove him.)
    2. Yes, the Rada, the same body that voted to illegally remove Yanukovych from office, was the same body that balked “at passing the last set of bills that would be needed to bring Ukraine into compliance with the EU.” They didn’t because they couldn’t afford afford an economic rupture with Moscow- losing billions of dollars in subsidies and trade, resulting the the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs.
    It is my understanding that Yanukovych was trying to achieve better economic ties with both the EU and Russia, but the EU made it clear that Ukraine could not enter the Customs Union and integrate into the EU. At the time Ukraine had more trade with Russia than Europe.

    By the way, there is this:
    In 2021 “US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made clear during his May 6 visit to Kyiv that Washington expects to see greater progress in Ukraine’s fight to counter corruption and establish the rule of law. Blinken’s comments reflected mounting disquiet among Kyiv’s international partners over a perceived lack of reforms in the country, while also underlining the broader geopolitical significance of Ukraine’s transformation.”

    https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/ukraines-eu-association-agreement-obliges-kyiv-to-pursue-rule-of-law-reforms/

23. one comes to the point, who are the good guys, is it starmer, macron, schultz, our own WEF mannequin, much like Winston Smith, as a citizen in Oceania, yes Eurasia and Eastasia, are bad, but you see how the former treat their citizens, how they enable the invasion of it’s territory, and the subjugation of the people

    where do you think this ends, a war in the Russian steppes, you think that ends well that would be an extraordinary delusion, but that seems to be the path we are choosing,

    now it’s hard to see any state inside the Russian territory, that has anything like a
    free and fair economy or political system, anything resembling transparency,

24. Was the Trump assassination attempt that yielded one murder and multiple injuries, mist severe, a tragedy of errors? Senator Josh Hawley via Zerohedge.

    HEADLINE: “Whistleblower: Inexperienced DHS Agents Trained W/ 2-Hr. Webinar Before Trump Shooting”

    ‘Once it got rolling, the Secret Service instructor couldn’t figure out how to get the audio working on the prerecorded videos…’
    https://www.zerohedge.com/political/whistleblower-inexperienced-dhs-agents-trained-w-2-hr-webinar-trump-shooting
    INEPT AND INCOMPETENT.

    Anyone else notice that American ability is in sharp decline?

    We can’t educate the young. We cannot produce microchips (Intel’s fall) like we used to. Nor export great jet planes (Boeing). Not even world leading entertainment (certain Disney franchises). We can’t protect President’s from assassination (SS follies like above).

    The impact of social media on messing with and stunting the crucial socio-emotional development of young teen lives, Jonathan Haidt counts as “the greatest loss of human capital in history” (SEE his interview with the Triggernometry guys on YT last month).

    America is in rapid decline. We can’t even hold free and fair elections that meet international standards.

    At least we can spend ourselves into bankruptcy. At least there’s that to ‘enjoy’….

25. If you are an ambitious Democrat—say, Gavin Gruesom, Wretched Whitmer, Josh Shaprio, etc—do you really want Kamala Harris to win this election?

    Karmi:

    I’ve run into that speculation elsewhere. Some say that Walz wasn’t Harris’s top pick for VP. Shapiro turned her down. And Pennsylvania (Shapiro’s state) is looking strong for Trump, given Harris’s anti-fracking stance, which she now denies. BTW, Western Pennsylvania has one of the richest natural gas fields in the world.

    After Biden was gently defenestrated (hey! that’s from French for being thrown out of a fenetre, i.e. window) I called the nomination a “poisoned chalice.”

    Biden immediately endorsed Harris as an FU to the Dem leadership, so now they have to live with it.

    Word is Obama doesn’t believe Harris can win. He waited five days to endorse her.

    I don’t believe Harris can win. So, sure, don’t get cocky. But don’t get fatalistic either.

26. Brian E, T J:

    Good of you to keep tabs on the Secret Service and the Trump assassination attempt.

    The recent whistleblower news that many of the “SS agents” on the ground that day were borrowed from Homeland Security is another damning indictment.

    I too am outraged. I don’t believe it was a conspiracy so much as the Deep State jiggering the odds, like a casino, so they would eventually win.

    In other words that Trump or RK Jr. would be murdered.

    They came damn close.

    And it looks like they will successfully stonewall past Election Day.

27. @huxley

    After Biden was gently defenestrated (hey! that’s from French for being thrown out of a fenetre, i.e. window) I called the nomination a “poisoned chalice.”

    🙂 I can’t even speak/write English to a point that all other English speakers can understand me…

    2016 & 2020 & 2022 (midterms) I was a wreck leading up to and after those elections. Since I’m Down-ballot Voting this time – not caring which one wins presidency – am very calm & relaxed.

    From that Power Line post:

    The worst thing that could happen to the Democratic Party would be a Kamala Harris presidency. You think Carter was bad for long-term Democratic prospects?

    I agree with Steven Hayward’s thinking there, so may silently start pulling for a Harris win. Then the thought of Trump again in 2028—*YIKES!!!!!!!*—I start silently pulling for him. Still, ain’t voting for either…

    I don’t believe Harris can win.

    The senile brain-dead Biden beat Trump in 2020, when Trump was the incumbent, so I’m thinking Harris has a real shot at winning – possibly determined by the upcoming debate…

    ‘Nostradamus’ (AKA Allan Lichtman) has predicted Harris for the win…

28. huxley, at this point I’m still looking for answers, and as Chris Martenson says, you have to ask the right questions.

    That’s why the security structure at other Trump rallies needs to be investigated. Was this a one time lapse or were there other gaping holes in the security that just needed to be exploited?

    At this point we are to believe that the shooter flew a drone and walked the property hours before the event and decided a path onto the EGR roofs and then a path along the connected buildings to the spot he chose, all of which were hidden from the SS sniper team because of a tree that was in their line of sight.
    This is the SS sniper team that was tasked with surveilling the area that the shooter chose– but they couldn’t see him. How did he know he could move along the roofs undetected when the SS sniper team didn’t set up their gear until shortly before the event?

    Why did the two local counter-snipers leave their posts, which gave them a view of the roof and would have seen the shooter before he even got into position, just as Trump started speaking? One of them, Greg Nicols left his post about 6 minutes before the shots were fired to tell an officer on the ground that he had seen the shooter. Why didn’t he use his two-way radio? It’s also been reported that at some point the cell tower went down– and some of the communication had been done by cell phones.

    Given that the critical law enforcement were all local LEOs, it’s conceivable their lack of training and lack of discipline along with the slipshod way the SS conducted their protection led to this tragic event.

    There needs to be a lot more answers before I’m willing to settle for that explanation.

29. Eric Weinstein is always interesting, but these are the segments I thought were timely.
    00:00 Will Trump be Allowed to Become President?
    12:02 MSNBC’s Editing of Joe Rogan to Support Kamala
    16:48 The Media’s Gaslighting of Modern Politics
    3:02:44 Reacting to “What Can Be, Unburdened By What Has Been”
    3:19:06 Eric’s Thoughts on JD Vance

    Eric Weinstein – Are We On The Brink Of A Revolution? (4K)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYRYXhU4kxM&t=69s

30. Brian E:

    I’m’ all for deeper investigation re: Trump assassination attempt.

    I just watched the String Theory portion of the Eric Weinstein video. Weinstein is all in for naming names and kicking a**!

    Me too, from the cheap seats.

31. OMG. My Les Paul guitar arrives tomorrow … or is supposed to. It’s fun to be excited. It’s like Christmas Eve.

    I love music very much. I’ve wanted to be a player for the longest time. But it was some sort of debt to my mother that I should play piano and I just hated it.

    I tried several times. Right now I have a nice Yamaha piano and fancy DeepMind synth in the corner of my living room. I feel guilty every time I look over there.

    While doing due diligence on the Les Paul I watched a lot of electric guitar videos and one guy said the thing which made a difference:

    Get a guitar you love and you want to play every time you look at it.

    That’s not how I look at my keyboards. That’s how I already feel about my Les Paul. I’m reading ahead in my beginner books.

    Then, at a more general level:

    Don’t fix the past; create a future.

    Thanks for listening.

32. @ huxley > Today’s random AI post, via Ace’s Tech Newsletter.

    https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2024/09/generative-ai-backlash-hits-annual-writing-event-prompting-resignations/

    Over the weekend, the nonprofit National Novel Writing Month organization (NaNoWriMo) published an FAQ outlining its position on AI, calling categorical rejection of AI writing technology “classist” and “ableist.” The statement caused a backlash online, prompted four members of the organization’s board to step down, and prompted a sponsor to withdraw its support.
    …
    After word of the FAQ spread, many writers on social media platforms voiced their opposition to NaNoWriMo’s position. Generative AI models are commonly trained on vast amounts of existing text, including copyrighted works, without attribution or compensation to the original authors. Critics say this raises major ethical questions about using such tools in creative writing competitions and challenges.
    …
    To opponents of generative AI, the potential benefits that might come to disabled persons do not outweigh what they see as mass plagiarism by tech companies. Also, some artists do not want the time and effort they put into cultivating artistic skills to be devalued for anyone’s benefit.

    Commenters are overwhelmingly against the move, with one asserting that using generative AI is equivalent to reducing writing to prompt engineering.
    Others point out that NaNoWriMo is intentionally blurring the line between non-generative AI — “as spell and grammar check and Voice to Text” — and generative AI — “it’s hiring a ghostwriter and giving them some “ideas” while they do the actual writing.”

    Or, as the writer at Ace put it:
    “It’s like practicing sewing by buying clothes at Walmart.
    https://ace.mu.nu/archives/411343.php

33. AesopFan:

    Hey! You just wasted a mouthful of my finest box wine!

    Back in the 2000s I actually met the NaNoWriMo challenge, which is to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days — 1667 words per day.

    Which doesn’t sound too hard. Unless it’s supposed to be 50,000 words cohering into a novel.

    Oh, that’s different.

    If I have any say, no one will ever read what I wrote.

34. Re: NaNoWriMo

    I side with the traditionalists. One can traverse a mile with a bicycle or dune buggy more quickly, but running a mile is a human running a mile.

    Whatever can be achieved with AI prompts is whatever it is. I’m not against it. But writing 50,000 words is a human writing 50,000 words.

35. I’m talking about om and mkent. I’ve tried to make my position clear, that I think the citizens of the Donbas and Crimea were justified in seeking independence after the violent overthrow of the Ukrainian president in 2014.
    ==
    In neither locale did ‘the citizens’ seek independence and Yanukovich was not violently overthrown.

36. In neither locale did ‘the citizens’ seek independence and Yanukovich was not violently overthrown.

    I believe you’re wrong on both counts. We’ll have to discuss this at a later date.

37. Licthman is a hack he pretends that there are no scandals a good economy in his variables no primary that was a deliberate function of the fraud just some details

    Do better

    Like those monkeys working on hamlet huxley

    Ive probably written about 150,000 words on various drafts of my novel jambiya

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