Good Israel-Palestine discussion with an easy enrollment if not already such:

https://america.cgtn.com/2023/10/19/the-heat-israel-hamas-conflict

Great interview about the current status of the conflict in Ukraine: https://slavlandchronicles.substack.com/p/interview-is-russia-run-by-incompetents

Obviously the stuff about Putin/Russia’s relation to the Israeli Palestinian conflict is incorrect. I’ll admit that I was very surprised that Putin condemned the Hamas attack, but, given that even Abu Mazen condemned the attack, I wouldn’t read too much into it. The pro Palestinian stuff in the Russian state media is clearly meant to prime the Russian public for a direct military clash between Russia and Israel.

Remember that the Vilna Gaon said that the war of Gog and Magog would last 12 minutes. Since this obviously refers to some sort of nuclear exchange, it means that we shouldn’t expect direct intervention of Russian conventional forces in a Middle Eastern war. Why would Russia bother to use nukes if they had already defeated the IDF on the battlefield? So maybe something like Israel threatens to overrun Russia’s Syrian client and then Russia launches a tactical nuclear weapon to save Syria/Iran and that leads to a full scale nuclear exchange between Russia and the US.

But the rest of the interview is very good and it gives the best account of the conflict that I have read so far. Tl;dr: things aren’t nearly as dire as Strelkov says but they are far from as rosy as guys like Simplicius and Berletic say. It really is a great overview of the conflict.

The 10 year US Treasury year did indeed hit 5% this week, congratulations Bidenomics.

Canada Will Legalize Medically Assisted Dying For People Addicted to Drugs
https://archive.vn/J89ea#selection-869.0-869.74

>Invites Nazis to Parliament
>Supports Sikh Militants
>Dresses in Blackface
>Purges Drug Addicts & Mentally Ill

Remember, ‘Conservatives” oppose all this.

ਅਕਾਲ

Hmm, so in India they never really let untouchables convert to Islam.

So Islam gets associated with elites & Hindus get labeled the retard religion.

Same thing happening with wokeness ala hillbillies.

Comment
by from discussion
inCanadaPolitics

Hmm, liberals tried socialism but have now settled on eugenics.

Simon Webb seems to think all the kowtowing is due to the Samson Option.

Seems laughable to me.

Don’t think that explains why Pence was blaming the other Republican candidates for the Hamas attack, or why Jared Kushner was saying that it wouldn’t have happened, if Trump were in power.

Response to QCIC’s comment #1052 from the previous thread:

Presumably the Ukrainians still have significant combat assets embedded in cities like Kiev and Dnipro using civilians as human shields. Russia is leaving these alone to reduce civilian deaths, though these targets may be at risk in future stages of the SMO.

The significant combat assets today are missile defense systems that surround the larger cities, that have proven to be reliable and formidable (although not perfect). Russia continues to try and penetrate these systems and has never really stopped looking for rare opportunities to make a score. Because these systems have performed relatively well, a large portion of the city citizenry has remained at home. A cousin of mine has returned to Kyiv from spending several months in Western Ukraine. The local citizenry did a great job in defending their homes though, remember the Russian about face in Kyiv? These same folks are better equipped and more motivated to push back the unwelcome aggressors!

Russia has executed enough recurring massed missile attacks across Ukraine to demonstrate her ability to saturate even heavy air defense zones.

Really, all that its been able to accomplish is hit a few apartment buildings and kill and mame civilians, that have long memories. Unable to hit military targets for lack of more sophisticated missiles with guidance systems, the Russian military settles for whatever its primitive non-guided systems provide.

On the other hand, Russia does not have enough full coverage air defense systems to fully protect everything.

Couple this fact with further Russian mishaps on the battlefield and you can see the trajectory of this “war of attrition” that Russia is waging in Ukraine. Let’s see, missiles hit the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea fleet last month, 9 Russian tanks destroyed 3 days ago, and now the Russian disaster in Adviivka. What a disaster, another “meat waive” for the Russian military. Watch and weep!

My dad likes watching Simon Webb, he is convinced Simon is at least partly Jewish.

I thought all the support for Israel was because the British Jewish community is still influential, even though it is pretty low profile now.

But why they are combining the pro-Israeli stance with attracting immigration from the Middle East and other Islamic countries, not sure.

Copied from the last thread. I should have posted it here originally.

Precisely the point I was going to make. I don’t feel vindictive toward these young women and would disagree with them being prosecuted harshly in any way. However, behavior like that is, in my opinion, corrosive to a functional society.

To clarify, there a few basic questions which pertain to human civilization at stake here.

1. Is it possible in your view for there to be unacceptable behavior in a public context, or would you advocate a radical “you do you, it’s all cool as long as no-one is physically hurt” mentality?

If you advocate this than I can completely understand, while disagreeing with, your position. This is a fairly common opinion today, but I would argue that it has been demonstrably bad for society.

2. Various public venues demand various states of decorum or respect to be demonstrated. A day at the beach might have very different acceptable norms as compared to showing up to a class lecture or a family wedding.

This question, if the premise is agreed to, then leads to another question.

Does society have a responsibility to enforce those expected upon norms, either through informal means such as family and community ethics or more formally through institutions like government and religion?

If one rejects that it is desirable for society to enforce the norms in any way than it makes a mockery of believing that such norms are desirable. In that case you should just take the first position, since that is where your society will end up.

If one accepts that society should enforce these norms then the question becomes how this is done.

Personally, I find it reasonable that, provided they are not prosecuted harshly, it is reasonable that they were arrested since their behavior is completely disrespectful to any sort of dead, especially dead soldiers. As an important additional point, their father’s grave wasn’t the only one in view. They were posing and cavorting around the graves of all sorts of fallen soldiers and so are subjecting all sorts of strangers to their lack of respect. This becomes a very public matter in which a public response does not seem unjustified.

Simon Webb seems to think all the kowtowing is due to the Samson Option

Kowtowing is a bizarre word choice.

One can understand why Webb thinks that Netanyahu might nuke Tehran as a response for Iranian Hamas aggression. It is a valid, though tail risk, consideration. Sunni Persian Gulf leaders have to be circumspect, even while they allow their under classes to rage publicly.

why Pence was blaming the other Republican candidates for the Hamas attack,

Why is Pence even pretending to be a Republican anymore?

He is blaming Republicans because he is a pro-war NeoConDemocrat. I keeping hoping he will officially switch parties to primary against the Veggie-in-Chief.

or why Jared Kushner was saying that it wouldn’t have happened, if Trump were in power.

Would this still have happened under Trump? Possibly. It was a desperate attempt to stop Saudi/Israel normalization.

Trump’s good relationships with both MbS and Netanyahu would have delivered a deal faster, giving Iranian Hamas less time to prepare. Putting the idea on the table makes some sense. However, any analysis would be extremely speculative. It would be impossible to reach a definitive conclusion.
___

Not-The-President Biden is incredibly weak. He gave Iran $6 Billion. That was practically a green light for an Iranian Hamas attack.

I could not stomach watching the White House occupant’s Israel speech last night. Unsurprisingly, it was about Ukraine not Israel. To say it ‘was not well received’ by America is an understatement.

What did he propose? (1)

$105 billion.

Biden’s spending request will include:

$60 billion for Ukraine
$14 billion for Israel
$14 billion for border security
$10 billion for humanitarian aid
$  7 billion for Indo-Pacific

Why is over half of the Israel Bill total for Ukraine?

Yet another embarrassing performance that diminishes his personal credibility on the world stage. Not-The-President Biden clearly does not represent America.

PEACE 😇
__________

(1) https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/biden-deliver-oval-office-address-israel-ukraine

Did women in pagan, northern Europe enjoy more rights and freedoms before Christianization?

Did women in pagan, northern Europe enjoy more rights and freedoms before Christianization?
byu/Awkward_Deer_5123 inAskHistorians

I will be watching Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta this weekend. It is a 10 hour race and concludes the IMSA 2023 season.

Look there is a Semite competing [MORE].

This is the last outing of the full factory effort of Team Corvette Racing. The new GTD/GT3 class rules are aimed at customer cars.

Pratt Miller Motorsports have purchased two new GT3.R Corvettes for 2024 for entry in the GTD-PRO category. Two additional GT3.R’s will be fielded by AWA Racing in the pro-am GTD category.

Multimatic Motorsports have two new Ford Mustang GT3 cars on order for GTD-PRO They are also expected to be ready for Daytona 2024. Alas, I have not heard of a Ford pro-am entry.

PEACE 😇

I wonder what source material is left to answer the question, but it would be quite based if the answer was no.

Iirc the Golden One used to say some interesting things about that topic when he was posting more often on YouTube.

Obviously the stuff about Putin/Russia’s relation to the Israeli Palestinian conflict is incorrect

Was that a typo? It looks like your source in near 100% correct on Russia’s actual stance.

Since we are on the topic of the Middle-East, what is Russia’s official and unofficial position on the Israel-Palestine/Gaza situation?

Well, Russia’s position hasn’t changed much. Putin moved the pro-Israel agenda forward a bit by stating that West Jerusalem is Israeli and East Jerusalem is Palestinian. Of course, in reality, this is not a reality. Both belong to Israel and their proxies. And then there is the embassy situation.

Russia isn’t really pro-Palestine. Other countries give more aid and support for Palestine when compared to Russia. Furthermore, some elites in Russia consider Israel their second home. And many others wish that they were part of that club, but they cannot qualify for Israeli passports, sadly. We would never see the Kremlin siding against Israel because of these factors

It seemed to me that the Russian media came out in favor of Gaza.

No, this is more about addressing the hypocrisy of the West in relation to Ukraine. According to our media, the Israelis have killed more children over the last week than have died in Ukraine because of the war. This is because of how the war is being waged. So it is the hypocrisy that is being addressed by the Russian media. The double standards.

That last bit is a very solid point. What appears to be Russian criticism towards Israel is in many ways meant to point out European Global st inconsistency.

PEACE 😇

Kowtowing is a bizarre word choice.

Sunak is indeed quite fortunate that Bibi is not a homosexual.

Not-The-President Biden clearly does not represent America.

Well, unfortunately for you he does, and his actions (like ’em or leave ’em) set the tone in the congress for these sorts of spending bills that you so abhor. His actions are more impactful than anything notthepresidentTrump’s team is up to with regards to fighting felony charges. Biden, at this point may even beat Trump/Kennedy, in next year’s elections, as JJ pointed out to you in comment #1085 fro the last thread, that you conveniently failed to reply to:

https://www.unz.com/akarlin/open-thread-231/#comment-6215843

he is convinced Simon is at least partly Jewish.

appears to be not an uncommon theory

From what I have read that the answer would broadly be no. I read Marriage and Family in the Middle Ages by Frances and Joseph Gies and it seemed solid.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/597256.Marriage_and_the_Family_in_the_Middle_Ages

Much of Christianity’s battle in the process of Christianizing the West was enforcing monogamy on elites that preferred to change out sexual partners when someone else caught their eye. This was a form of sexual egalitarianism that elevated women within marriage.

I think Sher Singh would emphatically agree with this take, but in a disapproving sense.

I haven’t researched the counter-arguments in any detail but I’m sure that they exist. Maybe even in more detail than, “Muh Gaia matriarchal, earth worshipping, pagan paradise!”

The interview is mixed but interesting. The main point is that Russia has been fighting a complex internal power struggle the whole time which colors everything about the SMO in Ukraine. Hopefully everyone at Unz already knew this, but the importance of this aspect cannot be overstated.

These are two valuable quotes from the author which I agree with:

“I could also argue that allowing incompetents to staff every single high level post in the government is a kind of treachery and a form of deliberate sabotage as well.”

“I never attribute to bad fortune and incompetence what can more readily attributed to a coordinated conspiracy. The stakes are too high in geopolitics to believe that anything is left up to chance. But hey, a lot of people seem to prefer comforting lies.”

The Russian military is not as incompetent as the hands on fighters and arm chair generals may believe; the big picture of the war is vastly above their pay grade and invisible to them.

Russia’s avoidance of shock and awe tactics (pervasive high altitude bombing) is largely intentional and not due to a lack of capability. Destruction of major cities does not promote Russia’s goals for this conflict, it negates them. This highlights one reason a successful coup is a difficult problem. To destroy the threat requires a country to wreck what they want to preserve.

What do you make of the fact that Russia hosts Hamas’s website?

Watch this Russian advance on Avdiivka:

https://funker530.com/video/russian-equipment-losses-at-avdiivka-are-staggering/

The Russian military is not as incompetent as the hands on fighters and arm chair generals may believe; the big picture of the war is vastly above their pay grade and invisible to them.

Their incompetence is quite visible in that video.

They are needlessly bunching up their armored vehicles and not clearing a path through the mines before proceeding.

They’re sending in armored vehicles with troops instead of scout units. Armored vehicles are loaded with ammunition for battle and explode when they hit a mine.

They are ignoring Modern Warfare 101.

Instead of making adjustments they mindlessly follow orders to advance and even more armored vehicles are needlessly destroyed.

Incompetence confirmed.

Very similar to Hitler in his last few years demanding offensives even if they didn’t make any sense. Russia was doing fine on the defensive and this is most likely Putin demanding offensives to “take back the initiative” which itself is a nebulous concept.

Russia has a much larger force and Putin may well indeed leave the war with a chunk of Donbas. That doesn’t make his military competent. It just has a lot of equipment and people willing to die as Russians don’t seem to value their own lives. Most Russian POWs in interviews don’t believe in the war and just wanted a paycheck or had the classic fatalistic Russian attitude that everything is beyond the individual.

For every pro-Ukrainian news article about Russian failures/Ukrainian successes there are many similar articles with the opposite perspective. While most of the pro-Ukrainian reports are from sources shown to be tainted, much of the alternative information is from non-aligned countries, that is not aligned with Ukraine or Russia. People who want to understand what is going on have a variety of sources of information. And don’t forget the propaganda is often strongest within the embattled country, which makes anecdotal Ukrainian reports potentially unreliable.

What really happened with the Russian strike on Kiev to take out the Patriots and other air defenses? I suspect the Western world buys into the very sketchy claims the attack was thwarted and did limited damage. The rest of the entire world likely believes the more detailed discussion which showed Russia was able to largely neutralize the air defense protection. Had Russia wanted to start leveling Kiev I think an attack of about 5 times the total number of missiles (drones, subsonic cruise, and hypersonic) would have been applied in a much more massive strike. Russia has subsequently shown they have plenty of missiles for such a purpose. This would be followed by aircraft strikes and general bombing. They are not doing this because they do not want to. The West does this sort of attack because they HATE the enemy. Russia does not hate the Ukrainian people.

What do you make of the fact that Russia hosts Hamas’s website?

That Putin has an internal Kadyrov concerns. Minor and mostly immaterial gestures serve to placate such individuals.

PEACE 😇

Is this guy, named Amir Veitman, some kind of euroleftie from Likud party, according to your classifications?;)

“We will win this war and Russia will pay for it. Russia is helping the enemies of Israel, Russia is helping the Nazis who want to genocide us.”

Russia has subsequently shown they have plenty of missiles for such a purpose.

If they have plenty of cruise missiles then why have they had such a hard time defeating HIMARs? In theory they should be able to spot them on sats when they fire and then track them. Then finish them off with a cruise missile. HIMARs should not be a problem at this point. From what I have read HIMARs is limited by ammo and Russia hasn’t destroyed a single one.

This tells me that Russia’s satellite technology was exaggerated along with everything else. NATO most likely has computer enhanced satellite tracking. A BMP enters the warzone and it is tracked until it is destroyed. They probably have a supercomputer predicting the paths of the vehicles and doing all kinds of calculations for the artillery. That is most likely Ukraine’s advantage. Russia probably has a human based sat network while Kiev is being fed tons of information from DC. The US and Britain probably wargame every possible move. Zelensky ignored US advice on Bakhmut which I believe was a mistake. I’m sure it was wargamed and a tactical retreat was the best option against Wagner.

This would be followed by aircraft strikes and general bombing. They are not doing this because they do not want to.

Russia started the war by hitting an apartment building with a cruise missile and the entire world saw the results. Putin’s defenders told us it was an accident or VIP hit. Putin has since launched over 1000 Iranian drones at civilian areas. They’re too crude to be used for VIP hits. They are two stroke engine drones that can be made in a garage. So there goes your theory that Putin is trying to avoid civilian casualties. Putin’s defenders also subsequently looked like chumps for wanting to believe their hero mass murderer wouldn’t do such things.

Why is over half of the Israel Bill total for Ukraine?

Why is it not a Border Security Bill with all those funds going to combat the invasion taking place in the South?

And why does Israel need any amount of billions to combat a group of jeans-wearing terrorists? Does it not have enough sophisticated weapons and a prosperous economy, on top of two American carrier groups stationed nearby? Wouldn’t a few million for more intelligence training be enough to respond to the failures shown in that attack?

This is the one issue where Democrats and Republicans will work together.

Israel hasn’t even asked for assistance.

ROTFLMAO. Why do you care what a backbencher is saying? No one else does. Is there any chance this will become official policy? Nope.

You do realize this sort of silliness invites comical haiku:

===================
    SD acting foolish;)
Losing on the merits;)
    Seeks distraction;)
===================

PEACE 😇

If Trump were in office, the ask would look more like $60 Billion for border security and $6 Billion (perhaps less) for Israel.

Why do you keep opposing MAGA when you want Trumpian outcomes?

PEACE 😇

You still couldn’t answer the one simple question about the “backbencher”- is he euroleftie in Likud?;)

I don’t know what these losses tell me except that war is hell. Maybe the guys who knew how to keep those men out of trouble were killed the week before and the bosses said we can’t sit this one out just because we are scared. Maybe the actions opened up a useful window somewhere else even though many troops were killed. I have no idea.

When I say the Russian military is competent, feel free to substitute ‘reasonably competent’. I don’t have the information or skillset to make detailed evaluations. I know they have a long fighting tradition which was been kept alive with serious combat in Afghanistan, Chechnya, Georgia, Syria and now Ukraine, along with mercenary efforts in Africa. I know they have a mixture of deadly weapons systems including old (mostly), upgraded (a lot), and new/advanced (very limited amounts) equipment. I believe their nuclear forces (Air, Sea, Land, Space) are very competent. I don’t think it is credible to have competency there without some shared competence in conventional army infantry and artillery forces. Maybe the ground troops are the weakest for the same reason they have the least advanced equipment: Russia has been prioritizing strategic defense over tactical capabilities. If so, I think that will change.

Chinese maritime anchor security standards malfunctioned very succesfully on target and severed Finnish-Estonian underwater natgas pipe?

Finnish police on Friday said a Chinese ship was the focus of their investigation into suspected sabotage of a pipeline between Finland and Estonia which was damaged this month.

After a leak led to the shutdown of the Balticconnector pipeline on October 8, Finnish authorities have been investigating the damage which they say was caused by “external” activity.

“The movements of the vessel Newnew Polar Bear flying the flag of Hong Kong coincide with the time and place of the gas pipeline damage,” the National Bureau of Investigation said in a statement.

“We will cooperate with Chinese authorities in order to establish the role of the said vessel,” Detective Superintendent Risto Lohi was quoted as saying.

Police also confirmed the damage was caused by “an external mechanical force” and that they had found “a heavy object” near the damaged pipeline.

“A recently formed huge clump of soil containing probably an extremely heavy object has been found in the seabed,” Lohi said.

The police will attempt to lift the object from the seabed to investigate whether it is connected to the damaged pipeline.

It will take at least five months to repair the pipeline, its operator said last week, leaving Finland totally dependent upon liquefied natural gas imports for the winter.

Natural gas accounts for around five percent of Finland’s energy consumption, mainly used in industry and combined heat and power production.

https://www.barrons.com/news/finland-suspects-chinese-ship-linked-to-gas-pipe-damage-88a5ab21

Where does the gas transported in this pipeline come from?
My guess would be it was sabotaged by Russia as retaliation for the Nordstream sabotage.
Can’t imagine China would do something like that in the Baltic sea (why? what do they gain from it?), but who knows.

Bloomberg has reported that US involvement in the Israel Hamas war is so deep that the US is essentially running the operation. The US is seeking to drastically scale back the planned ground invasion in the interest of reducing civilian casualties and thereby preventing a regional war. Knowing the Israeli gov and the IDF, we can be sure they will comply with any American diktats.

The issue remains that once the operation starts, ANY operation, things have the ability to take on a life of their own. And the US public clearly doesn’t want to be involved in the conflict.

Support for Bibi and the Likud is tanking among the Israeli government. Jews in Israel seemingly have lost all faith in the Zionist entity and are ready to see it replaced with something better. But it isn’t like their can be a coup or anything as the IDF is even more weak and faithless than the Israeli government is.

Jews in Israel seemingly have lost all faith in the Zionist entity and are ready to see it replaced with something better.

Not that it matters much, since the Messiah will be coming soon after all, but what would this “something better than the Zionist entity” be exactly?

All sorts of “off color” stuff gets hosted on Russian servers since Western ones don’t want to touch them. Sites like DailyStormer do the same thing often enough.

I would say it doesn’t mean anything but scarcity of service from other venues.

You kremlin stooges are all the same and think that people will uncritically fall for all of your BS:

“Russia is fighting a defensive war against Ukraine” and now: “Russia does not hate the Ukrainian people.”

Russia has an incredibly strange way to show its love for the Ukrainian people. 🙁

I’m no Kremlin stooge, just an American who wants to stave off WW3 and nuclear armageddon.

Most Russian and Ukrainian fighters are probably a lot like troops of the North and South in the American civil war. I think they shared many of the emotions of war but not so much genuine cultural hatred, at least until the Yankees razed the South.

That is why the Ukrainians have NeoNazis, part of their role is to clearly emblemize hate against Russia.

You know less than I know about this and I do not know did lee squat.

Honestly, at this stage things are so bad I’m not so sure that direct Palestinian rule wouldn’t be an improvement over the Zionist regime.

Basically the current state of Israel is a modern version of Israel during the time of Judges. It was sort of a state but it really wasn’t. It didn’t really function, it provided no security for its people, it had horrendously bad leaders and the different tribes all hated each other.

Interestingly, the 4th Judge of Israel was Deborah, a woman. The 4th PM of Israel was Golda Meir. Israel had 15 Judges before the monarchy.

I think you can guess which number PM Bibi is

I bet you if you did a poll of people who lurked these threads that most readers would rate me as the best commenter here. I’d show some respect, if I were you

I wish you were kidding about HIMARS and cruise missiles. Air defense systems like Panstir are needed to destroy ATACMs in flight. The main limit is the Russians have other uses for these systems so many assets will always be exposed. All armies are the same in this regard. If ATACMs becomes a more serious threat I imagine the Russians will change tactics, either by destroying the launchers immediately as opposed to putting them as mid-priority targets on list or by simply destroying the missiles before they get to the launchers.

I suspect Russia’s satellite technology is probably mid-pack. Like other Russian hardware the strategic role is probably emphasized over tactical surveillance in nearby countries where they have at least some coverage from lower cost assets. I have never heard of any giant Russian optical systems such as the US launches which led to the Hubble telescope. The Russians have made other advanced satellites and also sophisticated optics for lasers but I don’t know about the reconnaissance role.

There is a difference between indiscriminate casualties from large scale bombing and limited civilian casualties as collateral damage from focussed strikes on exclusively military targets. This can be a blurry line.

Previously I forgot to mention the Russians also have Strela missile systems and anti-aircraft cannons which might help against ATACMs if employed properly (possibly untenable). At the end of the day there will always be more juicy targets than air defense systems so it is a calculated risk on what is left exposed to Ukrainian/NATO missile attacks.

There has been no polling that would show Netanyahu losing popularity. How could Greasy possibly know?

He was 180° backwards on the IDF’s stance towards Iranian Hezbollah. It would be unsurprising if Greasy was equally wrong on this point.

PEACE 😇

Why do you keep opposing MAGA when you want Trumpian outcomes?

It’s difficult to understand how after all the discussions we’ve had you keep getting this so wrong. What I keep supporting is MAGA and what you keep offering me instead is Trumpian outcomes. A good part of the MAGA agenda was authored by Coulter btw, not by Trump himself.

But you didn’t answer my question of why Israel suddenly needs billions of additional US assistance. After all the $$$$ Obama, Trump and Biden have taken out of my pocket over the years, perhaps I have earned the right to ask such questions, if only rhetorically and on an little known blog like this.

There has been no polling that would show Netanyahu losing popularity.

Yes there is. Bibi just allowed the largest murder of Jews since the Holocaust to happen and then offered no response. The man is a coward and people are sick of him. There are multiple polls showing that the Israeli public are done with Bibi

Finland and Estonia own shared LNG import facility which is physically stationed in Finland, but not sure if it alone can sustain peak winter natgas demand there.

Estonia in theory should not be affected much this winter, because they have ability to get natgas from Lithuania LNG import facility, also from relatively large underground natgas storage site in Latvia, which now is almost completely full for the first time in many years.

Forget if I made this joke before, but:

Would support a Disney Latina Snow White, where Snow White and Prince Charming were visibly less Mestizo than the other characters.

The reverse repos dry up in 16 weeks. Bond market could completely collapse at that point, unless we are already in a severe financial crisis by then

I can’t possibly be the only man who has problems with touchscreens. Or rather, they have problems with our fingers. They were just not designed for adult men’s fingers, which is quite incredible, given that we are 50% of the population. It’s probably not a coincidence that the rise of the “smartphone” occurred at a time of general low T levels, gender confusion and docility of the population, especially its male segment, to unprecedented levels of censorship and group-think.

But the origin of this all was probably technical and economic in nature. It started with Steve Job’s fateful idea that you could convert a flip phone into something that it was NOT designed to be: a computer. And for some strange reason, society and the market just went along with it. Suddenly, everybody started to pretend that you could substitute a keyboard and a mouse by your thumbs, even the thumbs of a rugged farmer or a bricklayer (which is obviously an idiotic idea) and that tiny devices could do the work of much larger equipment with cooling fans and large screens.

This collective fantasy led to what then became the second insurmountable problem for ordinary men like me who don’t carry purses everywhere with them. Smartphones could not possibly do all those things unless they were designed bigger and bigger in size and we were all led to accept that the small, compact, easy to carry flip phones had to be turned into large bricks impossible to carry with you conveniently anywhere. I mean, what do you do in summer when you are always wearing just shorts and a t-shirt? How can you carry that delicate electronic thing along with you at all times if you don’t have a pocket big enough for it? What I personally do is just leave it at home. But when I asked this question to a male friend of mine, he confessed that in summer he just takes the phone with him everywhere in his hand. This is silly. We are not designed as a species to have a cumbersome, delicate and difficult to carry appendage at all times with us.

I’ve just had enough. For years I’ve been trying to tell me that it was my fault. That I’m just old-fashioned and that every time the stupid screen does something totally unpredictable at the touch of my fingers, it’s due to my clumsiness. Not anymore. They should have thought that many men work outside and don’t have the sensitive fingers of women and children. This weekend I’m ditching the smartphone that so many times has shown his contempt for my male anatomy and I’m going to substitute it by a combination of an outdoor smart watch (which I should have bought long ago anyway) and a small flip phone with hopefully google maps and the other couple of apps that I use regularly. If people start giving me bad looks at the restaurant because I order a paper menu or at the doctor’s office because I cannot fill in the paperwork on my phone, I don’t care. That’s their problem.

I invite every man here to join my rebellion against touchscreens for a future with less discrimination against us.

I often get Dutch language results, when I search on a phone.

It is difficult to understand why you keep getting this wrong.

There is only one MAGA candidate in this election cycle, Donald Trump. When you lie about Trump, you work against MAGA. This should be really easy to grasp, but it keeps eluding you. You give aide and comfort to Not-The-President Biden every time intentionally try to break MAGA by senselessly attacking the only MAGA candidate.
_____

Do you really want to further embolden sociopath Khamenei by cutting off Palestinian Jews? That sounds like a position your beloved Veggie-in-Chief would embrace.

Why do you want to undermine the strength of MAGA abroad?
_____

If you are thinking about shifting your anti-MAGA allegiance from Not-The-President Biden to RFK Jr., you may want consider carefully: (1)

I did not see that one coming. There was early concern that RFK might on net steal votes from MAGA, but that worry is now fading away.

PEACE 😇
___________

(1) https://nypost.com/2023/10/18/rfk-jr-comes-out-for-reparations-forging-lane-to-bidens-left/

Russia will ‘pay the price’ for supporting Gaza: Netanyahu deputy
Since the start of the war in Gaza, Israeli officials have taken to western media outlets to claim all Gazans are “Nazis” or “terrorists” that need to be eradicated

DD Geopolitics
@DD_Geopolitics
Amir Weitmann, member of Israel’s ruling Likud Party threatens Russia on RT

“After we win this war…we will make sure that Ukraine wins…Russia will pay the price…”

The masks are off…

“Russia is supporting the enemies of Israel, Russia is supporting Nazi people who want to commit genocide on us, and Russia will pay the price […]. We are going to finish with these Nazis, we’re going to win this war […] we’re not forgetting what you are doing […] we will come, we will make sure that Ukraine wins, we will make sure that you pay the price for what you have done,” the close ally of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continued.

https://new.thecradle.co/articles/russia-will-pay-the-price-for-supporting-gaza-netanyahu-deputy

This guy needs Biden to calm him down and teach him privately that the world doesnt give a shit to his tribe or

counyry .

——-
” Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday compared Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip to Nazi Germany’s siege of Leningrad during World War Two and called for a resolution to the conflict to be reached through mediation.”
”
”

https://www.reuters.com/article/israel-palestinians-putin-gaza-idAFS8N3A2088

What does this mean?

Out of curiosity–do you think that the Israeli right-wing is going to refrain from discussing or touching the Grandchild Clause in Israel’s Law of Return for a very long time to come due to just how badly Bibi’s government got discredited and Israel getting much better priorities right now?

Before Israel’s version of 9/11, the Israeli right-wing wanted to produce some changes to the Grandchild Clause, though it was unclear exactly which changes because any changes needed to get a majority of the Knesset to support them as well as the approval of the Israeli Supreme Court. But Israel’s version of 9/11 appears to have indefinitely shelved these plans. The crucial question, of course, is whether these plans will still be shelved in 2030, or 2040, or 2050. Though the longer that these plans are shelved, the less advantageous that a repeal of the Grandchild Clause becomes for the Israeli right-wing because the benefits from this will become less and less (the Law of Return-eligible population in Russia appears to be rapidly moving to Israel with each and every passing year, after all) while Diaspora Jews will still be significantly pissed off at such a move.

Of course, I would also quite rightly expect Israeli left-wingers and centrists to accurately point out that Hamas also wants to kill those Israelis of Jewish descent who are not Jewish according to halakha and that thus they should still be allowed to move to Israel since ultimately when it comes to a Jewish safe haven, it’s much more reasonable for anti-Semites (like Hitler, or Hamas) than for Jews themselves to determine the definition of a “Jew”.

iPhones are good for the clock mechanisms–alarm, stopwatch, timer–and always having a camera at the ready. Also it works fine as a phone.

The rest of it is pretty useless to the user but to the surveillance goons it’s the greatest thing ever invented.

I have never used it for any media whatever. Every day I see people in the park ignoring the birds and the rabbits and the deer and attending to their phone. People are very stupid.

The other day I heard an interview with a longtime friend of Terrance McKenna who claimed the man was a first adopter of the cell phone and spent years entire days with the damn thing pressed against the side of his head. Before he contracted brain cancer and died.

First there was the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Then right after there was murder.

Israeli panelist targets Indian news host over ‘pro-Palestine’ clothing
The claim was made due to the colors of the presenter’s saree, leading to a heated exchange

An Israeli commentator taking part in a discussion on an Indian news show on Wednesday targeted the host over the green, red, and black garment she was wearing, claiming that it demonstrated a ‘pro-Palestine bias’.

https://www.rt.com/india/585341-india-news-host-saree-color-israel-palestine/

This moron thinks the world revovles around his tribe and his country. World dont give a toss to what you feel or think.

Only nation that wakes up worshipping YAWEH and sending the offerrings to you is high IQ Evangelical and their minions with more IQ ,
posting on certain blogs and talking on Fox ,penning words for WSJ , and Telegraph (UK).

Real men don’t use google maps – their natural inborn sense of direction suffices – same reason you never see men asking for directions, at least during the day or on a clear night with a moon. And, yes, I’m male, 5’5 1/2″ (Euro but with little more than a Chink physique except for my substantial low hangers) small but square fingers and yes, those touch screens are useless not to mention every time I grab that device, I hit some place that puts up anything but the touch pad for the telephone and I miss answering as 15 different pieces of shit come on the screen. My i phone lives in the drawer. I went back to a flipper..

Out of curiosity–do you think that the Israeli right-wing is going to refrain from discussing or touching the Grandchild Clause in Israel’s Law of Return

Why are you so obsessed with this law?

Right now I would assume that any domestic issues are entirely frozen until this war is complete. When things return to some degree of normalcy, I think changes to things like the courts or the Law of Return will only be made when there is overwhelming public consensus. Nobody wants to create more divisions within the Jewish people at a time like this.

Bloomberg has reported that US involvement in the Israel Hamas war is so deep that the US is essentially running the operation.

Well you should have no problem providing a link then.

Support for Bibi and the Likud is tanking among the Israeli government.

Where did you get that idea? Wishful Thinking Daily?

Although Trump is talking smarter and way more consistently so these days, Vivek is what I’d call unprecedented. The problem is that he talks way over the average bowling league bowler’s head. But he sure has it right, and anything he’s not 100% sure about, he obviously gives a lot of thought and addresses at a later interview. You can tell he went to Catholic school. Turned in my MAGA cap and bought a box of those red stick on dots.

I wish you were kidding about HIMARS and cruise missiles. Air defense systems like Panstir are needed to destroy ATACMs in flight.

Why would I be kidding?

Private satellites are used to track and identify objects in peacetime.

In theory they should be able to use computers to identify and track HIMARs. Send a cruise missile at the location where it parks.

Should not be that complicated.

If ATACMs becomes a more serious threat

What do you mean if? Ukraine can now hit anything within their borders. You don’t think that is a serious threat? They just took out 9 helicopters and an airport.

I suspect Russia’s satellite technology is probably mid-pack.

I actually doubt it. There have been numerous times where Ukraine built up an attack force and had the element of surprise. Russia has also been extremely poor at intercepting Western weapons being shipped by train. That tells me they exaggerated their satellite technology like everything else. Some are probably malfunctioning.

There is a difference between indiscriminate casualties from large scale bombing and limited civilian casualties as collateral damage from focused strikes on exclusively military targets.

There you go again making assumptions before doing any research.

Putin has been using Iranian drones just like Hitler used V-2s. Aim them at the general direction of population centers to terrify the locals. They use crude 2 stroke engines and the locals call them flying mopeds.

Unless you want to tell me that downtown Kiev and Odessa are military targets?

And why does Israel need any amount of billions to combat a group of jeans-wearing terrorists?

No answer to that, of course, except for some mumbling about emboldening Khamenei, whose “sociopathy” appears to be accounted for by his regarding indigenous Palestinian Gentiles as human beings – unlike sociopath Nutandyahoo – and an absolute howler about “undermining the strength of MAGA abroad.” Give the little Israel-firster credit where its due: he certainly tries hard.

I can’t possibly be the only man who has problems with touchscreens. Or rather, they have problems with our fingers.

I hated the earlier ones but not the newer models. Seems like around iphone 8 they really improved the touchscreens for typing. Same for Androids. I used to hate them until a few years ago. The voice recognition also works a lot better. I know someone who rarely types anything.

What I hate is the Tesla trend. I really hate cars that have one big touchscreen for everything. It seems unsafe to be fumbling through a touchscreen to turn down the AC.

GM/Chrysler vehicles aren’t that bad but the newer Toyotas are frigging annoying as hell. Some of the Teslas actually have a screen that compromises your view.

This is not minimalist:
This is trying to jam everything into a giant tablet. It’s not minimizing if it takes you longer to do something.

/rant over

Isn’t the purpose of the Geran strikes to force Ukraine to use up its AD ammo?

Where did you get that idea? Wishful Thinking Daily?

According to a poll released by Ma’ariv, support for Bibi and the Likud have completely collapsed. If Bibi doesn’t destroy Hamas, absolutely no way that he remains in power. But Bibi is Bibi and he will obey US orders if push comes to shove, just like he has by delaying the ground invasion.

*IF* the IDF conquers Gaza, it will only be because America wanted it that way.

I have wondered about this myself. I have small, svelte hands for a man, and to look at them you would (correctly) guess they belong to someone who’s never done a day of manual labor in his life (not strictly true but close enough). I’ve always worked in office environments, and even there, when I began paying attention, I noticed virtually all the guys’ hands were bigger, their fingers thicker than mine (except maybe a couple of tiny guys, I’m 5’11). At the gym there are comparatively fewer delicate office types and many more rugged tradie types, and I’m often amazed at how big the hands are of some dude who’s like 5’7 and a lot skinnier and weaker than me – often still way bigger than mine.

I was a late adopter of smart phones. I think I didn’t transition to a touch screen until 2014 or 2015. And when I did, I found it quite frustrating trying to click things, let alone speed type (prob spent more time hitting backspace than letter keys). Since then, I’ve gotten a lot better. I can bang out txt messages nearly as fast as a teenage girl, although I still often make plenty of mistakes. But I have wondered if I, with my small hands and thin fingers, still find it frustrating, how the hell does average guy fare – let alone those dudes with humongous hands?

All in all, though, I like the convenience of being able to look things up (directions, sportsball scores, weather etc) wherever I find myself.

Also, the last couple of years I have gotten into the habit of leaving my car unlocked and putting the keys in the glove box whenever I go shopping, gym or to the park for a walk. More recently, especially when parking at the supermarket, I’ve been leaving the keys in the ignition, for no better reason than simple human laziness, freeriding on everyone else’s security-mindedness.

I’m having second thoughts now. My car was broken into yesterday. Although in this case it was in my driveway and my friend had been driving it and when she handed me the keys I noticed the driver’s window was left down but I couldn’t be bothered inserting the key so I could put it up and just left it. I thought I live in a wealthy neighborhood, as if anyone around here is going to walk up my driveway to check if car’s unloocked, but lol, that’s exactly what happened. The funny thing is the only thing they stole was a government form I had filled out but left in the glove box when I brought it back home with me because I had forgotten to take the necessary ID documents when I was handing the form in.

During Covid, the Fed jammed so much cash into the banks that the banks couldn’t afford to either hold it or pay the interest on it, so the Fed established the reverse repo program which allowed the banks to loan the money that the Fed had forced fed them (the NY commercial banks) back to the Fed and pay them interest on those deposits.

The banks have been using the money in their reverse repo accounts to buy USTs. These massive treasury purchases are actually the last remaining source of liquidity in the US economy. At the rate that the reverse repos are currently being used up, there will be no more left by March 2024. That means that there will no longer be buyers for UST’s at current yields.

At this point, there would be two options: 1. The Fed could do what Japan is currently doing and implement YCC, buying the needed amount of bonds to keep the rates down or 2. The Fed could allow the entire global financial system to melt down.

You’d think that the Fed would go with the first choice, but I’m not really certain what the Fed is doing these days so I can’t dismiss option two a legitimate possibility.

Now, there is a way to avoid all this, though. If the US economy implodes sometime in the next 4 months, treasury yields will decline by such a massive amount that the US gov would be able to continue it’s 8.5% GDP deficits without the Fed implementing YCC. I do think it is possible that this is what Powell is aiming for. It may very well be the case that Powell is willing to see Biden’s Presidency destroyed and the currencies of all US allies set on fire if that is what it takes to save the USD.

How far are you willing to go for your Khamenei First ideology?

America has an unprecedented opportunity: (1)

Weekend Parting Shot: No. Please. Don’t.
Cher Threatens to Defect if Trump Wins

American Wire News reported that Cher has announced that if Donald Trump wins the presidency, she will leave the country. Again. If you are under 50, you may be thinking, “Who?” If you are over 50, you are probably thinking, “Who cares?” After all, we’ve seen this routine before. The last time Trump won, an army of celebrities, influencers, academics, and other assorted individuals announced their intentions to decamp to Canada, Australia, Tatooine, or someplace. California even threatened to secede. And that was a lousy experience. Not because they all threatened to leave, but because they never actually got around to leaving. According to American Wire, Cher told The Guardian, “I almost got an ulcer the last time. If he gets in, who knows? This time, I will leave [the country].”

Are you so committed to your beloved Khamenei that you will prevent the U.S. from becoming Cher free? How could you hate MAGA and America First so much?

Even if you do not like Trump is the logic of voting for him obvious! No more Cher! What more could you possibly want?

PEACE 😇
__________

(1) https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/lincolnbrown/2023/10/20/weekend-parting-shot-no-please-dont-cher-threatens-to-defect-if-trump-wins-n1736494

I misunderstood your original comment. I thought you meant using cruise missiles to hit the missile in flight, I now see you stated otherwise. I’m sure Russia does some version of what you mention. Why they don’t do more I don’t know. There is some limitation of the Russian hardware or tactics, so Ukraine striking higher value targets may be an attempt to goad Russia into wasting aircraft or higher performance missiles to take out the HIMARS. In other words a Zircon for a HIMARS might not be a good trade, but if the Ukrainians can take out a couple of helicopters with each strike then Russia may not have a choice. Time will tell.

We have seen that Ukrainian forces put hardware assets and manpower within cities. Russia will hit these from time to time. I think this happens in all modern wars to varying degrees. The shock and awe approach is to level everything, destroy the military assets and wreck the infrastructure so that recovery and repair is much more difficult than with precision strikes on just the key military targets. With shock and awe a bunch of civilians get killed. Then they can’t help rebuild and regroup so this is a feature. With a precision strike any civilian deaths are a bug or so the story goes.

Was the general location of the HIMARS units which launched ATACMS at Berdyansk disclosed by either side?

thoughts on the interview I posted?

Would you recommend any book on Sikhism or recent subcontinental history for an outside observer?

The physiognomy of the Palestinians varies so widely. Some of them look like Swedes and some would be regarded as black in America. I have never seen a nation with so much variety in their physical appearance.

Any transcripts? If not, could you resend the link?

NVM I found it. I can’t speak to what he claims about the front because I’m not there and don’t know anybody there. Still seems too optimistic about Russia, though not crazy. Of course he repeats Russian fantasy of Ukraine being a puppet. And he minimises Russian contacts with Hamas. He argues that Russia can’t not be an ally of Israel because many of the elites have or wish they had Israeli citizenship. Well, same is true of Western countries, does that mean Russia can never be an enemy of the UK or USA?

His description of the military situation was the most balanced that I had ever read. This entire war the only sources we’ve had are the Western lugenpresse, the Russophiles/alt media and the Strelkov doomers. Since all of those sources have repeatedly proven themselves to be untrustworthy, it has been impossible to get a bearing of what is really going on regarding the military situation.

The stalemate he describes where neither side is capable of successfully conducting large scale offensive operations fits with what we have seen over the last year. It sounds like Russia’s entire strategy is to just wait until the US gives up.

Thanks for those insights. It’s nice to hear other people’s impressions on this matter, so far mostly sympathetic to my side.

I don’t have very big hands either but I do do some manual work outdoors all year round and apparently that’s enough to thicken the skin of my fingers and turn me into a modern tech-impared person. I can’t possibly compete with my wife and son on smartphone dexterity. As others have mentioned, the simple task of answering a phone call without activating unwanted crap is a constant challenge.

I refuse to accept than I am the problem though. This is all a form of social conformism towards a technology that puts an important proportion of the population at a disadvantage, especially considering that today we are all expected to carry our smartbricks along with us, at least here in the US.

But, as I said, silly touchscreens are only a part of the problem. Don’t you find constantly carrying a delicate 6″ gadget with you uncomfortable and irritating at all? I don’t remember having bought any but even the much smaller flip phones opened a market for holsters and cases that made it more comfortable to carry them around. I don’t see anything of the like for smartbricks. If you don’t have a purse or wear baggy pants all year round you’re screwed.

Don’t you find constantly carrying a delicate 6″ gadget with you uncomfortable and irritating at all? I don’t remember having bought any but even the much smaller flip phones opened a market for holsters and cases that made it more comfortable to carry them around. I don’t see anything of the like for smartbricks. If you don’t have a purse or wear baggy pants all year round you’re screwed

You don’t wear cargo pants? And even modern regular pants seems to come with deep pockets nowadays. They don’t have to be baggy, though I suspect skinny jeans would be difficult. I don’t wear those.

This guy seems to be fairly objective about the battlefields:

https://substack.com/profile/137222197-sarcastosaurus

You don’t wear cargo pants?

Only occasionally. That’s when carrying my smartphone becomes acceptable but not great. It doesn’t stand a chance if starts raining hard. This wasn’t such a problem with the much more rugged flip phones of the past. With a regular cover in your pocket or clipped to your belt you basically forgot about them.

And even modern regular pants seems to come with deep pockets nowadays.

I don’t think pocket sizes have changed at all. I don’t wear skinny jeans either, I still have a reputation to maintain, but I do like modern stretchy pants and shorts and they’re just not designed for smartphones. They keep slipping out of the pocket when you sit down, adding unnecessary frustration and stress to one’s life.

Don’t you find constantly carrying a delicate 6″ gadget with you uncomfortable and irritating at all?

I don’t mind it at all. I don’t even notice it really.

When I am traveling, going for a walk, shopping (if alone), at gym, I have headphones/earphones on and listen to lectures/podcasts or music, which I wouldn’t be able to do without my phone. It fits comfortably in the pockets of all the pants I have. (And I often wear “skinny” jeans – not super skinny.)

The way I see it, the convenience of having it with me easily outweighs the inconvenience of not having it. It would probably be “useful” to practice making do without it for periods of time though, just to help me “stay human.” 🙂

IslamoGloboHomo has an anti-Semitism problem. (1)

THEY WERE USING YOU ALL ALONG

On Israel, Progressive Jews Feel Abandoned by Their Left-Wing Allies

Progressive Jews who have spent years supporting racial equity, gay and transgender rights, abortion rights and other causes on the American left — including opposing Israeli policies in Gaza and the West Bank — are suddenly feeling abandoned by those who they long thought of as allies. This wartime shift represents a fundamental break within a liberal coalition that has long powered the Democratic Party.

In Los Angeles, Rabbi Sharon Brous, a well-known progressive activist who regularly criticizes the Israeli government, described from the pulpit her horror and feelings of “existential loneliness,” her voice breaking. “The clear message from many in the world, especially from our world — those who claim to care the most about justice and human dignity — is that these Israeli victims somehow deserved this terrible fate.”

They are your enemies, they used you, and they had contempt for you, and now it shows. Conduct yourselves accordingly.

Decades ago, Jews were instrumental in founding progressive organizations, such as the SPLC. Somehow they missed (or conveniently ignored) the inherent contradiction between SJW activism and traditional Judeo-Christian values. Even left leaning Jews believe in merit, a concept loathed by the DEI Equity zealots.

Now that they realize the problem, “What is next for American Jews?”

The Orthodox believe in traditional Judeo-Christian values and overwhelmingly vote against the Islamophile DNC. When will other branches follow? There is no place for them in Globalist dogma.

PEACE 😇
__________

(1) https://instapundit.com/612557/

Vivek is good on stage and benefited greatly by being the most sincere MAGA voice in the primary debates. Some labelled him “The Trump Surrogate”, though I would not go that far. He has slipped down into the single digit club.

Long-term, Vivek’s business background draws unfavourable scrutiny. He made his fortune in one BigPharma play, and the underlying drug never made it to market. That does not make a compelling personal story. He needs to build up a track record of successes in business and/or lesser offices. If he can do that, he will have future opportunities.

PEACE 😇

Quite noticeable that strictly antitrumpian sentiment (Pence, Haley, Christie) has been increasing lately – already around 15%, instead of around stable 11-12% previously.

I’m right there with you on the entire issue. I actually never went to a smartphone and still operate exclusively on flip phone.

That is for a number of reasons, but durability is one of them. I’m always running around, climbing, etc. and a smart phone would get destroyed in about 24 hours of being around me. I did just break my last flip phone the other day, but that was from dropping it 40ft. off a roof. It actually still worked fine but the hinge was smashed.

I can’t do touch screens either. Picking up my wife’s phone and trying to operate it is like a form of torture for me. Usually my fingertips are worn fairly smooth without very definite fingerprints and I wonder if that messes with it. Same for whatever dust, oil and who knows what is on me.

The bigger issue for me though is that I don’t want or need the internet in my pocket. I think the internet is generally an addictive degenerate time suck which I don’t need more of in my life. I also don’t ever use or need GPS and think that outsourcing one’s brain for such tasks to a phone just decreases competency.

Additionally, having a flip phone means that the data that is compiled on you is that much more general.

The downside is that many flip phones suck compared to the past. Companies are allocating relatively few resources to the operating systems of these, and it shows. I want my 3G flip phones back dammit. This should resolve as increasing numbers of people make the switch back to flip phones, but currently it’s a bit of an awkward spot.

Good luck with it! What flip phone are you looking at getting?

Haley is having her bounce. It is not going anywhere.

Quote noticeable that Anti-Trump (DeSantis, Haley, Christie, Pence) is collapsing. It was ~30% six months ago. That has diminished to 23%. And that figure will almost certainly fall further as people experience more Nikki Haley. MAGA/Trump is in ascendancy.

PEACE 😇

I increasingly feel like “staying human” can be a full time job in this age. So, if there is something like a smartphone that takes me away from that end goal, I just prefer to avoid it. I know it’s inconvenient at times, but I just don’t feel like the trade-off is worth it.

I do think that the time not spent listening to things or scrolling is hardly wasted time. I spend a lot of time ruminating while I’m driving or working, and I find it very productive. I don’t know how people go without that time.

I even have a truck that came without a radio wired and I haven’t taken the time to put one in. After a bit I decided that it’s kind of nice not to have the radio or music as it gives more time for thought and observation to just flow freely.

Last week when it was Ukes trying to advance and being destroyed, everyone in the West was downplaying it and saluting their bravery. The Battle for Avdeeka is ongoing, and unfortunately, a lot more men will die. I often thought it was a miracle more of us didn’t die because of the moron officers I served under in the US Army. And all of this could have been avoided if the Ukes had abided by the Minsk Accords. Crazy.

That is why the Ukrainians have NeoNazis, part of their role is to clearly emblemize hate against Russia.

You’re much more naive than I ever imagined if you believe what you wrote. Ukrainians don’t need “NeoNazis” in order to project deep disgust at what’s transpiring within their country thanks to Russian aggressive incursions. I have cousins that are half Russian and half Ukrainian. Before the war, they kept strong and friendly ties with their Russian relatives that live in the Murmansk area. No contacts, whatsoever today. Having to live a lot of last winter in their cold unheated cellar, for fear of being bombed from Russian bombs overhead, they came to the conclusion that their Russian relatives were not concerned enough regarding their unenviable plight. The comfort zones that Russians and Ukrainians feel today are vastly different.

And even modern regular pants seems to come with deep pockets nowadays.

I don’t think pocket sizes have changed at all.

Maybe it depends on brands. I seem to have noticed significantly deeper pockets in pants nowadays. I wouldn’t buy pants with shallow ones anymore.

I have a pair of Haglofs fjell cargo shorts that can easily swallow a phone and a bulky Cannon G5 X camera.

I beat silviosilver with smartphone adoption: my first one wasn’t until 2018.

This wasn’t such a problem with the much more rugged flip phones of the past. With a regular cover in your pocket or clipped to your belt you basically forgot about them.

The past has now become my future:

The Galaxy Flip 4 is a sophisticated and durable little phone. I just hated the other newer phones that kept getting larger and larger all of the time, I didn’t want to have to carry a small lap-top in my pocket. The camera within provides incredibly sharp photos and is very easy to use too..

The downside is that many flip phones suck compared to the past.

I had a razr that worked for many years, until a young dog chewed it up. It still worked, despite the holes. My last flip phone (2018) was cheap plastic junk in comparison.

If you’re not busy today, why not stop bye and help support our Ukrainian brothers and sisters in the old country? Our small church and larger community have gathered over $250,000 in funds for Ukraine support since the war began. This figure was back from over a month ago. Help us go over $300,000 today:

You are cordially invited to Uketober Fest on
Saturday, October 21st at 3:00 pm at the Ukrainian Cultural Center. Adults $20, Students $10, kids free.
Hosted by the Ukr. National Women’s League Br. #3, St. Mary’s Ukr. Orthodox Church, Ukr. Congress Committee Phx Branch and Ukrainian Arizona.

Went to the centre of the shithole city I live in today (which I usually avoid except when passing through on my way to or from the railway station, since the demographic realities on display there are too depressing). And lo and behold, I saw a small group of pro-Palestine activists standing around with placards claiming that solidarity with Israeli “apartheid” and its settlement policy can’t be Germany’s raison d’etat, as claimed by the entire establishment (and even a large part of AfD btw). Seemed to be mostly aging German lefties, some of them draped in Palestine flags and one wearing a keffiyeh, lol. Didn’t see any poc among them. A headscarf-wearing Turkish or Arab woman talked to one of them for a while, but otherwise they didn’t seem to generate much interest and looked pretty lonely.
When I left my way was blocked by a gaggle of black children (maybe seven or eight in total) running around on the sidewalk, their two headscarf-wearing mothers standing nearby and of course making no effort to discipline their brood. Probably Somalis. Couldn’t help but think that those grey-haired pro-Palestine activists have rather misplaced priorities, given how unbelievably fucked this country will be in 20-30 years. But those boomers will be dead by then, and so they’ll keep doing Boomer things, just like their equally retarded pro-Israel counterparts.

Power of Siberia-1 to hit max capacity within a few years.

Power of Siberia-2 looking good. https://archive.ph/kSnzy

MOSCOW, Oct 17 (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Mongolian counterpart Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh on Tuesday that he believed the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline project to bring Russian gas to China via Mongolia would move ahead at a “good pace”.

Russia has increased energy supplies to China, the world’s second-largest consumer of oil after the United States, as the west has imposed sweeping economic sanctions on Russia over its actions in Ukraine.

…

The Power of Siberia pipeline began supplying gas to China in late 2019. It carried 10.5 bcm in 2021 and 15.5 bcm this year, and is due to supply 38 bcm a year by 2025, under a 30-year contract worth more than $400 billion.

Thanks. We are in total syntony on this issue. I also dread the idea of taking such a delicate thing with me to many of the places I go. I have even been doing some scaffolding work lately but only half the height of that roof of yours and using a harness and a rope. Why pay anyone big bucks to do something I can do quite safely myself? The idea of carrying a 6″ touchscreen to such places is a non-starter. You need focus and maximum flexibility in all directions.

Trail running in good weather (half of the year in these parts) with a smartphone is also unthinkable to me. If I don’t have a jacket or long pants where do I even put it? I see people strapping it to their arms or legs but no thanks, I’m not doing that even to keep track of my HR and exercise zones, which admittedly is a nice thing to do, but I can keep relying on my senses and now I’m going to buy a proper wearable watch for that. There is a reason why electronic stores distinguish between phones and wearables, implicitly admitting that their phones cannot really be worn. What’s more, smartphones are also pretty useless the other half of the year. Cold temperature drains their batteries in no time. You may think you have a safety device to call for help if you get stranded in the outdoors but all you have is a useless dead brick. Much worse than a GPS watch.

Where we part ways a little is on the GPS thing. Apart form hiking a lot, you may remember that I am a bit more hedonistic than you and I gave up dairy animals on my farm in order to travel a lot. While it’s probably something that I should be able to live without, having a device that tells you where you are, what the next train or bus is to wherever you want to go, what the last one is to come back, etc is a great invention. I think it’s allowed me to explore and enjoy traveling more than I would have done without it. Not to mention that in the US and large parts of the world taxis don’t roam around anymore, neither can you expect to find them at certain locations, so you sometimes need a way to call an Uber or Lyft.

What flip phone are you looking at getting?

These are the two ones I’m considering at the moment but I have given myself the whole weekend to decide:

https://www.androidauthority.com/best-flip-phones-1195322/#6
https://www.androidauthority.com/best-flip-phones-1195322/#4

The funny thing is that they’re incredibly cheaper and have much longer lasting batteries on top of all the other advantages. I may miss a couple of things at first and it may even take me a while to get used to carrying them along, which I just had to stop doing with my smartphone, but I’m looking forward to a life of less frustration and anxiety.

Last week when it was Ukes trying to advance and being destroyed

There were few offensive actions by Ukraine last week. The Avdiivka offensive by Russia started last week and has failed.

It was a very strange choice by Putin and he lost 55 tanks in a day:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/the-russians-may-have-lost-55-tanks-in-one-day-trying-and-failing-to-capture-avdiivka/ar-AA1iAK0N

Almost as if he was jealous of world attention on Gaza.

Very similar to Hitler ordering offensives in the last years for the sake of it and ignoring Soviet defensive advantages.

And all of this could have been avoided if the Ukes had abided by the Minsk Accords. Crazy.

You are saying that Putin attacked Kiev and tried to take Ukraine because of the Minsk Accords?

Did Putin abide by his sworn promise that he would make DPR and LPR independent Republics? I can source his declaration and signature if you would like. He in fact claimed that Minsk was over and not needed because DPR and LPR would be their own states and backed by Russia.

Did he keep his promise?

Well, look at the bright side, at least you don’t have to live in your cellar.

The deal was the majority ethnic Russian areas in the East and South would get limited autonomy, Ukraine would stop bombing them (killing many civilians, by the way) and the regions would remain part of Ukraine. I’m not looking to play a propaganda game, just read up on the actual facts. You can support the valiant Ukrainian people all you want. Doesn’t change the fact that this war could have easily been avoided by following Minsk.

The 55 tanks destroyed isn’t actually confirmed, either, and from what I’ve read, the Russians are still advancing. I take no joy in the unnecessary deaths of the young men on either side. Some seem to pick a side and cheer the deaths like they’re cheering for their college football team to score more points.

Thanks. I did consider the foldable option but they are still touchscreens and I don’t want them in my life anymore. Neither do they seem to want someone like me.

But, as I said, silly touchscreens are only a part of the problem. Don’t you find constantly carrying a delicate 6″ gadget with you uncomfortable and irritating at all? I don’t remember having bought any but even the much smaller flip phones opened a market for holsters and cases that made it more comfortable to carry them around.

When did you last try one? There is the iphone mini if you don’t like the big one.

But, as I said, silly touchscreens are only a part of the problem. Don’t you find constantly carrying a delicate 6″ gadget with you uncomfortable and irritating at all?

This is how I feel about wallets. I don’t see how guys can sit on a thick wallet all day. It’s bad for your back.

There is no rule that says you have to take your phone everywhere. Get a man purse or a planner. If you don’t feel like taking it then leave it.

That’s supposed to tell me what exactly? That I’m insufficiently supportive of Ukraine, or what? Has it ever occurred to you that people have different interests and not everybody is obliged to share your own concerns?
Maybe tell your cousins they should move to Germany. Ukrainians have privileged access to the welfare system here, and if the country is overrun by foreigners anyway, at least they’ll provide a contrast to all the Mideasterners and Africans.

The deal was the majority ethnic Russian areas in the East and South would get limited autonomy, Ukraine would stop bombing them (killing many civilians, by the way) and the regions would remain part of Ukraine. I’m not looking to play a propaganda game, just read up on the actual facts.

What did I say that is not factually true?

Putin in Feb of 2022 decreed that LPR/DPR will be independent Republics:
https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-polytics/3408844-putin-recognizes-independence-of-lprdpr.html

That would formally end what remained of the Minsk agreement.

“I consider it necessary to make a long-overdue decision – to immediately recognize the independence and sovereignty of the ‘DPR’ and ‘LPR’. I ask the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation to support this decision and then to ratify the treaties of friendship and mutual assistance with the respective ‘republics’,” Putin said, an Ukrinform correspondent reports with reference to a broadcast on Russian TV.

Did he abide by that decree? Yes or no?

You can support the valiant Ukrainian people all you want. Doesn’t change the fact that this war could have easily been avoided by following Minsk.

That’s your opinion and contradicts Putin’s original speech where he said the war was about NATO.

Belarus has been pro-Russian since the end of the USSR. Would you say that they are the model that Ukraine should have followed?

That’s your opinion and contradicts Putin’s original speech where he said the war was about NATO.

Wasn’t Putin’s ultimatum that NATO leave Eastern Europe entirely, not just pledge not to admit Ukraine?

Haglofs fjell cargo shorts

Look classy enough and I could put a smartbrick in there but they’re not quite my style. On the understanding that I’m well past my prime time, my wife has convinced me that I still have a bit of a shape to show off and that quality strechy, elastic pants look best on me so I follow her expert advice. They’re very comfortable too and I guess having European origins makes me less willing to compromise looks for convenience than many Americans. Speaking of which, you can surely find plenty of trashy looking Europeans of all sorts but something like Fetterman’s outfit is quintessentially American, in an almost charming way. Like he couldn’t care less what he looks like and what the norms are.

I don’t read Arab lovers, but thanks anyway. I’m sure he does a good job on the Ukraine war

This is how I feel about wallets.

You may have a point there but wallets do fit in your back pockets very well. Either wallet makers designed them to or pant makers did. No such evolution has happened with smartphones. Besides, wallets are not delicate electronic devices. And I got used to carrying one in my pants since my early teens so that’s not an issue for me. Not sure if it was for earlier generations.

There is no rule that says you have to take your phone everywhere.

There is. It’s not written anywhere but I see all the time: at home depot, at the restaurants, at the doctors office, with relatives and friends that expect you to be on their social media apps and will even occasionally mock you if you’re not,… When they called me to take my Covid shot at my local hospital I was babysitting my young son and drove there, as instructed, taking him with me. After waiting for a long time in a line of cars they made us return back home because I wasn’t carrying a phone with me so how could the nurses call me when my turn came? The social expectation has become that you must carry your smartbrick everywhere with you (unless may be you are an elderly or impaired person, in which case you may get some compassionate treatment).

Get a man purse

LOL

Real frustration from the Arab/Islamic world over their complete inability to help out the satanic Palestinian people. How many Palestinian dead so far, like 5k? Over 1000 children. And they are being literally starved. They can’t even get water.

I doubt the Arabs/Muslims have any regrets, but it is clear that they assumed that Israel would not, or could not, respond to the massacre on the 7th. I still can’t fault them for that assumption because it never even occurred to me that Israel would launch a meaningful response. I still don’t understand it. What the hell has gotten into the Israelis?

We’ll see how much longer Bibi and the IDF can stall the invasion. Right now I think the bigger problem is Bibi. While I’m 100% sure that Bibi does not want to invade, I’m no longer as confident about the IDF. In fact, I think the IDF may actually want a regional war, although I have no idea why they would want such a thing. I hate the IDF but they should launch a coup and put that rat Bibi on trial for his crimes against the Jewish people.

“I still have a bit of a shape to show off and that quality strechy, elastic pants look best on me so I follow her expert advice. ”

I have been following the pocket-too-small-for-smartphone thread since last night. Two suggestions: 1) Walmart has a clear waterproof bag/case for smartphones. It has a nice long cord/lanyard to drape over your neck and can be found in the sporting goods section. 2) Also, most Lycra shorts now have a pocket on the inside of the waistband. A shirt that drapes over the top of your bike shorts should hide the outline of the phone so you can still look spiffy.

I doubt the Arabs/Muslims have any regrets, but it is clear that they assumed that Israel would not, or could not, respond to the massacre on the 7th.

Seems unlikely to me, Hamas must have known that after such extreme, unprecedented attacks there would be a very severe reaction. And from their pov that’s probably not even unequivocally bad, since the civilian casualties from the bombing of Gaza (which would rise even higher if there’s indeed a ground invasion) are wrecking or at least severely complicating the recent rapprochement between Israel and various Arab states. Palestine is now a top issue again.
Of course if Israel had reacted only in a muted way, it would also have been a major propaganda victory for Hamas and they would have used the hostages to extort prisoner exchanges and other concessions. So they couldn’t lose either way.

The deal was the majority ethnic Russian areas in the East and South would get limited autonomy

Zelensky’s interpretation of this was that they could elect their own governors. Russia demanded that these territories would be able to have a free trade zone with Russia, which would effectively prevent Ukraine from integrating with the EU. This was unacceptable.

Ukraine would stop bombing them (killing many civilians, by the way)

9 Civilians were killed in all of 2021. By shooting from both sides.

Russia has killed over 10,000 civilians when it invaded (per UN, which doesn’t include Mariupol – real number is at least double that if not 10,000s). Mostly people from Eastern Ukraine.

It would take at least 1,000 years to “break even” with the deaths from 2021.

The 55 tanks destroyed isn’t actually confirmed, either, and from what I’ve read, the Russians are still advancing

There is plenty of documentation of large amounts of Russian vehicles being destroyed. Whether it is 55, or 40, or 70 – it is a lot. Russia has been “advancing” there for about 2 weeks (?) now but hasn’t advanced. They gain a few meters and then lose them, while losing large amounts of men and equipment. It’s a way for Ukraine to grind down the enemy with a favorable (for Ukraine) kill ratio.

I take no joy in the unnecessary deaths of the young men on either side

I agree. I hope that Russia withdraws, far more than I hope that Russian invaders get killed. But if Russians invaders are in Ukraine, I support Ukrainian defenders killing them, as a lesser evil to Ukrainians getting killed and their lands occupied by the invaders.

Get a man purse

LOL

Those were really popular in Russia. Even track-suited thug-looking guys carried them.

I think it’s an evolution from carrying stuff in plastic bags. People were used to that, so they upgraded to man purses.

its settlement policy can’t be Germany’s raison d’etat, as claimed by the entire establishment (and even a large part of AfD btw)

Regarding Afd have no knowledge about about motivations, but imho tactically such position can be used when arguing in favour of building hard borders and restricting muslim immigration in EU – should strive to protect our precious rare remaining european jewry from growing pogroming menace;)

And overall strategically several billion muslims seem to be way bigger demographic threat than the nuisance of those thirty or so million worldwide Jews out there, even if many seem to think otherwise by constantly attributing some demigod powers to them.

That’s supposed to tell me what exactly? That I’m insufficiently supportive of Ukraine, or what?

No, not at all. It was an attempt to help you see the bigger picture. Maybe things aren’t as bad as you perceive them. Not everyone shares your butthurt views of every day activities. 🙂

Not all Ukrainians want to emigrate to Germany, but would rather live in Ukraine…

Regarding Afd have no knowledge about about motivations, but imho tactically such position can be used when arguing in favour of building hard borders and restricting muslim immigration in EU – should strive to protect our precious rare remaining european jewry from growing pogroming menace;)

That’s their rationale, and a wish to become “respectable”, to show they’re not Nazis.
But it doesn’t work at all, the Israeli embassy not only categorically refuses all contacts with them, but periodically goes out of its way to condemn them.
Back in June former Israeli ambassador Shimon Stein published this article against AfD (where he explicitly attacks them for promoting ethnocentrism and attacking the federal republic’s refugee policy):
https://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/die-afd-im-umfragehoch-wo-die-erosion-der-demokratie-beginnt-9955290.html
Includes also a negative mention of Hungary and Poland as countries where the radical right is in power and endangering “democracy”. Stein is a liberal by Israeli standards, so of course he also includes some criticism of the extreme right in Israel’s government and presents it as equivalent to AfD, PiS or Fidesz. Which imo is a total distortion. Pretty much the entire political spectrum in Israel is ethnocentric in the sense that they want to preserve Israel as a Jewish nation state, the radical right there are actually people who not just want to keep what’s already theirs, but are advancing an aggressive, expansionist programme. But of course you’re not supposed to point out such fine distinctions, but rather just nod in agreement.
imo there’s no point for European right-wingers in adopting hardcore pro-Zionist positions, since there’s no reciprocity and it doesn’t even work to get anti-national Jews and their organizations off your back. Of course it would be even dumber to adopt pro-Palestinian positions or be naive about the hostile intentions of Islamic organizations in Europe. Best way is to limit oneself to uncontroversial, general statements (e. g. two-state solution as the ultimate goal, or just referring to general humanitarian principles) or say nothing at all about the conflict.

Maybe things aren’t as bad as you perceive them.

They’re probably even worse.

Not all Ukrainians want to emigrate to Germany, but would rather live in Ukraine…

That’s understandable, but I wasn’t even joking about your cousins. Unless they’re somehow contributing to the war effort, maybe they should really leave for the time being.

I understand there is a long-standing nationalist dream based on the hopes and efforts of many Ukrainian people.

These dreams are woven together in a complex way with Ukrainian, Galician, Russian, Soviet, Polish and other regional histories. This history involved many wars and conquests so there is lots to be angry about, especially if one choses to tap into what happened to ancestors and even recent earlier generations.

Obviously an active war makes a great many people extremely angry and others inconsolably sad.

I understand there are important connections between Ukrainian nationalists and Nazi Germany which do not “map” simplistically into the post-WW2 view that Nazis are all bad, all the time.

I even appreciate that much of the profound mythology and history which the Nazis tapped into predates Germany and is channeled by various Northern European peoples in different ways.

With that out of the way, here is my point stated more carefully:

That is why cynical and manipulative third parties funded the growth of NeoNazi groups in Ukraine and helped them become accepted in the mainstream (perhaps near the fringes, but not outside), since an important part of the NeoNazi role is to emblemize hate against Russia.

This is not inconsistent with the existence of NeoNazis in Russia. Life is complicated.

Back in June

In light of current events, that can be regarded as whole eternity ago – they were self confident and arrogant about inner security and settler expansion, but that faith has been shaken now. Ofc situation is in developing mode, final outcome and resolutions stay not clear atm, but would be bit surprised if all official Israel messaging tunes would further stay entirely unchanged in EU.

Here’s another great article on the proper Jewish attitude towards revenge, if anyone is interested (I’m sure at least some lurkers are): https://etzion.org.il/en/philosophy/issues-jewish-thought/issues-mussar-and-faith/positive-aspects-vengeance

I think everything written there could be just as helpful to any non Jew who has mixed feeling towards taking revenge. It’s a much more intellectually and spiritual satisfying philosophy of vengeance than the totally useless Buddhist/Christian/Humanist attitude.

Maybe. Of course rationally it’s hard to argue that an increasing Muslim presence in Europe is good for Jewish interests; in France there have even been several antisemitic murders by Muslims in recent years, and the threat of terror attacks or spontaneous violence is only increasing due to the recent Gaza events (another factor: the demographic shifts due to on-going mass immigration are also radicalizing some right-wingers into an antisemitic direction, so there’s also some threat in that regard, albeit marginally so compared to the Islamic one). But that could all be known long ago, and it didn’t change anything.
Of course hard to predict anything right now, when we don’t know if the current Mideast crisis will lead to something bigger or if it can somehow be contained.

I understand there are important connections between Ukrainian nationalists and Nazi Germany which do not “map” simplistically into the post-WW2 view that Nazis are all bad, all the time…Life is complicated.

Yes, it is. Do you realize that those Ukrainian parties that allied themselves with the Nazis for a time also fought vociferously against them when they figured out that their ideologies and political aims were quite different, one from the other? It was, purely a marriage of convenience. After all, most of the leadership of the OUN(b) including Stepan Bandera was ultimately captured and imprisoned by their German “allies”.

Here’s another great article on the proper Jewish attitude towards revenge

Pretty unreadable tbh. Not sure what the lesson is supposed to be…revenge for personal motives is prohibited and you should strive to improve yourself instead (because that will anger your enemies), but revenge is allowed when done in the spirit of carrying out God’s will?
How is that supposed to be more helpful or profound than the “totally useless Buddhist/Christian/Humanist attitude”?

…Life is complicated.

Wars tend to simplify it. So they are good for something.

I agree about the manipulative third parties who funded the NeoNazi Ukies. It was an obvious choice for continuing the attack on Russia – maybe the only viable one. The us-vs-them Manichean ideologies don’t survive the encounter with reality. The Ukie pro-Nazi mythology aimed at Russia was incoherent – but with cheering for Nazis in the Canadian Parliament and the current Western need to rediscover Holocaust it has become comically incoherent. When Kiev loses the war, Nazis will go back to hibernation.

But I don’t think they are done: more heroes and tragic losses will keep it going. Maybe the world should give them a Galician homeland where they can go openly salute Waffen SS, ban even a mention of “Russia”, and build all the silly monuments their hearts desire. I suspect that if Nazi Germany didn’t also murder Jews, but only focused on the damn Poles, Ukies, Russians, they would now be openly celebrated in the West.

That’s understandable, but I wasn’t even joking about your cousins. Unless they’re somehow contributing to the war effort, maybe they should really leave for the time being.

Even the ones not directly contributing to the war effort benefit Ukraine with their presence (Ukraine still has an economy that produces stuff, it needs workers). I think if there are going to be problems with the electrical grid it would make sense for little kids and the elderly to leave temporarily for the winter.

All of my numerous relatives who had been in Poland and Germany have returned to Ukraine, except for a young couple (husband has a legitimate medical exemption) who have stayed in Germany and just had a child there. They have learned German and the husband is already working.

Hey Barbarossa, how did those children’s/young-adult book recommendations for some time ago go?

Nice vignette, but you forgot to update us on rocketing cheese prices. Did you finish Badian’s essays on the Pentekontaitia by the way? I’ve been reading the Cambridge History of Iran III & IV, alongside Runciman’s ‘History of the Crusades’, he’s great at narrative prose.

We need our unboxing and foot apparel expert Dmitry to elaborate on this phenomenon.

I do agree that is is probably difficult to read if you aren’t used to the rabbinical style. I didn’t consider that and I apologize.

The standard Christian/Western view towards revenge is that it is morally wrong. You shouldn’t take revenge and you shouldn’t hate because you are obligated to love or at least forgive everybody. I really hate this attitude and consider it very dangerous and harmful.

The Buddhist view actually isn’t completely useless, but still incomplete. The Buddhist view is that you shouldn’t take revenge because doing so hurts you. Mercy is something you grant not for the sake of your enemy, but for yourself.

However, the Buddhist view doesn’t leave room for full justice and also isn’t even practical for most people unless that person achieves anatta (something that I, and most other people, see as undesirable).

So the Jewish view of revenge is that it is technically permissible provided solely for the purpose of sanctifying G-d’s name. However, few people have souls that are so elevated that they are able to take pure G-dly revenge. My desire for revenge on the Palestinians has absolutely zero to do with sanctifying G-d’s name, but rather is out of an evil (although certainly understandable) impulse to “get even”.

I hate the Palestinians. All Palestinians. Man, woman and child. Actually, I hate the children most of all. My hatred for them is so pure and so deep that I doubt even the Nazis or the Palestinians themselves could understand it.

But I also know that these feelings are evil because every time I give in or indulge in them it just makes me feel worse. A lot worse. So while I know that I can never make these feelings go away, I can at least intellectually understand that the only person harmed by these feelings is myself. And when these feelings come up, instead of indulging in my feelings of cruelty I can instead use those same feelings as motivation to do something positive like pray or commit an act of kindness. So it becomes another opportunity to use evil in the service of Good, and at the end of the day that’s what Judaism is all about.

It was meant as an illustration of larger trends (just as my comment about cheese prices was meant as an illustration of inflation, which is still at high levels btw). But ok, if it’s so ridiculous I will keep such observations to myself. Doesn’t change anything anyway.

Did you finish Badian’s essays on the Pentekontaitia by the way?

Sent you a long email about that more than a month ago. Can send again if necessary.
Read Runciman long ago. Don’t remember much, except his pro-Byzantine bias. Certainly entertaining though.

The standard Christian/Western view towards revenge is that it is morally wrong. You shouldn’t take revenge and you shouldn’t hate because you are obligated to love or at least forgive everybody.

Seems simplistic to me. May be true for (much of) Christianity today, but that’s because it’s essentially already a dead religion. It was different when it was a vital force (in the sense of punishing God’s enemies, obviously the Church wasn’t in favour of personal vendettas among Christians).

So while I know that I can never make these feelings go away, I can at least intellectually understand that the only person harmed by these feelings is myself. And when these feelings come up, instead of indulging in my feelings of cruelty I can instead use those same feelings as motivation to do something positive like pray or commit an act of kindness.

Doesn’t sound much different from the standard view of modern Westerners.
And no offense, but it’s easy for you to adopt that stance. You’re in America, in theory you could just stop watching the news and forget about the Palestinians.

Thanks for your response here, Greasy William! I’m personally obsessed with this law because I am both an Israeli citizen and, in halakhic terms, the grandchild of a Jew, which causes me to strongly sympathize with other people who are similar to myself and don’t actually have Israeli citizenship yet but might nevertheless want to move to Israel at some future point in time.

Yes, IMHO, making Europe more Muslim does not benefit Jews, and neither does it benefit gentile Europeans unless they are either Muslim cognitive elites or liberal/progressive Muslim reformers.

Pretty much the entire political spectrum in Israel is ethnocentric in the sense that they want to preserve Israel as a Jewish nation state, the radical right there are actually people who not just want to keep what’s already theirs, but are advancing an aggressive, expansionist programme. But of course you’re not supposed to point out such fine distinctions, but rather just nod in agreement.

Worth noting that the Israeli left-wing has a more inclusive concept of a Jewish nation-state relative to the Israeli right-wing. The Israeli right-wing wanted to change or repeal the Grandchild Clause to Israel’s Law of Return until Israel’s equivalent of 9/11 put this issue (and Israel’s judicial reform) off of the agenda indefinitely, hopefully permanently and for good.

Israeli left-wingers don’t want to accept huge numbers of gentiles with no connection to the Jewish people, but they are nevertheless considerably more welcoming of “gentiles” with a Jewish connection relative to Israeli right-wingers. The European equivalent of this would be granting EU citizenship to anyone who seeks it (and who doesn’t have a serious criminal record, I suppose) and who is at least 25% European by (genetic) ancestry as well as to their children and/or grandchildren if they will move to the EU along with them.

Sorry, it wasn’t my intention to be mean. But for some reason the tone in which you complain about the decline of modern Germany (which I broadly agree with, though I doubt it’s that hopeless) always comes across as amusing. It’s definitely an easy foil for Dmitry’s characteristic polite mockery, whose technocratic-managerial worldview I find vaguely repugnant. Though conceding he’s one of the few happy and psychologically normal posters here, with an usual friendly patience for idiocy.. he missed his calling as a state psychiatrist.

Yes, I remember you mentioned Badian’s friendly criticisms of Ron Unz’s classical scholarship, but I don’t recall you mentioning you’d finished it at that point. Since you’re back here (more than ever, despite everything) you might as well post it here.

Pockets have become oversized in some common mens clothing. While a man purse is definitely out, a pocket organizer is potentially an option.

I carry a touch stylus with my minimum size, 4.7″ screen, smartphone. I liked my Blackberry with the full keyboard, but that has become a relic from a bygone era.

PEACE 😇

Since you’re back here (more than ever, despite everything)

I’m currently “on vacation” (lol). Will post less again in November.
Anyway, doubt it will be of much interest to most people reading here, but I’ve copied my mail (final impressions about Badian’s essays) below the -more- tag.

CGTN Exclusive with Russian President Vladimir Putin

From the comments section of the above linked:

When Putin talks, I’m always impressed by the way how well structured are is his thinking about any issue. He start with giving a starting sentence on which he’ll be presenting his dissertation. Awesome. On the contrary westerners language is offensive, disrespectful, full of adjectives belittling whoever happens to be their opponents in turn.

&

I don’t know how to break it to you, but Putin engages in a lot of conversations, he regularly does live Q&As. He is not an actor, you are mistaking him for Zelensky. Or probably your standards in the West are so low that for you Biden and Zelensky are the norm. But they are not. A president is supposed to be a diplomat, not an actor. And that’s exactly what Putin is. An intelligent diplomat. That’s why he is respected so much in those countries where diplomacy exists and the leaders are intelligent professionals. And not actors working for those who govern the country from behind the scenes.

I spend a lot of time ruminating while I’m driving or working, and I find it very productive. I don’t know how people go without that time.

I used to be a big believer in ruminating in solitude. I can’t prove it, but I feel quite sure that this helped me resolve some very pressing personal issues. Aside from that, it’s also an effective way of giving yourself a “mental recharge.” The way my life is set up now, I still experience plenty of “solitude” – I’m alone for long stretches of most days – but it’s channeled into productive activities rather than rumination. Also, I think with the major personal problems I had having been resolved, I feel less need for regular rumination. Still, I should probably deliberately set aside a bit more time for it.

I increasingly feel like “staying human” can be a full time job in this age.

I get you, but I do wonder if it really means anything though. We may share a common biology with our prehistoric ancestors, but mentally, it’s like we’re different species – and you could argue that was already the case hundreds of years ago. Whenever I’ve found myself pining for a return to the relative simplicity of my younger days, I’ve had to laugh because that was already a world that changed monumentally from even a generation before, and the portents as they were back then were just as worrisome and threatening as today’s.

Biden rebuked:

https://www.eurasiareview.com/22102023-answering-biden-on-russia-ukraine-and-israel-palestine-oped/

Couldn’t help but think that those grey-haired pro-Palestine activists have rather misplaced priorities, given how unbelievably fucked this country will be in 20-30 years.

2007 was the year I was first really hit with full force by the realization of how unimaginably fucked things are going to get within my lifetime. All those optimistic plans I had for the future? Hah. “Shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods.”

That same year I was visiting a medieval theme park (castle, costumes, performances etc) down here with some friends. It was located somewhat out in the sticks, and as we were watching one of the performances, I saw a big group of muzzes – probably arabs, but the more paki looking variety – arriving. The women in hijabs, each pushing double-prams, still more kids running about. There was a middle-aged anglo couple seated near us, and the guy noticed them first, and his face immediately took on a “WTF…” expression. He motioned with his head to the woman, who also responded that way. I remember thinking to myself, “That’s the future, dude. You’re looking at it.”

That guy had what I used to think was a “normal” response: you’re greeted by a sight like that and you instinctively (as well as intellectually) experience it as a loss, and the greater the alienness of the sight, the greater the sense of loss. I guess I was dead wrong about this. Probably half the people don’t even feel anything of the sort, and even for those who do, hedonic adaptation eventually brings them to heel. At this point, merely a cultural restoration will require a superhuman effort; whereas for racial salvation, lol, nothing short of a miracle will suffice.

Yeah I’ve adjusted too it as well. I used to really hate diversity and seeing immigrants, but now I’m so used to it that it doesn’t bother me. I have just accepted that America is gone and is never coming back.

Those were really popular in Russia. Even track-suited thug-looking guys carried them.

I think it’s an evolution from carrying stuff in plastic bags. People were used to that, so they upgraded to man purses.

Technically it’s a messenger bag but around here even the guys that wear them call them man purses.

They have increased in popularity for concealed carry. Guys pack a handgun and tablet in them.

Something like this that can spin around for quick access:

G.S. Goraya
The Great Game: Afghanistan, British India and the Hundred Year War for India’s Northern Frontier

https://sialmirzagoraya.substack.com/p/the-paracolonialism-of-the-liberal

Idk never been an outside observer so hard to say.
That author seems ok.

Another important piece covered by them… And certainly “Russian Reaction”.

“I have just accepted that America is gone and is never coming back.”

It’s obvious you’re retired from the number of comments you post but don’t you think it’s a little too soon to resign yourself to fate?

Agree with that… The other issue is people consider Tesla luxury. That is a cheaply made interior with a tablet attached to it. A Honda Civic is made of higher quality.

In Russia there was an epidemic of these arbitrary cases before 2022.

If you want to understand the process, it is hazing of the population, so they begin to understand who has power, after they give the population too much abilities of disobedience after the 1990s.

If you have a group of cattle, and hit a few with an electrical cattle prod sometimes so they will know and respect their master.

It’s arbitrary, usually random, rules are not really known or understood why some people will be prosecuted and other people are not.

Most people are not prosecuted, but some low level people will be randomly prosecuted, usually for small reasons. Especially for small reasons.

–

For example, in many Russian cities, war memorials are often some of the main objects.

So, in the last decade it’s easy to find any young people with war memorials in the back of their social media. Randomly, some are prosecuted.

Often the people who are prosecuted, are the one who doesn’t actually contravene any rules.

It’s not respect for the Second World War, it’s more of test of authority and control of people in the new social spaces created by the internet.

In February 2022, they have also added some new laws like “discrediting the Russian army” which has a very wide application. Generally, the control level is still kind of “light” compared to the Soviet times. Although there were more cases in 2022 than in any of the years of Brezhnev.

This looks like a small backpack.

The ones I remember from Moscow looked more like purses and were worn as such. It was kind of amusing.

I cropped this of some random fat guy from when I lived there:

Also:

This is some Russian website, naturally:

Most Israelis including the rightwing support increasing the immigration from Thailand, Philippines, China etc,* as the alternative are the workers from West Bank/Gaza/Jordan.** And most Israeli Jews are descendants of third world and second world people also, so they don’t have the same kind of distance from the second/third world.

The idea it can be analogous to Europe, is a not closely similar situation.

Israel is created by religious filtered immigration from originally mostly third world/second world people.

Maybe if you are in a very elite area of Israel, you don’t notice this. But in most of the working class cities in Israel, it’s not very mysterious Jewish population are descendants of second world and third world immigrants. People still have the trace of their country of origins.

–
* Where not always very safe for them near the Gaza border, with content warning. Perhaps there will be lower demand from those workers to immigrate to Israel in the future after the massacre of those workers.
https://twitter.com/Iyervval/status/1711092340339933341.

** Israel’s “right-wing” Naftali Bennett added 10,000 more workers from Gaza.

Yes, Israel has a lot of guest workers from places like Southeast Asia, but isn’t it very wary about actually giving them a pathway to citizenship because they’re not Jewish or even of Jewish descent?

FWIW, I do think that it’s a missed opportunity for Israel. Israel could at least give them the opportunity to become Israeli citizens if they will sincerely agree to convert to Judaism or something like that.

were self confident and arrogant

I would say this is opposite of reality.

Before October, 2023 was the worst internal crisis year in Israel’s history, with mass loss of self-confidence, daily protests, mass objection of the reservists, media rebellion against the government, hi tech industry rebellion.

One of the most popular themes in the media in 2023, was how to emigrate.

There was a war in the West Bank also where Hamas was becoming strong.

1142 Air Force reservists resigned in July, including 300 fighter pilots. It is probably part of the reason of the slow response in October. https://www.forbes.com/sites/erictegler/2023/10/13/last-week-israeli-air-force-pilots-were-on-strike-this-week-theyre-at-war/

800 internal security agents resigned in the year.

Probably this is viewed as weakness by Hamas/Iran/Hezbollah, as the internal crisis of the country was not a secret outside Israel.

pathway to citizenship

Their children become Israeli citizens if they go to the army.

. Israel could at least give them the opportunity to become Israeli citizens

From the practical view if the authorities are not going to create more attacks, they need workers who don’t have the security issue of using the workers from Gaza.* They don’t usually need to create more religious people, soldiers or people who can receive welfare payments from the government.

Actually, if the Haredim had higher employment rate and would do the working class job, they would also not need to use so many workers with the security risks from West Bank, Gaza or Jordan.

–
* The daughter of Eyal Waldman was killed in the music festival. He is Mellanox founder which was sold to Nvidia for $7 billion in 2019. He was famous for promoting employing workers from Gaza and West Bank.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/israeli-exec-who-hired-palestinians-in-tech-boom-still-hopes-for-peace-while-mourning-slain-daughter-c8af06c8

He still says after his daughter was killed, he wants to employ the Palestinian workers.

Hamas has a strong control of Gaza’s population and of course they can recruit those workers for information. So, it’s not very rational compared to employing workers from countries like China or Thailand.

Their children become Israeli citizens if they go to the army.

Would the Israeli Army automatically accept them?

And would this allow their parents to stay in Israel permanently, albeit without Israeli citizenship?

And Yes, I’m very well-aware of the huge risks of importing Palestinian workers to do various jobs in Israel. They’re a security risk, unfortunately. I’ve heard that Hamas got some of its information about sensitive targets in Israel from Palestinians who have previously been guest workers in Israel. Thus, you are absolutely correct that importing non-Muslim Asians to do these jobs is much better for Israel.

It would also certainly be very nice to try getting the Haredim to work more, as you yourself said. Apparently they worked more in Europe in pre-Holocaust times, before Israel was created and began pampering them.

As a side note, I wonder if Israelis would ever be interested in having a merit-based immigration policy for non-Jewish high-skilled immigrants alongside Israel’s existing current Law of Return.

Israel could at least give them the opportunity to become Israeli citizens if they will sincerely agree to convert to Judaism or something like that.

Anyone who converts to Judaism is automatically entitled to Israeli citizenship, the issue is getting your conversion through the Haredi controlled Chief Rabbinate. The Haredim are so wary of converts that they are still denying a conversion to a young Arab man who fled Kuwait and snuck into Israel so he could convert to Judaism, using the lame excuse that they doubt his sincerity. Of course if you are a white guy from America who has converted to a non Zionist strain of Haredi Judaism, the Chief Rabbinate is likely to be much more sympathetic.

The foreign workers in Israel come from countries that are so terrible that the workers would all agree to convert to Judaism if it meant that they didn’t have to go back home. Obviously Israel doesn’t need hundreds of thousands of 3rd worlders who are only converting for quality of life reasons so just letting these people convert is a non starter.

As a side note, I wonder if Israelis would ever be interested in having a merit-based immigration policy for non-Jewish high-skilled immigrants alongside Israel’s existing current Law of Return.

Hell no they would not. Well, the Yair Lapid types would but they are only 1/3 of the Jewish population and their numbers shrink every year.

Anyone who converts to Judaism is automatically entitled to Israeli citizenship, the issue is getting your conversion through the Haredi controlled Chief Rabbinate. The Haredim are so wary of converts that they are still denying a conversion to a young Arab man who fled Kuwait and snuck into Israel so he could convert to Judaism, using the lame excuse that they doubt his sincerity. Of course if you are a white guy from America who has converted to a non Zionist strain of Haredi Judaism, the Chief Rabbinate is likely to be much more sympathetic.

Do you have a link to that Kuwaiti man’s case?

The foreign workers in Israel come from countries that are so terrible that the workers would all agree to convert to Judaism if it meant that they didn’t have to go back home. Obviously Israel doesn’t need hundreds of thousands of 3rd worlders who are only converting for quality of life reasons so just letting these people convert is a non starter.

Yes, but on the flip side, wouldn’t allowing them to stay mean that Israel would be in less need of foreign workers in the future? Or would their children simply often end up becoming economically useless and thus Israel would still have to import more guest workers in the future?

Interesting question, isn’t it? Whether giving guest workers a pathway to citizenship reduces the need for future guest workers.

Hell no they would not. Well, the Yair Lapid types would but they are only 1/3 of the Jewish population and their numbers shrink every year.

Yeah, I think that even getting the Israeli left to rally behind this would probably be asking for too much, unfortunately. I suppose that they could add a conversion to Judaism requirement as a part of the package but this might significantly decrease the inflows of such workers (who’d probably prefer to go to the Anglosphere anyway instead) and as you said, with such conversions, there would still be the question of sincerity since they would primarily be doing it for quality of life reasons. Personally, I don’t mind someone converting to Judaism for quality of life reasons just so long as they also admire the Jewish people, their history, their culture, et cetera, but a lot of Jews unfortunately beg to differ with me in regards to this.

As a side note, I think that it’s terrible that secular Israelis aren’t breeding as much as their religious compatriots are, or at least it would be terrible if Israel didn’t have a severe overpopulation crisis. Still, long-term Haredi political dominance in Israel is a very real risk.

Western leaders mostly talk in cliches lacking meaningful content. They are not meant to be original but to be spokesmen for particular policies that seldom change. Like business promoters for a product – on this forum J Johnson, AP, Mr.Hacks endlessly showing their devotion to the pre-approved cause.

That’s the ideal, they are supposed to act that way but the discipline is not (yet) enforceable and a few fresh unscripted people are still present: Trump, Corbyn, Meloni, RFK…It is not clear if that is an anomaly or a sophisticated feature to liven up what would be unbearably dull. Imagine the Western public space with only Bidens-Scholtzs-Macrons and an assortment of hired Indian pleasers. It would be too boring for our times…like Johnson, Hacks, AP discussing whether 50 or 200 Russian tanks were destroyed yesterday…or whether Russia joined Nazis in or is actually fully responsible for WW2. It wouldn’t work.

The West manages plurality in its spokesmen class – in faces put up front. Russia, China, others, don’t do it well. It makes them look dull, responsible, boring, controlled. The Western variety is more entertaining and has appeal to lower-gut instincts – most people are not capable of critical thinking, it pleases them to hear same cliches again and again. Russia needs at least a dozen Putins and Lavrovs – something they either don’t know how to do or are too fragile to try.

Nice vignette, but you forgot to update us on rocketing cheese prices.

Hmm, there is always this:

…But when the first shipment arrives, he has no idea what to do with the ten thousand red-skinned cheeses, and spends most of his time looking for a pedestal desk for his office instead of selling.

It is the tragedy of a man cornered in life by too many balls of Edam.

This is a warning to us all.

All those mentioned events were done probably mostly by the part of population who voted against Bibi coalition, so roughly around half of all, but the other half and recent winner officialdom were relatively far more content/confident till October Hamas attack?

I feel so embarrassed. The master of “critical thinking” has exposed my base instincts to the whole world. Congratulations Beckow, I don’t know where to hide?…

I never cared much for the “man purse” look when it first came out during the disco era in the 1970’s/1980’s. It always looked a bit faggy, especially if coupled with some platform shoes:

[MORE]

(I couldn’t find a photo displaying both accoutrements from that past era. This photo is obviously from a more contemporary time, notice the cellphone.)

Can’t really recommended anything though, sorry.

I just read manglacharan.com though

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panth_Prakash
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suraj_Prakash

You might like these 2 links:

reddit.com/r/Sikh/comments/gin5v7/kirpan_the_struggle_for_spiritual_and_martial/
https://www.sikhmuseum.com/nishan/weapons/kirpan.html

Punjab has been more polycentric than India (Hindustan – Gangetic plain)
Due to its frontier status.

Brahmins in Multan were Zoroastrian I believe.

OOOOOOO

Wait there’s bunch of Farsi Books on Sikhs if you read Persian.

Jangnama by Qazi Nur Muhammad (Sikh-Afghan)
Jangnama by Shah Muhammad (Sikh-Anglo – in Punjabi tho)

https://nitter.net/sialmirzagoraya/status/1715726301548646483#m

https://www.thesikhencyclopedia.com/historical-events-in-sikh-history/sikh-struggle-against-mughal-empire-1708-1799/jangnama/

You can probably find all of them on Punjab Digital Library.
If you have telegram I can link you to some people.

https://nitter.net/sialmirzagoraya/status/1715724849715494979#m

https://nitter.net/sialmirzagoraya/status/1708124228179148904#m

French historian Jean-Marie Lafont in his book on Sikh-French relations, proposes that Ranjit Singh had planned on annexing Sind since 1809, and was ready to move in the 1820’s; in a countermove the British might have implicitly supported the Jihad of Syed Ahmed Barelvi against the Sikh Empire.

The Maharaja maintained something of an intelligence network in Central Asia through the Indian diaspora (primarily Sindhis and Khatris) settled in Baku; and kept up with global affairs through his European officers and travellers. Sind was probably his first target; after the English manoeuvred themselves to bring Sind under their control, Ranjit Singh simultaneously acquired two northern regions, Peshawar and Ladakh. It seems he was expecting a British offensive, especially after the conquest of Ladakh, and had been conducting diplomacy with Nepal to build a balancing alliance

Sikh history on West Coast – thread on Shaheed Bhai Mewa Singh
https://nitter.net/hukamdeyakke/status/1715172549116453195#m

ਅਕਾਲ

It was meant as an illustration of larger trends (just as my comment about cheese prices was meant as an illustration of inflation, which is still at high levels btw). But ok, if it’s so ridiculous I will keep such observations to myself.

If you are on a low income the cost of cheese, baked beans, bread etc. is more noticeable; here cost of housing and energy bills has been rising at the same time.

I guess, together with the growing number of Africans and other migrants, these sort of things can be considered part of the ‘boomer legacy’ to the future. I feel like questions are bound to arise about the nature of it, probably more and more as time goes on.

https://nitter.net/DJ_5150/status/1715112161146712245#m

“And I, performing the duty of a true Sikh and remembering the name of God, will proceed towards death with the same amount of pleasure as a hungry baby goes towards his mother.

—
embracing the mindset of victimhood is identical to giving up arms

https://nitter.net/weaponrespecter/status/1715897138893521383#m

Tbh When you asked for a Book

Politics of Genocide by Inderjit Singh Jaijee was first that came to mind.

https://sikhinstitute.org/politics-of-genocide.pdf

Read that.

ਅਕਾਲ

He can be amusing, at times. Such as when he provocatively proposed that the Khoisan may have been white before they admixed with the Bantu.

That video was a good one. It reminded me of one of the early videos he did comparing the structures of the Great Zimbabwe complex with European and Asian structures of the same period, there was some comparison of art works in that as well. Iirc that was the first of his videos I watched.

…can be considered part of the ‘boomer legacy’ to the future

Boomers showed up in large numbers too lazy to work. Instead they ate everything, copulated on floors, brought cheap labor to clean up…as they aged they feel unsure of their own identities and obsess about minutia of their health. They gave us the Covid hysteria, gender madness, and worship some guy named Floyd… ’cause he is black.

Nobody will miss them. As they get older they are vulnerable, narcissistic, ignorant, preachy – a pathetic generation. That old fellow Biden is a perfect leader for them. What will be said about them in the future won’t be nice.

Galaxy Flip 4 is targeted at women, the Fold is for men, more than I am prepared to pay for a phone.

Jewish identity is a tricky proposition. It is simultaneously genetic/tribal and religious. The idea of recruiting outside the tribe to acquire population by conversion simply does not function well as a concept.

If third world labour is needed, it is much better to have explicitly temporary migrants. Cheap air flights could be used to obtain seasonal workers for 6-8 months and then let them winter in their home country. With no hope of citizenship and brutally high housing expense, bringing family would be unappealing.

PEACE 😇

In his follow-up, Mr Hack proved your point. Meloni and RFK Jr have clear limits. The former on Russia-Ukraine and the latter concerning Israel-Palestine.

Yeah those Russian tanks are really getting destroyed, making you wonder why the Kiev regime keeps begging for more tanks, planes, shells etc.

From my experience, both men and women like the flip 4. The problem with the fold is that it opens and closes vertically and still presents the owner with the unenviable situation of trying to fit its 7.6″ frame into a pocket. And then it costs almost twice as much too, $1,799. Try putting the fold into your shirt pocket, that I can easily do with my flip. When I purchased it a year ago it retailed for about $1,000, but with a great promotional trade-in offer, I got mine for $600. Sure the fold offers you a larger screen, but I’ll trade that function for the ease of transport anytime.

Would like Mikel and Sher Singh to work together on a comedic skit where a man with the illustrious name Cabeza de Vaca soujourns in the Sikh kingdom at the time of the first maharaja, who was known for being somewhat sanguinary or cruel.

and worship some guy named Floyd… ’cause he is black.

“He” was white and not black, and the group’s name was Pink Floyd. They were one of the greatest rock bands ever, just try and name one from your era that compares? And as for laziness, the boomers were much more productive than any generation that came after them, including no doubt your own.

Meloni and RFK Jr have clear limits. The former on Russia-Ukraine and the latter concerning Israel-Palestine.

Meloni’s willingness to back Kiev aggression is indeed a problem. However, the perpetual illegal immigration flows are much more concerning.

A huge lag was expected as the Italian legislature is notoriously cumbersome and slow. However, she now has the law on her side and is still not producing results. Too busy playing nice with the EU. Not implementing the expected “Stay in Africa” plan. Unless she manages to suddenly make substantial progress, she is unlikely to survive the next election.
___

RFK Jr’s anti-vaxx crusade is the main thing he has going for him. However, that will bring out non-voters who would never ballot for either major party. Impact on the general election from this issue will scant.

The DNC made a serious mistake by chasing him out. On issues other than the mandatory jab, RFK Jr is fully Globalist & Progressive. He burned any chance of being a centrist by openly supporting reparations.

Anti-MAGA #NeverTrump Sheeple will bleat & gibber about ultra early polls with biased samples, predating the reparations announcement, that seem to indicate the RFK Jr might hurt Trump. In the real world, RFK Jr is currently largely unknown, so those polls are capturing uninformed first impressions. Honest observers would admit that, but Anti-MAGA zealots are dishonourable.

Any general election campaign RFK Jr fields will be highly appealing to DNC types looking to avoid Not-The-President Biden. And, it will push GOP voters towards Trump.

PEACE 😇

You had boomers copulating on the floors?

: (

Do they have boomer mockery in China? That might be pretty funny to see them trashing the family shrine and whatnot.

Watched Wandering Earth 2