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Featured Editorials

The Weekly Watch

Seems There's No Path to Peace

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The wars just seem to expand. The Saudi-Yemeni war is increasingly hot. I suspect the US Israeli war with Iran will soon resume, and Russia continues to advance in Ukraine. Meanwhile Trump keeps hollering about getting the peace prize? You gotta be kidding. A big story largely riding under the radar is the Brazilian election. In a couple more weeks will be the run off to determine if Brazil becomes another US colony. Well, I guess I should count my lucky stars for this little hidden holler.

Screenshot 2026-10-10 at 09-45-46 path to peace at DuckDuckGo.png

America, land of fresh-faced pseudo-rational pseudo-mastery

I've lived nearly all my life here. Most of my life was spent in California, land of eternal sunshine, surf, mountains, beaches, deserts, and unaffordability. I was able to stay there for as long as I did because I lived with my parents until they died, taking care of them on their deathbeds. I'll probably die in the Pacific Northwest, because it looks to me like the least-ruined portion of the country.

Album of the Week 10-10-26

Afternoon folks!

We've got a variety pack of blues this week. Starting off it's a compilation from the Harlem Hamfats, a Chicago blues/jazz outfit that featured Kansas City Joe, formerly married to Memphis Minnie. After that we've got an album of country blues from Smokey Hogg and some more recent modern blues from Kenny Neal. Next we've got an album of blues/rockabilly/rock from Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and Albert Lee and we finish off in a kind of punk rock bag with the band Wire.

Enjoy the tunes and have a great weekend!

Friday Night Photos Rose Garden Edition

Another Friday night. You know what that means. Time to post any photos, memes, music or anything else that brightened your week or you find of interest.

Yesterday was the first day since last Friday the mercury dipped below triple digits. The worst of the heat wave was last Friday when temps topped out at 111°. I've lived in San Diego county since 1977 and I don't remember it ever being that hot. Hopefully that will be the last of the extreme heat until next summer. Supposed to get rain Sunday and Monday.

Since I'll be passing through the City of Roses (Portland, Ore) on my way to Tillamook, Ore. on Sunday for a five day get together with family, I thought roses would be an appropriate subject for tonights photos.

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Open Thread - 10-09-26 - Winging It

It's Friday morning and we're vacationing in Fredericksburg, Texas. I didn't get a chance to write anything up so I'm going to wing it this week with a couple of quick questions.

The wars in Ukraine and the Middle East has brought drone warfare to the forefront of modern weaponry. There's no doubt that drones have changed how wars are conducted. They're cheap, can be made quickly and when flown in mass it's nearly impossible to stop all of them in a concentrated attack. We've seen their effectiveness when used as a long distance weapon against major cities.

Before these wars did anyone suspect that drones would be used against military and civilian targets in major developed countries? I know I didn't see that coming.

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