The Erosion of the Evil Empire

Nothing to See Here...Move Along

“How did you go bankrupt?” Bill asked.
“Two ways,” Mike said. “Gradually and then suddenly.”
The dialogue above is from Ernest Hemingway’s 1926 novel, The Sun Also Rises.
Nations go bankrupt in the same way. Banking collapses occur in the same way. Currency crises strike in the same way. They all happen gradually... and then suddenly. Sometimes overnight.
There are so many signs of the degradation of the US empire. This week the Epstein Saga is indicative of the decline...hence the subtitle, 'nothing to see here...move along.' First, the idea of entrapping the elite on tape with underage girls in order to control them points to the sickness of our society. Then all the shenanigans and lies about his suicide...I mean come on. Many Trumpeteers were calling for the release of the files. Now they deny there are any files. Do they really think anyone believes that story? None the less that's what they're pushing.
Then there's the on again off again weapons for Ukraine from the US, and our continued support of the Gaza and West Bank genocide...literally starving people and using food to attract Palestinians in order to shoot them...including US mercenaries.

Afternoon folks!

It's a mostly blues week, this week. Starting out we've got a lesser known Chicago blues guitarist Hip Linkchain, followed by a classic album from the well known Albert King. Following that is another lesser known blues guy, Joe Beard backed up by a guitarist who is no slouch, Ronnie Earl - all worth a listen. After that we've got some blues rock with J.J. Cale and we finish up in the diversity department with Richard Thompson.

Enjoy the tunes and have a great weekend!

.... like your future depended on it.

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Victor Gao offers a staunch defense of China’s development model and foreign policy, positioning it as a pragmatic and stabilizing force in an increasingly multipolar world.

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Victor Gao contrasts China’s infrastructure-focused outreach to under-developed nations with what he sees as the West’s history of neglect or exploitation of such nations. Gao frames China’s engagement in Africa, Latin America, and Asia as a non-colonial, sovereignty-respecting alternative rooted in mutual development. He dismisses criticisms of China — such as claims of resource extraction in Zimbabwe or coercive diplomacy — as either hypocritical or unfounded, emphasizing that “permanent development achievement is the hard truth.”

Other obvious hard truths that US leaders are not facing: Multipolarity is already here. The use of the US dollar in International trade is no longer mandatory. The Swift System that once tracked all foreign trades, became a sanctions-abuse machine for the US. Swift has now been has been replaced with alternative forms of trade settlement that are much less costly.

Words my Grandpa taught me: cattywhompus (something crooked, out of alignment, leaning), epizudies (a health condition named epizuda), whomperjawed (swollen,broken, or crooked jaw), snit fit (tantrum).

He got bitten by a copperhead on his left calf. I got bitten by a copperhead on my left foot.

Neither one of us was askeert, so it is a family tradition. His bite left a black spot. Mine didn't.

Happy Friday everyone. Welcome to Friday Night Photos your once a week escape from the day to day insanity of the world we live in. Post any photos, memes, music or whatever else you find of interest that helps tune out the madness.

On Tuesday the camera club had this month's shoot at the J st. marina in Chula Vista. Only one other member of the club showed up besides myself which was a disappointment. On top of that, it turns out there's no public access to most of the marina. The day was not getting off to a good start. This dark cloud of a morning did have a silver lining. The one area the public did have access to was The Bill Of Rights, a two masted schooner. The Captain, Don Johnson (No, not the actor) and another crew member were onboard and were good enough to allow us to freely wander about the boat.
Here's a link to their website with a little history about the boat and what it's used for.
https://wesailthedream.com/

Last week, Wednesday or Thursday I think, I was mowing the back acres. It's about four to five acres of grass with several large spanish moss adorned trees about thirty to forty feet high each. It's really quite beautiful, I think otc has posted some pictures of it at one time or another. One spot in particular has an open area of about an acre or so, surrounded by trees. As I was making a pass I happened to look up and saw a large bird gracefully flying from tree to tree. It stopped and perched atop the highest branches of one of the trees, swaying in the breeze caused by an approaching thunderstorm. It sat there for several minutes, just watching me mow. I thought that was curious.

I got a really good look at it, both perched and in flight. It was about the size of a hawk, whitish gray, with a raptor type beak. It was a beautiful bird. I recognized the flight patterns to be like a falcon or an osprey, I had seen plenty of the latter back north when I lived on a lake. I used those search parameters that evening after dinner to identify the mystery bird.

It was a Mississippi Kite.

I was pretty stoked about spotting a bird I hadn't seen before, or should I say, it spotted me. It flew from tree top to tree top for a while but always came back to the top of the same tree to keep an eye on me. Intently. Like it was as curious of me as I was of it.

After IDing it I started reading some links, most were warnings to stay away from their nests. Mississippi Kites can be quite aggressive when they are nesting. Then I watched this video:

After watching that I thought to myself, "I didn't see any of that behavior, it flew around a bit up high and then just sat on a branch on the tip top of a tree, studiously watching me". Maybe it was just sizing me up.

Anyway, I thought it was probably just a one-off thing and thought how lucky I was to see it and didn't think much more about the encounter after that.

The Feebs said What??!!!?

Courtesy of Ten Tabs (formerly pocket), a Mother Jones Article:

I Called Everyone in Jeffrey Epstein’s Little Black Book
What I learned about rich people, conspiracy, “genius,” Ghislaine, stand-up comedy, and evil from 2,000 phone calls.
Leland Nally October 9, 2020