New Week, Same Old News

To my mind, the primary story continues to be the fall of the US empire and the rise of the BRICS+ alliance. The repercussions of the empire's death throes appear to be war and more war amid economic collapse. Seems to me, the possible (likely?) illegal Venezuelan war is a distraction from the rapidly approaching loss in Ukraine, the on going Gaza genocide and Zionist aggression in Syria and Lebanon, the economic misery of so many US citizens, and the revelations in Epstein files. I find it amazing how the people are fooled time after time...WMDs in Iraq seems the same lie as drugs in Venezuela...we are lied into war time after time.

Afternoon folks!

This week finishes off my collection of the American Folk Blues Festival recordings, I am pretty sure that's all of them that were made and commercially distributed. It's an excellent series that features quite an array of blues musicians. Also this week, from the diversity department is an interesting live album from Dave Alvin and the Guilty Men worth checking out.

Enjoy the tunes and have a great weekend!

Good morning, good people!

I hope all of you are in fine fettle, or have some plan to achieve that status.

It is pretty darn hot here for the upcoming week. A bit late in the year for 84 deg. highs, but so be it. Fall for you y'all, not so much here in East Texas.

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.

Tuesday morning the camera club had this month's meet-up at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) 
Established in 1931, the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) is the world’s foremost authority on diamonds, colored stones, and pearls. A public benefit, nonprofit institute, GIA is the leading source of knowledge, standards, and education in gems and jewelry.
 More info about the GIA can be found here, https://www.gia.edu/

Maw Sit-Sit a rare green ornamental stone

The compass is a classic example of a dual invention China provided the world. It opened the opportunity to know the direction one is traveling when sky or landmarks were not available for orientation. For some it opened new opportunities for trade, for others conquest of new territories to rule and for others travel to a new place to call home.

The Invention of the Compass (4.23 min)

Sometimes...

Sometimes people change for the better. Alvaro M. Bedoya, recently on the Federal Trade Commission (appointed by Biden) before being fired by Trump, is an example*. He writes about the things that made him change into a populist and his story is very enlightening.

His appointment as a FTC commissioner (in 2022) was troublesome to begin with, at least in the usual Republican political circles. He had spent his career working on privacy and immigrant rights. It took a vote from Kamala Harris to overcome the 50/50 vote on his appointment. So, he was already controversial.

Here's a quote from the article (see link above) which he wrote about his change which is quite informative:

I used to think that the defining fight for our country was between the left and the right. Now, I am much more worried about the money at the top crushing everyone underneath.