The Weekly Watch
Is a Weak Weekly Better than No Weekly Watch at All?
I guess that's kind of like asking if a weak cup of coffee (or tea) is better than none. So last week for the first time in about a year, I missed getting out my weekly news synopsis. I have a good excuse...I was kidnapped to play a dance last Saturday and then hauled across the state of Georgia to the NE corner to see the eclipse. Although I regret missing publication last week, I must tell you the eclipse was totally worth the loss. I hope you all got to see at least a bit of the event!
Well on to the news. What's happened in the last couple of weeks? Two weeks ago all you heard was about Charlottesville. The RW over at Info Wars suggest CIA and Ukrainian involvement...
As evidenced this weekend, a civil war is brewing in this country, laying the foundation for a violent coup to take out Trump. Soros-funded NGO's have been able to achieve regime change in other countries by quite literally teaming up with Neo-nazis and "moderate" terrorists. Now, investigative reporter Lee Stranahan reveals the same players involved in the Ukraine overthrow are working behind the scenes to oust President Trump.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L58T2dl997A (50 min)
I must admit the Ukrainian Fascist party chant of “Blood and Soil” heard in Charlottesville is kind of suspicious. Perhaps they learned it online? (18 min and text)
https://theintercept.com/2017/08/25/video-how-white-nationalism-became-n...
This week news of T-rump's Arizona speech has dominated the cycle
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/08/23/trump-goes-full-delusion-mo...
Too bad the Lame Stream Media focuses on T-rump and ignored this gathering
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/08/23/trump-raged-phoenix-sanders...
What we are not hearing is that we do have some populous candidates in the offing...
http://therealnews.com/t2/story:19853:A-Swarm-of-Sanders-Delegates-are-R...
Even in Birmingham Alabama?
https://theintercept.com/2017/08/23/populist-challenger-stuns-in-birming...
Chris Hedges discusses the “end of the line” a play on the disappearance Union factory jobs and the growth of prisons. (30 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJ7veeTppuc
Abby Martin and Peter Joseph discuss the end of capitalism (45 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HwFOo5rbZA
I really like Col. Lawrence Wilkerson interviews on the Real News. He discusses if arms manufacturers are driving foreign policy and if Trump's strategy for the war in Afghanistan could lead to a dangerous military confrontation between Pakistan, India, and China
http://therealnews.com/t2/story:19854:Has-the-Pentagon-Taken-Over-US-For... (33 min)
http://therealnews.com/t2/story:19855:Has-the-Pentagon-Taken-Over-US-For... (28 min)
Interview with Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan about U.S. arms trade, the so-called "democratization" of the Middle East and much more. Ramadan is Professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies at Oxford University. https://www.democracynow.org/2017/8/24/tariq_ramadan_the_us_allies_are
Jeremy Corbyn has figured it out and publicly states the Afghan war is a failure!
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/08/22/uks-jeremy-corbyn-admits-wh...
Why don't we hear about N. Korea's peace proposal? Cause they don't want you to know.
https://theintercept.com/2017/08/25/north-korea-keeps-saying-it-might-gi...
But...US Begins Korea War Games, Not Peace Talks ...journalist Tim Shorrock says the confusion and bellicosity helps bury the peaceful solutions that have long been on the table (17 min and text)
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=767&...
Venezuela is still in our cross hairs. After all it is still sitting on a large puddle of climate changing dirty oil. http://therealnews.com/t2/component/content/article/684-juan-carlos-mone...
Abby Martin and human rights attorney Dan Kovalik compare US policy in Columbia and Venezuela
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWAP8a7R5Uo (40 min)
No need to worry about the future of oil supplies. A Tanker just sailed through the Arctic without an icebreaker. http://therealnews.com/t2/component/content/article/540-megan-darby/3290...
It is Texas that pays the price this week for climate change
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lShTqL_aKQg
Bill McKibben still is urging us to move toward wind, solar, and water "as fast as humanly possible."
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/08/22/only-solution-says-mckibben...
In Passing...Dick Gregory...fun 2002 interview with updates...RIP
https://www.democracynow.org/2017/8/21/dick_gregory_in_his_own_words
And so I hope next week to have my desktop computer back which makes compiling the weekly much easier. In the meantime I hope there's enough of interests to keep you reading and watching till then. Have a great Sunday and a good week!
Comments
No problem, glad you had a good time.
Yes, weak weekly is better than no weekly at all. Besides, this isn't that weak at all. Thanks for making time for us.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
Hey
My Mom moves this week, and I'm looking forward to things calming down a bit afterwards. So I've still got a couple of trips down to B'ham to help her...but then maybe I'll get back to my more laid back lifestyle. Hope so anyway.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Lots to read here . . . Thanks!
You have to keep on living too . . . lucky you to get to see the eclipse!
My son and I stood outside at the time of the eclipse and observed the light get weird and alien looking. We said "ooooo . . . this must be it." (Texas) Not much but still cool.
Marilyn
"Make dirt, not war." eyo
Hi Marilyn
Hope your TX weather is ok where you are. Doesn't sound too good in the Houston area. Wish everyone the best! Stay safe!
Edit to add -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse_of_April_8,_2024
Much of TX will be in totality next eclipse in 2024...should be somewhere close to you?
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Thanks for the links.
Here's a good Keiser Report. Wolf Richter is the guest for the second half.
YouTube (25 min.)
We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.
Thanks
Since you introduced me, I've become fond of Max and Stacie. He had a piece a couple of weeks ago kind of debating gold vs bitcoin. All moot really given my situation. I guess if I was a 1%er I would invest in both. He often infers Russia and China might go in together on a gold based currency and as a result crash the US economy without a shot.
Do any of you use bitcoin? Any problems or thoughts if you do?
Thanks again for the link.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
I'm still leary of Bitcoin,
too much room for fraud, not that I have anything to invest. Of course, the whole stock market is fraudulent and by now completely divorced from fundamentals, i.e. aggregate demand.
I saved this episode for the cultural observations in the first half.
We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.
I'm with you
Don't have the money to invest, but the idea of a non-national currency is intriguing (and as you suggest may be hackable). I think Max has made big profit with them and so is high on bitcoin.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
YouTube ten greatest clip
about most expensive things thrown away told of a guy with $19 million in Bitcoin on a hard drive that went to the landfill. Last account he was offering a large reward, others can't access the coin without his codes.
There is no such thing as TMI. It can always be held in reserve for extortion.
What a loss!
Evidently there is a bitcoin wallet program that has been problematic, but to lose your entire digital record...wow. Think I'll back up my documents and pictures today...Sadly no millions in bitcoin to secure.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
a currency should have stable value.
bitcoin's only function is as a medium of exchange. ideally, what it bought yesterday is exactly what it will buy today. if its value is steadily increasing then it is in a deflation, which generally speaking are not good things for a currency, unless you're rich, in which case you're going to get a lot richer without doing anything useful for anyone.
the reason for bitcoin's deflation is that it is being hoarded by speculators with the same mindset as people who hoard beanie babies or whatever else.
but now bitcoin must deal with the fundamental problem that its scarcity is not authentic: we can make as much bogus fantasy digital money as we want (as long as we're willing to pump CO2 into the atmosphere to create the necessary joules of electrical energy).
it also must deal with the longer-term problem that if governments choose, they can, by legislative fiat, assert that contracts involving the exchange of private digital money are either null, or worse, illegal. in other words, anyone using bitcoin to buy or sell something would have no protection against fraud.
how long the ride can last is anybody's guess, but in the long run, most of the people investing in bitcoin are going to be left holding worthless strings of ones and zeros.
The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.
Sounds like anyone
holding cash in banks or stocks in the market.
There is no such thing as TMI. It can always be held in reserve for extortion.
notionally, political pressure motivates governments to
maintain a stable value for the sovereign currency. depending on other considerations, governments may be more or less successful at doing so.
by contrast, there is no pressure on the digital currency systems to maintain a stable value. in fact, the opposite is true. so you've got speculators -- the bitcoin equivalents of George Soros -- but you have absolutely no mechanism of any kind to counter their shenanigans. the result will eventually be wild swings in the exchange value of any given digital currency.
The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.
Exactly Like The Federal Reserve
See sounds like Quantitative Easing to me.
"They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war." Howard Zinn
all forms of money seem empty
The US dollar is literally nothing but paper since we went off the gold standard, but at least it is a bit of paper rather than 1's and 0's.
Even gold seems a bit strange for it's value...can't eat it and the metal has limited uses.
No matter, money (nor lust for it) has ever been my problem. Although we had some tight years along they way, we always seemed to make do....and still are.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
see my response to ghotiphaze
The federal reserve is charged with maintaining a stable currency. Politically, this is the reason it exists (though of course, interested parties will do what they can to corrupt its operations).
Digital pseudo-currencies have no such constraint. One way or another, the complete collapse of all such schemes is inevitable. The clearest signal of such instability is the ability of ordinary "investors" to earn, by direct trading rather than trading in derivatives, speculative gains far in excess of what might normally be thought of as "reasonable" interest rates. If you can double (or halve) your cash in 12 months just by buying bitcoin in january and selling bitcoin in december, then whatever else bitcoin might be, it is not a satisfactory currency.
The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.
bitcoin deflation
Actually, hoarding is only the second cause of the deflation.
The prime mover of Bitcoin deflation is its anonymity, which drives its desirability with drug dealers and such ilk. With that as a prime mover, the power of hoarders' hoarding is amplified.
As I mentioned above, the use of bitcoin in contracts that are already illegal is causing considerable such griefs to bitcoin users already.
One minute a bitcoin will have almost infinite value; the next minute, it will be valueless. From priceless to worthless in less than an hour.
The only question is when that hour will be.
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
Any WW is good Lookout.
I watch whatever you suggest I watch. AlwAys good.
It's quality not just quantity and you set a high bar.
Have a great one.
I want a Pony!
many thanks!
Hope all is well in your corner of the world!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
@Lookout Things is good. Working
Things is good. Working on getting my 'chill' on.
I got more pictes but it's hard to get them off the tablet and into Google pics so I can share them. Biggest news...The cat turned over and is now sleeping on his other side. Pictures at 11.
I want a Pony!
Good Sunday morning, Lookout ~~
It's barely still morning but I caught the WW in time for greetings and salutations! I look for you each week, so thank you for your work! Very cool that you experienced the eclipse!
Taking a poetry class this semester, and the milennials are so fkn clever. I better get my homework done so I don't sound like an old curmudgeon!
Have a beautiful day, folks !
"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11
Love poetry and words
hope you're enjoying your class...
RLS always seems child like, light, and fun...
Summer Sun - Poem by Robert Louis Stevenson
Great is the sun, and wide he goes
Through empty heaven with repose;
And in the blue and glowing days
More thick than rain he showers his rays.
Though closer still the blinds we pull
To keep the shady parlour cool,
Yet he will find a chink or two
To slip his golden fingers through.
The dusty attic spider-clad
He, through the keyhole, maketh glad;
And through the broken edge of tiles
Into the laddered hay-loft smiles.
Meantime his golden face around
He bares to all the garden ground,
And sheds a warm and glittering look
Among the ivy's inmost nook.
Above the hills, along the blue,
Round the bright air with footing true,
To please the child, to paint the rose,
The gardener of the World, he goes.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
photo from N. Georgia
I was at the lake in Unicoi State Park, at 2:30pm someone hit the big light switch in the sky and it was nighttime for a few minutes. Crickets chirping. Planet Venus on the right, and Jupiter (I think) directly on the left.