Welcome to Saturday's Potluck - 1-15-2022

“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”
Pablo Picasso
As tensions for potential conflict increase by our military and diplomatic blustering people react. Fortunately this time the reaction was to wait and see, not simply to strike out.
Korean missile could hit US, causing temporary scramble
Within minutes, US Northern Command and the Northern American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) dismissed those initial readings and assessed that the missile posed no direct threat to the mainland of the United States. The test weapon -- which sources say was a less maneuverable version of a hypersonic glide vehicle designed to evade missile defenses -- splashed down harmlessly in the sea between China and Japan, thousands of miles away from threatening America.
But in those few moments of uncertainty, the situation escalated quickly enough that the Federal Aviation Administration, which is part of a routine interagency discussion whenever there is a missile launch of this kind, grounded some planes on the West Coast around 2:30 p.m. PST on Monday for about 15 minutes.
The grounding forced air traffic controllers to hold some aircraft on the ground, while briefly diverting others in the air, according to air traffic control recordings, but controllers were at a loss when asked to explain to pilots what had caused the grounding. Some controllers erroneously referred to it as a national ground stop, something which hasn't been seen since 9/11.
The question, now, is what sparked that initial burst of urgency -- and perhaps, why the FAA reacted the way that it did.
...
A US official said the ground stop was not communicated through the FAA's Air Traffic Control System Command Center, based in Warrenton, Virginia, and instead went straight to regional centers on the West Coast.
A favorite link of mine to watch the world.
Earth Wind Map a global view of wind, weather, ocean and pollution conditions
A link to Flightradar24 a global flight tracking service with real-time information of aircraft around the world.
After 900 nuclear tests on our land, US wants to ethnically cleanse us’: meet the most bombed nation in the world
Native-American nation's land was turned into a nuclear test site. Now, they suffer from illnesses
'The most nuclear bombed nation on the planet’ is the unwanted accolade claimed by the Shoshone Native American tribe. This has had devastating effects for the community, and RT spoke with one campaigner fighting for justice.
“They are occupying our country, they are stealing our opportunities and we are expected to die because of that. We are still trying to grapple with and understand what happened to us, and find ways to stop it, correct it and prevent it happening in the future.”
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Shoshone land stretches from Death Valley in the Mojave Desert in eastern California to Yellowstone Park in Wyoming. But in 1951 the US started nuclear weapons testing on Western Shoshone territory, at the Nevada Proving Grounds (now known as the Nevada National Security Site). The Shoshone can now lay claim to be the most nuclear-bombed nation on the planet.Over a period of just over 40 years, there were 928 tests conducted there – around 100 in the atmosphere and more than 800 underground – resulting in nuclear fallout of around 620 kilotons, according to a 2009 study. In comparison, there were 13 kilotons of fallout when Hiroshima was bombed in 1945.
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A prime example of how the Shoshone’s life has been eradicated came in 1971 with the Wild Free-Roaming Horses Act. As Zabarte explained: “Politicians in Washington DC defined our Indian horses as wild and started coming after our ranchers, who have a guaranteed right as hunters or herdsmen under the treaty to have livestock.“The United States Bureau of Land Management determined our horses, our cows, our livestock were destroying the land. But the land was destroyed by nuclear weapons testing fallout and the United States government blamed the Shoshone people.”
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Despite the obvious sense of injustice, he feels an obligation to warn Americans who live in or go through the Shoshone nation of the danger it presents.“My grandfather always said, ‘don’t kick up dust’ because of the radioactive fallout. I care for these people because of that treaty of peace and friendship, and have an obligation to provide aid and comfort to other Americans passing through. But I watch them kick up dust in their off-road vehicles and they are quite likely exposing themselves. There is plutonium in a lot of the roofs of their houses, too.”
The key for Zabarte is awareness. The more people know the history of the land and understand the issue, there greater the chance of meaningful action. That could involve providing medical surveillance and advising the next generation how to protect themselves.
If another country decides to send bomb - these are the most likely targets
Nuclear Target Map
What is on your mind today? (Responses to Covid questions and dialog to be conducted at The Dose diary)

Comments
Good morning
Already drizzling here. Got in a quick trip to Trade Day before it started and bought a couple of tarps...ours are just worn out.
Want to put in another plug for this interview
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfhs3_aKwTY]
Quite interesting, but I had to take it in 30 minute bites.
A light snow is expected tomorrow. Looks like a more serious event as it goes up the East coast.
Well thanks for the OT, and hope you all have a good day.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Morning lookout
NYCVG
Thank you for the reminder to watch
Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.
chilly morning
about minus 13 degrees F with the wind chill factored in
burning lots of wood to stay warmish
birds are voracious, have to re-fill the feeders
The loose policies of the war machine and their 'nuclear option'
is so stupid from a sane humanity perspective
MAD (mutually assured destruction) is an insane solution
how to wrest control away from these generals and their
killing instincts?
Thanks for the OT SoE!
good luck to us
A mind that does not detest bad government is foolish.
Brr -temperature due to wind chill always seems colder
Somehow as a culture we need to stop worshiping them and their institutions as representative of any god or higher power. The individuals at the very highest of the power structure need to be held accountable to the same human laws as lesser mortals applied to civilians and lower ranked military personnel. There is a 1% problem in the military.
Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.
Greetings
soe.
We had windy weather last night. This morning there are a good number of branches down which will need to be chopped up. There is one large-ish branch caught up on other branches and hanging kind of threateningly a short distance from the back door. I don't like it...it brings to mind the sword of Damocles somewhat.
Speaking of of an imminent fall of a precariously positioned sword... the TPTB are that sword. If they decide to turn this planet into a hellscape, there is nothing I can do.
I intend to listen to that Max interview as Lookout has, in bits and pieces. Thanks for the ot. Hope you are well in your part of the country.
Edited to add a ditty from Tom Lehrer who was really good at this sort of thing.
The ditty sums up the mood of the day.
Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.
On my mind today - gout - Is there a doctor in the house?
Good Day, all. I am not up to do proper research and doubt that I would understand whatever I would find in the medical literature.
I want to know what exactly gout is, why does someone has gout attacks, is gout related to the body's water balance? Is severe incontinence with constant unvoluntary loss of urine related to the development of gout?
Hope that nobody has gout attacks. Hope that you all stay healthy and well and have a good weekend.
And my sincere apologies for this 'piss-poor' question.
https://www.euronews.com/live
I believe Lookout sent you some info on
treating gout a few weeks ago, something about berries.
That's eating berries, not rubbing them on your feet
Good luck!
A mind that does not detest bad government is foolish.
oh my, I apologize to have forgotten about that,
I try to find it.
https://www.euronews.com/live
Gout...
https://www.everydayhealth.com/arthritis/gout/gout-remedies-work/
I've not had a case of gout since I changed my diet and started fasting. However I used to get occasional flare ups. I started drinking a mixture of apple cider vinegar (6 oz or about 180 mL) and a couple of tablespoons (30 mL) of tart cherry juice when ever I had a flare up.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Thank you so much, I might have difficulties to
buy dark cherries in our grocery store. Either they are too expensive or not at all available.
In any case I remembered half of what you wrote way back. Thank you again. I drink a lot of water. Seems directly headed toward 'the exit'
And apologies, I try to post no more 'double questions', if I remember that is. Sigh.
It's weird weather here, as if the snow god and the rain god are constantly in dispute what the 'right' weather should be. The result is mainly bad weather.
Be well and have a good weekend.
https://www.euronews.com/live
Simple list of contributing factors to avoid to
I have not looked at any other page on this site. The other content may not provide the same quality of information.
Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.
Good morning SOE, seems chilly here, but
temps are moderate, so it must be old age or sumpin. Apple is still covered with leaves but is getting new buds all the same. Daffs have poked their heads up with flowers starting to form. I'm in a weird zone here, something like 10a or such and allegedly should be planting asparagus, pole beans, beets, carrots, cauliflower, kale, pak choy, snow peas, spuds and spinach. For me, that reduces down to carrots. As far as I can tell, I can plant carrots on any damn day of the year and some will come up, weird weather notwithstanding. The same seems to more of less hold for green onion re-starts. I've half decided to try to plant a couple of Portuguese Kale every 2 weeks or so until I either run out of seeds of some come up. Nursery transplants often go gangbusters here, but I've never managed to grow any from seed. Of course I can't even grow pea shoots past the first cutting, or at least the one time I tried they got mildew (in the damn garage to boot).
Too bad NORAD has to freak out, but, truth be told, they get no sympathy from me. Why shouldn't N, Korea (& Iran, & Iraq, etc) have nukes and missiles? We do, France, the UK, Israel, India, Pakistan all do. The world's number one aggressor, far and away is the US, we are constantly bombing, droning, invading, mining harbors and shit like that, all over the globe and have declared N.K. to be a special foe that we are ready and willing to attack at any time without further notice. Until we disarm, everybody on our shit list or who has the potential because they don't let us indirectly run and exploit their country has a legitimate need for such weapons. Iraq, Libya, Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia and 13 other African nations all lacked nukes and all paid a price for that. Iran too. North Korea, however, hasn't paid the full bombs and troops price, only the sanctions, so what does that imply?
Ah well, Saturday is here. Retired for almost 20 years and Saturday is still somehow a day that I feel compelled to get to work in the yard and shop, bizarre, especially since I spend a lot of time doing so the rest of the week too.
be well and have a good one.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --