Open Thread - Thurs 17 Aug 2023: Britain Too?

Submitted by Sima on Thu, 08/17/2023 - 5:00am

Britain Too:

Recently I ran across a review written by Henry Heller of a book about the history of poverty in Britain: from feudalism to neoliberal capitalism. The review was also published in Popular Resistance.

The writer of the book is Jim Silver, a professor emeritus from the University of Winnipeg in Canada. The book is Scoundrels and Shirkers: Capitalism and Poverty in Britain. The book was just published (May 2023). I will be getting a copy and reading it ASAP!

An image from the Tudor/Elizabethan Age - The Payment of the Tithes by Pieter Brueghel the Younger (or his workshop). I think I know some of these people! (Image is from wikipedia. Click on the image to get the link.)

One thing that really struck me from the review was how old 'modern' poverty and the government's attempt to demonize poverty and blame the poor really is. The 16th century saw the beginning of capitalism in England (and Europe, after all the picture above is by Pieter Brueghel the Younger, a Flemish painter). There was charity and aid to the poor, but labour, jobs, employment - even if there was no employment to be had, were more and more seen as the solution to poverty and homelessness. The humanitarian and socialist viewpoint on this would probably be making sure everyone had the basics and moving into jobs and labour after that. There wouldn't be, at least officially, the idea that the poor deserve their circumstances because... whatever.

From the review linked at the start of the post:

Certainly charity was offered to the poor. But the poverty of the destitute was held to be their own fault. Therefore, accompanying such charity, a series of Tudor parliamentary statutes including the comprehensive Statute of Apprentices of 1563 forced those without property to find work rather than to remain idle. They were forced to enter labour contracts which lasted for at least a year. Backing up these statutes was a system of punishment and workhouses forcing the so-called idle poor to become wage workers.

In 1563. A statute forcing the poor to find work or be punished and sent to a workhouse. Sounds... like now, doesn't it? And how convenient, having workhouses set up to 'employ' (for what compensation, a blade of grass?) workers to make all the things that the rich capitalists want to sell. No basic income, healthcare, schooling or housing though, nope!

According to Silver, things only changed twice in Britain after that. Once in the very early 1900s (1906 to 1914 or so) and again, much more effectively with the post WWII Labour government (1945 to 1951) which put through so many social democratic changes. And those changes, like universal health care, housing, basic subsistence incomes and more, have all been, or are being, walked back and destroyed by both the Conservative and Labour parties (Thatcherism, Blairism and more). The British entities have different names, but sounds like here in America, doesn't it?

The review ends rather pessimistically, thinking these changes can't happen again, now. But, apparently, the book is not so pessimistic. The author wrote a comment on the review - Can social democracy solve poverty? in which he says he does think social democracy can help, like it did in the late 1940s.

Can it? Is that the way to go? It's going to take fighting, 'bonus armies', perhaps outright rebellions and guillotines to get the powers that be to even sniff their noses at true social democracy. Perhaps it can work in Britain. Here? I dunno. It did in the 1940s and 50s. It's worth trying.

I'll end with a quote from the Jim Silver comment: 'It can be no part of a left strategy to conclude, simply, that nothing can be done.'

Exactly.

So, whatcha think? Here's the open thread - and remember, everything is interesting if you dive deep enough, so let's hear about where you are diving!

Tags:

Open Thread

#Poverty

#britain

#tudor

#history

Vote

Comments

Submitted by Sima on Thu, 08/17/2023 - 5:12am

Hello, Hello, Hello!

I hope Thursday is doing you well, as is the rest of the week. Upcoming weekend should be good!

We've got more buckets of tomatoes and peppers harvested. We need to get them processed. I think we'll be set for tomato and pepper ingredients this year! The season is getting old, the swallows have left their nests and are flying back south. We are getting migrant swallows now. The blackbirds have formed big flocks. The trees are starting to lose leaves as they get old and dried up. The goats eat every leaf that falls into their pasture and paddocks!

So, let us know what's up with you in the comments. Hope all is well!

—

If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so

Submitted by QMS on Thu, 08/17/2023 - 9:06am

goats would seem to be the ideal example

of the capitalist definition of workers
pay them nothing and profit from their
appetites and excrements

thanks for the OT Sima

goat-1190404_1280.jpg.png

—

truth is considered foreign influence, world peace is a threat to national security

Submitted by Sima on Fri, 08/18/2023 - 9:56pm

Heh, Goats... I agree, mostly...

@QMS
Good definition of capitalism and workers!

But, our goats, here on this farm, are in a more social democratic system. They get housing (the barn and sheds). They get free health care including maternal leave, bottle feeding help when nursing isn't enough, and general fly, tick, worm treatments. Anything they hurt, they get health care for it, like hurt legs, wounds from falling etc. They get rescued if they do something stupid, like tie themselves up in electric fence netting. They get all their feed, water, etc, supplemented or just outright given to them (hay in the winter!). They get special treats, like bramble vines, most of the time. Shirkers are still part of the herd and given all the same kinds of care and food and housing.

Mind you, they do have to give part of their milk, when they have it, to make cheese. And their manure output is collected, and they are 'forced' to do weeding and other farm work. They are, admittedly, kept under control. The herd decided to visit the neighbors farm early today. They had to leave right away, and were escorted back by the military (ok, by my husband)!

Sorry to reply late, was a very busy day yesterday, and today it was herding the goats back to the farm! Hope you have a great weekend

—

If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so

Submitted by ggersh on Thu, 08/17/2023 - 9:31am

As we follow the leader UK, maybe we were never

independent to begin with. We the capitalist/neoliberals/neocolonialists
couldn't do it without the stealing of resources from
those so called "under developed" countries, who stay under developed
for some odd reason even though they have all the resources that are
required ~~to be a developed continent~~ for us to acquire wealth.

NATO = organization allowing for the stealing of wealth

President Museveni of Uganda reveals that six African leaders, on a plane, tried to go to Libya to stop the war, only to be ordered by NATO to go back.

"African presidents on an African mission over African soil were ordered by NATO to go back." pic.twitter.com/OeSF93bSXI

— sarah (@sahouraxo) August 16, 2023

thanks for the ot Sima and the harvesting of another successful crop
here in Chitown we still have a ways before autumn rears it's head

—

I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish

"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"

Heard from Margaret Kimberley

Submitted by Sima on Fri, 08/18/2023 - 10:04pm

That was a good tweet...

@ggersh
Or an X, do we have to call it an X now? I'm not sure which country is leading at the moment, the UK or the USA, but both are part of the greater British Empire, I think. Yea, the British one is sorta gone, but the American one took over immediately.

Sorry to respond late! I hope you are doing well and your weekend is good!

—

If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so

Submitted by snoopydawg on Thu, 08/17/2023 - 11:06am

Russia on the bio labs in Ukraine

• US Military Could Create ‘Global Biological Crisis’ – Russian MOD (RT)

The US military is studying pathogens that could be used as biological weapons as the nation prepares for a potential new pandemic, the commander of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defense Forces, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, said on Wednesday. The list of diseases that have attracted the attention of US specialists includes anthrax, tularemia, and various coronaviruses, Kirillov told a media briefing. Some of these pathogens are listed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as “high-priority” threats that can be used as “bioterrorism agents.” “There is a clear trend: pathogens that fall within the Pentagon’s area of interest, such as Covid-19, avian influenza, African swine fever, subsequently become a pandemic, and American pharmaceutical companies become the beneficiaries,” the general claimed, without elaborating.

According to Kirillov, the US was extensively studying coronaviruses shortly before the Covid-19 pandemic struck. Last month, the White House announced the creation of the Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy (OPPR), tasked with “leading, coordinating, and implementing actions related to preparedness for, and response to, known and unknown biological threats.” The Russian military believes that may be another step in Washington’s plans to gain control over the global biological and epidemical situation. “As in 2019, the US has begun preparing for a new pandemic by searching for virus mutations,” Kirillov said. Moscow does “not rule out that the United States will use so-called defensive technologies for offensive purposes, as well as for global governance by creating crisis situations of a biological nature,” the general added.

I don’t think they could have been any more clear on what they are saying. Bio labs create the virus that big pharma then gets to create a vaccine for. And by releasing the viruses it helps with the plan to let the WHO have total control over the response and creates the reason to have a one world government that will nullify human rights and the reasons set out by the great reset planners.

The response to the Covid pandemic wasn’t so much a medical response, but rather it was a military response. Pfizer et al didn’t actually create vaccines, but counter measures according to the documents that Pfizer released by court order. And counter measures don’t have to go through rigid testing for safety or efficacy.

ETA tweet that has the documents to back up their claim.

Full video of Russian MoD’s Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov report on how the US has started preparing for a new pandemic, new information about Pentagon's biological warfare program and documents uncovered during the special operation in Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/l1YIz7f2vL

— COMBATE |(@upholdreality) August 16, 2023

Heading towards 100 today with higher humidity than I’m used to so I’m taking the Sam dawg swimming again. She was so very proud of herself after finding out that she can swim and she enjoyed doing it. She didn’t stop grinning till the next morning. Remember for the last 2 years she would only wade and slap at the water if it was too deep. That was quite funny.

—

“When out of fear you twist the lesser evil into the lie that it is something good, you eventually rob people of the capacity to distinguish between good and evil.”
~ Hannah Arendt

Submitted by QMS on Thu, 08/17/2023 - 11:07am

did you teach her the dog paddle

@snoopydawg

or was that instinctual?
Hope she wears her swimmies.

.

• US Military Could Create ‘Global Biological Crisis’ – Russian MOD (RT)

The US military is studying pathogens that could be used as biological weapons as the nation prepares for a potential new pandemic, the commander of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defense Forces, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, said on Wednesday. The list of diseases that have attracted the attention of US specialists includes anthrax, tularemia, and various coronaviruses, Kirillov told a media briefing. Some of these pathogens are listed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as “high-priority” threats that can be used as “bioterrorism agents.” “There is a clear trend: pathogens that fall within the Pentagon’s area of interest, such as Covid-19, avian influenza, African swine fever, subsequently become a pandemic, and American pharmaceutical companies become the beneficiaries,” the general claimed, without elaborating.

According to Kirillov, the US was extensively studying coronaviruses shortly before the Covid-19 pandemic struck. Last month, the White House announced the creation of the Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy (OPPR), tasked with “leading, coordinating, and implementing actions related to preparedness for, and response to, known and unknown biological threats.” The Russian military believes that may be another step in Washington’s plans to gain control over the global biological and epidemical situation. “As in 2019, the US has begun preparing for a new pandemic by searching for virus mutations,” Kirillov said. Moscow does “not rule out that the United States will use so-called defensive technologies for offensive purposes, as well as for global governance by creating crisis situations of a biological nature,” the general added.

I don’t think they could have been any more clear on what they are saying. Bio labs create the virus that big pharma then gets to create a vaccine for. And by releasing the viruses it helps with the plan to let the WHO have total control over the response and creates the reason to have a one world government that will nullify human rights and the reasons set out by the great reset planners.

The response to the Covid pandemic wasn’t so much a medical response, but rather it was a military response. Pfizer et al didn’t actually create vaccines, but counter measures according to the documents that Pfizer released by court order. And counter measures don’t have to go through rigid testing for safety or efficacy.

ETA tweet that has the documents to back up their claim.

Full video of Russian MoD’s Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov report on how the US has started preparing for a new pandemic, new information about Pentagon's biological warfare program and documents uncovered during the special operation in Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/l1YIz7f2vL

— COMBATE |(@upholdreality) August 16, 2023

Heading towards 100 today with higher humidity than I’m used to so I’m taking the Sam dawg swimming again. She was so very proud of herself after finding out that she can swim and she enjoyed doing it. She didn’t stop grinning till the next morning. Remember for the last 2 years she would only wade and slap at the water if it was too deep. That was quite funny.

—

truth is considered foreign influence, world peace is a threat to national security

Submitted by snoopydawg on Thu, 08/17/2023 - 11:25am

Nah…

@QMS

I let her set the pace for playing in the water and just enjoyed her having fun. She loves the water like any other lab, she just wasn’t interested in swimming.

—

“When out of fear you twist the lesser evil into the lie that it is something good, you eventually rob people of the capacity to distinguish between good and evil.”
~ Hannah Arendt

Submitted by The Liberal Moonbat on Thu, 08/17/2023 - 2:24pm

THIS crossed my radar last year....

@snoopydawg https://www.reddit.com/r/WayOfTheBern/comments/ttzs4d/france_is_hiding_s...

.

• US Military Could Create ‘Global Biological Crisis’ – Russian MOD (RT)

The US military is studying pathogens that could be used as biological weapons as the nation prepares for a potential new pandemic, the commander of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defense Forces, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, said on Wednesday. The list of diseases that have attracted the attention of US specialists includes anthrax, tularemia, and various coronaviruses, Kirillov told a media briefing. Some of these pathogens are listed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as “high-priority” threats that can be used as “bioterrorism agents.” “There is a clear trend: pathogens that fall within the Pentagon’s area of interest, such as Covid-19, avian influenza, African swine fever, subsequently become a pandemic, and American pharmaceutical companies become the beneficiaries,” the general claimed, without elaborating.

According to Kirillov, the US was extensively studying coronaviruses shortly before the Covid-19 pandemic struck. Last month, the White House announced the creation of the Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy (OPPR), tasked with “leading, coordinating, and implementing actions related to preparedness for, and response to, known and unknown biological threats.” The Russian military believes that may be another step in Washington’s plans to gain control over the global biological and epidemical situation. “As in 2019, the US has begun preparing for a new pandemic by searching for virus mutations,” Kirillov said. Moscow does “not rule out that the United States will use so-called defensive technologies for offensive purposes, as well as for global governance by creating crisis situations of a biological nature,” the general added.

I don’t think they could have been any more clear on what they are saying. Bio labs create the virus that big pharma then gets to create a vaccine for. And by releasing the viruses it helps with the plan to let the WHO have total control over the response and creates the reason to have a one world government that will nullify human rights and the reasons set out by the great reset planners.

The response to the Covid pandemic wasn’t so much a medical response, but rather it was a military response. Pfizer et al didn’t actually create vaccines, but counter measures according to the documents that Pfizer released by court order. And counter measures don’t have to go through rigid testing for safety or efficacy.

ETA tweet that has the documents to back up their claim.

Full video of Russian MoD’s Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov report on how the US has started preparing for a new pandemic, new information about Pentagon's biological warfare program and documents uncovered during the special operation in Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/l1YIz7f2vL

— COMBATE |(@upholdreality) August 16, 2023

Heading towards 100 today with higher humidity than I’m used to so I’m taking the Sam dawg swimming again. She was so very proud of herself after finding out that she can swim and she enjoyed doing it. She didn’t stop grinning till the next morning. Remember for the last 2 years she would only wade and slap at the water if it was too deep. That was quite funny.

—

In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.

Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!

Submitted by snoopydawg on Thu, 08/17/2023 - 9:23pm

I found this article very interesting

@snoopydawg

https://www.gospanews.net/en/2020/04/14/wuhan-gate-2-hiv-inside-coronavi...

It should have been the smoking gun that nailed Fauci’s lie that the coronavirus came from nature and not created in bio labs because they found HIV had been added to it. I’m sure that this is old news or relegated as a conspiracy theory. Luc Montagnier was researching this just before he died. I wonder if Russia knows about this too?

I have been following links in this article to many others that are just as interesting if anyone is curious about the lies we have been told.

https://www.gospanews.net/en/2022/09/17/inflammatory-nanoparticles-of-mr...

Edit to correct name

.

• US Military Could Create ‘Global Biological Crisis’ – Russian MOD (RT)

The US military is studying pathogens that could be used as biological weapons as the nation prepares for a potential new pandemic, the commander of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defense Forces, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, said on Wednesday. The list of diseases that have attracted the attention of US specialists includes anthrax, tularemia, and various coronaviruses, Kirillov told a media briefing. Some of these pathogens are listed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as “high-priority” threats that can be used as “bioterrorism agents.” “There is a clear trend: pathogens that fall within the Pentagon’s area of interest, such as Covid-19, avian influenza, African swine fever, subsequently become a pandemic, and American pharmaceutical companies become the beneficiaries,” the general claimed, without elaborating.

According to Kirillov, the US was extensively studying coronaviruses shortly before the Covid-19 pandemic struck. Last month, the White House announced the creation of the Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy (OPPR), tasked with “leading, coordinating, and implementing actions related to preparedness for, and response to, known and unknown biological threats.” The Russian military believes that may be another step in Washington’s plans to gain control over the global biological and epidemical situation. “As in 2019, the US has begun preparing for a new pandemic by searching for virus mutations,” Kirillov said. Moscow does “not rule out that the United States will use so-called defensive technologies for offensive purposes, as well as for global governance by creating crisis situations of a biological nature,” the general added.

I don’t think they could have been any more clear on what they are saying. Bio labs create the virus that big pharma then gets to create a vaccine for. And by releasing the viruses it helps with the plan to let the WHO have total control over the response and creates the reason to have a one world government that will nullify human rights and the reasons set out by the great reset planners.

The response to the Covid pandemic wasn’t so much a medical response, but rather it was a military response. Pfizer et al didn’t actually create vaccines, but counter measures according to the documents that Pfizer released by court order. And counter measures don’t have to go through rigid testing for safety or efficacy.

ETA tweet that has the documents to back up their claim.

Full video of Russian MoD’s Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov report on how the US has started preparing for a new pandemic, new information about Pentagon's biological warfare program and documents uncovered during the special operation in Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/l1YIz7f2vL

— COMBATE |(@upholdreality) August 16, 2023

Heading towards 100 today with higher humidity than I’m used to so I’m taking the Sam dawg swimming again. She was so very proud of herself after finding out that she can swim and she enjoyed doing it. She didn’t stop grinning till the next morning. Remember for the last 2 years she would only wade and slap at the water if it was too deep. That was quite funny.

—

“When out of fear you twist the lesser evil into the lie that it is something good, you eventually rob people of the capacity to distinguish between good and evil.”
~ Hannah Arendt

Submitted by Sima on Fri, 08/18/2023 - 10:14pm

THe Biolab stuff is nuts...

@snoopydawg
Thanks for adding to our information about those labs and what others think of them. They frighten me for the future, very much.

I hope the humidity is damping back down where you and Sam are. We had really hot weather for the first and middle part of the week, for here. We were all panting, not just Jaska! It cooled off a lot last night, today was pleasant!

Have a great weekend!

.

• US Military Could Create ‘Global Biological Crisis’ – Russian MOD (RT)

The US military is studying pathogens that could be used as biological weapons as the nation prepares for a potential new pandemic, the commander of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defense Forces, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, said on Wednesday. The list of diseases that have attracted the attention of US specialists includes anthrax, tularemia, and various coronaviruses, Kirillov told a media briefing. Some of these pathogens are listed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as “high-priority” threats that can be used as “bioterrorism agents.” “There is a clear trend: pathogens that fall within the Pentagon’s area of interest, such as Covid-19, avian influenza, African swine fever, subsequently become a pandemic, and American pharmaceutical companies become the beneficiaries,” the general claimed, without elaborating.

According to Kirillov, the US was extensively studying coronaviruses shortly before the Covid-19 pandemic struck. Last month, the White House announced the creation of the Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy (OPPR), tasked with “leading, coordinating, and implementing actions related to preparedness for, and response to, known and unknown biological threats.” The Russian military believes that may be another step in Washington’s plans to gain control over the global biological and epidemical situation. “As in 2019, the US has begun preparing for a new pandemic by searching for virus mutations,” Kirillov said. Moscow does “not rule out that the United States will use so-called defensive technologies for offensive purposes, as well as for global governance by creating crisis situations of a biological nature,” the general added.

I don’t think they could have been any more clear on what they are saying. Bio labs create the virus that big pharma then gets to create a vaccine for. And by releasing the viruses it helps with the plan to let the WHO have total control over the response and creates the reason to have a one world government that will nullify human rights and the reasons set out by the great reset planners.

The response to the Covid pandemic wasn’t so much a medical response, but rather it was a military response. Pfizer et al didn’t actually create vaccines, but counter measures according to the documents that Pfizer released by court order. And counter measures don’t have to go through rigid testing for safety or efficacy.

ETA tweet that has the documents to back up their claim.

Full video of Russian MoD’s Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov report on how the US has started preparing for a new pandemic, new information about Pentagon's biological warfare program and documents uncovered during the special operation in Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/l1YIz7f2vL

— COMBATE |(@upholdreality) August 16, 2023

Heading towards 100 today with higher humidity than I’m used to so I’m taking the Sam dawg swimming again. She was so very proud of herself after finding out that she can swim and she enjoyed doing it. She didn’t stop grinning till the next morning. Remember for the last 2 years she would only wade and slap at the water if it was too deep. That was quite funny.

—

If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so

Submitted by usefewersyllables on Thu, 08/17/2023 - 11:02am

Tulsi Gabbard has some things to say

about Maui.

“This is a crisis that is continuing on,” Gabbard warned, adding “It is not at all lost on the people of west Maui when they are told that FEMA is going to give those impacted a one-time $700 payment. And as they look at the news, they are seeing tens of more millions of dollars being sent to Ukraine.”

“Some of them said, hey, maybe if we change the name of Maui to Ukraine, maybe they will pay attention to us,” Gabbard noted.

Shout that from the rooftops... The Zerohedge/Rumble video won't embed.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/watch-tulsi-gabbard-blasts-biden-adm...

—

Twice bitten, permanently shy.

Submitted by Sima on Fri, 08/18/2023 - 10:24pm

Tulsi's right...

@usefewersyllables
She's completely right!

—

If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so

Submitted by enhydra lutris on Thu, 08/17/2023 - 11:18am

Good morning Sima, way behind you down here. Birds here

and still laying and hatching eggs, leaves are not yet falling or even turning in any appreciable quantity. Yesterday evening I was able to "harvest" some of my sourdough starter and to convert it into an overnight sponge, and this morning I was able to further process it into a batter. Since it is already 67 on the way to the eighties, I swapped one grill grate for a cast iron griddle (a most nifty factory option for said grill) and made us some pancakes. So, about the world - right now it's pretty cool, as such things go. We have harvested mot of our pears to finish ripening indoors where we and not the critters get to consume them.

Capitalism, in its truest form, is far older that it is portrayed in that book or in your column. It dates back to the first dude with enough cowrie to recruit some buddies and buy them all arms, enabling them to take what they wanted under any and every pretext they could conjure up. Sharing what they wanted with ye local priestling(s) conferred upon them both divine majesty and divine rights and off we go. Capitalism, in its purest form is the legitimization and empowerment of the first thieves, whose ~~booty~~ capital generates and ergo earns all wealth and productivity. If you don't have the capital, you are then the process and the capital works its magik through your otherwise pointless and meaningless labor.

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 --

Submitted by Sima on Fri, 08/18/2023 - 10:29pm

Our nesting birds...

@enhydra lutris
are basically done. It's time to start heading south. I found a baby swallow left in the barn yesterday, it had died because of the heat, or because it was too young/weak and got left behind :(. But that was the last of the babies, haven't seen another others for a week or so.

Got cooler today, at least. Hope everything is well with you, and sorry for replaying late. Yesterday was nuts!

—

If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so

Submitted by snoopydawg on Thu, 08/17/2023 - 11:24am

Boom!

A lesson on the greenhouse effect with Carl Sagan.

Carl Sagan testifying before Congress in 1985 on climate change pic.twitter.com/hpdqhpZnHS

— CarlSaganDotCom (@carlsagandotcom) August 14, 2023

Very interesting. Also check out how young Gore and Baucus were. Is Baucus still in congress? If so talk about sucking off the government teat. Biden, McConnell, Schumer, Grassley and others have been doing it for 5 decades. Maybe that’s how they made their millions?

—

“When out of fear you twist the lesser evil into the lie that it is something good, you eventually rob people of the capacity to distinguish between good and evil.”
~ Hannah Arendt

Submitted by The Liberal Moonbat on Thu, 08/17/2023 - 2:32pm

Okay...

@snoopydawg ...I'm not seeing anything revelatory there; an almost tedious reiteration of the very basics of how global warming works.

—

In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.

Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!

Submitted by Sima on Fri, 08/18/2023 - 10:31pm

Sagan's testimony

@snoopydawg
and Gore's work, as much as it might be 'not enough' were part of what got me involved in the climate movement in the 1980's. And, part of what inspired me to take up farming on a very small scale in the 1990's. Thanks for the clip!

—

If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so

Submitted by humphrey on Thu, 08/17/2023 - 2:18pm

A potential rare occurrence.

https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/4156774-hurricane-hilary-c...

Tropical Storm Hilary strengthened into a hurricane Thursday, with forecasters warning it could potentially bring devastating rainfall and high winds to Southern California this weekend.

The last tropical storm to impact the state was 84 years ago, according to official records.

The National Hurricane Center said Hilary was about 320 miles south of Manzanillo, Mexico, as of Thursday morning, with maximum wind gusts of 75 mph. While Hilary is likely to weaken as it travels northward, it could bring heavy rainfall to the southwestern United States, along with large swells and high surf along the coast.

There is currently a tropical storm watch in effect for parts of Mexico before it approaches the Baja California peninsula this weekend.

The National Hurricane Center is warning that the storm could produce up to 8 inches of rain across the peninsula through Monday morning, with the potential for flash flooding.

“Hilary has the potential to bring significant impacts to the Baja California Peninsula and portions of the southwestern United States this weekend and early next week, including after it becomes post-tropical,” the center said. “Although it is too soon to determine the location and magnitude of wind impacts, interests in these areas should monitor the progress of Hilary and updates to the forecast.”

Submitted by usefewersyllables on Thu, 08/17/2023 - 2:38pm

Hoo boy.

@humphrey

That means that it is going to get seriously rainy here CO in 10 days or so: that path (pushing massive moisture up across Baja California and Arizona, over the shrimpy parts of the Rockies) is what leads to Colorado's biggest precip makers. If it is really big, that'll be really biblical...

Thanks, Hil.

—

Twice bitten, permanently shy.

Submitted by The Liberal Moonbat on Thu, 08/17/2023 - 2:34pm

Life's nasty little coincidences

@humphrey Is Tlaloc trying to send stubborn rich BlueMAGA voters in SoCal a message, or what???

—

In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.

Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!

Submitted by dystopian on Thu, 08/17/2023 - 5:10pm

socal 'canes

@humphrey @humphrey A hurricane in socal is indeed a rare bird. The reason all the river channels in the LA Basin are concreted, was because of a hurricane that washed out over LA in I think the 1930's. Maybe 1939? In particular the houses along the LA River were washed away, many lives were lost, and now we have all former river and stream channels of concrete. Thousands of miles of riparian habitat was destroyed to concrete all the channels and waterways. Because of that dang 'cane. The LA basin lost several breeding species of birds as a result. And people being unable to not build right on the riveredge.

Closest I got was when remnants of tropical storms moved in, hot and humid, with warm rains.

Birders will be out sea-watching as 'canes often bring lots of unusual species. Sometimes there have been big incursions of Frigatebirds and Boobies, associated with them. In 1977 Kathleen dumped shearwaters and storm-petrels at the Salton Sea, and a Red-billed Tropicbird at Morongo Valley (north of Palm Springs).

re: main thread
Here nesting season is over, some leaves are dropping way early due to a summer around 100F and D3 extreme drought. Trees are dying. The most wanted leaf is Mulberry. Deer or horses in the corral next door (Texas sized at about 100 acres), are nuts about them. Good luck getting to a yellow fallen Mulberry leaf before something else eats it. I wonder what is in that they are so nuts about? Our tree is a male, so no fruit, but the leaves are candy to the bigger vegan beasts.

The other morning I heard Upland Sandpipers going over southbound looking for a pasture to go down in for the day after flying all night. They breed in northern U.S. and southern Canada prairies, and winter in southern Brazil and Argentina. So a major sign of fall migration when you get long-distance migrants.

have good ones all!

—

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

Submitted by Sima on Fri, 08/18/2023 - 10:37pm

I thnk that's why our leaves are dropping...

@dystopian
too hot, too droughty. We have not had it nearly as bad as other places this year though. Last year, however, sucked! We have a family of California Quail living on the farm this year! Haven't seen quail for years, so it's nice to see them. We are very carefully letting them 'have their way', keeping the cats and dog away from them :).

I didn't know that about LA's concrete river basins, although I used to wonder why they were there when I visited the LA area to see relatives. Thanks for teaching me something new (again ).

Have a great weekend and sorry for replying late. Was nuts yesterday!

—

If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so

Submitted by humphrey on Thu, 08/17/2023 - 3:11pm

I wonder if they will comply with the request???

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4157161-comer-asks-national-archives-...

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) on Thursday requested that the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) provide unredacted documents and communications from President Biden’s time as vice president as part of the panel’s probe into the president’s son Hunter Biden.

Specifically, Comer is requesting that the National Archives provide the committee special unredacted access to a tranche of emails from Biden’s vice presidential records, which includes messages related to Ukraine and the Ukrainian gas company Burisma sent or received by President Biden or Hunter Biden. Hunter Biden sat on the board of Burisma at the time. Redacted copies of those emails were previously released publicly under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

Comer is also asking for documents and communications in which Biden used a “pseudonym”; that included Hunter Biden or his business partners Eric Schwerin and Devon Archer; and all drafts of the speech that Biden delivered to the Ukrainian legislature in December 2015.

The request comes as part of the House Oversight Committee’s investigation into the foreign business dealings of Hunter Biden and his business associates, with an apparent focus on whether Hunter Biden’s business dealings with Ukraine impacted then-Vice President Biden’s policy decisions or financially benefited him, or if Hunter Biden received information that helped his business.

Joe Biden has stated there was ‘an absolute wall’ between his family’s foreign business schemes and his duties as Vice President, but evidence reveals that access was wide open for his family’s influence peddling,” Comer said in a statement alongside the request to the National Archives.

“We already have evidence of then-Vice President Biden speaking, dining, and having coffee with his son’s foreign business associates. We also know that Hunter Biden and his associates were informed of then-Vice President Biden’s official government duties in countries where they had a financial interest. The National Archives must provide these unredacted records to further our investigation into the Biden family’s corruption,” the statement said.

Submitted by Sima on Fri, 08/18/2023 - 10:43pm

This statement by Joe Biden:

@humphrey

'Joe Biden has stated there was ‘an absolute wall’ between his family’s foreign business schemes and his duties as Vice President'

is pure crap. And we all know it, president Dementia!

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4157161-comer-asks-national-archives-... House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) on Thursday requested that the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) provide unredacted documents and communications from President Biden’s time as vice president as part of the panel’s probe into the president’s son Hunter Biden. Specifically, Comer is requesting that the National Archives provide the committee special unredacted access to a tranche of emails from Biden’s vice presidential records, which includes messages related to Ukraine and the Ukrainian gas company Burisma sent or received by President Biden or Hunter Biden. Hunter Biden sat on the board of Burisma at the time. Redacted copies of those emails were previously released publicly under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Comer is also asking for documents and communications in which Biden used a “pseudonym”; that included Hunter Biden or his business partners Eric Schwerin and Devon Archer; and all drafts of the speech that Biden delivered to the Ukrainian legislature in December 2015. The request comes as part of the House Oversight Committee’s investigation into the foreign business dealings of Hunter Biden and his business associates, with an apparent focus on whether Hunter Biden’s business dealings with Ukraine impacted then-Vice President Biden’s policy decisions or financially benefited him, or if Hunter Biden received information that helped his business. Joe Biden has stated there was ‘an absolute wall’ between his family’s foreign business schemes and his duties as Vice President, but evidence reveals that access was wide open for his family’s influence peddling,” Comer said in a statement alongside the request to the National Archives. “We already have evidence of then-Vice President Biden speaking, dining, and having coffee with his son’s foreign business associates. We also know that Hunter Biden and his associates were informed of then-Vice President Biden’s official government duties in countries where they had a financial interest. The National Archives must provide these unredacted records to further our investigation into the Biden family’s corruption,” the statement said.

—

If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so

Submitted by on the cusp on Fri, 08/18/2023 - 12:19am

Thanks for the book rec.

I gotta get it. We need to read history to understand today. I am a history buff, have a degree as a history major. (and English, minors in several fields, but history takes my brain to places nothing else can.)
I am vacationing at Gulf Shores, Alabama. The noise of the beach and the waves is so wonderful, I am near trance.
Great on your garden yield, and great OT.
Thanks, sima.

—

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Submitted by Sima on Fri, 08/18/2023 - 10:41pm

Vacation sounds great!

@on the cusp
I love listening to the waves when I'm near the ocean. Just love it.

History buff? Me too :). Have a great weekend and vacation!!!!

—

If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so

Submitted by on the cusp on Fri, 08/18/2023 - 11:03pm

I inherited the history buff bug

@Sima from my Dad.
When he was in school in the 20s, the place to go for shelter and to hang out before you walked 7 miles home, was the library. History books, mostly.
After he returned from WWII, he attended jr. college, more history course opportunities..
Then, all uncles would visit our farm, spend hours talking WWII experiences.
I did want to mention that in one of my advanced world history courses in college, a prof hammered us that we should always look to England. Whatever they do, we tend to do 20 yrs later.
Take care, sima!

—

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981