Welcome to Saturday's Potluck - 11-18-2023
“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”
Pablo Picasso
Sometimes life just gets a little weird.
A story on Oregonian newspaper website caught my eye. In Bend, a large rock is taking out cars and gaining popularity online
Really - the small lot where my grandmother raised a family in a 900 sq ft house, grew a garden, built a small shop and developed a career as an artist is becoming a tourist attraction. The buildings and large willow tree have long been flattened by a bulldozer so the final piece of land could be added to the development.
Big Obvious Boulder, known affectionately by its fans as “Bob,” can be found at the entrance to a shopping plaza on Northeast Third Street and Franklin Avenue. If you need directions, you can check out its Google page.
The publicity echo chamber starts with social media, news organizations, local business promotions and personal stories.
Non-Profits are quick to follow.
Ironically the Bob the rock does sit within a few feet of where a car leaving the 7-eleven drove into the exterior wall of Grandma's art studio on the early 90's. The driver simply backed out of the gaping hole and drove off. One of the primary reason she agreed to move. The other reason was increasing incidences of finding homeless individuals (tramp was the term used at the time) sleeping by the lilac bushes.
Dolly Parton now does Rock and Roll.
Parton’s 49th album, Rockstar, is her first foray into rock & roll. She got the idea to do a rock covers LP after being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022. To make it happen, Dolly and her longtime bandleader and producer Kent Wells convened an astonishing collection of all-star duet partners. This has got to be the most stacked guest list in the history of guest lists, a karaoke night out where the party bus is stocked with a decent hunk of the most famous people ever in music. Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Peter Frampton, and Mick Fleetwood are onboard for “Let It Be.” Elton John joins her for “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me.” Her goddaughter Miley Cryus swings by for “Wrecking Ball.” Dolly fires up an 11-minute version of “Free Bird” with members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, including the late Gary Rossington and even Ronnie Van Zant. (Ronnie died in 1977, but his widow allowed his voice to appear on the album.)
one of her songs I always enjoyed
The first batch of Jan 6, 2021 tapes released for public viewing by US House.
Committee on House Administration Access to USCP Video From January 6, 2021
Pepe Escobar: Xi Outmaneuvers Biden in San Francisco Sputnick Globe Nov 17, 2023
The Xi-Biden drama, lasting a little over two hours, was not exactly a remake of “Vertigo”. Washington and Beijing seemed quite cozy jointly promising the proverbial promotion and strengthening of “dialogue and cooperation in various fields”; an intergovernmental dialogue on AI; drug control cooperation; back to high-level military-to-military talking; a “maritime security consultation mechanism”; significantly increasing flights by early 2024; and “expanding exchanges” in education, international students, culture, sports, and business circles.
...
The White House readout , as bland as it might seem, actually gives away the key part of the plot.
Biden – actually his earpiece - underscored “support for a free and open Indo-Pacific”; the defense of “our Indo-Pacific allies”; the “commitment to freedom of navigation and overflight”; “adherence to international law”; “maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea and East China Sea”; “support to “Ukraine’s defense against Russian aggression”; and “support for Israel’s right to defend itself against terrorism”.
Beijing understands in detail the context and the geopolitical overtones of each of these pledges.
What the readout does not say is that Biden’s handlers also tried to convince the Chinese to stop buying oil from their strategic partner Iran.That’s not gonna happen. China imported an average of 1.05 million barrels of oil a day from Iran over the first 10 months of 2023 - and rising.
Why the US needs this war in Gaza The Cradle Pepe Escobar Nov 15, 2023
The Global South was expecting the Dawn of a New Arabian Reality.
After all, the Arab street - even while repressed in their home nations - has pulsed with protests expressing ferocious rage against Israel's wholesale massacre of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Arab leaders were forced to take some sort of action beyond suspending a few ambassadorships with Israel, and called for a special Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit to discuss the ongoing Israeli War Against Palestinian Children.
...
The OIC's final statement will always be enshrined in the Gilded Palace of Cowardice. Highlights of the tawdry rhetorical show: we oppose Israel's “self-defense;” we condemn the attack on Gaza; we ask (who?) not to sell weapons to Israel; we request the kangaroo ICC to "investigate" war crimes; we request a UN resolution condemning Israel.For the record, that’s the best 57 Muslim-majority countries could drum up in response to this 21st-century genocide.
This Ain’t No ‘Stalemate’: Ukrainian Frontline Breakdown, Revisited Strategic Culture Foundation Pepe Escobar Nov 14, 2023
This analysis focuses on “what the Russians are doing with their ongoing ‘mud season offensive’ in Ukraine, really a collection of local attacks across the length of the front line” – with the exception of Kherson.
Strategically, Russia has committed none of its own massive reserves while the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) are pressured all along the frontlines – and the Russians silently prepare a surprise knockout blow elsewhere.
A Perfect Storm of dwindling financing, weaponizing and Western “support” has darkened Kiev’s horizon, while serial Ukrainian disasters on the ground are so obvious they are even being picked up by Western mainstream media.
Latest videos from Military Summary discuss Russian forward movement and Ukrainian loses along most of the extended fromt.
Intel Roundtable w/ Johnson & McGovern: US Ignorance of the Middle East (24:53 min)
At 10:07 McGovern now thinks US Navel assets are to discourage Israel from using nukes, and at 12:54 discuss Israel has nukes aimed at Iran
Professor John Mearsheimer: China - Partner or Enemy? (31:19)
The first 11 minutes of discussion is regarding Washington Post article on Nordstream and Israel genocidal activities. Professor Mearsheimer's views on China are very typical of Western Universities Chinese Study programs - Westerner's understand China and its abilities better than the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In many of his presentations he appears excited about the possibility of conflict with CCP.
The livestream videos this week by Judge Napolitano channel ongoing discussions regarding current events in Israel/Hamas/Gaza, secondary subject China and third subject Ukraine/Russia conflict. The interviews are generally posted on Monday through Friday if would like to view them in a more timely manner. The link opens in the LIVE column, occasionally an interview only appears in VIDEOS section.
What is on your mind today?
Comments
Good morning
Fun story about your grandmothers lot and Bob the rock.
In the life is weird category, found this one ..
Watch a Buck Nearly Enter a Hunter’s Home to Pick a Fight with a Deer Head on the Wall
https://www.fieldandstream.com/hunting/watch-a-buck-nearly-enter-a-hunte...
This is funny too. Watch a Buck Hammer a Full-Size Decoy
Thanks for the potluck!
truth is considered foreign influence, world peace is a threat to national security
Not knowing the orchestrated dance of wanna fight
Domestic sheep rams fine tuned my ability identifying triggers to avoid a fight. They are ready any time of the year to fight, very short triggers in the fall. I now even take a walking stick when entering the fields this time of year, during rut season, and deer herds are present.
Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.
This ainť no geopolitical breakdown—no, this is the road to hell
The mantle of victumhood to justify any actions is
Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.
Good morning...
Pretty here, but still dry. Went to town for trade day...gas was down to $2.40/gal. I already had a full tank, but that's the cheapest I've seen gas in a while.
They had a lost leader at the grocery...$0.57/lb turkey. It is now in the fridge, as we jokingly say, dethawing.
The Jan 6 narrative may be questioned soon...
Mike Johnson to post more than 40,000 hours of Jan. 6 footage online
As to the the Gaza genocide, Israel is shooting itself in the foot with it's mass murder of civilians -
So thanks for the OT and the story of Bob the rock!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Local gas was down to $3.85 this week and no turkeys
Good to see the list of countries taking action against genocide growing. I believe Turkey (wrong spelling) and South Africa have formally requested an ICC (International Criminal Court) investigation.
Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.
It’s a start
but Craig Murray says that countries that have signed on to the Geneva Convention must bring a charge of genocide so that the international justice court starts investigating Israel’s genocide. That is the most important thing that should be done. The ICC has been neutered by America and it has no power anymore. I’ll provide the links to this and the Ritter article if anyone is interested.
And if anyone is still interested in the Ukraine war, Big Serge has a great update. One thing he talks about is how Russia is busy building up its military equipment including drones and tanks while America has admitted that it’s having a difficult time supplying Ukraine with the things they desperately need and that it doesn’t have the manufacturing capability to return to building them. Left unsaid is that our dumb ass government offshored factories and making things here anymore and even if it did it doesn’t have the brain power to build anything because our education system has been dumbed down. Besides all available equipment, ect is being given to Israel.
America and 50 other countries are talking about a ceasefire in Ukraine. Putin gave Biden an out before he crossed the border and Biden said no thanks. A month after the war began Putin had agreed to an end to the war and again Biden said screw you. What makes Biden think that Putin will now sign one when Russia is winning the war?
“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
Another must watch
.
Who gave Tapper permission to go here? Just a few days ago he had a Jewish student on who was complaining about complaining about increased anti semitism because people were protesting against Israel’s bombing Gaza.
What is happening in the West Bank puts to rest the lie that if Hamas releases the hostages then peace will return to Palestine. Israeli settlers have been destroying Palestinian's homes, orchards for years without any corporate media covering it.
Why?
“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
Setting the stage for fall guys to excuse Israeli's in general
Now we watch to see how the Israeli troops responsibility for deaths at rave and kibitzes will be explained away. Narrative of laying all blame on Hamas fighters for atrocities is slowly falling apart. (Great video in your comment below)
Vice broke the news two days ago on Israeli not working on hostage release as a priority.
Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.
I’m glad you highlighted the Pepe article
on the cowards who refuse to hold Israel accountable for the genocide. I hope others will read it and see why they are sitting on those big bags of money in my comment. As Joe has said maybe their people will get them to change their minds. I don’t want to see a bigger war, but with America scolding countries to stay out of it while Israel is free to attack Syria and its airports and America to attack wherever the hell it wants is hypocrisy at its finest. Yemen and other groups in the area are ignoring us and attacking our troops who are breaking international law. We are making sure that Syria can’t repair its country because we are stealing the resources they need to do it.
Israel and Biden and his puppet masters don’t tell us that many of the Israelis that died that day was more military than civilians. I posted Ritter’s article on the Hamas attack and he points out the attacks on the military bases and says that it is legal for an occupied country to attack in self defense. I think it’s in Wednesday or Thursday EBs. Worth a read.
I think I got lost somewhere here…oh well.
“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
Max and Chris discuss how Israel killed their own people
.
on 10/7. Lots of the information has already been discussed here, but Max adds new information about the lies Israel has been telling. One thing he says is that the reports of Hamas baking babies which Israel has shown pictures of was actually 'baked' by Israeli bombs. Both say that the melted cars and people inside them at the rave looked very similar to the bodies of Iraqis killed on the highway of death as they were returning from Kuwait. And just like the Israeli helicopter pilots followed orders to shoot every bomb they had so did American pilots bomb the trucks for hours.
Just following orders. What went through the American pilot’s minds when they did that?
INCYM this video it shows how Israel’s military bombed the people fleeing from the rave. It’s what Max talks about.
I will settle for American war criminals to face justice and be punished for their crimes. But it’s probably not going to happen in my lifetime…but I can dream for it just like I dream for peace.
ETA
Max mentions the blood lust of some Israelis and this clearly shows that.
Another video posted last week showed how cops were hassling a group of Jewish protesters who were advocating for peace and one lady told them that Hitler should have finished the job and that they deserve to roast in hell. But sure it’s only the people protesting for peace that are anti semetic.
“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
Well what do you know…
But I wonder why this news is allowed to come out? Israel has a habit of covering up its crimes so you gotta wonder why they are admitting to this. Gawd I hate being so cynical.
“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
Just read this
Live Updates on Israel-Hamas war Russia Times
And this
Time to come clean on Israel’s nuclear status – Türkiye Russia Times Nov 18, 2023
part way through this article
Kennedy Assassination: "CIA-Did-It" Theorists Are Covering for Israel Unz Review Nov 17, 2023
Hypothesis assassination was a coup d’état to place Johnson in the presidency to change US policy regarding Israel. Part of the CIA was involved but was not the master planner initiating the action and cover-up.
Maybe there is a need for a new set of fall guys quick - they can be malicious or incompetent, or even both.
Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.
I read 2 old UNZ articles on the Kennedy assassination
and he made a pretty good case. I’ll read the new one and see if it has more information.
I’m not sure what the sanctions will do on the settlers unless he’s going after those in Israel’s government? Tapper highlighted 2 in the video above. But maybe the tide is turning for Biden after all the flack he is getting from his staff.
ETA
As for Johnson remember that he covered up Israel’s attack on the USS Liberty and it was in 1967 that America went all in with Israel.
Joe found this link to why Johnson sold the Liberty crew down the river. He recalled the ships that were going to go help them and allowed Israel to keep attacking.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/aug/08/israel
“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
Sanctions? Really?
Team Brandon issued a strongly worded edict threatening Jewish
terroristssettlers if they don't stop killing Palestinians, they could lose their perks.
Virtue signaling for appearance sake. Another toothless failure at diplomacy.
truth is considered foreign influence, world peace is a threat to national security
I know right?
Israel has armed the settlers and the military watches as they attack Palestinians. And the settlers are kicking people out of their homes and killing anyone who gets in their way.
Yeah I’m wrong here:
Biden is actually telling Israel to hurry up with their plans because he doesn’t want this issue still being alive when the election comes. The rotten thing is that even if Biden loses to Trump it might be worse for Gaza. Remember the crap he did with the US embassy and his Abrams accord that ended the 2 state solution. His America first crap ends with Israel. And gawd forbid that Jared gets back in his administration. Shudder to think how much worse he can make this.
“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
I asked why Tapper was allowed to say what he did
Simplicius
Why are they starting to tell some of the truth?
Biden was biting off more than America could chew. He depleted most of the weapons and gave them to Ukraine and also depleted the stockpiles of old equipment and now Israel gets what’s left while Ukraine is forgotten. Penny Pritzker just told Zelensky that the tap is going to be cut off. Maybe Zelensky can use the millions he has stolen.
“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
Lots of information in his essay that others aren’t covering
On Israel’s economy. Lots of people predicted that calling up 300,000 would have a drastic effect because businesses couldn’t afford to lose that many workers.
“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
dream on
it is a better place
truth is considered foreign influence, world peace is a threat to national security
Mearsheimer on China
I think he, like most western geopolitical analysts, projects his own perspective on to China. I'd rather listen to Carl Zha on China. He has a much more profound understanding of their history and what their current policies are all about. China's main policy interest is business not war. War is the harbinger of uncertainty and chaos. It's anathema to business (the US thinks its good for business). Because business is China's current doctrinal priority, it is difficult for the US to compete with them economically. Thus the focus in the US is always on "hard power." US commercial activities now have to be governed by a "national security" perspective. Structurally, institutionally, and politically the US is handicapped by its almost exclusive military obsession and outlook.
China's prestige and success comes from soft power. There are historical and Marxist themes in Chinese analysis of world trends and their policy formulation process. As a fundamentally western formulation Marxism has been modified to fit China's unique circumstances and needs. The failure of the Soviet Union more than demonstrated the shortcomings of foreign formulations. Nor is there one size fits all. It isn't left behind, the former orthodoxy is harmonized with current needs and developmental goals. What is observed to be useful, such as the benefits of "free enterprise," are adopted in a dirigiste context where the party and state power is not subordinated to private capital interests. Party doctrine is periodically subject to revision in light of development goals. So there is a developmental theme, coexisting, with a dialectical materialistic analysis based somewhat on later Marxist conceptions of imperialism as the ultimate manifestation of class struggle on the world stage. This is related to China's own bitter historical experience of western imperialism during the "century of humiliation."
Lastly, there is an an adherence to a tradition of governance in the Neo-Confucian sense, with a willingness to accept "revisionism" to practically attain goals. There should periodically be reflection and assessments of current doctrine of governance with appropriate revisions to doctrine and policies. There is no objective to push their political system or ideology on other states. In the global south, there is a natural receptivity to Chinese business and diplomatic overtures, because those countries recognize the common historical experience of being dominated and exploited by western imperialism, and the later neo-imperialism of the so called post colonial era, the US has employed since WWII.
The Chinese regard themselves as traditionally and rightfully the center of gravity of a civilized and intelligent society. China's "foreign" policy represents a world view that Mearsheimer minimizes because it doesn't fit in with his "realist" geopolitical outlook. In this sense, any patterns that can be interpreted using Mearsheimer's model are coincidental in nature, because they appear to be connected with his "hegemony" obsession, which is not a major factor in Chinese thought but a US obsession. When your cultural world view is that you are a civilizational standard in your own right, you don't obsess about "hegemony." The policy is to limit encroaching uncivilized factors threatening disorder to internal harmony and the external order on which it depends. From this perspective disruptive actions taken by the US in pursuit of a so called rules based order, appear rather to generate disorder and chaos. Historical experience and the philosophical viewpoint in a practical matter call for not allowing 19th Century 'gunboat' diplomacy to ever return. The military perspective is subservient to the philosophical state of the party as it exists today. That perspective is always subject to critical evaluation in light of practical outcomes productive of both the party goals and evolving historical development. It isn't obsessed with balance of power; relations with other powers are based on historical experience, current ongoing observation and evaluation, and how they play against uniquely Chinese values. Challenges to Chinese order are subject to periodic formal deliberative group review as Jeffrey Sachs has noted, rather than the off the cuff, shooting from the hip, ad hoc and likely inappropriate responses we are likely to see from the west. So the dictatorship observation is just inappropriate. It's a group leadership and policy formulation function.
Let's assume everything I said above is just Chinese "propaganda" I picked up from Reading the China Dream web site. Nevertheless, it appears to be what some scholars say the Chinese political perspective actually is. It is consistent with my own observations of East Asian history and culture. Therefore, shouldn't this unique Chinese perspective be taken into account when considering China "as a threat" that needs to be countered? To a great extent the threat is provoked and exaggerated by the west. The economic challenge to the US on the other hand is self inflicted because of the excessive militarization of US society, economy and politics.
Kissinger (and Nixon) could read the Chinese political perspective at one time and understood this or at least this emerging outlook during its formulative period. Some of the Neanderthals directing US foreign policy ostensibly have Kissinger Associates credentials on their resume. I never hear them saying the kind of things Kissinger says in his book On China, which to my surprise showed more insight than I expected. Previously, I thought the turn to China, the Chinese opening etc., were just some Machiavellian maneuver to help us withdraw from the conflict in Southeast Asia and at the same time to counter the Soviet Union. (In other words a political realist "balance of power" move). The typical responses are yes but we thought mistakenly they would "democratize." Another is, yes but, now they are a economic competitor, they are surpassing us. Can't have that can we? Their navy is getting bigger than ours. They're making more nukes, etc. Maybe the US expansion of military bases to surround and cut off China from its seaborne commerce to threaten it militarily has provoked the response. Powerful US military forces are always probing the littoral adjacent to China ostensibly defending freedom of navigation, whilst the objective is the exact opposite: to threaten with a "strangle China" strategy based on the "first island chain" that must include Taiwan.
imo
Thanks for the Potluck SOE. I'm sure I'll be exploring it more, later.
語必忠信 行必正直
Very cogent
The US has always viewed China as having the potential for knocking them off their pedestal. Since we obsess about military might, then secondarily economic might, we are going in the wrong direction to preserve our hegemony.
A BDS campaign against Raytheon, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, et. al., would be pretty interesting to see.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
that is a very astute summary
of the understanding of 'murika falling behind on the world stage
ideas of global domination thru military means is secondary to
the realities of economic interests. Sanctions do not work, as we
have seen in RUS. But the Neo-cons will not give up their policies.
They seem to want it all, regardless of the consequences. This will
prove to be disfavor-able to their waning influence.
Wider objectives such as BRICS, Silk Road corridors and multi-
polarity have the advantage of inclusion, which western interests
do not seem to recognize.
truth is considered foreign influence, world peace is a threat to national security
Good morning soe. Love Bob the rock star. Thanks for the OT,
the links and the vids. Rained a tiny bit this morning, rained a bit yesterday too. Farmers market was pretty busy, as were a couple of grocery stores; I guess the t-day shopping rush is on. We needed little that we don't have so we got out and back fairly quickly. Nothing new to add regarding global or domestic situation. Arrogance seems to define the US in many ways, inside and out.
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 --
Good afternoon, soe, and everyone
My vacation is giving me very little break from work. I have already had a chat with my secretary to sort out a problem with a final divorce decree. Seems the court clerk filed the wrong version, didn't accept the final version as requested. Dammit all.
That said, we are headed to a Gary P. Nunn concert tonight. We at least got to sleep in, so there's that.
As it happens, we are surrounded by hills and rocks. No autos in sight or sound, though.
Thanks for the delightful OT!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Denmark wants a war and bin Laden letter collective guilt
Denmark is threatening to cut off Russian oil tankers. The Nordic countries really want to play above their league.
As for bin Laden letter which talks about collective guilt. All of NATO and EU should agree with him as they have collectively made the Russian people guilty for all the actions of Putin. Actually collective guilt is really the bedrock of racism as it tars an entire group of people.
I am not a lawyer, not an expert in international law or the
law of the sea, but there is a long standing principal at law to the effect that a voluntary admission of facts makes them presumptively true. When EU members openly and publicly conspire to pretend they have grounds to intercept vessels, then Russia can presume that any such interceptions are phony and hence illegal. Especially since the EU sanctions, while not truly unilateral, are not UN authorized or imposed are are hence illegal.
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 --
Same here
Diesen's right
So the application of these Danish restrictions are aimed to hamper transit passage in a discriminatory manner against a particular state. That's my inclination on this. To me it seems as if a NATO state is trying to block passage on the basis of a condition which NATO itself created. Not only is it contrary to the black letter intent of the transit passage provision, there should be some sort of estoppal argument, that prevents an alliance member from discriminating against one country's commerce based upon circumstances (no insurance availability) that it played a role in creating.
This scheme is exactly the sort of short sighted trick, that has become common in the west. Where's all their freedom of navigation, freedom of international commerce in the rules based order? If I was Russia, I would say fine, I will indemnify these ships from any environmental damage caused by equipment failure in the Danish strait. This is my amateur hunch. I haven't looked at any case law or precedents.
語必忠信 行必正直