Welcome to Saturday's Potluck - Jan 20, 2024
“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”
Pablo Picasso
The winter weather has been a little intense with snow, subzero weather and freezing rain. Doing fine, have limited time to spend at C99.
Corporations and wealthy individuals taking control of public lands and Native American has a long history in North America. This week a couple of roadblocks in simply taking control of land got ibturrupted.
Judge Orders Wind Farm Dismantled in Win for Tribal Sovereignty Real Clear Wire Jan 17, 2024
Capping a legal battle that had raged for over a decade, a federal judge in late December handed the Osage Nation a major victory by ordering wind farm developers to dismantle dozens of turbines they had erected on tribal land in northeastern Oklahoma.
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“The Court concludes that Defendants’ past and present refusal to obtain a lease constitutes interference with the sovereignty of the Osage Nation and is sufficient to constitute irreparable injury.”The reference to minerals is key to understanding the case. Wind turbines not only soar into the air from the surface of the land. Their construction also requires the subsurface smashing of rocks and other excavation necessary to ground the turbines. The Osage Nation and its Minerals Council have claimed for years that this subsurface excavation activity constitutes mining and is covered by the tribe’s mineral rights.
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The battle between the Osage Nation and the wind-farm developers got underway in 2011 and has lasted through the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations. Throughout the litigation, the Interior Department, which administers the tribe’s mineral rights, has supported the Osages’ claims. Even the Biden administration, whose political appointees at Interior have enthusiastically greenlighted wind and solar projects on federal land, stuck with the tribe on the question of mineral rights.
New York Stock Exchange Abandons Plan To Control America's Natural Resources ZeroHedge Jan 19, 2024
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Jan. 17 withdrew its proposal to establish and list Natural Asset Companies (NAC), which would pool investors’ money from around the world to buy controlling rights to public and private land throughout the United States.
The NACs would, according to filing documents, manage the lands solely for the purpose of “sustainability.” Critics of the plan charged that wealthy investors and foreign entities would be able to use these vehicles to make decisions to allow or block the public from accessing the publicly owned land that is designated for uses such as hunting, fishing, drilling, mining, hiking, and logging.
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State AGs challenged the legality of establishing these nonstandard types of companies, as well as the NACs’ ability to acquire rights to public lands and the Biden administration’s authority to sell such rights.
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Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, who together with Mr. Reyes co-authored the AGs’ letter, issued a statement that he was “pleased the SEC has withdrawn its proposed rule change. Doing so avoided an unnecessary legal battle.”Many of the comments posted on the SEC’s website opposed the NYSE’s proposal, with critics arguing that NACs would give private companies control over farmland, grazing areas, national and state parks, and other mineral-rich lands.
Another update on domestic chip production
TSMC's 2nd Arizona fab production postponed to 2027 or 2028 Taiwan News Jan 19, 2024
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) said Friday (Jan. 19) that its second plant under construction in north Phoenix faces a postponement, hampering the Biden administration's plan to boost key component production in the U.S., Bloomberg reported.
TSMC executives said that operations at the facility are now projected to commence between 2027 and 2028, a setback from the initial target of 2026.
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TSMC had previously announced the production of 3-nanometer chips at the second fab. When asked for confirmation, Liu said the fab's process technology is still under discussion and it will depend on how big of incentives the U.S. government provides.
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Meanwhile, following the Arizona project announcement in 2020, TSMC declared plans in 2021 to build a smaller facility in Japan. This Japanese facility has received funding from the Japanese government and is reportedly slated to commence production later this year, according to Nikkei Asia.
The book review of La Défaite de L’Occident (“The Defeat of the West”) by Emmanuel Todd is worth a full read. It makes one wish they could read french.
Pepe Escobar: How the West Was Defeated Sputnik Jan 18, 2024
Rather, he focuses on the key reasons that have led to the West’s downfall. Among them: the end of the nation-state; de-industrialization (which explains NATO’s deficit in producing weapons for Ukraine); the “degree zero” of the West’s religious matrix, Protestantism; the sharp increase of mortality rates in the US (much higher than in Russia), along with suicides and homicides; and the tsupremacy of an imperial nihilism expressed by the obsession with Forever Wars.
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In a nutshell, Todd shows how Protestantism imposed universal literacy on the populations it controlled, “because all faithful must directly access the Holy Scriptures. A literate population is capable of economic and technological development. The Protestant religion modeled, by accident, a superior, efficient workforce.” And it is in this sense that Germany was “at the heart of Western development”, even if the Industrial Revolution took place in England.
Todd’s key formulation is undisputable: “The crucial factor of the ascension of the West was Protestantism’s attachment to alphabetization.”
Moreover Protestantism, Todd stresses, is twice at the heart of the history of the West: via the educational and economic drive - with fear of damnation and the need to feel chosen by God engendering a work ethic and a strong, collective morality - and via the idea that Men are unequal (remember the White Man’s Burden).
The collapse of Protestantism could not but destroy the work ethic to the benefit of mass greed: that is, neoliberalism.
His other article touches on part of the US drug problem. US is the largest market in the world. The domestic drug problem has become a significant part of the US economy.
The Ukraine Charade, Revisited Strategic Culture Foundation Jan 19, 2024
Under this framework, even massive US-Ukraine corruption involving rings and rings of theft from lavish US “aid”, as recently revealed by former Ukrainian MP Andrey Derkach, is a mere detail.
Nothing has been done or will be done about it. After all, the Pentagon itself fails every audit. These audits, by the way, did not even include the income from the massive multi-billion dollar heroin operation in Afghanistan – with Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo set up as the distribution center for Europe. The profits were pocketed by US intel operatives off the books.
When fentanyl replaced heroin as a domestic US plague, it was pointless to continue occupying Afghanistan – subsequently abandoned after two decades in pure Helter Skelter mode, leaving behind over $7 billion in weapons.
Bypassing the UK parliament; the royal prerogative; and bombing Yemen Middle East Monitor July 16, 2024
There is something distinctly revolting and authoritarian about the royal prerogative. It reeks of clandestine assumption, unwarranted self-confidence and, most of all, a blithe indifference to accountability before elected representatives. That prerogative, in other words, is the last reminder of divine right, the fiction that a ruler can have powers vested by an unsubstantiated deity, the invisible God, and a punishing force beyond the reach of human control. And that such powers can in turn be vested in the government of the day.
he UK government, in league with the US and with support from a number of other countries, attacked Houthi positions in Yemen on 11 January. The decision was made without recourse to parliament and was justified by reference to Article 51 of the UN Charter as “limited, necessary and proportionate in self-defence”.
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The use of the royal prerogative in authorising military action remains one of those British perversions that makes for good common room conversation but offends the sensibilities of the democratically minded elector. A far better practice would be to make the PM of the day accountable to that most essential body of all: parliament. That same principle would be extended to other constitutional monarchies, which are similarly weighed down by the all too liberal use of the prerogative when shedding blood. If a country’s citizens are to go to war to kill and be killed, surely their elected representatives should have a say in that most vital of decisions?
UK is often pushing for more aggression and this time.
Prepare for war with Russia, China, Iran and North Korea – UK defense minister Russia Times Jan 18, 2024
British defense minister Grant Shapps has predicted a global conflict between the West and Russia, China, Iran and North Korea, within five years. Shapps has called on Britain’s allies to increase their military spending in response to this so-called “existential threat.”
They need to worry about their own capabilities.
Two British warships collide in Persian Gulf Russia Times Jan 20, 2024
Two UK Royal Navy minesweeper vessels collided while docking in Bahrain, with one ship caught on video as it backed into the other.
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The crash took place on Thursday as the HMS Chiddingfold, a Hunt-class mine countermeasures ship, attempted to dock at an undisclosed location in the Gulf island state. As captured in a clip making the rounds online, the Chiddingfold was seen slamming into the bow of the Sandown-class minehunter HMS Bangor, causing a loud clatter.An unnamed military source cited by UK Defence Journal said that teams would be sent to review the damage and create a plan for repairs
Interesting twist in the Israeli narrative.
EU's Borrell says Israel financed creation of Gaza rulers Hamas Reuters Jan 19, 2024
Borrell added the only peaceful solution included the creation of a Palestinian state.
"We only believe a two-state solution imposed from the outside would bring peace even though Israel insists on the negative," he said.
On a somber note Philip Giraldi has some additional information on Gonzalas Lira.It is not confirmed, but attempted extortion may have been involved. Looking Forward to 2024? The Unz Review Jan 18, 2024
Are the United States and its friends already off to a bad start this year?
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What is on your mind today?
Comments
Good on the Osage Nation
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To win the long battle to protect their mineral rights.
Corporations running roughshod over other's property
may give pause, at least to secure permission.
Thanks for the Potluck and good luck with the freeze.
Good morning...
A brisk 12F this AM with temps below freezing all day. Tomorrow starts about the same, but will warm to 40F. Finally next week warm weather and rain. I've got cabbages, broccoli, and such under mulch, covers and tarp. I'll finally opened up those beds to light on Monday. Above freezing weather all next week.
I knew about the US drug trade for under the table money, but the transition away from heroin playing a role in the abandonment of Project Afghan escaped my awareness. Interesting.
Gonzalo talked about the extortion during his bout in prison, and his Dad discussed it with George. Maria Zakharova made mention of Gonzalo too.
Well, everyone stay warm and safe. Thanks for the OT!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Good morning soe et. al. All of you suffering terrible weather
have my deepest sympathy. I am truly sorry for all of you as I abhor even mildly unpleasant weather.
It is good to see that win for the Osage and I hope that it is upheld upon any appeal. Also very good news about the NYSE and the NACs.
The UK warship collision is symptomatic of sooo very much, like all the issues with some models of the 747, the continuing issues with Ospreys and the fact that the Rus can take out Ukie, ie western, air defence installations with soviet era missiles using analog tech. Financialization and so much more has degraded western capabilities in tons of ways.
Related is that TSMC's 2nd Arizona fab production postponed to 2027 or 2028. We are a corporatocracy. If you want something from a corporation you must pay bigly for it. States and localities have for years had to engage in seriously costly bidding wars to get our overlords to build plants or other projects in their area. What part of this corruption has sleepy Joe forgotten, or does he think it doesn't apply to furriners?
Our Presidents, though far from Regal, also exercise the Royal Prerogative, it seems to be a brain virus that attacks the executive of almost all governments.
be well and have a good one
Edit - fixed a couple of typos
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 --
Interesting theory on the impact of the ICJ case initiated by
South Africa.
The rest of the tweet explains the possibilities:
This could end the Hague,
Interesting analysis, good on Mexico and Chile.
Interesting times.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Awesome information
Especially the goose and gander thing because what countries did to Putin. He moved children and their parents and some orphans out of harm’s way, but he was charged with kidnapping them and the NATO poodles pounced. But now they are trying to block Bibi from being held accountable for killing 10,000 children and starving hundreds of thousands more.
The tweet reminds me of what Caitlin wrote.
Welcome To The Empire
There’s more…
“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
Taiwan and the US could be on the receiving end of the
lessons learned.
Continuing the economy discussion gjohnsit started
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and the comments on it.
How Can Anyone Possibly Claim That The U.S. Economy Is Doing Well With All Of This Going On?
“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
From the linked article
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We Are Witnessing A Tsunami Of Economic Suffering All Over America
More elderly are becoming homeless for the first time and I can’t begin to imagine how horrible their lives are. And a lot of homeless people are working and they have more than one job, but they can’t afford to pay the ever increasing rents that greedy people keep raising. Minimum wage is a whole fcking $7.75 and it hasn’t been raised since before Obama’s tenure. I’ve seen rents and over $4,000 in NYC and they are just the lowest people can find.
Meanwhile there are thousands upon thousands of empty houses across the country and the empty office buildings…but let’s not do anything about helping people.
When was the last time you heard congress talking about the HUD program for low income people? Democrats say that they might work with republicans on bringing back the child tax credits, but republicans insist on more tax cuts for the rich. Notice how every time republicans cut taxes the democrats do nothing to raise them again? In fact they helped republicans fix the mistakes they made when they cut them last time.
Yeah I know I’m preaching to the choir….
“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
That would sure shatter the image of NYC
as the financial hub of the empire. Fill the empty hi-rises with the homeless and refugees
using state funds. The briefcase carrying suits may find themselves in a strange new world.
All of that financial wizardry won't add up to much. Hey buddy, can you loan me a dime?
Ah needs to feed me kin.
Your preaching made me think of the "Church Lady"
From Saturday Night Live
NEWS:
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - US airbase Ain al-Asad in Iraq's western Anbar Province has been targeted by at least 15 missiles, Iraqi news agency Shafaq reported on Saturday, citing a security source.
The missiles were launched from the Iraqi city of Albaghdadi, the source said, without giving further information.
doesn't look like much damage, injuries, or deaths from the reporting so far.
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 --
In the fog of war the actual truth is hard to find.
Thanks for the further info n/t
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 --
This is revealing but not surprising.
the utter clumsiness of the war state
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is leaking out for the world to see ..
British ship backing into one of their own
and a stray flashlight ruining a $14M jet engine
foolishness writ large, embarrassing the brass
Booyah!
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Nicely said and thanks for saying it.
This wasn’t satire.
“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
Could you provide
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
…..
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/watch-you-are-problem-conservativ...
Trump said that he wouldn’t allow digital money to be used here. Hopefully he will withdraw from the WHO again, but not transfer the money to the Gates Foundation. What an icky trick he played. They own the fcking WHO!
“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
Got it!
Bastard.
Thanks for the link. I wanted the contest of the fantastic block quote you posted.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
More Israelis show their true colors with regards to the
ongoing genocide.
Baghdad Bob clone talks out of both sides of his mouth.
lying SOB
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Good Mearsheimer interview
I saw this yesterday. It's 4 days old now, so maybe others have already seen it. It's a very good wide ranging interview on the Ukraine situation and US geopolitics generally.
Thanks for the potluck SOE!
語必忠信 行必正直
Watch to see when the lightbulb went off
.
And people dreaded that Palin would be one heartbeat from the presidency.
“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
My thanks is coming way late,
but soe, this was a really interesting and informative OT.
Thank you so very much for your time and effort.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981