Saturday Open Thread - 8/16/25: Odds and Ends
Good morning, good people!
I read somewhere that seven companies are adding crickets to their flour. Careful with your baking mixes. We ain't in Martha White territory no more!
What did Coca-Cola do to their Diet Coke formula? (Not that it is anything but poisonous, but an addict is an addict.)
I always thought Goodwill did something for the poor. Well, not exactly. We donate, they re-sell to the paying public, pocket all proceeds. Ok, maybe poor people do benefit from the cheap prices, but the poor with no money get no good will from Goodwill. Most people I know, like myself, shop there for good deals for cheap, thinking it helps someone in need. I didn't know I was helping rich people in need of getting richer. My bad.
Must we be constantly fooled? Any reason why margarine is in the grocery store dairy product section? "Organic" veggies are not organic. FDA says OK on the labeling. We have fluoride in our water because dentists said so all those years ago? (Joke: That child who wasn't smart enough to get into med school becomes a dentist.) The only privacy protection in the country is classified government documents. Taco Bell beef tacos have a disclaimer in the fine print that they may not contain beef.
I could think of more lies we are literally being fed, but I expect the news throughout the day about the summit for Trump to get the Nobel Peace Prize might dominate the news.
Will we be fooled again? I have developed this attitude to the best of my ability:
Let's try to keep each other informed today as the post-summit news floods the internet, or as we think of something else that is worth sharing among friends. I am dding this from Politco. No cease fire, but progress was made.
Despite red carpet rollout, ‘no deal’ between Trump and Putin
The Putin Trump Summit: A Triumph for Putin, A Disaster for the Neocons
This is an open thread, open to any and all topics you feel are worth sharing with friends here.
Let 'er Rip!
Comments
Good Morning...
Summit summary from The Duran...
About 25 min or so before they answer listeners questions. They were generally positive, but cautioned about Trump's unpredictability.
I thought this was also an interesting analysis. He points out MSM bias and misreporting.
(28 min)
Got mowed out for the most part yesterday. Went to trade day and bought some cabbage, collard, and broccoli plants for the fall garden this morning. The summer garden is limping along still putting out a few tomatoes and okra.
Have a good weekend, and thanks for the OT!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Good morning, LO!
Tomatoes? Still? I'd plant some turnips for my favorite greens and cornbread meal, but my schedule this fall doesn't comport with gardening. Damn.
Thanks for the videos. I will start the viewing shortly.
Enjoy your weekend in your beloved holler, dear friend!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Happy Saturday
This from Judge Nap -
https://sputnikglobe.com/20250815/judge-napolitano-breaks-down-alaska-su...
For some strange reason, the western media and punditry expected it all to be about a
"Ceasefire". Ha, misinformed as usual.
Thanks for the OT.
Zionism is a social disease
Good morning, Cap'n!
Hope all i well with you and yours!
I had thought the summit would lean toward economic relations with the SMO taking a back seat. After I bring myself up to date with the video news and commentary, I can see if I was on to something or not.
August is winding down and we have not hit a 100 deg. day yet. The month I dread has simply not been dreadful. Hope your weather is pleasant, dear friend.
It is the little things!
Enjoy your weekend!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Good morning, everyone!
I am only skimming headlines until the coffee does its' magic on my brain, but it does appear we can move the Doomsday clock back a bit after the summit.
Let 'er rip, friends!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
I, too
am waiting for the coffee to do its' magic on my brain, only I'm on decaf so it's psychological.
Have noticed all coffee has gone up in price since the tariffs on Brazil went into effect last week. Boy that was fast.
Been eating that non-GMO corn you seeded me with and it's scrumptious. What a difference from the Frankincorn. Freezer is filling up fast even though we have corn every other night.
Heavy freak wind blew a couple over, but the green beans are holding the rest up. What a tangled mess. But effective.
We're camping near Kalama,WA. which is about 50 miles from the Oregon Air National Guard station in Portland.
We're not so much skiddish or overly chickenshit, it's just every time world events start heating up F-something or other flights increase exponentially, and they go right in front of our house.
Holy shit those things are loud. Shakes the walls.
Thanks for the OT and again for those magnificent seeds.
PS. Have some left over, hope they work next season. Will keep half of them wrapped and in the refrigerator and the other half wrapped and in a cool dark place. Just an experiment.
I need a root cellar badly. A winter project.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
You want me to get you some more
seed, just in case?
So, you're a happy camper? Sounds lovely and much quieter!
Man, I hear ya about coffee prices! Although I buy Folger's 100% Columbian Coffee, they are not gonna pass up the chance to price gouge. All they have to do is price just a little bit less than coffee brands that use Brazilian coffee beans. I am the only coffee drinker at home, but I keep some at the office for anyone who wants a cup. I stay about 4 or 5 containers ahead of the game.
What I don't quite understand is the sudden rise in the cost of beef. Probably the most consumed meat at my home is ground beef. Burgers, spaghetti, goulash, tacos, meatloaf, etc...Before the rains come this afternoon, I am headed to the store to get 10 to 12 lbs. of it.
I did see a statistic that said all consumer goods would increase in price by 68% by the end of the year. Merry effin' Christmas.
The only sort of expensive item we need is a new charcoal grill. Knowing the parts come from China, we need to get it asap. Everything else, from weed eaters to toasters, we have, and they are new to fairly new. Preppers used to be sort of excitable boys, but that has changed. Now, be a prepper or eat from the neighborhood dumpster.
Enjoy your camping weekend, dear friend!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Live Judge Nap Blueprint for Peace Conference
So far Jeffrey, Col. M. now live
conference live
語必忠信 行必正直
Max and Anya arrive
I think Max just coined the handle "the Orange McCain" for Trump.
語必忠信 行必正直
I gotta check in on the rally!
I hope it is well attended and well received!
Thanks, friend!
Enjoy your weekend!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
News Flash!
New Fast Food Chain to Open: "Vlad and Donnie's Beef and Borsht"
Critics say the food better be good, because it's what we get instead of peace.
I cried when I wrote this song. Sue me if I play too long.
Yeah, fwf,
we want to have a full stomach when the bomb drops, after all.
Knowing Trump, it would have to be "Donnie and Vlad's..."
Have a fun weekend, friend!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
They "compromised"
Beef first, Vladdy first.
Somebody had to be more magnanimous, and President Blowhard prevailed.
I cried when I wrote this song. Sue me if I play too long.
Crickets are a meat
and they are expensive, even in places where they are eaten regularly. I doubt anyone is putting them in flour to save money. More likely they are cutting cricket flour with regular wheat flour so they can sell you a pound of something you can titillate dinner guests with that doesn't cost as much.
Good morning, ban nock!
If i decide one day to pay big bucks for edible bugs, I hope someone will report it to the State Bar and get my license yanked. It is an affront that people just might not know the crickets are in the product. If folks desire crickets and mealworms, it's on them.
Enjoy your weekend, friend!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Good morning otc, thanks for the OT. Just started to
write a comment when we had a powerr outage, but only lasted a little over an hour, nonetheless, crashed the whole damn house.
Dunno what Goodwill has become, but when I ws a kid, it, as opposed to the Starvation Army, hired a lot of disadvantaged people and gave them steady jobs and sometimes prepared them to join the regular "normal" workforce. I had a second or third cousin who had had scarlet fever at a very young age, he could read and write and liked to build models but couldn't talk for shit. He made noises and his parents could sometimes understand a lot of it due to constant exposure but my brother and I rally couldn't get any of it. Anyway, most of the stuff people donated needed repairs, fix-ups, clean up and inspection for defects and he worked full time for them doing all that stuff. His folks sold us that most of the people who did that kind of thing and handled warehouse jobs and "floor" jobs were, for some reason or other, unemployable when they hired them, and a moderate number eventually were able to work real jobs after a while. In any event, whether they ever graduated or not, they had steady jobs and regular paychecks even like they still had to live at home like he did.
Haven't tuned in to anything about the big beautiful meeting yet, but I had no expectations other than that the war would continue, and it seems so far that I was correct. Thanks to the electronic downtime we're gonna have to hit farmers' market and reset all devices and such before I'll get a chance to watch your vids or tune into all the sources I read + the Military Summary Channel.
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 morning, el!
We typically have to re-set the clock on the stove and microwave, as nothing else needs attention after an outage. We have them when ice forms on the power lines, or trees fall on them. Outages aren't a thing here unless there is a hurricane or extremely rare ice storm. What the hell is going on out there?
Well, I guess I was actually correct that peace wasn't really the point of the summit.
Enjoy your weekend Dear Friend and have a Great Reset!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Many possible specific causes but overall the
problem is a monopoly provider with a captive regulator. In this cse, we had some early morning showers after hot dry summer which mkes 2 causes likely 1) somebody lost it and put a vehicle into a power pole or 2) - in this cse virtually certain, accumulated detritus on pole mounted transformers arcs once sufficiently wet and transformer blows up - my wife heard it blow.
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 --
Goodwill here in the PNW
will not accept anything that is not in perfect condition or brand new.
And not many challenged workers that I can determine.
It's not something you can ask.
And their prices are more like new product or even more.
I stopped shopping there entirely.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Just spent the morning
shopping a citywide garage/yard/barn sale and scored a pull behind 4 ft. wide leaf picker upper for $75, almost brand new. Its got a huge hopper.and will hookup to my Kabota readily.
Winning!
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
The third stage of Putinism
What is sometimes called developed Putanism, seems to be fairly stable, though it might not be so great for citizens especially of the republics.
I'm sure Putin is well aware of how it all ended for Gaddafi, Hussien, and Ceaușescu. I'm sure he'd rather end up like his buddy Assad, or even better Hun Sen. The problem with authoritarian dictatorships is it's really hard to get old and leave power unless you have a son like N Korea's Kim.
I wonder who has written more executive orders so far
this year, Vlad or the orange one. I also wonder which is more sycophantic the Duma or US Congress. Which one has called out the troops to occupy its own cities more too. I already know which country's oligarchs have more power, and it doesn't start with R.
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 --
See my like-minded
comment below.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Interesting.
I consider Putin to be far less authoritarian than US presidents, as Executive Orders are now an every day occurrence.
Russia doesn't have their military on their streets.
We do.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
The 5th stage of EU-ism.
Jimmah doreh gets it...stop with neocon press releases.
Ursula was watching him get arrested
AND SAID IT ANYWAY!
She needs to get that Russiaphobia treated real soon before she and the EU get bombed into oblivion.
None are so blind...
Glad to hear from you, friend!
Enjoy your weekend, and thanks for the Jimmy clip!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
As usual, Larry Johnson has an interesting take
More here:
The Putin Trump Summit: A Triumph for Putin, A Disaster for the Neocons
“The story around the world gives a silent testimony:
— The Beresovka mammoth, frozen in mud, with buttercups in his mouth…..”
The Adam and Eve Story, Chan Thomas 1963
Thanks, ovals
I am gonna read it right now.
I am just relieved the summit, while not accomplishing much, did not blow up spectacularly by Trump doing something nutty, as is his way.
And I thought Shrub Bush was an embarrassment...Then comes Biden, and Trump...Is goofy ass AOC next?
Some pundits are predicting the EU is spoiling for WWIII, like 3rd time's a charm. Ordinary people the world over want peace. And we will be the ones in uniform, packing guns, dying like flies, to enrich certain banks and corporations.
I wish we could round those corporate elites, drop in a desert, instruct them to pound sand.
Enjoy your weekend, and I hope it includes finding good news, good conversation, good food, and a bunch of good laughs!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Well, duh...
I dropped the link to this in my OT just before I headed for bed. Didn't read it until just now!
I hope everyone reads it. Short, to the point, and it is pretty encouraging to see that after many in the left lost all confidence in MSNBC, that many in the right are now seeing Fox News for what it is.
In fact, both sides are beginning to face up to the fact that all media is just lies and propaganda. Everybody lies to us about everything.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Actual peace on earth is an elusive state of being.
I too felt a significant sense of relief at the prospect of a cordial relationship negotiating our differences and hopefully finding some common interests in the process. But as soon as Lindsay Graham gets Trump’s ear out on the golf course a shift back toward belligerence and antagonism should be expected. The disappointed Neo-Cons are not just going to give up their game over a handshake and a couple of smiles in Alaska.
But still, I can hope.
“The story around the world gives a silent testimony:
— The Beresovka mammoth, frozen in mud, with buttercups in his mouth…..”
The Adam and Eve Story, Chan Thomas 1963
Lindsay would never be alone with Trump
if I were Melania!
I think Trump gets all excited by MIC contracts and a corporate CEO getting richer. The Deals. The rush.
Trump and Graham are such weirdos. And they hold tremendous power. Sickening.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Forget this was published in The Epoch Times.
I live in a community of small farms. This article is so true.
"Modern farming is destroying small communities as we move more and more toward the “go big or go home” model—thousands of acres of the same monocrop, managed by one or two people on a tractor spraying chemicals. What used to be 20 or 30 small farms—each with a household and family that supported the local restaurant, gas station, feed store, and the veterinarian are replaced by a single sprawling operation with no animals, no neighbors, and no community."
https://www.theburningplatform.com/2025/08/16/the-death-of-the-small-far...
The farmer that put his farm up to secure a $7.5 million loan to just try to return to love of the land, humane animal treatment, and community is a hero.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Thee official anthem of Goodwill
I believe scenes of just large warehouse room is a central processing center for Goodwill...just a guess..
The US housing problem explained
...it's not Jerome Powell
I cued this for the last several minutes which summarizes the key points. The author doesn't discuss any other issues beyond those that affect housing.
I couldn't help but thinking of my defense economics professor who emphasized "opportunity costs." You can spend hundreds of billions on a world spanning network of over 800 foreign military installations or you could find other ways to better use national resources. You could house your people or you could wage continuous wars killing people all over the world. Just about all the studies show a 4.5 to 7 million unit housing shortage across the US.
The irony is that Trump tariff, trade and immigration policies are making the problem worse.
語必忠信 行必正直
That was fascinating, soryang!
I had never thought about permitting and zoning as the culprit of the housing crisis in this country.
We do have a crappy permit process here where I live, but no zoning. An apartment complex is going to be built in our community within walking distance to the high school. Traffic will be sucky, but it will give some young people some way to move out of their parent's homes.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Needless to say
I'm personally quite affected by this situation. This is why my former neighbors take the risk of losing their homes a third time rather than face the absurd housing market in the US.
I noticed the host said that Houston was one of the better markets because it had less zoning and a more realistic permitting process or something to that effect.
Thanks for the OT today OntheCusp.
語必忠信 行必正直
I am probably 48 miles from Houston's city limit.
Houston allows apartments and condos to be built anywhere if not blocked by subdivision Property Owner's Associations. There are apartments and condos all over downtown, right next to office complexes, hospital districts, and shopping malls. Most family residences are inside subdivisions, but not all.
I remember about 10 to 15 years ago, my atty pal had to leave his fancy home west of downtown due to hurricane-driven flooding of The Bayou. He and his millionaire pals just moved into apartments on the opposite side of I-10W, right at the entrance of the fancy subdivision. They were able to drive the same distances to work, to shop, whatever, and just looked at the experience as "glamping".
There are ways to use property to secure loans on new homes. Let the banks do the worrying. One thing I would not risk is to live in a hurricane/flood area home where no insurance is available at the exact same time FEMA is being disappeared.
A smaller, cheaper home is better than no home at all, at least imho.
I wouldn't want to be in your friends' situation. Very tragic, soryang.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981