@Snode Assuming that is even possible.
Finding info that isn't full of "Dems are commies" and "Repubs are Nazis" and that just sticks to facts and timelines of events is, indeed, difficult. It appears to me that the left/right fight to the death that is being shaped up for us completely bypasses TPTB at the tip top, leaving them unscathed, in full control, ready to pounce on every trace of assets we little people have.
Elections and voting only rarely nets the voters what they actually voted for. I have witnessed this all my 73 years of life. They give the winners some sense of power and authority they do not acquire. Elections fire up the losers to push back hard. Elections only increase the existing tensions.
In the land of the fee, you are free to cast a ballot to perpetuate the existing system, but if you stand and speak words that criticize the government, you could get murdered by an agent of saaaid government.
Where I scratch my head is the defense by the police that they have a right to shoot if their legal commands are not followed. Someone show me the legal definition of "legal commands". Does that include telling a person to stop walking, talking, driving, sitting, running, etc...", despit our right to free speech, free movement, and right to congregate?
I will have more coffee, at an expensive, tariff-driven price, and think about these things while I remember to treasure friendship.
Enjoy your weekend as best you can, my friend.

There are so many people writing about what is wrong, why it happened and what should be done. By someone. I don't see any leaders. I see no plan. I hear about how we have to fight back, somehow. The ones we kept electing to fight for us, don't. It feels like we're being provoked to fight back as an excuse to have martial law imposed on us. It doesn't even feel like this is driven by ideology, more a bunch of people hit by hard times, conspiracy theorists and wackos just wanting to open fire on the libs, defined as anybody who doesn't agree with them.

So, there's an election coming up, and we get to vote for the lesser of 2 evils, listen to the inspiring Chuck Schumer, watch the primary farce, and most of all, send money.

Thanks for the OT.

@Lookout Seems you needed that rain, so good for you and your vegetation.
Nima has been in Tehran for at least 2 weeks, hasn't seen any protests or riots. If they are occurring, I have to believe it is the usual groups of spies that are engineering it.
Funny...we usually hate Shahs, but now, we really like one and want him to take back the Iranian government...for us, of course.
I will now use a commonly used term attorneys employ to describe certain criminals: baby fucker. Trump is a renown baby fucker. That tells us all we need to know about his morality guiding his behavior. If he couldn't stop himself from sexual assault of children, let's not expcect him to apply any other morality to mass murder and theft.
I slept late, and still have another cup of coffee to drink. It's Saturday!
Be well, dear friend!

An all day yesterday, last night, and this morning rain here. May be done now with 3.2" in the rain gauge.

As to Iran's protests, by guess is Mossad, CIA, MI6 NGO paid for protests...similar to Syria, Ukraine, Bangladesh, ... Trying to weaken Iran prior to the up coming bombing runs.

Feels odd to be a blatant rogue lawless state. It isn't really new, but no longer attempted to keep our illegality hidden.

Did you hear the Don yesterday when he was asked what are your restraints? He said he's not bound by law and the only thing that will restrain him is his morality.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-vene...

Donald Trump has insisted he doesn’t need to abide by international law and the only constraint keeping his power in check is his own morality.

That clearly shows we are in a world of trouble!

Have a great weekend and thanks for the OT!

@soryang Oligarchies here, in SK, in Europe, and Africa, Canada, and Central and S. America, depend on trade with China. It is the anchor of all their economies. Yet, I do not remember push back from them when Obama announced his pivot to Asia.
From what I am reading about the awesome Trump theft of Venezuelan oil, seems he didn't check out the plan with Big Oil until after the fact. They do not appear to want it, and are pissed that oil prices are dropping. Oopsie.
I sipped my final cup of coffee while listening to that enchanting music video. I pretended it was tea.
I have a travel pal who just returned home from a visit to Japan. Visiting shrines, spending time with old friends, and I would place a large bet that history of war, and current tensions with China, efforts for Japan to re-arm, were not mentioned. Talk about a missed opportunity!
Anyway, she lives in San Antonio, a city that has managed to retain its' unique culture. Rumors fly that developers are buying up property alongside I-35 and intend to make it all work like a mega city. If that comes to pass, the culture of SA will be inauthentic, presented to visitors by paid actors.
I hope you enjoyed it.
Have a great weekend, friend!

I came across a recent video discussion, I think it was CGTN the Chinese channel on youtube which included Emmanuel Pastriech as a panelist. The dialogue was probably about President's Lee Jae-myung's visit to China if I remember correctly. My recall is that he spoke critically of a US-Japan anti-China campaign, relating it to their fallen avatar and would be dictator of South Korea, Yoon Seok-seol.

The faltering "grass roots" anti-China campaign in South Korea continues, of course; I've seen recently the proverbial white guy PHD at a Korean university on another similar CGTN insisting anti-China sentiment is a popular grass roots movement in South Korea. Kelly said only leftists favor relations with China. This is absurd as KJ Noh pointed out. Are the chaebol leaders of the major Korean corporations leftists? They're the ones who want their trade with China restored and upgraded after the deleterious events of the last several years led by the US and the extreme right in South Korea.

I'm recalling this about Pastreich from memory, because I couldn't find the video discussion on youtube again after I watched it. It's likely been pulled. My description could be inaccurate but that's all I have. I may have mistaken some of the issues.

Pastreich is a little weird. He was a green and then independent candidate for US president who failed miserably. I think he is not attractive enough in the photogenic sense, and also too bookish as a prolific author and master of East Asian languages. He's had a "gold spoon" background, and has attended the most prestigious schools. The moneyed class would never support his radical views of the US.

In a Ted talk (I rarely if ever watch these, I was searching for the video I couldn't find) Pastreich did quite a few years ago, he said he found living in South Korea difficult when he was first there, in the early nineties to study. Then he had a vision of his deceased grandmother in a dream, telling him to persevere or something like that. I view this as a very Asian like experience. The ancestor, a westerner oddly enough, telling him to realize his potential in a very Confucian way. I know Pastreich is off in his transcultural world, he's written many books. So this is another reason he's not going to appeal to many.

In any case I found by chance this article he published Dec. 29 which many may disagree with, but makes some points-

Why Is the United States Drawn to War? It's the oligarchy stupid

He reminded me of the Neo-Confucian uprising against late dynastic corruption in the Goryeo Dynasty. This was depicted in the historical Kdrama series Six Flying Dragons, based upon that revolution installing Neo-Confucian ethics to redistribute wealth, eliminate corrupt elties, and thereby reestablish and revitalize a stable government and society. The new social theory shared a repudiation of feudal corruption of governance by hereditary aristocracy, and sought ethical governance by officials selected for merit. Not a new idea but lost in the social decay of the time.

The ebb and flow of philosophical, religious or cosmological belief, and social theory is discussed in To Become a Sage (these are lengthy excerpts from the book, the roots in China, the changes in Korea). To me this parallels in some respects factors presented in Europe by French and Russian revolutions.

AI summary of early monarchs of Yi Dynasty

After General Yi Seong-gye founded the Joseon (Yi) Dynasty, his second son, Yi Bang-gwa (King Jeongjong), became the second king, followed by his fifth son, Yi Bang-won (King Taejong), who truly stabilized the dynasty after political struggles, with Yi Bang-won's son, Yi Do (King Sejong the Great), becoming the fourth king and ushering in a golden age.

Statesman/scholar/revolutionary/neo-Confucian Jeong Dojeon (left) and Prince Yi Bang-won (right)

More AI on the philosophical/religious foundation of Yi Dynasty and Yi Bang-won, pragmatic/ruthless/prince and third monarch on Yi Dynasty, father of King Sejong the Great, (founder of the written Korean language) who later lead a cultural renaissance in Korea.

The Neo-Confucian scholar most critical to establishing the Yi Dynasty (Joseon) in Korea was Chŏng To-jŏn (Jeong Dojeon), a key advisor to Yi Sŏng-gye (Taejo), who formulated the new government's legal and administrative systems, making Neo-Confucianism the state ideology by replacing Buddhism. His mentor, Yi Saek, also played a vital role in introducing Neo-Confucianism to the late Goryeo era, laying the intellectual groundwork for the Yi Dynasty's founding.

I know it's out in "left" field, but it reminds me of Emmanuel Todd's work on the fall of the West, corruption and the decline of an ethical foundation.

Used to visit San Antonio years ago when we lived in Texas. Looking forward to Alistair's Celente's take (?). Thanks for the OT!