10/19 Open Thread - Rainforest Day
~~ Amazon Rainforest Journey
THAT
is what is wrong with the world today! I searched a picture sharing site for "Rainforest" and THAT came up as responsive. Worse yet, a large number of people "faved" it. We are so self centered, so completely all about ourselves, our doings, our possessions and our style that we can't see the forest or the trees! I wonder if anybody on that "journey" actually set foot in so much as the outer margins of the forest, a meter off of the paved pathway or stopped to examine a bug, flower or leaf. The rainforests drive our ecosystem, and like it, they are dying, but to far, far too many they are but a photo op, a place to display goods and acquisitions and perhaps take some selfies. Hell, this is closer to being a rainforest than that is, at least it is outdoors, even if it is in a desert.
```
032012coyote1
Of course, that could well be where we are heading, especially with respect to that very amazon rainforest:
Amazon near tipping point of switching from rainforest to savannah – studyhttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/oct/05/amazon-near-tipping-...
/rant off
NB - I considered going with Multicultural Diversity Day, but there is something horribly wrong linguistically there. I mean, as opposed to what? Multicultural uniformity? Multicultural homogeneity? It just doesn't work.
On this day in history:
202 BC – The Romans beat Hannible at the Battle of Zama ending the Second Punic War
439 – The Vandals took Carthage
1386 – The Universität Heidelberg held its first lecture
1469 – Ferdinand II of Aragon married Isabella I of Castile, leading to the unification of Spain, The Spanish Inquisition, Columbus' voyages, and a host of other horrors.
1781 – The siege of Yorktown came to an end.
1789 – John Jay was sworn in as the first Chief Justice of the United States.
1812 – Napoleon began his retreat from Moscow.
1900 – Max Planck discovered Planck's law of black-body radiation.
1912 – Italy took what is now Libya from the Ottoman Empire.
1935 – The League of Nations placed economic sanctions on Italy for its invasion of Ethiopia.
1943 – Streptomycin was isolated by researchers at Rutgers University.
1944 – A coup was launched against Juan Federico Ponce Vaides, beginning the ten-year Guatemalan Revolution. This led to a brief period of democracy which, of course, forced the US to stage a coup against it because there is nothing the US hates more than actual democracy abroad.
1960 – The US imposed a near-total trade embargo against Cuba.
1973 – Nixon rejected a Court decision requiring him to turn over the Watergate tapes.
1987 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 22% (But the real economy kept on going, hmmmmm, why is it nobody ever sees the lack of any linkage here?)
1987 – The United States Navy attacked two Iranian oil platforms in the Persian Gulf.
2005 – Our one-time great buddy Saddam Hussein went on trial in Baghdad for crimes against humanity, some of which we enabled.
Some people who were born on this day:
“Rise and demand; you are a burning flame.
You are sure to conquer there where the final horizon
Becomes a drop of blood, a drop of life,
Where you will carry the universe on your shoulders,
Where the universe will bear your hope.”
~~ Miguel Angel Asturias
879 – Yingtian, empress of the Khitan Liao Dynasty about which most us were taught absolutely nothing, like where, when, or what it was
1688 – William Cheselden, surgeon and anatomist
1784 – Leigh Hunt, poet and critic
1810 – Cassius Marcellus Clay, journalist, lawyer, and diplomat
1850 – Annie Smith Peck, mountaineer and academic
1858 – George Albert Boulenger, zoologist and botanist
1868 – Bertha Knight Landes, academic and politician
1879 – Emma Bell Miles, writer, poet, and artist
1882 – Umberto Boccioni, painter and sculptor
1895 – Lewis Mumford, historian, sociologist, and philosopher
1899 – Miguel Ángel Asturias, journalist, author, and poet
1907 – Roger Wolfe Kahn, bandleader and composer
1909 – Marguerite Perey, physicist and academic
1910 – Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, astrophysicist, astronomer, and mathematician
1910 – Paul Robert, lexicographer and publisher
1916 – Jean Dausset, immunologist and academic
1916 – Emil Gilels, pianist
1916 – Minoru Yasui, soldier, lawyer, and activist
1917 – Sharadchandra Shankar Shrikhande, mathematician
1917 – Walter Munk, oceanographer, author, and academic
1922 – Jack Anderson, journalist and author
1926 – Arne Bendiksen, singer, songwriter, and producer
1926 – Joel Feinberg, philosopher and academic
1927 – Pierre Alechinsky, painter and illustrator
1931 – John le Carré, spook and author
1934 – Dave Guard, folk music singer, songwriter, arranger, and musician
1936 – James Bevel, civil rights activist and minister
1940 – Larry Chance, singer and songwriter
1944 – George McCrae, singer
1944 – Peter Tosh, singer, songwriter, and guitarist
1945 – Divine, Divine
1945 – Gloria Jones, singer and songwriter
1945 – John Lithgow, John Whorfin, actor
1945 – Jeannie C. Riley, singer
1946 – Keith Reid, songwriter and lyricist
1948 – Patrick Simmons, singer, songwriter ,and guitarist
1951 – Demetrios Christodoulou, mathematician and physicist
1957 – Dorinda Clark-Cole, singer, songwriter, and pianist
1957 – Karl Wallinger, singer, songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
1960 – Ayuo Takahashi, singer and songwriter
1960 – Dan Woodgate, musician, songwriter, composer, and record producer
1962 – Bendik Hofseth, saxophonist and composer
Some people who died on this day:
When a great genius appears in the world you may know him by this sign: that the dunces are all in confederacy against him.
~~ Johnathan Swift
1745 – Jonathan Swift, satirist and essayist
1897 – George Pullman, engineer and businessman
1937 – Ernest Rutherford, physicist and chemist
1943 – Camille Claudel, sculptor and illustrator
1944 – Dénes Konig, mathematician
1945 – N. C. Wyeth, painter and illustrator
1950 – Edna St. Vincent Millay, poet and playwright
1956 – Isham Jones, saxophonist, songwriter, and bandleader
1988 – Son House, singer and guitarist
1995 – Don Cherry, trumpet player
1997 – Glen Buxton, guitarist and songwriter
2005 – Ryan Dallas Cook, trombonist
2007 – Winifred Asprey, mathematician and computer scientist
2013 – John Bergamo, drummer and composer
2013 – Ronald Shannon Jackson, drummer and composer
2014 – John Holt, singer and songwriter
2014 – Raphael Ravenscroft, saxophonist and composer
2016 – Phil Chess, record producer. In its heyday, Chess Records had a huge stable of top notch musicians such that any performer could, if they got lucky, have a backing band including folks like Willie Dixon, Otis Spann, Muddy Waters, Jimmy Rogers, Little Walter and the like. It was really a place like no other.
Some Holidays, Holy Days, Festivals, Feast Days, Days of Recognition, and such:
Rainforest Day
Multicultural Diversity Day
LGBT Center Awareness Day
Today's Tunes
MUSIC GOES HERE; FIRST ARTIST
Rainforest Day
Multicultural Diversity Day
Dave Guard
Larry Chance (Philly doo wop)
George McCrae
Peter Tosh
Keith Reid
Patrick Simmons
Isham Jones
Son House
John Holt
Phil Chess
Image is public domain
Ok, it's an open thread, so it's up to you folks now. What's on your mind?
Cross posted from http://caucus99percent.com
Open Thread, Rainforest Day, Max Planck, streptomycin, Johnathan Swift, Peter Tosh, Son House, Phil Chess
Comments
One of the concerns regarding virtual experience
.
as you astutely pointed out, is the experiential disconnect growing by living
in this digital universe. If one wants to actually wants to experience the rain
forest, it would require physical travel and all that entails.
Perhaps understanding something without touching anything beyond a
digital device stands-in now for felt appreciation? Dunno.
Doesn't leave the same impression to my mind.
This is funny from the Onion --
Protestors Criticized For Looting Businesses Without Forming Private Equity Firm First
https://theonion.com/protestors-criticized-for-looting-businesses-withou...
Anyway, thanks for kick-starting the week. Your searches of history are amazing.
Zionism is a social disease
Good morning Cap'n q. That is a truly hilarious headline.
One must admit that to be a truly fetching scarf, and I'm sure that the wearer took grat pains with her wardrobe selection for that day's "adventure".
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...
Interesting story about the "rainforest" picture. Duck duck delivers a variety of shots like this one:
I don't see how your lede photo has anything to do with "rainforest". Interesting.
None the less, thanks for the OT and all the music!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Good morning Lookout. The connection is the poster's
caption "Amazon Rainforest Journey", which I suspect was a high end river cruise for which her garb was de rigeur, especially during cocktails or lunch. The fact that the poster gave it that caption is indicative of exactly what the wearer and an entire class of persons expected to get out of said journey and in fact the entirety of what they did get out of it.
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!
A left wing President was in office the first trip to the Amazon Rainforest. The guide gave us a lecture on the strict control of logging in Ecuador. A right wing President held the office on my second trip. The guide gave a lecture on how the lumber business was more important for the economy than having some rainforest.
A third trip might be a "nothing to see here" event.
Thanks, el! Interesting OT, as always, 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. Soon to be replaced by
the sacred trinity of logging, mining and cattle I suspect. Such is life.
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 irony department
.
Priest killed by falling crucifix during Mass.
In the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, Ecuador.
https://rt-english.com/news/647383-crucifix-kills-priest-equador/
Talk about dying for your faith.
In other news - U.S. President Donald Trump’s approval rating has fallen to a new low of 33%
Winning!
https://www.telesurenglish.net/trump-approval-falls-to-new-low-of-33-two...
Zionism is a social disease
Dang, that's some kind of video. Truly an act of god.
Perhaps there is some sort of message about livestreaming the sacrament?
Guayaquil is where we cought a flight to the Galapagos, maybe the principal airport for such flights. It is also the place from whence my favorite brand of Yerba Mate' comes, harvested, packed and shipped by an indigenous cooperative.
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 --
Not being of the Catholic persuasion
.
have little idea what a sacrament actually is
but it rhymes with sacrifice which happens to
coincide with the unfortunate episode. Makes
one wonder. The lord works in mysterious ways.
Or so I've heard.
Zionism is a social disease
And, in response
to that actual tragedy, there's already been a very funny and cynical deepfake published on Xitter:
https://x.com/PaulleyTicks/status/2111984533604290796/video/1
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
Xlitter does have its humorous aspects
there are many creative posters there. Have yet to fathom
access to that platform. Prolly entails sharing personal data
which I try to minimize. Data harvesters are rampant. That's
why I don't Google, Facebook, What's App or many others.
May miss out on a portion of available info, but putting on the
brakes sometimes makes sense.
Zionism is a social disease
At the moment...
...I consider Donald Trump to be an active form of Divine Retribution. Hence all the paintings of Trump depicted as an angel — or as the embodiment of Jesus.
It certainly seems to be playing out that way.
I spent over an hour
sorting through 8 totes and boxes, all things from my office kitchen. I picked out several pots and pans I can use, kept a few knives, a spatula, some coffee cups, but the rest of the kitchen ware will be donated to the local Senior Citizens Resale Shop.
I couldn't think of any friend who might need to stock up their RV or deer camp cabin, so the Seniors can make bank.
I loaded it up in the truck, but hope the guy who volunteers there can unload it for me. Cast iron pots are heavy!
Graham's legacy sanctions law against Russia didn't hold up very long. I can't figure out why Democrats are uniformly pro Ukie Neo Nazis, but anti Iran conflict.
It is interesting in a superficial way. They haven't blocked the bill merging our military surveillance with Israel's, suggesting everyone in Washington are Israel Firsters.
Elections matter! Srsly!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Dems are DEEEEP in denial
that there are any Nazis, Neo or otherwise, in Ukraine. (For that matter the Reps don't talk about it much either.) There's a ginormous legacy of Russia-hate that I don't think we'll see much if any abatement of in the next century or two. And how much of it is actually lust for Russia's untapped resources?
There is no justice. There can be no peace.
The great irony of
being slavish to Israel and hating Russia sort of glosses over the fact that the Bolsheviks were Jews who killed 22 million Russian Christians.
I don't think it is deep denial. It is wanting to steal resources. Where is the Democratic Party rage over the theft of Venezuelan oil or the kidnap and imprisonment of the Maduros?
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
The particular Cognitive Dissonance you describe:
.
.... is a classic intellectual failure, the root cause of which is gov-media brain-washing.
Those suffering from this disorder are unable to perceive it at all. They are flooded with emotional programming that defies rationality.
Or to keep their donors
happy? I hear the term Uniparty a lot nowadays. I believe it aptly describes our "two party" system. These people are paid not to think, or say what they think. Not all of them are stupid.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
The Due Dissidence silly geese
"The French are going to fail because they have no institutions of dual power!" "Destroying buildings is only going to help LePen!" Sure, fine, dual power is necessary. But, no, something this big hasn't happened before. Odds are, then, that the French, who used to be a well-educated bunch and might still be such a thing now, are somewhere planning systems of dual power, and that y'all New York podcasters have just simply not found it yet. Keep looking.
And, as for the US:
"The US is also a one-party state, but with typical American extravagance, they have two of them." -- Julius Nyerere
An alternate perspective, from France
"The US is also a one-party state, but with typical American extravagance, they have two of them." -- Julius Nyerere
I cannot believe how upset Western Civilization seems to be
.
....about the recent proposed peace summit between China, the US, and Russia to settle the Ukraine Proxy War on Russia. Particularly distressed are the NATO Neocons, who envision themselves as the new global military (spending) force that will soon control the entire world (ie. the Global South) as they enforce the New Imperialist Global Rules. These ongoing panic reactions have been truly revealing.
.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was not invited to the summit.
As a proxy, he has no resources of his own, and he commands no popular support in Ukraine..
.
Um...
I do not see this as consequential.
1) The West has too much money invested in the ownership of Ukraine and in war against Russia, and so cannot stop because business as usual means paying people off and in shielding bankrupt business ledgers from public exposure. I think this explains why the Trump idea of negotiations is limited to the exxtraction of concessions.
2) Russia is still fighting the Russian Civil War of 1917-1922, albeit on different ideological grounds. The Russians have lost far too many troops (oh, sure, far less than did the Ukrainians, but still...) to settle for a peace that would leave them unsatisfied in any way. Ukraine, after all, is not really a nation, but rather Lenin's attempt to deal with the aftermath of said civil war.
3) The Chinese have no say in any of this.
"The US is also a one-party state, but with typical American extravagance, they have two of them." -- Julius Nyerere
Not quite sure of what to make of this but if I were to hazard
a guess about the intent of it I doubt that it is altruistic.
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/19/elon-musk-spacex-shares-giveaway-kids.html
However it does seem to match Trump offering
bribes, post dated chequeenticements to the rubes in attendance at every campaign stop that he is doing..Elon is
throwing all his weight and $ behind Trump. They kissed and made up.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Trumpet should halt campaigning for repubs
.
he has become more of a liability - snake poison if you will
savvy pols are beginning to sense this. Being an R is bad enough.
Dragging an unpopular prez into the fray only diminishes their chances.
Zionism is a social disease