Month: January 2024

IST Saturday News Dump–06Jan24

A new year begins and the news is about the same as the old….war raging….US paying for everybody’s conflicts….Donald the Orange is shooting off his mouth….Congress is still useless and I am still here.

Now that the fire ban has been lifted I will be grilling wild boar ribs with sweet potatoes and beans.

Speaking of grilling….do you ever grill your hot dogs?  If so you might want to re-think the decision.

Naturally, we recognize that everything we feed our bodies has some sort of impact. For example, we know that foods high in calcium will have a positive impact on our bone health, while excessive calories can cause weight gain. Did you know, however, that what you eat can impact your lifespan? According to this new research, the foods you consume can either add or take away minutes from your life.

This is bad news for anyone who enjoys the occasional hot dog, as this food apparently will take 36 minutes off your life from eating just one. The researchers say it is because of the dangers of eating processed meats. Foods such as other processed meats, sugary drinks, and even breakfast sandwiches didn’t fare any better.

Researchers at the University of Michigan evaluated more than 5,800 foods by the minutes you gain or lose when you eat them, as well as their environmental impact. They used the Health Nutritional Index to determine the “net beneficial or detrimental health burden in minutes of healthy life associated with a serving of food consumed,”.(2)

They broke down each food based on their dietary risk factors and disease burdens. Each food ranged between 74 minutes of life lost and 80 minutes gained per serving. The foods were then placed in one of three categories, red, yellow, or green, with red being the most harmful and green being the healthiest.

New study claims eating just 1 hot dog reduces your life by 36 minutes

The big news from the world of guns….NRA prez resigns.

The longtime head of the National Rifle Association said Friday he is resigning, just days before the start of a New York civil trial that’s poised to scrutinize his leadership of the powerful gun rights organization. Wayne LaPierre, the executive vice president and chief executive officer, said his departure is effective Jan. 31, per the AP. He had been in charge of the NRA since 1991. Andrew Arulanandam will become the interim CEO, the organization said.

“With pride in all that we have accomplished, I am announcing my resignation from the NRA,” LaPierre said in a statement released by the organization. “I’ve been a card-carrying member of this organization for most of my adult life, and I will never stop supporting the NRA and its fight to defend Second Amendment freedom. My passion for our cause burns as deeply as ever.” A trial in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit against the NRA, LaPierre, and others who have served as organization executives is scheduled to start on Monday. LaPierre is among the witnesses expected to testify.

James accuses LaPierre and other executives of illegally diverting tens of millions of dollars from the NRA and spending organization funds on personal trips, no-show contracts, and other questionable expenditures. James is seeking to ban LaPierre and the other executives from serving in the leadership of any not-for-profit or charitable organization conducting business in New York, which would effectively remove them from any involvement with the NRA.

Good-bye to trash.

One of the guys with the “Right Stuff” believes aliens have a secret base…..

Could the truth about aliens be hiding in Earth’s oceans? A scientist entertains the idea that aliens might exist beneath us rather than hovering in the skies above.

Kevin Knuth, who served at NASA’s Ames Research Center from 2001 to 2005, proposed the idea of aliens having a secret base underwater during an episode of the “Theories of Everything” podcast.

Knuth contends that it would make perfect sense for aliens to reside underwater, given that 75% of the Earth’s surface is water, and we really have very little access to it.”

In an interview with The Daily Star, he stated if aliens were “going to hide out somewhere, that’s perfect.”

This notion aligns with previous suspicions that aliens might be located in the mysterious Bermuda Triangle, notorious for its history of disappearing aircraft and other unexplained phenomena.

The scientist argued that beings from aquatic environments would find planets with bodies of water more suitable for habitation. According to Knuth, atmospheres on various planets exhibit extreme temperature fluctuations, making living on the surface challenging. In contrast, oceans provide a more stable and comfortable environment for extraterrestrial life.

https://www.frontpagedetectives.com/p/former-nasa-scientist-aliens-hiding-in-ocean

Finally the last bit….ever wonder why most dogs have brown eyes?

A new study claims to have answered the question of why most dogs have brown eyes, reports the Guardian. In a new paper at Royal Society Open Science, researchers in Japan make the case that humans view dark-eyed dogs as friendlier, even if subconsciously. In comparison, their wild wolf cousins tend to have lighter eyes. When humans began domesticating and breeding dogs, they evidently put their thumb on the scale of evolution by favoring animals with brown eyes. Researchers showed people’s preference for darker eyes by asking dozens of study participants to rate the friendliness of dogs in photos, per Smithsonian. The subjects were actually shown two photos of the same dog, but with the eyes photoshopped to be either light or dark.

“Not only was there a clear eye color difference between wolves and dogs but also we found that dogs with darker eyes are perceived as more friendly and immature by humans,” lead author Akitsugu Konno of the Teikyo University of Science in Japan tells Newsweek. “This finding suggests that humans may unconsciously select for dark eyes because they seem less threatening and being protected by humans, which might be more evolutionarily adaptable to domestic dogs.”

And there is the answer to the timeless question.

The news was boring as we start a new year…..hopefully it will get better and more hopeful.

Enjoy the weekend and as always….Be Well and Be Safe…..

I Read, I write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–05Jan24

Do you take pills….if so then your meds are probably expensive especially if you fighting off some disease like Diabetes.

I know Biden has brought of insulin down and to that I say ‘bless his heart’…..but what about other drugs?

Well the FDA has just made a ruling on drugs…..

Americans are known to head across the border into Canada to buy their prescription drugs at cheaper costs. Now, for the first time, a state government has received approval to do the same thing on a much larger scale. In a decision described as historic, the Food and Drug Administration has granted Florida’s request to import drugs in bulk from Canada, reports the New York Times. The pharmaceutical industry is expected to file a legal challenge before that happens, but if the move goes through, expect other states to follow suit. Details:

  • The impact: The development has the potential to “change the way Americans obtain prescription medicines and could reduce their cost,” per the Wall Street Journal. Several other states already have applications pending to the FDA, including Colorado, Maine, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Texas, Vermont, and Wisconsin.
  • However: Canada is only so big. “There are real constraints on Canada’s ability to even do this—they would basically be giving up drugs that are meant for their population to subsidize drugs for people in Florida,” Stacie Dusetzina, a health-policy professor at Vanderbilt, tells the Journal. More tellingly, a spokeswoman for Health Canada agrees: “Canada’s drug supply is too small to meet the demands of both American and Canadian consumers,” Maryse Durette tells the Times. “Bulk importation will not provide an effective solution to the problem of high drug prices in the US.”
  • Context: The Washington Post notes that the decision comes as Big Pharma appears to realize something has to give on drug prices. Eli Lilly, for example, said this week it would make its diabetes and weight-loss drugs available via telehealth, and CVS is in the midst of a major revamp of its pricing that takes effect in 2025. Both moves could result in lower prices. Politically, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis could gain bragging rights over this, as could former President Trump, whose administration pushed the importation law ahead, and President Biden, whose FDA signed off on it.
  • First drugs: Florida plans to import drugs initially for the treatment of HIV, AIDS, diabetes, hepatitis C, and mental illness, per CNN. They would be used for Medicaid patients, inmates, and other patients served by state entities, and the FDA would have to approve any such purchases after vetting them for safety and to verify savings. However, it could be awhile before all the legal hurdles get sorted out.

Something needs to be done to slow down the slugs at Big Pharma…..soon you would have to be Bezos to afford your meds.

Please do not fall the con of a Medicare Advantage Plan….it is a rip-off.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Why Is Antiwar Bad?

Since my return from Vietnam in 1970 I have been antiwar….after witnessing the brutality, devastation and death I made my choice to not support war and I have been unapologetic since those early days of my youth.

When I returned I joined the Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW)…..and to this day I feel the country owes us a debt of gratitude…..

Veterans have and continue to play, an important role in instigating social and political change in this country. One such group of veterans is the Vietnam Veterans Against the War, or VVAW: a movement of military veteran activist who, while struggling to heal from the psychological, emotional, and moral injuries of war, demanded through protests and demonstrations that our leaders fulfill their obligation to help veterans address their physical and mental health challenges, find alternative resolutions to conflict, and to bring an immediate end to the war in Southeast Asia.

Soldiers coming home from war joined VVAW members in speaking out through their poetry, short stories, novels, memoirs, and testimony to Congress and the American people about their experiences in war and afterward. Their intention was to educate the public about the horrific battlefield conditions they experienced while fighting America’s war in Vietnam, the nightmarish atrocities against innocent civilians that in many cases they may have committed, and the lack of care and horrendous conditions they suffered at Veterans Administration (VA) hospitals upon their return home.

This Nation Owes a Debt to the Vietnam Veterans Against the War

Fast forward to today….

I have not seen the need for the US to involve itself in the wars of the Balkans, Iraq, Afghanistan and all those minor incursions to include Ukraine of today.

Because of my antiwar stance I have received a lot of grief and chastisement for my opposition….everything from it is human nature to save the world for democracy and defense of the country…..yada yada.

None of which I will agree to at any point.

Many pro-war people see us antiwar activists as somehow anti-American and/or anti-democratic…..this is just plain wrong.  I have been told this on several occasions….at least these psuedo-patriots have not used the old say, ‘America love it or leave it’ that was their favorite back in the day when they had no answer for the questions asked.

The media which is mostly owned by the M-IC has lead the charge to sideline any dissent….with little to no coverage when there is a mass protest against the US involvement in these wars of adventure.

Most people get their confused and false ideas from the media and the lack of quality information and when that info is available if it does not conform to what has been instilled in the minds they lash out with idiotic reason why antiwar is not in the country’s interest.

With the Ukraine thing antiwar disclaimers, I have done so on numerous occasions, as to let the reader know that they are not pro-Putin…but these disclaimers are unnecessary…..

Over the last seventeen months, it’s become customary for those who disagree with US foreign policy on the Ukraine war to preface every objection to that policy with at least one, possibly two, disclaimers.

Disclaimer #1: The Russian invasion, they’ll concede, was “unprovoked.”

Optional Disclaimer #2: The Russian invasion, they’ll say, was “unjustified.”

I understand the impulse. They’re trying to preemptively communicate that they are “anti-war” or “anti-intervention” without being mistaken for horror of horrors, “pro-Russia.”

But those disclaimers are neither necessary nor wise.

The Russian invasion was not “unprovoked.”

For one thing, to “provoke” is, per Merriam-Webster, “to incite to anger” or to “arouse to a feeling or action.” Who decides whether Party A has been “incited” or “aroused” by Party B? Party A.

For another, Ukraine, NATO, and the US had been put on notice for quite some time (at least eight years, and actually more like 20) that Russia considered their actions provocative … and chose to continue down the same route rather than backing off or negotiating an amicable solution. The provocations were, in other words, both ongoing and intentional, not just occasional accidents.

To say that an action is “provoked,” though, is not the same thing as saying that the action is “justified.”

You might “incite me to anger” by singing loudly every time you walk past my house, but that doesn’t mean I’m justified in getting out my 12-gauge and sending you to your grave. Cutting me off in traffic may justify a honk of the horn and a selected obscenity or two. It doesn’t justify following you home and burning your house down.

Opposing War: No Disclaimers Required

I will forever remain antiwar….if that is too difficult for mental midgets to grasp then it is on them…..for it is not my problem.

I have taken my stance and shall remain firmly rooted in antiwar….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–04Jan24

Do you enjoy a game of Monopoly or Risk or Clue?

Did you enjoy the 06 January insurrection? 

If so you can now relive all the excitement in a board game.

On the third anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the US Capitol, Americans can do it all over again—on a game board. “Storm the Capitol—TrueAnon Edition,” a board game in which players relive the riot, will be released Saturday, per Newsweek. Created by the “TrueAnon” political podcast, the limited edition game allows players to assume the role of a “patriot” (whose goal is to move through the Capitol “collecting ballots, taking hostages, and fighting the police”) or that of a Capitol police officer (who works “to prevent the Patriots from getting to the roof with enough ballots to Stop the Steal”). There, Donald Trump waits with a helicopter to take “patriots” to alter the 2020 election results. If the opposing side wins the game, Joe Biden’s election is certified.

“TrueAnon” hosts Brace Belden and Liz Franczak promoted the game, sold for $64.99, on Tuesday’s episode, with Belden saying it’s “for every single person in America, on every single side of every single political issue.” Or at least those who agree with the podcast’s claim that “January 6th was about having fun with your friends—and this January 6th, that amazing feeling is coming back.” The game claims to let players “relive one of the funniest days in American history.” Belden said it was “the best day of watching TV I’ve ever had in my life” and claimed most of those who died at the Capitol “died from being too excited,” per the Independent. Franczak said playing the game was a “riot of a time.”

According to the Independent, “the game celebrates the violence of the day,” with players gaining points “by stealing ‘AOC’s shoes’ or ‘Pelosi’s laptop.'” The game—intended for players 18 and older, per Raw Story—will be sold on the podcast’s merchandise website. Newsweek reports there was a “fairly positive” online reaction, though this Reddit thread shows there’s plenty of aversion, too. “I think I speak for all sane Americans when I say ‘what the f—ing f—?” reads one comment. “When it comes to traitors, I’m partial to Hangman,” reads another. A third user said the game was “like Monopoly, but every space on the board is ‘Go to Jail.'” A fourth criticized the creators for “mocking the United States and our Democracy and our constitution.”

These d/bags will do anything to earn a buck.

Could I be the Capitol Police and use deadly force?

I will not be interested in this game or anything remotely connected to the idiots that stormed the Capitol.

Any thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Social Security Is Not Broke

It is now 2024 and in less than one year we will be voting for a president and others….I bring this up because you will probably hear some idiot rattle on about Social Security is going bankrupt….well that is just a talking point….a fear tactic to garner votes.

It is not broke and here’s why….

Millions of seniors collect monthly benefits from Social Security today — and you may be hoping that once you’re retired, you’ll get to do the same.

But you may have heard that Social Security is on its way out due to a looming financial crisis. And that’s apt to be concerning.

The good news is that Social Security is not, in fact, on the verge of bankruptcy. Its impending demise is really nothing more than a myth. However, Social Security is facing some financial challenges that workers and seniors alike need to plan for.

Social Security’s main source of funding is payroll tax revenue, and it’s for this reason that it can’t go bankrupt.

As long as there’s an active labor force, the program will have money coming in. But it may not be enough money to keep up with scheduled benefits in full, and that’s the problem.

See, in the coming years, baby boomers will continue to exit the workforce in droves, and there will be a smaller number of people entering the workforce to replace them. That’s going to lead to a revenue shortfall.

Social Security can tap its trust funds to keep up with full benefits as long as those funds have money remaining. But in about a decade’s time, they’re expected to run dry.

At that point, Social Security might have to cut benefits to the tune of about 20%. That’s not great. But it’s also a far cry from the program going bankrupt and benefits disappearing entirely.

https://www.fool.com/retirement/2023/12/24/social-securitys-impending-bankruptcy-is-nothing-m/

So you see Social Security is not as broke as some would have you believe…..do not listen to the crap that the Heritage Foundation spreads is is a myth.

While you are deciding on which useless candidate you will grace with your vote keep in mind that social security should not be an issue….at least for now.

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Dems Are Just As Corrupt

I have read many articles telling us all about the corruption within the GOP…..the stocks thing, the bribes, the under the table payments…..all maybe true but to leave the Dems out of the equation is a disservice to the readers.

I have said a few times that I had no faith in the Dems basically because they are deep down no better than those slugs in the GOP….and here is just another example of how deep it goes.

A second superseding indictment against Sen. Bob Menendez was unsealed Tuesday, accusing the New Jersey Democrat of using his political power to aid the Qatari government in return for tens of thousands of dollars in bribes. Federal prosecutors say Menendez helped to arrange a deal between a Jersey developer, Fred Daibes, and a Qatari sheikh investor, the New York Times reports. In return, prosecutors say, Menendez was paid off with cash, gold bars, Formula 1 tickets, and more. The Washington Post explains that the indictment does not add charges, but makes public for the first time new allegations of corruption against Menendez. Daibes is also charged in the case, NBC News reports.

Menendez, who is scheduled to go on trial in May and has also been accused of aiding Egypt, has so far pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him and may still run for reelection (he did, however, step down from leading the Senate Foreign Relations Committee). A spokesperson calls the latest allegations “a string of baseless assumptions and bizarre conjectures based on routine, lawful contacts between a Senator and his constituents.” Menendez is accused of making public statements praising Qatar and of giving them to Daibes so that Daibes could share them with the Qatari investor (a member of the royal family) as well as a Qatari government official during the time Daibes’ deal was in talks. Menendez also allegedly talked to the investor directly, using an encrypted messaging app, to express his support for the deal.

In case you are unaware of his other legal problems…..

More trouble for Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey: Federal prosecutors have rewritten their indictment against the senator to accuse him of acting as a foreign agent on behalf of Egypt. The superseding indictment, filed in Manhattan federal court on Thursday, accuses Menendez of violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which requires people to register with the US government if they are acting as “an agent of a foreign principal.” His wife, Nadine Menendez, is similarly charged, as is a third defendant, Wael Hana, per the New York Times. As a member of Congress, Menendez would have been prohibited from being an agent of a foreign government, even if he did register as one. The indictment says the conspiracy occurred from January 2018 to June 2022.

The Guardian previously detailed some of the allegations specific to Egypt: Menendez allegedly obtained details from the State Department about people working at the US embassy in Cairo, then turned over the information to Egyptian officials. The original indictment stated that “although this information was not classified, it was deemed highly sensitive because it could pose significant operational security concerns if disclosed to a foreign government or if made public.” The allegations also accuse Menendez of using his clout to try to increase military sales to Egypt in exchange for bribes, per the Times.

Let’s not forget all the cash stashed in his home……

Sen. Bob Menendez says he’s not stepping down from the Senate after being indicted on bribery charges—and he’s got an explanation for the cash investigators say they found stashed around his home. The New Jersey Democrat said Monday that the money found in clothes and closets was his from his own savings accounts, the Guardian reports. He said that over the last 30 years, he has withdrawn thousands of dollars of legitimately earned income from his accounts, “which I have kept for emergencies and because of the history of my family facing confiscation in Cuba.”

Menendez, who was born in the US a few months after his parents left Cuba, didn’t comment on the gold bars also mentioned in the indictment. Investigators say they found $480,000 in cash in Menendez’s home and another $70,000 in his wife’s safety deposit box. Menendez and his wife are accused of taking bribes in exchange for political favors to the government of Egypt and business associates in New Jersey, the New York Times reports. The senator said Monday that he is facing his “biggest fight yet,” but predicted that “not only will I be exonerated, I will still be New Jersey’s senior senator.”

There you go….I am not picking on one person just trying to point out that our 2 party system is so corrupt that it is destroying itself from the inside.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Climate Change Myths Debunked

2024 will be the telling year!

In less than one year we will be running to the polls to vote this way or that…..we have a year of rhetoric, lies, myths and manure to endure until the day we vote. Some will buy into the BS spread while others will be deciding for themselves what is fact and what is fiction.

One of the big issues, besides the economy, will most likely be that of climate change…so I would like to pass on the debunking of most of the rhetoric against climate change.

Climate change refers to long-term changes in precipitation, temperature, and other atmospheric conditions on Earth. It is primarily driven by natural factors such as variations in the sun’s intensity, volcanic activity, and internal processes within the Earth’s climate system.

However, human activities, such as burning fossil fuels and deforestation, have significantly contributed to the rapid increase in greenhouse gas emissions, including gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4).

These gases trap heat, leading to a warming effect known as the greenhouse effect. The enhanced greenhouse effect intensifies the Earth’s natural warming processes, contributing to the observed rise in temperatures over the years.

he average global temperatures have risen by approximately 0.08 degrees Celsius (or 0.14 degrees Fahrenheit) per decade since 1880, and this rate has more than doubled, to a rise of 0.18 degrees Celsius (or 0.32 degrees Fahrenheit), per decade since 1981.

However, the increase in temperatures has come with a rise in skepticism and doubts surrounding climate change. This skepticism, fueled by misconceptions and selective interpretations, weaves a narrative that questions the urgency of addressing our planet’s warming climate.

In this article, we shed light on some of the most common myths and arguments around climate change and provide a counterpoint rooted in scientific evidence.

https://interestingengineering.com/lists/climate-change-global-warming-co2

Our climate is a real and pressing problem…..something has to be done other than what the governments have been doing for decades….kicking the can down the road so as not to upset the corporations that contribute to our governments corruption.

As the world puts to bed the hottest year on record, the Washington Post calls attention to a study suggesting we haven’t seen anything yet. The paper by renowned climate scientist James Hansen—the New York Times notes that it was Hansen’s testimony before Congress 35 years ago that helped put the topic on the nation’s radar—warns that the pace of warming has already begun accelerating at a rate scientists have long warned about. Specifically, the study in Oxford Open Climate Change predicts that global warming is on track to spike 50% in the coming decades, with effects that could be catastrophic, per the Post. However, the above coverage, as well as a story in E&E News, make clear that other scientists disagree.

“That is very much on the high end of the range of estimates that are in the academic literature today,” Zeke Hausfather of Berkeley Earth tells the Times. Michael Mann of the University of Pennsylvania wrote a detailed blog post in rebuttal to Hansen, asserting that “the claim that warming is somehow accelerating now is no more accurate than the false claim, advanced by climate change deniers at the time, that global warming had ‘stopped’ in the first decade of the 21st century.” And Michael Oppenheimer of the Center for Policy Research on Energy and the Environment at Princeton sees Hansen’s warning as useful mainly as a “worst-worst-case scenario,” per E&E.

Hansen predicted as much: “I expect the response to be characterized by scientific reticence,” he tells E&E. The former NASA scientist calls the much-touted goal of keeping warming under 1.5 degrees Celsius “deader than a doornail,” per the Times. While many other scientists agree with that, Hansen differs in warning further that the world is poised to warm by 2 degrees Celsius by 2050. (He does offer more hope on this target, saying that a global push to reduce the use of fossil fuels could keep warming under 2 degrees.) The Times adds context, pointing out that the planet has warmed by 1.2 degrees Celsius so far and is already seeing worsening heat waves and storms.

When you vote and if the climate is high on your want list then vote to a person that will try to do something constructive….god knows they have done very little in 50 years.

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Crap On So Many Levels

Since I have a round of doctor visits set for this afternoon I am just re-posting an older post with some addendum.

No need to give me some diatribe on what one thinks of HAMAS….this is just me letting you know there are more stories about this war than the corporate owners of the news and certain lobbyists want us to read/hear.

No need to comment….this is just an FYI of sorts.

I recently wrote a post for my other blog, Gulf South Free Press, about some of the lame rhetoric around the HAMAS/Israel mash-up…..it can be read here….

Crap On So Many Levels

But more of the racist rhetoric has come to light.

Like to barbaric words of an Israeli town leader….

David Azoulai, the council head of the northern Israeli town of Metula, has called for Israel to make the Gaza Strip look like the infamous Nazi-operated Auschwitz concentration camp.

According to The Jerusalem Post, Azoulai said Gaza should be emptied of Palestinians and flattened. He suggested the Israeli Navy could transport Palestinians to refugee camps in Lebanon.

“Then, a security strip should be established from the sea to the Gaza border fence, completely empty, as a reminder of what was once there. It should resemble the Auschwitz concentration camp,” Azoulai said.

“Tell everyone in Gaza to go to the beaches. Navy ships should load the terrorists onto the shores of Lebanon. The entire Gaza Strip should be emptied and leveled flat, just like in Auschwitz. Let it become a museum, showcasing the capabilities of the State of Israel and dissuading anyone from living in the Gaza Strip. This is what must be done to give them a visual representation,” he added.

Many Israeli officials have been calling for other countries to take Palestinian refugees to facilitate the ethnic cleansing of the Gaza Strip. A leaked document authored by Israel’s Intelligence Ministry said the best option for a post-war Gaza would be for the entire population to be pushed into Egypt, but Cairo is strongly opposed to the idea, forcing Israeli officials to look elsewhere.

(antiwar.com)

Does anyone else see the hypocrisy in his words?

Apparently Americans are not the only people with no grasp of history.

Then there is the racist attack by a military leader….

Yair Ben David, a commander in the 2908th Battalion, said in a video posted on social media, that they had “entered Beit Hanoun and did there as Shimon and Levi did in Nablus,” referring to the biblical story in which all the male inhabitants of the city were massacred.

“The entire Gaza should resemble Beit Hanoun,” he added, referring to the ruined city in northern Gaza.

“Gaza must look like Beit Hanoun today.”

David said that the destruction was “only the beginning” and would instil “fear among the nations around us, in the cities of Lebanon, in the cities of Judea and Samaria (the West Bank), and among all those sitting around us who think it’s possible to harm the dignity of the people of Israel.”

(middleeasteye.net)

That is just pathetic BS from a racist pig.

And an Israeli real estate company proposes another direction for Gaza….

…

a proposal by an Israeli real estate developer specializing in the construction of illegal settlements to build beachfront homes for Jewish colonists over the bombed-out ruins of Gaza.

“A house on the beach is not a dream,” reads an advertisement published by Harey Zahav – an Israeli company notorious for building settlements in the illegally occupied West Bank – that drew international attention following last week’s Practical Preparation for Gaza Settlement Conference in Tel Aviv.

The ad depicts an artist’s rendering of luxury homes superimposed over an actual photograph of a Gaza neighborhood destroyed by Israeli attacks – which have killed nearly 20,000 people while displacing over 85% of the embattled strip’s 2.3 million people since early October.

While the Israeli government funds settler organizations, Harey Zahav’s proposal is not believed to be state-supported. However, critics noted that Israeli Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel has drafted a plan to forcibly expel Gazans into Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, and that a separate proposal by the right-wing think tank Misgav Institute for National Security & Zionist Strategy declared that “there is currently a unique and rare opportunity to evacuate the entire Gaza Strip.”

(antiwar.com)

Israel has been stealing land in the West Bank for decades why not in Gaza as well….

Then there is an official article written for the War Department on Israel/Gaza….

The official U.S. military publication Army University Press published an article written on behalf of the Department of Defense calling for the ethnic cleansing of Gaza and destruction of Lebanon in a November 2023 online exclusive.

This outlet is described on its website as “the US Army’s premier multimedia organization”, and an “entry point for cutting-edge thought and discussion on topics important to the Army and national defense”, which “makes timely and relevant information available to leaders in the military, government, and academia.”

While the article notes that “the views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the views of the U.S. Army, Department of Defense, or any other agency of the U.S. government,” the fact that such a radical proposal was published in the top U.S. Army publication, demonstrates that explicit support for ethnic cleansing and genocide is well accepted in its intellectual and policy-making circles.

https://www.uncaptured.media/p/pentagon-publishes-proposal-for-ethnic

Does that sound like something that should have been in an official publication of the Pentagon?

I know I know….wipe out HAMAS and be done with it…..well sports fans you are not going to totally wipe them out….if anything this war is creating more and more members for Hamas.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Every Vote Counts

It’s that magical time again!

Time is closing in for the citizens of America to go to the polls and vote for their choice for president.

And now the opinion pieces will begin for those people that vote outside the two party system.

Some may choose not to vote….and there will be those that will ostracize those people that by not voting they are helping elect this slug over this……and if there is no choice that represents their principles then I say do not vote just because some lay-about wants to chide you into doing something you do not want to do.business as usual no matter the party.

Then there are those voters like myself that could possibly vote for a third party we will not vote for one of the two parties that will do nothing for the country….I do not buy into the popular BS that by voting for a third party you will elect this candidate over that.

Either one of those unpopular options is a personal choice and as such everyone needs to just STFU.

You see my vote is just that…MINE and no one has the right to question what I do with it.

For one reason that I vote other than the two majors…..I feel they have f*cked up our democracy…..

The most compelling theory based on historical patterns of democratic decline is that hyper-polarization cracked the foundations of American democracy, creating the conditions under which a party could break democratic norms with impunity, because winning in the short term became more important than maintaining democracy for the long term.

In order for democracy to work, competing parties must accept that they can lose elections, and that it’s okay. But when partisans see their political opposition not just as the opposition, but as a genuine threat to the well-being of the nation, support for democratic norms fades because “winning” becomes everything. Politics, in turn, collapses into an all-out war of “us against them,” a kind of “pernicious polarization” that appears over and over again in democratic collapses, and bears a striking similarity to what’s currently happening in the U.S. 

Why The Two-Party System Is Effing Up U.S. Democracy

It is an older story but it still rings true today.

The theory today is that if there is not a good choice in the two parties then the voter should just hold their noses and vote for the least offensive.

Sorry I do not subscribe to this lunacy.

If one has principles then one should vote for the person that best represents those principles….no matter the party.

To recap…..your vote is your vote please do not piss it away on the ‘hold your nose’ vote.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

New Year’s Day–2024

A new year begins and we have things to look forward to in the coming year most notably the election of our next president.

This will my only post for the day because I have been tasked with cooking the traditional family meal on this day…..cabbage, black-eye peas, corned beef and corn bread….

But what will this year bring to us and the world….well some notables that find predictions in Nostradamus’ quatrains has our year mapped out.

Nostradamus made some incredibly scary predictions for 2024, so you best buckle in for the year ahead!

I don’t know about you, but I’m starting to wonder why those predicting the future can never say anything nice… You never see any predictions for good news, do you?

With that being said, I’m deeply sorry to say that Nostradamus, the renowned astrologer who walked the earth nearly 500 years ago, made some startling claims for 2024.

So what has 2024 apparently got in store?

Looking into the future, another quatrain warns: “The dry earth will grow more parched, and there will be great floods,” while cautioning of a “very great famine through pestiferous wave.”

Sounds fun.

Nostradamus also seems to have alluded to international tensions, particularly with China, in a quatrain envisioning “combat and naval battle,” and a “Red adversary becoming pale with fear / Putting the great Ocean in dread.”

Speculation suggests the “red adversary” refers to communist China, pointing to a potential maritime confrontation.

In a more recent interpretation by Nostradamus commentator Mario Reading, attention is drawn to a quatrain referring to the “King of the Isles,” supposedly alluding to the current British monarchy.

The reading suggests a scenario where King Charles III is forced to abdicate due to “persistent attacks on both himself and his second wife,” with Prince Harry – characterized as having “no mark of a king” – ascending to the throne, per the Mirror.

While that might sound horrible to some, you can’t deny that it would make for an incredible season of The Crown.

If that hasn’t filled your boots, how about some predictions from the blind mystic Baba Vanga?

For starters, she claimed Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet his end at the hands of an assassination, and also that Europe will be plagued by an influx of terror attacks.

Not only this, but if the seer who passed away in 1996 is correct, then we have a major economic crisis on the horizon and there will be attacks carried out with biological weapons.

It’s all a bit bleak, isn’t it?

(vt.co)

My take….’red adversary’….if this was 30 years ago it would mean USSR…..if it were 250 years ago it would mean the Brits in their red uniforms or the American Native tribes…..my point is that we can read whatever we want into these vague ‘scriptures’

Strange stuff, huh?

That is my post for this first day of yet another year….

I hope everyone has a wonderful day….enjoy the food, family, fun and football and get ready for a year that could be a new beginning or the bitter end.

Happy New Year my friends.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”