Starlink Goes Russian

Surely you have heard of Elon Musk’s SpaceX….did you know the SpaceX also makes and sells the Starlink satellite dish system?

I bring this up because even with Western sanctions on technology the Russia soldier is buying up Starlink systems.

It’s not just a few Russian soldiers using SpaceX’s Starlink system here and there, according to the Ukrainian government. Instead, the country’s military intelligence chief claims that Russian military units are using “thousands” of Starlink dishes in occupied areas of Ukraine.

The allegation comes from Lt. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, who spoke to The Wall Street Journal about the threat of Russian troops using Starlink to communicate on the battlefield.

The SpaceX technology was once exclusive to Ukraine, including the country’s military, becoming a vital way for the country to supply broadband on the frontlines. But according to Budanov, “Russian army units down to company level” have been buying Starlink dishes from Russian private vendors, who source the satellite technology from intermediaries.

Budanov made the statements as Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense has been releasing audio recordings intercepted from Russian soldiers talking about using Starlink. In one recording, a Russian occupier mentions a convoy acquiring the Starlink hardware from Arab suppliers. In addition, a number of Russian vendors have been spotted openly selling Starlink units online, often for around $3,000 per dish.

https://www.pcmag.com/news/ukraine-russian-soldiers-are-using-thousands-of-starlink-dishes

I have questions….like where is the Russian soldier getting that extra $3000 from….or is this a propaganda ploy by Ukraine to punish Musk for his half-ass comments about Russia? Does Musk know about this or does the cash mean more to him? (Do not answer it is the later)

This is just another example of why I say sanctions are a worthless endeavor….there will always be someone that will get the sanctioned country the stuff they need……maybe Musk is doing just that.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

IST Sunday FYI–Diabetes

This is for all my readers that maybe suffering with diabetes….myself I was diagnosed with type 2 4 years ago….it came out of the blue….that is not true….my doctor told me 7 years ago I was pre-diabetic and a change in my diet would be best….I ignored the advice and a couple years later I had Type 2.

Since my diagnosis I have change my heathen ways and it is under control….it has been a struggle for the foods I truly enjoy are not that good for a diabetic.

Now I try to help out wherever I can but before venturing on something new please consult your medical professional.

I read a couple of stories this past week that I thought would be nice to pass on to my readers that may have diabetes.

An expert weighs in on managing diabetes….

Insulin was a game-changer when doctors started giving it to patients with Type 1 diabetes in the 1920s. At the time, science journalist Gary Taubes explains to the Guardian, most people with the disease died. Insulin not only saved lives, but offered patients the ability to eat basically as they normally would. Years later, it became clear that there were long-term complications including, Taubes says, heart disease, atherosclerosis, neuropathy, kidney failure, blindness, and amputations. Physicians at the time considered these complications of diabetes, but Taubes argues they were actually complications of the disease when insulin therapy is used to control it. Taubes has also researched the low-fat dietary advice that ran rampant for a while, and which he has called “a big fat lie” that’s behind America’s obesity epidemic. Carbs, he’s argued, are more dangerous than fat.

Put it all together, and the argument Taubes is making is this, in his words: “If I tell you not to eat the carbs and we minimize the insulin use—which for type 2 [diabetes] could be no insulin—I might keep you alive” longer than if insulin therapy alone is the treatment. The extensive article also delves into the differences between type 1 and type 2 diabetes, which are so significant some see it as odd the two share a name (while insulin is strictly necessary for survival in type 1 cases, diet and lifestyle changes may be sufficient for type 2). And it looks at the controversy surrounding Taubes’ ideas, which are far from widely accepted in the scientific community, while also talking to patients who’ve experienced success with low-carb diets—as well as those who cast doubt on the idea. Ultimately, Taubes says, more must be researched: “The science has been pretty awful.” Read the full piece at the Guardian.

This next article is called a “game changer”….

Diabetes sufferers could one day have pancreatic cells transplanted into their forearms to treat the condition, pioneering research suggests. In healthy bodies, islet cells in the pancreas produce the hormone insulin, which is crucial for regulating blood sugar.

But these cells are destroyed by the immune system in people with Type 1 diabetes. Scientists are developing a technique in which donated islets are transplanted just under the skin on the arm, where they then perform the job of producing insulin.

An ongoing trial with eight patients has seen “encouraging” results. If successful, the treatment could free hundreds of thousands of sufferers from painful injections and the need to frequently check their blood sugar.

https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/1867671/diabetes-insulin-pancreas-transplant-health

I hope that these stories were informative and interesting for those that suffer from diabetes.

May your Sunday be filled with joy….as always Be Well and Be Safe….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

IST Saturday News Dump–17Feb24

Another weekend begins as this past week slowly becomes history.

Big breaking news from yesterday….Putin critic dies…..

Vladimir Putin’s most prominent critic is dead, according to Russia’s prison service. The prison service in the Yamalo-Nenets district said Alexei Navalny “felt unwell” during a walk Friday and “almost immediately lost consciousness,” the BBC reports. Efforts to resuscitate him proved unsuccessful and emergency doctors “declared the prisoner dead,” per the prison service. The Kremlin said it had no information on the cause of death, reports the Guardian.

Navalny had another 19 years tacked on to his prison sentence in July, when he was already serving a long sentence on charges he said were politically motivated. Before the move to the remote Arctic prison was confirmed, lawyers said he had suffered “a serious health-related incident” and they were unable to find him. The US expressed its “deep concern” at the time. Navalny, who led large anti-Kremlin protests, went to Germany for treatment after he was poisoned with a nerve agent in 2020. He was arrested when he returned to Russia in 2021.

Another Putin critic down the drain.

Let’s start with news from the medical field….

Remember back in school when you were taught that genes were the blueprint of life?

Were they wrong?

Since the human genome was first sequenced, popular science has dictated that genes act as a blueprint for life — but the reality, experts are now arguing, is much more complex and beautiful.

In a new book titled “How Life Works: A User’s Guide to the New Biology,” British science writer and author Phillip Ball writes that the modern conception of genes as hard-and-fast cogs in the machine of life doesn’t at all jive with what geneticists have learned in the intervening years: that life is a messy mystery, and the genetics encoding it are its enigmatic and chaotic instruments.

In a review of the book published by the journal Nature, where Ball happens to be a longtime editor, decorated British biologist Denis Noble quoted his fellow science writer as saying that the concept of life as a machine is a “lazy metaphor.”

https://futurism.com/neoscope/genes-not-blueprint-life

Since Sue is fighting caner I am always on the look-out for news…..this report is disturbing…..

The New York Times is out with a story suggesting that medical journals provide nowhere near the kind of scrutiny necessary for papers on cancer research. The newspaper reports that a top cancer surgeon at Columbia University is under scrutiny after 26 of Dr. Sam Yoon’s published studies were flagged for suspicious data, including images of cancer cells, mice, and tumors that appear to have been repurposed for different studies. One published study on stomach cancer was “quietly” withdrawn after doubts surfaced, and another medical journal recently retracted a Yoon study after inquiries from the newspaper. Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York City, where much of the research was conducted, has opened an investigation.

The initial suspicions on Yoon’s papers were raised by a “British scientific sleuth” named Dr. Sholto David in a blog post and science forum, per the Times. Yoon is not commenting, nor is a junior collaborator. The story details the studies in question by Yoon but also raises broader concerns about the review process for research publications. “The journals do the bare minimum,” microbiologist Elisabeth Bik tells the Times. “There’s no oversight.” Read the full story, which notes that sleuths are using AI-powered tools in their quest to uncover other questionable research

I bet that if more investigating will find that he is not alone.

This is a grim aftermath of our society….

It’s not just you — college students are having trouble reading, too, and that’s major cause for concern.

In an editorial for Slate, Adam Kotsko, an assistant professor at Illinois’ North Central College, said that over the past five years — four of which, of course, have been dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath — he and a lot of his colleagues have noticed that their students are really, really reticent to do the reading..

“For most of my career, I assigned around 30 pages of reading per class meeting as a baseline expectation,” Kotsko, whose classes largely include humanities and philosophy instruction, writes. “Now students are intimidated by anything over 10 pages and seem to walk away from readings of as little as 20 pages with no real understanding.”

While it’s no secret that there’s been a “very real learning loss” as a result of the COVID lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, there seems to be something much worse afoot, the author and educator muses.

https://futurism.com/the-byte/college-students-cant-read

That is so sad and a pathetic look at our educational system.

Speaking of education…..the best and worst educated states….and my state is where it always is….almost dead last….

Most educated

Massachusetts (No. 1 in both “Educational Attainment,” “Quality of Education” categories)
Vermont
Maryland
Connecticut
Colorado
Virginia
New Jersey
New Hampshire
Minnesota
Washington

Least educated

Texas
New Mexico (last in “Quality of Education” category)
Kentucky
Nevada
Alabama
Oklahoma
Arkansas
Louisiana
Mississippi
West Virginia (last in “Educational Attainment” category)

There we are next to dead last…..where is your state on the list?

I always like to include a food story whenever possible and this one fits into the “Eeeww Factor”

A ton of the ultraprocessed foods we snack on were created by a process that can be described as “pre-digestion,” which makes it all the less filling and all the more addictive.

As CNN reports, many of the most processed grain-based foods we eat, from burger buns and pizza crusts to potato chips and puddings, were made in a manner that is quite similar to a mama bird pre-chewing her baby’s food — except in this case, it’s as if she digested it before regurgitating it to her offspring.

“The bulk of what is extracted is starch slurry, a milky mixture of starch and water, but we also have extracted proteins and fibers,” a video from the European Starch Industry Association explains. “Roughly half of the starch slurry goes to produce starch-based sugars and other derivatives. Those are created by hydrolysis, a process similar to human digestion.”

Although starch slurries aren’t at all unusual in the world of the culinary arts, what sets these apart is that rather than using cornstarch or similar ingredients, mass-produced food manufacturers make theirs’ by breaking a given raw food down to its molecular level and then pounding it, along with food coloring, emulsifiers, and fake flavors, with industrial machines.

https://futurism.com/ultraprocessed-food-predigested

Just another reason I avoid processed food.

It has been a stimulating morning and my fingers are tired….

Have a wonderful Saturday and as always….Be Well and Be Safe….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–16Feb24

Well crap!

Not at all what I wanted to hear from the weather people.

Appears that our hurricane season maybe more active….

Here are the weather predictions for the coming Spring and Summer….

A warmer-than-average winter across the northern US and a wetter-than-average winter across the South are signs of the current El Nino global climate pattern—one so strong it’s been dubbed “Super El Nino,” per CNN. But it’s now past its peak, easing as it makes way for its opposite, La Nina, in a transition that will have major consequences for weather in the US, potentially increasing Atlantic hurricane activity and worsening western drought. In the Pacific Ocean, trade winds usually blow west along the equator, whisking warm water from South America toward Asia. During El Nino, trade winds weaken or reverse, allowing water to move from east to west, boosting surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific.

But during La Nina, trade winds are stronger than normal, so more warm water is pushed east and more cold water from the depths of the ocean rises to the surface. This results in cooler-than-average conditions, now predicted to occur as early as this summer, according to a La Nina watch issued Tuesday by the Climate Prediction Center. Forecasters found El Nino wind patterns declined in January, along with temperatures in the eastern and east-central Pacific, per the Washington Post. The CPC now describes a 79% chance of neutral conditions from April to June, a 55% chance of La Nina conditions from June to August, and a 77% chance of La Nina from September to November, per Axios.

La Ninas follow strong El Ninos about 60% of the time and “often produce the opposite weather patterns as El Nino, including a more active Atlantic hurricane season,” per CNN. We may also see the consequences in “wetter-than-normal weather on the western side of the Pacific, as well as in southern Alaska, the northwestern United States, and the northern Plains” and “dry conditions for Southern California and the Southwest,” per the Post. As La Nina also tends to temporarily suppress global temperatures, it could keep 2024 from surpassing 2023 as the hottest year on record. If temperatures continue to climb, however, it could signal systematic change to the climate, per the Post.

A more active hurricane season….just not what we on the Gulf Coast like to hear….hopefully your region has better news than mine.

I hope everyone has a great weekend.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

“A Serious National Security Threat”

I awoke yesterday to “a serious national security threat”….WTF?

Of course I had to dig to find out what was so serious.

Moments after the Senate bill to provide cash for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan went to the House a convenient threat was announced…. a “serious national security threat” is on the horizon….and as it were it is Russia. The announcement was made by GOPer Mike Turner….

“I am requesting that President Biden declassify all information relating to this threat so that Congress, the Administration, and our allies can openly discuss the actions necessary to respond to this threat,” Turner continued.

That statement was followed a short time later by a letter from Rep. Jim Himes, a Democrat from Connecticut, who called the issue an “urgent matter” about “a destabilizing foreign military capability that should be known by all congressional policymakers.” But, again, Himes didn’t provide any details and only set off hours of speculation on Capitol Hill about what it could involve.

The intelligence reportedly involves “Russians wanting to put a nuclear weapon into space,” according to ABC News. If that seems relatively underwhelming, it gets even weaker when it’s clarified that Russia’s desire for nukes has nothing to do with dropping them from space onto targets on Earth. Apparently, Russia wants to put the nukes in space to “possibly use against satellites.”

(gizmodo.com)

Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH), chair of the House Intelligence Committee, made a vague public warning on Wednesday about an unspecified “serious national security threat,” prompting accusations that he did so to pressure the House to pass the $95 billion foreign military aid bill that just made it through the Senate.

US officials later told the media that the “unspecified threat was related to Russian space capabilities and a plan to develop a nuclear weapon that can target satellites.

Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) wrote a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) calling for an inquiry into Turner’s decision to release the information.

Ogles said Turner likely did so to bolster support for passing new aid for Ukraine and for extending Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows mass warrantless surveillance of Americans. Section 702 was due to expire but was extended by the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act until April 19.

A cryptic request that led to House Speaker Mike Johnson later assuring reporters there is “no need for public alarm” on the matter. Two Democrat representatives also said there’s no “imminent danger right now” and that “people should not panic,” Axios reports.

Seriously?

No one is for sure of anything that Russia is up to right now…..a lot of supposition little fact.

This whole thing is about wanting to scare the House into passing the massive aid package from the Senate.

Funny how that works.

It is all a game funded by special interests and dark money.

I say screw those countries and move on to something important like the cost of meds for Americans….especially seniors that live on a fixed income.

But that is just me!

I have a hard time taking anything that comes out of our Congress seriously.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Another Day, Another Shooting

An all too familiar meme in the American news factory….gun violence with casualties….this time around it was at a parade for the Kansas Chiefs Super Bowl win.

Another whacked out d/bag with a gun…..

In a grim update on the shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl celebration in downtown Kanas City on Wednesday, police said nine children were among at least 21 people wounded by gunfire. Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said three people had been taken into custody, including one who may have been detained by fans, the AP reports. One person was killed, authorities say. The Kansas City Star reports that Lisa Lopez-Galvan, a mother of two who was at the parade with her family, died during surgery for a gunshot wound.

“She was the most wonderful, beautiful person,” says longtime friend Lisa Lopez (no relation), a Star employee. “She was a local DJ. She did everybody’s weddings. We all know her. She was so full of life.” Another friend, Rosa Izurieta, tells the AP that Lopez-Galvan’s adult son was also wounded. Victims were taken to three hospitals, KMBC reports. According to the Kansas City Fire Department, eight victims had “immediate life-threatening injuries,” and another seven had life-threatening injuries. The Star reports that the injured children range in age from six to 15. Graves said no motive has been identified. She asked anybody with information or video of the shooting to contact police.

“I’m angry at what happened today,” the chief said. “The people who came to this celebration should expect a safe environment.” Hundreds of thousands of people had gathered to celebrate the Super Bowl victory and the scene became chaotic after shots were fired and people ran for cover, the New York Times reports. Some witnesses said they were nearly trampled. The Kansas City Chiefs confirmed that all players, employees, and their families were safe, NBC News reports. “We are truly saddened by the senseless act of violence that occurred outside of Union Station at the conclusion of today’s parade and rally,” the team said in a statement. “Our hearts go out to the victims, their families, and all of Kansas City.” This story has been updated with new details.

I am sure somewhere there will be an idiot that will offer ‘thoughts and prayer’….that has done nothing to stop this insanity so if you are thinking that just shut-up.

I could go off on a rant but why?

Nothing will get done and it will continue to happen as longer as their are spineless slugs in Congress and Americans are too busy to care.

I did hear one idiot say that cars kill more people than guns (an old Repub talking point)….this was bullshit then and is bullshit now.

Unlike firearms, cars aren’t explicitly designed to kill or wound living beings (humans, animals, etc). They’re designed to move you from one place to another. Yet unlike firearms, cars and drivers are heavily regulated by the government, from emissions standards to annual inspections to safety features, and so forth. You can’t legally drive a car that doesn’t feature seatbelts, or a car that spews too much exhaust into the air. You have to take both a written and a behind-the-wheel test to get a license to operate a car. You often have to renew that license at regular intervals and, if you’re older, you have to prove that you’re physically capable of driving a car. You can’t drive a car while drinking alcohol or impaired by other chemicals. There are thousands of police officers patrolling our roads and, as most of us have experienced at one time or another, they will penalize or arrest you for improper handling of a car — with literally hundreds of laws to abide, and considerable penalties, ranging from fines to imprisonment to the government stripping you of your right to drive a car at all. So if the NRA and its supporters are going to keep using this car analogy, then let’s talk about regulating guns and gun owners the same way we regulate cars and drivers.

(huffpost.com

This has been a long standing Repub standard lie….they just trot it out whenever people start talking about reasonable gun laws.

The next attack is just waiting it’s turn for the headlines.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

What If Russia Wins?

The news is pathetic these days….so how about a ‘what if’ thingy?

Russia has once again return to the airways thanks in part to Carlson and his silly interview with Putin.

The Senate just approved more cash for Ukraine, as if we have not given enough, but here is an idea….what if after all the aid money Russia still wins the conflict with Ukraine….what then?

Recently a secret German document was leaked which sets out the scenario….

A confidential document drawn up by the German Ministry of Defense (MoD) envisions how a possible escalation of the war in Ukraine could potentially develop. The hypothetical development involves Russia and NATO each gradually increasing troop build-up in eastern Europe until hundreds of thousands of troops face off against each other at the Suwałki Gap in June 2025—and leaves the outcome of the confrontation open.

Berlin’s exercise scenario, according to the German daily Bild, heavily relies on a set of assumptions that would all need to occur before further escalation, but each component of the chain of events is presented as the next logical step.

The scenario, titled “Alliance Defense 2025,” starts with Russia beginning a new wave of mobilizations by calling up an additional 200,000 recruits in February 2024, who then manage to weaken the Ukrainian positions along the line of contact in the next spring offensive.

In July 2024, Russia would then begin covert cyber-attacks and other forms of hybrid warfare on the West and East Central Europe in particular, while inciting Russian-speaking minorities in Baltic countries. The political crisis in the Baltics would eventually be used to justify a massive military exercise (similar to the one in 2021), called ‘Zapad 2024’ in September, involving at least 50,000 Russian troops in Belarus and western Russia.

Leaked German Defense Document Sketches out Russian War Scenario

After the German document was leaked Estonia had to make a case for more cash…..

“Russia has chosen a path which is a long-term confrontation,” the head of Estonia’s Foreign Intelligence Service warned Tuesday. Kaupo Rosin said Russia plans to double the number of troops it has stationed near its borders with NATO members in northern Europe, and the “Kremlin is probably anticipating a possible conflict with NATO within the next decade or so,” reports Reuters. The intelligence service predicted that Russia will double the 19,000 troops it has stationed near its border with Estonia and expand the number of troops on its 830-mile border with Finland, NATO’s newest member, USA Today reports

“We will see an increase in armed personnel carriers, tanks, artillery systems over the coming years,” said Rosin, who called for a counter-buildup of NATO forces. Estonia and the two other Baltic states, Latvia and Lithuania, boosted their defense spending to more than 2% of GDP, in line with NATO guidelines, after Russia annexed Crimea almost a decade ago, Reuters notes. Asked about Donald Trump’s remark that he would encourage Russia to do “whatever the hell they want” to alliance members that don’t spend enough on defense, Rosin said, “Such statements are never helpful.”

Estonia’s prime minister has been placed on a wanted list by Russia’s Interior Ministry, becoming the first leader on a list that includes dozens of officials from the Baltic states and Poland, the AP reports. Russian officials said Kaja Kallas was added to the list because of efforts to remove Soviet-era WWII monuments in Estonia. She slammed the move as a “scare tactic. ” Russia may believe that issuing a fictitious arrest warrant will silence Estonia,” Kallas said. “I refuse to be silenced–I will continue to vocally support Ukraine and advocate for the strengthening of European defenses.”

Let’s say Putin does do the silly and move on Western Europe….

a win for Russia against Ukraine would ‘undoubtedly’ result in the fall of NATO, ‘economic carnage’ for the West as well as the rise of foes including China, Iran and North Korea, retired US General Ben Hodges tells MailOnline.

At the crux of this is the fact that Russia and the Global South would see a Ukrainian defeat as a military loss for the West – it would show the world that NATO, led by the US, is capable of sacrificing a European nation in order to avoid a nuclear conflict.

And once autocrats realise that the US and the West are beatable, a nuclear war would be ‘inevitable’ and the world would be consumed in bloodshed, Danylyuk says in a terrifying prediction.

Indeed, Danylyuk says the world will have been watching as Ukraine, which gave up the world’s third-largest arsenal of nuclear weapons in 1993, was defeated by Russia’s military amid daily threats of Moscow incinerating the country with nukes.

And that would send a strong message: The only way for non-nuclear states to protect themselves against an attack by countries with nukes – like China and Russia – would be to have weapons of mass destruction of their own.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12992481/What-happens-Putin-WINS-Ukraine-Catastrophic-change-world-order-lead-fall-NATO-economic-carnage-inevitable-nuclear-war-autocrats-West-beatable.html

I think Russia may have a cyber capability but I do not think his army is so capable…..then there is the nuke thing….I really do not think Putin would use them for prevailing winds would put the fall-out in his backyard.

But what do I know, right?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The Deeper We Go

The events in the Middle East is doing nothing to keep Americans safe….Biden is using the deaths of Americans to legitimize his actions.

The problem is that Biden makes Americans targets by his less than effective policies and will no doubt use those deaths to his advantage.

These revenge attacks will dig a deeper hole for the US to try and dig out of kinda like the invasion of Iraq

U.S. officials may not acknowledge the connection between the Gaza War and the U.S. bombing campaign, but there is no question that Israeli militarism is relevant to the increased attacks from the Houthis against commercial shipping in the Red Sea as well as the increased attacks from Iranian-backed militia against U.S. facilities in Jordan, Syria, and Iraq.

As a result of these developments, the United States has taken a stronger stand against Iran, and suggested the possibility of an expanded security alliance with Saudi Arabia in return for Saudi diplomatic recognition of Israel. These steps would require a deeper U.S. commitment in the Middle East with greater instability and uncertainty at a time when we should be looking for a way to reduce our presence.

Biden is Dragging the United States Deeper Into the Middle East

To use a popular term….the sh*t is getting deep in the Middle East and it is partially the fault of the US,

I question the US whether they truly want a more peaceful Middle East or not….from where I sit I say it is the later.

And sadly it is not just the Middle East….’experts’ are expecting deeper problems in almost every corner of the planet.

Meanwhile, the mainstream media is predictably advocating the use of greater military force by the United States. In recent days, for example, the Washington Post has run lead editorials that were titled “North Korea goes from bad to much, much worse” and “The U.S. needs to strike Iran, and make it smart.” The New York Times ran a long article (“A Worried NATO Prepares for a Russian Invasion”) that gives credibility to the idea that Putin “could invade a NATO nation over the coming decade” and that NATO “might have to face his forces without U.S. support.”

Have we forgotten so soon that it was the Bush administration’s misuse of military power against Iraq in 2003 that led to the chaos that now dominates the Middle East and the Persian Gulf. If ever there were a time for official Washington to take a deep breath and to consider the diplomatic options for dealing with Iran and North Korea as well as Russia and China, this is it.

Biden just keeps digging the hole deeper and deeper and the US will soon be in a quagmire that it has no hope to end.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Another Deal Is Inked?

First some happy news….A very Happy Valentine’s Day to all.

Now….the rant goes on….

Well just in the Senate the House could stomp all over the newest bi-partisan attempt.

The other day I wrote a post which was shared by my friend over at …..

Absolutely On Target, In Saner Thought!

I thank him for his help.

My rant was about the new deal in the Senate to provide money for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan….not a fan of pissing away money on these three.

Well the Senate had a late night so they could pass this deal that they are proud of…..

The Senate early Tuesday passed a $95.3 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, pushing ahead amid growing divisions in the Republican Party over the role of the United States abroad. The vote came after a small group of Republicans opposed to the $60 billion for Ukraine held the Senate floor through the night, using the final hours of debate to argue that the US should focus on its own problems before sending more money overseas. But more than a dozen Republicans voted with almost all Democrats to pass the package 70-29, reports the AP, with supporters arguing that abandoning Ukraine could embolden Russian President Vladimir Putin and threaten security across the globe.

The bill’s passage through the Senate was a welcome sign for Ukraine, but the package faces a deeply uncertain future in the House, where hardline Republicans aligned with former President Trump oppose the legislation. Speaker Mike Johnson cast new doubt on the package Monday evening, making clear that it could be weeks or months before Congress sends the legislation to President Biden’s desk—if at all. Still, the vote was a win for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, who worked together on it. Sen. JD Vance, an Ohio Republican, along with Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and other opponents, dug in their heels to delay a final vote, speaking on the floor until daybreak. A few of the particulars:

The legislation would purchase US-made defense equipment for Ukraine, including munitions and air defense systems that authorities say are desperately needed as Russia batters the country. It also includes $8 billion for the government in Kyiv and other assistance.

In addition, $14 billion goes to Israel’s war with Hamas, $8 billion for Taiwan and partners in the Indo-Pacific to counter China, and $9.2 billion in humanitarian assistance for Gaza.

I am against sending any more money to these shitholes….if you read this then tell me why we have to send money for the government in Kyiv? If they cannot afford to fight this damn lame war then find away to end it.

Then there is Israel who has sucked on the American taxpayer teat since its inception….I say screw! Either they stand for themselves or go the fuck away.

The only saving grace is the the House will not be so easy to push over….I haste that I am siding with those idiots in the Trump wing but if it stops the flow of cash to these crappy players then so be it.

One last word…..Israel is getting ready to kill a bunch more civilians in Rafah and they have proposed the US do something first….

Israel has proposed creating US-funded tent cities in Gaza as part of an evacuation plan for Rafah as Israeli forces are preparing to invade the city, Egyptian officials told The Wall Street Journal.

It’s estimated that 1.5 million Palestinians are packed into Rafah, which had a pre-war population of about 275,000. Under the Israeli proposal, 15 campsites of around 25,000 tents each would be created along Gaza’s coast to house the millions of Palestinian civilians sheltering in Rafah.

(antiwar.com)

The US needs to pay for their destruction…I say fuck the bastards!

I have gad enough of Israel and those defending their blood lust….and that is all it is now….blood lust…..something they should have memory of from their past.

My rant is over.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

In Saner Thought

"It is the duty of every man, as far as his ability extends, to detect and expose delusion and error"..Thomas Paine

Month: February 2024

Starlink Goes Russian

IST Sunday FYI–Diabetes

IST Saturday News Dump–17Feb24

Closing Thought–16Feb24

“A Serious National Security Threat”

Another Day, Another Shooting

What If Russia Wins?

The Deeper We Go

Another Deal Is Inked?