Month: May 2024

Is The Internet Disappearing?

I recently wrote a post about the “Dead Internet” theory……it may be better if you read that before venturing on to today’s post.

Dead Internet Theory

Now with that done we can tackle the question posed in the title of this post.

It appears that on-line content is disappearing…..

Well, so long and thanks for all the fish. A study from the Pew Research Center entitled “When Online Content Disappears” indicates that our beloved internet may well be disappearing beneath our fingers—with a quarter of all webpages that existed between 2013 and 2023 found to be no longer accessible.

Contrary to the popular perception that everything committed to the interwebs is destined to exist forever, the study revealed that 38% of pages that existed in 2013 alone have now been lost (via The Independent). It doesn’t appear to be an age-related phenomenon, either.

Even newer pages appear to be performing vanishing acts—eight percent of pages that existed in 2023 were found to be unavailable, too.

The study made use of Common Crawl, an open repository of web crawl data that archives billions of webpages and provides archives and datasets for public use. The researchers took random samples of over a million webpages, before checking the links to see which were still active, and which had gone to the great lost information archive in the sky.

The results showed 23% of news pages and 21% of government websites studied were found to include at least one broken link, while a staggering 54% of Wikipedia pages included a reference link that no longer exists. That’s a lot of facts that can no longer be reasonably checked.

Given the internet’s integral role in modern society (for better or worse) in terms of verifying information, these results are troubling. What with the increasing proliferation of misleading AI content, losing valuable sources of information pre AI-era can’t possibly help.

Compounding this slide into a murky world where verifiable information is increasingly harder to find, a recent study found that 46.9% of all internet traffic could be attributed to bots—many of which may be contributing all sorts of made-up information to further muddy the waters.

https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/the-internet-is-disappearing-with-a-quarter-of-all-webpages-from-2013-to-2023-going-the-way-of-the-dodo/

I know that I have seen more and more blogs that are inactive…..

But what do you think?

Is the internet disappearing as according to the article?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Stop The Presses!

Surprise!  Surprise!

I am sure that most everyone has heard the news around the legal battle for Trump….the truth is the verdict surprised me…..

For those that have avoided the circus of this trial….there is some good news.

A Manhattan jury has found Donald Trump guilty of all 34 counts he was charged with in his hush-money trial, making him the first onetime president to become a felon. Trump sat expressionless and slack at the defense table, the New York Times reports, as he heard “guilty” read in court 34 times on Thursday afternoon. Cheering from the street below, where supporters and opponents of Trump assembled, could be heard in the hallway outside the 15th-floor courtroom. As jurors filed out, they did not look at Trump, and he did not look at them. Minutes later, the former president and current candidate told reporters, “I’m a very innocent man.”

Prosecutors accused Trump of falsifying internal business records to cover up hush-money payments tied to an alleged scheme to bury stories that might torpedo his 2016 White House bid, per the AP. At the heart of the charges were reimbursements paid to Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen for a $130,000 payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels in exchange for not going public with her claim about a 2006 sexual encounter with Trump. Prosecutors said the reimbursements were falsely logged as “legal expenses” to hide the true nature of the transactions. Trump has denied any wrongdoing. The charges he was convicted of are punishable by up to four years in prison.

The jury of 12 New Yorkers had deliberated for 9½ hours hours over two days. The verdicts the panel returned involved 11 counts related to invoices, 12 related to ledger entries, and 11 involving checks. Trump still faces charges in three other criminal cases elsewhere, per the Washington Post. He has pleaded not guilty in them and called the prosecutions politically motivated. All are embroiled in motions and delays and seem unlikely to go to trial before the November election.

“I am a very innocent man”….now there is a damn hoot!  I can think of a lot of things to say about Donald the Orange….but innocent is not one of them.

Now we go to the sentencing phase of this drama…..

The jury in Donald Trump’s hush-money trial has been dismissed, and case moves to the next phase. Because the crimes are nonviolent, experts say Trump is unlikely to be detained before sentencing. Here’s what’s ahead:

  • Sentencing: Judge Juan Merchan scheduled Trump’s sentencing for 10am July 11, CNBC reports. He told all parties to file relevant motions by June 13. Included in this step are sentencing memos from the prosecution and the defense arguing for the punishment they want to see Merchan order. The defendant usually is interviewed by a probation officer who asks about personal history and any criminal record, information that goes into the presentence report. A psychologist or social worker also could interview Trump.
  • Possible punishments: Trump was convicted of nonviolent Class E felonies, New York’s lowest level, per the New York Times. The counts are punishable by 16 months to four years in state prison. As a first-time offender, Trump is unlikely to receive prison time, legal experts said. Merchan could impose probation or home confinement.
  • Probation: The terms could require Trump to receive approval from his probation officer to travel outside his home state, Florida, per the Washington Post. He probably would have to report to his probation officer regularly.
  • Appeal: Trump’s lawyers have 30 days to file notice of an appeal. “We’ll keep fighting, we’ll fight till the end and we’ll win,” Trump said after the verdict. It’s possible that sentencing will be stayed while an appeal plays out, which could postpone any punishment past Election Day.
  • The election: Trump remains eligible for election to the presidency, and there’s nothing to keep him from serving if he wins. He may not be able to vote for himself, however, per the Times; Florida requires felons to have completed their entire sentence, including probation, before again being allowed to vote.

Few thought he would be convicted…..he has been so what’s it gonna be with the sentencing?

Probation?  Prison?

I have little faith that he will go to prison (a place he should have already been)…..my guess is probation and fines.

With this conviction how will that play in November?

Please let your thoughts be known.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The Real Memorial Day–30 May

Just my little rant….I believe that Memorial Day should not be moved around it should forever remain on 30 May much like Veterans Day….after all Memorial Day is to honor those that gave their lives in service of their country…..not the best day for massive consumerism.

What do you know of Memorial Day other than you get an extra day off from work?

If you are going to act like this is some sort of special day then you should know what it is and how we got to where we are….

Three years after the Civil War ended, on May 5, 1868,
the head of an organization of Union veterans — the
Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) — established
Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the
graves of the war dead with flowers. Maj. Gen. John A.
Logan declared it should be May 30. It is believed the
date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all
over the country.
The first large observance was held that year at Arlington National Cemetery, across
the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The ceremonies centered around the
mourning- draped veranda of the Arlington mansion, once the home of Gen. Robert E.
Lee. Various Washington officials, including Gen. and Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant, presided
over the ceremonies. After speeches, children from the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Orphan
Home and members of the GAR made their way through the cemetery, strewing flowers
on both Union and Confederate graves, reciting prayers and singing hymns.

Congressman James Garfield spoke about the solemn occasion. “We do not know one promise these men made, one pledge they gave, one word they spoke; but we do know they summed up and perfected, by one supreme act, the highest virtues of men and citizens. For love of country they accepted death, and thus resolved all doubts, and made immortal their patriotism and their virtue,” he said.

The GAR said Decoration Day should be observed on May 30 each year because the timing would permit flowers to be in bloom all over the country.

Some local areas observed similar ceremonies starting in 1866. In 1888, Congress passed an act making May 30 a holiday in the District of Columbia. By the start of the 20th century, ceremonies were being held on May 30 around the country. And after World War I, the holiday was expanded to honor all American war fatalities.

The name “Memorial Day” became more commonplace after World War II. But the federal government didn’t officially adopt that name until 1967.

The Uniform Holidays Bill of 1968 moved the holiday to the last Monday in May. Originally, Veterans Day also was in the list of government holidays slated to always be on a Monday, but it was moved back to its original day of November 11 in 1978.

For years, efforts to reestablish the May 30 date by the VFW, the American Legion, and Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii didn’t succeed. Inouye, who died in 2012 at the age of 88, wasn’t just a senior member of Congress. He was at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, as a medical volunteer. He later enlisted in the Army and lost an arm serving his country while in Italy.

But the proponents of Memorial Day’s original meaning argue that it should always be on May 30, no matter the day of the week, as a way for more people to recall why people made the ultimate sacrifice for their nation.

I am one of those vets that thinks it should be on the day, 30 May….a time to remember the honored dead and not the time for a cut-rate mattress.

Please take some time to remember those that gave their all for this country and their families that lost so much.

This will be more only post today for I have some memories to work on……

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Is It True Or False?

I know this subject has been touched on by many…..and since I try to be a little FYI I thought once more could not hurt.

We are surrounded these days by conspiracy theories….it seems like there are new ones every week….but how do we tell if they are true or false?

I am so glad you asked.

This is just a little help in deciding what is true and what is false (not that too many will actually use this to find out)….but a clarification is needed now more than ever for there are too many that have wrong-minded ideas.

The extreme consequences of unfounded conspiratorial beliefs could be seen on the staircases of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and in the self-immolation of a protestor outside the courthouse holding the latest Trump trial.

But if hidden forces really are at work in the world, how is someone to know what’s really going on?

That’s where my research comes in; I’m a social psychologist who studies misleading narratives. Here are some ways to vet a claim you’ve seen or heard.

Step 1: Seek out the evidence

Real conspiracies have been confirmed because there was evidence. For instance, in the allegations dating back to the 1990s that tobacco companies knew cigarettes were dangerous and kept that information secret to make money, scientific studies showed problematic links between tobacco and cancer. Court cases unearthed corporate documents with internal memos showing what executives knew and when. Investigative journalists revealed efforts to hide that information. Doctors explained the effects on their patients. Internal whistleblowers sounded the alarm.

But unfounded conspiracy theories reveal their lack of evidence and substitute instead several elements that should be red flags for skeptics:

  • Dismissing traditional sources of evidence, claiming they are in on the plot.

  • Claiming that missing information is because someone is hiding it, even though it’s common that not all facts are known completely for some time after an event.

  • Attacking apparent inconsistencies as evidence of lies.

  • Overinterpreting ambiguity as evidence: A flying object may be unidentified – but that’s different from identifying it as an alien spaceship.

  • Using anecdotes – especially vaguely attributed ones – in place of evidence, such as “people are saying” such-and-such or “my cousin’s friend experienced” something.

  • Attributing knowledge to secret messages that only a select few can grasp – rather than evidence that’s plain and clear to all.

https://www.iflscience.com/how-to-tell-if-a-conspiracy-theory-is-probably-false-74168

This is probably a waste of time for most people will believe a lie as long as it feeds their idiocy.

Just look at the comments on current events to see what I am talking about.

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Should We Worry About Our Health?

Under normal circumstances I would say yes just because we are all getting older but with the coming election it should be a prime motivator for your vote.

I know there are many that think the winner of the 2024 election has already been decided in Trump’s favor…..if that is indeed the case then maybe there are a few things you should consider as your vote draws near.

Under a GOP led Trump government our health and safety will be under assault….

Those bodies now find themselves under threat from right-wing politicians and legal activists alike, who together are working to gut the so-called administrative state on the grounds that it is supposedly bloated, leftist, and too powerful. But these efforts, which include two Supreme Court cases this term as well as Donald Trump’s second-term plans, would have tangible and severe consequences not just for those who keep our government functioning every day but for the hundreds of millions of Americans who rely on that government to keep them safe and healthy.

The federal government is a gargantuan institution tasked with regulating all sorts of small but consequential minutiae of American life—everything from regulations on airline safety to workplace standards for dealing with hazardous chemicals. Congress grants agencies the power to set these rules themselves—the FDA is governed by the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938, while the EPA’s power is spread among laws like the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts—because Congress itself has neither the time nor the expertise to decide, or even simply review, the thousands of rules finalized every year.

But conservatives want to eliminate these agencies’ long-standing legal authority, and they just might succeed thanks to two consequential cases before the Supreme Court. One is a challenge to the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, the abortion medication, which the plaintiffs—a coalition of anti-abortion medical professionals—claim was insufficiently vetted. In oral arguments last month, the Supreme Court signaled it might find that the plaintiffs do not have standing, but if the justices decide otherwise and side with the plaintiffs, experts warn that the FDA’s regulatory processes would be completely undermined. People would have the ability to challenge drugs for any reason, political or otherwise.

https://newrepublic.com/article/180704/trump-war-government-administrative-state-public-health

Watch for this attack on your health for if these toads win the election it will be forthcoming.

Just something to think about….that is if you care about your health.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Another Choice For November

We are pretty certain that Dems have their candidate for the 2024 election as well as the GOP….but there will be others on the fringes for everybody’s consideration.

Recently the Libertarian Party has announced their candidate in the upcoming competition….Chase Oliver will get the nod.

The Libertarians have chosen their 2024 nominee, and his name isn’t Trump or Kennedy. Instead, the party chose Chase Oliver—a former Democrat from Georgia who describes himself as “armed and gay,” reports the New York Times. Donald Trump, who spoke to the convention Saturday night and heard plenty of heckling, wasn’t an official candidate and received six write-in votes. In a Truth Social statement on Sunday, Trump said he didn’t file paperwork to be the third party’s nominee but could’ve won if he wished. (Stormy Daniels received one write-in vote.)

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. received a warmer reception than Trump when he spoke Friday, but the independent was eliminated in the first round of voting, per the Hill. Oliver got the nod after seven rounds of voting. “Rule No. 1: If you want to elect a real political outsider, don’t elect somebody with the last name Kennedy,” he said, per the Times. In regard to Trump and President Biden, Oliver added that younger voters “don’t want octogenarians running their lives.” The party won 1% of the vote in the 2020 election, notes the AP, which adds that it could play an outsize role in 2024 given how close the Biden-Trump matchup is expected to be.

My first question is….Trump is a shoo in for the GOP nomination then why was he trying hard for the Libertarian Party nomination?

At least RFK, Jr did not get the nod….he will have to be happy with an independent run.

I think the Libertarians could do well in November pulling disgruntled Repubs and even some centrist Dems….but will it be enough to help the odds?

Probably not and then anyone that votes Libertarian will have to suffer the accusations of helping elect the ‘other’ guy.

The first thing the Libertarians need to do is introduce the candidate because most of America has never heard of this guy and that could be a major setback in 2024.

Check them out.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

What Is The Problem With The China/Taiwan Thing?

I know that the Gaza thing has every little person concerned with what is happening and all the while Ukraine continues and then there is this thing that has popped up in the last couple of years…..South China Sea.

The US has mobilized in protection of the island nation of Taiwan and the war drums are slowly beating out a scenario that could be disastrous for all parties involved in this mash-up.  (There are other problems in this region but this is the one that is getting the grease in the form of taxpayer dollars)

Have you ever asked yourself….What is this all about?

China has launched major military drills around Taiwan, simulating a full-scale attack on the island – just days after the new president William Lai was sworn in.

The exercises reinforce what is at the heart of the issue: China’s claim over self-governed Taiwan.

Beijing sees the island as a breakaway province that will, eventually, be part of the country, and has not ruled out the use of force to achieve this.

But many Taiwanese consider themselves to be part of a separate nation – although most are in favour of maintaining the status quo where Taiwan neither declares independence from China nor unites with it.

Taiwan’s first known settlers were Austronesian tribal people, believed to have come from modern day southern China.

Chinese records appear to first mention the island in AD239, when an emperor dispatched an expeditionary force to it – a fact Beijing uses to back its territorial claim.

After a relatively brief spell as a Dutch colony, Taiwan was administered by China’s Qing dynasty, before it was ceded to Tokyo after Japan won the First Sino-Japanese War.

After World War Two, Japan surrendered and relinquished control of territory it had taken from China. Afterwards, Taiwan was officially considered occupied by the Republic of China (ROC), which began ruling with the consent of its allies, the US and UK.

But in the next few years a civil war broke out in China, and then-leader Chiang Kai-shek’s troops were defeated by Mao Zedong’s Communist army.

Chiang, the remnants of his Kuomintang (KMT) government and their supporters – about 1.5m people – fled to Taiwan in 1949.

Chiang established a dictatorship that ruled Taiwan until the 1980s. Following his death, Taiwan began a transition to democracy and held its first elections in 1996.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34729538

All this was possible because the nationalists ran from the communists and the world got another domino in the theory that was ever so popular back in the day.

Now the US is once again pouring money into the island to confront China.

Taiwan’s recent election could spell a major escalation.

A Taiwan led by the newly inaugurated William Lai Ching-te will bring new challenges to the cross-strait relationship, as well as Beijing’s global articulation of its policies towards the self-governed island, according to observers on either side.
Joanna Lei Chien, a former Taiwanese lawmaker from the opposition party Kuomintang, said many assumptions on the cross-strait situation “should be thrown out of the window because things have changed at an exceedingly surprising speed” since Lai took over on Monday.
“Lai’s persona. It’s something that we really need to be very careful about,” Lei told a digital seminar hosted by the think tank Centre for Globalisation Hong Kong on Thursday.

If you must worry about something then I suggest that you keep an eye on Taiwan for it could be bursting into flames and sooner rather than later.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–27May24

I hope everyone is enjoying their Memorial Day (observed) holiday.

It is a bit hot down here predicted to be 108 today….hope you day is better and cooler than ours.

This is a draft that I forgot about….sorry for the timing.

Remember the days when Putin’s critics were falling out windows at an alarming rate?

Well it seems that we have similar problem here in the US…..they are not Putin critics but rather Boeing whistleblowers.

If you will recall the original Boeing whistleblower about the shoddy safety died suddenly when he was due to testify….looks like lightening has struck twice….

Another whistleblower who had testified about Boeing’s safety protocols has died.

As the Seattle Times reports, Joshua Dean, a former quality auditor with Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems who raised concerns about its manufacturing process and allegedly substandard parts, has died after a two-week-long battle with a fast-acting infection at the age of 45.

The former auditor was said to be in good health before he got sick and began having significant trouble breathing. Soon after entering the hospital, he developed both pneumonia and the rapidly-spreading staph infection MRSA, and ultimately succumbed to the latter.

Based in Wichita, Kansas, Dean had been fired by Spirit — which was spun out from Boeing nearly 20 years ago in an outsourcing push and shouldn’t be confused with the discount flight company Spirit Airlines — in April 2023 after he repeatedly tried to sound alarm bells about the manufacturing processes for parts that went into Boeing’s 737 jets, as the Seattle Times previously reported.

After it was discovered that he’d missed a separate manufacturing flaw in the 737 parts, Spirit sacked Dean. He then filed a complaint with the Federal Aviation Administration and a whistleblower complaint with the Department of Labor, alleging that managers ignored safety concerns and mistakes and that he’d been fired wrongfully.

https://futurism.com/the-byte/another-boeing-whistleblower-died

This is strange that this ‘mysterious ailment’ seems to prefer Boeing whistleblowers….how do you treat that?

This has all the earmarks of an up and coming made for TV movie.

I will be watching for the next attack of that ‘mysterious ailment’.

Please take a few moments to remember those that gave their lives in service of this country.

Happy Memorial Day (observed)!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

IST Milestone–Comments

I am not a blogger that obsesses over stats but I do check them once in awhile….recently I did just that and realize that I had reached a milestone.

Somewhere over the past weekend IST surpassed the 100,000 comment barrier….even though the weekend was pretty slow with Memorial Day stuff and all I am still thrilled at the barrier broken.

It has been a long and adventurous journey but it has been all worth whatever disappointments and barriers that popped up along the way.

I would like to thank all those that have stuck with me over the years and have felt comfortable in commenting on the posts I write.

Hopefully I will continue to write posts that readers feel compelled to comment on in their own time.

So once again….thank you very much and know that I appreciate all those that come by and voice their thoughts.

“lego ergo scribo”

Russian News….(None Of It Good)

0500 hrs and it is 87 degrees….top that!

Right now there is a laser focus on the carnage that is Gaza and a lot of news around Ukraine/Russia mash up goes under reported.

I will try to let my readers know of things that are a changing…..this is not in support of Russia just me reporting on news that fell through the cracks of the MSM.  (So please withhold in lame misguided BS)

Star Wars!  Oh my bad…. Space Wars……

War Department has said that there is a new Russian weapon in orbit….

The militarization of space is really heating up after the Pentagon accused Russia of launching a satellite that national security officials believe is capable of attacking other satellites in orbit, the BBC reports.

And most chillingly, this satellite, which the Russians launched last week, is on the same orbit as a US government satellite.

“Russia launched a satellite into low Earth orbit that we assess is likely a counter space weapon,” said Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Pat Ryder on Tuesday, as reported by the BBC.

“Obviously, that’s something that we’ll continue to monitor,” Ryder told ABC News. “Certainly, we would say that we have a responsibility to be ready to protect and defend the space domain and ensure continuous and uninterrupted support to the joint and combined force. And we’ll continue to balance the need to protect our interests in space with our desire to preserve a stable and sustainable space environment.”

https://futurism.com/the-byte/pentagon-russia-orbital-weapon

If you are a worry wart then maybe the time to do so is now.

Vlad the Invader (Putin) has offered up a plan for a ceasefire with Ukraine….

Vladimir Putin insists that Russia is ready to keep fighting in Ukraine, but he’s reportedly also amenable to “freeze the war” there—with one big condition. Russian sources tell Reuters that their leader is prepared to negotiate a ceasefire, but one recognizing that territory currently under Russian control would stay that way. Those sources say Putin thinks he can sell such a concession as a win to the Russian people, and that he’d rather avoid another national mobilization, as the last one he ordered caused his popularity to plummet. Freezing the conflict now along battlefield lines would leave Russia with “substantial chunks of four Ukrainian regions” in its possession, or about 18% of Ukraine. Asked for comment, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was open to dialogue on the matter and didn’t want “eternal war.” More:

  • Ukraine’s take: Kyiv likely won’t agree to any deal in which Russia gets to keep territory it has already seized, notes the Kyiv Independent. Ukraine has its own peace plan, including a summit in Switzerland next month—”a real diplomatic track that has every chance of contributing to a just peace,” National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksandr Lytvynenko said on Monday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has consistently said Ukraine will take back all of its territory seized by Russia, including Crimea, and in 2022, he signed a decree saying talks with Putin were “impossible,” per Reuters.
  • US take: Last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he didn’t think Putin was serious about wanting to negotiate peace. A US State Department rep tells Reuters that “the Kremlin has yet to demonstrate any meaningful interest in ending its war, quite the opposite,” and that any peace talks must respect Ukraine’s “territorial integrity, within its internationally recognized borders.”
  • Macron weighs in: The French president similarly doesn’t think Putin is at all serious about a goal of peace, specifically because the Russian leader has rejected a truce with Ukraine at the Olympics, reports the Hill. “This is a big clarification moment, because every week until now President Putin was claiming to be available for peace,” Macron said in an interview that aired Thursday on CNBC. “So for everybody in the world, it’s clear he is the one who decided to launch his war, and he is not ready to make peace.” Zelensky also ruled out an Olympics truce.
  • White House debate: Meanwhile, citing sources involved in the discussion, the New York Timesreports there’s “vigorous debate” in the Biden administration over allowing Ukraine to use US-supplied weapons to strike targets across the border in Russia for the first time. The sources say Blinken now supports what would be a dramatic shift in policy because Russia is attacking Kharkiv with weapons placed just over the border, knowing that Ukraine can only respond with non-US weapons.

Tee Hee!  This is a none starter.   Why?  Neither Zelensky or the War Department will accept this…..but to me at least there may be an opening for talks on ending the carnage in Ukraine.

Blinken, who is Sec of State, is pushing for US weapons to be used inside Russia.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is leading a push within the Biden administration to allow Ukraine to use US-provided missile systems and other weapons to hit Russian territory, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.

The report said there is a “vigorous debate” within the administration in the wake of Russia’s new offensive in Kharkiv, which was launched from over the border in Russia’s Belgorod oblast.

It’s unclear how many other high-level officials agree with Blinken, but the pressure is growing on President Biden to lift the prohibition on Ukraine using US weapons on Russian territory, a ban that, according to the Times, is designed to “avoid World War III.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and many other members of Congress are also calling to lift the ban. Ultra-hawk Victoria Nuland, who left the State Department in March, appeared on ABC News this week to make the pitch for Ukraine to extend its use of US weapons to Russian territory.

“I think there’s also a question of whether we, the United States and our allies, ought to give them more help in hitting Russian bases, which heretofore we have not been willing to do,” Nuland said.

Moscow recently warned the UK that if Ukraine used British weapons on Russian territory, Russian forces would target UK military sites in Ukraine “and beyond.” The warning came after British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said Ukraine had the “right” to use British arms in attacks on Russia.

Russia is currently conducting tactical nuclear drills that it launched in response to provocative rhetoric from Western officials about sending troops to Ukraine. The Times report said that the US was also considering deploying troops for training, although Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown said there were “no plans” to do so at the moment.

(antiwar.com)

This is a decision to be made by those above my pay grade….my only concern is when did America’s top diplomat start working for the War Department?

A warmongering jerk like Blinken has no place in the State Department which is suppose to focus on diplomacy not starting wars.

But alas the conflict will rage on.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”