Month: August 2024

Who Is Tim Walz?

Harris has made her choice for the position of VP and he is a governor, Tim Walz.

But just who is Tim Walz for most Americans have very little knowledge of this guy….and I can help….

Now that Kamala Harris has settled on Tim Walz as her running mate, the question becomes: Who is Tim Walz? A look at coverage of the Minnesota governor:

  • Profiles: The 60-year-old Nebraska native enlisted in the Army National Guard at 17, served 24 years, and eventually settled in Mankato, Minnesota, where he coached the high school football team and taught geography and social studies, report the Star Tribune and New York Times. Walz and his wife, Gwen, have two children, Hope and Gus, and Walz has spoken of his and his wife’s use of IVF, per USA Today.
  • Congress: While still teaching, he flipped a GOP congressional seat in rural Minnesota in 2006 and served in Congress until being elected governor in 2018.
  • As governor: Walz, working with narrow majorities in the state Legislature, “spent billions of dollars on schools, infrastructure, and other programs while passing a long list of progressive priorities such as marijuana legalization, universal school meals, paid family and medical leave, and abortion rights protections,” per the Star Tribune.
  • The image: “He comes across as what he is: a straight-talking teacher, America’s youth football coach,” writes Rachel Leingang at the Guardian. He’s “right out of central casting as the way you think [a] Minnesota governor would be like,” adds Michael Brodkorb, former deputy chair of the Minnesota Republican Party.
  • Interview: New York Times columnist Ezra Klein interviewed Walz before his selection, under the headline, “Is Tim Walz the Midwestern Dad Democrats Need?” Klein takes note of Walz’s recent claim to fame that speaks to his persona—the governor described top Republicans as “really weird” in a slam that went viral. “This is where I take offense to JD Vance and Hillbilly Elegy,” Walz tells Klein of the Republican’s memoir. “Those are my people. I come from a town of 400—24 kids in a class, 12 cousins, farming, those types of things. And I know they’re not weird. I know they’re not Donald Trump.”
  • Big moment: Watch the Morning Joe interview that raised Walz’s national profile.

This goes to show the lengths the Trump machine will go….

The Trump campaign on Tuesday immediately tried to tag Walz as a far-left liberal. “It’s no surprise that San Francisco Liberal Kamala Harris wants West Coast wannabe Tim Walz as her running-mate—Walz has spent his governorship trying to reshape Minnesota in the image of the Golden State,” said Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s campaign press secretary. Trump sent a fundraising email Tuesday calling Walz “Dangerously Liberal” and saying he would “unleash HELL ON EARTH.”

Sounds like they may be running scared to me.

Now we have our VP candidate but is he the right person for the job?

Harris was also impressed with Walz’s biography, as well as his accomplishments as governor that she “wants to replicate in her presidency—access to reproductive health, paid leave, child tax credits and gun safety,” Politico’s sources say. Other takes on the choice:

The “nice” choice, but perhaps not the best. Nate Silver believes Harris didn’t make the best choice. At Silver Bulletin, he writes that while Walz is a safe, inoffensive, and “nice” choice, Shapiro would have been a better pick because he “increases the likelihood you win Pennsylvania, he has a demonstrated track record of popularity in the most important swing state, he’s obviously an extremely talented politician and perhaps a future standard-bearer for the party himself.” Minnesota, he notes, is highly unlikely to be the “tipping point” state that decides the presidency.

  • Broad appeal. Harris had some strong options from swing states, including Shapiro, Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, but she “instead went with someone from a somewhat competitive state who will ideally appeal more broadly to middle America,” writes Aaron Blake at the Washington Post. Blake notes that other candidates could have had the same broad appeal, but “none of them demonstrated the kind of folksy appeal that Walz has in recent weeks.”
  • His previous career. Walz’s potential appeal to Midwesterners includes his background as a military veteran and a hunter who has often spoken about his gun ownership, Katie Rogers writes at the New York Times. She says that according to a person close to the process, Walz’s “previous career as a high school teacher and football coach also appealed to Ms. Harris, who has gained the support of the nation’s teachers unions.”
  • The “cool dad.” Farnoush Amiri at the AP writes that Walz, who went viral after calling Donald Trump and JD Vance “just weird” a few weeks ago, has been labeled the “cool dad” online and Democrats see him as an “effective messenger.” “Walz’s ability to speak in layman’s terms about policy and politics coupled with his knowledge of the internet zeitgeist has helped propel the little-known politician to the national stage and on the ‘For You’ social media pages of millions of Gen Z voters whose support will be crucial for Democrats come November,” he writes.

My thoughts so far…I like the idea that he is a possible progressive but like Harris I want to see if he pushes back on his progressive ideas…..I am thinking they both will flip-flop on issues to try to influence as many voters as possible.

Since like most Americans I know very little about this person I will reserve my more scathing analysis until I hear more from him and his running mate.

This is what I know as of 06Aug24…. I am sure there is more to come.

Stay Tuned!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

“Defend Israel”?

WTF?

This is the second time someone in the Biden admin to make this statement…..

The US is sending more warships and additional fighter jets to the Middle East as part of a deployment that’s “entirely focused on defending Israel,” a White House official said Sunday.

A Pentagon official told Air & Space Forces Magazine that a US Air Force squadron of F-22 Raptor fighters jets is also headed to the region.

The US and Israel are expecting a major attack from Iran and its allies in response to the Israeli killing of Hamas’s political chief, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran and a top Hezbollah commander in Beirut.

White House Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer claimed the purpose of the new military deployments was to reduce tensions in the region even though US military support has only emboldened Israel to escalate.

“The overall goal is to turn the temperature down in the region, deter and defend against those attacks and avoid regional conflict, which has been our goal really since October 7,” Finer told CBS News’s “Face the Nation.”

While the Biden administration has claimed its goal has been to avoid a regional war, reports as far back as November 2023 said that the US believed Israel was trying to provoke a major conflict, and the US continued supplying Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with weapons and political support.

The US pledge to defend Israel also makes it more likely that US assets in the region could be targeted in any reprisal attacks. Iran’s allies in Iraq and Syria could target US bases as a way to distract the US from any Iranian missiles fired toward Israel, or the Houthis in Yemen could ramp up attacks on US warships.

(antiwar.com)

Again WTF?

The US gives Israel millions in weapons and monetary support which they use on civilians but when a nation that has some clout in the region gets butt hurt we have to dash in a save the day…..why is they?

Does that mean that Israel is not the power in the region without the USA?

Now that the US has gone all in for the defense of Israel the Israelis are considering a ‘preemptive strike’…..

Israel is considering launching a “preemptive strike” on Iran as it’s awaiting a reprisal attack for the assassination of Hamas’s political chief in Iran.

According to Israeli media reports, Israel could launch an attack on Iran if it finds an Iranian strike is imminent. The idea was discussed on Sunday night in a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his top military and intelligence officials.

(antiwar.com)

This is pushing all the buttons for a expansion of the tensions in the region….does the US really want another war?

I know the Hawks in Congress have been pushing for a round of attacks on Iran….will they get there wish?

I know the defense industry is jerking off at the prospect of another war and more profits.

Is this what you people want?

When will the American people have enough of war, the death and destruction, when?

Not to worry your sons and daughters will pay the price.

I have had enough of this bullshit!

Screw Israel….let them fend for themselves…..they start shit let them figure it out….and apparently I am not alone….

The majority of Americans oppose the idea of US troops being used to defend Israel if it comes under attack by Iran, according to a poll conducted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs that was released on Tuesday.

The poll, conducted from June 21–July 1, 2024, found that 56% of Americans oppose US troops defending Israel, while 42% support the idea. Support for defending Israel is stronger among Republicans, with 53% in favor and only 32% of Democrats in favor.

The survey also found that 55% of Americans oppose US troops defending Israel if it comes under attack by a neighboring country.

The results come as the Biden administration is vowing to defend Israel from an expected Iranian reprisal attack for the killing of Hamas’s political chief, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran. A major coordinated attack launched by Iran and its allies could result in American casualties, and the US support for Israel risks a major regional war.

(antiwar.com)

This gives me hope that there is some sanity among my fellow Americans.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Harris: And The Winner Is

First let us begin with the nomination….it is official VP Harris will be the Dems nominee….

Vice President Kamala Harris, a daughter of immigrants who rose through the California political and law enforcement ranks to become the first female vice president in US history, formally secured the Democratic presidential nomination on Monday—becoming the first woman of color to lead a major party ticket, the AP reports. As soon as President Biden abruptly ended his candidacy, Harris and her team worked rapidly to secure backing from the 1,976 party delegates needed to clinch the nomination in a formal roll call vote. She reached that marker at warp speed, with an Associated Press survey of delegates nationwide showing she locked down the necessary commitments a mere 32 hours after Biden’s announcement.

Harris’ nomination became official after a five-day round of online balloting by Democratic National Convention delegates ended Monday night, with the party saying in a statement released just before midnight that 99% of delegates casting ballots had done so for Harris. The party had long contemplated the early virtual roll call to ensure Biden would appear on the ballot in every state. It said it would next formally certify the vote before holding a celebratory roll call at the party’s convention later this month in Chicago.

Now that is out of the way…..the next big step will be her second….

The entire nation has been holding our collective breath wait to see just who Harris will choose as her running mate…..I said it would be a some generic white white, someone with little to no baggage……and now we know who that mysterious person will be…..

Tim Walz….

Vice President Harris has chosen Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) to be her running mate as she heads toward a November faceoff against former President Trump, she announced Tuesday.

Harris announced her choice of Walz in a post on Instagram and in a text message to supporters, praising his support for middle class families and his personal history serving in the National Guard and working as a teacher.

Walz, 60, emerged as a dark horse contender for the No. 2 slot as chatter over other high-profile names, in particular Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly (D), dominated the early portion of the veepstakes.

But the Minnesota governor saw his profile rise considerably over the past week, especially after a viral cable news interview in which he derided some Republicans as “weird” — a line of attack later adopted by national Democrats.

Walz was also seen by many as a safer choice for Harris thanks to his liberal bona fides and the fact that some of the other contenders had come under fire from certain segments of the left. Shapiro received heavy scrutiny recently over his response to pro-Palestinian protests that emerged in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war, and both he and Kelly drew the ire of union leaders.

(thehill.com)

I will say he makes a good speech….plus he is from Minnesota a liberal state….a veteran…..and a family man….so he ticked many of the boxes….and now he be the VP nominee.

I am sure I will have more to say the more I learn about this guy…..so stay tuned.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

 

Google: Slip Slidin’ Away

Bam!

A Landmark anti-trust court decision has dropped the hammer on Google.

Let’s look at the decision and what it could mean….

In a seismic decision that could shake up the internet and hobble one of the world’s best-known companies, a judge ruled Monday that Google’s ubiquitous search engine has been illegally exploiting its dominance to squash competition and stifle innovation. The highly anticipated decision issued by US District Judge Amit Mehta comes nearly a year after the start of a trial pitting the Justice Department against Google in the country’s biggest antitrust showdown in a quarter century, the AP reports. After reviewing reams of evidence that included testimony from top executives at Google, Microsoft, and Apple during last year’s 10-week trial, Mehta issued his potentially market-shifting decision three months after the two sides presented their closing arguments in early May.

  • Major setback for Google. The decision represents a major setback for Google and its parent, Alphabet Inc., which had steadfastly argued that its popularity stemmed from consumers’ overwhelming desire to use a search engine so good at what it does that it has become synonymous with looking things up online.
  • Appeal is almost certain. Google will almost certainly appeal the decision in a process that may ultimately land in the US Supreme Court. For now, the decision vindicates antitrust regulators at the Justice Department, which filed its lawsuit nearly four years ago while Donald Trump was still president, and has been escalating its efforts to rein in Big Tech’s power during President Biden’s administration.
  • Google depicted as bully. The case depicted Google as a technological bully that methodically has thwarted competition to protect a search engine that has become the centerpiece of a digital advertising machine that generated nearly $240 billion in revenue last year. Justice Department lawyers argued that Google’s monopoly enabled it to charge advertisers artificially high prices while also enjoying the luxury of having to invest more time and money into improving the quality of its search engine—a lax approach that hurt consumers.
  • Next steps. Mehta’s conclusion that Google has been running an illegal monopoly sets up another legal phase to determine what sorts of changes or penalties should be imposed to reverse the damage done and restore a more competitive landscape. The potential outcome could result in a wide-ranging order requiring Google to dismantle some of the pillars of its internet empire or prevent it from shelling out more than $20 billion annually to ensure its search engine automatically answers queries on the iPhone and other internet-connected devices. It’s also possible that the judge could conclude only modest changes are required to level the playing field.

Whatcha think?

Will this change anything or not?

Will Zuck be next?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Who Is A Bigger Threat?

This is a re-post from one of my other blogs, Gulf South Free Press, posted here because not all of my visitors realize there is another blog with my thoughts and opinions….

Who do you think is a bigger threat to our way of life?

Who Is The Bigger Threat?

For me it is the billionaires because they have the cash to get whatever it is they want from our lay-about Congress and our greedy presidents.

Your thoughts will be appreciated.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Now Is The Time For Medicare For All

Since Harris endorsed the3 idea as VP I thought I would bring it all up again….

Medical costs are rising, drug prices are through the roof, and we are trapped in a loop where medical services like insurance and drugs are making obscene profits off your health….but there is an answer….

Medicare For All

That’s right Medicare For All.

A new analysis illustrates just how dire the need has become….

A federal analysis released this week projects that U.S. healthcare spending is set to rise to $7.7 trillion by 2032 and account for nearly 20% of the nation’s economy, findings that single-payer advocates described as yet another indictment of the country’s for-profit system and further evidence of the need for Medicare for All.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Office of the Actuary said Wednesday that it expects national healthcare expenditures to outpace U.S. economic growth over roughly the next decade, “resulting in an increase in the health spending share of GDP from 17.3% in 2022 to 19.7% in 2032.”

The CMS analysis showed that U.S. healthcare spending grew at a rate of 7.5% last year, with overall expenditures reaching $4.8 trillion. CMS said it projects health spending will rise by 5.6% annually over the coming years, with overall spending reaching $7.7 trillion by 2032.

Robert Weissman, president of the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, said in a statement Thursday that the coming surge in healthcare spending “has nothing to do with improving care and everything to do with price-gouging, monopolization, and wealth extraction by insurance corporations, Big Pharma, and for-profit hospitals.”

Despite spending more on healthcare per capita than any other rich nation, the U.S. consistently ranks last among its peers in health outcomes.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/us-healthcare-spending

And yes the US could afford this program but it will take work and some changes….like one all individuals pay their taxes on every dime they make…there should be no cut-off to help the rich keep their money….Neither you or I has that option neither should anyone else.

Studies have repeatedly shown that transitioning to a Medicare for All system—as proposed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and more than 120 other members of Congress—would save the U.S. hundreds of billions of dollars a year and countless lives compared to the status quo, which leaves tens of millions of people uninsured, underinsured, and unable to afford lifesaving treatments and medications.

Time for the people of this country to get some of the benefits that only a few others have been afforded.

It is that simple.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

AI: A History

There it is a chance for me to offer up some history….that is always a good day…..at least for me….after all it is a Sunday and I like to give a history lesson when I can.

It is all the rage these….that being Artificial Intelligence (AI)….it has invaded all aspects of life from major programming to homes to cars to blog posts….it is everywhere and in just about everything.

Some see the birth of ‘Skynet’ (look it up) while others see it as a boon to human activities….but where did it all begin?

To answer that question I put my skills and my mind to work…..

It’s the simplest questions that are often the hardest to answer. That applies to AI, too. Even though it’s a technology being sold as a solution to the world’s problems, nobody seems to know what it really is. It’s a label that’s been slapped on technologies ranging from self-driving cars to facial recognition, chatbots to fancy Excel. But in general, when we talk about AI, we talk about technologies that make computers do things we think need intelligence when done by people. 

For months, my colleague Will Douglas Heaven has been on a quest to go deeper to understand why everybody seems to disagree on exactly what AI is, why nobody even knows, and why you’re right to care about it. He’s been talking to some of the biggest thinkers in the field, asking them, simply: What is AI? It’s a great piece that looks at the past and present of AI to see where it is going next. You can read it here. 

Artificial intelligence almost wasn’t called “artificial intelligence” at all. The computer scientist John McCarthy is credited with coming up with the term in 1955 when writing a funding application for a summer research program at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. But more than one of McCarthy’s colleagues hated it. “The word ‘artificial’ makes you think there’s something kind of phony about this,” said one. Others preferred the terms “automata studies,” “complex information processing,” “engineering psychology,” “applied epistemology,” “neural cybernetics,”  “non-numerical computing,” “neuraldynamics,” “advanced automatic programming,” and “hypothetical automata.” Not quite as cool and sexy as AI.

AI has several zealous fandoms. AI has acolytes, with a faith-like belief in the technology’s current power and inevitable future improvement. The buzzy popular narrative is shaped by a pantheon of big-name players, from Big Tech marketers in chief like Sundar Pichai and Satya Nadella to edgelords of industry like Elon Musk and Sam Altman to celebrity computer scientists like Geoffrey Hinton. As AI hype has ballooned, a vocal anti-hype lobby has risen in opposition, ready to smack down its ambitious, often wild claims. As a result, it can feel as if different camps are talking past one another, not always in good faith.

https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/07/16/1095001/a-short-history-of-ai-and-what-it-is-and-isnt/

I am an old fart so I do not need help turning my lights on or starting my car….I prefer to do things for myself….at least as long as I can.

I refuse to let some program do my research for me or for that matter write a blog for me.

I am old but not lazy!

Turn The Page!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

IST Saturday News Dump–03Aug24

The first Saturday of August and the world is still turning and its people are still breathing…..time for me to sit and think about what to include in the dump of the weekend.

The Summer Olympics are running full tilt….but on the lighter side…..today is the last of competition for the World Yo-Yo championships….just in case you are in Cleveland.

Locally….since I am an old fart I guess the best place to start is the weather….the temps have remained in the triple digits and the evening lows range from 85 to 93….just before daybreak this morning it dipped to 95…A/C is my best friend these days.

Enough about my little slice of heaven…..

As most everyone knows the world is watching the Olympics so I thought that would be a good place to start….

The US women won the bronze medal in rugby….

Is there compensation for medals by countries?

Oh yeah….

For some Olympic medalists, after the podium come the perks. CNBC notes that the International Olympic Committee doesn’t hand out prize money itself to those who take home gold, but Forbes looked into the more than 200 countries participating in the Paris Games and found more than a handful who give six-figure bonuses to their gold medalists, and even for some silver and bronze wins. Hong Kong dangles an especially lucrative carrot, offering gold medalists $768,000; silver medalists earn nearly $385,000, while bronzers get just over $190,000. Even fourth-place finishers there can expect to receive $100,000. More on what other countries dole out:

  • Pensions: Both Serbia and Malaysia offer pensions to its medalists, with the latter’s ranging from $400 to $1,100 per month.
  • Rent: Lithuania forks over that monthly payment for athletes once they retire.
  • Poland’s perks: This nation offers $82,000 for a gold medal, vacation vouchers, an investment-grade diamond, apartments, and a painting by a renowned Polish artist.
  • Smells like team spirit: In Italy, team members who place get the same large payout as individual competitors—each athlete on the team gets $196,000 for a gold medal, $98,000 for silver, and $65,000 for bronze.
  • Other perks: CNBC notes some of the more unusual gifts that athletes receive, including free food and teh tarik (a popular hot beverage) for life from a local chain to Malaysian athletes; free bags of rice (a perk seen by Japanese table tennis player Kasumi Ishikawa); and “five cows, a meatball restaurant, and a new house” given to gold-medal-winning badminton players Apriyani Rahayu and Greysia Polii of Indonesia.
  • Left out: Norway, Iceland, Sweden, and Great Britain don’t offer such incentives, though the latter’s governing sports body does give out bonuses to medal winners.

Check out some of the bonuses and perks that other nations give out here.

Now you know why there is so much joy and despair in the games…..for the US….seriously those multi-millionaires with endorsements and such still get the ‘bonus’?

My daughter and I have this game where we find deaths that are labeled suicide or natural causes that smell of a cover-up or just plain lazy….this is an old one that she found and sent me the other day…..I love it….it is from the UK….

The MI6 spy found dead in a bag three years ago probably locked himself in the holdall and died as a result of a tragic accident, Scotland Yard has said.

Outlining the results of a three-year investigation on Wednesday, the Metropolitan police said Gareth Williams most likely died alone in his flat.

But Detective Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt said the police could not “fundamentally and beyond doubt” rule out the possibility that a third party was involved in his death.

Williams’s naked body was found in the padlocked bag, with the keys discovered under his body, in the otherwise empty bath in his flat in Pimlico, central London, in August 2010.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/nov/13/mi6-spy-dead-bag-locked-himself-gareth-williams

Surely there is more to this story and if anyone knows it please enlighten me….

This is a good one…..

Remember that sub the some rich people paid to go down to the Titanic and the sub imploded?

The Coast Guard will hold a long-awaited public hearing in September about the deadly Titanic submersible disaster as it continues its investigation into the implosion of the vessel. The experimental Titan submersible imploded en route to the Titanic, killing all five people on board, in June 2023. The US Coast Guard quickly convened a high-level investigation into what happened, but that investigation is taking longer than originally anticipated, reports the AP.

A formal hearing that’s a key piece of the Marine Board of Investigation’s inquiry will begin on Sept. 16 in North Charleston, South Carolina, Coast Guard officials said on Monday. It will stretch out over nearly two weeks, ending on either Sept. 26 or Sept. 27. The marine board is expected to issue a report with evidence, conclusions, and recommendations when its investigation is finished, the Coast Guard said. Coast Guard officials said in a statement that the purpose of the hearing will be to “consider evidence related to the loss of the Titan submersible.”

The Titan was the subject of scrutiny in the undersea exploration community in part because of its unconventional design and its creator’s decision to forgo standard independent checks. “The hearing will examine all aspects of the loss of the Titan, including pre-accident historical events, regulatory compliance, crewmember duties and qualifications, mechanical and structural systems, emergency response, and the submersible industry,” the Coast Guard said in a statement.

The implosion killed Titan operator Stockton Rush; veteran Titanic explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet; two members of a prominent Pakistani family, Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman Dawood; and British adventurer Hamish Harding. OceanGate, a company co-founded by Rush that owned the submersible, suspended operations a year ago.

I believe I read or heard that there would be another dive on the Titanic soon….maybe the Coast Guard should step in…..whatcha think?

Have you heard about the group “White Dudes For Harris”?

Well it seems they pissed off Musk ….

White Dudes for Harris raised more than $4 million for the presidential campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday, then had its X account suspended. The group had celebrated its wildly successful livestream fundraiser on the platform, writing, “This is the start of something special and we couldn’t be more proud to be in this fight with you. More to come.” Then suddenly the account was suspended and “we had no idea why,” organizer Ross Morales Rocketto tells the Washington Post. The account @dudes4harris was blocked for hours following a user report alleging the account was violating rules “against evading suspension,” according to the outlet.

The account’s tweets reappeared Tuesday morning after the group submitted a complaint. But organizer Mike Nellis says the account itself “remains suspended” and is “permanently in read-only mode,” per Variety. Morales Rocketto views all this as “suspicious,” per the Post. It comes after X CEO Elon Musk endorsed former President Trump, claimed President Biden is “importing” immigrants to illegally vote for Harris, and shared an AI-generated video featuring a fake Harris calling herself the “ultimate diversity hire,” per the New Republic. Some even suggested the AI video violated X’s own policies against manipulated media.

The subsequent suspension of @dudes4harris “reflects broader concerns among Democrats that the platform, which Musk bought in 2022, could be used to influence the online discourse” ahead of the election, per the Post. “We scared @elonmusk and @DonaldJTrumpJr so much tonight they suspended our account and won’t let us back in,” wrote Nellis, suggesting they were “the first white dudes to ever get suspended by @elonmusk’s Twitter.” “These guys are running scared of the success we’ve had tonight, but we’re not going to quit,” Nellis continued. “More coming tomorrow (unless they shut down my account too!)” X and Musk have not commented.

Sounds like Musk is trying to use Twitter (I refuse to call it ‘X’) to influence the vote…..after all he is a huge donor to the Trump campaign (I knew there was a reason I dislike this ‘tool’)

More terrible news for an addict of coffee…..

What’s going on in the coffee industry? Roasters and cafe operators are faced with rising costs that, when passed onto consumers, threaten to bring to a shuddering halt almost 30 years of continuous, at times dizzying growth.

In the last few weeks Giuseppe Lavazza, head of the eponymous family-led Italian mega-roaster, has suggested that the price for his products in the UK might have to rise by 20%-25% over the coming year, in addition to the 15% hike that consumers have already experienced during the previous 12 months.

Coffee chains are pursuing store closure programmes to the point that the number of branded outlets actually fell last year, while Club Pret – the subscription service offering up to five free barista made drinks daily for a £30 monthly fee – is being withdrawn in favour of one that offers five half price drinks for £10.

The price of a medium latte has risen by over 30% since 2021 bringing the once-unthinkable £5 flat white ever closer. Indeed Lavazza’s flagship London store already charges £5.50.

https://theconversation.com/even-more-expensive-coffee-prices-are-brewing-but-there-are-some-good-reasons-why-235348

This is talking about the UK but how long before it crosses the pond and effects coffee prices here?

That is about all the time I have today for a “Dump”……

I hope everyone enjoys their August Saturday I will be lavishing in A/C….and as always….B Well and Be Safe….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The US Will Do WHAT?

****This is my look at the stupidity of blind obedience….if you cannot see it then maybe moving on would be in your best interests****

Just days ago the leader of HAMAS was assassinated and of course the fingers all point to Israel….and as per usual the US has made it clear their stance on anything that may be done in retaliation for the assassination.

And the statement is a doozey.

President Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday and promised the US would help defend Israel from any reprisal attacks it may face from Iran or its allies in response to recent Israeli escalations.

Iran is vowing revenge for the Israeli assassination of Hamas’s political chief in Tehran, and Hezbollah is warning it will escalate in response to the Israeli strike in Beirut that killed one of its top commanders.

“The President reaffirmed his commitment to Israel’s security against all threats from Iran, including its proxy terrorist groups Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis,” the White House said in a readout of the Biden-Netanyahu call.

Biden also said the US was deploying more military assets to the region. “The President discussed efforts to support Israel’s defense against threats, including against ballistic missiles and drones, to include new defensive US military deployments,” the readout said. The White House said Vice President Kamala Harris was also on the call.

A Pentagon official told The Washington Postthat the US had assembled 12 warships in the Middle East that were already in the region to prepare to defend Israel. The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and six US Navy destroyers are in the Persian Gulf, while three amphibious ships and two destroyers are in the Eastern Mediterranean.

US officials told Axios that the US is preparing for a direct Iranian attack on Israel and believes it could be bigger than the April 13 missile and drone attack that came in response to the Israeli bombing of the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria. The next attack could include Hezbollah and other Iranian allies.

Biden, Harris, and other US officials claim they’re trying to reduce tensions. But unconditional US military aid for Israel and vows to defend Israel no matter what it does in the region only emboldens Netanyahu and leads to more escalations.

(antiwar.com)

WTF?

I see the warmongering president is thumping his aging chest.

We send them millions upon millions of cash and weapons and yet we have to defend them?

We have helped them destroy a region and its people and yet when someone that has a comparable capability we have to come to the resuce.

I say F*CK ’em….they have been itching for a war with Iran for decades and now that it could be close the US has to come to the rescue….is that what you morons want?

Somewhere sanity must return for our good friend is trying damn hard to make the US do something that is ill-advised.

How many Americans want to die for Israel?

If you do then then go and join the fight.

I have had enough of Israel and its bullsh*t.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Three For One

That is the deal made with Russia….we get 3 prisoners they get one…..sounds like a one sided deal but consider there was actually about 20+ prisoners involved with this trade…..

The deal that resulted in the biggest and most complex prisoner swap since the end of the Cold War took more than a year of secret negotiations, reports Reuters. The most well-known names involved are Americans Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, but 22 other prisoners also were in the mix, and at least six nations were involved in the swap. Coverage:

  • 3 US citizens: Russia released 16 people from custody, while US-led Western nations freed eight prisoners. A total of three American citizens were released: Gershkovich, 32, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal who was held more than a year; Whelan, 54, a former US Marine held since 2018; and Alsu Kurmasheva, 47, a Russian-American editor for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty who was arrested last year, per the New York Times. All three were expected to arrive at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland later Thursday.
  • Linchpin: The big name freed on the Russian side is Vadim Krasikov, described by the Wall Street Journal as the “linchpin” to the entire deal. Krasikov, seen as a Russian assassin, had been serving a life sentence in Germany after murdering a former Chechen rebel there in 2019.
  • Pulitzer winner, others: Others freed include Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Pulitzer-Prize winning columnist and prominent critic of Vladimir Putin. He is a contributor to the Washington Post, which has a running list of bios of all those released.
  • Biden: “Their brutal ordeal is over, and they’re free,” President Biden said in remarks Thursday afternoon. He called the deal to secure the prisoners’ freedom a “feat of diplomacy,” adding: “Multiple countries helped get this done. … I personally thank them all again.” The Journal reports that Biden made a pivotal call to the prime minister of Slovenia on July 21, only about an hour before he informed the nation he would not seek reelection. Slovenia released two Russian prisoners key to the swap.
  • In Ankara: The actual exchange took place in Ankara, Turkey, where planes with prisoners from the US, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, and Russia converged, per the Times.
  • Two big names: Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter, had been detained more than a year, and Whelan, a former US Marine, had been held since 2018. Both were convicted of espionage charges that the US says are bogus.
  • Prison movement: Reuters reports that Whelan and Russian-British dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza had disappeared from view in recent days, and at least seven Russian dissidents had been moved from their prisons. The outlet says the swap involved prisoners held by Russia and Belarus on one side, and prisoners held by the US and Germany, and perhaps other nations, on the other. The AP estimates about two dozen people were involved.
  • Russia’s side: The New York Times reports that among the pro-Putin prisoners freed is Vadim Krasikov, a convicted assassin. Journalist Christo Grozev, who the Daily Beast reports was involved in negotiations, calls the deal “bittersweet” because it shows that as long as Putin “hoards ‘swap capital’ he will always be able to get his killers, hackers, and spies back.”
  • Dissidents: The Washington Post lists Russian dissidents Kara-Murza, Ilya Yashin, Lilia Chanysheva, Ksenia Fadeeva, Oleg Orlov, and artist Alexandra Skochilenko as among those who’d been moved from their prisons.

Will this make it into some movie in the future…..we seem to glorify these sort of things….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”