Gaposis: Fractals, Power, GDP, and Japan Screams Higher

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On what rational planet would multiple wars, growing threats, flawed personalities vying for “leadership” and impending natural disasters be a formula for markets to move seriously higher at the open?

Well, this one.

The markets began a modest decline Wednesday, but overnight some very significant plays were turned in.  In one of these, Japan’s market – as measured by the Nikkei 225 average, screamed ahead more than 1,000 points which is an eyelash under 2.8 percent higher.  The theory is that with the U.S. skipping a beat Wednesday, Asian Markets surge as Japan’s Nikkei and China’s CSI 300 lead the rally.

Our (extremely) cynical view is that two things are going on at the same time in the world.  First – and foremost for markets – there’s not much else to buy.  Gold and silver have been doing OK, but even knocking on $2,700, gold is too stodgy for the go-go hustling financial engineers.  Everyone knows there’s more gold “leased” than can ever be “covered” so the paper gold (and paper silver for that matter) is likely already set to burn in the bonfire of the financialities.

In the wake of the Housing bubble collapse, some of the hedgies bought real estate – and that did OK – because there were low rates and willing buyers.  But, we seem to recall that COVID fundamentally changed the nature of the work world: Who needs an office building, if you have Zoom and high-speed at home?  That makes putting any additional money into commercial real estate sketchy – at best – until we have the (still pending) “come to Jesus” about empty office towers.

Oil and gas exploration was once a hot sector, too…but then came Biden and the climate clowns. They’re coming for our BBQs and offering bugs to eat in return.  Thanks, but, um…no! Oil – even in the smoking final leg of the blow-off top was well under $70 this morning.

Markets Last?

Yes, this has been an expensive little financial science project for Ure.  And we’re seeing now that the market could go higher from here which would give the fat cats a chance to unload equities on the unsuspecting public.

GDP and More

The problem with GDP is it doesn’t represent widgets or calories of actual goods. It’s an economic measure where the units are Dollars. And these can be made up on the sly (and fly) so take this with a cardiologist sized dose of salt…

“Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 3.0 percent in the second quarter of 2024, according to the “third” estimate. In the first quarter, real GDP increased 1.6 percent (revised). The second-quarter increase in real GDP was the same as previously estimated in the “second” estimate released in August. The increase in the second quarter primarily reflected increases in consumer spending, inventory investment, and business investment. Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, increased.”

Durable Goods, too…

“New Orders
New orders for manufactured durable goods in August, up six of the last seven months, increased $0.1 billion or virtually unchanged to $289.7 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced today. This followed a 9.9 percent July increase. Excluding transportation, new orders increased 0.5 percent. Excluding defense, new orders decreased 0.2 percent. Electrical equipment, appliances, and components, up two of the last
three months, drove the increase, $0.3 billion or 1.9 percent to $14.4 billion.
Shipments
Shipments of manufactured durable goods in August, down following two consecutive monthly increases, decreased $1.6 billion or 0.5 percent to $289.4 billion.

And yes, still no logical reason in sight for the Fed to give away a half point though maybe Powell will say something about it this morning – he’s due to talk. But no big lines at the employment office:

After all the numbers, gold edged above $2700…and silver was holding just under $33 after briefly being above.

Militarily, War is Pending

You can thank the neocons and the likes of Blinken. Because too many years (of too many democrats) has left America’s once mighty Defense with feet of clay.

We bemoaned on Peoplenomics Wednesday about the accident to the ONLY U.S. Fleet Oiler the Navy has to service the steaming and aviation needs of US naval forces (including a carrier) in the Arabian Sea.  While you take a gander at Oiler USNS Big Horn Now in Port in Oman as Congress Raises Questions Over Logistics Fleet – USNI News, pay close attention to how the acci-bent is being described.  The Navy refers to an “allision.”  No, a collision involves two ships.  As AI clarifies:

“Allision is a maritime law term that describes when a moving vessel collides with a stationary object, such as a dock, bridge, or anchored ship. The term is distinguished from collision, which refers to when two moving vessels strike each other.”

The Navy isn’t offering specifics.  Which any old newsman (we have one handy) will tell you “Usually means the situation is such a mess that it would endanger flag officer careers were it to be fully disclosed.  So the DoBBS (Dictionary of Bureaucratic Bullshit) comes out so as not to scare the little people who are looking for a new ringmaster for the national circus.

Gads zooks – can it get worse?

Putin Sharpening Nukes

Forget “can” – it already has gotten worse.  Putin reveals new rules on nuclear weapons in Russia’s latest threat (cnbc.com).

The HUGELY important pull quote here is?

““What I would especially like to draw your attention to, is that in the updated version of the document, aggression against Russia by any non-nuclear state, but with the participation or support of a nuclear state, is proposed to be considered as their joint attack on the Russian Federation,” Putin said.”

Mean like the U.S. (Biden, Blinken and Ms Harris, et al) who are hip deep – and getting deeper – into the Ukraine War which we spent $6-billion starting when the US overthrew the elected government of Ukraine in 2014?  Why sure.

China’s Missile Launch also a HUGE Deal

Buried in the last week’s news were stories about the Chinese missile test. China Releases Photo of Rare ICBM Test in Pacific.  As we hear it, this is likely as close to a “live fire” drill as you can get.  Base on? Of all thing…warhead color in the photos.

China has a number of ways they test missiles.

  • Dud, proper weight missile, dud, proper weight warhead. (Not a big worry)
  • Dud, proper weight missile, dud, proper weight warhead, with embedded electronics to give operators correct signals. (Close to a combat ready version)
  • Hot, live missile, hot, live warhead, full “go to war” weapon. They train with these as well, at least for air defense training (We hear this is what this test was.)

Now, here’s the REALLY worrisome (in case China with hundreds of silos isn’t a worry for any rational consumer of Asian-made goods, already…): We have rread a report that “Japan Coast Guard official said it had received a navigation warning from China on Monday for “space debris” in three zones in South China Sea and the Pacific north of the Philippines’ Luzon island, and in the South Pacific, on Wednesday. ”

This launch from Hainan Island was, therefore on a line with Hawaii.  If you don’t see the Big Message here, you’re an idiot.

Nuclear Scholarship – 1980

People forget things all the time.  Makes sleeping a lot easier.  Remember my friend who was the doc for the real  “Men who stare at Goats” in the old days?

With Israel going into Lebanon, we keep moving toward that Biblical prophesy part about Damascus becoming uninhabitable, right?

“What’s to say that Syria doesn’t have a nuclear weapon in Damascus that somehow detonates? It’s recently been revealed that they have a secret nuclear program to make plutonium.

So, search for “hidden nuclear in Damascus.” It brings up articles about a 1980 nuclear missile warhead that was blown out of its silo by the explosion of the rocket. Where? At Damascus, Arkansas. Is it possible that this is the archetypicals antecedent of the Isaiah 17 prophecy?”

Well, of course the Official US Intel view is Syria doesn’t have the resources to brew up plutonium.  But, when my serious doc tells me something I don’t know (easily done) I do look it up. Sure enough: 1980 Damascus Titan missile explosion – Wikipedia.  The warhead, retrieved, went back to Pantex in northwest Texas for salvage. It was a 9 megaton W-53 which certainly is an attention-getter for Isaiah 17 fans…

In the ME Today

The fuse war” in Lebanon continues to heat up with Israel media claims 40,000 fighters have arrived near the Golan Heights to support Hezbollah – Middle East Monitor.  And, yes, this is a good bet for the next humanitarian disaster because Thousands flee into Syria from Lebanon as conflict worsens between Hezbollah and Israel.

If Putin changing doctrine to allow direct response to the West and now Israel warring on several fronts isn’t enough, stay tuned.

The Idiots at Large

Once again, the asylum was left unlocked overnight.

Pants on fire? Kamala Harris doubles down on her claim that she worked at McDonald’s (rumble.com).  Didn’t Slo Joe tell her to fix it? Kamala: “We do have a broken immigration system, and it needs to be fixed.” (rumble.com)  Almost four years in with all the help in the Senate and still no solutions.  Quick, let’s vote for “More nothing!”

Speaking of democrats we question, here’s another: Eric Adams first sitting NYC mayor to be indicted by grand jury: sources (nypost.com). Bit of newsroom humor? “He’s not a crook…he’s a democrat mayor!”

And what’s with the “conditioning” instead of some arrests? ABC, CNN Mention Bounty on Trump from Ryan Routh’s Letter 21 Times in Two Days.

FCC Sells Out to Soros.  Another high-rolling democrat slam and jam, looks like to us as Soros’ Acquisition of 200 US Radio Stations Ahead of Election Being Fast-Tracked by FCC.

Guess who’s coming to dinner! (Helene!)

We don’t like sloppy dinner guests…but no one asked…

At the Ranch: Sore Muscles

This will turn into a supply run and writing day for us.

After mowing the rifle range Wednesday, about 3-hours tractor-back mowing a power line right of way and pushing up brush.  I made a decision to clean up several “fuel jackpots” that G2 had pointed out, one of which is 2-acres of solidly overgrown brush.  With a handheld electric chainsaw and a hedge trimmer (which works pretty well for trimming yaupon), I got a fair amount of clean-up done.  try cutting and then pushing up a couple of acres of wildland sometime – quite the fitness routine.

Almost didn’t get out of the shower, as a result, however.  Standing there – waiting for the ibuprofen to kick in…well, it’s a miracle there’s a column here today. Yes, this is why a continuous hot water heater isn’t here.

New CPAP machine showed up this week: a Philips Resperonics DreamStation2 and it’s very much along the lines of my ResMed AirSense 11.   A comparison of the units here. The DreamStation unit replaces a unit I bought from LOOB (three years ago, was it?).  That unit was recalled (if you follow CPAP technology) and the new replacement works fine so now we have a great backup machine.

At the time I started using a CPAP the Philips recall had just been announced and I had a long wait for the ResMed device.  Tested the original Philips and it was safe having not been used with oxygen which sped up the breakdown of internal parts subject to degradation.  New one is a nice unit and worth considering.

Also, we get CPAP supplies from Amazon for disposables – their pricing has been better than what some online retailers ask.

Getting good reviews on the ham bands in idle chitchat: The Text & Spam Call Blocker App That Actually Works | Robokiller which seems to do OK. I hate telemarketing calls. The Major says if you just say “Hello” and nothing more, a lot of them will think it’s an answering machine and just hang up. I use the calls to tune up my swearing strings for later shop use.  Related: The Handiest Word in English (bastard) according to The Honey Badger. Too refined and  not graphic enough for us, though… (When the F word is not enough…)

Write when you get rich (and hire a gardener),

George@Ure.net

76 thoughts on “Gaposis: Fractals, Power, GDP, and Japan Screams Higher”

  1. “A huge deal’ ?

    Not so much “huge”, more like logical methinks, logical.

    You see Hawaii is really just a little Japan. Everytime I have blown thru there I always see hordes of Japanese. At battleship monument – its ALL Japanese tourists – a sea of yellow with little white specs interspersed amongst em.
    Hell, there might be more Nips in Hawaii than Murhicans.

    So yeah if I was the dred red, I would be dialing in Diego Garcia and Guam 1st, then Hawaii. Gotta figure Chynah owes em (nips) & gonna use Hawaian Islands as jumping off point for left coast assaults, on all those .mil installations in up north Cali ways.

    No worries running out hot water G Pops – Belgorods gonna supply East Coast with all the hot water we can handle..begging the question..got Any Tea or Coffee handy ?

    * Bonus pts – ?Who is/was winkenblinken&nods Step Father ? Who was step father consigliere to ?

    ..now U know why he was considered epstains butt boy back in the day.

    • I live in the Big Island. Dick Allgire, a remote viewer from
      Oahu, had a realtor friend of his tell him that the CCP had bought up Covid distressed hotels. I immediately thought, instant barracks. Those could be filled with military aged ppl who just happen to be on ‘vacation,’ conveniently activated for go time. And yes, Hawaii is a stepping stone to the mainland. It probably wouldn’t take much for that resident A-hole Governor to give them the keys. All guns here suppose to be registered so they can easily be confiscated and there goes Hawaii. Won’t the sovereignty ppl be surprised.

      • Aven Gardening: “Hell, there might be more Nips in Hawaii than Murhicans.” That’s about as racist a comment you can make… especially in Hawaii. Most of the Japanese you see here are American… some several generations worth. I doubt a tourist like you could tell the difference, though.

        Geo: I live on the Big Island also. Sure, guns here are ‘supposed’ to be registered. I know an awful lot of native friends who are NOT registered gun owners, though. Confiscation would be a deadly job here.
        The Chinese can have the Oahu hotels. They can battle the four military bases on that island.
        They would have to neutralize the military there, but we DO have incoming missile defenses operational and tested out at Barking Sands on Kauai.
        FWIW- I know Dick Allgire personally & worked with him for years.

    • If China comes calling I stand by my long standing prediction that they will ignore Oahu, and having to FEED 1.5 million people, and just isolate it off to the side while they find another place, or places, to “hang out”.

      Personally if a major war would break out with a potential shutdown in ocean shipping I wouldn’t want to be in ANY location that requires weekly or monthly supplies coming in just to feed and support the people that live there. Oahu fits that bill in spades, but so do some other places like Pueto Rico (8 million people, island can probably self support 1/4 that number), Hispanola (Haiti and DR – combined about 16 million … island can probably self support 1/8 that amount), etc..

      Surprisingly many Central American countries are BIG food importers too!! (here’s looking at you Panama, AND Costa Rica) … as is ALASKA!! (though mid Alaska could be a prolific food growing area … lack of rail transit in and out of the area though the surrounding mountains has prevented that area from ever developing)

      Hawaii … a great place to visit. NOT a place to be hanging out if a direct War ever breaks out with China (neither is Alaska).

  3. Ive always believed that if you could get a recording of a Fax machine responding to an incoming call , and play that sound to answer your phone , you could virtually knock them all out.

    You would of course need to tell your real contacts what to expect.

    ******

    George , I give you huge credit for being able to stay on top of all the news that you do. In fact , so much so that I come here first before reading any propoganda from the big news networks. Thank you and thanks to all.

  4. George,

    The high for the 14 day 3rd fractal is extended to 2.5x’ or 17 days.
    On Monday 30 September 2024, the Nikkei will complete a 5 August 2024 8/18/14 day :: x/2-2.5x/2x’ growth fractal series (The Nikkei had 5 trading holidays during this time frame.) The ACWI and Western composite equities will complete an 8/17/17 day:: x/2-2.5x/2.5x’ growth fractal series on 30 September 2024 with extension of the previous fractal model’s (2x’) 14 day 3rd fractal to 2.5x’ or 17 days. The crash low is expected on Friday 11 October 2024 following a 5 Aug 2024 to Friday 11 October 2024 4-Phase Lammert Crash Fractal Series: 8/17/17/10 day :: x/2-2.5x/2.5x’/1.5x’.

  5. “After all the numbers, gold edged above $2700…and silver was holding just under $33 after briefly being above.”

    I’d like to see where those numbers came from. I watch Kitco closely and haven’t seen Gold hit $2700 yet and haven’t seen Silver hold $32 yet although it does briefly go above 32 before dropping again.

    • I noticed that also. And it’s within the same time frame as solar storms, the equinox, and a new sunspot eruption. Could be interesting!

  7. If you just look at the headlines today [ financial ] we, as a country, are doing quite well. In fact, we are doing good. GDP is up much higher than I predicted three months ago., stock market is continuing its record climb., oil prices dropping – which, in theory, should help ease transportation costs a little further down the road.., manufacturing up, nearly across the board.., unemployment claims dropping.., hell, this all looks really good, doesn’t it ? Even overseas inflation is dropping and markets climbing out of their lows and are setting, or heading for new record highs.
    .
    As one market analyst stated this morning – “I may be a Bear., but all of this has the smell of a perfect storm brewing.”
    .
    I couldn’t have said it better myself. I don’t trust any of this. How do I formulate a plan of attack, financially, when I seriously questions and have major doubts on the numbers I am being fed by the government? How do you use those numbers with any confidence and not get your legs cut-off at the knees if all goes south on you?
    .
    I don’t trust any of this. So.., I am on the sidelines for any swing trading right now.

    • Praise the Stop Loss!

      ..thank goodness for not ignoring BCN 1st rule of trading.

      Never let a Winning trade turn into losing trade.
      Oil trade did well, and raised stop loss level as she climbed. Stop Loss saved my bacon on this..again.

      How much potential profit Oil trade ? Well if youse bot 1 Oil futures contract ($10k need margin min.)(front month) potential was around $5000 profit. Would never reco $10k margin to trade Oil contracts..need more like several hundred thousands in Margin to safely trade in that pool of sharky sharks. So homegamers stuck in the ETF mkts if wanna trade Oil, or Invest in a Big Oil Co – ala the oracle of omaha.

    • (“If you just look at the headlines today [ financial ] we, as a country, are doing quite well. In fact, we are doing good.”)

      exactly..if a person goes by provable news.. the Biden Harris administration is the best ever.. stocks soaring companies advancing a d people dancing in the streets good..
      no problems at all..

  8. According to one source I have., there is rumor floating around that a huge A.I. data center is in the works – a combined effort. But a major problem has formed a roadblock. Power consumption. So., along with this massive A.I. center there is also an ‘attached rumor’ that this combined mega-group is looking to build a small, modular nuclear power plant to fuel the power requirements. Location? West Texas.
    Isn’t that Musk stomping grounds ?
    .., and – isn’t that how Skynet got started?

    • There are several planned (I believe seven, to start with) — each to be built with a new, adjacent nuke plant. I hope somebody has the foresight to install a manually-triggerable C-4 package in the power export to each A.I. hub, and not insert it into the plans or specs…

    • I read and article which said they were looking at 3-Mile Island in Pennsylvania to power the AI research facility. What could possibly go wrong… ‘anyone notice the multi-headed fish or water glowing in the dark?’

  9. ” Putin reveals new rules ”

    Since all it takes to change rules is a change order there was no rule begin with. It’s all made-up as we go. That to say how many red lines have been crossed? Putin is a kitten
    >^. .^<

    Instead of the Black King Putin has turned out to be the Black Knight.

    Monty Python – The Black Knight – Tis But A Scratch

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmInkxbvlCs

    • You seem to have been gaslighted Homey, hard.

      Mr Putin never bluffs, not in his bag of tricks, his MO.
      Direct action kinda guy, all have been fooled by that legendary Russian patience, that even newer generation of Russian dont really understand.

      History has repeatedly shown once Russia goes – there is no stopping Her..You will Die or be Assimilated if in the way. Pooteen is doing everything he can to preserve Lives…including early Surrender of Russian troops in Kursk area = preserving Lives. They will not hit – and have not hit Civilian Used/Occupied Targets.
      Both Russia and Hezbollah are following Rules of Engagement..- WHO IS INTENTIONALLY KILLING CIVILIANS?

      naziyahoo and elensky – bet ya cant guess what they have in common, besides being died in wool COWARDS ?

      • (“Pooteen is doing everything he can to preserve Lives…including early Surrender of Russian troops in Kursk area “)

        So is Xi.. unfortunately NATO and the USA see this patience as weakness and fear so we keep pushing the issues assuming that they will cower in fear..
        the setup they did against NATO and the USA is priceless.. you would think that in the war colleges someone there would have some knowledge on strategies used in the past.. good lord knows they have them all used now setup to take NATO off the board as the leaders in economics .. its just a matter of time..
        I don’t know if there’s even a way to back off of this at this point..the best we could see is the worst depression in modern history.. the fiat currencies losing their status as king of the mountain..and the emergence of a multi polar planet..

  10. You can’t win the Phone Sales Wars.
    Best you can do is waste their time. The longer you can engage the machine or semi-hyoumann bio-droid — the fewer others they can harrass.

    I NEVER use the word “yes; and upon my innocent “hello?” and their opening gambit, I ask in a semi-demanding voice, “Whattya WANT?” Generally, this isn’t in their progrmming or scripts, so they usually soldier on, regardless, with their Opening pitch script.
    To which I usually reply, “So… This is a sales call…”
    Which they always deny.

    From there, I can go Full Surrealist, and take them down a road of Madness and Krazyness, or I can remain challenging and combative — depends on my mood.

    I also try to have some loud-ish Morse Code or HF digital signals going on in the not-so-back ground. If I’m lucky, some police calls or ham radio repeater voices might add to the din.

    Sometimes I’ll say I have something I simply MUST do — and please hang on — I’ll be RIGHT back in a few seconds, and I just put the phone down on the desk,
    and leave it, listening to The Signals.

    Doesn’t do me any good, but it DOES waste a little of their time, and that keeps them off somebody else’s backside for a short while.

    After a few weeks, the call rate does diminish a bit. I imagine they have a rating system of some sort to mark the worthless or hostile ones.

    I never say anything threatening, violent, or offensive — I just waste their time. Although, rarely, I have suggested they attempt a biologically challenging procedure upon themselves..

    • …I like it…

      My choice of response is a demanding statement in a made-up language that sounds something like HindiJapanese, with indignant overtones…

      However if the washing machine is running, then lay the phone on the lid for a bit…

      I consider this a sport in the same way as seeing how many free months of a magazine I could get by returning the ‘3 months FREE’ card using the same address but sLiGhTlY different names…

    • I don’t get sales calls. Perhaps I’m just invisible. If I was to have such a problem, I might answer: “Dispatch! What’s the nature of your emergency?”.

      On the other hand, I prefer not to engage. If I get a call I don’t recognize, I don’t answer. Period. Rarely, someone will leave a message. I may look up the origin as best I can online, unless it ‘s from the area code that my cellphone has. In that case, I just ignore it, since I know nobody there at all.

      • My best answering machine was.. Hello…..helllllo.. can you speak up..honey listen to this is like someone’s trying to say something but they can hardly speak…can you speak up… push a number if you need help..lol
        the daughter called and was screaming into the phone..tney.are me take it off..
        THE next best one was Blue moon consulting …how may I direct your call..
        when people called I would get them misdirected.. just like you do if you go to an auto dealership.. always take the friend that will keep the guy reading the customer busy..

      • But you can not block political calls… so this time of year, what good is it… besides, it’s fun to discuss items off topic with callers… :-)

        • And you pay for that…
          which is why I don’t believe I will renew my cell phone..
          Why spend that much a month just to have spam callers ..insurance companies all suck..
          for that I spend almost fifty percent of our take home income for..just for insurance and then house taxes..and loan payments..

      • Have a casual acquaintance who had generated a more than NICE Retirement Income via the Do Not Call Registry.

        He lives in a very upscale area thus gets marketing calls regularly … always records them along with the data that shows up with the caller ID.

        He always tells them DO NOT CALL again!! Voila the hook is now baited, ready for the “catch”.

        Of course they call back. His area of houses are all in the Million $+ range. BANG … he hits them with the DNC request for personal penalties which are to be PAID TO HIM. Has the way to file for them on “speed dial” so to speak.

        First time isn’t so bad … $50 I think he told me … but his REAL money maker is on the SECOND VIOLATION ($500 I think) and KABOOM … the THIRD VIOLATION!! ($THOUSANDS!). And believe me he chases them until they PAY … had to sue a couple in Federal Court where they had to pick up his Attorney fees too!!

        He tells me he is averaging $30,000 to $60,000 /year but he got one very very stupid outfit for $50,000 or so after they didn’t learn after paying him several times before! He said that year was a GREAT YEAR for him, he collected over $100,000 that year for companies violating the Do Not Call rules.

        If you are getting multiple marketing calls think about listing on the DNC list and then YOU being very aggressive at chasing the callers when they call again. You Too might develop a nice 2nd income stream!

      • Yeah, I’ve ‘registered’. Fat lot of good it does. Still the crap calls come. If I don’t know the number, I don’t answer.

    • Their time is infinite, mine is not.

      If a number is not in my contact list, I don’t answer.

      If it looks like it might be legit, I’ll search it. I haven’t had one come back as legitimate in over two years. To be so, it has to

      a) be a landline from a legitimate caller,
      b) be a caller from whom I’m likely to have received a call,
      c) not be spoofed.

      Life is too short…

    • William of the Radio Ranch
      September 26, 2024 at 11:49

      You can’t win the Phone Sales Wars.
      Best you can do is waste their time.
      ____________________________________
      Around here, the tele-solicitors really kick in on calling early in the month because the marketeers have just finished training a new batch of operators who are amped up over finding themselves a new job.
      Telemarketing is old school and it doesn’t pay well but it will provide for a tankful or two until the lightbulb comes on. Takes about a month to burn out and move on. Just in time for the new newbies to man the phones and hope…

  11. How did I miss this ?

    China’s Newest Nuclear Submarine Sank dockside
    The Zhou-class vessel that sank is the first of a new class of Chinese nuclear-powered attack subs and features a distinctive X-shaped stern, which is designed to make the vessel more maneuverable.

    The sub was built by China State Shipbuilding Corp., a state-owned company, and was observed alongside a pier on the Yangtze River in late May when it was undergoing its final equipping before going to sea.

    After the sinking, large floating cranes arrived in early June to salvage the sub from the river bed, according to satellite photos of the site.

    Neither the People’s Liberation Army, as the Chinese military is known, nor local authorities, have acknowledged the episode.

    “It’s not surprising that the PLA Navy would try to conceal the fact that their new first-in-class nuclear-powered attack submarine sank pierside.” & “I would estimate at least 24 to 30 months before it can be recommissioned. That’s a lot of work.”

    Causalities and radiation leaks are unknown.

    • it’s just China trying to copy US again, just very late. Anyone remember the sinking of the USS Guitarro, SSN-665 at the pier in Mare Island, CA in 1969?

  12. while tracking my own FedEx package today, found this interesting message on their website …. war soon? …. humm if FedEx is still going there, seems not, but who knows

    the old Fedex indicator … LOL

    From FedEx Website:

    Ukraine Service Reinstated

    September 26, 2024

    FedEx International Priority inbound and outbound service to and from Ukraine has been reinstated covering the majority of Ukrainian postal codes. Pick-up and delivery services will be performed according to local authority instructions, where it is safe and possible.

    Continue to check this page for updates. For specific shipment status information, please track your shipment at fedex.com.

    Initially reported March 19, 2024

    Israel Service Reinstated

    September 26, 2024

    FedEx International inbound and outbound service to and from Israel has been reinstated. Pick-up and delivery services will be performed according to local authority instructions, where it is safe and possible.

    Continue to check this page for updates. For specific shipment status information, please track your shipment at fedex.com.

  13. I believe that everyone knows that this isn’t going to end well.
    Hezbollah launched a rocket attack on Israel overnight. At least now we know why they asked for a cease-fire.

    American and British troops arrive in Cyprus to help ready the Island for incoming refugees from Lebanon.
    Turkey is gearing up for mass migration of refugees from Lebanon.

    .., and to make it all.., oh so much better:
    Secretary Bliken announced that he is personally overseeing the “unilateral negotiations” between Israel and Hezbollah. Of which Israel and Hezbollah are not a part of. You know., just like the peace negotiations between Russia and the Ukraine that he called for, in which Russia was not invited to attend. He seems pretty good at doing that – which is – use more hair products, bluster importantly in front of the cameras and then disappear for a week or so.

  14. Here’s a doozy:

    “The Department of Justice is announcing over $135 million in formula awards to 48 states under the Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program (Byrne SCIP), which provides funding for the implementation of extreme risk protection order, or “red flag”, programs, state crisis intervention court proceedings, and related programs/initiatives.”

    “Red flag laws open the door for law enforcement to take away an individual’s firearms in a pre-crime confiscation scenario, based on the testimony of family members, neighbors, co-workers, spouses and/or former spouses.”

    https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/09/26/fact-sheet-president-biden-and-vice-president-harris-announce-additional-actions-to-reduce-gun-violence-and-save-lives/

    A guess we may see mini revolts at stoop.

    • This screams Napoleanic to me (presumption of guilt). Is there a reasonable recourse to jury, discovery, and cross examination of accusers in all this? Did Ms Harris really graduate from a Law school and take Constitutional law?

      • Even worse, in the WH presser/brainwash

        “Data submitted to the Department of Justice shows that the homicide rate dropped another 17 percent from January through June 2024, compared to the same time period in 2023. Data from the Gun Violence Archive indicates that the number of mass shootings so far this year is 20 percent lower than it was at this time last year.”

        So what magical shit did they actually do that was implemented? I mean besides talk? No kiddies, we call these things noisy data sets” interpretted by PR hacks. You don’t have to be able to trace bupkis back to cause and drive a result. You just need to find a data window that looks good and claim miraculous parentage thereof.

  15. Re: Eric Adams. And democrats are calling for Adams to resign. Even BLM was heckling him this morning. Finally got rid of that crook Menendez. Gary Hart, Al Franken, Jon Edwards.

    What about the other side of the aisle? Robinson, Boebert, Gaetz?

    • She (big horn) was lucky..as she is out of the line of fire now.

      Wait BCN, what line of fire do thou refer to ?

      Why the P18 ONYX line of fire, of course. Not familar with the P18 ? She is most fearsome anti -ship currently known. Well gee BCN how the hell is Russia going get P18’s into ME theater ?
      Easy Peasy – just talk to the camel jocks in Yemen – ya know from whence the Sufyani, Al-Yamani and Khorasanyi – will rise, in month of Rajab.

      * rumor has it He came out – did not see his Shadow, and therefore It comes early.

      **If Houthis get P18’s – one would imagine Gulf Oil will be stuck in ME for awhile.
      Real smooth move giving ukies deep strike data/Sat intel and missiles for deep strikes into Russia.

      Geniuses at pentagram, geniuses.

  17. .., and now for something completely different – – –
    I have a pretty good water filtration system for drinking / cooking water.., but it does not remove fluoride, or chlorine., and as the discussion here the other day .., I have been looking into a bunch of different ways to accomplish everything into one system.
    – According to ZeroWater website their five stage filter system removes., well, just about everything known.., including 99% of fluoride and 99% of chlorine.
    – Has anyone else tried this system?
    Seems to be the answer.

    • I have hard city water. I use a water softener for the whole house. For the whole home I use a 5 micron activated carbon water filter, located after the softener, to remove water softener salt and chlorine. It works well.

      I have had the softened water tested several times and it is salt and chlorine free. The filter packaging claims that it removes fluoride. I have no reason to doubt it. But I haven’t tested for fluoride.

      Home Depot sells various home filter systems.

    • D-

      I am a fan of as much water, filtration production as you can get. Life straws even have their place.

      If you’re going for at home, long-term, spend the coin and get the big Berkey.

    • We used the ZeroWater for a while. The filters work pretty well, but are expensive… bought 8 at a time on the Zon. Went through filters quickly because our well water is crap.

      Went with the Mini Classic and now make 2 gallons a day, but needs cleaning after making 8 gallons. Have to replace a charcoal filter often as well. But less money than buying Zero filters.

      I have a Burke that uses 2 filters, and like Zero is a gravity feed. I’m looking into buying spare filters for the Burke at dryelement.com

    • Looks good… except the cost. Two pack of filters is $35. Filters are good for only 15 gallons rating. So you are paying more than a buck a gallon for the filtration. Seems to me a distiller, even with the heavy electric consumption to boil the water would be more economical.

      • I have both crude oil and considerable rust in my well water. I have replaced my Zerowater filter twice in over 20 years; I have replaced my Berkey filters zero times in over 10 years. The Zerowater pitcher gets used about once per month. The Berkey runs about 4 gallons per day. On hugely underreported advantage to the Zerowater jug is it comes with a water impurity tester. I don’t check my filters or put a calendar on them. I simply use the Zerowater tester. If impurities ever go above 20PPM I’ll replace the Zerowater filter or boil the Berkey filters. Otherwise, I ain’t doin’ diddly…

  18. “2020
    ZeroWater joins Culligan, combining advanced 5-stage filtration technology with decades of water expertise to innovate and expand our offerings.”

    Ever hear of Katadyn?

    When Mormon missionaries set up camp in really remote areas, they would carry Katadyn filter bottles until they could get a Berkey or a bladder filter into the village. Katadyn was instrumental in Zerowater coming to be. I don’t recall if they developed the filter system, or just contributed money or expertise (BiC would know for sure, since this is his wheelhouse) but I bought one — over 20 years ago now. It was everything they said it was.

    In the 2020-2021 time period, many water filter companies changed ownership (search on this — it’s downright spooky), including Zerowater.

    If Culligan hasn’t jacked with the filter stack, Zerowater should still be as good as it was in 2004.

    In 2004, it was very, very good…

    • When two of us did a deep backcountry hike in the Grand Canyon back in 2011 or so, we carried two Katadyn pump filters. Two is one and one is none! Without those filters and drinking local water, it would have been impossible to carry enough water to survive between campsites, or even on the long trek up from the river. The Canyon is unforgiving and very dehydrating. Literally, two lives depended on those filters. I bought one each for my kids as essential supplies for an emergency.

    • It’s amazing to live floating near a small island where everyone drinks the water as it comes from the tap. Almost no ungulates to put bad shit into the H2O and mountains of volcanic rock to ‘filter’. The other choice we have is to catch rain (lots every day) but it lacks minerals so we ad a small amount of seawater if we are going to drink it. Mostly use it for shower and washing. Dive in, climb out and soap up with JOY detergent (makes great suds in sea water), dive in and swim around to rinse soap, then climb out and rinse with rain water.
      Sea water is so clean you can see down thirty feet into the blue.
      Floating. It makes the dirt world look real far away.
      Closest military target is hundreds of miles and is an insignificant threat to any side of the disagreement.
      Floating. Gots to give up lots of things you don’t really need anyway, but the tradeoff is pretty relaxing. Lots of really good older boats out there for low prices. It’s a water world.
      Stiks

  19. Saw the orthopedic Dr today and he agreed there is no cartilage left in my hip joint, and I am a candidate for hip replacement. Left side. Meet with the surgeon Nov.8 with procedure to follow soon after. Surgeon is highly rated & a friend had his done there and is very pleased with the outcome. I can’t wait to get thru this and recovered. Tired of being a gimp in pain.

    • Knowm many people who had it done (many skier frinds who are now getting older). Do the rehab, which for the hip is minimal compared to a knee. and you should get excellent results.

      None of my acquaintances who have done it have had a bad outcome … but then again they are all active people who didn’t shy away from the rehab requirements.

      Have heard of a few people who did NOT have great outcomes, but when you start inquiring they ALL were people who did NOT follow the rehab requirements, some avoided them completely (and were totally out of shape to begin with when they went in for the surgery)

      • Surgery done Saturday morning, was walking laps around the ortho floor on Saturday afternoon. Virtually no pain at any time…

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