Import Prices Rocket

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Import prices are going which way, do you think?

“Come on you dog-faced pony soldier…”  Get this one right and the Slow Joe economics plan might actually make sense.  No?  Not enough drugs in the world to straighten that mess out?   OK, the answer is:

“Prices for U.S. imports increased 0.3 percent in July, after advancing 1.1 percent the previous month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The July increase was driven by higher fuel prices. U.S. export prices rose 1.3 percent in July following a 1.2-percent advance in June. “

What matters in Houston:

Fuel Imports: Prices for import fuel rose 2.9 percent in July following increases of 5.5 percent in June and 5.2 percent in May. Higher prices for both petroleum and natural gas contributed to all 3 monthly advances.
Prices for import fuel advanced 66.5 percent for the year ended in July. Petroleum prices rose 2.1 percent in July and 65.5 percent over the past 12 months. The price index for natural gas increased 17.1 percent in July
and 120.9 percent from July 2020 to July 2021; the 12-month advance in July was the largest over-the-year increase since October 2005.

In terms of the hype:

The price index for U.S. exports increased 1.3 percent in July following advances of 1.2 percent in June and 2.3 percent in May. U.S. export prices have not decreased on a monthly basis since declining 3.5 percent in April 2020.

Two things drive here:  1) We’re making up money like crazy and 2) we don’t export nearly as much as we import so this is a talking point for the shills, mostly.

The market continues wandering through the TSR (*typical summer rally) so despite the worsening “viral load” and the “in debt  up to our National ass” problem, Greater Fools remain in abundant supply.  God’s still intent on making the rich richer.

BTC bounced after the Thursday trip, and Dow futures after the data joyously chorused the shrill of the shills: +60 on the futures.

Dumb Virus?

Story making the rounds warns Children born during pandemic have lower IQs, US study finds |  The Guardian.  The idea is that there’s a lack of stimulation as parents balance working from home, and such.  But (sorry!) this demanded a deeper look at the data. So…,

The paper underlying this is “Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Early Child Cognitive Development: Initial Findings in a Longitudinal Observational Study of Child Health.”

Here’s what seems to be a key part of the paper:

” Optimal brain development depends on secure and trusting relationships with knowledgeable caregivers who are responsive to the infant’s needs and interests. Neurodevelopmental processes, including myelination and synaptogenesis, for example, are stimulated by external cues and experiences like maternal interaction, and physical skin-to-skin “kangaroo” care, touch, and warmth [19-22].”

So, when the parents are home with the newborns, seems they get less attention, stimulation, and such.   Missing the “pack up, get in car, go to daycare, interact with others…”  Instead (my reading between the lines) hints “putting the kid on ignore and closing the door to their room so as not to disrupt a Zoom might be in play.

Still, the first-blush reactionary might jump in the direction of “here come defective kids” when it’s defective parents, more likely.  Hmm..  LifeHacker in with New Data Shows Not Getting Vaccinated in Pregnancy Is the Riskier Choice.

Last point:  Here’s another reason for dumber kids: Does Homework Really Make Sense For Kids During A Pandemic? | HuffPost Life.

Short Takes

So much for out of Afghanistan?  U.S. Sends 3K Troops to Kabul to Evacuate Some Embassy Staff.

“Shoot if it makes you feel good” Department:  Fauci: Everyone will need COVID vaccine booster shots ‘sooner or later’.  Janis along with Big Brother and the vaxxing Holding Company…

More on  the Vax Monetization?  “Wakeup Call”: Pfizer Vax Only 42% Effective Against Infection In July.  Slowly, we move into the “rent your Life” world.  OK, not so slowly, then.

Let us know when the FDA goes back to work.  CDC panel prepares to vote on Covid vaccine booster shots for vulnerable Americans which is a foregone (big money! big money!) deal.  Where’s the Fooled and Drugged Administration when we actually need them?

Politics turns dirty (but don’t it always?):  Newsom recall: Democrats ramp up attacks on Larry Elder.

Arson perp?  Might be as Ex-professor accused of arson ‘spree’ near California’s Dixie Fire.  Criminal-Justice lecturer?  Seriously?

Racism in “Journalism?”

Your call, of course.  But those who deny the media’s racial bias may have no idea what “equality” is all about.  Around here is means treating everyone the same.  Exactly so.  Apparently, though, it means something else to the flailing mainstream media.

Take the New York Times story here, for example:  Clear cut case of anti-White discrimination, as we figure it.  See if you can spot the issue:

“The data also showed that just under a majority of people under the age of 18 checked boxes other than white — multirace, Hispanic, Asian, or Black — a milestone that is the result of a substantially more diverse younger American population. A decade ago, 65 percent of children were white. “

They sort of glossed over the White population dropping (in long-term demography) at something like a free-falling safe rate.  At the rate of border crossings, Mexico should be a couple of U.S. States by late next month.  Someone has noticed the human tide coming in:  500 years after Spanish conquest, (Mexico) still under ‘colonial domination’? (nbcnews.com).  Offer ’em statehood.

In our view, the failure to treat all racial identities equally (all upper case or all lower case in the Times example) merely reinforces the racial divide in America.  (Don’t look now, but our guess is that’s the whole agenda.)

But hey, don’t mind me.  I was raised all people are just people. I’m still running a one-man campaign for TOTAL EQUALITY and measurement like results from hard work.  Silly, right?

“Race buckets” are a journalism problem.  There is no country of Hispan and lately we’ve been wondering if all Brown POC mind being lumped in the all-Asian bucket.  Lumping Indians in with South Koreans is like serious culturecide. Kimchee and curry?

We suspect this imprecise cleaving of “the people” hints at why the NY Times readership has been on the skids.  Note their “… printed weekday circulation dropped by 50 percent to 540,000 copies from 2005 to 2017…” More recent figures from Statistica underscore the issue.  Still falling in 2020.

Had I not already aged into the seventies, the topic would make another dandy master’s capstone:  to “Determine the Half-Life of a Liberal Detached Newspaper.”

Or, maybe the Times is trying to convert readers to its pages from the Amsterdam News, which, if you don’t know, is one of the oldest Black newspapers in America, dating from 1909.

See, NYC has a rich history of ethnic newspapers.  Among the oldest, Il Progresso Italo-Americano closed down in 1988.  But  as one fades, another rises.  The Nguoi Viet Daily News turns 43-this year.

Reader note: I’d put a link to the AmsterdamNews.com site here, but since their site doesn’t have an https redirect or seem to support SSL, a link from UrbanSurvival to their http would break our SSL protocol.  That, in turn, would generate a security warning on our page (for linking to insecure content).  If I get a minute today, I will send them a suggestion for the redirect…in the interest of equality.

Unmentionable in most media, there’s been a tech coup in America and many of the rules are happening on the fly.  Like vaccinations and redirects to SSL.

Hash and Splash

As long as we’ve got the media analytics hat on, we ought to say something about the report this week on Politico that blasts marijuana as a climate change driver.

ISYN.  Check out An inconvenient truth (about weed) – POLITICO.

Problem is?  In order to get the highest yield per plant, exotics like grow lights come into play.  And while they work dandy, it all fits mentally around here in the same pot bucket as Bitcoin mining.  Not the best possible use of resource.  sunlight is free.  So are random numbers.

Around the Ranch

Out here, the main morning feature is weed-eating.  In town, that’d be brownies with some ganj.  Here, it means destroying Nature’s handiwork when it doesn’t look right.

After that will come the quarterly update of bug traps and exterior pest spray.

And after that?  Vacuuming the office.  Since Elaine has a new Roomba for the house, I figured one for the office would be useful, too.  Thing is?  It means the tank traps and other obstacles have to go bye-bye.

Right about here, I remember some of these chores verge on being work.

Which is why, despite 5-years of threats that 800 word columns were in the wings – just any minute now – they never seem to have happened.

Like the time-management guru’s who urge us to separate the “urgent” from the “important” the fact is the work and sweat pile is “over there.”  The fun and enjoyable pile is right here.

Write when you get rich,

George@Ure.net

61 thoughts on “Import Prices Rocket”

  1. rampers r us .. treason the dollar that will even give you more stories george .. adopt the mexican peso or better have an offshore and onshore USD like the yuan .. gees its a suitcase packer

  2. George,
    You realize, of course, that your Roombas (Roombae?) are mapping your home and sending the data to the cloud. They are also capable of other nefarious activities. https://www.technologynetworks.com/informatics/news/from-roomba-with-love-could-your-robotic-vaccum-be-spying-on-you-342961
    I suggest wrapping them in aluminum foil.
    And for God’s sake, keep them away from Alexa lest you wind up with an unwanted litter of wandering talking mini-vacs!
    73’s

    • Here’s an example of one website that offers us a look from unsecured IP cams. Anyone could scan the IP ranges for open Roombae. D/L the treasure map.

      http://www.insecam.org

      You have a blockbuster movie on your hands. Two of them. Home Alone XIV. And a crime thriller.

      • Why would anyone allow a roomba or other robot to access the net? It might use wifi frequencies locally to communicate between the host and the vacuum unit, but there’s certainly no need to phone home or have access to “the cloud”. I’d like to play with a drone locally at low altitude to watch my property, but I won’t if it requires phoning home to anyone but me. Again, very few devices, should get access to the net other than those actual computers that need it. Think layered defense in depth. Most cameras should be hard wired to something that’s not on the internet and has separate monitor(s).

        Alexa is a choice that makes sense for some, and not others. Everyone needs to know the privacy risks inherent in such a system. That goes for alarm systems too.

        I’m of the opinion that anything other than potentially public info should never be on wifi. All my computers are hard wired and wifi is disabled on both the computers and the modem/routers. So far, I’ve not needed to enable it for anything that matters. Obviously, a portable laptop needs wifi access, but that should never be automatic.

    • I can envision so many things that could go horribly wrong with this approach.., it’s kind of scary.
      Off subject: I’m an 8th Apache and went through Pathfinder School in the Army.., but sadly., my fire pit is currently off-limits. It is extremely dry around here and outdoor burning is banned.., as apposed to “indoor burning” – ? I guess catching the kitchen on fire is ok.

    • I can definitely see the possibility of this approach leaving women permanently sterile when used by women. Of course, it’s yet another female contraceptive technique and may have its place. As yet, there’s still no convenient, non-barrier, safe and effective temporary OTC contraception for men to prevent accidental or ambush pregnancy. I’m convinced this is by design.

      Meanwhile, we’re being forcibly “offered”experimental antigen amplifying “vaccines” using every indirect threat possible. They don’t even need a prescription!

  4. Hay Mr. Editor,

    I got my edumacation in the public skool sistem during 60’s,early 70’s. Yeah we had pandemics and such ..Measels, Mumps, WhoopassCough,. In those dayz when a kid got sick, you threw all the kids/family in the room with the sick kid – get everyone infected, rode out the fever/illness, and everyone moves on wit der lyves.
    Everyone I knew at the time got cykinpox, can hardly wait for the grown up version – Hello Shingles ! Is that a nasty rash coloring Ure face or just feeling in-bearskin?
    Yes – this anti mRNA vaxxer has gotten the 1st of Too Shingrix shotz..ouch. Got the amonia shot back when SARS 1st raised its fake bio engineered head ; )

    Today – only the “privileged” got continuing edumacation thru their $20-30k/yr private prep schools during “lockdowns”.

    WTF !!!! LOCKDOWNS?!?!?!?!? AYFKM ?

    So the rich kids are moving along nicely, advancing as it were to 4 year college degree programs-frats- connections/private clubs – fast tracking..

    Rest of the kids – well tough shit – who fucking cares ?

    Obviously Ure Demoncratic government only cares about poor 3rd world brown kids – as eveidenced by Feds flying ALL those lil brown kids out of Texas airport to points all over US of Re-tards.

    Yes – I said it RETARDS..retarded in their thinking = Lockdowns/Masks.

    We already know what happens when the above policies are instituted – which is Exactly why “they” are shoving them up Ure collectives asses Every Single Day ..dont forget 2 say thank you, and maybe ask for moar..

    Im off take MOAR money frm stupid people on wall street (OTM SPY calls), getting a lil too easy these dayz..makes me kinda nervous bout that light at the end of the tunnel. Coot not the only one rolling defensive – solid dividends (historythereof), solid earnings, Food & Guns/Ammo, Sin Stocks – take the money and build D-Fence.

    They be splitting Everything apart they are – soon only the privileged will be attending college and flying commercially – just like the good ole dayz of 50-60s..when U dressed up to Fly on a commercial flight and shined your shoes before going out..

    Congrtas USAF, US Army, Marines – got Ure asses handed to you AGAIN in Trashganistan – Realize the US has LOST every single WAR,Battle and Engagement since the REVOLUTIONARY War – every single one. No worries now – We creepy Slo leading way – Hot Dam ! hookers and blow for EVERYONE!

    Peace

    • Crash –

      I sent 4 kids through college between Y2k and 2014. Even with one getting a full ride scholarship, and us having 2 incomes, when the youngest finally finished we had nearly zero savings remaining. So the dividing you are ballyhooing has been nothing new – same as it ever was. People that inherit wealth have to make fewer sacrifices – same as ever.

      It’s gonna be a wild ride as the Admin tries to force that vax on people. For many of us, that is THE line in the sand. September and constitutional carry is almost here in Texas – make sure your holster is broken in well and wear your gear in support.

  5. “Get this one right and the Slow Joe economics plan might actually make sense. No? Not enough drugs in the world to straighten that mess out? ”

    Hmm.. maybe that is why the big guys kid is so deep into drugs. see I knew there had to be a good reason.. he is trying to straighten this mess out for the big guy using mind enhancing methods to do so.. open the inner mind…. can’t leave it up to the party to figure out.. they are either on vacation or recess or are busy working on bus and plane tickets

    • Crack coke dont work like that–no mind expansion, more like causes brain shrinkage -literally, and that shrinkage helps explain majority of hunt biden down issues. So shrunk Ure brain will be from Crack – ass or otherwise – U be thinking U got dem drugbugz crawling all over. jus listen to Tyrone Biggums tell it like it is https://youtu.be/4eHMgXlugIU

      • “no mind expansion, more like causes brain shrinkage -literally, and that shrinkage helps explain majority of hunt biden down issues”

        Dam that ruins that idea lol lol..
        I was sure they would paint the image proving that secretly in his fortress of solitude he’s a national HERO. The Caped man from the east coast saving our country and expanding our national image of purity and innocence one young mind at a time, along with the he’s a historical icon as well as tallented fine art crayon artist.
        An image I feel would be better than all the fake news stories and photos being published around the world now. that has been painting a darker image of him, these news stories all have to be fake.
        They keep suggesting thst there may be a darker more sinister side. we know none of that could possibly be true. It has to be fake news all made up, since they gave him a job teaching. shaping the minds and moral values of the countries most vulnerable age groups)

        At least we know it doesn’t shrink his most prized muscle..

  7. I never liked pot, or even the smell. It never did anything for me unless I totally OD’d and then I fell asleep. Not useful. It never got me high, and never got me laid. As usual, the overpriced “legislators” can’t see the simple answer to their problems(just get out of the way – remove all laws regarding pot/cannabis/whatever). Instead, they want to put more mandates on the growers of what’s still an illegal substance to encourage small business to get involved! If we let pot grow wild like it used to, people with land could just let it grow, rather than having to constantly watch for illegal growers. Growing in the wild, it will naturally act as a carbon sink. If people grow it, smoke it, and drive into trees, the problem(if any) wil be self-limiting.

    Of course, this will break their business model, but I’m sure another one will appear.

  8. I’ve been shopping ZT mowers for the farm. I was told today by TWO different reps that the only engines that are going to be available for their products for the next 18 months will be B&S or Kohler. Honda, Kawasaki and Yamaha engines are no longer available as options.

    If you are in the market for something powered and want those Japanese engines, suggest you buy now or else go for second-hand gear that has the engine you want. I just got a push mower from Craftsman with Honda engine for this reason.

    Now I’m off to check out used ZT’s so I can get the engine I prefer…

    I use Amazon for dumb hardware, like hinges, knobs, etc. If you do the same, note the inventory levels they have available. In looking for some cabinet hinges that were available last month, Amazon only had ONE (1) type currently in stock. Last month they had like 5 or 6 brands.

    If cheap Chinese has been a thing, it seems like the import windows are closing. Suggest you stock up on things like deck screws soon – the cheap is leaving and availability tightening up.

    Might be a good time to spend a day sorting through the nut&bolt bucket so you see what you need for the next year or so.

    • Toro makes their own, and it’s a good engine, but you’ll probably not find one. I’ve seen two ExMark and one Huskee come on the surplus market in the last 3 months, (and a couple Jacobsen fairway mowers and a Deere 935, but it was set up with a snow blower, not a deck) so the schools aren’t even dumping.

    • I just bought Cub Cadet ZT back in the spring. It’s a 50″ with the 23hp Kawasaki. I debated on whether or not to spend the money, but I’m glad I did now. Plus, it’s a great mower.

      I also have one of the Craftsman push mowers like you have. It was also worth the money.

      The dealer told me that I could run ethanol fuel in my ZT, but I don’t trust that. There’s one place around here that sells non-ethanol gas and that’s what I run in all of my equipment.

    • Last year our wonderful ZT520A John Deere’s engine seized up. It was 15 years old and we’d used it a bunch, and the oil drain tube fell apart when my grandson was mowing….bummer. Through our local John Deere dealer, we found that we could put in a Honda engine that had the mounting bracket/holes and the engine harness to replace our existing Kohler engine. (which was not made any more) Here’s the website:https://repowerspecialists.com. Our ZT520 thinks its a young mower again!

  9. how do they already have a study about ‘children born during the pandemic’? It’s only 1.5 years old. How accurate can any data in their study actually be?

    • It will be several orders of magnitude more accurate than any data upon which global / warming / cooling / climate change is based, yet nearly completely useless…

    • I think the most important study will be to count how many pregnancies happen during and after the pandemic and how many of the parents are vaxxed. We have absolutely no public information as to the effects of either the vaxx or the virus on fertility and/or ability to carry a viable pregnancy to term.

      • Mike, please note in the Urban Guide to clear writing we no longer use the term “Term” It’s now “tax break.”
        A synonym is “tax reduction event.”

  10. lots of strange behaviour going on around here and yellowdog sewers lately . but you just ramp the madness and all join in . imperialist facist of the new world .. my god . its dead .

  13. RE: Afghanistan mess – Biden’s foreign policy decision to withdraw U.S. troops reminds me of the line matter of factly uttered by the ancient Templar knight in the Indiana Jones “Last Crusade” film: “He chose . . . poorly.”

    Yes, Afghanistan was a foreign policy conundrum for Biden, a dilemma, a quandry – whatever polite way to phrase softening his failure suits your political belief system. But the Taliban are one of those giant pains in the _sses [fill in the blank] that will never ‘just go away’ through acts of civility, diplomacy and wishful thinking. The Taliban represent a direct threat to peace loving people everywhere who are not Taliban, and quoting Darth Vader himself, aka Dick Cheney, “direct threats require decisive action.” Hoping for the Taliban to become more harmonious with the U.S. abandoned government in Kabul is as unrealistic as it is psychotic. And as film director James Cameron famously said: “Hope is not a strategy.”

    • Did we have an actual end-of-action plan before this crap got started? Doubt it. Khmer Rouge, Taliban, Viet Cong, or whatever they’re all the same. In every case our dead and wounded paid for our dilemma, quandary, conundrum, or whatever. And the rest lost a piece of themselves afterward. I have no regrets but for what?
      Go back and review the cluster when we left Viet Nam. That was a square dance compared to the potential with this one. This won’t be over ever. Just ask the Montagnards.

    • Or, take a line from another movie where Burl Ives is running around the set of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” exclaiming “Mendacity! Mendacity!”.

  14. One bright note for Urban readers…

    I had to go to the dermatologist today. I do annual inspections since I had a melanoma cut out a decade back.

    Their office was in a hospital corporation-owned medical complex, replete with “masks required” signage and handwashing stations at the entrance.

    When I hit the dermatologist office door, their sign stated they were complying with CDC guidance and masking was not required. Some staff were masked, some not – which is the state policy here in Texas, where it is an individual decision.

    The Doc was masked, his PA was not. I told him I was unvaccinated, and asked him if he preferred me masked. His reply?

    “Masks are not going to stop a viral particle. Your eyes, being moist, actually attract these anyway – so the whole mask thing is a kind of “feel good” exercise in futility. You can put your mask on if it makes you feel better. I wear mine just so my patients stay comfortable.”

    I found both their signage and attitude refreshing and hopeful.

  15. Woke up dreaming of city streets with boats going between buildings to pick up stranded people.

  16. “So much for out of Afghanistan? U.S. Sends 3K Troops to Kabul to Evacuate Some Embassy Staff.”

    The Brits have sent in a full Company alongside the Americans, for the purpose of “Saigoning” our embassy staff…

    Stupidity and conceit are never a good mix. The harebrained idea that “This war is over when we say it is” is an extraordinarily good example of that extraordinarily bad mix.

    BTW, Putin is sending a battalion-sized contingent toward Afghanistan to protect Russian interests in the area…

    • no worries “Raymondo”- deepstate heroine supply network is secure, just transferred ownership responsibilities. slo’s guyz still “moving” product thru Iran/UKRAINE..duffle bags…slo’s got Uky business interests ???? whatwhatwhat.

      Besides – heroine is so passe anymore – all that Chicom sourced Fentanyl flooding our inner cities, is really improving the Christians In Action kill rate among less fortunate living in low income areas of our urban hellholes/heat islands.

  17. “Arson perp? Might be as Ex-professor accused of arson ‘spree’ near California’s Dixie Fire. Criminal-Justice lecturer? Seriously?”

    His CJC specialty is “criminal deviant behavior.”

    {Rodney Dangerfield Mode On}
    I’m tellin’ ya, you can’t make this stuff up…
    {/Dangerfield Mode}

  19. When you walk into a Library, you see thousands of books, each with a different cover. Each book tells a different story … what ever the author wrote into it. No two covers or stories are exactly the same. Every one, uniquely different.

    Met a gentleman who told me that. He was young, intelligent, had a nice home, beautiful wife and kids.

    He had an accident prior to our meeting each other, it was Halloween, his favorite time of year. I was painting his house. We talked and he told me about the accident … he was repairing a gas tank and it exploded. Melted the skin on his face and upper body. He mingled with people easier during Halloween time because everyone thought his appearance was a costume, not his everyday reality. He actually got compliments, whereas the rest of the year people weren’t so congenital.

    He said, everyone wears a costume … weather they realize it or not. Skin tone, eye color, hair color, different body sizes and shapes. The cloths they wear are the most obvious … like those book covers, everyone’s costume is different.

    And like those books, each person has a story under their costume. What they and society has written into them. Good stories, bad stories … from one extreme to another and, everything in between. Books are just books. People, are just people … covers and costumes are so often fake. So, ya gotta look for the energy within, of yourself and everyone else.

    No one is any better than anyone else, we’re all just different.

    Since then, I build my relationships on energy, not appearance. Prejudice and racism really serve no purpose and have no place in my life. Positive vibes only.

    Peace

    • “Since then, I build my relationships on energy, not appearance. ”

      I tell everyone be the blind person. A blind person can only judge the person for who they are.

  20. This point strikes a cord with me “here come defective kids, when it’s defective parents, more likely”. My daughter (N) has a daughter (I). When I watch them interact it seems mostly, N trying to see who quickly she can get I to stop seeking attention. Almost as fast as she can, she gives I a tablet or phone and I stops doing things and just uses the screen. In most cases, N seems to want not to be bothered so she can also stare and scroll on her little screen. These smart phones are more then anything in my opinion, helping along the decay of society. They provide just enough entertainment that people stop engaging with the real world. People have the worlds knowledge at their fingertips, and most choose entertainment instead of knowledge and growth. If I comment on this behavior I see less of I, so I mostly keep my parenting opinions to myself and when free, I take I and play outside, go the park, read or just let her play with her toys. For many these little screens are more addictive then crack and just as damaging.

    • far worse they are JD, far worse.

      – see pathfinders above referenced Energy equation for relationships. Sensitive enough to feel it public areas/stores – can actually feel others Sicknesses..mental & physical…This phenom is big reason why “little” Qigong “masters live away from society, it is really Uncomfortable feeling..hence Always Be Closing..(perform closing procedure/s)

      Why Buddhists greeting “blesses the soul/energy within U”

  21. US Embassy Says There Are ‘Deeply Disturbing’ Reports Of Taliban Executing Afghan Troops, ‘Could Constitute War Crimes’

    The United States Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, said ongoing reports of potential war crimes carried out by the Taliban are “deeply disturbing.”

    “We’re hearing additional reports of #Taliban executions of surrendering Afghan troops,” the Embassy tweeted Thursday morning. “Deeply disturbing & could constitute war crimes.”

    https://dailycaller.com/2021/08/12/afghanistan-taliban-war-crimes-us-withdrawal-embassy-kabul/

    Oh, no! Those bad old Talibani had better stop killing Afghan troops before Super SlowJoe gives them such a pinch…

    AYFKM? The Taliban don’t care whether they’re committing war crimes, any more than gang-bangers in Chicago care about local gun laws.

    There’s obviously such a detachment between politicians and the Real World that that gorge can’t be breached. ISTM what We, the People need, is to require ALL national politicians to live for 5 years in that part of America upon which they typically crap the most — North Memphis, South Chicago, East LA, etc. I’m sure there’s such a neighborhood in every Congressional District. The LOSER in the Senatorial or Congressional election gets to pick the neighborhood in which the winner gets to live, the congresscritter gets no bodyguards or security, no servants, and no iron bars or other “insulation from the rabble.” They can learn how to live with the common folk, or get mugged, shot, raped, or otherwise violated, like the rest of us. Presidential candidate prequal? No candidates who’ve not done a 5 year apprenticeship in true-to-life digs. “You went to Yale? Skull & Bones?” Cool! Now go live on the waterfront in Bridgeport until that space behind your ears dries out. Also, term limits (of course.) 16 years max for public service (20 years if da Prez), no more than 12 years in either House or Senate…

    • “the winner gets to live, the congresscritter gets no bodyguards or security, no servants, and no iron bars or other “

      I think it was either Stanford or Harvard that did a study on the BLM movement.. sending different ethic groups in various area’s.. the affects were amazing and in high crime areas the students had to be escorted out to be able to leave in safety..a senator wouldn’t make it to the end of the block much less live there without security.
      If students couldn’t do it..
      Many truck drivers will park a hundred plus miles away if they can’t deliver during a time safe time..inner city they rarely even stop at lights because their trucks would be looted or them shot in high crime areas..
      I think that’s why DC is considered the bubble.. they live in a gated community away from real life.. if you don’t live it you don’t know the struggles they have. Instead it becomes a number on a piece of paper.. the same thing works opposite as well.. I have been st the bottom.. but when I heard stories from the can man about living in a dumpster or under a bridge and I realize.. I actually wasn’t as bad off..and I don’t know if I could survive living that way..
      I personally would be happy if they wrote the laws they vote on and especially happy if they would at least read them and work an eight hour day five days a week rather than 27 days a year..
      Had their retirement funds distributed and managed by the department of social security and their medical insurance the same as what every wage earner is allowed.. senators that are given.private jets by lobbyists and gifts funds etc. These should be distrusted to the states residents..

      • Larry Elder, currently running for Gov’ner in California — Born & raised in East L. A. and I believe, even though he’s made millions behind a microphone, he still lives there, at least part-time.

        I haven’t been to East L. A., but I’ve been to East Saint Louis, near-east Baltimore, South Chicago and the inner-cities of Detroit, Atlanta, and Cleveland. I’ve also been to the South Bronx and Harlem and the shithole part of virtually every other major city that’s north of the Tennessee River and East of the Mississippi — and a bunch that’re south and west, as well.

        I fear mobs.

        I don’t fear people, regardless their ethnicity or degree of wealth, or living conditions.

        People is people.

        If you talk to people like they’re human, THEN SHUT YOUR PIE-HOLE AND LISTEN to whatever they have to say, you will be respected (and protected when need be) by folks who live in “questionable areas.”

        The only two things the locals won’t protect you from are mobs and stray bullets. This is why I never go where there are agitators, and always pay attention to flashes in my periphery.

        If a man or woman wishes to be a leader of this Nation, they should be able to survive 1500 days in an environment in which many people survive for generations. If they don’t, or can’t, they were not leadership material, to begin with…

  22. Biden is abandoning Afghanistan, to start up a new war in Somalia and “actions” in Syria, Qatar, and Yemen. Unbelievably, the NYT is the only place I could find anything about any of this…

    https://www.nytimes.com/topic/destination/somalia

    BTW I’d bet y’all didn’t know we’re now occupying nearly a third of Syria (again.) Messrs. Assad, Putin, and Erdo?an are not amused…

  23. George, your “reply” links on the individual threads are getting wonky. I have to refresh page, sometimes several times, before they work, then I get one shot at a reply before they don’t, again.

    I’ll hit the site with several browsers, but wanted to get this sent (w/Pale Moon) before everything went south…

  24. For those who depend on others, I’d recommend watching this:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToiVJjD_j10

    It’s a story of a Canadian valley community utterly destroyed because “they” didn’t come. “They”, in this case were the provincial wildfire units. Their PTB had sufficient bureaucracy that nothing at all happened in the first 48 hours after the fire was reported, and then the response was sparse. However, they did tell the local residents and even highly equipped logging operations to stand down and do nothing, resulting in the fire spreading out of control. Certainly loggers with heavy machinery and some common sense can do a lot more than nothing. Subsequently, the equipment was all destroyed by the fire and many locals were burned out. I’m sure this situation is common in both the USA and Canada, where local resources were ordered to do nothing in favor of the preferred team that appeared too late to be useful.

    A similar situation happened in my local area a few years ago with a better result. There was an Incident 1 level fire that threatend a local community. The residents were ordered by the governor and the state police to leave the area. They refused and fought the fire night and day, with the result that the community still remains, with old burn scars all around. Some of the residents who were away from home had to evade state police roadblocks in order to get home and help save their community.

    I’m sure G1 and G2 will have a perspective on this. I have little firefighting experience, but enough to know how dangerous this is, but when everything is on the line, miracles can and do happen. Government will always take the safe way out, and that’s generally not good for the individual. Is that part of the story with the California and other western wildfires? Teams are overworked and take time to deploy, no matter how good they are. Local resources are already on the scene.

    My personal opinion is that doing what’s best for yourself is generally in the best interest of everyone else. Obviously there are exceptions, but there’s rarely a case where your own efforts result in a worse result than if you stand down and do nothing. If you do anything, do it with effort, purpose, passion and perseverence. I see many of these choices coming to us in the near future.

    • I’d have to talk to G2 about it, but in real (urban, voters around) firefighting, the name of the game is getting water on the fire as soon as possible.
      I suggested to G2 that a flying-squad, especially around high risk lands, would be a good wildfire option.
      He claimed it’s not a good idea. Something about needing to be strategic or gov-speak.
      To which I said bullshit.
      The sooner the water goes on, or the fire is out of fuel, the sooner its over.
      Career bureaucrats? You tell me. Then Poll these hapless Canucks.

      • “I suggested to G2 that a flying-squad, especially around high risk lands, would be a good wildfire option.”

        Went camping with the kids a time back.. we went to a national park.. going to get some DEAD branches and the park ranger said…Nope you can’t do that.. gotta buy it at the store we are maintaining the forest naturally.. some crap about nature.. anyway.. clean up dead debris in high risk sections.. fallen branches and tree’s.. my father was a wood man.. his favorite thing was cutting and maintaining trees.. he believed you clean out the dead and plant new.. for every dead tree he cut down he planted a new one.. He called it something like proper wood lot management..
        IMHO… letting the dead dry debris lay there is just a fire hazard.. where if they went in and took a high risk section and just cleaned out old dead wood.. at one time that was what they did.. chip it up and make chip board.. now that we no longer make that in the usa.. it comes from some place else.. heck take the saw dust and make pellets.. which reminds me.. I have to run down to the lumber yards and get some wood dust from the dust collectors.. and make some pellets..
        https://youtu.be/b7moYXe6YAc

        • I swear to God, LLOb, some of the shit taught in schools in the name of environment is total crap.
          There are reasons we limb up our trees within 300 ft of the house to 10-feet or better as soon as they can handle it: If you have low lying, the fire has a way to climb up into the crown and then you’re really buggered.

          Even more amazing is that humans used deadfall for making shelters and for the home fires, whoever the gs-30 azzho is who came up with “naturally caring for forests” didn’t know jack about what lightning sparked fires do – made worse with kindling which our ancestors cleaned up and turned into a working world.

      • “I swear to God, LLOb, some of the shit taught in schools in the name of environment is total crap.”

        Isn’t that the Truth.. dam and It scares the hell out of me to.. My Son in law has a great Apple tree.. it is great to the apples are delicious and will last all winter in the crisper drawer…. great for canning and everything.. I keep telling him.. prune it the tree is over a hundred years old it needs a haircut… he won’t do it.. because of what they teach.. my father use to say a bird should be able to fly through the tree freely.. top it and cut off the dead.. it was amazing.. My father would say.. well I will cut here and there and it will do this and that.. and when he was done you would swear he killed the tree.. but by god it did exactly what he said it would and would be absolutely beautiful… the crap they are teaching today doesn’t make any sense to me..

  25. Creeping into mid-August. Trump may have bluffed about the August reinstatement.

    It can’t be long.

    “for the moment” is key.

    Biden Eyes Tougher Vaccine Rules Without Provoking Backlash

    “Still, while more severe measures — such as mandating vaccines for interstate travel or changing how the federal government reimburses treatment for those who are unvaccinated and become ill with COVID-19 — have been discussed, the administration worried that they would be too polarizing for the moment.”

    https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2021-08-12/biden-eyes-tougher-vaccine-rules-without-provoking-backlash

    • The current crop of “vaccines” don’t reduce either the ability to get the bug nor the ability to infect others. In short, they’re useless in slowing or stopping the spread of it. There’s no point in making these rules for public health unless there’s a true vaccine and there’s no zoological reservoirs of SARS-COV2. Neither premise is true. In short, such rules as prohibiting interstate travel will simply stop commerce and not much else. The current idiot in chief appears to have no concept of this.

      Even if it was useful to a degree, the loss of commerce would effectively be the end of the USA as we know it. We’re in a rather precarious place already and China is shutting off the supply of virtually everything we need. There are many alternatives to mitigate the situation that are being carefully censored from the media.

      Those of us who do NOT consent to be jabbed with unknown substances without clear and verifiable reasons to do so won’t change our minds easily, and threats will simply harden our positions. If these people cannot make a coherent scientific case for such bodily invasion, they’re delusional to think that we’ll follow.

  28. NASA ups the odds of Bennu asteroid hitting Earth

    A NASA scientist said Wednesday that the likelihood of the Bennu asteroid hitting Earth within the next century or two has increased.

    https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/567698-nasa-ups-the-odds-of-bennu-asteroid-hitting-earth

    At 1607 ft in diameter but only 808 million tons it is not a guaranteed planet-killer. It may be really close to one though, once the effects of a new ice age and a generation of little to no sunlight (because of atmospheric dust) are figured into the equation…

    • If it goes into the ocean(likely if it hits), will it create atmospheric dust? It would make a big splash, but I really don’t know about dust. It could certainly trigger volcanoes if it hit the right place.

      • They’re theorizing that it has a dust-filled center. They also estimate the impact energy as equivalent to a 1200 megaton nuke. It would certainly vaporize enough ocean to stop up the atmosphere and drop Earth’s temperature into the ice age zone, but probably not block the sun for more than one growing season. ‘Wouldn’t matter to the folks living within a thousand miles of the coast and below 2000 feet, though. “Potential escapees” couldn’t get through the TSA lines before the tidal wave hit…

  29. “Meanwhile, we’re being forcibly “offered”experimental antigen amplifying “vaccines” using every indirect threat possible. They don’t even need a prescription!”

    Yeah, they stuck their foot in the water when they started drug testing perspective employees … and after employment, even made it random. A drug test, is a “medical” test and to do such, we have to give up some body fluid. Well, ya give’em an inch and they take a mile.

    Mandate is a nicer word than, mandatory or compulsory. Another synonym for mandatory is, “essential” the nice word they started with.
    Think you can see how the force has grown.

    Use to be, professionals only lost their licenses for doing bad things, things that could cause harm or injury … now you can lose your license if you don’t.

    Tennessee Executive Order #83 tells how facilities will be “atoned” or appeased … from ethical to non ethical practices. – If a healthcare facility were to be found operating in such a manner in the not so distant past, state inspectors would have immediately cut funds, imposed daily fines, closed doors and even possibly removed PTs and relocated to other facilities for their safety. The state label of (IJ) would be imposed, meaning: “Imminent Jeopardy” That’s the worst and most feared of all claims.

    But not anymore. – so if they can mandate an injection to the healthcare worker … the PT is next. The prescription, is the mandate. No longer a personal choice, if your in the system.

    For God’s sake … stay healthy.

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