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Speaking truth to power - Robert F. Kennedy

Looks like the Department of Homeland Security is going to be coming down hard on Domestic Terrorists.
AKA you and me...   From The Epoch Times:

New DHS Memo Warns of Heightened Threat of Terror Attacks Through 2024 Election Season
The United States faces a heightened risk of terror attacks from now through the 2024 election cycle, according to a new memo from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The DHS issued a new National Terrorism Advisory Bulletin on May 24 stating “perceptions of the 2024 general election cycle and legislative or judicial decisions pertaining to sociopolitical issues” could “mobilize individuals to commit violence.”

The DHS bulletin states likely targets for attacks include law enforcement, government facilities, critical infrastructure, faith-based institutions and “individuals or events associated with the LGBTQIA+ community.” The bulletin states these threats come from extremists associated with foreign terrorist organizations as well as domestic violent extremists motivated by a range of ideological beliefs.

DHS said it’s working with the FBI and a variety of additional federal partners and programs in an effort to identify threats and inform security planners. The bulletin also lists resources for faith-based organizations, community organizations, schools, and other potential targets to prepare against attacks.

This leaves us soooo open to false-flag attacks.  Perfect for blaming those nutty conservatives and MAGA kooks.

Plus all the recent shootings where the perp was "known" to law enforcement.
Many of them were taking SSRI meds and a sudden withdrawal from those can cause suicidal tendencies.
Too many of these for it to be a coincidence - every mass shooting enforces their cry for gun grabbing.

We are at war with our on Nation.  Time to take it back.

The title?  From Walt Kelley's classic comic Pogo.

Breaking for lunch and ran into this tweet:

Damn good point there.  AI is not a be-all and end-all but it will have its place in society.
What Scott is talking about will be a trivial task.

What will be our response?

Farm sale closes in two weeks.  18 days.

Still a good bit of stuff to do.

Minimal posting for a few days.

From gCaptain:

Malaysia Detains Chinese Ship Linked To Suspected Illegal Salvage Of British WW2 Wrecks
Malaysia’s maritime authorities on Monday said cannon shells believed to be from World War Two have been found on a China-registered bulk carrier ship detained at the weekend for anchoring in its waters without permission.

The discovery comes amid reports this month that scavengers have targeted two British World War Two wrecks off the coast of Malaysia – the HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse – which were sunk by Japanese torpedoes in 1941, just three days after the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.

Following reports of the illegal salvage activity, Britain’s National Museum of the Royal Navy last week said it was “distressed and concerned at the apparent vandalism for personal profit” of the two wrecks.

The defence ministry condemned “desecration” of maritime military graves, the BBC said on Saturday.

A ship registered in Fuzhou, China and carrying 32 crew failed to present anchoring permits during a routine inspection in waters off Malaysia’s southern Johor state on Sunday, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) said.

Authorities found scrap metal and cannon shells on the ship upon further checks.

The shells could be linked to a separate seizure by police at a Johor jetty last week of multiple unexploded World War Two-era artillery.

Authorities believe those may have been scavenged from the HMS Prince of Wales, the MMEA said, adding it was working with Malaysia’s National Heritage Department and other agencies to identify the ammunition found.

There is a market for WWII material.  Wonder who hired the ship - could have been anyone...
I hope they find out who was behind it.  This is smash-and-grab vandalism, not archaeology.

Wrote about it when the decision was published.  9-0 too.
From the Media Research Center:

Farmers Cheer SCOTUS WOTUS Decision Returning Property Rights to Landowners from Biden’s Clutches
The nation’s farmers are cheering Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling that American citizens, not the Biden Administration, have the right to manage the water on their property.

In 2014, the Obama Administration concocted and issued the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule, greatly expanding the federal government’s claim to control of water in the U.S. - including on private property - under the guise of an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) initiative. The rule was repealed by President Donald Trump, but reinstated last year by President Joe Biden.

In Thursday’s Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency decision, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision that the EPA can’t prohibit Idaho residents Michael and Chantell Sackett from building a home on their property near a wetland.

Pure overreach by the people of the EPA and they got their pee-pee's slapped hard for it.   Good.

I am all in favor of maintaining a clean environment but this agency went overboard  at every occasion.  Time to defund them by 80%.  Let them operate on a shoe-string budget and do what is really needed.  We are paying for these morons. Move their headquarters out of DC too - someplace like Iowa or Kansas would be perfect. Away from the levers of power and closer to their locus of operations.

From Bayou Renaissance Man

Talk about "nothing to see here, folks..."  From the Gateway Pundit:

Charges Dropped Against Sai Kandula – The East Asian Migrant Terrorist with Nazi Flag Who Tried to Ram White House and Take Over the Country
Last Monday night, one week ago, a young migrant from Chesterfield, Missouri drove a U-Haul truck and attempted to ram his way through a White House barrier. his plot failed and police arrested the young man in shorts. Police investigators then pulled an apparent Nazi flag from a U-Haul truck after the crash near the White House and laid it on the street for photographers. It was a white supremacist attack!

As Kristinn Taylor reported — Eyewitnesses say the truck was driven twice into a barrier before stopping. The incident took place at the north side of Lafayette Park at 16th and H St, NW. Police laid out the flag on the sidewalk near the truck, apparently for the media to film, before folding it up and taking it away.

Internet users immediately were suspect. The only thing they found in the truck was a Nazi flag? This was too convenient for Joe Biden and the FBI’s narrative of the dreaded white supremacist threat in America. It smelled like another fed operation.

Yep - this one had a certain TLA stink surrounding it.  And the driver?

U.S. Park Police say Sai Varshith Kandula of Chesterfield, Missouri, was taken into custody at the scene. Kandula faces multiple charges including assault with a dangerous weapon, reckless operation of a motor vehicle, the threat to kill, kidnap, or inflict bodily harm on a President, Vice President, or family, destruction of federal property, and trespassing.

It is interesting in that a lot of the "terrorists" seem to use three names. Curious - I have three names but I only use the first and last.  Same with most other people.
Turns out that the moke is NOT a US citizen - they have not told us where but...

And now this latest event: 

Something extraordinary happened — prosecutors dropped every single charge, leaving Kandula with nothing but “a single count of depredation of property of the United States in excess of $1,000,” the Post notes.

Critics want to know why.

“I don’t want to sound paranoid, but that seems like they’re trying to hush this up,” Mark Hemingway, the husband of conservative commentator Mollie Hemingway, tweeted.

Some interesting comments at the site. Yeah - our government is 80% corrupt and the other 20% are scrambling to save it.  Interesting times ahead.  Glad that I do not live in a city anymore.

A list of companies with over 100 employees that are leaving California since 2020
From BuildRemote:

Companies Leaving California: Every Announcement Since 2020

The list is in the form of an infographic but here are a few of them:

Kelly Moore paints, McAffee, Lucas Oil, Trimble (GPS and navigation), American Airlines, Chevron, Hyperion, FICO, Tesla, Kaiser Aluminum, Edelbrock Group (automotive), Charles Schwab, Oracle, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Pabst Brewing, Palantir, Symantec.

There are about 4X more names - a lot of them are keeping a business presence or factory in CA but moving the Corporate Offices to another state for tax reasons.  Yeah - Gavin Newsom is a great leader...

Dodged a big one.  From Spaceweather:

SPECTACULAR ERUPTION:
Yesterday, astronomers in Europe witnessed the most spectacular eruption of Solar Cycle 25 so far. "It was a spine-chilling moment for me," says Mehmet Ergün, who photographed the massive spray of plasma from his observatory in Traisen, Germany:

"This was probably the biggest eruption I have ever seen," says Ergün. "Such events cannot be planned. I was lucky to be looking when it happened."

Many observers noted the rapidity of the blast. Giorgio Rizzarelli of Trieste, Italy, says "it lasted only about one hour. Fast prominences like this are uncommon. From a movie I made I estimate its speed was comparable to that of the solar wind." Dennis Put of The Netherlands says "it was changing so rapidly, which made it very spectacular."

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured a beginning-to-end movie of the blast:

What exploded? We don't know. The blast site is hidden behind the sun's southeastern limb. Helioseismic maps of the sun's farside suggest a large sunspot may be located at the base of the spray. If so, it will turn toward Earth a few days from now. Stay tuned.

If this flare had let loose when pointed in our direction, we would be in a world of hurt.  Large power outages all over the planet.  ATMs and cell phones down. No internet. Chaos.  A bunch of us store radio equipment in shielded cases for such an event but we will be back in the stone ages for six months at the very least.

There was a similar event in 1859 that shut down telegraphy and produced aurora borealis seen as far south as the Carribbean.  It was documented by British astronomers Richard Christopher Carrington and Richard Hodgson — the first records of a solar flare.  We have had subsequent flares in 1921, 1960, 1989 and a big one in 2012 that thank God missed our planet by a few days.  The rotation of the Sun pointed it away from us.

Our technology is very fragile.  Cities are going to be hellholes.

From Ambient Irony:

Daily News Stuff 28 May 2023
Frostbite Falls Edition
Top Story

Elon Musk has withdrawn Twitter from the European Union's "voluntary" program to control online "disinformation". (Tech Crunch)
The media, and the bureaucrats, who believe they have the sole right to spread disinformation, are taking this about about as well as can be expected, with Thierry Breton, head of the European Union's Josef Goebbels Memorial Happy Fun Time Administration, issuing unveiled threats.

What they're really upset about is that Twitter isn't playing the game:

The pan-EU law, which entered into force back in November, requires VLOPs like Twitter to assess and mitigate systemic risks to civic discourse and electoral processes, such as disinformation.
The deadline for VLOPs’ compliance with obligations in the DSA is three months from now.
A request for comment emailed to Twitter’s press office returned an automated reply containing a poop emoji.

(My italics.)

You don't have to follow the rules. You're entirely expected to cheat. But you have to play the game.

VLOP - Very Large Online Platform natch...
The poop emoji is spot on perfect.

I could see retiring to a tropical island at some time in my life but not Guam, not now:

Cat 4 typhoon - from gCaptain:

Guam Typhoon Highlights Threat To US Military’s Pacific Strategy
As Typhoon Mawar neared the coast of Guam early Wednesday, it also drew attention to an uncomfortable fact of US military strategy: Many of America’s most strategic assets are in places increasingly threatened by extreme weather events, rising seas and other consequences of climate change. 

The Navy moved ships out to sea before the storm hit, standard procedure when bases prepare for hurricanes. The storm generated winds of 175 miles per hour (282 kilometers per hour) — the National Weather Service’s offices were “vibrating,” an official said — and waves of at least 60 feet (18 meters). It caused significant flooding in Guam, endangering residents and putting new demands on the military.

It isn’t the first time and it’s unlikely to be the last. In 2019, a Department of Defense report on climate impacts noted that repeated flooding at Naval Base Guam was already limiting operations and activities for the Navy Expeditionary Forces Command Pacific, the island’s Andersen Air Force Base, submarine squadrons, telecommunications, “and a number of other specific tasks supporting mission execution.”

Considered one of the most critical US military installations in the western Pacific, Guam has for 125 years extended US sovereignty 8,000 miles from Washington. The island is about 2,100 miles from the North Korean capital of Pyongyang. It is closer still to Taiwan, which President Joe Biden has  committed to defend if attacked. 

Actually, looking at the historical record, the overall cyclonic energy has decreased slightly and the intensity of the storms has NOT increased despite claims by warmists. Still, this is a massive storm and is hitting Guam right in the eyes.

I am betting that Team Rubicon is mobilizing.  Top people, amazing work.

Winner of the 2023 Illusion of the Year - simple like all the best ones are:
Other videos at the link above ↑

The origins of what we are dealing with now - from Gateway Pundit:

All of the Grooming Pornography and Filth in Classrooms Goes Back to Obama – Obama’s Safe School’s Czar Was Promoting It (Warning on Content)
Retail giant Target has partnered with GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network) for years. They believe this is a noble cause. GLSEN is a group that provides sexually explicit books to schools, pushes gender ideology throughout public school curricula, and advocates policies that keep parents unaware of their child’s in-school gender transition .

According to reports, GLSEN is a radical education group leading efforts to create ‘inclusive and anti-racist environments’ for LGBTQIA+ students.

“GLSEN believes that every student has the right to a safe, supportive, and LGBTQ-inclusive K-12 education. We are a national network of educators, students, and local GLSEN Chapters working to make this right a reality,” the website reads.

Target Corporation confirmed its collaboration with GLSEN and expressed pride in their decade-long partnership. The company has been making annual donations to GLSEN, emphasizing its support for the organization’s mission.

But when did this all start? When was this introduced and promoted in public schools?

It Was Barack Obama Who First Pushed Teaching Sex Education to Kindergarteners Back in 2007 – He Even Pushed Sex Ed to Kiddies Legislation

Much much more at the site - Jim walks us through step by step.
Interesting point that Barack Obama’s Safe School’s Czar Kevin Jennings is the founder of GLSEN
This did not come out of nowhere.  It is 100% by design.

Seriously, WTF are we doing over there... 
From the Gateway Pundit  -  First, some history from last year:

Russia Claims They Collected Evidence of Avian Flu Pathogens with Lethality Rate up to 40% in Humans at US Biolab in Ukraine
It wasn’t that long ago that Mitt Romney was threatening former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard for suggesting the US was funding biolabs in Ukraine.

Back in March 2022, RINO Senator Mitt Romney accused former Democrat Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of spreading ‘treasonous lies’ for simply talking about the US-funded biolabs in Ukraine.

“There are 25+ US-funded biolabs in Ukraine which if breached would release and spread deadly pathogens to US/world.” Gabbard said at the time.

“We must take action now to prevent disaster. US/Russia/Ukraine/NATO/UN/EU must implement a ceasefire now around these labs until they’re secured and pathogens destroyed,” she added.

And:

Less than 24 hours later, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that reports of biolabs in Ukraine were fake news propagated by Russia.

The Democrat-fake news-media complex then attacked anyone who brought up the biolabs in Ukraine.

Mitt Romney lashed out at Tulsi Gabbard, saying, “Tulsi Gabbard is parroting false Russian propaganda. Her treasonous lies may well cost lives.”

And 

The Pentagon in June 2022 finally admitted in a public statement that there are 46 US-funded biolabs in Ukraine.

This is after months of lies and denials by Democrats, the Biden regime and their fake news mainstream media!

Fast forward to last Friday:

The task force of the Russian Ministry of Defence together with officers of the Federal Security Service and Rosselkhoznadzor have confirmed the collection and certification of avian influenza virus strains with a high potential for epidemic spread and the ability to cross the species barrier, particularly the H5N8 strain, whose lethality in human transmission can reach 40%. Remember that 1% of new coronavirus infections result in death.

Much more at the site.

We are idiots playing with fire.
The globalists need to be held to account and punishment needs to be meted out now.

Working at the farm today. Breaking for a late lunch/early dinner/main meal of the day...

Had the 50th Annual Ski to Sea Race pass through town this morning - the road bicycle leg.

Not too many racers at 10AM but there were about 600 teams that signed up and so far, 474 teams have completed the course.

At the apartment for a meal and to take care of some stuff - back to the farm later...

Yesterday's server problem was traced to some networking issues but I could not find why.
Later last evening, the UPS feeding the downstairs network switch started beeping indicating a fault condition.  Ah Ha!!!
Backup unit installed and everything is running just fine (knocking on wood).

From Current Psychology:

Understanding left-wing authoritarianism: Relations to the dark personality traits, altruism, and social justice commitment

Abstract
In two pre-registered studies, we investigated the relationship of left-wing authoritarianism with the ego-focused trait of narcissism. Based on existing research, we expected individuals with higher levels of left-wing authoritarianism to also report higher levels of narcissism. Further, as individuals with leftist political attitudes can be assumed to be striving for social equality, we expected left-wing authoritarianism to also be positively related to prosocial traits, but narcissism to remain a significant predictor of left-wing authoritarianism above and beyond those prosocial dispositions. We investigated our hypotheses in two studies using cross-sectional correlational designs. Two nearly representative US samples (Study 1: N = 391; Study 2: N = 377) completed online measures of left-wing authoritarianism, the Dark Triad personality traits, and two variables with a prosocial focus (i.e., altruism and social justice commitment). In addition, we assessed relevant covariates (i.e., age, gender, socially desirable responding, and virtue signaling). The results of multiple regression analyses showed that a strong ideological view, according to which a violent revolution against existing societal structures is legitimate (i.e., anti-hierarchical aggression), was associated with antagonistic narcissism (Study 1) and psychopathy (Study 2). However, neither dispositional altruism nor social justice commitment was related to left-wing anti-hierarchical aggression. Considering these results, we assume that some leftist political activists do not actually strive for social justice and equality but rather use political activism to endorse or exercise violence against others to satisfy their own ego-focused needs. We discuss these results in relation to the dark-ego-vehicle principle.

More at the site
Smallish sample size (391 and 377) but statistically workable - good p-values
The worst case here is p > .05 (Lower is better; 0.5 or above shows no correlation).
LWA is real and it is a scourge on our society.

Was at coffee this morning when I got a text that the file server for our Point of Sale system was throwing hairballs.

Got the 50th anniversary of the Ski to Sea relay race coming through town tomorrow morning.
Did ham radio for the event for about ten years - there would be spotters for the road bicycles about five miles out and they would call out the bib numbers.  I would receive, confirm the numbers and then announce them over the PA system so the canoe racers could get ready to hand off.  I would also monitor EMS frequencies for any problems along the course.

A very fun community - a great event for people-watching.
Looking forward to getting involved in similar operations after I move

We The People are not locked in as customers for your product.
From FOX News:

Beer industry 'in shock' that Bud Light backlash continues as expert warns of supply shortages of rival lagers
The entire beer industry is floored that Bud Light is still taking heat over its now-infamous promo with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney and the backlash has put rival beers in high demand, according to the publisher of prominent trade publication Beer Business Daily. 

"The whole industry is in shock. Even Bud's competitors aren't really dancing on the grave because they know it could have happened to them," Beer Business Daily editor and publisher Harry Schuhmacher told Fox News Digital.

"This particular promotion just really struck a chord. It was just a bridge too far, apparently, for consumers… we’re in week six and it doesn't look like it's getting any better," he continued. "In fact, the numbers just keep getting a little worse every week… down in the 25% area. And their competitors are up almost just as much, and that's continuing through today."

Let that sink in.

Their perception of the market is an illusion.  They are wrapped up in the same little bubble that the mainstream media creates and nurtures.  When presented with something outside this bubble, they can't grok it.  They panic.  Good.

From FOX News:

Target partners with org pushing for kids' genders to be secretly changed in schools without parental consent
Target Corporation is partnering with a K-12 education group for which focuses on getting districts to adopt policies that will keep parents in the dark on their child's in-school gender transition, providing sexually explicit books to schools for free, and integrating gender ideology at all levels of curriculum in public schools, Fox News Digital uncovered.

"GLSEN leads the movement in creating affirming... and anti-racist spaces for LGBTQIA+ students. We are proud of 10+ years of collaboration with GLSEN and continue to support their mission," Target said. The retail giant provides annual donations to GLSEN. 

GLSEN calls for gender ideology to be integrated into all classes, even math. It provides educators instructions on how they can make math "more inclusive of trans and non-binary identities" by including "they/them" pronouns in word problems. 

Their stock value went down by $9 Billion dollars in one week.
Wonder how far down it will go before they wake up.

Used to shop there for household stuff - kitchen appliances, plastics, etc...
No more.

One of Elon's lesser known companies but one doing fascinating work.
This was announced today:

Wonderful news.  Full decision here: SACKETT ET UX. v. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY ET AL.

Basically, if you owned property with water anywhere, that was considered to be a "Navigable Waterway" and you were severly restricted on what you could do with it.

The decision today restricts that to bodies of water that are contiguously connected to actual waterways - rivers, lakes, etc...

A very good decision and it clips the wings of the EPAs powers.  None of them are elected - they should not be able to "legislate" things like this.  They are supposed to advise Congress and it is up to Congress to make the laws...

From the New York Post:

Target loses $9B in week following boycott calls over LGBTQ-friendly kids clothing
Target has lost $9 billion in market value since angry social media users called for a boycott of the Minneapolis-based retailer over its rollout of the “PRIDE” collection featuring LGBTQ-friendly clothing for children.

A week ago Wednesday before the controversy erupted, Target’s stock closed at $160.96 a share, giving the big-box chain a market capitalization of $74.3 billion.

As of early trading on Thursday, however, shares of the company were trading off 1% at $141.76 — capping a weeklong tumble that has shrunk the “cheap chic” discount retailer’s value to $65.3 billion.

That amounts to a 12% drop that has shaved a whopping $9 billion off the company’s market capitalization.

Heh - if this had been general clothing, people would have gone Ewwww!!! but continued to shop there.
When they go after the children, people take notice and they act accordingly.

I do hope that this gives activism the bad name that it deserves.
As Dr. Thomas Sowell puts it so succinctly:

We have become Idiocracy

Classic troll...  Love it.

From Slay News:

James Comer Finally Puts Dollar Figure on Alleged Bribe Paid to Joe Biden
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) has dropped explosive new information that puts a staggering seven-figure sum on an alleged bribe Democrat President Joe Biden took while serving as Obama’s VP.

Comer sent a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray on Wednesday.

The letter threatens Wray with being held in contempt of Congress if he doesn’t hand over a subpoenaed document a whistleblower says shows that then-Vice President Biden took a cash bribe from a foreign national in exchange for policy considerations.

In the letter, Comer drops a bombshell and finally puts a dollar figure to the alleged bribe.

Comer says Biden took a whopping $5 million bribe. Wow.

Obama's scandal-free administration?  Yeah...  Obama and Biden are responsible for the USAs downfall.
We are close to the point of no return.  We need adults in the room now.

Looks like the charges are being lessened.  From the New York Post:

White House U-Haul ramming suspect Sai Kandula jailed until next week, charges downgraded
The alleged neo-Nazi accused of ramming a rented U-Haul truck into White House security barriers will be held in federal jail pending a detention hearing next week, according to reports.

Sai Varshith Kandula, 19, appeared in a Washington, DC, federal court Wednesday, where Magistrate Judge Robin M. Meriweather ordered he be jailed until a hearing next Tuesday, CBS News reported.

Kandula, from Missouri, slammed the box truck into barriers along Lafayette Square just steps from the White House late Monday, US Park Police officials said.

He had allegedly planned the attack for six months, with his goal to “get to the White House, seize power, and be put in charge of the nation,” records show.

Kandula was accused of threatening to “Kill the President If that’s what I have to do,” and praised Nazism and Hitler.

Next, they will be telling us that there is a manifesto.  There is always a manifesto.
Interesting too in that you can not rent a UHaul truck at 19.  You have to be 21.
The FBI is not even trying hard.  This is a false-flag operation. A distraction.

30 tons of ammonium nitrate disappears.  Sat Phones being issued to Congress.  Lots of things are lining up.

Our Nation had the infamous gas shortages of the 1970's - President Carter.
We created the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in 1975 to hold a stockpile so that we would never be caught short again.

Joe Biden is drawing it down - it is now lower than it has ever been since 1985 when record-keeping started.
It helps keep our gasoline prices down but this leaves us with none in case a real emergency happens.

He could have added capacity - done what President Trump did.  But nooooo...
This is not going to end well.

We The People paid for the Mueller Report.  It would be nice to claw some of that money back.
From The Federalist Papers:

Rep Anna Paulina Luna Proposes Fining Adam Schiff $16 Million for 'Lies' About Trump-Russia Collusion
Standing up to the reprehensible and basically treasonous lies perpetuated by leading Democrats in Congress, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., has introduced a resolution that seeks to impose a $16 million fine on Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., for his unsubstantiated claims of collusion between former President Trump and Russia during the 2016 election.

Luna argues that this amount represents approximately half of the total cost incurred by American taxpayers for the federal investigation into the debunked Trump-Russia collusion narrative, as confirmed by special counsel reports from Robert Mueller and John Durham.

Luna, along with the GOP Conference, asserts that Adam Schiff has flagrantly breached the trust of the American people, abused his positions of authority, and engaged in a consistent pattern of falsehoods.

Excellent.  Probably not going to happen but it brings attention to his lies and his security leaks.

An odious little man.

Not just Epstein's Island.  This is happening worldwide
More here: Operation Underground Railroad

It was always about helping people.  The founders.  From the London Daily Mail:

Black Lives Matter is headed for INSOLVENCY after plunging $8.5M into the red - but founder Patrisse Cullors' brother was still paid $1.6M for 'security services' in 2022, while sister of board member earned $1.1M for 'consulting'

• • Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, a non-profit that grew out of the protest movement, is haemorrhaging cash, financial records show
  • The group ran an $8.5 million deficit and saw the value of its investment accounts drop by nearly $10 million, with fundraising down 88% year-on-year
  • Despite the financial woes, the organization still paid relatives of the founder and of a board member hundreds of thousands of dollars for services

Black Lives Matter's national organization is at risk of going bankrupt after its finances plunged $8.5 million into the red last year - while simultaneously handing multiple staff seven-figure salaries.

Financial disclosures obtained by The Washington Free Beacon show the perilous state of BLM's Global Network Foundation, which officially emerged in November 2020, as a more formal way of structuring the civil rights movement.

Yet despite the financial controversy and scrutiny, BLM GNF continued to hire relatives of the founder, Patrisse Cullors, and several board members.

Patrice has three luxurious houses.  The Board should have stepped in but they didn't - probably on the take too.

It was always a grift.  Amazing how many people fell for it.

Found on the web.  An M82 is a bit of overkill for that poor lil' guy...

First crack in the facade - from OilPrice:

China Receives First Yuan-Settled LNG Cargo From UAE
China’s CNOOC reported the receipt of the first cargo of liquefied natural gas that the company paid for in Chinese yuan in the latest instance of the ongoing diversification of international energy trade.

The state energy firm, as quoted by China Daily, said it had bought 65,000 tons of LNG from the UAE, noting that settling international trade deals in the local currency was becoming more mature.

International trade in the Chinese currency has been expanding rapidly over the past year, after the West cut Russia out of the SWIFT system, which encouraged the latter to seek alternatives.

To date, almost all the commodities that China buys from Russia are paid for in yuan, Reuters reported earlier this month, as Chinese banks expand their presence in Russia, complete with an alternative payment settlement system dubbed CIPS.

And this little tidbit.  Joe Biden's "sanctions" against Russia have only made Russia stronger and now, they are affecting the use of our Dollar as the world's reserve currency:

International trade in yuan stands at 2.5%, while trade in U.S. dollars accounts for 39.4% of the total and trade in euros accounts for 35.8%, according to data from SWIFT.

Reuters cited one BNP Paribas analyst as forecasting a “snowball effect” for the yuan’s international adoption as more countries join China’s sphere of influence "especially after they've seen what the U.S.-led sanctions against Russia have done."

“This is a very long term development stretching into the coming one or two, even three decades," Chi Lo said, adding "For now, and for the foreseeable next few years, I think the trade using RMB will predominantly be used for commodity and energy trade."

We are being run by idiots with no understanding of how the world works.

They might want their money back at some point.  From Fortune Magazine:

‘In a lot of the world, the clock has hit midnight’: China is calling in loans to dozens of countries from Pakistan to Kenya
A dozen poor countries are facing economic instability and even collapse under the weight of hundreds of billions of dollars in foreign loans, much of them from the world’s biggest and most unforgiving government lender, China.

An Associated Press analysis of a dozen countries most indebted to China — including Pakistan, Kenya, Zambia, Laos and Mongolia — found paying back that debt is consuming an ever-greater amount of the tax revenue needed to keep schools open, provide electricity and pay for food and fuel. And it’s draining foreign currency reserves these countries use to pay interest on those loans, leaving some with just months before that money is gone.

Behind the scenes is China’s reluctance to forgive debt and its extreme secrecy about how much money it has loaned and on what terms, which has kept other major lenders from stepping in to help. On top of that is the recent discovery that borrowers have been required to put cash in hidden escrow accounts that push China to the front of the line of creditors to be paid.

Countries in AP’s analysis had as much as 50% of their foreign loans from China and most were devoting more than a third of government revenue to paying off foreign debt. Two of them, Zambia and Sri Lanka, have already gone into default, unable to make even interest payments on loans financing the construction of ports, mines and power plants.

By design.  China will take ownership of those properties.
How to take over a nation without firing a shot.
How much do we owe them?

Sri Lanka is a classic case.  The government there was propped up by the Chinese money.  They thought they were on top of the world and started mandating various environmental stupidity.  Forcing farmers to grow organicaly, forcing renewable energy. The nation crashed.

Since Sri Lanka defaulted a year ago, a half-million industrial jobs have vanished, inflation has pierced 50% and more than half the population in many parts of the country has fallen into poverty.

Much much more at the site.  Local corruption plays a big part but China is doing a lot of these loans "under the table" - other nations have no idea.  They are not playing nice.

Swiped from 90 Miles:

UPDATE - a two-fer.  Saw another good one there

From the New York Post:

Chicago’s new Mayor Brandon Johnson is already bad for business
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) has been operating in the Loop since 1898, just 27 years after the Great Chicago Fire.

The exchange was part of the city’s rebirth and helped establish Chicago as a financial hub.

Now, we see the opposite of rebirth with Chicago’s population shrinking.

And the $66 billion CME may not be around to help with future renewal: The company has rewritten the terms of its lease so it can leave the city if politicians pursue “ill-conceived” public policy.

“We’re in a very strong position,” CME CEO Terry Duffy said in a recent interview. “If we had to leave, we could leave.”

Worth noting that Chicago also has some of the nation's most draconian gun laws.  It has only one store that is licensed to sell firearms. Yet, their year to date shootings are 211 shot and killed and 793 shot and wounded.