The Vaccines were impressive.

And saved lives, no matter how you cut it, but damn stuff like this. Gov helped them get it online, but now it appears that privatize the profits and socialize the costs is going full speed ahead. 

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JFK & Conspiracy Theorists

On JFK and who killed him. Plenty of people tell me it's no biggie, and only conspiracy theorists would think otherwise. But I'm of the mind that if that were so, then why not release all the classified material on it. 

China.

I'm sure there will be more yellow peril articles by our MSM, since our elites would never decide to improve things for scientific researchers (corporations, and sending money upwards, sure) once this gets around. And just like the fact that China has surpassed us in PPP and, more importantly, in life expectancy, I'm sure we won't hear anything about that and instead of actually spending on the people, to, you know, develop human capital, we'll just get screams about TikTok etc. Watch it, people, and write your congresspeople to focus on the US. People still need help here. 

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Covid, with a new variant.

Not clear if it will be horrendously infectious (in that it would cause a surge of hospitalizations that would be bad for the health of society. It will, however, win the evolutionary race (and if so, the experts claiming there was some divergence in variants are wrong). 

Self Criticism.

Some notes and thoughts from Norman Finkelstein on self-criticism. I'm guessing that, on many levels,  even I need to be cognizant of my human frailties. 

Slava Ukraini

I've already mentioned how if you look up who I stop blame for the Georgia war, the google writing will state it was Russia's fault. But instead, if you have a little more in-depth knowledge about the EU report on it, you'd see that in that Report, they blame Georgia for starting it, though they also go on to talk about how Russia took things too far and also that both sides played large roles in ethnic cleansing (which I believe is going on for both sides in Ukraine... or at least all evidence points that way). 

 

With that in mind, here's another quick lesson in terms of that which Google shows and the narrative out there. I've been hearing the phrase "Slava Ukraini" since the start of the war. And though I had thought it a little much (for here in the States, given all the propaganda our elites are throwing at us, it was a little too much), I didn't think it bad. After all, look at this wiki article (first link above):

The phrase first appeared at the beginning of the 20th century in different variations, when it became popular among Ukrainians during the Ukrainian War of Independence from 1917 to 1921.^[1] From the 1930s it was used by different Ukrainian groups, as well as Ukrainian diaspora groups and refugee communities in the West during the Cold War. In the Soviet Union the phrase was forbidden and discredited by Soviet and later Russian authorities. The phrase eventually resurfaced in Ukraine during the country's struggle for independence in connection with the fall of the Soviet Union. Its use was revived again during the 2014 Ukrainian revolution and the Russo-Ukrainian War, during which it became a widely popular symbol in Ukraine.

Brasil's right

Though it's not always so clear as right vs left (or even centrist, though here in the US that could mean just kinda right) all around the world (see Ukraine and Russia etc), it appears there are similar notes. Brasil getting their own 1/6, though it might be even worse. Some of the pics, of course, show a meager crowd. It's just that the cops there also won't do anything against right wing protestors. Not sure who they act towards left wingers?

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Tranq Dope.

Looks like a crazy new drug out there. Be safe all. 

I have started observing a new phenotype of opioid/xylazine addicts - limb amputations (be it autoamputation or surgical) and severe cachexia with multiple complex wounds. 

This is of course if they make it out of the ICU after being on incredible amounts of sedation for their megawithdrawal.

It's absolutely horrifying. I've been consulted on these patients I think largely because they are so distressing to witness by the medical/nursing teams. They usually have some amount of life-limiting illness potential because of consequences of their addiction, and many of them leave AMA or don't engage with long-term treatment so you're just kind of pleading with them to try and stay in treatment so they don't destroy themselves in a visually impressive manner.

And if that doesn't scare you:

Knew this was going to be about Philadelphia before even clicking on the article. The wounds associated with “Tranq” are like things you’ve never seen - literally just dead/rotten limbs with bones exposed attached to living people. It’s wild. 

From the addicts I’ve spoken with, the withdrawal off this stuff is far worse than the regular heroin withdrawal they used to experience.

lol, this interview.

Ray Bradbury just going crazy here. 

Interesting.

Some thoughts on nationalism and the breakup of the USSR. Not sure I agree with it all. Austerity played a large role in many parts of the downfall of the Warsaw bloc etc. I will agree that ethnic nationalism ended up mattering the most and that it still does. I do wonder about what I reading Second hand time, where Russians left in these other countries were essentially attacked and even killed in many cases (and sometimes this was directed at other ethnic groups, and they can only be described as similar to pogroms). I wonder how much that plays a part in current Russian thinking. 

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Good read

Every war we set out on is righteous until the stench of our corrupt elite make it seem less so and they move on to the next one. Don't fall for it. I only say this because at the start I was all for the war in Afghanistan. Most Americans were and I think most of the world understood the moral idea of revenge. So they weren't against America then. But all I've heard over the years from people who served there, was how obvious the corruption was. Yet from the media you would have thought it was once and always the good war. Now we're back to the same place. 

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What're you doing?

Read up on the latest variant. Not sure it'll hit as hard as even Omicron did. Latest one is so infectious, it's wearing a measles mask. jc. But not sure we know how bad it will be in terms of deaths. Not yet, at least. But it does have decent immune escape, so be wary. 

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Best movies, back in 1999

Apparently a knock out year. I'd say many don't stand the test of time (fight club doesn't, for me). I'd also say that some seem downright prophetic. 3Kings is an all time Great War movie. matrix, of course, is great. Wondering if I should watch Eyes Wide Shut with older eyes... might appreciate it more. 

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Best Books of 2022

Been doin this a while now. Best books which I read this past year. I'm actually including some graphic memoirs which were amazing and really speak to that medium's power. Impressive stories I've read this year, though there are a few which I didn't finish and hopefully I can add them to the list next year. 

I will admit that the list is less impressive than previous years. I wonder why that is. 

Lab Leak is a Legit Theory. So is the natural Zoonotic Type.

So there are enough people performing something like CYA, that we should worry about the covid virus being a lab leak and we really need a proper commission to look into it (and get info from people in the NIH) as some people did not fully cooperate with the Lancet commission as it were (Sachs said some scientists merely said, talk to my lawyer... uh no. We need to know and we need to know exactly what happened) [1]

Anyhow, check this out if you get the chance:

[1] Now, I don't think it was a "plandemic" but rather a mistake. But still, this is how trust will be completely eroded. 

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COVID

Supposedly over, and something which may kill 3-500 people a day but we won't care about, Dem or GOP , unless we can use it to punish evil foreigners. Seriously, us making any nation do COVID tests is some sick joke stuff given how we've decided to give up. Anyhow, here's a good set of thoughts from a guy who thinks that we shouldn't worry about masking (especially if vaxxed) and younger people should not get triple boosted etc. Fair points. And I do agree that much of the communication from the health officials weren't great and only worsened distrust. Still, he mentions that masks don't do much, and it seems that only getting covid is looked at. Now, we certainly need to do more testing, but I was under the impression that initial viral load mattered. So a proper study would look into severity of the disease (especially with how infectious Omicron is) among those who a surgical mask N95 and those who don't (checking for vaxxed vs unvaxxed as well). I mean, right? 

Still, it's worth a listen. 

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Pele Passed Away

🐐 of the game ⚽️. And though there seem to be a bunch of (kids, certainly), people online claiming Messi is the "only" 🐐 (using G/A stats to make the case), I'm of the mind that comparing across eras is beyond silly. Sure, players nowadays deal with a quicker game (though hard to know since I'm not sure any of Pele's games have been updated to look like today's frame rate with today's HD, so how do you really compare? that) [1] but Pele delay with bone crunching tackles that Messi would not survive today. Also, one should consider that though players are more athletic, with all the science of today Pele would simply be better. 

Anyhow, I can appreciate each player for being a 🐐 in their time. Messi vs Ronaldo is even a hard comparison because though I like Messi's style and ability more, Ronaldo and his 3 UCLs in a row is also impressive (and you could say he had "leadership"). So even if Messi has his WC, it's not a slam dunk that he's the best of the era. 

[1] I think they certainly run way more per game than back then

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The New Yellow Peril. So A New Chinese Exclusion Act

Aimed at everything Chinese, to include TikTok (just another social media site, but perhaps our elites don't like that they aren't tracking people's every movement). Now, we're getting a rehash of the Chinese Exclusion act with America, the place that claims the virus still killing nearly 500 people a day isn't happening, now wants to act like covid in china is something they're worried about. DIdn't like Trump when he did this xenophobic crap and Biden is no better for it. Of course, the centrist #theresistance types are silent here. 

Best Goals of the WC

Not sure I entirely agree with this list. 

Just a Reminder

That the Art of Un-War is a doc that you can watch today on Kanopy (usually through your library). I think I have a second or two on it, but it's worth it not only for the artist but for his use of art to undo that war cry on which much of society is based. Check it out when you can. 

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New Genres and More Thoughts by Other Writers.

This one, from the Indian author Pankaj Mishra, is solid. Insightful about the thought of the day or of the moment that takes away from introspection. 

I think this is true about a lot of what goes on in the world. Does it need my immediate input? Even if I think the narrative is wrong (take, for example, surrounding the Ukrainian war)? Naw, probably not. And it won't make much of a difference compared to actually doing things. And, indeed, there does need to be more introspection if something of value will be created. 

Peace

Mask Up.

n95 ftw, people. Because despite the internet trends (and thus what I've seen IRL, where no one masks up at all) COVID is still a thing. Though, hearing this, one wonders if the numbers are much much lower than reported. 

Writing.

Reading more, looking for proper ways forward here. Hope you enjoyed the previous link. Send me your thoughts when you get a chance. Brasil is out of another World Cup. This time they bottled it, but like previous times, the ref allows another team to absolutely hack away at them without repercussions. This is has been a historical thing. Brasil should have had 4 WCs back in Pele's time, but they hacked him enough to stop him in 66 (62 too, but he was surrounded by a team good enough to win it without him). So it's a shame that it was allowed to happen again in this WC. Though I'm not entirely saddened, given that the likes of Neymar and much of the team are pro Bolsanaro. Decent article on that here. 

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Told You About Me Working on New Genres.

I mean, not entirely new, but new to me (and that I've seen, in general). Gonna be a long journey (in may mind, perhaps all this just ends soon enough) so bare with me. Here's the first pub, so yay for me. 

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Self Aware/Sentient

Btw, all the text AI (more so than art ai, since that seems to simply evoke something about craftsmanship... incorrectly, I feel) is raising talk about is the chat bot sentient or self-aware. And the latter word is more or less useless, IMO, since it just points to a feeling that no one can fully explain let alone prove (and can be knocked out of a human if parts of the brain are tinkered with). And the same goes for sentient which is "able to feel things"

But I couldn't tell you why that's so special and what that means (and why a sensor wouldn't imply that a computer has that ability etc). So the conversation becomes pretty odd since we don't ever get to the bottom of those definitions. Or maybe you've a better answer?

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Losing out to AI?

Apparently the AI will soon take over the world, or at least a lowly writer's work, like my own. But the following prompt gets

tell me a story about a boy who overthrows an empire:

Been out. Working on some new things.

Mainly mixing visuals and text for story telling. A couple pubs, I'll share the others as time goes by. I think I mentioned it (or did I?) how I read a book on comics and the combination of visual and texts to tell a story and realized that one issue was that I wasn't combined two separate train of thoughts of my own. That is, I had created visuals mixed with text from the artistic side (but  mainly as a way to expand a moment, a memory) in terms of non-fiction. Meanwhile from the fictional side it was photo essays as short stories, and some other attempts (collage and text) but that's about it. Now I'm combining both and it has been interesting to say the least. 

World Cup Tomorrow!

Not even gonna get into the internet's talk about Qatar's sins. So let's laugh for a second instead. Cause dammit if this copy pasta from the internet isn't gold:

I destroyed some kid on FIFA and he just sent me this (self.copypasta)

submitted 4 hours ago by v3xpunk

I bet your dad is so disappointed. Who wants to raise a man who plays with Madrid? Do you always take the lazy way? Do you work at Target and go to the local community college? I bet he asks you how that degree is coming like 3 times a month. It’s always the same though, isn’t it. The tinge of shame, then a small outburst. “I’m working on it dad, and my app is gonna take off.” But there is no app, is there. There’s no hope. Just loneliness.

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That One Plague

Not ours, but the Black Death. Interesting that it has been found to originate from Central Asia. And it also started a huge series of rolling plagues that lasted hundreds of years. Nuts. So even the Defoe journal I read was possibly about the plague (I mean I knew it was the plague, but I thought it had just been around with varying levels of success as a vector) as a variation of the Black Death. 

The crazy keeps on going.

Possible that Russian missiles hit Poland. One hopes that cooler heads prevail, but they may not, given the anger in parts of that world. I have more to say on this, but it's neither here nor there. You certainly won't hear about it on the MSM. I really do wonder if the covid virus just made everyone worse off in the head. Directly speaking, not in some, the pandemic itself causing some sort of short circuit psychologically speaking.

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Boring Dystopia.

Children's hospitals are closing down because our society has deemed that not reimbursing for their care is the way to go. Yeah, perfectly normal, perfectly healthy. 

Collages and such oh my.

First, I read Unflattening by Nick Sousanis and it had some thought provoking ideas in it, though I think that it could have done more to answer the question it posed to the reader. Indeed, a question I myself have been posing in various forms (and the likes of Hockney as well, coming from the visual side). 

On Kasparov

The one who's cheerleading American war is here cheerleading Iraq and Afghanistan etc. I will also note that many who are for the Ukraine war were also for the Iraq Wars. Were all for imperialism and yet are now yelling about Russian imperialism. It's pretty impressive. 

Hikaru World Champ

Impressive stuff here. I do wish they did it with longer time controls. But it's crazy how the best in the world at this game find themselves in completely new territory and make these huge mistakes. 

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FRC World Championship

Cool analysis here. 

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Random

wiki of a game:

Nominated for the Pushcart Prize.

Not me. This here story, at least. 

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Tridemic.

Maybe that sounds rough, but there are stories of how bad it's getting as well as how hospitals will be clogged up in no time. 

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A Serious Map

Still can't even come close to wrapping my head around this map. Any of them. kWell this video clear it up though. 

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Pen America

Trad Publishing is still biased. No shock there. Shocking that people will talk about "they only pick the best and what will sell" as if that's ever true or that's ever the only factor. Sigh. 

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Decline Continues.

Life expectancy went down another year in the US. Full report here. 26 years of progress wiped out. Also note that the life expectancy stalled in 2010 and throughout the Great Recession. Something I and many public health types noted. That spoke to a general sickness in the polity and this pandemic only set us sliding downhill (and it started with Reagan, in that he managed to start our divergence from the rest of the developing world). Note that we have been passed by China and their "Covid 0" policy that our media mocks and yet they don't seem to connect the two things at all. If anything is done, it will be more $ to the superrich as they spend more money to "fight" china, which they'll only do if it enriches themselves. 

Winter is Coming

And so mud season should slow down the fighting in Ukraine. Have to agree with Norman Finkelstein in the sense that hearing form both sides (let's say Scott Ritter)[1] you're basically getting propaganda or "Russians say x and Ukraine says y" and it's hard to know what's going on. Impossible and one can barely add some kinds of probabilities anywhere. 

So it Goes

Doctor strike. Don't think I've ever heard of that. Things aren't going back to normal and people everywhere aren't happy. We'll see how it goes, especially if fuel prices keep going up. 

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Space!

Awesome images  here. And some ones from a Chinese telescope. 

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AI TExt

this is not scary at all:

Once upon a time there was a boy in a village. He was very poor. His family was very poor. One day, the boy was walking down the street when he saw a man walking down the street. The man was very rich. The boy thought to himself, 'I am very poor. I have nothing. I don't have anything. But this man has a lot of money. I am going to be rich too. And so he went up to the man and asked him for some money. The man gave him some money. The boy took the money and walked down the street. He walked down the street and he saw another man. He thought to himself, 'I am very poor. I have nothing. I don't have anything. But this man has a lot of money. I am going to be rich too. And so he went up to the man and asked him for some money. The man gave him some money.

yeah I'll wait for something better.

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Video Games.

Here is mine. But this article is some top notch stuff. And also kind of eye opening as this is what I felt too about my writing and so forth:

Get Vaxxed Wear a Mask Don't Relax

Good study on how even if you get a bunch of COVID infections, you won't get stronger, or just get through it, instead you'll get weaker and be more likely to die. Crazy, right?

Yep, it's crazy af. And yet people just want to "get back to normal" like our POTUS (still a step better than the other party that saw a moral friend in COVID). 

It says even if vaxxed, getting infected causes health issues, but does not break it down as to levels of health effects for either group (could not find the needed graph on that one)

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New Yorker

Solid article on the New Yorker. 

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So Cool! Also, instant death if it were closer. GRBs.

Article on a large star collapsing. Impressive stuff. also, if it had been closer we would all be dead. Wiki here. As it stands, it only affected India's ionosphere. 

picture from nasa

link for pic. 

F is For Fake

Probably one of the best movies of all time. It talked about forgeries and the artists who made those forgeries. The main one boasting that they could create something that even the artist would think was their own, and, that their works were the ones in the museums. Turns out it's true that many works in museums are forgeries. 

Listicles.

Thought I already wrote about this. But this here list of movies is not good at all. Sure it has some that are great but no, just no. 

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Instapoets

Just read this article on instapoets. There are some good points, like how IG itself was always meant to be a stream of positivity and that is what advertisers really wanted and, all right, that's great, but the analysis of both the vapidity of some instapoets (matched with their success) is compared to all time greats of the past and not with the vapidity of the darlings of the current literary world. IOW there needs to be more of a discussion about both, just as the author here seems to mention the good instapoets without more than a passing glance. Shame. Would like to read much more than this on the subject. 

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Get Your COVID Booster

Get Your Omicron Booster please 

SPace

Just like the Nordstream 2 could be an alien attack trying to play us off each other, so too are vids like this hubris:

https://www.reddit.com/r/space/comments/y185pp/surface_of_the_mars_shot_by_curiosity_rover_and/

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Older article, but worth it.

Since it tries to be even handed and does decently, I think.

I'm Waiting for You by Kim Bo-Young

The first story is brilliant. I like it a lot. Love story, but bittersweet, and set in our future (so sci ficish). 

Also, reading Hammurabi laws here. Kinda interesting, tbf. 

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Watchmen

interview with the writer behind that comic, Alan Moore. He denigrates comics, and though I try to match the visual with the textual, I will say most of the "deep" comics are not all that impressive and, in fact, are not better than similar textual works in the same vein. Some famous graphic novel I read didn't even come close to an essay I read on the same subject. You can say it's a different vehicle to get that information out there, but come on now. In a way the reddit thread on this was similarly angry "don't talk about comics that way" to what Moore says, but I've yet to see him be wrong. Will try some of the recs on that thread:

Bucha

There seems to be a whole lot of "Russia didn't do Bucha" or some mass killing in Ukraine. The Nazis did. Not sure why this is prevalent. I'm sure the right wingers in Ukraine have done plenty, but no need to white wash other things. There are lots of people in the left going that way. What to do? Read this while I go look for more on it.  More here too. 

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Sachs on Hegemony.

Some sane thinking out there. Guess we won't see him on TV any time soon. Especially when he said the quiet part loud that he talks to reporters off screen and they think that the US did it too, but dare not speak that to the public. Chomsky is right. The control of the narrative is going nuts out there. 

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Our MSM

Plenty of people shout about the MSM (from right and the left) and try to make it seem that they are truth tellers against the machine. Fair enough, I do too, but I do try to discern what the differences are,  the nuances are, especially vis a vis geo politics (very jingoistic usually) or domestic politics where no matter the screams by the right, the MSM, the Times included, will go with what the oligarch class want. See the difference between how corporate debt being wiped out vs student debt. Just nuts. 

Misinformation About Misinformation

Reading about Russian misinformation tactics is like reading meta misinformation takes on the idea that they have somehow learned to control social media with a few easily (relatively) dollars. Take this article by the Atlantic. 

Sachs on Covid

Sachs with the point that we need more thorough investigations into the origins of Covid to include the lab theory. 

Lies About Books

Looks like another sign of decaying structures. The Times bestseller list and other facets of "what a bestseller is" are subjective not objective. Like I said when Trump was elected, he's only a symptom. He's probably hung out with people in literary circles and he knows exactly what they are. Crazy stuff. 

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Getting Vaxxed Works.

So get yours, seriously. Also, this issue right here has now been studied:

What is art?

Not sure. DOn't think anyone is, tbf. 

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Decent Article

Takes a look at the various possibilities and basically we can't know. So the 3 main parties are: Russia, USA, or a 3rd party. Note if, say, the UK did this with the tacit approval of the US, or Belarus with the approval of Russia, that counts as the client state. I should say if it ends up being a rogue colonel or intel branch that has done this (of any country, but mainly of the great powers, or great power blocks), that could be a 4th choice. My 3rd choice is non-state actors though it appears the know-how required to explode a large explosion underwater no less, would almost entirely negate that. I'm thinking if it is this, it could be far right Ukrainians or someone else who managed to get some of the awesome weapons we're sending over there and not keeping track of (yes I think the blowback will be worse than even Afghanistan, but we'll have to wait and see which of the great powers gets it worse). Note that I think the likelihood of this (esp of Ukrainian right wingers going rogue) to be very very low. We'll see. Should take be taking bets on this, given the loud mouths on all sides on the internet, but can't. What a shite system . 

Germany Going Down?

Heard a few people mention it, but it really seems like they're hurting. Look at all this article has to say about their situation. Wow. The US wants the EU on their own energy, but at this price? Really no long term thinking here. And what happens when Germany's industry etc fail? Not good things, as history shows. Man is this going to hurt, especially with the Nordstream 2 now blown up (who did it? Who knows, but I'd bet on not Russia for now... a slight favorite there, US next with a 3rd party (on their own) a last). Thoughts? Hard to know, tbf, and people who seem certain are not basing it on much. 

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Get Your Flu Shots, people.

Well. if you're in the States. Or Northern Hemisphere. Looks like it's already kicking off here. Be wary and be good. Get your shot. Probably wear a mask too, when indoors, but that's too hard for most of us, apparently. 

Another art piece accepted.

Will post more when I get info about it going up. It was a collage from france. Good times. 

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Assange and Wikileaks.

Focus on them whenever you can. Because this is part of the erosion of power to the people. 

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Are our Elites out of touch?

No, it must be us who are wrong. 

DART

Best video in a while. 

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On it Goes. Get Your Omicron Shot.

Full discussion here. 

Hilary

Has some of the best historical fiction out there. Mantel, that is. Nice little lecture or article here by her. 

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Good job NASA!

Good work from that outfit. Knocking an asteroid off its path is always solid in my book. 

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Back to Bad and Possibly Crazy News.

Abe was killed because he was too close to a cult (as was his LDP party) that destroyed many lives in Japan. Seriously did not expect that. 

According to Britain’s Financial Times, Moon founded a conglomerate called Tongil Group in South Korea in 1963, and its affiliates now operate ski and golf resorts, a defence company, a chemicals group, a car parts business and a newspaper. In the United States, the church’s business interests include the conservative Washington Times newspaper, the New Yorker Hotel in New York, the True World Foods seafood wholesaler and a vast property portfolio, it said.

Despite the complaints over its fundraising practices in Japan, the church continued to find favour among LDP politicians, with whom it shared conservative values, including opposition to LGBTQ rights.

The assassin's mother ended up sending close to a million to this cult and destroyed many of the young man's hopes. 

Some good news

People trying for dialogue in the Sahel. I'll also note that most Chileans want the Constitution changed but not the one that was up for vote earlier this month. Not many details out there, especially with regard to what needs to be done next (more leftist one or more rightist one?). Note that the oligarchs were against and over time changed people's minds, but that's not clear either. What is does mean for the time being is that Pinochet's Constitution gets a reprieve. I wonder what happens if, instead of yes/no, you say A/B? 

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Oldie but Goodie

pandemic in charcoal (Ai art)

Here is a solid short story. 

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