The Morning Rant: Minimalist Edition

The Obama purge of our military has exacerbated the institutional flaws that are inherent in most military organizations. Pork Barrel procurement is probably as old as the first army, as is ridiculous weapons system design, the typical strategy of planning on fighting the last war, and a host of other issues that will probably never change.

But political reliability in the highest ranks, deference to the most insane progressive and post-modern lunacy (DEI, transgenderism, etc), coupled with a foreign policy seemingly designed to embolden our enemies have all conspired to put America squarely behind. We can't build ships, we can't build planes, we can't attract men to enlist, and our biggest Pacific ally is a generation behind in their planning for a war with China that is becoming more and more likely.

Preserving Peace Through Naval Power

Today, the U.S. Navy has a peer naval competitor in the Chinese PLAN and does not have enough resources to counter it and perform its other assigned global duties. Catching up to current requirements, let alone those which might come from China in the future, will be expensive, difficult, and time consuming. Maintaining the current U.S. naval spending as a percentage of GDP will increase the risk of war.

Increasing the pace of building major naval combatants such as supercarriers and their F35 aircraft, nuclear submarines, and guided missile destroyers is crucial to the goal of deterrence. U.S. shipyards will need to increase their skilled workforces. Component suppliers will need to invest in new production lines. Congress and the Department of Defense need to radically change procurement processes relating to building and maintaining state-of-the-art naval vessels. These major blue water combatants are essential for deterrence and for victory if actual hostilities occur.

US Navy's warship production is in its worst state in 25 years. What's behind it?

The U.S. Navy is struggling to build affordable warships needed to face expanding threats around the world. Among the numerous challenges obstructing its efforts are a serious shortage of skilled workers, poor shipyard employee retention, last-minute design changes and the Pentagon's shifting priorities. Eric Labs is a longtime naval analyst at the Congressional Budget Office. He says the shipbuilding industry is in its worst state in 25 years.

Good news, bad news in Japan's military reawakening

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has done what no American president ever could. He got Japan to get serious about defense after decades of pathological overdependence on US forces.

But here’s the problem: Being serious about defense and actually being able to defend oneself are different things. Japan already has a large and powerful defense force – on paper at least. Its military power has been rated #7 in the world.

And in recent years Japan has undertaken to double defense spending, buy and develop long-range missiles, signed defense agreements with several foreign countries, is poised to establish a Joint Operations Command and is pushing the Americans to operationalize their US Forces Japan headquarters.

And the Japan Self Defense Force (JSDF) is doing more and increasingly complex exercises with the Americans, the Australians and others.

That’s the good news. But here’s the not-so-good news: the JSDF still isn’t a real fighting force. It’s not prepared to fight a war in terms of organization, logistics, command and control, hardware and weaponry, combat-casualty replacement, reserve forces, or even psychologically.

America has had the huge buffer of two oceans to protect us. They have given us the time to recover from our traditional military stupidity. Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor stretched their logistical capacity, yet there is another 2,500 miles to the American mainland.

But current weaponry has shrunk that advantage. Space-based weapons, ICBMs, hypersonic missiles, internet-based attacks, EMPs, and more have decreased our perimeter, while the complexity of our modern weapons systems has increased exponentially our resupply and repair challenges.

We simply cannot afford to muddle through the first weeks or months of a war, ferreting out the substandard officers, figuring out which weapons work and which don't, bringing our logistics up to a war footing, and on and on and on.

Our next war is going to happen far to quickly and far too fast for us to have that luxury.

[Crossposted at CutJibNewsletter]

Posted by: CBD at 11:00 AM | Comments (293) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Mid-Morning Art Thread

Thisbe
John William Waterhouse

Posted by: CBD at 09:30 AM | Comments (466) | Trackbacks (Suck)

The Morning Report — 8/13/24

Good morning kids. I better watch what I write lest this Keir Oberstarmerbahnfuhrer comes and has me arrested for drawing attention to the violent end stages of Britain being transformed into a dark age Islamic state. And by that, obviously bobbies from Scotland Yard aren't going to come here and haul me off across the pond.

No, we already have a not so secret secret police ready willing and able to willingly oblige the Brits, since those who are aware of what's going on over there are all too aware of the fact that at the heart of it it's the same players and insane globalist ideology that is primed and ready to deliver the coup de grace to whatever is left of America in 2024.

The freak show that began with and was hinted at during the Clinton years and then exploded with the coming of Obama is now as in your face as it gets with the warped personalities that populate the bureaucracies and are working behind the scenes with his latest creation, the potential Harris-Walz junta.

Just one shining example of who and what we will face should they take control in January of next year:

When the new administration was looking for an attorney general, Ben Crump, the ultimate BLM lawyer who represented the families of George Floyd, Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin and nearly every BLM case, recommended Tony West. Al Sharpton also mentioned West.

West, Crump argued, had been the third-highest ranking official in the Obama DOJ, “led various efforts to reduce racial bias, improve procedural fairness, strengthen the relationship between communities of color and law enforcement, and hold police departments accountable.”

Or as the New York Times put it, West “launched an investigation into the 2014 shooting death in Ferguson, Mo., of an unarmed 18-year-old black man, Michael Brown, by a white police officer”. Michael Brown had assaulted a store clerk and then the police officer who shot him in self-defense, but West proved to be a crucial link in the chain that unleashed BLM on America.

The ‘Ferguson Effect’ and the lies around the shooting of Michael Brown would help cripple policing and lead to race riots and then a crime wave spilling across the nation’s cities.

West had helped start the fire that burned down the country and killed thousands of Americans.

Crump however pointed out that West had another major asset besides the Ferguson Effect, he was also “the brother-in-law of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.”

While Biden’s inner circle proved wise enough not to bring in Kamala’s family into the cabinet, West wasted no time rushing in to consolidate Kamala’s position during the Biden palace coup.

The New York Times described West as her “secret weapon” who, coincidentally, was in Kamala’s residence when Biden ‘dropped out’ and ‘worked the phones’ helping “her reach out to would-be supporters” and “his own network of donors and business contacts”.

Since Kamala was in D.C. and West works for Uber in San Francisco (but also has a home on Martha’s Vineyard), thousands of miles away, he might not have just dropped by for a visit.

And West indeed worked fast.

If you thought Eric Holder was bad, and Merrick Garland the second coming of Lavrenty Beria, Ho-Lee-Fook, this fiend is raw nightmare fuel.

And this is how Tampon Timmy Walz viewed the George Floyd riots:

Gov. Tim Walz, now the presumptive Democratic VP candidate, blamed the lack of DEI for the George Floyd riots in May 2020.

(We searched forever to find the full transcript and video! I want to give you guys the whole thing.)

Walz starts his May 31, 2020, press conference by bashing the fact that society hasn’t made DEI a priority:A society that does not put equity and inclusion at the center of it is certainly going to eventually come to the places where we are at. This is a moment of inflection. It is a moment of real change. It is a moment that those fold who are out there demanding this are not going to take a commission or a report.

They are going to want fundamental change. And that is what I think, that’s one of the exciting things in the midst of all this. You can feel a sense of optimism coming back.

Why not blame the rioters? It’s always someone else’s fault. It’s more proof that we’ll see more DEI/Critical Race Theory intertwined in politics if Harris-Walz win in November.

And lest we forget, as a Minneapolis police station was under assault, Walz told the cops who were on the verge of being roasted alive to surrender the station to the thugs.

WIth maniacs like this in charge of America, our enemies are wasting their money on nuclear arsenals. Not that we're going to rearm and revamp our military any time soon anyway, not if Harris is Walz'd into office.

Have a great day, and today is an election day in a number of states. So do your civic duty, and or kvetch about my cognitive dissonance.

ABOVE THE FOLD, BREAKING, NOTEWORTHY
• One factor is the loss of public trust and confidence. An October 2022 survey by Gallup and the Knight Foundation found that only 34 percent of Americans trusted the mainstream media to report the news “fully, accurately and fairly,” and that was only because 70 percent of Democrats took that stance. Only two weeks after Leonard Downie published his obituary of objectivity in The Washington Post, a February 2023 Gallup/Knight survey found an even grimmer picture. Asked whether they agreed with the statement that national news organizations do not intend to mislead, fully half the respondents said they disagreed; only 25 percent agreed. Only 23 percent of those surveyed believed that journalists were acting in the public’s best interests. The Associated Press said the results “showed a depth of distrust and bad feeling that go beyond the foundations and processes of journalism.”
  ATCM: 'Media Objectivity, 1920–2024, RIP'
  
• Brought to you by the Biden-Harris catastrophe.
  Sleep Walking into WW3

Posted by: J.J. Sefton at 06:15 AM | Comments (273) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Daily Tech News 13 August 2024

Top Story

• The Fifth Circuit has ruled that geofence warrants - which seek to gather information on anyone within a specific area at a given time - are categorically unconstitutional. (EFF)
  
  This is pretty clear from the plain wording of the Fourth Amendment, but it's always good to see a court that can read.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:23 AM | Comments (85) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Overnight Open Thread (8/12/2024) [J. Edgar Phallenburger IV]

There's a reason why Ace is obsessing over building shelving...everywhere! You should see his house! Shelving units on every wall, and some of them even have parallel shelves! He is getting better...really! Yes, they often fall off the wall because the idea of using a drill/driver that drives screws into the studs rather than reversing them until there is no hole or thread left is sort of confusing to him, but he is learning.

Anyway...the story behind his shelf and storage fetish is quick. When he was about 11, he got caught...um...wait...this is a family blog.

Never mind.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 10:00 PM | Comments (1289) | Trackbacks (Suck)

The Truth About Cats and Dogs Cafe

Ticino/Tessin Canton, Switzerland
More here

The fourth video in this series is also from Ticino, and it might even be the same town.

Trump will be on X to have a freewheeling discussion with Elon Musk at 8pm Eastern.

Update: The link hasn't been posted yet but there is this.

Update: I give up. It seems like they're having technical problems again like they did when Elon was on with Ron DeSantis. Go to X and look on the sidebar for "Spaces." I'm giving up.

Update: It's working?

More cruelty from the guy who's really elevated his Family Bullying game.

Looks like Peter Jackson designed the Rohan town of Eddoras base directly on this Viking village in Iceland.

German BMX park has a chair lift, of sorts, that pulls your bike up the mountain so that you can ride down.

Horse sees a quickly-moving herd and wants to be the leader.

Do you make mock of me, Madame?

Cat found a resting place that reaffirms his ego.

This dog's ego, on the other hand, could use some boosting.

Rebel Without a Collar: this dog doesn't care about your precious white-picket fence "rules," Man!

This dog doesn't care about your precious schedule, Man!

It's 3:15 am, time to WAKE UP HUMAN!

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace at 07:20 PM | Comments (764) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Catherine Herridge: Biden-Harris Administration Retalliated Against Whistleblowers Who Reported The Government Was Deliberately Not Taking DNA Samples from Illegal Aliens

The whole point of the DNA swabs is to determine, 1, if the DNA matches any specimens collected at crime scenes or in terrorist hide-outs, and 2, if the people traveling with young children really are related to those children -- or if they're unrelated human traffickers posing as the children's parents.

Biden-Harris refuses to swab the illegal aliens for their DNA. They don't want to know if they're allowing in killers, terrorists, and human traffickers.

Because if they did know -- they'd have to do something about it.

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace at 06:29 PM | Comments (227) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Tulsi Gabbard Will Sue the Biden-Harris Administration for Designating Her a Domestic Terrorist (for Criticizing Kamala Harris)

As mentioned on Friday, Tulsi Gabbard is now designated a "Quad-S" security risk, and has an entourage of TSA undercover agents and bomb-sniffing dogs following her -- along with automatic "enhanced" baggage checks and pat-downs -- every time she flies.

She's not on any actual terror watch list, but she has been designated an "enhanced risk to flight security" probably because she turned on the Democrats and called Hillary Clinton a "warmonger" and "queen of corruption," and then similarly criticized Kamala Harris.

Remember when we used to live in America? The land of freedom?

She now says she'll be suing Biden/Harris for a violation of her Fourth Amendment rights.

End Tribalism in Politics
@EndTribalism

Tulsi Gabbard will be taking legal action against the Biden/Harris admin over putting her on a terrorist watch list:

"My own government, my president, my commander-in-chief is targeting me as a potential domestic terrorist, the closest word that comes to mind is a complete sense of betrayal."

"After serving over 21 years and continuing to serve in our nation's military, my own government has labeled and is targeting me directly now as a domestic terrorist."

"They're using people like the air marshals as weapons and pawns to target their political opponents."

"Of course, there's no explanation given, which is why we are taking legal recourse."

"Obviously, I've been very outspoken about the dangers of the Biden-Harris administration to our democracy and to our freedom and to our national security. This is what happens as a result."

Shouldn't matter where you land on the political spectrum, a former congresswoman and veteran being put on a terrorist watch list simply for speaking out against the current administration should enrage you. It should enrage you because it's not only a waste of your tax payer money, but because it is what some of the worse governments in history do and that doesn't represent America.

The weaponization of government against outspoken political opponents is things you see in governments such as Russia and Iran not America

If you are a Democrat thinking 'that's what she gets for betraying us,' please remember the Pendulum always swings back the other way. Eventually a non Democrat will take power and the precedent has now been set.

Americans deserve better.

I don't believe the part about "the Pendulum swinging back" -- the left knows it owns the bureaucracy and the courts, and so the weapons it deploys against its enemies will not be turned back against them.

Which makes it critical that we do work to weaponize the government against the left. Until they actually feel the brutality of the means they use against us, they will never, ever swear off using these means.

We must make them pay. This is not mere vengeance; this is a utilitarian imperative to safeguard our own security and safety and freedom.

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace at 05:34 PM | Comments (271) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Is This Something?

Naaaaaah.

If you don't remember the controversy: The Disney remake of Snow White was already in bad odor because the annoying AF actress Rachel Ziegler couldn't stop talking about how awful the original was, being about a girl who loved a boy and everything, and how all modern women only care about "coming into their own power."

Weird, weird!

Then that idiot dwarf actor Peter Dinklage attacked any studio still employing dwarfs to play fairy-tale/Tolkeinesque dwarves. For some reason he is determined to be the only working dwarf actor in Hollywood. Or he wants dwarfs cast to play full-sized people. It's unclear. He's offended, whatever you're doing with dwarfs.

So obviously Woke Disney could not hire dwarfs to play, um, dwarves. (Note the -ves plural ending is one Tolkein popularized. Standard English is just "dwarfs.")

Disney hired a bunch of gangly, tall Diverse SJW actors to play the dwarves "Woodland Spirits." A picture from the shoot leaked:

When that leaked -- and everyone ridiculed Woke Disney -- Disney claimed, cagily, that some of the people in the photo were stand-ins, not the actual actors.

Some? Not all? They might just mean the person wearing the red hood, who is not, I believe, the actress playing Snow White.

Why so cagey?

Now it's not impossible that they sent out stand-ins and photographed them with the intention of replacing them with CGI later. Sometimes people will take maquettes, or puppets/sculptures, of CGI characters out into the physical environment to get a good "map" of how the sunlight should look on the CGI character they'll be adding in later.

But... eh, I dunno. Seems if they wanted to do that kind of test they'd have sculptures of the short dwarves, not tall human actors. They'd want to see, for example, how the tall grass looks in relation to a dwarf.

Anyway, some months later, Disney released a very bad looking CGI photo showing the "woodland spirits of short stature" and implied that this had been the plan all along.

If everything's going to be this obviously fake-looking, why would they even bother doing photography in a real physical environment? Everything on this picture is obviously CGI cartoon bullshit.

Check out Dem CGI Dwarves Woodland Spirits at 21 seconds.

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace at 04:30 PM | Comments (364) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Walz's Former Superior: Yes, Walz Quit Because His Unit Was Deploying to Iraq, and He Went Over My Head to Get Someone to Approve the Breaking of His Contract

More of that Stolen Valor Garbage.

According to Walz's Command Sergeant Major, Walz had signed a six year contract when he re-upped in the National Guard in 2000. When he was notified that his unit would be mobilized for Iraq, he put in for retirement, despite having two years left to serve on his contract.

His superior denied his request -- so Walz went up to two levels of command above to get someone to grant his quickie retirement (and breaking of his contract).

Why would someone let him out of the contract?

I don't know, but remember, in 2004-2006, the Democrats' big plan for defeating Bush and the Republicans was to recruit lots of people who could claim a military background, so they could challenge the Republicans' notions of patriotism.

And it just so happened that as soon as this coward was let out, he declared he was running for Congress.

Did that motivate a politically-minded superior to give him a Get Out of War Free pass?

Watching this CNN cow fight this guy on every single noun and verb is a chore.

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace at 03:22 PM | Comments (503) | Trackbacks (Suck)

A White Feminist "Professor of Culture" Competed in the Olympics Breakdancing Competition to Destroy the Patriarchy and the Patriarchy Hasn't Stopped Laughing Since

Her big move was "The Funky T-Rex."

Sarah Fields
@SarahisCensored

She got zero points.

But we're not allowed to criticize her because it makes her cry. Perhaps if her family and friends had been honest with her, she would not have globally humiliated herself.

Criticizing her for being completely unskilled at an event she somehow bluffed her way into competing in at the Olympics is "sexism," and that's the only possible explanation.

Her defender, below, says that "eight years ago she was locked in a room crying being involved in a male-dominated sport as the only woman."

So she was just put on the team to boost her self-esteem? As a balm for her head-case problems?

The defender also objects to "judgment" being shown towards "Raygun's" Olympic performance. Spoiler alert: Judgement is the whole point of a competition which is scored by, get this, judges.

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace at 02:12 PM | Comments (503) | Trackbacks (Suck)

UK Police Commissioner: If You Criticize Us or Call Attention to Our Two-Tier Policing System, We Will Arrest You. Even If You're Posting Online from Foreign Countries.

Fascism is the final step before revolution.

He threatens to jail people for "terrorist offenses" for "provoking" people by online speech.

UK police commissioner threatens to extradite, jail US citizens over online posts: 'We'll come after you'

'Being a keyboard warrior does not make you safe from the law' the police commissioner warned

UK police commissioner threatens to extradite and jail US citizens over social media posts: 'We will come after you'

London's Metropolitan Police chief announced officials will not only be cracking down on British citizens for commenting on the riots in the UK, but on American citizens as well.

London's Metropolitan Police chief warned that officials will not only be cracking down on British citizens for commentary on the riots in the U.K., but on American citizens as well.

"We will throw the full force of the law at people. And whether you're in this country committing crimes on the streets or committing crimes from further afield online, we will come after you," Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley told Sky News.

...

Footage of the violent clashes involving anti-immigration protesters and the groups of counter-protesters, some of whom have been seen waving Palestinian flags, has gone viral on social media, and the government is warning that sharing such content may have serious consequences.

Merely sharing videos of the "riots" -- without commentary -- is a crime now.

One key aspect that makes this apparent crackdown on social media particularly shocking to critics is that the British government is threatening to extradite American citizens from the U.S. to be jailed in the U.K. for violating their rules about political speech online.

...

"You can be guilty of offenses of incitement, of stirring up racial hatred, there are numerous terrorist offenses regarding the publishing of material," he said. "All of those offenses are in play if people are provoking hatred and violence on the streets, and we will come after those individuals just as we will physically confront on the streets the thugs and the yobs who are taking -- who are causing the problems for communities."

...

Elon Musk has made headlines for criticizing Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's response to the riots over the past week, suggesting the U.K. is headed toward "civil war."

He also responded to a video of someone allegedly arrested for offensive online comments with a question, "Is this Britain or the Soviet Union?"

Starmer's spokesperson said there was "no justification" for Musk's comments, adding that social media companies "can and should be doing" more to combat misinformation, the BBC reported. He added that such companies "have a responsibility" to stop the spread of criminal activity and limit misinformation.

Via Jazz Shaw, who adds:

When we first learned of this unrest, I was among the first to agree that we can't have people physically attacking the police and it doesn't matter if you're in America or the UK. But the vast majority of the people engaging in those protests were not attacking the police. They were protesting dangerous government policies and raising their voices. It's called free speech. I refuse to believe that even Biden, Pelosi, and the Democrats would stand by idly and allow American citizens to be extradited and imprisoned for sharing actual videos of police or governmental abuse and commenting on it. (Though they might try to label them "cheap fakes.")

Oh, I believe they would do that. They've been conspiring with British Intelligence to censor and criminalize speech they feel undermines their illegitimate rule.

The UK is the test-bed for the Regime's ultimate imprisonment of their populations.

The more an illegitimate, disconnected, unaccountable, unchangeable Regime rules against the express wishes of its populace, the more they are forced to take extreme measures to deprive the citizens of their liberty.

Until, in the end, there is only one method of protest.

When all lawful and orderly manners of protests are criminalized, people will turn to the truly unlawful and disorderly methods.

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace at 01:05 PM | Comments (528) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Trump to Sue DOJ for $100 Million Over Politically-Motivated Mar-a-Lago Raid

Before getting to the article, Happy Monday.

As always with corrupt organizations -- discovery should be a blast.

And if they destroy records and emails, even better. If Trump gets elected he can prosecute them and put them in prison.

Report: Trump to sue DOJ for $100 million over "politically motivated" Mar-a-Lago raid

Former President Donald Trump plans to sue the Department of Justice for $100 million, claiming that the 2022 FBI raid on his Mar-a-Lago estate was part of a politically motivated attack against him. Trump's legal team argues that the raid violated his rights and was conducted without adherence to established protocols.

Key Details:

Trump is preparing to file a lawsuit against the DOJ for $100 million, alleging that the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago in 2022 was a deliberate act of political persecution.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon recently dismissed the special counsel's case against Trump, ruling that the prosecutor was unlawfully appointed and funded.

Trump's attorney, Daniel Epstein, has issued a notice of intent to sue, giving the DOJ 180 days to resolve the issue before it heads to federal court.

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace at 12:00 PM | Comments (449) | Trackbacks (Suck)

THE MORNING RANT: The Great Barrier Reef’s Coral Cover Keeps Setting Records, Despite the Prophecy of its Demise

One of the catastrophic predictions put forth as a “scientific fact” by the climate cult is that unless dramatic actions are taken to eliminate fossil fuels, the death of the Great Barrier Reef is assured. Unfortunately for the climatistas, the reef just isn’t cooperating, as it has achieved a record level of coverage for the third consecutive year.

A sacred cant of the climate cult is that global warming has caused “bleaching” of the Great Barrier Reef, resulting in decreased coral coverage, and setting the reef on the road to extinction. That is all nonsense, and it is being disproved by the reef itself as it continues to grow.

Before the current rebound, there was actually a tremendous decrease in the reef’s coverage about 15 years ago, but the cause was not water temperatures nor CO2 in the atmosphere, rather it was due to a powerful hurricane crossing directly over the reef, an event that is not uncommon in those tropical waters.

This Guardian story from a decade ago was clearly wrong, but it is also typical of what has been accepted as the scientific truth regarding the Great Barrier Reef.

“Great Barrier Reef damage ‘irreversible’ unless radical action taken” [Guardian – 3/06/2014]

The Great Barrier Reef will suffer “irreversible” damage by 2030 unless radical action is taken to lower carbon emissions, a stark new report has warned.

But the truth about the reef has played out quite differently…

“After a trillion tons of CO2, the Great Barrier Reef hits record coral cover third year in a row” [Joanne Nova – CFACT – 6/30/2024]

After a trillion tons of CO2, the Great Barrier Reef hits record coral cover third year in a row. Sixty percent of all human CO2 emissions have been emitted since 1985, but today, the corals are healthier than ever.

Bjorn Lomborg has been doing some outstanding research using the official government records of the Australian Institute of Marine Science and he’s found that not only is the Great Barrier Reef not in peril, but that its expanse has set a new record, as it thrives and continues to grow. Using the Australian government’s own records, he has put together this graph, showing the reef’s coral coverage over the past four decades.

The red-dashed line was the doom scenario that had been promoted by the “97% consensus” of climate apocalysts, whereas the blue line is reality. As has been the case time and time again regarding the climate hoax, the prophecies of doom that were reported as scientific facts turned out to be nothing but junk science mixed with enviro-communism.

But what about that large drop off in coral cover that occurred before this recent growth spurt, causing “record low” cover around 2012?

At 2005 the Great Barrier Reef’s coral cover was just about the same as it had been 25 years earlier, with some upcycles and downcycles in coverage over the years. But for a few years starting in 2010 there was a pronounced decline in the reef’s cover. It had nothing to do with climate, and everything to do with a hurricane, which is known as a cyclone in those parts. Cyclone Hamish in 2009 didn’t strike Australia perpendicularly, rather it ran parallel to the coastline, scouring the Great Barrier Reef along the way, as shown in this map of its track.

Posted by: Buck Throckmorton at 11:00 AM | Comments (328) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Mid-Morning Art Thread

Scene at the Inn
Adriaen Brouwer

Posted by: CBD at 09:30 AM | Comments (301) | Trackbacks (Suck)

The Morning Report — 8/12/24

Good Morning Kids. So, Tim Walz is a lying, crooked, inept, power-mad fraud. Is this really surprising? Look who selected him to be her running mate. Look at the party and political movemement that they are a part of.

The strategy of the Biden-Harris—er, make that the “Harris-Walz” campaign depends on people being dazzled by their theater of the absurd.  Both candidates claim now to believe things they have spent the last decades attacking.  But their supposed conversion is not the result of any heavenly illumination.  It’s not like Saul falling to the ground on the road to Damascus. Rather, it is an abracadabra sort of conversion, i.e., no conversion at all, merely subterfuge.  It’s an elaborate show we are being treated to, replete with fake polls showing Harris-Walz ahead in some swing states. . .

. . . Already, the façade is cracking as more and more devastating videos come to light about both candidates. The ridicule machine of Trump and his allies is only getting cranked up. More, much more, will be coming to an internet search near you.

As I say, this show is scheduled to run at least until November 5, maybe longer, depending on how much election fraud the Democrats are allowed to indulge in. But there will be occasional intermissions during which the deciding question will be pressed upon all of us theatergoers. Is this campaign about mood and emotion—is it, I mean, essentially a female campaign?  Or is it a matter of competing policies, of things like peace, prosperity, individual liberty, and economic competitiveness?

I am betting that, when the Chardonnay is gone and paper masks no longer fit, every robust voter will decide that he wants to live in the real world of common sense, not the hot-house world of woke theatrics and socialist nostrums. In other words, I predict that Mencken’s diminishing wager about the American public will, at least in this one instance, turn out to be dead wrong.

I like and respect Roger Kimball, but I fear he may be wrong. Regardless of polling and the seeming displeasure of the Democrat base with they way Joey Sponge-Brain Shits-Pants was ousted as well as the seeming revulsion at the overt anti-Semitism of the party not just vis a vis it's anti-israel rhetoric but the looking the other way at assaults on Jews across the country.

I had a rather sobering conversation with a dear friend of mine who asked what I thought Trump's chances were this time around. I really couldn't say. And here is a man who put his two kids through Columbia university over 15 years ago now. Sadly, while they aren't insane radical lefties, they are liberal and even back then had to endure the brainwashing in order to graduate. Despite being revolted by their alma mater's descent into Nuremberg on the Upper West Side, their overall worldview remains tainted by their time on campus, despite their parents' being on our side of things.

At the end of our chat, as we looked at our world going up in flames, he just sighed and stated "it's their world now." It's deeply depressing to consider what we and future generations are going to have to endure before any kind of change can happen, if it can happen.

The best I can say is have faith and do what you can to maintain your sanity and perhaps make those around you at least start to see the light. Especially the children.

On those cheerful thoughts, have a good day.

Posted by: J.J. Sefton at 06:24 AM | Comments (636) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Daily Tech News 12 August 2024

Top Story

• A scientist accused of cherry-picking studies after announcing he had cherry-picked studies is now accusing his accusers of working for Big Alcohol. (Yahoo)

  "We identified six high-quality studies out of 107 and they didn't find any J-shaped curve," Dr Stockwell said. "In fact, since our recent paper, we've now got genetic studies which are showing there's no benefits of low-level alcohol use.
  
  "I personally think there might still be small benefits, but the point of our work is that, if there are benefits, they've been exaggerating them."
  
  Taking aim at Dr Harding, he accused him of being an "industry-funded person" who has "made a living from putting a good spin on the relationship between alcohol and health". Dr Harding denied being "funded by anyone". Dr Stockwell in turn brushed off the claim that he himself is compromised through his links to the temperance lobby.
  
  "I have attended a meeting funded by the Swedish Temperance Organisation and I've written material that they have published," he said. "I've had connections with the International Order of Good Templars. I've attended some of their meetings, but I'm not a member."

  Yeah, this guy is not interested in the science.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:00 AM | Comments (78) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Overnight Open Thread (8/11/2024) [J. Edgar Phallenburger IV]

Is that Ace? Maybe...maybe not!

And what is his fascination with the shit-show that is the current Disney? Why, it's almost as if he had an unfortunate experience as a child at DisneyWorld. Like, for instance, he saved up for months to buy a Disney character that will remain unnamed (could it be a stuffed Baby? I'll never tell!), but when he got to the park, they were sold out!

Posted by: Open Blogger at 10:01 PM | Comments (618) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Gun Thread: Second August Edition!

Howdy, Y'all! Welcome to the wondrously fabulous Gun Thread! As always, I want to thank all of our regulars for being here week in and week out, and also offer a bigly Gun Thread welcome to any newcomers who may be joining us tonight. Howdy and thank you for stopping by! I hope you find our wacky conversation on the subject of guns 'n shooting both enjoyable and informative. You are always welcome to lurk in the shadows of shame, but I'd like to invite you to jump into the conversation, say howdy, and tell us what kind of shooting you like to do!

Holy Shitballs! How in the ever-loving Hell did it get to be the second Sunday in August?

Tropical Storm Debby was in the news this week and at one point was forecast to track exactly over WeaselAcres on the way north. It was greatly diminished by the time it arrived in Central Virginia and as near as I can tell, dropped about 3 or 4 inches of rain on the organic tree farm so I hope the trees are happy now. The wind was negligible, so I'm not expecting too big of a mess when I get down there soon. Here at the Casa of Weasel we had about 2.5 inches or so of rain. Thankfully no flooding and not much wind so all is bueno. How about where you are?

With that, step into the dojo and let's get to the gun stuff below, shall we?

Posted by: Weasel at 07:00 PM | Comments (552) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Food Thread: People Are Weird: Food Edition

That sign was on one of the patios of a large restaurant/ bar where I had drinks and snacks.

As a signal of our impending doom as a society it is excellent. But it is also rather stupid! Why set up the restaurant for failure? Why not just post a sign at the door that says something like, "We serve nuts, so eat here at your own risk?"

Yeah, I'm getting old and curmudgeonly, and am increasingly unwilling to tolerate that sort of crap.

If you have a food allergy, it is incumbent upon YOU to make sure you are careful. When in doubt? Don't eat. Just drink. Perhaps I am ignorant of the intricacies of food allergies, but I am unaware of any booze allergies!

Oh...the restaurant is in London, and I ordered a "Black & Tan." No, I didn't call it that because I might get punched in the mouth if the bartender is Irish. I asked for a "Half & Half," and explained what I wanted.

I got two pints...one Guinness and one lager.

Which was fine.

Posted by: CBD at 04:00 PM | Comments (339) | Trackbacks (Suck)