Разведка США - Limonev

"Разведка США! Разведка США !"

"Разведка США утверждает что Россия готова "подарить" США Эдварда Сноудена..."

Кто такие "разведка США" ?
Это руководители американских разведок, поназначенные Обамой за его 8 лет, и ещё не отправленные на покой господином президентом Дональдом Трампом.

Поскольку они знают что их вот-вот сместят, потому и несут ту пургу, которая им к утру приснилась.

Credit where Credit Due

What I don't get is why they specifically tax alcohol and tobacco at a high rate to discourage use, but tax income. Wouldn't they want to encourage people to use more "income"? Unless that's the point, which I'm starting to think. payday loans? subprime loans? I'm guessing poorer people use more credit? in my time, you couldn't get credit unless you didn't need it. strange days have found us.

quote of the day: (comment at Zero hedge)
"Can't wait to have my iPhone, iPad, Macbook air in my Apple backpack and the Apple watch on my wrist so i can check my Twitter and Facebook account, while riding my Segway."

to the Starbucks, to drink three dollar coffees. because free WiFi...

Real Headline

Angelina Jolie left speechless after Iraq refugee trip.

Thank you, lord. It would be awesome if it sticks. Someone should start a crowd fund to send her again if her ignorant yap resumes its flapping  speech returns.

Church of the Latter-day Pamplets

Thomas Carlyle, Latter-day Pamphlets, "Stump-Orator" - 1850 (fer chrissakes!)

"Probably there is not in Nature a more distracted phantasm than your commonplace eloquent speaker, as he is found on platforms, in parliaments, on Kentucky stumps, at tavern-dinners, in windy, empty, insincere times like ours. ... Alas, he is in general merely the windiest mortal of them all; and is admired for being so, into the bargain. ... Not empty these musical wind-utterances of his; they are big with prophecy; they announce, too audibly to me, that the end of many things is drawing nigh!"

"While the many listen to him, the few are used to pass rapidly, with some gust of scornful laughter, some growl of impatient malediction; but he deserves from this latter class a much more serious attention."

"If speech is the banknote for an inward capital of culture, of insight and noble human worth, then speech is precious, and the art of speech shall be honoured. But if there is no inward capital; if speech represent no real culture of the mind, but an imaginary culture; no bullion, but the fatal and now almost hopeless deficit of such? Alas, alas, said banknote is then a forged one; passing freely current in the market; but bringing damages to the receiver, to the payer, and to all the world, which are in sad truth infallible, and of amount incalculable."

Cicero (106-43 B.C.) is quoted as saying, 'Ut imago est animi voltus sic indices oculi' (The face is a picture of the mind as the eyes are its interpreter). Nailed It!

Mitt Got Uns

"In this world there is but one appalling creature: the Stupid man considered to be the Missioned of Heaven, and followed by men.  He is our King, men say, he; - and they follow him, through straight or winding courses, and I for one know well witherward."

Thomas Carlyle,  Latter-day Pamphlets

thanks to Mencius Moldbug for opening the soot-stained and opaque window of True History.

Call to End Historic Snake-Handler Schism

As a lay man, I have no influence on the chosen or elected ecclessial leadership (an essay in it's own right), but I would pray that the twin bugaboos of anti-anti-venomism and anterior/posterior approach, going back almost 45 years to the Foundation itself, would finally be put back in their dank lairs. Whether or not Bishop Jesco White continues to frighten the women and children with "milked" snakes is not really the issue; nowhere does scripture mention venom. "Serpent's sting" is not Copperhead or Coral Snake or Rattler. I'm not pleading for Rationalism, far from it. If God's creation is used by him to reward you for your faith and bring you to him sooner rather than later, we will all rejoice.

I have been bringing surgical hose and razors to Church for years, on the off-chance that one of God's blessed creatures be sent to test my Faith. I know this gives the appearance of a doubt and weakness, but won't somebody please think of the children! I don't fear the timing of my own Heavenly Reward, I merely pray that the Holy Sacraments be restricted to the actual Body and Blood (traditionally understood to be Moonshine and Meth and NOT smoked) and NOT the Devil's O[xycodin]. A return to the traditional pre-Tulsa liturgy is absolutely required if we are to continue to attract young people with families, an increasing number of whom, while not completely literate and doomed to doubt, get an increasingly open view of life through the television. Electric guitars and 20-inch rims can make Snakes seem boring, but many youngsters still hunger for the Apocalypse, some even helping with our Holy Land Initiative, and these people are the future.

Praise the Lord, and let his Messengers go Forth!

Rules for Radicals - the Paul Campaign, Pt.1

Alinsky's Rules

1. Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have.
2. Never go outside the experience of your people.
3. Wherever possible go outside the experience of the enemy.
4. Make the enemy live up to their own book of rules.
5. Ridicule is man's most potent weapon.
6. A good tactic is one your people enjoy.
7. A tactic that drags on too long is a drag.
8. Keep the pressure on.
9. The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself.
10. The major premise for tactics is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure upon the opposition.
11. If you push a negative hard and deep enough it will break through into its counter side.
12. The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative.
13. Pick the target, freeze it, personalize and polarize it.
    
    
    The Paul campaigns have demonstrated rule one consistently. His whole career has been major bogey to the neo-cons even before they existed. Fortunes have been spent trying to dislodge him from congress, trying everything including star-power (if memory serves it was the wife of Frank Sinatra Jr., haha, losers all.) It only served to bring him even more attention and support. First, they did not ignore him or ridicule him (contra the popular saying), but went straight to Orange alert. They were afraid when his "power" was infinitesimal - It became what they thought he had, and they couldn't really ratchet up from their initial shock-and-awe, which had always worked before. His power came from his enemies. For comparison, note how Marilyn Manson based his whole career on free advertising from the Christians.
    Never go outside the experience of your people. I'm not sure what Alinsky was getting at here, other than that even a relatively unsophisticated audience senses bullshit when they are talked down to, or up to. Don't try to bedazzle or impress your supporters. Wherever possible go outside the experience of the enemy. This has been simple for Paul, because the enemy lives in it's own dialectic bubble; almost everything that has been excluded for so long, is outside of their experience. They know only pragmatism and are generally incapable of considering anything else, lest they be thought of as "nut", "naive", "idealistic", etc. It bothers them though, because they must use ideals to justify their pragmatism to the public. They can't quite square the circle; they know there might be an unguarded ventilation duct in their invincible battlestar.
    
    
    Make the enemy live up to their own book of rules. It can't be done, of course, since the rules are written to give them advantage. What can be done, and the Paul campaigns have done brilliantly, is to show the postmodern traits of the elite - complete disregard for facts, constant appeals to emotion, selective justice, no punishment for failure or fraud, outright lies, coverups, entrapment, (among many others), and done almost completely in the open. Never mind what we don't see. Obviously, this has been going on through history, but how long has it been this blatant? The sheer mass would have been to large to cover at some point, they may have had to quit trying, marginal returns and whatnot, but Ron Paul has been drawing attention to the gaps, for just about the same time as the neo-cons have been saying yeahsowhatayagonnadoaboutit. Not coincidentally.
    
    
    Ridicule is man's most potent weapon.  Here I disagree, at least with respect to the Paul campaign. There was never a need to ridicule anyone whose open behavior is Clinton/Bush level ridiculous; it is merely necessary to point out a few of many, many clusterfucks and leave the ridicule to lesser men like yrs tru'ly. They(the ridiculous asshats) have damned themselves with their own words and deeds to a sort of purgatory of ridicule where their names are only mentioned by the impolite or quietly amongst the dupes: Clinton, Rich, Bush, Cheney. Rice, Wolfowitz, Kagan, McCain, Lieberman, Graham... stop me anytime. Meanwhile, there above the shitstorm, stands Ron Paul, like a stone wall. Ridicule may have been a more potent weapon when more people had consciences. Today, not so much. The low point may be booing a guy for bringing up the golden rule outside of church. Self-ridicule; the most sincere. I might say ridicule is a potent weapon when used sparingly. Nobody likes a snotty wise guy, believe me; I know some guys like that.
    A good tactic is one your people enjoy.  Ron Paul all the way. I enjoyed seeing him win elections despite landslide opposition. Everyone loved the '08 campaign; blimps, unheard of internet support and grassroots workers coming from everywhere, 6 million dollar moneybombs, winning every poll opened, the original tea-party. All new, fresh and exciting. Fear and loathing from the gravytrainers. The look on Romney's and Hannity's faces after the debates when the straw poll votes were announced - Mitt was astounded, Sean pissed. Priceless. The entire Republican primary has been about stopping Ron Paul, and without him, would have been less interesting than major-league baseball. I'll bet I'll even enjoy the end-game and convention, even though I know they're going to throw the christian to the lions.
    
    I read somewhere that there exist a certain breed of political activist that simply enjoy crushing bastards, that donate out of chumped, self-defensive spite and malice and long to see some clowns take a faceplant, and there's more every day. Country will grow.
    
    
    Next installment: A tactic that drags on too long is a drag.

Final Thoughts on the District Convention

I attended mainly to support Ron Paul and secondly to witness the reaction. This largely confirmed my original notions that this Republican primary has been all about beating Ron Paul. That's why they ran the seven dwarves, desperate to find a non-romney, non-paul. One by one, they "took one for the team" and showed the inevitability of the Presumptive Romany. But the presumptive romany has one hand tied - he is unable to mention any position on any real issue, because at some point in the past he has said the exact opposite. So, he must run an issueless campaign against Paul. and lo, he is winning. It turned out to be a good strategy against Paul; he intends to use the same against Obama, and he will fail, because the press doesn't have to pretend that there is no Obama, To further confirm this theory. I got a four-page fund-raising letter from Romney, asking me several times to donate, that never mentioned policy at all; just that we need to defeat Obama and Obama care.

Running against Obama will lose, and that's all they got. I'm sure he doesn't care that he's taking the noble loser role from thomas dewey, gerald ford, bob dole and john mccain. Both parties have shown total consistency on squelching reform, all the way down to the district level, and there is no shortage of those "taking one for the team". It is completely obvious that both Parties are happy to take turns drinking deeply of the sweet river of taxpayer honey. Whatever it takes to divert attention from anyone who may possibly threaten it.

Paul Gottfried;
"Nisbet said that what he called the “sociological tradition” owed a great deal to conservative critics of the French Revolution. These enemies of progress had analyzed the value of hierarchical relations and the link between community and custom. But Nisbet, who was an old-fashioned Taft Republican in American politics, did not believe this conservative legacy was alive and well in the US. And it wouldn’t seem from anything he wrote that he thought that either the conservative or traditional liberal legacy had much to do with the American present.

One can learn from Nisbet’s work on conservatism more than one ever could from the made-to-order GOP polemics that pour out of the Rupert Murdoch empire. One does not draw significant ideological distinctions by accusing the Democrats of not playing fair in the communal sandbox. Getting paid for throwing back sand at the other toddlers is a nice gig but hardly a scholarly activity.

I am amused to learn that Democratic sociologists imagine that Republicans are suffering from some mental disorder. I had hitherto assumed that Republicans were people addicted to zombie-like centrist presidential candidates, all of them resembling Bob Dole. Perhaps the “psychopundits” have something to teach us after all."

So no. I wouldn't try to work for anything within the formal party; it is carefully constructed and tended to promote and perpetrate various frauds on it's own members and the taxpayers, and would be destroyed if it ever really threatened the gravy train. I could see some possibility of success outside of this area where the entire economy is directly or indirectly based on Federal spending. Bushco wrecked the Republican party; it is now the rump opposition to the Great Society, stuck forever lost somewhere in Viraq-namistan, cursing hippies.

Can you "work within" the borg? If the Republican party were reformed completely along favorable lines, and became an effective force for good, it would then, be somehow bent back to serve the insiders, or negated. The convention is the last chance to prove loyalty and crush the Paultards. Will they sacrifice everything else? Bill Kristol assures us they will, and I believe him. It's just a shameful irony that after all Dr. Paul's work and our money spent, the next president will be Gary Johnson.

Ron Paul really was your last chance, Americans. You blew it. Now chew it.

Misc. posts, pt.2 - the Good

I've covered the bad and the ugly; here it like to be as positive as possible. The crowd was beautiful, completely diverse despite being about 99% white. Otherwise, every shape, size, age, sex, and yes, class, represented, in a cheerful and co-operative mood, much like a party as opposed to Party. I was expecting tension, drama, and confrontation; didn't see any. One spunky older dame got up and told slightly blue jokes. Irony piling up against innocence and rolling over on sentiment and nostalgia. Wonderful. I wish I knew her, wife of some potentate, I assumed.

The candidates that spoke were mostly convincing and effective, with the exception of George Allen, who has exhausted his schtick after long use, and seems to running on inertia alone. He's too good, a brand now, and doesn't have to try very hard. Lost momentum, stuck in low orbit. The deja-vu would kill me; I would start to dislike and despise the muppets, make mistakes. He'll win the primary, though. Tall, good-looking rich guy with a famous father, proven success, a made man. Another "presumptive" nominee, God curse them all! Whoops, sorry; trying to be positive, but while I'm at it, two words I never heard mentioned were bush and romney. The dogs that didn't bark, as 'twere.

I'm a Bob Marshall "fan", for reasons I won't bore you with - essentially he's a real conservative, but he is actually effective, focused and committed, and has done some real good things; so naturally he is considered a potentially dangerous loose cannon by the insiders (the only one I actually know pronounced him "kind of a nut"; thus are a thousand campaigns scuttled) and won't be supported. The Senate is their sanctum sanctorum - "None shall enter with unbrowned lips". Possible exception, Rand Paul, that proves the rule.

 I had never heard of or about E.W.Jackson before, but Wow. actually double wow after I found out more, but the speech easily won on style (off the charts) and content. The only person to mention the U.N., for instance. The insiders should be swarming this guy - marine, harvard law, businessman, minister (well-known evidently; one of the school employees who was talking to him in the parking lot asked him if he were known as "the bishop", which Jackson affirmed.) Talk about outreach. Black conservative influential church-goers; the remnant, natural small-r republicans. If Marshall weren't running, I'd back him, even if he turned out to be a neo-con tool. What's one more out of 98? Allen and the faceless Democrat, whose name escapes me for good reasons, are anyway, so what's to lose?

I talked a bit to Mr.Wear, before and after the vote. I said that I wished I had paid the full toll so I could vote for him, and after he seemed to listen to my concerns about the huge numbers of kids graduating into the current non-economy, and this could be easily tied into his ethnic (futile attempt, whoops again) outreach project. "A (for instance but not exclusively) young americanised asian engineer with a private-sector job is Republican; with a government job, a Democrat; unemployed, a libertarian, often a very effective libertarian." Plus they may be able to explain to their parents why they should take time out of their 14 hour workday to try to vote for someone to allow/help them to run their business and pay their taxes. A smart guy could put together some pieces to build the party. Another kind of smart guy could try to build the party by scaring the muppets some more, but even they must see that it's wearing thin.

That concludes the sunny part. If it keeps raining, I hope to outline opportunities. Short version - few.

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Misc. Notes from District Convention

I wish I had recorded the audio of the convention, because I lost the thread when the vote totals were announced, even though I knew that was the critical part to understand. They picked an obvious dimwit, (probably intentionally, so that he or she wouldn't notice that the math didn't work, just my opinion)  to read the totals. She read the totals as percents, ("291.5 per cent")which annoyed me, but at that point I was really hoping that no one made another procedural point. What she was reading were the weighted vote totals, for which I substituted votes, so no big deal, I tried to follow as best I could. Never mind that I had already decided that the weighted formula was obvious bullshit in order to distract the rubes, and, as a rube myself, resented that.

In the event, some hero stood up and called them on the math. This person, I had noticed him earlier, but I couldn't tell if he was an RP guy, doesn't matter, is a mensch, because he almost immediately objected that the numbers didn't add up. Don't let anyone tell you that IQ is not real, I mean, even if I had bothered to follow the math, it probably would have taken me 10 minutes with a calculator and by that time, the non-rubes would already be having a cool one by the pool. So if any one of 5 readers who aren't trying to sell me Russian viagra can forward this to that dude - I'd like to say thank you, Sir, and if you are an RP guy, nice catch. In any case, I must applaud your giant brain. [update 5/21; I've been informed that he was David Ray, and he was not a RP supporter. See smart/non-evil in discussion below]. Although I would not be surprised that some other scam did go down, I feel pretty confident that this was a fairly run count. "Never attribute to Malice, that which can be explained by Stupidity." Well, why not both? It's a team effort, amiright?

It just occurred to me, how much like the really shitty parts of high school this was. Which brings me to, the Parliamentarians. There should be any number, the more the better, I don't care. They should be almost completely quiet. There was a Parliamentarian on the podium. There was at least several loud "seconds" for every motion, many objections and points of order, mostly loud. Some really loud single, "opposed!" Please turn down the volume and rate. No one except other nerds give a shit, and it's a big time waster. Here's a good idea, vote first and dick-fight afterwards. One would suspect the proceedings are dragged out to drive the rubes to the exit. It almost did me, twice...

The resolutions to protect life and promote heterosexual marriage. I hoped everyone would just recite the pledge - just affirm the resolutions; should have taken 10 minutes - tops. To my amazement, many people wanted to debate. Okay, queers getting married is a pretty new thing, but abortion has been legal since 1972, and the Republicans have never done anything about it, even with a Republican president and both houses. That Parrot is dead and gay marriage will follow quickly. It is a scam to get conservatives' donations. I was donating to Michael Farrish 20 years ago. I've never seen anything but symbolic gestures, and the total amount donated and spent on the issue could probably eliminate the deficit. I'm sympathetic to the true believers, but by this time, if you don't get it you're starting to seem kind of, I don't know, "Special"? I don't think I care at all about gays, but I know they're not dangerous, except (rarely) to children. Anyone who hurts a child should be castrated at a minimum, but I'm not in the policy game. Howbout don't ask, don't tell; no harm no fowl, something along those lines. Either way. argue after the voting. They're called "wedge issues" because it feels like your skivs are being jerked hard. No offence, Bible Boyz, but if you're very worried about other peoples' sex lives, you just might do a quick self-check pretty often. I'm just sayin'.

Even though my guy lost in the second round, it was almost worth it to see the bullet-heads all pull together, as one of them told me in a spam afterwards, "take one for the team". "What team might that be?" I wondered, as if I knew I wasn't on it. The three remaining gentlemen withdrew from the "race" and threw their support to the remaining cheerleader, I mean lady. Besides chivalry, I can only imagine their doing this to block the Ron Paul guy. Pretty cool, really, but a desperation move; showed a lot of cards. Pretty much confirmed they are scared. Me like scare dumb jocks. want scare more, thought would be harder. maybe tampa with them. listen to screams of both kind of women, they are no warriors. 

The problem as I see it is that the evil but smart Fairfax Republicans, for example, Tom Davis*, got out while the getting was good, to a well-deserved obscurity, leaving the younger, less experienced pole-climbers to fend for themselves. Logically, this leaves the smart/non-evil types who are more experienced to run things while the dumb/evil fight the dumb/good for the privilege of doing busywork and  ineffective retail politics, hopefully in a position to bully someone. Pretty much just like their real job, but paid in brownie points. You know - morons. I kid because I love.


I went to support Ron Paul and to determine if I could become involved with the FRP in order to have an effect locally. I still need to know if it can be at all useful in county affairs. I doubt it, although this convention didn't specifically address local issues, and the Ron Paul candidacy is skewing them so much that there might be effective core after that plays out. They need help, but I don't think they want it from the likes of me. There were some impressive people there. I'll try to post my positive thoughts next. Then I'm going to look for that Men in Black memory formatter. Brrr...

*Maybe his endorsement helps the meatheads. I scan the endorsement lists for such personages. I consider them deal-breakers

WOOF - White,Old, Overweight and Frightened

I held my nose and waded into the Virginia Republican 11th District convention yesterday to support the Ron Paul delegates to the National convention (two were running, one was elected). The only surprise for me was how many Paul supporters were in attendance, as Fairfax county, being one of Mordor's bedrooms, may be one of the least freedom-friendly venues in the U.S. The overall theme was probably Cognitive Dissidence on Parade, with detectable overtones of fear and loathing, kicked up a notch with smug self-satisfaction and sublime hints of nostalgia and wishful thinking.

Overall, the 2012 candidates from dog-catcher to President, are running against Obama. Not his policies, because those are virtually identical to those of Bush, Jr. (a personage completely unmentioned, yet whose presence hung over the affair like the Holy Ghost). Barack HUSSAIN! Obama, is not only the Worst President Ever, but also the Worst Guy Ever, who, aided by the LIBERALS! is DESTROYING the Economy and the Country and Perverting such of our Youth who are unABORTED only by the grace of God and the constant vigilance of our good Republican Women of both sexes. Also, SACRED Marriage is between a Man and a Woman, although divorce and serial marriage are evidently okay for those that can afford it, or at least not spoken of. The sole purpose of Government is to provide Security and a STRONG DEFENSE. Never forget that OBAMACARE will destroy the greatest Health Care System in History and send us all in pain to an early death. Also, Republicans should Reach Out to Minorities, especially Asians who are much like us and struggling to raise their children in a godless, business-unfriendly environment, probably because of OBAMA. Nary a mention of the Banks, TARP, bailouts, Foreign Aid, subsidies, Federalism, the Bill of Rights, the FED, Waste Fraud and Abuse, or really anything else of substance. On the credit side there was no mention of Romney, the Aunt in the attic. Hence, the cognitive dissidence. Because I was under cover in a suit with a fresh haircut and no RP regalia, I did hear some mutterings about "those Ron Paul People", hence, the fear and loathing. I love it!

To be clear, I am white, (kind of) old, (slightly) overweight guy, and I agree with much of this, except that I don't give a rat's ass about Obama, abortion, health care or marriage, gay or otherwise. The Democrats really do suck. These things are not of concern to free people. We can take care of ourselves and families if we want to, and in fact we must, because no one else can or will, even if they want to, because we are beyond broke. That parrot is dead; has gone to the choir celestial, it has ceased to be. Some mention was made of this fact in passing, but the speaker was roundly booed (and will probably lose the primary) for mentioning that the problem is of long standing and bipartisan agreement. Nope - it is the fault of OBAMA and the LIBERALS. I love the old Republicans, God bless their dotty heads, and I'm drawn to the nuttier types - one old guy had a voters' guide that excoriated one candidate for being a "free-mason". As a Jacobite, I'm glad to see the old gods still walk the land, however unacknowledged. D____d Quakers and Jesuits. Ha! [I'm halfway through Mason and Dixon, by the demi-god Thomas Pynchon (highly recommended), and I'm starting to think and write 18th century, which seems like a paradise, (except maybe for the filth, disease, murder and republicanism - some things never change.) compared to the present age of stupidity. Long live the Stewarts!

I would like to say a few words about the younger "conservatives" in their huge suits and sour demeanor. The guys with the lexus SUVs and the pretty wives; Santorum supporters probably, you know the type. A little advice, if I may; knock off the carbs, turn off the TV, and for God's sake, get to the gym. If you can, crack a book or two. Then go fuck yourself. Chumps.

Grandpa out...

Ron and Rom; Ain't Nothin' but a Thang

This persistent phony meme that Paul and Romney are somehow teaming up is fairly risible, and probably motivated by the idea that Romney may be more naive than overtly evil like Sant and Ging, but I'm doubtful that a second generation insider Governor is going to be so clueless. It's more likely that he's just better than the other two liars in lying convincingly, and the Mormon thing makes it easier to believe in true lies. I would be very surprised if Ron were to play ball with this lightweight, after thirty or so years of non-compromise. Rand, now, I'm not so sure.

(Oh, yeah, thanks a lot Ted! Now I REALLY don't believe you never did drugs! Look at that SE grin and squinty eyes. Now you can go hunting with the Mittster. Tip - wear orange and stay behind him.)

I just came from a discussion of this topic over at Infowars, (yeah, I know, I know...) Ron Paul Warming To Potential VP Slot?, but even in that rarified atmosphere most of the commenters were keeping good faith with Ron. Rand remains a known unknown, however, and even though I have, and continue, to support him, I was somewhat dismayed to be informed in his weekly newletter that -

"Americans Previously Detained In Egypt Released

It was reported this week that the Egyptian government lifted the travel ban on the remaining Americans being prosecuted for their association with pro-democracy nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

Over the past several weeks, I have worked tirelessly to bring attention to the unjust actions of the Egyptian government, and I insisted that my colleagues in the Senate debate, consider, and vote on my amendment to deny Egypt any U.S. foreign aid unless they ended their attempt to prosecute these Americans. Now that Egypt has begun to relent, it is clear that the growing pressure on Egypt from the U.S. government - including from Congress - was a factor in their decision.

It was later confirmed that a plane carrying the previously detained American pro-democracy workers left Egypt on Thursday. It brings me great relief to know the brave American pro-democracy workers in Egypt are safely returning home to the U.S. Their safe return brings closure to this ordeal."

I don't know what he's up to here, but I don't like it. (Personally I was hoping the Egyptians would hang the bastards, but I admit to being somewhat immature.) I have complete faith in Ron, but methinks Rand may be "growing into" acceptance by the PTB. " brave American pro-democracy workers".  Say what?  I hope Rand knows what he's doing. Maybe he does, but if you lay down with the dogs, don't be surprised when you start itching.

Технический сбой

Takimag's revue of the Presidential limo reminded me of a previous post, Technical Excellence*, as the rise of unarmored, but fast and cheap toyota-based weapons platforms intersects the falling benefit/cost of heavy armor, we descend into farce.

"The Beast’s first stop was Ireland, where it was secretly filled up by the Secret Service at a BP station. Its only job would be to take the Obamas from the US Embassy to Moneygall in County Offaly. Sadly, it was not up to the task."


*I recently saw the same truck in another video. It may have been from the same period as the RT video, but it makes me think the "rebels" don't have that many, that it hasn't seen much action and/or it's just a propaganda unit. Uh - what happened to that war anyway?


As the guy who got me started on google translate -"pervych" says,


"БОГ ПРОКЛИНАЕТ ИХ ВСЕ!!!"

"I Was Born a Snake-Handler, and I'll Likely Die One"

My very adult daughter, wished me a happy Santa's Birthday, and asked when I had lost my faith in what she calls witchcraft, and knowing I was Catholic wondered had I ever been an alter boy. When I was about fifteen, I "played" an alter boy in a special service at a girl's school in Potomac. The priest was a friend of my fathers, an Army champlain, and didn't admonish me for not having the slightest idea of what I was supposed to be doing, That's really all I remember about it: I screwed it up and wasn't embarrassed, and I was perpetually embarrassed at that age. I thought I felt the "spirit" at my first communion, when I was six, and nothing thereafter, but this is at least partially because I lack imagination. When I was eight, I permanently damaged something in there, trying to understand spatial and temporal infinity, simultaneously (never mind omniscience) . In any case, religion became just another one of those meaningless things like school assemblies, only I wasn't paying attention, couldn't see what was going on and what I could hear was in Latin for another layer of incomprehension. 

Two good thing about Catholicism, though. First,  they don't want or try to get into your head, they just lay out their gibberish and if you don't ask questions or cause trouble, everybody gets along. Prots assume you are an idiot and probably a degenerate of some sort, so they want to scare and convince you hell is really real. I went to catholic school for grades 1-3 and truly feared nuns, but not enough to believe their scary stories. Never trusted Priests or Scoutmasters (or any kind of school counselor or official of any type), but I do think most other people would benefit from coordinating with such types. Secondly, Catholics have an element of mysticism beyond the normal, and just say it's too complicated to understand, and to just trust them, which should immediately bury the needle on anybody's bullshit detector, so you kind of think it must be a scam you have to let yourself in on, or some kind of inside joke. I didn't say anything, but from about the age of twelve, I was rejecting all spooky stuff and going along with the rituals, and saving my energy for fighting the important battles, like how long my hair was. Another young schmuck. Sartre with zits...

I try to be consistent in ignoring irrational things, though - ghosts, saints, miracles, vampires, "feelings", intuition, "luck", etc. It's very liberating, really, like not wearing underwear (for guys). I do pray though, when I go to bed and I mentally talk to the regular Judeo-Christian god, and ask him to bless everybody I can think of, but this is just really force of early habit. I'm really taking up Pascal's wager, even though I'm satisfied it has been disproved, plus I just think my prayers rather than actual vocalize them, figuring if he can hear everybody he might as well have our brains bugged as well. If the channels open, might as well use it. I think this could be called voodoo, and I also like pantheism and sometimes "think" the fug's chant to raise the pentagon and beam cosmic hate vibes at DC. I have to admit I don't really believe in it though, as it isn't working (yet).

Lately, I've been routed back to Judaism, routed back because some years ago, I wondered if a goy could "join up", but this is in some dispute (The more I read about Torah the more intrigued I become). For some years I've been jokingly telling people I'm Jewish (Reform) from Thanksgiving through New Years, but the more I see the more I like, although I'm interested in all Orthodox (Eastern and Amish/Old Order), just on the basis of internal consistency of doctrine, not that I think the invisible dimensions exist or whatever; Extremely interesting gibberish? So I was googling "A Serious Man" to see if someone had predigested something I wondered about (Specifically, what did the beginning Shetl part have to do with the rest of the movie, if you've seen it maybe) and came across a discussion about B'nai Noach, "People of Noah" or something, that there are Seven Torah commandments that one could follow to be "Righteous Gentiles" or essentially almost jews. The cool thing for me though was to be "righteous" you had to actually believe in the Hebrew God, but if you followed the commandments merely because you thought they were good laws (that is, without the mystic elements", you would be accepted as a "Wise Gentile". High praise, indeed, and good enough for me. So I'm looking into that...

When anyone asks I tell them I'm a Branch Davidian, and that's usually the end of it. If I had to pick a god, I would (and do) go with R.E.Howard's Crom, made up, but most credible back story; He created the universe and man, but lost interest in his insignificant creation. When wished a merry Christmas, I sometimes smartass back with Happy Solstice, Christian. So, now I'm an older schmuck, still ignorant, but unironically begging supplication from an imaginary god, and Jesus died for this? 

"D'Oh!", he might well say.

Merry Christmas, anyway!

Partly Cloudy with a Chance of Wonder

I watched the full lunar eclipse last night. It's one of those things that have to be appreciated with your mind more than your eyes, because the process is quite slow and except for a rather subtle difference of curve, the shadow looks pretty much the same as the normal phases of the moon's own shadow. Still, since it's not due to coincide with the winter solstice for another five hundred years or so, I thought I should take a look.

One thing that seems odd to me is that the earth's umbral shadow is so close in diameter to the diameter of the moon, which I have to assume is coincident on the respective sizes and distances of the three bodies. I should probably do some googling on this subject, since it's so much easier than going to the library that there's almost no excuse, but I'm afraid I might lose my train of thought, which has barely left the siding, and I already needed to see what the experts had to say about some of the other celestial oddities that I have come to regard as Hashem's Hints.

If the earth were closer or more distant to the Sun, or if the earth's axis was not tilted, or if the period of earth's rotation was, like the moon's, equal to it's period of revolution, or if our atmosphere wasn't precisely what it is in terms of composition or thickness, or if large meteors were, as in the past, regularly crashing into the earth, or if probably any one of hundreds of conditions weren't just so, life would not exist. I'm of average intelligence and not a scientist or mathematician, so I don't really understand the statistics of infinity, and I salute anyone who claims to, although I'll doubt their claims, in spite of, or even because I am unable to understand their proofs. I am a skeptic even of skepticism; my life's experience is that everyone has an agenda and is either wrong or lying or both, unless I trust them in my gut, based on experience.

Like many, my faith is weak, I don't know G-d, regard humanity with loathing and run from any hint of the supernatural or transcendent, and yet the existence of life "seems" far too unlikely to result from random coincidence. I'll have to take Pascal's wager, even if some smartypants closed that off. Like Ned Flanders I'm even keeping kosher, just to be on the safe side.

Hang the Black Crepe

I'm sure the let-bygones-be-bygones crowd in Serbia and Afghanistan will pray for the rapid recovery and continuing good health of their esteemed benefactor, Richard Holbrooke, whose great heart has been strained by his efforts on behalf of all enlightened people everywhere.http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-12/holbrooke-s-artery-tear-life-threatening-painful-doctors-say.html
Not me, though - I'm hoping he has a long and painful transition to the ultimate abode of liars and murderers.


Update -


And now this giant has passed; too soon, too soon! (I had hoped he'd suffered at least to the point of self-awareness - maybe he did, but it seems unlikely), considering... “Yugoslavia’s tragedy was not foreordained,” he wrote. “It was the product of bad, even criminal, political leaders who encouraged ethnic confrontation for personal, political and financial gain.” Projection much? 
Then, this howler;
  He said the U.S. “pursued a policy that would have denied Vietnam to the enemy only as long as our ground troops remained, but would not have left the Saigon government strong enough to survive on its own. When we send our young men and women overseas to fight for their country, we must be sure they’re really fighting for our vital national security interests.”
High praise from the clueless flows like the River Lethe;
   “One of his friends and admirers once said that, ‘If you’re not on the team and you’re in his way, God help you,’” President Barack Obama said in a statement. “Like so many presidents before me, I am grateful that Richard Holbrooke was on my team, as are the American people.”


It must be comforting to believe in a just God that will frog march this bastard past the long lines of innocents he helped send on ahead. The rest of us will just have to get by on schadenfreude. 
"Madame Secretary, Charon has saved a seat for your bolshoi(vek) ass".
I hope his shadow passes over all the Wikileaked memo writers on it's way below.

Gusher!

Humans are Earth Cancer. No question. Nothing really scares me except radiation poisoning, and I got immune to that hiding under my desk in like the fourth grade and they could still pray in public schools then (c. 1960) which would have worked just as well. The only thing that will save the environment is a really big war or  slight mutation in the HiV virus recombined with the cold virus so it gets spread by coughing. Or they activate skynet...To err is human, to really fuck up requires an engineering degree.

Did the Founders Anticipate the Rise of Sarah Palin?

Apart from her political views, I think she is obviously unqualified for the job, but I like her because the left is really afraid she might be the first woman President, which she wouldn't be if they just ignored her, so all she has to do is jerk their chain once in a while to get them to make her even more popular, plus she's smarter than Romney. If she went all in for Israel, (short of war with Iran in which case all bets are off), I can see her getting nominated and beating Obama in 2012. [I've been backing Buchanan/Paul since the early 90's, but they're both getting too old.] 

I liked Reagan, but even then I knew that They knew they were pretending - Las Vegas democracy. Why can't we just eliminate the middle men and have the "campaign advisors" actually run the government while the puppet/figurehead just goes harmlessly about making millions through speaking and selling books. Oh, wait... yeah.

Seems kind of a big lapse of the founders to set the bar for the Presidency so low; I think you need to be a native-born American of at least thirty-five years. Doesn't say you need to not be a sociopath or a moron among many other seemingly disqualifing qualities. The voters in their collective wisdom will select the best of those that put themselves forward. Either voters were much more intelligent and rational (never mind they had to be adult property-owning males) then, or the founders meant for the President to be much less important than He has turned out to be, and only seeing that the law is faithfully executed, rather than making and interpreting the law, on the fly, for whatever reason, or none, a hunch or a tip or a favor.  There should at least be a written test, or a series of real debates, or something...

Soon, a cleansing flood!

Danny the Car-Wiper is on the Nod

I've always disliked Christmas, but in the last couple of years it seems like every twinkling light and jolly shopper is like a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, every gayly wrapped package a reminder that no one really grows up, every shriek of delight and surprise a passive-aggressive assertion that all's well with the modern world and that Jesus didn't die in vain. Fed up, bloated with existential figgy pudding and heavy gravey, the stupidity and waste piling up like dead Asian catfish on a frozen Chicago beach, I want to spew the contents of ten thousand dead albatross chick-guts on the National Christmas Tree and fill every stocking with 'Cong ears and bandages from limbless Iraqi orphans.

Then, New-Years, the celebration of mindless drunken revelry, the passing and heraldry of another year of death-based consumption as Americans waddle into the future, fat, dumb and happy as cannibalistic chimps on a full moon, unknowing and uncaring of anything beyond what they can eat or fuck or stuff in their pockets. "On Dasher, on Dancer, Comet and Vixen", a turd down every chimney and a rotting corpse under every tree. Let the ball descend on cleaned-up Times Square squares and Williamsburg hipsters celebrating another trip around the old tired sun, while we Surge into another unenlightened Afgan pass; down through all eternity, the whining of humanity, a big mac in one hand and M-16 in the other. Thank god for Burroughs.

Merry Xmas to all, and to all a "Good Night!"

(Cross-posted on my team blog "No Short Counts"

The Efficiency of Evil, Pt.1

Sorry for the long gap between posts. That was a long period of very nice weather, I got a lot of small things done, while I stewed and sulked about what a crappy world full of fuckees and fuckahs it is, but, stoically kept my bitter opinions to myself, except to the extent necessary to irritate my loved ones. Sorry about that also, so rather than resuming my kvetching, I'm going to try for a more questioning approach. Rather than simply state my belief that Evil has a permanent advantage because good people cannot do evil, but evil people can do good when it suits them, therefore Evil can never be defeated on this side of the Apocalyptic divide. An even grimmer prospect for those who may doubt this divide exists, is that Evil can never be defeated without total collateral damage, because "they" are so intertwined with "us". For all practical purposes, they is us. (h/t - Pogo). I have to put aside the whole revealed religion thing here, because I'm unqualified to comment, and have to go with the Natural Law test whether one knows in his heart if a thing is wrong. What a child or a dimwit or an average person without Sophistic training would see as wrong. Overly simple, I know, but I call Occam in defense.

My question is, why is Evil so devilishly smart and aggressive? Couldn't it survive and thrive all laid-back and hippy or partying like it was 1975. If it only wants our souls, why does it have to kill everyone in the village and all their livestock as well? All it really needed for souls was a liquor store and a lottery, besides it would lose a lot of young and innocent souls by harvesting prematurely, so to speak. It just don't make no sense.

Next:
Gravity's Rainbow V-2 guidance system
V-1 guidance system complexity Wiki
war as technology spur
Analogue computers wiki
use for astronomy in the ancient world
use as weapons in modern world
complexity and sheer numbers of terror weapons, opportunity costs for reich
tech boost to british to defend, intellectual horsepower applied to breaking codes

tie to dearth of military tech at GW seas