August 13, 2020

Palin's advice to Harris: 'YOU were chosen for who YOU are,' (Instagram post)

I kind of see this as similar to George Bush's letter to Bill Clinton when Bush left the Presidency

1) out of the chute trust no one new

2) fight mightily to keep your own team with you - they know you, know your voice, and most importantly are trustworthy;

3) don’t get muzzled - connect with media and voters in your own unique way. Some yahoos running campaigns will suffocate you with their own self-centered agenda so remember YOU were chosen for who YOU are. So stay connected with America as you smile and ignore deceptive “handlers” trying to change you;

4) some fun terms you may learn:
“OTR” - an orchestrated campaign stop that’s meant to look un-orchestrated where you “normalize” in front of voters. (I’d remembered not packing my running shoes, they turned it into a whole campaign stop with media detailing my every move trying on shoes.) OTR’s get bizarre (try eating in front of vultures looking for the “gotcha” shot!) but my team made OTR’s the second most fun thing!

“Ropeline”: thee MOST fun thing! Every single handshake and holler and hug and smile melted my heart, energized my soul, and gave me the utmost hope in the greatest country on earth! The ropeline is often the only way to literally touch those whom you wish to serve, so be sincere in looking in their eyes, understanding why they’re there, never forgetting they represent the innumerable Americans putting their trust in you to serve for the right reasons. It’s who and what they represent that is all that matters!

5) don’t forget the women who came before you;

6) have fun! This IS the greatest country in the world and hopefully you’ll be blessed beyond belief, like I was, with meeting new people from all walks of life and see just how great it is!

August 12, 2020

Belly Of The Beast: Illicit Photos From Inside The Soviet Ekranoplan

https://www.rferl.org/a/photographer-sneaks-inside-the-legendary-soviet-ekranoplan/30777774.html


This is the Lun-class ekranoplan, a formerly top-secret Soviet naval vessel that could skim just above the waves at jet-plane speeds, evading radar and anti-ship mines.


The vehicle made use of the so-called “ground effect” -- a cushion of high pressure that forms under the wings of extremely low-flying aircraft, boosting speed and lift. Wave-skimming seabirds can often be seen utilizing the same phenomenon.


This summer, Russian urban explorer Lana Sator, 31, read about the ekranoplan being towed by sea to Derbent, a city in Daghestan, where it is due to be moved into a "patriotic park” and put on permanent display.


Controls inside the ekranoplan

August 12, 2020

Tucker Carlson: There are timeshare sellers more trustworthy than Kamala Harris

Me (Posted on faux youtube page): There are street corner drug dealers that are more trustworthy than trump.

August 11, 2020

Ask Jack Pardee How That Works

I was talking with some friends and new people at lunch and one of them was defending trump. He was arguing that everything was going pretty good until Covid hit
We talked a little bit about it and finally I said, "Ask Jack Pardee How That Works."
Most of the table is as at least 10 years my junior. Though I doubt anyone my age might have gotten the reference right away (unless they were from Buffalo or Houston).
I said, "In 1993, in a playoff game, the Houston Oilers were leading the Bills going into the 3rd quarter 35-3. The Bills won the game in overtime. Nobody says what a great job Pardee did in the first two-and-a-half quarters. As the team on the field melted down and the Bills raced back, the Oilers coaches had no answers. That's what people remember. How they handled the crisis on the field. And they handled it poorly. Trump's handling of Covid is Pardee and the Oilers in the 2nd half in 93. He handled Covid poorly early on. He had no answers and still doesn't. As the economy melted down, again he had no answers. No one cares what happened between 2017 and the beginning of 2020. You are judged by how you lead in a crisis."

I remember that game well. I had twenty on Buffalo. And at halftime I was certain I was out twenty
I also have used this analogy once or twice before

August 9, 2020

Alps glacier collapse fear: Courmayeur evacuated as huge chunk of ice threatens to break away

An Italian resort in the Alps remained on high alert on Friday over fears a massive glacier could collapse due to high temperatures.

The municipality of Courmayeur in the Valley of Aosta ordered dozen of residents and tourists to evacuate from a large exclusion zone on Wednesday because of a high risk of avalanche. Several roads have been closed and pedestrian access is strictly prohibited.

snip

Local officials said in an order decree that a chunk of ice of approximately 500,000 cubic metres is on the verge of breaking away from the Planpincieux Glacier.

The glacier is "the size of Milan cathedral or a football pitch covered in ice 80 metres (260 feet) thick" according to an official. It could break free of its perch about 2,600 to 2,800 metres above sea level.

https://www.euronews.com/2020/08/06/alps-glacier-collapse-fear-courmayeur-evacuated-as-huge-chunk-of-ice-threatens-to-break-aw

August 9, 2020

Buried In A Casino Wall, A Dark Secret From Romania's Communist Past

snip

In 1949, as the communists tightened their grip on the Eastern European country, Nicolaie Voicila, 17, was arrested and later sentenced to four years of hard labor for “plotting against the social order.”

His crime was joining a literary club at which members discussed the relatively new communist regime led by Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej and hoped it would disappear.

The high school student was one of the thousands the communists incarcerated in prisons and labor camps after World War II, often simply because they had fallen afoul of the communist regime.

There are no universally accepted figures, but a 2006 presidential commission established to study the communist dictatorship said more than 600,000 Romanians were sentenced for political crimes between 1945 and 1989. Thousands died from beatings, illness, exhaustion, cold, or lack of food or medicine.

https://www.rferl.org/a/secret-political-prisoners-note-buried-in-casino-wall-revives-dark-memories-of-romania-s-communist-era/30773148.html

August 9, 2020

5 Stories from Europe You May Have Missed

1. Erdogan: Turkey has restarted drilling in East Mediterranean amid tensions with Greece

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that Turkey had resumed energy exploration work in the eastern Mediterranean as Greece had not kept its promises regarding such activities in the region.

NATO members Turkey and Greece have long been at loggerheads over overlapping claims for hydrocarbon resources and tensions flared up last month, prompting Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, to hold talks with the country's leaders to ease tensions.

“We have started drilling work again,” Mr Erdogan told reporters after participating in Friday prayers at the Hagia Sophia mosque. “We don't feel obliged to talk with those who do not have rights in maritime jurisdiction zones.”

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/turkey-erdogan-drill-oil-mediterranean-greece-mitsotakis-a9659666.html


2. Scuffles with police in Poland as protesters try to block arrest of LGBT activist

Protesters in Poland scuffled with police as they tried to stop the arrest of a gay rights activist on Friday in the city of Warsaw.

The activist, is known officially in court as Michal SZ, but identifies as a woman called Margo. She is suspected of causing criminal damage to the Pro-Right to Life Foundation van with homophobic slogans in June.

The activist is also accused of pushing a volunteer from the group which owned the van.

A court order the campaigner to be held for two months in preventative detention.

https://www.euronews.com/2020/08/07/scuffles-with-police-in-poland-as-protesters-try-to-block-arrest-of-lgbt-activist


3. Anti-Government Protesters In Bulgaria Restore Blockades Removed By Police

Anti-government protesters in Bulgaria have restored their traffic blockades in downtown Sofia, less than a day after they were removed by police.

Some 5,000 protesters gathered in the capital for a 30th consecutive evening on August 7, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov's conservative government over corruption.

The protesters had occupied three major crossroads in downtown Sofia since July 29 and August 1 as part of the biggest protest wave in years in the EU's poorest country. Blockades had also been set up in Plovdiv and the Black Sea port of Varna, severely disrupting traffic.

snip

However, demonstrators in Sofia set up fresh tent camps at three major crossroads overnight, buttressing them with cordons of large garbage containers, park benches, and concrete street flowerpots.

https://www.rferl.org/a/anti-government-protesters-in-bulgaria-restore-blockades-removed-by-police/30772937.html

4. Kazakhstan Allows Transit Of Uzbek, Kyrgyz Workers Stranded In Russia

NUR-SULTAN -- Kazakhstan has allowed the transit of thousands of Uzbek and Kyrgyz migrant workers who've been stranded in Russia for months along the border with Kazakhstan due to coronavirus travel restrictions.

The decision by Kazakhstan's government to allow the migrant workers to cross through the country to return to their homelands was made after clashes near the border between the migrants and Russian police.

Kazakh Foreign Ministry's spokesman Aibek Smadiyarov said on August 5 that 2,435 Kyrgyz citizens had been allowed to pass through Kazakhstan from Russia's adjacent Samara region aboard 40 buses. He said 2,200 Uzbek citizens also were allowed to cross through Kazakhstan on trains.

https://www.rferl.org/a/kazakhstan-allows-transit-of-uzbek-kyrgyz-workers-stranded-in-russia/30767694.html


5. Eleven people killed in Czech Republic apartment building fire

At least 11 people have been killed in a fire in an apartment building in the northeastern Czech Republic, police and firefighters said Saturday.

Police said the fire hit the 11th floor of the 13-story building in the afternoon in the town of Bohumin.

Firefighters spokesman Lukas Popp told local media that six people, three adults and three children, were killed in an eleventh-floor apartment.

The other five died after they were trying to escape from the building ``in panic'' by jumping from its windows on the 12th floor, Interior Minister Jan Hamacek told Czech public radio.

https://www.euronews.com/2020/08/08/eleven-people-killed-in-czech-republic-apartment-building-fire

August 7, 2020

How did 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate make it to the Port of Beirut? #TheCube

How the shipment made it to the port and why such dangerous cargo remained there for more than six years, has been central to the questions raised in the aftermath.

snip

After becoming embroiled in both a legal and financial dispute, the ship never left Beirut's waters and the explosive material was transferred onto land in the port.

snip

Articles from the Seafarer's Union of Russia detailed the same case, saying that Russian members of the crew had not been paid. The Union, which is affiliated with the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), reported that the crew was concerned about the nature of the cargo.

Euronews contacted Lloyd's List, a Maritime Intelligence agency, to corroborate the reports. They cited a briefing by a Beirut-based law firm who said that the ship was abandoned and detained by the port's state control. This happened "after the charterer and cargo interests lost interest in the consignment of ammonium nitrate," according to Lloyd’s List

snip

"At some point between the detention and the sinking, some 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate - an industrial chemical widely used in the manufacture of fertiliser and of both commercial and illicit explosives - were warehoused inside the perimeters of the port," Lloyd's List added.

https://www.euronews.com/2020/08/06/how-did-2-750-tonnes-of-ammonium-nitrate-make-it-to-the-port-of-beirut-thecube

August 7, 2020

Beirut bride videographer speaks to Euronews

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=32&v=ZRRSv2eej2Y&feature=emb_logo

The 27 second mark

August 4, 2020

Could this be why the Republicans think American workers won't work because of unemployment benefits

I went through the House and Senate calendars for 2020. They can be found at congress.gov
https://www.congress.gov/days-in-session

What I found interesting was the number of days the Senate was in session for 2020: (or should I say, not in session)
In January the senate did actually work 20 days.
In February they worked zero Fridays and took the 18th, 19th and 26th off
On the 10th of February: Senate convened at 3 p.m. and adjourned at 6:38 p.m., until 10 a.m. on Tuesday, February 11, 2020
On the 17th: The Senate met at 1:45:01 p.m. in pro forma session, and adjourned at 1:45:33 p.m. until 2:30 p.m., on Thursday, February 20, 2020.
On the 3rd and 24th it appears they were actually in session for the whole day

March 18 days
Took 3 Fridays off. They were in session one Friday, one Saturday and one Sunday
Mon, Mar 2: Senate convened at 3 p.m. and adjourned at 6:56 p.m., until 10 a.m. on Tuesday, March 3, 2020.
Mon, Mar 9: Senate convened at 3 p.m. and adjourned at 7:10 p.m., until 10 a.m. on Tuesday, March 10, 2020.
Mon, Mar 16: Senate convened at 3 p.m. and adjourned at 7:19 p.m., until 10 a.m. on Tuesday, March 17, 2020
The 30th they were in session, but were nor Mar 31 and Apr 1. I guess they were celebration April Fool's Day

April 10 days
They worked no Wednesdays or Fridays
They worked 1 Tuesday
Mon Apr 6: The Senate met at 10:00:20 a.m. in pro forma session, and adjourned at 10:00:49 a.m. until 10 a.m., on Thursday, April 9, 2020
Mon Apr 13: The Senate met at 10:00:02 a.m. in pro forma session, and adjourned at 10:00:41 a.m. until 3 p.m., on Thursday, April 16, 2020.
Mon Apr 20: The Senate met at 2:00:03 p.m. in pro forma session, and adjourned at 2:04:25 p.m. until 4 p.m., on Tuesday, April 21, 2020.
Mon, Apr 27: The Senate met at 8:02:15 a.m. in pro forma session, and adjourned at 8:02:45 a.m. until 1 p.m., on Thursday, April 30, 2020.

May 15 days
They worked 1 Friday, 3 Mon and 3 Wed
Mon May 4: Senate convened at 3 p.m. and adjourned at 6:21 p.m., until 11 a.m. on Tuesday, May 5, 2020
Mon, May 11: Senate convened at 3 p.m. and adjourned at 6:36 p.m., until 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 12, 2020.
Mon, May 18: Senate convened at 3 p.m. and adjourned at 6:44 p.m., until 10 a.m. on Tuesday, May 19, 2020.

June 19 days (However did they stand working all those days?)
They took off 3 of 4 Fridays
All 5 Mondays they opened session at 3 pm and adjourned between 6 m and 8 pm

July 14 days
July 6: Pro Forma session 30 seconds. Then they took 2 days off
July 13: Pro Forma 33 seconds. Took two days off
July 20: 3pm to 7 pm
July 27: 4pm to 7:12 pm

For people who get all upset that people are getting 600 bucks a week and then claim they'll do nothing
Senators make about 170k a year and their calendars reflect very little work
Maybe they just think those on unemployment are as lazy as they are
For anyone who wants to know about the House, 2 things:
1. I didn't check
2. Isn't relevant, since it's not Pelosi and the House Democratic leadership that is pushing this narrative about people living like Jeff Bezos on unemployment