Chit Chat

By Peloni

From now on comments on every post must relate to the content of the post.

Comments that don’t relate to the post must go here.

Any person who contravenes this demand will be put on moderation. Also their offending comment will be trashed.

The reason for this demand is so that people who want to read comments which pertain to the post, don’t have to wade through the chatter.

Everyone will be happier.

April 16, 2020 | 9,231 Comments »

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50 Comments / 9231 Comments

  2. I think feminists should have a problem with the article title, “stacked jury acquits Hilary Clinton operative.” since it suggests in the crudest possible manner that not only was this person exonerated by an all female panel but by a generously endowed one.

  4. sabastian!!!!!!!!!! “Bees gotta swim, fish gotta fly, I gotta love one person ’til I die.”Bees are voluntary and wisely celebrate our celebrity. A bee needs a drone like a fish needs a bicycle.

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  8. I guess they’ll have to change the lyrics to that song from Showboat from

    “fish gotta gotta swim, birds gotta fly, I gotta love one man ’til I die.”

    to

    “Bees gotta swim, fish gotta fly, I gotta love one person ’til I die.”

    ?

  13. @Sebastien Zorn

    You should distinguish between what the politicians say and what they actually do.

    In fact, things will be much easier to understand if you don’t listen at all to what they say and just keep watching and noting what they do.

    Of course, they didn’t do anything knowingly!

    Of course, they wished for Germany’s utter defeat, etc., and the USSR was their ally in the fight against Nazism!

    Of course, their hearts bled for the poor Jewsies but there was absolutely nothing they could do for them (which they could do for the non-Jewish refugees and almost a million of the German POWs).

    Of course, they only start wars to fight for our freedoms, liberty, democracy, human rights, and against the evil dictatorships of all kinds and the evil forces which seek to destroy freedom and democracy everywhere!

    Etc., etc., and so forth…

  16. @Sebastien Zorn

    Palestinian Authority Grabs More E1 Land

    YAWN…

    The true headline should have been:

    Israel Hands Over More of Its State Land to the PA Arabs in E1 Area Crucial to Israel In a War – WHY!?!?

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  18. @Reader

    the US will follow the Canadian example.

    When or if they try this, and well they might try it, they will find the task to be a bridge too far to reach, a river too wide to cross, and the greatest of mistakes in the long list of mistakes they have made thus far, of which there have been many. There are, in fact, few things that they might consider pursuing which will compare to the response they will elicit by this overstep.

    mistake they wish had not been attempted. This will be the required first step to cancel elections, and neither the first step, nor the second will be tolerated by the American people.

  19. Canada to cap the market for handguns with new law
    Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has introduced legislation that would put a national freeze on importing, buying or selling handguns
    By Rob Gillies Associated Press
    May 30, 2022, 7:46 PM

    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/handgun-freeze-key-feature-canadas-firearm-bill-85074812

    Trudeau says it is for freedom from the fear of gun violence.

    I am not into guns, I just think that it is remarkable, and that the US will follow the Canadian example.

  20. @Edgar How have you been getting deliveries from Walmart without a credit card and if you have been getting deliveries, why do you have to figure it out, this young whippersnapper from the American colonies would like to know? And, wait, Litvak? I thought you said your folks hailed from Latvia. Or did uou jyst live in a Litvak community in Dublin.

  22. If elections were held now, the right-wing bloc would, with Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party in the front, win 60 seats in the Israeli parliament, a new poll shows, Israel Hayom reported.

    -i24 news

    https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/politics/1653217223-poll-likud-led-bloc-close-to-winning-majority-in-coming-election

    Israel ‘enthusiastic’ about restoring US aid to Palestinians: US official

    i24 news

    https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/middle-east/palestinian-territories/1652960567-israel-enthusiastic-about-restoring-us-aid-to-palestinians-us-official

    “4,600 Gazans enter Israel, highest total at Erez Crossing in 15 years”

    https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/middle-east/palestinian-territories/1652625000-4-600-gazans-enter-israel-highest-total-at-erez-crossing-in-15-years

    “Senior Fatah official calls Israel’s PM a ‘nazi’ like ‘Goebbels’

    https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/middle-east/palestinian-territories/1652621134-senior-fatah-official-calls-israel-s-pm-a-nazi-like-goebbels

  26. We have changes in agriculture and I mean intensive farming causing great problems, global warming , viruses issue, Inflation, Bidens total divisiveness, and abroad all out war with Russia,

    Meirsheimer has got to be right. Great powers will defend themselves

    The whole base of life is so shaky.

    Consequently no nation or people can find a haven.

    *****
    I see similarity between position of Israel and Russia

    Russia cannot have NATO on border

    Israel cannot have Palestine on its border

    And that is a huge and telling point to make. But can they ever make that point?

  29. @ Reader

    The Visa Waiver Program (VWP), administered by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in consultation with the State Department, permits citizens of 40 countries to travel to the United States for business or tourism for stays of up to 90 days without a visa.
    https://www.dhs.gov › visa-waiver-p…
    US Visa Waiver Program – Homeland Security

  31. @ Felix, Reader, Peloni, Edgar, et al, Marx brilliantly explained this effort by all sides of this conflict to miscast the issues at hand in terms of World War II and the Holocaust almost 200 years ago.

    “The tradition of all dead generations weighs like a nightmare on the brains of the living. And just as they seem to be occupied with revolutionizing themselves and things, creating something that did not exist before, precisely in such epochs of revolutionary crisis they anxiously conjure up the spirits of the past to their service, borrowing from them names, battle slogans, and costumes in order to present this new scene in world history in time-honored disguise and borrowed language. Thus Luther put on the mask of the Apostle Paul, the Revolution of 1789-1814 draped itself alternately in the guise of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, and the Revolution of 1848 knew nothing better to do than to parody, now 1789, now the revolutionary tradition of 1793-95. In like manner, the beginner who has learned a new language always translates it back into his mother tongue, but he assimilates the spirit of the new language and expresses himself freely in it only when he moves in it without recalling the old and when he forgets his native tongue.”

    https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1852/18th-brumaire/ch01.htm

  35. @Ted
    Fair point, I should have highlighted this. Additionally, it does provide for exemptions for prior infections as well as medical contraindications.

  36. @Peloni
    You spoke too soon. This ruling is only about healthcare employees.

    Despite the high intensity of the intervention, the constitutionally protected interests of the complainants working in the health and care sector must ultimately take a back seat.

  38. “Dozens of members of Arab family riot at hospital in Nahariya
    Watch: Family members from Abu Snan beat security guards and civilians after being notified of the death of a loved one.

    “…Dozens of family members of the victim, residents of eastern Jerusalem, broke doors and windows, destroyed the nurses’ stand and beat the staff members…”

    Hospital security guards and police officers who were called to the scene were able to restore order. Two medical personnel suffered light injuries and were treated in the hospital emergency room.

    “…The Israel Medical Association announced on Tuesday that it would hold a one-day strike in all hospitals and health maintenance organizations on Thursday, in protest against a number of recent attacks against medical staff…”

    https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327802

    I presume none of the perps were charged or imprisoned? I am so eager to make aliya as I want to feel safe. Ha Ha. Might as well stay here to feel this safe.

  40. Hi, Sebastien. Generalissimo Franco is indeed still dead 🙂

    The latest I’ve found on Azovstal is

    Russia-Ukraine war LIVE updates: Top commanders at Azovstal haven’t surrendered, say pro-Russian sources
    Top-ranking Ukrainian commanders at Mariupol’s Azovstal steelworks are still inside the plant and have yet to surrender, local media quoted a pro-Russian separatist leader as saying. Russia said on Wednesday that a total of 959 Ukrainian fighters, including 80 wounded, had surrendered from the bunkers and tunnels below Mariupol’s Azovstal steelworks since Monday. Stay with TOI for latest updates:
    — https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/russia-ukraine-war-may-17/liveblog/91607213.cms

    This seems to jibe with what Peloni et al have been relaying.

  41. @Peloni They announced on Fox News Radio this morning that Ukrainian forces were gaining ground and Putin was losing face. And that the US is sending another $40 billion. Same news every day, more or less. I am reminded of:

    “Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead
    Description
    “Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead” is a catchphrase that originated in 1975 during the first season of NBC’s Saturday Night and which mocked the weeks-long media reports of the impending death of Francisco Franco. It was one of the first catchphrases from the series to enter the general lexicon. Wikipedia”

    1

  42. The Ukrainians are not rushing to enlist,

    No, they are not, which is why they closed their borders and instituted the draft of all men upto the limber age of 60 to fill their ranks with motivated souls dedicated to fight til the last, or at least until dark when they can find a way back to the border, LOL…This is why I described their forces as draftees in my previous post.

    In fairness to the Ukrainians, they have had a great many advantages in this fight. They had a home defense, with short supply lines (getting shorter), an almost limitless amount of aid, a practice war session that lasted 8yrs against, well, not the Russians, but 8yrs of war none the less, which produced a hardened warrior army, and which was also armed and trained with NATO forces and NATO weaponry. Despite all of this, Ukraine has consistently given ground against inferior numbers, with long supply lines, from a nation(Russia) which are being financed while being diplomatically and financially sanctioned by nearly half the world, literally.

    Furthermore, the Ukrainians have stretched credulity into funny pages by making silly war claims which, were I Ukrainian, I would find humiliating and denigrating to the cause they claim as righteous and necessary to their survival. Of course, the Russians are no weekend warriors, and they have made some miscalculations in their military endeavors, but they, unlike their Ukrainian counterparts, have made their approach to this war with a serious determination which demanded more respect than the Ukrainian high command have offered in response. The onus of this failure of the Ukrainian high command has fallen upon the simple soldiers of Ukraine, which, as we’ve both noted, are not entirely volunteers. To their credit, these enlistedmen/draftees have handled this terrible burden with a great responsibility and dedication that speaks to their recognition of the terrible consequences of every potential failure in this war, if nothing else.

    These outmatched soldiers were faced with the additional dilemma of the massive aid coming in the form of some foreign contraption, which sometimes worked, came with instructions in some foreign language, and required 12 different types of non-interchangeable ammo, and when these cool toys were lost to the enemy it simply made the task at hand more reasonable, even if it did not make it more successful. These logistical details are the cross-fibers that distinguish a tapestry from a basket of loose thread with regards to an armed force. Hence, taken in whole, I have to admit that the Ukrainian forces have failed to succeed, and will also ultimately fail to win. Yet, they have not failed to impress, and this is a victory of sorts that they will carry with them if they survive the war, or, rather, if they survive the war and survive the denazification process of Russian justice, in any event.

  43. The Ukrainians are not rushing to enlist, I think a few of them are actually running in the opposite direction.

    I am concerned about the US/EU plans to get 20 million tons of grain out of Ukraine by land or air with, apparently, no regard to the needs of the Ukrainians (at least, nobody mentions that).

  44. @Reader

    The decision not to fight them inside the factory was a smart one and it saved lives.

    Yes, this was a masterstroke. Putin surrounded the plant and even allowed the Azov to broadcast their propaganda footage from the caverns of their subterranean jail cells. It worked for the Ukrainians to a point, but to see these superstars of death sheltering from the storm of battle after boasting of their many escapades against the Dombas for 8yrs, it had to have taken its toll on both those in the catacombs as well as those watching the reality war games play out. After a time, the reality war program came to reveal a level of boredom that would compete with that of watching grass grow, as became evident when even the Kiev govt came to ignore their Azov phone calls from the pit, (reported by Azov on some of the early broadcasts from the pit).

    I had come to the conclusion that their food ran out, or nearly so, when they released their treasured hostages. They were so frightened of the Russian invasion of their dugout that they wasted the most precious of commodities to any soldier held in such dire conditions, food. (The irony is so thick in these situations and so dark, it seems too bold to notice, but I can’t help myself.) The irony here is that the terror held by these Azov men of actually facing the wrath of the Russians, caused them to overload their warriors’ ranks with simple folk who only wanted to get the hell out, and this caused their food to dry up more quickly and thereby drew their surrender ever more quickly. This has brought their real dread to an early birth as they will now face their spin at the game of Russian justice…It is all quite ironic, but I find no joy in either the observation of the fact nor sharing it, but it is a lesson that once learned should be not revisited too soon.

    As there are new reports of 1 or perhaps 2 new cauldrons developing, where the poor Ukrainian draftees are now faced with dealing with a situation similar to that of Azov (only they will not have the luxury living quarters 6-20 floors underground as did Azov to hide their valor from the shells, but the entitled few alwasy seem to find an entitlement or two to set them above the ordinary masses, but I digress). In any case, these ordinary masses, should the reports of the cauldrons prove accurate, will likely act out of a sense of personal patriotism to follow orders. This, combined with the gross incompetence of their Kiev taskmasters who seem to like the order of never retreat, never surrender (til today in any case), will likely leave these masses with a similar question as befell the mighty Azov as they retreated into their subterranean hollows: Should we take the hostages with us and share our food with them or simply keep the food for ourselves? I think I know what the Azov would advise…

  46. Azovstal Surrenders as Russia Continues Offensive in Donbass
    Alexander at The Duran gives a breakdown of the Azovstahl surrender that sounds more like the surrender was the choice of the soldiers and that the Ukrainian govt responded by hurriedly signing orders to that effect. Honestly, I waded thru several reports of the surrender before being convinced it was real because, as Alexander also describes, the initial reports very much did try to describe it as an arrangement with the Russians or a limited “evacuation”. The Russians, of course, continued with their poker face silence beyond their daily reports which they simply state it as a surrender, but I very much do agree with Alexander’s analysis. He goes further to describe the miserable state of affairs in Dombas for the Ukrainian forces, who did have the home defense advantage, and this final surrender of the infamous and inspiring Spartan last stand at Mariupol may have a profound effect upon the Ukrainian troops as well as the Ukrainian people.

    At some point, these doltish Ukrainians must at last come to recognize that they are simply being exposed and expended as chess pieces in someone else’s board-game where the ultimate victory is not the greater interest of Ukraine. Some may disagree, of course, but for myself, I am not in anyway inspired by this Borderland nation as it holds a miserable record of 30yr of corruption, exploitation and avarice, but the Ukrainians, at least, should have some interest in preserving their heretofore position as the world’s money-laundering center, where cash is cleaned, trafficking is routine and the legal context of murder and mayhem is preserved for those in power. If they do not give up their belief that propaganda can cure all defeats, they may soon suffer a moment not unlike that of 1918 Germany where the Berliners went from reading of victory after victory to reading of the signed Armistice. The mental dysphoria did Germany no good, and the world suffered miserably for their continued state of self denial.

    https://theduran.locals.com/upost/2150840/azovstal-surrenders-as-russia-continues-offensive-in-donbass

  48. Azovstal surrenders!

    The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has confirmed on its social media networks that its servicemen holed up at the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol have been ordered to surrender.

    “The garrison ‘Mariupol’ has completed the assigned combat mission. The highest military command issued an order to the commanders of the units located at Azovstal to save the lives of the personnel,” the Ukrainian military statement explained. According to Kiev, while holding positions at Azovstal, its soldiers “prevented” Russian troops from operating in other theatres, reported the Russia Today.

    …
    President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said that their return will require “delicacy and time.”

    Finally sense returns to the general staff of Ukraine in allowing their men to finally surrender. They never had any hope of victory or rescue, and it was barbarous for them to be held to stand to the last man, quite revealing of the nature of the command which enforced these barbarous orders. The refusal of any military command to permit maneuvers or retreat as battle necessities demand, results in the loss of strategic advantages that could be gained from such nimbleness as well as costing needless lives and suffering. These are not hallmarks of modern military tactics, but of the senseless salesmanship to demonstrate the invincibility of their not so invincible forces. Of course, the situational irony of events forced Ukraine to adopt these measures due to its all too manipulatively successful propaganda campaign, which can not be seen to allow their forces to react to events on the ground. Very sad, very cynical and very unfortunate for all involved.

    Reports that between 3-500 people were transported to the areas controlled by Russia with estimates that there are a total of ~2200 people who are surrendering. It will be quite interesting to see what is inside the Avostahl complex as well as how many foreign nationals might be present.

    Read more at:
    https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/members-of-neo-nazi-azov-battalion-surrender-in-mariupol-russian-media/articleshow/91614901.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

    Also
    https://www.zerohedge.com/military/least-300-azov-fighters-surrender-russians-azovstal-plant-ending-lengthy-siege

  49. I just got a real surprise. I read that there are 3,000 Jews living in Saudi Arabia.

    Does anyone know what percentage of Birthright visitors actually come on aliyah and STAY…???

    I also read comments from several who are visiting soon, not a single mention of ever bonding with Israel and staying, but only of meeting people from other universities and colleges and kibbitzing with them.

    I see two different numbers. One which said that over 700,000 Birthright “holistic” visitors have been brought to Israel since it began in 2000, the other one said 350,000. Also someone named, of all things, “Popkin”, protesting that he’d been brought into “the occupied Territories without his permission”…..