Yesterday's rough and tumble will continue today, with all sorts of loose ends to be tied up and put out of the way. Nothing earth-shattering (at least, I hope not!) but enough to keep me from blogging as per usual.
Regular blogging will recommence with next Sunday's musical miscellany. Please amuse yourself with the bloggers in the sidebar until then. They write good, too!
Peter
I'm being bombarded with various bits and pieces of life, the universe and everything. I'm arguing with doctors, trying to sort out a tax question, cleaning up and throwing out a bunch of "stuff" in the garage, doing normal domestic chores, and trying to research a particular issue for inclusion in the book I'm currently working on (the second volume of a US Civil War naval trilogy).
Basically, I have to take a day off blogging to catch up with myself and some of these issues. I'll try to make time to put up a proper blog post tomorrow.
Have fun, y'all!
Peter
Fellow blogger Eaton Rapids Joe mentioned Republic Ammunition in a recent post, particularly their low-cost primers. I took a look at their product line, and was intrigued to find this.
Er... um...
I can understand wanting to give your better half (?) a Valentine's Day gift that expresses your love.
However...
Is it wise to give your (current) better half a Valentine's Day gift that he/she can use against you if they (or you) decide that he/she/you is no longer their/your better half?
Not the sort of "target market" in which I'd like to participate!
Peter
Courtesy of a link provided by DiveMedic, we learn that human breast milk is one of the most complex systems nature has ever devised.
Milk is not just nutrition.
It is information.. . .
When a baby nurses, microscopic amounts of saliva flow back into the breast. That saliva carries biological signals about the infant’s immune system. If the baby is getting sick, the mother’s body detects it.
Within hours, the milk changes.
White blood cells surge.
Macrophages multiply.
Targeted antibodies appear.When the baby recovers, the milk returns to baseline.
This was not coincidence.
It was call and response.A biological dialogue refined over millions of years. Invisible—until someone thought to listen.
. . .
Milk changes by time of day.
Foremilk differs from hindmilk.
Human milk contains over 200 oligosaccharides babies can’t digest—because they exist to feed beneficial gut bacteria.
Every mother’s milk is biologically unique.. . .
Milk has been evolving for more than 200 million years—longer than dinosaurs walked the Earth. What we once dismissed as simple nourishment is one of the most sophisticated communication systems biology has ever produced.
Katie Hinde didn’t just study milk.
She revealed that nourishment is intelligence.
A living, responsive system shaping who we become before we ever speak.
There's more at the link.
That may be one of the most mind-blowing scientific analyses I've ever read. I had no idea . . . and I guess most of the scientific and health community didn't, either. It took one researcher who caught a glimpse of something tantalizing, enough to make her look further and go deeper - and she revealed a whole new wonder of nature. Here's a TED talk she gave in 2018, before much of the most recent research was revealed.
The more I learn of this sort of complexity in nature, the more I shake my head at those who claim that evolution is responsible for everything, that we're merely cosmic "accidents", that there's no such thing as "intelligent design". If there isn't, how does one account for the immense intelligence revealed just in the biological system of human milk - never mind everything else about us, and about life?
I know we'll never agree on that, but that's OK. I'm just going to say, "Thank you, Lord", and leave it at that.
Peter
Well, with a news report like this:
... what other common expression could I possibly use to headline this post?
(Those understanding artillery and/or explosive terminology can doubtless provide other useful terms to describe the situation. Being a family-friendly blog, at least some of the time, I shall refrain - but with difficulty...)
Peter
Yesterday reader Paul M. made this comment on Larry Lambert's blog. He's referring to California taxes.
‘Tax us to death’…saw this:
Payroll taxes, Building Permit Tax , CDL license Tax , Cigarette Tax , Corporate Income Tax , Dog License Tax, Federal Income Tax , Federal Unemployment Tax, Fishing License Tax , Food License Tax , Gasoline Tax (currently 44.75 cents per gallon) , Gross Receipts Tax , Hunting License Tax, Inheritance Tax , Liquor Tax , Luxury Tax, Marriage License Tax , Medicare Tax , Personal Property Tax , Property Tax, Real Estate Tax , Road Usage Tax , Recreational Vehicle Tax , Sales Tax , School Tax, Social Security Tax , State Income Tax , State Unemployment Tax, Telephone Federal Excise Tax , Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax , Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes, Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax, Telephone Recurring and Nonrecurring Charges Tax , Telephone State and Local Tax , Telephone Usage Charge Tax , Utility Taxes , Vehicle License Registration Tax , Vehicle Sales Tax , Watercraft Registration Tax , Well Permit Tax , Workers Compensation Tax.
Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago and our nation was the most prosperous in the world. We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.
When you lay it all out like that, it's a breathtaking tax burden, isn't it? That list isn't even comprehensive: it doesn't include firearms taxes, ammunition taxes, and regulatory fees for this, that and everything else. Now they want to add a wealth tax on top of it all! They say it'll be a one-time tax, but if you believe that . . .
I wondered for a brief moment why any sane California taxpayer would vote for a government that robs them blind like that, but then I realized that most sane California taxpayers probably don't vote for those measures. Taxpayers who've drunk the liberal/progressive Kool-Aid do; but they're not the biggest margin of support. The people who don't have to pay those taxes, but who benefit from the money they bring in, are mostly the ones who vote for them (and the politicians who impose them).
Peter
In an interview a few days ago, the Commissioner of the Department of Corrections in Minnesota raised what I think is a very worthwhile question.
On Friday’s broadcast of NPR’s “All Things Considered,” Minnesota Department of Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell discussed cooperation between local sheriffs and immigration officials and said that “having judicial orders or detainers or holds that are signed by a judge would address this issue. But, to date, we have not seen a willingness on the part of DHS to pursue those.”
. . .
"... sheriffs are in a very difficult position, because they face legal liability if they hold people beyond their appointed time. And having judicial orders or detainers or holds that are signed by a judge would address this issue."
There's more at the link.
That may be a smokescreen, of course, glossing over the real issue that Minnesota's policy is not to cooperate with Federal authorities over immigration issues, including arrests. However, the question of administrative versus judicial orders or detainers is, I submit, more important than it may seem at first glance.
In criminal law, a warrant is typically required to arrest someone or search their property. These types of warrants must be issued by a judge; thus, they are also known as “judicial warrants.”
A judicial warrant is a document issued by a judge (or magistrate judge) that authorizes law enforcement officers to perform certain actions (like conducting a search, making an arrest, or seizing property). Judicial warrants are typically issued based on probable cause, which means there must be reasonable grounds to believe that a crime has been committed and that the action authorized by the warrant will yield evidence related to that crime. These warrants serve as a safeguard against unreasonable searches and seizures, ensuring that law enforcement actions are conducted within the bounds of the law and respect individuals' constitutional rights.
. . .
An administrative warrant doesn’t need to involve a judge or court at all (though an administrative law judge may review some). Instead, it’s issued by an administrative agency or official, as the name implies.
. . .
Administrative warrants are used for regulatory or administrative purposes, not criminal prosecution. Another difference is that administrative warrants generally have a lower standard than "probable cause,” which is required for judicial warrants. Finally, administrative warrants are based on statutory authority rather than Fourth Amendment requirements (like judicial warrants).
Judicial warrants typically deal with criminal law, whereas administrative warrants typically deal with civil law. That’s part of why the standard for a judicial warrant is higher: life and liberty are on the line. That’s also why judicial warrants will be in the form of either arrest warrants (to apprehend a suspect), search warrants (to search a specific location for evidence of a crime), or seizure warrants (to seize specific property or evidence related to a crime). Judicial warrants are considered more protective of individual rights, as they require a neutral judge's independent review of the evidence and a finding of probable cause.
Again, more at the link.
I can see both sides of this issue. ICE and other federal agencies often try to arrest hundreds, even thousands of people in a given area (a city, a suburb, at an employer's premises, etc.). To get individual judicial warrants against every potential suspect in that area might be so great a burden on their administration that it's effectively impossible. However, that also runs a greater risk that some, at least, of those they arrest might have their civil rights ignored in the process. We've already seen reports of that; for example, US citizens arrested and detained for extended periods (sometimes days or even weeks) until they could prove they were legally resident in this country. ICE and its defenders will protest that they could have produced such proof at any time, but if they were denied access to telephones and other means of communication (a routine occurrence, or so I understand), how were they to ask a family member or other person to deliver such proof? If they lived alone, how could they get such proof from their place(s) of residence when they were detained, preventing them from traveling to their homes?
A judicial warrant demands a higher standard of proof from law enforcement authorities before they can make an arrest. If a suspect's rights are to be restricted or infringed by arresting him/her, a judge or magistrate must confirm that there is enough evidence to justify that interference. The warrant can also be challenged in court, as can the process leading to its being issued. If an officer mistakenly asks for a judicial arrest warrant because he/she had unreliable or insufficient information, that can be held against the officer if it comes out in court. An administrative warrant lacks all such protection - it was (normally) never reviewed by a judge or magistrate before being issued. In so many words, it's nothing more than a bureaucratic rubber stamp.
I'm firmly of the opinion that illegal aliens should be deported, except for genuine, repeat, genuine, verifiable cases where refugee status might be awarded. However, regardless of one's perspective on immigration, I think the use of only administrative warrants for mass arrests is legally questionable, and might become a tool of actual oppression if the "wrong people" issue such warrants without judicial scrutiny. I think ICE may have to reconsider this issue. Certainly, I'll be more comfortable from legal, moral and ethical perspectives if they do.
At the same time, those opposed to enforcing immigration laws will have to accept that it's a federal government issue, not a state or local issue. If they want to protest it, there are legal avenues for them to do so. To physically assault federal officers in the performance of their duties is not one of them; nor is using state and local laws and regulations to obstruct and interfere with their operations. Administrative warrants are too often used as an excuse to disrupt such legitimate law enforcement activities, without examining the rights and wrongs involved.
Peter
Gathered from around the Internet over the past week. Click any image for a larger view.
Just one brief instrumental track this morning, from the British progressive rock group Audience. It was recorded in 1971 on their album "The House On The Hill".
I'm not a major fan of the group, but I like a few of their pieces. You'll find more at their YouTube channel. I don't know why the group called that track "Raviole" . . . perhaps to pasta the time?
Peter
Karl Denninger has written extensively about the effect of extreme cold on your home's plumbing, heating problems, and related issues. His article is too long to excerpt here, so click over to his place and read it for yourself. Very interesting and useful information.
Stay warm, friends.
Peter
A few days ago, the New York Post published an article headlined "China is facing a demographic bomb— and it could handcuff Beijing’s ambitions". Here's an excerpt.
Last week, Beijing’s release of China’s national birth count for 2025 left demographers stunned.
The national birth total plummeted by over 17% from 2024 to 2025, the PRC disclosed.
That sort of precipitous drop is almost never seen in stable modern societies, where births tend to inch up or down from one year to the next.
A decline of this magnitude qualifies as a demographic shock of the sort typically associated with dire calamities like famine or plague — a sign that a disaster or convulsion is taking place.
And these are only the latest readings from the astonishing birth crash that’s commenced under Xi Jinping’s rule: a drop by over half in just eight years that shows no sign as yet of abating.
Tumbling birth rates have already thrown China into depopulation, with over four deaths for every three births in 2025.
With fewer than 8 million new babies in 2025, China is not only down to the lowest level of natality since the Communists took power in 1949.
It’s actually back to birth levels last seen three centuries ago, in the early 1700s, when the national population may have been no more than 225 million — less than a sixth of China’s current 1.4 billion.
. . .
If this continues, the next generation of Chinese will be only be 44% as large as their parents’ cohort — and the following generation will be smaller still.
There's more at the link. It's worth reading the article in full.
That news was bad enough, from China's perspective. However, it may be a whole lot worse. Yesterday I came across a Web site called "Lei's Real Talk". She's a Chinese lady living in the USA who analyzes events and developments in China, and has developed quite a large following. I know nothing more about her than what she says on her Web site, but she presents carefully thought out and cogent analysis of China's real population in the video clip below. The kicker?
She thinks China's population might already be a third to a half less than what it officially claims.
If that's true, it makes the warnings in the article above even more ominous. See for yourself. This is well worth watching, and listening carefully.
If Lei's claims are true, they provide an entirely new perspective on China's aggressive words and policies directed against other countries and alliances. They might be no more than bluff and bluster, demographically speaking . . . might. We won't know for sure unless and until Lei's calculations can be confirmed in some way.
Nevertheless, it's enough to make one think, isn't it?
Peter
For those in the path of the latest deep freeze:
Given the likely temperatures, one might advise the wearing of underwear irrespective of the wind speed - but that's probably un-Scottish of me, or something like that.
Peter
I was interested (and somewhat amused) to read that the biggest reforestation project in the world has had some - wait for it - unintended consequences. Say it ain't so!
China’s massive tree-planting push has long been hailed as a climate win. But new research shows the country’s ambitious effort to slow land degradation, and fight climate change, has also reshaped its water supply in surprising, and sometimes uneven, ways.
When China dramatically expanded forests and restored grasslands under its "Great Green Wall" initiative, it didn’t just change what the land looked like, it changed how water moves between the ground and the atmosphere.
. . .
“They’ve actually increased forest cover by 15% over the last five decades,” [meteorologist Jennifer] Gray explained. “If you think about the amount of moisture that those forests are releasing into the atmosphere, it is just an incredible amount.”
. . .
What surprised researchers most wasn’t that water moved, it was where it ended up. “What’s so remarkable about this study is the scale of it and the unintended consequences,” Gray said. “The rain was distributed in completely different ways and in completely different places.”
The reason lies in the atmosphere itself.
“The atmosphere and the winds can actually transport moisture more than 4,000 miles,” Gray explained. “So if you plant trees in one area that doesn’t mean that that’s exactly where it’s going to rain.”
. . .
That’s why Gray says climate solutions can’t stop at planting trees. “It puts an exclamation mark on the importance of having city planners get involved, water management folks get involved as well,” she said, “so this can be carefully thought out as to where the water is going to be distributed once you do something like this.”
There's more at the link.
This is fascinating to me. I've never figured out how bureaucrats and political functionaries can dictate to Nature - "We are going to do this, to force you to do that" - without any real understanding of how Nature works, the interplay of forces and influences that mold and shape the world we live in. It seems ridiculous on the face of it; what my father would call "farting against thunder". The power of natural forces is so enormously greater than anything of which we can conceive that it makes fools of the bureaucrats who think that way. Perhaps this is yet another example of the folly that led to Mao's megalomaniac "Great Leap Forward", which led directly to the "Great Chinese Famine" and caused tens of millions of deaths.
I think it's a laudable ambition to halt desertification by reforestation . . . but just reforesting thousands of square miles doesn't mean they'll be transformed into the microclimate you want them to have. I'll be watching the progress of similar projects with great interest. Ethiopia is planting 50 billion trees; there's the Great Green Wall for the Sahara and the Sahel; and India has The Great Green Wall of Aravalli. I wonder if they'll all run into the same problem?
(There's also the colonial-era Great Hedge of India, designed to prevent unwanted border crossing in either direction. Perhaps the Border Patrol might like to investigate that project?)
Peter
As we gently "melt out" from the snow and ice of the past few days, a number of readers e-mailed me to describe problems they'd encountered, and to ask about aspects of emergency preparation in such weather. Of particular importance to them was solutions that will work in extreme cold, when the power's out for an indeterminate period.
Let's start with light. The simplest, easiest and cheapest way to light your home for a few hours, or days, or even weeks, are the pull-up camping lanterns available under various brand names (but probably all made in the same Chinese factory). This is the cheapest 4-pack on Amazon at the time of writing:
They run on 3 AA batteries, which give several hours' bright light. They're very lightweight, too, and one can use the handle to hang them from any convenient hook or branch, or stand them on a firm surface. To use them, just pull the top up (or partway up if you want less light). I've used them for years. Some may not work very long, because they're Chinesium, and quality is an afterthought for many such products; but at the price, it's hard to complain. I keep half a dozen handy for emergency use. You should also keep a few flashlights on hand to carry around as needed. Candles, tea-lights, etc. are useful if you have a safe place to burn them, but they do add to the fire danger, and you leave them unattended at your own risk.
What about generators? Very useful, but also very noisy, and thirsty for fuel if power remains out for several days. They also have to run outdoors, for safety reasons (carbon monoxide from their exhaust will kill you deader than dead if you run them indoors). I have a smallish, lower-cost model, which I'll use mostly to charge up my battery power banks if and when necessary. It doesn't produce enough power to run all our electrical appliances. (If you can afford it, you can by all means consider a whole-house generator and a dedicated fuel tank to run it for a week or more, but they're usually very expensive.)
Another problem with generators is theft. They're in high demand during weather emergencies. There are those who travel around in such conditions, listening for the sound of generators or evidence of their presence such as lights at night, and then steal them from wherever you've put them. It happened to a friend of mine not far from here a couple of years ago, not 48 hours after he bought the unit. The thieves waited until the small hours of the morning, when the generator wasn't in use, then cut the chain he'd used to fasten it to a pillar and carried it off. He was not a happy camper, to put it mildly!
If you rely on a fuelled generator, make sure you have one powerful enough to run all the appliances you want to use: then calculate its fuel consumption under load (not just idling). A lot of manufacturers won't give you that information in their sales brochure, so you might have to dig around to find it, or establish it by trial and error. Once you know what it is, store enough gasoline or propane to run the generator for however long you might need it. That adds up very quickly, by the way: for a large generator, you may need up to 10-15 gallons per day. Smaller ones are rather more economical. (Don't forget oil: if you have a new generator, you'll normally be expected to change its lubricant after 20-30 hours of operation, and at regular intervals thereafter. Spark plugs of the right size, plus spare air and oil filters, are also worth keeping in stock. A trickle charger to keep the generator battery topped up isn't a bad idea, either.)
Finally, run the generator regularly to make sure it's in good working order. Some recommend every month; others, every quarter. If it won't start when you desperately need it, you aren't going to be very happy (and even less so when your family finds out)!
My preferred solution for electric power is to use one or more electric power banks, which are sometimes referred to as power generators or solar generators. They usually offer a more expensive solution than generators (at least, at today's prices), but they're also much more convenient, can be carried to wherever you need them, can be easily recharged by even a small generator, and don't smell of exhaust fumes or drip fuel and oil on your floor! There are many models, some of which you'll find at the link above, but I'd divide them into three size categories based on likely use.
The first are small power banks up to 1KW (kilowatt - 1,000 watts) in power and a similar storage capacity in KWh (kilowatt-hours - the energy used to produce one kilowatt of power for one hour). These can't run anything very big in power draw, but for lightweight use (portable lights with LED bulbs, charging cellphones or tablets, game consoles, etc.) they can be very convenient. I know some families who keep a couple on hand to let their kids use them while Mom and Dad use a larger power bank for larger power needs (e.g. TV, DVD player, computer, etc.) Small units are also useful to power low-draw appliances such as a CPAP machine or oxygen generating device, which are often important for home health care. Check the appliance's power draw and make sure the battery bank you buy has adequate power and storage capacity to cope with its needs.
The next category is what I'll call medium power banks, 1.5-4KW in power and a similar storage capacity in KWh. These are general-purpose workhorses, usually portable, and with enough stored energy to be useful for several hours before needing to be recharged. My personal favorite at present is the Bluetti Elite 400, for two reasons: one, its capacities are 2.6KW power and 3.84KWh storage capacity, which meet most of our needs, and two, it's on wheels with an extendable handle. Being a larger, heavier unit (about 85 pounds), and because my wife and I both have health issues restricting us from lifting heavy loads, the Elite 400 is much easier for us to move around the house if necessary. There are, of course, many competitors to the Bluetti. Shop around and see which you prefer. Also, don't forget extension cords so you can plug in your fridge, freezer(s), etc. to the power bank, no matter where it is.
Finally, there are whole-house battery banks, some from providers such as Bluetti, some permanent installations such as the Tesla Powerwall. Such banks are much larger than portable units, and many require professional installation, usually along with solar power panels to keep them charged when grid power is shut off for any reason. They're an excellent solution, but very expensive; the least you can expect to pay for all components (batteries, solar panels, wiring, plus installation) is usually $25,000 or more. On the other hand, they tend to work very well, and give owners peace of mind. (For example, you can read Divemedic's blog posts on his Florida installation at this link, from most recent to oldest.)
I find battery banks' convenience and ease of use to be head and shoulders above any other low- to medium-cost solution. We have the equivalent of about 14KWh stored across a few units, charged and ready to go, which should be enough to get us through two to three days before we have to run a generator to recharge them. With judicious use and not wasting power, I think we could go several weeks without electricity from the grid, if we had to.
What about heat? If the HVAC system goes out, we're reduced to what we can power using our battery banks and/or generator. In both cases, in extreme temperatures, we'd move into one or two rooms and heat or cool only them. For heating indoors, a fireplace is a very desirable option, and/or a wood-burning stove: if you don't have one, but can fit one to your home at an affordable price, I highly recommend it. Otherwise, I use and recommend the Mr. Buddy propane indoor-safe heaters, which utilize the familiar green Coleman fuel cylinders and can be fitted with an adapter to run them off conventional propane cylinders. (With any fire or propane heater, remember the danger from carbon monoxide, and take appropriate precautions!)
There are electric options if you don't like fire or other fuel. Given a suitable size of power bank, you can buy low-power electric heaters from 400W up to about 900W. A medium-size power bank can run a 400-500W heater all night long. They're not very hot, but will warm a 10x10 foot bedroom, which will do nicely in freezing weather. Larger rooms, not so much - but then, in an emergency, one has to compensate by adjusting one's lifestyle. If you have an electric blanket, a medium-size power bank will also run that all night long, making things very snug.
What if it's summer, and you want to keep things cool? Air-conditioning units are power hogs, to put it mildly. Even the smallest window or stand-alone unit will drain an average power bank in a couple of hours. I'd suggest using fans instead of air-conditioners, and venting the hot air inside through windows and doors as the day cools down. Only a whole-house power backup system will allow you to run your HVAC as usual, even without incoming power from the grid.
Cooking? Use camping gear such as butane or propane stoves. They're simple, relatively cheap, and work on almost any surface. You won't (I hope!) burn them long enough to pose a carbon monoxide hazard: if that worries you, use them on a table in your garage. I'd suggest having two burners, because a single burner might limit what dishes you can cook (and get extra fuel cartridges for them). The good old Coleman 2-burner camping stove has been around for decades, and still works well, but it's a lot more expensive than it used to be. Buying two single-burner butane stoves can often be much cheaper. Make sure to clean the stove(s) and cooking utensils thoroughly; sanitary cooking conditions are important for your family's health.
I won't speak to needs such as food, clothing, warm blankets, etc. We've addressed those subjects several times in the past, and many Web sites have done likewise. You pays your money and you takes your choice. However, there are a few things you'll do well to remember.
That's a quick pass through most of the questions I was asked. If you have something I haven't addressed, please ask it in Comments: and readers, please feel free to answer such questions, or contribute ideas from your own experience. We can all learn from each other.
Stay safe out there!
Peter
Some readers may not be familiar with the term "color revolution". American Thinker outlined the concept in an article last December.
A“color revolution” ... is a modern form of orchestrated political upheaval designed to replace an existing government without traditional military invasion or civil war ... These operations follow a remarkably consistent playbook, refined over two decades by Western NGOs, intelligence-linked foundations, and State Department-affiliated entities (Open Society Foundations, USAID, etc.).
Authors describe seven stages of a color revolution. The stages include these tactics, which I’ll list in approximate chronological order:
- Portray the target government as illegitimate, authoritarian, corrupt, or “fascist.”
- Front-load allegations: accuse incumbent of planning the crimes the opposition intends to commit (rigging, regression, dictatorship).
- Fund and train NGOs, student groups, and opposition politicians to repeat a unified message.
- Create/amplify a unifying symbol or theme (e.g., Orange Man Bad).
- Manufacture an electoral crisis.
- Street mobilization.
- Public appeals to and moral blackmail of the military and police: “You’re with the people, not the regime.”
- Promises of immunity, future positions for defectors.
- Threats to those who support target government.
- Provoke a response, flood media with images of “peaceful protesters” being attacked.
- International legitimation as foreign governments and media recognizes opposition leaders as “legitimate” authority.
- Sanctions, frozen assets, diplomatic isolation applied to sitting government.
- New elections scheduled under international supervision.
There's more at the link. Notable examples of color revolutions may be found in the so-called "Arab Spring" uprisings, the "Rose Revolution" in Georgia in 2003, the "Orange Revolution" in Ukraine in 2004/5, and a number of others. Not all of the factors listed above were present in all the color revolutions, but most of them made multiple appearances.
A noteworthy common factor is that external (i.e. foreign) non-governmental organizations (NGO's) were involved in organizing and supporting almost all color revolutions over the past two to three decades. Most of those NGO's were left-wing or progressive in orientation, and appear again and again in multiple uprisings. Keep that in mind as we consider the current uprisings in Minneapolis and Minnesota.
The situation in Minneapolis right now is clearly an organized uprising against the enforcement of US immigration law by ICE. It shows many of the signs of a typical color revolution in the making. It is not random or haphazard: it is professionally planned and executed, and run very like a military operation by its organizers. As evidence, consider:
I could post many similar links, but those above contain all the important information you'll need to make your own judgment. If you're in any doubt about what I say here, follow them for yourself and learn the truth.
Next, keep in mind that violence against ICE is not widespread. As Kevin Bass points out (his methodology is here), a mere nine counties (out of 3,143 in the entire USA!) have produced two-thirds of all such incidents over the past year. Click the image below for a larger view.
That's hardly the widespread violence and unrest that the progressive left (and its lackeys in the mainstream news media) are trying to portray, is it? That shows very clearly where the left is most organized and active. However, they're bringing activists into those places from all over the country, not just to help their protests, but to learn from them how to do it and then "export" similar unrest to other cities around America. Be prepared for that.
It's also clear that the anti-ICE demonstrations are attempting to divert attention away from the massive fraud uncovered in Minnesota's Somali community, and in which a large number of Minnesota's political figures are apparently implicated. Prof. Glenn Reynolds says this.
The state’s Democratic political machine is reacting like a spooked squid to revelations that the machine and its clients are complicit in multi-billion-dollar frauds against the federal government.
And the “ink” being squirted is the not-at-all spontaneous wave of riots erupting against federal authorities in Minneapolis.
. . .
The House Oversight Committee this month found that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and state Attorney General Keith Ellison were not innocent bystanders to the fraud, but actually took part in the cover-up, taking active steps to silence whistleblowers.
And it all centered on communities of illegal immigrants and refugees, some of whose members siphoned money from federal taxpayers and in turn gave campaign contributions and political support to state Democrats — a self-licking ice cream cone of graft.
. . .
These are not spontaneous uprisings of the aggrieved, but organized actions featuring out-of-state actors and organizations, detailed training programs for demonstrators, and large amounts of intentionally murky funding from organizations like Indivisible, George Soros’ Open Society Foundations and others.
They’re coordinating their anti-ICE operations — identifying, chasing and blocking agents to keep them from arresting illegal-immigrant criminals — through highly organized chat groups on Signal, a secure communications platform, Fox News reported.
And Minnesota government officials are proudly touting their involvement in this coordination ... That’s making these often violent, deliberately obstructive demonstrations look less like a civil rights sit-in and more like a government-backed insurrection.
. . .
Whatever investigators determine about how Pretti’s death unfolded, the fact remains that a cynical and corrupt political machine has fostered for its own purposes a situation that’s dangerous for its own supporters, and for the political future of our nation.
There's more at the link.
As a human being, I'm deeply saddened by the deaths of Renée Good and Alexander Pretti in Minneapolis. May their sins be forgiven them, and may they rest in peace: and may their families receive what comfort is possible.
HOWEVER . . .
Let us not forget that both died while actively interfering with law enforcement personnel in the execution of their duties, in situations where tempers and emotions were running high, and where misunderstandings in the heat of the moment could readily be foreseen and expected. In both shootings, it is possible that the law enforcement officers concerned over-reacted to visual stimuli that - under the stress and tension of the circumstances - they did not have time to adequately process. On the other hand, the actions of the victims actively contributed to that stress and tension, and therefore they were at the very least not blameless in their deaths.
It is also possible - although yet to be determined by legal process - that the shootings were justifiable under the laws and jurisprudence governing the conduct of the law enforcement personnel concerned. Until all the facts emerge, and can be evaluated by competent authorities and ruled upon in court, I won't attempt to assign blame. I could wish that others would be slower to judge, and be willing to wait for all the facts to come out. By failing to do so, they're inciting and inviting further violence and bloodshed - which is, of course, exactly what some of them appear to want.
What is now effectively beyond doubt is that both Ms. Good and Mr. Pretti died as part of an uprising against the constitution and laws of the United States of America. It's no good denying that - the evidence (as cited and provided above) is clear. The ultimate responsibility for their deaths sits squarely at the door of those who planned, instigated and organized this unrest. I can only hope that they will be called to account for it.
Peter
The world outside is blanketed with a mixture of snow, sleet and freezing rain, which have combined to bed down into a 3" to 4" thick layer over everything. One can walk on it if one's careful about one's balance, but put a foot wrong and it's slip slidin' away . . .
I won't go out today, because with my spine injury, balance is sometimes hard to maintain - and I don't want to have to call for an ambulance while lying in that icy, snowy blanket on the ground! My wife has had to go to work, but it's only a couple of miles from here, and she's from Alaska! She's been grinning broadly at all the complaints from locals about how snowed-in we are, and how difficult it is to drive, and so on. Needless to say, her comparisons between here and Alaska have been great fun! She should have no trouble driving to work and back.
I guess readers in the north-east are still getting the snow, sleet and freezing rain that left here a day or two ago. Stay safe up there, please. I know you're more used to this than we are, but Mother Nature is still a stone cold bitch who'll kill you at the drop of a hat (and sometimes drop it herself, if she's feeling that way inclined).
I've had a few e-mails asking me why I'm not commenting at greater length on the situation in Minneapolis right now. Three points:
Pray for peace, but prepare for this uprising in case it spreads to your area. If you live in a large city (particularly with left-wing politics) or anywhere nearby, that goes double for you.
Peter
Gathered from around the Internet over the past week. Click any image for a larger view.
A freezing good morning to you! We're in Day 3 of the Snowmageddon and Icemageddon storm, and so far we've come off relatively lightly: iced-up roads, but not much precipitation (yet!). The nearest big city, Wichita Falls, has had it rather worse than we have. North Texas weather is funny that way - you can have one set of conditions in this place, but a rather different set in another place no more than five to ten miles away. Living on or near the Texas dry line does that (it often goes right over our heads as it moves from west to east), and also puts us in the lower end of Tornado Alley.
Anyway, let's turn to music. Seeing as it's very cold at present, here's a fun musical look at how Greenland would stop a US takeover, if it ever happened. Someone has a fertile imagination!
Of course, you should listen to that music while reading this social media message:
Peter
So far, so good. The major roads in our area are skating rinks, and a light sleet is falling (more like ice dust at present). We're told that snow will arrive later today, extending through the evening. The birds are thick in the branches of our backyard tree, and complaining bitterly that their water dish is frozen and their food is buried under a layer of ice. Our cats want us to let them indoors, so they can "assist them by warming them up by chasing them". Er . . . no!
We have an abundance of food and warm layers to wear. If the power goes out, we have a camping cookstove and plenty of fuel for it, a few decent-size power banks, a couple of kerosene heaters and fuel for them (not to be used in the house, but they'll keep the garage from freezing), a generator, and plenty of gasoline for it. I think we're as prepared as we can be on a limited budget.
Most of our group of co-conspirators partners in crime friends appear to be doing OK. Our usual Saturday supper together isn't happening this weekend, because most of us would end up in the ditch or hitting something expensive if we tried to drive. We'll make up for it next week.
I hope all is well with you, dear readers. Let us know in Comments how you're faring.
Peter
It looks like the first Snowmageddon and Icemageddon of the year are about to hit us (well, maybe the second Icemageddon, if you count the first as being what ICE is up to in Minnesota, Maine and elsewhere). The stores around here are pretty much sold out of anything that looks like ice scrapers, snow brushes, windshield de-icing fluid, and so on. Firewood is at a premium, propane gas cylinders are being refilled until the suppliers run out, and appliances using propane, white fuel or kerosene are in short supply.
I haven't had to buy much, as we're pretty well supplied most of the time. I just have to bring into the house enough firewood for a couple of days, a propane cookstove and small heater in case the power goes out, and charge up our battery power banks, which should give us two days or so of portable electric power if needed. Our generator decided not to start when I tested it, so I picked up the necessary bits and pieces to service it tomorrow. It shouldn't be too hard to get it going.
It does look as if this is going to be a very big, very widespread storm. Those of you in the path of the heaviest predicted ice and snow, which looks to be from southern Oklahoma and north-eastern Texas through to Washington D.C. and surrounding area, please be careful. Ice beneath heavy snow is a really nasty thing to encounter - particularly when the snow turns to slush, but the ice beneath is still frozen. Skid city!
(One of my favorite memories of my time in Louisiana was the New Year of 2000 - or was it 2001? At any rate, I had to drive from Winnfield to Monroe to attend a medical examination for my green card (permanent resident permit), which I couldn't miss because it would knock me out of the process until another could be scheduled. There was an ice storm the day and night before. When I got up next morning, the world was white and sparkly, and the roads were pretty frozen. I had no choice but to drive, so I left two hours early in my rear-wheel-drive pickup and drove the whole way, very gingerly, at about 20-25 mph. The whole way up, I passed four-wheel-drive pickups in the ditch, one every few hundred yards. Louisiana state police were in attendance at many of them, and I learned some new words from some of them about rednecks and Cajuns - or worse, Cajun rednecks! - who thought they could drive on ice as they normally did, so long as they did so in four-wheel-drive. Of course, all that got them was a four-wheel skid! I made it safely to Monroe, albeit with a few scares and slides, and made it back the same way. Not fun!)
Anyway, I hope and pray all of you are (and will continue to be) safe and well, and warmly bundled up against the snow and ice. Power failures are forecast to be widespread, so if this blog doesn't come up for a few days, that'll probably be the reason. (I may have emergency power at home, but the Internet service will probably be down.) I'll see you when I see you.
Peter
Supporters of ICE operations against illegal aliens, and of President Trump's policies towards them, seem to be enjoying themselves. Click the first or second link in this sentence to go to the social media posts concerned.
As my friend Lawdog would say, Gigglesnort!
Peter
It's been claimed that China is "sending thousands of future military pilots posing as civilians to the United States to learn how to fly". It's not quite as simple as that. I'm sure some of the Chinese pilots training in the USA are, indeed, going to fly with the Peoples' Liberation Army Air Force, but not all of them. Many are here for a different reason altogether.
All over the world, nations set their own standards as to what qualifications their civilian pilots should hold. Many of them are so lax in their enforcement of training standards (for example, most African nations) that their pilots aren't allowed to fly in more advanced aviation environments (such as most First World countries). A pilot's certificate from one of the low-standard nations is effectively a local qualification only, and I wouldn't feel safe flying with such a pilot. Indeed, many qualifications are fraudulently obtained: for example, in 2022 Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) found that 457 of its staff had fake degrees or pilot certificates. An earlier investigation revealed that"more than 260 of [Pakistan's] 860 active pilots had either fake licences or had cheated in their exams." (Remind me never, ever to fly PIA!)
There are other nations, usually in the First World, who insist on pilot training and standards similar to, or close to, those in the USA. Pilots with those licenses can usually fly aircraft in, to and from such countries and others their aviation authorities trust. For example, any pilot licensed by the European Union can fly to other EU nations, and also internationally to most other countries. However, the US pilot license and other advanced aviation qualifications are the only ones that are valid worldwide (except for North Korea and Iran, which don't like us at all! AFAIK, they're the only nations on earth that don't recognize our flying qualifications.) Basically, apart from those two countries, if you have a US pilot qualification of appropriate skill and seniority, you can fly in all other nations and get an aviation job there, if you wish.
That means there are a very large number of foreign pilots who come to this country every year, from all over the world, to get a US pilot qualification. They often have to start from the very beginning, despite some of them having thousands of hours in the air on very large airliners, because the Federal Aviation Administration (on the basis of bitter experience) refuses to recognize almost all foreign flying qualifications. I'm sure the students find that demeaning, but it is what it is. They have to go through the whole process: Student Pilot, Private Pilot, Instrument, Commercial, and on through Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) if they want to fly for the airlines. It can take as little as nine months for an experienced student, or a year or three for someone less experienced (or a complete beginner who has to build up enough hours in the air to qualify to take each successive level of licensing). Once they have their US qualifications, even if they can't get a resident visa here, they can still go almost anywhere else in the world and be hired as a pilot, at a salary usually rather more than an entry-level pilot without US certification would earn.
That's where many, perhaps most, of those Chinese pilots come in. They are often pilots already, flying for Chinese or Far Eastern airlines. They save up vacation hours and their dollars, do what studying they can in advance, then come over here to knock out one or two licenses over a month to six weeks. Two or three trips like that and they can qualify as a US ATP. After that, the world is their oyster. They can leave China, go anywhere else they can get a visa, and be reasonably sure of getting an aviation-related job. (I know about this from a source in the pilot training industry, who's spoken highly of their perseverance and determination.)
So, yes, I'm sure some Chinese military pilots are coming over here to get civilian pilot training, because the standards of training here remain the highest and most demanding in the world. However, I'll be surprised if the numbers are as great as claimed; and I don't think the majority of them are, or will become, military pilots.
Peter
... that as they prepare to enter adult life, they really, really need to adjust their thinking on what they're going to do for a career, let alone a short-term job. From a post at X.com:
Mike Rowe: “We’ve been telling kids for 15 years to learn to code.”
“Well, AI is coming for the coders.”
“It’s not coming for the welders, the plumbers, the steamfitters, the pipefitters, the HVAC, or the electricians.”
“In Aspen, I sat and listened to Larry Fink say we need 500,000 electricians in the next couple of years—not hyperbole.”
“The BlueForge Alliance, who oversees our maritime industrial base—that’s 15,000 individual companies who are collectively charged with building and delivering nuclear-powered subs to the Navy … calls and says, we’re having a hell of a time finding tradespeople. Can you help?”
“I said, I don’t know, man … how many do you need? He says, 140,000.”
“These are our submarines. Things go hypersonic, a little sideways with China, Taiwan, our aircraft carriers are no longer the point of the spear. They’re vulnerable.”
“Our submarines matter, and these guys have a pinch point because they can’t find welders and electricians to get them built.”
“The automotive industry needs 80,000 collision repair and technicians.”
“Energy, I don’t even know what the number is, I hear 300,000, I hear 500,000.”
“There is a clear and present freakout going on right now. I’ve heard from six governors in the last six months. I’ve heard from the heads of major companies.”
There's more at the link, specifically an extended video clip addressing these issues.
The business and technical world has changed so much since I entered it more than half a century ago. First off, I had to go to work right away, because my parents couldn't afford to pay for full-time studies. No problem: I did four years in the military, then trained on-the-job as a computer operator (IBM System/370, for those of you who go back that far). I transitioned into programming and systems analysis (again using on-the-job training). All that time, I was tackling a B.A. degree by correspondence. Due to work, military call-ups, etc. I could only average one course a year (ten were required for graduation - much longer, more intensive courses than US universities). However, in the end I made it. I moved into more senior jobs while tackling a post-graduate diploma in Management, then went on to a Masters degree in the field. All were white-collar jobs.
Nowadays, if I tried to follow a similar career path, I wouldn't get past "Go", much less collect $200! A university degree is a basic prerequisite for white-collar work at most big companies, even though it's essentially unrelated to the work employees actually do every day. Masters degrees are pretty common, particularly at middle-to-senior-management level. The competition for white-collar jobs is intense, with vacancies attracting hundreds (sometimes thousands) of applications, but very few succeeding. The game is no longer worth the candle.
Tech jobs, on the other hand . . . almost every tech-oriented business I know or have used in the past few years complains non-stop that they can't hire enough people to cater for the customers they have, or want to have. The vehicle dealer whose service department I use for our cars is operating at about half capacity, not because they want to, but they can't hire enough qualified people who are willing to work hard and earn their pay (which is pretty high these days).
I advise every young person with whom I speak (about life, the universe and everything) to look into such jobs. They'll be earning a lot more money, much faster than most of their white-collar peers. I know one man who left high school with a 3.9 GPA. He turned down scholarship offers to university, and instead took a two-year associates degree in welding, which included certification to weld dissimilar metals. He did the degree part-time while working full-time as an apprentice welder, gaining valuable experience. The day he finished the degree, he was offered a six-figure salary on the oil fields here in Texas, plus free accommodation, with his own work truck equipped for the job, and generous time off. He's a happy man these days, while his high school friends mutter under their breath about "I want his luck!" They fail to realize that he made his own luck out of very hard work and application. I can only hope others follow his example.
Tell your children, and your friends' children, that they need to reconsider their career options. The demand out there is huge, if you have the right qualifications and experience.
Peter
As we all know, precious metal prices have been going through the roof for something like a year now, and show no signs of slowing down. This has led to well-informed speculation that the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and similar bodies in other countries may not hold enough physical silver to meet the futures contracts they have permitted to be traded against their holdings.
... according to the CME’s registry there are 440 million ounces of silver located in its depositories. However, the current silver futures contract which settles in late March 2026 has an open interest of 150,200 contracts. At 5,000 ounces of silver per contract, this comes to 751 MILLION ounces of silver contracts trading… or 1.7 TIMES the amount of actual silver the CME has stored in various depositories.
Put another way, the CME is permitting silver contracts to trade that are backed by NOTHING.
The CME, rather than addressing this issue, has chosen to introduce a new silver futures contract, the mini silver contract, that represents the right to buy or sell 100 oz of silver (as opposed to the usual 5,000 oz).
The catch?
This new contract is settled “financially” meaning there is ZERO silver backstopping it.
Put another way, rather than doing something to address the fact that much of the current silver trading is backstopped by nothing, the CME is doubling down by introducing NEW derivatives that are EXPLICITLY financial in nature… with ZERO actual exposure to silver itself.
There's more at the link.
The current 3-month futures contracts terminate on March 27th, if I've got it right. What happens if a holder or holders of those contracts demands physical delivery, rather than rolling over the contract into a new one? Will the CME have enough silver metal in its vaults to make good on those deliveries? Informed opinion is that it doesn't. As the article above goes on to ask:
What happens to the financial system when traders begin to realize that the CME is allowing derivatives to trade that are backstopped by NOTHING?!?!
That's a very good question. It also provides a very rational explanation for the new silver "futures" or derivatives that the CME is offering, because they are not redeemable for silver - only dollars. Investors who buy them are, in a sense, pretending they hold silver futures, but they don't - only a piece of paper that ties the redemption value of those futures to the silver price, not the metal itself.
Does that seem like a worthwhile investment to you? Do you trust the CME and its ilk to pay out on time, in full, whether in precious metals and/or at rightful value? One wonders . . .
That leads me to another interesting point. As I write these words, the spot price of silver is quoted at US $94.89. Many dealers are quoting 1oz. silver coins at a premium of up to 20% above spot: for example, APMEX is quoting a 2023 1oz. American Silver Eagle coin at $112.32. However, if you go to the website of the US Mint, a 2023 1oz. Silver Eagle is listed at - wait for it - $169.00! That's fully 78% higher than spot - a ridiculous premium... or is it?
What if the US Mint did not have enough silver in stock to satisfy demand, or was uncertain whether it will be able to get enough stock to satisfy future demand? Is it possible that, rather than admit to that, they're pricing their coins so high as to deter most buyers? If they "lose a sale" on a coin they don't have enough of, because the buyer thinks their price is too high, they've actually lost nothing at all - and if the buyer decides to buy it anyway, they've made an extraordinarily high profit on the stocks they actually have in their possession. I'm sure they'll lose some cash flow that way, but with their stock of precious metals for security, short-term financing won't be a problem. There's really no downside for them, is there? However, I'm willing to bet that their bulk sales of silver and gold coins to other dealers and brokers is priced much more reasonably than their retail-sale coins - otherwise, they'd be shut out of the wider market.
There may be a different, perfectly logical and rational reason why the US Mint is pricing its wares so highly, but if there is, I can't think of it. Of course, I'm neither a futures trader nor a precious metals expert. Can any of you come up with another reason, readers?
Peter
