The chaos that western ‘experts’ were expecting, ‘with libidinous excitement’, to unfold in Russia “which was certain to feature “Russians … killing Russians”, and with Putin “probably hiding somewhere.” – did arrive – except that it exploded in France, where it was not expected, with Macron on the ropes rather than it being Putin in Moscow.

There is much to be distilled from this interesting inversion of expectations and of events – from a tale of two very different insurrections:

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Evicted reimagines the debate on poverty, making a "provocative and compelling" (NPR) argument about why it persists in America: because the rest of us benefit from it. 

"Urgent and accessible . . . Its moral force is a gut punch."--The New Yorker

It is often said that “necessity is the mother of invention”… According to Gus Leonisky (cartoonist since 1951), this is SOMEWHAT wrong. 

Necessity is the BASIC derivative of survival. 

Uncertainty and GREED are the parents of the invention of a BETTER MOUSETRAP.

Humans are the greatest manipulators of uncertainty in nature. They CANNOT STOP BABBLING ABOUT IT. Most species have settled in the niche of their hunting grounds and selected pathways in evolution. 

All this bathes in an environment of luck and serendipity — in which bad luck can end up in disaster… Humans decided to invent PROTECTION AGAINST “BAD LUCK”… and “communicate” making sense or not. SO….

Barbara Millicent Roberts, or Barbie, was born March 9, 1959.

The doll was launched at the American Toy Fair in New York City by the co-founder of Mattel Ruth Handler who named it after her daughter.

Sixty-four years later and the popularity of Barbie has not waned. She's the world's top-selling doll.

US special envoy for climate John Kerry arrived in Beijing on Sunday for a three-day visit aimed at renewing bilateral cooperation on climate change between the world’s two biggest polluters. His trip follows on the heels of two other high-profile visits by US officials in recent weeks after years of tension between Beijing and Washington.

Notice how Islam’s Holy book gets desecrated whenever the West is undergoing a crisis and is desperate to either ignite an anti-Muslim public frenzy or distract from its own failures, writes Ramzy Baroud.

Desecrating, then burning the Holy Quran in Sweden has, once again, raised a political storm of condemnation but also of justification, if not outright approval [after a protester, with police permission, burned Islam’s holy book outside a Stockholm mosque last month.]

SYCOPHANTS

When I watch these Lords, with authority

Seeing themselves commanding at their rank,

With a daring brow, walk flank by flank,

It seem I see a small pinch of divinity.

But seeing them turn pale when His Holiness

Spit in a basin, and from their white face

Carefully spy if there's blood,

Then with a little laugh they feign that all’s safe.

O how I say then, the greatness I see

Is made miserable by the cost of a king’s greatness!

Unhappy is who spends cash to buy the largess!

Truly the murderous sword and the heavy rock fear

Hang above the head of these Lords here,

Since on an old spew depends all their happiness.

MONKEYS

Lord, I can't look favourably in good faith

The last time Hollywood actors and screenwriters went on strike at the same time, Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor were among its biggest stars.

Their films were temporarily halted, while the actors' union – led by Ronald Reagan, two decades before he became the US president – hammered out an agreement with studios.

Back then, performers were fighting for what are known as "residuals" — payments made to actors when their films were later broadcast on television.

Residuals became commonplace over the more than 60 years that followed, but streaming services have now up-ended the way they're paid.

Actors and writers are also grappling with a very modern challenge, warning they face an "existential threat" from artificial intelligence (AI).

THE ARTICLE BELOW BY Parnell Palme McGuinness AT THE SMH (16/07/2023) IS A BIT GLIB... ACTUALLY THE ARTICLE IS WRONG BY BEING NAIVE... IT IS WRONG AS SOON AS THIS SHEILA MENTIONS NOSTALGIC VLAD (THE NASTY)... "WE" HAVE BEEN THE GUARDIAN OF DEMOCRATIC IDEALS SINCE 2005 (NOT THE ONLY ONES MIND YOU) ON THIS LITTLE SITE — AND WE KNOW THAT DEMOCRACY IS ALWAYS HIGHJACKED BY GOVERNMENTS — ESPECIALLY BY THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT — TO MAKE THE RICH RICHER AND KEEP THE WORKING CLASS IN ITS HIDDEN SLAVERY... THE METHODS OF HIGHJACKING ARE SIMPLE: CONTROL AND DISINFORMATION, PLUS PLUNDER OF OTHER NATIONS AND TAX FIDDLES THAT FAVOUR THE RICH PLUNDERERS OF US AND OF OTHERS.... HERE WE GO INTO DISINFORMING BS:

SAVING UKRAINIANS FROM THEMSELVES
The NATO Ultimatum to Ukraine – Win by Winter or Die

Ed. Note: According to Andrew Vajra – “in Ukraine, 32% believe that Kiev needs six months or a year to win, 30% – more than a year, and 17% believe that several months or less are needed to achieve it. Only 1% of Ukrainian citizens do not believe in the victory of Ukraine. If we proceed from what is in the minds of most of my acquaintances in Ukraine, then the results of the survey as a whole reflect psychic reality. They really believe in their inevitable victory. Sincerely.”

But here is the reality of the upcoming Ukrainian defeat.

By John Helmer, Moscow
@bears_with

 WHAT FOLLOWS IS OLD CRAP FROM NEWSWEEK.... WELL NOT ENTIRELY CRAP: NEWSWEEK MENTIONS THE BAN OF VIDEOS, TELLING THE RUSSIAN POINT OF VIEW ABOUT UKRAINE, BEING FLAUNTED BY REPUBLISHERS OF THE RT AND SPUTNIK BANNED INFORMATION. THIS IS TRUE. WHAT NEWSWEEK DOES NOT TELL YOU IS THAT THE RUSSIAN INFORMATION IS TRUE.....

HERE WE GO, NOTE HOW NEWSGUARD FEATURES PROMINENTLY IN THE HEADING:

One Year, Fifty Films: Russian Propaganda Documentaries Spread on YouTube, Despite Ban

Kamala Harris roasted over explanation of AI: 'Intellect of a 3-year-old'

'Fox Across America' host Jimmy Failla weighs in after Vice President Kamala Harris struggled to define artificial intelligence Wednesday and discusses President Biden's fitness for office. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za7z6XBLHEI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UHMX8nxZFY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71C-inf1xr0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-Rl9HIkb9A

Recent years have given rise to a great deal of evidence that the current governments of some Western nations have stopped taking into account the fundamental rules of international law and are breaking previously made agreements. Their practices include outright lies and deceit; they do not shy away from passing off black as white and proceed to open acts of plunder and theft.

In obvious violation of the well-known Vienna rules on international relations, the Americans are seizing buildings that belong to our diplomatic mission, and the Poles have now followed suit.

BY Veniamin Popov

The president is to blame for the 'disinclination of quality people' in his administration, according to Andrew McCarthy in the National Review. The panel discusses this notion.

OKAY. THIS LINE BELONGS TO 2017.... 

MORNING JOE

Trump to blame for WH staff quality, says writer

https://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/watch/trump-to-blame-for-wh-staff-quality-says-writer-1007426115558

NOW, THE SHOE AT MSNBC IS STILL AN OLD SLIPPER NOT TO BE USED AGAINST THE BIDEN ADMIN.

The Secret Service investigation into who was responsible for bringing cocaine into the White House concluded with no usable forensic or video evidence identifying the person. NBC News' Kelly O'Donnell reports.

We’re all being targeted now.

We’re all guilty until proven innocent now.

And thanks to the 24/7 surveillance being carried out by the government’s spy network of fusion centers, we are all now sitting ducks, just waiting to be tagged, flagged, targeted, monitored, manipulated, investigated, interrogated, heckled and generally harassed by agents of the American police state.

Although these precrime programs are popping up all across the country, in small towns and big cities, they are not making us any safer but they are endangering individual freedoms.