And it’s curious, but not really surprising, that economic theology was expected to decide the outcome of the War, or at least the struggle between Europe and Russia. After all, it was frequently said, Russia had a GDP the size of Belgium or Italy or something. How was it possible that such a country could defy the combined economic might of the United States and the EU? This was, to say the least, a curious argument. After all, GDP, was once a useful enough measure when western countries made things and grew things. But these days, when measured by Purchasing Power Parity, around 80% of US GDP consists of “Services,” which include health insurance and financial speculation. For the EU it averages around 70%. The idea that stock-market activity and Taylor Swift concerts can be weapons of sorts against Russia is so bizarre that only a mathematical economist could have dreamt it up, but it perfectly expresses the notion that all that really matters is money, because money is the ultimate reality. Tanks, guns and aeroplanes trail after, submissively, as mere Appearances. Somewhere, no doubt, is to be found the argument that because GDP = notionally lots of money, we should be able to afford far more tanks, guns etc. than the Russians, just as Mr Bezos, for example, can afford to buy infinitely more Ferraris every year than Mr Blair, multi-millionaire though the latter may be. Except that the number of Ferraris made every year is limited, (some 8,500 according to insiders) and many are reserved years in advance. The same is even truer of weapons, where lead-times are in years, if not decades, where production capacity is limited, and raw materials and skilled manpower may not even be available. The sobering reality is that for most systems, Russia has a greater productive military capability than the West has, or is ever likely to have, no matter how much you play with GDP figures. And let’s not even mention China.
If the AI bubble is existential for the US, there is bound to be a lot of lying about agentic AI, up to and including "tool-making", to keep the bubble inflated. Beware.
I read a few months ago that the maintenance for a F 35 was for every hour of flight time it needed eight hours of maintenance. That in my opinion, makes for a very ineffective plain to be using for anything.
So you use this plane in a three or four hour mission and you’re talking about 24 to 32 hours before you can use the plane again ?
Another example of the military industrial complex not being able to deliver a product that works and works reasonably well .
It is almost unbelievable that our defense industry can’t produce a radar system needed for the F 35 that works and fits into the plane .
I am reminded of the story when the CIA in the Air Force went to Lockheed and said we need a spy plane, gave them the parameters of what they were looking for . Lucky turned the project over to the skunk works in 18 months. They not only had developed the prototype if they were ready to go into production with U2.
That was when we had real engineers working for the defense industry that could do anything, and now all they do is try to design complex military weapons, and such that take decades to produce, and they make all their money on their spare parts that they continually have to have.
One of Trumps Biggest Hurdles Currently - Is effectively US Created -
What happened was Trump tried to strong arm China FDPR
So China just mimicked what Trump was doing FDPR
------------------------------
Following the United States’ September 29, 2025 decision to significantly expand its export controls on China through measures such as the “50 percent ownership rule,”
China’s October 9, 2025 response—introducing moderate extraterritorial jurisdiction under Article 49 of the Regulations on Export Control of Dual-Use Items and adopting a similar “50 percent rule” in its rare-earth export controls—was a reciprocal response rather than an escalation.
Beijing “long-arm jurisdiction” rule Created October 9, 2025 .
This rule, modeled on U.S. semiconductor controls, applied a “foreign direct product rule” (FDPR) for the first time. It required foreign companies using Chinese rare earths or technology to obtain Beijing’s approval for their own exports, even if their products contained as little as 0.1 percent by value of Chinese-origin materials.
---------------- Or said another way - US makes a rule - 10 days later China does too
On September 29, 2025, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published an interim final rule in the Federal Register, which stated that any company in which one or more entities on the Entity List (EL) or Military End User (MEU) List hold a combined stake of 50 percent or more will itself automatically be subject to the same restrictions.
Just Ten days later, on October 9, China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) released several new announcements related to export controls. Among them, Announcement No. 61, titled “Decision on Implementing Export Controls on Certain Overseas Rare Earth Items,” marked the first time the Ministry, with approval from the State Council, had exercised extraterritorial jurisdiction under Article 49 of the Regulations on Export Control of Dual-Use Items. The announcement also introduced a 50 percent ownership rule, similar to the one issued by the United States on September 29.
"Escalation isn’t about winning chess—it’s about knocking over the board so no one wins cleanly."
Reminds me of Shannon Alder's old quote:
“Arguing with idiots is like playing chess with a pigeon. No matter how good you are, the bird is going to shit on the board and strut around like it won anyway.”
The US government closed down airspace around El Paso, TX so they could use "high-energy lasers" to shoot down party balloons drifting across the US/Mexico border.
The embarrassment is - they initially identified them as Cartel Drones and NOT balloons
[ and maintained that story still ]
------------ But They Shut down an Airport FOR TEN DAYS ----- before retracting
They are basically reporting their technology or the humans using that technology cannot tell the difference - that is pretty frightening and embarrassing
They were panicked enough to shut down A Major Airport For 10 days
Furthermore, hitting a floating balloon has to be quite a bit easier than a moving drone
( one would imagine) - One would imagine it would be one shot done and over with
But if it were that easy - why did they shut down the Airport for 10 days ?
- Wholly Cow - that is a Tremendous Error / Blunder sent shock and concern throughout the Country
What a disaster - The Equipment or Operator was reporting this as a Major Security Risk
Ended up watching more of her appearance than I’d intended, and, wow! Even by measure of the low ethical standards most-recently set by the likes of Holder, Lynch, Barr, Garland and company, this was something entirely new and different. Her scumbag predecessors did, at least, try to act lawyerly in the hot seat, as smug and slippery as they were. Blondi, however, went wildly off topic on nearly every question, calling questioners “failed politicians” and the like. If she pulled that shit in court, she’d be breaking rocks right now to pay off her sanctions.
In a positive note, her performance blazed a trail for our next AG…”Jazzy” Jasmine Crockett (or equivalent). It was that untethered from any standard of decorum and reason. She needs to go—ASAP—or those standards are gone for good.
Bondi will stay. She’s just the kind of crony Trump wants. Stupid sycophant. She and Trump will be impeached when the Ds take the House at the mid terms.
Yup, she's definitely here to stay, at least, until such time as Trump no longer has a say in the matter.
Such a profound disappointment. With the extralegal excesses of the last several administrations, there were a ton on slam-dunk opportunities for USAG's Office to reassert itself and the rule of law. Instead, they dig a deeper hole. Full-on crater, at this point.
I am trying to be objective. Her performance seemed a total disaster. The only retort the magas have for her performance is that the Democrats deserve it. She called Massie a failed politician with TDS. She told a D that he isn’t even a lawyer. Seems like arguments one might make while in 7th grade.
Exactly. Well beneath the office. Hell, probably beneath the 7th grade.
The demolition we're seeing on all fronts, foreign and domestic, is no longer a controlled one, despite its initial orchestration by global capital interests.
============= AIRPORT SHUTDOWN FOR 10 DAYS ===========
All Flights at El Paso Airport Ordered to Stop for 10 Days ...
All flights in and out of an international airport in Texas have been mysteriously suspended for 10 days over an unspecified security concern.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a 10-day Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) over El Paso, Texas, due to "special security reasons," El Paso International Airport has said the alert will halt all flights heading to and leaving the airport, including commercial, cargo, and general aviation.
- The ONLY time anything similar to this every happened before -- was 9/11
Airplanes flying into NYC buildings/Trade Center.
Immediate Shutdown cancelling all flights and all flights in the area
================ 2 hours Later ===================
The FAA rescinded its 10-day closure of El Paso’s major airport after the White House said cartel drones that breached U.S. airspace were disabled.
“The FAA and [Department of War] acted swiftly to address a cartel drone incursion. The threat has been neutralized, and there is no danger to commercial travel in the region. The restrictions have been lifted and normal flights are resuming,”
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said in a statement.
They Kept the LIE up - and STILL no correction by Sean Duffy
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy STILL has this quote up on his X page.
Hate to say it again - but reports from everywhere now confirm
" American businesses and consumers are paying 96% of the cost of Trump's sweeping tariffs,
Researchers analyzed 25 million transactions valued at almost $4 trillion to reach their
conclusions.
"The tariff functions not as a tax on foreign producers, but as a consumption tax on Americans," "Every dollar of tariff revenue represents a dollar extracted from American businesses and households."
Well it is exactly what I have said since day 1 - a VAT Tax - a Consumption Tax
--- Trump and administration could not raise taxes on the general population whilst giving Corporations tremendous decreases via the Big Beautiful Bill - and they had to get the money somewhere.
. Such a headache
++++ Today they SHUT DOWN TEXAS AIRPORT initially announced for 10 days. ++++
2 hours later they found out - innocently released party balloon - and opened the airport back up.
But they did not mention to anyone that it was a silly balloon - they kept repeating Mexican Cartel drone ....
This all looks like a good thing. Ending the ability of the US government to stomp around the globe and abuse nations and peoples using the military. The F35 is essentially old (and inferior) technology but sunk costs and a gargantuan federal debt won’t allow for a replacement. Throwing more money into the American war industry (a $1.5 Trillion budget?!?) won’t solve years of expanding bloated bureaucracy and outsourcing for profit. The chickens have come home to roost, and that’s, imho, a good thing.
Gromen: "We [Americans] look at the dollar the way the Catholic Church once looked at the Earth as the center of the universe. and they shamed and tortured and killed anyone who said that the Earth wasn't the center of the solar system. Americans think the dollar is the center of the solar system, and we torture and harass anyone who says otherwise, but we're wrong..."
Crooke linked to a piece by "Aurelien",
https://open.substack.com/pub/aurelien2022/p/beyond-the-appearances
excerpt,
And it’s curious, but not really surprising, that economic theology was expected to decide the outcome of the War, or at least the struggle between Europe and Russia. After all, it was frequently said, Russia had a GDP the size of Belgium or Italy or something. How was it possible that such a country could defy the combined economic might of the United States and the EU? This was, to say the least, a curious argument. After all, GDP, was once a useful enough measure when western countries made things and grew things. But these days, when measured by Purchasing Power Parity, around 80% of US GDP consists of “Services,” which include health insurance and financial speculation. For the EU it averages around 70%. The idea that stock-market activity and Taylor Swift concerts can be weapons of sorts against Russia is so bizarre that only a mathematical economist could have dreamt it up, but it perfectly expresses the notion that all that really matters is money, because money is the ultimate reality. Tanks, guns and aeroplanes trail after, submissively, as mere Appearances. Somewhere, no doubt, is to be found the argument that because GDP = notionally lots of money, we should be able to afford far more tanks, guns etc. than the Russians, just as Mr Bezos, for example, can afford to buy infinitely more Ferraris every year than Mr Blair, multi-millionaire though the latter may be. Except that the number of Ferraris made every year is limited, (some 8,500 according to insiders) and many are reserved years in advance. The same is even truer of weapons, where lead-times are in years, if not decades, where production capacity is limited, and raw materials and skilled manpower may not even be available. The sobering reality is that for most systems, Russia has a greater productive military capability than the West has, or is ever likely to have, no matter how much you play with GDP figures. And let’s not even mention China.
If the AI bubble is existential for the US, there is bound to be a lot of lying about agentic AI, up to and including "tool-making", to keep the bubble inflated. Beware.
https://open.substack.com/pub/garymarcus/p/about-that-matt-shumer-post-that
Not perfect, but thought provoking:
Iran DEPLOYS New Weapon To SINK U.S. Ships – F-35s ON THE MOVE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKK_RhrD-mY
Interestingly, the narrator states that F-35As are part of the deployment, which suggests a possible bluff.
Very unlike China to project force so far from its shores, reading the tea leaves they can see the US is trying to choke global oil sea transport.
I read a few months ago that the maintenance for a F 35 was for every hour of flight time it needed eight hours of maintenance. That in my opinion, makes for a very ineffective plain to be using for anything.
So you use this plane in a three or four hour mission and you’re talking about 24 to 32 hours before you can use the plane again ?
Another example of the military industrial complex not being able to deliver a product that works and works reasonably well .
It is almost unbelievable that our defense industry can’t produce a radar system needed for the F 35 that works and fits into the plane .
I am reminded of the story when the CIA in the Air Force went to Lockheed and said we need a spy plane, gave them the parameters of what they were looking for . Lucky turned the project over to the skunk works in 18 months. They not only had developed the prototype if they were ready to go into production with U2.
That was when we had real engineers working for the defense industry that could do anything, and now all they do is try to design complex military weapons, and such that take decades to produce, and they make all their money on their spare parts that they continually have to have.
RE: CHINA REE HREE
Chinese Rare Earths
One of Trumps Biggest Hurdles Currently - Is effectively US Created -
What happened was Trump tried to strong arm China FDPR
So China just mimicked what Trump was doing FDPR
------------------------------
Following the United States’ September 29, 2025 decision to significantly expand its export controls on China through measures such as the “50 percent ownership rule,”
China’s October 9, 2025 response—introducing moderate extraterritorial jurisdiction under Article 49 of the Regulations on Export Control of Dual-Use Items and adopting a similar “50 percent rule” in its rare-earth export controls—was a reciprocal response rather than an escalation.
Beijing “long-arm jurisdiction” rule Created October 9, 2025 .
This rule, modeled on U.S. semiconductor controls, applied a “foreign direct product rule” (FDPR) for the first time. It required foreign companies using Chinese rare earths or technology to obtain Beijing’s approval for their own exports, even if their products contained as little as 0.1 percent by value of Chinese-origin materials.
---------------- Or said another way - US makes a rule - 10 days later China does too
On September 29, 2025, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published an interim final rule in the Federal Register, which stated that any company in which one or more entities on the Entity List (EL) or Military End User (MEU) List hold a combined stake of 50 percent or more will itself automatically be subject to the same restrictions.
Just Ten days later, on October 9, China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) released several new announcements related to export controls. Among them, Announcement No. 61, titled “Decision on Implementing Export Controls on Certain Overseas Rare Earth Items,” marked the first time the Ministry, with approval from the State Council, had exercised extraterritorial jurisdiction under Article 49 of the Regulations on Export Control of Dual-Use Items. The announcement also introduced a 50 percent ownership rule, similar to the one issued by the United States on September 29.
.
https://www.geopolitechs.org/p/chinese-top-trade-expert-facts-and
.
"Escalation isn’t about winning chess—it’s about knocking over the board so no one wins cleanly."
Reminds me of Shannon Alder's old quote:
“Arguing with idiots is like playing chess with a pigeon. No matter how good you are, the bird is going to shit on the board and strut around like it won anyway.”
Our stable genius............5D Pigeon chess master.
Patarames @Pataramesh
2h
Annoying political game...
The positions of US and Iran are openly stated to cross each others red lines
Yet negotiations continue and the superpower of the two hesitates to apply the military option
 Trumps strategy is continuing his economic warfare for as long as possible
Will Schryver @imetatronink
3h
 Russians Probe Southern Border Defenses 
The US government closed down airspace around El Paso, TX so they could use "high-energy lasers" to shoot down party balloons drifting across the US/Mexico border.
"high-energy lasers" to shoot down party balloons
The embarrassment is - they initially identified them as Cartel Drones and NOT balloons
[ and maintained that story still ]
------------ But They Shut down an Airport FOR TEN DAYS ----- before retracting
They are basically reporting their technology or the humans using that technology cannot tell the difference - that is pretty frightening and embarrassing
They were panicked enough to shut down A Major Airport For 10 days
Furthermore, hitting a floating balloon has to be quite a bit easier than a moving drone
( one would imagine) - One would imagine it would be one shot done and over with
But if it were that easy - why did they shut down the Airport for 10 days ?
- Wholly Cow - that is a Tremendous Error / Blunder sent shock and concern throughout the Country
What a disaster - The Equipment or Operator was reporting this as a Major Security Risk
.
Edward Dowd @DowdEdward
2h
Sometimes they do ring a bell. 
Quote
𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐍𝐄𝐒 @Antunes1
5h
Pam Bondi LOSES HER MIND when asked why she has not indicted any of Jeffrey Epstein’s clients.
“The Dow is over 50k right now, the Nasdaq smashing records, that’s what we should be talking about!!”
Ended up watching more of her appearance than I’d intended, and, wow! Even by measure of the low ethical standards most-recently set by the likes of Holder, Lynch, Barr, Garland and company, this was something entirely new and different. Her scumbag predecessors did, at least, try to act lawyerly in the hot seat, as smug and slippery as they were. Blondi, however, went wildly off topic on nearly every question, calling questioners “failed politicians” and the like. If she pulled that shit in court, she’d be breaking rocks right now to pay off her sanctions.
In a positive note, her performance blazed a trail for our next AG…”Jazzy” Jasmine Crockett (or equivalent). It was that untethered from any standard of decorum and reason. She needs to go—ASAP—or those standards are gone for good.
Bondi will stay. She’s just the kind of crony Trump wants. Stupid sycophant. She and Trump will be impeached when the Ds take the House at the mid terms.
Yup, she's definitely here to stay, at least, until such time as Trump no longer has a say in the matter.
Such a profound disappointment. With the extralegal excesses of the last several administrations, there were a ton on slam-dunk opportunities for USAG's Office to reassert itself and the rule of law. Instead, they dig a deeper hole. Full-on crater, at this point.
I am trying to be objective. Her performance seemed a total disaster. The only retort the magas have for her performance is that the Democrats deserve it. She called Massie a failed politician with TDS. She told a D that he isn’t even a lawyer. Seems like arguments one might make while in 7th grade.
Apparently she came prepared with flash cards with personalized insults.
That’s what Massie said! 🤡
Exactly. Well beneath the office. Hell, probably beneath the 7th grade.
The demolition we're seeing on all fronts, foreign and domestic, is no longer a controlled one, despite its initial orchestration by global capital interests.
I read about Bondi lashing out. No compassion, she refuses to acknowkege Epstein's victims, and refuses to respect the questioners:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/pam-bondi-loses-being-asked-161828726.html
============= AIRPORT SHUTDOWN FOR 10 DAYS ===========
All Flights at El Paso Airport Ordered to Stop for 10 Days ...
All flights in and out of an international airport in Texas have been mysteriously suspended for 10 days over an unspecified security concern.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a 10-day Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) over El Paso, Texas, due to "special security reasons," El Paso International Airport has said the alert will halt all flights heading to and leaving the airport, including commercial, cargo, and general aviation.
- The ONLY time anything similar to this every happened before -- was 9/11
Airplanes flying into NYC buildings/Trade Center.
Immediate Shutdown cancelling all flights and all flights in the area
================ 2 hours Later ===================
The FAA rescinded its 10-day closure of El Paso’s major airport after the White House said cartel drones that breached U.S. airspace were disabled.
https://x.com/nbcwashington/status/2021601414330392852?s=20
================ 4 Hours later ======================
The flying material turned out to be a party balloon, sources said.
One balloon was shot down, several sources said.
.
They repeated the LIE
“The FAA and [Department of War] acted swiftly to address a cartel drone incursion. The threat has been neutralized, and there is no danger to commercial travel in the region. The restrictions have been lifted and normal flights are resuming,”
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said in a statement.
They Kept the LIE up - and STILL no correction by Sean Duffy
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy STILL has this quote up on his X page.
.
Hate to say it again - but reports from everywhere now confirm
" American businesses and consumers are paying 96% of the cost of Trump's sweeping tariffs,
Researchers analyzed 25 million transactions valued at almost $4 trillion to reach their
conclusions.
"The tariff functions not as a tax on foreign producers, but as a consumption tax on Americans," "Every dollar of tariff revenue represents a dollar extracted from American businesses and households."
Well it is exactly what I have said since day 1 - a VAT Tax - a Consumption Tax
--- Trump and administration could not raise taxes on the general population whilst giving Corporations tremendous decreases via the Big Beautiful Bill - and they had to get the money somewhere.
. Such a headache
++++ Today they SHUT DOWN TEXAS AIRPORT initially announced for 10 days. ++++
2 hours later they found out - innocently released party balloon - and opened the airport back up.
But they did not mention to anyone that it was a silly balloon - they kept repeating Mexican Cartel drone ....
Amazing Incompetence.
.
Liars and buffoons. That is the gist of it.
China is the country that could buffer our economic collapse.
Instead of making friends, we make adversaries.
https://substack.com/@justindeschamps/note/c-213168766?r=rli95&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action
This all looks like a good thing. Ending the ability of the US government to stomp around the globe and abuse nations and peoples using the military. The F35 is essentially old (and inferior) technology but sunk costs and a gargantuan federal debt won’t allow for a replacement. Throwing more money into the American war industry (a $1.5 Trillion budget?!?) won’t solve years of expanding bloated bureaucracy and outsourcing for profit. The chickens have come home to roost, and that’s, imho, a good thing.
Gromen: "We [Americans] look at the dollar the way the Catholic Church once looked at the Earth as the center of the universe. and they shamed and tortured and killed anyone who said that the Earth wasn't the center of the solar system. Americans think the dollar is the center of the solar system, and we torture and harass anyone who says otherwise, but we're wrong..."
Yeah, well, obviously Gromen doesn't know much about history.
https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/why-did-the-catholic-church-condemn-galileo
https://www.vaticanobservatory.org/sacred-space-astronomy/three-galileo-surprises-and-a-bunch-of-unanswered-questions/
The Church survived.
That wasn't my point. Gromen used that metaphor in the context of the dollar.
Did not mean to step on toes; Tried to be clever by not including the second part of the thought:
Can US survive looking at the dollar the way the Church responded to Galileo.
Church changed its thinking in order to survive
etc etc
https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/why-did-the-catholic-church-condemn-galileo
https://www.vaticanobservatory.org/sacred-space-astronomy/three-galileo-surprises-and-a-bunch-of-unanswered-questions/