World, Writing, Wealth discussion
World & Current Events
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If you're not in the U.S., what's up in your part of the world?
What seems to be happening here is the wind systems are changing and where before we got weather from mainly our own latitude, more or less, now it is coming straight from the Coral Sea, and in winter from the near Antarctic, therefore more extremes.
In Portugal, the weather tends to be winter more aggressive at night than during own day. As a result, the northern cities of Portugal feel the cold more than in other regions, which has expected. But in the rest, temperatures were already starting to have spring temperatures, this early time of the year.
UPDATE: GoFundMe to refund all Freedom Convoy 2022 donations (2/5/2022)https://medium.com/gofundme-stories/u...
The Canadian government told GoFundMe to stop this or else. GoFundMe clicked their heels and yelled, "Jawohl!"
Right. Scary the ways that people's free speech (which, according to our Supreme Court applies to donations) is being abridged and how many people think this is a good thing.
It may just be a shy person ducking the press. Or it may be an authoritarian regime disappearing a dissident. Time will tell.Uyghur skier, 20, who became the face of China's Winter Olympics and carried the Olympic torch 'disappears' after finishing 43rd in her Nordic combined debut
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...
The article says she took the exit route to evade journalists. If I had carried the flag and got 43rd, i might too :-) Let's wait a bit and see.
As for weather here, the headwaters of the Hokitika river (where I used to fish as a schoolboy - only near the mouth) got a meter of rain in seven days. The river rose about 2.6 meters. One part of the Buller river rose just under 3 meters and was flowing at 539 cubic meters per second. They had their spot of rain.
Ian wrote: "....One part of the Buller river rose just under 3 meters and was flowing at 539 cubic meters per second...."Well measured! Sounds like you are not in an immediate danger of drying up :)
Meanwhile, here, the protest at Parliament continues and one of the few major entrances to a motorway to get out of Wellington is blocked by trucks. I don't see why they can't tow them away. If I parked like that I would have my car towed away very quickly.As another smile, the City Council seems to have put up a huge sign on the hills to advertise the name of the place (as if you could arrive ant not know!) And they left out the "I". We are I-less :-)
Ian wrote: "....We are I-less :-)..."As long as it's not eye-less ....
P.J. O'Rourke died today and my world became just a bit darker.
Sad, Papa.Ian, you want tow truck drivers to tow away trucks? Nice to think so :-)
We need tow-away drivers. The commercial people have refused to do it. They may need to call in the military. Still, the protesters meet Nik's criterions of stickability. The eye of the cyclone went about 400 km north of Wellington, but they still got fairly strong winds and a lot of rain, but they are still there. Me, I have a pear tree that was looking like record crops. Not now - lawn covered with half grown pears. My tomato plants were staked, but the wind dealt with that little problem too.
If you have a tow truck which is large enough to tow big rigs, then your primary customers are truck drivers. Can you afford to anger your customers?
That is probably why they need to bring in the military - getting angry with them gets one nowhere.But even if that does not happen it is not a free run. The vehicles have been recorded, ticketed, and hence there will be subsequent court appearances for illegal parking. If they do not pay the rather substantial fines the vehicles can then be confiscated and sold.
I confess here I am starting to get a conflict of interest! I want the trucks moved because they are blocking one of the only three exits to the motorway. A major earthquake could damage other exits and there would be no way of getting out of Wellington other than a couple of goat tracks.
For the protesters camped in parliament, however, I am happy for them to stay indefinitely. The reason is they have recognized the danger of disease, including gut infections because they have no running water. Accordingly they need hand sanitizers and they have realized that my one is the only one that offers protection for a reasonable length of time (alcohol ones last until half the alcohol has evaporated) and keeps on working until it is saturated with dead bacteria. So there are copious sales :-)
Ian wrote: "...there are copious sales :-)..."Glad to hear. Maybe you'll make it into the top 10, as predicted by Beau, after all :)
Let's see, in my part of the world, there is a lot of space per person. There is an illness going around and you have to stay away from the ill. There is poverty.
Ian wrote: "That is probably why they need to bring in the military - getting angry with them gets one nowhere.But even if that does not happen it is not a free run. The vehicles have been recorded, ticketed..."
It seems to me that the only possible win conditions in your situation arise from negotiating with the truckers. The other scenarios have a high likelihood of the truckers not trucking. No trucks moving means empty shelves and gas stations.
Trying to offset that with military personnel moving goods would probably require seizing the trucks for use by the military drivers. That would be a dark road.
Very few truckers are rich enough they can sustain a long-term refusal to work, but in the short term it is a real problem. In this case it is difficult to negotiate because the group so far has not nominated anyone as a spokesperson. Also, the number of trucks, although seriously blocking a section of road, is still a very minor fraction of the total. Having said that, it is not clear what the rest will do.If price has anything to do with sales volume, we may not need anywhere as many drivers for fuel trucks - the prices have soared. However, there were some surprising shortages when I went to the supermarket this morning - not sure yet whether it is a shortage of trucks or something else.
Truckers protesting the capital over Covid mandates. Oilers are winning hockey games. Snow is melting. Dog is growing. Girls are finally talking to me again.
Mark wrote: "Truckers protesting the capital over Covid mandates. Oilers are winning hockey games. Snow is melting. Dog is growing. Girls are finally talking to me again."Sounds like spring is nigh. With McDavid & Draisaitl in terrific form, no wonder
Not here it isn't. The days are lengthening and autujmn is around the corner :-(
Nik Krasano: McDavid and Draisatl look great indeed! Who do you root for?Ian Miller: if autumn is around the corner, that means you live…?(where exactly)
Mark wrote: "Nik Krasano: McDavid and Draisatl look great indeed! Who do you root for?Ian Miller: if autumn is around the corner, that means you live…?(where exactly)"
If anything - Sokol, Kyiv, but a historic version :) Oilers were huge in eighties with Gretzky, Kurri, Coffey and others and they seem to be coming back nowadays..
I rarely watch hockey these days, but I do follow the career and watch highlights of Ovi from Washington and Malkin from Penguins ...
To Nik Krasano: are you from the Czech Republic?
Mark wrote: "Nik Krasano: McDavid and Draisatl look great indeed! Who do you root for?Ian Miller: if autumn is around the corner, that means you live…?(where exactly)"
Indeed. I type, therefore I live. (Thanks, Descartes :-) ) As to where, Lower Hutt, New Zealand.
To Ian Miller: That’s great! I had a friend from New Zealand. I can’t remember if she’s from the north or South Island; I think the south
Mark, we're basically a friendly bunch, most of the time :—)
Mark wrote: "To Nik Krasano: are you from the Czech Republic?"No, but close by and I do admire Jagr :)
Lol sorry I guess I’m a little nervous around old rich white men who clearly ooze erudition and sophistication 😉You got moves like jagr too?
I shouldn’t feel uncomfortable with a bit of erudition and sophistication, I hope 😎 If we took IQ test, I might end up among the last. Feel comfy, Mark, we are equally cordial to all members. If I had moves like Jaromir, I could’ve been the 2nd best scorer in NHL. It hadn’t happened for a reason 🏒
What’s ur iq ice scored 108-140 though I suspect my iq is in the thousands
Who knows, your suspicions might be correct
Lol or my arrogance might be my downfall.
This was kept unsurprisingly quiet.Jeffrey Epstein associate Jean-Luc Brunel is found dead in a French jail cell
https://www.npr.org/2022/02/19/108196...
Brunel was willing to talk to investigators and now he's dead. Epstein is dead. Good news for very powerful men who were involved. Prince Andrew settled his case - a sure sign that he's guilty. He avoided a trial and having to give evidence. Sleazy mess all around. Rich and powerful men, as usual, avoid consequences.
In fairness ot Andrew, he was probably on a hiding to nothing, but whatever, he hardly comes out with any credibility. What the hell was he doing messing around with Epstein anyway?
Connections to rich and powerful men often spell death for one party or another. Hiding one's ass seems to be the current meta.
Reputation is destroyed; run away little girls.
Ian wrote: "In fairness ot Andrew, he was probably on a hiding to nothing, but whatever, he hardly comes out with any credibility. What the hell was he doing messing around with Epstein anyway?"He is a billionaire. Epstein had many rich friends. Money does that to people.
In this case, Andrew can only hope it goes away. The damage may not last due to short memories.
With inflation, Ukraine, covid, I guess there are plenty of distractions to help shorten them.
I don’t know I guess god remembers and certainly we remember.
God might need an extra usb flash drive
In the UK, the big news before Ukraine was that we had 3 storms in quick succession. Tbh, if I hadn’t watched the news, I wouldn’t have even been aware of them. It was a bit windy and our recycling bin blew over but that was about it.
Needless to say, the media response was hysterical, showing the same picture of the sea crashing onto the beach of a seaside town over and over again. Schools were closed, trains were cancelled and people were encouraged to stay indoors. Naturally, most of the private sector of the economy continued as normal. Worryingly but unsurprisingly, the media line was very much along the lines of ‘you enjoyed the lockdowns and know the drill by now, so stay at home and stay safe’.
I warned this would happen a long time ago. The response to covid was nothing to do with a virus. It was about control - part of a bigger plan for the elite to gain power and money by changing the way us ordinary folk live. Mark my words, we haven’t seen the last of lockdowns and this absurd obsession with zero carbon will be the excuse for the next set of them.
Needless to say, the media response was hysterical, showing the same picture of the sea crashing onto the beach of a seaside town over and over again. Schools were closed, trains were cancelled and people were encouraged to stay indoors. Naturally, most of the private sector of the economy continued as normal. Worryingly but unsurprisingly, the media line was very much along the lines of ‘you enjoyed the lockdowns and know the drill by now, so stay at home and stay safe’.
I warned this would happen a long time ago. The response to covid was nothing to do with a virus. It was about control - part of a bigger plan for the elite to gain power and money by changing the way us ordinary folk live. Mark my words, we haven’t seen the last of lockdowns and this absurd obsession with zero carbon will be the excuse for the next set of them.
I’m done with masks, Beau. Covid is over.
Mark wrote: "I’m done with masks, Beau. Covid is over."Not over, but probably finally waning.
Beau wrote: "I warned this would happen a long time ago. The response to covid was nothing to do with a virus. It was about control - part of a bigger plan for the elite to gain power and money by changing the way us ordinary folk live. Mark my words, we haven’t seen the last of lockdowns and this absurd obsession with zero carbon will be the excuse for the next set of them. ..."Has the U.K. had more lock downs that I missed? I thought Johnson ended everything. I know I saw a newscast about it.
World, Writing, Wealth
Books mentioned in this topic
1984 (other topics)Common Sense (other topics)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (other topics)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (other topics)
Lolita (other topics)
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Mel Brooks (other topics)Victor Davis Hanson (other topics)
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Jordan B. Peterson (other topics)
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Feels like the weather tends to go towards extremes on each season..