1,208 responses to “Sandbox – 1jan23”

1. 

   Dick, Jonesy, and Bobbie licking Cheryl’s boots.

   30 January 2023

   Finland Introduces First ‘Transgender’ Figure Skater, and Things Go Very Badly
   “As the clip rolls, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry because it looks like he’s never stepped into an ice rink before. If you strapped skates on some random hobo, I’m pretty sure they could do the same job.”
   https://twitter.com/kulmahuoneesta/status/1618722475713646592
   Chia Tea

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2. 

   Don Bessee

   30 January 2023

   Another useful idiot parroting taking points for lefties and flames out –
   Democrat freshman rep deletes tweet calling Tyre Nichols’ killing the ‘result of white supremacy’
   https://www.foxnews.com/politics/democrat-freshman-rep-deletes-tweet-calling-tyre-nichols-killing-result-white-supremacy?dicbo=v2-511ef2f8032d8308bf3379786b4aea83
   😉

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3. 

   Don Bessee

   30 January 2023

   Those pesky facts keep undermining the party narrative. –
   Poll shows 0% of Black voters had ‘poor’ voting experience in November despite Biden claim of ‘Jim Crow 2.0’
   https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/poll-shows-0-black-voters-142113374.html
   😉

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4. 

   Scott O

   30 January 2023

   re the “event” on ice in Finland –
   Those in the audience who didn’t stand and cheer loudly enough were arrested for committing a hate crime.

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5. 

   fish

   30 January 2023

   Posted by: Don Bessee | 30 January 2023 at 07:42 PM
   Poll shows 0% of Black voters had ‘poor’ voting experience in November despite Biden claim of ‘Jim Crow 2.0’
   No that’s JIM EAGLE!
   https://www.facebook.com/TheRecount/videos/biden-gop-makes-jim-crow-look-like-jim-eagle/184215023310161/
   What a fucking moron….no wonder why psul likes him! Kindred spirits!

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6. 

   Don Bessee

   30 January 2023

   The question is did creepy grampa joe even know? LOL-
   Biden touts electric vehicle tax credits with picture of him in luxury Hummer that doesn’t even qualify
   https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/biden-touts-electric-vehicle-tax-223953535.html
   😉

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7. 

   Don Bessee

   30 January 2023

   And they wonder why no one other than gym rats or people whos flight were canceled –
   CNN labels Adam Schiff a Republican during rare clash on Russia collusion: ‘That turned out not to be true’
   https://www.foxnews.com/media/cnn-labels-adam-schiff-republican-rare-clash-russia-collusion-turned-true?dicbo=v2-5a0e5e22375a3ea0e6b4808310b94815
   😉

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8. 

   Bill Tozer

   30 January 2023

   Woke Revolutionaries Versus Americanists
   https://americanmind.org/memo/woke-revolutionaries-versus-americanists/
   We are at war.

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9. 

   fish

   31 January 2023

   Punchy level blame shifting….
   

   Trump administration ‘neglected’ California’s efforts to combat unemployment fraud, EDD head says

   The Howells, Dick and Cooks, Cheryl of the world bleated incessantly about what it cost to try and extract Governor Isuzu from his nepotistically enhanced role but nary a peep about the 31 BILLION that was lost….largely to denizens of the California Department of Corrections and their “families”.
   Kinda makes one wonder if state with a government this inept should be a state at all?

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10. 

    scenes

    31 January 2023

    re: fish@8:43AM
    Linkee: https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/article271840377.html
    In the words of Buck Owens, “If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all, Gloom, despair, and agony on me”
    It all just sounds like Team R bureaucrats fighting with Team D bureaucrats. It’s just taking money from your enemies to give to your friends. In the end, the more frisky and narrowly focused group will get all the goodies, whether it’s the BLM shysters, corporate agriculture, or the Church of the Men in Dresses.
    re: BillT@9:19PM
    I like the idea, but I’m not sure how some reality-based Congressmen will make any difference in a world where the meathooks of revolution are firmly latched onto the bureaucracy and the 17 intelligence agencies. In the meantime, 1/2 the population is convinced that some guys with torches and a Dodge Challenger, a single instance 6 years ago, is worth installing a surveillance state with a jillion rules.
    It’s hard to argue with people who hear voices.

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11. 

    fish

    31 January 2023

    Posted by: scenes | 31 January 2023 at 09:25 AM
    Alas your link means nothing to me as I refuse to part with any money or my email address in order to access the Fat Girl Gazette…a paper that is beginning to read in the main very much like the mass of clickbait links at the end of everything internet.

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12. 

    fish

    31 January 2023

    Well if the incident in Memphis didn’t restart the The Summer of George (Floyd)” because all the participants didn’t register properly on the Pantone scale this one might!
    

    California cops shoot dead double amputee, 36, as he tries to run away from them on his stumps: Police department says officers feared he was going to ‘throw his knife at them’

    Incidentally…..a double amputee from recent scuffle with the Dallas Police so feel free to draw your own conclusions! I do wonder however what was so immediately threatening to those at the scene that they had to pepper our friend so thoroughly.
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11697109/Huntington-Park-cops-shoot-dead-double-amputee-Anthony-Lowe-Jr-tries-run.html

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13. 

    Bill Tozer

    31 January 2023

    Well, Durham must be ready to complete his report. NYT Leads the charge, dropping one article, then using that article as the source for the second hit piece. The report goes straight to Garland……with selective leaks to the press.
    1) ‘6 Reasons The NYT’s Hit Job On John Durham’s Imminent Report Instantly Unravels’
    https://thefederalist.com/2023/01/30/6-reasons-the-nyts-hit-job-on-john-durhams-imminent-report-instantly-unravels/
    ——-
    2). Senate Democrats Threaten ‘Hard Look’ At Durham Inquiry
    https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-democrats-threaten-hard-look-at-durham-inquiry

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14. 

    Bill Tozer

    31 January 2023

    This is getting boring. But, it’s a slow news day.
    11 US cities — all governed by Democratic mayors — listed among 50 most dangerous in world
    https://justthenews.com/nation/crime/tue-dangerous-cities

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15. 

    Bill Tozer

    31 January 2023

    Grateful Dead Legend Jerry Garcia’s Family Pulls Pot Business Out Of California Over Taxes
    https://www.sfgate.com/cannabis/article/jerry-garcia-cannabis-leaving-california-17741843.php
    ‘DeAngelo said the Garcia family is facing the same high-tax, high-crime realities as other Golden State entrepreneurs. Since 2020, California has seen an exodus of high-profile companies, with many going to red states with lower taxes and safer streets.‘
    https://www.dailywire.com/news/grateful-dead-legend-jerry-garcias-family-pulls-pot-business-out-of-california-over-taxes?
    Safe streets? Impossible when criminals who prey on good folks are quickly released right back on the same streets to prey on the good folks again. Keep on trucking, Garcia Hand Picked.

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16. 

    scenes

    31 January 2023

    re: fish@10:42AM
    That’s odd, the sacbee allowed me to see it when first posted. In any case, it was the article that you quoted.
    Generally, there’s no point in going to a newspaper website (and certainly not paying). Aside from being all op-ed all the time anymore, they are so filled with ad cruft that there’s simply no point in poisoning your eyes. Behind the scenes there’s turtles-all-the-way-down of figuring out who you are, auctions for ad buying, the ads themselves, hundred of other sites getting pinged.
    In addition, there’s the Dead Internet Theory that it’s all written by an AI. Search engines have already succumbed and youtube is well on it’s way.

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17. 

    Gregory

    31 January 2023

    It is sobering to note that when Jerry Garcia was my age, he’d been dead for 15 years.

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18. 

    scenes

    31 January 2023

    “Well if the incident in Memphis didn’t restart the The Summer of George (Floyd)” ”
    Pretty wild given how much more heinous the circumstances were. It wasn’t a matter of being overly aggressive in holding down a robust man acting in a crazy manner who probably died from drugs in his system, but a simple episode of beating someone to death.
    It isn’t like cops don’t beat people to death, it’s gone on for millennia, but it seems to be out of style for the moment. Naturally, most real advances in safely catching people aren’t allowed due to bad optics. Imagine using a (fer instance) great big net. Not allowed on black people because slavery.
    Generally I don’t know how people are going to square the circle of perfectly safe policing with perfectly safe streets. Maybe we’ll just all sit in our nutrient capsules having Zoom meetings with the other HR executives. Just stick a K-cup in the inlet once in a while.

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19. 

    fish

    31 January 2023

    Posted by: scenes | 31 January 2023 at 12:35 PM
    Pretty wild given how much more heinous the circumstances were. It wasn’t a matter of being overly aggressive in holding down a robust man acting in a crazy manner who probably died from drugs in his system, but a simple episode of beating someone to death.
    Again….Pantone scale. “Who we posedta be mads at”?
    The “intelligentsia” are desperately trying to White Supremecize this but it doesn’t look like they’re getting much traction! Ventilating Mr. Lowe as he very slowly “sprinted” away is another bad look for law enforcement though….even considering the victim had reportedly just stabbed someone.

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20. 

    Bill Tozer

    31 January 2023

    scenes @ 12:27 pm
    The story just writes itself
    ‘BuzzFeed Shares Soar 300% After Company Announced Plans for AI Content’
    https://metanews.com/buzzfeed-shares-soar-300-after-company-announced-plans-for-ai-content/
    —————-
    ChatGPT passes exams from law and business schools
    https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/26/tech/chatgpt-passes-exams/index.html
    Heard AI passed a MIT math test as well.
    Siri, take the bar exam.

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21. 

    scenes

    31 January 2023

    re: fish@1:01PM
    I seem to remember there being a white cop at the initial stop. He’ll probably lead the news from here on.
    OK, here’s my betting pool for the day. Who will attend Tyre Nichol’s state funeral?
    a) Joe Biden (or “Joe Biden” as JHKunstler always calls him)
    b) Kamala Harris
    c) Both
    I’m going with ‘b’ as it keeps Ol’ Joe from saying the wrong thing in an uncontrolled situation.

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22. 

    Gregory

    31 January 2023

    Some people seem to want Disneyland in their streets, a Magic Kingdom where nothing bad ever happens, where everyone is free to be happy.
    In Disneyland, there is on stage and off stage. On stage, it is all illusion.

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23. 

    Bill Tozer

    31 January 2023

    A moment I have been for. Starting around early 2016, I believe, I started using the word ‘convergence’, the switched to ‘The Year of The Reckoning’, which was really ‘The Reckoning’ since the The Reckoning is not limited to a single year. A confluence of two or more…..
    ‘The Joe and Hunter Biden scandal convergence’
    https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/the-joe-and-hunter-biden-scandal-convergence
    ————-
    Surprise! FBI searched Penn Biden Center in November
    https://hotair.com/ed-morrissey/2023/01/31/surprise-fbi-searched-penn-biden-center-in-november-n527558
    ————-
    The current WH-MSM lie:
    Biden’s personal lawyers did not self report finding classified docs. They contacted the National Archives to AVOID notifying the DOJ. The National Archives (via an intern) then notified the DOJ.
    Exit question: WHY does the WH spokeswoman tell the press to contact the WH lawyers about classified documents when said docs found to date have nothing to do with the WH, but Biden’s time in the Senate as VP. Nothing to do with the WH lawyers. Personal lawyers, yes. White House lawyers, no.

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24. 

    Bill Tozer

    31 January 2023

    Opps, he did it again. Hey Joey baby,….”
    Biden mocked for repeating debunked Amtrak story once again: ‘This is disturbing stuff’
    President’s factually impossible Amtrak tale repeated at least half a dozen times during his presidency
    https://www.foxnews.com/media/biden-mocked-repeating-debunked-amtrak-story-once-again-disturbing-stuff

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25. 

    Bill Tozer

    31 January 2023

    Company Behind ChatGPT Is Training System To Make Basic Coding Jobs Obsolete
    https://www.dailywire.com/news/company-behind-chatgpt-is-training-system-to-make-basic-coding-jobs-obsolete

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26. 

    fish

    31 January 2023

    OK….now we know why psul hasn’t been around much lately…..
    

    Random Person Finds Dismembered Male Genitalia Sitting In Gas Station Parking Lot: Police

    Traveling in the south it seems. Somebody needs to let him know he forgot something while he was in Alabama!
    https://dailycaller.com/2023/01/31/mobile-alabama-gas-station-male-genitalia-motorcycle/

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27. 

    Dead psul

    31 January 2023

    I don’t have a penis, fish. i thought you knew that.

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28. 

    Bill Tozer

    31 January 2023

    re: education and creativity.
    ‘What Progressive Educators Get Wrong About Creativity’
    Originality requires both knowledge and technical mastery.
    https://quillette.com/2023/01/30/the-perils-of-progressive-education/

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29. 

    scenes

    31 January 2023

    “Company Behind ChatGPT Is Training System To Make Basic Coding Jobs Obsolete”
    Outside of my wheelhouse, but I expect that there’s been a slow grind in that direction for years. Regular people become coders via spreadsheets, more use of already-written pieces, languages change, I saw an article on something called Copilot (from Microsoft). Employment still creeps up.
    Maybe the difference someday will be that the marginal value of new software drops off. As a user, for sure the modern internet and modern applications don’t seem to add much over days of yore. Maybe there’s specific uses in science or something like aerospace where the hits just keep on comin’.

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30. 

    fish

    31 January 2023

    Posted by: Dead psul | 31 January 2023 at 03:34 PM
    I don’t have a penis, fish. i thought you knew that.
    Well apparently not now…..!

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31. 

    scenes

    31 January 2023

    “Originality requires both knowledge and technical mastery.”
    Oh well. If you can’t see a difference between computers and people, maybe there’s less than to this than meets the eye. The arts are so stuffed full of tropes I’m not sure what ‘original’ means.
    I admit there’s something missing in all this general intelligence hoo-haw, although the intermediate steps are interesting enough. Perfect for selling soap or keeping an eye on citizens with Wrongthink.
    If they merely lack raw computational power to make a superhuman, someone should do proof of concept with a superhuman AI that’s 1/1000 (or 1/1,000,000) the speed. You simply have to wait a while for the genius to speak.

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32. 

    Bill Tozer

    31 January 2023

    Learn to code….or perhaps not.

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33. 

    scenes

    31 January 2023

    also, on this:
    https://www.dailywire.com/news/company-behind-chatgpt-is-training-system-to-make-basic-coding-jobs-obsolete
    I’ll bet that no one guessed that the main point of open source software was to provide machine learning fuel and a reduction in jobs.

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34. 

    Bill Tozer

    31 January 2023

    I ain’t no techie, but I learned a new trick! To circumvent the censors on social media, simply misspell words. I already do that. So, instead of using banned words, just spell it differently, combining slang and a couple words together. Working fine so far.
    All you got to do is outsmart an algorithm.

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35. 

    Bill Tozer

    31 January 2023

    Hell hath froze over? Or is it journalism is in survival mode after getting so much so wrong?
    Legacy media slammed in Columbia Journalism Review for botched Trump-Russia narrative
    https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/all-things-trump/general-broad-story-covering-doc-dump-goes-after-wapo-nyt-and

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36. 

    Bill Tozer

    31 January 2023

    I cannot emphasize this enough. So, once more around the park, James. Twitter’s internal audit found no evidence of Russian bots or Russian activity on their site as spread by Dashboard, academia, the press, and institutions.
    ‘The Astounding Saga Of Hamilton 68 Illustrates Scope Of America’s Institutional Rot’
    As Taibbi wrote, “The secret ingredient in Hamilton 68’s analytic method was a list of 644 accounts supposedly linked ‘to Russian influence activities online.’ It was hidden from the public, but Twitter was in a unique position to recreate Hamilton’s sample by analyzing its Application Program Interface (API) requests, which is how they first ‘reverse-engineered’ Hamilton’s list in late 2017.”
    The files unearthed by Taibbi show Twitter’s internal audit of the Hamilton 68 list found it to be, in the words of former executive Yoel Roth, “bullish-t.”
    “These accounts are neither strongly Russian nor strongly bots,” another employee said. What Hamilton 68 was passing off as foreign disinformation was largely legitimate speech from anti-establishment American tweeters. Here’s Roth again: “Virtually any conclusion drawn from [the dashboard] will take conversations in conservative circles on Twitter and accuse them of being Russian.”
    The “dashboard” confirmed elites’ bizarre anti-Trump Russia-collusion narrative by secretly classifying as Russian activity political speech from Americans with whom they disagreed.
    https://thefederalist.com/2023/01/31/the-astounding-saga-of-hamilton-68-illustrates-scope-of-americas-institutional-rot/
    Phew, what’s that smell?

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37. 

    Bill Tozer

    31 January 2023

    YOU CAN’T FOOL ALL THE PEOPLE…
    …all the time. But you can fool most of them some of the time, e.g. last November.
    Still, if Gallup has it right, quite a few people have caught on. Americans now say that our biggest problem is our government, up six points from last November and December:

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38. 

    Bill Tozer

    31 January 2023

    https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2023/01/you-cant-fool-all-the-people.php

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39. 

    Don Bessee

    31 January 2023

    Another lefty narrative fail –
    Leon County Commissioner Bill Proctor, a Black Democrat, agreed with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, R., last week that a proposed AP African American history course that was rejected by the state’s Department of Education constitutes propaganda rather than a legitimate educational curriculum. DeSantis blocked the course on grounds that it violated the Sunshine State’s Stop WOKE Act that was passed last year.
    “I think it’s trash,” Proctor said about the curriculum.
    https://www.foxnews.com/media/florida-democrat-agrees-desantis-ap-african-american-history-course-i-think-its-trash
    😉

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40. 

    Don Bessee

    31 January 2023

    The insidious bastards –
    Corporate wokeness: Big Tech, major banks rated ‘high risk’ of canceling people, orgs for ideological reasons
    ‘This is about corporations being politicized and weaponized to advance agendas that people couldn’t push through courts or the legislature,’
    About 12% of companies were rated “high risk,” meaning they “canceled business relationships based on viewpoint and/or has been weaponized to discriminate against people and businesses who do not share their political views.”
    Some of the nation’s most prominent companies were deemed high risk, especially those in the banking and tech industries, such as:
    Bank of America
    Etsy
    Salesforce
    JPMorgan Chase
    PayPal
    YouTube
    Amazon
    GoDaddy
    GoFundMe
    Mailchimp
    Many corporations are violating their fiduciary responsibilities to their shareholders by sacrificing the main financial objectives of the company for a “woke agenda” and, more importantly, not doing what the shareholders want, according to critics.
    “Companies are violating their fiduciary duty when they make decisions that divide employees and alienate customers, that undermine sales, brand and reputation — in the long-term it’s going to harm profits and shareholders,” said Fitzpatrick. “This isn’t about Republican or Democrat CEOs. This is about corporations being politicized and weaponized to advance agendas that people couldn’t push through courts or the legislature.”
    Fitzpatrick explained that such decisions by companies put Americans’ retirement security in jeopardy, noting that about three-fourths of all assets in the U.S. stock market are tied to retirement in some shape or form.
    He said that the “Big Three” asset managers — BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street — dominate corporate America by owning a significant percentage of many of the most influential companies and playing kingmaker in the apportionment of corporate board seats.
    “Through their management of passive investments, the Big Three collectively hold the largest voting blocs for nearly the entire S&P 500,” wrote Dan Morenoff, executive director of the American Civil Rights Project, in a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed.
    BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has been one of corporate America’s biggest promoters of “stakeholder capitalism,” the idea that companies should serve not only their shareholders but also other interests and society at large
    The theory underpinning ESG is that corporations should deemphasize their traditional responsibility to maximize value for shareholders and instead make new commitments to alternative stakeholder groups, serving other interests and society at large.
    “We think that banks should be non-political. Banks should not be a political party,” Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., chair of the House Financial Services subcommittee responsible for financial institutions and monetary policy, told the Financial Times. “Banks should serve creditworthy borrowers and focus on earnings and profitability for their shareholders.”
    “We want companies to make a lot of money and also be good corporate citizens, treating everyone with respect, not polluting,” said Fitzpatrick. “But they shouldn’t be seen as part of a wing of either party. It should be very concerning for Americans how their investment dollars are being used
    https://www.foxnews.com/politics/big-tech-major-banks-high-risk-cancel-people-orgs
    😉

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41. 

    Scott O

    31 January 2023

    re Don B 9:57 – Not sure if this sort of thing will help, but it’s worth checking out.
    https://oldglorybank.com/
    Apparently you still have to go through Mastercard, but it’s better than Chase or BofA or Wells or Citi.
    When they actually fire up, I’ll be looking to do business with them.
    The big kahuna is the day the feds announce that we will be transitioning to the digital dollar.
    That’s the main reason the feds are so eager to have high speed internet available everywhere in the US. Because you’ll have to have everyone connected to go digital. You can bet there will be “free” digital wallets for those who don’t have a bank account.
    It’ll be swell. The govt will be able to keep track of every stick of gum you buy.
    Unless they think you shouldn’t have the stick of gum.

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42. 

    Don Bessee

    31 January 2023

    Internal instability increases the odds of a foreign adventure to distract the masses –
    Three years of strict pandemic controls in China and a real estate crash have drained local government coffers, leaving authorities across the country struggling with mountains of debt. The problem has gotten so extreme that some cities are now unable to provide basic services, and the risk of default is rising.
    Analysts estimate China’s outstanding government debts surpassed 123 trillion yuan ($18 trillion) last year, of which nearly $10 trillion is so-called “hidden debt” owed by risky local government financing platforms that are backed by cities or provinces.
    As the financial pressure has mounted, regional governments have reportedly been slashing wages, cutting transportation services and reducing fuel subsidies in the middle of a harsh winter.
    “Beijing is facing an economic minefield of its own making,” said Craig Singleton, senior fellow for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington. “All told, China’s current debt crisis represents a perfect storm.”
    Further complicating matters is the housing market slump; home prices have been falling for 16 straight months. Land sales, which typically account for more than 40% of local government revenue, have collapsed.
    Last year, a number of cities suspended bus services due to budget constraints, including Leiyang in Hunan province and Yangjiang in Guangdong, according to operators’ announcements.
    No doubt, China’s current debt crisis has the potential to exacerbate existing socio-economic tensions,” Singleton said, adding that renewed public protests like those in late 2022 could emerge, as Chinese citizens come to terms with “vanishing jobs, closed businesses and reduced wages.
    The “hidden debt” issued by local government financial vehicles, entities created by local governments to circumvent borrowing restrictions and used to channel funding for infrastructure spending, might have totaled 65 trillion yuan ($9.6 trillion) by the middle of 2022, according to a recent estimate by analysts at Mars Macro, an economic research firm based in Hunan.
    That would be equivalent to more than half of China’s GDP. Overall, Chinese government debt is now equivalent to 102% of its GDP, the analysts estimated.
    There are already signs local governments are having trouble repaying their liabilities.
    In early January, a troubled government-owned company in the southwestern province of Guizhou responsible for building infrastructure projects announced that its lenders had given it an extra 20 years to repay loans worth $2.3 billion. Loan rollovers with a such a long time frame are extremely rare in China.
    Analysts said the case signals that local governments are under severe financial pressure this year. Their debt squeeze could pose a serious threat to China’s financial system, particularly to small regional banks
    “Once defaults begin, suggesting that government guarantees have broken down among LGFVs [local government financing vehicles], defaults can snowball quickly,” Allen Feng and Logan Wright, China analysts at Rhodium Group, wrote in a research report last week.
    “As a result, there is a significant risk of financial contagion,” they said. “Smaller city and rural commercial banks are particularly vulnerable because of their deep relationship with local governments.”
    Even the country’s top officials have admitted that one of the biggest threats to financial stability in 2023 is hidden local government debt, which is opaque, huge and hard to track
    “If it’s your baby, you should hold it yourself,” the Ministry of Finance warned in a statement earlier this month aimed at local authorities. “The central government won’t bail [you] out.”
    https://currently.att.yahoo.com/att/chinese-cities-struggling-pay-bills-051423988.html
    😉

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43. 

    Scott O

    31 January 2023

    Speaking of fiduciary responsibility:
    https://www.top1000funds.com/2022/01/calpers-chair-leaves-legacy-of-responsibility/
    “Last year he said CalPERS has a moral imperative to confront racism and economic inequality.”
    Bull F’ing Shit it does. Has this moron ever checked out the racial make up of the retirees?
    They’re not all white millionaires, Chester.
    The only “moral” imperative they have is to maximize the rate of return for the retirees in the system.
    CalPers dumped tobacco related stocks and cost the system millions. Don’t worry – the tax payers in CA can always pick up the tab.
    Who cares if the fund performs poorly? As long as they FEEL better about themselves, it’s a win.
    The latest data I can find is that CalPers is only 72% funded re their fiscal responsibility.
    Then there’s the fed.
    Once the fed’s balance sheet really starts to stink, you can bet they’ll be eyeing everyone’s retirement assets.
    It’s for the children.

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44. 

    Scott O

    31 January 2023

    Don 10:46 – The tales of public and private debt all over the “civilized” world are getting more numerous every day.
    Here in the US, companies and households are reaching the limits of what they can borrow.
    Will the balloon suddenly burst or will it just slowly deflate?
    Hitler had a grand way of pulling Germany out of the economic dumps but it seems the US won that economic war.
    The Chinese are used to harsher conditions than us Yanks. And their govt is much more in control of the citizenry than ours. Also – China is where stuff is actually made, although they have a raw materials and energy issue to deal with.
    I’m not sure where everyone will be when the dust settles, but I hope it’s not radioactive dust.

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45. 

    The Estonian Dawn Patrol

    01 February 2023

    DB at 10:46 PM-
    From the same link: “Public sector jobs, considered the most secure in the country, were also affected elsewhere. In June, several wealthy eastern provinces — including Guangdong, Zhejiang and Jiangsu — slashed pay by as much as 30%, according to Chinese news website Caixin.”
    Gee, I wonder…is there another country that could think of instituting a similar money-saving idea…? OK, I’m back to reality now, of course there isn’t, at least not in the Western hemisphere. What a weird thought!.?

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46. 

    Bill Tozer

    01 February 2023

    Little to no difference’: Massive mask meta-study undermines remaining COVID mandates
    https://justthenews.com/nation/science/little-no-difference-massive-mask-meta-study-undermines-remaining-covid-mandates

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47. 

    Humphrey Ploughjogger

    01 February 2023

    Don, are we to assume that you have bought into the whole woke conspiracy syndrome, and are now suffering from woke derangement syndrome?
    Maybe you can let us know why these businesses are making policy decisions to avoid doing business with assholes.

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48. 

    Humphrey Ploughjogger

    01 February 2023

    Knicks go woke, owner hires Hope Hicks as PR person,
    https://nypost.com/2022/12/29/james-dolans-facial-recognition-tech-also-targets-knicks-critics/

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49. 

    D. Pecker, Enquirer

    01 February 2023

    The GOP is just Obnoxious, It’s why they keep losing elections.
    https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2023/03/republican-midterm-election-performance-trump-dr-oz/672771/

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50. 

    scenes

    01 February 2023

    Der Pecker, Enquirer: “The GOP is just Obnoxious, It’s why they keep losing elections.”
    I’d say that the Democrats are much less dominant than they were between (let’s say) the 1920s and the 1980s.
    Naturally, what those parties stand for changed over time. Democrats were the labor party at one time (and Republicans were big business), the (D) shifted to a melange of government oversight and particular rights issues, now it’s the party of Men in Dresses and Mostly Peaceful Protests. Republicans, seeing an opportunity, shifted to the just regular white people world.
    Looking at all the charts, I’d say that the main change is demographic, and you only have to win by a little to win everything. It goes without saying that the introduction of women to the electorate resulted in a million changes, largely oriented around safety/risk + more interest in expanding government powers (partly for safety, partly for jobs). Since then, it’s mostly ethnicity. Simply put, the more POC, and particularly POC without deep roots to the historical US, the more Democratic voters you get. This is either good or bad depending on viewpoint.
    Change my mind.

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