The Long Road Out

We now have the Kurds reaching out to the last allies standing--Russia.  Remember Finland aligning with Hitler since neither the UK nor the US would help them keep the Russians out?  That's the situation on the ground in Syria. Still, for the most part, we'll be in the situation of asking Erdogan/Turkey to stop firing US-manufactured weapons at Kurds carrying (fewer and smaller) US-manufactured weapons. Even the New York Times is now agreeing that the key element of US foreign policy recently has been arming/abondoning/attacking.   The NYT's Interpreter newsletter, by Amanda Taub and Max Fisher, who comment on "the sad, cyclical nature of American interventions abroad."     Thank you, Amanda and Max, for pointing out George W Bush's hypocrisy in condemning our abandonment of the Kurds to death camps.   GWB has no standing on this issue--he did the same thing to the allies we'd armed and supported in Iraq 2.   Similarly, so did his Dad. I'd...

Once you begin to use your new Orange Holiday SIM card, the French telecom company requires that you register it prior to topping up.   In addition, you can't retain your new French phone number past the first 14 days without registering.   I suppose the international police need to know who you are. You'll need an ID photo, your new phone number--and the actual SIM card number.   There are only two places to find this number: It's the first thirteen digit number on the SIM card packaging. If, like me, you threw the packaging out after activating your phone, then there's only one other place it appears:   on the SIM card itself.   Turn off your phone, remove it, and copy it down (NOTE:   some websites say the ICCID number in Settings/General/About is the SIM card number.   It's not---and it has too many digits anyway.) Certify that your other info is correct, complete the "I'm not a Robot" CAPTCHA, and send in the form.   You should hear ...

I suppose all these single "oh my god" moments do some sort of further damage, but we're already so debauched I find it hard to get very much more than amusement from the continued daily confirmations.  The USA is a totally corrupt state apparatus lead by an idiot. The CIA is denying that they have any spies in Russia in response to the fact that Trump inadvertently outed their number one asset who then had to be whisked away under cloak of pollution or darkness or whatever—who cares, we don’t have a clue what Russia is doing anyway.  Hey--you guys in the CIA--you kinda missed the Ukraine.   And how about glasnost?   All that money and what were you doing?  Masturbating?  Or writing further denials?   I certainly don't get an ounce of value from your work, and I wish you'd stop.  I feel less safe knowing you're out there in your weird black shoes...  Even better, after Trump tweeted last week that Hurricane Dorian was going to hit Al...

Testosterone is in the courts these days, mostly as those with financial and performance interests in athletics try to figure out the math of two genders turning into the sliding scales of identity. In a major litigation, families of women competing for college scholarships have sued, claiming trans athletes are taking their hard-won spots (Title IX is not that old, and is still contested on whether it's achieved fairness--perhaps trans athlete needs will damage it as all the extra burden falls on the women covered by the rules). And, there are competitive complaints.   If you're an athlete who regularly won every event you entered, and now you're finishing third--it really matters if you believe your competitors belong in the race with you.   Men don't have to worry about this; only women athletes do. And, there's testosterone.   Various bodies are considering whether genetic women with high levels of testosterone should be kept out of major events.   Some at...

Today's wacko news:  five or seven individuals, perhaps Chinese high school students, have been kicked off Facebook and Twitter for posting pro-Chinese depictions of the Hong Kong protests.  Presumably we've also kicked some Russian programmers off those platforms too because they posted stuff that supported Trump for president. The reason:  stating government points of view on the platforms so that you and I could possibly see them here in the United States.   Please note the ludicrousness of this--the Chinese government itself has banned the platforms domestically, so clearly China (and Russia) has very little reason to care what gets posted since their own citizens can't legally see any of it (not even all the selfies!). Still-- the media, including NPR for instance, characterizes the high school student posts as "an international propaganda campaign." Two points of insanity destroy this perspective: The Chinese government has been heavy-handed, but ...

I'm talking to you.   Hiding over there behind a piece of faux burned papyrus upon which the holy words of the US Constitution's Second Amendment have been written in magic marker. Yes, you.   Why not buy a bazooka instead?   Because, in the interest of civil peace and safety, you can't buy shoulder-mounted missile launchers.  You can blame a conspiracy of the deep state, but you can't.   Which reminds all of us:   The Second Amendment, as pathetic as it is, doesn't allow you to own any weapon.   It does, in fact, result in regulation of the amount of lethal force a private citizen can own. Don't worry--as currently understood, your hobby of retro-fitting guns is A-OK.   I know you love your hobbies! Here's the problem:   too much lethal force is now associated with assault guns.   They're no better than missile launchers from a civil rights infringement point of view.   (I'm describing being able to go to Walmart without be...

We've been through two cycles of Democratic Party debates.   This is what we get with a two-party system.   Not a single candidate challenges the system whereby the strategy appears to be to try to destroy whoever is on the stage next to you.   Isn't that exactly what we result about the tool in the White House? Pissing matches and horse races aside, now we can't get past the "electable" vs "idealism" debate.   In this year's version, you've got 20 candidates who all are within about 20 yards of one another policy-wise.   If you're middle of the road, you may be electable.   If you're an inch over the double yellow line (say, for instance, you believe the health policy used successfully by every other democracy in the world might work here in the US), you're an idealist. My point:  Here's my argument:   you probably think Elizabeth Warren is an idealist and unelectable.   And maybe Biden or Pete or some one else is a "rea...