The really inclusive painting of the Last Supper

 the oh so politically correct are defending the pornographic last supper of the Olympics because in today's world, accepting those who freely chose to ridicule the good is the latest fashion.

We are told it is inclusivity, but I always remember Gresham's law: That bad money drives out good money. 

So when a person sees today's institutions pushing inclusivity, one knows that this means that you are welcome only if you bow to the gods of the latest thing, which in this day and age is to deny that modesty, respect, pietas, and the ten commandments are good. And with a pope who refuses to openly refuse to defend the beliefs of what used to be called normal but are now called weird, it is ironic that it is left to the agnostics like Jordan Peterson or JK Rowlings, to say that the Emperor has no clothing (hmm... sort of like the green naked man in the Paris celebration, where his nakedness with a child nearby in the tableau was normal, and only you bigots (aka normals) are weird to notice.)

 Now, if you really wanted an inclusive Good Supper, could I suggest this one by Philippine artist Joey Velasco? 

It is Jesus with the street kids of Manila: the kids ignored by the rich in the gated communities, the kids exploited by the sex tourists, and the kids who are vulnerable to be seduced into petty crime and using drugs to get a little pleasure in life.

so how do we help them? Not just by giving gifts, but by supporting the churches outreach to help them, not just by rescuing the kids but by encouraging behavior that strengthens the family... and our businesses are providing rural jobs so people don't have to move away from their villages to try to find work in the cities, where often poverty destroys the family.

Pakistan internet outage

 Just posting links to look into this later.

Al J reports:

Since the arrest of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan three days ago, mobile internet services remain suspended across the country. Khan was ordered to be released on Thursday, after the country’s top court termed his arrest illegal. However, the mobile broadband shutdown was not lifted.

the article is about how this affected e commerce.

When you shut down internet and mobile access you actually hurt Pakistan’s economy, individuals and companies who use these services to earn their bread and butter. #internet #shutdown

— jehan_ara (@jehan_ara) May 11, 2023

when experts pounce

The dog that did not bark is going on in the USA, where coverage of the shooting of Trumpieboy is being rewritten and/or ignored.

Of course, we are assured that  top men are working on what happened  ... you know: top men.

Canadian journalist David Warren notes:

Most easily verifiable things are presented by the Left as “conspiracy theories,” so that if something is flagged in the media for having marks of a dark, far right, conspiracy theory, I tend to believe it is true. There may be no contest over many, multiplying facts, so these are not reported.

For instance, the background of the assassination attempt on Mr Donald Trump. No one who is at least partially sane doubts that this happened. Thus the event and its colourful details are now being “memory-holed” by the commentariat. 

and he worries about Trump's safety and uses this quote that is being noted on quite a few websites:

 “They tried to coup him, impeach him, remove him from the ballot, they ran show trials against him, tried to bankrupt him and his family, put him in prison, and assassinate him. They’re OBVIOUSLY not done,” as Mollie Hemingway explains.

Of course, I have also read that this was actually Hemingway quoting someone else, and I have also read that this was a satire.

Just because it is true doesn't permit you to state what is going on, because if you state the obvious, it is a conspiracy theory.

don't believe me? Just google it...

The censorship industrial complex is evil pic.twitter.com/qJeYP952G6

— Mollie (@MZHemingway) July 28, 2024

that is not, of course, the only time people were told: Who do you believe, me or your lying eyes.

The blasphemy of the Paris Olympics horrified most Christians (and even the head Mullah of Iran, but no word yet from the Pope) and the officials in charge have changed the story so you are being told this was about  Dionysis, never mind that those involved admit it was deliberate ridicule of Christ.

So a few hours later Paris went black: Electrical blackout in much of the city (probably those mischevious leftists of course, but never mind)... and a few people noted the irony that one of the few places that remained lighted was the cathedral of the Sacred Heart.

The irony of an electrical power outage in Paris in the wake of the blasphemous & debauched opening ceremonies of the Olympics should be noted. The evil on display mocks God’s power and then the city is left powerless. May the Sacred Heart of Jesus guide us in His powerful Light. pic.twitter.com/zbATrUTfeT

— Bishop J. Strickland (@BishStrickland) July 28, 2024

a close up photo:

The Basilica of Sacre-Coeur de Montmartre | MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP via Getty Images

Yes, I am sure that this has a "natural" explanation. Most miracles do.

It is about the sea routes: Why China is trying to take over Philippine territory

 

The latest fight is China is attacking a Philippine outpost on one of these islands LINK

"The lawful and routine rotation and resupply mission within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone is a credit to the professionalism of the men and women of the Philippine navy and the Philippine coast guard and the close coordination among the National Security Council...

italics mine.

the weakness of the Biden administration encourages this. And of course the fact that the international courts says that China's claims are bogus is ignored.

Chose who you will worship

 

Friends, my thoughts on the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics. #Olimpiadas2024 #OlympicGames pic.twitter.com/xU1ljFMZft

— Bishop Robert Barron (@BishopBarron) July 27, 2024

sigh.

Ed Driscoll quotes this blog who asks:Exit question: “Why is a planet-wide celebration of athleticism and uncommon sporting prowess being introduced with yet another tedious display of cross-dressing, oddly selective sacrilege, and self-satisfied obesity?”

heh. one guy on Twitter/X just quipped:

God just turned the lights out on Paris.pic.twitter.com/25U1rrOeEj

— Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) July 27, 2024

of course this is probably not related to the blasphemy, but just ordinary cyberterrorism similar to the fires that stopped the trains to Paris before the Olympics.

However, it hints that religious persecution is on the way: why do I say this? Because it mirrors the French revolution, where Notre Dame cathedral was desecrated and dedicated to the goddess of Reason, and a naked prostitute cavorted on the altar and the government took over religion and shut down the churches that refused to play along.

So I am glad that there is at least one American bishop with the courage to say: This is not right. 

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

update: A Brazilian athlete was told he could not use his surfboard that had the famous statue of Christ the Redeemer on it.

The surfboard allegedly violates "Olympic rules". Article 50 reads: "No type of political, religious or racial demonstration or propaganda shall be permitted in any Olympic venue." The Christ the Redeemer statue is the landmark of Rio de Janeiro. Chianca is from the state of Rio de Janeiro. Chianca was informed that "the painting is not allowed in the Olympic Games because Christ is a religious figure". He understood that "the [highly politicised] Games have strict rules and [allegedly] focus on total neutrality."

LOL. 

heavy rain continues

the streets in Manila are flooded, and there is flooding in much of nearby Pampanga and Bulacan. 

We are northwest of the areas that have had heavy rain: So we have rain but no major street flooding. 

The problem is that as the rain drains down from the mountains north of us, they might have to open the floodgates of the irrigation dams, and then we will flood quickly.  This could destroy the homes of those living near the river; we are on higher ground (as is the local evacuation center) but the last time they opened the flood gates, we had six inches of rain in our garage and house. A mess. 

 Joy is staying home from work because of the flooding in her farm in Bulacan. 

 If the floods are deep, it could destroy the recently planted rice crop in these areas.

 
Ironically since the government is cleaning out the irrigation canal near our farms, we didn't plant most of our fields (we diverted water from our fish pond to irrigation one of our rice paddies so we did plant some rice, but we couldn't flood the other fields to plant: you need to flood the rice paddies before you plant. However, the rain might allow us to plant this area.

as for other news: StrategyPage has a long essay on China's aggression in the West Philippine Sea.

Philippine news: Rain Rain Rain

 two tropical low pressure areas nearby have sucked the monsoon rains to cover the Philippines, and Manila (whose sewer/drainage system is suboptimal) is flooding a bit. 

so Manila has to shut schools and government businesses.

For us this is good, since maybe the rice paddies will be flooded enough to plant the rice (the irrigation has stopped due to the gov't deciding to clean up the canal).

the news also is mentioning that the POGOs, casinos, might be shut down because they are enabling drugs and crime. (read Chinese mob related crime). When PNoy allowed these, it was done with the idea that it would attract money and jobs but the Catholic bishops pointed out that it would attract crime etc. and according to the Inquirer article all these problems got worse under Duterte. Well, duh. 

US News: Guns Guns Guns

Don't ask me what is going on in the USA. I had the TV on in the background when they were interrogating the Secret Service director, and she was so bad that even the Democrats were blasting her for not answering the questions. But someone pointed out that the silence and lack of answers just led to conspiracy theories, which are getting crazier every day...

As for Biden: he should resign and let President Kamala run the place. His weakness is a real worry, and Kamela can't be worse. But someone should have seen this coming and let an open primary so Hillary could have another shot at the presidency. True she is just as corrupt as Trumpieboy, but like Trumpieboy she is competent, and Biden and Kamela are not.

Sigh.

Two things about the hearings: again talking about getting rid of assault rifles. But you know, these rifles are used to hunt, and in rural western Pennsylvania everyone owns one or two, and the schools shut the first day of deer season. 

And the dirty littles secret is that most gun violence is gang related and from handguns, not rifles:  mainly in the black inner city community. Doing spot checks and arresting anyone without a closed carry permit who has a gun might help.

and a lot is related to drugs. Duh.

Kamela has a bad reputation for prosecuting drug crimes, and the propaganda is that she jailed a lot of innocent black men for simple marijuana possession. But the dirty little secret is that a lot of these cases were plea bargains: instead of going to trial for a more serious crime like selling drugs, robbery, or rape (where often the victims would be afraid to testify), they would have the guy plea bargain for simple possession and that would get them off the street for awhile.

But ironically, something not reported: half of deaths from guns are suicides, mainly in older white man (suicide is also a huge problem in the AmerIndian community).

Long article here if you want the statistics on all of this.

When we lived in Pennsylvania, I had a deer rifle, a 22 and a shotgun for birds. I let my sons use them to hunt: They took a mandatory gun safety course to get a hunting license. However, I didn't shoot anything (I even had a waiver not to carry a handgun in the Nat Guard) because my father wouldn't have guns in the house because his father was a cop and knew that they were a danger for kids who would find an play with them. On the other hand, my mother had brothers and was in the rifle club in high school and had a sharp shooter medal.

The problem with having a gun for protection is that if you are not trained it is a danger: the robber will take it from you and shoot you. Better to use pepper spray and yell loudly. 

Philippines: getting back to work

State of the Nation report today:

education was shut down with covid (home school) and so the education system was harmed greatly.

Sigh

in the meanwhile, our irrigation ditch is being cleaned so unless it rains a lot we might not be able to plant and harvest the main rice harvest this year. Luckily it has been raining quite a bit so maybe we can plow next week (usually plowing is in June so it is six weeks late).

ah but will China's war against the Philippines wreck the economy? Or are they a paper tiger?

 

Killing the internet. who shorted the stocks?

it was a "glitch"? Really?

I haven't checked if I will be able to get money from some of our banks but the Inquirer reports that the local internet/airplane problems are quickly being solved.

so a big company called Crowdstrike shut down a lot of the internet for businesses, banks, and travelers. A simple line of error in an update. A simple mistake?

Seems to be a lot of them going around lately.

There have been a lot of Crowdstrike conspiracy theories in the past, about Hillary and about the Ukraine... yup. Alex Jones territory. But you know, sometimes Alex is right, and THAT scares me.

 So what is going on? I don't mean the usual paranoid conspiracy theories that pop up all the time, and which one should ignore, but one does wonders who benefits from this mistake.

Investopedia notes that someone shorted stocks before this happened and will get rich.

CrowdStrike (CRWD) short sellers made more than $373 million Friday after a defective update sent out by the cybersecurity company caused a global IT outage for Microsoft (MSFT) Windows hosts, according to research firm S3 Partners.

HMMM...

Sifting through the conspiracy theories on FreeRepublic, I found this:  one guy who claims IT experience noted: 

there is a tool “valgrind” among others that is SOP (standard operating procedure) for identifying such coding failures and potential vulnerabilities before a program or update is released...

italics mine. He then goes on to write:

 it appears incorporating such into the release pipeline (either) is not part of Crowdstrike’s methodology or someone wanted this to go out...

 In a professional model, code that fails to incorporate basic code inspection and validation techniques is clearly flawed

ya think?  

 Valgrind article from Stanford

Another BusinessInsider article notes that the guy behind crowdstrike was involved in the 2010 McAfee debacle that did something similar.

On April 21, 2010, the antivirus company McAfee released an update to its software used by its corporate customers. The update deleted a key Windows file, causing millions of computers around the world to crash and repeatedly reboot. Much like the CrowdStrike mistake, the McAfee problem required a manual fix.

Kurtz was McAfee's chief technology officer at the time. Months later, Intel acquired McAfee. And several months after that Kurtz left the company. He founded CrowdStrike in 2012 and has been its CEO ever since.,..

In response to a request for comment from Business Insider, CrowdStrike shared its latest blog posts detailing the problem and its recommended fix, but did not elaborate on how the update slipped through the company's safety protocols.

 italics mine.

Lots of that going around lately.

technical stuff here:

Crowdstrike Analysis:

It was a NULL pointer from the memory unsafe C++ language.

Since I am a professional C++ programmer, let me decode this stack trace dump for you. pic.twitter.com/uUkXB2A8rm

— Zach Vorhies / Google Whistleblower (@Perpetualmaniac) July 19, 2024

So why is memory address 0x9c trying to be read from? Well because... programmer error.

It turns out that C++, the language crowdstrike is using, likes to use address 0x0 as a special value to mean "there's nothing here", don't try to access it or you'll die.

— Zach Vorhies / Google Whistleblower (@Perpetualmaniac) July 19, 2024

book of the week

 Internet archives has Hillbilly Elegy 

to download or borrow the ebook.

they also have the audiobook  

if the copyright cops remove them, you might want to listen to the machine read version on youtube:

they also have the classic history of the area. Night comes to the Cumberlands. That book inspired JFK and others to try to improve the economic condition of the area.

Although I lived for a couple years in the coal mining area of Pennsylvania, our miners were mainly from Eastern Europe so it was a different culture in our town.  But the culture of poverty and how people have to migrate to work and how lack of opportunity leads to despair is found in many poor rural area.

 my son and my cousin did volunteer work in Kentucky repairing homes.

blame the only guy who tried to stop him

Hmm.... everyone knew that this guy was running around with a gun, but only the parking lot cops took it on themselves to check if he was on the roof. Alas, no ladder so was unable to get out his gun while holding on to the roof, so he fell. But hey, it let the big shots who should have been doing the actual protection and chasing the guy/getting up on the roof to stop him pretend it wasn't their job.

So they point fingers and blame the local cop, who apparently was the only one who actually was willing to go beyond his area of responsibility to stop the kid.

He didn't manage (the shooter got off shots before the parking lot traffic cops could get back up there), but unlike all those experts, he tried: And he did alert others, who took their time to shoot him and of course no one bothered to tell the guys on stage that Trumpieboy should not go onto the stage for some reason.

Place conspiracy theory here.

 

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