Monday, July 28, 2025
Sunday, July 27, 2025
Friday, July 25, 2025
There is no ongoing war between Cambodia and Thailand as of July 25, 2025. However, recent deadly border clashes have escalated tensions, rooted in a century-long dispute over a shared 508-mile (817 km) border, particularly around ancient temples like Preah Vihear and Prasat Ta Muen Thom.
The conflict stems from differing interpretations of colonial-era maps drawn by the French in 1907, which placed key sites like Preah Vihear in Cambodia, a ruling upheld by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 1962, though Thailand contests surrounding areas.[](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/24/why-thailand-cambodia-border-clash-conflict)[](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/07/24/thailand-cambodia-border-conflict-explained/)[](https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/07/24/world/thailand-cambodia-border-clash) Tensions flared in May 2025 when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a skirmish, followed by tit-for-tat measures like Cambodia banning Thai imports and Thailand restricting border crossings.
On July 24, 2025, fighting erupted near Ta Muen Thom, with both sides accusing the other of firing first. Thailand reported 14-20 civilian deaths and one soldier, while Cambodia confirmed at least one civilian and one soldier killed. Thailand deployed F-16 jets, and Cambodia fired artillery, with allegations of war crimes on both sides, including damage to a hospital and Preah Vihear Temple.[](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/24/why-thailand-cambodia-border-clash-conflict)[](https://apnews.com/article/thailand-cambodia-border-conflict-explainer-0eb99510a4ea16ee769a5934e0c07383)[](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/07/24/thailand-cambodia-border-conflict-explained/)
Domestic politics and nationalism exacerbate the conflict. In Thailand, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s leaked call with Cambodia’s Hun Sen, where she appeared deferential and criticized her military, led to her suspension, fueling nationalist outrage. In Cambodia, Hun Sen, the de facto leader, may be using the conflict to bolster his son’s leadership.
Some X posts suggest Thailand’s crackdown on online scam operations, a significant part of Cambodia’s economy, may also be a factor, though this is unverified.[](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg1gdgy2pyo)[](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/24/world/asia/cambodia-thailand-conflict-timeline.html)[](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/07/24/why-are-thailand-and-cambodia-going-to-war/)
Both nations face economic pressures, including potential 36% US tariffs, which may amplify nationalist distractions. China, a major economic partner, has offered mediation, while ASEAN and the UN are urged to intervene. Despite the severity, the conflict remains localized, with no formal declaration of war, and past clashes (e.g., 2008-2011) have de-escalated quickly.[](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/24/why-thailand-cambodia-border-clash-conflict)[](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/7/24/what-we-know-about-clashes-on-the-thai-cambodian-border)[](https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/thailand-cambodia-border-dispute-07-24-25-intl-hnk)
Mainly posted for later reading in case I have to dig into this later.
Thursday, July 24, 2025
another day another typhoon
......
Typhoon Emong makes landfall in Pangasinan https://t.co/J8fYT9pf5v
— Inquirer (@inquirerdotnet) July 24, 2025
corruption exposed
I often say that in the past it was the Democrats who exposed government abuse of power.
The irony? those exposing these stories are Democrats: Tabibi on twitter files, RFK Jr on Covid and public health scams, and now Tulsi Gabbard finding that the Russiagate scandal was made up.
so anyway, I surfed past CNN (looking for weather news) and voila, there was a chubby lady with bad fashion sense stating that hey, the only reason that anyone was pushing the idea that using the FBI/CIA/British Intelligence/wiretapping one's political opponant was wrong was because of Epstein.
Yup, Epstein evidence that the Biden adminsitration sat on for four years.
This is called gaslighting.
but of course no one will end up in jail.
Wednesday, July 23, 2025
another conspiracy theory might have been true
This was supposed to be an urban legend, but I have been told of many cases by people who said they heard it from someone who heard it from someone, which often means it wasn't happening.
This video is from a Catholic network, which is not a hysterical anti science site, since Catholics recognize brain death as death. But the cardiac death criteria which has been used in receent years, is the real problem, since the brain is still alive and is a fuzzier criteria since if the heart stops too long the organs are unusable, so often there is a rush to declare death.
here is the information off of a twitter post which for some reason I am unable to post:from the HHS:The US Department of Health and Human Services under RFK Jr. is announcing a major initiative to overhaul the organ transplant system after an HRSA investigation uncovered significant problems: HRSA examined 351 cases where organ donation was authorized, but ultimately not completed. It found: •103 cases (29.3%) showed concerning features, including 73 patients with neurological signs incompatible with organ donation. •At least 28 patients may not have been deceased at the time organ procurement was initiated—raising serious ethical and legal questions. •Evidence pointed to poor neurologic assessments, lack of coordination with medical teams, questionable consent practices, and misclassification of causes of death, particularly inoverdose cases.
30 years ago, when bioethicist Dr Caplan went for his Pennsylvania driver's license, when he asked the clerk how to add organ donor to his license, she cautioned him: Don't sign it or they will let you die. He wrote a letter about this to JAMA (sorry no date or link). But I know that I have heard too many people tell me of anecdotes they heard from someone who heard it from someone that a person was waking up when they tried to take their organs.
Trust is already being destroyed in the medical profession, and this will not help.
Tuesday, July 22, 2025
International bullies trying to run the world
Case one: See previous post about the Philippines being bullied to stop letting the US help them to defend their soverignty against China.
Two: The WHO treaty will let them take over the world. They already did this with covid, and looking back, the response made things worse.
,,,,,
the argument is that of course this doesn't overcome national soverieignty, but as I quoted in an earlier post, once there is a rule like this in the UN laws, if a government tries to refuse to go along with it, there are powerful lobbies to pressure you to follow the law.
This argument about the Climate treaty shows how this is done.
Powerlineblog quotes an article from Breitbart about how international organizations will pressure/control governments that don't go along with the Climate treaty stuff that they refused to sign:
cross posted from my medical blogThe International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague on Wednesday will reveal a host of proposed penalties the U.N. can implement against countries that defy climate diktats. Activists hope the legal opinion from the ICJ judges will have far-reaching consequences in the fight against “climate change”….
NGOs want Philippines to bow to China
So all the peace groups are protesting: Oh the USA is the bad guy. WTF?
A human rights coalition on Sunday denounced the upcoming bilateral talks between President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and US President Donald Trump, saying it represents the Philippines’ “subservience” to Washington and supports the “peace through deterrence" strategy.
The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) made the remarks as it called for an end to the “increasing” US militarization in the country, warning it may “bring more war and destruction to the Filipino people” and may “further plunge the most marginalized in Philippines society into poverty”.
“The US military build-up in the Philippines is not defensive nor geared towards peace, but aggressive war preparations that put the Filipino people at risk to be collateral damage in a war with China. The Filipino people don’t want to be a battlefield for a great power war,” said ICHRP chairperson Peter Murphy.
so follow the money.
I asked Grok who the heck is funding an organization that is busy gaslighting us that China's aggresion is not the problem, but asking the US to help stop it is.
and I got this answer:
There is limited publicly available information that directly details the specific funding sources for the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP).
no publically available information? That suggests a shadow organization funding them. CIA? Or Chinese intelligence?
The ICHRP is a global network of organizations focused on advocating for human rights and peace in the Philippines, and its funding likely comes from a combination of member organization contributions, donations, and grants, as is typical for such advocacy networks.
translation: Money from international organizations, often from governments or shadow international governments. This by the way was why USAID was shut down: A lot of money given to organizatoins that gave it to other organizations so it couldn't be traced.
Here’s what can be inferred based on available information:
- **Member Organizations**: ICHRP comprises over 50 member organizations worldwide, including churches, trade unions, environmental advocacy groups, and grassroots solidarity groups.
a lot of churches are essentially funding these international NGOs instead of actually helping the poor.
These organizations may provide financial or in-kind support, such as resources or volunteer efforts, to sustain ICHRP’s activities.[](https://ichrp.net/about/)
- **Donations**: ICHRP actively encourages donations through its website, suggesting that individual and organizational contributions play a role in its funding. For example, their website includes a "DONATE" option, indicating reliance on public or supporter contributions.[](https://ichrp.net/category/conference-2023/)
- **Grants and Partnerships**: As a coalition operating in 15 countries, ICHRP may receive grants from international human rights or development-focused NGOs, foundations, or advocacy networks. While specific funders are not named in the provided references, similar organizations often receive support from entities like the United Nations, international development agencies, or private foundations focused on human rights. For instance, the U.S. Embassy contributed Php7 million to a UN Joint Programme for Human Rights in the Philippines, which supports similar goals, suggesting potential overlap in funding ecosystems.[](https://ph.usembassy.gov/u-s-contributes-nearly-php7-million-to-un-joint-programme-for-human-rights-in-the-philippines/)
hmm... I assume that these organizations were funding the push to destroy Duterte who was anti CIA (Because of drugs) and a bit pro China but later changed his mind and became anti China. So now they are anti USA and ignoring not only China's aggression against the Philippines, but Chinese spying, corruption, drug involvement here, and that China destroys local businesses by their cheap imports?
- **Campaign and Event Support**: ICHRP organizes events like conferences and solidarity missions, which may be funded through participant contributions, sponsorships, or grants from aligned organizations. For example, their 2013 conference in Quezon City and subsequent assemblies in Davao City (2016), Hong Kong (2019), and Bangkok (2023) likely involved logistical support from member organizations or external partners.[](https://ichrp.net/about/) Since no explicit list of funders is provided in the references, it’s reasonable to conclude that ICHRP’s operations are supported by a mix of grassroots donations, member contributions, and possibly grants from human rights-focused entities. For precise details, you would need to contact ICHRP directly through their website (ichrp.net) or check their financial disclosures, if available.
If available? Sheesh.
because nothing says astroturf as a left wing organization run by an Australian activist
Trump defunding USAID was about defunding these astroturf groups, so I suspect the reason they want the US to leave is because they hate anything linked to Trumpieboy even though Biden had the same policy.
Essentially giving up the Philippines so they can have peace in our time.
why does this sound familiar?
Rain rain go away
this is partly from a low pressure area that is now flooding south China, and partly because the low pressure area is pulling in more monsoon rain.
the rai is worse south of us, as the map shows.
Both LPAs have a “medium” likelihood of intensifying into a tropical depression, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).
— Inquirer (@inquirerdotnet) July 21, 2025
READ MORE: https://t.co/31RXt1yg0P pic.twitter.com/6c1WqfPCXb
Friday, July 18, 2025
Another day another tropica storm
we have been having a lot of monsoon rains lately: usually this means thunderstorms in the afternoon or evening.
But now we have a tropical storm hitting north of here, so not a lot of wind but it's very dark outside and constant medium to heavy rain.
And the roof is starting to leak. Yuck.
and it is again threatening the newly planted rice. Sigh.
TROPICAL CYCLONE BULLETIN NR. 11
— PAGASA-DOST (@dost_pagasa) July 18, 2025
Tropical Storm #CrisingPH (WIPHA)
Issued at 11:00 AM, 18 July 2025
Valid for broadcast until the next bulletin at 2:00 PM today.
“CRISING” SLIGHTLY INTENSIFIES WHILE MOVING WEST NORTHWESTWARD TOWARDS
MAINLAND CAGAYAN – BABUYAN ISLANDS pic.twitter.com/s8gcVo7UhR
....
and so I am busy listening to cozy mysteries that are posted on youtube. This one is about Christmas but unlike most of the series has no murders, just a lost cat and some lonely old ladies. Enjoy.
Thursday, July 17, 2025
Why hysteria on the Epstein list now?
For four years under the Biden administration, nothing was done to push prosecution of those who abused girls and boys in the US Virgin Islands on Epstein's island.
Two questions:
1. Why the hysteria now?
2. So what has those in charge of prosecuting this done for the last four years?
For the first, the answer is that it is politics: To destroy Trump, and destroy the unity of those backing Trump. His policies seem to be working, and seem to be popular so this is about politics.
For the second, Well I too wonder what was going on for the last four years, and AmuseOnX blog has the details that seem to make sense.
Summary: the prosecution was limited to Epstein, and there was no search for the others who may or may not have abused underage teens visiting Epstein island (remember, not all those who visited were involved in the shennanigans but will have their reputations destroyed as collateral damage).
the deeper, more unsettling reality may be that such a list does not exist, not because these men are innocent, but because the investigation was intentionally limited in scope by prosecutor Maurene Comey......
italics mine
Ghislaine Maxwell, was convicted on trafficking charges, yet only four victims were highlighted—each directly linked to Epstein's personal predations.
Consequently, there was never an official compilation by investigators and prosecutors of the powerful men ...
]
The broader network, connecting hundreds more victims to influential predators, was deliberately omitted from public scrutiny.
translation; there is no Epstein list because no one bothered to investigate or document those who might have committed sex crimes, except for a few isolated cases like Prince Andrew.
Nothing new under the sun you know.
A similar coverup was probably done to protect those behind various banking and stock market scandals in the past. And in the Vatican, to protect the jobs of those who shielded pedophiles and looted funds meant to go to the poor.
so in today's news I read that Ms Comey was just fired. Political revenge by Trumpieboy? Or maybe not: She was involved in the Epstein investigation.
or should I say non investigation?
here is the conspiracy theory part:
Such calculated limitation raises the uncomfortable possibility of undue influence. The FBI, under James Comey’s tenure, has faced longstanding criticism for politicized investigatory choices; thus, skepticism toward Maurene Comey's motives is well-founded.
I have no idea how much of this is true, but I do know that this is how things can be covered up to help their friends. And I am old enough to remember before Clinton, it was the left who dug out corruption in big shots of the banking scandals etc.
Now comes the real question: Why is Trumpieboy not pushing the prosecution of those guilty? Or is it because his team is still trying to find hard evidence, which has probably been destroyed or never collected?
Sigh.
Wednesday, July 16, 2025
In the news
according to CSPAN, PEPEFAR funds will be restored.
Hopefully the funds will go for medicine, not to fund sex education (not self control, selfesteem for girls so they feel they can say no, or the imporance of family, but American sex ed: promiscuity and gay sex is fine if you use safe sex, meaning condoms, (not the traditional African way to not get pregnant while courting)
Monday, July 14, 2025
Family news
heavy rain from thunderstorms every afternoon/evenning.
The problem? The heavy rain has washed away the recently planted rice, so Kuya and his contract farmers will have to replant it.
No floods in this area yet. It is not a typhoon as much as heavy monsoon rains, which are also behind reports of floods in China, Indian, Texas and New Mexico.
I put that last part in because I once owned a house in Ruidoso, on a slope, and there was a creek ten feet lower than the house. But on inspecting the house, I found dried mud almost at the top of the foundation, so I actually bought flood insurance just in case.
My area of Ruidoso was in the pine woods area, but upstream a fire years before had denuded the mountains so that meant the rain might run off in stead of being absorbed.
Here, the river is not near, and our house is on high ground, but even we were under two feet of water after an irrigation dam ruptured after one typhoon. I should explain, the flood is not just when it rains here, but from rain water in the mountains not too far north of here which drains south through our area on the way to the coast.
I also lived in the Johnstown PA area, and although that was years after the 1977 flood, and the city garage near the creek had a line 9 foot up saying: Flood level 1977.
People simply don't recognize how dangerous such floods are, or how vulnerable they are if they walk or drive in what would usually be seen as shallow water (i.e. 3 feet deep).
Rescue stories coming out of there show a lot of local heroes risking their lives to save others, but probably won't get much publicity.
Sigh... instead the MSM will politicize it to criticize Trump for cutting funds from the government weather organizations, cuts which won't go into effect until the next fiscal year in October, but hey since when does truth matter?
Sigh.
Well, anyway, since all our cats died a few years ago we have mice (and rats), and the mice get into the bedroom to eat clothing: They seem to like cotton, either to eat or to make a nest inside our clothing drawers.
We put out traps, and filled the small holes they use but the last mouse I saw crept thorugh the small hole where the internet cable came through the ceiling. So it's an ongoing problem.
Today's mouse problem? Two days ago, when Joy came back from a meeting, she turned on her air conditioner and a horrible odor came out: a dead mouse was inside, but we couldn't find it. So today we got three men to fix it, but they had to take the airconditioner apart to find it, and so while they were at it, they suggested we pay a little more, and they are cleaning it.
In the meanwhile, the female dogs are getting out at night looking for other dogs. They aren't yet in heat, but merely checking out the neighbor's dogs. But one of the neighbors complained to me that they were too noisy so please keep the dogs inside. Since the dogs on the living area of our compound tend to sleep in my house, I guess I'll have to try to keep the door (and window) closed....
Actually this is good: Our mama dog mates with her brother here, but some of his puppies have suffered from hip dysplasia. So we are hoping she mate with the black dog across the street who seems to be courting her when we take her for a walk. She has mated with him before.
Finally, Joy has gotten an award for her work with organic rice business.
Congratulations.
Friday, July 11, 2025
Tibet news
More background here at India Express which discusses the geopolitical background (including dam building plans to control the local water supply to India and SE Asia).
most people know about the story of Tibetan traditional culture and the Chinese takeover from the Brad Pitt movie.
legendary explorer? Heh. He was a Nazi.
But it is a good story. The original story can be read here on internet archives.
a documentary by the author is on youtube:
another version of the story was done by Martin Scorsese for Disney but made the Chinese so angry that it was not really publicized a lot so sort of has been forgotten:
the terror inflicted on that country and the cultural destruction by China is sort of known in the west.
however, China points out that they consider their attempt to change the culture is to bring them into the modern world.Their point of view can be found HERE.
Their point of view points out that a theocratic dictatorship government was replaced with a benevolent government that is trying to lift people out of poverty... by relocation, education, e commerce, getting rid of corrupt monestaries (gee didn't Henry VIII do this?) but also relocating Chinese there (it is a hardship area for Chinese working there) and the Chinese policy encouraging intermarriage that has long term consequnces, as is China's polcies raising the status of women.
So what is the truth? Nostalgic views of primitive countries by those who didn't have to suffer from the poverty of those countries is the rule. And although China didn't have the right to take over Tibet and their takeover was brutal to those living in monasteries etc, don't be fooled that the place was a ShangriLa before the Chinese takeover.
Cultural lesson for the day
the blog posts are getting too serious. So let's take a look at something really really important: Plastic Pink Flamingos:
...
and for your grossout movie of the week: John Walter's movie Pink Flamingos is on internet archives to the delight of all those with the sense of humor of a 13 year old kid. Don't say I didn't warn you.
could a solar flare disrupt society?
I might say that it wouldn't affect us so much,
but you know, when we were hit by a bad typhoon and lost power for a week, it meant no water or ATM/Bank or computer or TV... but our cellphones worked as did my portable short wave radio.
but we had a generator as long as the local gas station could supply us with fuel for the generator to run our water pump and charge our cellphones. That last part is important: within a day the local shops not only were selling bottled water, but had signs outside saying "cellphone charge 25 pesos" (fifty cents). So people could get in touch with relatives, and also get on line to get the news, or to play games or surf the net.
Would cellphones be affected by the solar flare?
Grok says:
A solar flare could affect cellphones, but the impact depends on the flare's strength and the phone's exposure. Solar flares release bursts of electromagnetic radiation and charged particles, which can disrupt satellite communications, GPS signals, and power grids,...
However, a strong flare could interfere with cellular networks by disrupting satellites or ground-based infrastructure, potentially causing signal loss or dropped calls. For example, a massive solar flare in 1859, known as the Carrington Event, disrupted telegraph systems, and a similar event today could affect modern tech...
when the typhoon hit, the roads were blocked but we are rice farmers and could buy produce locally. Everyone has a motorcycle or tricycle (motorcycle with side car) so food delivery was not badly affected. But what about trucks? Trucks would be needed to deliver food to cities...
So would a solar flare disrupt the computers that run our cars and trucks, either those with computerized carborators or electric cars and trucks etc.( here in the Philippines we are starting to switch to e-jeepneys and e-tricycles, replacing the old pollution emitting engines).
Grok answers:
Yes, a solar flare could potentially disrupt computerized car engines and electric cars, but the extent depends on the flare's intensity and the car's design.
Key Factors: Flare Strength:
Only powerful flares (e.g., X-class) pose significant risks.
Shielding: Automotive electronics are designed with some EMI protection, but not necessarily for extreme solar events.
Infrastructure Impact: Both types of vehicles could be indirectly affected if flares disrupt power grids or communication networks. No specific data on recent flares is provided here, but I can search for real-time solar activity to assess current risks if you’d like.
Yup. even modern cars are computerized, so might be affected which is why we keep our old jeep just in case. And of course we grow rice, and even if we had no cars, we could use a bicycle to get supplies...But in an advanced country, this could result in cities not getting food or supplies. How many people are prepared for this?
The example of what could happen was seen in the March 1989 geomagnetic storm when not only communications were affected, but the power grid of Quebec went down:
Sigh.
Thursday, July 10, 2025
podcast of the week
.....
and this interview is from a reporter who used to write for the Pittsburgh press so she knows Pennsylvania working class:
cynical meme of the day
no don't know if this is a true quote, but it summmarizes what everyone knows but doesn't dare say.
alternative idea: That those involved in this destroyed the evidence before Trumpieboy took over. But then, where are the whistle blowers?
you know, Pam Geller and other conspiracy sites reports this,
Deep State Steps Out of the Shadows, Using Their Regime Change Skills to Destroy Trump Presidency,“ CIA’s Simple Sabotage”:
in other words, this USAID employee admits that maybe USAID was not helping starving people, but overthrowing governments
Senator Church call your office. They are at it again.
....................
(and under USAID, PEPFAR was not just giving people with HIV medicine, but pushing anti family/pro promiscuity sex ed in schools and social media, including the gay rights agenda on conservative Catholic and Islamic countries but don't expect that to be reported, since the MSM sees conservative family customs in these countries as something to be destroyed, not encouraged)
Wednesday, July 09, 2025
WHO Treaty to take over the world
Why is this important? Because the WHO, who has done excellent work in the past, proved they were incompetent in their response to covid.
,,,
and then you have the follow the money report LINK
a quick google shows lots of article denying that this will interfere with the soverignty of individual nations, so no use in questioning grok who only gathers invormation from these official news sources.
the UKTelegraph last year admits that it doesn't officially interfere wit your sovereignty, but notes that like the climate change stuff that is being forced on many countries, it let you be pressured into it.
Now it is true that agreeing to this in a treaty does not give away British sovereignty. That’s because in our constitutional system treaties cannot change our domestic law unless Parliament specifically agrees – as it did on the EU exit treaties. Parliament can always refuse to implement an international legal obligation, and governments can always act contrary to international law. How easy that is in practice – that is, not easy at all – we have discovered in the past few years. First with the UK Internal Market Bill, then the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, and now with the Rwanda saga, the Government has either shied away from breaking international law or been blocked from doing so by its own backbenchers. And that is the problem with this treaty, too. Our sovereignty is not formally affected, but we are taking on an international law obligation to work with the WHO system. When the next pandemic comes, government lawyers, MPs, and commentators will say “you must do what the WHO says, or you are breaking international law”.
Saturday, July 05, 2025
earthquakes and rumors in southern Japan
Residents of quake-hit isle in southern Japan begin evacuating
Residents of Akusekijima island in the remote and sparsely populated Tokara chain began evacuating voluntarily early July 4 following a strong earthquake the evening before. The southern Japan island chain has been hit by an earthquake swarm over the past two weeks.
earthquakes are common in Japan but this one is making experts worry:
and then you have this manga prediction making some who believe in prophecies worried;
.....
so should we here in the Philippines worry? if there was a superquake in that area, it would affect not just Japan but Taiwan and the Northern Philippines.
....
ScienceTimes discusses
What is happening seems to be a slow slip earthquake...
The article notes that these small earthquakes are not only in the Tokara Isalnd area but in the in Southwest Japan, because the news notes that an earthquake swarm continues near Ryukyu Island
The earthquakes are making the government advise people to take precautions but there already has been an impact: Lost tourism.
... the Phil Inquirer discusses LINK
“The real disaster will come in July 2025,” followed by “the ocean floor between Japan and the Philippines will crack,” aren’t exactly very comforting words to see on a book said to have previously and accurately predicted natural disasters.
“The Future That I Saw” by Ryo Tatsuki, first published in 1999, gained notoriety after a baseless premonition, “massive disaster in March 2011,” ended up coinciding with the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, which resulted in the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.
the good news?
seers don't always get things right: One famous lady predicted the big one for Manila in 2024, only to have a minor tremor occur, which of course these minor tremors happen all the time...but of course if the prediction is vague enough or you make enough predictions, eventually one will happen.
well, anyway, right now the problem is a tropical storm bringing oodles of rain into Luzon, and we are worried the rain will wash away the rice seeds that we recently planted.
Traditionally farmers plant seedlings for the main harvest, but the price of rice is so low that we literally can't afford to buy and plant (by hand) the seedlings. But even the farmers who planted seedlings could see their crop endangered:
Sigh.
oooooooooooooooooooooo
follow up: Lots of small earthquakes but no major earthquake or tsunami yet as of July 9--
-------------
more here:
Friday, July 04, 2025
summary of Trump the president
...Hamas says it is studying new proposals for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza, after US President Donald Trump said Israel had agreed to a proposal for a 60-day truce.
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) July 3, 2025
🔴 Follow our LIVE coverage: https://t.co/GPGtl1DYX2 pic.twitter.com/by6A7nNIXa
,,,.......................
more from Instapundit:
and he points out the political reality of the BBBill, which is too expensive and too huge:
And an important point about DOGE is that while yes, it saved money, it’s biggest impact was to defund the government-funded left — which turns out to be most of the left, especially the activist left — thus preparing the battlespace for other issues down the line. Elon, et al., are right that the debt is an existential threat, but you can’t get at the debt and at spending without first taking apart the coalitions that created the problem. That’s what Trump is doing.
Thursday, July 03, 2025
animation in film: a short history
...
.....
the way they made Princess Mononoke:
...
and the evolution into CGI:
but before there was film and computers, there were flip books:Wednesday, July 02, 2025
Hummel figurines: The history you might not know
Photo from Little Things website which has more information on the figurines history and how they became popular collector's items after World War II.
in the USA, many people have one of these figurines: And a lot of people have small collections of them.
but what they might not know is that the figurines were based on drawings by a German nun Maria Innocentia Hummel who was a teacher who drew and painted in her spare time;
Wikipedia points out:
The sisters were impressed with her art and sent copies to ...a publishing house in Stuttgart which specialized in religious art, to which Hummel reluctantly agreed. The company decided to release copies of the works in postcard form, which were popular in the early 20th century....
Soon afterward, Franz Goebel, the owner of a porcelain company, was looking for a new line of artwork, and happened to see some of these postcards in a shop in Munich.
One would think Hitler would have been pleased with her art, but he hated it:
Leading Nazis attacked the art, denouncing the depiction of German children as "hydrocephalic, clubfooted goblins". Although the Nazi authorities allowed Hummel to work, they banned the distribution of her art in Germany.
The Nazis closed all religious schools, and she live in poverty in the convent during the war, supporting the sisters left behind with money from her art work.
Sister Maria Inncensia Hummel died after the war of tuberculosis.
more here: https://youtube.com/shorts/ZOgjOM5Sl8U?si=jyP7ooLQAtR6uPg6
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