Althouse: Sunrise — 6:49, 6:52.

September 27, 2022

Sunrise — 6:49, 6:52.

Open thread in the comments.

83 comments:

Bender said...: Did I miss it? Or has there been no discussion yet of Giorgia Meloni?; 9/27/22, 8:24 PM
Gospace said...: Ah the wonders of life. The full headline:

Lisa Jones sexually assaulted female stranger she followed in Melbourne
A woman has been thrown behind bars after sexually assaulting a stranger she followed down a Melbourne street before issuing a shocking demand.

Wow! A woman sexually assaulted another woman! It does sometimes happen, but it seems to be fairly, or rather, extremely rare. And here it is, full news coverage of just such an assault.

Except.

The woman doing the assaulting isan't a woman. Wait, what? You heard me- not a woman. She's a he, a mentally ill man who identifies as a woman, and is called, later on in the article - a trans-woman. Or, as us people who live in the world of reality say- a man.

The intro to a previous Althouse post today: "[I]f the garden variety American liberal as represented by New York Times readers is almost universally against this, who is pushing it and why do they have so much power" Well, this is Australia, not the USA, but the same question applies- who's pushing it? Why do they have so much power? The headline is a lie. The writer who wrote it wrote it knew it was as it was written. The editor who reviewed the story and headline knew it was a lie as it was reviewed and published. Yet here it is, the lie, reported in all it's glory, and to find out that women aren't going around assaulting other women in beautiful Melbourne Australia, we must read the entire story, and find the term "trans-woman" to come to the truth- it was a mentally deranged male who assaulted another woman. The women of Melbourne are free of the scourge of being sexually assaulted by other women.

https://www.news.com.au/national/victoria/courts-law/lisa-jones-sexually-assaulted-female-stranger-she-followed-in-melbourne/news-story/1d1330396c4aae18638e725a7a8a6a2e?amp; 9/27/22, 8:29 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: I got family in Tampa.

Thoughts and prayers.

Thanks.; 9/27/22, 8:31 PM
Birches said...: Just watched Judge walk for the 4th time tonight. I kind of wish a pitcher would just take one for everyone.; 9/27/22, 8:38 PM
Michael K said...: Melbourne is the most left wing city in Australia so it fits.; 9/27/22, 8:50 PM
Narr said...: Brava, la Meloni!

Just to be the first to appeal to the authority of the OED, "brave" in the sense of Native American warrior is only one of many meanings of a word and concepts going back before Columbus, and to make a fetish of it today just shows how out ignorant a lot of people are.
Especially people with credentials, speaking from official positions.

Go see Jupiter (not the commenter) up close tonight, if you can.; 9/27/22, 8:52 PM
Beasts of England said...: ’Or has there been no discussion yet of Giorgia Meloni?’

Arguably the most consequential event for women in a few millennia, but this auspicious occasion must not fit the narrative.

SPQR; 9/27/22, 8:53 PM
Gospace said...: So I peruse threadreaderapp daily, and since Twitter has banned all antivaxxers, all that's left is the provax and frightened of covid crowd. As I peruse the threads I see the same adviced over and over from doctors and other health professionals (or people who identify as doctors and other health professionals). Wear a mask, all the time. Get a good one. Get vaxxed- it will save you. Stay socially distanced. Don't go out in crowds Et cetera, you know the drill. All the stuff that didn't work to stop the spread.

And from the doctors and other health professionals and regular old people I see posts about how they're vaxxed, do all that, and yet, have a confirmed case of covid- AGAIN!. Not the first case, again. Which kind of indicates that, hey- ALL THIS STUFF DOESN'T WORK. I also see the same thing on my Facebook feed and other blogs- everyone getting covid multiple times is vaxxed.

I have yet to read anywhere about an unvaxxed person getting the dreaded covid twice. So apparantly disease acquired immunity works- unless you've been vaxxed, and the more vaxxed, the less it works. Numbers don't lie.

Then there's us evil unvaxxed. TBH, the only people I see who say they've never had it comes from this group. Steve Kirsch (stevekirsch.substack.com) had a questionairre for those if us who've never had it to fill out. I filled it out- then looked at the answers from others. The most common thing among us unvaxxed and covid free people- a known Vitamin D level at or around or above 50 ng/ml. Before the dreaded covid hit we were supplementing with Vitamin D. The second most common thing, often coupled with hte Vitamin D, daily nassal irrigation OR daily use of a nasal spray either with Xylitol like Xlear of with a povidine-iodine mix. As I've posted before- I do the nasal rinse daily with xylitol AND erythritol added to the saline solution. Which I didn't start for infection protection but because of allergies. Haven't taken an antihistimine in over a decade.

You know what I don't see from the provax doctors and other health professionals? Any advice on doing anything else to protect yourself other than- MASK! GET VAXXED! SOCIAL DISTANCE AND ISOLATE! Yet, there are things that we know work. You know what I don't see from teh frightened of covid crowd? Anything they're doing other then following the MASK! etc. advice, and, bitterly complaining that many of us insist on living life nornally, thus endangering theirs, and we should be punished for our crimes. Well, they think they should be crimes and punishments if we don't do as ordered.

Hey, you know what's coming out? From Fraudci and others? "Well, we knew the lockdowns wouldn't work, but..." Or, im plain words, "We wanted to be dictators."; 9/27/22, 9:08 PM
Mike of Snoqualmie said...: Stop using "trans-woman." It's "pseudo-woman." Or "pseudo-man." These are people who want us to buy into their delusions. No more.; 9/27/22, 9:24 PM
Original Mike said...: I'm surprised the Nord Stream pipeline bombings (I'm assuming bombings until contrary facts are presented) is receiving so little news. Seems like a big deal to me. But CNN has it buried under the dinky heading "Mystery Leaks".; 9/27/22, 9:26 PM
Mike of Snoqualmie said...: My solution to the Atlanta Braves conundrum is to rename them to the Atlanta Brandons. Then the Atlanta Brandons can retain the "B" symbol and fans to cheer their new team as in "Let's go, Brandon!" I'm sure they can think up a replacement for the Tomahawk Chop. Something that will keep JPK and JRB in the forefront of their thoughts.

Just think how much fun they'll have cheering for Brandon.; 9/27/22, 9:29 PM
Howard said...: Isn't rumor mongering fun

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis routinely torches former President Donald Trump in private, calling him a “moron who has no business running for president” according to a former DeSantis staffer.; 9/27/22, 9:37 PM
Howard said...: Lem: maybe we'll get lucky and Biden won't Katrina Tampa. I just hope Tom and Giselle are safe. Maybe the storm will heal their Rocky marriage. There's a price Mother Nature demands for all that Sunshine.

There's a dark and a troubled side of life;
There's a bright and a sunny side, too;
Tho' we meet with the darkness and strife,
The sunny side we also may view.
[chorus]
Keep on the sunny side, always on the sunny side,
Keep on the sunny side of life;
It will help us every day, it will brighten all the way,
If we keep on the sunny side of life.
Tho' the storm in its fury break today,
Crushing hopes that we cherished so dear,
Storm and cloud will in time pass away,
The sun again will shine bright and clear.
Let us greet with a song of hope each day,
Tho' the moments be cloudy or fair;
Let us trust in our Savior always,
Who keepeth everyone in His care.; 9/27/22, 9:49 PM
CWJ said...: Google is subtly suppressing Meloni's accomplishment.

I can"t count the number of times google guessed what I was searching for after entering three or so letters. For Georgia Meloni, I had to type her entire name from "G" right down to the final "i" before it grudgingly(?) suggested her as an option.; 9/27/22, 10:31 PM
Kathryn51 said...: Thankyou everyone who responded last night to my question re: e-bikes. After reading responses, and due to the usual (i.e. wet) weather here in the PNW, I think my $$ would be better spent if I just used my Silver Sneakers card and went to nearby gym to pedal away.

But sheesh, it's so boring. Less expensive, but boring.; 9/27/22, 10:53 PM
Wa St Blogger said...: Arguably the most consequential event for women in a few millennia, but this auspicious occasion must not fit the narrative.

Althouse blogs what interests her. Her narrative is her own. It's what brings many of us here. I can read about Merloni other places.; 9/27/22, 10:58 PM
gadfly said...: “I think Mussolini was a good politician who did everything he did for Italy,” said Giorgia Meloni, out loud and in French, way back in 1996 before she learned to use euphemisms.

She obviously didn't learn in history class that Benito Mussolini, the fascist, had multiple failures of leadership, which led to Il Duce's ouster in 1943 and to his ignominious execution by his countrymen at the end of the war. His body was left on display in Milan, dangling upside down alongside the body of his mistress.

Of course, there was the myth that, whatever his faults, Benito Mussolini, made Italian trains run on time but sadly he was unable to enforce a railway timetable.; 9/28/22, 1:26 AM
gadfly said...: WW III:

Russia blows holes in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines in the North Sea cutting off methane gas being pumped from Russia to Germany.; 9/28/22, 1:41 AM
Kai Akker said...: NordStream 1 and 2 -- who?

Please, God, not Biden. But his and other administration threats look bad at the moment.; 9/28/22, 5:10 AM
Clyde said...: My current situation: I’m in Lee County, Florida, the one with Fort Myers in it. I live near the eastern edge of the county. Ian is a strong Category 4 hurricane with 155 mph winds at the center as of 6:35 a.m, moving NNE at 10 mph. Landfall is expected around noon in the Cape Haze peninsula near Charlotte Harbor. Power is still on, for now; I just turned my AC down several degrees to chill the house down as much as possible. Just had my last frozen dinner for breakfast. I have a battery-backup cell phone charger, so unless the cell towers go down, I should be able to stay in touch. If you’re the praying sort, say one for the people of this area. This is going to be a bad one.; 9/28/22, 5:50 AM
Jaq said...: Overheard from a guest in the manse.

"They just elected a fascist in Italy, it's not just the United States."

"Of course Russia blew up the pipeline!"

It's hard to go against the propaganda firehose.; 9/28/22, 5:57 AM
Humperdink said...: (Edited for typos): I have been a DISH customer for close to 20 years. Customer service has not been stellar. Phone calls are a nightmare. Be prepared for a long wait to talk to someone who you can barely understand. After much pleading, the local fiber optic ran the wire to our rural abode. Bye bye DISH. Not so fast sucker. DISH required me to send their equipment back. OK, no problem. I assumed it would be the receivers and remotes. Oh no, I need to climb on the roof to remove the LNB's from the dish itself and return those. I hate DISH. Verizon is next.; 9/28/22, 6:08 AM
Beasts of England said...: ’Althouse blogs what interests her. Her narrative is her own.’

No shit, asshat. But I’m also allowed to note the curiosity, given her chronic girl power themes.; 9/28/22, 6:24 AM
wendybar said...: Clyde said...
My current situation: I’m in Lee County, Florida, the one with Fort Myers in it. I live near the eastern edge of the county. Ian is a strong Category 4 hurricane with 155 mph winds at the center as of 6:35 a.m, moving NNE at 10 mph. Landfall is expected around noon in the Cape Haze peninsula near Charlotte Harbor. Power is still on, for now; I just turned my AC down several degrees to chill the house down as much as possible. Just had my last frozen dinner for breakfast. I have a battery-backup cell phone charger, so unless the cell towers go down, I should be able to stay in touch. If you’re the praying sort, say one for the people of this area. This is going to be a bad one.

9/28/22, 5:50 AM

Praying for you Clyde and all of our Florida friends. My best friend lives in Cape Coral, right near the where the eye looks like it is going to hit. Haven't been able to get in touch with her. Hope that she evacuated safely.; 9/28/22, 6:25 AM
jaydub said...: "It's hard to go against the propaganda firehose."

Particularly so if you, yourself, are the one aiming the hose.; 9/28/22, 6:35 AM
Jaq said...: Apparently we gave the same Ukrainians who are attacking a nuclear power plant with artillery and rockets the means and the mapping data to blow up the pipeline that potentially competes with those pipelines to Germany from Russia on which Ukraine collects tolls.

https://twitter.com/ClimateAudit/status/1574938075461197825

Of course gadfly swallows the "Russia is so stupid that they would cut off their nose to spite their face" story. What more proof do you need that the story is BS? It would be an incredibly high risk strategy, carried out under the nose of NATO, for which the only payoff, splitting off Germany from the alliance, could better and more profitably be carried out through dangling the prospect of desperately needed gas.

That pipeline was a problem for NATO, as this article in gadfly-approved NR explained back in Febhttps://www.nationalreview.com/corner/nice-new-pipeline-youve-got-there-shame-if-something-happened-to-it/

Germans were taking to the streets demanding that it be opened up. Why would Russia pull the rug out from under protests in Europe that would only get worse as unemployment climbs and winter approaches. That pipeline was an ace in the hole for Putin, which is why it was destroyed.; 9/28/22, 6:37 AM
Beasts of England said...: ‘This is going to be a bad one.’

Yes it is. Prayers for you and all in its path.; 9/28/22, 6:39 AM
Andrew said...: Best wishes to you, Clyde. Lifting up a prayer for your safety.

My daughter has a friend at Gulf Coast University, and has been there a few times. Sounds like a wonderful area.

Can I ask a stupid question? You said, "Power is still on, for now; I just turned my AC down several degrees to chill the house down as much as possible." I've never heard that before. Is this simply to cool the house in case the electricity goes out, and it gets hot again outside? Or is there more to it?; 9/28/22, 6:44 AM
gilbar said...: this morning's words of wisdom, from the readers of the WSJ..
Richard Poore
If kids really knew what they wanted to be when they grew-up we would have a lot more fairy princesses and super hero’s with capes running around.; 9/28/22, 6:58 AM
wendybar said...: A little laugh for this morning. Cross fit class jogs passed a restaurant and the diners think they're running from something and run too. I got this at Don Surbers blog. https://twitter.com/UltraLandlord/status/1574444337987047426?s=20&t=RAxe2Fw73IAEna4PmbX_Zw; 9/28/22, 7:08 AM
wendybar said...: After U.S. Soldiers Were Told to Go On Food Stamps, Congress Finds Another $12 Billion for Ukraine. When U.S. Soldiers come home...we shit on them...but give illegals everything that SHOULD go to them. We live in upside down world. WHY would ANYBODY want to fight for this country that HATES them??; 9/28/22, 7:14 AM
Howard said...: Putin announce Great Mother Russia Victory Annexation vote. Not since Pete Great has world seen such strong leader. Zelinsky cry foul claim conspiracy Diebold machines rigged and calls out Nazi Strum und Drang Troopers to storm regional capitols to quote Stop the Steal unquote.; 9/28/22, 7:31 AM
farmgirl said...: I’m the praying sort, Clyde… &will do.
Same for Lem’s folks. Man, Winter snows are a breeze compared to what you’re facing!

Also- my son &his wife had a 3D ultrasound done yesterday @33 weeks. The images are clear and miraculous. Our very 1st grand is a girl- sucking her hands and waiting for her birthday. Her lips are Hollywood-esque.

We are blest.; 9/28/22, 7:37 AM
Humperdink said...: Even the opposition leader does not label Meloni a fascist. The fraudulent media in this country continues to beclown itself. If you're not in the lefty camp, you are labelled a racist, homophobe, or a transphobe. All the while President Assisted Living and his ilk destroy the country, right under the media's nose.; 9/28/22, 7:39 AM
wendybar said...: Congratulations farmgirl!! How exciting!!; 9/28/22, 7:43 AM
Jersey Fled said...: Top White House staffers routinely torch President Brandon Robinette Biden in private, calling him a “senile old fool who has no business pretending to be president” according to a former staffer.

You're right Howard. This is fun!; 9/28/22, 7:47 AM
Temujin said...: I join you, Clyde. I'm in Sarasota. We're hunkered down. Waiting for the brunt of it. I spent the last few days hanging hurricane shutters on our house and some neighbors. Already had a large amount of hurricane supplies (I keep my hurricane tools stocked up). But...this area hasn't seen a thing like this in 100 years.

Our dog is very nervous, clinging right to us as we walk around. I do expect we'll lose power as we approach the noon hour. I have a small solar powered generator that should get us through 24 hours without a charge. It won't run the AC, but it will power the refrigerator and small things. We are not in a surge area, thankfully. But with 12"-24" of rain coming there's a good chance our already soaked ground will simply quit accepting anymore water. There's no place for it to go. So we'll see.

Either way...it'll make for an interesting Tuesday and give me a day away from politics. (or will it??...); 9/28/22, 7:49 AM
Clyde said...: @ Andrew

Yes, it's just to make the house colder so, if the power goes out, it will take longer for it to heat up to the outside temperature. It's still summer down here and once this storm passes, we'll be seeing temperatures in the mid-to-upper 80s by the weekend.; 9/28/22, 7:51 AM
Humperdink said...: Howard: "Florida Governor Ron DeSantis routinely torches former President Donald Trump in private, calling him a “moron who has no business running for president” according to a former DeSantis staffer."

Source? Of course not. Howard, are angling for a job at CNN? Lots of openings there for a person of your reporting skills.; 9/28/22, 7:55 AM
Jamie said...: Clyde, godspeed! We have friends who are in the path as well, and riding it out for good and sufficient reasons.

Farmgirl, congratulations on your grand-in-waiting!; 9/28/22, 8:18 AM
Humperdink said...: Hoping Brain Addled Biden soon announces that he is running for reelection. He might want to dispose of Kalamity Harris as in running mate though as wordsmith John Fetterman is waiting in the wings.; 9/28/22, 8:19 AM
Jefferson's Revenge said...: I find the lack of coverage of the Nord explosions interesting. The Europeans admitted that they were indeed explosions. Too coincidental to have two pipelines blow up in a few hours. I can think of no benefit to the Russians. Do the Ukrainians have that capability?

Of course there is a possibility that we did it. Our leadership seems to have a hard on for the Russians while giving the Chinese a pass. There is a video from months ago in which Biden says that we can close the pipeline whenever we want- said with that stupid smug grin of his.

I think our governing masters see an opportunity to destroy Russia. I think the risk/reward ratio in that is way skewed toward risk. I also don't understand the love Iran and hate Russia calculation.; 9/28/22, 8:27 AM
Jamie said...: Temujin, best to you as well! If I'm missing anyone else in the path, please accept my fervent best wishes.

We went through Harvey, back then, but mostly only the biblical rainfall - we're inland and were about 12 feet above the area that was flooded by the CoE to preserve the dam, and the Cajun Navy were staging themselves about a half mile from our house. So I still haven't had to experience the full brunt of a hurricane. Thinking of all of you.; 9/28/22, 8:30 AM
Tommy Duncan said...: I think I see an eye wall forming in Ann's 6:49 AM picture.

Seriously, prayers and best wishes for those living in the path of Ian...; 9/28/22, 8:34 AM
wendybar said...: Stay safe Temujin!!; 9/28/22, 8:41 AM
Achilles said...: The Nordstream Pipeline was just blown up.

Scientists detected a 2.3 scale "earthquake."

There was no leak. Joe Biden just committed an act of war against Russia and Europe.; 9/28/22, 8:42 AM
Lurker21 said...: We've reached the point where the "behind the scenes" anecdotes that circulate don't give us any insight into what politicians really are like. Maybe that was always true, and not just for politicians. Everybody who has an audience shoots their mouth of a dozen times a week, so it's best not to assume deep and lasting inner feelings based on third-hand hearsay. We've also reached the point where the "official story" about anything is automatically suspect. Same thing for the latest public outrage.

"Ian" sounds like a vegan Peace Studies major at Bard College, but it looks like the storm will be far more destructive. Here's hoping people get through it alright.; 9/28/22, 8:43 AM
Howard said...: Awesome, Farmgirl. Grandkids are the best. Especially if you are young and active Grandparents. I hope you live close by.

Life is beautiful.; 9/28/22, 8:52 AM
Vance said...: So Howard's boy Joe Biden is refusing to do anything for Florida while a major hurricane is coming. And yet he still excoriates GWB over the Democrat mayor of New Orleans' refusal to do anything--blaming Bush.

At least he is consistent. When Joe Biden says "I hope all Tampa people die!" Howard makes sure to say his "Heil Biden!" and salutes.; 9/28/22, 8:54 AM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: Yes Kai, and Tori Neuland said it out loud last January. “One way of the other we will end NS2.”; 9/28/22, 8:55 AM
Jaq said...: And yet jaydub, you have no real response, nor can you show anything I have said here is untrue. You just don’t like it. These are the same people who used impeachment of a sitting president to keep secret all of their shenanigans in Ukraine. How much do they have to lie to you?

Trump is calling for a negotiated end to this rapidly escalating conflict, which is why he had to go.; 9/28/22, 9:26 AM
Original Mike said...: My money's on the enviro-weenies.; 9/28/22, 9:50 AM
R C Belaire said...: Once the gas in those pipelines leaks out and they fill with seawater, how is the seawater removed? That will certainly take some time. And what does seawater inside those lines mean for the integrity of the pipes themselves?; 9/28/22, 10:02 AM
TheOne Who Is Not Obeyed said...: "Why would Russia pull the rug out from under protests in Europe that would only get worse as unemployment climbs and winter approaches"

Because that's not what the pipeline sabotage will do. Keep in mind no gas is being run through the pipes right now; everything that spills is just sitting in the lines under the sea.

The pipeline itself can be fixed (probably, this is guesstimation from other pipeline "Experts") within a few weeks. So it's not like the pipeline is completely destroyed.

What the pipeline sabotage will do in the short term is help spike prices. Who benefits from that? The same country that benefitted from the stupid sanctions and price "caps" - Russia.

The pipeline sabotage long term will enhance the fear of economic collapse (or at least serious damage) among Germans. Much more increase in fuel prices will start shutting down industries in Germany and other Central and Eastern European countries. Who will then increase pressure on the Ukes to negotiate the forcible loss of their territory.

The US and the Ukes have nothing to gain from this sabotage. The Russians have everything to gain. Especially if they can pin it on the Ukes.; 9/28/22, 10:32 AM
Michael K said...: Blogger Achilles said...

The Nordstream Pipeline was just blown up.

Scientists detected a 2.3 scale "earthquake."

There was no leak. Joe Biden just committed an act of war against Russia and Europe.

Putin probably assumes this. God help us if he finds evidence.; 9/28/22, 10:34 AM
TheOne Who Is Not Obeyed said...: "Once the gas in those pipelines leaks out and they fill with seawater, how is the seawater removed? That will certainly take some time. And what does seawater inside those lines mean for the integrity of the pipes themselves?"

The same way they did it when they first built the pipelines. It's not like building undersea pipelines is completely new technology, and they are never in need of repair. The question is how big of a hole (or gap) is there, and what is needed to be done to fix it? Until someone gets some imaging it's all guess work.; 9/28/22, 11:17 AM
Original Mike said...: It seems to me it would be difficult to construct the pipeline without having seawater in them during construction, so I'm guessing that seawater does not irreparably harm them.; 9/28/22, 11:43 AM
wendybar said...: He could be the ONLY one who can do it, but the Deep State would NEVER let him. They can't let the people know how incompetent they really are... They don't WANT peace. https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/09/trump-offers-step-mediate-peace-deal-russia-ukraine-us/; 9/28/22, 12:07 PM
Andrew said...: @Clyde,
Thanks for explaining. Take care of yourself. Keep us updated if you can. But don't endanger yourself for one last Althouse comment. I hope the damage is minimal, and you and yours are safe.; 9/28/22, 12:37 PM
Rusty said...: Clyde and everybody else in Florida. You guys stay safe. Keep us posted on the situation.
Farmgirl.
Babies are the best! Congratulations.; 9/28/22, 12:40 PM
Rusty said...: Original Mike. They use a plug called a pig to clean out the pipeline.; 9/28/22, 12:43 PM
Andrew said...: Congrats, farmgirl!
Stay safe, Temujin!; 9/28/22, 12:44 PM
Original Mike said...: "Original Mike. They use a plug called a pig to clean out the pipeline."

As I imagine that working, they connect the next section of pipe, exposed to seawater, then run the pig up to evacuate that section when it's in place. But that's just me guessing. And that section of pipe wouldn't have to have seawater in it for very long.; 9/28/22, 1:02 PM
Kai Akker said...: ---Apparently we gave the same Ukrainians who are attacking a nuclear power plant with artillery and rockets the means and the mapping data to blow up the pipeline that potentially competes with those pipelines to Germany from Russia on which Ukraine collects tolls.

https://twitter.com/ClimateAudit/status/1574938075461197825

[Tim in Vermont]

If Ukraine were in NATO, what would we be doing differently?; 9/28/22, 1:11 PM
Kai Akker said...: ---... Tori Neuland said it out loud last January. “One way or the other we will end NS2.”

If so -- what's next?

A major piece of destruction is an act of war. We haven't declared any war. If Biden okayed this, and the world is all still intact in October, he has to be impeached. This belongs on any prayer list.

The Dems might even like this method of clearing the slate. Jobiden could resign, avoiding more investigation, and they could figure out their next act in the their wonderful transformation of America.; 9/28/22, 1:25 PM
Josephbleau said...: “Once the gas in those pipelines leaks out and they fill with seawater, how is the seawater removed? That will certainly take some time. And what does seawater inside those lines mean for the integrity of the pipes themselves?”

There are check valves and blocking valves every few kilometers. unless the pipeline operator disabled them.; 9/28/22, 1:55 PM
Narr said...: Good luck to all you Floridians--my wife has a niece in Pensacola who until a few years ago lived near Clearwater.

Also, congrats to new and prospective parents and grandparents.; 9/28/22, 2:09 PM
Jaq said...: Will those check valves stand up to explosive forces transmitted by highly pressurized gas? Was that in the requirements?; 9/28/22, 2:30 PM
Jaq said...: "What the pipeline sabotage will do in the short term is help spike prices"

So would simply shutting them off, which would keep Putin's options open, and dangle the pipeline gas as a wedge to the EU.

"The US and the Ukes have nothing to gain from this sabotage."

except that all Russian gas to Germany, which has been withholding weapons that Zelensky has been demanding, now flows though Ukraine and Poland, Poland being the closest to the destruction. The Nord Streams avoided Ukrainian and Polish taxes, too, BTW, and were vigorously opposed by both.

The Polish parliament just demanded WWII reparations from Germany a couple of weeks ago, BTW.

"The Russians have everything to gain."

So, burn an ace in the hole that was beginning to weaken Germany's resolve, as street protests have broken out widely against the sanctions on Russia, cut off all future options, to try a triple bank shot on fickle public opinion, under NATO's nose in the Baltic, a NATO lake, while NATO forces are on high alert? Oh, and leave no trace, forensically, that could lead back to them, not that the US regime would be above faking some up.

I think it was Poland and Ukraine, that's my guess. Both batshit crazy countries with a burning hated of Russia and full of Nazis.; 9/28/22, 2:47 PM
Jaq said...: "My money's on the enviro-weenies."

Who deliberately leaked all of that methane into the sea and the atmosphere? Sweden is calling this an environmental catastrophe. At some point, you are going to have to face it, that neocons have insinuated themselves into the highest circles of power in the west, and that they are actually evil. Keep your eyes open to it and it's plain to see everywhere.; 9/28/22, 2:51 PM
Original Mike said...: "There are check valves and blocking valves every few kilometers. unless the pipeline operator disabled them."

Which they would use to stop the gas leak from continuing. Sure would be nice to know if that has happened. If only there were an organization or two with people to look into it and tell us if that has happened. These hypothetical people need a name. I propose calling them 'reporters'.; 9/28/22, 3:05 PM
Jaq said...: State Department claiming that Biden and Nuland's public speeches are "Russian disinformation." So I guess that settles it. They never lie about stuff like that!

If somebody says he is going to do something to me "one way or another," that's a threat. I still think Poland did it, maybe without asking, but I think that it's hysterically funny the way Biden's mouth and need for self aggrandizement gets him in so much trouble. Too bad it's taking us closer to WWIII.

Ukraine had the drones and the mapping, thanks to us, a common border with Poland, and it happened right off of Poland in the Baltic Sea. Both stand to gain substantially by killing off a competitor to their Russian gas pipelines, both have had public rifts with Germany in recent weeks.; 9/28/22, 4:01 PM
Dr Weevil said...: Those who refuse to believe that the Russians could have blown up their own pipeline fail to consider two things:

1. Something many people have alleged on Twitter, with no one objecting, so I think it must be true: that Russia signed a contract to deliver gas through the NS-1 and NS-2 pipelines, and that the contract has huge financial penalties for non-delivery. They can't just refuse to deliver, and the excuses they were using ("sorry, technical troubles") were becoming less plausible by the day. If some unknown party blew up the pipelines, they can plead 'force majeure' and get out without paying. If they weren't planning to open them any time soon, they had a huge incentive to blow them up, while accusing others.

2. They were blown up the day before the Norway-Poland gas pipeline was inaugurated, a pipeline that will greatly ease the gas crunch in the free countries of Europe. (Some of the gas will go through Poland to other countries.) By a strange coincidence, it just happens to cross the Nord Stream pipelines near Bornholm. If the Norway-Poland gas pipeline were to blow up, it would really hurt the free countries of Europe, and we would all immediately suspect Russia, which has a bunch of submarines specifically designed for such jobs - they can even crawl on the sea-floor.

Or rather we would have immediately suspected Russia, but now Putin can use a specious syllogism to claim it wasn't him: (a) All three pipelines were obviously blown up by the same evil power, (b) I couldn't possibly have wanted to blow up my own pipelines [hogwash: see #1], ergo (c) I didn't blow up the Norway-Poland. And all the Putinazi fools and lying creeps like 'tim in vermont' would immediately parrot their assigned talking points and accuse Poland (what? they don't want Norwegian oil?), Ukraine (they don't want their ally Poland to have Norwegian oil?), and the US (ditto) of destroying all three.; 9/28/22, 4:56 PM
Dr Weevil said...: P.S. The last sentence of my 4:56pm should of course say "gas", not "oil".

An interesting complication just reported. Another gas pipeline was just reported blown up in occupied Kherson province Ukraine (link - read replies, too). Apparently the Ukrainians cut off the pipeline bringing gas from Crimea to Ukraine when the Russians stole Crimea in 2014. Now the Russians are trying to turn it on to supply their troops in stolen Kherson oblast, and either they screwed up and blew it up with their own incompetence, or the Ukrainians did blow up this one, as they have a perfect right to do, since it's their pipeline on their territory.; 9/28/22, 5:37 PM
Dr Weevil said...: P.P.S. I may have misunderstood the direction of the gas. It appears from the linked feed's map that the gas may have been flowing to Crimea.; 9/28/22, 5:40 PM
Jaq said...: Lol, that’s a stretch, blow up a pipeline you spent tens of billions building to avoid fees. The reason NATO is pushing this ridiculous story is so that gullible people will blame the effects of the sanctions on Putin, “Putin’s price hike.”

Why was Ukraine’s annexation of Crimea “legal”? Stalin never gave it to them and the Crimeans voted for independence. And yet the borders dictated by Stalin are sacrosanct when it comes to Donbas and worth WW3 to enforce?; 9/28/22, 5:47 PM
Drago said...: Dr Weevil: "They can't just refuse to deliver, and the excuses they were using ("sorry, technical troubles") were becoming less plausible by the day."

Nonsense.

Yes, they can "just refuse to deliver". There are already max sanctions on russia and russians. Of course they can refuse. And of course they can come up with more excuses. They are russkis. Excuses are their very best exports!

Or maybe you think Biden's Earpiece and gang are just too darn honorable for any such action?

Sorry Dr Weevil, you are twisting yourself into pretzels to avoid the obvious because you want the highly implausible and illogical to be true.; 9/28/22, 6:28 PM
Jaq said...: I guess that they had a perfect right to blow up Nordstream as well, since it was in international waters and protests in Europe were weakening resolve, and now they have nothing to protest about, since the pipeline can’t be turned on. Lucky break for Ukraine that Russia blew up their own pipeline!; 9/28/22, 6:32 PM
Dr Weevil said...: I don't claim to know who blew up the pipelines, I'm just pointing out that Russia cannot be ruled out. This long Twitter thread and the other one it links to in the first tweet provide a great deal of interesting evidence and argument for all sides. One more point in favor of thinking Putin did it: if any other Russians were thinking they could get rid of Putin, make some kind of compromise in Ukraine, turn on the gas pipeline, and get out from under sanctions, they're not thinking that any more because it's no longer possible.

If someone is wondering why Ukraine thinks it owns Crimea, he might want to consider the UN resolution saying so, and the fact that only 17 countries recognize the pseudo-republic declared by the Russian occupiers after a fraudulent referendum held under the guns of Russian soldiers. Wikipedia doesn't provide a list of the 17, but it's obvious that they include all of Russia's nasty little tyrannical allies and puppets: Cuba, Venezuela, North Korea, Syria, Iran, Belarus, and the like. Does even one democracy recognize it? The other 176 countries in the U.N. know who owns Crimea.

I point all this out not for the smelly little Putinazi propagandist who thinks Poland and Ukraine are "full of Nazis" (a lie), that Russia isn't (another lie), that Poland and Ukraine are "batshit crazy" (yet another lie), and who somehow can't understand why they would have "a burning hat[r]ed of Russia". Because of the massive war-crimes that Russia has committed against both, and is now committing against Ukraine, duh! Everyone understands why many Irish hate the English: Russia's treatment of Ukraine (and Poland and the Baltics and many more) was at least as brutal and far more recent than the Potato Famine, and it continues at this very moment, to the approval of 'tim in vermont'.

In sum, I point all this out only for others who might be tempted to think that he sometimes has a point.; 9/28/22, 9:23 PM
Jaq said...: The UN does what the US wants. Crimea has no right to Ukraine beyond that they had a more powerful military and it suited the US.

The Crimeans never wanted it, and once the CIA overthrew the non-aligned government in Ukraine, and the new government in Kiev started fighting a war with the parts of the Ukraine that rejected the armed overthrow of their legitimately elected government, the Russians were welcomed.; 9/29/22, 5:07 AM
Jaq said...: So no denial that the Poles and Ukrainians have a burning hated of Russia, just a justification for it, then. Anybody following Ukraine prior to February, which I was because that's where the bodies lay on impeachment, is well aware that Ukrainian naziism was a widely recognized problem in the western press, and Russian naziism seems to have appeared suddenly out of the blue when Ukrainian naziism became a P.R. problem for Zelensky. Maybe I am wrong, maybe you can show me a New York Times story from before this year describing Russian nazis in power. I can probably show you a dozen such stories for Ukraine from that paper alone, but you first since I have already done it here.

What has happened is that these blood feuds have been brought to our shores, and these people with a burning hatred for Russians have insinuated their way into the highest corridor of US power. They are a cancer, and this European feud is not our fight and we are risking WWIII over this hatred that is none of our business.; 9/29/22, 6:50 AM
Rusty said...: Michael K said...

"Blogger Achilles said...

The Nordstream Pipeline was just blown up.

Scientists detected a 2.3 scale "earthquake."

There was no leak. Joe Biden just committed an act of war against Russia and Europe.

Putin probably assumes this. God help us if he finds evidence."
That's the thing about dictators like Putin and Biden. They don't need evidence. They provide their own. Like the Jan. 6 committee.
I warned you guys that Biden would get us trading nukes with somebody. Looks like Russia and the clock is ticking closer to midnight.; 9/29/22, 9:12 AM
Dr Weevil said...: Poor stupid 'tim in vermont' thinks the UN decided not to recognize Crimea's referendum. Every country in the world decides which other alleged countries to recognize as countries and which to ignore as fake countries. I just mentioned the 193 members of the UN as a way of estimating how many do not recognize Crimea if 17 do: 176:17 is more than 10:1 and I'm pretty sure that every democracy in the world is in the 176, and every one of those 17 is a brutal tyranny that sucks Putin's cock, like Belarus, Venezuela, North Korea, and 'tim in vermont'.

It doesn't seem to bother our little Putinazi that the supposedly independent Luhansk and Donetsk 'republics' are being annexed by Russia tomorrow after a fake referendum with unfolded ballots and transparent ballet boxes, though the colonial soldiers of the DPR and LPR have been complaining for months about being ordered to fight outside their fake republics, and even outside the Donbass, and do not want to be drafted into the Russian army. Too bad for them.

Nor does it bother him that the Russians just held fake referenda in Kherson and Zaporizhzhie as well, which Russia never had any claim to, but is planning to annex tomorrow so they'll have a land-bridge to Crimea (though not for long). So much for Putin's "I'm just protecting my fellow Russians" lie.

He also keeps whining about the Azov battalion, which was always less than 1% of the Ukrainian army, was destroyed (all killed or captured) in Mariupol months ago, and is reported by Wikipedia to have been composed mostly of ethnic Russians from the Donbass, thus neatly refuting two of his lies: that Russians can't be Nazis, and that all Russians in the Donbass want to be part of Russia.

Of course, his main problem with pretending that all Ukrainians, and no Russians, are Nazis, is that the Russians have been acting like Nazis throughout the war: they bomb, drone, or shell civilian neighborhoods every night, killing dozens; they fill mass graves with civilians and soldiers who have surrendered, many of them brutally tortured; they rape the younger women and steal cars and washing machines from everyone; they bomb dams to flood civilian neighborhoods; they have kidnapped over a million Ukrainian civilians and shipped them to Russia for 'filtration'; they have stolen thousands of Ukrainian orphans - the woman in charge was just boasting that the orphans cursed Putin and said they wanted to go home at first, but now they've settled down (after being starved and beaten, I'm sure) -; they're drafting ethnic Ukrainians and Tatars in the occupied areas and forcing them to shoot at their fellow citizens. All these are war crimes worthy of Nazis, and the Ukrainians are not doing any of these things. (They have shelled and droned a lot places in Russia and the occupied territories, but only ammunition dumps, military bases, and military positions, not civilian neighborhoods. They did drone a couple of high-ranking FSB [=KGB] officers walking down the sidewalk in Belgorod, Russia a few months ago, but no civilians were injured.) And even before the war: the Donbass guy who ordered the shooting down of a Malaysian airliner, killing 300+, most of them Dutch, is still walking around free on the Russian side of the lines, Tweeting up a storm (mostly cursing the Russian generals' incompetence). Shouldn't he be on the trial in the Hague? Putin doesn't think so: he likes mass-murderers.

And 'tim in vermont' approves of all these Nazi crimes.; 9/29/22, 3:28 PM