Pirates of the Caribbean

Trump: We just seized a tanker off the coast of Venezuela. Large tanker. Very large. Largest one ever seized, actually.



In case anybody's unsure, we are now the bad guys :(

Is Gavin Newsom The One?

Ezra Klein, a Califotrnian like me, talks to Gavin Newsom about the chances of someone from California becomming president in 2028. ...



Klein and Newsom talked about how the Republicans saw an opportunity to gain voters in the last election through the way young men felt abandoned by society, unable to buy a home, make as much money as theur parents, etc.

Oh cry me a river. Young women had the same financial concerns as men, but they didn't become nihilists, didn't decide to vote for a horrible person just because things weren't going their way.

Forever Man

Forever Man, Eric Clapton, official music video, 1985.

Drip, drip, drip

Each day it seems a new bit of information drips out about that first US strike on a boat of supposed "narco-terrorists" last September. Wasn't it just yesterday that Admiral Bradley told lawmakers that Hegseth did not tell him to kill everybody on the boat?

Well, here's today's drip ...

Admiral told lawmakers everyone on alleged drug boat was on a list of military targets

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the U.S. military on Sept. 2 to kill all 11 people on a suspected drug-smuggling boat in the Caribbean Sea because they were on an internal list of narco-terrorists who U.S. intelligence and military officials determined could be lethally targeted, the commander overseeing the operation told lawmakers in briefings this past week, according to two U.S. officials and one person familiar with the congressional briefings ....

The question remains, can this administration turn civilian criminals, drug traffickers, into terrorists (valid military targets) just by asserting that they are ... can wishing make it so?

Not according to those at Just Security in an article from September ...

Using Labels, Not Law, to Justify Lethal Force: Inside the Venezuelan Boat Strike

President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that the U.S. military had attacked an alleged drug vessel in international waters, killing what he described as 11 “terrorists” who he claimed were members of the Tren de Aragua gang from Venezuela. The strike, which appears to be unlawful under international and domestic law, marks a sweeping escalation and departure from the U.S. military’s approach to drug interdiction. Borrowing language from the post-9/11 “Global War on Terror,” the Trump administration is attempting to turn counternarcotics missions into counterterrorism operations. But applying a new label to an old problem does not transform the problem itself – nor does it grant the U.S. president or the U.S. military expanded legal authority to kill civilians.

The Trump administration’s description of the boat is not much different from any number of drug vessels and fast boats that attempt to evade U.S. authorities. As a former naval line officer and JAG who has both advised on the law of naval operations and witnessed firsthand how the Navy works with the Coast Guard to interdict suspected drug vessels, I can attest that the United States has longstanding law enforcement rules to deal with these situations. These rules have been in place for decades. Typically, such a boat would be intercepted and boarded, the drugs confiscated, and the people on board arrested and prosecuted. Longstanding law enforcement statutes and rules dictate that the Coast Guard takes the lead in maritime law enforcement operations, using well-established procedures to halt any suspected drug vessel. If the vessel refuses to comply, the Coast Guard may resort to firing warning shots and disabling fire. None of these escalation of force procedures were followed here—why? ....

The whole article is worth a read, and there are several more recent articles at Just Security on these boat strikes.

The other question that remains is why are they really destroying these boats/people?

Snuff films

As General McCaffrey said, as disturbing as the killing of the two helpless shipwrecked "narco-terrorists" is, no one will face repercussions for it. In fact, these snuff films have become a source of entertainment ...

And the real fun will begin when the actual land war for Venezuela's oil reserves starts. Just think of the videos they'll have for us then.

Just a thought, though, about those doing the killing ... muder and war crimes have no statutes of limitation.

The Silk Road and Bitcoin

In the news today ...

White House defends pardon of ex-Honduran president convicted of drug trafficking

[...] During a White House press briefing, Leavitt justified the administration’s lifeline to Hernández, arguing the two-term president’s charges had been mired by a corrupt “over-prosecution” under former President Joe Biden’s administration ...

This explanation seems disingenuous at best, in part because it was Trump's personal lawyer and now federal judge, Emil Bove, who was one of those who built a case against and prosecuted the brother of the ex-president of Honduras ...

Trump formally pardons former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández

[...] Though the Trump administration is blaming the Biden administration, Hernández’s brother was actually prosecuted by Emil Bove during Trump’s first term in office. Bove then served as Trump’s personal attorney before becoming a federal judge nominated by Trump ...

This is not the first time Trump has pardoned a drug trafficker ...

Trump pardons Silk Road dark web market creator Ross Ulbricht

US President Donald Trump says he has signed a full and unconditional pardon for Ross Ulbricht, who operated Silk Road, the dark web marketplace where illegal drugs were sold. Ulbricht was convicted in 2015 in New York in a narcotics and money-laundering conspiracy and sentenced to life in prison ...

War crime

A Washington Post article alleged that the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, ordered the military to kill survivors from a strike on a "drug boat" in the Caribbean.

It is a war crime to kill enemy combatants who are no longer a threat.

It should be mentioned that it was Hegseth who lobbied Trump to pardon some in the military who had committed war crimes during Trump's first term in office (Pete Hegseth’s Role in Trump’s Controversial Pardons of Men Accused of War Crimes).

Zero Units

What were the Afghan "Zero Units" that sources say the National Guard shooting suspect worked for?

[...] A U.S. official briefed on the shooting investigation and a former senior Afghan National Defense and Security Forces member told CBS News that the suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, had been part of a "Zero Unit," an Afghan intelligence unit and paramilitary force that worked with the CIA. The units were exclusively composed of Afghan nationals and operated under the umbrella of the National Directorate of Security, or NDS, the intelligence agency established with CIA backing for Afghanistan's previous, U.S.-backed government. They were considered by the U.S. and its international partners to be among the most trusted domestic forces in Afghanistan.

Those units are often labeled "death squads" by human rights groups. The units were known in Afghanistan for their secrecy and alleged brutality, and members were implicated in numerous extrajudicial killings of civilians, particularly during night raids.

[...]

In the U.S., Sadat said Lakanwal was "generally calm and maintained a clean record, though he suffered from PTSD ..."

So, a guy who was in a CIA "death squad" that was "implicated in numerous extrajudicial killings of civilians" ... a guy who "suffered from PTSD" ... is given high priority to immigrate to the US. And we're shocked that he flipped his wig and murdered someone? I heard on the news that there were about 10,000 of these Zero Unit members brought to the US, many of them with PTSD. What could go wrong?

So the CIA had death squads under Biden and Obama? Is the whole illegal order thing just a joke? I guess I've been really naive.

Wikipedia ... Afghanistan night raids

Pro Publica ... The Truth About Afghanistan's Zero Unit Night Raids

The skinny on MBS

So who is MBS really, and what is he up to in Saudi Arabia, and with the US? Hear Lazar Berman, diplomatic correspondent for The Times of Israel, opine on this ...

Cheetahs

POV: you're trying to relax after a big meal, but your kids have a sugar rush from too much dessert. 🥧

Watch our Cheetah Cub Cam with your whole fam at https://t.co/CAVAVKAlie

🎥 Video credit: Mackenzie Perry, Smithsonian

Video description: Cheetah mom Amabala lounges in her… pic.twitter.com/ER7VtxqAAU

— National Zoo (@NationalZoo) November 28, 2025

Happy Thanksgiving

How to throw a spectacular vegetarian Thanksgiving: https://t.co/MZoSsO6DmB pic.twitter.com/zz83k5qkpT

— Food & Wine (@foodandwine) November 5, 2015

It's never too late to become a vegetarian :) I've been one since I was in college.

More on Senator Mark Kelly

Senator Mark Kelly was on Rachel Maddow's show tonight ...

Senator Mark Kelly

When I was 22 years old, I commissioned as an Ensign in the United States Navy and swore an oath to the Constitution. I upheld that oath through flight school, multiple deployments on the USS Midway, 39 combat missions in Operation Desert Storm, test pilot school, four space… pic.twitter.com/jMAlYEozQ6

— Senator Mark Kelly (@SenMarkKelly) November 24, 2025

The Ukraine-Russia "peace" plan

From The Atlantic by Anne Applebaum ...

The Murky Plan That Ensures a Future War

The 28-point peace plan that the United States and Russia want to impose on Ukraine and Europe is misnamed. It is not a peace plan. It is a proposal that weakens Ukraine and divides America from Europe, preparing the way for a larger war in the future. In the meantime, it benefits unnamed Russian and American investors, at the expense of everyone else.

The plan was negotiated by Steve Witkoff, a real-estate developer with no historical, geographical, or cultural knowledge of Russia or Ukraine, and Kirill Dmitriev, who heads Russia’s sovereign-wealth fund and spends most of his time making business deals. The revelation of their plan this week shocked European leaders, who are now paying almost all of the military costs of the war, as well as the Ukrainians, who were not sure whether to take this latest plan seriously until they were told to agree to it by Thanksgiving or lose all further U.S. support. Even if the plan falls apart, this arrogant and confusing ultimatum, coming only days after the State Department authorized the sale of anti-missile technology to Ukraine, will do permanent damage to America’s reputation as a reliable ally, not only in Europe but around the world ....

And how did we get here? The Trump administration held secret talks with Russia ...

US drafts secret Ukraine peace plan in talks with Russia, Axios reports

Read the details of the plan at Axios ...

Trump's full 28-point Ukraine-Russia peace plan

God help Ukraine.

Triumph

The Canadian band, Triumph, Somebody's Out There, 1986.

I Will

Today in 1968, The Beatles released their self-titled album, “The Beatles” - better known as “The White Album”.

It was their longest and most genre-diverse album to date. It is widely regarded as one of the best albums of all time.

What’s your favorite song from this album? pic.twitter.com/3SF45leQTz

— The Beatles Earth (@BeatlesEarth) November 22, 2025

I recall getting this album when I was in high school. My favorite song on it is I Will ...

Like 2 peas in a pod

Trump and Mamdani Set Aside Differences During White House Meeting

President Trump and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, two singular forces in U.S. politics who have spent months antagonizing one another, set aside their following a meeting at the White House on Friday. “I feel very confident that he can do a very good job,” Trump told reporters after the meeting. “I think he is going to surprise some conservative people.”differences—for now— ...

Yep, just like two peas in a pod they were. They said they were absolutely aligned on affordability.

And Mamdani managed to make clear his dislike of Israel too. Trump seemed fine with that ...

Mamdani: I have spoken about the Israeli government committing genocide and our government funding it.

Trump: *nods*

pic.twitter.com/ViwnRyxeEP

— Spencer Hakimian (@SpencerHakimian) November 21, 2025

Nope, not creepy at all.

Shameful

It makes me feel sick to see how Trump is screwing over Ukraine. It's shameful.

Endangered

The Trump administration wants to drastically weaken Endangered Species Act protections that have protected iconic species such as the bald eagle and brought many others back from the brink of extinction. pic.twitter.com/CVaSgCQpr4

— NRDC 🌎🏡 (@NRDC) November 20, 2025

Trump administration seeks to roll back protections for imperiled species and habitat

There was a time when Republicans actually cared about conserving the natural world. Never thought I'd look back at Nixon, who signed the Endangeres Species Act into law in 1973, as a kind of hero, but compared to what we've got now, he is.