Jack Smith deposition

The full video record of former Special Council Jack Smith's testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on December 17, 2025.

In November 2022, attorney general Merrick Garland appointed Smith an independent special counsel, responsible for overseeing two preexisting Justice Department criminal investigations into former president Donald Trump, three days after Trump announced his 2024 presidential campaign: one regarding Trump's role in the January 6 U.S. Capitol attack, and the other into alleged mishandling of government records, including classified documents ... - Wikipedia

An open-air prison?

- Gaza City, 2018 - Wikipedia

If we're going to have any seriousness in this discussion, there has to be some recognition that activists said pre-war Gaza was "an open air prison" and now cast it as an idyll that was inexplicably destroyed after 7 October, where nobody seems to remember what happened. https://t.co/Bf7N7FdJQZ

— Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) December 27, 2025

Before the Oct 7 war, I didn't know really anything about Gaza. My impression was that it was a relatively small squalid area comprised of flimsy tents ... you know, a "fefugee camp".

I didn't realize that Gaza had a border with Egypt, as well as with Israel, and that people could leave through the Rafah crossing into Egypt, though that was sometimes difficult or expensive.

I didn't realize either that the Gaza Strip had farms, sea-side resorts, universities, hospitals, large high-rise buildings in a number of cities, and some luxury residential areas like this one built by Qatar ... Qatari housing project in Gaza concludes first stage

Here are some photos of Gaza before the war, from Wikipedia ...

- a Gza amusement park

- a Gaza seaport

- the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship hospital

- Nehru Library and Cultural Center at Gaza's Al-Azhar University - Wikipedia

- and Gaza City again, 2013 - Wikipedia

Yes, the Gaza Strip is mostly rubble now. But it wasn't an open-air prison before the war. And if Hamas had not started the war with atrocities and hostage-taking, if Hamas had not built a massive tunnel system under homes, hospitals, mosques, and schools, and booby-trapped almost every building, Gaza would not be rubble now.

Let It Rain

It's still raining a lot here. Perhaps a song will cheer me up. Here's Eric Clapton at The Royal Albert Hall in 2015 (when he was 70) ...

Merry Christmas

His day to shine ✨🎅

📸: Film Studio Aves#deer #Christmas #holidayseason pic.twitter.com/MOtM9iaFLz

— Animal Planet (@AnimalPlanet) December 25, 2025

The storm

Scary weather here in CA. Not as bad where I am as down south, but still tonight, for the second night, we have a flooding warning and a high wind warning.

I'm mostly worried about the pop tents on the porch and in the back yard. I have them for the outdoor cats but they are pretty fragile and tend to turn into kites when it's windy and can get big puddles of water in them if it rains a lot. So tonight Yoda and I are sitting by the open front door (screen door closed), watching the pop tent on the porch in case it needs help - maybe Santa will appear :)

Back yard pop tent on a nice weather day ...

And here it is after a bad storm a couple of years ago ...

The 24th

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring, not even a… pic.twitter.com/iTQyKoPyh5

— The Wildlife Trusts (@WildlifeTrusts) December 24, 2025

In the Middle East

🎄 Christmas trees in the Middle East

📌 Jaffa, Israel pic.twitter.com/nlHw0QUeLI

— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) December 23, 2025

Black Beauty

Saw this in the news today ...

Cartagena's iconic horse carriages give way to electric buggies

The article gives the perspectives of the cart owners and also animal rights groups who are at odds. The story reminded me of one of the first books I remember reading as a kid, that really had an effect on me ... Black Beauty.



It's because of books like this that I became a vegetarian. How we treat those who are powerless really says a lot about us.

Don Felder

Styx Joins Don Felder on stage in Las Vegas at the Orleans Arena to play 'Hotel California', 2015.

The guitar sound is like the album. Don Felder is the magician behind this music in the Eagles sound. pic.twitter.com/tDY8Y6Ehbp

— 🎸 Rock History 🎸 (@historyrock_) September 16, 2025

As we will remember, Don Felder, once of the Eagles, was really a good guitarist and was the architect of the musical part of the song, Hotel California (Glenn Frey and Don Henley wrote the lyrics). Unfortunately, he and Frey did not get along and he was fired from the (reformed) band in 2001.

Here below you can see him in 1994 with the band after they got back together for a time and recorded the MTV concert Hell Freezes Over. He's so good in this acoustic version of Hotel California (Joe Walsh is the other lead guitarist) ....

Releasing (some of) the Epstein files

I'm not surprised that this DOJ has already reneged on the law Congress passed on the release of the files - they haven't made public all the files today, and they haven't made the files searchable. It seems obvious they are trying to hide something.

"More for me"

Trump tries to take money away from homeless people. ...

20 states sue the Trump administration over cuts to homeless permanent housing funding

US judge blocks Trump administration from altering homelessness funding conditions

Because, you know, he probably needs more gold knick-knacks for the Oval office ...

In the yard

A few days ago, took some photos. It's been icky here - cold and gray and damp. The cats are not amused.

The sun is trying to come out ...

Here's Inky on the leaf pile ...

Lucy, black cat #2 of 3, watching Inky ...

Prince Wendell. Why is the leaf pile so popular? ...

Socks (L) and Gretel in the back yard, snacking ...

Closer snap of Socks ...

Cardinal Dolan replaced

In the news ... Pope names fellow Chicagoan, Bishop Ronald Hicks, as new archbishop of New York

[...] Bishop Ronald Hicks, the current bishop of Joliet, Illinois, replaces the retiring Cardinal Timothy Dolan, a prominent conservative figure in the U.S. Catholic hierarchy. Hicks takes over after Dolan last week finalized a plan to establish a $300 million fund to compensate victims of sexual abuse who had sued the archdiocese.

Hicks addressed the matter during his news conference Thursday.

“As a church, we can never rest in our efforts to prevent abuse, to protect children and to care for survivors,” he said. “While this work is challenging, it’s difficult, it’s painful, I hope it will continue to help in the areas of accountability, transparency and healing.” ...

Sounds nice, doesn't it? Cardinal Dolan and the Church helping sex abuse survivors. Except that isn't exactly what's happening here. Or at least that's as it seemed when the plan was announced - I haven't seen anything about it in the news since then. Here below is the text of a post I did on October 8, 2016 about Dolan and this compensation program for abuse survivors, and the irony of Dolan being in charge of the program. Read on if you are interested ...

* * * *

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 08, 2016

Irony alert: Cardinal Dolan


- Cardinal Dolan

In the news, Cardinal Dolan announces new compensation program for abuse survivors ...

New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan said Oct. 6 he hopes a new archdiocesan program to provide compensation to survivors of clergy sexual abuse will "help bring a measure of peace and healing" to those victims .... To cover the cost of compensating victims, the archdiocese said it will take out a long-term loan. It "will not use money given by the people of the archdiocese to support parishes, schools and charitable works," the news release said. None of the funds to be paid to victims will be taken from the annual stewardship appeal, a new capital campaign called Renew and Rebuild or from any money given by a donor "for a specific ministry or apostolate." ...

Strangely, the article fails to mention Cardinal Dolan's past efforts, not to help abuse survivors, but to swindle them: The New York Times wrote an editorial on this - Cardinal Dolan and the Sexual Abuse Scandal ...

Tragic as the sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church has been, it is shocking to discover that Cardinal Timothy Dolan, while archbishop of Milwaukee, moved $57 million off the archdiocesan books into a cemetery trust fund six years ago in order to protect the money from damage suits by victims of abuse by priests.

Cardinal Dolan, now the archbishop of New York, has denied shielding the funds as an “old and discredited” allegation and “malarkey.” But newly released court documents make it clear that he sought and received fast approval from the Vatican to transfer the money just as the Wisconsin Supreme Court was about to open the door to damage suits by victims raped and abused as children by Roman Catholic clergy ...

And - Dolan Sought to Protect Church Assets, Files Show ...

Files released by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee on Monday reveal that in 2007, Cardinal Timothy F. Dolan, then the archbishop there, requested permission from the Vatican to move nearly $57 million into a cemetery trust fund to protect the assets from victims of clergy sexual abuse who were demanding compensation ... files contain a 2007 letter to the Vatican in which he explains that by transferring the assets, “I foresee an improved protection of these funds from any legal claim and liability.” The Vatican approved the request in five weeks, the files show.

And it's not just this. While a church sponsored compensation program for victims might sound nice, what that actually means is an end run around the justice system ....

Some advocates for sex abuse victims immediately assailed the program as an attempt to squash cases quickly, before New York's legislature acts on a proposal to make it easier for victims to sue over abuse that happened years ago.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, an independent network of survivors of clergy abuse, said in a statement that compensation needs to be determined by independent sources, such as judges and juries.

The group's executive director, David Clohessy, said that Dolan's announcement is also "short circuiting" legislative reform on the statue of limitations.

"We are not pleased with announcement," Clohessy said.

Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of BishopAccountability.org, an advocacy group that collects records on abusive priests, said in an email that New York's "restrictive statute of limitations has enabled Dolan to hide the true scope of the clergy abuse crisis in the NY archdiocese."

"His proposed victims' compensation fund is another tactic designed to fend off disclosure," she said.

New York state lawmakers have long debated extending the statute of limitations on suing child sex abusers, or creating a window of opportunity for past victims to file civil suits against abusers. Such proposals have faced strong opposition from the Catholic Church and other institutions.

The leading proposal in the Legislature would eliminate the statute of limitations for several child sexual abuse crimes going forward and create a one-year window for past victims to file civil suits. Victims now have until they turn 23 to file lawsuits, but supporters say it can take years before victims step forward. In May, an attempt by supporters in the state Senate to force a vote on the measure failed.
- Archdiocese of New York to Compensate Clergy Abuse Survivors: Cardinal Dolan

So should we trust Cardinal Dolan and this plan to help survivors? Even ignoring his $57 million switcheroo, his other past dealings with the sex abuse problem have been checkered at best. Myself, I don't believe that he cares at all about sex abuse survivors.

And here's a later story on this from The National Catholic Reporter, October 2016 ... NY cardinal's new compensation program for victims will keep sex abuse hidden

The speech

Trump gave a speech tonight. An example ...

U.S. President Donald Trump:

"Drugs brought in by Ocean and Sea are down 94%. We have broken the grip of sinister woke radicals in our schools... I've restored American Strength, settled 8 wars in 10 months, destroyed the Iran Nuclear Threat, and ended the war in Gaza—bringing,… pic.twitter.com/05YiQYr92H

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) December 18, 2025

Lies.

Here's more on the speech from Lawrence O'Donnell ...

Knesset Menorah

This is the Knesset Menorah... let's check out the Maccabees fighting for independence ✊ #art #arthistory #culture #history #hanukkah #happyhanukkah #chanukah pic.twitter.com/jJvgRXUd7m

— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) December 17, 2025

Read more about the Knesset Menorah and see photos of the artwork at Wikipedia.

Ann Wilson

Ann Wilson or Stevie Nicks? pic.twitter.com/1OE7uOdrdz

— Music and lyrics! 🎙️🎵🎸🎼🎹🤘 (@somethingrand77) December 12, 2025

Ann Wilson is my choice. Nicks' singing voice sounds like that of a lost sheep to me.

A (French) vegetarian Christmas

Why misunderstood wolf from a supermarket ad is moving viewers worldwide

It's never too late to become a vegetarian :)

Bondi Beach

Bondi Beach, Australia - terror attack leaves ten dead including a Rabbi after terrorists open fire on a 1000+ people Chanukkah celebration.

We have no words. pic.twitter.com/s4TKSw33oO

— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) December 14, 2025

The Intifada Comes to Bondi Beach

By David Frum

It’s long past time to stop saying “Anti-Semitic violence has no place in our society.” Outrage upon outrage confirms that anti-Semitic violence has a large and expanding place in Western societies—that it is supported by many, that it is tolerated by many more, and that it is often appeased or even enabled by governments fearful of confronting large and militant factions within their populations.

For months before today’s mass killing on Sydney’s Bondi Beach, Australia has been afflicted by repeated incidents of anti-Jewish harassment and intimidation. The outrages began just two days after the October 7 Hamas terror attacks in Israel, with a demonstration at the Sydney Opera House that included a chant of “Fuck the Jews.” Dozens more such demonstrations followed across the country. Curses soon escalated into crimes ...

This is why Mamdani refusing to reject "globalize the intifada" has been seen as so problematic.

It's time that we Democrats stop pretending that spreading hate and disinformation about Israel doesn't feed antisemitism, and it's time we were honest with ourselves about the influence Middle Eastern immigrant populations have, both here and in Europe, on our politics.

If you don't think that latter point is true, think back to when Arab American voters in Michigan decided to vote for Trump in the last election because they were mad at Biden for helping Israel after Oct 7 ...

The Epstein photos

Depressing how many famous, wealthy, and powerful men were friends with Epstein. I find it incredible, as in unbelievable, that they didn't know that Epstein was a sex trafficker. It does seem that when people have the ability to do whatever they want, they prey on those who can't. Thucydides: The powerful do what they can, and the weak suffer what they must.

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).