Released in 1966, "For What It's Worth" by Buffalo Springfield captured the restless spirit of a generation grappling with social upheaval, yet its message still resonates today. pic.twitter.com/i2LGyTiKUI
— Music and lyrics! đď¸đľđ¸đźđšđ¤ (@somethingrand77) December 31, 2025
The Buffalo Springfield. Saw them once, here at the state fair when I was in high school. They were only around for a couple of years, and later morphed into Crosby, Stills & Nash. My favorite song of theirs was this one ...
The New York Times has a new video analysis of the killing of Alex Pretti by federal agents (CBP) ...
When Alex Pretti was laying on the ground, surrounded by agents, he held his phone in one hand and his glasses in the other :( After watching this, I have no doubt that this was an unprovoked killing ... an apparent murder. It's important for us to keep abreast of the available facts, because if you think that the DOJ or Homeland Security or the FBI is going to do an impartial and complete investigation of what happened, think again.
Israel said Sunday its military was conducting a âlarge-scale operationâ to locate the last hostage in Gaza, as Washington and other mediators pressure Israel and Hamas to move into the next phase of their ceasefire ...
Iâm keeping my hostage pin in my pocket.
We paid a terrible ransom to get the hostages out, because we had no choice.
But ransoms teach kidnappers that taking hostages pays. They will strike again. pic.twitter.com/OH67h7KJFs
There is a new video analysis by The Washington Post of the killing of Alex Pretti by federal agents. Sadly, I'm not a subscriber so haven't seen it, but here is an earlier analysis from CNN with commentary by Andy McCabe, former deputy director of the FBI under James Comey.
Both videos show that the victim never had his gun in his hand, and that his gun was taken from him before he was then shot 10 times by the agents ...
Despite all the public evidence, the administration continues to lie about what happened.
I've seen the videos. I'm sure more will be revealed about what happened, but this is what I've read/heard so far ...
Seems that the victim was killed while trying to help a woman that ICE agents knocked down. He had a gun, but Minnesota is a state that allows open carry and concealed carry of guns, and he did not have the gun in his hands, just a phone. He was apparently shot multiple times after his gun was taken away from him and while he was laying on the ground, surrounded by agents.
Kristi Noem said the victim arrived on the scene planning "to kill law enforcement" ... an apparent lie.
And a discussion about what happened by The Bulwark's Sarah Longwell and law professor and former lead prosecutor in Robert Mueller's Special Counsel's Office Andrew Weissmann ...
He says everything depends on Hamas demilitarizing, but I haven't seen any plan for who is going to make them give up their weapons and their political power. No country has agreed to force Hamas to do this - no country is willing to fight them. So ... ?
And then there's the de-radicalization of Gaza. Peace won't naturally follow rebuilding if the Gazans still hate Israelis and want to kill them all. What's the plan for this problem?
I fear Jared believes money can buy eveything and everyone. I think he's wrong.
Given the recent news, I'm not just worried about Greenland, I'm worried about the whole world. Why? Because ... the Board of Peace.
If I understand correctly, the Board of Peace is not just about ruling Gaza. That is part of it, but there is also a part that plans to take the place of, and do away with, the United Nations. The Board will be composed of Trump friends, like Viktor OrbĂĄn and Vladimir Putin, and the one billion dollars they will each pay to be on the Board will not go to the US government or to an international agency - it will go directly to Trump himself.
Here's The Times of Israel's daily briefing from yesterday, and an article from TIME ...
[...] Countries will have to cough up at least $1 billion in order to secure a permanent seat on the board, according to a draft charter, while other members will have three-year terms. Bloomberg first reported on the high fee, and The Times of Israel posted a copy of the draft charter text ...
Itâs unclear how exactly the contribution will be used. The Washington Post reported, citing an unnamed senior European official, that European leaders are in talks over Trumpâs ambitions for the board, which appear to be more expansive than just settling the Gaza conflict. The official also reportedly said that despite Europeâs commitments to the Strip, thereâs little appetite to significantly fund an organization that advances a Trump-led world order, amid speculation that the Board of Peace is being devised as an alternative to the United Nations, which the U.S. under Trump has increasingly been hostile to.
Bloomberg added, citing unnamed sources, that most countries that could have joined the board have found it unacceptable that the draft appears to suggest Trumpâwho would be the boardâs inaugural chairâwould manage its funds ...
Let me begin by quoting, in full, a letter that the president of the United States of America sent yesterday to the prime minister of Norway, Jonas Gahr Støre. The text was forwarded by the White House National Security Council to ambassadors in Washington, and was clearly intended to be widely shared. Here it is:
Dear Jonas:
Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America. Denmark cannot protect that land from Russia or China, and why do they have a âright of ownershipâ anyway? There are no written documents, itâs only a boat that landed there hundreds of years ago, but we had boats landing there, also. I have done more for NATO than any person since its founding, and now, NATO should do something for the United States. The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland. Thank you! President DJT ...
Over-board: Making sense of the various Gaza oversight committees created by Trump
Government of Palestinian technocrats will run daily affairs in Gaza, be supervised by Board of Peace along w/ two executive boards with inexplicably near-identical nameshttps://t.co/371L14DNg1
Imagine youâre the president of a midsize country, and youâre offered a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. The only condition: You have to pay the secretary-general of the United Nations $1 billion.
This is something like what Donald Trump is now offering world leaders.
The U.S. president has sent letters of invitation to various heads of government to join a new Board of Peace, which he will chair. The organization was envisioned as part of the United Nationsâbacked effort for the reconstruction and transitional governance of Gaza. But the new boardâs charter, details of which have not been previously reported, appears to give the board a global remit, according to a copy we reviewed. And the price of a permanent position on the board is very steep ...
Of course Trump would put his favorite buddies on the Board, and of course he would find a way to make a buck off the situation.
Israel wants Gaza to be placed under international trusteeship, because the place canât be trusted to govern itself peacefully yet. Replacing Hamas with its patrons Turkey and Qatar is not the answer. https://t.co/lnIUCLaruF
It' seems counter-productive to put two countries, Turkey and Qatar, which have hosted the leaders of Hamas and been Hamas patrons, into a governing role over Gaza. Are they going to make Hamas de-militarize?
New video analysis by The New York Times of the shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis shows the shooter was not hit by her car nor run over by it. It also reveals that it was the shooter who we can hear calling the victim a "f*cking b*tch" after he has shot her.
And yet, the DOJ will not even investigate the shooting.
Some day this administration will be gone, and the next one will be able to investigate and charge any wrongdoers, because mueder has no statute of limitations.
I have been using Wikipedia as a source of information for the blog and for myself for 20 years. Here's one of my posts from 2006 in which I cite Wikipedia ... My Pulp Fiction.
People must have questioned using Wikipedia back then, because I see I have a post the next year, 2007, explaining why I use it as a source - Wikipedia ...
I want to cite sources that are somewhat middle of the road agenda-wise, rather than ones leaning to one side or the other, as is sometimes the case with "privatre" pages. I'm aware Wikipedia is at best a secondary source, that it can itself be slanted, and that it has a tendency to fall into the error of Wikiality - truth by consensus rather than fact :-) - yet still, one would be hard pressed to find a source that can give fairly reliable introductory-level information on subjects as diverse as the medieval Battle of Stamford Bridge and the present day science fiction tv series Stargate Atlantis ...
Anyway, I love Wikipedia, despite its possible flaws. I hope it continues to be as great as it has been. Happy birthday, Wikipedia!
Ten years ago U.S. officials stationed in Cuba started reporting a strange collection of symptoms, from ringing ears and dizziness to crushing headaches and memory loss. The symptoms, collectively dubbed âHavana syndromeâ and more formally known as anomalous health incidents (AHIs), suggested a neurological issue. But what, exactly, the root cause was has remained a matter of intense debate among both medical and military experts.
Now, according to CNN, the U.S. Department of Defense has reportedly been testing a machine that is believed to produce pulsed radio waves and may be linked to Havana syndrome. The DOD and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment ...
A new video has been released by conservatives showing the moments before the shooting of Renee Good. She told the agent she wasn't mad at him, and within a minute she was shot three times in the face and called a "f*cking b*tch". One of the things not mentioned but shown in the full version of this video is that Renee's dog was in the back seat of her car - what happened to the dog?
New York Times columnist Ezra Klein talks to journalist Jonathan Blitzer about what the Trump administration is doing in Venezuela. Really informative.
Wishing You Were Here, 1974, by Chicago. A strange song and I've never really liked it a lot. For years I thought the Beach Boys did it. It was written by Peter Cetera, who usually did the vocals for the band, but this time Terry Kath sang the main song and Cetera only did the bridge. Actually, three of the Beach Boys did sing background harmony on the recording.
