It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
BNEF estimates U.S. data center demand could reach 106 GW by 2035, far above other recent forecasts.
Many analysts warn that speculative projects, chip constraints, and overlapping permits may deflate current projections.
Major U.S. grid operators face rising reliability risks as data center proposals cluster across PJM, MISO, and ERCOT.
U.S. data center power demand could reach 106 GW in 2035, BloombergNEF said Monday in one of the more aggressive load growth estimates to date. The report comes as some energy industry analysts and executives warn that an artificial intelligence bubble or speculative data center proposals could be fueling excessive load growth projections.
A report from Grid Strategies released last month said utility forecasts of 90 GW additional data center load by 2030 were likely overstated; market analysis indicates load growth in that time frame is likely closer to 65 GW, it said.
BNEF’s data center project tracker shows the industry diversifying beyond traditional data center hubs like Northern Virginia, metro Atlanta and central Ohio into exurban and rural regions served by existing fiber-optic trunk lines for data traffic.
A map of under-construction, committed and early-stage projects shows gigawatts of planned data center capacity spreading south through Virginia and the Carolinas, up through eastern Pennsylvania and outward from Chicago along the Lake Michigan shore. More data centers are also planned for Texas and the Gulf Coast states.
Much of the capacity is poised to materialize on grids overseen by the PJM Interconnection, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. BNEF predicts PJM alone could add 31 GW of data center load over the next five years, about 3 GW more than expected capacity additions from new generation.
With the expected surge, the North American Electric Reliability Corp. warned late last year of “elevated risk” of summer electricity shortfalls this year, in 2026 and onward in all three regions.
Some experts disputed NERC’s methodology, however. MISO’s independent market monitor said in June that the group’s analysis was flawed and that MISO was in a better position than grid regions not expected to see exponential data center growth, like ISO New England and the New York Independent System Operator.
Other technology and energy system analysts expect a significant amount of proposed data center capacity to dissipate in the coming years due to chip shortages, duplicative permit requests and other factors.
In July, London Economics International said in a report prepared for the Southern Environmental Law Center that meeting projections for U.S. data center load in 2030 would require 90% of global chip supply — a scenario it called “unrealistic.”
Patricia Taylor, director of policy and research at the American Public Power Association, told Utility Dive earlier this year that it’s common for data center developers to “shop around” the same project across neighboring jurisdictions.
Still, U.S. grid operators face an “inflection moment” as they balance the desire to accommodate large-scale data centers with the obligation to ensure reliable service for all customers, BNEF said.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright has proposed an innovative plan to quickly expand US grid capacity by leveraging idled industrial diesel generators at commercial sites like data centers and big-box retailers.
The plan aims to unleash approximately 35 gigawatts of electricity capacity, which is described as the equivalent of about 35 nuclear power plants, to serve as a short-term bridge until new natural-gas and nuclear generation is available.
The proposal is a direct response to the explosive power demand from the data-center boom, offering a short-term solution for the missing power needed to support the massive buildout and mitigate the strain on regional power grids.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright has floated an unusual but very creative plan to quickly expand U.S. grid capacity: tapping the industrial diesel generators already sitting at data centers, big-box retailers, and other commercial sites. The proposal comes as multiple regional grids strain under the explosive power demand driven by the data-center boom. Leveraging these idled generators could serve as a short-term bridge until new generation comes online.
Bloomberg quoted Wright on Tuesday morning at the North American Gas Forum in Washington, where he said that tapping the nation's idled fleet of industrial diesel generators could add the equivalent of about 35 nuclear power plants' worth of electricity and help bridge the country until new natural-gas and nuclear generation comes online in the coming years.
Wright emphasized the scale of the opportunity, saying, "We're going to unleash that 35 gigawatts of capacity that sits there today," though he noted that pollution rules have historically limited generator use.
He argued that the massive data-center buildout over the next few years could be primarily supported by these existing generators, avoiding the need for dozens of new power plants.
These generators, he said, are already deployed at data centers and commercial sites nationwide. "They're all around the country. It's going to start with communicating to everyone that these assets exist."
Wright and the Trump administration understand that power grids are stretched thin in the era of data centers. The push for dispatchable backup generation is a short-term solution for all the missing power needed for the AI boom...
Perhaps by the time the 2030s arrive, new natural-gas generators and other reliable sources will finally add enough capacity to meet booming demand. Nuclear remains more of a next-decade story. And now, Wright may truly be onto something.
By Zerohedge
CU
Glencore cuts 2026 copper target but sets up for long-term surge
MARA links the Agua Rica deposit with Alumbrera’s idle infrastructure in an integrated copper project. (Image courtesy of Minera Agua Rica–Alumbrera | MARA.)
Mining and commodities giant Glencore (LON: GLEN) plans to expand annual copper production to about 1.6 million tonnes by 2035 as it seeks to reverse a multi-year slump in output.
Chief executive Gary Nagle told investors in London that the company expects its base copper business to exceed 1 million tonnes a year by the end of 2028, positioning Glencore among the world’s five largest producers.
The push comes as global miners race to increase supply, even as Glencore’s own copper output is set to fall for a fourth straight year and sit about 40% below 2018 levels.
The Swiss miner has faced pressure after its shares hit their lowest since 2020 and investors complained about repeated production cuts and operational underperformance. In response, Glencore has launched a sweeping operational review, which will see it cut about 1,000 jobs. It targets roughly $1 billion in recurring cost savings by the end of 2025, the miner announced at its first investor day in London in three years.
Copper prices hit a fresh record above $11,400 a tonne on Wednesday, extending a 30% gain this year on the back of supply disruptions and strong investor demand tied to electrification and the energy transition.
Eyes in South America
Despite outlining long-term growth plans, Glencore cut its 2026 copper guidance to 810,000–870,000 tonnes from a previous 930,000-tonne target after setbacks at Chile’s Collahuasi mine, which it jointly owns with Anglo American (LON: AAL). The company also lowered its zinc and cobalt forecasts for next year.
The Swiss firm reiterated that copper output should reach 1 million tonnes by 2028 and said the restart of its Alumbrera mine, in the Catamarca Province of Argentina, will support that ramp-up.
The operation is expected to restart in Q4 2026, with first production in the first half of 2028. Once fully operational, it is expected to produce about 75,000 tonnes of copper, 317,000 ounces of gold and 1,000 tonnes of molybdenum over four years.
“These projects are mostly brownfield and expected to be highly capital efficient,” Nagle said. He added that Glencore would be looking for partnerships to “reduce financial and operations risks” in certain projects.
Glencore noted the restart offers strong stand-alone economics and serves as a natural enabler for the Minera Agua Rica–Alumbrera (MARA) project by reducing ramp-up risk for the concentrator and downstream logistics, maintaining and retraining the workforce ahead of first ore, and keeping critical infrastructure active for shared use, generating operational synergies.
Keeping Chile footprint
In neighbouring Chile, Glencore plans to keep an equal share in its copper joint venture with Anglo American should the partners eventually merge the Collahuasi operation with Teck Resources’ (TSX: TECK.A TECK.B, NYSE: TECK) nearby Quebrada Blanca mine once Anglo acquires Teck. “We won’t be a junior partner,” Nagle said, adding Glencore could inject cash to keep its stake level in any future combination.
Teck and Anglo shareholders will vote next week on the deal to create a copper-rich mining giant, with the two Chilean assets seen as a central motivation. The expectation that Collahuasi and Quebrada Blanca could be integrated to unlock major cost savings has circulated for years.
Nagle said any combination must reflect Collahuasi’s improved relative value after recent setbacks at Quebrada Blanca. “We’re not ignorant to some adjacent potential synergies,” he said. “At a minimum, the value attributed to the two properties, the value has materially moved towards Collahuasi.”
Rio Tinto’s Nuton tech makes first-ever copper cathode at Gunnison mine
The open pit at Gunnison Copper’s Johnson Camp Mine in Arizona. Credit: Blair McBride
Rio Tinto (NYSE, LSE, ASX: RIO) venture partner Nuton has produced the first copper using new technology at Gunnison Copper’s (TSX: GCU) Johnson Camp Mine (JCM) in Arizona.
The Nuton-made copper cathode, produced last month with a unique sulphide bioleaching technology, is part of a four-year demonstration period at JCM using its heap leach pad for the production of about 30,000 tonnes of refined copper, Gunnison said Thursday. JCM is about 105 km east of Tucson.
“This is a breakthrough achievement for our Nuton technology, which is proving that cleaner, faster, and more efficient copper production is possible at an industrial scale,” Rio Tinto Copper CEO Katie Jackson said in a release. “In an industry where projects typically take about 18 years to move from concept to production, Nuton has now proven its ability to do this in just 18 months.”
Trio of milestones
The milestone comes three months after Gunnison produced its first copper cathode at JCM, making the mine the United States’ newest red metal producer. The first Nuton-produced cathode is the result of more than 30 years of research and development, Gunnison said. Nuton began its collaboration with Gunnison’s predecessor Excelsior Mining at the site in 2023.
Gunnison shares gained 2.7% to C$0.38 apiece on Thursday morning in Toronto for a market capitalization of C$146.4 million ($105 million).
Microbes aid processing
The technology uses natural microorganisms grown in Nuton’s proprietary bioreactors to extract copper from sulphide ores, which tend to be difficult to process. The microbes speed up the oxidation of minerals in the heap leach pad, generating heat and allowing the red metal to dissolve into a leach solution. It’s then processed into 99.99% pure cathode.
Nuton achieves recovery rates of up to 85% and cuts out milling, tailings, smelting and refining, thus shortening supply chains and delivering copper cathode right at the mine, Gunnison said. The technology could reduce water usage by up to 80% and carbon emissions by as much as 60% compared to traditional copper concentration. It can also extend mine life by extracting metals from waste material.
‘Low-carbon copper’
The achievement at JCM in such a short time frame shows the possibilities of innovation, strong operational performance and a shared vision coming together, Gunnison CEO Stephen Twyerould said.
“With Nuton copper now entering the US supply chain, this milestone underscores the critical role we can play in strengthening domestic access to cleaner, low-carbon copper,” he said.
The next stage at JCM is to focus on validating Nuton’s long-term technical performance, Gunnison said. That would comprise multi-year testing, independent third-party verification and an internal review by Rio Tinto to ensure recovery consistency and environmental performance.
Nuton has invested $100 million in technology deployment and construction at JCM, while Gunnison holds ownership and operational control. The two-stage partnership is to last for four or five years during which copper output would pay down Nuton’s investment.
In the second stage, and after full-scale commercial production using Nuton technology is underway, the companies would form a joint venture, with Gunnison holding 51% and Nuton 49%.
15-to-20-year life
The JCM open pit and heap leach mine has an annual capacity of 25 million lb. of copper over a 15 to 20-year life, according to a 2023 preliminary economic assessment prepared for Excelsior.
It hosts about 108 million measured and indicated tons grading 0.31% copper and 51 million inferred tons at 0.32% copper.
In a base case, JCM has a post-tax internal rate of return of 30% with a payback period of about four years, and a net present value of $180 million, at a 7.5% discount rate. Initial capital costs are pegged at $58.9 million.
Anglo Asian completes first copper concentrate sale to Trafigura
Demirli mine, Anglo Asian’s newest producing asset. Image supplied by Anglo Asian Mining.
Anglo Asian Mining (LON: AAZ) has begun copper concentrate sales from its new Demirli mine as part of a recently signed agreement with commodities trading group Trafigura.
On Nov. 3, the London-listed miner, which operates mines in Azerbaijan, contracted to sell copper concentrates produced at Demirli in Karabakh to Trafigura, with the latter agreeing to a $25 million prepayment.
In the second half of November, Anglo Asian made its first sale to Trafigura — totalling 2,055 wet tonnes of copper concentrate containing 351 tonnes of metal. This is expected to generate a revenue (before the government of Azerbaijan’s share) of $3.6 million, it said.
To facilitate the shipment, the company said it established a dedicated logistics centre for storage and delivery near Ganja, close to the main highway between Azerbaijan and Georgia. The location would allow Trafigura trucks to receive concentrates without obtaining permission to enter Karabakh, which has restricted access.
“We are continuing to make great progress at the Demirli mine, which was brought into production on time and on budget, and we have now completed our first copper concentrate sales to Trafigura,” Reza Vaziri, CEO of Anglo Asian, stated in a press release.
“We continue to invest in this relationship, which is strategically important for Anglo Asian, by establishing our new logistics centre which will drive significant efficiencies.”
In July, the company announced the successful commissioning of the Demirli mine. According to its forecasts, the operation is expected to deliver 4,000 tonnes of copper concentrates this year, then rising to 15,000 tonnes from 2026 onwards.
A new kind of copper from the research reactor
Cu-64 is a copper isotope needed for medical applications — but it is very difficult to produce. At TU Wien, researchers have now developed an alternative production method.
The copper isotope Cu-64 plays an important role in medicine: it is used in imaging processes and also shows potential for cancer therapy. However, it does not occur naturally and must be produced artificially — a complex and costly process. Until now, Cu-64 has been generated by bombarding nickel atoms with protons. When a nickel nucleus absorbs a proton, it is transformed into copper. At TU Wien, however, a different pathway has now been demonstrated: Cu-63 can be converted into Cu-64 by neutron irradiation in a research reactor. This works thanks to a special trick — so-called “recoil chemistry.”
From Nickel to Copper
Copper atoms contain 29 protons, while the number of neutrons can vary. The most common naturally occurring variant is Cu-63, which has 34 neutrons and is stable. Cu-64, by contrast, contains one additional neutron and is radioactive, decaying with a half-life of about 13 hours. This makes Cu-64 attractive for medical use: it remains stable long enough to be transported to its target location inside the body, but decays quickly enough to keep the patient’s radiation exposure low.
“Today, Cu-64 is typically produced in a cyclotron,” explains Veronika Rosecker of TU Wien. “You can produce Cu-64 by taking Ni-64 and bombarding it with protons. The nickel nucleus absorbs the proton, ejects a neutron, and is thereby transformed into copper-64.” This method works very well, but it is expensive — and it requires access to both a cyclotron and enriched Ni-64, itself a rare isotope.
Copper with One Extra Neutron
It is therefore natural to consider a simpler alternative: producing Cu-64 from Cu-63 directly. All that is needed is to add a single neutron — something a research reactor can provide. But this approach comes with a challenge: “When Cu-63 is irradiated with neutrons, Cu-64 nuclei are indeed produced, but it is almost impossible to separate them chemically from the ordinary copper atoms,” says Martin Pressler. “You end up with a mixture that consists mostly of ordinary copper, with only tiny traces of the desired Cu-64.”
Now, however, this problem has been solved using recoil chemistry. This effect has been known for nearly a century, but has not previously been used for the production of medically relevant radioisotopes. Before irradiation, the copper atoms are built into specially designed molecules. “When a Cu-63 atom within such a molecule absorbs a neutron and becomes Cu-64, it briefly holds a large amount of excess energy, which it releases as gamma radiation,” says Veronika Rosecker. The emission of this high-energy photon gives the atom a recoil — much like a rocket recoils when expelling exhaust. This recoil is strong enough to eject the copper atom from the molecule.
“This means that Cu-63 and Cu-64 can now be cleanly separated,” says Veronika Rosecker. “The Cu-63 atoms remain bound within the molecules, while the newly formed Cu-64 atoms are released. This makes it easy to separate the two isotopes chemically.”
Finding the Right Molecule
A key challenge was identifying a suitable molecule. It needed to be stable enough to withstand conditions inside a nuclear reactor, yet soluble enough to allow efficient chemical processing afterward.
“We achieved this using a metal–organic complex that resembles heme — the molecule found in human blood,” explains Martin Pressler. Similar substances had been studied before, but were not soluble. The new complex was chemically modified to make it soluble, enabling straightforward recovery of the Cu-64 after neutron irradiation.
The method can be automated, the molecules can be reused without loss, and — instead of requiring a cyclotron — it only needs a research reactor such as the one at TU Wien.
Fast and easy reactor-based production of copper-64 with high molar activities using recoil chemistry
Thursday, December 04, 2025
Cocks Coming Back Home to, well, not Roost, but to Gouge, Scratch, Cut, Swipe, Kill
“Even an empire cannot control the long-term effects of its policies. That is the essence of blowback.”
by Paul Haeder / December 2nd, 2025
Hmm, genocide and boat captains and mates murdered by accused sexual predator and alcohol abusing Cap’n Crunch Pete, a-okay, but cock fights in how many states, a federal crime?
This is yet more breaking news (sic) I have to contend with as I get ready to give a crowd a short-short master class on why media and the press are on life support with the plug almost completely pulled out by the, err, oligarchs, err, billionaires, err, multimillionaires?
Outlets that reach millions of news consumers are being denied access to rare briefings by Pentagon officials this week — sessions that are being held instead for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s hand-picked media organizations.
It’s not as if there’s little to talk about, with both the Senate and House Armed Services committees opening investigations into U.S. military strikes against alleged drug couriers in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean.
Hegseth’s team says the briefings are part of special orientation events for a newly credentialed Pentagon press corps, consisting primarily of conservative outlets that agreed to his new rules for operation. Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson is due to meet reporters Tuesday and Hegseth will do so Wednesday.
Most mainstream outlets exited the Pentagon this fall rather than agree to the new rules. The Defense Department says they are “common sense” regulations designed to prevent the spread of classified information. Most news outlets are worried they would effectively be agreeing only to report news approved by Hegseth.
Oh, Google AI says only “underdeveloped nations let the cocks fight:
Countries with legal cockfighting: Legal in some regions of India, Indonesia, the Philippines, and parts of Mexico. It is also a popular sport in Spain and certain Latin American countries.
Countries where it is illegal: In contrast to the above, many developed nations like the United States and the United Kingdom have made it illegal due to animal welfare concerns. Colombia recently banned it along with bullfighting.
The origin of cockfighting dates back thousands of years, but it was during Ferdinand Magellan’s voyage to the Philippines in 1521 that modern cockfighting was first documented by his chronicler, Antonio Pigafetta, in the kingdom of Taytay. It’s a grisly and still-rampant blood sport, unnervingly present in the Volunteer State.
Most states banned cockfighting in the 19th century, and in the 21th century, Congress has made cockfighting a felony and banned it everywhere in the U.S. That federal legislative effort started in earnest in 2002 and it’s now a crime to fight animals in every part of the U.S. It’s also a crime to train birds for fighting, ship them across state, territorial or national lines, to traffic in the fighting weapons cockfighters attach to the birds’ legs, or to attend a fight or bring a minor to one.
Most recently a provision that outlawed cockfighting in the U.S. Territories was signed into law in the 2018 Farm Bill. We worked hard to secure the latest provision – banning animal fighting in the U.S. territories, including Puerto Rico and Guam – and it won bipartisan support from Reps. Scott DesJarlais, R-Jasper, Steve Cohen, D-Memphis, Chuck Fleischman, R- Ooltewah, Jim Cooper, D-Nashville, and then-Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Brentwood, who cast an ‘AYE’ vote to pass it.
Chickens . . . coming . . . home . . . to blowback, err, roost:
What are war crimes?
Murder, rape, torture… the chaos of wartime often leads to impunity for the crimes committed by the parties at war. These crimes car be carried out against combatants as well as innocent civilians.
Not all violations committed during war are legally considered war crimes. To qualify, they must fulfil certain criteria of purpose and gravity, notably:
Existence of an armed conflict
Nexus between the conduct and the armed conflict (the crime was committed in pursuit of the conflict’s aim) Serious violation of international humanitarian law Criminal conduct engaging individual criminal responsibility Unlike other human rights violations, war crimes do not engage State responsibility but individual criminal responsibility. This means that individuals can be tried and found personally responsible for these crimes.
Prohibited acts include:
Murder; Torture or other cruel or inhuman treatment (including mutilation); Taking hostages; Intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population; Intentionally directing attacks against buildings dedicated to religion, education, art, science or charitable purposes, historical monuments or hospitals; Pillage Rape and other forms of sexual violence Conscription or enlisting children under the age of 15 years into armed forces or groups or using them to participate actively in hostilities. Unlawful deportation transfer or confinement of protected persons.
Lawmakers from both parties raised alarms Sunday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth may have committed a war crime following a report that he ordered a follow-on attack to kill survivors of a boat strike in September.
“It is time to realize, however, that the real dangers to America today come not from the newly rich people of East Asia but from our own ideological rigidity, our deep-seated belief in our own propaganda.” ― Chalmers Johnson,Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who was arrested for shooting two National Guard soldiers last week in D.C., was briefly imprisoned in Afghanistan alongside other members of his Zero Unit team, according to five Afghan sources. The detention by local government forces came after Zero Units killed Afghan police forces in Kandahar they were supposed to be defending.
Notwithstanding their arrests, there were no longterm consequences for the Zero Units; the Afghan state had no authority over them and the Americans shielded them. During his few days in prison, which Lakanwal and his comrades had to face after the incident in Kandahar, they still received their pay from the CIA, sources said.
The Hmong ethnic group made up a large portion of the CIA’s “Secret Army” in Laos during the Vietnam War. The Hmongs conducted operations against the North Vietnamese Army and Vietcong guerrillas staging along the Ho Chi Minh trail, as well as against the Laotian Pathet Lao communists.
Hmong fighters were central to CIA operations between 1962 and 1975. Vast though they were, these ops were always regarded as secret. As a result, when the Pathet Lao rose to power, the CIA more or less disavowed the Secret Army.
A similar but more obscure story concerns Vietnam’s Degar people, better known as the Montagnards, a French term meaning “mountain people.” America’s collective amnesia about the Motagnards is odd, considering they featured prominently in stories by Time and in John Wayne’s The Green Berets.
The Montagnards are descendents of Polynesians who settled in Vietnam’s rugged central highlands. The Montagnards and Vietnamese never really got along. The mountain people sided with Saigon during the Vietnam War, but never trusted the southern regime.
Christ, it has been a while since I tuned into Aaron Mate and Katie Halper, and, well, no thanks. Their long yammerings and side-mouthed jokes, well, not my cup of tequila these days, as I tire of the soft-shoeing so-called alt media and their secular attitudes. Have at it, though:
This America, the racists, along with France and Germany and UK and Israel (sic), so much pain and suffering in African countries, but now?
Listen up:
Chickens, uhh, coming back to roost? All those uniformed, err, soldiers of fortune, and blood lust hunters, uh? Hundreds of U.S. troops have been denied VA claims linked to 1980s duty in Panama amid toxic chemicals and Agent Orange remnants.
Steven Price grew up in Panama and enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1981. For his first base, he “signed up to go back home,” volunteering for duty at the Panama Canal Zone, where more than 10,000 soldiers were stationed in the 1980s.
He spent three and a half years in Panama, first as a radio operator and then as a linguist, deploying to Honduras and El Salvador. He was, he remembers, constantly amid toxic pesticides. To control insects, it the poisons were mixed with diesel to be sprayed from trucks. Duty in Panama also meant exposure to the remnants of herbicides, including Agent Orange, that had been routed through the bases in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s on its way to combat in Vietnam.
Price left the Army in 1987. Now 66, Price is a 100% disabled veteran who was diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and Ischemic Heart Disease.In recent decades, Price and hundreds of other veterans of Panama discovered troubling information they were not privy to during their service, but became relevant as they were diagnosed with a range of health issues.
And where was he during the Obama Administration? Fred, come on, the country was always GOING backwards?
Fred Gray, who still practices law every day, will turn 95 a few days after the nation marks the 70th anniversary of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. But now, Gray worries that the progress he and so many others fought for against those problems is under threat and says that the nation is due for a second civil rights movement.
*****
This is the reality of Amerikkka, way before Ike’s Military Industrial Complex speech.
Rockefeller! Always something to do with those folk. Wall Street has overlooked a class of stocks that typically outperforms the market but is currently offering the best bargain in nearly 30 years, according to Ruchir Sharma, chair of Rockefeller International.
We are DEAD: There’s a ‘once-in-a-generation opportunity’ in these stocks right now, no matter how the AI boom ends, market veteran says
What is it about those chosen ones always sticking together?
Scarlett Johansson has defended her ongoing support for Woody Allen, who has been disavowed by much of the film industry over sexual abuse allegations made by his stepdaughter, Dylan Farrow.
The actress — who has starred in three movies directed by Allen in “Match Point,” “Scoop” and “Vicky Christina Barcelona” — is one of few names to have publicly stood by the filmmaker over the claims, first made in 1992 and brought up again in the wake of the #MeToo movement, claims that Allen has consistently denied and have been investigated and dismissed by New York authorities.
War, Wall Street, Worthless Workers, We the People: Oregon’s largest transit agency will reduce bus service on a handful of routes beginning Sunday. This is the first of three service cuts that Portland metro area’s TriMet expects to make over the next 13 months.
The immediate schedule change will reduce frequency on five bus lines after 7 p.m., when passenger loads are at their lowest. The lines affected are FX2, 35, 52, 77 and 81.
We can keep saying Banana Republic, but many I have been in have bus services!
Buses or bombs on our minds?
Service members’ uncertainty over whether they will be asked to carry out an illegal order or pressured to go against their training is likely to be exacerbated after The Washington Post and CNN late last week reported that Hegseth authorized a highly unusual strike to kill all survivors aboard a boat allegedly carrying drugs in the Caribbean Sea this fall.
*****
Again, double taps:
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Monday that on Sept. 2, Hegseth authorized Adm. Frank Bradley to carry out a follow-up strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean; the strike reportedly killed two people who were hanging onto the burning vessel, having survived an initial strike.
*****
Ghouls, man, these Anglo-Franco-Germanic-Saxon ghouls!
Klanada: Canada clinches deal to join Europe’s €150B defense scheme
“Welcome to SAFE, Canada!” Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on social media. “When like-minded partners join forces on security and defence in a turbulent world, our countries grow stronger, our industries benefit and our citizens are safer.”
The timing aligns with a major SAFE milestone: Kubilius announced on X that all 19 participating EU countries had submitted their spending plans that will be financed by low interest SAFE loans.
He added that 15 members included support for Ukraine in their plans, involving “billions, not millions” — something the Commission has been keen to encourage.
*****
Lawyers, again and again, ruling the roost.
Fucking LAWYERS.
A federal appeals court said on Monday that Alina Habba had been serving unlawfully as the U.S. attorney in New Jersey, dealing a blow to the Trump administration and most likely setting up a showdown at the Supreme Court.
Ms. Habba is one of a number of U.S. attorneys whom the Trump administration has sought to keep in power through a series of unusual maneuvers even though she was neither confirmed by the Senate nor appointed by district trial court judges — the two traditional pathways. Defendants in New Jersey had challenged her authority as U.S. attorney, leading to Monday’s decision.
*****
Chickens coming home to, well, TikTok?
“Part of the problem for the shortage of manufacturing jobs is the lack of education and training. For example, learning to take a diesel engine out of a Ford Super Duty truck takes at least five years. The current system is not meeting the standard,” he noted.
Farley also pointed to the lack of investment in education for such jobs and lack of trade schools to conduct trainings. “We do not have trade schools. We are not investing in educating a next generation of people like my grandfather who had nothing, who built a middle-class life and a future for his family,” he felt.
CHICKENS coming home to ROOST?
Jews in Politics: At a campaign event in the Bronx last month, a congressional candidate quizzed a cheering crowd:
“What do you think would happen if the US ended all aid to Israel?”
At a Thanksgiving gathering with voters, another candidate in the same race fielded questions about affordability – but also about “moral leadership” when it came to Israel’s war in Gaza. A third candidate vying for the same seat devoted much of his campaign’s launch video to lambasting the current member of Congress representing the district over the funding he’s received from the pro-Israel lobby.
The incumbent in question – congressman Ritchie Torres – is one of the most staunchly pro-Israel advocates in Congress. Dalourny Nemorin, one of his challengers for the Democratic nomination to represent the district calls him the “poster boy” for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or Aipac. “Ritchie Torres cares more about Bibi than he does about the Bronx,” Michael Blake, another challenger, said in the launch video.
We are currently in the Age of Trump, where genocide in Gaza is unapologetically livestreamed. The Nobel Committee could have awarded the 2025 prize to Donald Trump or Benjamin Netanyahu, but the optics would have been too blatant. Instead, they selected a photogenic longtime war monger and coup collaborator, a full-throated proponent of violence, an habitual liar, a Trump sycophant, and an ardent Zionist.
That laureate is Venezuelan ultra-right politician MarÃa Corina Machado. As an added bonus for Washington, her award boosts the escalating US war against Venezuela. Marco Rubio, a senior US government official and key architect of the regime-change crusade, campaigned for her with the Nobel Committee. — Trump Commands Venezuela’s Heavens Closed
In striking contrast, the US Peace Prize – an arguably more honorable honor than the Nobel –was awarded on November 23 to Gerry Condon, a Veterans for Peace former president and current board member. He accepted the award “on behalf of many wonderful activists who work for peace and solidarity with people around the globe.”
Michael Knox, chair of the US Peace Memorial Foundation, presented the award. Since 2009, its honorees have included Christine Ahn, Ajamu Baraka, David Swanson, Ann Wright, Veterans For Peace, Kathy Kelly, CODEPINK, Chelsea Manning, Medea Benjamin, Noam Chomsky, Dennis Kucinich, and Cindy Sheehan. — Roger D. Harris
Russia, anyone? China?
Maduro:
“I say it clearly to the world: The United States is planning to plunder Venezuelan oil… they want to seize the largest oil reserve in the world as if Venezuela were a land without a people.
That will not happen… not while I am leading this nation.”
Whitney Webb:
I’m excited to announce that Iain Davis’ new amazing book is available for pre-order via Papercut Publishing House, a new publishing company brought to you by Mark Goodwin and myself that will be publishing more books in the future as well as an upcoming Unlimited Hangout-affiliated print magazine.
Iain’s new book, due to print+ship later this month, is a masterpiece and a must read to understand the new “counter-elites” that have risen up on the wave of discontent of the Covid era and post-Covid era to ostensibly replace and challenge the previous crop of unelected elites. Using their own words and works, Iain artfully details the counter-elites’ philosophies, ambitions, and desired policies and what they actually portend, using their own words and writings as evidence for his arguments. Far from offering a favorable alternative to the digital tyranny that many rightfully oppose, these counter-elites have merely re-branded many of those same tyrannical policies, with the only meaningful difference being that they have optimized those policies even more for oligarchs like themselves. While many have worked to brand themselves as “libertarians,” their actual beliefs will shock you.
This is not populism and nothing these people offer is about promoting freedom, democracy or even free markets. All of those things will become relics of the past if the so-called counter-elites succeed. Iain has unmasked the would-be wardens of the digital gulag and there has never been a more important time to educate yourself about these dangerous ideas and just how intimately tied to the halls of power they have become.
Venezuelan citizens join local militias to defend their homeland from a US attack
Paul Haeder has been a teacher, social worker, newspaperman, environmental activist, and marginalized muckraker, union organizer. Paul's book, Reimagining Sanity: Voices Beyond the Echo Chamber (2016), looks at 10 years (now going on 17 years) of his writing at Dissident Voice. Read his musings at LA Progressive. Read (purchase) his short story collection, Wide Open Eyes: Surfacing from Vietnam now out, published by Cirque Journal. Here's his Amazon page with more published work Amazon. Read other articles by Paul, or visit Paul's website.
