May 26, 2022

An Important Correction!

On May 23 of 2022 this blog stated that this years flu vaccine was lacking in efficacy. 


Upon receiving further information, it now appears that this is NOT, at least to the best of our knowledge actually the case.

Do not be dissuaded from your flu shot gentle readers!



It was the Moderna COVID19 vaccine and boosters that didn't work on my mutant weeb ass.





THE SUSPENSE IS OVER! I finally have the 'Rona!

I've been visited by Cronachan and contracted the Pinko-Pox,  Chi-Com Cough, Whuhan-Bat-Soup-Death-Plague, Xi Syndrome, The Fauci Fever, The Bolshevik Bug, The Maoist Malady, Winnie the Flu, The 2020 Gain of Function Award!


"I feel like poop." 

BUT, I'm, well...I'm off work for another week. Hopefully, I'll be able to do something besides cough and hurt for some of that time. 

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May 23, 2022

10 Weeks

A U.N. study of the upcoming food shortage has determined that there is currently about a 10 weeks supply of grain on the planet. 


 I knew this was coming, and had heard about rationing being set up in places like Spain and Egypt but I honestly thought we'd have 'till September or October. 


 Art by TaekwondoNJ

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April 28, 2022

That's it. I'm Done.

There is literally a Ministry of Truth now. 


Once Musk bought Twitter, the mask came off. 

Brickmuppet Blog no longer has any comment on any matters of importance as we enjoy having our toes attached to our feet and further enjoy wiggling them. 

So we will henceforth be responsible model citizens of good character and maintain the most hygienic of thoughts.

We cannot , however be held responsible for any unfortunate opinions that might or might not be held by certain anime lolis that may or may not find their way into our posts.



I assure you, our most benevolent and credentialed overlords, that we are working on the matter. 

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January 31, 2022

If You Are Wondering About of the State of Our Universities, Here Are Some Resouces


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January 18, 2022

2022: 'Year of the Tiger' A Year From the Far Future of our Youth Is Here Now

...and it looks a lot like 1962



Note that 1962 was a 'Year of the Tiger' as well, which, by the convoluted special pleading of astrology means that there are two tigers involved...which should give one pause...
...or paws.


Asuna and Karin by Fino Ko. Support them on Fanbox


LEGAL DISCLAIMER: 

Actually, astrology is complete bollocks, and we apologize for indulging it, but it gives us an excellent opportunity to make light of a potentially serious situation by posting cheesecake, for which we are are completely unrepentant. 

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January 04, 2022

What's Happening?

Well, The Taliban is ordering all shop owners to behead all of their mannequins. What? As practice?


The President has finally decided to go after them thar Robber Barons we do hear tell about....well some of the Robber Barons...well...he's taking on 'BIG MEAT'. (Buy and freeze your steaks now kids....there are bugs and tofu in our future)

The Arlington Education Association, the local teachers union, which, shockingly, represents teachers, but not just any teachers, teachers that teach kids how to read and write. This latter, somewhat redundant point, becomes relevant only because this organization that represents teachers, sent out this letter to parents...one of whom was the kind of saucy bitch who had actually taken a grammar class at some point...

...presumably a grammar class taught by different teachers. 

This a few days old but I'd held out some hope that it was a misunderstanding. NYC is assigning COVID treatments based on race. (The problem with holding out hope is that it is more likely to get blown out of your hand.)


Yesterday, Virginia was hit by a blizzard...or as Pete and Wonderduck might describe it, " a Monday". This deposit of 1-300cm of powdery ice 1h would not merit any comment but for the thousands of people who have been trapped in their cars in subfreezing temperatures for 24 hours or more. Most probably aren't dressed for the weather as it was warm shirt-sleeve weather for the last few days, right up until the storm hit. 

Typhoon Rai, which clobbered the Phillippines last week, is now thought to have left over half a million homeless.

/images/__pooh_and_corona_chan_original_and_1_more_drawn_by_bee_sang_ms0603749__983f7c8e3b86628e9aea301f872249cb.png
Art by Bee Sang

Guess what? Our old friend Coronachan, the gift that keeps on giving, has gifted us some more. A NEW variant has been found in Camaroon. Cue panic. 

I'm thinking that most of us feel the same way about the year of the Tiger that Mayoi Hitsugi does...


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January 03, 2022

Meanwhile: North of the Black Sea

I don't think people are fully appreciating how serious this Ukraine mess is getting.



On the other side of the equation, The U.S.A.,  France, Germany, and the U.K. have re-affirmed their support for the Ukraines independence and territorial integrity. This is a long-standing agreement going back to the  Budapest Accords of the early 90s that convinced Ukraine to give up it's nuclear weapons, which it had inherited from the breakup of the U.S.S.R. 

Russia is on balance, obviously in the wrong here, but Ukraine, while it has done nothing to warrant the egregious violations of its sovereignty that it has endured, IS a corrupt country that literally has NAZIs sitting in it's parliament.  

This is a mess and I don't think anybody is fully appreciating the resolve of the other. 

Ukraine is the heartland of Russian civilization and culture, which began with the Russ of Kiev. Russians, especially nationalists like Putin have an intense attachment to Ukraine. On the Ukrainian side, that bridge was burnt, with prejudice, by the Holodomor.  So terrible were the Russian depredations of the Ukrainians that the Ukrainians in WW2 welcomed the fricking NAZIs in as liberators...it was so bad in the Ukraine that the NAZIs were a step up. This is why there are still NAZIs in Ukrainian politics.

The Russians have a huge amount to gain by an adventure in the Ukraine. Oil, a strategic buffer zone, the richest soil in the world and prestige foreign and domestic as well as the strong psychological need  to reintegrate what they see as their prodigal brethren. They have taken the measure of the U.S. in the aftermath of the Afghanistan debacle and seem to have decided that there is no better time to do this, as they will NEVER have such diffident leadership in the US again. 

Furthermore, Putin's position may not be as secure as is generally supposed. He is an autocrat who is ultimately answerable to the Russian Oligarchs and his position is dependent on appearing strong, both to them and the Russian people.

For its part, the U.S. in particular, after the Afganistan fiasco, feels it cannot back down again. Democrat talk a good game of being anti-war when not in office, but the only Democratic presidents that are not considered mediocre or outright failures are those that waged wars. They have a history of using the immense powers conferred on the government by war to consolidate their power by rounding up their political opposition and the only time this backfired on them meaningfully was in the aftermath of World War One. Plagued by multiple calamities, most of which are the products of their own ineptitude, the current administration needs a foreign policy victory, or, perhaps a short, victorious war. They see Russia as a broke corrupt nation that is a husk of its former self with a military that NATO even in its current military state could take in a conventional war. That assessment is not, strictly speaking, wrong, but the Russians most likely have some nasty surprises in store nevertheless.  In any event the Russians, who have a vast tactical nuclear arsenal have made it clear that any intervention by western powers past the eastern border of Poland will be met with nuclear fires. 

The U.S. and other Western powers seem to have dismissed tactical nukes as a real thing since about 1992. While Strategic forces of the U.S. and Russia, are basically at parity, The Russians have a vast advantage in low yield, short range weapons intended for battlefield use. All those points about Russia being a declining power mean that the  equalizing effect of tactical nukes is very tempting, and indeed the Russians have made no secret of their willingness to use weapons in a battlefield situation to "calm things down". 

The current administration, so heavy with theoreticians and academics likely can't really get their heads around this as a real thing. If the Russians pop a nuke and evaporate a number of NATO troops the reaction is not likely to be measured. Even if President Biden is removed by the 25th amendment, the Vice President is a quite incompetent courtesan who exhibits all the most toxic girl-boss behaviors of a particularly entitled upper middle-class debutante. 

In any event, there are few things more dangerous than scared, insecure leaders who are backed into a corner, and whose political future depends on appearing tough.  

Also: The Budapest Accords are a linchpin of nuclear nonproliferation. Ukraine gave up its nukes with the guarantee that it did not need them anymore. It has come to rue that decision. Other countries with nuclear capability, but no nuclear weapons are watching this situation closely. The EU and other NATO members, particularly France, (which, despite their reputation post WW2 are a world power that takes international norms VERY seriously) may well see the Budapest Accords as THE line in the sand, for if that commitment is abandoned, then Western (not just US) promises and guarantees will carry NO weight and for many countries in 'dangerous neighborhoods', not having high energy weapons will seem foolish. 

The point is that the Russians can quite possibly push too far, underestimating what the west sees as being the true states, and the west is likely to not recognize the seriousness of the Russian resolve and willingness to 'go to the next level'.



I have a degree in History, but foreign policy is outside my bailiwick. 
Thus, I have some questions going forward:

How binding ARE the Budapest Accords? 

What is the press coverage and public attitude towards this mess REALLY like in Russia. I don't speak Russian, Ukrainian, or Belarusian nor do I read Cyrillic so I'm taking the word of western news outlets, which is rarely a path to wisdom. 

How many "advisors" does the U.S. and other NATO countries have in the Ukraine? 

It seems consequential that the FINNISH politicians of all people are talking about joining NATO. How serious IS this talk, is it just smack talk or are the Finns seriously contemplating abandoning their position of neutrality that has existed since 1945?

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December 05, 2021

Wait...What!?


Hopefully, this story is unrelated.

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December 03, 2021

An Important Note for Fan Artists who Follow Genshin Impact

Klee and Paimon are not for lewding. 



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November 17, 2021

Why Americans Suck at Geography

The meaning of words has changed such that all good people now avoid maps.



Art is by Wangxii, who normally draws art of and for adults and can be supported on Fanbox

UPDATE: My Alma Mater has responded in a way I didn't expect.


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August 19, 2021

While We're Up

The blogs servers are in Sydney and are getting intermittently arrested for COVID violations. Having caught them between run-ins with the law I'll use this short window to post this, which is a fairly informative overview of the dumpster fire that is current events.


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July 08, 2021

It's Little! It's Red! It Celebrates 80 Million Dead!

So a few minutes ago I saw this and thought "Oh, Mr. Lowther's been fooled by a parody site."


But no.


The brief history lesson given is not however.


The 100th anniversary of the Communist Party is a great celebration for the entire Chinese nation. The power of the state is largely based on the success of its politicians. China's ruling leaders are wise politicians, experienced military leaders, and talented diplomats.

Since 1921, the Chinese Communist Party has successfully ruled the state. Under her leadership, the country has become one of the leaders in the international arena. China is feared, respected and admired. This is a country which many are eager to surpass.

Caviar iPhone 12 Pro Centenary - smartphone design in honor of the great anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party. Restrained and laconic, at the same time bright and full of strength - the appearance of the accessory successfully conveys the character of the party. The case is made of a lightweight composite material with shockproof properties in red and decorated with relief engraving, echoing the national geometric ornaments of China. Contrasting element - decorative frame, gold-plated of the highest standard, engraved with the emblem of the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China.

The design is presented in a limited edition of 68 pieces. The numbers 6 and 8 are sacred for China: 6 means luck and career success, and 8 means wealth and prosperity. The limited edition of the collection is engraved with a laser on the side of the smartphone: the name and serial number of the model are indicated.

No the CCP has NOT run China since 1921. 



If you've got $25,370.00 and want to impress your progressive friends this ought to work better than an iPhone.

But beware, the bit about 6 and 8 is a superstition, something that the CCP will send you to a reeducation camp for perpetuating, but if you've got 25 grand to spend on a phone that indicates sufficient personal liquidity that one can afford the necessary bribes....at least until conditions change.

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June 28, 2021

Discovery Will Be Fascinating

 World Health Organization Chief Scientist Dr. Soumya Swaminathan is being sued and faces contempt charges for allegedly concealing the efficacy of the drug Ivermectin against COVID 19. Thousands of Indians may have died as a result of Ivermectin treatments being discontinued as a direct result of Dr. Swaminathan's recommendation to halt its use. 


If she looses this she faces the real possibility of being convicted of Aggravated Crimes against Humanity,meaning in India she could face the death penalty.  

A lawsuit already filed  by the Indian Bar Association alleges that she lied under oath and deliberately concealed studies that proved it to be a safe and effective prophylactic and treatment against COVID-19. They cite the Frontline Covid-19 Critical Care Alliance which has been lobbying hard to reinstate treatments and to that end has amalgamated numerous studies that conclude the drug works and is safe


**************

Hydroxychloriquine and Ivermectin may very well have been shelved for purely political reasons. That is certainly what it looks like with 20/20 hindsight from what is admittedly a layman's perspective. Given the timing of the discontinuation and the death toll , it does not seem unreasonable to this blogger that upwards of a million people may very well have died as a result of these drugs becoming gauche and being discontinued in the wake of Trump touting them . 

I base this on the assumption that since both drugs were cheap and available, most people could have been given them had their use not have been proscribed. This is especially rue in places like India where they are in wide use for treating various tropical parasites. 

A seven digit death toll  is hardly the sole responsibility of one bureaucrat. There are many, many people amongst government, industry, the medical profession and those who curate social media who stifled the news that these drugs could have made all the difference.

One can hope that they will receive their due scrutiny and a just reward for their actions.  

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June 15, 2021

People Sometimes Refer to Covid-19 as China's Chernobyl

Unfortunately, a developing situation in Guandong Province may be a better candidate for that dubious title.


It appears that a nuclear plant, partially owned by a French company, has, possibly, started leaking radioactivity. The French company, Framatome, has warned of an   "imminent radiological threat” and their people seem to be....rather anxious. 

China, on the other hand, says that nothing is wrong and that"Two reactors have since the start of commercial operations been operating according to nuclear safety rules and regulations… currently, regular monitoring data shows the Taishan station and its surrounding environment meet normal parameters,” as reported and translated by the Asahi Shinbun

OTOH, another part of the CCP's response, according to EDF (Framatome's French parent company), has been to raise the allowed radiation readings so as not to cause any distressing alarms to go off. 

But we don't really know WHAT is actually happening. 

China is notoriously opaque in such matters and it is easy to believe in any sort of coverup. After all,  it's not like a Chinese reactor issue is without precedent. 

It's still possible that all these reports represent an over-reaction. The French are saying that there is no melt-down or anything of that nature, and, in any event,  news reports of anything nuclear tend to be rather breathless.

However, the French (who are involved) and the Japanese (who are potentially downwind if it gets bad) seem to be quite concerned about the situation. 

In any event, this situation bears watching. 

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December 30, 2019

Eww

The city sewer has backed up into the downstairs bathroom.
Hours later, this is beyond my ability to clear.
The plumber was supposed to be here an hour ago.
I just got a text indicating he will be here "before 5" which is in 3 hours.
I am SOOOOO happy I paid the nominal fee for plumbing insurance.

I'm going outside to breathe now.

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November 23, 2019

Lamarckism, Big Data, Arrogance and the Path to Perdition

While conducting a search for "leaked Google memo" (as one does) I blundered into this video, which is allegedly an internal video that is, allegedly, required viewing among senior management.



As for the provenance, after uploading it to Bitchute, I successfully tracked it down to an article at The Verge which was published 19 months ago, so this is not breaking news, but it is really creepy.

Only eight minutes long, it starts off with a explanation of the sort of proto-evolutionary theories of a Frenchman named Lamarck, the mention of whom, if you are not in a history of science class, is generally a sign that things are about to go terribly pear shaped, because Lamark's theories are better known under the name Lysenkoism.

The video name drops a few other very smart people and at the 4 minute mark the video gets to subtly and then not so subtly creepy until by the end it looks like a manifesto of a supervillian organization or a cult.

It isn't just the business aspect of big data, (which is worrisome enough given  the context of how a 3d printer is used here), it's the fact that the ideas put forth and the goals are profoundly anti individualistic and diametrically opposed to free speech.

Anyway.

Watch the whole thing.
But not before bed...because this is high octane nightmare fuel.

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October 21, 2019

This Seems Big Enough to Warrant More Coverage .

Many of you may have been vaguely aware of the fact that there was a big firefight involving El Chapo's sons and some cops. Indeed it got some coverage, albeit mostly by local news operations in border states.

However, if this post over at Claire Berlinski's place (via) is to be believed, then this is a major, major debacle that is indicative of the near collapse of the U.S.M. as a functioning country. According to Ms. Berlinski's correspondent, the battle involved...

0

...Heavy weaponry that would be familiar on any Iraqi, Syrian, or Yemeni battlefield was brought to bear. More and worse: custom-built armored vehicles, designed and built to make a Sahel-warfare technical look like an amateur’s weekend kit job, were rolled out for their combat debut. Most critically, all this hardware was manned by men with qualities the Mexican Army largely lacks: training, tactical proficiency, and motivation.  

Then the coup de grace: as the Chapo sons’ forces engaged in direct combat with their own national military,
kill squads went into action across Culiacán, slaughtering the families of soldiers engaged in the streets.


Emphasis is mine.

Mentioned later in the piece is the fact that the surrounded troops were ordered to surrender and turn over their quarry by the President of Mexico.

There has been a lot of ink and pixels spent on Mexico as a failed state, but if this report is true, then Mexico is heading for chaos like it hasn't seen since 1910-20. The Federales cannot control a state capital, the families of their troops cannot be protected, there are technicals running around with impunity and the president is literally surrendering to terrorists then this is it.

Mexico is falling apart.

Here's some footage from  Mexico's Aztec News (without translation)...



...and there is a selection of footage here albeit from RT. Note that some of it is duplicated from above, but there's some that appears to be from the perspective of the Federales as well as the gangsters.

This is not an isolated incident. There are whole regions of Mexico that are not under the control of the government and when the police try to assert that control they are murderously rebuffed...

When a convoy of Michoacan state police did make a rare appearance in El Aguaje last Monday, they were ambushed and slaughtered by Jalisco cartel gunmen. Thirteen state police officers were shot or burned to death in their vehicles


This is a calamity of the first order and is especially of concern for the U.S.A. as we are the next country over and a inviting target not only for the waves of refugees, but the gangsters, paramilitaries and crime bosses fomenting the chaos.

And yet, aside from some local news outfits in border states...I'm hearing very little discussion of this dreadfully consequential development.

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September 22, 2019

Good Lord

You might have known about the Gearbox Goons visiting YouTubers but after the lootboxes, that stuff turns out to be the least bad thing the company has been doing.



We need someone to do periodic welfare checks on Dev.

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August 28, 2019

Well, Dang.

This is not the disintegration we were promised.


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June 01, 2019

A Bleg For Perspective

Twitter, which is banned in China, has suspended a bunch of Chinese dissidents, apparently because the anniversary of Tiananmen Square Protests is coming up.

Again, Twitter is BANNED in the PRC, meaning they are doing this not for some callous reason that might be justified from a purely fiduciary perspective.

Sooo...why would they do this?

I'm genuinely confused. all I can come up with is these...

A: Censorious evil is in their nature, they just can't help themselves.
B: They are fanboys of totalitarianism, and want to show solidarity with anyone who oppresses the plebs.
C: China is so deeply embedded in Western academia as well as media in general and holds particular influence over America's tech weasels that they can influence decisions even when they are nominally against interest.
D: Twitter is attempting to get un-banned in China and is doing this to show that they can boot-lick with the best of Quislings.

And as I look over these possibilities, I note that they either someone operating on the emotional level of a high-school mean-girl, or the shallow, mustache-twirling motivations of a cartoon supervillain.

This bothers me. Even taking into account the obvious snark, the list begins to look like the paranoid rantings of a Bircher.

IN GENERAL, in the political realm, when people advocate for stupid/evil stuff, it's not because their worldview is that of Snidely Whiplash. There's often a flawed rationale, or some logic, based, perhaps in a different worldview. For instance, censors on the left and right wish to ban things that they feel are detrimental to society. This is a deeply flawed motivation because it's an instance where the "slippery slope" is not a fallacy (ie: where do you draw the line?) but there is, at least, an internal logic to this argument, that, while horribly flawed, is at least theoretically well intentioned.

I can't see a flawed but well intentioned argument here. I can see NO REASON, business or otherwise, that Twitter would do this at least not one that's isn't some variation of the uncharitable takes listed.

Either:
1: I'm missing something, or...
2: this happened because one or more selections from A through D is true.

I'm a Z-list blogger so 1 is on no great importance to anyone and is potentially correctable with more information.

2 however, is truly scary.

Absent some very unlikely new information* I'm going to stick by my initial assessment that this action is bad and wrong and actually evil.

However, I'm very interested to see if anyone can come up with a motivation for this action that could be reasonably defended as stupid but well-meaning.

If you have such suggestions, share them in the comments please.



*As an example of what might change my mind, if it turned out that all those accounts banned were actually being operated by Schaver's Detrimental Robots as part of a plan to enslave humanity by broadcasting their Ray Machine directly through computer monitors, well, then, it might be defensible. But that is...rather unlikely to be the case.

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