HAPPY NEW YEAR 2025!!!

Like every year, DowneastBlog wishes its readers a Happy New Year!!!





And of course a solid health. It's only when your health is compromized that you start to realize it's the foundation of everything else. My body, my temple and all that, but it's true. Whether it's about your love life, your business acumen, your day-to-day operations... without a good health all of it is in serious jeopardy.


Thanks for following DB, and enjoy New Year's Eve!



MFBB.

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2024!!!

DowneastBlog wishes all its readers of good will a Merry Christmas!





And while hopefully - I sincerely wish so - you are enjoying a hearty meal and the company of loved ones and friends, please spare a thought and a prayer for (I hope your German can cope):

pic.twitter.com/RVuNJ2OD1W

— Anabel Schunke (@ainyrockstar) December 24, 2024

God Bless, and Good Night.



MFBB.

IN MEMORIAM ANDRE GLEISSNER.

Prayers are asked for the victims of the Magdeburg islamic terror attack, in particular for André Gleissner:

André 9 years old, innocent victim in Magdeburg. The real responsible for what happened in Germany are the German socialist politicians. pic.twitter.com/5UJWzpyDab

— RadioGenoa (@RadioGenoa) December 21, 2024

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever.
Amen.

André kam übrigens direkt aus meiner Gegend. Wer für die Familie spenden will, kann das hier tun 🙏 pic.twitter.com/IZD3zsKmjp

— Anabel Schunke (@ainyrockstar) December 21, 2024

MFBB.

SUNDAY NIGHT ART SNACK: CARL MOLL, WALTER LEISTIKOW, FRANCIS CADELL.

I cannot emphasize enough that imho, one of X's best art accounts is the one by Richard Morris. Even though the time frame from which he borrows his subjects is relatively small (by and large early 1800s - mid 1900s), he keeps coming up with lovely works crafted by artists whose fame is inversely proportional to their obvious talent. Without Mr Morris, I would probably never have heard of Carl Moll, Laura Knight, Edward Seago, Wilhelm Hammershoi and many, many others. Here are three individuals whose work merits far more attention and appreciation:


(via wikipedia) Carl Julius Rudolf Moll (23 April 1861 – 12 April 1945) was an Austrian Art Nouveau painter active in Vienna at the start of the 20th century. He was one of the artists of the Vienna Secession who took inspiration from the pointillist techniques of French Impressionists. He was an early supporter of the Nazis and committed suicide as Soviet forces approached Vienna at the end of World War II.

Art in Vienna around the turn of the 20thC is synonymous with the vibrant, extravagant canvases of Gustav Klimt. By contrast, the quiet, reflective painting 'At the Lunch Table,' (1901) by Carl Moll may strike one as an anomaly of the period, nevertheless it is a portrayal of… pic.twitter.com/w7LPS2Apmi

— Richard Morris (@ahistoryinart) December 15, 2024

Walter Leistikow (1865–1908) was a German landscape painter, graphic artist, designer and art critic. In 1903, he was one of the co-founders of the Deutsche Kuenstlerbund. He committed suicide in 1908.

'Hafen.' (1890) Throughout his career, Walter Leistikow focused on landscapes, a mix of naturalism and abstraction, Impressionism and expressive colour eccentricities; capturing the mood of what he saw through the play of light and shadow at the beginning and ending of the day. pic.twitter.com/FJQnIcJmcN

— Richard Morris (@ahistoryinart) December 12, 2024

(via wikipedia) Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell RSA (12 April 1883 – 6 December 1937) was a Scottish Colourist painter, renowned for his depictions of the elegant New Town interiors of his native Edinburgh, and for his work on Iona.

Francis Cadell's move to 6 Ainslie Place in Edinburgh in 1920 was to provide a stability and security that was reflected in his paintings. A chair often featured in his interiors and serves to emphasise the elegant proportions, refinement and class of the room. pic.twitter.com/9QKIkRqEII

— Richard Morris (@ahistoryinart) December 10, 2024

Good night.



MFBB.

RECOMMENDED VIDEO: EVEN BANANAS WITH "THE MOST NEUTRINOS EVER".

An immense amount of neutrino research is going on in the US, Japan and even Antarctica. On DowneastBlog, we've already mentioned several of these projects. This Even Bananas video deals with Fermilab's "near" detector, the SBND, for Short-Baseline Near Detector (the "far" one being ICARUS).






MFBB.

RECOMMENDED VIDEO: "THORIUM REACTORS: WHY IS THIS TECHNOLOGY QUITE SO EXCITING."

The Thorium Fuel Cycle has been known for over 50 years and had staunch advocates, a.o. in The Netherlands, which in the 70s even boasted an experimental Thorium Reactor, KEMA, in Arnhem. But nothing came of it because it was the height of the Cold War, and the Thorium Fuel Cycle doesn't lead to Plutonium for atom bombs (to recap, in the thorium fuel cycle Th-232 absorbs a neutron, so that it transmutes into Th-233. Th-233 then beta decays to Pa-233 and finally undergoes a second beta minus decay to become U-233).


But, after that false start, Thorium may well become an important fuel in the nuclear technology mix:





Good night.



MFBB.

SATURDAY NIGHT CULTS, GORILLAZ.

Cults with Always Forever. From the album Static (2013).





Cults is an American indie pop duo formed in New York City in 2010. Madeline Follin is singer, Brian Oblivion guitarist.



Gorillaz with On Melancholy Hill. Album Plastic Beach (2010).





Gorillaz are a British virtual band formed in 1998 by British musician Damon Albarn (ex Blur) and artist Jamie Hewlett, from London. The band consists of four fictional members: 2-D (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (guitar, keyboards, vocals) and Russel Hobbs (drums).


Good night.



MFBB.

RECOMMENDED VIDEO: A WIDENING IDEOLOGICAL GAP BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN?

Via my Twitter/X pal Kuruki (@Kuruki23882260), this new Lotuseaters episode:





Have a nice weekend.



MFBB.

SUNDAY NIGHT ART SNACK: JOSEPH DECKER, WILLIAM NICHOLSON, JAMES HAMILTON HAY, TRISTRAM HILLIER.

Imho one of the best art accounts on Twitter/X (can't get used to the latter) is Richard Morris's, who focuses on non-mainstream, but excellent, painters of, generally, the last two centuries.

'Green Plums.' (1882) While Joseph Decker's work received critical attention during his lifetime, it is only within the past thirty years or so that he has been recognised as one of America's most notable still-life painters. This picture ranks with the best of his work. A critic… pic.twitter.com/1A4YHjaMG9

— Richard Morris (@ahistoryinart) November 14, 2024

Joseph Decker (c. 1853 – 1 April 1924) was a German-born American painter who specialized in still-lifes. Later in his career he tried his hand at landscapes. It's too bad the man died destitute in Brooklyn in 1924, the value of his work only called to attention in 1949 by the art historian Alfred Frankenstein.

'The First Communion,' (1907) shows a young girl running from a house in a floating communion dress. These flat architectural façades set in a shallow picture space feature in several works by William Nicholson but the division into light and shade is novel, and little details… pic.twitter.com/KdICG1s1Td

— Richard Morris (@ahistoryinart) November 12, 2024

Sir William Newzam Prior Nicholson (5 February 1872 – 16 May 1949) was a British painter of still-life, landscape and portraits. This particular work calls to mind of John Singer Sargent.

James Hamilton Hay had a passion for Japanese colour prints and this influence is reflected in the decorative nature of many of his works including this beautifully lit, Whistlerian work, 'The Golden Blinds,' from 1909. pic.twitter.com/e09Roueif4

— Richard Morris (@ahistoryinart) November 8, 2024

James Hamilton Hay (1874-1916) was, apart from painter, also a printmaker. Born in Birkenhead, Liverpool, the son of an architect, he trained in St Ives, Cornwall with Julius Olsson (q.v.) in the 1890s, then at Liverpool School of Art. He painted and etched landscapes, marine scenes and portraits and was influenced by Spencer Gore (q.v.), the Camden Town Group and the work of Francis Dodd…

'The Kitchen Table.' (1958) Tristram Hiller painted still lifes throughout his career always preferring to paint objects which he said showed character or personality and developing as he did so his hard-edged disquieting style of work, helped greatly by using tempera which… pic.twitter.com/0ZrrACOVgN

— Richard Morris (@ahistoryinart) November 7, 2024

A British painter of landscape, still-life, and occasional religious subjects, Tristram Hillier was born in Beijing, where his father was manager of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank. After two years studying at Cambridge University (which he described as ‘a waste of time’), he was apprenticed to a London firm of chartered accountants, but he quickly abandoned this career to study at the Slade School under Tonks (1926–1927), while also attending evening classes at the Westminster School of Art. He then went to Paris, where he studied at the Académie Colarossi under Lhote, and until 1940 he lived mainly in the south of France, with visits to Spain, which he ‘came to love above all other countries’. (via artuk dot org)



Good night, and may you have a productive and happy week ahead of you.



MFBB.

SATURDAY NIGHT ABBA, PIONEERING UK PUNK ROCK BANDS.

ABBA with SOS. From the album ABBA (1975).





True, this is normally outside DowneastBlog's line of work, but I post it nevertheless since it's such an iconic 70s sound. Music from a decade that at the same time seems so occupy recent memory, yet has already receded half a century in the rearview mirror! Btw did I ever let it slip that at heart, I am a hopelessly sentimental nut?



A good friend on Twitter/X (still can't get used to the latter) sent me this very interesting video yesterday, definitely worthy of a Saturday Night appearance. Pioneering punk rock bands in the UK prior to 1970 (!):





Have a nice weekend yet.



MFBB.

POLICE STATE GREAT BRITAIN.

The steep descent of the UK towards a totalitarian 1984-like society is both astounding and frightening.


Grandmothers and 11 year olds are being thrown in jail for 'offensive' FB posts. Murderers are let free after serving ridiculously short sentences.

Britain is a far-left dystopian regime. pic.twitter.com/q17k89Yr9e

— Turning Point UK 🇬🇧 (@TPointUK) November 17, 2024

I don’t understand how you can go to prison for calling an illegal migrant a tramp via a TikTok live stream, but saying Jews ought to be killed on camera and in front of the police is absolutely hunky dory? pic.twitter.com/MD0KbEuFLI

— Darren Grimes (@darrengrimes_) November 17, 2024

The Grammy winner and former lead guitarist of the British folk rock band Mumford & Sons @MrWinMarshall reveals to Americans that people are being imprisoned in the UK and EU for politically incorrect social media posts.

🇺🇸🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/kxYgqFpK49

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) November 15, 2024

British police are advising Christian preachers to leave or they will be arrested because they could "cause harassment, alarm and distress", which is a criminal offence. pic.twitter.com/FXd8Ersgcw

— RadioGenoa (@RadioGenoa) November 16, 2024

The Chief Constable BJ Harrington @BJH251 of @EssexPoliceUK has defended his force door stepping journo @AllisonPearson.

According to a 2021 paper, he believes "hate speech" is on the same level as r*pe, child abuse, knife crime, domestic abuse & paedophilia.

God help us.… pic.twitter.com/pepl5HBoOH

— David Atherton (@DaveAtherton20) November 15, 2024

A British man gets arrested at 0400 by British Police.

His crime? Writing on social media that he does not wish to see Palestinian flags all over the UK.

The UK is truly the embodiment of the crisis of the Western World and of its values. pic.twitter.com/n7Pj879NDe

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) November 15, 2024

There's not 'something' rotten in the State of England, but a whole lot.



MFBB.

RECOMMENDED VIDEOS: LAVOCHKINS LAST FIGHTER, THE LA-250 ANAKONDA.

Did you ever hear about the Lavochkin-250 Anakonda? Well, I didn't - until this evening.


Here is its story:




It was quite a beast, almost 27 m long, with a wingspan of 13.9m and a height of 6.5m, and powered by 2 Lyulka AL-7F-1 afterburning turbojet engines, 73.55 kN (16,535 lbf) thrust each dry, 98.06 kN (22,045 lbf) with afterburner. More here.



MFBB.

FERMILAB SHORT LESSON: MUON TO ELECTRON CONVERSION.

On X, formerly twitter, I discovered Fermilabs (very) short educational videos, all the more reason to follow Fermilab's account!

First some background. An electron, with a mass of 0.511 megaelectron volts (MeV), is the lightest of the charged leptons (leptons are elementary particles of half-integer spin, i.e. spin ⁠1/2, that don't not undergo strong interactions).

The next-heavier charged lepton is the muon. It has a mass of 106 MeV, which is some 200 times greater than the electron's mass but is significantly less than the proton's mass of 938 MeV (I recall from my physics lessons in high school that an electron's mass is about 1/2000th, to be precise 1/1854th or so, of a proton's mass, so 1,854 times 0.511 will indeed give you something in the neighborhood of 938 MeV). Apart from the great mass discrepancy, muons are elementary particles similar to electrons, with the same electric charge of −1 e and spin of -1/2. As with other leptons, the muon is not thought to be composed of any simpler particles. A muon is an unstable subatomic particle with a mean lifetime of 2.2 μs, which is however much longer than many other subatomic particles.

#ExplainIn20Seconds Curious about muon-to-electron conversion? This short video explains it. Mu2e experiment @Fermilab is looking for such conversion, which would point us towards new physics beyond the standard model. pic.twitter.com/lVQ5EjyPFp

— Fermilab Education Office (@FermilabEd) October 3, 2024

Be that as it may, that up quarks can become down quarks and one kind of neutrino another, I can understand. After all, the mass stays the same. However, what this video fails to tell me is how a muon could morph into an electron when it's some 200 times heavier??? Where would all the surplus mass go?



MFBB.

SATURDAY NIGHT DONNA SUMMER, HOT CHOCOLATE.

Donna Summer with Lady of the Night. From the eponymous 1974 album, actually her debut.





Iconic American singer/songwriter from Boston, MA, who became known as the Queen of Disco.



Hot Chocolate with It Started with a Kiss. From the 1982 album Mystery.





Hot Chocolate are a British soul band popular who came to prominence during the 1970s and 1980s. It was formed in 1968 by Errol Brown and Tony Wilson and, despite some hiccups, still around, although frontman Errol Brown died in 2015 from liver cancer.


Goede nacht.



MFBB.

WATCH: DOMINIK TARCZYNSKI (PiS) LECTURES EU GOONS IN EP ON ACCEPTING "REFUGEES".

Dominik Tarczyński is a Polish politician for the Law and Justice Party (PiS) and a journalist, who is making a name for himself as a firebrand Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 2020. Previously, he was a member of the Sejm (MP) from 2015 to 2020. Here he lectures EU apparatchiks and co-MEPS who want to dump illegals into Poland:

Polish MEP Dominik Tarczynski silences EU politicians who wanted to dump third world immigrants in Poland.

WATCH: pic.twitter.com/7WGnzAINoB

— iamyesyouareno (@iamyesyouareno) October 6, 2024

Here is hoping that Polands new PM, Donald Tusk (PO), who has publicly pledged not to accept the EU migration quotas, will neither budge on this nor soften the conditions for granting citizenship for asylum seekers. The pressure is mounting.



MFBB.

SATURDAY NIGHT DON McLEAN, MELEE.

Don McLean with Castles in the Air. From the 1981 album Believers, although it was actually released a decade earlier as a single.





American folk rock legend from La Rochelle, New York. This year the 'King of the Trail', who is 78, has been active for a staggering 60 years!



Mêlée with Built to Last, from their 2007 album Devils and Angels.





American rock band from Orange County in California, which formed in 2000. The band consisted of Ricky Sans, Chris Cron, Ryan Malloy and Derek Lee Rock.


Goedenacht.



MFBB.

POLICE STATE GREAT BRITAIN.

The Starmer government has been in power for about two months, and it shows. Boys are being arrested for waving a British flag and grandmothers for Facebook posts.


There's a red thread - no pun intended - running from Alexandre de Moraes banning X in Brazil over Maduro, over the weaponization of justice by Dems in the US, to the arrest of Telegram founder Durov in France, the imprisonment of Dries Van Langenhove in Belgium over memes by members of his organization, the suspension of Compact Magazine in Germany by Nancy Faeser, to the downright fascist behaviour of Britain's new Labour government. In almost all of the Western world, the left has embarked on an offensive against freedom of speech. And perhaps no case is more shocking than Great Britain's:

🚨BREAKING

British boy who waved England flag outside North Yorkshire Islamic centre jailed.

UK is falling pic.twitter.com/C9Ut9CW200

— Europe Invasion (@EuropeInvasionn) August 24, 2024

Left: Killed 14-year-old British boy with a machete. Sent to prison in March, to be released in 6 months.

Right: He was jailed after shouting at a police dog during riots.

UK has fallen. pic.twitter.com/ixmcdjITM8

— Europe Invasion (@EuropeInvasionn) August 20, 2024

🚨BREAKING

A 67-year-old man has been jailed for 20 months after chanting "you're not English any more" at police officers during a violent demonstration in London.

If he had killed a 14 year old British boy with a machete, he would have been released after 6 months. pic.twitter.com/MdniioPpj2

— Europe Invasion (@EuropeInvasionn) August 19, 2024

A 26-year-old boy has been sentenced to 3 years and 2 months in prison for inciting hatred towards immigrants in the UK riots. pic.twitter.com/kZLH5yqjZH

— Europe Invasion (@EuropeInvasionn) August 10, 2024

Left: Killed 14-year-old British boy with a machete. Sent to prison in March, to be released in 6 months.

Right: Commented on Facebook during riots. Will be in prison for 20 months.

UK is falling. pic.twitter.com/4LpNw7O9w9

— Europe Invasion (@EuropeInvasionn) August 10, 2024

Make no mistake, those arrests - shameful as they are in themselves - serve a purpose. This is PSYOPS, this is intimidation of native Britons. It's telling them that they, too, if they don't accept the Umvolkung of their country, risk being arrested.


Be all that as it may, the new Labour government is resorting only to state terror and is doing NOTHING to investigate the unrest among British people; an unrest that is the logical result of seeing their country being flooded day and night by Third World wreckage, of learning for the umpteenth time that here and there a man, or a kid, or a grandmother has been murdered by an illegal immigrant, of having to cope financially in a harsh economy while the government is spending more than 8 MILLION £ a day to house the tsunami of welfare seekers in luxury hotels...


The next riots will see Britons use firearms against their government. And who could blame them?



MFBB.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF UKRAINES INCURSION IN RUSSIA - BY JACK WATLING.

Jack Watling, Senior Research Fellow - Land Warfare, Military Sciences, posits that Ukraine, fearing a not so unlikely scenario of a 2nd Trump Administration and what it implies for Ukraine per recent statements by Mr Trump - tying negotiations with Russia to end the war as a condition for further help - invaded a chunk of Russia in order to obtain a bargaining chip.

Ukraine’s extraordinary incursion into Kursk has changed the narrative of the war – but is a high-risk strategy - I write for @ObserverUK https://t.co/wVoqeriZe2 @RUSI_org

— Jack Watling (@Jack_Watling) August 17, 2024

Personally, when the 'invasion' started on August 6, I only thought it was a raid as only elements of two brigades were involved. Primarily meant in the context of a psychological war, to give the Russians a taste of discomfort, the feeling that a supposedly far weaker adversary is, in the third year of the 'special operation', still capable not only of defending itself but even of attacking its foe on its own soil. I even thought that they were not going to hold on to their gains for long.

But in the meantime, at least 6 brigades are involved and it is indeed beginning to look like the Ukrainians plan to hold on to the conquered territory - something to bargain with if indeed a Trump Administration forces the two warring parties to the negotiation table. Per Mr Watlings column in The Guardian, Saturday August 17, 2024:

"Politically, the purpose of the operation is to build leverage ahead of possible negotiations. If Donald Trump wins the US presidency in November, the threat of withdrawing military-technical assistance is likely to force Kyiv to negotiate. The Ukrainian government wants to make sure that if it has to enter that process, it has things that Russia wants to trade for concessions. The Ukrainian military, therefore, must take and hold a sizeable chunk of Russian land for the duration of potential negotiations.

Another important element of the offensive is that Ukraine succeeded in maintaining operational security before launching the assault. This has been a significant problem with past Ukrainian operations, and the competence in the preparation and planning demonstrates lessons being learned from last year’s offensive that will encourage partners about the prospects for future operations.

It helped that Russian military intelligence appears to have suffered once again from a chronic lack of curiosity or imagination as Ukrainian forces were withdrawn from the line in Donbas.

So far Ukrainian forces in Kursk have been tactically successful. Undertrained Russian infantry have again performed poorly when lacking command and control, and confronted by a manoeuvring opponent without fixed points of reference. Surrendering Russian platoons are a symptom of the poor cohesion that exemplified the Russian collapse in Kharkiv in 2022.

While the Kursk operation is politically significant, a parallel series of Ukrainian strikes targeting Russian airfields is more militarily advantageous. Russian aircraft have been central to both the long-range strikes on Ukraine’s critical national infrastructure, and the glide bomb attacks on frontline positions that are inflicting heavy losses on Ukraine. Damaging planes is vital in reducing pressure on Ukraine’s defences.

There is a limit to how successful Ukraine can be. It was suffering from a shortage of troops to rotate and hold the line prior to its operation in Kursk. Now it has pulled together what was available as an operational reserve and committed it to a new axis. There is a limit to how far this force can push before it overextends, meaning it will need to dig in soon if the Ukrainians are to hold the ground until negotiations. But as soon as the front stops being dynamic, the Russians will dig defences and then bring up artillery, electronic warfare complexes and fresh troops. In the short term, the operation has diverted the weight of Russian air-delivered bombs away from Donbas, but this will be temporary. Russia has enough personnel and equipment to fight both fronts. It is less clear that this is true for Ukraine.

The military risks build with time. Having committed its operational reserve, Ukraine will struggle to plug gaps in the line, and it has not yet managed to resolve the threat posed by Russian reconnaissance drones, glide bombs, artillery, electronic warfare and operational-tactical missile complexes. Collectively these capabilities are allowing Russia to continue a steady advance to Pokrovsk, Toretsk and other towns in Donbas. These towns will soon be depopulated, and defending them will be resource-intensive...."

Also, don't miss these videos, per Rob Lee, to get an idea of what front operations look like:

Video of the breach on August 6 with a UR-77 MICLIC.https://t.co/vttpNoKnNq pic.twitter.com/25iGLXJ778

— Rob Lee (@RALee85) August 17, 2024

One of the units involved is the 82nd Air Landing Brigade. Apparently the basic operational unit in the UA Army is the brigade. Nowhere have I seen divisions mentioned.

Video from Ukraine's 82nd Air Assault Brigade of the beginning of the Kursk operation. It shows a Russian Ka-52 helicopter being shot down.https://t.co/duiJ3rKPdY pic.twitter.com/IYlgDbNJiV

— Rob Lee (@RALee85) August 17, 2024

Good night.



MFBB.

INSANITY IN THE UK.

A truly frightening evolution in the UK, where you can now be ARRESTED and IMPRISONED over social media posts deemed 'offensive' by the government. This is the head of London Police, "Sir" Mark Rowley. If it's up to him, Keir Jong Un's goons can grab you from behind your computer even if you are posting from abroad.

Met Police Commissioner Mark Rowley threatens to EXTRADITE and imprison American citizens over online posts.

He does not rule out Elon Musk. pic.twitter.com/AUJhEgTTtJ

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) August 9, 2024

Meanwhile, on London's streets:

This is Sadiq Khan's London. In two years there will be no British people left. pic.twitter.com/ccx0OYVxyP

— RadioGenoa (@RadioGenoa) August 10, 2024

MFBB.

SATURDAY NIGHT WENDY AND BONNIE, AIR.

Wendy and Bonnie with I realized you. From their sole album Genesis (1969).





Wendy and Bonnie Flower were Californian singing sisters from Millbrae, San Francisco Bay Area.



Air with Playground Love. From the soundtrack of The Virgin Suicides (2000).





Air is a French music duo from Versailles, consisting of Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel. Formed in 1995, still around.


Hat tip for both OutlawDaughter. Good night.



MFBB.

DREADFUL STAT OF THE DAY.

Per @cdrsalamander, our longtime ally, this appalling stat which sheds light on US women's fertility:



I don't have similar stats for Europe but there's no doubt that they tell a comparable story. Also, I'm not sure about the US, but what I am sure of is that these stats highlight the fertility status of WHITE women. If the examples I can witness firsthand are anything to go by, it may be even worse.


Excessive consumerism and rejection of conservatism - read, embracing of leftist adages - having already taken their toll, in recent decades other factors have manifested themselves which torpedo a white woman's desire for motherhood even more. They are:

* incessant propaganda for gay lifestyles

* third wave feminism

* gender insanity, which is catastrophically telling very young boys and girls that they can be girls and boys by mutilating them - thereby blocking forever the path towards being a parent

* climate lunacy, which essentially is telling young people that humans are the problem and the less there are, the better it is for Mother Gaia (think Extinction Rebellion)

* economic hardships. Indeed, as the European nannystate increasingly diverts resources to welcome and settle gargantuan imports of Third World welfare seekers, taxes and prices have gone up, and the first victims thereof are whites, who have to pay for it. Your typical euro couple which despite everything still thinks of having one and perhaps two children, postpones that wish until things get better. But it doesn't look like they will.


It makes me SICK, seeing how we are wiping out ourselves.


How will this all end? Well, do the math. Take e.g. the example of Ukraine, a country that faces the additional burden of a devastating war which, very unfortunately, wipes away cohorts of young men and women in their prime who should actually be starting families:

So, Ukraine has a fertility rate of 1.16 children per woman.

There are other nations who have less, but let's say they maintain their independence, but don't increase, or decrease their fertility rate.

How long until the Ukrainian people disappear?

233 years it seems.
/1 pic.twitter.com/araPZbW5tD

— cdrsalamander (@cdrsalamander) July 9, 2024

MFBB.

REQUIEM FOR ALBION.

The UK elections are over. As expected, the Tories got - rightly so - a clobbering, and Farage's Reform did well. However, the UK electoral system being some kind of first past the post variety, the big winner is Labour, and Keir Starmer is the new PM.

The British pound will soon convert to the British Bolivar pic.twitter.com/SbV3Hb2NXM

— BowTiedMara (@BowTiedMara) July 5, 2024

Starmer did not lose time in announcing the new top jobs. They spell disaster.


Angela Rayner is Deputy PM and Minister for Housing:

Labour's @AngelaRayner has been appointed Deputy Prime Minister & Minister for Housing.

She has promised migrants in every town, and is looking to build for them 250,000 new homes. No Brits need to apply. pic.twitter.com/0bJ7GephHU

— David Atherton (@DaveAtherton20) July 5, 2024

Yvette Cooper becomes Home Secretary:

If you thought the tories had bad home secretary’s. You ain’t seen nothing yet pic.twitter.com/YoInhFQdM9

— Sick Of It 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@WayneGb88) July 5, 2024

Shabana Mahmood is the new Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice:

Meet the UK’s new Justice Minister.
🇬🇧🇵🇸

Shabana Mahmood has become the new Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice.

The ‘Free Palestine’ activist will be in charge of the administration and reform of core parts of the British justice system. pic.twitter.com/YschXz4oaC

— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) July 5, 2024

etc


The most dangerous demographic subgroup in the West is formed by white 'progressive' women, of which there is no shortage in the new Starmer government. The UK is as good as dead.


But make no mistake: the Tories are responsible for this. Had they governed in a conservative way, the UK would be fine and dandy. It is NOT. They got punished for betraying conservatism, of which the migration tsunami which could on unchecked for years is but one aspect. The Tories got deservedly clobbered.


Unfortunately, Labour got undeservedly rewarded.


And now Britain, and Britons, will pay the price. A very hefty one.



MFBB.

FORMULA OF THE DAY: THE FINE-STRUCTURE CONSTANT.

Fine-Structure Constant (approx. 1/137) is a dimensionless constant that characterizes the strength of the electromagnetic interaction between elementary charged particles. Its value is approximately 1/137, and it's one of the fundamental constants of nature whose origin remains… pic.twitter.com/VIteZcu4K2

— Physics In History (@PhysInHistory) January 31, 2024

* e is the elementary charge (1.602176634×10−19 C);
* h is the Planck constant (6.62607015×10−34 J⋅Hz−1);
* ħ is the reduced Planck constant, ħ = h/2π (1.054571817...×10−34 J⋅s)
* c is the speed of light (299792458 m⋅s−1);
* ε0 is the electric constant (8.8541878188(14)×10−12 F⋅m−1).


So the Fine-Structure Constant is essential in defining the electromagnetic force, one of the four fundamental forces in nature.



MFBB.

MARINE LE PEN'S RASSEMBLEMENT NATIONAL CONVINCINGLY WINS FIRST ROUND OF PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS.

With 33% of the vote, Marine Le Pen's rightwing Rassemblement National (RN) seems to have won the first round of France's parliamentary elections. Second comes Mélenchons leftwing Nouveau Front Populaire, a coalition of greens, socialists and communists, with 28%. Macrons coalition only captured 22% of the vote.

Marine Le Pen wins first round as France outright rejects WEF’s Macron! pic.twitter.com/5NEVb4ZfZ4

— Liz Churchill (@liz_churchill10) June 30, 2024

The key to her succes might just lay with France's youth, who seem to begin to see through leftist gobbledegook of which they may suspect it threatens their future... and with the very young candidate-PM Jordan Bardella (28), who ticks:





Next week the second and defining round. This is going to be interesting.



MFBB.

SATURDAY NIGHT CHRIS REA, ELO.

Chris Rea with Shamrock Diaries. From the eponymous 1985 album.





The least one can say about Rea is that he's a survivor. The man got peritonitis which nearly killed him, pancreatic cancer which nearly killed him, a stroke which nearly killed him etc. I hold him in very high regard, as despite these bumps in the road he managed to produce, almost behind our backs, a string of decent hits. The one thing I'm not going to forgive him, is his championship of Jeremy Corbyn.



ELO with Can't get it out of my head. From the 1974 album Eldorado.





English rock band which formed in Brum in 1970 by songwriters/multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood, and drummer Bev Bevan. Still around although Jeff Lynne will call it quits in OCT of this year.


Nite.



MFBB.

WHAT YOU DIDN'T SEE AFTER THE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE LAST NIGHT.

Shocking ending to the Trump vs Biden debate, what most people didn't see.

This says it all. pic.twitter.com/ryE6qEIdpt

— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) June 28, 2024

Good G*d.


Who's running the United States anyway???



MFBB.

SATURDAY NIGHT THE HUMAN LEAGUE, STEVE WINWOOD.

First The Human League with Life On Your Own. From their 1984 album Hysteria.



English synth pop band which formed in 1977 in Sheffield. Still around!



Steve Winwood with Valerie. From his 1980 album Arc of a Diver.



Winwood played all the instruments on the album: Minimoog, Fender Stratocaster, Steinway Piano, Hammond B3 organ, bass guitar...


Nite.



MFBB.

RECOMMENDED THREAD: JORDAN TAYLOR'S THE OPEN ROTOR CONCEPT.

One of the best technological accounts on X is Jordan Taylor's. In this thread, which dates from two years ago already, he focuses on the Open Rotor Concept - the ultimate turbofan!

In this thread we'll alight on my favourite aerospace efficiency concept: The open rotor engine. This strange looking beast was envisaged in the 70s oil embargo and still promises double digit fuel efficiency improvements. Has it's time now arrived? 1/ pic.twitter.com/towBuGPBXU

— Jordan Taylor (@Jordan_W_Taylor) November 19, 2022

An update to this thread...

It's happening! CFM International and Airbus are rolling the dice on this beautiful concept. https://t.co/3LwK2gISRe

— Jordan Taylor (@Jordan_W_Taylor) March 20, 2023

MFBB.

HYDROGEN ENGINES: ICE OR FUEL CELLS?

I am against EVs for several reasons, and the most obvious ones are in all likelihood the ones that spring to mind right away: limited autonomy and charge stress, depletion of rare metals, damage to the environment primarily during the mining operations needed to extract Lithium, Cobalt etc.

Now, while all that is true in the current EV development state, these issues will probably have been solved ten years hence, what with the introduction of new battery technologies (graphene, solid state...).

No, the REAL reason I am against EVs is because widespread usage of this type of transport will make countries extremely vulnerable for any disruption in the generation and/or distribution of electricity. In our everyday lives we are already completely dependent on electricity. Imagine if on top of that we would all be driving EVs too: in the blink of an eye so to say, a country could be rendered deaf and blind. In the late nineties, NATO used graphite bombs to short-circuit the Serbian power grid and the results were devastating: no lighting or electrical appliances; no electrical trains; factories, hospitals, schools unable to function; no traffic lights, no computers, no internet, no air traffic control etc...


...but at least the Serbs were able to drive their cars.

You can see why it would be an extremely bad idea to completely rely on electricity for road transport too. Imagine that in a not too distant future Russia launches a two-pronged offensive in Western Europe with graphite bombs delivered by drones launched from the North Sea on the one hand, and hackers on the other hand. In a matter of hours, large swaths of Europe are without electricity! Now imagine, too, that greens have unfortunately had their way and we are all driving EVs...

No, if we are to phase out ICE engines using fossil fuels, we should not replace them with EVs; at least not EVs that derive their juice from a power grid. We should switch to hydrogen-powered cars, trucks and buses.

And then two options present themselves: vehicles using hydrogen in a combustion engine, or vehicles using hydrogen in fuel cells.

This chap explains why the latter option *seems* by far the best...



...until you compare the price tag, of course. While it's true that fuel cell powered hydrogen cars are roughly twice as efficient as their ICE counterparts burning H2, they are also far more expensive. Which is why there probably will be a market for the two versions. Time will tell how it will all pan out. Nite.


MFBB.

MAY 2nd, 2024.

It's been 13 years since my father died.





I visited my father's grave a couple of hours ago. It was overcast, cold, windy, and raining slightly. An almost complete reversal of the weather yesterday, which actually resembled a hot and sunny day in early July.

I said some prayers there, looking at my father's photograph, a good one which shows him at his best, and as he was in his final years, still a handsome man. The photo is about six inches high and 4 inches wide and thankfully its colours haven't faded yet in those thirteen years.

When I had finished praying I laid my hand on the dark polished granite, as I always do, telling dad that he is not forgotten.

I can only continue my life till I, too, arrive at the end, and I can only hope that I live it as decently as my father lived his. That, and hopefully being able to fulfill a couple of crucial goals I have set myself. I asked and got so much help from my father - and my mother, of course - during his lifetime. Would it be selfish to ask him to help me accomplish those goals from beyond death? Perhaps it is. At the same time these goals are not exactly for my own benefit, so perhaps it's not so bad after all.


My father. What an example. Even thirteen years after his passing.




"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me."
~ Psalm 23:4 ~


Rest in peace dad. You are not forgotten.



MFBB.

RECOMMENDED VIDEO: EVA VLAARDINGERBROEK'S SPEECH AT CPAC HUNGARY.

Er, highly recommended! Please, watch it in full!

Here it is! The full speech I gave at #CPACHungary that the establishment is losing its absolute mind about.

I spoke the forbidden truth: The Great Replacement is no longer a theory - it’s reality. White Europeans are being replaced in their own countries at an ever… pic.twitter.com/L33UE3P6tv

— Eva Vlaardingerbroek (@EvaVlaar) April 27, 2024

In these desperate times, when simply walking the streets of my small hometown means seeing the effects of Population Replacement up front - for it is no longer a phenomenon of the big cities - it's a small consolation that all across Europe young, intelligent people are standing up and calling out the evil acts of our thoroughly corrupt and ideologically perverse 'elites', who are consciously visiting upon us, the original Europeans, the crime of multiculturalism.


For a crime it is. Here's a small token:

Hundreds to Thousands of Muslims with the Organization “Muslim Interaktiv” and several other Extremist Islamist Groups held a Rally today in Hamburg, Germany calling for the Establishment of a German Muslim Caliphate as well as the Enforcement of Sharia Law across Europe. pic.twitter.com/AEZD66wucN

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) April 27, 2024

Our 'elites' MUST be removed from power, lest they destroy this beautiful continent of ours!



MFBB.

CULTURAL ENRICHMENT IN THE CITY OF LIGHT.

pic.twitter.com/bZd58Cjtwn

— 🇮🇹 RadioRoma (@RadioRoma_) April 21, 2024

Afghan migrants have been vandalizing Paris and clashing with police for 2 consecutive days.

3 Afghans were found dead a few days ago in an apparent murder-suicide case but for som reason the Afghans are blaming the French police.

100 days left to the Paris Olympics

🇫🇷🇦🇫 pic.twitter.com/4TzEpsr5tK

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) April 21, 2024

Our "elites" are responsible for this, and even now, as it is crystal-clear that multiculturalism is a colossal failure, they won't do anything to stem the flood of 3rd World wreckage flowing into our beautiful Europe. For they are counting on the votes of this scum to neutralize the authochton population which is leaning ever more to the Right.

Our "elites" actually deserve to be shot.



MFBB.

SATURDAY NIGHT THE POLICE, TOM PETTY.

The Police with Darkness. From the 1981 album Ghost in the Machine. Imho their best.



The cover art depicts the band members, with from left to right Andy Summers, Sting with the spiky hair, and Stewart Copeland with a fringe!


Tom Petty with I Won't Back Down. From his first solo album Full Moon Fever (1989).



Iconic American rock artist from Gainesville, Florida, where he also formed Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in 1976.


Nite.



MFBB.

SATURDAY NIGHT MAC DEMARCO, ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN.

Mac DeMarco with Moonlight on the River. From his 2017 album This Old Dog.





Canadian singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He sings about his father, who walked out on his mom and him because he was an addict and alcoholic.



Echo and the Bunnymen with Bring On The Dancing Horses. From the 1985 compilation album Songs to Learn and Sing.





Liverpudlian band which formed in 1978 and originally consisted of Ian McCulloch, Will Sergeant, Les Pattison... and a drum machine. Although the band always denied Echo was its name. By the time their debut album appeared, Crocodiles in 1980, there was a flesh and blood drummer, Pete de Freitas, but the name remained the same.


Nite.



MFBB.

HAPPY EASTER 2024!

To all my followers, like every year I wish you a heartfelt Happy Easter! At least those of the Christian faith, the others I wish a nice weekend!





God bless you and your loved ones, and may He protect you from harm.



MFBB.

RECOMMENDED VIDEO: THE IMAGES THAT WILL CHANGE YOUR VIEW OF THE MOON FOREVER (AND BLOW YOUR MIND).

A fascinating journey to our closest celestial neighbor!




If you follow this link, you can explore the Moon yourself!


Good night.



MFBB.

RECOMMENDED VIDEO: NEUTRON STARS ARE MORE BIZARRE THAN YOU THINK.

An interesting video by Space Matters on neutron stars, the collapsed cores of massive supergiant stars which had total masses of between 10 and 25 times the mass of our Sun (M☉). They are the smallest and densest known stellar objects, except for Black Holes, having a radius of about 10 kilometers (and a mass of about 1.4 M☉).

They are called neutron stars because, well, their gravitational pressure is so gigantic that atomic nuclei and their electrons are forced onto one another and combine to form neutrons. Further collapse is prevented by a phenomenon called neutron degeneracy pressure.




Nite.



MFBB.

THE UNITED KINGDOM IS LOST AND GONE FOR GOOD.

Three appalling tidbits of info that show how much the rot has already set in in the United Kingdom:


An adhan in the Houses of Parliament:

England is lost.

Not by defeat in battle. Nor by a strong conquering force. But by cowardly men.

Weak and feeble politicians, and a traitorous metropolitan liberal elite.

Shame.https://t.co/7zqxEj3jQR

— Fr Calvin Robinson (@calvinrobinson) March 14, 2024

Cambridge University warns visitors to the Fitzwilliam Museum that viewing 200-year old paintings of bucolic "Ur-British landscapes", among them works by Constable, may inspire 'dark nationalistic feelings'.

The citizens of the United Kingdom are under a full-scale siege by forces that seek to cut off any remaining avenue of dignity or pride in one's country.

The University of Cambridge is now attacking depictions of the British countryside itself as 'dark nationalism'.

Now why… pic.twitter.com/2fdkhSwlH5

— Western Exile (@westernexile) March 15, 2024

There's about 500 mosques in London, yet they feel they have to pray in the streets. It's a signal, it's intimidation. When you want to sing gospel songs, however...

While Muslim immigrants in London can do whatever they want, Christians are persecuted by British police. https://t.co/B3THcL7z9z pic.twitter.com/NeahvR0Lfp

— RadioGenoa (@RadioGenoa) March 9, 2024

There are many more signs that Great Britain has effectively become Small Britain - think of Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, setting up a 100 million £ fund for reparations for the sin of slavery (never mind that the UK actually ABOLISHED the slave trade), the guy who was arrested for putting up stickers warning of White Britons becoming a minority by 2060 etc... but let's leave it at this for today. It's too depressing.


At some point we will have to take up arms. And use them.



MFBB.

SATURDAY NIGHT MANFRED MANN'S EARTH BAND, LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM.

Manfred Mann's Earth Band with Davy's on the road again. It's on the 1978 album Watch, although it came out as a single in 1971 already.





English rock band which formed in 1971 and still around, despite a hiatus between 1987 and 1991. Lead man Manfred Mann (real name Manfred Sepse Lubowitz) was born in South Africa.



Lindsey Buckingham with Trouble. From his debut solo album Law and Order (1981).





Buckingham joined Fleetwood Mac in 1977, together with his then partner Stevie Nicks, and it's impossible to imagine Rumours (1977) and its success without them.


Goede nacht.



MFBB.

SATURDAY NIGHT FOO FIGHTERS, ABC.

Foo Fighters with Monkey Wrench. From the album The Colour and the Shape (1997).





In the elevator, Grohl hears a muzak version (i.e. lift music) of the FF hit Big Me, performed by The Moog Cookbook, some kind of US version of Daft Punk.



ABC with All Of My Heart. From their debut album The Lexicon of Love (1982). You read that right, 42 years old already. And still good!





English pop band, ex Vice Versa, which formed in Sheffield in 1980. The classic line-up consisted of lead vocalist Martin Fry, guitarist/keyboardist Mark White, saxophonist Stephen Singleton, and drummer David Palmer.


Bonne nuit.



MFBB.

RECOMMENDED VIDEO: INSIDE THE ME262 JET FIGHTER.

A marvellous video by Blue Paw Print:





And while I'm at it, you might want to check out Dan Sharp's "ME262 - Development and Politics":





Nite.



MFBB.

SATURDAY NIGHT MAC DEMARCO, EDITORS.

Mac DeMarco with Passing out Pieces. From the album Salad Days (2014).





Canadian singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer, known for his preference for vintage guitars and synthesizers.



Editors with Munich. From their 2005 debut album The Back Room.





Indie rock band from Brum. Tom Smith is lead singer, songwriter, keyboardist and rhythm guitarist.


Dobranoc.



MFBB.

INTUITIVE MACHINES' ODYSSEUS LANDER TOUCHES DOWN ON MOON.

After more than half a century, America finally made it back to the Moon, as Intuitive Machines's NOVA C-Lander, called Odysseus, touched down on the lunar surface near the South Pole:

Today, for the first time in half a century, America has returned to the Moon 🇺🇸.

On the eighth day of a quarter-million-mile voyage, @Int_Machines aced the landing of a lifetime.

What a feat for IM, @SpaceX & @NASA.

What a triumph for humanity.

Odysseus has taken the Moon. pic.twitter.com/JwtCQmMS2K

— Bill Nelson (@SenBillNelson) February 23, 2024

Intuitive Machines is a participant in NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) Programme, another contender being Astrobotic, which in January launched Peregrine, an attempt to reach the Moon that unfortunately failed due to an anomaly shortly after launch. Astrobotic will do a follow up later this year though with a second lander, Griffin.


After IM's confirmation that Odysseus was standing upright and sending data...

After troubleshooting communications, flight controllers have confirmed Odysseus is upright and starting to send data.
Right now, we are working to downlink the first images from the lunar surface.

— Intuitive Machines (@Int_Machines) February 23, 2024

...photos failed to come through though. Apparently the camera didn't deploy during descent. I suppose IM's engineer right now are hard at work to solve that problem though. In any case, with this successful landing on the heels of Japans and India's lunar landers, it's clear that interest for our celestial neighbor is finally back to late 60s/early 70s levels, and hopefully we will finally see a Moon Base in the very near future!



MFBB.

THE RESULT OF MULTICULTI INSANITY: MASSIVE RIOTS IN THE HAGUE, THE NETHERLANDS.

Mass riots broke out yesterday in The Hague, The Netherlands, when two rival gangs of Eritreans numbering hundreds of individuals clashed with each other, then attacked intervening police.

Here's who devastated The Hague yesterday. We hope that this video can contribute to identification and deportation. pic.twitter.com/46Z9f1okxa

— RadioGenoa (@RadioGenoa) February 18, 2024

Het open grenzen-beleid heeft ons land totaal verwoest. Grenzen dicht en dit tuig uitzetten. Nu.
pic.twitter.com/vHmflh8slr

— Raisa Blommestijn (@rblommestijn) February 17, 2024

The Hague - Last night, foreign paramilitaries burned down the city. Deportations must start today 🇳🇱🥷 pic.twitter.com/zRQnJ23Okt

— 🇬🇧RonEnglish🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (@RonEng1ish) February 18, 2024

UPDATE: o.a. door het brandende politiebusje tegen de gevel is ook in het pand van de #Opera brand ontstaan. De brandweer heeft opgeschaald naar 'zeer grote brand'. #Grip2 #Fruitweg https://t.co/aG13e1Al7b pic.twitter.com/ucFUUeX8Qh

— Regio15.nl (@regio15) February 17, 2024

Relschoppers uit Eritrea dringen het Opera gebouw in Den Haag binnen. Ramen worden vernield.pic.twitter.com/CxHFMJOaTg

— Kees (@Kees71234) February 17, 2024

Oorlogsgebied met dank aan de ongelimiteerde import van de derde wereld. pic.twitter.com/5Fz79anZPu

— Symphony (@Symphony_res) February 17, 2024

Multiculturalism is a LIE, invented by leftists after the fall of the Soviet Union. It was the grand bankruptcy of all their delusional ideas, but every time they are proven wrong, they start looking for another cause to sow unrest and hatred, another group of purported victims they can claim to protect. That group was quickly found, had in fact already been on their radar for decades: the Third World. The only reason most of the Third World is a shithole is because WE keep them there, according to socialists, greens, democrats or whatever you want to call these lowlives. And the grand operation to sluice the downtrodden of the Earth towards the West began. Here at last they could benefit from all the riches we had stolen from them.


Not content with the speed of the influx, even after Madwoman Merkel's throwing open the borders of Germany, they doctored the 'UN Global Compact for Safe and Regulated Migration', which went into effect in 2018. The results are appalling. Europe is being flooded day and night with thousands of welfare seekers who can't, and won't, contribute anything of value to our continent.


It is in fact a naked power grab by Europe's leftists and greens, aimed at neutralizing the votes of autochton electorates which vote more an more rightwing - not unlike the Biden government letting some 150,000 Latin Americans in each month with the aim of keeping the GOP from power eternally.


The results of such insane policies were on full display in The Hague yesterday. Politicians who allow and facilitate the import of this scum... actually deserve to be shot.



MFBB.

WEEKEND MOVIE TIP: DONNIE DARKO (2001).

It's excellent.





And the soundtrack comprising material from Echo & The Bunnymen, Joy Division, Tears for Fears, INXS et al was just the icing on the cake!


Go watch it, you won't be disappointed. Nite.



MFBB.

WEEKEND MOVIE TIP: MULHOLLAND DRIVE (2001).

You know, 3/4ths into this movie I was seriously starting to think David Lynch is overrated. I was seriously starting to think of quitting.


And then I didn't.


And lucky me.





Mulholland Drive tells the story of Betty Elms, an aspiring young actress who arrives in LA only to find an amnesiac woman calling herself Rita in her apartment. I am not going to say more but remember, get past that 3/4 treshold. Besides, Rita has great tits.


Let's say I give it an 8.5/10 score. See it. Nite.



MFBB.

RECOMMENDED VIDEO: INSIDE THE VOUGHT F4U-4 CORSAIR.

A truly enlightening and fun to watch video about a legendary aircraft...






...that, thanks to the movie Devotion (such a shame it tanked), finds itself in the spotlights again!






Some more info here. Good night.



MFBB.

WEEKEND MOVIE TIP: TRACK 29 (1988).

Saw it many years ago but the favorable impression remains: 7.5 to 10, worth your time.





It's a psychological drama directed by Nicolas Roeg and starring a.o. the beautiful Theresa Russell (at the time Roegs spouse) and Gary Oldman. Russell plays Linda Henry, a doctor's wife in rural Wilmington, North Carolina, who leads a dispiriting life and feels neglected by her husband, a doctor in a local hospital. Then a young drifter shows up, Martin, who claims to be her son, separated at birth from her since as a teen mom she was judged incapable of caring for her baby; and she never had children afterwards.

All rather intriguing and then there's the final Shyamalan twist at the end. See it if you can, it's okay.


Nite.



MFBB.

NOW IS THE WINTER OF OUR DISCONTENT.

In most of Western Europe, farmers have taken to the streets in an unprecedented way, ostensibly - or principally - to protest high fuel prices and low profits, but what it really boils down to is their resistance to the EU's INSANE plans to curtail their number to meet... insane climate goals:



France:

Guéret 🇫🇷, 30-1-2024 #AgriculteursEnColeres

Het Commissariat de Police Nationale in Guéret, de prefectuur van het departement Creuse, werd vanavond volgespoten met... mest...

📽️ Via @CerveauxNonpic.twitter.com/hQ1OmwIatM

— Niemands Knegt (@NiemandsKnegt) January 30, 2024

Frankrijk 🇫🇷
Zo ziet een burgerleger van zware gepantserde voertuigen eruit!

Hoe lang duurt het voordat Macron de staat van beleg afkondigt?

Je moet het ze wel aangeven, die Fransen 🇫🇷

👇🏻🇫🇷👇🏻🇫🇷👇🏻🇫🇷👇🏻🇫🇷👇🏻🇫🇷👇🏻🇫🇷👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/etdT95iMcX

— Van Emmerick Kris (@VanEmmerickKris) January 31, 2024

Spain, France:

Boeren uit Frankrijk 🇫🇷en Spanje 🇪🇸…
Het protest is vuriger geworden‼️

👇🏻😳👇🏻😳👇🏻😳👇🏻😳👇🏻😳👇🏻😳👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/ORyeuAoDFz

— Van Emmerick Kris (@VanEmmerickKris) February 2, 2024

Ireland:

BREAKING: The Irish farmers have now joined the farmers protest 🇮🇪

There's been talks of farmers being forced to slaughter 200 000 cows to reduce climate emissions.pic.twitter.com/ON50TpCgOs

— PeterSweden (@PeterSweden7) February 1, 2024

The Netherlands:

Overal in Nederland breken momenteel #boerenprotesten uit. Amsterdam, Zuid-Holland, Gelderland, Groningen pic.twitter.com/1Ge2dXbnV3

— Caroline van der Plas (@lientje1967) February 1, 2024

Belgium:

The atmosphere in Brussels in EU Parliament is very warm. European farmers are very angry. pic.twitter.com/gPCE0M6DSN

— RadioGenoa (@RadioGenoa) February 1, 2024

Het zijn duidelijk geen klimaatbetogers, waarvoor extra treinen ingelegd worden. https://t.co/I4HCqWwemL

— @kuifjesdream 🚜🚜🚜🚜🚜🚜 (@Kuifjesdream) February 1, 2024

Italy:

Ondertussen in Italië 👇 https://t.co/kFC4zY99C1

— ℙ𝕖𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕧𝕒𝕟 𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝕍𝕖𝕝𝕕𝕖𝕟 (@vdVeldenPeter) January 26, 2024

Germany:

The farmers of Europe are in the vanguard of the battle for freedom against an ever more tyrannical globalist establishment.

Support them. Because if they fall, we all fall. pic.twitter.com/2KZb64oQbY

— Eva Vlaardingerbroek (@EvaVlaar) February 2, 2024

The past couple of years have shown us that globalisation has more than its share of disadvantages. In the wake of the covid crisis, Europe suddenly woke up to the fact that, as international shipping of consumer goods from Asia got severely curtailed, it had dispatched an enormous swath of its industrial production to China, Thailand etc. The result? Waiting for that new car for a year for want of essential electronics components from South Korea; only two types of Miele dishwashers available etc... Apparently Western Europe had been dreaming it could afford not to make its hands dirty any longer and become a services economy. It was a rude awakening.


Then came the Russo-Ukraine War and suddenly Europe discovered it relied to a gargantuan extent on Russian fossil fuels, a situation aggravated by green parties' insane war against nuclear energy coupled with their utopian desire to completely switch to renewables. Reality showed the dangers of that approach.


In my country there's a saying: "Een ezel stoot zich geen tweemaal aan dezelfde steen", which translates as "a donkey won't stumble twice over the same rock". But Ladies and Gentlemen, EU ministers and lawmakers are proving time and again that it would actually be better to fill the EU Commission and the EU Parliament with donkeys, since after the production crisis of 2020-2021 and the energy crisis of 2022-present, they are now to stomp on that third stone by outsourcing YET ANOTHER vital sector: farming! Indeed, what could go wrong with, say, forcing at least 3,000 Dutch farmers - who run in all likelihood the cleanest and most environmentally friendly agricultural enterprises on the planet - out of their job and import inferior quality meat and vegetables from far flung places where they don't care ZILCH about nitrogen emissions. Oh yeah, that produce has then to be shipped here by hundreds of reefer vessels and bulk carriers burning gazillion tons of diesel fuel, but for green lunatics one kind of CO2 emissions is not like the other.


The current crop of EU politicians (and most national ones in power) are all obsessed with leftist dadas, even the ones who pose as nominal center or center right. They won't stop at farmers, farmers are just the canaries in the coalmine. It is therefore advisable to Europe's citizens of whom many were indeed hampered this week getting to their jobs, what with all these tractor blockades, to not get too angry...


...for once our 'elites' have got the farmers (taken away their livelihoods, that is), they will come for YOU. And the instruments for that: CBDC, FitFor55, DSA... it's all in the works.


Therefore, FIGHT these smug, obscenely overpaid Davos bastards with ALL YOUR MIGHT, because if they have their way, a decade hence you might not even have a vehicle anymore to shore up a blockade to protest your livelyhood under threat.



MFBB.

SATURDAY NIGHT THIN LIZZY, CHANDA DANCY.

Thin Lizzy with Wild One. Album Fighting (1975).





Hard to believe TL first broke up more than 40 years ago already - in 1983, that was - and yet it is still around, since guitarist Scott Gorham resurrected it in 1996.



From the soundtrack of Devotion (2022): Jesse Crashes.





Composed by Chanda Dancy from Houston, TX. Besides a composer, she is also a violinist, keyboardist, singer AND founder and president of CYD Music.


Goede nacht.



MFBB.

RECOMMENDED VIDEO: SABINE HOSSENFELDER ON WHY YOU HAVE MASS.

Sabine Hossenfelder is a theoretical physicist at the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies. I got to know her (well... not personally) via X/twitter and so discovered that she also has her own Youtube Channel, Science Without the Gobbledygook.


Maybe you heard left or right already that protons and neutrons are themselves composed of elementary particles called quarks. A proton e.g. is made up of one down and two up quarks. A neutron of one up and two down quarks. Quarks are not massless and their mass can be determined. Yet here's the thing: when these masses are added up, the result is nowhere near the well-known mass of a proton or a neutron. So where does the difference come from? Mrs Hossenfelder explains it in this video: other composite particles called pions, denoted with, you guess it, π, and made up of a quark and an anti-quark, are responsible for it:





You can follow Sabine on: @skdh


Nite.


MFBB.