Research rather than quiz.
a. What’s the English for the place name Himmelreich in Germany?
b. It lies at the edge of the Höllental … meaning?
c. In which Canadian province is Swastika?
d. In which city was Kinki University before 2014?
e. The Dutch digraph IJ refers to which city?
f. How do locals say Canberra (Oz capital)?*
g. There are two Normanslands in the UK … which counties?
* Write the stressed vowel as capitals.
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12. Cyber matters connected to this site
Concerning blips, glitches … there are multiple IPs involved with me and they switch. At worst, they can create 2 minutes downtime during the changeover. Moves were made this morning that will always make it no more than 2 minutes, so my suggestion to readers is the same as if they’d been on Gab or X and there’d been nothingness for a few minutes.
Put the kettle or the coffeebrewer on, visit someone else or NOWP. Come back and it will be fine … in fact, it was already down this morning, as we tried it.
How often might this happen? Two days, two months … no way of knowing … once in a while is the short answer.
Bottom line is that there’s nothing really wrong … give it a few minutes, come back and refresh the page. Cheers.
11. Short roundup
Right, I’d like to address John’s and Alexandra’s points. As I was rushing, I saw JB’s comments on “exact opposite”, thought Starmer … then realised/remembered it was US politics … and yet it read out just like UK politics. Think there’s a message in that somewhere.
Now EllyMelly. Sigh. She’s a girl. She’s saying (and genuinely thinking and feeling) all the right things. At some level, she even understands what they’re doing to the Donald, Telegram, Rumble, X … but still sees herself as the fearless warrior, still taking public transport to work, plus being provocative, arguing with trolls, rather than shutting them out.
Thing is … they CAN hurt her … she’s messing with The Man there. Juss sayin’. She’s revelling n being notorious. The rest of us are just being careful, watching our backs.
10. Ladies at lunchtime
… all in one pic today:
My interest, apart from the one we recognise, is actually the social grouping at the table behind … that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!
9. Now these psychopathic loons “above”
First off, at UHC is the (almost) daily post on “Two PTB pariahs and one tolerated”, which does set the scene for the (almost) daily post there on “Your personal Rubicon”.
Theme is that if we individually take care of ourselves and our families, the cruel and psychotic PTB who really hate us with a passion knowing that full well … then they know that only one by one will we reach that personal Rubicon … which then makes it easy for the stasi to then pick us off and punish.
They are playing, risking all, on the principle that ordinary, reasonably sane and decent people do have this Achilles heel, to mix metaphors, of being unherdable cats … our weakest point.
8. IYE at 802
Germany – AFD calls for an end to mail in ballots…
{If you keep scrolling down that page other items appear. BMW and Hungary’s solar park, for example.}
(0724) Bleah out there, not dry, no leaves fallen, washing on, writing to you.
7. Haven’t even read this yet
The Democrats have sent this out to their fold:
“… we’re strengthening our largest-ever voter protection program to protect against Trump and his allies’ attacks on our voting rights. It’s why we’ve made a six-figure investment in the Democrats Abroad program to register and earn the votes of the nearly 9 million Americans living and serving overseas. And it’s why we’re expanding our successful virtual organizing efforts to engage and mobilize as many volunteers as we can, so you can get involved no matter where you are.”
6. IYE, at 802:5
… runs some Jeffersonian history.
5. Thoughts from above
Occasionally, ideas flit through the mind and one just now was to click on 1 Cor 1 and there in front of me was this:
[22] For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
[23] But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
[24] But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
[25] Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men
Uh huh … insight into the fledgling church going out to the gentiles … interesting.
4. 911
I have a post up at OoL right now on that infamous date.
3. Dearieme wondered
… about the now too complex blog system.
And well he might … I prefer to euphemise it as “diffusing”, as not putting all the eggs in one basket. In practice, it was a result of the stolen ONO … first one version of N.O. stepped in, then another, I made a third, my tech mate made a fourth, which you’re on now.
This site you’re now on, (which I’m shortening to just HQ as the five letters are unwieldy), is where I blog from … Julia saw that yesterday and altered her blogroll accordingly. This site is where I intend to blog from but it seems there’s a tech glitch which has not yet surfaced. If it does, blogging switches to UHC for the interim.
NOWP remains “reader drops” as it has been … quite a history there actually … goes right back.
Which leaves Jstack … in some ways unworkable for both blogger and commenter, best as a fourth site.
UHC and Jstack I’ll keep posting at (almost) once a day, with some post of interest … purpose of that is to just keep them ticking over, keep them in good nick. I also post at OoL three times a week … can’t see that altering … there’s one from me on 911 right now.
2. Torquaymada quoted ZH last evening
Here’s the writer’s take on “futurism”:
Futurism is, in my view, the key to all modern authoritarianism. It’s a philosophy that has been present at the birth of nearly every major despotic government in recent memory and it’s the root of leftist ideology today. Futurists argue that history is, for the most part, dead weight. They believe that every notion of heritage, the lessons of the past, the ideals and principles of our forefathers are all irrelevant.
Futurists think nothing is sacred and all new ideas are superior to all old ideas. Therefore, they claim, any society that clings to (or conserves) the old ways needs to be dismantled because it is holding humanity back from progress. In other words, anyone promoting or defending traditional norms must be silenced in the name of “progress.”
I suspect most people reading this at least intuitively understand the monstrous nature of this belief system. The very structure of futurism is based on a lie – The idea that all change is good and that any oppression committed in the name of change is justified.
(0043) All my own fault listening to, not watching, Alex M and Levan G. Went past midnight when this insanity came up:
The last lot of deranged psychos I’m remotely interested in are this lot of “greens” in Germany. Most online saw the Green deathcult MP, in Switzerland, take a gun into a church and shoot up images of Jesus and Mary. Seriously unhinged, the “greens”, nothing environmentally friendly whatever.
That clown above uses extremist language but do you see me anywhere here suggesting using violence on them? So who’s the fanatic? Radicalisation? What’s radical mean? Back to roots, no? Back to society, family, nation, friends, bonhomie, industriousness, charity etc. etc.
Where do I anywhere suggest that their “green” loonery publications be banned? Nor Snopes, nor that C4 clown Newman, nor Mad Cow at CNN, the letter agency front. Nor Codswallop at the Grauniad. They’re simply of no interest. Far cry, innit, our attitude, from what they’re actively trying on?
Expressing disagreement unconstitutional? In whose universe? North Korea’s?
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15. Just a few more
a. Times Radio: “This government has made it clear that MPs who vote against it will be punished and will have the whip removed.” Cutting the winter fuel payment is wrong but dissenting Labour MPs will not vote against it through fear of having the whip removed, says Labour MP @RosieDuffield1.
b. Ryan Fournier: “Liz Cheney lost her primary by a margin of 37.4%. No one cares about your opinion or the opinion of your father, who should be in jail for war crimes.”
c. Torquaymada quotes a lady at 802: “But real, mass-destructive evil is typically grand-scale and long-term. Because the sociopaths who drive it by definition a) don’t care about their fellow human beings at all and b) crave (and believe they’re entitled to) power over others. So they stop at nothing and gravitate to others who stop at nothing and inhabit enduring power structures that stop at nothing.”
14. The best approach, imho
… is to remember the names of sites you often see or have them on a dead tree sheet, and/or having a range of search engines … you’ll get the site’s home page, look around … I did and found this:
While the EU and EU countries roll out biometric digital IDs and facial recognition across various public services, including border control, US authorities continue to push for access to EU member states’ biometric databases to conduct traveller screening as part of its “visa-free travel regime.”
The US wants all countries participating in the US Visa Waiver Programme (“VWP”) to sign the Enhanced Border Security Partnership (“EBSP”) agreement by 2027.
Alongside the International Biometric Information Sharing Program (“IBIS”), EBSP is designed to gain access to national biometric databases to authenticate travellers’ identities. The EBSP would require direct connections between the biometric databases of participating states and the US’ IDENT/HART system.
All right … now, there are topics where the task is not to attribute but to further explore to your own satisfaction using trusted sites and that is the end game. We’re not looking for traffic, we’re looking for corroboration.
Then there are topics where something is on the say-so of a known figure that it depends on for authenticity. I for one must get far better at jotting down names which are iffy, with a few words why … and keeping that on dead tree, not online, not even on drives.
So we end up in this no man’s limbo where we need to remember our prime directive … we report as accurately as we can, as our bona fides depend on that. Also, we need breaks from politics … not healthy 24/7.
13. War report
Plan, in Steve’s absence, is to run one of our main three correspondent journos, maybe in rotation, plus take a look at what Rhona has (deliferate mistale).
12. Just going to run this without comment
(1241) Wot … already? (1344)
(1459) At the risk of flogging a dead cat, long-suffering reader, I have to remind you that there is a timer mechanism not behaving elsewhere on the net and it could … just could … stop recognising the new site in a moment … forever … unless we physically act to restore. The chances, I’m told, are low … but they’re still present.
Should you happen to drop into UHCHQ and there’s nothing, please go to UHC, accessible from the navbars of NOWP and Jstack … UHC would take over again as HQ for as long as it takes.
11. Don’t know who this woman is
… my “take” on the topic is largely along the lines of what we cover here … still, some interesting angles, inc. mass psychosis … another word is “possession”.
Found a bio:
Kim’s ability to understand and connect with people from all walks of life comes from her unique background. Born and raised in Idaho, Kim’s mother is a Vietnamese refugee and her father is the son of a small town farmer. Her parents divorced at the age of three and Kim’s single father raised her in Boise while her mother migrated to southern California where Kim often visited. Her mother being Buddhist and her father being Catholic, Kim diverted her religious attention from both and joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints at the age of 14 (she is no longer active). Being raised by her single dad, Kim had unusual interests and hobbies. She became an accomplished Jazz drummer winning numerous awards, accolades and college scholarships. In college Kim continued her studies of Jazz performance playing in a number of big bands and jazz ensembles. Along with playing music, Kim enjoys snowboarding, crossfit and spending time with her rescued animals.
Uh huh.
10. Taxpayers’ Alliance (no url, sadly)
You may have noticed that we’ve been talking quite a bit about the national debt recently, and in particular our online debt clock. Having launched six weeks ago, the tool was a hit with the media and public alike.
Just in case you were wondering, in the eight hours we were on the road, (one day last week), the debt increased by £127,008,000.
What you might be surprised to learn though, and as revealed by the latest TPA research, including both wages and employer pension contributions, total remuneration rose by 63 per cent for public sector workers between 2009 and 2024, 8.8 percentage points higher than inflation which was 54.2 per cent in that same period.
9. There’s something very Queeny going on today
I’m a bit confused … it was Queen Bess’s birthday yesterday, the 7th … so what’s this Liz II about? Any ideas?
(0938)(1121)
8. IYE quotes a lady (initialled LL) at 801
Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign STAGED a fake emotional encounter with a woman on camera today at an event in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that the campaign called “organic” and “spur of the moment” but I have uncovered the fact that the venue is actually an anti-Republican Spice Company called Penzey’s Spices that explicitly says on their company website that “Republicans are racist” and they don’t like or feel inclined to welcome Republicans or Trump supporters at their business!
Also JH paraphrases IYE from 802: (If) the Deep State has already lost:
“What Damage Will They Do on Their Way Out the Door”
7. TDS today (blogrolls)
6. Kathy’s outspokenness is welcome
… however, hate to say it but she’s becoming a semi-protected species, which is great in itself but if we lesser mortals quote or retweet, for example this:
(A)s we published one hard-hitting article after another – see our top ten articles. I got out and about too, braving my first TV appearance in a while on Dan Wootton’s exciting new Outspoken show. You can watch it here.
He opened it with an impassioned indictment of the disgraceful decision by the Dorset senior coroner, one Rachael Griffin, to ‘spare’ the Home Office an inquest into the circumstances surrounding 21-year-old Tom Roberts’s savage murder at the hands of an violent asylum seeker. Allowed in on false pretences, this already known murderer was flagged up as a danger and a liar, yet was neither deported nor incarcerated and left free to kill again.
… then (cough)…
… I say nuffink, not a word, Two Tier Keir … it might even be seen as three tier … the untouchable with a certain world view aligned with Kommie Kier, then a middling lot of the Nigels, Kathys etc., more difficult to nail … Lee Anderson is another … then the poor sods with no protection from the stasi.
You can read all of Kathy’s piece at her place (blogrolls).