Caption: LSP and his highbrow friends in Old Blighty… Will he ever return to the Lone Star State?
Form square, LSP, prepare to receive cavalry!
Bullet Points:
** Sermonette Question: Can you obtain absolution from your sins from a computer? The ConfessIt App—is designed to help you prepare your examination of conscience. The total number of U.S. priests dropped sharply by over 36% to 40% since the 1970s and 1980s. Globally, while raw numbers of priests have stayed relatively flat, the total Catholic population has nearly doubled, drastically increasing the number of Catholics per individual priest. Could robots fill that role? It’s Sunday. These questions need to be asked.
** The Triumph of Feminism: Loneliness and Nose Rings. Feminism has led many women to spend their youth in a fluorescent hell of cubicle drudgery. (Andrew Klaven for the Daily Wire) – There is a paywall, but Klaven’s point is one that is made on VM all the time and elsewhere. Are women happy with the new normal? Is sitting on a porch by yourself in a rocking chair and watching the Sun rise and set, surrounded by fifty feral cats, with a purple hair dye job, self-actualizing?
** Quantum Enganglement – past-present-future in one place. Think lower-dimensional zero-points.
** Crypto and the Treasury – Every digital dollar, every stablecoin, must by law hold a Treasury bill behind it. Each token is a loan to Washington made by a phone in Lagos or Buenos Aires. The phone earns nothing; the issuer keeps the interest. The Treasury Secretary is counting on two to three trillion of these loans by 2030. America swapped creditors who could bargain for creditors who cannot, but who can run. Hold the bill, not the token. The franchise pays its owner, never its customer.
** BRM chats about an all-too-familiar African Cycle here on his blog.
** $65 billion in remittances each year – VDH on YouTube.
** As the Boomers Die Off – A wave of inherited art is raising questions about who will buy—and who won’t.
** The Navy needs to give serious thought to reopening Mare Island and Charleston Navy Shipyards. They were primarily used for submarine repair and maintenance, and that’s one of the greatest needs. They’ll need serious upgrades, but it’s better than starting from scratch somewhere else.
** (YouTube) What are the odds the Ukes will take back Russian territory by the end of the year?
** Pro tip – only date women with outstanding arrest warrants so they won’t call the police on you.
A note of thanks
Thank you, EdB, for the opportunity to be live (or almost live, considering the delay) on Your American Heritage yesterday with British activist Katie Hopkins. You two were fun. I’m only relieved you didn’t do the interview on a boat…
One factoid that Katie shared was that 7/8 of all schoolchildren in Great Britain are Muslim. They’re well past the tipping point from becoming a Caliphate. That future is now inevitable. Maybe it’s for the best that they have hollowed out the military and that their nuclear weapons launch capacity is passing.
Katie is viewed as “Far Right” in Batshit Bonkers Britain, but I told her that in Arizona she would be viewed as suspiciously left of moderate once she disclosed that she wasn’t CCW, didn’t own a suppressor, etc.
Are you looking for your Spirit Animal Chronotype?
Philosophy Corner – it’s Sunday
There is no definitive scientific proof that humanity is living in a simulation, and the topic remains intensely debated among philosophers, physicists, and cosmologists. From a practical standpoint, the best answer we have from physical evidence is a probable no, though scientists cannot completely rule it out. The modern debate stems from a famous 2003 paper by Swedish philosopher Nick Bostrom called the Simulation Argument. Bostrom did not explicitly claim we are in a simulation; instead, he argued that one of three possibilities must be true: (1) Civilizations almost always go extinct before developing the technology to run conscious simulations. (2) Advanced civilizations lose interest in running these types of simulations. (3) We are almost certainly living in a simulation. Because we do not know which option is correct, some scientists, like astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, and statistical analyses suggest the odds are roughly 50–50. If it is possible to simulate consciousness, the number of virtual universes would vastly outnumber the single “base reality,” making it statistically probable that we are inside one.
Many physicists argue against the hypothesis due to the computational cost of creating our universe. Simulating even a few hundred electrons using the laws of quantum mechanics requires a computer memory larger than the number of atoms in the visible universe.
Prominent institutions, such as MIT Physics, point out that our physical reality operates under highly complex, unbroken mathematical laws. No verifiable “glitches” or concrete data points prove our world is artificial.
Ultimately, because a sufficiently advanced simulation would be designed to perfectly fool its inhabitants, the theory is currently unfalsifiable—meaning modern science cannot prove or disprove it. Sound off in the comments below.
Is the onion ring I’m tasting real or is it a digital simulation?
Not Quite a Barcode – not yet
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In July 2026, Tatyana, the sister of Sergei Chernykh, said her brother had been given a numbered chest tattoo before being told he would be sent toward Zaporizhzhia with an assault unit.
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On 9 September, Ekaterina Markina said her son Vladislav Gladkov had likewise been forced to tattoo his dog-tag number shortly before a combat mission. He has been listed as missing since 6 April.
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Another Russian woman described her father, an artilleryman transferred to an assault unit, showing her the number on his chest and calling it his “death number.”
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These accounts need a clear caveat. I have found no public Russian order establishing this as an army-wide procedure, and the purpose of the tattoos has not been independently confirmed. The reports come from soldiers and relatives collected by the Russian-language project Ne Zhdi. But they also differ materially from another practice reported in August. Ukraine’s military intelligence then said foreign recruits were being marked with temporary henna or jagua identification numbers, apparently as a personnel-control measure.
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The newer accounts concern Russian servicemen, permanent tattoos matching their dog-tag numbers, and repeated proximity to assault or combat deployment. The possible identification logic is difficult to miss, although it remains an inference: a metal tag can be lost with equipment or clothing. A number tattooed onto the chest remains with the body. Several relatives themselves interpret the practice that way. That does not yet prove a systematic Russian policy. But it is no longer a single isolated allegation either.
A Mosaic Defense
The strategic picture from Balochistan to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and Tajikistan is less about a single “terrorist alliance” than about convergence: different organizations with different ideologies can still cooperate tactically when interests, geography and targets overlap. Pakistan recorded 699 terrorist attacks in 2025—34% more than in 2024—with 1,034 deaths, according to the Pak Institute for Peace Studies or PIPS.
Map of Pakistan (CIA) (right)
The violence was driven largely by groups such as the TTP and ISKP, while Baloch separatist violence intensified. Balochistan is therefore becoming a laboratory for hybrid insurgency: the BLA’s ethno-nationalist campaign operates in the same strategic space as Islamist militancy, creating opportunities for mutually reinforcing pressure without a formal unified command. Recent operations have also shown increasingly complex tactics—sieges, roadblocks, hostage-taking and temporary occupation of public spaces.
The second layer is Iran’s “mosaic defense.” Academic research describes a decentralized model in which the IRGC, Basij and other security structures create multiple nodes of resilience rather than relying on a single command architecture. The Basij is particularly relevant because its reach extends beyond conventional military functions into internal security, intelligence, and information activities.
Tehran’s broader regional model has also relied on partners and proxies, distributing pressure across several theaters rather than concentrating it in one. The lesson: mosaic defense is not simply about more weapons; it is about more actors, locations, narratives and decision points. Tajikistan illustrates the northern edge of this security mosaic. On January 18, 2026, Tajik border forces reported killing four armed men who had crossed from Afghanistan into Shamsiddin Shohin district.
Such incidents underline how porous borders, militant mobility, narcotics trafficking, and regional competition can intersect. Meanwhile, Dushanbe is balancing security cooperation with Russia and China while expanding economic and technological ties with Iran—creating another layer of strategic complexity.
Do not map this environment as a collection of isolated organizations. Map the connections: ideology, financing, logistics, safe havens, border corridors, communications, propaganda, and local grievances. The real advantage of a mosaic strategy is not necessarily battlefield superiority; it is the ability to force an opponent to defend many seams simultaneously. Counter-mosaic thinking therefore requires the opposite: persistent intelligence fusion, border awareness, disruption of logistics and finance, protection of critical infrastructure, and rapid attribution of information operations. Watch the seams—not only the actors. In complex security environments, the smallest tile can reveal the larger picture.
Identify the Helicopter
1
Identify the Aircraft
2
Parting Shot
Coming Tomorrow: Diesel Fuel Price Shock at the Truckstop
Let’s drill down on diesel prices and refining capacity.
End
1 looks to be Flettner Fl 282 WW2 German
Yes, very good.
2 is Dutch Fokker T.VIII Torpedo bomber.
Outstanding
IIDA-
1. Flettner Fl 282 Kolibri, a single-seat intermeshing rotor helicopter developed by the Germans during WWII.
2. Fokker T-VIIIW seaplane of No. 320 (Dutch) Squadron RAF .
-STA Lethal
Better win Phils!
The Phillies are definitely on the edge
Usually its the Birds giving me a heart attack every year. They have to win tonight!
The Phils have been breaking my heart. The team is good enough to win the Series, but something is keeping them from pulling it together. The consolation prize is that the Arizona Diamondbacks (go Serpentes) are waiting to take that wildcard slot. I’ll have to dig deep in the pocketbook to afford a seat at the stadium if they win.
Mosaic Defense-
Tajikistan’s border problem is the Afghan river line, not the other three frontiers.The south (~1,350 km along the Panj) mixes one main legal gate (Panji Poyon–Shir Khan Bandar) with many informal fords used for drugs and armed crossings. Shamsiddin Shohin is the hottest sector: late-2025 attacks on Chinese workers, clashes that killed Tajik guards, and the 18 January 2026 incident. Russia no longer patrols it; China funds posts and has assets on the line.Kulma Pass is the only China gate—high, freight-only, and exposed when the Afghan seam heats up. Uzbek and Kyrgyz crossings are normal trade/labor routes and the next hop for narcotics already inside the country.Watch the river seams and the single China pass. That is the security picture.
-STA Lethal
Go Birds🦅!
Thanks for the first-hand report from the ground, HogsbreathSS. Russia no longer patrols because the meat that did it was used up in human-wave attacks in Ukraine. I’m not going to say “sad,” but a waste.
Question: Can you obtain absolution from your sins from a computer?: Only if you are living within the Matrix, which we are not (hit my head on a board yesterday, it hurt and drew blood. Besides, no Mr. Smith’s running around, unless you include government bureaucrats, which he is the metaphor; always present, far too many, and a PITA constantly interfering. So, no, on the question as presented, that’s between you and The Good Lord.
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Great show yesterday…Ms. Hopkins is anathema to Ol’ Blighty, like a female Clarkson…she might just be ‘The Greatest Living Englishwoman’. And, always amazes what a pro Ed is, well prepared (despite, in this instance, across the pond delays…good pivot) and a great radio voice (I am NOT implying he has a face for radio 🤣). Still think you two should do a longer podcast, super interesting all-around.
Katie is a British treasure, and all they can think to do is put her in prison for pointing out that the emperor has no clothes. To be fair, that was true of the Biden regime, too. USGOV hasn’t messed with my blog since Pres. Trump took office. Amazing how close. The Second Amendment is all that stood between us and the British or the Canadians, who don’t trail the Brits by much and love their MAiD program enough to enroll you in it if they don’t like you.
Only cowards do that sort of thing (“put her in jail”), and the British leadership is made up of the malleable weak who have managed to believe allowing The Locust Horde into their ‘very British’ country is just peachy, failing to see the slippery slope of lost national cohesiveness…never seeing it would, and continues to, undermine sovereignty. Yet, when someone points this out the government ninny’s first response is to arrest THAT person, typical by those who have lost their collective minds to mob rule. It is the same dynamic at play with the Clancy, Mangione, Floyd, etc, cases…mob rule somehow overrides actual law out of fear of the mob reaction.
**Is the onion ring I’m tasting real or is it a digital simulation?**
Does it really matter?
Not if it’s a good onion ring.
X2
Paired with a perfectly cooked tomahawk ribeye.
X3
USMC 03’s have been getting meat tags long before the Ruskies.
-Stay Lethal
Confession. Posted this link over at LSP’s place. Likely he is not a fan. Neither am I. Still, am curious to see his response.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0YkPnwoYyE
THX1138 is one of Duvall’s better performances – among like 1000 stellar performances. Will AI be a better confessor than Father O’Malley? Or LSP, for that matter? Our generation won’t accept it, and our grandchildren – but after that? It’s a brave new world.
In England, I expect that the Big Brother confessions will start to the local mullah soon.
Likely so. Hadn’t given it much thought, but if a true believer confesses to a mullah that they ate bacon for breakfast, what might be the form of their absolution?
Maybe they’d be required to have a whole rack of perfectly smoked baby-backs with KC sauce on them? And not have a napkin to wipe their fingers – only their left hand.
Your LSP caption gave me an earworm.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbtkL5_f6-4&list=RDMbtkL5_f6-4&start_radio=1
The MBTA – takes me back a year or forty. Things have changed so much that they’re completely unrecognizable.
My post-retirement second career at the fed courthouse requires I ride the mbta 3-4x/week. When the train runs on time it’s always a pleasant surprise.
African cycle – that drug dealer has certainly done well for himself. They never seem to
leave themselves a way to get off the treadmill alive, though. Not sure Sierra Leone
has ever really counted as a country, though.
*
Chronotype spirit animal – I think I’m probably a Sloth.
*
Roboconfession – IDK, not really qualified to have an opinion. The Buddhists kinda got
there a long time ago with prayer wheels, though.
– Kle.
According to special relativity, a photon that was created in a galaxy 14 billion years ago strikes an object on Earth at the moment it was created. Time doesn’t exist, which to me, is an impossibility. It’s basically in two places at the same time, so there must be some other dimension, or state, that explains what is happening.
The concept of time is relative.
Which came first: the speed of light is a constant or the mathematics that claims it so?
What is the effect if time is a constant?
Keep in mind that the length of a meter is not a constant.
(rhetorical)
The Triumph of Feminism: Loneliness and Nose Rings
Captain Obvious here. These women seem prepetually angry and confrontational. Are they capable of being loving and nurturing mothers? Can they form a nuclear family or will they repell any potential male partner?
This puzzels me because my extended family contains many accomplished women who are great human beings. It also contains a few that are not.
Based on the current woke culture, it’s perfectly rational for a woman to strangle her three children in order if she’s unhappy.
To reply honestly, the answer is… mixed.
A lot of the anger comes from being told how the world *should* be, and then told to blame anyone and anything but themselves and those that lead them (by the nosering) for it not measuring up. You are brilliant! You are special! You should be treated like a princess! You have grrrl power! You should be the CEO / astronaut / brain surgeon / lead architect! You matter! Your ideas are important! Everyone should listen to you! You should be powerful and pretty and rich and adored!
…without putting in any of the work.
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According to a friend who teaches at a college, there are a number of young ladies who get to college, see how incredibly toxic the feministas get when let loose with no responsibilities and minimal adult supervision, and promptly start letting their hair grow long, overdye the purple and blue with natural colours, and start wearing skirts and frilly things to signal “NOT FEMINIST! Men, please date me!”
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During and after college, if a woman gets out of the angry witch social circle, many of them can chameleon pretty quickly. Love it or hate it, most young women’s social mores and situational ethics are a reflection of their current social circle, not their own deep-seated morals… and switching social circles includes switching external worldviews, which influences internal worldviews. (Fake it til you make it, eh?) This is also why it’s very hard for many women to leave their social circle for a new one… because they have to become a new person. But if they start hanging with people who are focused on what reality is, not what it *should* be, or have a completely different set of priorities for what it should be… they will change, and often for the better.
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On the other hand, whether they stay with bitter and angry people or not, if they continue to make their own hell by blaming others for the world not giving them what they think they ought to be owed… Then they’re going to end up bitter and angry regardless.
Scenario 4) Consciousness, and reality, is far more complex than we can currently measure… and while philosophers and scientists may arrogantly believe that if they can’t measure it, it either doesn’t exist or doesn’t matter… reality, as ever, disagrees. So their argument is founded on false assumptions. Also, they ignore the ego factor: no designer ever made a simulation, unless it was either very crude or designed by committee for pay, without leaving versions of Kilroy Was Here all over the place. Even those who scrubbed the easter eggs still leave a lot of their personality lying around in game mechanic and background assumptions and choices.
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corollary: G-d didn’t bother with building a computer and making a paltry simulation. He’s running this universe in real time.
corollary: G-d didn’t bother with building a computer and making a paltry simulation. He’s running this universe in real time.
Amen
nd well done to point it out/remind us.
Juan
The whole mosaic defense strategy seems to fit my vague notion of asymmetric warfare in the region. I know very little of current, solid, G2, but in the early 2000s as the GWOT was ramping up, it seemed like the leaders of any of the so-called nations in the area were only really interested in the borders or flow points where economic and military influence needed to be maintained. The vast tribal regions were mainly left to the warlords to attend to, even by the IRGC or the equivalent in the other countries. I guess what I am thinking is that so long as these other hyper-local/regional interests exist not under control of a national government, can a government count on a defense strategy that in some area hinges on the cooperative good will of an otherwise indifferent (and potentially hostile) local population? Just a theory, and probably inaccurate…
The whole purpose of time is so everything doesn’t happen at once.
What an excellent movie, LL! Clubland was great fun, as always, and I’m glad you found a photo of the Membership Committee of the Carlton, good work.