No, the blog isn’t broken, and neither am I – but it’s another Open Microphone period, where I try to do the needful things without giving due attention to blogging for a couple of days. Try not to burn the place down.
LL grandchildren are enjoying the temperate summer at the White Wolf Mine.
Bullet Points:
** The Chinese have cut costs of building nuclear reactors — wait for it — by copying other people’s designs. In this case, the French. Yes, it’s cheaper to produce them if you steal other people’s R&D. Additionally, it’s less expensive if you standardize those designs and manufacture many reactors/generators that are identical. I’m not saying they’re wrong if you have a good design that is simple, safe, and can be replicated.
** Scientists say that they can genetically recreate dinosaurs within the next five years. There are five or six movies that graphically illustrate why that might not be the best idea.
** Thank you to heterosexuals for preventing human extinction.
** The worst time to have a heart attack is while playing charades.
** For the first time in Q2 2025, India overtook China as the leading exporter of smartphones to the U.S.—a milestone primarily driven by Apple’s strategic shift to move iPhone assembly out of China and into India. From April to June, India supplied 44% of all U.S.-bound smartphones, a significant increase from just 13% in Q2 2024. Meanwhile, China’s share plummeted from 61% to only 25% over the same period. This bold reshuffling reflects Apple’s “China Plus One” strategy: front-loading production in India to mitigate rising U.S. tariffs and geopolitical risks, while still relying on Chinese facilities for higher-tier iPhone models, such as the iPhone 16 Pro.
**Strategy Page – Russia is Running Out of Russians** (h/t Claudio). There are increasing problems with labor shortages, as millions of Russians work in the untaxed and unregulated informal economy. There are multiple reasons for these problems. Since the 1990s, the population has been declining due to a decrease in birth rates. Since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, foreign workers have stopped entering Russia or left because so many of them were coerced into the Russian army. All this led to labor shortages that are currently 20 percent and rising. Russia doesn’t mind using Norks as cannon fodder, but they don’t want to integrate North Koreans into their population base unless they’re used as slave labor, separate and apart from Great Russians. They’re unhappy enough with Tartars being considered “Russians” from a racial perspective.
** Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem threatened Israel directly for the first time in months during his televised speech on August 5. Qassem acknowledged that Hezbollah suffered a 45% casualty rate during the Israeli campaign in Lebanon, which almost certainly rendered Hezbollah combat ineffective. Hezbollah suffered 12.5% killed in action from its total force during the war.
Iranian-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah offered on August 4 to cede control of unspecified areas within the Baghdad Belts to the Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). It is unclear which PMF unit Kataib Hezbollah is offering control of these areas to. Kataib Hezbollah commands the 45th and 46th Brigades of the PMF. Kataib Hezbollah also called Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al Sudani an ineffective leader, which could reflect increasing disillusionment among elements of the Shia Coordination Framework with Sudani ahead of the November 2025 Iraqi parliamentary elections.
What’s in a T-Shirt?
I occasionally drag the sack for URT (t-shirts and accessories). Other than boosting the signal on a few books, they’re the only ads you’ll find on Virtual Mirage. Take a look if you’re interested, and feel free to buy one or two if you’d like. There’s also the fundraising gear – for the families.
Remember – Commies don’t surf. Cry HAVOC, and let slip the frogs of war!
Why are Glaciers Melting?
They have been melting since the most recent Younger Dryas Glaciation. The Younger Dryas event was a period of abrupt cooling that occurred roughly 12,800 to 11,600 years ago. During the 18th and 19th centuries, industrialized societies weren’t yet able to survey and map every glacier from all remote corners of the planet. However, we still have accurate measurements of many glaciers in North America, Greenland, and Europe. A popular tourist attraction is Canada’s Athabasca Glacier, off the famous Rocky Mountains Icefields Parkway. From the highway, you turn off and take a short, narrow road less than a mile uphill. On the way up, tourists see many small roadside markers, each featuring the written year indicating the glacier’s earlier terminus.
I recall seeing markers for years, such as 1880, 1890, and 1908, which demonstrate that the glacier was already retreating before the mass production of automobiles and commercial flight began.
The climate alarmism crowd *always* uses photos from more recent markers for their political material, like 1948 and 1982—any combination of years that frames the glacier’s retreat as having started when humans began producing large amounts of CO2. In a straight line, the 1843 marker is well over a mile from the glacier, which is probably why the global warming crowd doesn’t want the public to see it: people might start to realize just how much the Athabasca had already shrunk before humans started driving cars.
There is also data on glaciers in Montana that show significant retreat from 1850 to 1900, as well as glaciers in Greenland that were retreating in the 19th century, such as the Jakobshavn Glacier. However, to my knowledge, there are no markers in the middle of the ocean to denote its location in 1850.
Scientists are divided on why ice ages have occurred historically and also on why they ended. None of it has anything to do with man-based causation because we’re talking pre-industrial periods.
In Syria
Identify the Aircraft
1
2
3
4
The flag on the vertical stabilizer is your hint.
5
End
On the subject of books – during the class reunion I attended last month I found out that one classmate has published several books. They’re supposed to be Christian themed modern fantasy. She writes under the name Bonny Lacy. A couple of book names I can remember are “Rage Rising” and “Redeemed”. Out of curiosity, I was wondering if anyone here has heard of these?
Identify the Aircraft:
1. McDonnell RF-101 Voodoo
2. Tupolev Tu-16 Badger
3. Convair F-106 Delta Dart
4. Ikarus S-451
5. A military variant of the Lockheed Vega designated Y1C-12
Excellent
Love your bullet points.
Have a fabulous day and rest of the week. :)
BEIRUT — Hezbollah’s chief rejected calls to disarm on Tuesday and threatened a new war with Israel if it opened a “large-scale aggression” against Lebanon.
Naim Qassem’s speech came while Lebanon’s cabinet held a meeting to discuss the thorny issue of disarming the terror group, a step the United States has demanded. But Qassem rejected US “dictates” over its future..
“Are we being asked to engage in dialogue, or to surrender our weapons without dialogue?” Qassem said. “We cannot accept Lebanon committing to gradually giving up its strength while all the strength cards remain in the hands of the Israeli enemy.”
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Some people never learn.
Obviously, the Actual Government wants to accede but the terror group demonstrates that it’s not accountable to the government.
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https://www.timesofisrael.com/hezbollah-chief-rejects-call-to-disarm-threatens-war-if-israel-ups-aggression/
They need to be removed from the gene pool once and for all.
X2 LL…yet to answer Ed’s “never learn”, the Lib’s in NYC are on the verge of electing an out-n-out Communist for mayor, and the [used to be] good folks in Minneapolis are electing the Captain Phillips Pirate dude. No, people never do learn, but they do it with conviction, or as Reagan said: “The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they’re ignorant it’s just that they know so much that isn’t so.”
Who names an aircraft corporation after a legendary flight design failure?
Looks cool though.
It works if you don’t fly too high…
😁
If you look closely at that photo you can see the bottom of the tail section is damaged.Maybe from takeoff?
That’s right, blame the engineer. Icarus *told* the test pilot what the hard limits were, and ever since, everyone blames him for Daedalus’s willfull disregard of the engineering limits on the flight envelope.
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Granted, his bad example has been followed by thousands of rampers, crew chiefs, and pilots ever since, who look upon his bad example and declare “It’ll never happen to me! The engineers always design this with a buffer!”
I wish I’d thought of that.
I forgot the rest of the story.
Icky was the test pilot who flew beyond the operational limits. Daedalus , the ‘engineer’ stayed within parameters and his flight was successful.
You are absolutely right!
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Clearly, I need to bone up on my Greek mythology!
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They’re still blaming the engineer.
Okay, is it just me sitting here after being woken up at 4am (okay to get up early…but) by Canukistan smoke in the air and being slightly peeved not one news outlet has said word one, or Lindsey Graham hasn’t demanded something be done or “we’ll invade”? I know, I know, 1st world problems…unless it is true the enviro-whackos set fires to save the planet, or some such dementedness.
Yet the fire in and around Malibu is now 82,000 acres, burning to the ground all in its unchecked path, only a few months off Palisades etc burning everything to the ground that has seen zero rebuilding (see former rants on the galactic ineptitude of government because most public employees in high places are idiots)…the USFS deciding a millennia of forest management “was wrong” and needed to be more “enviro-sensitive”…I could go on but will stop myself.
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Will Bill n Hill catch fire or skate? See semi-rant above…they will skate and Mr. O will not get called up to ‘splain himself. Ain’t happening…because spehshall people. But maybe all this threatening posturing by our side will catch a few of the criminals in their nice summer shorts on The Vineyard. Then again, maybe not.
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Other than that it’s a great day because I watched out President being the developer, walking around on the White House roof, inspecting things and talking “down” to the press corp, who continue to be baffled by this man (save for Doocy). Best President ever.
We need to Tariff the smoke from Canada.
And the trash they send to a local landfill. Hourly.
I’ll repeat my prediction(s) for the historical record. I don’t claim the gift of second sight – not being the seventh son of a seventh son or any such eminence, but I know grand juries and I’ve been around prosecutions and so forth for much of my life. Of the conspirators, some have something to trade (Clapper) and some have nothing to trade (Brennan). Hillary has a lot to offer, and the question is whether she will be allowed to sing or they’ll just indict her.
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Grand jury member selection for an investigative grand jury (which may or may not be the same panel that sits as an accusatory grand jury) is usually impaneled in the same manner as a petit jury (trial jury), without the defense challenges in voir dire. This means the prosecutor can, to some degree, cherry-pick who is impanelled. Alternatively, suppose the US Attorney wants to engage in a bit of razzle-dazzle. In that case, they have the option of impanelling a blue-ribbon grand jury (selecting whoever they want to sit on it) to investigate public corruption. Before your eyes glaze over at the legal maneuvering and mumbo-jumbo, what it means is that the people involved as jurors can be catspaws of the prosecution (Pres. Trump) legally.
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Any defense attorney worth their salt understands this clearly and will advise their client accordingly. This is not a congressional dog-and-pony show. Subpoenas can be issued forthwith (which means NOW, not when you f-ing feel like it) and significant muscle can be brought to bear. Brennan is a sociopath, and they may or may not invite him to testify. The same is true of Hillary. I’d just issue them target letters and throw the meat in front of the grand jury to testify about what curs they are. Big Jim Comey may be a turd, but trust me, he knows how it works and he knows the gloves are off. Will they allow him to sing? Or will they just give him the target letter and let his underlings sing?
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Barack has presidential immunity, which has been affirmed by the Supreme Court in Trump v. the world, in terms of case law. Biden enjoys the same immunity (while in office), but even without that, he’s so far gone that he’s unable to assist with his defense and will likely be declared non compos mentis. Bill Clinton is likely in a similar situation to Biden’s. Hunter Biden received a wet signature pardon, and I think that will hold, which means that he can be compelled to testify about whatever (clearly beyond the scope of THIS grand jury, but I thought I’d mention it).
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If you lie under oath before a grand jury, they convict you of perjury, and off you go. If you refuse to testify, having been granted immunity, they place you in custody for the duration of the grand jury term for contempt of the grand jury. Then they impanel another one and you go before that grand jury, refuse to testify, and go back into the slam (can go for decades or until another democrat becomes president or you die in custody).
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That’s your five minute primer.
Prosecute a ham sandwich comes to mind…
Thanks for the analysis.
“Barack has presidential immunity”
The Supreme Court has clarified that presidents have absolute immunity for “official acts” that fall under their exclusive constitutional authority, and at least presumptive immunity for other official acts.
There’s no immunity for unofficial acts, such as those taken before or after a president’s term or those outside their constitutional authority.
He has no immunity for activity after leaving office and that could perhaps be included in the conspiracy charges.
Is it an official act to condone subverting an election?
I think Barack could hide behind immunity. I understand your argument but you get into the Bill Clinton blow job defense arguing semantics.
Excellent LL, appreciate the primer. Regarding BHO…albeit he WILL not appear even if subpoenaed…I have the same understanding as Ed (official acts while in office), treason does not fall under that protection, and this by any definition. But like I said, not going to happen for The Manchurian Subversive, too many Americans don’t have the stomach for it…partly because of ignorance of who the man is and what he did, therefore won’t support any prosecution despite damning evidence the man should give his [ruined] Hawaiian and massive Vineyard estates to both island’s homeless.
I know it’s not all about me, but if anyone is interested:
https://ed-bonderenka.blogspot.com/2025/08/going-forward.html
Yes… thank you for posting it.
LL grandchildren are enjoying the temperate summer at the White Wolf Mine.
Creating long lasting memories and making grandparent’s hearts full. Kudos to you and MRSLL for your years of hard work to make all of it possible.
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Equestrian quibble. In the picture the rider’s heels are up. The importance of heels down in one of balance in the saddle. Of course, maybe a new rider.
1 I started to read Strategy Page with my usual skewed vision substituting “American” for “Russian” and “white American” for “Slav” while thinking about the Nam period; the Government fed a huge number of white American boys into that meat grinder: Vladimir Vladimirovich has fed a lot of Slavs into this Ukraine mess, somehow I don’t think that was his original intent.
2. It seems, again with my skewed (screwed up) vision, that whenever (over the past 20/30/80 years) something’s going well?/poorly?/not according to plan? for one of the Islamic (terrorist) leaders, he says “Let’s attack Israel!” as a gathering cry. Thus far Israel has been able to defend itself fairly well from external attacks: IMHO Israel will fall to the “I Hate Israel” Israeli Jews.
3. Why does everyone forget (no one writes about) what Lebanon used to be during the ’50s and ’60s?
Beruit was the Paris of the Middle East where everybody seemed to coexist and make a living. Yes, there was a lot of intrigue but it was still a nice place. Pleasant weather, every style of food, and so forth. It was a lot like Greece in that, the same and not the same.
There was also a time when Paris was the Paris of France. There were rich and poorer arrondissement, but the whole homeless slum Teheran vibe was absent.
In regard the Ft. Stewart shooter – a sergeant shot five other service members. They haven’t shown his photo (he’s in custody) so I have to assume he’s a negro. Likely also a Muslim.
Touchdown! The photo is up, he is a negro.
Still awaiting the point-after kick for moose limb status.
No word as to his affiliation with the Religion of Peace.
If your grandchildren are around, they’re a lot more important to spend time with than us – have fun with ’em!
Wisdom.
X2
X3
My simple answer as to the Glaciers retreating, if this is all new and horrid, then why are they finding mines and villages and bodies as the glaciers retreat? Almost like at one time there were The Works of Man and then the glaciers came. Kind of like Greenland before the 1300s and then Greenland after the 1700s (Greenland was green before the 1300’s and then the ice and snow retreated in the 1700s.)
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None of this is new. Just none of this is constantly reported or properly presented by the eneMedia because it’s easier to manipulate a hysterical uneducated populace.
-Ic
Remember in the 70’s when we were going to all freeze to death due to a rapidly-coming ice age? Florida’s orange groves froze from the FL-GA border down to Orlando. I saw snow in real life for the first time on Dec 25, 1973 in Satellite Beach, FL, 20 miles south of Cape Canaveral. Worst Ice Age ever…
1960’s- Oil gone in 10 years.
1970’s- Another ice age in 10 years.
1980’s- Acid Rain will destroy all the crops in 10 years.
1990’s- The Ozone Layer will be gone in 10years.
2000’s- The Ice caps will be gone in 10 years.
None of these things have happened but all of it resulted in more and more taxes. The grift that keeps on grifting.
You should be honored to give so much. Your betters won’t appreciate it, but that’s how they roll.