Caption: How do you best determine what a determinist is determining?
Bullet Points:
** The US does not waterboard prisoners. We use the term tactical baptism. Confession is a balm to the troubled soul.
** I want the FBI investigation files released on Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-CA) and Christine (Fang) Fang, including the honeypot surveillance photos.
** “Russian forces continue to encourage war crimes against Ukrainian servicemembers and civilians on the battlefield.” Well, of course they do, they’re Russians, aren’t they?
** Wall Street Journal: “Germany will build a database of young people detailing their fitness, aptitude, and outlook to help it pick whom to draft should the country be attacked. The proposed move, a step toward reintroducing military conscription, comes as governments across Europe grapple with how to repopulate their armed forces under pressure from Washington and an expansionist Russia that European capitals accuse of waging a hybrid war on the continent. The decision to test all 18-year-old males for their fighting abilities starting next year underlines how rapidly European countries, including those with a post-World War II tradition of pacifism, are getting war-ready in an effort to deter Russia.” Do you think that the US could get away with instituting a military draft (possibly a lottery)? I’m one of those people who believe in compulsory service (institutional humanitarian service or military service) for all who wish to become citizens—going full Heinlein. Service brings citizenship. If you want a government job, you will need to have served (in some capacity) to earn the right.
** Financial Times: “Arctic leaders have warned that the threat of hybrid warfare by Russia and others is moving from the Baltic Sea to the far north, including sabotage of undersea internet cables. Denmark and Greenland plan to build a new data cable between them, and the remote Faroe Islands are in talks to have the line routed through their archipelago to bolster their resilience against potential attacks, according to the islands’ prime minister. “When you are an island in the middle of the North Atlantic, you are vulnerable,” Aksel Johannesen said. “We have two telecommunications cables today, and if both are attacked at the same time, we do not have any connection with the world.”
The H-1(b) visa
H-1B visas are justified because employers in the United States cannot find sufficient workers with the specific, specialized skills they need. They are, therefore, allowed to bring in such workers from abroad for a limited period of time, initially three years, to perform specific critical tasks.
The vast majority of individuals brought into the United States on H-1B visas perform entry-level work. They are employed primarily in IT, but there is nothing exotic or particularly challenging about their work. In many cases, in fact, they are brought in to replace American workers who already perform these jobs. Then, to add insult to injury, American workers are required to train their replacements in performing these jobs before they are fired, and the newly recruited foreigners take over.
What then is the attraction of bringing in H-1B visa holders? The answer is obvious. They work for less money. Since they are here under visas acquired by their employers, they are also unable to complain about working conditions or demand raises. If they make trouble, they get sent home.
A company supplying H-1B visa holders to U.S. companies floods the system with visa applications. If they need to provide 1000 visa holders, they submit 4,000 applications. Sometimes, if they want to give a specific individual, they create multiple shell companies that all list the same person. One way or the other, a handful of firms end up with a virtual stranglehold on the system and profit from selling foreign labor to American companies looking to fire Americans and replace them with cheaper, more docile foreigners.
The situation looks worse when you begin to dig into the supposed academic qualifications of the H-1B visa holders. They are required to have bachelor’s degrees. These degrees come from foreign institutions in the countries from which these individuals are recruited. Many of these degrees are worthless.
India, from which a significant number of H-1B visa holders come, has been rocked repeatedly by scandals involving the issuance of fraudulent degrees. In some cases, this involves real universities selling degrees to individuals who have never completed the necessary coursework. In other cases, the universities themselves are fake. They do not exist. A fictional academic institution awards a phony degree for a fee.
Cooking with MRSBRM (or) Life in the BRM Mansion
(purloined from her Facebook page without permission)
Calmer Half sends me a link to a page full of sausage roll recipes and makes puppy-dog eyes at me. Okay, I can do this.
Batch 1: made exactly to British recipe specifications. There are as many breadcrumbs as pork in this sausage filling! And more than the caramelized onions and apples! (apples? Do you like them apples?)
My verdict: blah blah bland!
Batch 2: I add spices before popping in the oven (a little white pepper, a little garlic, a little Aleppo pepper, and some thyme). It will have flavour!
Calmer Half wakes up from a nap and blearily makes his way to the kitchen, clearly torn between the immediate need for a cuppa and the smell of a sausage roll. He tries a roll from Batch 1, and makes delighted, happy noises, then takes off with his cuppa and four more rolls.
Batch 2 comes out of the oven. I sample the first one and enjoy it. Then I hand one to my love. He takes a bite and says, very carefully, “These are good rolls, love, but they are… very not British.”
(VM Comment: That’s high praise, MRSBRM. Nobody ruins good food like the British.) Full disclosure, I do like sausage rolls from my time living in Old Blighty. I also like the traditional little hockey puck-style meat pies with the tall crust. They are at best a snack. You can try to make a meal of them. I did (mumbles the date) back in the previous century, but they’re never filling enough.
I also like fish and chips with HP sauce on both the fish and the chips, with four or five of those little pickled pearly onions in the newspaper with the fish and the chips. The damp newspaper with the print transferring to the fish and the potatoes is critical to enjoying the food. Yes, and you wipe the greasy lardy chips along the newsprint to get at the salt on the bottom too. If you don’t cook them in lard, they’re not real fish and chips. If your arteries don’t crackle a bit after consuming that whole lump, you’re inhuman. Don’t try to replace the fish and chips with a haggis sausage either. I know the difference. And hold the mushy peas for heaven’s sake.
I always liked paying in England with a Royal Bank of Scotland banknote and having the Sussinac chippy complain that it wasn’t real money.
From the Days of Torpedo Cruisers
The Archer-class torpedo cruiser HMS Serpent was built at Devonport Dockyard and entered service in 1888. She displaced 1,770 long tons and was armed with 6x BL 6-inch Mk II–VI naval guns, 8x QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns, and 3 × 14-inch torpedo tubes for probably Weymouth Mark I torpedoes. The ship’s machinery was built by Harland & Wolff; it consisted of two horizontal compound steam engines, fed by four boilers, which drove two shafts at 17.5 knots. 475 tons of coal were carried, sufficient to give a range of 7,000 nautical miles.
Torpedo cruisers were small, relatively fast ships intended to defend the fleet against attacks by hostile torpedo boats, while themselves being capable of attacking hostile fleets with torpedoes. The Archer class was an enlarged derivative of the earlier Scout-class, which carried a heavier armament. In total, eight Archers were built, two by Harland & Wolff and six by J&G Thomson’s Clydebank, later John Brown & Company.
Serpent left Devonport on November 8th, 1890, to relieve the sloop Acorn on the West African Station. On the night of November 10th, Serpent was caught in a heavy storm in the Bay of Biscay and attempted to reach shelter, but ran aground on Cape Vilan near the village of Camariñas in Galicia, northwest Spain. Weather conditions were so bad that Serpent broke up on the rocks; only three crewmen actually survived out of the ship’s company of 176 officers and ratings. The dead are buried where they were washed ashore at the English cemetery, Costa da Morte, Galicia.
The resulting court-martial investigating the cause of the loss of Serpent concluded that the ship had been lost as a result of a navigation error.
Can Outdated Russian Missiles Find New Life?
(h/t Claudio) The “second strongest military in the world” has begun deploying outdated 9M33 missiles to its Osa SAM systems due to a shortage of the updated 9M33M3 and the destruction of Russian S-400 systems by Ukraine.
The Russians have welded the old mounts directly onto the Osa SAM vehicles, allowing them to use the older 1960s missiles. This is a clear signal that Russian air defense is under pressure, that the S-400 systems are performing poorly, and that this week alone, Russia lost at least four S-400 launchers and two radars.
What will be interesting to follow is whether these missiles are still fully operational and/or stable. The Russians rarely decommission outdated equipment. They warehouse it for decades, or even half a century, against the day it might be needed. It’s not exactly hoarding, but the systems that were useful in the 1950s (tanks, for instance) are not necessarily as applicable seventy-five years later. Then again, maybe they have no choice if they wish to keep fighting in Ukraine?
In Norway
Norway raised its wealth tax, expecting an extra $146 million a year. Instead, people controlling $54 billion in wealth left the country, costing the treasury $594 million annually — a net loss of over $448 million and counting.
More than NOK 600 billion ($55B+) in assets have now fled, mainly to Switzerland, as entrepreneurs and billionaires escape a system that forces them to withdraw funds from their own companies to pay taxes on paper wealth.
Sweden, Denmark, and Finland long ago scrapped wealth taxes for precisely this reason. Norway doubled down — and is now paying the price. The exodus isn’t slowing; it’s accelerating. When capital is mobile and governments get greedy, the rich don’t pay more — they leave.
~~~~~
It’s happening in ‘woke’ American states as well – California and New York being the most notable. If you want revenue, decrease taxes and don’t waste public money on waystrels and illegals.
Identify the Aircraft
1
It never entered full production, but you AirSharks should still get it.
There’s an aircraft number in the event you get desperate.
2
Only seven were built.
Identify the Ship
3
This ship was many firsts. Survived WW2.
Identify the Armor
4
Ok, this is getting ridiculous. Tucked into a jammer, a cage, and a bad hair day.
Parting Shot
End
(1) LearAvia Learfan.
(2) Mitsubishi J8M Shusui.
(3) Hosho.
(4) Some sort of Russian tank, presumably. I’m going to go
with “T-72”, just by the numbers. Aside from the 125, I can’t
really see any identifying features under all that crap. Looks
like it has mine rollers, too?
– Kle.
1 is LearAvia Lear Fan 2100
H1B visas – on the “bright” side, many US bachelor’s degrees are also
fake and worthless, these days…
*
We see the Contract Worker housing go up around here; conveniently
placed in company towns close to the employment facility. We call them
Gulags, because that’s what they look like.
*
Amazing, what politicians will make “legal”, if the bribes are sufficient.
– Kle.
1 – LearAvia Lear Fan 2100,
2 – Mitsubishi J8M Shūsui
3 – Japanese Navy Hōshō
4 – Russian T-80 “hairy tank” with anti drone protection
Header Pic – Abby Normal?
Exactly
Swalwell: Yeah, never happen despite his treason. BUT, BUT…ALL 535 Congresscritters got together faster than Pelosi making a trade on insider information with this Release the Epstein Kraken! idiocy, despite the info likely being scrubbed of a bunch of their names. Yet when it comes to doing something useful for American and Americans….molasses.
***
H-1(b) Visa’s…never understood this. ‘You get more of what you subsidize’. America first please, time for that to be overhauled or totally eliminated.
***
Norway: This is not hard…except for authoritarians; what part of ‘you get less of what you tax’ is lost on them?
One of our hurricanes led to a lack of skilled workers to repair damaged offshore drilling platforms at the pace demanded. Temporary Mexican skilled workers were allowed to be used, which from what I know, bypassed the typical laws on entry by special permission. The effort definitely bypassed the usual hiring process. The “skilled” workers described by someone I knew working at a facility, were at best helpers, and their work unacceptable when the work required passing certain tests demanded.
My experience with the workers in a facility we were bringing back on line was their directions required a translator, and many had crude third world ways in personal hygiene. That, and they weren’t allowed to do anything except menial labor work. Otherwise, throwing a lot of bodies at the problems didn’t accelerate the processes requiring much more than a strong back and weak mind. It looked good when corporate demanded everything to be expedited, but in reality, I don’t see where it made that much of a difference, except burned up a lot of money.
Tactical baptism: “It’s not waterboarding if you use diesel.”
—
Russia: It’s a pity all this is going on. And it seems stupid. We don’t have to be allies, much less “friends”, but we should be cooperating on things such as countering Islamist extremism, 3rd world piracy, human trafficking, and so forth. And as to “friends” it’s not as if the US is picking good ones across the board. Sheesh.
—
H-1B: And the required public job posting for the position (to allow Americans to apply for the job as well) is typically “complied with” by posting the job announcement in a highly public place, like the breakroom inside a “secure” badge-access only floor of the building [1]. Hey! We posted the job for 30 days and Not One Single American applied. The whole process is so corrupted (and probably corrupt) that I’m in favor of scrapping it entirely. In that vein, literally an hour ago I received an email from India asking me to serve as a reference for an MD applying for some govt position in Australia. I had no recollection of the person emailing me, but it turns out that she’d visited Boston about 6 years ago. An Indian colleague had asked “if my friend can sit with you for a few days to learn how to [boring cardiology thing].” I’d said yes as a favor to said colleague but had no idea what his visiting friend actually did. Turns out she’s a pathologist [and not one specializing in the heart and vasculature]. Brass neck and stretching “connections” beyond all reason. Bozhemoi.
—
[1] shades of Hitchhiker’s Guide: “Yes, it was displayed in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet inside a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying ‘Beware of Leopard’!”
Ha ha ha. Or Ja ja ja depending on your nationality. Indeed!
Diesel for waterboarding? Filled up a diesel pickup lately? Piss Elm club and some sweat equity is more economical. (Incidentally, I filled my 6.7 liter three days ago,)
The Mexican Army only requires a dirty rag and a bottle (or two) of Tehuacan to extract the truth. https://tehuacanusa.com/
Ugh. I hear tell fizzy water poured into your nasal sinuses is muy painful.
—
I once managed to get a mixture of ground horseradish and beer into my own sinuses. That was quite unpleasant. Worse, the Pretty Korean Girl was right there. Took weeks to live that one down.
Identify the Aircraft:
1. LearAvia Lear Fan
2. Mitsubishi J8M Shūsui
Identify the Ship:
3. IJN Hōshō
Identify the Armor:
4. T-84
Germany; We’re planning a family trip next spring. Mrs W. and one of our sons, single, and my construction partner have been studying the language on Duo Lingo for 1.5 yrs.
I’m German on my Dad’s side, and Swedish/ Norwegian on my Mother’s side. I’m not big into genealogy, but have researched back to a sock factory in East Germany, presently there’s a museum in the area. Maybe see a Castle or two. Natural topography. But navigating the social atmosphere hoping to encounter ” real” people of the beaten path of tourism. Mrs W. Wants to see something or other of the camps. Not believing in 88 million O’Biden votes, big foot is more believable! Nor does she dis- believe the 6M jews + others that were tortured and slayed in one if the worst operations of racism. Our son would like to tour a factory. Anything else to see / experience while there?
Giving money to Ukraine is like giving an alcoholic a case of vodka – V. Orban
Euroclear Bank is standing fast on not giving Russian assets to Van der Lyin , concerns about the illegalities of it , and also concerns of other customers like China and Saudis and other depositers saying, “hey there , what the fuck?” . Skimming off the Russian interest earnings I don’t know how that works , international banking is way outta my league , but I try to understand it , my wife does our ledgers …Thank God !!
“When you are an island in the middle of the North Atlantic, you are vulnerable,” Aksel Johannesen said. “We have two telecommunications cables today, and if both are attacked at the same time, we do not have any connection with the world.”
How remote do you have to be to never have heard of Starlink? I call Shenanigans on Aksel.
“Let me tell you how it will be, that’s one for you, nineteen for me”
.
Roughly half-n-half in these here United States, when you calculate up all the various and sundry state and local taxes, maybe a bit more, maybe a bit less, so………
So that is what Spock’s brain looked like.
“Germany will build a database of young people detailing their fitness, aptitude, and outlook…”
That will make it easier to designate who gets sterilized. Or is that thought to German?
H1B’s should be eliminated entirely. Train your own people. By the way where can I find one of those Indian diploma mills? I could use a PHD like Dr. Jill or Bernie’s wife. I promise not to bankrupt any college I become president of. A law degree would be great, too. “International” of one kind or another. I could even write a thesis, like “How to bankrupt an oil rich nation through Socialism”. Norway could hire me to help them out. First suggestion – tax whomever holds the Nobel trust. They are wasting their money anyway. Don’t mention Stockholm, either. I’m not getting a degree in Geography. It’s other people’s $ you go after. So….
“How do you best determine what a determinist is determining?”…especially if one is a determinist Dermatologist determining what must be determined.
(Apologies to our host, it is THAT kind of 8th Grade boy brain day)
How much wood can a woodchuck chuck?
Not one, but two Dr. Frankenstein references. Hans Delbrook’s brain along with the good Doctor’s call of success. Your reward is a “roll in ze hay”?
Add Delaware to the list of FAFO states learning that trying to make life more expensive for wealthy individuals and businesses has negative impact on the taxable income. I was rather surprised to see how many corporations have chosen to relocate their paperwork to Nevada.
Universal Conscription
I’m in favor, both (or all 78) sexes. Military or something like the Depression era CCC. Rich and poor, especially the sons and daughters of the wealthy.
Cold War era, I served with several Canadians who had a path towards US citizenship via military service. When did that go away”?
———-
Foreign workers because American workers don’t know how? I call bullshit. At the start of WWII, how many unskilled workers quickly learned how to fill all the needed factory jobs? Rosie the Riveter, anyone? More foremen/forewomen, fewer bean counters is one solution.
Norway is learning the ‘hard way’, and it could tank their economy!
Having worked in the electronics industry, I’ve worked with many H1Bs. None were better than Americans except they complained less and accepted working conditions Americans wouldn’t put up with. As far as I could tell, they were at best indentured servants … aka temporary slaves. Upset the boss, get deported. (not that I disagree with deportation but they shouldn’t have been here in the first place). By the way and related, I’ve never observed an engineer shortage; I’ve observed a shortage of engineers willing to work for substandard pay/conditions.
Tom235-
You nailed it:
By the way and related, I’ve never observed an engineer shortage; I’ve observed a shortage of engineers willing to work for substandard pay/conditions.
of course, I can’t say that so boldly with gen z or whatever.
Juan
I aim to please my love with my cooking… but I also aim to please myself.
Full Heinlein’s alright by me.
Miss Grant
you seem to certainly be a Proverbs 31 woman.
Mr Pete is mightily blessed.
Not the cooking thing, watching, reading, observing for maybe 15 years (😳, so long really?)
but the interplay between the 2 of you…
nd lately, the way you conduct yourself pertaining to medical matters.
You are a special breed indeed.
imho.
Juan