Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

Today’s GOP: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

Let us savor the impending downfall of lawless scoundrels who richly deserve the trouble barreling their way.

“But what about the lurkers?”

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

Peak wingnut was a lie.

The revolution will be supervised.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

Meanwhile over at truth Social, the former president is busy confessing to crimes.

A Senator Walker would be an insult to the state and the nation.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

Presidents are not kings, and Plaintiff is not President.

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

Infrastructure week. at last.

Prediction: the GOP will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Tonight’s Update Is That There Is No Update Tonight

Tonight’s Update Is That There Is No Update Tonight

by | 80 Comments

This post is in: ,

I’ve had a bit of an evening…

I’ve just spent the past hour trying to snag either a Pekingese or a Havanese running loose down the sidewalk adjacent to the scrub in the development where I live. The closest I could get to him or her was about four feet. Then it would retreat into the scrub before coming back out and then repeating the whole process. I was on the way to get cash at the ATM at the closest Publix when I saw the little gal or guy. It’s well fed, so clearly someone’s pet, but not wearing a collar. I had the guy who drives the 8 to midnight shift  for the security company that is paid to drive around in here – he actually lives here, he’s a retiree and does it to give himself something to do – stop and try to help, but no luck. He’ll keep an eye out and if he can snag the dog, he’ll call me and I’ll take care of it overnight until I can get it to my vets tomorrow and get it checked for a microchip. Hopefully it’ll just head home on its own.

So keep good thoughts for this lost pup finding its way home!

Before that I had a plumbing emergency in my kitchen sink. Or, rather, in the plumbing below it. My plumber talked me through what he thought should fix it. Which went surprisingly easy, but only resolved part of the problem. So he’ll swing by some time tomorrow to properly fix it.

It’s been a far more exciting past four hours than I had been planning.

I’ll pick back up with the updates tomorrow night.

And since I know what you people really want: Your daily Patron!

Given the events of the evening, I’m not up to speed, so I have no idea what China has done to upset Patron.

And we finish with a video from Patron’s official TikTok:

@patron__dsns

😎 #песпатрон #патрондснс #славаукраїні

♬ оригинальный звук – Patron_official

Scritchees on video from some guy with a BBC standard English accent!

Open thread!

Reader Interactions

80Comments

  1. 1.

    columbusqueen

    Please let us know about the pup if you find out anything, or get lucky & catch it.

  2. 2.

    Martin

    Been away from Ukraine news for a bit, but I see the HIMARS seems to be having the intended effect based on the number of Russian ammo dumps getting one-shotted every day.

  3. 3.

    Carlo Graziani

    Might be a little late to pick up such things, but if a local hardware store has a racoon-rated humane trap that you can bait with dog food and a treat, and place near where you’ve seen him, that might be the most efficient way to bring the little guy in.

    Of course, if you should accidentally catch a skunk instead, be very careful with the release.

  4. 4.

    Andrya

    Hello Adam
    Stray dogs are damned hard to catch. Thanks for trying- you are a mensch!

    My suggestion: see if your local humane society lends (or rents) box traps. If the dog is still running around tomorrow, and if you can get a trap (or traps) bait the traps with two small bowls- one of water, one of something attractive like hamburger or tuna.

    True story- there’s a bunch of undeveloped land behind my back yard which belongs to the local power company. I was once trying to catch a semi feral cat (a friend’s pet) which had panicked and was running wild on the power company’s land. However, the same undeveloped land also hosted a number of skunks, and I was desperately afraid of catching a skunk in one of my traps and getting skunk-squirted. So, I made myself an all-over suit of hefty trash bags held together with duct tape (with clear plastic over my face so I could see).

    As it happened, I caught the runaway cat, no problem. but had the power company called the police on me for trespassing I did wonder how the police would have handled a trespasser at 5am, wearing a suit of trash bags and duct tape, with a day pack containing cans of tuna fish. Could I ever have convinced them that I was sane?

  6. 6.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    I second what columbusqueen said, keep us posted on updates for the pupper, Adam : )

  10. 10.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    So what do you guys think of Russia shutting down the gas to Europe this week? I’ve read Russia has nationalized the Sakhalin-2 gas project, from where most of Japan’s Russian imports of liquefied natural gas come, raising fears that their LNG supply could be cut off as well

  12. 12.

    Geminid

    National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters this evening that the U.S. has learned that Iran will be sending “hundreds” of UAVs to Russia for use against Ukraine. These will include weapons capable drones. Training of Russians on these systems has begun or is about to begin, in Iran

    From the AP. Politico and The Times of Israel also have stories on Sullivan’s news briefing.

  15. 15.

    columbusqueen

    @Carlo Graziani: Yes indeed. A newly married gaming buddy of mine posted on Facebook that his wife tried to help an injured skunk kit recently. The results were toxically fragrant, especially after she came in & showered.

  16. 16.

    Andrya

    @Geminid: According to the English version of the Bangladesh Post, Iran and Saudi Arabia (aka the scumbags) will be buying stolen Ukrainian grain from russia.

  17. 17.

    Carlo Graziani

    @Andrya: Those traps are well-engineered, but the problem is that they look easier to use than they are. Without practice, with a panicked wild animal banging all six surfaces, a release is — a challenge.

    Even if it’s a squirrel (we had to get one out of our basement — entry through chimney flue, household exploration) getting it out is challenging. By the time I trapped it, it was behaving like Jack Nicholson in The Shining, and I was having trouble remembering how to actuate the trap release with this demon creature banging around the cage.

    I’ve seen YouTube videos of people releasing skunks. I think one of the advantages that they have in those cases is that skunks are large, and cannot turn around in the cage. So as long as you are not an idiot, and only approach the cage from the skunk-facing side, you can’t get sprayed.

    Another trick that they use is throwing a blanket over the cage. This seems to calm a lot of critters down.

  20. 20.

    topclimber

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): I keep hoping there is a way to shoot grain through all the gas lines from Russia to Europe that run through Ukraine. Give the Mr. Clean treatment to the pipelines and let the food flow. Professor Shurnuf of the Whackian School of economics assures me this is feabible.

    Seriously, I haven’t heard about what you report. In addition to punishing Japan for being part of the US campaign against Russia, this may have to do with the disputed Kurile/Sakhalin islands. In addition to  Putinian dick swinging, might this be about  energy resources on these islands?

  23. 23.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @topclimber:

    For Europe shutdown, link

    To be fair, it’s allegedly regular maintenance scheduled to last from July 11-21, but there’s fears it could be an extended shutdown. Who knows with the Kremlin? An extended shutdown would damage European economies and probably further contribute to already high inflation.

    As for Japan, link

  27. 27.

    AJ formerly of the Mustard Search and Rescue team

    Good luck with the plumbing, hope sinuses and allergies are under control.

  28. 28.

    Mai Naem mobile

    This would have been a Cole post if you’d  slipped and broken a bone while chasing the dog into a trash pile and then brought the dog home where you proceeded to wash the dog in the leaking sink. All ofcourse followed by the obligatory  nekkid mopping.

  29. 29.

    Brachiator

    The race for new UK prime minister has begun. From the BBC…

    Candidates vying to be the leader of the Conservative Party – and the next prime minister – have just hours to secure the support of at least 20 MPs.

    It comes after the party increased the number of nominations required to make it onto the first-round ballot in order to speed up the selection process.

    Eleven MPs have so far put themselves forward to replace Boris Johnson.

    Three – Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt, and Tom Tugenhadt – have so far passed the necessary threshold.

    Voting will get under way on Wednesday, with candidates needing 30 backers to make it into the second round.

    The field will be whittled down to two finalists before the end of next week in successive rounds of voting by Tory MPs.

    A winner will be picked in a postal ballot of around 160,000 Conservative Party members over summer. Party bosses have said they plan to announce the result on 5 September.

    The other candidates for the party leadership are: former equalities minister Kemi Badenoch; Attorney General Suella Braverman; Foreign Office minister Rehman Chishti; former Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt; former Health Secretary Sajid Javid; Transport Secretary Grant Shapps; Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, and Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi.

    We may know the finalists by July 21.

  32. 32.

    Adam L. Silverman

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): I doubt it’ll turn the tide. But it will give the Russians a very effective, or what should be a very effective tool, that the don’t have now. It’ll allow the Russians to inflict more damage and draw things out.

  34. 34.

    Adam L. Silverman

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): The Russians started raising objectives a couple of months ago. Which functionally puts the revised deal on a permanent pause. I have no idea what’s on the wiki, I’m just telling you what I know based on the reporting.

  35. 35.

    Jerzy Russian

    Tonight’s Update Is That There Is No Update Tonight

    But there must be an update, since you have told us there is no update, which is in fact updating us. But you can’t update us since there is no update. Illogical, Norman coordinate…

  41. 41.

    Geminid

    @Andrya: I’m surprised the Saudis want to buy the stolen grain. Their population is not that big, and they can afford legal grain.

    Iran on the other hand has over 80 million citizens who occasionally riot over prices for necessities. The regime tells the people that they are victims of sanctions by the U.S. and others, but the sanctions haven’t cramped their style when it comes to building drones to send to Russia or rockets to smuggle to Lebanon. An article in Aljazeera last fall put the total of Iranian rockets in southern Lebanon at 120,000.

    And since Trump walked away from the JCPOA limiting Iran’s nuclear program, the Iranians keep installing more and better centrifuges in various facilities, and keep cranking out more highly enriched uranium. Despite appearances, Iran insists that they have no intent whatsoever to manufacture nuclear weapons.

  42. 42.

    Yutsano

    @Omnes Omnibus:  Does he want to catch the dog or stay kosher?

    Random thought: this comment makes me miss Bnut. That goofy jarhead. I wonder how his wife feels about him going into such a female dominated profession.

  43. 43.

    Adam L. Silverman

    @Geminid: The Saudis are doing it as a FU from MBS to Biden. He’s been tight with Putin since he was the second and junior most crown prince.

  45. 45.

    Andrya

    @Geminid:  Understand, I’m not asserting the Saudis are buying stolen grain, just that I found a Bangladeshi newspaper that says they are.

    However, even if if they don’t need the grain themselves, there might be reasons to buy it:  to ingratiate themselves with putin, or to extend their influence.

    I’m making a major effort to figure out what’s happening, and I’m still not sure;

  47. 47.

    Adam L. Silverman

    @Geminid: I’m pretty sure I saw something about this a week or so ago in a known, legit news source. And that I included it one of the updates.

  48. 48.

    Cameron

    @Geminid: Two possibilities. The more likely is that Sullivan is lying to cover up the fact that the US has no intention of reentering JCOA because it’s eager to start a”defensive” anti -Iran alliance of Israel and Saudi Arabia. The other is that he’s telling the truth, and Iran has figured out that we’re jerking it around and given up on the idea of a treaty. Neither prospect fills me with joy.

  50. 50.

    Skepticat

    I’ve done cat and dog trap/neuter/release programs for years in the Bahamas, so I know how difficult it can be, so I wish you and the pup the best of luck.
    I spent my entire day Friday trying to find an indoor cat who fell out a window when he leaned against an old, rotted screen that burst. I slept through the whole thing. When I realized he was out, I was a wreck, and I got more exercise and talked to more people in one day than I’ve done in months. Reported him to the police, Home Again (he’s chipped), anyone who walked by, and two utility crews. Put up posters, and set out enough food in dishes that y’all ought to have smelled it. Just before dark, he wandered back, acting as though nothing had happened. All the windows here now open only at the top.

  53. 53.

    Cameron

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): I have no idea, but his administration’s approach to Iran is exactly the same as Trump’s. I think it’s the DC curse of American exceptionalism.  And, yes, Iran withdrew its demand that we remove the IRGC from the terrorism list. Made no difference.

  54. 54.

    CaseyL

    As evenings go, that sounds exhausting: runaway dog and plumbing issues.  It might be a nice change from documenting war, though harder on the (household) budget.

    Hope the doggy finds their way home.  Frustrating to never know.  I’d obsess over it.

  55. 55.

    Adam L. Silverman

    @Cameron: Neither of those are what is going on. Steady progress was being made, the US negotiator thought we were just about at an agreement, and Russia started playing games. Which threw a wrench into the works and things have largely been on hold since.

  56. 56.

    KrackenJack

    Man, I hate plumbing repair. I swear it was all installed by sadistic Menehune with arms like orangutans. And it’s often disgusting.

    Hope the dog finds its way home soon.

  57. 57.

    Cameron

    @Adam L. Silverman: I really respect your insights and your knowledge, but I have to disagree. Treaty restart could have happened in early 2021; certainly Iran couldn’t benefit from stretching things out.

  58. 58.

    Ksmiami

    @Geminid: we need to intercept the delivery and I’m sorry but it’s beyond time to start targeting inside Russia- the country needs to feel the pain.

  59. 59.

    terry chay

    @Martin: NASA fire maps are showing a marked decrease in the amount of artillery on the front. It could just be an operation pause but it also may be due to the logistical chain being disrupted. I read somewhere that it’ll be difficult for Russia to adapt/decentralize their ammo supply to the new reality because they’re so centralized in general (I guess their senior people need direct control so they can skim their take and they’re stuck around their trains).

    In any case, we’ll know for certain sometime in August when these nightly attacks may finally burn through their target list.

     

    @Geminid: The articles are written to indicate that this is also a sign of how strapped Russia is that they’re going to Iranians.

    IIRC, UAVs are important to the Russians, not for the weapons capability on them so much as their ability to spot positions. I recall that many of the Russian PGM require the laser to be trained on the target for the duration because they are not satellite-guided. So I imagine, if true, they’ll be refitted for that or else it’s a token supply.

  60. 60.

    opiejeanne

    Does anyone know what time the July 14th Jan 6 hearing is slated to start? I know what time the one on Tuesday starts and have set my DVR, but I can’t find anything about Thursday the 14th, other than it’s supposed to be Prime Time. Or not.

  68. 68.

    Bruce K in ATH-GR

    Argh. Just had an issue with translation: I can’t figure out how to explain why there’s such a difference between “Ukraine” and “the Ukraine” to someone whose brain works in a language (Greek) where all nations get definite articles?

  69. 69.

    Geminid

    @Cameron: I think the Israeli-Saudi alliance is being created regardless of any Iranian drone shipments to Russia. It includes some other Gulf Arab states but not Qatar, Kuwait and Iraq. Some of these countries have had cooperation with Israel in the area of security for at least a couple decades, but it has not been open. Now Bahrain and the UAE have established formal diplomatic relations with Israel, while the Saudis are beginning overt security cooperation.

    One significant development was the U.S.’s transfer of Israel from the security framework of its European Command to its Southern Command. The Arab nations covered by the Southern Command formerly wanted nothing to do with Israel, but now participate with that country in military exercises.

    The Washington Post published a long op-ed under President Bidens name this weekend. The piece gave an overview of the different goals of his Middle East trip, and strengthening this security alliance is one of them. Extending and strengthening the UN-sponsored ceasefire in Yemen was another.

  70. 70.

    Geminid

    @topclimber: So far the cease fire in Yemen has held and been extended. There is still some fighting and road closures but at a lower level. The result may be a defacto partition of that country between Houthi controlled areas and areas controlled by the recognized government, but that beats fighting a war that neither side can win.

  72. 72.

    zhena gogolia

    @Bruce K in ATH-GR: In English, “the Ukraine” implies that it’s a region, not a sovereign country (I know, I know, the Netherlands). Russian doesn’t have articles at all, but the equivalent issue in Russian is which preposition you use for “in Ukraine” or “[going] to Ukraine.” If you use “na,” you’re using the old system that implies it’s just a region. If you use “v,” you’re treating it as a real country, not a region (or an island, since it’s “na Kubu” for Cuba, etc.).

  74. 74.

    Bill Arnold

    @Geminid:

    the U.S. has learned that Iran will be sending “hundreds” of UAVs to Russia for use against Ukraine. These will include weapons capable drones.

    This is a boneheaded move by Iran, that will make them additional enemies.
    Also, it makes Russia look weak.
    Gah. Trump’s exit of the USA from the JCPOA will very possibly result in a regional 3 way nuclear arms race and the eventual destruction of Israel (though global heating is a more likely, slower fate for them all). With a bonus side effect of doing severe damage to the USA’s reputation for being a stable treaty/negotiation partner.

  75. 75.

    gvg

    Well for some sort of related good news, yesterday was a work from home day. While, stretching my legs in my yard, I overheard my neighbors discussing one of them finding a very dirty small dog in the back yard the previous night, catching it, bathing it, finding it was cute and friendly. Calling a friend who had access to post pictures on pet finder and before she could send the pictures, the friend sent her a link based on the description of the lost doggie. 4 days lost dog got home that night. Finder was kind of boasting about her good deed to her friend loudly enough for me to hear across the street. Perfectly justified boasting I might add. It was nice to hear about how happy the owner was. I went back inside to work cheerfully.

  76. 76.

    Geminid

    @Bill Arnold: I think the Iranian regime believes that they need Russia’s diplomatic and material support and are demonstrating their desire to be a partner. Also, if the Iranian people’s discontent with the regime boils over, Russia is one of the few nations that would provide regime members with a safe haven.

  77. 77.

    bookworm1398

    I didn’t think the Iranians had hundreds of drones to spare. Is this an indication their talks with Saudi have been going better than it appears or that they have more weapons than I thought?

  78. 78.

    J R in WV

    @columbusqueen: ​
     

    A newly married gaming buddy of mine posted on Facebook that his wife tried to help an injured skunk kit recently. The results were toxically fragrant, especially after she came in & showered.

    Enviro scientists working on remediation work invented a skunk neutralizer:

    1 qt hydrogen peroxide
    1/2 cup bicarbonate soda
    enough Dawn soap to help it spread through the fur, or shampoo for a wife. More volume in the same proportions for larger dogs or bigger people. This really works!!!

  79. 79.

    Carlo Graziani

    @Geminid: Without detailed knowledge of the design and manufacture of those drones, I would have to imagine that export control sanctions would nonetheless seriously constrain their electronics packages, necessarily making them less capable and more vulnerable than, say, a Bayraktar in a comparable role.

    Airframes and powerplants are the easy part in a military drone. The electronics matter rather a lot for good capability. The Russians have been forced to cannibalize dishwasher controllers for some of their weapons systems due to export controls. We may find garage-door openers in some of these drones, for the same reason.

    The fact that the US National Security Advisor is flagging this move does not mean it is necessarily regarded as a real threat. Any aid to Russia, and any act by Iran, is worth a bit of diplomatic noise.

  80. 80.

    Geminid

    @bookworm1398: Iran has a robust arms industry. They have a decent industrial base and good engineers to support it.

    Iranian-Saudi relations are a little better than in the past, and the only place where they were fighting indirectly was Yemen, which is three months into a ceasefire.

    So the Iranians can’t really use the drones they have, and they are giving some to an ally that can. They’ll just build more to replace these.

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