New month… we need all the luck we can scrape together!
Some potentially good foreign policy news:
BREAKING: Kurdish militants who have waged a 40-year insurgency in Turkey have declared a ceasefire. https://t.co/NQMcYBrDO8
— The Associated Press (@AP) March 1, 2025
I am nowhere near an expert on the topic, but the Kurds have fought back against the far more powerful regimes trying to destroy them for longer and with a ferocity this Irish-American can only admire. (And our very own Republican Party has too often been on the wrong side.) Per the Associated Press, “Kurdish militants declare a ceasefire in a 40-year insurgency in Turkey”:
Kurdish militants who have waged a 40-year insurgency in Turkey declared a ceasefire on Saturday in what could mark a significant boost to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government, two days after their imprisoned leader called for the group to disarm.
The announcement by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, comes against the backdrop of fundamental changes in the region, including the reconfiguration of power in neighboring Syria after the toppling of President Bashar Assad, the weakening of the Hezbollah militant movement in Lebanon and the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
The conflict between Turkey and the PKK has led to tens of thousands of deaths since it began in 1984. The ceasefire is the first sign of a breakthrough since peace talks between the PKK and Ankara broke down in the summer of 2015.
The PKK declaration was published by the Firat News Agency, a media outlet close to the group, on Saturday. It referred to the insurgents’ leader, Abdullah Ocalan, who has been imprisoned by Turkey since 1999.
“We declare a ceasefire effective today to pave the way for the implementation of Leader Apo’s Call for Peace and Democratic Society. None of our forces will take armed action unless attacked,” it said, referring to Ocalan by his nickname…
On Thursday, a delegation of Kurdish politicians announced Ocalan’s call for the PKK to lay down its arms and disband after visiting him on his island prison.
In its statement, the PKK’s executive committee said Ocalan’s call indicated that a “new historical process has begun in Kurdistan and the Middle East.” Kurdistan refers to the parts of Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran inhabited by Kurds.
While stating that it would “comply with and implement the requirements of the call from our own side,” the PKK emphasized that “democratic politics and legal grounds must also be suitable for success.”…
The peace initiative between the Turkish state and the PKK, which is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies, was started in October by Erdogan’s coalition partner, Devlet Bahceli, a far-right politician who suggested that Ocalan could be granted parole if his group renounces violence and disbands…
*Sigh*
zelensky went in there and stood up the oldest wettest bitch on earth and i would like every politician and every journalist to have one tenth of that integrity, and can i have that, and the answer is no. i am ruled by servile little babies
i do not enjoy it— not an art thief (@famousartthief.bsky.social) February 28, 2025 at 4:50 PM
trump is the boomer destroying everything on the way out like a child knocking down his tinker toys and on some level i guess i respect it. if i have to die the whole world can also die. he’s a true sociopath and i guess it just is what it is.
— not an art thief (@famousartthief.bsky.social) February 27, 2025 at 6:31 PM
he’s dying and he wants to kill the world on the way out. great stuff.
— not an art thief (@famousartthief.bsky.social) February 27, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Sede vacante
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm.bsky.social) February 28, 2025 at 10:03 PM
The empty chair, per Politico Europe:
…In what may prove a significant turning point in the tottering postwar Western alliance between Europe and the United States, the Europeans pushed back against Washington’s increasing alignment with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and Trump’s browbeating of Zelenskyy.
“There is an aggressor, which is Russia and a people who have suffered aggression, which is Ukraine,” said French President Emmanuel Macron, hitting back at Trump’s attempts to treat the two sides evenly. “You have to respect those who have been fighting since the beginning because they are fighting for their dignity, their independence, for their children, and for the security of Europe.”
Macron also noted that the U.S. had not been the only country to support Kyiv, stressing that it was also backed by European countries, Canada and Japan…
Later, Macron told Portuguese television: “If someone is playing World War III, his name is Vladimir Putin.”…
Germany’s almost-certain next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, struck a similar tone addressing a tweet directly to “Dear Volodymyr” in which he vowed to stand with Ukraine “in good and in testing times.”
Over the past weeks, Europe has been steeling itself for a major rift with Washington over Trump’s hectoring treatment of Ukraine and its leader…
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk sent a message to Zelenskyy insisting, “Dear Ukrainian friends, you are not alone,” while the office of Sweden’s prime minister said: “You are not only fighting for your freedom but also for all of Europe’s.”
The Czech Republic, Spain, Latvia and Lithuania all sent similar messages of support.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tweeted: “Be strong, be brave, be fearless. You are never alone, dear President@ZelenskyyUa.” In coordinated communication, the presidents of the European Council and Parliament sent out the same message.
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever stressed that his country stood behind Ukraine, saying “their fight is our fight,” while Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp underlined support for Ukraine would come in the form of “whatever it takes, for as long as it takes.”…
As it is, some European leaders will meet among themselves in London on Sunday at the invitation of U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Zelenskyy is due to join them. A spokesperson for Starmer said he’d spoken to Zelenskyy and Trump on Friday night…
Trump has moved two capitals now: of Israel to Jerusalem and of the free world to Kyiv. pic.twitter.com/0GwYd19TCb
— Slava Malamud (@SlavaMalamud) February 28, 2025
Nukular Biskits
Good mornin’, y’all!
And is everyone pissed enough yet to do something (legal, of course … LOL)?
lowtechcyclist
@Nukular Biskits:
Good morning back atcha!
And hell yeah. My (all-Dem) Congresspersons are on the right side (and Sen. Van Hollen has particularly been out front) so I will continue calling them with messages of thanks and encouragement. And there’s a pro-science protest march on Friday, and I will be there
ETA: And my wife and I didn’t buy a single thing yesterday, either in a store or online.
Suzanne
Is the real Leader of the Free World…. Emmanuel Macron?
Baud
@Nukular Biskits:
Good morning.
Baud
@Suzanne:
He seems to be more popular than abroad than at home.
Baud
@lowtechcyclist:
Excellent.
H.E.Wolf
@Nukular Biskits:
“Doing something” is often dull, repetitive, unglamorous, and effective. It can be difficult for some folks to get past the first three.
Then again, some folks (raises hand) are all in for dull and repetitive! Hence: postcards. [email protected]
On a related topic: Gabrielle Blair on protecting one’s family.
bsky.app/profile/designmom.bsky.social/post/3lif3ri7fgl2o
New Deal democrat
While I am aghast at what T—-p and his lickspittles did, it was nevertheless predictable for him. I find that I am far more angry – absolutely furious – at all of the people who voted for him. I want to rub their noses in that video while sneering “This is what you voted for! Own it!”
BTW, in case you thought this video would change any minds, I went over and read the comments on this issue at libertarian Mike Shedlock’s economic blog. Most of the commenters just regurgitated Fox News talking points. These people have enlisted for the full fascist ride.
YY_Sima Qian
@Nukular Biskits: Well, I made a donation to Razom for Ukraine. I had donated sporadically before, but will make it a regular one now.
Nukular Biskits
@lowtechcyclist:
Nor did I or Ms. Biskits.
I did go to meet up with my youngest son last night so I thought I was going to have to break my pledge … we usually meet at the Twin Peaks in D’Iberville, I have a couple of beers and we order appetizers to eat while catching up.
Got there and the young ladies said there would be a 10-15 minute wait. That was odd as about half the tables and booths were open. They hostesses were telling other folks coming in and wanting to sit at the bar they’d have to wait as well. Not sure what was going on – they did appear to be short on servers but there were 4 hostesses at the front door doing nothing else.
Anyway, at the 15 minute mark, I bid the hostesses good evening and left.
One of my many character flaws is I refuse to wait for the privilege of paying someone, particularly when it comes to eating.
Nukular Biskits
@Baud:
Don’t yell at me like that!
prostratedragon
Oh my! Roger Sollenberger 🧵:
This was yesterday. Wonder if the site is still public.
EETA Further down in the thread RS notes that the repo is now orivate.
Suzanne
@Baud: Yeah, I know. But none of them seem to be great options right now.
Maybe it’s Claudia Sheinbaum.
Spanky
This after the Dow was up over 600 points? No matter, the economic numbers are getting ominous, and the herd is starting to get nervous.
People are going to start feeling some pain pretty soon, methinks.
different-church-lady
Europe saving the world from an American fascist dictator would be quite a role reversal.
YY_Sima Qian
@New Deal democrat: The “For You” page of X has always been a reactionary dominated cesspool, but in the aftermath of the sorry spectacle at the WH, I have noticed a far greater preponderance of MAGA types making excuses for & celebrating what happened, fat exceeding the “normal” ratio. I don’t think it is an accident.
Whenever Trump muses about making Canada the 51st state, all kinds of putative Canadian conservatives start to show up in my “For You” page musing about how Canada joining the US would not be so bad.
Nukular Biskits
@H.E.Wolf:
That’s the kind of communication I need to get better at.
I have yet another story of Nukular Biskits tilting at windmills I’ll share more later.
Teaser:
Spanky
@YY_Sima Qian: Every bot is entitled to its opinion.
different-church-lady
@YY_Sima Qian: Patrons of Nazi bar say what?
Nukular Biskits
@YY_Sima Qian:
I have not done so as most of my donations have gone to independent media here in MS (MS Free Press & MS Today) as the corp-owned media ain’t worth wrapping Biloxi Bacon in. I was gonna also donate to ACLU and Planned Parenthood.
Having said all that, I do think it necessary to support Ukraine as it’s blatantly obvious Trump & Co isn’t going to do it so I’m considering sending some funds that way as well.
And, I hate to be a prophet of doom & gloom but I will not be surprised at all when (not if) Trump declares the Ukrainian gov’t a “terrorist organization” and makes any such donations illegal.
YY_Sima Qian
@Spanky:
@different-church-lady:
I normally keep my X experience strictly curated, limited to the people I already follow. When the DeepSeek & RedNote disruptions happened, I was perusing the “For You” page more, because Inhadn’t followed these topics very much before.
There is definitely a rhythm to the BS. In the evening of the U.S., about half of the content on my “For You” page are still fairly serious takes (whether I agree or not), including people I follow, or the relatively harmless drivel pervasive on social media. Day time in the U.S. it is wall to wall MAGA, whether real people or bots.
YY_Sima Qian
Great news out of Türkiye!
NotMax
@Nukular Biskits
Silly take on it.
AM in NC
@New Deal democrat: Well over at FOX there seems to be more push-back than usual. I mean most FOXbots are all still all-in on whatever Dear Leader says at any given moment, but there are A LOT of Vets over there, many of whom see Russia/Soviets as enemies, and I drop that wedge in wherever I can:
Trump destroys the work of our Vets who fought against this evil and embraces our enemies that our Vets fought against! Trump/MAGA has aligned us with the AXIS powers (Russia/K. Korea/China) against the ALLIES of Europe, North America and SEATO.
A lot more division about this over there than on most things.
WEDGES!
tokyocali (formerly tokyo ex-pat)
@AM in NC: thank you for being such an inspiration. One person can make a difference.
RevRick
@New Deal democrat: Trump won because of a twenty percent increase among voters who don’t pay attention. They liked Trump’s preCOVID economy and hated the inflation attached to Biden’s, which was then linked to Harris.
RileysEnabler
Good morning. Did anyone sleep after yesterday’s horrors? Ugh. I still feel covered in slime after watching that shit-covered performance by the pop-up weasel duo and malevolent frens.
Did my 5-calls first thing. Was able to leave scathing messages on the two Senators lines, the house rep’s line has been full for days. I suspect they are keeping it that way so they don’t have to acknowledge new calls. Chickenshits, one and all.
AOC had a question on Bluesky yesterday: if you were a MOC, what would you do about the upcoming SOU? A good question to ponder this week. What would have any effect against the flaming dumpster fire currently occupying the White House?
Matt McIrvin
@RevRick: I do think there were a lot of low-engagement Trump voters who genuinely did not vote for this, and basically wanted the economy of the middle Trump 1 administration before the COVID pandemic to come back, but they could still be accused of depraved indifference. We may have to suppress that instinct to gain even temporary alliance.
Matt McIrvin
@Nukular Biskits: I am expecting him to declare the Democratic Party a “terrorist organization”.
Nukular Biskits
@Matt McIrvin:
And, when he does, I fully expect all Republicans (there are no more principled ones) to cheer and our lamestream corporate media to run pieces that’ll put NYT Pitchbot out to pasture.
rikyrah
Good Morning, Everyone😊😊😊
Dorothy A. Winsor
@AM in NC: I thought Jasmine Crockett hit a good point when she said a draft-dodger like Trump had nerve to criticize the war leadership of Zelensky, who’s been on the battlefield.
Matt McIrvin
@Suzanne: The free world doesn’t need a leader, it needs cooperation and trust. A fetish for “strong leaders” is how we got here.
Nukular Biskits
@rikyrah: Mornin!
Josie
@RileysEnabler:
I think they should all stand up together and file out when he stands up to speak.
RevRick
@Matt McIrvin: We damn well better suppress the instinct to scream, “I was right, and you were wrong.” It’s self-defeating. We need to show grace to those who voted foolishly.
Baud
Via reddit, apt cartoon..
Betty Cracker
@RileysEnabler: In response to AOC’s question on bsky, lots of folks favored boycotting the SOTU, reasoning that since Trump is a KGB-owned swine who defiles the office, Dems shouldn’t treat it as a SOTU by a legit POTUS. Others said that would cede the field and produce visuals indicating Trump has the cheering support of all.
I can see the merits of both points. But it is a high-profile media event, so I lean toward hoping Dems show up with a plan to call attention to Trump’s many failures and unpopular agenda. I’m not sure what that would look like.
Repubs heckled Biden at his last SOTU, and he handled that more deftly than I’ve ever seen him handle anything similar. Trump wouldn’t be up to the task, I don’t think. But does it make sense to disrupt the speech?
I don’t know. If Dems were going to pull something disruptive, it would have to be more targeted and symbolic than the Repubs’ moronic heckling at Biden’s last SOTU, which was basically MTG and Boebert shrieking like a pair of ruptured cows.
Geminid
@YY_Sima Qian: It is great news for Turkiye. I’m looking forward to the Nowruz celebration this month in Turkiye and the other Kurdish regions. They begin March 20. Hopefully, Abdullah Ocalan will celebrate them as a free man.
RevRick
@Matt McIrvin: Every system needs a leader. The only question is whether that leader is healthy or dysfunctional. Doesn’t matter whether the system is a family, a church, a corporation or a country.
YY_Sima Qian
A view from an influential Chinese nationalist scholar, not expected to be friendly to Ukraine, but his take on Trump & the PRC are noteworthy:
Once again, Kissinger had said the quiet part out loud:”Being the US’ enemy is dangerous, being the US’ ally is deadly.”
Josie
@Suzanne:
I could vote for Sheinbaum. She impresses me.
Nukular Biskits
@RevRick:
As I’ve posted here and other places, I struggle with this.
Intellectually, I know we need to appeal to Trump voters who are experiencing “buyer’s remorse”. We need more folks on the right (meaning, correct/moral/ethical) side.
Having said that, my inner redneck is screaming each & every time I see a “buyer’s remorse” story/post, yelling at the Trump voter, “WTF DID YOU THINK WAS GONNA HAPPEN, YOU MORON?” Yeah, that ain’t helpful, no one wants to reminded they fucked up and no one wants to be called a “moron”.
But (and far be it for me to lecture an actual Christian who walks the walk, talks the talk), even Jesus lectured sinners as he forgave them and admonished them to sin no more.
The point? If said “remorse” is driven only by Trump’s actions directly impacting them and theirs not others, it is not genuine & sincere, but transient and will disappear at the first opportunity Trump targets someone “other” again.
Baud
@RevRick:
I thought that was our motto.
Spanky
@Betty Cracker:
“You lie!” is still a classic.
Elizabelle
@Betty Cracker: Maybe the Democrats should sit there in Ukrainian yellow and blue, and EU yellow and blue. (Slightly darker blue.) And remain deadly silent. Just bear witness.
Slava Ukraini! President Zelenskyy, we have your back, even if this Putin asset clown does not.
Gin & Tonic
@Spanky: The really funny part of that is that Joe (“You lie!”) Wilson is a staunch supporter of Ukraine and a frequent critic of Trump on that. I wonder if he’s got a “You lie!” ready for Trump’s address.
Betty Cracker
@Spanky: Seems quaint in retrospect, right? I remember being shocked by that, and IIRC, Wilson had to walk it back a little.
Wish I could claim I’ve since lost the capacity for shock, but after that disgraceful scene at the White House yesterday…
narya
@RevRick: I’m gonna be in your neck of the woods this coming week.
Spanky
@Betty Cracker:
When he declares “I am king!” don’t you want someone to be there to object?
YY_Sima Qian
From WhiteHouse.gov LOL (no need to really clock through the link):
Hilarious quip from a Sinologist:
Written in the style of the CPC regime’s propaganda organ headline, & fairly convincingly, too.
Geminid
@Betty Cracker: I read that Rep. Wilson has proposed a new $250 bill with Trump’s ugly mug on it.
Elizabelle
Whatever the Russian A$$et does at his SOTU, I will not watch it. And. The SOTU is on March 4th. Oh goody.
Red Wine & Blue is hosting free Zoom with Dr. Timothy Snyder (On Tyranny) at 7:30. The Real State of the Union.
Check link for registration.
kalakal
Good morning all.
Bad day yesterday vastly improved at the end
Tired, grumpy, and itchy with the shingles ( which does seem to be fairly mild thanks to Shingrix and Valtrex).
While waiting for the morning bus some clown rode his bicycle into me. Nothing serious, just a very dozy person not watching where they’re going, but a bit of a shock nontheless.
Extra long day as having to do outreach in the evening.
That disgraceful and disgusting shitshow at the White House.
And then tired, itchy me went to the outreach which was a Black History Month celebration at one of the branch libraries where I was a (minor) speaker and it was great! I felt absolutely restored. Such a great community
YY_Sima Qian
No one here needs the reminder, but Ponomarenko laid it out clearly:
Ohio Mom
@RevRick: I admire you, seems to me being able to suffer fools is an essential trait for clergy, but I don’t have that in me.
I am one big I Told You So. Always have been. I can tone it down if I have feelings for the person — I am very gentle with fellow autism moms who discover they should have followed various bits of my advice sooner — but mostly I have excised Republicans from my life, so anyone with buyers remorse about voting for Trump is unlikely to be in my hearing range.
tokyocali (formerly tokyo ex-pat)
@kalakal: Glad your day ended on a more positive note. Take care with the shingles. My aunt has gotten it and I understand it is painful and uncomfortable. Hope you get over it soon. お大事に(odaijini) as they say in Japan to others who are feeling unwell.
oldgold
The Democrats need to attend the SOTU.
They should conduct themselves with dour funereal dignity.
The place for our righteous fury to be displayed is the rebuttal. In that speech Trump, Musk and their MAGA allies should be excoriated in a no holds barred evisceration of this dystopian shit show they have created.
Hopefully, the Democrats have taken care to have picked the best orator, speech writers and setting to accomplish the difficult task of delivering an effective rebuttal to the SOTU.
The world is waiting and will watch. We need to meet this moment.
YY_Sima Qian
The new normal:
Betty Cracker
@Geminid: I saw a photo of that on bsky. Gross!
Betty Cracker
@oldgold: Sen. Slotkin will be doing the rebuttal.
ETA: I’m undecided on the funereal dignity approach. Maybe a more cacophonous response would be better. Glad it’s not my call.
Ohio Mom
@Elizabelle: Oh, I like that idea.
I’m not sure I can put it into words but it feels important to me that the Democrats be present. We are not giving up on the Constitution even if the Republicans are tossing it aside. Not being present will look like we have ceded to one party rule. Maybe I did put it into words.
Geminid
@YY_Sima Qian: That discreditable scene yesterday did excite the MAGA base. There’s an “OSINT” guy from Georgia I follow some. He’s pretty much a Ukraine supporter.but most of his commenters are not. To hear them tell it, John Wayne and his trusted ranch foreman Gary Cooper had just backed down an insolent Mexican bandit leader.
Geminid
@Betty Cracker: Kind of like Craptocurrency.
tokyocali (formerly tokyo ex-pat)
@YY_Sima Qian: I wanted to say thank you for your posts as you provide a very important Eastern perspective. Like you, I have lost the desire to move back to the US given the current situation. However, my son is likely to be transferred to Texas for his company within the year, which has left me with a lot of mixed feelings.
YY_Sima Qian
@Geminid: That’s most of my “For You” page on X.
Omnes Omnibus
@Ohio Mom: It takes all kinds. The people who can do empathy should be front and center in the conversion efforts. The “I fold you so” people should be kept far away from that part of the effort. There’s plenty of work for everyone.
This is also one of the reasons I don’t get mad at Congressional Dems who aren’t out front inspiring everyone with fighting words and soaring rhetoric. Not everyone can do that. They can contribute in other ways. I expect that, by and large, they will.
YY_Sima Qian
@tokyocali (formerly tokyo ex-pat): Hang in there! But, yeah, TX…
I assume your son is mixed race, & not ethnically East Asian? Might face less harassment. Also depends on the place.
tokyocali (formerly tokyo ex-pat)
@Betty Cracker: Either all Dems in funeral black with an Ukraine sash or such to show support or break out the drums and horns and serenade the clown performance as it deserves.
tokyocali (formerly tokyo ex-pat)
@YY_Sima Qian: Yes. Half Japanese, a quarter Italian and a quarter American. Fair skin, his father’s eyes, and the blessing of being the third child, meaning he is easy going and mixes well with others. He has only been to San Diego visiting family. I can’t help worrying. America is unpredictable in so many ways.
ETA; He just got back from 3 months in China, outside Beijing. He really loved the experience.
zhena gogolia
@oldgold: I heard on here that they’ve picked Elissa Slotkin.
zhena gogolia
@tokyocali (formerly tokyo ex-pat): I like the black-suit-and-Ukraine-sash idea!
tokyocali (formerly tokyo ex-pat)
@zhena gogolia: I just hope it is a unified response because I think that will have more impact than individuals doing this or that thing.
Geminid
@YY_Sima Qian: Within the MAGA world, the meeting was a win for Vance, I think. He upstaged Trump in slick way: by standing up for his President. Vance looked the more forceful of the two US leaders, and Zelensky seemed to be the perfect foil for that exercise.
Glory b
@H.E.Wolf: BUT, I repeat myself:
“Do something but I reserve the ability to never say what the ‘Do something!’ is, so I can complain the ‘something!’ wasn’t the right something, so I can continue to complain,” isn’t helpful.
Betty Cracker
@tokyocali (formerly tokyo ex-pat): I lean towards rowdy heckling.
Trump take egg! You sold out Ukraine! Putin’s puppet! First measles outbreak in a decade! You cut medical research for billionaire tax cuts! Etc.
But I’m more football hooligan than politician, so it’s probably good that I’m not in charge.
tokyocali (formerly tokyo ex-pat)
@Betty Cracker: It doesn’t matter what they do, the MAGA side and their media co-opts will say they are disgracing the position of the president, yadda yadda. What’s important is that they do something.
Baud
@Geminid:
The right loves a good show.
Baud
I recommend that the Dems personify the the idea that the Emperor Has No Clothes.
Glidwrith
@Nukular Biskits: Thank you. I didn’t want to start a fight nor have time to stay, but unless the repentance is true, to do the work of recognizing other peoples right to exist then it’s not worth accepting them into our alliance.
H.E.Wolf
@Glory b:
I concur. Which is why I’m such a bore about postcards. :) It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but it might hit the right spot for some!
Progress report on reading Dying of Whiteness: still in Chapter One; continuing steadily.
Betty Cracker
@Baud: Now that’s the kind of innovative thinking we need at a time like this!
Josie
@zhena gogolia:
Yes, it sounds appealing. Definitely should use Ukraine’s colors in some way.
Spanky
@Baud: So does the Left, actually. And I think we’re coming around more to an emotional response as opposed to the cool detached responses that have netted us nothing.
YY_Sima Qian
@tokyocali (formerly tokyo ex-pat): Yeah, visiting modern China can be an incredible experience, I would recommend anyone to come & see the country for yourself. As long as you remember that it is ruled by a hard authoritarian regime. Living here may not be for everyone.
My one & only visit to Japan was Kyoto & Nara 10 years ago. Incredible experience, so much well preserved history, & an echo of Tang China in its glory (which is what draws the Chinese tourists). I would love to take wife & daughters on a visit again, especially now that Japan is relatively cheap.
I hear it is overrun w/ Chinese tourists, which inevitably causes mixed feelings. It was overrun w/ Chinese tourists in 2015, too, & those from Taiwan & Hong Kong. I remember noting pretty ladies in beautiful kimonos taking selfies in the streets of Gion & Higashiyama (I was still single, then), only to hear them speak Mandarin, Cantonese, or Hokkien.
oldgold
@Josie: Sunflower corsages.
oldgold
@zhena gogolia: Is she capable of delivering a speech in a controlled cold fury. Few are (unfortunately, my Mom had that rare ability), but that is what is needed in my opinion.
catclub
I am still more angry at those who did not bother to vote.
Shalimar
Just saw a headline: “Karoline Leavitt Humiliates Zelensky”.
It’s really scary how fucked up these people are mentally. Humiliating foreign leaders who visit the White House is absolutely never a press secretary’s job. That they think her insulting any dignitary is a good thing says everything about how deranged all of these MAGA people are.
zhena gogolia
@oldgold: I have no idea. I worry that she’ll be too conciliatory to MAGA.
zhena gogolia
@catclub: ME TOO
tokyocali (formerly tokyo ex-pat)
@YY_Sima Qian: Yes, over tourism continues to be an issue due to the cheap yen. Yet, Japan still offers a great deal in terms of history, culture, food, and entertainment. I have lived here close to 30 years, more than I ever lived in the U.S. and it has been fascinating to see the societal changes in that time.
Eolirin
@RevRick: We don’t need to care, one way or the other, unless we’re actively doing voter outreach/canvassing and then sure, we need to get over it.
Democratic politicians and campaigns won’t snub anyone they need to win elections. It’s not going to be a problem at that level.
That being said, if some way isn’t found to get people to care more about their civic responsibilities and to encourage them to become more educated and take elections more seriously, we aren’t going to be able to keep a Democracy, even if we somehow survive and still win elections and have it count in four years.
Matt McIrvin
@tokyocali (formerly tokyo ex-pat): I confess I took advantage of that currency exchange rate and became an over-tourist in Japan last summer. It is a beautiful and interesting country with much to recommend it to visitors. I covet its transportation infrastructure, particularly the mind-blowing Shinkansen which taught the world what high-speed rail is, but I feel that way for most of the developed world outside the US.
Eolirin
@RevRick: Effective leadership is far more diffuse than this. It’s never a singular individual.
That’s a cult, and it always ends badly.
oldgold
@zhena gogolia: That is my worry, too.
This is absolutely no time for a business as usual kitchen table speech about holding the door open for bipartisanship or some such nonsense.
This is a rare opportunity to speak directly to the American public; particularly, to garner the attention of the damn normies. It is, given our dire circumstances, imperative that we seize this moment. CARPE DIEM!
Geminid
@H.E.Wolf: I see former Rep. Xochitl Torrez Small was a Winter Pritzker Fellow at the University of Chicago. Her seminar series was not recorded for wider distribution, but the prospectus sounded good:
The U. of Chicago provided a capsule biography of the 39 year-old Torres Small:
tokyocali (formerly tokyo ex-pat)
@Matt McIrvin: We have never owned a car. My husband was adamant that we live close to the station so that we could use public transportation. I walk all the time here. When I go home to the U.S. that simply isn’t doable. It’s get in the car to go anywhere, which makes it so easy to put on the pounds when I am there.
Lobo
@Nukular Biskits: No entiendo! ;)
BlueGuitarist
@H.E.Wolf:
yay you
Daily in the small
Doing the essential work
in the wintertime
can’t get spacing right
Last night
“reading the news and it sure looks bad”
wrote a few more Wisconsin postcards
thinking
everything we can do seems small
compared to the enormity of the crisis
but not as small as doing nothing.
Glad to see contribution thermometers slowly rising
(thanks WG)
Many other things to do
calling and writing representatives,
50501 March 4, March for Science March 7,
anti-fascist demonstrations at Tesla dealerships,
encouraging others
John Lennon:
“pushing the barrier, planting seed…
Millions of mind guerrillas
putting their soul power to the karmic wheel…
Raising the spirit of peace and love”
Steve in the ATL
@Omnes Omnibus:
So…you and I have no role in this. Guess I have time to do some yard work now!
Matt McIrvin
@tokyocali (formerly tokyo ex-pat): When we were visiting, the microchip shortage had made Suica cards hard to get so we ended up having to figure out the ticket machines, but they’re standardized enough that we had that down within a couple of days, and then it just felt like we had the freedom of the country.
(When we were in Osaka, we did get Metro passes that ended up not applying to the parts of the Osaka Metro that somehow seamlessly transfer to separately owned commuter-rail lines outside the central zone, and that took a little figuring out.)
A low-key thing that really impressed me about Japanese transit was the 100% standardized use of a common faregate everywhere from the Shinkansen to the subways to the Disney monorail–and one that was designed to encourage you to stroll through it at speed even if you were shoving a paper ticket through. I think part of what made that possible might be a low incidence of fare-jumping, which means that the gates don’t have to be primarily designed to deter it.
I sound weird primarily talking about Japan in transit-nerd terms, but their systems are so interesting (also heavily privatized, which seems to work for them contrary to my social-democratic instincts, though that was not always the case).
Steve in the ATL
@tokyocali (formerly tokyo ex-pat): we’ve never been to Japan but did enjoy “Lost in Translation”. One of my kids spent the time between exams and Christmas there and absolutely loved it. The photos were amazing. Maybe we’ll do that instead of Dollywood this year….
BlueGuitarist
@Baud:
Derek Guy had a BlueSky thread about Zelenskyy’s attire as an extension of a tradition including Benjamin Franklin and Winston Churchill
bsky.app/profile/dieworkwear.bsky.social/post/3ljbptvmvvs2v
Steve in the ATL
@Matt McIrvin: lots of European mass transit operates on the honor system. Guess they never learned the “broken windows” theory of policing.
Matt McIrvin
@Steve in the ATL: Yeah, I accidentally jumped the fare on some of those just because of not being able to read. I think that happened in Amsterdam. Also in Berlin I was unwittingly paying the reduced fare for former DDR residents before I figured that out.
Melancholy Jaques
@Betty Cracker:
I can’t make up my mind what would be most effective. The media seem to be determined to promote & protect Trump.
Is there a Democratic response?
Eolirin
@Melancholy Jaques: I’m sure no matter what it is, people will complain, and also that it won’t change very much in the short term because it can’t.
zhena gogolia
@oldgold: I don’t think that’s going to happen.
But even if it did, no one would pay much attention.
We were all so jubilant that Katie Britt bombed so badly. She was played by Scarlett Johansson on SNL! But it made no difference.
H.E.Wolf
@Geminid:
Thank you, as always, for bringing the news on Xochitl Torres Small. The topics listed sounded both interesting and thought-provoking (which are not invariably the same thing).
I was struck by Torres Small’s youth. 39 years old is plenty young enough to have a stellar career still ahead of her. May she have much success in her future!
Steve in the ATL
@Matt McIrvin: a friend did that intentionally (I forget which city) and felt no guilt until a little girl tugged on her sleeve a said, “Madame, il faut que vous payez!” She probably wouldn’t have felt guilty if the kid had used “tu” rather than “vous”.
Matt McIrvin
@Steve in the ATL: …Also, the buses in my own Massachusetts town are free! I think that’s great, but I don’t use them because the frequency is so low, which is the thing they need to work on if they can. Most of them only come once an hour, and going most places requires a transfer to another hourly bus downtown.
Steve in the ATL
@Geminid:
Pronounced just like it’s spelled, I assume?
Matt McIrvin
@Steve in the ATL: Probably not Paris, I recall them having the massive tall gates designed to make noncompliance physically impossible.
Geminid
Talk of Never-Trumpers made me wonder what Jeff Flake is up to. According to an Arizona State University press release, Flake has begun “a new chapter as director of the Institute of Politics st ASU.”
And Flake may be going by “Sir Jeff” now:
There’s a picture of the former Arizona Senator showing off a case holding a really big medal, captioned:
Flake was US Ambassador to Turkiye, not Sweden, but Turkiye was the focus of efforts to bring Sweden into the Nato alliance. That’s a long story with a lot of moving parts, and Flake was one of them. Besides his role in that process Flake helped mend the frayed US/Turkish relationship so I think he earned his pay.
The Deseret News has an article about Flake’s role in Sweden’s Nato accession that looks interesting.
H.E.Wolf
@BlueGuitarist:
Yay us! It is a continual pleasure to write postcards alongside of you; and I love the free-verse poem that your comment became.
Here’s another, by someone I don’t know and will never meet… and yet that doesn’t matter. One can still connect.
niqaeli.dreamwidth.org/1012874.html
Baud
@zhena gogolia:
I agree.
Matt McIrvin
@Matt McIrvin: …I slander the local buses, I see that the one that goes through my neighborhood and many others have now been upgraded to half-hourly, which is a lot nicer (still not as nice as I’d like).
oldgold
@zhena gogolia: It is true that Katie Britt bombed and it made little, if any, difference. That expressed, the circumstances here are much different.
At this time much of the country is crying out for direction to resist. There are millions of hungry ears out there. Feed those hungry ears with something of substance and it will make a difference.
A tremendous speech at the right time can make a huge difference. Think of JFK’s inaugural speech or MLK’s I had a Dream speech. It can happen.
Kayla Rudbek
@prostratedragon: he needs to be charged under the Espionage Act
Matt McIrvin
@oldgold: If I were a Democratic member of Congress I might be inclined to stay out of any mass assembly in DC, since it’s a legal death zone where Trump has essentially free rein to have you killed or kidnapped. But I think that would currently mean missing floor votes.
I wouldn’t be too surprised if the SOTU is where he has them rounded up and sent to a camp. “I have eliminated disloyalty. Long live the King!”
Geminid
@Steve in the ATL: It would be pronounced “Shosh.”
Xochitl Torres Small’s grandparents came from a Mexican Native tribe, and her parents gave her brother a native name like, Cahutemac.
They gave Xochitl an Anglo name, but when she got old to notice she asked if she could have a cool name like her brother. So they let her pick Xochitl, which I believe means “flower.”
Eolirin
@oldgold: MLK’s I Had A Dream Speech existed in the context of a multi-year, really multi-decade process of planning coordinated actions and on the ground organizing. It was part of a well orchestrated movement that had specific political goals. The Speech came late, not early, in that process.
It was not that a speech happened and then everything got better.
People died. Lots of the participants of that movement bore scars from the violence directed at them for the rest of their lives. A lot of those leaders were arrested at various points, and a number of them, not just King, were assassinated.
And I’ll note, the tipping point for (mostly northern) white support from the history of that period that I remember reading, was not King’s speech, but the brutal lynching of Emmett Till, and the disgust generated as pictures were disseminated through the newspapers of the time.
We do not have anything at all resembling the conditions necessary to engage in that kind of action right now, and we’re not going to get it from a speech. It’s going to take time to build up the infrastructure.
Sister Golden Bear
@Nukular Biskits:
Be gay, do crime. /s
oldgold
@Eolirin: Of course, the Democratic rebuttal will not be the ANSWER. Nor, do I fail to understand that the I Had a Dream Speech was not the ANSWER.
My point is that an excellent speech can make a difference.
WTFGhost
Good luck? I’m practicing medicine via retraumatization. How’s that for luck? Someone once said there’s three kinds of luck, blind, bad, and stupid, and such pessimistic people try to eliminate the blind and the bad – the stupid (remember: “stupid luck”) could go either way but it’s most likely to go to the better prepared side. Who sees the moment and seizes it.
Well, after my pain doctor triggered me a couple-three days back, then retraumatized me again on Friday (what’s with this guy, amirite?), and, my metaphorical head was smacked hard by my metaphorical hand (LONG before NCIS, “I’ll smack you upside the head” was a common expression of frustration, kids!), because I was really fucking annoyed with myself that it took retraumatization to, you know, actually get me to notice.
“I’ve been bullied all my life, and” (SMACK) I didn’t storm out of a *medical* office (SMACK) the *instant* (SMACK, plus firewords and fireworks and all that stuff the cool kids do to say it was *epic*) I didn’t feel listened too, and didn’t feel the doctor understood my concerns and fears.”
I stopped after the biggie, because even metaphorical heads need to avoid concussions.
And, you normal folks, this is one where Imma say you owe it a bit to us, because it’s easier for you, much of the time. Anytime you let a doctor steamroll your objections, doctors get the idea they can bully people like me.
Still: I recognized where my brain had gone, and why it had gone there. I chose to submit to the procedure as the easiest way out of a difficult and complicated situation. And then I beat myself up, for making it harder, you know, for the next people.
That said, now that I know PTSD does, in fact, increase perceived pain, and via cross-referencing, I might have some additional good news.
In addition to knowing how badly being triggered by PTSD increases my pain, I mean. And the realization that I need to ID the triggers early, and vastly improve my verbal-punch-back response.
Kind of a problem when you have a speech impediment. Meh, it happens. But at least I can act, hand a red card to the doctor, and call the doctors office the next day to explain that doctor’s been removed from my care team for a serious or repeat offense.
ETA: “WAIT! Why isn’t there a yellow/red card system for health care? Is there? Someone should start one! I’ll be out of energy by tomorrow, so I hope someone started one. Would be a cool idea for front-pagers to mention.
“WTF? Why let a good trauma go to a *single use*, amiright? I mean, this time, I’m right.”
dnfree
@Elizabelle: that’s a really good idea!
WTFGhost
@WTFGhost: Well, “RED CARD” means immigration rights card, but, I’m happy to see in soccer, there’s the traditional red/yellow card designations for “you triggered the eff out of me” and “This visit has ended for reasons of patient safety.”
Liminal Owl
@Elizabelle: Thank you. I have registered.