Smells Like BRICSX

It appears the maintainers of #Linux are dumb enough to embrace the Grand Bifurcation and write off the #majority of the #human #population:

Following yesterday’s news first featured on #Phoronix of several #Linux #driver #maintainers being de-listed from their #maintainer positions within the mainline Linux #kernel over their connections to #Russia, #LinusTorvalds has today commented on the matter.

Since yesterday there’s been a lot of concern and mixed views over a number of Linux kernel maintainers being de-listed from the kernel’s MAINTAINERS file seemingly over being Russian or using Russian email addresses. In response to the patch posting from last week has also been proposals to revert that prior patch, some of the affected maintainers voicing their surprise over this sudden move, and some being upset over the lack of public clarity into the seemingly new “compliance requirements” imposed on the Linux kernel.

#GregKroah-Hartman who authored the patch dropping the various maintainers has yet to comment on the mailing list thread, but a few minutes ago Linus Torvalds chimed in with his opinion. Linux creator Linus Torvalds wrote:

“Ok, lots of Russian trolls out and about. It’s entirely clear why the change was done, it’s not getting reverted, and using multiple random anonymous accounts to try to “grass root” it by Russian troll factories isn’t going to change anything.

And FYI for the actual innocent bystanders who aren’t troll farm accounts – the “various compliance requirements” are not just a US thing.

If you haven’t heard of Russian sanctions yet, you should try to read the news some day. And by “news”, I don’t mean Russian state-sponsored spam.

As to sending me a revert patch – please use whatever mush you call brains. I’m Finnish. Did you think I’d be supporting Russian aggression? Apparently it’s not just lack of real news, it’s lack of history knowledge too.”

It’s not as if the Russians are simply going to throw up their hands and start using #Windows11. This promises to be the Mother of All Forks, and given the recently expressed position of #BRICS on the #illegality of #Western #sanctions, I doubt any of the BRICS countries are going to stick with the #original #Linux version.

This is where the fatal #flaw of having a weak central figure like Torvalds in charge inevitably comes into play. #Succession plans are difficult enough for strong Alphas to accomplish successfully, but when a mild-mannered Delta is the man in charge, some sort of future #debacle is all but guaranteed.

#Linus, it’s not that anyone thinks you’re supporting Russian aggression. It’s just that we assumed you wouldn’t be #retarded enough to publicly #endorse the #division of the #global #Linux #community and the creation of a #Sino-Russian #alternative #operating-system. But we were wrong.

I wonder if idiots are attracted to BJP, or if one goes into #BJP and becomes an idiot.

#India #Politics #Finance #Economics #Debacle

Forget the Autism

There is substantial statistical evidence suggesting – suggesting, mind you, not proving – that sufficient vaccines can make you trans and gay:

Here are the odds ratio between the fully #vaccinated/fully #unvaccinated. Odds ratios >2 are traditionally associated with #causality:

Sexual orientation: 4.78

Gender identity: 4.81

Gender dysphoria: 5.54

These effects are huge and consistent.

Also, the odds ratios for partially vaccinated are in line with the fully vaccinated: in general, the greater the number of #vaccines someone has, the more likely they are to have a trait that differs from traditional norms. So the vaccines themselves are the elephant in the room here and the #driver of the response, not #environment, #upbringing, #social #pressure, etc.

Now, I already lean pretty heavily #anti-vax, which is why refusing the #Covid #not-vaxx didn’t even rise to the level of having to think about it for one second. But these results should make even the most mindless pro-vax #parent think twice about signing up little Bobby or Jenny for the endless series of foreign substances presently being pushed on the #parents of young #children. Especially in the aftermath of the #global #vaxx #debacle.

At the very least, more genuine scientific research is required, and no amount of fake ethical special pleading about how it is immoral to have an unvaccinated control group will suffice to avoid it.

Yanis Varoufakis ~ What's Behind the COP26 Fraud?

https://www.yanisvaroufakis.eu/2021/11/16/whats-behind-the-cop26-fraud-the-guardian/

#Net-zero is popular among #polluters for good reason – it’s #toothless compared to #emissions #restrictions and a #carbon #tax. There are three reasons #Cop26 proved such a spectacular #debacle: A #planet-wide #collective #action #problem over “ #free-riding”. A #global #coordination #failure. And… #capitalism!

#yanisvaroufakis #varoufakis #fraud #climate #crisis #greenhouse-gas #fossil-fuels #renewable #energy #european #newdeal

What's behind the Cop26 fraud? - The Guardian - Yanis Varoufakis

There are three reasons Cop26 proved such a spectacular debacle: A planet-wide collective action problem over “free-riding”. A global coordination failure. And… capitalism! “Make no mistake, the money is here, if the world wants to use it,” said...

China Contemplates Confrontation

This sort of blustery rhetoric tends to be dismissed by #Americans in the aftermath of the #wars against #Arabs in the #MiddleEast, but it shouldn’t be when it comes from #China in response to various diplomatic #provocations by the #US State Department using #European #proxies.

Diplomatic measures alone are obviously not enough. If the US and the #Taiwan island change the names, they are suspected of touching the red line of China’s Anti-Secession Law, and the Chinese mainland will have to take severe #economic and #military #measures to combat the #arrogance of the US and the island of Taiwan. At that time, the mainland should impose severe economic sanctions on the island and even carry out an economic #blockade on the island, depending on the circumstances.

Militarily, Chinese mainland’s fighter #jets should fly over the island of Taiwan and place the island’s #airspace into the patrol area of the #PLA. This is a step that the #mainland must take sooner or later. The name change provides the Chinese mainland with sufficient reason to strengthen our #sovereign #claim over the island of Taiwan. It is anticipated that the Taiwan army will not dare to stop the PLA fighter jets from flying over the island. If the Taiwan side dares open fire, the Chinese mainland will not hesitate to give “Taiwan independence” forces a #decisive and #destructive blow….

Will #peace come if the Chinese mainland puts up with all this and swallows its anger for the sake of peace? If the mainland doesn’t strike back decisively, US #warships will dock at the island of Taiwan, its fighter #aircraft will land on the island and its #troops may be stationed in the island again. At that time, where will be China’s #prestige as a #great #power? How can the country maintain its system of defending its #interests on the international stage?

The fact is that a #contest of #will has been formed regarding the Taiwan question. Since China has declared that the Taiwan question is a matter of our #core interests, we must take resolute actions to protect the bottom line of this exact national interest at any cost. If the #DemocraticProgressParty authority really dares to take the risk of triggering a war to push for a name change, and the US, which just suffered a #debacle in #Afghanistan, is not afraid of being involved in a new war, then what is there for the mainland to be scared of?

It seems that sooner or later, the #TaiwanStraits will be plunged into a #storm that will change the situation there drastically. And judging from the current actions of the US and the island of Taiwan, we can be sure that even if they will have to take this step back, they will step forth again soon. Thus, right now we need to be fully prepared to blow them out of the water in the Taiwan Straits.

Global Times, 12 September 2021

There is a rational argument for the US #military provoking a #confrontation with China sooner rather than later, as the technological and production trends are clearly working in China’s favor. The Chinese are fully aware of these trends, which is why they have resolutely avoided military confrontation with the USA for decades. And that’s why it is so significant that at least some parties in China believe, and are willing to publicly declare, that the right time for resolving “the Taiwan question” is right now.

#UPDATE: The provocations aren’t only diplomatic.

US Guided-missile destroyer #USS #Benfold trespassed in waters near the #Meiji-Reef in the #SouthChinaSea Wednesday without permission from China. The Chinese side mobilized aircraft and ships to warn off and expel the ship from the waters. In a 7th Fleet news release, the US side acknowledged that USS Benfold sailed within 12 nautical miles of Meiji Reef. But it said the warship was asserting navigational rights and freedoms. It claimed the Meiji reef “is not entitled to a territorial sea under international law,” and “the land reclamation efforts, installations, and structures” built on the reef “do not change this characterization under international law.”

China and the US don’t agree on the nature of the 12 nautical miles of Meiji Reef. Other different views exist worldwide. But international law doesn’t empower any country to challenge others’ sovereign claim with an intrusion by a warship. The US in particular has no right to do so given the fact that it has not ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Global Times, 13 September 2021

What Afghanistan’s Saigon moment teaches us about America’s ‘humanitarian wars’

https://www.rt.com/op-ed/532120-us-afghanistans-saigon-moment/
https://www.rt.com/russia/532261-west-russia-china-actions-afghanistan/

'Somewhat strangely, the rise of the #Taliban provides certain #opportunities for Afghanistan’s #development that were not previously available.
Unlike the #UK’s talk of #human-rights and #sanctions, the rhetoric coming out of #Beijing and #Moscow has been focused on #security and #engagement.'

#paulrobinson #afghanistan #saigon #debacle #humanitarian #war #crimes #women's #rights #us #occupation #opium #terrorism #kabul #pragmatic #taliban #china #russia #pakistan #iran #west #nato #foreign #policy

What Afghanistan’s Saigon moment teaches us about America’s ‘humanitarian wars’

What we’ve just witnessed in Afghanistan is a historical repeat of the ‘Saigon moment’. But the final hours of the US occupation have been accompanied by a cacophony of neocons decrying the decision to end the war.