Sorry to be lite with posting, but things are still more interesting than I care for. Personally and in terms of world events. Let’s start with the latter.
If you have missed seeing the video of the person illegally entering the country who told a reporter they were too stupid to know who they were, but to wait as soon all would know who he is, I’m not surprised. See here, here, and here for more and watch the full video and analysis. Corporate media is ignoring as hard as they can, so what little coverage of this and all the military-age muslim/middle-eastern men from places like Syria, Jordan, Afghanistan, etc. are getting is coming from new/alternative media. Which makes it a target for corporate media members and other influences to poo-poo you crazed conspiracy theorist you… Sigh. No matter how low an opinion you have of corporate media, it is not low enough. Also, can’t believe how many are claiming that the government has him under surveillance and won’t let anything happen — just like they’ve done with all those mass killing known wolves. Right. Keep your eyes open and be prepared, for this guy does plan to make himself known and unlike our government I suspect he’s competent. Which is sad as we will be the ones paying the bill.
Also in the news this morning is a report of a Russian Il-76 going down in Russian-controlled territory. The Russians are claiming it had POWs from Ukraine on board, while Ukraine says it had S-300 missiles. Some sources are saying Ukraine shot it down, but there is good reason to believe the Russians took it out by mistake (wouldn’t be the first time that’s happened). Keep an eye out as the tap dancing on this one is probably going to be impressive. Have to wonder if Ukraine hasn’t found an exploit given that there are still some persistent rumors that they tricked Russian air defense into shooting down their own AWACs plane… If I were Vladimir or other top leaders, I’d think twice before flying anywhere near the front right now. Oh, be sure to keep an eye on how Ukraine long-range attacks are forcing Russia to deploy/re-deploy AAD assets deeper and deeper into Russia.
Speaking of Russia, the politics continue. One of the more interesting things I’m noting is that people are no longer quite so cautious about attacking Kadyrov. A number of interesting people have begun not just talking in private, but in public (or encouraging others to do so) questioning how much if anything Kadyrov was doing to help win the war. This wasn’t helped by having a couple of his top people appear to consider shooting a Russian soldier who not only dared stop them at a checkpoint, but pointed out their paperwork was not in order. Kadyrov has not been tactful in his responses, which isn’t helping. Nor is it limited to those attacks. Recently a member of the Duma made some comments about muslims and islamic extremists, and predicted there could be clashes coming between Orthodox Christians and muslims. Kadyrov called for the member to be ousted and has blustered — and initial reports are it’s not going over well. We will see. For now, Vladimir is safe in power though April may be a different story.
Also, I’ve spoken highly of Kamil Galeev on here before, and I think his work on Russia, Russian history, politics, etc. is outstanding. His work on who in the West is providing advanced machine tools and more is very good and should be required reading for politicians and others involved with sanctions. That said, I’ve been made aware of some comments made by him in regards the Middle East and Israel and while disappointed (to be polite) it is a reminder than knowledge in one area often does not translate into other areas. If he goes into open antisemitism, I will be dropping him as a resource and can’t recommend his work outside of his specialty on Russia. Caveat Emptor.
The war by the White House on commercial space (and Elon in particular) continues. However, there is some good pushback and a reminder we need to push our congrescritters and others to prevent over-regulation and halt efforts by the White House to curtail commercial space. Hat tip to Instapundit for that one. Remember, as long as we are in the cradle of humanity, crib death is a possibility. We need to be out and exploring, for that is the only way to start to guarantee a real future for humanity.
I will add that if I could go up in space, I would. I would love being a part of the SpaceX human spaceflight program, though I fear at this point all I might contribute is ‘He survived launch.’ Wish protein crystallography out of UAB were still flying, as I think I remember how to operate their flight gear. I would seriously consider the moon or Mars, even if I knew it would be one way.
As for some of the personal stuff, my effort to get the heart diagnosis proven or disproved have hit a roadblock. I was under the impression that tomorrow’s scheduled meeting with the cardiologist was to answer the question. However, the doc got sick, and the person working to reschedule with another doc informed me that no it wasn’t, invasive tests were/are needed, and a bit more. Seems my visit was only scheduled for 20 minutes anyway, just long enough to make it a full-cost visit for insurance filing.
I am less than happy, to the point I’m considering looking for a new cardiologist, especially since this is not the first time I’ve been disappointed/less-than-impressed with her. I’m also having to do a bit of thinking since the mystery diagnosis (reminder, it showed up in another hospital’s online system but no one can tell me who made it, on what basis, etc.) is confirmed, there is no current treatment. Too bad, so sad.
Between that and some other stuff, been a little preoccupied. On a good news front, physical therapy is progressing as we can start doing more strength and related, which lets me actually do things with the extremely good range of motion. It also makes the sessions run a little long (at this point I’m mostly self-directed as I know what I’m to be doing and so start then get checked on every now and then. We tend to add in new stuff towards the end, and then next time I know to do it. It does make PT days a bit intense and tiring, however. So, that’s cut into the writing a bit.
May get more into some of the health stuff later, but for now just going to focus on getting done what I can while I can. I’m actually doing some things at the Church I’ve been attending, and enjoying them. We are not rushing my joining, though I very much appreciated the priest giving me a book to read for Christmas. Going to Church is dangerous to my wallet, as they have a bookstore there… 🙂 My Christmas treat to myself was a book on The Inklings that I’m hoping to start soon.
Hoping to get more writing done in the days ahead, though PT and health will have to come first. More soon.
Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving once we have medical issues cleared up, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.