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Very strong, very smart move by King Salman of Saudi. Who gave the Thumbs Up to "execute" 37 Radical Islamic( or Islamist ) Terrorists. Alleged Terrorists. It's known as Death Penalty, folks. We need to bring that one back. Saudi Arabia, they have very few problems with crime. Because they have Death Penalty. I'm working very hard to bring it back for the Federal. But, we need it in our States too. California, Nutty Governor Newsom canceled all the Death Penalties. And crime there has gone totally and completely out of control. It was already very high, now it's OFF THE CHARTS. Time for a Total Recall of that guy!!!! foxnews.com/world/saudi-arabia-executes-people-terrorism-allegations

Year Zero (our year 2022, the year the United States is 'reborn') was (and will be?)(is?) a dystopian vision of a future in which your government worked against you.

...or... a game and technology and music...

...or a technological Easter Egg hunt...

...or ... a concept album that i would call brilliant!

September 2006, Trent Reznor (THE guy of NIN unless touring) decided to shake things up a bit. He decided that music and marketing would work brilliantly together if worked in a fun, interesting and puzzling way (not marketing, but an "artistic concept"): what he got was a thriller and marketing he couldn't have expected.

He hired a company called 42 Entertainment to help promote his coming album by giving out clues to a larger puzzle.
The first piece of the puzzle were tour t-shirts (the With Teeth tour) with highlighted letters that spelled out "I am trying to believe".
"This phrase was registered as a website URL, and soon several related websites were also discovered in the IP range, all describing a dystopian vision of the fictional "Year 0"."
---https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_Zero_(album)

USB keys were left in bathroom stalls at tour venues. Clues left on web-sites, clues leading to web-sites, phone numbers, email addresses, videos and mp3's.
Phone a number found from one of the clues and you are left with a message telling you "By calling this number, you and your family are implicitly pleading guilty to the consumption of anti-American media and have been flagged as potential militants."
Another clue told fans to not drink the water because the government had drugged it, but other clues led to a phone number that when called, a message said simply "I am drinking the water, so should you".

Leaked songs gave clues: The Great Destroyer, when played in mono, gave clues saying "Red Horse Vector". Was there a website for it? You betcha!

Finally at the release of the Year Zero album, fans discovered that the black CD cover when warmed, exposed a string of binary numbers that when translated into ASCII read "exterminal.net"
###
0110 010 1011 110
00011 101 00011
00101 0111001 00110110
1011 010 010
1101110011000
010 11 011 0
0 0 01 0 1 1 1 00 110
1 1100 1100 1 01 01
11 0 1
0 0
###

The Year Zero story takes place in the United States in the year 2022; or "Year 0" according to the American government, being the year that America was reborn. The United States has suffered several major terrorist attacks, and in response the government has seized absolute control on the country and reverted to a Christian fundamentalist theocracy. The government maintains control of the populace through institutions such as the Bureau of Morality and the First Evangelical Church of Plano, as well as increased surveillance and the secret drugging of tap water with a mild sedative. In response to the increasing oppression of the government, several corporate, government, and subversive websites were transported back in time to the present by a group of scientists working clandestinely against the authoritarian government. The websites-from-the-future were sent to the year 2007 to warn the American people of the impending dystopian future and to prevent it from ever forming in the first place

It's an interesting 'total package' concept, and there's 2 more years to go: but has this dystopian vision already arrived?

When the vacuum cleaner bag becomes full, attach it to a leaf blower, with a filter so that only the fine dust can be evenly distributed throughout the living space. The larger vacuumed up bits and crumbs will remain in the vacuum bag. If the vacuum bag is mostly empty, it can simply be re-attached to the vacuum cleaner. If the vacuum bag is too full after blowing out all of the fine dust, then its remaining contents can be:
* added to fireplace
* used as pillow stuffing
* added to garden soil
* leaf-blower disbursed into back yard
* mixed with used chewing gum as new form of play doh
* ingredient in cigarettes
* food additive, using a suitably complex ingredient name

Pop Star’s Illicit Kiss Becomes Fodder for Government Ads in Hong Kong

The Hong Kong government does not usually weigh in when the tabloids catch a pop star cheating.

But this week, after the city was riveted by the scandal of a married singer caught on video kissing an actress, some government agencies were criticized for using it as fodder for jokes in public service announcements.

Government officials expose their own lack of workload.

What France Has Money For

A journalist sarcastically asked Philippe Martinez, the leader of a major labor union, whether the flood of donations was evidence of trickle-down economics. “Money doesn’t trickle down for everything,” Mr. Martinez answered, adding that the outburst of generosity from French billionaires only exposed the inequalities that divide the country.

Such gifts aren’t just a private matter; they cost the state, too. For one thing, and certainly in the eyes of some Yellow Vests, these philanthropists are offering only a small fraction of enormous fortunes they have amassed partly by avoiding taxes otherwise needed to fund basic public services. And since their proposed gifts are destined for France’s national heritage, the bulk of them could benefit from major tax exemptions — up to 90 percent if a proposed bill presented this week were to pass.

Notre-Dame’s Safety Planners Underestimated the Risk, With Devastating Results

Unlike at sensitive sites in the United States, the fire alarms in Notre-Dame did not notify fire dispatchers right away. Instead, a guard at the cathedral first had to climb a steep set of stairs to the attic — a trip Mr. Mouton said would take a “fit” person six minutes.

Only after a blaze was discovered could the fire department be notified and deployed. That means even a flawless response had a built-in delay of about 20 minutes — from the moment the alarm sounded until firefighters could arrive and climb to the attic with hundreds of pounds of hoses and equipment to begin battling a fire.

Including to my many enemies and those who have fought me with TOTAL BULLSHIT and lost so badly they just don’t know what to do. Love!!! pic.twitter.com/h3wgLZ4mxS

Chants like "Lock Her Up" look childish.

Political candidates need to learn and evolve.

Act more like adults.

Instead of each candidate promising, if elected, to lock up their opponent, they need to start labeling their opponents as terrorists and their campaign organizations as terrorist organizations. Then promise to use the full force of government against these terrorists.

Update -- spoke to Tiger and I will be presenting him with the PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM!

Great day, and great game for Tiger Woods. Winner of the Masters today. I'll tell you, it could not happen to a nicer guy. Unless it happened to me. And I was part of his magnificent victory. I gave him that edge that really took him over the top. He's wearing one of those beautiful Green Jackets. And he should be wearing, very proudly, a MAGA Hat with that one. Because I played a round with him and Dustin at Trump National Golf Club. Very special!! foxnews.com/sports/tiger-woods-wins-masters-for-first-time-since-2005

'Biggest' UK tulip grower stockpiles bulbs over Brexit

The UK's biggest outdoor commercial tulip grower has said it has been stockpiling bulbs as uncertainty over Brexit continues.

Belmont Nurseries, near King's Lynn, said the future of the UK's relationship with the European Union (EU) was a cause of major concern.

"We're very much UK based, but we do also sell to Europe," nursery director Mark Eves said.

Tulip futures.

Over in lizardloop's journal I made mention of a snafu at my work place, regarding arc flash protection. https://soylentnews.org/~lizardloop/journal/4161

Allow me to emphasize first, that I am NOT an electrician. I don't have the in depth training, nor do I have decades of experience in the field. However, I do a lot of electrical work inside the plant. For those who wonder how that can be - in theory, I work under the supervision of a qualified electrician. However, I've never met this mysterious electrician. Long story short, there are loopholes in the law, which my (and most other companies) take advantage of.

So, what is arc flash? In the most simple terms, when an electrical circuit is shorted out, you can expect electrical energy to be converted into thermal energy, and it usually happens explosively. There are formulas to determine how much energy you might expect to be converted. The results are given as calories per square cm. For the most part, 110V probably won't do more than cause a sunburn-like burn within about a foot, 220V likewise, and most of our 480 is equivalent to a bad sunburn within 18 inches. That is, most of our electrical work involves circuitry whose energy can be protected against by wearing rubber gloves, leather gloves, and long sleeve fire resistant shirt, and a faceshield and safety glasses. We all wear jeans, and electrical hazard rated boots. So, we have always been protected from arc flash, at the levels at which we most commonly work, or at least I have been.

In recent years, the industry has been working out new procedures, regulations, and standards for arc flash safety. Those who care to, can read the standards online:
https://www.ishn.com/articles/107825-nfpa-70e-2018-standard-for-electrical-safety-requirements
  https://arcflashamerica.com/nfpa-70e-2018-arc-flash-regulations

You will probably notice immediately the "2018" portion of the site addresses, as well as on the page in your browser. These standards went into effect just last year.

The company demands that we comply with the standards - BUT - we have a supposed safety officer who doesn't seem to understand diddly squat.

I need to stipulate that they hired an outside contractor to come into the plant, examine, and calculate the calorie rating of every single box, cabinet, receptacle in the plant. Few are rated higher than 8 calories. The protective clothing I have already described meets safety requirements for these low energy situations. Initially, the only thing we learned was that SOME of our boxes were higher energy than we thought, so we had to wear the coverall costume that the company supplies when we work on them.

Then, another edict - everyone MUST be dressed in 100% cotton. Blends of cotton were no longer permitted. No problem for me, because the Navy trained me for fire fighting, and I do not buy synthetic or synthetic blend clothing. The elastic in my underwear is the only synthetic in my clothing. Some of the other guys had to make changes, especially those who made use of the uniform service. Those uniforms are mostly nylon and rayon.

Next edict? Well, now we MUST wear arc flash rated clothing, while working on ANYTHING, or put the heavy-ass, hot costume on. Makes sense, don't it?

Go online, and start looking for AF rated clothing. Carhartts are my preference. I can buy a shirt and pants for about $70 bucks, and have been doing so for years. But, they aren't AF rated. Go to Carhartt site, and look for FR and AR rated clothing, you'll find shirts for $110, and jeans with an "AF rated button and closure" for $70. If you look, you will find two styles for a little less, but both are being phased out, with common sizes already out of stock. So - $180 for a shirt and pants.

https://www.carhartt.com/products/carhartt-men-big-tall-pants/Flame-Resistant-Relaxed-Fit-Utility-Jean-FRB004
https://www.carhartt.com/products/carhartt-flame-resistant-men-shirts/Flame-Resistant-Work-DryLightweight-Twill-Shirt-FRS003

(I've just clicked my own links again, and prices have dropped in the past couple of weeks - so I'll still complain about pricing, but it's not quite so bad. Maybe prices will continue to drop as production ramps up?)

Funny thing is, those AR rated items are 88% cotton and 12% nylon. "high tenacity" nylon? * It's nylon - it will melt before the cotton decides to burn.

What lizardloop was complaining about specifically in his journal entry, was idiot management people ticking off boxes, to cover their asses. And, this is what I'm seeing here. A new standard has been created, less for safety purposes, than to make sure everyone in the industry can cover their asses. The standard is lower than my own personal standard - but my standard won't meet the new industry standard unless it is certified. My standard is certified by no one, other than myself.

At my own corporate level - the safety people don't understand a DAMNED THING, other than they have to comply with a standard that they never heard of until this year. They are scrambling, to find clothing to meet the standard. And, they are coming up high dollar. Those who might be interested can do their own searches, and find work clothes that meet the standard, and cost two, three, even five times as much as these Carhartts.

(Paranthetically, my wife has found for me a few that are slightly less expensive than Carhartts, but I long ago rejected them for quality reasons. One top selling point for my Carhartts are seven belt loops, as opposed to five on most work jeans. I positively HATE to see men with their asses hanging out of their jeans, so I want those extra belt loops that actually keep my pants up over my ass, no matter what position I am working in. Dickies are out.)

So, I'm pretty pissed, both at the industry, and at my own employers. I wear out clothing pretty regularly, and between them, they have roughly doubled the cost of that clothing. And, this clothing will make me no safer than I have always been.

Bean counters and box tickers make life miserable for all of us.

* A couple searches reveals that "high tenacity" has nothing to do with the melting point of the nylon yarn, but the strength of that yarn. Nylon becomes "sticky" at temperatures as low as 200 degrees F, while cotton will not combust until it reaches 500 F. So, a cotton/nylon blend, subjected to an arc flash, is going to have some nylon trying to melt, then sticking to the cotton fibers surrounding it. That will leave behind a patch of fabrid that is stiff, and will crackle when flexed. One can only hope that none of the nylon threads will stick to the flesh beneath it. Note that this is a "flash" situation. A sustained heat source WILL melt the nylon, and that nylon WILL stick to the flesh beneath it.