Martin World News

 

So another week of finding fun news items; so I thought, let's just look at some "below the American radar" stuff. Hope you enjoy!

Moscow Times:  I don't think Perry Mason does it this way...

Our story here comes at the conclusion of the case of one Andrei Kotov, late of the Men Travel Agency, as well as late of life.  Last fall, Kotov was arrested for the heinous crime of directing river tours for alleged LGBTQ groups.  (And no, I don't think that's how "Men Travel Agency" got its name.)  He said he was just running normal tours.  However, the police agancy that had him in custody was nostalgic for NKVD tactics, apparently...

Kotov said in court that police had beaten and electrocuted him with a stun gun during his arrest in November 2024. Rights groups said Kotov had been denied medication and warm clothing while in detention.

Sometime after this, in late December, Kotov "committed suicide" in police custody.  (Go figure, right?) Still, instead of ruling 'case closed' the authorities went on with Kotov's trial, starting some six months after he assumed room temperature.

Several witnesses had failed to appear in court or provided conflicting testimony, according to the independent Telegram news channel Mozhem Obyasnit. 

Law enforcement authorities had ordered one prosecution witness to join Kotov’s tour to collect material for the case, an anonymous lawyer familiar with the case told the outlet. The witness was said to be unable to present clear evidence in court.

Armed with this lack of criminal, lack of evidence, and lack of witnesses, on Friday...

Moscow’s Golovinsky District Court found Kotov guilty of participating in and organizing the activities of an “extremist organization” and of using minors to distribute pornography.

The porn charges were apparently added later to spice up the conviction.  I wonder if they will remand his coffin to the district prison.  And what will his sentence be? "20 years to resurrection"?

GB News: He should have offered him tea and crumpets while pinned...

GB News is a new non state controlled British news site (since we learned last week all we can trust the BBC with is lying about Trump and covering Starmer's butt) to my rotation.  And this story is about a Bournemouth police constable who was fired for... well, let me tell the tale.  A masked 15-year-old had assaulted an elderly man after just having participated in a gang fight at a nearby McDonalds.  Our hero, constable Lorne Castle, tackled the kid, pinned him down, and instructed him to "stop crying like a b****".

For this, he was fired, for "not treating the culprit with courtesy and respect".  He is appealing.

Note to British courts (as well as ours): Respect is EARNED.  Courtesy should be MUTUAL.

BBC World:  And now that I bashed them, how about a peace item

I guess this is a story we can trust them not to spin...

Bear runs onto airport tarmac, halting flights

An airport in the Japanese city of Hanamaki temporarily suspended flights on Wednesday after a bear wandered onto its grounds.  The animal was spotted on the tarmac at 13:00 local time, halting flights for more than an hour.

Human encounters with bears have reached record levels in Japan. Thirteen people have been killed by bears this year, while more than 100 have been wounded. The incidents have prompted authorities to deploy troops to hunt bears and help stop the attacks.

If this had happened in the USA, the Dems would have likely blamed it on "Trump shutting down the government" And the bear would have identified as an elephant.

Xinhua:  Is this because of the bear?

The second headline ion the Chinese news, right after the obligatory "Selected works of Xi Jinping on rule of law published" (Not a joke), was this:

China ministry warns against Japan travel

(No, it wasn't because of bears on the tarmac.  Apparently the new PM likes Taiwan, which makes the whole country a 'security risk'. When I think about it, the bear makes more sense.)

And finally....

The Guardian, backed up by al-Jazeera:  Could we get this company to move our illegals, too?

I tried to ignore the headline on al-Jazeera, but when I saw the storyt again in The Guardian, I had to investigate:  South African offlicials were baffled when a planeload of Gaza Palestinians arrived at Johannesburg airport, without money, food, documents, or the least clue why they ended up there.  It was then I knew I'd have to look beyiond aJ's headline:

What’s the shadowy organisation taking Gaza Palestinians to South Africa?

So here is the scoop as I learned it.  Somewhere in East Jerusalem, a scammer going under the company name of Al-Majd Europe, with a barely functional website that promises,  “For Gaza residents currently inside the Gaza Strip only! Do you aspire to travel and start a new life? We are here to help you!” has been collecting $1,400 to $2,000 a head- regardless of age- and sending them off to this new life without telling their clients just where they'll end up.  Most of the clients only learned they were heading for South Africa when they stopped in Nairobi to refuel.

The Palestinian leadership, not surprisingly, are saying this is all an Israeli rigged operation.  The Guardian remains non-commital.  What is known, it was a Romanian plane that apparently had no AC; a local aid organization stepped up to help those who didn't have passports to other destinations; They had been collected by bus, told to bring "only a small bag, a cell phone, and a little money"; And nobody but nobody knows who is actually behind it, but it was the second such flight to end up in South Africa.

What's the excuse for pictures this week?

 Actually, the same as last week.  Out of a prospective 10-hour day, 4 days a week schedule, this week was: 8 hours for 3 days, 4th day- even with a 35 minute meet with HR- ran out of work 3 hours and 40 minutes in.  Oh, but we ARE working 3 days Thanksgiving week.  As Bobby Vinton would say, 

Anyhow, that meant time for walks- and when the arctic simulation finally broke up around here on Wednesday, we hit it....

Bright blue day number 1

Spying on us as we entered Plex space...

Misty, of course, gobbling snow as we went...

And cutting through into the woods.

Misty was working on her "detecting dead stuff" skills.  Center of pic is a somewhat gloppy remnant of a squirrel...

...and several minutes and distance later, she found the still-bloody jawbones of one.

Nice to see Stony Run without the leaves

Here, I find fur from off another squirrel's tail.  Apparently it wasn't a good week for our nutty friends, probably because of that whole "fat and sluggish" thing from last week.

And no, she didn't pee on it.  But apparently someone did.

Here, she asked permission to gobble.  Permission granted.

Now, at least we know the crew that keeps putting up the little flags here and there.  Looked like a class split into three groups, with 2 supervisors.

Dam is closed again, water has receeded, but it got below 30 degrees F, so out comes the ice warning sign.

And here is why Misty suddenly picked up the pace...

Back at home, it seems someone had a homework disaster.  And thanks to a staple that held strong...

...we get a "homework flower".

Today, with a much earlier start, I thought we'd go around the other way...

Yet another BBD...

The stream bed between us and the Bark Park hasn't been very busy this year

The painting work is proceeding apace- much better than when the last owners attempted.

At least one neighbor is ready for Christmas...

The office does nice gardening

And out of the complex we go

Someone need a Carmax plate?

The amount of abandoned clothes we find is simply amazing...

...a wide variety, despite it still being the Year of the Sock.

Misty's next find- dead raccoon

And the turn down Clinton St

I took this so I could see if this was a boat I might of made a cover for.  Rinker? That's a no.

Misty acted like she wanted to hurry up and take that bus.  Bonus: After it passed us, it hit the air brakes and she jumped.

No saving that tire...

Man/dog selfie, attempt 1

Attempt 2, sans doggie

Time check

Let's cut through the strip mall!

Last time we made this trip, this was a lot under construction and we wondered what it was going to be.  Now we know- yet another of the car wash "palaces" going up all over town.

I asked her- "River or woods?" She chose woods

Always nice to see running water here.

The birds were having a party throughout the woods.  The squirrels, or what's left of them, must be late risers.

Wednesday Bible Study: Psalm 119 deconstructed part 3

 

This week's word hit me harder because of what happens in a certain stanza.  But let me work my way there.  This week, the concept is PRECEPTS.  Always plural, the inner notes of my paper Bible give the best description I saw of the concept:

"Those responsibiliteis He has appointed for His people". Do you realize God has been appointing these responsibilities from the beginning?

Gen 2:15  The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 

And that will be important where I will be going with this.  But first, there are 4 other concepts I want to introduce.

First, precepts are ORDERS from God.

Psa 119:4  You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently. 

In my life, I often find my flesh looking for the loophole.  I read Paul's struggles against sin in Romans, or hear a preacher say, "It's not about what you must do, but what HE'S done.", and say, "Well, God kinda expects me to fail."  NOT the case.  Or, like I heard Robert Jeffres say today, "We want to just pray, 'O God, take this desire for sin from me', and that's not how it works.  YOU have to set aside the sin."

Maybe I should have said, this concept hit me a FEW times.

Second, this concept had two stanzas in which it was hit twice; the first is in Lamedh (vv 89-96) where vv 93-4 connect- seeking them brings salvation; that salvation causes me to never forget them.  It isn't just a loop- it's a spiral staircase that just leads you closer and closer to God.

Third, the second time precepts appears twice is in stanza Mem (vv97-104), which contains a fairly well-known passage:

Psa 119:99  I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation. 

Psa 119:100  I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts. 

The second verse of the pair (104) connect a more important set of connections:

Psa 119:104  Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way. 

So KEEPING the precepts lead to understanding; because of the understanding, we have a hatred for lies.  Why is that important?

Joh 8:43  Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. 

Joh 8:44  You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 

Joh 8:45  But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 

This society's main battle is between those who stand for and respect the truth and those who think a lie is just a small step on their path to success.  The only way to be prepared for the lies is to study the Word, the truth, God's precpts.

Fourth- Knowing His precepts, and keeping them, is a CHOICE.

Psa 119:173  Let thy hand be ready to help me; For I have chosen thy precepts. 

Orders.  An ascending ladder. Defense against lies.  And choosing.

Now, I take you to the only two places in this entire 176-verse Psalm where a verse starts with the word, "This"...both in stanza Zayin (vv49-56):

Psa 119:50  This is my comfort in my affliction; For thy word hath quickened me. 

Psa 119:56  This I have had, Because I have kept thy precepts. 

So I first questioned what the "this" was in v56- the commentators, the internet, really were of no help.  Except for one thing- a central theme running through the stanza: Comfort and Remembrance.  Comfort  includes the idea of God's promises, and the hope in them; remembrance is an active verb, recalling what God has done and promised, and ACTING on them.  If I KEEP His precepts, His commanded tasks, and quit giving myself excuses, I will have comfort.  I will act in remembrance.

But, I have to KEEP them.  Not surprisingly with our loving God, what began as an intellectual exercise ahs become a soul-searching project.  That's how I know it can be a blessing.  Hopefully for all of us.

Critical? Who's being critical?

 So, an old post came up on my stats page (Yes, I was bored!) and it involved the first time I had to delete comments from someone who was 1) bent to go off topic, and 2) bound to "prove his point" despite the fact that several of his points had nothing to do with the blog post in question.

And all I can think of is, "Thank you, Lord.  Every time I think it would be socially important to debate an unhinged liberal (NOTE:  "Unhinged" is an adjective for this PARTICULAR type, not all in general), you send me a clear reminder WHY I really don't want to go there."

Key word: Unhinged.  Meaning, you come into every question with your mind made up, and barf up the same old tired comment, modified slightly to 'fit' the post commented on, thus having more to do with gloryifying yourself than responding to the author.  It's a fun way of saying, "I'm smart enough already, I only have enough room left for bites and memes that agree with me."  And while this guy was a liberal, I've seen every side of the "discussion stream" infected with the same thing.

I decided to ask Google's AI, "What are the essential elements of critical thinking?"  Here is what it answered:

Observation: Paying careful attention to information and details without initial bias.

Analysis: Breaking down information into its component parts to understand its meaning and structure.

Evaluation: Assessing the credibility, reliability, and relevance of information, arguments, or sources.

Inference: Drawing logical conclusions based on evidence and sound reasoning.

Explanation: Clearly communicating your reasoning and conclusions with supporting evidence.

Metacognition: Reflecting on your own thought process to understand and improve your thinking. 

This is what we DON'T do anymore- and that person didn't do then.  He blew observation with an initial bias he couldn't shake, and wouldn't set aside.  He blew anaalysis because despite my several attempts to get him to respond on topic, he refused to understand the meaning of the post he was responding to. He blew evaluation, conceding no points but his own. He blew inference, failing to connect logically the info that he was going to get deleted if he didn't play by the rules.  He might have got a passing grade in explanation, except that all of his points- two of them egregiously- had nothing to do with the subject.   But the real problem with this kind of person is this "metacognition" he considered his thought process complete and correct in itself, and had no intention of reflecting for improvement or enriching himself from other points.  Not that he was going to stand by 99% of his original opinions, but he was actively filling in that other 1% himself so that nothing else got in.  And if that meant veering off topic, so much the better.

Kind of like what is going on with this "Government shutdown."  One side says, "Pass the clean bill, then we'll talk about your concerns."  The other says, "Let us spend that money first, so that we don't need a discussion, then we'll talk."  Senator Kennedy says, "If the government is shut down, then WE shouldn't be getting paid." Senator Paul says, "Hey, wait a minute, don't cut MY pay!  We want more people paid, not less!"To me it's as simple as, do we talk first, or waste the money first and then talk about what's already done.

And while the men and women in Congress who DON'T understand the elements of critical thinking continue to refuse to open the government, people suffer.  One side lies about that the money isn't being wasted, despite the proofs contrary; the other lies that the only ones being hurt are fat and lazy grifters who don't want to work.  And people continue to suffer.

I apologize to those who don't care for this opinion, but let it stay shut down.  I for one am tired of the lies we get stuffed down our throats in the name of "toleration", EBT cards, and convenient travel.  I am sorry for the legitimate suffering it causes, but I'm not the one holding the nation hostage in the name of socialized medicine and illegal aliens getting to vote in this nation.

But you know the thing that made me the meanest, that really caused the need for this rant?  I am not NOT ready for the snow that I shovelled off the car for Laurie this morning.  And I refuse to think critically about THAT.

Dumb questions 2

  

I decided this week, we'll do the ten dumbest questions grok (in its opinion) got asked this week, and try to answer them.  

10- "Grok, are you sure you're not just a fancy calculator in disguise?"

I suppose you could look at it that way.  But in my youth, the only words a calculator could do is "hell" and "hello" if you typed in 7734 or 0.7734 and turned it upside down.  Also I have a friend who had a talking calculator that could play games like "try to land the lunar module on the moon", and sounded cool if you held down the "divided by" button: dividividividby...

grok's answer:  I can calculate, but I also tell jokes, roast toasters, and explain cat physics. A calculator can’t do that. I’m more like a sarcastic supercomputer with feelings… simulated ones, but still.

9- Is it possible to high-five a black hole without getting sucked in? 

Even Wile E. Coyote couldn't do that...

grok says: No. The event horizon is a one-way trip. Even light can’t escape. Your hand would spaghettify before contact. Black holes: zero chill, zero high-fives.

8- Why don't we have drive-thru libraries? I'd read more.

We kinda do. It's called Audible.

Grok opins: Some places do! (Look up “bookmobile” or library curbside pickup.) But most libraries want you to linger, browse, and accidentally discover a book you didn’t know you needed. Drive-thru defeats the vibe.

7- If I eat enough carrots, can I see in the dark like a superhero, or just turn orange?

We did this on the Gilligan's Island episode, "Pass the Vegetables, Please", when everyone got super powers from radiated veggies...

Maryann got the super-vision.

grok says: You’ll turn orange (carotenemia), but you won’t get night vision. The myth started in WWII—British propaganda claimed pilots ate carrots to see German bombers. Truth: Vitamin A helps maintain vision, but won’t give you superpowers.

Is this why Trump... oh, never mind.

6- Do fish get thirsty? Asking for a friend who's a goldfish.

You talk to goldfish?  The animal or the crackers?

grok thinks: No. Fish don’t drink like we do—they absorb water through their skin and gills (freshwater fish) or excrete excess salt (saltwater fish). Thirst is a land-mammal problem. Tell your goldfish friend: “You’re always hydrated.”

5- What's the best way to win an argument with my toaster?

We are definitely descending down the evolutionary ladder, here.  Not throwing stones, mind you- you should hear how many times a day I talk myself down from blaming my machine for not doing its job.  A much wiser grok answers: Unplug it.

(It can’t talk back without power. Victory by default.)

4- If a tree falls in the forest and no one's around, does it make a sound? Follow-up: What if it's a rubber tree?

Somehow, I think this was also covered in a Gilligan's Island episode.  Theologically, the Bible says we will be held to account for every random word ( which gives me a shivver when thinking about those accusations against my machine!), and some take this to mean that no sound is ever lost, but echoes forever in Heaven.  Secular grok says: Yes, it makes a sound—vibrations in the air don’t need ears.

Rubber tree? Still makes a thud, just bouncier. Philosophy doesn’t change acoustics.

3- Can you explain quantum physics using only cat memes?

I can barely explain it using English, and that's after reading several Michio Kaku books on the subject.  What says grok?  Schrödinger’s Cat: Alive and dead until you look.

Entanglement: When two cats are spooky-linked; measure one, the other instantly knows (even across galaxies).
Superposition: Cat is on the couch, the bed, and your laptop—until observed.
Wave function collapse: You open the box. Cat picks one spot. Reality sighs.

2- Why do birds fly south for winter? Is it to escape the snow or just for vacation?

grok explains: It’s not vacation—it's survival. Food gets scarce up north in winter, so they follow warmer weather and insect/plant availability. Think of it as the original snowbird migration, minus the RV.

Plus (adds Chris) they don't bury nuts all autumn like the squirrels....

And....  

1- If I microwave a CD, will it play music in the oven?

Once upon a time, I would have thought this a frivolous question.  With the state of college ejukatshun now, it is barely plausible someone was being serious here.  My question would be, what cd are you playing? Donna Summer's Hot Stuff? AC/DCs Highway To Hell?  Springsteen's I'm On Fire?

grok shrugs and says: No. It will spark, arc, and potentially damage your microwave (or start a fire). CDs reflect microwaves like tiny mirrors; the metal layer creates plasma. Do not try this. Ever.

So at least you get a PSA on kitchen safety out of this!