Odds and Ends — 19 January 2022
Cryptocurrency, Investing, Money, Economy, and Debt:
Land Prices Surge on Cardano “Metaverse” Project Pavia
An Indonesian 22-year-old makes $1M by selling NFT selfies on OpenSea
US Airline Lobbying Group Warns Of 'Catastrophic Disruptions' Upon 5G Rollout
This one might be worth keeping an eye on. 5G is already up and running in parts of Europe near airports, but on a slightly different part of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Coronavirus News, Analysis, and Opinion:
SCOTUS Refuses to Block Mask Mandate on Airplanes
Neil Gorsuch is the only Supreme Court justice who refuses to wear a mask to protect Sonia Sotomayor, who has diabetes.
— Middle Age Riot (@middleageriot) January 18, 2022
Biggest Asshole on the Bench is quite an accomplishment when your competition includes Thomas, Alito, Barrett, and Kavanaugh.
Politics:
US weighs more military support for Ukraine to resist Russia if it invades
Really? Very straightforward to do so before a Russian invasion, but significantly more difficult in the wake of an invasion. The Russian Air Force would likely rule the skies, dominating the much smaller Ukrainian Air Force. And the Russian Black Sea fleet would be able to interdict ships bound for Odessa. Overland? Ukraine has borders with four NATO members with Poland being the most likely conduit. But there are only three major (4+ lanes) highways connecting the two countries, a half-dozen or so other paved highways and only a few rail crossings. It probably wouldn’t take a huge number of Russian paratroopers to secure those choke points.
This historic indictment creates an enormous incentive for the defendants to cooperate with the government…
He’s either incompetent or lying, take your pick: Nobody warned me drinks event was against rules - Boris Johnson
Blinken Will Travel to Ukraine
Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Berlin and Kyiv to rally allies after a week of stalled negotiations meant to head off a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine.
People Stonewalling Voting Rights Post MLK Day Tributes And Somehow Aren’t Taken Seriously
Mandatory Olympics App Has Glaring Security Hole
A smartphone app that athletes and others attending next month’s Winter Games in Beijing must install has glaring security problems that could expose sensitive data to interception.
China is requiring all international Olympic attendees — including coaches and journalists — to download and start using the app 14 days before their departure.
Matt Gaetz’s Ex-Girlfriend Granted Immunity by Prosecutors
Rudy Giuliani Among Trump Allies Subpoenaed
The House committee investigating the Capitol insurrection issued a new batch of subpoenas Tuesday to some of Donald Trump’s closet advisers, including Rudy Giuliani, as the committee inches closer to the former president.
The committee is continuing to widen its scope into Trump’s orbit, this time demanding information and testimony from Giuliani, Jenna Ellis, Sidney Powell and Boris Epshteyn.
Herschel Walker Follows Porn Stars on Instagram
A review of Senate candidate Herschel Walker’s (R) Instagram account shows he follows several accounts with links to racy material.
One of the accounts has a name not suitable for a family newsletter. Several others also have accounts on OnlyFans, a social media platform popular with porn stars.
Meh. If “conservative” Georgia Republicans don’t seem to not care about Walker’s history of domestic abuse allegations, why would porn bother them? Probably a non-issue in the party primary.
Eric Trump and Kimberly Guilfoyle's phone records subpoenaed by January 6 committee
The House committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol has subpoenaed and obtained records of phone numbers associated with one of former President Donald Trump's children, Eric Trump, as well as Kimberly Guilfoyle, who is engaged to Donald Trump Jr., sources tell CNN.
It appears to be the first time the select committee has issued a subpoena that targeted a member of the Trump family, in what marks a significant escalation of the investigation into Trump's role in the January 6 insurrection.
Oh, the joys of Schadenfreude.
Serendipity:
It’s not a Karl Marx world of alienation. It’s a Groucho Marx world of alienation.
Since everything in modern society, including our national infrastructure (e.g. water, electricity, fuel and communications), is controlled and administered through information systems, any crippling of the latter will have a dire consequences for civilization as we know it.
Meme credit: VerzeihTurncoat (source)
That is a lot of info to go through.
As a gamer and fan of shifts in balance of power, I am watching the Microsoft purchase closely.
The one article that grabs my attention most immediately is the Ukraine one. Has the USA/NATO not learned any lessons about propping up faltering governments by throwing military equipment at them? How could Russia not see this as an outright hostile maneuver? Knowing their lust for controlling as many warm water ports as possible, there is no way that will end gracefully without an escalation.
Hope things are well old friend. Thanks for the news!