Water

Jun. 18th, 2025 06:14 pm
ranunculus: (Default)
[personal profile] ranunculus
It is summer so there is water news.   Cody put the cows in the pasture around the house about a week and a half ago.  For the first few days they didn't come up to the house at all, and instead got their water out of the stream, which is still running. Two good water years in a row have filled up all the aquifers.  A few days ago cows started hiking up the hill to the house and drinking out of the trough.  A herd of thirsty cows can drink a lot of water, and I always begin to get nervous about the system.  It seemed like a pretty sure thing that the springs would need a good cleanup -- and they did.  I haven't even been up to the springs for at least a year. They are about a mile up the road from the house, on the terribly steep slopes of a canyon.  There is a drive up the hill and then a walk along a trail cut into a really, really steep slope and a scramble up a slope that it is easy just to slide back down.   
The "good" spring was dribbling a tiny trickle into the cistern.  This was unsurprising since it regularly gets buried in mud and gravel. The cistern is a section of concrete pipe set upright in the ground.  It has holes drilled in the sides to let the water in. A plastic pipe pokes into the side low down to carry the water down the hill.  To work properly the outside walls of the cistern need to be cleared so the water can flow into the holes.  I undid the plastic pipe joint below the spring so mud wouldn't flow down the pipes and into our tanks. There was about 3 inches of fine mud to remove from inside the cistern, and lots of mud and gravel to dig out around it. My tools were: an old aluminum spatula that I think was meant for ice cream; and a tiny sauce pan which is ideal for scooping up mud and throwing it downhill.  Eventually water began pouring in at a brisk clip.  The next cleanouts were three tiny seeps  just to the right of the "good" spring.  They were flowing well too.   With those finished I scrambled up the terribly steep slope to the 2nd best spring.  Last year it never was cleaned.  This year a clog had formed in the pipe and the whole cistern was full of water.  My t-shirt got wet as I reached in and groped around for the plastic pipe. It was under more than 2 feet of water.  Again I took the pipe apart at a joint a few feet below the spring, so any material blocking the pipe wouldn't  block things up further down.  Suddenly a great jet of water shot out and the cistern quickly drained.  Once the mud had settled, the pipes went back together and I had quite a flow of water.  I was happy with the outcome, though I might go back up in a week or so to see how things are holding. 
The hill up to tanks where water is stored is really, really steep, just like the canyon walls.  Made it all the way up without stopping, and found we had 1/3 of a "tank" of water.  Actually the water was up to the 1/3 mark on all three of the active tanks.  3 1/2 hours later we had gained 8" of water in the tanks. That is a lot. By tomorrow they should be full.   
  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry

it picks me up, puts me down

Jun. 19th, 2025 12:34 am
[syndicated profile] wwdn_feed

Posted by Wil

https://wilwheaton.net/2025/06/it-picks-me-up-puts-me-down/

https://wilwheaton.net/?p=9583

I’ve been open and unashamed about my mental health struggles and triumphs, always willing to talk about my CPTSD, always willing to supportively listen when someone chooses to share their experience with me.

I make this choice every day, because I am doing my best to be the person I need in the world. I need people who are kind and compassionate, who are willing to share their struggles and victories in a way that validates my own experiences. I make this choice so that maybe I can be the person I need, for someone I will never meet, the way people like Jenny Lawson, or Gabe and Tycho from Penny Arcade were for me, when I was beginning my healing journey.

It’s in that spirit that I’m writing today. This is sort of a general update on how that journey is going, and a look at where I am, with some thoughts on how I got here.

So, broadly and generally speaking, I’m doing great! I mean, everything in the whole world is terrible, but the little bit of reality that’s being rendered around me at any given moment is pretty great. I’m healthy and safe, my family is healthy and safe, I have all the work I need, I have time and space for activities.

But … the chaos, cruelty, rage, and unpredictability coming out of the White House is identical to what I experienced growing up1 and holy shit has that activated a lot of stuff for my body to remember.

For the two weeks or so that preceded Sunday, I woke up to intense anxiety every morning, before I was even fully awake and aware of anything. It was really unpleasant, but at least I knew that it was nervous system dysregulation2, and I have a lot of skills I can use to help my nervous system get back into a parasympathetic, resting, state. I’m grateful that I know what to do, but my god did I wish I didn’t have to do it every morning at the start of my day.3

Then, Sunday, I woke up like Frodo in Rivendell, and I have, every morning since. I don’t feel tight and clenched in my chest. I haven’t sweat through my pajamas and woken up shivering. I have had peace and warmth and gentle calm.

And the thing is, I didn’t know when this would happen, but I knew that it would. This sort of nervous system freakout thing tends to happen when I’ve been working hard to reprocess one or more specific traumas, and I’m really close to closing a circle on my imaginary trauma healing watch. It’s like my body doesn’t realize, yet, that I’m safe and I’m now, and it needs to be gently coaxed out of dysregulation.

I’ve closed a few metaphorical circles over the years since I started EMDR and IFS therapy, and I have had some version of this experience each time. When it does, I imagine a drawing of my body, like from one of those old Disney SCIENCE IS FUN cartoons. In some places, there is fear and anxiety.4 In others, confusion5. Depending on how old I am in the drawing, there’s anger and resentment6. And all around these memories, connected to each of them, is sadness and loss. Over time, as I’ve worked so hard to heal from the abuse of my emotionally immature, toxic parents, those pieces I see in the drawing have faded away, eventually joining together in lingering loss and sadness.

And honestly, I’m okay with that. It’s okay to feel sad. It’s okay to acknowledge the loss. I hasten to clarify that this took literal years of work. When I first began to see all the sadness, it was like looking into infinity. When I first felt the enormity and profundity of the loss, it was free falling into an abyss. There were a lot of stops and starts as I learned how to regulate it, how to reprocess it in a way that wasn’t overwhelming.

Again, not easy. Again, years. Again, worth it.

Now, listen, I am not a doctor and I have no professional experience or education. I’m just sharing my experience. But if you see something familiar, I encourage you to look into what nervous system dysregulation is, and learn some of the techniques we use to calm our bodies down when they aren’t on the same page as our mind, our soul, our Self.

A few resources I value include

There’s a somatic component to emotional healing and trauma recovery that I didn’t expect. It’s only recently that my emotional self and my physical self have started to work in harmony, and that wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t know that the somatic part existed. It’s taken such a long time, and though the work is ongoing, I hope that someone who needs to know that they aren’t alone sees this. I hope this helps on your own healing journey.

Thanks for reading my blog. If you would like to get these updates in your email, here’s a thing:

Take care of yourselves, friends, and take care of each other.

  1. My father’s rage, my mother’s fear, and the tension between them was so thick in the air, it was suffocating. I never knew what was coming down the hallway, or through the front door. Would dad be mean to me, or would he just ignore me? Would mom and dad fight so ferociously that it ends with my mom kicking another hole in another cabinet? We’re running out of towels to hang over the ones that are already there. I’m going to put headphones on and turn them up as loud as they can go because that’s the only way to escape the yelling and arguing that vibrates through the walls into my bedroom. ↩︎
  2. For decades, I had panic attacks every night when I was falling asleep. More often than not, I had night terrors, these vaguely remembered nightmares that had no images or other senses associated with them, just pure terror. When it was really bad, they happened more than once a night and the only reason I stayed asleep was after I’d cried myself to sleep in exhaustion. Trying to escape them was a big part of my alcohol abuse. I’m so grateful that doesn’t happen anymore. ↩︎
  3. And it still kind of lingered with me throughout the day, you know? It was a lot. ↩︎
  4. Oh, imagine that Professor Duck guy, giving a lecture at a chalkboard. ↩︎
  5. Why is he so mean to me? Why won’t she just let me be a kid? Why won’t they love me like they love my brother and sister? ↩︎
  6. Or, there was. The healing ring I am most proud of closing, the one that was the key to closing so many others, was this one. When I realized that my anger was no longer a shield that protected me, but something else entirely that only caused me pain, it was astonishingly easy to find it, coax it out, validate it, and send it on its way. There isn’t any anger in my drawing now. Where it used to be is something that is almost indifference. ↩︎

https://wilwheaton.net/2025/06/it-picks-me-up-puts-me-down/

https://wilwheaton.net/?p=9583

  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry

War for Ukraine Day 1,210: The Cost

Jun. 18th, 2025 11:26 pm
[syndicated profile] balloon_juice_feed

Posted by Adam L Silverman

https://balloon-juice.com/2025/06/18/war-for-ukraine-day-1210-the-cost/

https://balloon-juice.com/?p=426926

A painting by Ukrainian artist NEIVANMADE. The words "NEVER AGAIN" are repeated over and over, from left to right and top to bottom, in a faded, washed out black against a white background. Red, the color of blood, runs and drips down across 2/3rds of the painting. "WHILE YOU TOLERATE TYRANTS" is written/painted in the bottom white corner below the three rows of "NEVER AGAIN".

The pollen counts here are out of control and my sinuses are killing me, so I’m just going to run down the basics tonight.

The cost:

We all prayed for Dmytro Isaenko, 31, as his parents watched, helpless, in front of the collapsed building, waiting for firefighters to find him under the rubble yesterday.

The miracle didn’t happen. Dmytro’s body was found later that evening.

[image or embed]

— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) June 18, 2025 at 7:02 AM

Twenty-four innocent lives cut short by russia — again.
And the world’s most powerful, who could stop this horror, are either fueling it by choice… or frozen in fear and moral paralysis.
This bankruptcy will not bring peace.
It will multiply wars. And deaths.

[image or embed]

— Olena Halushka (@halushka.bsky.social) June 18, 2025 at 4:35 AM

Death toll from Russia’s missile and drone attack overnight on Monday-Tuesday has climbed to at least 30 people killed, 188 injured, says the State Emergency Service of Ukraine. On Kyiv, 28 killed, 134 injured; 23 victims killed in the strike on a nine-story building in Solomyansky district alone.

[image or embed]

— Christopher Miller (@christopherjm.ft.com) June 18, 2025 at 10:13 AM

An Odessa family who traveled to Israel for their critically ill child’s treatment was killed during an Iranian missile attack.

On the night of June 14, one of Iran’s ballistic missiles struck a residential building in Bat Yam, near Tel Aviv.

[image or embed]

— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) June 18, 2025 at 9:08 AM

The family had only been living in the building for a few months, and their trip to Israel was a last hope for their child’s recovery.

The victims were identified as 30-year-old Maria Peshkuryova, her 7-year-old daughter Nastia Buryk, who was undergoing treatment for a severe form of cancer,

[image or embed]

— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) June 18, 2025 at 9:08 AM

Maria’s 60-year-old mother Olena, and two nephews, 9-year-old Kostiantyn and 7-year-old Illia.

Nastia’s father, a soldier, remained in Ukraine serving in the military while simultaneously raising funds for his daughter’s treatment.

[image or embed]

— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) June 18, 2025 at 9:08 AM

These are some of the unintended cascading effects of the Israel-Iran war of 2025.

President Zelenskyy did not make an address today, nor hold a press conference.

Symbolic equation: G7 -Trump +Zelensky = ?

[image or embed]

— Euan MacDonald (@euanmacdonald.bsky.social) June 18, 2025 at 4:07 AM

Georgia:

Day 203 of continuous protests in Georgia.

#GeorgiaProtests

[image or embed]

— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) June 18, 2025 at 3:16 PM

Day 203 of uninterrupted #GeorgiaProtests

Georgia is in a protracted painful process of a new society, new civil contract being formed. But no one plans on giving up. 1/

📷 MOSE

[image or embed]

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) June 18, 2025 at 3:43 PM

You can help us avoid costs that can be avoided by targeted sanctions that hurt them, as well as non-engagement with the regime, calls for free and fair Parliamentary elections, and aiding the democratic sector as much as possible. 2/2.

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) June 18, 2025 at 3:43 PM

1/ MEPs expressed solidarity with Mzia Amaglobeli, the founder of “Batumelebi” and “Netgazeti”, as well as with other political prisoners.

[image or embed]

— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) June 18, 2025 at 6:23 AM

2/ The European Parliament will hold a debate on Mzia Amaglobeli today. The discussion will also address media freedom in Georgia. A vote on a resolution with the same title will take place tomorrow, June 19.

Photo: Tamar Nutsubidze/Euroscope

— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) June 18, 2025 at 6:23 AM

🔴 Mzia Amaglobeli fined again over Jan 11 protest – placing a poster removed momentarily.

After a 1st fine for “insulting police,” now gets a 2nd – for “distorting city appearance”.

Administrative offense case is used to justify her pre-trial detention on trumped-up charges of “attacking police.”

[image or embed]

— Batumelebi&Netgazeti (@netgazeti.org) June 18, 2025 at 8:39 AM

🔴 MEP @lenaats.bsky.social soke about Mzia Amaglobeli during the debate in European Parliament, where the situation of the Georgian media – and Mzia Amaglobeli’s case in particular – was addressed as a human rights emergency.

#FreeMzia
#GeorgiaProtest
#MediaUnderAttack

[image or embed]

— Batumelebi&Netgazeti (@netgazeti.org) June 18, 2025 at 2:36 PM

MEP Małgorzata Gosiewska about the situation in #Georgia and Mzia Amaghlobeli during the debate in @europarl.europa.eu, where the situation of the Georgian media – and Mzia Amaglobeli’s case in particular – was addressed.
#FreeMzia
#RepressionInGeorgia
#GeorgiaProtests

[image or embed]

— Batumelebi&Netgazeti (@netgazeti.org) June 18, 2025 at 3:30 PM

🗣“Media freedom is not a luxury, it is a democratic necessity; it shines the light where corruption and autocracy hide – and that is precisely why Georgian authorities have imprisoned Mzia Amaglobeli, one of the country’s most respected journalists, for 150 days now,” – MEP Tobias Cramer.
#FreeMzia

[image or embed]

— Batumelebi&Netgazeti (@netgazeti.org) June 18, 2025 at 3:54 PM

🗣 “We need to talk about us – the EU. I do not understand the silence from the @eucouncil.bsky.social, the member states, and the High Representative’s Office. Mzia and her friends deserve respect and help,” – MEP @rjukneviciene.bsky.social in the @europarl.europa.eu.

#FreeMzia
#RepressionInGeorgia

[image or embed]

— Batumelebi&Netgazeti (@netgazeti.org) June 18, 2025 at 4:15 PM

🗣“Anything that annoys the govt is a ‘deep state’..

to change this narrative we need to ensure that there is professional, true journalism made by professionals like Mzia Amaglobeli. That’s the only way to counter the fantasies of the authoritarian regime,” – @nachosamor.bsky.social.

#FreeMzia

[image or embed]

— Batumelebi&Netgazeti (@netgazeti.org) June 18, 2025 at 4:51 PM

Creeping total control. I suspect that the regime has information on everyone anyway, they are simply using the demand to hand over information to persecute CSOs.

[image or embed]

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) June 18, 2025 at 4:55 AM

Finland:

“Russia is building a garrison in Kandalaksha for an artillery brigade. This is the first concrete sign of a permanent increase in the number of troops near the Finnish border,” Yle reported.
yle.fi/a/74-20168262

[image or embed]

— Iryna Voichuk (@irynavoichuk.bsky.social) June 18, 2025 at 4:31 PM

From Yle:

New satellite images obtained by Yle show how Russia began extensive construction work last winter in a closed military town, across the border from Finnish Lapland.

Major excavation work has been carried out and several new buildings have been erected at the Lupche-Savino garrison, which is part of the town of Kandalaksha.

According to the Murmansk regional administration, a military town is being built for a new artillery brigade and its personnel. In addition, Russia is also planning to station at least part of an engineer brigade at the site. In recent years, the Russian military has only used the same area for storage.

No information about the construction work at the Lupche-Savino garrison has previously been reported outside of Russia.

The satellite images obtained by Yle also reveal changes at Russian military sites on the Karelian Isthmus. New equipment can especially be seen at the Sapyornoye garrison, located in the area of the former Sakkola municipality.

In addition, Russia has continued military preparations in Petrozavodsk, the largest city in the Republic of Karelia.

In this article, we show the most significant changes that have taken place at these three military sites over the past winter.

Russia has two reasons to increase military activity near Finland. The first and more urgent reason is to train military personnel and service older equipment so it can be used for the war in Ukraine.

This is evident from Yle’s earlier findings based on satellite images, such as the emptying of the Alakurtti garrison, the construction of equipment halls in Alakurtti and Petrozavodsk, and the setting up of a large tent camp on the Karelian Isthmus.

In contrast, the new satellite images from Lupche-Savino obtained by Yle are evidence of a new and different development: Russia is seeking to permanently reinforce its troops specifically along the border with Finland.

According to one military expert, the scale of the construction project shows Russia feels the need to strengthen its military in the region.

“If the sole purpose was to send the troops to Ukraine, there would of course be no need for such infrastructure there,” says Marko Eklund, who analysed the satellite images for Yle.

Retired Major Eklund had a long career in Finnish military intelligence and has monitored the Russian armed forces for over 20 years.

Much more at the link including imagery.

The US:

She’s running. Former US ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink — who resigned in protest of Trump’s policy of putting pressure on Kyiv instead of Moscow to end Russia’s war — formally announces her run to challenge Rep. Tom Barrett for Michigan’s 7th Congressional District seat.

[image or embed]

— Christopher Miller (@christopherjm.ft.com) June 18, 2025 at 11:08 AM

The Times reports that NATO changed the format of President Zelensky’s participation at the summit in The Hague because of Trump.
www.thetimes.com/article/83cc…

[image or embed]

— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) June 18, 2025 at 1:09 PM

From The Times:

“Short and sweet” is the plan for next week’s Nato summit, which will be tailored to President Trump’s limited attention span and the need to avoid outbursts and gaffes.

The alliance meets at the Hague next Tuesday to set ambitious new defence spending targets for national governments and it will be a brief affair to handle Trump, who is unpredictable and impatient with long meetings.

Usually, the Nato summit format is built around three meetings, each lasting two and half hours, focused on geopolitics and strategy. Next week’s gathering will be only one session of two and a half hours.

A summit communique, setting out Nato spending targets, will be a mere five paragraphs on one sheet of A4 paper. Last year’s meeting in Washington ran to a 44-paragraph declaration, a chunky 5,400 words long.

“It is about keeping the summit focused, short and sweet,” a diplomat said. “Trump can be impatient and has — [he has] said it himself — a short attention span. The shorter the better.”

Mark Rutte, the Nato secretary-general and former Dutch prime minister, is determined to keep to a focus on one single decision to raise Nato defence spending to a 5 per cent target.

Officials and diplomats organising the summit are hoping to learn from this weekend’s G7 when Trump left early before then firing social media broadsides at other leaders.

“Will there be a late night or early morning Truth Social bombshell if he has a summit snit?” said one alliance diplomat. According to the summit programme, Trump will not hold a press conference with Rutte as is conventional.

The spending decision will be presented as a triumph for Trump personally after decades of lectures from American presidents to European allies.

Targets of 3.5 per cent for core military spending and a further 1.5 per cent for “defence-related” budgets have been agreed by wrangling continue over eating the target date, whether it should be by 2032 or, as Sir Keir Starmer and many others prefer, 2035.

Preserving Nato’s fragile unity at a time when Trump’s administration has called America’s role as primary security guarantor of the alliance into question is as important as increased defence spending, Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign affairs chief said.

“Today, against Nato and the EU, Russia doesn’t stand a chance. But we must stick together,” she told MEPs on Wednesday. “When Nato leaders meet next week, keeping unity in the alliance is as much a priority as spending more on defence.”

President Zelensky is invited but with a diplomatic demotion to avoid any awkward encounters with Trump, who has clashed with Ukraine’s leader in the past.

A source in the Ukrainian presidency confirmed that Zelensky was scheduled to participate in person at the summit, but added: “The decision will be made on the eve of the summit. This is just the schedule.” The source described the meeting as “an opportunity to maintain support and promote a ceasefire”.

The Ukrainian president will also be at a dinner hosted by the Dutch king on Tuesday night.

A summit text will continue to describe Russia as a “direct threat” but will not repeat previous declarations that Ukraine has an “irreversible” path to Nato membership.

The U.S. Embassy in Ukraine responded to Russia’s massive attack on Kyiv, calling it a “senseless attack” that contradicts President Trump’s call to stop the killing and end the war.

[image or embed]

— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) June 18, 2025 at 6:36 AM

Back to Ukraine.

Today, Ukraine passed a law allowing dual citizenship. It is an important step that could finally resolve the long-standing challenges foreign volunteer fighters face in gaining citizenship.

[image or embed]

— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) June 18, 2025 at 11:14 AM

21 interceptions of Russian drones of which a lot of are loitering munitions. Also, in the entire time up to June 1, 2025, only 15 interceptions of Russian Gerbera drones using FPV were documented. And in the first 18 days of June 2025 alone, 22 videos of Gerbera interceptions were published.

[image or embed]

— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) June 18, 2025 at 1:00 PM

It was reported as a launch of a Kalibr cruise missile from Novorossiysk targeting sites in Ukraine.

Perhaps soon we’ll see some unidentified drones pay a visit there.

[image or embed]

— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) June 18, 2025 at 3:29 PM

Siversk, Donetsk Oblast:

🦾🇺🇦 The Force of Freedom battalion of the 4th Rubizh Brigade of the National Guard repelled a well-planned Russian assault with a large number of armored vehicles near Siversk.
Professional and very effective work of our guys! 🔥

[image or embed]

— Vitalis Viva (@vitalisviva.bsky.social) June 18, 2025 at 10:01 AM

Donetsk Oblast:

🕊🇺🇦 Another Ukrainian drone has filmed the moment when an FPV drone shot down a Russian Orlan UAV in Donetsk region,” reports the 1129th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment of Bila Tserkva.

[image or embed]

— Vitalis Viva (@vitalisviva.bsky.social) June 18, 2025 at 10:01 AM

Strike drones from the 413rd Battalion of the Special Purpose Service critically damaged a rare and expensive Russian “Yastreb-AV” radar system in Donetsk region. Most sources cite a cost of approximately $250 million per system.

[image or embed]

— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) June 18, 2025 at 11:47 AM

Andriivka:

In the Andriivka area, an assault group from the 1st Assault Battalion “Black Swan” of the 225th Separate Assault Regiment reached the command post of the 30th Motorized Rifle Regiment of the Russian army.

Inside was the battalion commander — Major Yartsev. He was eliminated during the assault.

[image or embed]

— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) June 18, 2025 at 6:28 AM

Zaporizhzhia:

Surveillance cameras recorded six UAV strikes on market stalls in Zaporizhzhia.
According to Russia, these are probably also considered part of Ukraine’s military-industrial complex.

[image or embed]

— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) June 18, 2025 at 5:35 AM

Vladivostok, Russia:

Spiegel reports that an EU diplomat was assaulted in Vladivostok, and the attackers may have been FSB agents. The woman was on an official mission in Russia, accompanied by a French colleague. They had planned to visit EU consulates.
www.spiegel.de/ausland/russ…

[image or embed]

— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) June 18, 2025 at 10:09 AM

That’s enough for tonight.

Your daily Patron!

There are no new Patron skeets or videos tonight. Here is some adjacent material.

Did I show you the ukrainian SES rescue dogs that help search for people under the rubble

[image or embed]

— Mira of Kyiv 🇺🇦 (@reshetz.bsky.social) June 17, 2025 at 3:30 PM

Open thread!

The post War for Ukraine Day 1,210: The Cost appeared first on Balloon Juice.

https://balloon-juice.com/2025/06/18/war-for-ukraine-day-1210-the-cost/

https://balloon-juice.com/?p=426926

  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry

waspuppet – June 14, Washington, DC

Jun. 18th, 2025 10:30 pm
[syndicated profile] balloon_juice_feed

Posted by WaterGirl

https://balloon-juice.com/2025/06/18/on-the-road-waspuppet-june-14-washington-dc/

https://balloon-juice.com/?p=426731

I was going to go to Philadelphia to march with a friend and his family and spend the rest of the weekend there, but when Kim Don Il belched his threat about very big force I said F no I’m staying. I would’ve stood in Dupont Circle by myself with a sign for 15 minutes if I’d had to, but there was in fact a march in DC proper. This is a city, not a ball pit for that toddler to roll around in.

The post waspuppet – June 14, Washington, DC appeared first on Balloon Juice.

https://balloon-juice.com/2025/06/18/on-the-road-waspuppet-june-14-washington-dc/

https://balloon-juice.com/?p=426731

  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry

(no subject)

Jun. 18th, 2025 05:13 pm
ursula: bear eating salmon (Default)
[personal profile] ursula
North Continent Ribbon is shortlisted for the 2025 Ursula K. Le Guin prize, along with Rakesfall, Sapling Cage, The City in Glass, and a bunch of other fascinating-looking books I haven't read yet.

I am so, so, so thrilled.
Tags:
  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry

Ceci n est pas mon nym – No Kings protest in Media, PA

Jun. 18th, 2025 09:00 pm
[syndicated profile] balloon_juice_feed

Posted by WaterGirl

https://balloon-juice.com/2025/06/18/on-the-road-ceci-n-est-pas-mon-nym-no-kings-protest-in-media-pa/

https://balloon-juice.com/?p=426674

Here are my photos from Media, PA, the county seat of Delaware County in the western suburbs of Philly. I thought there were about 1000 people right around the courthouse when I got there at 11:30 (rally was scheduled to start at noon). By the time it started, the speakers said it was extending for 3-4 blocks, so perhaps somewhere north of 3000 people.

Better photos and description here at the Delco Times, Opening sentence of that article, “Thousands gathered Saturday…”

It was a peaceful, nonviolent (but angry as we all are angry) crowd. The only friction with the police was that as the courthouse square filled up, people were spilling onto and blocking the street. But after pleas from the speakers’ podium, that was settled quickly and they thanked the police at the end.

I had the impulse to get a small flag which I incorporated into my sign (it looks like it was written by an un-artistic 5-year-old, so I’m not showing it). My message was “My country has NO KINGS”. Many people had brought and were waving flags, and the rally opened with the Star-Spangled Banner and a Pledge of Allegiance.

There was a light mist falling so you see umbrellas and raincoats in some of the shots.

 

The post Ceci n est pas mon nym – No Kings protest in Media, PA appeared first on Balloon Juice.

https://balloon-juice.com/2025/06/18/on-the-road-ceci-n-est-pas-mon-nym-no-kings-protest-in-media-pa/

https://balloon-juice.com/?p=426674

  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry

Open Thread: Local Dem Officials Resisting ICE

Jun. 18th, 2025 08:32 pm
[syndicated profile] balloon_juice_feed

Posted by Anne Laurie

https://balloon-juice.com/2025/06/18/open-thread-local-dem-officials-resisting-ice/

https://balloon-juice.com/?p=426915

Padilla said Trump is on a "tour of retribution" in his first floor speech since he was handcuffed at Noem's press briefing last week.

[image or embed]

— Politico (@politico.com) June 17, 2025 at 4:08 PM


===

Padilla gave this speech on the floor pretty much as the news of Brad Lander's arrest in New York was breaking. Two Democratic lawmakers tackled and handcuffed by federal law enforcement in the span of a week.

[image or embed]

— Nikki McCann Ramírez (@nikkimcr.bsky.social) June 17, 2025 at 1:21 PM


===

The same people demanding you present a photo ID to vote are perfectly fine with letting you be arrested, handcuffed & thrown into a van by armed men wearing plain clothes, face masks & presenting no identification of any sort.

— Charles Gaba ?? (@charlesgaba.com) June 18, 2025 at 1:48 AM


===

Not an original point but worth saying again – there is not a single element in this picture that identifies any of these folks as law enforcement agents. No badges, no uniforms, no vests. Out of context it just looks like a bunch of random guys are kidnapping a mayoral candidate.

[image or embed]

— Jeff Lazarus (@jlazarus.bsky.social) June 17, 2025 at 2:21 PM


===

I would add, that the fact the GOP is acting the way they are is being treated by the DC political press corps as though this is actually strategically good for them, when, in fact, it probably isn't.

— Dennis Yedwab (@dennisyedwab.bsky.social) June 17, 2025 at 10:13 PM


===

So @whitneycwimbish.bsky.social did a writeup of Brad Lander's arrest today at 26 Federal Plaza in NYC, focusing not just on Lander's treatment, but the treatment of immigrants inside, both in the courtroom and once they are detained.
prospect.org/justice/2025…

[image or embed]

— David Dayen (@ddayen.bsky.social) June 17, 2025 at 7:56 PM


===

WATCH: NYC comptroller Brad Lander says he sat in a detention room for 3.5 hours without hearing a word about why he was arrested.
"They knew who I was. There's no doubt they knew I was the comptroller."

[image or embed]

— All In with Chris Hayes (@allinwithchris.bsky.social) June 17, 2025 at 8:36 PM


===

We will all be worse off if we let Donald Trump and his fascist regime undermine the rule of law.

[image or embed]

— Brad Lander (@bradlander.bsky.social) June 18, 2025 at 12:27 AM


===

The post Open Thread: Local Dem Officials Resisting ICE appeared first on Balloon Juice.

https://balloon-juice.com/2025/06/18/open-thread-local-dem-officials-resisting-ice/

https://balloon-juice.com/?p=426915

  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry

NaijaGal – No Kings Protest in Marina del Rey/Playa Vista, California

Jun. 18th, 2025 08:30 pm
[syndicated profile] balloon_juice_feed

Posted by WaterGirl

https://balloon-juice.com/2025/06/18/on-the-road-naijagal-no-kings-protest-in-marina-del-reyplaya-vista-california/

https://balloon-juice.com/?p=426707

Pictures from a No Kings protest on the other side of Los Angeles, far from downtown but still in the city of Los Angeles proper (corner of Lincoln and Jefferson Blvds). The organizers estimated that about 1,500 to 2,000 showed up over the course of the afternoon. Includes a shot of my friend’s TACO t-shirt, which she had made specially. A lot of people liked it! Our other (African American) friend briefly considered joining us but she is still “resting and not protesting” and I respect that decision.

There were three Jesuit priests (I assume from Loyola Marymount U, but I’m not sure) at our protest. I laughed watching their faces at some of the chants, but they stayed a long time and joined the “Immigrants are welcome here” chant.

The post NaijaGal – No Kings Protest in Marina del Rey/Playa Vista, California appeared first on Balloon Juice.

https://balloon-juice.com/2025/06/18/on-the-road-naijagal-no-kings-protest-in-marina-del-reyplaya-vista-california/

https://balloon-juice.com/?p=426707

  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry

Firefly, M

Jun. 18th, 2025 01:18 pm
ranunculus: (Default)
[personal profile] ranunculus
Yesterday morning Firefly and I went for our first real trail ride together.  Carrie  came over on Juno and we rode up the driveway, down Woodcutter's Ridge and then came back the same way.  On the way out Firefly was full of energy and wanted to either walk really fast or trot.  We walked, taking the lead on the trail.  On the way back Firefly was suddenly not so enthusiastic and strolled along.  Very like her, she loves getting out and always wants to do more.  It was a good ride.  Yes she is still pretty green and needs to learn a lot, but she never really put up a fuss. 

In the afternoon M flew in from Alaska. On the way to Santa Rosa to get him I dropped off the pole saw, which is very broken.  It will get a complete tuneup and a quick look at the leaking chain oil chamber.  I also took one of the weed whackers down.  Darren fixed it on the spot, replacing a bent pin that was preventing the knob that selects for Off-Start-Run from working.  The machine also got a new plastic casing, as one part was destroyed.  While chatting with Darren I learned: fuel mix (the oily fluid I mix with gasoline to make two cycle fuel) does not go bad. Yes, I can use that container of fuel mix that is several years old.  Also learned that why one should keep a chain really sharp.  Dull chains drag through the wood heating up both the chainsaw bar and the motor. A sufficiently hot motor warps everything inside it and stops working.   Good sharp chains not only keep the saw cool, but they cut a heck of a lot faster.  I'm SLOWLY learning to hand sharpen chains in a reasonable length of time. 

Chena is very, very glad to have M back.  He plays with her all the time.  I'm happy to have him here too. 
  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry

It’s Been Nearly Four Years With No Ads on Balloon Juice!

Jun. 18th, 2025 08:35 pm
[syndicated profile] balloon_juice_feed

Posted by WaterGirl

https://balloon-juice.com/2025/06/18/its-been-nearly-four-years-with-no-ads-on-balloon-juice/

https://balloon-juice.com/?p=426909

Balloon Juice went ad-free nearly 4 year ago, and I know that I am not the only one who is really happy we did that.

Can we take a quick trip down memory lane so we don’t have to reinvent the wheel?

2021

If you’re the guy whose name is on all the bills, ditching the ads and losing $1,000 a month would have to feel a bit like jumping off a cliff without a net.

So here’s what it will take for me to feel good about having asked John Cole to do just that:

– $6,000 in one-time donations now – that would sit in an account, unused, as a safety net, to take the uncertainty out of the equation for Cole.

– no subscriptions, just recurring donations every month from those who can afford it, to pay for hosting and subscriptions etc.

– we need about $1,000 in recurring donations every month for that.

Safety net

Having the safety net has already helpful, but it’s been a long time since we’ve had a site fundraiser and for various reasons we have been whittling away at the safety net rather than putting up a site fundraising post.

So it would be super helpful if we could put some money back into the safety net, with one-time donations.

You can donate to the safety net with Patreon, Venmo, Zelle, and paper check.  Even PayPal if that’s your preference, but please mark it as personal / gift and not payment for services.

Monthly expenses

We need about $1,000 in recurring monthly donations for the monthly expenses.   Same donation options –  Venmo, Zelle, PayPal, and paper check – except I think Patreon doesn’t allow one-time donations.  (Please mark it as personal / gift and not payment for services.)

Fine tuning!

Not everyone can afford even $5 or $10 a month, but this is a community and those of us who can afford that have been helping make the site better for everyone.

If you have signed up for a monthly donation but you’re in a different financial position than you were when you signed up, please feel free to cancel your monthly donation, with our sincere thanks for having supported the site for nearly a year!

If you keep thinking you’ll set up a monthly donation, but haven’t gotten around to it, or if the timing is right for increasing your donation, this would be a great time to do it.

If you want to support the site with a one-time check, send me an email message I will send you Cole’s address.  (P.O.box)

Memory Lane

In case you want to relive the good times, here’s the post from me on Nov 3, 2021.

Good News: Who Wants a Balloon Juice With No Ads At All?

Followed by this post from John a couple hours later:

So I Guess We are Going Ad Free (With Venting and Explanation)

 

🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo or Zelle

If you have any questions, let me know!

The post It’s Been Nearly Four Years With No Ads on Balloon Juice! appeared first on Balloon Juice.

https://balloon-juice.com/2025/06/18/its-been-nearly-four-years-with-no-ads-on-balloon-juice/

https://balloon-juice.com/?p=426909

  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry

JuJu – No Kings – Albany NY

Jun. 18th, 2025 08:00 pm
[syndicated profile] balloon_juice_feed

Posted by WaterGirl

https://balloon-juice.com/2025/06/18/juju-no-kings-albany-ny/

https://balloon-juice.com/?p=426860

I just got these pictures from one of my nieces. They were taken in Albany NY.

My brother, his wife and some of his daughters are in the picture with the sign that says “Eggs are so expensive because all the chickens are in congress.” My sister in law actually came up with the line. My favorite is the one with the 3D taco. I couldn’t attend this one because of my knee.

JuJu – No Kings – Albany NY JuJu – No Kings – Albany NY 1 JuJu – No Kings – Albany NY 2 JuJu – No Kings – Albany NY 3

The post JuJu – No Kings – Albany NY appeared first on Balloon Juice.

https://balloon-juice.com/2025/06/18/juju-no-kings-albany-ny/

https://balloon-juice.com/?p=426860

  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry

twbrandt – No Kings – Wyandotte, MI

Jun. 18th, 2025 07:15 pm
[syndicated profile] balloon_juice_feed

Posted by WaterGirl

https://balloon-juice.com/2025/06/18/on-the-road-twbrandt-no-kings-wyandotte-mi/

https://balloon-juice.com/?p=426740

I hope it’s not too late to get this in.

Wyandotte is a suburb of Detroit of around 25,000 people, about 10 miles south of it right on the Detroit River.  There were hundreds of protestors lining Biddle Ave, the main drag through Wyandotte. The crowd was mostly older white people, but there were quite a few kids running around looking like they were having a blast.

A couple of my favorite signs:

More queens, no kings! 🏳️‍🌈✊

Foxtrot Delta Tango

 

The post twbrandt – No Kings – Wyandotte, MI appeared first on Balloon Juice.

https://balloon-juice.com/2025/06/18/on-the-road-twbrandt-no-kings-wyandotte-mi/

https://balloon-juice.com/?p=426740

  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry

Open Thread: Golden Words

Jun. 18th, 2025 06:17 pm
[syndicated profile] balloon_juice_feed

Posted by Anne Laurie

https://balloon-juice.com/2025/06/18/open-thread-golden-words/

https://balloon-juice.com/?p=426912

Twenty years ago the Republican party stood for huge tax cuts for the rich and wars of choice in the middle east, but then Donald Trump totally remade the party and realigned American poltiics, and now the Republica party stands for…huge tax cuts for the rich and wars of choice in the middle east.

— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes.bsky.social) June 18, 2025 at 11:48 AM

This is often a feature, not a bug of out of power coalitions.
The benefit of not having the presidency is you don't need to be unified, the party can kind of be whatever it needs to be in whatever race its running. This is part of how you win lots of seats.

[image or embed]

— Schnorkles O'Bork (@schnorkles.bsky.social) June 18, 2025 at 10:35 AM

Yep. The dem coalition is basically "everyone who doesn't love Trump and want to hug and kiss are orange boy."
This is a lot of different people with a lot of very different views, which can be pandered to individually to win races because you don't need a national agenda beyond "Trump bad"

[image or embed]

— Schnorkles O'Bork (@schnorkles.bsky.social) June 18, 2025 at 10:40 AM

(Pretty sure that should read ‘don’t want to hug and kiss our orange boy’)
===

Dems in dis array and dat array

— Chris Labarthe (@chrislabarthe.bsky.social) June 18, 2025 at 10:43 AM

The post Open Thread: Golden Words appeared first on Balloon Juice.

https://balloon-juice.com/2025/06/18/open-thread-golden-words/

https://balloon-juice.com/?p=426912

  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry

Bundle of Horror: Raven

Jun. 18th, 2025 02:25 pm
james_davis_nicoll: (Default)
[personal profile] james_davis_nicoll


Raven: A Gothic Horror RPG – the core rulebook, scenarios, & GM Screen in both English and Spanish versions!

Bundle of Horror: Raven
Tags:
  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry

Things I Can Only See Up North

Jun. 18th, 2025 12:58 pm
jesse_the_k: Flannery Lake is a mirror reflecting reds violets and blues at sunset (Rosy Rhinelander sunset)
[personal profile] jesse_the_k

I’m up near Rhinelander staying on Flannery Lake. I’ll be reveling in 15:45 hours of daylight on the summer solstice. Today there’s zero wind, while the second-growth white, yellow, and red pine trees are pumping out their jizz with enthusiasm. The lime-yellow grains appear darker as they overlay almost every square inch of the water, with wild swirls and eddies that extend many feet off shore until eventually the black surface reflects many puffy cumulus clouds in a light blue sky.

Lovely to look at, but not so great to breathe. At least we're not bedeviled by wildfire smoke.

( click for pic )

Tags:
  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry

All the News That’s Fit To Print Open Thread

Jun. 18th, 2025 04:58 pm
  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry

(no subject)

Jun. 18th, 2025 12:49 pm
white_aster: (dog knight)
[personal profile] white_aster

Via the False Claims Act, NIH Puts Universities on Edge
A funding pause at the University of Michigan illustrates the uncertainty around new language in NIH grant awards.

Sadly, another way in which the current administrative shenanigans are rippling out and affecting everything.

I post things like this because I think the devil is in the details, and changes to the Notice of Award is definitely a "detail" with far-ranging consequences.  It's easy to read a headline these days and know something is bad and stop there.  But I think everyone deserves to know where the actual levers of power are and how they are flipped.  So, here is one:  slipping changes into legal wording that make institutions afraid of crossing the government lest they get sued into oblivion. 


Tags:
  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry

On The Road – something fabulous – No Kings! Glendale CA

Jun. 18th, 2025 04:15 pm
[syndicated profile] balloon_juice_feed

Posted by WaterGirl

https://balloon-juice.com/2025/06/18/on-the-road-something-fabulous-no-kings-glendale-ca/

https://balloon-juice.com/?p=426683

My Protest Friend and I decided this time to go to the protest in Glendale, her hometown these days, rather than go downtown, which we did for Hands Off.

It was a nice, peaceful, mixed gathering outside of city hall. I am bad at estimating crowd sizes and can’t seem to find an official estimate.

Fairly strong police presence, mostly on foot circling around grumpily, but no confrontations of any kind that I could see, beyond one officer wanting my friend to take her sign off the cardboard wrapping paper tube (!!) she was using as a pole.

She made a big show of squashing it flat instead and going ahead to use it.

A few drivers flipped us off, but mostly honks of support, flags out of car windows and sunroofs, etc. General level of wittiness of signs not quite as high as downtown, but all pretty earnest and sincere and friendly.

Glad we chose to help round out the numbers in a historically more conservative suburb since downtown was pretty well-represented, I hear. :)

Highly recommend!

The post On The Road – something fabulous – No Kings! Glendale CA appeared first on Balloon Juice.

https://balloon-juice.com/2025/06/18/on-the-road-something-fabulous-no-kings-glendale-ca/

https://balloon-juice.com/?p=426683

  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry

It looks like fetch is going to happen!

Jun. 18th, 2025 11:17 am
brithistorian: (Default)
[personal profile] brithistorian

Today I finally got around to watching the trailer for the new Fantastic Four movie. I am absolutely jaw-dropped and looking forward to seeing this movie, which I never really expected to be. It's as if someone at Marvel read my post from last year about why previous Fantastic Four movies hadn't really worked well and taken my ideas to heart. I don't think I can ever recall a studio making the movie I wanted them to make!

Tags:
  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry

(no subject)

Jun. 18th, 2025 12:21 pm
white_aster: (dog knight)
[personal profile] white_aster

The ABA Declares War
Trump tried to first “kill all the lawyers.” Now the lawyers have hit back.


This is absolutely an issue to watch.  Though there's real questions about the impartiality of the Supreme Court right now, the judiciary has been the last bulwark against the executive branch lately.  Until the legislative branch manages to find its bearings (or we find them for them via midterm elections) and start exercising its OWN oversight powers, the judicial branch HAS to remain functional.  And lawyers being afraid to bring suits absolutely will break the judicial branch.  They can only rule on what people are willing to sue for.

Also, to be clear:  this is not only about the lawyers.  Even if you don't like lawyers for whatever reason, they represent real, live people being real, live hurt by things that are happening.  And those real, live people whose rights have been violated need to be able to find a lawyer to help them defend those rights, or they can't push back, and they might as well not have those rights at all.  Make no mistake:  lawyers as a profession don't just work for the rich and powerful - they work for everyday folks, too.  And given the rich and powerful in power right now, it's everyday folks who will be hurt the most if lawyers are afraid to go up against the government.


Tags:
  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry

Profile

ndrosen

June 2025

S M T W T F S
123 45 6 7
8910 1112 1314
151617 18192021
22232425262728
2930     

Most Popular Tags

Page Summary

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Jun. 19th, 2025 01:53 am
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios