Instead of "groups backed by Pentagon battle groups backed by CIA" we are now at "groups backed by US battle groups...

Instead of "groups backed by Pentagon battle groups backed by CIA" we are now at "groups backed by US battle groups backed by Turkey". Lovely.

If you consider yourself an important geopolitical player, don't miss this opportunity! Get your very own group of "moderate rebels", feed them, equip them and then get them to do your bidding! Don't worry about the native population: Half of them left already and nobody cares about the other half!

Scruples were yesterday, today we play geopolitics in Syria!
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/u-military-battles-syrian-rebels-194011507.html

What a ride!

What a ride!

Via AQEEB MUJAWAR​

Originally shared by Tanu B

Morning in the park

Morning in the park

Hahaha!

Hahaha!

Via Maia Legazpi​

Originally shared by Tiger Law

Do you remember how Western media (at least many of them) reported about the liberation of Aleppo, how Western...

Do you remember how Western media (at least many of them) reported about the liberation of Aleppo, how Western governments responded with sanctions against Russia and Syria? Good.

Here we have Raqqa, also in Syria, currently being liberated on the ground mainly by SDF, while being bombed by Western airforces. Yesterday those bombardments resulted in the deaths of at least 42 civilians, among them 19 children. Please prepare for the outcry in Western media, the calls for sanctions against the bombing countries.

On second thought: No. You don't need to prepare for what is not going to happen. See, the "Syrian Observatory for Human Rights" (Yes, that one-man office in London.) says that in the last eight days at least 167 civilians have been killed in airstrikes. Remember the headlines? No? See, no worries.

Airwars (the website tracking strikes in Syria and Iraq) estimates 4800 to 7500 civilian deaths by Western airstrikes since 2014, the West speaks of 624 in that time. Do you remember the outcries, the drastic sanctions? No? I told you, no worries. Syrians are only important when they were killed by the right people, or when their deaths are blamed on the right people. Otherwise they are just numbers, some unavoidable collateral damage...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/08/22/dozens-civilians-including-children-reported-dead-us-led-strikes/

Is this becoming some kind of sports in the US Navy?

Is this becoming some kind of sports in the US Navy?
http://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/20/asia/us-navy-destroyer-collision-singapore/index.html

This is happening "next door" to us (Taiwan), on the Philippines.

This is happening "next door" to us (Taiwan), on the Philippines. A huge difference to life in Taiwan, I'm glad we are not living under a mad president who doesn't even stop at gunning down children just to preserve his image of being a "strong" politician.

Unfortunately, like in the US, there are still people supporting him. I hope they are proud of their "achievements"...

Via Torrid Luna​​

Originally shared by Haibara Ai

@AsecMargauxUson: 8) This is Althea Fhem Barbon. She and her father, Alrick, were gunned down by police on their way to the park. Althea was 5 years old.

9) The police claimed Alrick is a "drug suspect". They added that Alrick used Althea as a "shield" during the shootout.

10) Althea was still holding the 20-peso bill her grandparents gave to her. She wanted to buy popcorn at the park.

#DutertesHell #ResiboParaSaICC #Killippines #KillList #MartialLaw #deadonarrival #ProsecuteDuterte #DeathByDuterte #DavaoLeaks #massmurderer #DavaoDeathSquad #policedeathsquads #extrajudicialkillings #summaryexecutions #TokhangForRansom #warondrugs #waronpoor #TanimDroga #ImpeachDuterte #LaglagDroga #impunity #nanlaban #PatayNgPatay #collateraldamage #PalitUlo #humanrightsabuse #humanrights #stateimpunity #policeimpunity #TatakCorrupt #TatakDuterte

Sigh...

Sigh...

My 6423 broke. I hadn't used it for a while, and when I wanted to set it up I noticed there was no movement around the bobbin. Unfortunately, unlike the problem with my mother's sewing machine, this one I can't fix without parts, the plastic bezel gears are gone, both.

Let's hope I can get replacements, I didn't want to buy another sewing machine now...

Short snack stop in Budai on the way home

Short snack stop in Budai on the way home

One of the trade companies in Tainan was the British "Trait&Co".

One of the trade companies in Tainan was the British "Trait&Co". Their warehouses are now known under the name "Tree House", because they have been taken over by Banyan trees.

Totoro backpack, Totoro can be detached. I hadn't seen this model for a while, glad it is still available.

Totoro backpack, Totoro can be detached. I hadn't seen this model for a while, glad it is still available.

Thou shalt not drink this water!

Thou shalt not drink this water!

Anping Old Street, Tainan

Please, have a seat!

Please, have a seat!

Anping Old Street in Tainan

No tourist spot in Tainan can exist without at least one of these machines, stamping out shrimp cake/cookies.

No tourist spot in Tainan can exist without at least one of these machines, stamping out shrimp cake/cookies. Once you heard them, you will recognize the sound from far away...

Tainan as an early settlement in Taiwan has been home to a few trading companies.

Tainan as an early settlement in Taiwan has been home to a few trading companies. Some of the buildings they used survived, but have a different use these days.

This one is housing a calligraphy exhibition now. The second floor has the two partitions you see in the photo. There was nobody in the right partition, but you see people clustered on the left.

The reason for that is not an especially great piece of art, but the white box in the corner: They are standing in front of the air conditioner...

Taiwan is currently a good place to be for Ghibli fans...

Taiwan is currently a good place to be for Ghibli fans...

SCNR

SCNR

Being a Totoro fan, I had to get this (hand-cranked) Totoro fan. A great relief at these temperatures...

Finished

Finished

Time for some ice cream: Ninao Gelato in Tainan is special, in many ways.

Time for some ice cream: Ninao Gelato in Tainan is special, in many ways. It is far from crowded areas, housed in a three-storey building with lots of "wasted" space (meaning not packing as many people as possible into their space) and charging quite a bit more than usual for their ice cream.

But people still queue and it's a good idea to go as early as possible. Because these people are good. They are not just number one in the area or in Tainan. They are number two, to be correct, however: in East Asia. And if you doubt the award behind the counter, you won't doubt after trying their ice cream...

The owner of this B&B apparently likes both Ghibli and Disney. And someone has serious drawing skills...

The owner of this B&B apparently likes both Ghibli and Disney. And someone has serious drawing skills...

I've never before in Taiwan seen this much space dedicated to children in a hotel, not to mention a B&B.

I've never before in Taiwan seen this much space dedicated to children in a hotel, not to mention a B&B. Space is precious in Taiwan, but judging from the decorations, this place puts a special emphasis on children.

Looks like someone has a broad interest in animation...

Looks like someone has a broad interest in animation...

This is right next to the entrance of the B&B where I'm staying tonight. And this goes on throughout the building.

Small dinner by the Sea

Small dinner by the Sea

What you can not see here because it is too dark for this camera to capture, is that on the right of this photo some stairs go down to a beach which after less than 20 meters disappears into the Sea.

You wouldn't find people sitting here during daytime, it's simply too hot most of the time. But now at night it's very pleasant, even more so with something nice to eat.

One of the small outdoor restaurants along Tainan's Golden Coast.

One of the small outdoor restaurants along Tainan's Golden Coast. Despite the name the beach is rather dark gray and swimming is not allowed...

So, you couldn't deliver the order to me?

So, you couldn't deliver the order to me? Hmm, should I give you a hint? You missed me - by about 9500km. I live in Taiwan, not in France...

12 days!

12 days! I only needed 12 more days after holding a portal for 138 days! Three days ago a blue guy had taken the two portals I had deliberately left empty, but not attacked mine, so I left his. And then comes...

I had seen him approaching, because he destroyed the portal at the entrance to our alley. Then I saw him adding resonators to the two neighboring portals and went out to talk to him, to see if I could persuade him not to attack my portal.

I was ten metres from him when my portal suddenly turned blue. He had destroyed the L8 portal at the entrance to our alley with XMP and replaced it with a L5 portal, but he used an Ada to convert my L6 portal. Ingenious... Student at Wufeng university?

So I just thanked him and left. He seemed surprised I lived there, saying he would live nearby and had never seen my activity. Apparently he never noticed that around this alley, blue portals don't usually live longer than 24 hours. His survived less than 30 minutes. And I am back to day one and counting, 149 days to go...

#ingress

The Amiga is dead, long live the Amiga!

The Amiga is dead, long live the Amiga!

I wonder how this will end. Apollo apparently wants to start offering accelerator cards based on FPGA, later follow up with a standalone model. The problem I see is that each Amiga model requires slightly different accelerator boards, so the cost would go up, standalone may be a better solution.

Well, we will see...
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/08/09/new_amiga_to_land_in_late_2017/

OK, now I know that a parcel takes three days to travel between Shenzhen and Shanghai, this has been confirmed for...

OK, now I know that a parcel takes three days to travel between Shenzhen and Shanghai, this has been confirmed for both directions. How about some other destinations?

Sowas findet man an einem Verkaufsstand im Nationaltheater in Taizhong, Taiwan...

Sowas findet man an einem Verkaufsstand im Nationaltheater in Taizhong, Taiwan...

You can complain about a lot of things in relation to the Trump presidency, but you have to admit that there is...

You can complain about a lot of things in relation to the Trump presidency, but you have to admit that there is stability and that there is continuity: People keep getting fired and nutjobs keep getting hired.

Here is another example, an alleged scientist who allegedly based on scientific research wrote that Obama wants to overthrow the government - at a time when Obama would have had to overthrow himself to achieve that.

If you want to have a few good laughs, read the full article, otherwise simply enjoy the headline.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/02/donald-trump-sam-clovis-old-blog-progressives-obama

Hmm, another case of "US-backed forces attack US-backed forces"?

Hmm, another case of "US-backed forces attack US-backed forces"?
http://www.iraqinews.com/arab-world-news/syrian-rebels-shells-sdf-headquarters-afrin-response-mare-shelling/

Oops, so my first estimate had actually been correct, he lasted even less than two weeks.

Oops, so my first estimate had actually been correct, he lasted even less than two weeks. And he completed Trump so wonderfully... OK: Next one!

But at least be assured: "There is no WH chaos." Said someone you can absolutely trust - without being asked. So you know you can trust this statement. Absolutely...
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40782299