Hi there, Rogues & Roguettes!!

As of this new early Sunday morning, we are opening our doors to the new and redesigned Rogue-Nation3 platform!

We invite you to navigate through the different functions, icons are different, layout is way different but it's cleaner, faster, better!!

Sounds like the 6 million dollars man but hey...it is!!

So, we are giving it an official test run with all the membership, from A to Z.

If you find it too difficult to navigate (perfectly normal at first until you get used to it), you can always take a break, go down to the bottom of the forum, find the dropdown menu on the left and choose Dark 1.8 - which was the old version. We will be keeping it there for a while.

This new theme is mobile friendly and we recommend you try it on your cell phone and tablet. It's clean, fast and oh...good looking too!!

Some of us will be available for questions and inquiries throughout the day, so fire away!

It's basic right now as no plugins are installed. Yet. We're just testing the core to check the stability.

So, for now, no shoutbox, no thread starring, no rating, no fancy banners. Yet. But once we know the core is stable, we will reintroduce plugins that make it fun...with new toys to come as well...

Enjoy, touch everything, try everything, and once again, let us know how it's responding. We appreciate the feedback and it helps us finding the bobos...

Welcome Home!!!

Sol - for Admins & Staff.

Why The Gulf States Need To Keep Building Big Dumb Mega Projects | Economics Explained



Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE and other oil rich Middle Eastern states have announced plans to collectively invest trillions of dollars in new megaprojects, the most extreme of which is Saudi Arabia's $1 trillion 170km skyscraper called The Line. Why are these countries spending so much on mega projects and does it make any economic sense?

0:00 - 2:33 Intro
2:34 - 3:23 Trends
3:24 - 6:06 Dutch disease
6:07 - 10:25 Rybezynski's theorem
10:26 - 11:49 Dependence on oil
11:50 - 12:48 Norway example
12:49 - 13:50 Sovereign wealth funds
13:51 -  16:10 Mega projects
16:11 - 17:19 Tourism
17:20 Attracting businesses

I just checked the forecast and it’s supposed to get down to 32F Wednesday night. I’ve been working on getting my plants inside the greenhouse and like every year I stare sadly at my beautiful pepper plants knowing that their days are numbered. Well this year will be different! I found a YouTube tutorial. I can feel my husband’s shudder of despair as I type those words and he’s not even in here. He’s a brave man but nothing strikes fear in his heart like me proudly and confidently announcing that I have found a tutorial.  

I’m sure this isn’t new to a lot of you but it is to me. I shouldn’t screw this up too bad. I’ll hopefully be able to save several plants and report back that it was a success when spring rolls back around.



He explains it really well but I know I’m still going to be sad cutting all those leaves off.

Also while cleaning and preparing my greenhouse I found a snake and several spiders. The spiders are ok but I could do without the snake. Unfortunately it got away while I was trying to catch it so I guess I’ll be overwintering it too.

Photos are all from Shorpy historical archives. Links will take you to the detailed full size images.

Powder Monkey: 1865

Circa 1864-65. "Powder monkey by gun of U.S.S. New Hampshire, Federal depot ship off Charleston, South Carolina." https://www.shorpy.com/node/9012


A Short Fuse: 1906

"Independence Day, 1906. F.A. Loumis, copyright claimant. Little boy holding three large firecrackers and flag." Let's be careful out there! https://www.shorpy.com/node/19814


Carnival Ride From Hell: 1911

January 1911. South Pittston, Pennsylvania. "A view of the Pennsylvania Breaker. 'Breaker boys' remove rocks and other debris from the coal by hand as it passes beneath them. The dust is so dense at times as to obscure the view and penetrates the utmost recesses of the boys' lungs."
https://www.shorpy.com/node/32

Quote:Boys 12 years of age may be legally employed in the mines of West Virginia, by day or by night, and for as many hours as the employers care to make them toil or their bodies will stand the strain. Where the disregard of child life is such that this may be done openly and with legal sanction, it is easy to believe what miners have again and again told me — that there are hundreds of little boys of 9 and 10 years of age employed in the coal mines of this state.
-- John Spargo, The Bitter Cry of the Children (New York: Macmillan, 1906)
https://www.shorpy.com/node/32

There isn’t a shoutbox, but I need to get some things off my chest. I’m really happy with my life despite my missing my hubby so much it takes my breath away at times. I did my weekly visit with him at the nursing home. His cognizance is getting a little worse over time, due to two strokes, aphasia, and tardive dyskinesia. I see this happening gradually, and it’s tearing me apart. There’s not a damn thing I can do to help him or slow down time. I tell myself every day to remember the Serenity Prayer. But it’s a struggle at times.

I’m in Green Bay, WI for my nephew’s wedding tomorrow. Originally, my youngest sister was going to room with me and split the cost, but she backed out at the last minute. My middle sister, her hubby, my three nieces and their respective hubbys all partied with me earlier in their room. It was a lot of fun. Now I’m back in my room by myself and feeling a little disconnected from everything. There’s no reason for me to be feeling melancholy, yet I miss my hubby a lot when these things go on. I miss him being with me and feel guilty having fun without him. I know it’s kind of fucked up to feel that way. 

I keep a lot of this stuff to myself. This is the only place I feel I can vent without judgement. Otherwise I feel apart from most people. I put on a brave face, smile and laugh. But I’m planning my hubby’s funeral, and feel so damn depressed. It sucks, and I feel like it’s dragging me down. But I still do my best to find joy in things I see. The little birds on my feeder who fuss and fight make me laugh and smile. There’s a really fat little bunny that likes to eat all the bird seed left over on my patio. He’s just a cutie. The squirrels chase each other and wrestle on my patio. But when I’m away from home, I start feeling lonely and disconnected from the rest of the world. 

This is temporary. By tomorrow, I will be excited about the wedding Then one more night, and I will be back home, where I will feel like myself again.

Sweden has called off a "Joint Investigation Team“ with Germany and Denmark into the attacks on the Nordstream pipelines, referring to information too highly classified to share. Strong armed by USA/NATO: removing Germany's possibility of agitating for peace in a cold winter?


Translated from German...

Quote:Sweden breaks up pipeline investigation cooperation



Shortly after the discovery of the leaks in the Nord Stream pipelines, Berlin decided to take part in the search for the perpetrators. However, according to SPIEGEL information, Sweden has no interest in sharing its own findings.



Contrary to plans, Sweden, Denmark and Germany will not form a joint investigation team to investigate the leaks at the Nord Stream pipelines. According to SPIEGEL information, Sweden has rejected the establishment of an international Joint Investigation Team (JIT). According to information from security circles, Sweden is said to have justified the rejection by saying that the security classification of its investigation results was too high to share them with other countries.




Shortly after the sabotage operation at the end of September, the federal government decided that German investigators should take part in the investigation. Federal police and army sent two military boats to one of the damaged areas last week. A »Sea Cat« underwater drone was launched there. Sweden had previously inspected the crime scene southeast of the Baltic Sea island and also secured evidence on the seabed.



No comment was initially available from the Swedish side. The security service referred to the Ministry of Justice. The Ministry of Justice referred to the security service. In Berlin , it was said about the Swedish rejection that one still hoped for cooperation with the local authorities.



The German investigators should now first evaluate the images of the "Sea Cat" underwater drone. A larger crater, indicative of a massive explosion, is said to be visible on it. In addition, the pipeline is completely interrupted over a longer length, the current may have washed away parts of the pipe after the sabotage action.



So far there has only been speculation about the people behind the sabotage action. The only thing that is clear is that on September 26 there were several massive underwater explosions near the course of the two Nord Stream pipelines. The detonations were so violent that several institutes that normally monitor earthquakes recorded significant seismic excursions. After an initial analysis, the German authorities assume that an explosive force comparable to 500 kilograms of TNT was required.



Due to the complexity of the attack, it was quickly assumed that only a state actor could be the perpetrator. There was speculation that Russia itself destroyed the pipeline in order to further inflate gas prices. Moscow vehemently denies this, instead describing the attack on the pipeline as terrorism against Russia.

Sweden sees suspicion of sabotage confirmed

Because of the special significance of the case, the Federal Public Prosecutor in Germany has initiated preliminary proceedings. From the point of view of the supreme investigative authority, this is a serious violent attack on the energy supply that could affect Germany's external and internal security. Specifically, Karlsruhe is investigating the suspicion of “deliberately causing an explosives explosion” and “anti-constitutional sabotage”.

Sweden has also been fairly silent publicly when it comes to the sabotage investigation. Prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist said a few days ago that there had been several detonations that caused major damage to the gas pipelines. The suspicion of sabotage was "confirmed" by the investigations on the seabed.

Damn, is it really this bad according to this 20 min vid?



Apparently so...

Quote:Truss to address nation after replacing chancellor

Prime minister Liz Truss is due to give a news conference to outline changes to last month’s “mini” Budget.

The statement comes after a frantic day in Downing Street, during which Kwasi Kwarteng was sacked as chancellor and replaced by Jeremy Hunt.

The press conference is expected to make changes to the tax cuts that were at the heart of the “mini” Budget.
Financial Times

The US military, at least going by this paper below is not worried about the current "recruiting crisis." They view it as a minor hurdle that can be navigated fairly easily and at the moment will simply rely on more PMC contractors than usual.

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters Volume 52, Number 3 8-25-2022

Meeting the US Military’s Manpower Challenges (15 pg PDF)

Some excerpts:

Quote:To pay for expensive technologies, many strategists favor a reduction in force size. In light of the strategic focus on China, the different service branches are adopting their own approaches. Since the Navy and Air Force are likely to play the most important roles in a conflict with China, the Army is likely to shrink. The Army, however, would play a critical role in a conflict with Russia. At the same time, it is trying to develop capabilities that will also be useful in the Pacific theater, such as long-range anti-ship missiles. Even when large numbers of ground combat troops are not needed, the Army has historically provided large numbers of troops to support other services.

The Air Force will likely cut its force to finance modernization efforts. The Marine Corps is currently restructuring its forces (Force Design 2030) for the Pacific theater. It plans to shrink to pre-Iraq and pre-Afghanistan levels to pay for long-range precision weapons and unmanned aerial vehicles.  The Navy, for some time, has been perceived as an outlier because it plans to grow its force structure and increase its fleet considerably, though its earlier goal of reaching a 355-ship fleet collapsed due to staggering costs. Although Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may delay the long overdue pivot to Asia, the future focus on China will require modernization and investment in high-end technologies rather than large numbers of troops.

Analysts agree the biggest challenge for the armed forces in an age of near-peer competition is the quality rather than the quantity of service members.
Recruiting and retaining personnel with high-end technical and cyber skills, (since the cyber domain is projected to increase rapidly) must be a priority. The 2018 National Defense Strategy highlights the necessity to modernize professional military education (PME), implement improved talent management, and better utilize civilian workforce expertise.
....
While acknowledging that manpower supply is a serious concern, this article has argued that the notion of a “manpower crisis” needs to be nuanced. Although the relatively small recruitment pool of qualified youth remains a serious challenge for the armed forces, the underlying issues of obesity, previous criminal records, and lack of education may, to various degrees, be worked around. Nor do all of these issues trend in the wrong direction, particularly when it comes to the educational attainment of young Americans.

The Department of Defense has historically found ways to overcome manpower shortfalls. First, the Armed forces have used more contractors at home and abroad. Contractors are less expensive and easier to recruit and terminate. The US military has adopted a practice employed by private companies for a long time—outsourcing certain activities that do not need a highly skilled workforce. Outsourcing is problematic since the practice makes the military dependent on a private sector driven by different incentives than the public sector. Second, reservists have been used more efficiently—and could be used even more efficiently if appropriately managed.

Third, the number of Department of Defense civilians has increased.Over time, the military has shifted active-duty personnel functions to other
workforces to overcome recruitment and retention problems because active-duty service members are expensive. Although much of the discussion focuses on recruitment, some analysts think retention is a more significant concern since it is easier for the military to mask the numbers. Some believe the most talented people tend to leave and continue their careers elsewhere.

...about...




1) Nukes



2) More nukes



3) Nukes nukes nukes



4) Nukes, nukes, and some more nukes



5) Fallout shelters



6) FEMA - protecting yourself against nukes



7) Final segment on nukes




Queue up the music!








(15 min clip)











This man is Chris Butler (b. 1948), aka Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda Paramahamsa. He's the founder of the Science of Identity Foundation (SIF), a fringe yogic sect based in Hawaii.




Tulsi is a direct disciple of Chris Butler, who was a child of the Science of Identity cult. The first time she left the cult was during her tour in Iraq.

War was her first exposure to the outside world. To be clear, it’s not her fault that her parents got brainwashed & raised her this way. I don’t think she’s a bad person. She comes across as a decent person who was brainwashed & is being manipulated. The problem is that Tulsi is still involved with the Science of Identity cult. Chris Butler remains her guru. She has not renounced him. Much of her staff & insular inner circle are SIF people.



Tulsi’s “guru” also really REALLY dislikes Muslims and gays. To be fair, Butler isn't as bad as Hubbard/Miscavige, Koresh, Raniere, or even Osho/Rajneesh. But, he ain't no prince.



Here's guru Chris (birth name Kris) Butler more recently and we haven't even touched on the actual tin-foiled walls, space suits on airplanes & hypochondria yet. No joke. Not to mention the Independents for Godly Govt political party his followers started in 70s on Maui.











I've only scratched the surface on this deceptive cult.

Came across this guy who colorizes vintage photos. Here's a few I found of interest.


Butch Cassidy - mugshot 1894 from Wyoming Territorial Prison - Laramie, WY.
Robert Leroy Parker April 13, 1866 – November 7, 1908. Notorious American train robber and bank robber, and the leader of a gang of outlaws known as the "Wild Bunch."



"The Fighting Sullivans" - The Sullivan brothers - WWII sailors serving together on the USS Juneau (CL-52), were all Killed in action on its sinking at Naval Battle of Guadalcanal (Nov 13, 1942) - The Wreckage was found by Paul Allen's research crew on March 17, 2018 off the coast of the Solomon Islands.



A wardrobe test shot of Judy Garland in a rejected Dorothy costume with a blonde wig, 1939.



Romanov family - The last Royal family of Russia.



Hacksaw Ridge hero Desmond Doss & wife Dorothy, after receiving the MOH from Pres Truman, Oct 12, 1945.



Lt Col Hiram Bingham III - 1917 (Nov 19, 1875 – June 6, 1956) - inspiration for Indiana Jones movie.



WW2 Red Army Snipers training with SVT 40 semi automatic rifles.



WW2 Russian partisan fighter 1942.



Corporal Gladys M. Pier of Coastal Patrol Base 20 in Bar Harbor, Maine.



Elvis and Mary Kathleen Selph on his 1971 Harley-Davidson FLH at the corner of S Parkway and S Bellevue in Memphis - June 30 1972



One of the spinners in Whitnel Cotton Mill - 22 December 1908. "She was 51 inches high. Has been in the mill one year. Sometimes works at night. Runs 4 sides - 48 [cents] a day. When asked how old she was, she hesitated, then said, "I don't remember," then confidentially, "I'm not old enough to work, but do just the same." Out of 50 employees, ten children about her size. Whitnel, N.C."



WW2 A Canadian female munitions worker covered with belts of .303 ammunition at a Munitions factory in Quebec, Canada, 1942.



General der Flieger Julius Schulz - Commanding General of the German Air Force in Finland, 1942. Fought in both wars.



Flame thrower in action, during an officer trainees training session, in the woods near the village of Niinisalo, Finland - July 1, 1942.


A week and a half before Poland was invaded...


Foreign attaches observe New England war games in Redford, N.Y. during the U.S. Army war maneuvers and sham-battle invasion of New England by a mythical "enemy" are Col. T[akatoshi] Nakamura, Japanese Military Attache, Brig. General Walter C. Short, Commander of the 1st Division Blue Army, and Lieut. General Friederich von Boetticher, German Military Attache. The nazi while serving as attaché, provided many intelligence reports to Berlin documenting the isolationist movement in the United States, and the state of military preparedness before Pearl Harbor. Library of Congress says photo was Created / Published 1939 August 22.



Paul Newman - Navy enlistment photo.



Steve McQueen and his wife, Neile, take a sulphur bath at Big Sur 1963.


Guess who??


Joe Biden 1953

Photos colorized by Jecinci | FlickR