National Day of the Horse

Equine, History, Nature 4 Minutes

On the National Day of the Horse, horse lovers like ourselves like to consider America’s relationship with horses and our common history. It’s popular knowledge that European colonists brought horses over to America during the 15th and 16th century to be traded with the Native Americans, hence the Thanksgiving association. While this is true, the relationship isn’t as straightforward as that; it’s a complicated one.

A 2012 study found the wild ancestor of the modern domestic horse likely originated around 160,000 years ago in Eurasia. The scientists determined that horses were first domesticated roughly 6,000 years ago somewhere in the Eurasian Steppe. Another study published in 2017 found all modern horses descend from two distinct lines: the Arabian horse and the now-extinct Turkoman horse (which was similar to the Akhal-Teke breed).

Classic Arabian
Turkoman/Akhal-Teke

Horses spread around the world via trade, war, gifting, theft, and more. People began to selectively breed for desirable characteristics to meet their work requirements for the horses, such as speed, strength, and stamina. While people kept track of their horses’ lineage and traits for centuries, studbooks to maintain an official pedigree record didn’t come about until the 1700s. From this arose the multitude of breeds and types of horses we know today.

Just 19 of the Breeds

The Breeds of Livestock resource from Oklahoma State University lists 217 separate breeds of horses from the Abyssinian to the Zhemaichu. Meanwhile, “The Encyclopedia of the Horse” by Elwyn Hartley Edwards lists just over 150 breeds of horses, including many ancient breeds that no longer exist but are the ancestors of many breeds today. A study by the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences references 784 horse breeds in the United Nations Food and Agriculture database, but most equine experts recognize approximately 200 horse breeds.

Although horses hadn’t been roaming the American plains in the years leading up to their European introduction, horses have a much longer relationship with America than previously thought.

Paleontology

Think millions of years, coinciding in time periods with the mighty wooly mammoth. Around 10,000 years ago, some of these wild horses crossed over the Bering land bridge that connected early America and Asia. The earliest bridles for horses were found in Eastern Europe dating back to 4000 BC, showing that the Europeans started to domesticate the wild horses around this time, using them for hunting, carrying packs and working the fields. The ancient wild horses that stayed in America became extinct but their ancestors were introduced back to the American land via the European colonists many years later.

Pleistocene Era Horse

Columbus’ second voyage was the starting point for the re-introduction, bringing Iberian horses to modern-day Mexico. Some of the Iberian horses escaped European control and became wild horses, relatives of the mustangs in the Western United States today. The first breeds of horses that were brought over were smaller, due to size constraints for the smaller ships of the time, but as time went on, larger horses such as draft horses were also imported.

Navajo Bridle

After Columbus’ re-introduction, horses spread across the continent and many Native American societies developed their cultures around them. This is where problems emerge, because although they were once native to America thousands of years ago, horses are still technically a recently introduced species to the American plains. Wild horses have few predators and a perfect habitat, so they quickly grew to become a symbol of the West. However, their populations grew too quickly, and they began to compete with farmers for the natural resources that the land held.

The Bureau of Land Management currently protects the wild herds, but they have to manage the population via sterilization techniques and round-ups, a dramatic controversy for animal rights activists.

Wild mare with foal and yearling
BLM Round-Up

The horses we see today are all examples of selective breeding via humans over the years (with the exception of the pure desert-bred Arabian) but they’re also a shared part of our mixed Native and European histories. Horses allowed humans to travel farther and faster, instrumentally help out armies during battles, and develop the country through labor-intensive agriculture.

There are currently around 9.2 million horses in the country, consisting of many breeds such as American Quarter Horses, Paints, Appaloosas, Missouri Fox Trotters, and rarer breeds such as the Shire, Lippizan, Gotland, Caspian and Colonial Spanish Mustangs.

Classic Quarter Horse

Classic Paint

Classic Appaloosa
Missouri Foxtrotter

Dappled Bay Shire
Classic Lippizanner
Gotland
Caspian


Oscar (above) is one of four horses who starred in Disney’s Hidalgo, the epic adventure movie based on the true story of Frank T. Hopkins and his Spanish mustang stallion, Hidalgo. Oscar is APHA registered as Impressively Better, born in 1991.

Most of the breeds in “The Encyclopedia of the Horse” are horses with existing registries that can trace bloodlines to ensure purity. In general, the number of horse breed registries is increasing as equine lovers recognize the need to compile data about rare and endangered breeds and types of horses.

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Published by NebraskaFilly

Army veteran (1976-1979), retired with entirely too much time on my hands

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186 thoughts on “National Day of the Horse”

  4. Hi Miss Pat! Sorry I missed yesterday – I was busy – drove home for the things I forgot and came back and tended to Sally’s night duties.

    Lovely post, Miss Filly – always love your horse stories and histories!

    Liked by 2 people

      1. Sally’s Dad is back home, but sore from the fall off of a step stool. He hit his cheek, fractured his cheekbone up to the sinus area. Spent the night in the ER at Shands UFL hospital in Gainesville. They said it didn’t require surgery – thanks be to GOD! He took a cab back to the Village Sunday late afternoon/evening. He is doing quite well, considering his age and the injury.

        Liked by 2 people

  8. Liked by 2 people

    1. H&M – biting the hand that feeds them.

      I read somewhere, they are planning to take away their titles.

      Trump was right – Harry is in for a lot of trouble and a hard life with that woman.

      Liked by 3 people

  12. he answers his own question…

    Liked by 2 people

  14. from tcth

    sunnydaze
    sunnydaze
    December 13, 2022 1:18 am

    Dear FDA: Why does a branded Covid vaccine TV ad not have to disclose side effects, as required?
    What’s the rationale for exempting a vaccine with serious potential side effects?
    How is that in the public interest?

    — Sharyl Attkisson 🕵️‍♂️💼🥋 (@SharylAttkisson) December 12, 2022

    Liked by 1 person

  15. Feisty Hayseed
    December 13, 2022 2:24 am
    Reply to Citizen 817

     

    Before this mass of migrants crossed, Mexican police escorted nearly 20 buses full of migrants into Ciudad Juarez, the MX city across from El Paso, and released them at multiple NGOs. The migrants then walked from the NGOs to the river, & crossed illegally into El Paso. @FoxNews pic.twitter.com/KgE2HUVbej

    — Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) December 12, 2022

    Liked by 1 person

  17. hmmmm…I thought the whole point of SES was they COULDN’T be fired…so they can be fired, huh???

    Charlotte99
    December 13, 2022 4:38 am

    FIRED!

    Biden’s Nuclear Waste Guru Out of a Job After Alleged Luggage Theft
    EXTRA BAGGAGE

    “Sam Brinton is no longer a DOE employee,” a Department of Energy spokesperson told The Daily Beast on Monday evening.

    https://www.thedailybeast.com/joe-bidens-non-binary-nuclear-waste-guru-sam-brinton-out-of-a-job-after-accused-of-luggage-stealing?ref=home

    Like

          1. we decided we’re going tomorrow–just to deliver cookies, gifts and crafts. and hightail it home before the crap starts. we’re supposed to get 4-8″ with ice…
            if it’s all over and hubby can get the driveway plowed Friday afternoon, we may go Saturday for the party and come back Sunday…big if’s

            I did however get to mail your cookies today!

            Liked by 1 person

    1. from the link

      Yes, former AG Bill Barr is a content partner with Twitter File narrative engineer Bari Weiss. Gee, I wonder how that happens?

      Oh look, and what a coincidence… they are both promoting Ron DeSantis.

      Wait… Elon Musk is also promoting Ron Desantis… and Mr Musk is simultaneously promoting the Bari Weiss website that promotes Ron DeSantis… and contains Twitter File releases that are conspicuously missing the discussion angle of FBI influence in the 2020 election… Almost as if… wait, nah, that would be conspiracy talk. Just ordinary coincidences everywhere, for sure.

      Liked by 2 people

  19. a plot to blow up a high school in Texas was thwarted. was it a white supremacist? hardly
    entire article
    The U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs said it again in a report it published in November, “The Rising Threat of Domestic Terrorism”: “National security agencies now identify domestic terrorism as the most persistent and lethal terrorist threat to the homeland. This increase in domestic terror attacks has been predominantly perpetrated by white supremacist and anti-government extremist individuals and groups.” Conspicuously lacking from this oft-repeated claim are actual white supremacist terrorists, but a recent case in Texas may help: a man who is most certainly not black or Hispanic plotted to blow up a high school in Amarillo. There’s just one catch: in a bracing little reminder of the actual terror threats that the Left’s propaganda and fantasies have obscured, he’s a Muslim, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Iran.

    Amarillo’s KVII reported Thursday that Erfan Salmanzadeh, 33, pleaded guilty on Monday to “use and attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction.” The “use” part of that stems from a July 2021 incident that brought Salmanzadeh to the attention of police. KVII noted Tuesday that Salmanzadeh “recorded multiple videos in which he referenced the high school.” In one of these videos, which Salmanzadeh recorded on July 22, 2021, he was “standing in his backyard speaking in a mixture of English and Farsi, said he was going to blow up Tascosa High School,” a public high school in Amarillo.

    “We are going to blast the school,” Salmanzadeh, a Tascosa High School graduate, declared. What did he mean by “we”? The police have not said anything about that, and there is no hint in the available reports as to who his accomplices were, or if he even really had any. “We are going to hit Tascosa,” Salmanzadeh continued. “Look at these.” He then “pointed the camera at a nail bomb filled with shrapnel, a suicide vest filled with pipes labeled as explosives, a suitcase filled with containers labeled as explosives, and a backpack filled with bottles labeled as explosives.”

    Four days after that, “a neighbor reported hearing a loud explosion at 3613 Lenwood Drive. The caller said they [sic; I don’t care what your gender studies prof told you, kids. People aren’t plural. The caller was a he or a she] heard a similar noise a few weeks earlier but did not report it.” When police responded to the call, they found a “large crater” in Salmanzadeh’s backyard that “appeared to have been created by an explosion.”

    Salmanzadeh, however, attempted to explain the hole and the explosion away. He told the cops that he had been “popping small firecrackers” in his backyard, as well as “hitting them with a hammer.” And the hole? “He also said he was digging holes in the backyard with a shovel.”

    Well, that would certainly explain it. But “when police walked through the house with Salmanzadeh’s father, Salmanzadeh admitted to police that he blew up his Xbox in his backyard using triacetone triperoxide (TATP). He said he placed a PVC pipe filled with TATP inside the Xbox to see how much damage it would cause. According to an APD bomb technician, TATP is a homemade explosive that is ‘extremely unstable and reacts violently to friction and shock.’ He admitted flushing a ‘gallon sized jar of TATP down the toilet’ after police arrived that morning.”

    Salmanzadeh also admitted that he had “placed a suicide vest, nail bomb and the Xbox in a dumpster in the alley behind his home.” It was true: “Police found the suicide vest, nail bomb and Xbox in dumpsters in the alley.” The vest was suitably stylish: it was “brown with blue suspender straps and had several sewn pockets filled with red cylindrical-shaped tubes. The word ‘Dynamite’ appeared to be handwritten in black ink on some of’ the tubes. The nail bomb was a ‘cylindrical-shaped device with several red cylinders inside of it. Several rows of nails and BBs were taped around the nail bomb as shrapnel.’”

    Police then searched this Nobel laureate’s home and found two PVC pipes; one had “what appeared to be a Christmas light glued to the side of it and with the end of the wires stripped bare”; the other featured “a piece of duct tape, with the word ‘Explosive’ written on it.” Both of these pipes “appeared to have an explosive filler.” They also found other material that is “often used in the creation of improvised explosive devices, such as equipment and precursor chemicals.” Videos showed Salmanzadeh “testing an explosive powder in his backyard.” He also had “journals that contained notes and formulas related to the production of explosives.”

    He also had a plane ticket for July 28, 2021, on which date he “planned to fly to California” so as to “avoid being arrested ‘after any bombing or attack.’”

    It was good of law enforcement authorities to discover Salmanzadeh’s plot even though he isn’t one of the white supremacist terrorists they spend the bulk of their time trying to find (or create). But how many more like him will succeed in their plots because our counterterror apparatus is hopelessly corrupt and politicized?

    https://www.frontpagemag.com/white-supremacist-plots-to-blow-up-texas-high-school-no-wait/

    Liked by 2 people

  22. SunnyFlower5
    December 13, 2022 10:18 am

    Florida begins child ID program for emergencies, parents get kit to take fingerprints, DNA samples The kits include identification cards about the physical characteristics of a child along with photographs, DNA and fingerprints.
    https://americasvoice.news/justthenews/florida-launches-child-id-program-emergencies/

    Gosh- if only there was a collection of Children DNA ……

    Same players doing another global pandemic exercise – just like beforeCOVID19 release.They simulated WHO emergency health advisory board meetings addressing pretend pandemic in near future. They decide how to respond to an epidemic in part of world that spreads rapidly, w/a higher fatality rate than COVID 19 & directly affecting children & young people.

    https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2022/12/buckle_up_bill_gates_and_the_globalists_quietly_conducted_a_new_exercise__catastrophic_contagion.html

    Liked by 1 person

    1. TPTB at Gates Foundation along with WEF, WHO, etc., etc., have said straight out that they want to collect the DNA of as many people on the planet as possible. These kits have been out there for many years but now they’ve added the DNA.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. yup!
        I remember when my kids were in preschool…we got hand prints and foot prints. then in regular school we got thumbprints. but WE got them. no one else!

        Liked by 1 person

  25. Issue: December 11, 2022
    “Vietnam to ban online ads being shown near “toxic” anti-government content — The next internet censorship plan from the country.”
    By Cindy Harper
    Posted 6:40 pm

    ENTIRE ARTICLE @ ReclaimTheNet: “Vietnam is creating a blacklist of websites, including individual accounts on Facebook and YouTube, that will not be allowed to receive ad revenue if the government determines they have posted “toxic” or anti-government content. Advocates fear the new rule will worsen the free speech situation in the country.

    Companies will not be allowed to place ads on content that is “toxic, against the state, or infringing copyrights,” the information ministry said in a post on its website, as reported by Nikkei Asia. The government is also working on a whitelist of safe websites that will be released in early 2023.

    There were already strict free speech constraints in Vietnam. It has a team tasked with scrubbing the internet of political dissent and has made efforts to make tech giants support its censorship. Tech companies are required to store data locally and submit it upon request. Those companies that will not comply with the laws will not be allowed to operate in Vietnam, the information ministry said.

    “YouTube and Facebook allow social media users to post rampant illegal content and enable the monetization feature that allows ads to be installed on those channels, pages, and accounts,” the information ministry’s Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information said.”

    Like

  27. this is from American thinker about Brinton…he was hired as SES…then in February 2022 a whistleblower filed a complaint against that hiring and Brinton…
    they can fire him because his position in SES is career dependent and he has a probationary period (?) of 3 yrs…???
    entire article
    Shortly after Sam Brinton reported to a Senior Executive Service (“SES”) position as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition in the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy, Chicks on the Right published an article about a whistleblower complaint filed in February 2022 regarding Brinton’s selection. The article includes a link to the complaint filed by “a long serving public servant at the Department of Energy.” It makes for interesting reading.

    When applying for an SES position in the government, candidates must meet five mandatory criteria defined in Executive Core Qualifications (“ECQs”) that the United States Office of Personnel Management (“OPM”) defines as required competencies for an SES executive. OPM further defines each ECQ to include “personal and professional attributes that are critical to successful performance in the SES.” The complaint addresses several of the ECQs that Brinton failed to meet. The complaint discusses certain core qualifications that Brinton fails to meet, but also states that the complaint is not limited to the ones that the complaint specifically addresses.

    In addressing the Business Acumen ECQ, the complaint states, “Samuel Brinton has none of the business management experience, skills, or abilities…[that meet] any of these functional areas…” A review of Brinton’s work experience supports this assertion.

    For the ECQ of “interpersonal skills,” the Office of Personal Management (OPM) guidance requires that the applicant respond “appropriately to the needs and feelings of different people in different situations.” The complaint states, “There is video-taped and published evidence that Samuel Brinton is biased in his treatment of others who do not share his gender-fluid identity and associated life-choice practices.”

    Subsequent events have made a farce of the next ECQ, “Integrity and Honesty,” although even before Brinton admittedly nicked a suitcase off the carousel at Minneapolis Airport, the whistleblower stated there was “extensive video-recorded and documented evidence that Samuel Brinton…changes facts to suit audiences in a way that raises questions about the veracity of his statements, and…has been known to act in a manner which incites controversy in a variety of public settings.” Since the Minneapolis airport theft, Brinton has been accused of taking a suitcase from the Las Vegas airport as well on an unknown date.

    Brinton entered Federal employment in June 2022 with no prior Federal service. That means he was hired as a “career-conditional” employee. Career-conditional employment is probationary employment for three years before achieving “career” status. Federal employees in a “career-conditional” appointment can be terminated without any reason given during the first year of employment, and for the next two years with cause, but with a lower bar than for career Federal employees.

    According to those rules, the Biden administration could terminate Brinton’s employment immediately if it so wished. It hasn’t, though. Instead, it’s put him “on leave,” which, under OPM guidance, means he is still on the Federal payroll.

    Typically, employees are in this status pending an investigation, after which the employee is either cleared to return to work; disciplined but retained as an employee; or, in extreme cases (like criminal conduct), terminated for cause. On the facts available to the public, Brinton seems to have committed the acts alleged, at least in Minnesota. There’s video showing Brinton not only taking another person’s suitcase, but also immediately removing the name tag, and quickly leaving the baggage claim area.

    More significant evidence of intentional conduct comes because he’s admitted to police that he took the bag, although he’s offered a variety of unconvincing excuses for his actions. An arrest warrant against Brinton has been issued for a second luggage theft at the Las Vegas airport on an unknown date.

    As an employee in the Office of Nuclear Energy, Brinton has a security clearance as a condition of his employment. When an employee is alleged to have engaged in criminal behavior or admits to that behavior, he may have his security clearance revoked, even without a conviction or formal charges. Brinton’s admitted criminal conduct should trigger the revocation of his security clearance, which then provides additional grounds for his termination (if a second reason is necessary).

     Perhaps the administration is giving Brinton the benefit of the doubt and waiting for the legal process to play out. However, it is clear by now that Brinton’s hiring made a mockery of the Federal hiring process and that the Department of Energy ignored the red flags that “a long serving public servant at the Department of Energy” raised.

    Now, the Biden administration is dealing with a loose cannon who will provide appropriately juicy fodder to the Republican opposition for the foreseeable future. There’s every reason to offload Brinton immediately—a reality that makes it all the more curious that the administration is keeping him on the payroll.

    https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2022/12/the_biden_administrations_peculiar_attachment_to_accused_thief_sam_brinton.html

    Liked by 1 person

  36. We already knew he wouldn’t testify!

    ENTIRE ARTICLE @ BB: “The new CEO of FTX, John Ray, will testify before the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday, less than 24 hours after the arrest of the company’s former head, Sam Bankman-Fried. Ray became CEO after the cryptocurrency company filed for bankruptcy.

    Bankman-Fried was supposed to testify before the committee but, due to his arrest, will not make an appearance.”

    Watch live: https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/12/13/watch-live-ftx-ceo-john-ray-testifies-before-congress-on-companys-collapse/

    Liked by 1 person

    1. “The Cambridge Dictionary appears to have followed Merriam-Webster down the rabbit hole into woke oblivion by changing the definition of “Woman” to appease transgender radicals.

      Though it remains inconclusive as to when the Cambridge Dictionary made the switch to include transgenderism, the definition for “Woman” now includes the following as a subset of the actual definition: “An adult who lives and identifies as female though they have been said to have a different sex at birth.”

      The definition then includes the two following example sentences:

      She was the first trans woman elected to national office.
      Mary is a woman who was assigned male at birth.

      According to the archives dating back to March 2022, the Cambridge Dictionary only featured the normative definition of the word woman to mean “an adult female human being.” The related words and phrases in the SMART Vocabulary section of the definition included such charged words like gender reassignment and heteronormative.
      ——————
      The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also sparked outrage this year when it included language reflective of transgender ideology with words like “Chestfeeding.”

      “A term used by many masculine-identified trans people to describe the act of feeding their baby from their chest, regardless of whether they have had chest/top surgery (to alter or remove mammary tissue),” the CDC described.”

      Liked by 1 person

  38. OH.MY.GOD!!!! I’m gonna puke now…..

    EXCERPT @ BB: “It’s unclear if he’ll have a speaking role, but the newly elected Democrat senator from Pennsylvania John Fetterman is set to make a cameo appearance in a new movie starring Christian Bale.

    The senator-elect made the announcement by posting a photo of himself and his wife, Gisele, dressed in full costume alongside Bale on the set of the 19th-century crime drama, The Pale Blue Eye, which was filmed in western Pennsylvania.

    Fetterman said he’s happy to work with director Scott Cooper again in his social media post:

    https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2022/12/13/john-fetterman-to-appear-in-netflix-movie-starring-christian-bale/

    Liked by 1 person

  39. Entire Article @ BB: “San Francisco has abandoned an effort to replace the city’s director of elections solely because he is white, after the mayor and other officials refused to allocate funding for the effort to find a more “diverse” replacement.

    As Breitbart News reported last month:

    ‘The City of San Francisco’s Elections Commission voted 4-2 … not to renew the contract of its Elections Director, John Arntz, because he is white — i.e. to open the position in pursuit of the city’s “racial equity plan.”

    The Mission Local website reported that Arntz was fired in spite of outstanding service over the past 20 years …

    The San Francisco Chronicle noted that Arntz is eligible to reapply for his job — among all the other applicants.

    Mayor London “Breed, city staff and citizens expressed concern at the commission’s move, quickly jumping to defend Arntz’s record of running fair, free and functional elections without a glitch, especially during an unprecedented pandemic,” the Chronicle added.’

    Now, the Chronicle notes, the commission has abandoned the idea after the city refused to fund a hiring search:

    ‘Instead of opening up the position to outside candidates, the commission voted unanimously to put Arntz’s contract up for a possible five-year renewal in January. Mayor London Breed and all 11 supervisors had already said they would not approve the estimated $50,000 necessary to pay for an executive search.

    Commissioners had said they wanted to look at other candidates — alongside Arntz, if he reapplied for his job — to advance the city’s racial equity goals by giving a diverse group of people a chance to compete for the job. But the prospect of Arntz’s removal drew broad condemnation from local officials and City Hall staffers who see him as a respected leader of a well-run department.’

    San Francisco has experienced a public backlash against “woke” racial policies over the past year, including those targeting white and Asian residents for their supposed privilege.

    In February, voters recalled three members of the local school board after a series of racially-charged policy changes. Later in the year, voters recalled District Attorney Chesa Boudin over his radical policies of criminal justice “reform” amid a crime wave.”

    Liked by 1 person

  41. THERE IS MORE TO THE VIKTOR BOUT TRADE THAN MEETS THE EYE
    9 December 2022 by Larry Johnson

    EXCERPT: “While Biden critics are disgusted by trading a Black, Lesbian basketball player, Brittney Griner, for the notorious arms dealer, Viktor Bout, Biden supporters are ecstatic. Personally, I think any effort to free Griner is ridiculous, but she played a role in making herself a victim. The real story lies behind the Western meme that portrays Bout as the spawn of Satan intent on creating mayhem and slaughter around the globe. I have a different take.

    I believe Viktor Bout was a Russian intelligence officer operating under cover as an arms dealer. In this capacity he could identify key players in revolutionary and criminal movements around the world. It is the United States that has created the Merchant of Death tale.

    Let us start with the fact that Bout previously sold weapons to the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan. That kind of sale would have been monitored and known to Russian intelligence. Important to recall that the Northern Alliance played a key role in helping the United States oust the Taliban in the wake of the 9-11 attacks. Although some reports claim Bout also sold to the Taliban, I’ve seen no credible evidence supporting that. However, I cannot discount him doing so with the support of Russia’s Government as a means of identifying and developing potential intelligence sources with the Taliban.

    Vladimir Putin was the first world leader to call George W Bush after the 9-11 attacks to offer assistance. We took him up on that and the Russians, as a result of their ties to the Northern Alliance, facilitated the deployment of the CIA JAWBREAKER team. First team in was led by Gary Schroen, who was followed by Gary Berntsen. Gary Berntsen’s book, JAWKBREAKER, recounts that adventure.

    Bout’s work as a Russian intel operative working under the cover of arms trafficking gave him incredible access to sources and activities not normally available to a Russian intelligence officer working under diplomatic or military cover. It is a smart way for the Russians to collect intel and recruit human sources on a variety of active insurgent groups and criminal organizations. If you think the United States has not ried something like this, think again.

    I know from previous conversations with friends involved in CIA logistics activities that the United States has used people like Bout to buy weapons for our own international adventures. Worth recalling that the CIA was gathering up weapons and arming Islamic radicals in Syria in a bid to overthrow Bashir Assad (remember Benghazi?).

    Bout’s arrest in March 2008 needs to be considered in the broader context of U.S./Russian relations. It is trued that Bout was arrested in Thailand as part of a DEA sting. But the story has some significant holes. The official version is that a DEA Confidential Informant approached Bout about selling arms, including SAMs, to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The subsequent US indictment claimed that Bout was selling weapons use against U.S. forces in Colombia.

    Much more: https://sonar21.com/there-is-more-to-the-viktor-bout-trade-than-meets-the-eye/

    Liked by 2 people

  43. “The GOP Has Ghosted FBI Whistleblowers — Republican lawmakers have perfected the art of doing nothing while America crumbles – why change now?”

    Emerald Robinson
    15 min ago
    ENTIRE ARTICLE: “Did you think that the GOP establishment was actually going to investigate the FBI? Hey, I know that they promised to really do something about the corruption of our national security state before the midterm elections — but come on people.

    Those are campaign promises.

    It’s like Kevin McCarthy not having enough votes to become House Speaker — suddenly he promises to subpoena the 50 intelligence agents who lied about the Hunter Biden laptop, and he announces this promise at the same time that he’s handing out medals to cops for participating in the January 6th federal insurrection orchestrated by the FBI!

    In other words, McCarthy’s campaign promises are strictly for the suckers and rubes.

    Don’t just take my word for it: FBI whistleblowers are coming forward to say that they have never heard back from GOP members of Congress who made promises to them. Here’s Steve Friend telling you: he’s never heard back from any GOP elected officials since the elections.

    Perhaps our elected officials have contacted other FBI whistleblowers — but forget about Steve Friend? Well, I’ve got more bad news for you: fellow FBI whistleblower Kyle Seraphin hasn’t heard from any GOP elected officials either.

    Seraphin has heard that he’s “too hot politically” for GOP leadership — and he thinks that Steve Friend is probably “too hot” as well. “Too hot” is a common phrase used by GOP elected officials to identify an American citizen who’s actually a patriot and a conservative — as opposed to the grifters and frauds who hold office in Washington, of course.

    As one wag put it on Twitter: “If the House Judiciary GOP is afraid to hear from you, the Senate GOP would need smelling salts and a weekend retreat to recover from the sight of you walking into a hearing room.”

    Liked by 1 person

  44. Hershey is opening a new plant — but read this spin…their plant in Hazelton is attracting “Hispanic” population is complete BULLSHIT!!! Hazelton is a HUGE ILLEGAL CENTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! in PA! and jobs are attracting illegals.
    FTA
    Last week, Hershey announced that its Hazleton location is its first bilingual manufacturing facility, with Spanish and English-speaking employees working together.

    Although it was only recently publicly announced in a press release, the “Say Hola” initiative has been in place for almost a year. The company provides training in English and Spanish. All signs, labels, and forms are in both languages, and the company ensures bilingual employees always have resources for communication on the manufacturing floor.

    In the past 20 years, Hazleton’s Hispanic population has grown from five percent to more than 60 percent of the total population, the company said in a statement. The initiative helps attract workers.

    “By launching ‘Say Hola’ and opening its doors to the changing Hazleton community, Hershey is seeing an increase in employee retention and highly experienced individuals applying for positions,” the statement said. “In fact, more than 90 percent of the facility’s recruitment classes now have the desired manufacturing experience versus 50 percent of recruitment classes prior to program launch. The community’s enthusiasm about the transformation to a bilingual plant and word-of-mouth awareness has also reduced recruitment costs.”

    “The ‘Say Hola’ initiative showcases Hershey’s commitment to our people and the communities in which we live and work—both on a local and global scale,” Alicia Petross, chief diversity officer said in a statement.

    “‘Say Hola’ has accelerated the diversity of our workforce—a key element of our [Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion] roadmap—and provided upskilling, improved recruiting and retention, and most importantly, the program fosters a workplace that looks more like the communities our colleagues live in.”

    https://www.theepochtimes.com/hershey-builds-another-huge-pennsylvania-chocolate-facility_4918355.html?utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=BonginoReport

    Liked by 1 person

  45. Ya’ just gotta love the weather in NE!!! High winds with driving rain and 38…..SMH – and the fucking squirrels have eaten all the bird seed in the open feeder on the garden trellis, and one was trying to get to the suet just now. I can’t fricking win!!!! If I didn’t have to worry about the stray cats and ground squirrels, I’d put poison out but I can’t do that. BB gun is on my next shopping list!!!!

    Liked by 2 people

      1. BB guns aren’t that loud…..at least from my memory as a child anyway. And they aren’t illegal inside the town limits – unlike my 380 which is still in the case and has never even been fired! When Jerry told me that, I told him I was going to send them to HIS house!!!! LOL

        Liked by 1 person

    2. BB gun is your only non-lethal means of discouraging them. Squirrels are some of the most determined of creatures…I’ve done live traps as well but a pest control relative suggested that the authorities might look unkindly on my excursions to transplant them.

      Liked by 1 person

  46. A follow-on of what I posted earlier about the DeSanctimonious round-table:

    DeSantis Announces Petition to Investigate ‘Any and All Wrongdoing’ With Respect to the Jab
    “We’ll be able to get the data whether they want to give it or not.”

    The Vigilant Fox
    10 min ago
    “Governor Ron DeSantis is currently live (12/13/2022), holding an accountability roundtable for the mRNA shots. This will be a quick one — but he just dropped some breaking news that I am sure you will want to hear.

    “We’ll be able to get the data whether they want to give it or not because, in Florida, it is against the law to mislead and to misrepresent, particularly when you’re talking about the efficacy of a drug. Just recently, Florida got $3.2 billion through legal action against those responsible for the opioid crisis. And so, it’s not like this is something that’s unprecedented,” expressed DeSantis.

    “So today, I’m announcing a petition with the Supreme Court of Florida to impanel a statewide Grand Jury to investigate any and all wrongdoing in Florida with respect to COVID-19 vaccines — and we anticipate that we will get the approval for that,” announced DeSantis. “That will be something that will be impaneled, most likely, in the Tampa Bay area. And that will come with legal processes that we’ll be able to get more information and to bring legal accountability for those who committed misconduct.”

    The hearing is still live as of 12:48 Eastern time. You can watch it right here below:”

    https://vigilantfox.substack.com/p/desantis-announces-petition-to-investigate

    Liked by 1 person

      1. Apparently, they don’t like safflower seeds because they never bothered that. But it’s too expensive – I think I’ll get some of the squirrel nut mixture and just dedicate the open feeder to that. The suet blocks are too expensive to waste on those bastids!

        Liked by 2 people

  50. “Richmond, Virginia, removes last Confederate statue — Richmond removed multiple city-owned statues on Monument Avenue following the George Floyd protests in the summer of 2020.”
    ENTIRE ARTICLE: “Virginia’s capital of Richmond has removed its final city-owned Confederate monument after an ongoing legal battle to take down the statue of Gen. A.P. Hill.

    Workers on Monday began the process to remove the statue of Hill, who died near the end of the Civil War, according to The Center Square news website. Hill’s remains are buried underneath the statue and will be reinterred in a cemetery, city officials said.

    The former capital of the Confederacy, Richmond removed multiple city-owned statues on Monument Avenue following the George Floyd protests in the summer of 2020. Statues of Confederate Gens. Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee have also been removed by the city.

    Richmond Circuit Court Judge David Eugene Cheek Sr. rejected a plea last week from four indirect descendants of Hill to stop the city’s plans to remove the statue, according to The Associated Press.

    The descendants argued that they have control over the statue and it should be placed in Cedar Mountain Battlefield rather than a museum.”

    Video: https://justthenews.com/government/local/richmond-virginia-removes-last-confederate-statue

    Liked by 1 person

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