Provoked: the Audiobook Chapter 5 Donald Trump – Russiagate, The Skripals, Cold Front, Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukrainegate, October Surprise, War Games, Nord Stream 2, Broken Treaties, Ukraine Culture War, Afghan Bounties Hoax, Press Your Luck

Looks like a psychiatric ward, but it's actually an art exhibition in the European Union.

Anti Noggers are uneducated poors that hate tradition. Eggnog became a Christmas drink because a rich, winter-only luxury in medieval Britain turned into an American holiday punch once cheap rum, farm eggs, and dairy made it something people could actually pour for guests in December. It started as posset, not as “Christmas in a cup.” In medieval and early modern Britain, posset was hot milk or cream curdled with ale, wine, or later sherry, often thickened with bread or oatmeal and sometimes eggs and figs. Monks drank versions of it in the 13th–14th centuries; later it was a wedding and sickbed drink. Milk, eggs, cream, and imported spices were expensive, so it signaled wealth and was used in toasts for health and prosperity. It was already a winter drink because it was served hot. The name and the American version appear in the late 1700s. The word “eggnog” shows up in the American colonies, not in England. Early citations include a poem associated with Jonathan Boucher around 1775 and a 1788 New Jersey newspaper. “Nog” is usually explained as either East Anglian strong ale or a small wooden cup (a noggin). In the colonies, eggs and milk were plentiful on farms, and Caribbean rum was cheaper than taxed European brandy or sherry, so the drink became a rum-and-egg punch instead of a scarce aristocratic posset. Alcohol also helped keep the dairy from spoiling before refrigeration. Christmas locked in because winter made the ingredients special. Hens lay less in winter and cows give less milk, so eggs and cream cost more when it was cold. Spices were still a treat. A heavy, boozy dairy drink made more sense after harvest, when people were indoors, than in summer fieldwork. By 1793 a Virginia paper already described Christmas Eve “mirth and festivity” with eggnog as the main liquor. George Washington’s Mount Vernon recipe (brandy, rye, rum, and sherry) shows how hard it was spiked for holiday hospitality. By the early 1800s it was a southern and mid-Atlantic Christmas-morning bowl for family and callers. The 1826 West Point “Eggnog Riot” made the association famous. Cadets smuggled whiskey for the traditional Christmas Eve nog after the superintendent banned alcohol. The party turned into hours of destruction; several cadets were expelled. That story stuck in American memory and helped cement “Christmas + eggnog.” Why it stayed seasonal even after anyone could buy it year-round. Once refrigeration and factory dairies existed, manufacturers could sell eggnog in July. They don’t, because the drink had already become nostalgic: richness, spice, and a little (or a lot of) liquor as a once-a-year mark of abundance. Non-alcoholic cartons and supermarket versions grew after Prohibition, but the holiday slot never moved. Related drinks elsewhere—Mexican rompope, Puerto Rican coquito—followed the same pattern of a rich, spiked dairy punch for winter feasts. Short version: Britain invented a costly winter milk-and-wine tonic; America made it common with rum and farm produce; winter scarcity plus Christmas hospitality made it the December bowl; a military riot and later grocery marketing kept it there.

Republicans are very angry the irrelevant libertarians are going to cost them the midterms

#BREAKING: States with the most ICE deportations are seeing the largest rent decreases.

We are responding to Russia’s brutal strikes against life. Last night, thanks to our long-range sanctions, two oil refineries were hit – in Perm and Novoshakhtinsk. There were also hits on the Iskra Plant defense enterprise in Ulyanovsk, and the occupiers now have two fewer radar stations in the Rostov region. I thank our warriors and every unit involved for their accuracy and for systematically limiting Russia’s ability to kill. Glory to Ukraine!

🚨 LE SCANDALE DU SIÈCLE : TOUT LE MONDE N’A PAS REÇU LE MÊME VACCIN Le Parlement Européen crache le morceau : Le vaccin COVID n’était pas le même pour tout le monde. Certains lots étaient légers. D’autres, selon les lanceurs d’alerte, chargés à mort. Deux fichiers d’effets secondaires. Un pour le public. Un autre gardé par les labos. Et l’EMA le savait déjà : ces vaccins n’ont jamais été autorisés pour arrêter la transmission. Le discours, c’était « tu le fais pour les autres ». La réalité, c’était autre chose. Le crime du siècle. Crédit : @WiretapMediaCa