Nina Agdal for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2013

It won't be long now until the new issue's unveiled.

Until then, "Nina Agdal Swimsuit Photos - Sports Illustrated Swimsuit."

Historians Uncover Scale of 'Holocaust by Bullets'

Well, the camps were hardly the only means of extermination for the Nazis, but this is interesting.

At NYT, "Shedding Light on a Vast Toll of Jews Killed Away From the Death Camps":

OSWIECIM, Poland — As one gazes out from the main watchtower at the grim desert that is the crumbling chimneys and crematories, vanished prisoners’ huts, barbed wire and ditches of Birkenau, it is hard to fathom that there were corners of the Nazi realm where, collectively, more killing occurred than in the death camps.

Monday, the 69th anniversary of the day Soviet forces liberated Auschwitz, was observed as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Yet a third or more of the almost six million Jews killed in the Holocaust perished not in the industrial-scale murder of the camps, but in executions at what historians call killing sites: thousands of villages, quarries, forests, wells, streets and homes that dot the map of Eastern Europe.

The vast numbers killed in what some have termed a “Holocaust by bullets” have slowly garnered greater attention in recent years as historians sift through often sketchy and incomplete records that became available after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

“People sat down and added the numbers up,” said David Silberklang, a senior historian at the International Institute for Holocaust Research at Yad Vashem, Israel’s official Holocaust memorial.

As the number of Holocaust survivors gradually declines, these documents or witness accounts — from Belarus, Ukraine, parts of Russia and the Baltic States — have illuminated a new picture of the Nazis’ methods.

Most of this slaughter occurred in Eastern Europe after the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, and it mixed with the increasing chaos of the war once the Germans failed to realize their ambition of subduing the Soviets in just eight to 12 weeks and faced the prospect of defeat.

“The further east the Wehrmacht went, the greater the killing,” Dieter Pohl, a professor of history at Klagenfurt University in Austria, said at a conference on the subject this month in Krakow, Poland. The executions and unmarked mass graves became “an element of German rule in Eastern Europe.”

In the years after 1945, the executions were not discussed much. The shock of the discovery of concentration camps was one factor. The camps had survivors, found in place, who told their unimaginable tale. By contrast, the local executions terrorized and silenced survivors in the eastern regions. In addition, after World War II, many witnesses were left behind the Iron Curtain, and no one was interested in their memories.

On the ground, “news about killing in local fields spread much more quickly than the murky rumors” about gassing at concentration camps, Dr. Pohl said.

“Only a few survivors could testify after 1945,” he added. As a result, “there is still no comprehensive overview of the killing sites.”

Dr. Silberklang said that “in the popular mind, this subject is far less known than the Holocaust.” The executions became, he said, “in a sense, invisible.”

Keep reading.

ICYMI: "Have You Read it? The Years of Extermination: Nazi Germany and the Jews, 1939-1945." (And check the Amazon link.)

More Americans Sick of Militant Homosexual Agenda

At Toronto's National Post, "‘Marriage is not a circus event, it’s sacred’: Not everyone was crazy about Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ mass wedding at the Grammys":

The song Same Love, performed by Macklemore, Mary Lambert and Ryan Lewis at the Grammy Awards on Sunday night, took on a whole new meaning when Queen Latifah emerged during the song to marry 33 couples on sight, many of whom were same-sex.

The couples — ranging also in age and race — were married one after another throughout the song, with many singing along through tears during the performance. Following the marriages, Madonna then hit the stage to perform a slowed-down version of her hit song Open Your Heart, wearing all white (with a cowboy hat to boot).

During and after the performance Grammys viewers took to social media to express their thoughts on the spectacle. Many praised this celebration of marriage equality, and felt the performance was an emotional tribute to the acceptance of gay marriage....

Though most of the reactions to the performance were positive, not everyone was a fan of the event. Some viewers felt the mass wedding was gimmicky and nothing but a publicity stunt, while others still took a moral stance against the performance. John Gray, an associate teaching pastor at Lakewood Church, felt the performance was a dishonour, tweeting that “adding clear church imagery is wrong.” Bryan Fischer, a director of issue analysis at the American Family Association, felt the wedding ceremonies were “sodomy-based.”

Heads up: Grammy telecast to feature sodomy-based wedding ceremonies. http://t.co/pbdVOkYuG8
— Bryan Fischer (@BryanJFischer) January 26, 2014

@dglasscock Exactly!!!! Getting sick of it.
— Sandy Koch (@sandylkoch) January 27, 2014

I said to mom "you still watching the Grammy awards" She texted back & said "I was until this fag started singing" 😂😂😂💀💀💀
— ebh•♛ (@_BrookexO__) January 27, 2014

The mass wedding ceremony at the end of Ryan Lewis/Macklemore was perplexing. Marriage is not a circus event, it's sacred.
— Katie Newingham (@KatieNewingham) January 27, 2014

Total mockery of God on the Grammys tonight! The world has gone gay-mad! And it is sickening! http://t.co/diYnT3ONGz
— BusterWilson (@busterwilson) January 27, 2014

Praying for Next Generation as Grammy Awards Show pushes the Gay Marriage agenda on our kids watching.Why have wedding on music award show?
— Kenny Hibbard (@kennyhibbard) January 27, 2014

@CBS CBS: Shame on you, the Grammy's is supposed to be a family friendly show. It was disgusting, and sick to have gay marriages.
— Dr R Joseph Milligan (@parsonjoe1) January 27, 2014

Added: From the Mad Jewess, "Over-whelming Huge Majority People Are SICK of the *PROMOTION* of Homosexuality In U.S. & I’ll Prove It."

Macklemore's 9/11 Truther Tweet

The tweet's still up but folks have it on screencap for good measure.

At Twitchy, "‘Bush knocked down the towers’: Is Macklemore a 9/11 truther?"



More, "Flashback: Mr. Macklemore goes to Washington."

Oh My! Michele Bachmann Slams Socialist Bernie Sanders on Obama's 'War on Women'

I was watching this, heh.

Bachmann just destroys the hapless socialist senator from Vermont!

And Mediaite has the full video, "Michele Bachmann vs. Bernie Sanders CNN Debate Goes Completely Off the Rails":

For much of the debate it appeared the Bachmann and Sanders were talking simultaneously, while a seemingly helpless Blitzer sat on the sidelines choosing not to moderate in the traditional sense.

When Sanders said Republicans want to cut Social Security, Bachmann shot back with, “That is absolutely a lie. It’s brought up all the time and it’s a lie. Let’s face it, Senator Sanders. you shouldn’t be lying about what our position is.” When he asked her directly if she supports “chained CPI” and raising the minimum wage, Bachmann would not answer, choosing instead to direct the points she was trying to make straight towards Blitzer. Meanwhile, Bachmann had to pause several times throughout the conversation to tell Sanders to “calm down.”

The @cnn booker who put Michele Bachmann and Bernie Sanders on together should get a raise.

— Karen Tumulty (@ktumulty) January 27, 2014

.@KTumulty VIDEO: Bachman: Obama created war on women: http://t.co/binHhp20nP #TCOT #TGDN

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) January 27, 2014

Marlboro Man Eric Lawson Dead: Smoking-Related Illness Cited

A phenomenally successful ad campaign by the cigarette maker.

But cigarettes kill, no need to be PC about it. My mom had major lung surgery last year after some 50-odd years of smoking. She's lucky to be alive. My wife's mom died of lung cancer sometime back, and her dad gave up cigarettes a few years ago after saying he'd never quit. At some point mortality stares you in the face and you realize smoking's not worth it --- although I'm not an anti-smoking activist. Folks should be able to enjoy a smoke if they want it. The problem is that they're so addictive. I smoked for a couple of years when I was going to Hollywood all the time. A cigarette and a cup of coffee is a major stimulation feed! Amazing even, the kick you get out of the nicotine (once you get use to it). Not glamorous anymore, although I still admire the rugged look sometimes. It's part of the culture.

In any case, at London's Daily Mail, "Former Marlboro Man, 72, becomes FIFTH actor from iconic cigarette ads to die of lung disease."

Lawson died of respiratory failure from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Cool Ringo Starr Shout-Out to Wolf Blitzer

Yeah, because Wolf's cool like that.

.@WolfBlitzer Dude, congrats on that Ringo Starr shout out, heh! http://t.co/dl3k2V5hLo

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) January 27, 2014

Greta Van Susteren Attacks Erick Erickson

My money's on Greta.

At Politico, "Van Susteren: Erick Erickson is 'a jerk!'"

And follow the links on Twitter.

@gretawire calls out @EWErickson for sexist tweets http://t.co/PcNnJJKHxu
— Luke Johnson (@johnson) January 27, 2014

Giant African Land Snails

Crazy.

At Instapundit, "EVERYTHING SEEMINGLY IS SPINNING OUT OF CONTROL: Foot-Long, Sex-Crazed Snails That Pierce Tires and Devour Houses."

Hillary Clinton: My Biggest Regret Is What Happened In Benghazi...'

In 2008 I had a lot of respect for Hillary Clinton, particularly with respect to Barack Obama (who I wanted to lose). But this last four years was a revelation on this woman's politics, and especially Hillary's politics of "what difference does it make?"

CNN has the video on her Benghazi comments today, "Former Sec. of State Hillary Clinton speaks at NADA."

And at Memeorandum, "Clinton's biggest regret at State: Benghazi."

And from Gateway Pundit, "What Difference Does It Make?… Hillary Says Biggest Regret “Is What Happened in Benghazi”."

Screw #BDS: Scarlett Johansson in Sexy Super Bowl Commercial for SodaStream

Following up on my earlier entry, "Scarlett Johansson and the (BDS) Politics of Celebrity Ambassadors."

Here's some updates from Commentary and People Magazine:

Demonizing Israel; Demonizing ScarJo : http://t.co/AbDsGgsCfs @Commentary

— Commentary Magazine (@Commentary) January 27, 2014

Watch Scarlett Johansson's sexy Super Bowl ad for SodaStream http://t.co/CzPOk6uCDF

— People magazine (@peoplemag) January 27, 2014

Alabama Crimson Tide Quarterback A.J. McCarron Slams Grammys as 'Pretty Demonic'

Well, they we're that bad after all.

But see USA Today, "AJ McCarron was pretty creeped out by the Grammy Awards."

And at SB Nation, "AJ McCarron is scared of Katy Perry."

Is it just me or are some of the Grammy performances so far seem to be really demonic?? Looks like there is a lot of evil in the world..

— AJ McCarron (@10AJMcCarron) January 27, 2014

Rand Paul’s Paleolibertarian Patrimony

Dave Swindle used to repeatedly warn against backing Rand Paul, arguing that he was a carbon copy of his father Ron. See, for example, "The One Question Conservative Rand Paul Supporters Need to Answer," and "Was Sarah Palin Snookered Into Endorsing a Stealth Anti-Israel Candidate?"

But I thought he gave a great speech to the Heritage Foundation last year, and I've mentioned my possible support for a Rand Paul presidential bid in 2016. As always, the proof will be how genuine his views turn out to be. That being said, you know hard-left outlets like the New York Times would love to destroy him, so take this exegesis of Paul's ideological "patrimony" with the usual grain of salt.

See, "Rand Paul’s Mixed Inheritance":

As Rand Paul test-markets a presidential candidacy and tries to broaden his appeal, he is also trying to take libertarianism, an ideology long on the fringes of American politics, into the mainstream. Midway through his freshman term, he has become a prominent voice in Washington’s biggest debates — on government surveillance, spending and Middle East policy.

In the months since he commanded national attention and bipartisan praise for his 13-hour filibuster against the Obama administration’s drone strike program, Mr. Paul has impressed Republican leaders with his staying power, in part because of the stumbles of potential rivals and despite some of his own.

“Senator Paul is a credible national candidate,” said Mitt Romney, who ran for president as the consummate insider in 2012. “He has tapped into the growing sentiment that government has become too large and too intrusive.” In an email, Mr. Romney added that the votes and dollars Mr. Paul would attract from his father’s supporters could help make him “a serious contender for the Republican nomination.”

But if Mr. Paul reaps the benefits of his father’s name and history, he also must contend with the burdens of that patrimony. And as he has become a politician in his own right and now tours the circuit of early primary states, Mr. Paul has been calibrating how fully he embraces some libertarian precepts.

“I want to be judged by who I am, not by a relationship,” Mr. Paul, a self-described libertarian Republican, said in an interview last week. “I have wanted to develop my own way, and my own, I guess, connections to other intellectual movements myself when I came to Washington.”

Coming of age in America’s first family of libertarianism — he calls his father, a three-time presidential aspirant, “my hero” — Rand Paul was steeped in a narrow, rightward strain of the ideology, according to interviews, documents, and a review of speeches, articles and books.

Some of its adherents have formulated provocative theories on race, class and American history, and routinely voice beliefs that go far beyond the antiwar, anti-big-government, pro-civil-liberties message of the broader movement that has attracted legions of college students, Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and Tea Party activists.

That worldview, often called “paleolibertarianism,” emerges from the Ludwig von Mises Institute in Alabama, started with money raised by the senior Mr. Paul. It is named for the Austrian émigré who became an intellectual godfather of modern libertarian economic thinking, devoted to an unrestricted free market.

Some scholars affiliated with the Mises Institute have combined dark biblical prophecy with apocalyptic warnings that the nation is plunging toward economic collapse and cultural ruin. Others have championed the Confederacy. One economist, while faulting slavery because it was involuntary, suggested in an interview that the daily life of the enslaved was “not so bad — you pick cotton and sing songs.”

Mr. Paul says he abhors racism, has never visited the institute and should not have to answer for the more extreme views of all of those in the libertarian orbit.

“If you were to say to someone, ‘Well, you’re a conservative Republican or you are a Christian conservative Republican, does that mean that you think when the earthquake happened in Haiti that was God’s punishment for homosexuality?’ Well, no,” he said in an earlier interview. “It loses its sense of proportion if you have to go through and defend every single person about whom someone says is associated with you.”

Still, his 2011 book, “The Tea Party Goes to Washington,” praises some institute scholars, recommending their work and the institute website.

And he has sometimes touched on themes far from the mainstream. He has cautioned in the past of a plan to create a North American Union with a single currency for the United States, Mexico and Canada, and a stealth United Nations campaign to confiscate civilian handguns. He has repeatedly referred to the “tyranny” of the federal government.

Since becoming a national figure, Mr. Paul has generally stayed on safer ground. His denunciations of government intrusion on Americans’ privacy have been joined by lawmakers in both parties and have resonated with the public — though no other member of Congress as yet has joined him in his planned class-action suit against the National Security Agency.

He has renounced many of the isolationist tenets central to libertarianism, backed away from his longstanding objections to parts of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and teamed with members of the Congressional Black Caucus in calling for an easing of drug-sentencing laws. He recently unveiled a plan for investment in distressed inner cities.

Much of that is in keeping with the left-right alliance Mr. Paul promotes, an alternative to what he dismisses as a “mushy middle.” Such partnerships, he says, “include people who firmly do believe in the same things, that happen to serve in different parties.”

In recent months, potential rivals for leadership of the Republican Party have depicted him as an extremist. Before the recent investigations into political abuses by his administration, Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey said Mr. Paul’s “strain of libertarianism” was “very dangerous.” And Senator Ted Cruz of Texas told donors in New York that in a national campaign Mr. Paul could not escape Ron Paul’s ideological history.

Mr. Paul is not the first political son encumbered by a father’s legacy, but his mantle is unusually heavy. He has been his father’s apprentice, aide, surrogate and, finally, successor. Side-by-side portraits of father and son adorn one wall in his Senate conference room...

Still more at the link. The piece goes into some detail on the "fringe" paleos like Lew Rockwell (who had a thing for Cindy Sheehan sometime back) and Murray Rothbard. And it mentions how Rand, right before announcing his run for office in 2009, he appeared on nutjob Alex Jones' radio program. There's a lot of unsavory conspiracists and racists in those swamps, and frankly, just being Rand Paul he may never fully escape them.

Grammy Awards 2014

I watched. Interesting how the homosexual weddings didn't happen until after 11:00pm.

I enjoyed it, however, despite my bitching about our depraved culture.

At Rolling Stone, "Daft Punk, Macklemore, Lorde Win Big at 2014 Grammy Awards."

Also at LAT, "Grammys 2014: Daft Punk wins album and record of the year."

And at NYT, "Grammys Laud Giants and Upstarts," and "Critic's Notebook: A Night of Music Marked by Some Wild Mood Swings":

Daft Punk’s performance was one of the night’s more coherent collaborations. The group enlisted studio musicians, including the guitarist Nile Rodgers from the disco-era hitmakers Chic, to make “Random Access Memories,” which was named album of the year and best dance/electronica album. Mr. Rodgers rejoined them, as did the song’s vocalist, Pharrell Williams — winner of producer of the year, nonclassical — to perform “Get Lucky” with Stevie Wonder sitting in and snippets from Chic and Mr. Wonder that meshed with the song’s disco nostalgia; the celebrity musicians got up and danced.

More, at the Hollywood Reporter, "Grammys: Macklemore and Madonna Praised by GLAAD For Mass Wedding (Exclusive)," and "Trent Reznor Tweets 'F--- You' to Grammys After His Performance Is Cut Short."

VIDEO: Via Becca J. Lower.

Rough Patch for Uber Service’s Challenge to Taxis

I blogged on this earlier, "Uber Ride Service Sabotages the Competition."

And now at NYT:

SAN FRANCISCO — It’s Travis Kalanick versus the world, and recently the world seems to be winning.

Mr. Kalanick, who is brash and aggressive even by the standards of Silicon Valley, created Uber four years ago to blow up the traditional taxi business. In more than 60 cities, from San Francisco to Berlin, it is doing just that.

Anyone with a smartphone can use Uber’s software to get a ride. No more standing on the corner in the rain, trying desperately to conjure up something that is not there. For that achievement, Uber is valued at $4 billion.

Suddenly, however, Mr. Kalanick is a bit besieged. Uber is being sued by its drivers, who say it is stealing their tips. Competitors are pressing it from all sides. Celebrity riders like Salman Rushdie and Jessica Seinfeld have had gripes too, usually about pricing.

Much worse, there have been questions about the quality of the drivers, made more urgent after one here in San Francisco hit an immigrant family in a crosswalk on New Year’s Eve, killing a 6-year-old. Her death has provoked the first wrongful-death lawsuit against Uber, which is expected to be filed on Monday...

More at that top link.

Broken Dreams of My Father

Sarah Marie Brenner tweets, "Dr. Gina Loudon notes radical shift in psychology of tyrannical."

Wow. Must read from @drginaloudon about her father - a #progressive - who is disappointed in her. http://t.co/Ebp77e6iqU #tcot #teaparty
— SaraMarieBrennerShow (@saramarietweets) January 27, 2014

HSBC Cash Withdrawal Limits Spark Fears of Banking Crisis

At Director Blue.

An amazing piece, and I checked Google for more information, and found this at BBC, "HSBC imposes restrictions on large cash withdrawals."

Americans are not going to go for currency and banking restrictions. This ain't Greece or Cyprus. You'll see a huge political backlash. People won't stand for that shit.

Playboy's Miss January 2014 Roos van Montfort

At Guyism, "ROOS VAN MONTFORT, PLAYBOY’S 60TH ANNIVERSARY PLAYMATE, IS JUST RIDICULOUSLY SEXY."

Ezra Klein Is Joining Vox Media as Web Journalism Asserts Itself

From David Carr, at the New York Times.

Obviously, I'm not impressed.

William Jacobson nails it, at Legal Insurrection, "Ezra Klein aims to fix the news."

Read it all at the link, as they say.

And see Twitchy, "Fact-challenged liberal blogger Ezra Klein promises new way of delivering news."

Lindsay Vonn Replaced on Olympic Team

Seen on Twitter, lol.

Lindsay Vonn is replaced on Olympic team by Barack Obama since nobody has taken a country downhill faster. pic.twitter.com/7TbfpW6QBw

— LB Calloway (@leeway63) January 27, 2014

And at Deadline, "NBC In Talks With Lindsey Vonn For Winter Olympics Coverage," and NYT, "Tiger Woods’s Schedule Is Unexpectedly Open After Lindsey Vonn’s Season-Ending Injury."