Sunday, December 11, 2016

Richard B. Frank, Guadalcanal

I'm putting this one on my list.

My son said he wants to actually buy me some books, not just a gift card, heh.

I'll tell him to check Amazon, Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle.

Amber Lee's Patchy Drizzle Forecast

Still mid-60s with partial clearing. I'm not complaining.

Some chance of light rain and drizzle.

From the lovely Ms. Amber:


Russian Hackers and American Hacks

At WSJ, "The CIA that misjudged Putin for years is now sure of his motives":

Somewhere in the Kremlin Vladimir Putin must be laughing. The Russian strongman almost certainly sought to undermine public confidence in American democracy this year, and as the Obama Administration leaves town it is playing into his hands.

That’s the real story behind the weekend reports that U.S. intelligence services have concluded that Russia intervened to assist Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. The stories are attributed to “senior administration” officials who won’t go on the record but assert murky details that are impossible to verify without seeing the evidence.

Mr. Trump is denouncing the claims with his usual subtlety, but he has a point about their timing and nature. “I don’t want anyone hacking us,” Mr. Trump said on Fox News Sunday, while blaming the leaks on Democrats. “I think it’s ridiculous” and “I don’t believe it.”

Democrats are still in shock from their defeat, and many want to add the Kremlin to FBI Director James Comey, fake news and the Electoral College as excuses that cast doubt on the legitimacy of Mr. Trump’s victory.

The new information in these latest stories is less about new intelligence than it is a judgment about Russian motives. Other sources who have seen the intelligence say there’s strong evidence that actors linked to high-level Russian officials hacked the Democratic National Committee (DNC) website. The Russians then posted them on sites they set up or handed them to WikiLeaks, though even the WikiLeaks transfer isn’t known for sure. The Administration made public the conclusion about the DNC hack months ago.

The difference now is that the intelligence community is said to have concluded with “high confidence” that the Russians did the hacking to help elect Mr. Trump. But we’re told the evidence for this conclusion is far from definitive, and multiple intelligence services offered no such judgments when briefing the House Intelligence Committee on the election-related hacks last week.

The New York Times cites claims from its sources that the Russians hacked the Republican National Committee website but then didn’t leak any documents. But other sources say that while it’s clear the Russians were probing the RNC website, it isn’t clear they penetrated it enough to grab emails. This is in contrast to the months the Russians spent roaming through the DNC site. We’re also told that there’s no definitive intelligence about who hacked Hillary Clinton campaign chief John Podesta. His emails posted on WikiLeaks were arguably more politically damaging than those from the DNC.
Still more.

Donald Trump's Favorability Surge (VIDEO)

At Zero Hedge, "Trump Favorability Surges Post-Election."


Nina Agdal Virtual Reality Sports Illustrated Swimsuit (VIDEO)

I miss this lady.

She's so fabulous.


Stephen Budiansky, Code Warriors

Well, here's a good and timely book selection, considering all the allegations of Russian interference in the election.

At Amazon, Stephen Budiansky, Code Warriors: NSA's Codebreakers and the Secret Intelligence War Against the Soviet Union.

Isabel Wilkerson, The Warmth of Other Suns

One of Amazon's best-selling paperback non-fiction books.

See Isabel Wilkerson, The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration.

Lunch Atop a Skyscraper (VIDEO)

Via Big Fur Hat, at iOWNTHEWORLD, "Lunch Atop a Skyscraper – The Story Behind It":
What I love about this video is the candor. A historian actually says that it was Rockefeller that put so many people to work during the great depression. How did this scholar slip through the cracks?


Deal of the Day: DYMO LabelWriter Printer

At Amazon, DYMO LabelWriter 4XL Thermal Label Printer.

Plus, POS HARDWARE BUNDLE - Epson TM-T20II C31CB10021 Direct Thermal Printer and Epsilont Cash Drawer.

More, New and Interesting Finds at Amazon.

Plus, Fire Tablet, 7" Display, Wi-Fi, 8 GB - Includes Special Offers, Black.

And, Kindle Paperwhite E-reader - White, 6" High-Resolution Display (300 ppi) with Built-in Light, Wi-Fi - Includes Special Offers.

Also, AmazonBasics Apple Certified Lightning to USB Cable - 3 Feet (0.9 Meters) - White.

BONUS: Guenter Lewy, The Nazi Persecution of the Gypsies.

Digital Cameras Under $250

Shop Digital Cameras at Amazon.

And thanks to everyone who's making my holiday Amazon blogging a real success!

I'm having a great time and the support has been fabulous.

Thanks again!

Still more in Electronics, Computers, and Accessories.

Plus, Save on Snow Blowers, Snow Shovels, Salt Spreaders and More.

BONUS: Gerhard L. Weinberg, Germany, Hitler, and World War II: Essays in Modern German and World History.

Heidi Klum LOVE Advent 2016 (VIDEO)

I love anything with Ms. Heidi, but these LOVE videos are most excellent, heh.



InfoWars: Orange Coast College Student Faces Expulsion After Psychology Professor Attacked Donald Trump's Election as 'Act of Terrorism' (VIDEO)

Following-up, "Olga Perez Stable Cox, Orange Coast College Psychology Professor, Attacks Donald Trump's Election as an 'Act of Terrorism' (VIDEO)."

Here's Margaret Howell and Lee Ann McAdoo, at InfoWars:


Orange Coast College psychology professor Olga Perez Stable Cox labeled Donald Trump’s victory “an act of terrorism” and seems to be suggesting that he is a “white supremacist” and Vice President-elect Mike Pence is “one of the most anti-gay humans in this country.” She tells her students that the difficult thing about the election loss is that the people who caused the “assault are among us,” as if Trump supporters are the enemy within.

Donald Trump on Russian Interference: 'I Don't Believe It...'

I love this guy.

At the New York Times (via Memeorandum).


Saturday, December 10, 2016

Holiday Shopping Portal [BUMPED]

At Amazon, Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers. Books, DVDs, and More.

BONUS: Richard J. Evans, The Third Reich in History and Memory.

Cathy McMorris Rodgers Picked for Secretary of the Interior

She's a great lady!

And she wants to drill, baby, drill!

At the Los Angeles Times, "Trump said to pick drilling advocate Cathy McMorris Rodgers for Interior."

And at Bloomberg, "Trump Said to Offer Cathy McMorris Rodgers Post to Head Interior":

Cathy McMorris Rodgers
President-elect Donald Trump has asked Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the highest-ranking Republican woman in the U.S. House, to be his Interior secretary, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

In picking the six-term Republican from Washington state, Trump would be putting a Westerner who has favored opening more areas to oil and gas development in charge of the agency that makes those decisions for 20 percent of the U.S. McMorris Rodgers, 47, has been House Republican Conference chairwoman, the fourth-ranking party leader, since 2013.

Her voting record in Congress has gained low ratings from environmental and conservation organizations, though her campaign website promotes her role helping to write bipartisan legislation passed in December to modernize the U.S. energy system, including by speeding hydropower development, which is important to her state.

She supported a provision ending the 1975 ban on the export of U.S. oil, voted to allow Indian tribes to use biomass as a stable energy source, and backed a bill rejecting an expanded definition of “navigable waters” under the Clean Water Act. She also helped write legislation on funding for wildfire disasters.

Even so, the League of Conservation Voters gave McMorris Rodgers a zero score in the group’s 100-point National Environmental Scorecard reflecting votes in 2015. Her lifetime pro-environment score is 4 percent with the group, which bases its findings on lawmakers’ votes on the group’s top issues including energy, global warming, public health, public lands and wildlife conservation, and spending for environmental programs. The average U.S. House score in the group’s ratings for all House members was 41 percent.
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Rex Tillerson, Exxon Mobil CEO, Expected as Nominee for Secretary of State

Collectivist heads will explode.

At NYT


And at WSJ:

President-elect Donald Trump is expected to nominate Exxon Mobil Corp. Chief Executive Rex Tillerson to be secretary of state, a transition official said Saturday, a selection that would reach outside the traditional foreign policy establishment to elevate a global business deal-maker.

Mr. Trump hasn't yet made a final decision, the official said, but the president-elect heaped praise on Mr. Tillerson in an interview released Saturday.

“He’s more than a business executive; he’s a world-class player,’’ Mr. Trump told Fox News in the interview, to be broadcast Sunday. “He’s in charge of I guess the largest company in the world.”

Mr. Trump called it “a great advantage” that Mr. Tillerson already knows “many of the players,” noting that he does “massive deals in Russia.”

Those deals would be certain to come under scrutiny in confirmation hearings before the Senate. A number of Republicans have urged Mr. Trump to be wary of Russia, warning that it is trying to expand its influence in ways that run counter to U.S. interests in places such as Ukraine and Syria.

The nomination would also put Mr. Trump’s intentions toward Russia in the spotlight just as controversy is intensifying over reports that the Central Intelligence Agency has concluded that a Russian-led hacking effort of U.S. email accounts was intended to boost Mr. Trump’s election chances.

Mr. Tillerson, 64 years old, met privately with Mr. Trump on Saturday, four days after their first meeting.

Among those considered for the post, Mr. Tillerson has perhaps the closest ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, having negotiated a 2011 energy partnership deal with Russia that Mr. Putin said could eventually be worth as much as $500 billion. In 2012, the Kremlin bestowed the country’s Order of Friendship decoration on Mr. Tillerson.

This pre-existing relationship with Mr. Putin complements Mr. Trump’s push to improve U.S.-Russia ties.

Since Mr. Trump began vetting candidates for secretary of state, Mr. Tillerson’s stock has climbed steadily. He moved ahead of better-known hopefuls with established political credentials—including 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney —who had multiple conversations with Mr. Trump about the job. Mr. Tillerson is viewed by some of Mr. Trump’s advisers as a mold-breaking pick who would bring an executive’s experience to the diplomatic role, said a person involved in the process.

Tapping Mr. Tillerson for the job would be a “Trumpian” move, the transition official said.

Mr. Trump is expected to make a formal announcement about his State Department pick in the coming days.

An Exxon spokesman declined to comment.

Mr. Trump said in a statement on Friday that former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani had taken himself out of the running for the diplomatic job and other administration posts late last month.


With Mr. Trump’s decision not yet final, other candidates who remain in the running, apart from Mr. Romney, are former Central Intelligence Agency director David Petraeus, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton, and U.S. Sen. Bob Corker (R., Tenn.), people familiar with the matter said.

If Mr. Trump selects Mr. Tillerson, it would add a seasoned business executive to a team that already includes three retired generals. As Exxon’s CEO since 2006, Mr. Tillerson could leverage existing relationships with numerous world leaders.

Olga Perez Stable Cox, Orange Coast College Psychology Professor, Attacks Donald Trump's Election as an 'Act of Terrorism' (VIDEO)

This woman goes off on a really objectionable, unhinged rant.

I can see why some students were not pleased.

At the O.C. Register, "Caught on video: Trump's election was an 'act of terrorism,' says Orange Coast College instructor in class":

COSTA MESA – In a video clip recorded by a student, a psychology instructor at Orange Coast College told her class that the election of Donald Trump was “an act of terrorism” – prompting an official complaint from the school’s Republican Club.

Olga Perez Stable Cox told students in her popular human sexuality class shortly after the election: “We have been assaulted.”

“One of the most frightening things for me, and most people in my life, is that the people who are leading the assault are among us,” said the instructor who is in her 30th year at the college. “It is not some stranger from some other country coming in and attacking our sense of what it means to be an American and the things that we stand for. And that makes it more painful. ...

“We are way beyond Republicans and Democrats, and we’re really back to being (in) a civil war – and I don’t mean it in a fighting way, but our nation is divided as clearly as it was in Civil War times,” she told the students. “And my hope is that we will get some good leadership to help us to overcome that.”

On Monday, the Republican Club posted the video on its Facebook page. Cox’s remarks then were distributed via Facebook and other social media.

She did not return messages for comment on Thursday.

The union that represents Cox defended her and said any students involved in the recording violated school and state codes and could be punished. Meanwhile, some Orange Coast College students and their supporters called it a blatant example of liberal bias on American campuses.

“She’s using her power as a teacher who gives grades, with a captive audience, to basically scare and shame students,” said attorney Shawn Steel, who on behalf of the school’s College Republicans filed a complaint with Orange Coast College on Nov. 30.

“It’s alarming. It’s scare-mongering. It’s irrational. It’s a rant. And it doesn’t belong in the classroom,” said Steel, a past chairman of the California Republican Party...
More.

The video upload's at the link.

Tom Moon, 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die

More Christmas ideas.

At Amazon, Tom Moon, 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die.

Plus, Brad Tolinski and Alan di Perna, Play It Loud: An Epic History of the Style, Sound, and Revolution of the Electric Guitar.

And, Lora Greene, Combat Rock: A History of Punk (From Its Origins to the Present).

More, Daniel J. Levitin, This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession.

BONUS: Francis Davis, The History of the Blues: The Roots, The Music, The People.

Pearl Harbor 75th Anniversary Commemoration (VIDEO)

I wish I could've been there.

At USA Today, "A moment of silence marks 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor," and "Pearl Harbor: Survivors gather to mark a moment that changed the world."



Heh, Progressive Paul Krugman's Not Taking the New Trump Reality Too Well

Lolz.

At Twitchy, "Acceptance? NEVER! Conspiracy-spotter Paul Krugman’s simmering election ‘rage’ is about to boil over."

Hat Tip: Instapundit, "PAUL KRUGMAN MORPHED INTO JOE McCARTHY SO SLOWLY, I HARDLY EVEN NOTICED."