From Sunday's Fox News Sunday Panel:
Thursday, June 22, 2017
John Pfaff, Locked In
*BUMPED.*
At Amazon, John Pfaff, Locked In: The True Causes of Mass Incarceration—and How to Achieve Real Reform.
At Amazon, John Pfaff, Locked In: The True Causes of Mass Incarceration—and How to Achieve Real Reform.
Julian Assange's Nihilism (VIDEO)
From Sue Halpern, at the New York Review, "The Nihilism of Julian Assange":
But note how Halpern gets the basic background wrong: That "graphic video of American soldiers in an Apache helicopter mowing down a group of unarmed Iraqis" was actually a video of anti-American journalists embedded with Iraqi insurgents armed with RPGs. The Apache took them out in self-defense, following strict rules of engagement. That story's been totally debunked. But as with most other things in the news, the initial lie becomes the official truth for the radical left. That's why you can never let your guard down.
Keep reading, FWIW.
Sue Halpern reviews ‘Risk,’ Laura Poitras’s documentary portrait of Julian Assange https://t.co/tgEwRkGF1q
— NY Review of Books (@nybooks) June 20, 2017
About forty minutes into Risk, Laura Poitras’s messy documentary portrait of Julian Assange, the filmmaker addresses the viewer from off-camera. “This is not the film I thought I was making,” she says. “I thought I could ignore the contradictions. I thought they were not part of the story. I was so wrong. They are becoming the story.”I've never liked nor respected Assange, who I consider an enemy.
By the time she makes this confession, Poitras has been filming Assange, on and off, for six years. He has gone from a bit player on the international stage to one of its dramatic leads. His gleeful interference in the 2016 American presidential election—first with the release of e-mails poached from the Democratic National Committee, timed to coincide with, undermine, and possibly derail Hillary Clinton’s nomination at the Democratic Convention, and then with the publication of the private e-mail correspondence of Clinton’s adviser John Podesta, which was leaked, drip by drip, in the days leading up to the election to maximize the damage it might inflict on Clinton—elevated Assange’s profile and his influence.
And then this spring, it emerged that Nigel Farage, the Trump adviser and former head of the nationalist and anti-immigrant UK Independence Party (UKIP) who is now a person of interest in the FBI investigation of the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia, was meeting with Assange. To those who once saw him as a crusader for truth and accountability, Assange suddenly looked more like a Svengali and a willing tool of Vladimir Putin, and certainly a man with no particular affection for liberal democracy. Yet those tendencies were present all along.
n 2010, when Poitras began work on her film, Assange’s four-year-old website, WikiLeaks, had just become the conduit for hundreds of thousands of classified American documents revealing how we prosecuted the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, including a graphic video of American soldiers in an Apache helicopter mowing down a group of unarmed Iraqis, as well as for some 250,000 State Department diplomatic cables. All had been uploaded to the WikiLeaks site by an army private named Bradley—now Chelsea—Manning.
The genius of the WikiLeaks platform was that documents could be leaked anonymously, with all identifiers removed; WikiLeaks itself didn’t know who its sources were unless leakers chose to reveal themselves. This would prevent anyone at WikiLeaks from inadvertently, or under pressure, disclosing a source’s identity. Assange’s goal was to hold power—state power, corporate power, and powerful individuals—accountable by offering a secure and easy way to expose their secrets. He called this “radical transparency.” Manning’s bad luck was to tell a friend about the hack, and the friend then went to the FBI. For a long time, though, Assange pretended not to know who provided the documents, even when there was evidence that he and Manning had been e-mailing before the leaks.
Though the contradictions were not immediately obvious to Poitras as she trained her lens on Assange, they were becoming so to others in his orbit. WikiLeaks’s young spokesperson in those early days, James Ball, has recounted how Assange tried to force him to sign a nondisclosure statement that would result in a £12 million penalty if it were breached. “[I was] woken very early by Assange, sitting on my bed, prodding me in the face with a stuffed giraffe, immediately once again pressuring me to sign,” Ball wrote. Assange continued to pester him like this for two hours. Assange’s “impulse towards free speech,” according to Andrew O’Hagan, the erstwhile ghostwriter of Assange’s failed autobiography, “is only permissible if it adheres to his message. His pursuit of governments and corporations was a ghostly reverse of his own fears for himself. That was the big secret with him: he wanted to cover up everything about himself except his fame.”
Meanwhile, some of the company he was keeping while Poitras was filming also might have given her pause. His association with Farage had already begun in 2011 when Farage was head of UKIP. Assange’s own WikiLeaks Party of Australia was aligned with the white nationalist Australia First Party, itself headed by an avowed neo-Nazi, until political pressure forced it to claim that association to be an “administrative error.”
Most egregious, perhaps, was Assange’s collaboration with Israel Shamir, an unapologetic anti-Semite and Putin ally to whom Assange handed over all State Department diplomatic cables from the Manning leak relating to Belarus (as well as to Russia, Eastern Europe, and Israel). Shamir then shared these documents with members of the regime of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who appeared to use them to imprison and torture members of the opposition. This prompted the human rights group Index on Censorship to ask WikiLeaks to explain its relationship to Shamir, and to look into reports that Shamir’s “access to the WikiLeaks’ US diplomatic cables [aided in] the prosecution of civil society activists within Belarus.” WikiLeaks called these claims rumors and responded that it would not be investigating them. “Most people with principled stances don’t survive for long,” Assange tells Poitras at the beginning of the film. It’s not clear if he’s talking about himself or others...
But note how Halpern gets the basic background wrong: That "graphic video of American soldiers in an Apache helicopter mowing down a group of unarmed Iraqis" was actually a video of anti-American journalists embedded with Iraqi insurgents armed with RPGs. The Apache took them out in self-defense, following strict rules of engagement. That story's been totally debunked. But as with most other things in the news, the initial lie becomes the official truth for the radical left. That's why you can never let your guard down.
Keep reading, FWIW.
University of Oregon Professor C.J. Pascoe: 'Trumpism' Is About 'Discourses of Masculinized Dominance'
At the Other McCain, "Feminist Professor: ‘Trumpism’ Is About ‘Discourses of Masculinized Dominance’."
These people are psycho.
These people are psycho.
Masha Gessen, The Future Is History
*BUMPED.*
Out October 3rd, at Amazon, Masha Gessen, The Future Is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia.
Also, The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin.
Out October 3rd, at Amazon, Masha Gessen, The Future Is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia.
Also, The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin.
Marine Le Pen Wins Seat in French National Assembly
Media outlets are playing down the victories of the National Front, but Marine Le Pen can now claim she's got governing experience. This seat is a platform for her national aspirations.
At France 24, "Le Pen wins parliamentary seat but French far-right party stalls."
Also at Astute Bloggers, "MARINE LE PEN WINS 1ST PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION."
At France 24, "Le Pen wins parliamentary seat but French far-right party stalls."
Also at Astute Bloggers, "MARINE LE PEN WINS 1ST PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION."
George R. R. Martin, A Game of Thrones: A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1 (Mass Market Paperback)
At Amazon, George R. R. Martin, A Game of Thrones: A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1.
I watched reruns last night on HBO, from Season 6, and I just saw copies of the paperback when I was out shopping a little while ago.
I watched reruns last night on HBO, from Season 6, and I just saw copies of the paperback when I was out shopping a little while ago.
Yesterday's Special Report with Bret Baier (VIDEO)
An excellent segment, with Tom Bevan, Charles Krauthammer, Laura Ingraham, and Stephen Hayes.
At Fox News, "The true meaning behind special election victories."
At Fox News, "The true meaning behind special election victories."
Baby Boomers Aging the Nation
Heh, more power to those old coots, lol.
At the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, "Baby boomers aging the nation, and the region":
At the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, "Baby boomers aging the nation, and the region":
Baby boomers aging the nation, and the region https://t.co/MCs88ZUH02
— John Hielscher (@JohnDHielscher) June 22, 2017
Sarasota-Manatee’s median age keeps marching upwardMore.
The population of Sarasota and Manatee counties does not rank among the oldest in the United States but, like two-thirds of the nation’s counties, its median age keeps edging upward.
According to updated data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau, as of July 2016, the median age reached 55.6 in Sarasota County and 47.8 in Manatee.
By comparison, the nation’s median age reached 37.9 — up from 35.3 since 2000.
“Our country’s demographic profile is aging and looks a lot different than it did two decades ago,” bureau demographer Lauren Medina said in an announcement.
“The baby-boom generation is largely responsible for this trend,” Peter Borsella, a bureau demographer, added. “Baby boomers began turning 65 in 2011 and will continue to do so for many years to come.”
Residents age 65 and older now account for 15.2 percent of the nation’s population, up from 12.4 percent in 2000.
As of 2016, Maine continued to have the highest median age (44.6) — followed by New Hampshire (43), Vermont (42.7) and West Virginia (42.2). Although better known than those states as a retirement mecca, Florida ranked fifth with a median age of 42.1.
The youngest states or jurisdictions include North Dakota (34.8), Texas (34.5), Alaska (33.9), the District of Columbia (33.9) and Utah (30.8).
The acceleration of the age boom in Florida has compelled more communities here to join the Age-Friendly movement, an initiative sponsored by the World Health Organization and AARP to help populations prepare for the effects of this demographic shift. Kathy Black, a professor at University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee who is instrumental in the Age-Friendly Sarasota effort, said recently that it’s important for people to question their own assumptions about others based on age...
Defund Planned Parenthood
Wednesday, June 21, 2017
Graham Allison, Destined for War
Following-up from previously, "Team Trump's Thucydides Fascination."
At Amazon, Graham Allison, Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides’s Trap?
At Amazon, Graham Allison, Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides’s Trap?
Team Trump's Thucydides Fascination
A good piece, at Politico:
“What made war inevitable was the growth of Athenian power and the fear which this caused in Sparta.” https://t.co/1TevEKv7XA
— POLITICO Magazine (@POLITICOMag) June 21, 2017
Republican Karen Handel Wins Special Election in Georgia's 6th Congressional District (VIDEO)
I was on Twitter last night, and it was serious laugh riot after Jon Ossoff's epic defeat.
As readers might have noticed, I wasn't all that invested in this race. I think I posted maybe once on it (I can search the archives, heh). And frankly, I wasn't too worried about Republicans keeping the district. For one thing, I don't trust the polls, and as it turns out, they were wrong again. The other main thing is that Georgia's 6th congressional district is historically Republican, with Handel having something like GOP +10% automatic margin. It was over-hyped, everywhere, and this race once again reflects badly on the Democrats, national radical progressives, and the hopelessly left-wing mainstream media.
Here's the current headline at the New York Times, via Memeorandum, "Democrats Seethe After Georgia Loss: ‘Our Brand Is Worse Than Trump’."
And from Patricia Murphy, who was on the ground in Georgia yesterday, at the Daily Beast, "Jon Ossoff's $23 Million Loss Shows Dems Have No Idea How to Win in the Age of Trump."
Also, at Truth Feed, "LOL: CNN Reacts to Ossoff’s Humiliating Loss - Their Faces SAY IT ALL!", and the Daily Wire, "Everyone's Laughing Their #Ossoff at This CNN Photo."
More, from political scientist Larry Sabato:
The president's party normally loses seats in midterm elections, so the Democrats, as demoralized as they are today, can keep hope alive for some gains in 2018. Whether they can pick off enough seats to retake the majority remains to be seen, and as it's 18 months away, I imagine it doesn't do a lot of good to start handicapping individual races at this point. Let's see what happens during primary season next year. If Democrats wise up and nominate really good candidates, not carpetbaggers and far-left radicals, perhaps we'll see some real competition. But all the normal structural factors remain in play, especially partisan gerrymandering that's helped the GOP and the polarized ideological tribalism that means there's few undecided voters in districts around the country for Democrats to attract.
One thing's for sure: If the Dems don't retake the House next year, the lols are going to be a million more times better than last night, and they were pretty good, heh.
More at Memeorandum.
As readers might have noticed, I wasn't all that invested in this race. I think I posted maybe once on it (I can search the archives, heh). And frankly, I wasn't too worried about Republicans keeping the district. For one thing, I don't trust the polls, and as it turns out, they were wrong again. The other main thing is that Georgia's 6th congressional district is historically Republican, with Handel having something like GOP +10% automatic margin. It was over-hyped, everywhere, and this race once again reflects badly on the Democrats, national radical progressives, and the hopelessly left-wing mainstream media.
Here's the current headline at the New York Times, via Memeorandum, "Democrats Seethe After Georgia Loss: ‘Our Brand Is Worse Than Trump’."
And from Patricia Murphy, who was on the ground in Georgia yesterday, at the Daily Beast, "Jon Ossoff's $23 Million Loss Shows Dems Have No Idea How to Win in the Age of Trump."
Also, at Truth Feed, "LOL: CNN Reacts to Ossoff’s Humiliating Loss - Their Faces SAY IT ALL!", and the Daily Wire, "Everyone's Laughing Their #Ossoff at This CNN Photo."
More, from political scientist Larry Sabato:
The president's party normally loses seats in midterm elections, so the Democrats, as demoralized as they are today, can keep hope alive for some gains in 2018. Whether they can pick off enough seats to retake the majority remains to be seen, and as it's 18 months away, I imagine it doesn't do a lot of good to start handicapping individual races at this point. Let's see what happens during primary season next year. If Democrats wise up and nominate really good candidates, not carpetbaggers and far-left radicals, perhaps we'll see some real competition. But all the normal structural factors remain in play, especially partisan gerrymandering that's helped the GOP and the polarized ideological tribalism that means there's few undecided voters in districts around the country for Democrats to attract.
One thing's for sure: If the Dems don't retake the House next year, the lols are going to be a million more times better than last night, and they were pretty good, heh.
More at Memeorandum.
Tuesday, June 20, 2017
Gwyneth Paltrow on Holiday in St. Tropez
At London's Daily Mail, "PICTURE EXCLUSIVE: Gwyneth Paltrow shows off her sensational figure in skimpy black bikini while soaking up the sun on luxury yacht in Saint Tropez."
Also at Drunken Stepfather, "GWYNETH PALTROW BIKINI EROTICA OF THE DAY."
Also at Drunken Stepfather, "GWYNETH PALTROW BIKINI EROTICA OF THE DAY."
Alessandra Ambrosio Steps Out in Santa Monica
She's probably over-the-hill, but I've still got a thing for this woman.
At London's Daily Mail, "Alessandra Ambrosio steps out in thigh-grazing denim playsuit as she enjoys breakfast with daughter Anja in Santa Monica."
At London's Daily Mail, "Alessandra Ambrosio steps out in thigh-grazing denim playsuit as she enjoys breakfast with daughter Anja in Santa Monica."
Gal Gadot Paid Just $300,000 for 'Wonder Woman'
Well, that does seem kinda low. But folks are comparing her's to Henry Cavill's $14 million payday for 2013's "Man of Steel."
It turns out, though, that Cavill's $14 million figure includes royalty payments and bonuses (or however you calculate the after-market residuals).
Gal Gadot's up-front $300,000 is before royalties and bonuses, and she's in contract renegotiations for her upcoming reprisals as Diana Prince (since "Wonder Wonder" performed spectacularly in theaters).
In any case, at London's Daily Mail and Vanity Fair:
It turns out, though, that Cavill's $14 million figure includes royalty payments and bonuses (or however you calculate the after-market residuals).
Gal Gadot's up-front $300,000 is before royalties and bonuses, and she's in contract renegotiations for her upcoming reprisals as Diana Prince (since "Wonder Wonder" performed spectacularly in theaters).
In any case, at London's Daily Mail and Vanity Fair:
Revealed: Gal Gadot made just $300k for Wonder Woman (while Henry Cavill raked in $14MILLION for Man of Steel) https://t.co/lLLDg2z8a5
— Daily Mail Celebrity (@DailyMailCeleb) June 20, 2017
No, Wonder Woman is not making 46 times less than Superman https://t.co/tjXlXlFFST
— VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) June 20, 2017
Jill Stein Isn't Sorry
I think she's scum, personally.
But I got a load out of this, heh:
But I got a load out of this, heh:
"Democrats have long accused the Green Party of being like a watermelon—green on the outside, red on the inside—and Stein’s closeness to a Kremlin-backed entity like RT has only fueled those suspicions."
“Democrats have long accused the Green Party of being like a watermelon—green on the outside, red on the inside” https://t.co/Mw00k5Afmg— POLITICO Magazine (@POLITICOMag) June 20, 2017
'Bachelor in Paradise' to Resume Production
Well, I suppose it's a good there wasn't a sexual assault on location, but who're ya gonna believe? A lot of money's at stake.
At NYT and People Magazine (which reports that Ms. Olympios' own attorneys will continue the investigation):
Added: At London's Daily Mail:
At NYT and People Magazine (which reports that Ms. Olympios' own attorneys will continue the investigation):
Plot twist: ABC's "Bachelor in Paradise" is happening https://t.co/D5K1yvhNVd— The New York Times (@nytimes) June 20, 2017
Bachelor in Paradise Investigation Over! Warner Bros. Concludes No Misconduct, Filming to Resume, Tapes on Lockdown https://t.co/OLdV2lxDR9— People Magazine (@people) June 20, 2017
Corinne Olympios' Lawyers: 'Our Own Investigation Will Continue' into #BiP Sex Scandal https://t.co/WCxKtG7AdE— People Magazine (@people) June 20, 2017
Corinne Olympios joins #BachelorInParadise for its fourth season. https://t.co/f7TyQGluog pic.twitter.com/jfWbXJqCQD— The Bachelor (@BTV_Bachelor) June 1, 2017
⚡️ “Corinne Olympios breaks her silence on Bachelor in Paradise”https://t.co/o4P2341s8P#CorinneOlympios#WhiteBeauty👸#WhiteGirlsAreMagic pic.twitter.com/lx3MTd2csz— ⚡Weißhäutig Kaiser⚡ (@KaiserJames) June 15, 2017
Added: At London's Daily Mail:
Corinne Olympios hooked up with THREE hunky contestants the same day she had oral sex with DeMario Jackson https://t.co/7Icpi3EXKL
— Daily Mail Celebrity (@DailyMailCeleb) June 19, 2017
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