President Trump Says He Misspoke at Helsinki Summit (VIDEO)

At LAT, "Facing heavy criticism, Trump now says he misspoke over Putin-friendly remarks":

President Trump, seeking to stanch a national furor, said on Tuesday that he misspoke at his Helsinki summit with Vladimir Putin, and meant to say that he does in fact see Russia as the culprit that interfered in the 2016 election, just as U.S. intelligence agencies have found.

The president's new version was unlikely to satisfy many critics. It is undercut by his full, widely watched remarks on Monday, which gave weight to Putin's denials while criticizing the United States.

To many, Trump had missed his chance to speak truth to power alongside Russia's president. He made his correction to reporters at the White House, as he sat alongside Republican lawmakers.

In his attempt to walk back his remarks in Finland, Trump said he accepts the consensus of American intelligence agencies that Russia interfered in the election. Yet in a sign that he cannot fully accept those findings — seeing them as a challenge to his election legitimacy — he added that the perpetrators "could be other people also." That assertion is not supported by known intelligence.

At a Helsinki news conference, as Putin looked on, Trump said the following to a reporter's question about whether he believed U.S. intelligence agencies, or Putin's denials of interference: "My people came to me...they said they think it's Russia. I have President Putin, he just said it's not Russia. I will say this: I don't see any reason why it would be" Russia.

On Tuesday, however, he said this: "The sentence should have been 'I don't see any reason why it wouldn't be' Russia."

"I have the strongest respect for our intelligence agencies, headed by my people," Trump told the reporters at a hastily scheduled session ahead of his meeting with some House Republicans about additional tax cuts.

He also said, "We're doing everything in our power to prevent Russian interference in 2018," referring to midterm elections.

Trump afterward ignored questions that reporters shouted, including whether he would criticize Putin, as White House aides pushed them out of the Cabinet room.

The day before, the president had blamed the United States for sour relations with Russia and criticized the FBI, Democrats, Hillary Clinton and the special counsel's investigation of Russia's election activities and possible Trump campaign complicity — all as Putin, occasionally smiling, stood feet away in the Finland presidential palace.

The scene almost instantly drew condemnation as it played out on television screens in the U.S. Trump, who repeatedly praised and deferred to Putin, was criticized by foreign policy and national security veterans as weak, an insult that is particularly galling to him.

In two subsequent interviews with Fox News and in his tweets after the summit, Trump sounded defensive, and more surprised and frustrated by the reaction than contrite. He did not, however, make any attempt to correct his remarks until more than 24 hours later.

"I came back and I said: 'What is going on? What's the big deal?" Trump said Tuesday...

Amanda Seyfried Seriously Sexy

At Popaholic, "Amanda Seyfried Drops Some Seriously Sexy Cleavage Action."

Amanda Seyfried Drops Some Seriously Sexy Cleavage Action https://t.co/UFByTuxc0y pic.twitter.com/QlrJuEZTMB

— Popoholic (@Popoholic) July 17, 2018

Jennifer Lopez Date Night at the All-Star Game

At London's Daily Mail, "Jennifer Lopez sizzles in skintight striped dress as enjoys date night with sharp-suited beau Alex Rodriguez."

Also, "Jennifer Lopez in a Black Top."

Tommy Robinson's Appeal Heard Today

Ezra Levant covered the proceedings from inside the courtroom, and here's Katie Hopkins:

#TommyRobinson appeal in progress. I say to the Establishment, maybe you will think twice the next time you throw one of our own to the wolves. The Muslim overlords of our prisons will get him. Eventually. pic.twitter.com/OOKf9RHuhU

— Katie Hopkins (@KTHopkins) July 18, 2018

#TommyRobinson appeal will be heard today

Standing up for our girls against majority Pakistani Muslim rape squads pic.twitter.com/OOKf9RHuhU

— Katie Hopkins (@KTHopkins) July 18, 2018

Causal Link Found Between Screen Time and ADHD

Well, I didn't need a large-N study to tell me this, heh.

At LAT, "Los Angeles high school students reveal a link between copious amounts of screen time and ADHD":

What with all the swiping, scrolling, snap-chatting, surfing and streaming that consume the adolescent mind, an American parent might well watch his or her teen and wonder whether any sustained thought is even possible.

New research supports that worry, suggesting that teens who spend more time toggling among a growing number of digital media platforms exhibit a mounting array of attention difficulties and impulse-control problems.

In a group of more than 2,500 Los Angeles-area high school students who showed no evidence of attention challenges at the outset, investigators from USC, UCLA and UC San Diego found that those who engaged in more digital media activities over a two-year period reported a rising number of symptoms linked to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

The association between digital media use and ADHD symptoms in teens was modest. But it was clear enough that it could not be dismissed as a statistical fluke. On average, with each notch a teen climbed up the scale of digital engagement, his or her average level of reported ADHD symptoms rose by about 10%.

The results do not show that prolific use of digital media causes ADHD symptoms, much less that it results in a level of impairment that would warrant an ADHD diagnosis or pharmaceutical treatment.

Indeed, it’s possible the relationship is reversed — that attention problems drive an adolescent to more intensive online engagement.

But at a time when 95% of adolescents own or have access to a smartphone and 45% said they are online “almost constantly,” the new study raises some stark concerns about the future of paying attention. It was published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Assn.

The findings come as mental health professionals are rethinking their understanding of ADHD, a psychiatric condition that was long thought to start in early childhood and last across a lifetime. Marked by impulsivity, hyperactivity and difficulty sustaining attention, ADHD is estimated to affect about 7% of children and adolescents.

But the disorder is increasingly being diagnosed in older teens and adults, and in some it waxes and wanes across a lifespan. Whether its symptoms were missed earlier, developed later or are brought on by changing circumstances is unclear.

The new research, involving 2,587 sophomores and juniors attending public schools in Los Angeles County, raises the possibility that, for some, ADHD symptoms are brought on or exacerbated by the hyper-stimulating entreaties of a winking, pinging, vibrating, always-on marketplace of digital offerings that is as close as the wireless device in their pocket.

“We believe we are studying the occurrence of new symptoms that weren’t present at the beginning of the study,” said USC psychologist Adam M. Leventhal, the study’s senior author.

The study “is just the latest in a series of research findings showing that excessive use of digital media may have consequences for teens' well-being,” said San Diego State University psychologist Jean M. Twenge, who has conducted research on teens and smartphone use but was not involved in the new work.

Twenge’s research, published this year in the journal Emotion, explored a sharp decline in U.S. teens’ happiness and satisfaction since 2012. Combing through the data from 1.1 million teens, Twenge and her colleagues found dissatisfaction highest among those who spent the most time locked onto a screen. As time spent in offline activities increased, so did happiness.

Leventhal and his colleagues assessed the digital engagement of their 15- and 16-year-old subjects five times over a two-year period — when they first entered the study and four more times at six-month intervals. They asked the students to think back over the last week and report whether and how much they had engaged in 14 separate online activities. Those included checking social media sites, browsing the web, posting or commenting on online content, texting, playing games, video chatting, and streaming TV or movies...

Trump Calls Off Cold War II

It's Patrick Buchanan, at the American Conservative:

"European allies have freeloaded off U.S. defense while rolling up huge trade surpluses at our expense. Those days are over. Europeans are going to stop stealing our markets and start paying for their own defense. There will be no Cold War II." Buchanan: https://t.co/smXDYWl4ZH

— The American Conservative (@amconmag) July 17, 2018

Helsinki showed that Trump meant what he said when he declared repeatedly, “Peace with Russia is a good thing, not a bad thing.”

On Syria, Trump indicated that he and Putin are working with Bibi Netanyahu, who wants all Iranian forces and Iran-backed militias kept far from the Golan Heights. As for U.S. troops in Syria, says Trump, they will be coming out after ISIS is crushed, and we are 98 percent there.

That is another underlying message here: America is coming home from foreign wars and will be shedding foreign commitments.

Both before and after the Trump-Putin meeting, the cable news coverage was as hostile and hateful toward the president as any this writer has ever seen. The media may not be the “enemy of the people” Trump says they are, but many are implacable enemies of this president.

Some wanted Trump to emulate Nikita Khrushchev, who blew up the Paris summit in May 1960 over a failed U.S. intelligence operation — the U-2 spy plane shot down over the Urals just weeks earlier.

Khrushchev had demanded that Ike apologize. Ike refused, and Khrushchev exploded. Some media seemed to be hoping for just such a confrontation.

When Trump spoke of the “foolishness and stupidity” of the U.S. foreign policy establishment that contributed to this era of animosity in U.S.-Russia relations, what might he have had in mind?

Was it the U.S. provocatively moving NATO into Russia’s front yard after the collapse of the USSR?

Was it the U.S. invasion of Iraq to strip Saddam Hussein of weapons of mass destruction he did not have that plunged us into endless wars of the Middle East?

Was it U.S. support of Syrian rebels determined to oust Bashar Assad, leading to ISIS intervention and a seven-year civil war with half a million dead, a war which Putin eventually entered to save his Syrian ally?

Was it George W. Bush’s abrogation of Richard Nixon’s ABM treaty and drive for a missile defense that caused Putin to break out of the Reagan INF treaty and start deploying cruise missiles to counter it?

Was it U.S. complicity in the Kiev coup that ousted the elected pro-Russian regime that caused Putin to seize Crimea to hold onto Russia’s Black Sea naval base at Sevastopol?

Many Putin actions we condemn were reactions to what we did.

Russia annexed Crimea bloodlessly. But did not the U.S. bomb Serbia for 78 days to force Belgrade to surrender her cradle province of Kosovo?

How was that more moral than what Putin did in Crimea?

If Russian military intelligence hacked into the emails of the DNC, exposing how they stuck it to Bernie Sanders, Trump says he did not collude in it. Is there, after two years, any proof that he did?

Trump insists Russian meddling had no effect on the outcome in 2016 and he is not going to allow media obsession with Russiagate to interfere with establishing better relations.

Former CIA Director John Brennan rages that, “Donald Trump’s press conference performance in Helsinki … was … treasonous. … He is wholly in the pocket of Putin. Republican Patriots: Where are you???”

Well, as Patrick Henry said long ago, “If this be treason, make the most of it!”

'I'm literally a communist, you idiot...'

This is something else.

From Douglas Murray, at the Spectator U.K., "Does Teen Vogue understand what it means to be ‘literally a communist’?"

Nobody ever went to Teen Vogue for moral or political enlightenment. But who would have thought it would become an exemplar of a wider moral sewer https://t.co/da3QkaTPEv

— The Spectator (@spectator) July 18, 2018

International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism

Here's the statement, at IHRA's home page, "Working Definition of Antisemitism."

I'm posting in response to the controversy of the U.K. Labour Party's rejection of the IHRA definition, with the significant political fallout thereof, as well as the push by the far-left Jewish Voice for Peace to redefine hateful racist criticism of Israel and acceptable and non-anti-Semitic.

See the Jewish News Service, "Three-dozen far-left pro-BDS Jewish groups urge rejection of anti-Semitism definition":

I have no words... Disgraceful.

Three-dozen far-left pro-BDS Jewish groups urge rejection of anti-Semitism definition https://t.co/YcbvTb0EHi via @JNS_org

— Andreas Fagerbakke (@afagerbakke) July 17, 2018

(July 17, 2018 / JNS) Three-dozen far-left pro-BDS Jewish groups from around the world have signed a statement rejecting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA)’s definition of anti-Semitism over its alleged conflation of anti-Semitism and criticism of Israel.

The statement, spearheaded by the anti-Israel U.S.-based group Jewish Voice for Peace, said that the IHRA definition, which has been adopted by a number of Western countries, “is worded in such a way as to be easily adopted or considered by western governments to intentionally equate legitimate criticisms of Israel and advocacy for Palestinian rights with antisemitism, as a means to suppress the former.”

The statement said the conflation “undermines both the Palestinian struggle for freedom, justice and equality and the global struggle against antisemitism.”

“It also serves to shield Israel from being held accountable to universal standards of human rights and international law,” the statement said. “Israel does not represent us and cannot speak for us when committing crimes against Palestinians and denying their UN-stipulated rights.”

Among the other U.S.-based groups that signed the letter are Jews for Palestinian Right of Return, Jews of Color & Sephardi/Mizrahi Jews and Jews Say No!

The statement by the far-left Jewish groups comes amid an intense debate within the United Kingdom’s Labour Party over the adoption of the IHRA definition...

And see the Jerusalem Post, "Outcry by UK Jewry as Labour adopts controversial antisemitism guidelines."

And just today, at Sky News, "Jeremy Corbyn to take action against MP Margaret Hodge, who branded him an 'anti-Semite'."

And Tal Ofer, on Twitter:

It is with a heavy heart that I have decided to terminate my membership of the Labour Party – A party I have supported throughout my life, a party I stood for as a candidate in local elections, a party that that was the natural home for British Jews #LabourAntisemitism pic.twitter.com/QfCLemaKmw

— Tal Ofer (@TalOfer) July 17, 2018

'The Labour party was my home – but anti-Semitism is forcing me to leave it'https://t.co/zSCRSqeGHX @NewStatesman @LabourAgainstAS @AntisemitismOut #LabourAntisemitism #EnoughIsEnough @BoardofDeputies

— Tal Ofer (@TalOfer) July 18, 2018

Ana Braga in Sheer Top

At Taxi Driver, "Ana Braga No Bra in Completely Sheer Top."

Jennifer Delacruz's Wonderful Weather Forecast

I can't complain. It's been beautiful warm summer weather.

Here's the fabulous Ms. Jennifer, for ABC News 10 San Diego:

Shopping Today

At Amazon, Today's Deals. New deals. Every day. Shop our Deal of the Day, Lightning Deals and more daily deals and limited-time sales.

And especially, Echo Dot.

Also, Toshiba 50-inch 4K Ultra HD Smart LED TV with HDR - Fire TV Edition.

More, Rogue River Tactical: USMC Marine Tactical Folding Pocket Knife G10 Handle Sharp Tanto Blade Spring Assisted Military Knives EGA Elite Survival Semper Fi.

Here, Buck Knives 863 Selkirk Fixed Blade Knife with Fire Striker and Nylon Sheath.

More here, FLYTON Camping Cookware Outdoor Cooking Mess Kit Portable Lightweight Pots Pans Water Kettle Set for Backpacking Hiking Trekking Picnic Fishing Mountaineering.

Plus, Olive Drab Green Warm Wool Fire Retardent Blanket, 66 x 90 (80% Wool)-US Military.

And, Premium Horny Goat Weed Extract with Maca & Tribulus, Enhanced Energy Complex for Men & Women, 1000mg Epimedium with Icariins, Veggie Capsules.

Also, MusclePharm Combat Protein Powder - Essential blend of Whey, Isolate, Casein and Egg Protein with BCAA's and Glutamine for Recovery, Chocolate Milk, 4 Pound.

BONUS:  Katie Williams, Tell the Machine Goodnight: A Novel.

New Nina Agdal Bikini Shots

She's looks great!

At Drunken Stepfather, "NINA AGDAL BIKINI OF THE DAY."

Amazon’s Curious Case of the $2,630.52 Used Paperback

I see these exorbitantly priced books from time to time, and I totally dismiss them, because I can't believe someone would be stupid enough to pay these prices. I shop at public library used book sales, where most of my purchases are for 25 cents. At Amazon you might find the same book going for 200 times that.

At NYT:

Why is a bookseller on Amazon asking $2,000 for a 99-cent paperback? https://t.co/U4YGOV2Ap6

— NYTimes Tech (@nytimestech) July 16, 2018

SAN FRANCISCO — Many booksellers on Amazon strive to sell their wares as cheaply as possible. That, after all, is usually how you make a sale in a competitive marketplace.

Other merchants favor a counterintuitive approach: Mark the price up to the moon.

“Zowie,” the romance author Deborah Macgillivray wrote on Twitter last month after she discovered copies of her 2009 novel, “One Snowy Knight,” being offered for four figures. One was going for “$2,630.52 & FREE Shipping,” she noted. Since other copies of the paperback were being sold elsewhere on Amazon for as little as 99 cents, she was perplexed.

“How many really sell at that price? Are they just hoping to snooker some poor soul?” Ms. Macgillivray wrote in an email. She noted that her blog had gotten an explosion in traffic from Russia. “Maybe Russian hackers do this in their spare time, making money on the side,” she said.

Amazon is by far the largest marketplace for both new and used books the world has ever seen, and is also one of the most inscrutable. The retailer directly sells some books, while others are sold by third parties. The wild pricing happens with the latter.

Twelve Russian Indicted in Election Hacking Scandal (VIDEO)

At LAT, "12 Russians indicted in hacking of Clinton's campaign and computers handling voter registration."

And at the Hill, via Memeorandum, "Trump on Russia indictment: Why didn't Obama do something?"

Plus, a great Hannity monologue from last night:

Kate Upton and Alexis Ren Journey to Aruba (VIDEO)

Pretty much my favorite pair of ladies.

At Sports Illustrated Swimsuit:

Xamira Zuloaga

She's a "Chilean-born performance and plastic artist based in Portland, Oregon."

At Editorials Fashion Trends, "Xamira Zuloaga by Pierre Dal Corso."

And watch, "WET by Mise en Cage."

Cindy Crawford Bikini

Always nice to see --- the women's super amazing at 52.

At Drunken Stepfather, "CINDY CRAWFORD WET BIKINI IN MUSKOKA OF THE DAY."

And at London's Daily Mail, "Cindy Crawford flaunts figure in purple and white printed bikini during holiday in Canada."

Evelyn Taft's Mild Weekend Forecast

It's been really nice. Not too hot at all.

Here's the lovely Ms. Evelyn, for CBS News 2 Los Angeles:

Shopping Today

Prime deals, at Amazon, Today's Deals. New deals. Every day. Shop our Deal of the Day, Lightning Deals and more daily deals and limited-time sales.

Also, Womens Sun Hat Foldable Floppy Travel Packable UV Summer Beach Straw Hats UPF50.

Plus, Hemlock Women Flat Shoes Leisure Boat Shoes Working Shoes Summer Beach Sandals Round Toe Shoes (US:8.5, Pink).

More, Utopia Towels Premium Quality Cabana Beach Towels - Pack of 4 Cabana Stripe Pool Towels (30 x 60 Inches) - Multi Color Towels with High Absorbency.

Still more, Banana Boat Sunscreen Sport Family Size Broad Spectrum Sun Care Sunscreen Lotion - SPF 50, 12 ounce.

And, Buck Knives 110 Famous Folding Hunter Knife with Genuine Leather Sheath.

Also, Premium Horny Goat Weed Extract with Maca & Tribulus, Enhanced Energy Complex for Men & Women, 1000mg Epimedium with Icariins, Veggie Capsules.

BONUS: Annie Proulx, Barkskins: A Novel.

New Poll Has Democrats Up 8-Points on the Generic Congressional Ballot

Up and down we go, where we stop nobody knows.

At Fox News, "Fox News Poll: Democrats ahead in election enthusiasm, interest -- and the vote":

Democrats are more interested in the upcoming midterm elections and more enthused to vote than usual, and that helps them to an 8-point edge in the generic congressional ballot test.  This amid widespread concern that the country’s political debate is overheated and even dangerous -- to the point that many voters steer clear of talking politics with family and friends.

Fifty-four percent of Democrats are “extremely” interested in the November elections, and 51 percent are more enthusiastic about voting than usual, according to the latest Fox News national poll.

Republicans trail on both measures:  47 percent are extremely interested and 42 percent are more enthused.

Here’s the take-away:  by a 48-40 percent margin, voters prefer the Democratic candidate in their congressional district over the Republican.  Democrats were up 48-39 percent last month.  The rule of thumb is the Democrats need to carry the generic ballot test by about 10 percentage points to take over the U.S. House this fall.

When the results are narrowed to only extremely interested voters, the Democratic advantage is 13 points:  54-41 percent.

“Things seem to move day to day, but the prevailing political wind favors the Democrats right now,” says Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who conducts the survey with Democrat Chris Anderson.

“There’s still a lot of time until Election Day, but we’re close enough that polls like this should worry the Republicans.”

There’s a 14-point interest gap between Republican men and women, as 53 percent of GOP men are extremely interested, while 39 percent of GOP women say the same.

Among Democrats, 54 percent of men and 53 percent of women are extremely interested...

The election's still months away. I don't think Dems should get too excited, especially if they're planing on running and "Abolish ICE" platform.

But read the rest at the link.