Wikileaks is now claiming that their source for those DNC emails wasn't Russian hackers, but the recently murdered DNC employee killed in DC.
Well, it might be true.
The thing to remember is, where the Russians are concerned -- and Wikileaks is very much Russian intelligence -- even if it's true, they're telling you for a reason.
Who Are Your Friends?
NYT Headline: "Do Your Friends Actually Like You?"
Well, that depends on what you mean by "friends." If you mean the people I deal with socially and professionally, some of them do, and a lot of them are just being polite. That seems to be what they mean: "THINK of all the people with whom you interact during the course of a day, week, month and year."
OK, I guess. I imagine a lot of them really don't like me, but aren't ready to tell me so.
But I know some guys I don't see every year, that I don't even talk to every year, but we were together 18 hours a day in Iraq. I'm pretty sure I could go look any of them up tomorrow and we'd start back right where we left off. Certainly it's been that way every time I have ever been able to run into any of them.
Got close friends too, and family. Don't see them every day. I know who I can count on, though, and there's a few of them. Maybe one fewer, soon. That's the other side of this kind of thing. If it's just people you happen to run into every so often, well, they come and they go. The ones who count are people you miss.
Well, that depends on what you mean by "friends." If you mean the people I deal with socially and professionally, some of them do, and a lot of them are just being polite. That seems to be what they mean: "THINK of all the people with whom you interact during the course of a day, week, month and year."
OK, I guess. I imagine a lot of them really don't like me, but aren't ready to tell me so.
But I know some guys I don't see every year, that I don't even talk to every year, but we were together 18 hours a day in Iraq. I'm pretty sure I could go look any of them up tomorrow and we'd start back right where we left off. Certainly it's been that way every time I have ever been able to run into any of them.
Got close friends too, and family. Don't see them every day. I know who I can count on, though, and there's a few of them. Maybe one fewer, soon. That's the other side of this kind of thing. If it's just people you happen to run into every so often, well, they come and they go. The ones who count are people you miss.
Winners? Not Yet
You'll remember the first time they do win, if you raise them this way.
They will, too.
The Clinton campaign responded with a statement, with campaign manager Robby Mook saying: “This is simple — what Trump is saying is dangerous. A person seeking to be President of the United States should not suggest violence in any way.”First of all, that's nonsense as phrased: Clinton herself has been 'suggesting violence' in terms of talking about what she would do with regard to Syria and terrorism. The government is little but an instrument of violence, extracting taxes here and sending people to prison there, deploying a drone strike here and a Combined Joint Task Force there. Talking about how you'd apply the power of the state is most of what you do as a candidate for President. The only other topic Clinton ever discusses is whom she's going to reward with the wealth extracted from the disfavored. Everything else she talks about is suggesting violence at some level of abstraction -- that's what her calls for greatly increased taxes amount to, violence and nothing else.
What this Mook guy really meant to say is that no one running for President should ponder out loud that citizens might take up arms against the state.
It occurs to me that Thomas Jefferson ran for President.
Words versus Deeds
Clinton stories from the last few hours:
* Orlando shooter's father attends Clinton rally, seated right behind her.
* Clinton's reckless handling of national security information in emails leads to execution of American agent in Iran.
* Parents of Benghazi victims sue Clinton for contributing "to the death of both men, as well as defamation and intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress."
Trump stories:
* Last ditch GOP effort to kill Trump's candidacy by running an independent candidate who can't even get on all the ballots, but who could cost some swing states.
* Susan Collins announces she will not vote for Trump, citing his "cruel comments."
* Donors for Bush, Christie and Kaisch are turning to Clinton instead of Trump.
* Poll: Clinton has double-digit lead over Trump.
Now, Trump is clearly the anti-establishment candidate left in the race. In a way, the Republican establishment's efforts to destroy him make perfect sense. The Republican establishment feels more secure with the Clinton machine, which is itself a central part of America's political establishment, than with the insurgent voters propelling Trump or Sanders. Clinton is a crony capitalist, and you can get along with her if you're rich and connected and willing to pay (in money or in favors).
That just leaves the rest of us out. We have nothing she needs or wants. And that might be fine, because she has nothing I need or want either. It just can't be fine because of what she will do to the Constitution through the appointment of 'living document' justices, and of what she'll do to American sovereignty through support of deals like the T-TIP and TPP.
* Orlando shooter's father attends Clinton rally, seated right behind her.
* Clinton's reckless handling of national security information in emails leads to execution of American agent in Iran.
* Parents of Benghazi victims sue Clinton for contributing "to the death of both men, as well as defamation and intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress."
Trump stories:
* Last ditch GOP effort to kill Trump's candidacy by running an independent candidate who can't even get on all the ballots, but who could cost some swing states.
* Susan Collins announces she will not vote for Trump, citing his "cruel comments."
* Donors for Bush, Christie and Kaisch are turning to Clinton instead of Trump.
* Poll: Clinton has double-digit lead over Trump.
Now, Trump is clearly the anti-establishment candidate left in the race. In a way, the Republican establishment's efforts to destroy him make perfect sense. The Republican establishment feels more secure with the Clinton machine, which is itself a central part of America's political establishment, than with the insurgent voters propelling Trump or Sanders. Clinton is a crony capitalist, and you can get along with her if you're rich and connected and willing to pay (in money or in favors).
That just leaves the rest of us out. We have nothing she needs or wants. And that might be fine, because she has nothing I need or want either. It just can't be fine because of what she will do to the Constitution through the appointment of 'living document' justices, and of what she'll do to American sovereignty through support of deals like the T-TIP and TPP.
What Becomes of the Irish Borders?
Following Brexit, Ireland wonders if its borders are going to become tense again. They aren't now.
Worked So Well on the "Iran Deal"
The Washington Post reports that “President Obama has decided to seek a new United Nations Security Council resolution that would call for an end to nuclear testing.” Going to the Security Council could represent a deliberate effort to bypass the Senate, which rejected the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) in 1999. Despite Obama’s adamant support for CTBT, senior officials have consistently pledged to pursue a nuclear test ban by means of a bipartisan dialogue with the Senate. Any effort to enact a test ban through the Security Council without the consent of the Senate would both violate these promises and subvert the checks and balances that enable lawmakers to restrain presidents in matters of national security.The way this worked last year was that the President got the UN Security Council to pass Resolution 2231, which ratified the so-called "Iran deal." Only then did he submit it to Congress for ratification, and without providing the full text along with any side deals as required by the Corker-Cardin law. Then, the Democrats filibustered the resolution of disapproval, so that the 'deal' was deemed to have passed without the Senate ever taking a vote on it at all.
Of course, the next President will be free to walk away from that 'deal,' since it was not ratified as a proper treaty. It's non-binding on Obama's successor, and if the UN doesn't like it they can go jump. Knowing this, the President is all in on electing his chosen successor, in the hope that she will continue his policy. (Good luck with trusting Hillary Clinton to keep her word once she doesn't need you any more, chief.)
Lacking willing Republican suckers to play along, the President won't be able to smuggle this one in on a filibuster. But he can still force his successors to be subject to the rhetorical cudgel that they have violated an agreement ratified by their ambassador at the UN. All he can accomplish here is to hand a weapon to America's enemies on the world stage.
So that's what he's going to do.
Marksmanship Update
Most of the US Rio golds have come from marksmanship, which isn't too surprising. America has one of the last true gun cultures in the modern world, as well as the resources to train people who come up in it to high levels of expertise. It turns out there's more of a military connection than you might have guessed from the use of air rifles, though.
The United States has won more Olympic medals in marksmanship than almost any other sport, and Army Soldiers make up more than a third of the team. This year, five Soldiers will be competing in the Rio Olympics.The Army apparently takes this Olympic shooting stuff seriously, and provides real support to potential Olympians.
2016 Olympic Qualified Soldiers
Sgt. 1st Class Glen Eller
Earned a 2016 Olympic Team nomination in double trap
Won a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and has competed in four previous Olympic Games
Sgt. 1st Class Michael McPhail
Earned a 2016 Olympic Team nomination in men’s 50-meter rifle prone
Competed in the 2012 London Olympics
Sgt. 1st Class Josh Richmond
Earned a 2016 Olympic Team nomination in double trap during the May 2016 Shotgun Olympic Trials in Tillar, Arkansas
Competed in the 2012 London Olympics
Spc. Daniel Lowe
Earned a 2016 Olympic Team nomination in Air Rifle by winning the 2016 Air Olympic Trials June 3-5 at Camp Perry, Ohio
This will be his first Olympics
Sgt. 1st Class Keith Sanderson
Earned a 2016 Olympic Team nomination in 25-meter rapid fire pistol
Rio will be his third Olympic appearance
A Contrast in Cultures
An essay, with photos, of the very different uniforms employed by the women's volleyball teams of Egypt and Germany. It strikes me that the Egyptians are competing at a major disadvantage, although it is wintertime in Brazil.
(Ironic, given that this is the summer Olympics, but it's true.)
Still, this will probably resolve itself. The way Germany is going, they'll be competing in burqinis any day now.
(Ironic, given that this is the summer Olympics, but it's true.)
Still, this will probably resolve itself. The way Germany is going, they'll be competing in burqinis any day now.
John Pilger on Obama & Clinton
This harsh criticism from the Left, by veteran Australian correspondent John Pilger, sounds very much like things I heard at the Philly rallies. I transmit it for that reason.
Take Obama. As he prepares to leave office, the fawning has begun all over again. He is “cool”. One of the more violent presidents, Obama gave full reign to the Pentagon war-making apparatus of his discredited predecessor. He prosecuted more whistleblowers – truth-tellers – than any president. He pronounced Chelsea Manning guilty before she was tried. Today, Obama runs an unprecedented worldwide campaign of terrorism and murder by drone.
In 2009, Obama promised to help “rid the world of nuclear weapons” and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. No American president has built more nuclear warheads than Obama. He is “modernising” America’s doomsday arsenal, including a new “mini” nuclear weapon, whose size and “smart” technology, says a leading general, ensure its use is “no longer unthinkable”....
In Asia, the Pentagon is sending ships, planes and special forces to the Philippines to threaten China. The US already encircles China with hundreds of military bases that curve in an arc up from Australia, to Asia and across to Afghanistan. Obama calls this a “pivot”.
As a direct consequence, China reportedly has changed its nuclear weapons policy from no-first-use to high alert and put to sea submarines with nuclear weapons. The escalator is quickening.
It was Hillary Clinton who, as Secretary of State in 2010, elevated the competing territorial claims for rocks and reef in the South China Sea to an international issue; CNN and BBC hysteria followed; China was building airstrips on the disputed islands. In a mammoth war game in 2015, Operation Talisman Sabre, the US and Australia practiced “choking” the Straits of Malacca through which pass most of China’s oil and trade. This was not news.
Clinton declared that America had a “national interest” in these Asian waters. The Philippines and Vietnam were encouraged and bribed to pursue their claims and old enmities against China. In America, people are being primed to see any Chinese defensive position as offensive, and so the ground is laid for rapid escalation. A similar strategy of provocation and propaganda is applied to Russia.
Clinton, the “women’s candidate”, leaves a trail of bloody coups: in Honduras, in Libya (plus the murder of the Libyan president) and Ukraine. The latter is now a CIA theme park swarming with Nazis and the frontline of a beckoning war with Russia. It was through Ukraine – literally, borderland – that Hitler’s Nazis invaded the Soviet Union, which lost 27 million people. This epic catastrophe remains a presence in Russia. Clinton’s presidential campaign has received money from all but one of the world’s ten biggest arms companies. No other candidate comes close.
The "Rorke's Drift Paras"
This is one of the great stories of military history.
For nearly two months, the 88 men of Easy Company – a mix of Paratroopers and the Royal Irish – had faced the overwhelming force and firepower of up to 500 Taliban determined to over-run the remote Helmand outpost of Musa Qala....There's going to be a documentary that ought to be worth the candle.
Hungry and frequently at the point of exhaustion, they were forced to somehow fend off 360-degree attacks from the Taliban, with little protection beyond a series of low mud walls.
They used up a quarter of all the British Army’s Afghan ammunition for that entire year.
Bang, Bang
American women shooters are tearing it up at the Olympics this year. Corey Cogdell took bronze in trap.
I'd pair that with a good mass-produced American brew, but not a light beer. It's only a bronze, after all. It's not the very best there is. But it's not nothing, either. Maybe a PBR, or a full-strength Coors.
I'd pair that with a good mass-produced American brew, but not a light beer. It's only a bronze, after all. It's not the very best there is. But it's not nothing, either. Maybe a PBR, or a full-strength Coors.
Drink/Thought Pairings
So, I guess we are doing this. Co-bloggers are encouraged to suggest a drink to go along with the thought or reflection they are proposing to the Hall. It can be fancy, like Tom's suggestion of Chianti Classico, or brutal, like my suggestion of Jerry Rum. I trust you're all experienced hands.
Well, That's Inconvenient
Regarding Galileo, "The Inquisition followed sound science," according to the Boston Globe.
There's an issue about punctuation.
There's an issue about punctuation.
The Hell You Say
The government’s top watchdog revealed in a new report that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) essentially maintained a database of law-abiding gun owners by ignoring its own policies.... FFLs are required to report to the ATF the names of customers who purchase multiple firearms at once. ATF is supposed to keep the names on file for no longer than two years, after which policies require that the agency remove identifying information about the buyers if the firearms haven’t been linked to a crime.How shocking.
But for more than two decades, the agency has failed to comply with the privacy protection policies with regularity.
Porco Rosso
On the topics of honor and Eric's series of anime, let me mention Porco Rosso, the Crimson Pig:
It's Hayao Miyazake again. The story is about Porco, a self-employed fighter pilot who also happens to be a pig, in the Mediterranean in the 1930s. He used to be Marco, a human pilot. He and his best friend joined the Italian air force to become fighter pilots in World War I, but his best friend, and most of his squadron, was killed in combat. This is the spell that turned Marco into Porco. (All of the dates and countries are rough analogues; the story is not intended to be historical, but merely rhyme with history.)
Porco is a bounty hunter who hunts pirates, of which there is no shortage. He is challenged by a man the pirate gangs hired to take him out. Honor compels him to the fight. Along the way, he is helped by Fio, a young woman who turns out to be a budding young aviation engineer, and she gets involved in the duel. In part for his own honor, and in part to save her, he stakes everything on one dogfight.
For her part, designing the best amphibian fighter plane in the world is Fio's challenge, and also finding the answer to whether or not Porco can be saved from his spell.
It is worth watching for the imagery, the music, and the story. You will not be enlightened, but who says every movie must make you rethink your life?
One caveat: In an odd juxtaposition, the early part of the movie is much more for children than the latter part. When I first saw the early part, I thought, oh, that's cute. After seeing this movie several times, I just put up with the first part in order to get to the story I'm interested in. It's a good time to make popcorn.
A second caveat: There is a point in the movie where a good friend is asking Porco not to get into this fight. In the translation, Porco replies: "A pig's gotta fly." However, the actual Japanese is: 飛ばない豚はただの豚だ. "A pig who doesn't fly is just a pig."
I understand the difficulties of translating for a movie. You have to get the meaning across, but also stick to the time allowed the scene. However, the Japanese reply carries a deeper meaning in the context of Porco's transformation from human to pig, and his insistence on personal honor when his friends have died in a lost battle and things like national honor and pride have been demolished.
UPDATE: Normally, I suppose, you watch the movie and then review it, but I had seen it maybe half a dozen times, maybe more, so I didn't bother to watch it again before posting this. I didn't intend to watch it again today, but after posting I couldn't get it out of my mind, and I had a bottle of Italian wine in the cupboard ... The children's part is shorter than I had remembered, and the whole story does depend on personal honor. The topic is brought up at several points in the story. Also, during this time Italy is turning to fascism, which is one reason why Porco doesn't return to the air force, and why he can no longer rely on national pride or honor, but only the honor of one man, er, pig, standing against the world. (Really, one man and one woman.)
I watch it in Japanese, so maybe I'm not the best one to offer advice here. In considering a non-Japanese-speaking audience, I tried watching it dubbed in English, but Michael Keaton's voice was jarring. He may be Batman, but Porco? I don't think so. I recommend it in Japanese with English subtitles if you don't mind subtitles. If you do mind subtitles, well, Michael Keaton's not terrible.
If you are the type who matches movies with drinks, allow me to recommend the Gabbiano Chianti Classico for a richer taste, or the Placido Chianti for a smoother taste, for this movie.
It's Hayao Miyazake again. The story is about Porco, a self-employed fighter pilot who also happens to be a pig, in the Mediterranean in the 1930s. He used to be Marco, a human pilot. He and his best friend joined the Italian air force to become fighter pilots in World War I, but his best friend, and most of his squadron, was killed in combat. This is the spell that turned Marco into Porco. (All of the dates and countries are rough analogues; the story is not intended to be historical, but merely rhyme with history.)
Porco is a bounty hunter who hunts pirates, of which there is no shortage. He is challenged by a man the pirate gangs hired to take him out. Honor compels him to the fight. Along the way, he is helped by Fio, a young woman who turns out to be a budding young aviation engineer, and she gets involved in the duel. In part for his own honor, and in part to save her, he stakes everything on one dogfight.
For her part, designing the best amphibian fighter plane in the world is Fio's challenge, and also finding the answer to whether or not Porco can be saved from his spell.
It is worth watching for the imagery, the music, and the story. You will not be enlightened, but who says every movie must make you rethink your life?
One caveat: In an odd juxtaposition, the early part of the movie is much more for children than the latter part. When I first saw the early part, I thought, oh, that's cute. After seeing this movie several times, I just put up with the first part in order to get to the story I'm interested in. It's a good time to make popcorn.
A second caveat: There is a point in the movie where a good friend is asking Porco not to get into this fight. In the translation, Porco replies: "A pig's gotta fly." However, the actual Japanese is: 飛ばない豚はただの豚だ. "A pig who doesn't fly is just a pig."
I understand the difficulties of translating for a movie. You have to get the meaning across, but also stick to the time allowed the scene. However, the Japanese reply carries a deeper meaning in the context of Porco's transformation from human to pig, and his insistence on personal honor when his friends have died in a lost battle and things like national honor and pride have been demolished.
UPDATE: Normally, I suppose, you watch the movie and then review it, but I had seen it maybe half a dozen times, maybe more, so I didn't bother to watch it again before posting this. I didn't intend to watch it again today, but after posting I couldn't get it out of my mind, and I had a bottle of Italian wine in the cupboard ... The children's part is shorter than I had remembered, and the whole story does depend on personal honor. The topic is brought up at several points in the story. Also, during this time Italy is turning to fascism, which is one reason why Porco doesn't return to the air force, and why he can no longer rely on national pride or honor, but only the honor of one man, er, pig, standing against the world. (Really, one man and one woman.)
I watch it in Japanese, so maybe I'm not the best one to offer advice here. In considering a non-Japanese-speaking audience, I tried watching it dubbed in English, but Michael Keaton's voice was jarring. He may be Batman, but Porco? I don't think so. I recommend it in Japanese with English subtitles if you don't mind subtitles. If you do mind subtitles, well, Michael Keaton's not terrible.
If you are the type who matches movies with drinks, allow me to recommend the Gabbiano Chianti Classico for a richer taste, or the Placido Chianti for a smoother taste, for this movie.
"A Good Gift For Bad People"
Yo.
I strive to be an honorable man, but increasingly I wonder if that is always consistent with being a good man. We all know that mafias have honor codes, but aren't good men in spite of living by these codes. It's an interesting question. Assuming for the moment that honor and goodness don't always line up, which one should be preferred? Alternatively, can you give an account of why they should always line up, one that would explain that codes like the mafia's aren't really honorable?
You might want to have a drink while considering the question. It's the kind of thing we live or die by.
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