Good morning on Thursday, July 26, 2018, when I overslept by 1.5 hours. This is unheard of, but I haven’t been sleeping well lately and I guess my body was catching up. It’s National Bagelfest, and too bad for you if you live in every city in the world save the two where you can get real bagels (New York and Montreal).
Meanwhile, as the news reports (e.g., the Independent and the Jewish Telegraphic Agency), the Labour Party, increasing infested with anti-Semitism, has rejected the EUs definition of “antisemitism”, and for this Labour has been condemned by both the Prime Minister and British Jews, as evidenced below. If you’re Labour, make your voice known!
BREAKING: Britain's leading Jewish newspapers, @JewishNewsUK, @JewishChron and @JewishTelegraph, all carry the same front page on the community’s anger and anxiety over @LabourUK rejection of international anti-Semitism definition. #UnitedWeStand @BoardofDeputies @JLC_uk pic.twitter.com/G2ysww8641
— Jewish News (@JewishNewsUK) July 25, 2018
On this day in 1745, the first women’s cricket match was played near Guildford, England. In 1803, arguably the world’s first public railroad, the Surrey Iron Railway, opened in South London. On July 26, 1882, Wagner’s Parsifal premiered at Bayreuth. On this day in 1918, according to Wikipedia, “Emmy Noether‘s paper, which became known as Noether’s theorem was presented at Göttingen, Germany, from which conservation laws are deduced for symmetries of angular momentum, linear momentum, and energy”. And in 1945 this was a day for Labour, as the party won by a landslide the UK general election, tossing Churchill from power. And after he had done so much to win the war! On July 26, 1948, President Harry Truman signed an executive order desegregating the U.S. military. Exactly four years later, King Farouk of Egypt abdicated in favor of his son Fuad. On July 26, 1977, the National Assembly of Quebec decreed that French would henceforth be the official language of the provincial government. In 1990, George H. W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Finally, on this day two years ago, Hillary Clinton became the first female nominee by a major political party for President of the United States. The rest is sad history.
Finally, Hili is scheduled to be wormed today! She hates it, of course.
Lots of notables were born on July 26, including George Bernard Shaw (1856), Serge Koussevitzky (1874), Carl Jung (1875), George Grosz (1893), Aldous Huxley (1894), Gracie Allen (1895), photographer Elliott Erwitt (1928), Stanley Kubrick (1938), Bobby Hebb (1938; his song “Sunny” won the “Most Soulful Song Contest” on this site), Mick Jagger (1943; he’s 75 today), Dorothy Hamill (1956), Kevin Spacey (1959), Sandra Bullock (1964), Kate Beckinsale (1973), and New Zealand’s PM Jacinda Ardern (1980).
Those who died on this day include Sam Houston (1863), William Jennings Bryan (1925; in Dayton, Tennessee right after the conclusion of the Scopes “Monkey Trial”), cartoonist Winsor McCay (1934), Eva Perón (1952), and photographer Diane Arbus.
In honor of the artists who died today, here is some of their work:
George Grosz’s oddly titled painting “Daum marries her pedantic automaton George in May 1920, John Heartfield is very glad of it”:
Elliott Erwitt, Fidel Castro, Havana, 1964:
Winsor McCary (try to find his “Little Nemo” series in book form):
Diane Arbus, “Boy with a straw hat waiting to march in a pro-war parade, N.Y.C., 1967.”
Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Hili doesn’t like the direction the world is taking, and uses a verb form to express it. Malgorzata explains:
Hili is using the verb “wash” in Polish in the form used in the meaning of Pontius Pilate’s washing his hands. If she just wanted to announce that she was trying to keep her paws clean she would use the form “myję”. I have no idea how to put it into English to get the same meaning.
Hili: I wash my paws.A: I think I understand.
Hili: Umywam łapki.
Ja: Chyba cię rozumiem.
Two tweets from Heather Hastie:
A majestic Bengal in a majestic setting (not photoshopped):
https://twitter.com/DAILYKlTTEN/status/1021937792517992448
And a nice human helps a thirsty cat:
https://twitter.com/StefanodocSM/status/1021696681421746176
Tweets from Matthew. The first one shows Trump’s continuing ignorance:
🚨TRUMP STILL HASN'T FIGURED OUT THAT STEALTH PLANES AREN'T LITERALLY INVISIBLE 🚨 pic.twitter.com/G2nJpRIUBj
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 24, 2018
Pareidolia in smoke:
Which one do you see? pic.twitter.com/RJlnQtQL6V
— Faces in Things (@FacesPics) July 8, 2018
Look at this adult chameleon!
The smallest #chameleon in the world! So amazing. #Madagascar #wildlife
Video taken by my friend Janna! pic.twitter.com/PhVBxfCMU7
— AmélieRobertoCharron (@ARobertoCharron) July 24, 2018
Can I tell you the Good News about the Divine Wallaby?
In Australia, we don’t lock our doors because we’re scared of armed intruders.
We lock our doors to keep the fucking roos out pic.twitter.com/JbUw0W0LvR— Despicable Bree (@despicablebree) July 23, 2018
Baby leopards:
مهدکودک پلنگ ها: بانمک تر از این توله پلنگها داریم تو دنیا؟
خراسان ایران
.
Persian leopard nursery: captivating captures of leopard cubs in NE Iran pic.twitter.com/Eibvvv9jWZ— msfarhadinia (@MSFarhadinia) July 24, 2018
. . . and a lovely robberfly.
Hornet Robberfly was the star of the show on Thursley Common this afternoon @SoldierfliesRS, alongside Mottled Bee-fly and numerous Heath Tiger Beetles. Thanks to @AlexJB497 for the local gen and @iPterodroma for driving pic.twitter.com/rNKlMyqpU8
— Phil Saunders 🇬🇧 🇪🇺 🌈 (@beardybirder) July 19, 2018
From Grania; read the comment at issue:
Omg, when people say "Don't read the comments", they are damn wrong. pic.twitter.com/gE1sA1LZT3
— Lehane (@LeHandyman) July 24, 2018
Why do people still pay any attention to Gwyneth Paltrow?
In September, Goop, sigh, is hiring a full-time fact-checker. Gwyneth Paltrow chooses to see it as “necessary growing pain.” https://t.co/ysPyBK0M8Z pic.twitter.com/MCAzIDQDD3
— NYT Magazine (@NYTmag) July 25, 2018
Kitten discovers a cherry:
https://twitter.com/EmrgencyKittens/status/1022437943934418944
Surely Hili will be de-wormed today!
Surely! Either way, it sounds like a gruesome process. We got our two cats as 6 week old kittens from a place that also runs a petting zoo. Unfortunately, they both had worms which on reflection shouldn’t be surprising. It was a new experience for me to see worm segments come out of their butts still wriggling. We gave them each an anti-worm pill in their food and never saw them again. The worms supposedly die and get digested. I don’t see why Hili won’t get something similar so perhaps it won’t be so bad for her.
The cats ran away?
Sorry. Couldn’t resist. No free will, you know.
Hah! The worms! The worms! Or, more correctly, the worm segments!
Hili absolutely refuses to swallow any kind of anti-worm pill. There just isn’t a way to get it inside her. But there is a special fluid to put on her skin (on her neck where she cannot lick it) and it works. But she dislikes the procedure and does her best to escape. The operation today was successful and Andrzej (who had to hold her while I applied the fluid) doesn’t even has one scratch.
That’s good news! If I remember correctly, we just buried the pill in their wet food and they swallowed it none the wiser. Thanks for the report.
Good to hear. Our cats swallow their annual pills nonchalantly (hidden in their kibbies of course).
Hili eats everything around the pill and leaves the pill intact. We stopped trying. Nothing worked.
That’s amazing!
No, no, Sam Houston did not die at the Alamo. He lived on to oppose secession and died in 1863. (I love the Hili dialogues, by the way.)
Oops! I was “misremembering”. I’ll fix that, thanks.
On the matter of the EU definition of antisemitism, here are the key points (according to the Independent piece Jerry linked to):
Antisemitism is:
· Accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel, or to the alleged priorities of Jews worldwide, than to the interests of their own nations.
· Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, eg, by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavour.
· Applying double standards by requiring of it a behaviour not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.
· Using the symbols and images associated with classic antisemitism (eg, claims of Jews killing Jesus or blood libel) to characterize Israel or Israelis.
· Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.
· Holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel
It seems like about 50% of this is about Israel. I don’t know why Britain’s Labour party rejects this (I’m certainly not defending their anti-semitic elements), but I can think of some reasons why the EU language would be unhelpful.
I am baffled why you consider the last four items “unhelpful” in defining anti-Semitism. You think it’s “unhelpful” to show Jews with big noses and blood dripping from their hands as a definition of anti-Semitism?
Of course not. I was writing about criticism of Israel, and simply said “I can think of some reasons why the EU language would be unhelpful”.
Since you can think of those reasons, could you write them so we know why you believe some are unhelpful?
Hope this is not triggering. But it seems like the 3rd point (that it is antisemitic to hold a standard of Israel that one would not hold of another country) is confusing. The point pretty clearly says that some critiques of Israel are antisemitic. But Israel is unique in many dimensions and particulars. And every nation gets its own harsh and unique critiques. It seems possible that any critique of Israel that concerns its particulars, would subject one to a charge of antisemitism.
Are you ignorant of how Israel is treated at, say, the UN? It’s subject to the vast majority of human rights resolutions by that body, while countries that are far greater violators of human rights, like Iran or North Korea, get off virtually scot free. Saying that “every nation gets its own harsh and unique critiques is a remarkably disingenuous and misleading statement.
There is no doubt that Israel is held to different standards than are other countries, and the reasons for that are pretty clear. No, you’re simply not telling the truth when you imply that other countries are held to the same standards of Israel, just over different issues.
No, of course not. I support Israel, but I also wonder about some of the ways antisemitism is being defined.
Are those points the EU description of anti-semitism?
Of so, I’d think they did a pretty good job.
and no, I really can’t think how it could be ‘unhelpful’, on the contrary.
Farouk’s reign was before my time, but he still held a place in the public consciousness as a reification of sorts for an ultra-posh lifestyle. I recall when I was a school kid in the summers, if I were lazing around on the couch without having done my chores, or if asked my mom what was for lunch, she’d shoot me a look and say “who the hell are you, King Farouk?”
Hadn’t thought of that in a long, long time. Thanks.
I once read that King Farouk, despite having many concubines, had a penis of 5 cm in full erection.
I doubt whether that is/was true (probably not, just some propaganda by opponents I guess), but I can’t think of King Farouk and not think of the size of his penis. Good example of a meme acting like an infective virus.
And thanks for passing that on! Luckily, I rarely hear King Farouk’s name these days so I won’t be passing on your rogue meme. 😉
You sayin’ my Moms was callin’ me “little dick”? 🙂
Can’t determine his penis size, but he sure looked fetching in bathing trunks.
https://flashbak.com/flashback-exiled-egyptian-king-farouk-shows-off-his-curves-at-gracie-fields-restaurant-in-capri-7459/.
And this fetching pose http://www.photorientalist.org/exhibitions/farouk-and-narriman-egypts-last-royal-romance/article/.
Be still my heart😩
My bf had a friend who excused his gut by saying “If you’ve got the tools, you need to build a good shed.”
Spare me, please! I just had minor surgery and was instructed not to engage in any strenuous activity for a couple of days; however, your comment triggered some strenuous chortles and guffaws, but I’m none the worse for the exertion. In fact, there’s nothing like a good laugh to take one’s mind off medical problems, major or minor.
Glad you survived the surgery and the guffaws😻
Thanks.
Clement Attlee’s Labour won in 1945 because they promised a National Health Service. And kept their promise.
Which brings me to the current state of Labour.
No way has it ‘rejected the EUs definition of “antisemitism”‘. Here’s Brian Klug’s interpretation:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/20/labour-code-of-conduct-not-antisemitic
About Brian Klug:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Klug
As a continental Social Democrat who wouldn’t have chosen Corbyn over Miliband or Umunna, I do oppose Brexit more vigorously than Corbyn.
But calling him an “existential threat” is more than silly or ridiculous. It is surrendering to the real existential anti-European and anti-Semitic threats. We need an Orwell.
Nick Cohen, who covers this beat, begs to differ:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/07/labour-antisemitism-jeremy-corbyn
I know. I’ll just point out that Klug wrote his piece after Cohen.
Labour isn’t “increasingly infested” with anti-Semitism. There have been cases of it, of course. But the “United we stand” paranoia about Corbyn is simply an embarrassingly and extremely right-wing political campaign.
I wouldn’t call it right wing to object to someone who professes friendship for the terrorists of Hamas and has happily shared platforms with them but can’t bring himself to reject antisemitism.
The man has a history of naïveté, but he’s no friend of terrorism.
Even Amitai Etzioni dedicated his best book to Colonel Gaddafi to honour a culture of discussion.
I can understand the Jewish Labour feelings of personal anxiety, but there is no objective existential threat. Really.
I’m sure he would say he is against terrorism, but if it is naïve to cosy up to terrorists it is a very dangerous kind of naiveté. He also says he is against antisemitism “and all forms of discrimination”, but his actions don’t bear that out. He has become a rallying point for anti-Israel hatred.
I guess they think they need Muslim votes. A robust anti-Israel stance, and a generous dollop of antisemitism does not appear to harm there. Despicable.
Damn, it’s the diamond anniversary of Mick’s birth? Too bad he still can’t get no.
Need to ask Trump – If you cannot see the airplane how does the pilot find one to fly? Makes one wonder, has he ever seen a soybean? And wants to shell out 12 billion to farmers to counter what he did to them? It’s nothing really. Facebook lost 19% in stock value or roughly 120 billion. I guess you don’t want to mention Cambridge Analytica around the office after that.
It is the Dart of the Eel, you loose some and you loose some.
The F-35 Gen III Helmet Mounted Display System [price tag between $300k & $400k] does exactly that – if it worked. The pilot views the ‘battle space’ as if riding in an invisible airframe & with an invisible corpus – ie she can move her head any which way & see what’s there sans plane & human body.
Not worn outside the ‘plane of course
Call me old-fashioned, but in my day that’s what psychedelics were for.
Sorry, I can’t watch The Mobby Dick because *he* is not invisible – or inaudible – it is too nauseating. “Thar he blows!”
Last week EU was out, Iran was out, North Korea was in, Russia was in.
This week EU is in, Iran is in, North Korea is out (@ White House at least), Russia is out.
If I was US I would drop him like a used microphone.
And is the EU going to save us from Trump policies? Not likely but they may buy a soybean or two. Most seemed not to notice that Rod Rosenstein has now been officially brought up on impeachment charges by eight stunning morons in the house of representatives. Otherwise known as the house freedom caucus which must have something to do with freedom from intelligence.
The eight morons aren’t enough to bring charges. The majority would need to vote to for impeachment charges to “be brought”.
Please, give more credit than that. This is not a govt. 101 class. These eight guy put their name on the impeachment documents. Only 8. There most likely will be no vote. It is the fact that they went ahead and did this that is symbolic. Also good evidence of just how pathetic this party has become.
Sorry, my mind-reading module was out for a bit. I just went with the words on the screen in front of me.
Ah, not a mind-reader but a civics professor. Good work.
There are people who don’t know the impeachment process and others who don’t pay close attention to news details. I don’t know you well enough to tell that you are not one of those. You didn’t mean what you wrote. Fine. “Yeah… that came out a bit wrong” would suffice. You weren’t the victim of insults. Don’t blame readers for taking your words at face value.
That would be very dramatic if it were correct. I said Rosenstein was being brought up on impeachment charges. Specifically they have introduced articles of impeachment. So yeah, I did mean what I said. Your statement that it requires of vote would indicate that you think a vote is needed to bring these articles. It does not. So you are correct on one thing. Some people do not know what they are writing about.
The only way they get a vote is if the leadership give it a vote or they somehow add privilege to the articles.
Congratulations on having manufactured a mountain from a molehill.
We agree on everything but the meaning of “brought up on charges”. You think it means “introduced”. I think it means “charged”.
I’ll stand by my understanding of the phrase as the standard English usage.
I would only repeat what you said awhile ago. There are some who don’t know the details or even check the subject they are talking about. There is nothing like calling someone else out as not knowing what they are talking about when it is you. You sir are the maker of mountains attempting to justify your error in the first place. Just admit it and move on.
Thanks for the new word: Pareidolia. And a two-cat duck-rabbit to boot! Not sure how I would have seen it without the outlines, though.
Mobby Dick. Poifect!
If you want more instagrammified Suki the Bengal cat GO HERE
Also Suki Cat on YouTube
I can’t play the dwarf chameleon gif (for one unfathomable reason or other), but for all clarity, the dwarf chameleon lives in The Western Cape, not in Madagascar.
That Grosz painting is not just oddly titled, it is an odd painting, not to say unnerving.
As unnerving as the little lost Nemo.
In the pareidolia tweet I saw the cat first
I can’t open the speech detail by Mr Trump so I got to the whole speech. It was a brilliant speech. Full of inaccuracies and outright lies, of course, but just what his followers want to hear.
The F-35 is the most expensive piece of scrap in human history. It is a sitting duck in dog fights (the aging F-16’s made short shrift with them), it is not very good at long distance bombing, and far inferior to the A-10 in Close Air Support. And horrendously expensive.
Moreover, it’s purported strongest point, stealth and electronics, turn out to be dysfunctional:
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/the-f-35-14-trillion-dollar-national-disaster-19985
Read that NYT Mag Paltrow article last night–it’s hilarious. Let’s just say the author wasn’t exactly in thrall to GP.
Gotta make sure you keep the best electrons in your water😂
…and she was lecturing at Harvard…
😩
About freedom of expression and Labour: A panel of Jewish writers considers the IHRA definition of antisemitism.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/27/antisemitism-ihra-definition-jewish-writers