Sunday: Hili dialogue

October 6, 2024 • 6:45 am

Welcome to the Sunday, October 6, 2024, and National Noodle Day. There are no noodles like handmade noodles, and here’s how they’re made at one place in New York’s Chinatown:

It’s also International African Diaspora Day, National Badger Day, National German American Day, Garlic Lovers Day, and National Orange Wine Day (it’s not rosé; see below);

A video about orange wine, which is made sort of like rosé, but apparently with more skin contact:

Readers are welcome to mark notable events, births, or deaths on this day by consulting the October 6 Wikipedia page.

Da Nooz:

*Most Americans favor Roe v. Wade, and I suspect are unhappy with the Supreme Court which, throwing the issue of abortion to the states, has led to widespread restrictions on abortion, some of them unconscionable (i.e., no abortion in cases of rape, incest, or a viable fetus). And that, according to the Washington Post, is why Republicans are running away from the pro-life stand like rats leaving a sinking ship.

In the final stretch before Election Day, Republicans are ramping up efforts to distance themselves from the restrictive abortion positions that have defined their party since the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade — scrambling to soften, or appear to soften, their hard-line positions.

The group includes former president Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, and House members and gubernatorial candidates, and the efforts come as nearly two-thirds of Americans say they believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases.

In Tuesday evening’s vice-presidential debate, Vance — who during his 2022 Senate run described himself as “100 percent pro-life” and ran on a platform promising to “end abortion” — said he and Trump were working to earn “the American people’s trust back on this issue” and implied that he supported the decision by an unnamed friend in an abusive relationship to terminate her pregnancy.

“I know she’s watching tonight, and I love you,” he said.

That same evening, Trump — who regularly claims credit for overturning Roe — wrote in an all-caps post on social media that he would veto a federal abortion ban, writing “it is up to the states to decide based on the will of their voters (the will of the people!).”

A small group of House Republicans and Republican candidates have also shifted their tone on the issue and are espousing a surprising stance — support for abortion rights — while not necessarily backing legal protections proposed by Democrats. In one example, Rep. John Duarte (R-Calif.) recently described himself to The Washington Post as “pro-choice,” despite earning positive ratings from antiabortion groups because of his voting record.

In the final stretch before Election Day, Republicans are ramping up efforts to distance themselves from the restrictive abortion positions that have defined their party since the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade — scrambling to soften, or appear to soften, their hard-line positions.

And several Republican gubernatorial candidates have released misleading ads that try to gloss over their past support for abortion restrictions and instead cast themselves as more moderate on the issue. Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (N.C.) released a new ad claiming he supports the state’s current law — which bans nearly all abortions after 12 weeks — because of his and his wife’s “very difficult decision” three decades ago to have an abortion.

“When I’m governor, mothers in need will be supported,” he says in the ad.

But his previous statements have gone much further than the state’s existing law, including saying he preferred “a six-week bill” — which would ban abortion before most women know they’re pregnant — and describing abortion as “killing the child because you weren’t responsible enough to keep your skirt down.”

“Republicans are seeing the polls, and they know that their hostility to abortion is dragging them down, they know that the public is not enjoying the post Roe v. Wade world, so they are desperately scrambling to reverse those trends by lying about their stance,” said Emily Martin, chief program officer at the National Women’s Law Center Action Fund, an organization devoted to gender justice in law, policy and culture. “But it is a little shocking that there is such a shameless attempt to rewrite recent history.”

Martin is on the money here. But what can be done?  I doubt that a federal law permitting abortion can be passed, even if the Congress turns Democratic, since it would be ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.  All we can hope for is that the GOP, realizing the people’s sentiments, which translate into votes, will infuse red states with Roe-v.-Wade-like laws.

*There’s an op-ed in the NYT from Benny Gantz (Israel’s former defense minister): “What the world needs to understand about Iran.”

A year [after Oct. 7, 2023), one must ask: What were Hamas’s leaders hoping for, and what are Iran’s leaders seeking to achieve?

What the Israeli military and political establishment failed to understand, in part, was the extent to which Hamas was driven by the goal of waging religious war. “The intel was there, but I underestimated the jihadi component of Hamas’s and Sinwar’s calculus,” a senior Israel Defense Forces intelligence commander told me early in the war, referring to Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s leader.

We also failed to act on the warning on the extent to which Hamas interpreted Israel’s domestic instability as a weakness that would impede Israel’s resolve and ability to respond to an attack. Intelligence has since shown how the heads of Hamas believed that at our weakest, we would not be capable of uniting.

According to Hamas’s plan, after its attack on Israel, the remaining components of Iran’s axis of evil — Hamas in the West Bank, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and the Shiite militias in Syria, Iraq and Iran — would join in a regional war with the ultimate goal of destroying the one and only Jewish state. A secret Hamas document reportedly uncovered in Gaza testified to such assertion: Written by the Hamas leader on Jan. 8, 2023, in it he claimed to have received a commitment from Iran that the axis would join the attack against Israel once Hamas’s Al-Aqsa Flood plan to invade Israel was activated.

So three rationales stood behind Hamas’s attack: jihadi fanaticism, an assessment that Israel was at a point of weakness and loyalty to Iran and its axis of evil. It is for these reasons that Oct. 7 and Iran’s subsequent attacks on Israel must serve as a stark warning to the region and the world regarding the Islamic republic’s uncompromising intentions and its outlook on the West.

. . . In a post-Oct. 7 reality, it is clear that Israel must — and the world should — be proactive and determined in the face of the threat the Iranian regime poses to Israel’s existence and the region’s future. The world cannot overlook Iran’s role in the strangling of freedom of navigation and the harming of global commerce in the Red Sea or its technological and military support for Russia in Ukraine. The regime and its axis must face a strong and united Middle East, led and supported by the United States, that is ready to take the initiative to prevent the realization of the Iranian vision of a regional Oct. 7. Now is the time to bolster regional cooperation and make a broad effort to confront Iran.

. . .Israel experienced its most painful tragedy on Oct. 7 but also underwent a ringing awakening: A fundamentalist terrorist state cannot acquire lethal capabilities and be expected to act rationally, as we once expected of Hamas. As someone who has served as Israel’s minister of defense and the 20th chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, I believe Israel is the strongest nation in the Middle East, fighting a just war for the nation’s future and its citizens, and that’s why it will emerge victorious.

Israel learned the lesson of Oct. 7; we now bear the responsibility of sharing the lesson with the world. The time to act against Iran is now. It’s not only a matter of necessity for Israel but also one of strategic imperative for the region and moral clarity for the world for the sake of peace and prosperity in the Middle East.

What can I say? The man is right. But seeing this in his very own newspaper will give Thomas “I Am Ignorant” Friedman a heart attack. Nicholas Kristof, too, is now touting cease-fires and restrictions of US arms shipments to Israel.

*The WSJ beefs about the exorbitant pay of “rock star lawyers” (not lawyers who defend rock stars, but high-priced lawyers).  I myself have beefed about this on the rare occasions I need a lawyer, especially when they charge you for very brief phone calls.  This is why there are so many lawyer jokes:

Big companies around the world are pushing back against rapidly rising legal bills, railing against hourly lawyer rates they say are the product of law-firm excess.

Lawyers’ hourly rates rose almost 9% in the first half of 2024, according to data from Wells Fargo legal specialty group, which surveys large law firms quarterly. That’s on top of an 8.3% increase in rates last year. Historically, fees would rise about 4% each year, Wells Fargo says.

Lawyers’ pay is skyrocketing. Brutal poaching wars for talent are now common, and top lawyers expect to be paid like investment bankers and private-equity principals.

“You don’t negotiate with those guys. You aren’t going to bet the company,” said Matthew Lepore, general counsel for chemical giant BASF. “Clients aren’t doing as well as the law firms are doing, and it’s not sustainable.”

In certain specialties, such as merger counseling, regulatory compliance, tax and private equity, corporate general counsels say there is only a small pool of firms to choose from. Companies venturing into high-stakes deals turn to the most elite firms, with the hopes that the high price tag promises the best outcomes. Hourly rates can run $2,500 or more for the most sought-after attorneys, and are expected to keep rising, according to legal recruiters and court filings.

“The market is driven by the top end. The top firms are spending money to compete for the best rock-star talent. That’s what is driving this,” said Alan Tse, chief legal officer at global commercial real-estate firm JLL. “Obviously not enough of us are saying no. Clients are part of the problem.”

The top law firms have grown in size and seen their revenues shoot upward as they’ve become one-stop shops for corporate clients for deal work, litigation, and tax advice. The legal industry has shifted its compensation structure, and only a few firms still have a classic lockstep pay system that rewards based on seniority. Instead, firms pay up for stars and based on productivity. The flexibility increases the cost of talent.

Law firm revenue growth was up 11.4% in the first six months of 2024, outpacing expenses, according to a Citi Global survey of top law firms.

Remember, $2500 per hour is more than $40 per minute, or roughly a dollar a second. Here’s a lawyer joke:

A lawyer opened the door of his BMW, when suddenly a car came along and hit the door, ripping it off completely. When the police arrived at the scene, the lawyer was complaining bitterly about the damage to his precious BMW.

“Officer, look what they’ve done to my Beemer!” he whined.

“You lawyers are so materialistic, you make me sick!” retorted the officer, “You’re so worried about your stupid BMW, that you didn’t even notice that your left arm was ripped off!”

“Oh my god,” replied the lawyer, finally noticing the bloody left shoulder where his arm once was, “Where’s my Rolex!”

*The NYT profiles the pro-Palestinian group Within Our Lifetime, headed by Nerdeen Kiswani. It’s a small group but an influential one, able to shut down Grand Central Station last July simply by posting an online notice for supporters to meet at the location at 5:30 p.m. (the cops shut it down and sent drones and helicopters up). But it’s much more militant than similar groups, calling for violence in such explicit terms that even Meta shut it down (I note with pride that I have more followers on Twitter than does this group).  An excerpt:

Ms. Kiswani bills herself as part of a bolder, new generation of Palestinian American activists who are calling for what she says earlier generations also wanted, but feared to say in public: the replacement of the state of Israel with a state called Palestine, covering all the land from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.

“We may look more moderate, or whatever, if we talk about a two-state solution,” she said. “But that’s been dead on arrival for years now. It’s already a one-state solution. It’s a state that’s controlled by Israel in every sense.”

There was no point in softening her message, she said. “People from our community who tried to appease politicians, they were still marginalized. They were still called terrorists,” she added. “So if we’re going to receive that backlash regardless of what we say or do, then we might as well make the full demands of what we want for our people, which is complete and total liberation.”

Ms. Kiswani and the groups that protest with her helped inspire last spring’s campus protests that bedeviled and led to the departure of multiple university leaders. (Ms. Kiswani showed up to the Columbia University encampment on her wedding day in April, still wearing her traditional red and white dress.)

They have also become a concern for Democrats who fear divisions over the war in Gaza might chip away at voters during a presidential election with tight margins.

“They tell us voting for the lesser of two evils is the right thing to do,” Ms. Kiswani told a crowd in August, standing atop a stack of police crowd-control barricades outside a campaign event for Vice President Kamala Harris in Harlem. “So we divest from this system.”

And this is bogus: if the state of Israel exists and was established by the UN, then calling for its demolition is simply antisemitism:

Ms. Kiswani insists she is not antisemitic. Instead, she says she opposes Zionists, those who believe Israel should exist as a Jewish state in its ancient homeland. But Jewish groups like the Anti-Defamation League say that distinction is a smoke screen, because Zionism is a core part of the identity of most Jews.

Anti-Zionism is simply anti-Semitism used as a euphemism, and if you have ears to hear, you recognize it. Yes, there is a handful of Jews who are real, practicing, and believing Jews, not antisemitic Jews, who are anti-Zionist, but they’re a tiny minority.  Have a listen to this eloquent closing of a debate about whether anti-Zionism is antisemitism by Natasha Hausdorff, who argues “yes, they’re now the same”. Her analogy, starting at 3:05,  is great. (Her debating partner on the “yes” side was Douglas Murray, and the pair won.)

*From the reliable AP “Oddities” section, we have some news about the controversial 2-year-old Massachusetts rescue beaver named Nibi.  Nibi was rescued as a tot, brought up in captivity, and may well not be able to survive in the wild (see bit that I bolded below). Despite that, wildlife officials demanded that Nibi be released because “wild animals belong in the wild.” I agree with that as a rule, but Nibi (and many domestically-raised wild animals) are exceptions. Nibi may be one (see below), and she was allowed to stay in captivity as a rescue beaver who will be used in an educational enterprise to teach people about beavers.

The question of whether a 2-year-old beaver named Nibi can stay with the rescuers she has known since she was a baby or must be released into the wild was resolved Thursday when the Massachusetts governor stepped in to protect Nibi.

The state issued a permit to Newhouse Wildlife Rescue for Nibi to remain at the rehabilitation facility and serve as an educational animal.

“Nibi has captured the hearts of many of our residents, mine included,” Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey said Thursday. “We’re excited to share that we have issued a permit for Nibi to remain in Newhouse’s care, continuing to educate the public about this important species.”

Nibi’s fate had made it all the way to the state courts before Healey stepped in.

A judge on Tuesday had said that Nibi would be allowed to stay in her home at the rescue center in Chelmsford, located northwest of Boston. A hearing had been set for Friday in a case filed by the rescuers against MassWildlife, the state’s division of fisheries and wildlife, to stop the release.

An online petition to save Nibi from being released into the wild has received over 25,000 signatures, lawmakers have weighed in, and earlier this week Healey pledged to make sure Nibi is protected.

“We all care about what is best for the beaver known as Nibi and all wild animals throughout our state,” Mark Tisa, director of MassWildlife, said in a statement Thursday. “We share the public’s passion for wildlife and invite everyone to learn more about beavers and their important place in our environment.”

Jane Newhouse, the rescue group’s founder and president, has said that after Nibi was found on the side of the road, they tried to reunite her with nearby beavers who could have been her parents but were unsuccessful. After that, attempts to get her to bond with other beavers also didn’t work.

“It’s very difficult to consider releasing her when she only seems to like people and seems to have no interest in being wild or bonding with any of her own species,” she said.

Nibi has a large enclosure with a pool at the rescue operation, and will also wander in its yard and rehabilitation space, Newhouse said. “She pretty much has full run of the place. Everybody on my team is in love with her,” she said.

Here’s a video of Nibi. Ceiling Cat bless the governor of Massachusetts for taking such an interest in a single rodent.

Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Hili and Szaron are hunting and obeying the dictates of their genomes:

Hili: We have to attack.
A: Why?
Hili: We have no choice.
In Polish:
Hili: Musimy przejść do ataku.
Ja: Czemu?
Hili: To poprawia samopoczucie.

*******************

From Malcolm:

From The Dodo Pet:

From Things With Faces by Deborah Pirettei:  Due melanzane depresse (Two depressed eggplants):

A stirring call from Masih, with interpolated video from Iran, calling for action against the Iranian regime (in Farsi but with English subtitles):

From Luana re MSNBC. I doubt the guy is lying:

From Barry, a science experiment. It’s a miracle!

From my feed; a bird who needs to learn to eat on its own:

Another from my feed; live and learn!

From the Auschwitz Memorial, one that I reposted:

Two tweets from Matthew. Somehow this picture is off!

I never thought about this, nor have I watched trampoline competitions during the Olympics:

19 thoughts on “Sunday: Hili dialogue”

  1. When I went to watch Natasha Hausdorff and Douglas Murray, the you tube shunted me to a very recent two-hour interview she did on the Winston Marshall show with title, “They Have Turned the World Against Israel”. I haven’t yet watched all of it, but will later today. It should be at
    https://youtu.be/59qvhltVa5g?si=hC0OAgJ07OvymytS

    1. I have now watched the first hour and it is excellent. Done just this week, so current. Will finish up this afternoon but wanted to recommend before day is done.

      1. I watched both. Excellent. Well worth one’s time. And great to send to people who simp for terrorists/Palestine. But the thing is… they’ll never actually watch.
        That’s the problem. People are averse to facts which disprove their favored narrative irrespective of how upside down and morally bankrupt that narrative is.

        D.A.
        NYC

  2. The Benny Gantz article ought to be required reading for all American citizens.
    Kiswani is another example of the rising tide of antisemitism. I worry that we are seeing a repeat from a hundred years ago, and we all know how that turned out.

  3. If Congress were to pass a law legalizing abortion, it would not be overturned in my understanding. The Dobbs decision held that the Constitution did not contain a fundamental right to abortion, and as no law had been passed by the US Congress to enshrine that right, that it fell to states to set their own laws. I believe that Congress could pass such a national law and it would stand. I assume it’s like cannabis: states are passing their own laws to allow it but there is no federal law that allows it yet, though it’s being discussed as a means to allow the usage in all states.
    I don’t have a problem with politicians shifting their positions over time. We all error correct. Obama ran strongly on closing Gitmo, but once in office and confronted with the actual situation, he kept the terrorists locked up. I don’t even care if they’re doing it because they’re reading the public opinion polls – they should be serving their constituents rather than their personal (n=1) opinion. I hope those Rs mentioned stick to their softened stance. Just as I hope that Harris changes many of her previously-stated positions should she become chief executive.

    The full Munk debate was excellent, and one of my two favs. The other was “Be it resolved, don’t trust the mainstream media”, in which Douglas Murray and Matt Taibbi destroyed Malcolm Gladwell and Michelle Goldberg.

    1. The R stand on abortion is sort of an anachronism anyway. To my understanding, it was a concession made to certain religious groups for their support.
      I have always seen it as a question of fundamental liberty. Whether abortion is good or bad, it is something that one cannot police without intruding into women’s personal autonomy.
      My wife practiced medicine in Texas, and knows that abortion restrictions inevitably lead to the suicides of young women.
      In our deeply conservative community, the only people I know who vocally oppose abortion are very religious people, who have been told to oppose it by church leaders. But most people here don’t go to church regularly, even if they associate themselves with a particular sect or denomination. Many or most of those people see abortion as something that is not really any of their business.

    3. That latter one was better than World Wrestling. I’ve watched it several times.
      And it showed Gladwell to be not as bright as people think and Goldberg as the remedial student she is.
      D.A.
      NYC

  4. Yesterday the WaPo ran an extensive piece on Hamas’ tunnels. I’ve tried to embed the link but the post won’t post. Not sure if this was a first for the WaPo on that.

    Masih’s video is an excellent compilation of Islamic State horrors.

    Stretcher fences in London: Very cool. I wasn’t aware of them.

    Depressed eggplants: I think this may be AI. I don’t recall ever seeing them with crooked necks. I think the plant would have to fall over near the end of the growing period for the fruit for them to look like that.

    1. Here’s an archived version of the Washington Post article:

      Hamas built an underground war machine to ensure its own survival
      Vowing self-sufficiency, Hamas turned a maze of tunnels in Gaza into weapons factories and well-stocked fortifications. A year after the war began, parts of the group remain deeply entrenched
      https://archive.ph/ojy0H

      1. Thanks, not sure what was the matter with the link I tried to embed, but WordPress didn’t seem to like it.

  5. Yeah, the problem of big corporations and expensive lawyers? I will say that my best friend has been a lawyer for thirty-five years and is an expert in his field (but is not paid anywhere near the number quoted above). People tend to underestimate the amount of time and work it takes to become an expert and to stay up-to-date with the continually change law and regulations. Is $2500/hr too much? How badly do you need a lawyer? Besides, clients do frequently negotiate lower rates, and much of the work for larger activities is done by cheaper lawyers.

    1. Yeah, a friend is an immigration attorney working for big name sports and entertainment people. Boy, she EARNS her pay. Not just the hours, but also the continually evolving legal landscapes in the US and outside (she’s in immigration, as I mentioned). She also has to deal with complex personalities (sports and entertainment folks can be divas) and corporate entities, many with a rather shaky and impatient understanding of legal immigration. I like my job, but I wouldn’t put in the hours she does. And I’ve got to say, everyone dislikes lawyers…. until they need one. The issues around lawyer’s pay is complicated and I suspect it’s only outrageous on a case-by-case basis.

  6. Quote of the week: “As I was saying. . . .” Donald Trump beginning his remarks at his second Butler rally this weekend.

    1. Which would have been a memorable line if Trump had not announced beforehand he was going to say it, and had it been the first thing out of his mouth at the rally. It’s a clever line, and Reaganesque, but I think Trump ruined it.

  7. For Hamas, Hezbollah and the Iranian Ayatollahs it’s been jihad inspired by religious fanaticism all along. They are not interested in two state solutions. They want Israel and the Jews gone.

  8. Regarding abortion:
    Abortion: back on the ballot. The Economist, Sept 28, 2024
    Referendums in ten states will determine the future of abortion access—and may tilt the presidential election
    https://archive.ph/MsDL7
    Excerpt:

    By the end of this year 43% of Americans will live in states that have held plebiscites on abortion since Dobbs. So far, abortion-rights promoters have won every time, including in conservative states like Kansas and Kentucky.
    Polls suggest that most of this November’s rights-promoting referendums are also likely to prevail, although initiatives in Missouri, Nebraska and South Dakota face stiff challenges, as does Florida’s because of the 60% threshold. The measures vary in scope, from New York’s expansive equal-rights amendment to South Dakota’s proposal to offer unqualified access to abortion only in the first trimester. Most referendums, including Florida’s, would enshrine access until viability, about 24 weeks from conception.

  9. Former lawyer here. VERY VERY few lawyers make anything like that. Like most entertainers dont’ get Paul McCartney money.
    I made much more as an equities/options trader than as an attorney.
    Admittedly I was an (almost free) criminal defense atty for the poor, and awhile as a low level corporate guy.

    Law can pay well and is a great career with an intellectual bent, but there is a big distribution of incomes so the article was pretty unhelpful.

    If you want to get rich predictably be a dentist.

    D.A. (J.D.)
    NYC

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