Thursday: Hili dialogue

April 24, 2025 • 6:45 am

Thank goodness most of my major tasks for the week have been done, and now it’s Thursday, April 24, 2025, and National Pigs-in-a-Blanket Day. These are tasty miniature hot dogs, ideally wrapped in croissant dough: a favorite at adult parties in the Fifties. I haven’t seen one since I was a shaver, but here they are from Wikipedia:

You do not put mustard on them, even in Chicago!

Johnson524, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

It’s also Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day (yes, Cenk, it happened), and World Day for Laboratory Animals. It always makes me sad to think about them. Here’s a monument to the cats used for lab experiments at the University of St. Petersburg. I (actually someone else) took this at a meeting in Russia in 2011.  At least the cats were honored, though that didn’t help them.

There’s a Google Doodle today with an “April Half Moon” theme, and if you click on it (below) you can play a game against an online opponent (I haven’t tried it):

Readers are welcome to mark notable events, births, or deaths on this day by consulting the April 24 Wikipedia page.

Da Nooz: will be short today as I’m still doing writing and also had a new laptop installed and tweaked. Bear with me!

*J. D. Vance, for whom I’ve lost every shred of respect, has not finished humiliating Ukraine’s president Zelensky. Now he’s told Zelensky that Ukraine better accept the U.S. terms for a peace deal with Russia–or else. And they are of course terms that favor Russia.

Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday called on Ukraine to accept an American peace proposal that closely aligns with longstanding Russian goals, including a “freeze” of territorial lines in the three-year war, acceptance of the annexation of Crimea by Russia and a prohibition on Ukraine becoming part of the NATO alliance.

It was the first time a U.S. official had publicly laid out a plan to end the war that favors Russia in such stark terms.

A peace plan that leaves Russian forces deep inside eastern Ukraine would be welcome news in Moscow. President Vladimir V. Putin has said for almost year that he would accept a cease-fire in which Ukraine withdraws troops from the four regions that Russia has claimed as its own and drops its aspirations to join NATO.

The comments by the vice president appeared designed to increase pressure on President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, who has long refused to accept Russian’s occupation of his country’s lands, including the seizure of Crimea in 2014 and territory taken by Russia after it invaded Ukraine in early 2022.

In a second blow to Mr. Zelensky, President Trump lashed out at the Ukrainian president on Wednesday afternoon, writing on Truth Social, his social media site, that “he can have Peace or, he can fight for another three years.”

Mr. Vance, speaking during a trip to India, said the United States would “walk away” from the peace process if both Ukraine and Russia refused to accept the American terms. But Mr. Zelensky was clearly the target.

This is the way our “democracy” makes peace: by allowing a dictator to invade another country and let it keep its own land. Granted, Russia isn’t going to leave Crimea or eastern Ukraine without a military defeat, but there should be condemnation by the UN and the International Court of Justice for this violation of international law.

*Hamas, in conjunction with Qatar and Egypt, have offered a ridiculous cease-fire deal that will leave the terrorists in power forever. Sorry, but Hamas has to surrender unconditionally and disband, which is the only way Israel can not be constantly threatened.

The Saudi-owned newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reports that Hamas is expected to propose a new ceasefire framework for Gaza as its representatives arrive in Cairo.

According to the report, the proposal includes the release of all remaining hostages held in the Strip in one phase in exchange for an agreed-upon number of Palestinian prisoners, the withdrawal of IDF forces from the Gaza Strip to the positions held under the recent ceasefire deal, a halt to military operations, and the entry of humanitarian aid.

According to the report, Hamas will also demand a five-year ceasefire with international guarantees.

The report adds that the proposed agreement includes the establishment of a technocratic committee for civilian governance in the Gaza Strip, based on an Egyptian proposal published in recent months, and openness for a reconciliation agreement with rival Fatah.

The report is consistent with other items in recent days. Earlier this week, officials familiar with the matter told the Times of Israel that Hamas had informed Arab mediators it was willing to enter into a long-term truce with Israel, during which it would halt all military operations, including the development of weapons and the digging of tunnels.

This is ludicrous. A FIVE YEAR CEASEFIRE? That will give Hamas plenty of time to rebuild its organization (Fatah won’t survive with Hamas.) We do not know how many hostages are living or dead, as Hamas won’t say (another bit of horror that the world has ignored), and I’m betting that Hamas will demand the release of ALL Palestinian prisoners. The “technocratic civilian government” will be Fatah + Hamas, with Hamas soon killing off Fatah, and of course Hamas still gets to keep its weapons.  I don’t believe a word of thie proposal and Israel should not accept it.

*Trump has apparently realized the foolishness of his tariff wars, especially with China, and he’s starting to walk it back. About time, with inflation and a recession looming.  The markets, at least, believe him, and have risen sharply in the last three days.

The Trump administration is considering slashing its steep tariffs on Chinese imports—in some cases by more than half—in a bid to de-escalate tensions with Beijing that have roiled global trade and investment, according to people familiar with the matter.

President Trump hasn’t made a final determination, the people said, adding that the discussions remain fluid and several options are on the table. One administration official said Trump wouldn’t act unilaterally and would need to see some action from Beijing to lower tariffs.

One senior White House official said the China tariffs were likely to come down to between roughly 50% and 65%. The administration is also considering a tiered approach similar to the one proposed by the House committee on China late last year: 35% levies for items the U.S. deems not a threat to national security, and at least 100% for items deemed as strategic to America’s interest, some of the people said. The bill proposed phasing in those levies over five years.

“President Trump has been clear: China needs to make a deal with the United States of America. When decisions on tariffs are made, they will come directly from the president. Anything else is just pure speculation,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said.

Later on Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters that Trump hasn’t offered to take down U.S. tariffs on China on a unilateral basis, Bloomberg News reported.

Trump said Tuesday that he was willing to cut tariffs on Chinese goods and that the 145% tariffs he imposed on China during his second term would come down. “But it won’t be zero,” he said. The development was welcome news to investors who had been spooked by the White House’s aggressive moves in recent weeks.

The thing is the tariffs SHOULD be zero, whatever tariffs China charges on American goods. And If there must be tariffs, 50% or more is still WAY too high!

*Another factor driving the economy to ground is Trump’s senseless attacks on the Federal reserve bank and its chairman Jerome Powell. Trump apparently thought that blaming Powell in advance for a recession or for inflation would exculpate the Orange Man, as Trump (who HIRED Powell) has been beefing about Powell not lowering interest rates.  Trump is now cooling his jets about that. ‘

President Donald Trump’s abrupt shift in rhetoric Tuesday toward Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell reflected the private lobbying of some of his senior advisers, who had urged the president to back off his incendiary attacks on the central bank, three people familiar with the matter said.

On Monday, the stock market fell precipitously as Trump attacked Powell as a “major loser,” fueling speculation that the president would move to fire the Fed chief. But by Tuesday afternoon, Trump appeared to dial back his rhetoric, saying he had “no intention of firing” Powell and arguing that the “press runs away with things.”

Stock futures jumped overnight, and markets surged Wednesday as trading opened.

The president’s shift followed the counsel of several administration officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private deliberations. The officials cautioned that the administration did not need further disruption in financial markets from an all-out battle with the Federal Reserve and that it already had several major economic fights on its hands, including new tariffs, the people said. The turmoil in financial markets made Trump more open to leaving Powell in his position than he would have been a month ago, one of the people said.

“I would like to see him be a little more active in terms of his idea to lower interest rates,” Trump said Tuesday. “It’s a perfect time to lower interest rates. If he doesn’t, is it the end? No, it’s not, but it would be good timing. It would be. … It could have taken place earlier. But no, I have no intention to fire him.”

Remember, Trump said he WANTED to fire Powell, so his backing off is a big deal. Note that it was Trump’s advisors who had to advise Cheeto of the damage, as Trump couldn’t see it himself, even though I bet nearly all of us could!

*Finally a 28-minute video from reader Enrico. We’ve seen the identical and amazingly similar Australian twins Bridgette and Paula Powers, who can’t even help themselves from talking the same way, saying the same words, and using the same cadences. They’re called the “twinnies” in Oz, and have established a bird rescue organization. Here’s a stunning half-hour video about the pair.

Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Hili’s getting antsy for her dinner:

Szaron: It’s getting dark.
Hili: Yes, but it’s still a long time until supper.
In Polish:
Szaron: Zapada zmrok.
Hili: Tak, ale do kolacji daleko.

And a photo of Baby Kulka on her window blanket.

 

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

From Animal Antics:

From Strange, Stupid or Silly Signs (Florida State is one of America’s biggest “party schools”):

From The Dodo Pet:

Masih is still quiet but J. K. Rowling is a reliable tweeter. Here’s a new one:

From Luana:

From Simon, emitted byu Mark Hamill:

Wishing you all a peaceful holiday Sunday filled with joy & love rather than nightmares & trauma. 🐰 🥚 🐰 🥚🐰 🥚🐰 🥚🐰 🥚🐰 🥚🐰 🥚🐰 🥚🐰 🥚🐰 #HappyEaster

— Mark Hamill (@markhamillofficial.bsky.social) 2025-04-20T18:28:42.338Z

Jez thought this was funny, and so do I:

More beautiful places from Malcolm:

From the Auschwitz Memorial, one that I reposted:

Gassed to death upon arriving at Auschwitz. He was twelve.

— Jerry Coyne (@evolutionistrue.bsky.social) 2025-04-24T10:36:37.379Z

Two tweets from Dr. Cobb. This first one is great:

The reason for the season:

— Ward Q. Normal (@wardqnormal.bsky.social) 2025-04-20T15:56:45.555Z

. ,. ,.  and a clower of cats:

85 cats escaping from a log cabin in the book 170 Cats by Zhenya Gay and Pachita Crespi, 1939.

— Cats of Yore (@catsofyore.bsky.social) 2025-04-19T18:37:37.129Z

46 thoughts on “Thursday: Hili dialogue”

  1. A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
    The habit of reading is the only enjoyment in which there is no alloy; it lasts when all other pleasures fade. -Anthony Trollope, novelist (24 Apr 1815-1882)

  2. I am shocked at how little the Trump administration understands the connectedness of our economy. It’s like they never heard of chaos theory or the butterfly effect. Here’s an example from the horse racing news The Paulick Report: “Churchill Downs To Pause Some Capital Projects In Face Of ‘Increasing Uncertainty’ Around Tariffs”. Where does the tea you drink come from? Under $800, no exemption for China. People I know are beginning to lay in supplies against three more years of economic uncertainty,

      2. AIUI, Nero did not actually fiddle while Rome burned, unlike iDJiT.
        And he definitely did not personally start the fires.

      1. And those things in the original post are basically sausage rolls. And I would certainly eat them with (strong English) mustard.

        1. I’ve always wondered why England, the former “land of the bland” as my sister called it, had such hot mustard (at least compared to the popular US brand).

          2. Barbara – Though I’m not much of an emoji fan, I intended to put a smiley face on my wise ass comment — I didn’t write it mean spiritedly. I just have a hell of a time with text talk, abbreviations, whatever you call that stuff. I have to search most of them and the more that people have taken to abbreviations, the longer the list of possibilities. I admit defeat (smiley face).

          3. No worries Debi. For decoding acronyms my go-to resource is https://www.allacronyms.com . Some regular dictionaries also have entries for common acronyms.

            It’s also sometimes fun and entertaining. Try typing in a name to see if it is an acronym for a phrase that relates to that named person or thing.

            It Seems To Me that, As I Understand It, there could be better such resources, so I would appreciate any suggestions. Also, In My Opinion the acronym “IMO” is very useful for differentiating between actual facts and personal opinions (of which I have many).

            By The Way, allacronyms.com tells me that HELP happens to be an acronym for (among many other things) Her Ever Loving Presence, which I like because I seem to be on a bit of a mythology kick lately. Your Mileage May Vary.

            As for iDJiT, that’s my own neologism for the greatest stable genius ever, pronounced “idjit”, a basilect of “idiot”. I hope it catches on — spread the word 🙂.

  5. “National Pigs-in-a-Blanket Day. … You do not put mustard on them, even in Chicago!”

    Now you have gone too far, Dr. Jerry Quinn. We have special dispensation in Vermont to put mustard on Pigs-in-a-Blanket, and I can attest from personal lived experience that they are infinitely better with mustard.

    1. I’m surprised PCC(E) doesn’t see them much. I sure do – thankfully as I love them.
      Encountered them at in-law family gatherings in the NE, at swanky Manhattan parties, law and finance firm “do”s. They’re standard. And delicious!

      D.A.
      NYC

  6. Negotiations with Hamas are a sad joke. They will only use them as a stalling tactic to reorganize. If anyone still has doubts about Hamas intentions I suggest reading “On Democracies and Death Cults” by Douglas Murray. Thank you Dr. Coyne for mentioning this book. Should be on every University’s reading list for new students.

    1. Don’t. Even. Negotiate.
      They lie and break any promise all the time. It is their thing.

      Just destroy them. Keep going until there are none left. My enemy’s life has negative value to me and it demeans us to take the moral positions of the Pal movement seriously.

      Onwards Israeli heroes. Don’t even pause.

      D.A.
      NYC

    2. Even if Hamas surrenders unconditionally and disbands, how does that segue to long-term peace and security? The Muslim Brotherhood as a whole and the “Palestinian people” in particular have several generations of Jew-hate and use of terrorism, which will in no way disappear when Hamas does. For plausibly applicable historical analogies, Germany’s thorough defeat in The Great War, and the CSA’s thorough defeat a half century earlier, manifestly did not result in the attitude “Oops, we really messed that up; maybe we should try something less violent”. Quite the contrary.

      These examples contrast with Japan and Germany’s thorough defeat in the later greater war (which the victors consider the greatest), but (IMO) only because MacArthur was the best de-facto emperor Japan ever had (even more than Meiji), and the mostly-thorough denazification and rebuilding of Germany.

      ISTM “the day after” the current war will mainly be the day before the next one. There is no MacArthur or Marshall or Meiji on the horizon.

  7. “Granted, Russia isn’t going to leave Crimea or eastern Ukraine without a military defeat, but there should be condemnation by the UN and the International Court of Justice for this violation of international law.”

    Issue those condemnations. And after Putin yawns, then what? Words take a backseat to what has always most mattered–the force one brings to the battlefield. Perhaps the average American will learn that waving flags and putting little emojis on the social media profile doesn’t win wars–no matter one’s indignation. And neither does sending money to a country that is massively outmanned.

    1. For a country that’s “massively outmanned” Ukraine has held off Putin for a long time.

      Regaining territory may be hopeless but you never simply hand the aggressor concessions like Trump is doing. Art of the Deal — what a joke.

      2. The Ukrainians have inflicted a great deal of pain. They deserve credit for their fight–but tactical success does not necessarily translate to victory. The United States killed between one and three million people in Vietnam while losing fewer than 60,000. If you were to ask Le Duan or Giap who won, what do you think they would say? What would you say?

        The Soviet Union lost 13-14% of its population in its Great Patriotic War and still defeated Hitler. France and Britain lost a generation in the trenches and still emerged victorious.

        Unless your goal is to bleed Russia at the expense of Ukrainian men–and weaken it as a near-peer competitor to the United States–then the supposed moral victory of blooding its nose is of no strategic significance. (Plenty of influential people in US policy circles do share exactly that goal.)

        As I have said from the start, sending money and weapons to Ukraine has always been–and remains–insufficient to defeat Russia. Even significant US involvement in logistics, intelligence, battlefield planning, and other forms of advising has not significantly altered the likely outcome. Has that assistance helped kill far more Russians (and get far more Ukrainians killed in return) than Ukraine could have done on its own? Without question. But again, unless that is your goal, it is of little consequence.

        I understand that people have difficulty in accepting that not every moral wrong can be righted, not every monster slain. To them I would say: if you want a moral crusade, put your own skin in the game–and your children’s, as well. If enough are willing to do so, then Ukraine might yet prevail. But before committing to that path, they might want to ask why so many young Ukrainian men have opted not to fight.

        2. Yes, principled moral stances are often fruitless and sometimes counterproductive. But in a world manifestly awash with short-term self-interested transactional might-makes-right, pushing a little against that zeitgeist has value in itself. IMO, morally at worst one is contributing to Ukrainian self-harm, but that is their decision, no?

          And Europe has additional very pragmatic reasons for supporting Ukraine.

    2. For what it is worth, The Military Channel on YouTube – which has 1.6 million subscribers – just published an accounting called “The Numbers Don’t Lie – Russia Has Already LOST This WAR!”

      Ukraine may be hanging on by its teeth, but Russian personnel and equipment losses have been huge, and so is the Brain Drain Russia has suffered as it is estimated a million young, technologically-educated people have already fled.

        1. Hey, it’s YouTube after all. But the report has a lot of data that is interesting, at least to me.

        2. I see these too. Ukraine has done very well, but Putin just has to keep wearing them down while keeping the costs and lives lost out of the public eye in Russia. He seems willing to just grind away for even more years.

        1. Rheinmetall AG, founded in 1899, can be considered similar to Krupp in terms of its contributions to Germany’s various war/defence efforts. It’s no lightweight.

      3. Thx for that Mr. Baker. I like the Mil Chanel and will watch.

        Every Sunday I listen to the one hour podcast by “Perun” – a well regarded Aussie commentator regarding the economics, game theory and military stuff from various conflicts, mostly Ukraine-Russia.

        His background is in the defense industry and pound for pound incredible analysis. He’s been on for about 5 years now.
        https://www.youtube.com/@PerunAU
        A must listen for people serious about the conflicts.

        Also Preston Stewart’s daily 10 min commentaries daily which track US defense stuff. He is ex-US Army, excellent analysis
        https://www.youtube.com/@PrestonStewart

        I imagine you know the above two already.
        Keep well,

        D.A.
        NYC

  8. Satirist Andy Borowitz:

    VATICAN CITY (The Borowitz Report)—JD Vance will represent Satan at Pope Francis’s funeral this weekend, the Devil confirmed on Thursday.

    In a rare public statement, the Prince of Darkness said that he could not attend the funeral himself because it conflicts with a Tesla board meeting.

    Explaining his choice of Vance, Beelzebub said, “If you can’t have me, JD is the next best thing.”

    https://www.borowitzreport.com/p/jd-vance-to-represent-satan-at-popes

    1. “the Prince of Darkness said that he could not attend the funeral himself because it conflicts with a Tesla board meeting.”

      That made me LOL for real. Good one!

  9. I’m not giving up on Ukraine just yet. Putin’s Russia is under severe pressure, militarily, economically, it’s domestic politics is as factious as any state at war.
    Trump’s America also may have given the Europeans just the right amount of Nato dead signal to help Ukraine’s war effort.
    Putin’s arrogance and Ukrainian resolve and ingenuity may do the rest and they have proven they’ve got ample of that.
    Slava Ukraine I say.

  10. Years ago, I thought Crimea was a lost cause. Check out the demographics of Crimea. Russian speakers predominate. When Russia took over Crimea (in 2014), essentially no shots were fired.

    1. Yes Frank. Apparently (as per Prof. Steven Kotkin) Russia has been actively filling Crimea with new Russian settlers. Hundreds of thousands of ’em!

      Plus… the war isn’t unpopular with Russians, many are kinda in favor (till the bill comes due economically I think)… but they LOVE Crimea. The colonialization of Crimea is hugely popular there.

      D.A.
      NYC

      1. Some history may help here. Sevastopol fells to Germans in 1942. However, German losses were so great that it was a pyrrhic victory for them. After the war, Sevastopol was a ‘hero city’ of the USSR. Russian attachment is very strong. Russians have been the largest group for more than 100 years. Sevastopol is actually famous for an unrelated reason. The “Charge of the Light Brigade” occurred near Sevastopol.

      2. What I know about Ukraine I’ve learned from my friend who was born and lived in Odessa until shortly before Russia took Crimea. Russian is her first language. The way she tells it, most Ukranians simply wanted to live their lives in peace and never viewed their leaders as sincere Ukranians — mere puppets of either Russia or the US depending on which one installed them.Though Ukranian nationalism has increased with the destruction and loss of life and limb since the 2022 invasion. In her words, “The more we lose the more we want to win.” I’m no expert but have always seen it as a meat grinding numbers game. I wish the US and Europe had put more effort into preventing this war.

        1. On the one hand, that Russian is her first language (not uncommon, and not uncommon in the Baltic countries either) could mean that she doesn’t feel that Ukrainian. On the other hand, Russian is also the first language of Zelenskyy. But how could the US or Europe have prevented the war? The only way would have been a pre-emptive strike against Russia or really strong and universal sanctions.

          Think about it: Russia mobilized for war, put troops at the border, and up until the day it happened said that no invasion was planned. Short of a pre-emptive strike, the only thing that might have worked would have been complete sanctions on everything Russian by all countries in the world.

          What the invasion shows is that if you have nukes, then you can do what you want without fear of retribution. While some countries are supplying Ukraine with arms, not one country is helping out by actually joining war against Russia. Not one.

          If Putin gets his way here, Taiwan and maybe South Korea will be the next to fall. Or maybe Greenland. Or Canada.

        2. I have spent some time in both Moscow and Kiev since 2000. Nothing related to politics or any war. My impression in both places, was that Russian and Ukrainian were quite separate identities. By coincidence, I have ties to Crimea. I have been to Sebastopol (the one in the US, named after the one in Crimea) many times. I have played a computer game (LOMAC) set in Crimea. I read the memoirs (“Panzer Commander”) of a German officer who was a POW for many years in Crimea. I joke that I know every blade of grass in Crimea, from the air.

          2. This reply is meant for Debi. I didn’t know either language well enough to answer your question.

  11. This is well worth watch. Sorry I can only give the link. Big ups to Ms Hausdorff.

    https://youtu.be/WMNUa5RtXl0?si=UXVelWVgFdn6Krhh
    Video of oral evidence given by ‎Natasha Hausdorff, barrister, international lawyer and UKLFI Charitable Trust Legal Director, to the UK House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee on 22 April 2025

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