Welcome to a Hump Day (” Bergfest” in German), Wednesday, May 7, 2025, and it’s World Carnivorous Plant Day. Here’s ZeFrank on carnivorous plants:
It’s also National Cosmopolitan Day (the drink), National Roast Leg of Lamb Day, and National Tourism Day.
Readers are welcome to mark notable events, births, or deaths on this day by consulting the May 7 Wikipedia page.
Posting may be light today as there are big duck issues. Bear with me; I do my best.
Da Nooz:
*Breaking: India has struck Pakistan with jets. (Article archived here.) Both countries have nukes, too!
Analysts have warned in the wake of the attacksthat the risk of escalation between the nuclear-armed neighbors is increasing. Wednesday’s aerial assault was on a far bigger scale than in 2019, when India struck a single, remote Pakistani site in response to a similar militant attack in Kashmir.
This is a clear escalation which will no doubt lead to reprisal. I trust both countries are smart enough to de-escalate.
*According to the Washington Free Beacon (right wing) a University of Chicago professor canceled midterms and urged his students to go to an anti-Trump rally during that time.
A University of Chicago professor canceled a midterm Thursday and called on his students to use the time to join an anti-Trump protest, an email obtained by the Washington Free Beacon shows.
Yali Amit, a statistics professor who has long opposed Israel, told his machine learning and large-scale data analysis class he was canceling the exam as “a small contribution” to the nationwide demonstrations being held that day to oppose President Donald Trump and Elon Musk. In an email to his students, Amit said he would post the exam as a homework assignment and included a link to a sign-up site for the Chicago-area protest, which called to “STOP THE BILLIONAIRE TAKEOVER .”
“The country is in an emergency. The Trump administration is kidnapping people off the street, deporting them to foreign prisons, jailing and threatening to deport students who demonstrated in support of Palestinians,” Amit wrote in his email. “So, today, thousands across the country are demonstrating in a national day of action. As a small contribution to this day of action I am cancelling the midterm and calling you, if you are able, to join the Chicago demonstration announced here” (emphasis in the original).
“Marching against this dangerous authoritarian administration is of utmost importance!” he added in the email.
The emails are enclosed in the article so you can see them.
A student in Amit’s class told the Free Beacon that the professor’s behavior was “inappropriate.”
“It is inappropriate for a professor to cancel an exam to encourage students to attend a political protest,” the student said. “Furthermore the message indicates that this professor, like many others in academia, assumes that all students share his left-wing political beliefs. The professor does not recognize that students might not only prefer to attend class than protest, but may oppose the left-wing views that he is protesting for.”
Amit, who did not return a request for comment, is also a longtime anti-Israel activist. He signed a letter last spring condemning the University of Chicago for calling in police to clear an anti-Israel encampment on campus.
The article details more of his anti-Israel activity, but the point is clear: this is a violation of academic freedom. Even in a private university, no professor has the right to indoctrinate his students, nor to impede their learning to favor a preferred political cause. He should be disciplined.
*Trump is still holding the crazy idea that he can somehow take over Canada, even after meeting with the new Canadian PM.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said emphatically Tuesday that Canada is “not for sale” and “won’t be for sale, ever” in an Oval Office meeting with President Trump, moments after Mr. Trump called the border between the U.S. and Canada “artificial” and romanticized the idea of Canada joining the U.S.
Mr. Trump said he and Carney wouldn’t be discussing the U.S. acquiring Canada unless “somebody wants to discuss it,” but said there would be “tremendous” benefits to Canada in the event of a “wonderful marriage” between the two countries. The president has repeatedly floated the idea of acquiring Canada, despite Canada’s repeated rejection of the concept.
“As a real estate developer, you know, I’m a real estate developer at heart,” Mr. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “When you get rid of that artificially drawn line … when you look at that beautiful formation when it’s together, I’m a very artistic person.”
Carney interjected, adopting language he believed Mr. Trump would understand.
“As you know from real estate, there are some places that are never for sale,” Carney said. “We’re sitting in one right now, Buckingham Palace that you visited, as well. And having met with the owners of Canada over the course of the campaign the last several months, it’s not for sale, it won’t be for sale, ever. But the opportunity is in the partnership and what we can build together.”
Bolding is mine:
Asked if Carney’s rejection of the idea makes trade and other negotiations more difficult, Mr. Trump insisted, “no, not at all.” But the U.S. president isn’t giving up on the idea, despite a lack of buy-in from Canada’s leadership and people. “But I say, ‘never say never,'” Mr. Trump said.
If there’s any time Trump should shut up, it should have been in that last sentence. It will rile Canadians up, make them dislike Americans even more than since Trump took office, and ruin our nation’s closest friendship in the world.
*After an advanced Houthi missile struck near the Tel Aviv airport, the Israelis retaliated yesterday by bombing a Yemeni port. The strike was apparently carried out in military collaboration with the United States, though it’s probably not true that U.S. planes were involved in yesterday’s bombing:
Israeli fighter jets bombed the main international airport in Yemen on Tuesday in retaliation for a missile attack by the Houthi militia that struck near Israel’s main airport last weekend.
Israeli airstrikes on the Yemeni capital, Sana, and other parts of the country killed at least three people and injured more than 30 others, health officials tied to the Houthi-led government said, adding that the toll was preliminary.
The Israeli strikes were the latest salvo in a battle with the Iran-backed Houthis, who rule much of northwestern Yemen, including Sana. They have fired dozens of rockets and drones at Israel, as well as at ships in the Red Sea, in what they call a solidarity campaign with Palestinians in Gaza.
The Houthis have also been the target of a stepped-up U.S. bombing campaign on Yemen since mid-March. President Trump sharply escalated attacks on the country in an attempt to degrade the militia’s capability to attack shipping — an effort that was started by the Biden administration — and Mr. Trump has vowed that the Houthis will be “completely annihilated.”
But on Tuesday, Mr. Trump said the United States would stop bombing the Houthis, claiming they “don’t want to fight anymore.” He declined to reveal how he knew the militia was backing down.
The Houthi-controlled government did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the president’s claim. But earlier on Tuesday, it released a defiant statement saying it was fighting a “holy war to aid the wronged Palestinian people in Gaza.” The Houthis are confronting “an enemy that is used to committing war crimes and genocide and targeting civilians,” it added, vowing to keep up attacks.
According to the Houthis both the U.S. and Israel bombed Yemen on Monday, acting together, but the U.S. now denies this is true. The Yemeni airport was used for terrorist activities including importation of missiles from Iran. Even so, Israel gave the civilians a warning before the bombing, so only three people will be killed. The Houthis can now be considered an arm of Hamas, with the addition that Houthis attack other countries’ ships, including U.S. military vessels.
*I’m not surprised at this, though I don’t yet have an opinion about it, as I just don’t know enough. The Supreme Court let Trump’s order stand banning transgender people from participating in military service.
The Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that the Trump administration may start enforcing a ban on transgender troops serving in the military that had been blocked by lower courts.
The ruling was brief, unsigned and gave no reasons, which is typical when the justices act on emergency applications. It will remain in place while challenges to the ban move forward.
The court’s three liberal members — Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson — noted dissents but provided no reasoning.
The case concerns an executive order issued on the first day of President Trump’s second term. It revoked an order from President Joseph R. Biden Jr. that had let transgender service members serve openly.
A week later, Mr. Trump issued a second order saying that “adoption of a gender identity inconsistent with an individual’s sex conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful and disciplined lifestyle.”
The Defense Department implemented Mr. Trump’s order in February, issuing a new policy requiring transgender troops to be forced out of the military.
Seven active service members, as well as a person who seeks to sign up and an advocacy group, sued to block the policy, saying, among other things, that it ran afoul of the Constitution’s equal protection clause.
This is not, I emphasize, a final decision, as it has to be reajdudiated. How I feel about it depends on whether there’s any advantage to having one-sex-only spaces in the military, which I doubt since men and women are serving together now. And I don’t know of any military jobs that are limited to one sex. Right now, I don’t understand the reason for the ban.
*Utah has become the first state to ban fluoride in drinking water, and the AP tells us how dentists are dealing with it. Blame RFK Jr., of course:
With Utah’s first-in-the-nation ban on fluoride in public drinking water set to take effect Wednesday, dentists who treat children and low-income patients say they’re bracing for an increase in tooth decay among the state’s most vulnerable people.
Republican Gov. Spencer Cox signed the law against the recommendation of many dentists and national health experts who warn removing fluoride will harm tooth development, especially in young patients without regular access to dental care.
The bill’s sponsor, Republican Rep. Stephanie Gricius, said she does not dispute that fluoride can have some benefits but thinks people should not be given it by the government without their informed consent.
U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. applauded Utah for being the first state to enact a ban and said he plans to direct the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to stop recommending fluoridation nationwide.
Florida could soon become the second state to ban fluoride under a bill awaiting Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ signature. The Ohio and South Carolina legislatures are considering similar measures.
The fluoridation process involves supplementing the low levels of naturally occurring fluoride in most water to reach the 0.7 milligrams per liter recommended by the CDC for cavity prevention. Water treatment plants dump fluoride into the water in liquid or powder form and often use dosing pumps to adjust the levels.
Nearly two-thirds of the U.S. population receives fluoridated drinking water, according to health officials. It was long considered among the greatest public health achievements of the last century.
Fluoride fortifies teeth and reduces cavities by replacing minerals lost during normal wear and tear, according to the CDC. It’s especially important to children whose teeth are still developing. For some low-income families, public drinking water containing fluoride may be their only source of preventative dental care.
Some supporters of the Utah law pointed to studies linking high levels of fluoride exposure to illness and low IQ in kids. The National Institutes of Health says it’s “virtually impossible” to get a toxic dose from fluoride added to water or toothpaste at standard levels.
Given the science, a ban on fluoridated water seems bizarre. What’s next: are they going to eliminate chlorine too unless children give their consent?
Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Hili is trying to calm herself down:
Hili: Everything is OK.A: I can hear a “but”.Hili: Because it is disturbing.
In Polish:
Hili: Wszystko jest dobrze…Ja: Słyszę jakieś ale.Hili: Bo to też jest niepokojące.
And a photo of the loving Szaron:
*******************
From Duck Lovers. We’ll have these soon!
From Jesus of the Day:
From Strange, Silly, or Stupid Signs. This is real, and I suspect I’ll visit it when I go to Iceland in July.
Masih is still quiet, so we’ll have two people make fun of the BBC:
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 6, 2025
From Simon; this sounds fascinating but needs verification. A new branch on the tree of life?
This is like the computer on Apollo 11 having less than 40K of memory, except for an archaeal microbe.
— Sean Carroll (@seanmcarroll.bsky.social) 2025-05-06T16:03:14.877Z
From Malcolm, a pool-playing moggy:
Cat who likes billiards pic.twitter.com/nPvvI0Gchg
— Why you should have a cat (@ShouldHaveCat) May 3, 2025
Crikey, this is the apogee of bad behavior:
Pro-Hamas protesters decide to protest a Jewish school for children with developmental disabilities in Canada.
Because blaring loud noises and insults at children with severe autism will “Free Palestine.”
— The Persian Jewess (@persianjewess) May 3, 2025
From my feed; a happy cat adoption:
Pro-Hamas protesters decide to protest a Jewish school for children with developmental disabilities in Canada.
Because blaring loud noises and insults at children with severe autism will “Free Palestine.”
— The Persian Jewess (@persianjewess) May 3, 2025
From the Auschwitz Memorial, one that I reposted:
A Dutch Jewish girl was gassed to death upon arriving at Auschwitz. She was four years old.
— Jerry Coyne (@evolutionistrue.bsky.social) 2025-05-07T10:28:57.904Z
Two posts from Dr. Cobb. For the first one, use the Vimeo link at top:
Here is a great film "The Birdman of Skomer" about my friend Professor Tim Birkhead and his 50+ year study of guillemot's on the island of Skomer – please share! vimeo.com/1063680641/2…
— Allan Pacey (@allanpacey.bsky.social) 2025-04-06T11:12:11.091Z
Museums censor out penis bones (bacula)!:
When it comes to certain parts of anatomy, #museums have been deliberately teaching people the wrong thing.Most #mammals have a bone in their penis but natural history museums usually remove them from display, as I told @iflscience.com (& wrote in #NaturesMemory):www.iflscience.com/where-have-a…
— Jack Ashby (@jackdashby.bsky.social) 2025-05-05T13:21:57.506Z
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
By plucking her petals, you do not gather the beauty of the flower. -Rabindranath Tagore, poet, philosopher, author, songwriter, painter, educator, composer, Nobel laureate (7 May 1861-1941)
The unwarranted attitude that beauty is a holistic feature of reality is also reflected
by the attitude of Gandalf the Grey, in his stoush with Saruman
Richard Dawkins deals very well with this attitude
Here are some wonderful high resolution images of petal
, some showing beauty not discernable to the unaided eye.
Trump’s idea of foreign diplomacy seems to be to insult our would-be allies in some bizarre reality show in his tawdry gold-embellished oval office. See Jeremiah Johnson’s take on weak men in power in The Dispatch today.
NYT : “The Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that the Trump administration may start enforcing a ban on transgender troops serving in the military that had been blocked by lower courts.”
To understand, let us open Saint Foucault – Towards a Gay Hagiography, by David M. Halperin, Oxford U. Press, 1995, p. 62 (bold added, all-capitals original):
“UNLIKE GAY identity, [..], queer identity need not be grounded in any positive truth or in any stable reality. As the very word implies, “queer” does not name some natural kind or refer to some determinate object; it acquires its meaning from its oppositional relation to the norm. Queer is by definition whatever is at odds with the normal, the legitimate, the dominant. There is nothing in particular to which it necessarily refers. It is an identity without an essence.”
And so it was, that United States military operations were made more safe, cohesive, and effective by destabilization of reality, truth, and the oppositional defiance of the order of command, as practiced by Gnostic and Hermetic political activism from inside the ranks.
And it was good.
^^playing Demiurge’s advocate.
Destabilization…I was trying to come up with the link between the Jew-hating (sorry, I mean pro-Palestine) protesters and the trans-rights activists, and that is the word I was looking for. Both want to destabilize the existing order. Both enforce a belief system (religion?) based on not just lies but the opposite of truth (men can transform into women, people who attack and kill others in order to wipe them off the planet are victims of genocide). The overlap on the Venn diagram between these groups is strong, at least in the West. What you describe seems to be at the heart of the modern (post-modern?) progressive movement. Thanks for the insight Bryan.
An associated word with some polysemy to keep an eye out for is transformation. That is a scientific/mathematical process, it’s true, but it crops up outside of the lab. Why?
Can’t transform a society that is stable by sociognostic Hermetic alchemy.
Cheers.
Alchemy. Another great word to describe this attempt at social transformation.
The discovery of the Sukanaarchaeum is cool and all, but right now I suspect that there is mostly hype about its being a new branch in the tree of life. Its tiny genome is an offshoot of the Archean division — so more like a new branch of those. More importantly, its lack of genes for metabolism makes it more like a virus (and viruses are not alive) than like an actual life form.
Professor Amit is abdicating his responsibility. Students pay to be taught, and part of the learning experience is to evaluate the effectiveness of how well the students are understanding the material via tests. If one considers the syllabus as a de facto contract of the contents of the class, then he should pay his students out of his paycheck for the removal of this important event as a violation of that agreement.
There is likely also a written policy that classes are supposed to have a final assignment, generally in the form of an exam (although it’s not always an exam). In addition, you are supposed to do whatever is in the syllabus.
I’ve seen pics of the Icelandic Penis Museum. I have a hobby: I listen to a lot of uni lectures and smarter people podcasts. While I’m doing that I google.map a new city, search for museums and art galleries and just click through the often many photos.
It is kind of how I travel these days and there are thousands of museums worldwide you can see. And street view “drives”.
Maybe lots of people do this? People who want to see more of the world (I used to travel a lot) but can’t be assed, ill health etc.
And of course I look forward to the boss’ next trip reports!
D.A.
NYC
I still say that Trump would stfu about Canada as a 51st state if someone would just tell him that Republicans as we know them would have a hard time ever winning a national election after that.
But I don’t think he can be serious. His schtick is to say stupid and alarming things that he does not really mean in order to create chaos and distraction away from the other stupid things that he is actually doing.
I think Trump is serious. You’re correct about the left leaning tendency of Canadians though.
But Trump doesn’t care about what it might do for future Republicans.
Trump doesn’t care about anything but himself and his “legacy.” If he could enlarge the size of the United States: a massive legacy! He’d be THE BEST!
But even USA+Canada would only be slightly bigger than Russia. Watch out, Mexico.
Annexing Canada or part(s) of it as a territory would finesse that objection. Elevation of annexed territory to statehood is entirely the purview of Congress, who would worry about the prospects for future Republicans, and about the stability (i.e., ensuring gridlock forever!) of the two Houses of Congress more generally.
Annexation would require either military conquest or a voluntary treaty of cession between Canada and the United States. The President has the foreign-policy power to negotiate and conclude treaties with foreign states but treaties have to be ratified by the U.S. Senate before they become law. The process circumvents the domestic political implications of immediate statehood, which only Texas achieved at admission.
It is difficult to see how annexation of Canada, even “the good parts” would benefit the United States, even leaving aside the political cost of adding another California. The trade deficit is bogus and, I think, a smokescreen for President Trump’s ambitions. It is common knowledge here that annexation of Canada in any form has very little traction with Americans other than the President himself.
I offer this as reassurance to Canadians seized with hysterical fear for our sovereignty. “Never say never.” Sure, but…
It’s a bit harder to be sanguine about Trump’s threat to Canadian sovereignty when you live in Alberta, where we have high-profile musings about leaving Confederation and joining the US. Our Premier is doing nothing to quell this, but then, she feels that the rest of Canada betrayed Alberta by not voting for the party she favours, instead voting in the interests of the country as a whole.
Divide and conquer – Alberta is setting itself up as a wedge to destabilize Canada and providing an opening for Trump’s initiative.
My daughter lives in Alberta (for many years) and she’s not happy with these new developments.
And I thought the main problem was Quebec.
A lot of us aren’t happy with them.
But we’re governed by venal idiots.
Relax, I still say, Raskos (and Fr. Katze). “Leaving” Confederation and “joining” the United States are both easier said than done because in both transactions, the other side gets a vote, and that vote is overwhelmingly likely to be a hard No. The United States is not the sinecure of last resort for failed independence movements that run out of money and can’t attract capital.
There is a right to secede from Canada only if the Parliament of Canada says there is, by passing the specific enabling legislation for the province that has indicated in a referendum it wants out. Unlike in a marriage, you can’t leave a country unilaterally just because you really really want to. The parent state has the right to defend its interests from the damage secession would do to it, as the Southern Confederacy found out in 1861. (This is the response Israel makes, btw, to the self-determination “right” the Palestinians claim: you might call yourselves a nation but you can’t have your own state until you can find an existing state willing to give you land for it. Put us down as “No.”)
Unlike some other provinces, Alberta is useful to Canada and we would be foolish not to compel the continued loyalty of her residents as Canadian citizens. If we can’t do that we are a failed state. Unilateral declaration of independence would be insurrection. Canada has greater relative military capacity to arrest a secessionuist provincial Cabinet and hang* the Premier and her Ministers for sedition/insurrection than the North had vis-a-vis the South in 1861.
I don’t think annexation of Alberta as a territory — no way would it be a state — is any more in the interests of the United States than annexation of the whole country would be. If President Trump has designs on controlling a thawing Arctic, Alberta is useless to him. Even someone who enjoys violating norms would not want to be seen conspiring with separatist elements trying to break up a neighbouring allied state. Alberta would have to wait until the divorce came through before shacking up with the rich old man next door, if he hadn’t found someone younger and sexier meanwhile. Alberta would most likely find itself instead a landlocked hermit kingdom with no friends, deeply resented by Canadians on three sides, largely ignored by the U.S. on the south, and deserted by creditors and the investment community. I think Albertans will see this if it ever comes to a referendum.
(* Kidding. Canada finished abolishing the death penalty, treason and regicide being the last capital crimes, more than 30 years ago.)
Maybe he’d try to disenfranchise them.
Professor Amit surely knows that he can make whatever statement that he’d like under his own imprimatur, but to cancel class he is surely acting under the University of Chicago masthead. This violation demands a meaningful sanction from the U of C administration.
Has a better photo than that of the sassy salamander ever been posted? Here, or anywhere else?
No, never.
On the Houthis in Yemen and President Trump’s statement that the U.S. will cease raids against the Houthi terrorists:
Michael Oren has an interesting commentary at ynetnews regarding Israel’s past experiences relying on “outsourcing” to protect its security. Time and time again, the U.S., the U.N., and other entities (including U.S. Presidents) were trusted to help Israel in time of need only to discover that Israel was abandoned and left on its own. Read the short historical piece here: https://www.ynetnews.com/article/bk117hfixgl
Should Israel trust President Trump in time of need? The answer is that Israel needs to be wary.
Norman this reason is why Israel has such an impressive defense industrial sector. US is a good ally for sure but not perfect and Israel’s unique situation requires a no-fail, perfect defense.
Which is very successful both in protection and as an export.
For eg – in the works there at the moment is a laser based drone/missile killer.
Onwards Israeli heroes!
D.A.
NYC
“Travelers on the Autobahn 5 were treated to an unexpected spectacle: Police officers stopped traffic there to rescue several ducklings. The travelers were not unhappy about the brief interruption. Drivers honked their horns and applauded the successful rescue, said a police spokeswoman.
Several ducklings had been on the central reservation of the A5 between the Hemsbach junction and the Weinheim interchange on Saturday morning and were unable to get out of the crash barriers on their own. A mother duck was not with them. Two police officers caught the animals with a bag. The police then handed the ducklings over to animal rescue. Several road users had previously informed the police that there were ducks on the road. There was a traffic jam for a short time due to the rescue operation.”
https://bo.de/polizisten-fangen-entenkuken-auf-a5-und-ernten-applaus/
Sometimes my regrettably growing misanthropy takes a few steps back. Thanks for the link.
On the Jesus and Mo cartoon:
A thousand YESes!
The fact there is no distinction between church and state is a foundational problem with Islam. Along with polygamy and primogeniture.
They are the largest three reasons why the Islamosphere has been poor and at war all our lives. (There. I saved you three decades of studying Middle East politics). No kidding.
D.A.
NYC
“…the Islamosphere has been poor and at war all our lives.” And, most revealingly,
so often at war internally: the Lebanese civil war, the endless civil conflict in
Yemen, internal wars in Syria, Sudan, Libya…. So many inhabitants of these regions
missed the memo about “the religion of Peace”.
Just curious, do you have a concern with polyandry?
Speaking of penis bones….
When I was in Gradual school (sic), one of my advisors, always called “Dr. Bob”, invited an investigator using what was then a very new method of cloning and expressing genes of interest using baculovirus, a virus that infects insect cells. The room filled with students and other faculty and when the speaker began he showed the first slide with the word “baculoviridae”*. On seeing this, Dr. Bob shouted “OH!”, jumped up, slammed open the door, ran to his lab across the hall and came running back waving a Walrus baculum that he used as a pointer in his class.
He was a character. A local bar had a standing contest called “Stump Dr. Bob”; if he couldn’t give the scientific name of an animal, you won a free beer.
*an edit; I was told that baculoviridae got their name because they are shaped like a baculum. I don’t know if that’s true, but I sure hope it is.
It is true (snort, giggle).
https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/baculoviridae.html?sortBy=relevant
Assuming the transgender ban would mean that males would not be allowed in female spaces, I see benefit to it, as I see benefit to not allowing men in women’s prisons and women’s sports teams and the like. It also distracts from the unity of service. If any trans people currently in the military don’t like it, they can leave; I can’t see that there would be much effect, though I’m sure the NYT will have some TST (terribly sad transvestite) story about how he/she/they were forced out by evil Trump.
The other aspect of this, if the policy is recognition of a trans person’s gender identity over sex, would likely be that a trans (fake) woman would only need to meet the female physical fitness and strength fitness requirements, no? Is it the same for trans (fake) men?
I spent part of yesterday going down pro trans rabbit holes on Reddit. I had no idea the depth to which this delusion reaches, both in terms of quasi-religious belief structures as well as the usage of language.
Bit of a dick move to kick out otherwise (current) well performing “trans-istors” from the military, BUT you could institute a policy that going forward it won’t be allowed for new hires. Seems like a compassionate compromise.
Our mil is having a hard enough time with recruitment and retainment already anyway.
D.A.
NYC
I don’t expect the press to shine a spotlight on it, but enlistments have surged significantly since the election–and continue to do so. Make of it what you will.
“Transistors”… that’s good. I don’t want to be mean, but I’m of the Dave Chappelle (and earlier) generation of humor where we could (and did) say anything and we could still laugh at ourselves! Seriously, “transistors” is funny.
I would like to be in a world where trans women can serve in our military, and everything be copacetic. But there are questions that need answering. The big one is how do their units feel about it? Are they being coerced into showering with what are basically men? Like in that early scene in Starship Troopers? I have not heard of objections, but I don’t know if there are any.
Otoh, several weeks ago NPR interviewed one of these individuals in the military. I cannot imagine a more articulate and well-spoken person arguing against what is being done. She has a family, kids, and she seemed really outstanding. This will up-end the life that she wanted all of her life and it could be a real tragedy.
But then otoh, the military isn’t there to advance some narrow corner of social justice.
Not surprisingly, so far mainstream media are mum, as are the politicians and authorities that allowed for the protest to proceed. My donation to Yaldei school is on its way, along with an expression of solidarity and respect.
Dennis Kavanagh, who JK Rowling retweeted, is a lawyer and a director of the Gay Men’s Network. He’s long been an outspoken supporter of women’s rights in the TERF wars.
Re “I’m a very artistic person”, he surely is; as in artiste, Artful Dodger, artifice, artificial, artefact. And also, compared to Mark Carney he’s an Art Carney (though he does look rather more like Jackie Gleason).
Re “I’m a very artistic person”, he surely is; as in artiste, Artful Dodger, artifice, artificial, artefact.
Re Victorian museum curators censoring out penis bones, the nearly identical treatment was given to statues and other representations of the Egyptian god Min.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Min_(god)
BTW, I hadn’t realised that the Ancient Egyptians practiced circumcision, long before the ‘iḇrî .
Re the increasing risk of escalation between the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours, I dislike the default media description of them as “nuclear-armed”. They are, of course. But so is their neighbour China. Ever wonder why the Big-5 nuclear-armed states are not also described as such by default? I presume it’s because everyone knows that they have far too much to lose in a major nuclear “exchange”, particularly after the Cuban Missile Crisis¹. But we are not nearly so sure about the minor nuke states.
IMO the decision-making elites of the minor powers feel they have just as much to lose personally as the elites of major ones do. They would lose most of their special status. And really, there’s very little point in being The Most Supremest Leader Ever of a toxic wasteland.
I do expect that the insoluble water crises brought on by the steadily-melting Himalayan glaciers will lead to such a nuclear war. But that’s still a ways away.
¹ Which apparently would have ended very differently except for the intervention of one Soviet admiral.
Speaking of penises (penes?) — my favorite interpretation of the Adam and Eve story is this one that casts it as a “just-so story” about how human males lost the baculum:
https://www.timesofisrael.com/claim-eve-erected-from-adams-penis-bone-dismissed-as-phallacy/
The article turned into a “real bone of contention”, ha!