Tuesday: Hili dialogue

June 17, 2025 • 6:45 am

Welcome to the Cruelest Day: Tuesday, June 17, 2025, and National Apple Strudel Day.  Here is an apple strudel and an Einspänner (coffee) I consumed at one of the great coffee shops in Vienna, the pink-themed Aida chain, Home of Strudel (photo taken in October, 2012). From Wikipedia:

Einspänner Coffee: A Viennese specialty. It is a strong black coffee served in a glass topped with whipped cream. It comes with powder sugar served separately.

It’s also World Croc Day (the reptile, not the shoe), National Cherry Tart Day, and National Eat Your Vegetables Day.  Here’s a famous bridge in western Costa Rica under which lurk dozens of American crocodiles, Crocodylus acutus (I think the tourists feed them):

Readers are welcome to mark notable events, births, or deaths on this day by consulting the June 17 Wikipedia page.

Da Nooz:

*The war between Iran and Israel goes on, with some Iranian missiles getting through Israeli defenses, with a total of 24 Israelis killed and over 600 injured. On the other side, the toll of Iranians has been 224 killed and over 1400 injured.  On Monday, Israel claims to have struck the headquarters of Iran’s Quds Force, an elite branch of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, now decapitated. (According to several sources, though, Trump nixed Israel’s plain to kill Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.  Here are some excerpts:

Israel expanded its attacks on Iran on Monday, striking the headquarters of state television after ordering residents to leave part of Tehran, as the fiercest and deadliest confrontation in the history of the Israeli-Iranian conflict entered its fourth day.

With civilian casualties climbing on both sides, the war, in its fourth day, now seems likely to last for more than a week. Israel appears to be acting with increasing confidence as it tries to destroy Iran’s nuclear and military infrastructure, while attacking a broader range of targets including energy installations and command centers.

Broadcasting stations are legal targets in wartime as they are organs of propaganda. Here’s some live broadcasting during the missile strike:

. . . The aircraft carrier U.S.S. Nimitz is leaving Southeast Asia for the Middle East as part of a planned deployment, a Defense Department official said. The Nimitz sailed west through the Singapore Strait on Monday. It had been operating in the South China Sea last week, the official said.

The war shows no sign of ending, and in parts of Tehran the IDF has warned Iranians to evacuate. (Note: has Iran warned any citizens of Tel Aviv to evacuate?)  And Iran, now knowing it can’t come out of this in one piece, is literally begging for peace talks:

Iran is signaling through Arab intermediaries that it seeks an end to hostilities and resumption of talks over its nuclear programs, sending oil prices down.

President Trump nixed Israel’s plan to kill Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to a U.S. official. Calling Iran’s leadership weak, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested in a Fox News interview on Sunday that the conflict could prompt a regime change.

From the AP:

The Israeli military has warned residents in part of Iran’s capital to evacuate ahead of Israeli strikes.

The latest salvo comes after a weekend of escalating tit-for-tat attacks between Israel and Iran that raised fears of a wider, more dangerous regional war. Israel launched the attacks on Iran amid simmering tensions over Tehran’s nuclear program.

*Like me, you may be wondering how Israel managed to set up both drone bases and vehicles carrying rocket interceptors—over 1000 km from the Jewish state. It’s Mossad, Jake, and it’s explained in two articles, one in the Wall Street Journal (archived here) and the other in the Times of Israel.

From the WSJ:

Israel had spent months smuggling in parts for hundreds of quadcopter drones rigged with explosives—in suitcases, trucks and shipping containers—as well as munitions that could be fired from unmanned platforms, people familiar with the operation said.

Small teams armed with the equipment set up near Iran’s air-defense emplacements and missile launch sites, the people said. When Israel’s attack began, some of the teams took out air defenses, while others hit missile launchers as they rolled out of their shelters and set up to fire, one of the people said.

The operation helps explain the limited nature of Iran’s response thus far to Israel’s attacks. It also offers further evidence of how off-the-shelf technology is changing the battlefield and creating dangerous new security challenges for governments.

. . .The spy agency began preparing for the current drone operation years ago, the people said. It knew where Iran kept missiles to be ready for launch but needed to be in a position to attack them given the country’s size and distance from Israel.

Mossad brought the quadcopters in through commercial channels using often unwitting business partners. Agents on the ground would collect the munitions and distribute them to the teams. Israel trained the team leaders in third countries, and they in turn trained the teams.

The teams watched as Iran rolled out missiles, then hit them before they could be erected for launch, the person said. Mossad knew the trucks that move the missiles from storage to the launch site were a bottleneck for Iran, which had four times as many missiles as trucks.

The teams took out dozens of trucks

And from the ToI:, which pretty much reprises the above:

It was previously reported that Israel spent years preparing for the operation against Iran’s nuclear and missile programs, including building a drone base inside Iran and smuggling precision weapons systems and commandos into the country.

Unnamed sources revealed more details in the Journal report, saying Israel spent months smuggling bomb-laden quadcopter drone parts into Iran via suitcases, trucks, and shipping containers. In some cases, business transactions were made with partners who were unaware of the cargo being shipped. Mossad agents inside Iran then gathered the equipment and handed it out to teams who prepared the drones for use. Team leaders were trained outside Iran and then returned to pass on the skills to the teams on the ground.

When the airstrikes began, the teams used the weapons to take out air defense systems while also hitting surface-to-surface missile launchers as they emerged from shelters and were being set up to fire in retaliation at Israel, the sources said.

You have to be pretty brave to be a Mossad agent spending any time at all in Iran, for if you’re caught it’s instant death. Israel screwed up on October 7, but the performance of Mossad, killing Iranian nuclear scientists, diabling Hezbollah fighters with beepers and walkie-talkies, and now the operation in Iran, well, that’s pretty amazing.

*Most of Canada has resoundingly rejected Trump’s argument that the country should become the U.S.’s 51st state, but there’s one area that shares more of that sentiment. (article archived here). No, it’s not Quebec, which tried to secede in 1980, but Alberta!

As President Donald Trump visits western Canada for this week’s Group of Seven economic summit, a passionate minority is thrilled by his talk of making them part of a 51st state.

Across most of Canada, Trump’s annexation talk has caused outrage. His antagonism has stirred displays of flag-waving patriotism that are unusual here. In downtown Calgary, shops that sell maple syrup and other Canadian souvenirs have seen a surge in purchases of Canadian-flag lapel pins. Abookstore says “Proudly Canadian” in its window.

But the U.S. president’s expansionist designs have also galvanized a “Make Alberta Great Again” movement, which has gained traction among some in western Canada long frustrated by a Liberal government that they say stifles the oil and gas industry that drives their economy.For them, Trump’s 51st-state talk is not a provocation, but a chance for lower taxes, Second Amendment gun rights and a shot at the American Dream.

At the Red Deer Curling Center, about 90 miles north of Calgary, hundreds of Albertans gathered Saturday to discuss their frustrations with Ottawa at an event hosted by the right-wing media company Rebel News. Several in the crowd wore black or red Make Alberta Great Again caps, and provincial flags flew from their trucks in the packed parking lot. Most cheered as a speaker standing in front of a black curtain that partially covered the rink’s scoreboard made the case for forming a 51st state.

Jacob Fraser, selling bags of Resistance Coffee at the event, said he was “excited” when Trump began talking about annexing all or part of Canada. The 37-year-old sees joining the United States as an opportunity to gain more freedom of speech, more gun rights and more opportunities to pursue his own businesses.

“We’re very much intertwined with the States, and as Albertans, especially, we’re very much more compatible with the American perspectives than the current Canadian perspective,” he said. “For me and a lot of my social groups, it’s a hopeful moment and an exciting time in history.”

Nationwide, that’s clearly a minority view. Backlash to Trump, who was set to arrive here Sunday night, helped fuel Prime Minister Mark Carney’s victory in late April — a stunning comeback by his Liberal Party over the Conservatives, who had a healthy lead before Trump’s taunts.

About 15 percent of all Canadians supported joining the United States as of a January poll by YouGov. That percentage was slightly larger in the prairie provinces, including Alberta — “Canada’s Texas” — where some say they have more in common with Republicans in the U.S. than with their compatriots in the rest of the country.

Albertans who support joining the U.S. are a faction of a broader group of western Canadians who are alienated by Canada’s government. They have made their presence visible with billboards and blue-rubber bracelets that say “AB USA.”

Well, despite Trump’s blustering, this ain’t gonna happen. Nor would I want it to happen. Canadians are proud, friendly, and do not want to be part of the U.S. Why would they.  But if they did join uis, the politeness quotient of America would shoot up drastically.

*Yesterday I noted how the residents of Barcelona are fighting back against overtourism, even squirting visitors with water guns. Now kvetching about overtourism has spread to France, as in this AP story, “The world’s most-visited museum shuts down, sounding the alarm on overtourism.” Yep, workers on the Louvre, who can’t handle the crowds, are on strike.

The Louvre, the world’s most-visited museum and a global symbol of art, beauty and endurance, has withstood war, terror, and pandemic — but on Monday, it was brought to a halt by its own striking staff, who say the institution is crumbling under the weight of mass tourism.

It was an almost unthinkable sight: the home to works by Leonardo da Vinci and millennia of civilization’s greatest treasures — paralyzed by the very people tasked with welcoming the world to its galleries.

Thousands of stranded and confused visitors, tickets in hand, were corralled into unmoving lines by I.M. Pei’s glass pyramid.

“It’s the Mona Lisa moan out here,” said Kevin Ward, 62, from Milwaukee. “Thousands of people waiting, no communication, no explanation. I guess even she needs a day off.”

The Louvre has become a symbol of tourism pushed to its limits. As hotspots from Venice to the Acropolis race to curb crowds, the world’s most iconic museum, visited by millions, is hitting a breaking point of its own.

Just a day earlier, coordinated anti-tourism protests swept across southern Europe. Thousands rallied in Mallorca, Venice, Lisbon and beyond, denouncing an economic model they say displaces locals and erodes city life. In Barcelona, activists sprayed tourists with water pistols — a theatrical bid to “cool down” runaway tourism.

The Louvre’s spontaneous strike erupted during a routine internal meeting, as gallery attendants, ticket agents and security personnel refused to take up their posts in protest over unmanageable crowds, chronic understaffing and what one union called “untenable” working conditions.

It’s rare for the Louvre to close its doors. It has happened during war, during the pandemic, and in a handful of strikes — including spontaneous walkouts over overcrowding in 2019 and safety fears in 2013. But seldom has it happened so suddenly, without warning, and in full view of the crowds.

I’m really glad I’ve seen these big tourist sights earlier in my life, when they weren’t so crowded.  When I was a kid, I used to play soldier with a wooden sword inside the ruins of the Parthenon.  You couldn’t do that now, and your really shouldn’t, but that was about 1955 and there were few tourists in a country still recovering from the war.  I’ve been to the Louvre many times (the last time, to see the Leonardo exhibit, was impossibly crowded), and I won’t be devastated if I don’t see Barcelona again. But what about the people who haven’t yet?

*Joon Lee, who previously covered sports for ESPN, beefs in the NYT that it’s getting costly to be a sports fan: “$4.785. That’s how much it costs to be a sports fan now.” (The article is archived here.)

For most of my life, sports was one of the most accessible forms of entertainment in America. You turned on the TV, flipped to the game and cheered or booed — with your family, your neighborhood, your city. Being a fan was simple. It was community.

This community is dying, because some of its shared moments are disappearing. Take the N.B.A. playoffs. Wanted to watch the Denver Nuggets? You needed to shell out at least $8.99 a month for NBA TV — unless you happened to live in Denver, in which case you had to spend an additional $20 a month for a regional basketball streaming subscription.

It’s not just basketball. I subscribe to nearly every service there is with live sports — YouTube TV, MLB.TV, NBA League Pass, NFL Sunday Ticket, Peacock, Apple TV+, Max, Amazon Prime, Paramount — for $2,634 a year. But to watch the Boston Red Sox play the New York Yankees earlier this month, I would have had to fork over an additional $19.99 a month for some obscure baseball-focused service that has that slice of one of the most iconic rivalries in America’s national pastime.

For decades, our national sports leagues — the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League — operated more like civic institutions. These organizations may have always chased the mighty dollar, but they also wanted their sports to last. And as such, they cared about strengthening such powerful intangibles as local pride, generational fandom and public ritual. Tradition was good business. Community built loyalty. Loyalty built value.

Then came the streaming wars. Starting in the early 2010s, live sports events were one of the last types of programming that guaranteed hundreds of thousands if not millions of real-time viewers, and the leagues began to be flooded with requests from streamers, such as Amazon Prime, Peacock and Max, begging for a piece of the pie. At the same time, the leagues were looking for a way to raise the cash required to invest in the lucrative opportunities offered by overseas expansion. And that’s when the business of sustaining sports in America took a back seat, and our country’s sports leagues stopped acting like caretakers and started thinking like asset managers.

The result is that dozens if not hundreds of games that make up America’s national pastimes are being sliced and diced and sold off to the highest bidder — be that a cable giant, or a streaming upstart, or a regional sports network or a subscription app. Games jump from one service to another with so little notice or apparent logic that even some of the biggest superfans struggle to track what’s available where.

Going to a game is similarly growing out of reach: From 1999 to 2020, the average price of a seat across all sports rose roughly twice as fast as overall consumer prices. It increased 19.5 percent between May 2023 and May 2025 alone, one of the biggest jumps of any category tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Some solutions:

For our national games, it’s time for Congress to amend the antitrust exemption with a ban on blackouts, a cap on what streaming services can charge fans and a requirement that media companies offer affordable bundles. For local games, state legislators can force teams vying for taxpayer dollars to help pay for their gleaming new stadiums to offer affordable local streams, guaranteed public simulcasts and, similarly, no blackouts. Some teams already do this. The Dallas Stars of the N.H.L. stream their regional games free with ads — proving that it’s possible.

Congress could also take inspiration from Britain’s “Crown Jewel” rule and designate key sporting events — perhaps the World Series, the Super Bowl, the N.B.A. Finals — as nationally significant and require that they air on free, widely accessible platforms.

Crikey, I remember when you could watch all sports on the major t.v. stations: CBS, NBC, and ABC, and all FOR FREE.  Hell, I was sick at home, staying out of school, when in 1960 the Pirates’s Bill Mazeroski hit the home run in the bottom of the ninth that gave the Pirates the world championship. I can still remember that: lying in bed but cheering (I was a Pirates fan after I was a Cardinals fan). I couldn’t have done that if we had to pay! I’m gonna put that video up to jog my memory:

Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Hili is peeved! When I asked Malgorzata what Hili was made about, the reply was “I don’t know. She is just a cat.”

Hili: I’m so outraged I can’t find words.
A: Look for synonyms in a dictionary.
In Polish:
Hili: Nie znajduję słów oburzenia.
Ja: Poszukaj w słowniku synonimów.

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

From Jesus of the Day:

From Now That’s Wild:

From CinEmma:

And meet a reader’s cat, Sparkle, who is staffed by reader Tom. Here’s Sparkle in an apple tree making a blep:

Here Masih excoriates the Iranian regime, which is doing bupkes to protect its citizens:

Retweeted by JKR, these burqa-clad women are, of course, forbidden to sing. But they do it anyway, and make a video. At least they can’t be identified.

While Greta Thunberg and her “Freedom Flotilla” were getting turned back from Gaza, a bunch of activists were approaching Gaza from the Egyptian side, heading to Palestine in buses.  I figured the Egyptians would turn them back, and they did. Luana sent this tweet of a tearful, thwarted pro-Palestinian activist:

From Malgorzata; the AP, along with other MSM organizations, has gone easy on Hamas for years. Here a former AP reporter gives some details:

From Malcolm: a deaf taxi driver picks up a deaf passenger.

One I reposted from the Auschwitz Memorial:

Gassed to death immediately upon arriving at Auschwitz, this Jewish girl was only thirteen.

— Jerry Coyne (@evolutionistrue.bsky.social) 2025-06-17T09:55:51.913Z

Two posts from Professor Cobb, almost completely over his illness. First, an optical illusion that many people (including me) cannot see. I won’t tell you what it is, but see if you can make it out. Scroll it up or down quickly for the best results.

Scroll slowly and then think about where the image you will recognise is contained in this apparently uniform set of stripes, and the amazing processing that goes on, instantaneously, in your brain.

— Matthew Cobb (@matthewcobb.bsky.social) 2025-06-16T06:17:36.479Z

Look at the size of this instrument!

Here’s the massive, magnificent but very rare Octobasse, invented in 1850. To play it, the musician must stand on a platform. You can hear its rather alarming deep bass tone, and see it being played, at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12X-…

— Journal of Art in Society (@artinsociety.bsky.social) 2025-06-16T06:05:31.869Z

47 thoughts on “Tuesday: Hili dialogue”

  1. I am familiar with those kinds of optical illusions. To reveal them, one would normally try to do things like jiggle the screen or squint. But this one does not reveal other than a very faint … something.

    2. A silhouette of the Mona Lisa, I believe.
      I guess that this makes up for not being able to see the painting in the Louvre.

      1. (Replying on the optical illusion.)

        Yes, the Mona Lisa must be the intended big effect.

        But for me the image is perceptually out of control, with three or four things going on! Sometimes it seems to be divided into smaller squares, not tiny but about 1/6 of the width of the whole. Also, the blue lines develop wavy bumps along their sides, which travel rapidly up and to the right.

  2. I’m always surprised when there is talk of Canada becoming the 51st State. This makes no sense if one compares the Canadian Provinces to some of the smaller US States. So, how about Canada makes this top-level offer (I’m ignoring the crap US healthcare, gun violence and other uniquely US “traditions”):

    Based on the populations of the lowest populated states in the US which are all under one million (South Dakota, North Dakota, Alaska, Vermont, and Wyoming) then for parity the Canadian provinces of Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, Manitoba Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, the latter having a population larger than all of the above states except South Dakota, should qualify as US States.

    Therefore, Canada will become the 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57 and 58th States of the US. Not only will Trump and the republicans be out on their backsides there will be enough Senate votes to impeach both Trump and Vance. Just a thought.

    1. The only annexation scenario that makes sense is for Canada to be annexed as a single unincorporated territory. That eliminates all the electoral difficulties you cite from creating instant new Blue states. Current provincial boundaries would have no relevance if Congress eventually — 92 years in the case of Alaska — created one or more states in the territory. Congress, not the President and not the residents of the territory being considered for statehood, sets whatever boundaries it wishes if it creates more than one state in a territory. Our few large cities might just be added as panhandles to current border states, mostly now Democrat anyway, to avoid messing up the Senate, and the rest left just unincorporated.

      Twenty additional Democratic Senators is simply not going to happen. Ever.

      Ex-Canada would not be able to afford free universal healthcare under annexation, btw. Canadians would have to pay federal taxes to Uncle Sam, which they currently use for healthcare. And they wouldn’t be able to stop poor Americans with expensive chronic diseases like diabetes from moving there to avail themselves of it.

      1. These were my thoughts about how Canada could stop the US going on about acquiring Canada – they don’t get it as one State. The US proposal to make Canada the 51st State would make it the largest state in the Union, the size of a country even. Oh yes, it’s a country now.

        1. You make it sound as if the country that capitulates to annexation has that kind of say in the matter. Annexation is like a hostile takeover in business. You recognize that your country has failed and you hope to salvage something by throwing your lot in with a successful foreigner, …if he’ll take you, knowing that you’ll be a drag on his prosperity, as with the reunification of Germany. The United States, or President Trump rather, doesn’t want us badly enough to annex us on anything but his terms. His terms, take it or leave it, would be annexation as a territory (with the expectation of benefit to America that seems unclear to me) because no other proposal has a chance in Hell of being ratified by the U.S. Senate. “51st State” is just a colloquialism. There is no possibility whatsoever that 40 million anti-American liberals of doubtful loyalty are going to be given the opportunity of statehood to influence U.S. national politics just like that. If it comes to annexation, Canada is not going to be dictating terms to the U.S.

          1. I think Trump uses it strictly as a candy for his most out-of-touch-with-reality MAGA crowd. But let’s say for the sake of discussion, don’t you think many of us would become a partisan army that would make minced meat out of many of your loved ones with a never-ending attack series? Drones, guns, knives, poison, WHY. Is it really worth it, that’s my question. We may be only 10% of your population but take the anger into account.

  4. What scares me about the Israeli operation in Iran is that China is probably prepared to do something very similar in the event of a war with the U.S.

    With regard to the Louvre, the answer seems simple: Only let a specified number of people in at once. This could be done with a queue or by selling tickets online.

    1. I believe selling advanced tickets online is the system to see the Statue of David in Florence. One has to plan way ahead.

      1. That’s how it was in Rome last year. We had to purchase online tickets for the Vatican Museum well in advance. Decades ago, we just rocked up at the entrance, got our tickets and went in. I was also surprised to find that entering the Pantheon, which used to be free, now requires standing in a long line to pay for a 25$ ticket.

  5. Regarding the optical illusion, I immediately recognized the Mona Lisa. Is that “correct”?

    Regarding sports and broadcasting, the whole sports endeavor reminds me of the classic Roman ‘bread and circuses’ story. Collectively, we focus way too much attention on sports and not nearly enough on what truly matters, like who we elect to lead us. And why do taxpayers foot the bill for stadiums when major sports make so much money for owners and players?

    And don’t even get me started about college sports and NIL.

    I used to be a huge sports fan, watched games all of the time. Now I can hardly be bothered.

    1. And I think NIL extends into high schools also. I lost interest in pro sports years ago with the coming of free agency. I was loyal to teams of players, but suddenly the players were not loyal to teams. Who to root for?

      I have always hated scholarship athletics in colleges and now with the goddam portals and NIL…..

      In any case it all seems to center on gambling now…many miles from sportsmanship and fair competition. I watch virtually none of it anymore.

      I once asked Matthew about athletic scholarships at UK unis. His answer was clear: “In the UK college sports are recreational, not reputational”…an excellent model I think.

    2. I saw the same thing, and wonder how it’s done. It reminds me of the part of an eye test where you look through a grid of tiny holes and somehow the text comes into focus.

      1. Before I had my cataract corrective surgery (some 11 or 12 years ago), I was amazed at what the pinhole viewer would do — I don’t know the details, but apparently restricting the spherical surface extent of the input rays lets them take isolated paths through the interior of the eye, and with a bit of moving the blocker around you can get it to bypass the cataracts and pass thru only the healthy/clean parts of the natural lens.

        When I see gimmick ads for “miracle” glasses (which claim to correct your vision without individual prescription) some of them are clearly an array of pinholes; others don’t show clear enough pictures, but may be something similar. I doubt that the pinhole effect, interesting as it is, could live up to those inflated claims. I’m not going to waste money sending for one just to satisfy curiosity.

  6. Normally I have trouble seeing these type of optical illusions but this time I could. Found that if you move it slowly up and down and gradually speed up the image forms in your brain.

    1. Me too. But I discovered that it works for me only if I take my reading glasses off! With them on, all I see is a vague shadow.

  7. Great illusion : distance to eye made it for me.

    Sports : agree. You have to really want to see a game. Perhaps going to the right place – restaurant, bar, gym, etc. – matters.

    An enormous differential factor – I imagine – is the storage of games. YouTubers make their living with replaying famous game moments, pretending to be know-it-all live commentators… Before, if you miss the game, all you got was the highlights on the news…. oh the news – ummm.. this is getting complicated…

    Regrouping – so modern pro sports – a crack in the vessel… driven by ESG subversion, I bet…

    … maybe farm teams have better business because of it…

    1. Sports viewing habits have completely changed for me. Part of it is age…sitting and watching young men play a game with a ball doesn’t seem as appealing the older I get. Related to this is nostalgia and struggling to relate to current players…to me the “real” basketball players will always be guys like Michael, Magic, Larry, Hakeem, Sir Charles, Karl…that generation. Just like my father and uncles would always tell me that those guys couldn’t tie the shoelaces of their heroes like Russ, Wilt, Robertson, or West.

      But that would still probably be a minor factor if I didn’t have to shell out a lot of money just to watch a game. After cutting the cord years ago and now only watching the occasional show on Netflix, my tv watching in general has gone down significantly. I literally would not know how to watch an NBA game now if I wanted to.

  8. I think the Egyptians should have let the protestors march to Gaza, after all it would have only taken them 40 years to get there!

  9. Ironically, given the strike, I saw what was in the illusion as I was scrolling down to the item! I hadn’t even read the preamble at that point, but I guessed we were being treated to an optical illusion when the image vanished as I stopped scrolling… always fun.

  10. The image in the optical illusion is hanging in a building discussed today or certainly looks like it to me.
    Iran’s leadership should be fair packing itself, they’re running the risk of a big backlash by not giving up on nukes. The women of Iran won’t miss them, well some might.
    I saw some footage this a.m. of a missile strike from that thug called putin go into an apartment block in Ukraine. It was disturbing and horrifying. Terrorism by no other name. Iran and the russians have the same play book.
    It it weren’t for the fact that they treat their own soldiers as expendable I’d call this normal for them. They simply don’t care.

  11. Presumably the pressure on the BBC is even stronger than what has been applied to the AP. In any event, I’m bookmarking that video.

  12. Quebec did try to secede in 1980. But they came much closer to doing so in 1995. Only 50.6% of Quebecers voted to remain in Canada. The premier of Quebec at the time, Jacques Parizeau, blamed “l’argent pis des votes ethniques” for the loss. A big early win for multiculturalism.

    1. Canadians probably know this but our American friends may not: a Canadian province can’t secede from Confederation simply by winning a referendum. Even if it’s a clear majority on a clear question (in the opinion of the federal Government, which the 1995 Question wasn’t), that only starts negotiations between the province and the rest of Canada. Legal secession can’t occur until the Parliament of Canada passes legislation declaring the province, (or perhaps only part of it!), no longer part of Canada, the residents no longer subject to subject to Canadian law and no longer obligated to pay federal taxes. Illegal unilateral secessions are another matter and lead to civil war. As Natasha Hausdorff puts it, there is no right to your own sovereign state. The existing state out of which you want to carve yours has a right to its own territorial integrity and, like the enemy in battle, it gets a vote on your plan.

      Canada would never agree to let Alberta secede on terms acceptable to the fringe Alberta secessionist movement. Nor would it cede Alberta to a foreign country. You only sell your losers.

      I engage occasionally with fans of American annexation of Canada. They’re all about how great it would be for Canada (or Alberta) to be part of the U.S., which is typical Canadian self-absorption. I always ask them, “What’s in it for the United States? Its corporations can buy from Canada’s corporations all the rocks, oil, and trees they want. America doesn’t need territorial sovereignty for that. That’s just commerce. What are you offering to America in return for all the empty land and frozen coastline they’ll have to defend? Are you going to be instant loyal American citizens all of a sudden and send your children into the U.S. Army? (The way American Samoans do.). Canadians won’t even join their own Army. Are they credibly going to join what is until Annexation Day a foreign one? I never get an answer. It’s as if they think Americans covet us — all we have to do is say Yes, please! — just because their President had a flight of fancy now crashed to earth about it.

  13. I’m wondering why the number of tourists is suddenly increasing to such an extent. Does it indicate a general rise in prosperity and/or disposable income (retirees, two income couples without children, etc?)

    Might it have something to do with the internet? Perhaps people want to travel the world as they travel the cyber world, or they want something interesting to post on social media.

    I suppose it might indicate dissatisfaction with home, too. Or could just be that fares have gone down. Are the tourists today similar to the tourists in the past — or are the cultural hot spots attracting a new demographic?

    I’m sure towns and treasures which depend on tourism have already asked and perhaps answered these questions.

  14. For insight into Iran’s general significance, consider the Belt and Road – China’s plan to control the world which it has made progress on.

    There’s supposedly great interest in railway in Iran.

  15. Joon Lee (you too Jerry) is a crybaby. There are more sports viewing options today than ever. While Jerry may shed a tear of nostalgia recalling viewing the World Series from his sick bed…outside of October, the rest of us were stuck with the singular “Game of the Week” and Tony Kubek. (For those who counter with the Ford Frick honor, remember who decides on the recipient)

    Where in the Constitution…Bible…Farmer’s Almanac…does it say sports should be free? And Lee wants Congress to declare some sporting events the equivalent of national treasures? You know where that will go…forced telecasts of gay rodeos…Indian pow-wows…and mandatory viewership of the WNBA.

    Amigos, back in the day I was a sportswriter. I quickly decided to move on. I found the profession full of people who confused retrospect with insight. They also:

    *thought they were smarter than players, coaches, GMs, owners (and just about everyone else),
    *recited movies lines as a display of intellectual prowess,
    *never paid for a dam thing.

    If you think professional athletes are entitled…you’ve never met Mr. Joon Lee.

    1. Disagree with the crybaby part, agree about accessibility. I only follow one sport (NHL hockey) but it’s cheap to be a fan: for about $300 a year I subscribe to a Canadian streaming service that gives me more sports than I could ever watch: ~every NHL game plus MLB and NBA. My team (Oilers) is not where I live (Vancouver) so occasional local blackouts don’t affect me much (and the Canucks were not very good this year). In those ways it’s the golden age of TV sports.

  16. I read yesterday that President Trump was going to give Iran one last chance to make a deal. In response, I sent him a letter (via his official contact page) asking him not to try to make a deal at this point. Rather, I offered that the best way to secure a long-term solution is to join the Israeli-led effort and use U.S. bombers and bunker-busting bombs to destroy Iran’s underground nuclear facilities. The dismantling of their program needs to run to completion.

    The Iranian government is begging for negotiations now, but Trump should not take their requests seriously. They are desperate to save their theocratic regime, and Trump should not be a party to it. In fact, the opposite is true.

    Will the message get through? Yes. A bot will (probably) read it and record what I am advocating in some form or another.

    1. I agree with your sentiments on Iran. There’s zero point trying to negotiate with the Ayatollahs. They’re not trustworthy.

      Yesterday a commenter at the WSJ made an interesting point: that Trump is a pacifist type. Like Tulsi Gabbard. These two don’t seem to mind authoritarians and dictators but are hugely into peace.

      Hence Gabbard and likely Trump don’t a problem with Putin taking Ukraine—as long as the war stops.

      Trump seems somewhat more concerned with the fate of Israel (and of course it’s a worse conflict due to the massive hatred of Israel).

      1. That’s an insightful take, Frau K. Donald Trump came up through the business world where, even in real estate, you have to negotiate. Even if you hold all the high cards, you still have to make a deal. You can’t just take what you want from the other guy if it’s his property. Violence (and coercion by threat of violence) is the monopoly of the state. But now that Donald Trump is chief executive of a state, he actually can use violence. In the service of a state goal (emasculation of Iran) he ought not to shrink from using violence to take what he, acting for the state, wants from Iran: its nuclear capacity.

        This is especially so if by using violence he can achieve that goal more completely than he could achieve in negotiation where he would have to give up at least a little. This is why the Allies didn’t allow the Germans or the Japanese to seek terms for an armistice. There was no reason for them to: their best alternative to a negotiated agreement was to keep crushing the Axis on the battlefield until they surrendered unconditionally. So by game theory there was no value in negotiating: they could only lose, not win. Prime Minister Netanyahu knows this, too. That’s why the world wants a negotiated cease-fire over Gaza: because then Israel’s victory, merely by her coming to the table, will be less than complete, and less than Israel needs.

        Jane Jacobs gets at this in her Guardians v. Commerce (Traders) formulation. Donald Trump is a Trader: anything for a deal. He doesn’t wear the Guardian hat well. According to Jacobs, we need both Guardians and Traders as separate people. When one tries to be the other, failure.
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systems_of_Survival (That’s the title of Jacobs’s 1992 book.)

        (Although I do have to agree (with him, so we are told) that decapitating the regime while everything is still fluid would not have been a good idea. With the Supreme Leader and his subordinates gone, what Iranian Guardian — not a Trader — would be authorized to come out with the white flag? Just before Hitler committed suicide he transferred control of the Reich to Adm. Eric Raeder, Chief of the Navy…and once the Emperor of Japan threw in the towel, so instantly did every single Japanese.)

    2. It seems to me that Trumps’ overarching style is to dangle something that is wanted, and then take it away; offer it again, and then take it away again. This is to keep the other party off-balance. So his comments about negotiation and cease-fires are just part of that. Maybe this will result in a deal. Maybe it will result in a late June surprise of more US involvement.

      There was mention the other day that some of our heavy bombers have been moved to where they can be used by Israel ( I assume after training). Part of his political base wants nothing to do with this war, but it’s pretty clear to me that having Israel drop some Moab bombs will only result in a moment of outcry from that political base. A thing quickly forgiven. It is what I am hoping happens.

  17. I am trying to understand the rapid release of details regarding reported Mossad operations in Iran. Such organizations are not filled with eager children and ambitious climbers wishing to brag about their accomplishments. They know how to keep secrets—and they oftentimes do so for decades. This is particularly the case should similar means even remotely be considered necessary for future operations. As fun as these stories are to read, consider me deeply skeptical about the details. I suspect they are both shaping a public narrative and diverting attention from more crucial elements of success.

  18. “I’m really glad I’ve seen these big tourist sights earlier in my life, when they weren’t so crowded.”

    Me also though I went to the Louve in 2000 and it was impossibly crowded then. I’ve been to many Euro capitals and I’m glad I have seen them. Most of the places I used to go though (I don’t travel much now)… won’t be “overtouristed” anytime soon. No water pistols in Dhaka, Bangladesh or Beirut soon I imagine. 🙂

    Anyway… I’m used to it – living in Cheslea Manhattan is VERY tourist infested (90% of them Americans, according to the numbers) and I don’t mind. They’re less trouble and better dressed than us locals!

    D.A.
    NYC

  19. Oh. On Iran.
    Remember what I wrote about Kharg Island (90% of oil Iran’s oil exports – mainly to China). If Israel hits that…. big consequences for the already crappy, half electrified economy. Iran is a dark place in every respect.

    The drone project makes me wonder how much co-operation Israel had with Ukraine on their near identical Operation Spiderweb last month? Israel has to be on the down low re: Ukraine – still too many Jewish hostages in Russia. Recall the airport pogrom in Dagestan after Oct 7, and Putin talking on TV with two shaken looking rabbis.

    I bet Mossad set up a drone store selling to hobbyists in Tehran as a cover. Similar thing with the beepers.

    Onwards…

    D.A.
    NYC

    1. Matti Friedman.
      You don’t have to take my word for it: Go to Google Image, and type in the search box: matti friedman journalist

      Maybe of interest:

      Matti Friedman: What the Media Gets Wrong About Israel. The Atlantic, Nov 30, 2014
      The news tells us less about Israel than about the people writing the news, a former Associated Press reporter says.
      free access:
      https://web.archive.org/web/20240306141223/https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/11/how-the-media-makes-the-israel-story/383262/

      The mainstream media is staffed by journalists who mostly are on the left side of the political spectrum.
      There’s plenty of antisemitism on the left:

      William I. Brustein & Louisa Roberts: The Socialism of Fools?: Leftist Origins of Modern Anti-Semitism. Cambridge University Press, 2015
      Using a range of primary and secondary sources, including the analysis of left- and right-wing newspaper reportage, this book traces the relationship between the left and anti-Semitism in Europe from the French Revolution to World War II and demonstrates that the relationship between the left and anti-Semitism has been much more profound than previously believed.

      Kathleen Hayes: Antisemitism and the Left: A Memoir. Fathom Journal, July 2021

      Mapping the New Left Antisemitism: The Fathom Essays. Edited By Alan Johnson, Routledge, 2024

  21. A sudden addition of 41 million Canadians to the US population wouldn’t result in an increase in politeness. Canadians are polite to foreigners, but if you want an idea of how we deal with one another, watch what goes on against the boards in a hockey game where the majority of players on both sides are Canadians.

    As an Albertan, I find this seccessionist nonsense to be hugely embarrassing. The minority who want incorporation into the US are deluded – they imagine that they’ll be welcomed with open arms and immediately reap all of the benefits of being Americans, but in reality the US will hold us down with one hand and pluck us with the other. The real movers behind this initiative know this, but bank on their own privileged positions being protected – the outcome for the rest of us simply doesn’t matter to them.

    1. My daughter is also an Albertan (raised in BC) and she’s not happy at all with the more extreme Alberta types.

      Agree about hockey, fights are not uncommon.

  22. Re tourism:

    I’ve visited Paris twice, once in 1993 and once in 2013. Getting into the Louvre the first time was relatively easy (although there was a long queue); the second time I ended up buying tickets online in advance because there would have been something like a 3-hour wait to get in. I imagine it’s worse now.

    Similarly, I spent a lot of time in Barcelona between 2006 and 2009 and never had a problem getting in to see all the sights. The next time I went back, in 2014, they had moved to an advance-ticket-only system for many places.

    Last year at the last minute decided to spend a few days in Rome (in between two conferences in different parts of Europe), which I’d never been to and had always wanted to see. I didn’t realize until I got there how insane the tourist crowds are and could only get tickets for entry to one sight (the Colosseum and the Forum, which were the main things I wanted to see anyway) – all others were sold out weeks in advance. I still enjoyed my few days there but I can understand how locals might feel about it.

  23. My mom attended that 1960 World Series game when Bill Mazeroski hit his legendary home run. She said she couldn’t believe what she saw.

    Who knows when the Pirates will have a winning season again…

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