“I’ve always been blessed with a kind of intuition about people that allows me to sense who the sleazy guys are, and I stay far away.”
—Donald Trump, Surviving at the Top
Writing Russian Roulette in the heat of crisis
Psychologists, psychiatrists express concern over Donald Trump's mental health
Game On East vs. West, again Andrew Cockburn, Harpers. Mark P:
If you want to have big platform military spending — big platforms being aircraft carriers, new missile systems, F35s, giant artillery and similar hugely expensive weapons systems — you need a big platform enemy. That leaves nobody but the Russkies.Thus, what we’re seeing in the media. As I know you guys know, McMansions in Virginia and other DC suburbs have already been purchased and lavishly remodeled on the expectation of MIC contracts that are now jeopardized by Trump’s accession.But some of your readers don’t seem to fully get it. ‘Game On East vs. West, again‘ by Andrew Cockburn is the definitive piece that I’ve seen on the forces pushing for Cold War 2.0 — who, what, why, when and where — even though it’s from HARPERS Jan 2015 issue.
Backing Into World War III Foreign Policy
Are there more Polish speakers than Irish speakers in Northern Ireland? A good fact check is an excuse to dive deep into what data is available about issues of public interest. And this is a good fact check. See other prominent fact checks this week compiled by the Internet Archive which, ICYMI, is a semi-finalist for the MacArthur Foundation's $100 million grant.
The joys of Yiddish and economics, with reference to Leo Rosten
We Asked an Expert if Trump’s Russia Scandal Could Lead to Prosecution Vice (Re An important and rare moment of sanity.
The NYT story on “Trump associates” and Russian spooks: some questions In Moscow’s Shadows
Spies Keep Intelligence From Donald Trump on Leak Concerns WSJ “Sources and means? Witness headline inflation. The real story centers around spy masters fretting that they haven’t been granted the ability to frame events via daily briefs, thus shaping the White House decision making process with their alleged ‘slam dunks.'” I’m loving the liberal nomenklatura’s view that relying on known torturers and professional liars to stage a soft coup is“saving democracy.” Perhaps their view of “democracy” is overly specialized for their particular niche?
KremlinGate Enters Uncharted Waters as Russian Links Overwhelm DC John Schindler, The Observer. Schindler calls CNN story “deeply sourced.” Really? I remain baffled that Schindler’s venue is Kushner’s paper. “The call is from inside the house”??
Carter Page, at Center of Trump Russian Investigation, Writes Bizarre Letter to DOJ Blaming Hillary Clinton The Intercept
Are there more Polish speakers than Irish speakers in Northern Ireland? A good fact check is an excuse to dive deep into what data is available about issues of public interest. And this is a good fact check. See other prominent fact checks this week compiled by the Internet Archive which, ICYMI, is a semi-finalist for the MacArthur Foundation's $100 million grant.
The joys of Yiddish and economics, with reference to Leo Rosten
Mr. Darcy Is Hot, Full Stop (And Austen Researchers Who Say Otherwise Can Sit Back Down Now)
Some Austen scholars say that the standard for male beauty has changes since Pride and Prejudice was first in front of a reading public. “I mean, we all know that Austen wasn’t actually thinking of Colin Firth when she wrote the book.”
Finland’s biggest trade union says a universal basic income is ‘useless’ Business Insider48 Questions the FBI Uses to Determine if Someone Is a Likely Terrorist Intercept (Bill B)PayPal Kills Canadian Paper’s Submission To Media Awards Because Article Had Word ‘Syrian’ In The TitleTechdirt. Headline weirdly understates what happened.
Ukraine Revisited Nation
US-Russia Relations in “Most Dangerous Moment” Real News Network
The chief
information security officer for the White House's Executive Office of the
President has been removed from his position, sources have confirmed. Cory
Louie was appointed to the position by former President Obama in 2015, charged
with keeping safe the staff closest to the president -- including the president
himself -- from cyber-threats posed by hackers and nation-state attackers. But
circumstances surrounding his departure, weeks after President Donald Trump
took office, remain unclear. It's thought he was either fired or asked to
resign last Thursday evening, and he was escorted out from his office in the
Eisenhower Executive Office Building across the street from the West Wing.
Since then, there has been a near-absolute wall of silence from the White House
-- from both the staff, which up until last week worked for Louie, and
spokespeople for the Trump administration.
A bipartisan slate of representatives with cybersecurity chops is pressuring President Trump's top national security adviser, Michael Flynn, to change an export agreement many believe weakens international cybersecurity. The Wassenaar Arrangement is an annual nonbinding agreement among around 40 nations that creates export policies for civilian technologies with military uses
Cheers to beer revolution
It seems Australians simply cannot satisfy their craving for craft beer, a growing number making it their drink of choice to wet their whistle...