Rush Limbaugh suggested Michael J Fox was faking Parkinsonism for attention, applauded segregation, called Obama "halfrican", and said MLK's killer should get a Medal of Honor?
And he still has a fucking radio show?
Monday, June 4, 2018
CD does love a windfall
Chapters 35 and 36.
Dorritt pere is as disappointing faced with sudden, unearned, and gratuitous riches as he was in his rather more deserved poverty.
Reading Little Dorritt.
Saturday, June 2, 2018
The world's first floating nuclear power plant, from the land of the Chernobyl disaster
Maybe the scariest idea I've seen all week.
Une centrale nucléaire russe flotte dans l’Arctique
En avril, la Russie a mis à l’eau le premier réacteur nucléaire flottant.
L’objectif ?
Alimenter en électricité les villes du Grand Nord russe à partir de 2020 et ainsi démontrer l’efficacité de cette technologie.
Une centrale nucléaire russe flotte dans l’Arctique
En avril, la Russie a mis à l’eau le premier réacteur nucléaire flottant.
L’objectif ?
Alimenter en électricité les villes du Grand Nord russe à partir de 2020 et ainsi démontrer l’efficacité de cette technologie.
Europe sinking into the stupid
Italy: Populists in power
For those who read French.
Bavaria's new rule uses the cross to stoke divisions
A good CNN piece on populist nationalism in Germany.
For those who read French.
Bavaria's new rule uses the cross to stoke divisions
A good CNN piece on populist nationalism in Germany.
Read it all.
But here is the first part.
It's easy to see when a politician is playing games, but it can be difficult to stop him -- even when he's violating the constitution and sowing divisions to win votes.
Most Germans reject the so-called "Kreuzpflicht," or crucifix mandate, but in Bavaria, where over 75% identify as Protestant or Roman Catholic, the new rule seems to be an attempt by the Christian Socialist Union, or CSU, to hold on to power in the October elections.
Populism today is all the rage, and the reason is easy to detect: It wins votes.
Bavaria is particularly vulnerable to the divisiveness of populism.
State Premier Markus Soder, of the rightist CSU, moved into the top job in Bavaria last March and within two weeks introduced the Kreuzpflicht in a transparent move to stem the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany party, the AfD, which runs on an anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim platform.
The top religious authorities in Germany rejected the rule.
But Soder, who met with the Pope as the decree went into effect, has reason to be optimistic that his play will pay off.
It's easy to see when a politician is playing games, but it can be difficult to stop him -- even when he's violating the constitution and sowing divisions to win votes.
That's most transparent today in Germany, where the local government has ordered that every public building in the southern state of Bavaria hang a cross on a visible location near its entrance.
Most Germans reject the so-called "Kreuzpflicht," or crucifix mandate, but in Bavaria, where over 75% identify as Protestant or Roman Catholic, the new rule seems to be an attempt by the Christian Socialist Union, or CSU, to hold on to power in the October elections.
Populism today is all the rage, and the reason is easy to detect: It wins votes.
Bavaria is particularly vulnerable to the divisiveness of populism.
It is one of Germany's most conservative states, and it lies along a preferred route taken in recent years by more than a million migrants, many of them Muslim, who settled in Germany.
State Premier Markus Soder, of the rightist CSU, moved into the top job in Bavaria last March and within two weeks introduced the Kreuzpflicht in a transparent move to stem the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany party, the AfD, which runs on an anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim platform.
The AfD has been eating into support for the CSU, which had its worst performance ever in last fall's election.
The rise of extremist parties erodes moderation even among centrists.
The rise of extremist parties erodes moderation even among centrists.
The right-of-center CSU, partner of Angela Merkel's CDU, is moving further to the right.
If that means violating the constitution's demand that the government remain neutral on religion, Soder has some wordplay to fight back.
The cross, he said, is not a religious symbol but a cultural one.
Christian leaders rolled their eyes.
The top religious authorities in Germany rejected the rule.
Cardinal Reinhard Marx, archbishop of Munich and president of the German Bishops' conference, said if Soder thinks the cross is not a religious symbol, then he doesn't understand it, accusing the premier of using it to foment, "division, unrest and animosity."
The head of Germany's Catholic organization, Thomas Sternberg, said the crucifix should not be used "for election purposes," and countless religious scholars and clerical leaders rejected the move as a patently political one.
But Soder, who met with the Pope as the decree went into effect, has reason to be optimistic that his play will pay off.
A national poll showed just 29% of Germans support his Kreuzpflicht.
But in Bavaria, approval has reached 56%. And among supporters of Soder's nemesis, the AfD, 77% liked the rule.
Oh, about AfD
12 years of Nazi dictatorship are a mere blot of bird droppings on a thousand years of successful and glorious German history, said a leader of Alternative for Germany (Alternative für Deutschland) at a recent party meeting.
Oh, about AfD
12 years of Nazi dictatorship are a mere blot of bird droppings on a thousand years of successful and glorious German history, said a leader of Alternative for Germany (Alternative für Deutschland) at a recent party meeting.
Not that he doesn't have a point.
Le co-dirigeant du parti allemand d'extrême droite AfD, Alexander Gauland, a estimé samedi qu'Adolf Hitler et les nazis n'avaient été qu'une "fiente d'oiseau" dans un millénaire allemand glorieux, selon des propos rapportés par la Deutsche Welle.
"Hitler et les nationaux-socialistes (le parti NSDAP du Führer, ndlr) ne sont qu'une fiente d'oiseau en 1.000 ans d'histoire allemande à succès", a affirmé le responsable politique qui est aussi le co-président du groupe parlementaire Alternative pour l'Allemagne (AfD).
"Oui nous reconnaissons notre responsabilité pour les 12 années" de la dictature nazie, a-t-il ajouté, également cité par l'agence dpa.
Le co-dirigeant du parti allemand d'extrême droite AfD, Alexander Gauland, a estimé samedi qu'Adolf Hitler et les nazis n'avaient été qu'une "fiente d'oiseau" dans un millénaire allemand glorieux, selon des propos rapportés par la Deutsche Welle.
"Hitler et les nationaux-socialistes (le parti NSDAP du Führer, ndlr) ne sont qu'une fiente d'oiseau en 1.000 ans d'histoire allemande à succès", a affirmé le responsable politique qui est aussi le co-président du groupe parlementaire Alternative pour l'Allemagne (AfD).
"Oui nous reconnaissons notre responsabilité pour les 12 années" de la dictature nazie, a-t-il ajouté, également cité par l'agence dpa.
"Nous avons une histoire glorieuse et celle-ci, chers amis, a duré plus longtemps que ces 12 fichues années", a-t-il jugé lors d'une réunion à Seebach, en Thuringe (est), de l'organisation des jeunes de l'AfD.
La secrétaire générale du parti conservateur CDU, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, proche d'Angela Merkel, a promptement réagi sur Twitter: "50 millions de victimes de guerre, l'Holocauste et la guerre totale ne sont qu'une 'fiente d'oiseau' pour l'AfD et Gauland. Voilà ce qu'est ce parti derrière le masque civil".
. . . .
Première force d'opposition à la chambre des députés, l'AfD a fait une entrée fracassante au Bundestag, avec plus de 90 députés, et remis en cause le consensus mémoriel des Allemands sur leur passé nazi.
Née en 2013 d'une opposition à l'euro, le parti est devenu, à la faveur de la "crise" des réfugiés en 2015, un parti anti-migrants, anti-islam et anti-Merkel.
Il a notablement durci son discours, notamment contre les musulmans.
La secrétaire générale du parti conservateur CDU, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, proche d'Angela Merkel, a promptement réagi sur Twitter: "50 millions de victimes de guerre, l'Holocauste et la guerre totale ne sont qu'une 'fiente d'oiseau' pour l'AfD et Gauland. Voilà ce qu'est ce parti derrière le masque civil".
. . . .
Première force d'opposition à la chambre des députés, l'AfD a fait une entrée fracassante au Bundestag, avec plus de 90 députés, et remis en cause le consensus mémoriel des Allemands sur leur passé nazi.
Née en 2013 d'une opposition à l'euro, le parti est devenu, à la faveur de la "crise" des réfugiés en 2015, un parti anti-migrants, anti-islam et anti-Merkel.
Il a notablement durci son discours, notamment contre les musulmans.
The abortion extremists
In the very earliest weeks of pregnancy it is simply not true that the embryo is yet an unborn child.
In the later weeks, it certainly is true.
That distinction is rejected by Christians of all orthodox persuasions who insist on protection of the fetus from the moment of conception, allowing at most an exception to save the life of the mother, and by pro-choice folks who insist upon an unrestricted right to abortion at will at any time before the moment of actual, completed delivery.
Hence Democrats resist even efforts to ban or restrict late term abortions while Republicans do this.
This, on the other hand, is at neither extreme, resting as it does on the presence in the fetus of actual, functioning organs.
Generally the heartbeat is audible at 9 or 10 weeks, weeks after the circulatory system begins to elaborate.
That seems a not unreasonable test of whether the fetus is or is not yet an unborn child.
But not everybody wants to take any such thing into account.
In fact, most on both sides don't.
In the later weeks, it certainly is true.
That distinction is rejected by Christians of all orthodox persuasions who insist on protection of the fetus from the moment of conception, allowing at most an exception to save the life of the mother, and by pro-choice folks who insist upon an unrestricted right to abortion at will at any time before the moment of actual, completed delivery.
Hence Democrats resist even efforts to ban or restrict late term abortions while Republicans do this.
This, on the other hand, is at neither extreme, resting as it does on the presence in the fetus of actual, functioning organs.
Generally the heartbeat is audible at 9 or 10 weeks, weeks after the circulatory system begins to elaborate.
That seems a not unreasonable test of whether the fetus is or is not yet an unborn child.
But not everybody wants to take any such thing into account.
In fact, most on both sides don't.
Friday, June 1, 2018
The ONLY good thing Trump's wave of conservative judges might do
Repeal Roe.
Fears Trump's anti-choice picks could set back abortion fight for a generation
The Guardian fears that.
I don't.
But I do fear pretty much everything else they might do to undo more than a century of progressivism.
Fears Trump's anti-choice picks could set back abortion fight for a generation
The Guardian fears that.
I don't.
But I do fear pretty much everything else they might do to undo more than a century of progressivism.
Germaine Greer on rape
She has a new book coming out that, in Texas, might get her shot by a feminist.
Germaine Greer on rape
Sample.
She questioned a statistic which said that 70% of rape victims had suffered post-traumatic stress disorder compared with 20% of conflict veterans.
“What the hell are you saying? Something that leaves no sign, no injury, no nothing is more damaging to a woman than seeing your best friend blown up by an IED is to a veteran?”
Society wanted women to believe that rape destroyed them, she said.
“We haven’t been destroyed, we’ve been bloody annoyed is what we’ve been.”
Germaine Greer on rape
Sample.
She questioned a statistic which said that 70% of rape victims had suffered post-traumatic stress disorder compared with 20% of conflict veterans.
“What the hell are you saying? Something that leaves no sign, no injury, no nothing is more damaging to a woman than seeing your best friend blown up by an IED is to a veteran?”
Society wanted women to believe that rape destroyed them, she said.
“We haven’t been destroyed, we’ve been bloody annoyed is what we’ve been.”
Double standard, anyone?
People on the left are saying Samantha Bee should keep her job because, uh, freedom of speech.
But not Roseanne Barr, because freedom of speech only guarantees government can't censor you, not that you can't be fired for offensive speech.
But not Roseanne Barr, because freedom of speech only guarantees government can't censor you, not that you can't be fired for offensive speech.
The necessity of bullshit
As I have said before, laws are commands backed by force and government is force backed by bullshit.
The bullshit is crucial, and that it is believed is crucial.
And the more democratic the state the more necessary the bullshit, and the more necessary the bullshit is believed.
And the more awful must be the believed wickedness and consequences of the most tempting crimes.
How else maintain a regime that forbids and punishes both infanticide and abortion, for example?
How else force on recalcitrant, selfish, brutal, and cruel humanity a more humane social order, protecting the very weakest?
Eternal, hopeless damnation, anyone?
On top of the most severe human justice, of course.
Is it even possible for a mythology to both accept sexual liberation and successfully and seriously condemn and limit both infanticide and abortion?
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