“Political language—and with variations this is true of all political parties, from Conservatives to Anarchists—is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.” --James
Tree Party was very good. Chris and Grace were there. Stayed for dinner which was better than expected. A violinist throughout dinner; unfortunately at the end of the meal played "Dust in the Wind."
Show trial update: Still no witness who has ever met Trump. I wonder if Trump has met Kevin Bacon. Will Bacon testify?
Does anyone know what Pelosi is doing in Madrid? She gave a speech saying that we were still in the Paris agreement despite 1. we're not and 2. the House does not do treaties. This is all looking more and more Alice in Wonderland. The leaders of the free world all look unhinged.
‘While the president can name his son Barron, he can’t make him a baron’: Prof. Karlan used the Trump family to outline the Constitution’s rule that there can’t be titles of nobility. While this did not seem to have anything to do with anything, it drew a response.
"A minor child deserves privacy and should be kept out of politics. Pamela Karlan, you should be ashamed of your very angry and obviously biased public pandering, and using a child to do it."-Melania
Or, "Wither and die!"
Asia’s largest low-cost carrier is betting people love its food so much that it opened its first restaurant on Monday, offering the same menu it sells on flights. It’s not a gimmick, either: AirAsia, based in Malaysia, said it plans to open more than 100 restaurants globally within the next five years.
This is interesting. According to Bloomberg data, China is set to hit another dismal milestone in 2019 when a record amount of onshore bonds are set to default, confirming that something is indeed cracking in China's financial system and "testing the government’s ability to keep financial markets stable as the economy slows and companies struggle to cope with unprecedented levels of debt." After a brief lull in the third quarter, a burst of at least 15 new defaults since the start of November have sent the year’s total to 120.4 billion yuan ($17.1 billion), and set to eclipse the 121.9 billion yuan annual record in 2018.
The Pirates cut Diaz, a guy I thought could hit. His defensive stats are not good, though, and that's how the Pirates decide. Stats for them is a proxy for talent evaluation; since everyone has the same stats, they think it will balance out organizational and financial defects.
Sinterklaas
Tree Party was very good. Chris and Grace were there. Stayed for dinner which was better than expected. A violinist throughout dinner; unfortunately at the end of the meal played "Dust in the Wind."
Show trial update: Still no witness who has ever met Trump. I wonder if Trump has met Kevin Bacon. Will Bacon testify?
Does anyone know what Pelosi is doing in Madrid? She gave a speech saying that we were still in the Paris agreement despite 1. we're not and 2. the House does not do treaties. This is all looking more and more Alice in Wonderland. The leaders of the free world all look unhinged.
‘While the president can name his son Barron, he can’t make him a baron’: Prof. Karlan used the Trump family to outline the Constitution’s rule that there can’t be titles of nobility. While this did not seem to have anything to do with anything, it drew a response.
"A minor child deserves privacy and should be kept out of politics. Pamela Karlan, you should be ashamed of your very angry and obviously biased public pandering, and using a child to do it."-Melania
Or, "Wither and die!"
Asia’s largest low-cost carrier is betting people love its food so much that it opened its first restaurant on Monday, offering the same menu it sells on flights. It’s not a gimmick, either: AirAsia, based in Malaysia, said it plans to open more than 100 restaurants globally within the next five years.
This is interesting. According to Bloomberg data, China is set to hit another dismal milestone in 2019 when a record amount of onshore bonds are set to default, confirming that something is indeed cracking in China's financial system and "testing the government’s ability to keep financial markets stable as the economy slows and companies struggle to cope with unprecedented levels of debt." After a brief lull in the third quarter, a burst of at least 15 new defaults since the start of November have sent the year’s total to 120.4 billion yuan ($17.1 billion), and set to eclipse the 121.9 billion yuan annual record in 2018.
The Pirates cut Diaz, a guy I thought could hit. His defensive stats are not good, though, and that's how the Pirates decide. Stats for them is a proxy for talent evaluation; since everyone has the same stats, they think it will balance out organizational and financial defects.
Sinterklaas
Amsterdam hosts the largest Saint Nicholas parade in the world. The white-bearded legend traditionally makes his spectacular entrance into the city by sailing down the Amstel River then trades his boat for his white horse Amerigo, and the parade continues through the streets. Although the feast of Saint Nicolas falls on 6 December, the evening of 5 December is the main gift-giving occasion during the holiday season in the Netherlands. Called 'sinterklaasavond' (Sinterklaas evening) or'pakjesavond' (presents evening), Sint drops off a sack full of gifts on the doorstep before heading back to Spain. Following his late-night visit, much like at Christmas, everyone unwraps their presents from Sinterklaas and reads aloud the poems that have been written especially for each recipient. The author of these light-hearted poems remains anonymous.
Saint Nicholas has had close ties with Amsterdam since 343 AD. Legend has it that Sinterklaas originally came from Turkey to Amsterdam as St. Nicolaus, the Bishop of Mira. He is specifically described as a benefactor of young women. No one really knows why he then chose to live in Spain but historians point to the Spanish domination over the Netherlands in the past. His name appears on the oldest Greek list and on five other lists of participants in the Council of Nicaea and he is said to have physically attacked and beaten the major Arian bishop over the nature of the Trinity--and is often pictured as having a broken nose as a result.
The Christmas-like celebration on Dec. 5 has in recent years become part of the polarized discourse about race in The Netherlands. At the heart of the discussion is "Black Pete," Sinterklaas' helper--often the Saint's "enforcer" who punishes naughty children--who is often played by white people in blackface makeup and Afro wigs. Opponents see him as an outdated and offensive caricature that harks back to slavery, while the majority of Dutch people see Pete as a harmless children's character who has come to symbolize what they see as attacks on Dutch culture and traditions. Even the sacred United Nations has weighed in, with its Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination last year urging the Netherlands to "actively promote the elimination of those features of the character of Black Pete which reflect negative stereotypes and are experienced by many people of African descent as a vestige of slavery."
This has persisted in the country's public debate with the Black minority increasingly annoyed and the traditional Dutch surprisingly resistant to change. Some additions have been made with Zwarte Pieten evolving into a sort of sooty chimney-sweep.
Dutch Stamps:
Saint Nicholas has had close ties with Amsterdam since 343 AD. Legend has it that Sinterklaas originally came from Turkey to Amsterdam as St. Nicolaus, the Bishop of Mira. He is specifically described as a benefactor of young women. No one really knows why he then chose to live in Spain but historians point to the Spanish domination over the Netherlands in the past. His name appears on the oldest Greek list and on five other lists of participants in the Council of Nicaea and he is said to have physically attacked and beaten the major Arian bishop over the nature of the Trinity--and is often pictured as having a broken nose as a result.
The Christmas-like celebration on Dec. 5 has in recent years become part of the polarized discourse about race in The Netherlands. At the heart of the discussion is "Black Pete," Sinterklaas' helper--often the Saint's "enforcer" who punishes naughty children--who is often played by white people in blackface makeup and Afro wigs. Opponents see him as an outdated and offensive caricature that harks back to slavery, while the majority of Dutch people see Pete as a harmless children's character who has come to symbolize what they see as attacks on Dutch culture and traditions. Even the sacred United Nations has weighed in, with its Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination last year urging the Netherlands to "actively promote the elimination of those features of the character of Black Pete which reflect negative stereotypes and are experienced by many people of African descent as a vestige of slavery."
This has persisted in the country's public debate with the Black minority increasingly annoyed and the traditional Dutch surprisingly resistant to change. Some additions have been made with Zwarte Pieten evolving into a sort of sooty chimney-sweep.
Dutch Stamps:
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