The Perils of Identity

 

Former President Donald Trump’s Attorney General, Bill Barr, believes his old boss is in very serious trouble — if “even half” of what is laid out in the 37-count federal indictment against him is true.

The Perils of Identity

I have, embarrassingly, been watching "The Jewish Matchmaker" on TV. People from different countries, walks of life, educational and cultural levels, all come together the find a mate, using the great unifier in their lives: Judaism. And these people, with all their diversity ask for nothing other than a mate with continuity with their respective religious demands.

And they don't work. They don't match up. And the factor is never the diversity of their lives, it is a slight disparity in the beliefs that unify them, religious beliefs that hold them in common. What on the surface looks to be a classic example of identity organization fails; the very identity that should unite them, divides them because the identity's demands are too pure.

Self-sufficiency

 

Self-sufficiency

China now is the largest exporter of cars and makes 2/3 of the world's EVs.

In a very interesting interview with a European trade minister, he worried about the current American anxiety about the rise of Chinese influence over American economy and military. His opinion is that the effort by the Americans to isolate themselves in self-contained safety is incompatible with the vulnerabilities of the Europeans who do not have the American capacity for self-sufficiency and need trade, especially with China.

This may be the beginning of that great separation of demographics and energy and food integrity that so many states will not have in the near future.

Sat Stats

 Boris Johnson is stepping down immediately as a Tory MP after receiving an advance copy of the "Partygate report."

Four children aged 13 to 1 survived a plane crash in the Amazon Forest and then 40 more days, alone.

This is a provocative story. Last October the Saudis reduced oil production in tandem with Russia, the US chief global adversary, souring relations between Riyadh and its decades-old allies in Washington, D.C. The move infuriated President Joe Biden, who promised the Saudis there'd be "consequences" amid fears it'd spike domestic inflation and damage his prospects in the US midterm elections.  The crown prince's response, according to the documents, was to threaten the US with the prospect of economic calamity. That threat appears to have paid off. 

Sat Stats

 In 1990 America accounted for a quarter of the world’s output, at market exchange rates. Thirty years on, that share is almost unchanged, even as China has gained economic clout. America’s dominance of the rich world is startling. Today it accounts for 58% of the G7’s GDP, compared with 40% in 1990. Adjusted for purchasing power, only those in über-rich petrostates and financial hubs enjoy a higher income per person. Average incomes have grown much faster than in western Europe or Japan. Also adjusted for purchasing power, they exceed $50,000 in Mississippi, America’s poorest state—higher than in France.

American firms own more than a fifth of patents registered abroad, more than China and Germany put together. All of the five biggest corporate sources of research and development (R&D) are American; in the past year they have spent $200bn. Consumers everywhere have benefited from their innovations in everything from the laptop and the iPhone to artificial intelligence chatbots. Investors who put $100 into the S&P 500 in 1990 would have more than $2,000 today, four times what they would have earned had they invested elsewhere in the rich world. --The Economist

Buddhism at the Center

 Trump has been indicted. He will be tried in the middle of an election. These people will sacrifice anything to attain their goals.

Buddhism at the Center

There are millions of Buddhists in America and Canada. Millions. Yet there is not one, one, Buddhist in the National Hockey League.

Isn't the failure of an organization or group to reflect the national statistics prima facie proof of bigotry?

So, what are we to do with these outliers that are so frequent? You might be able to rationalize some disparities as resulting from some nonspecific hierarchy. So, you could attack the vague lieutenant of the hierarchy--although he may not know he's a representative of evil and may take it poorly.

But what do you do about the Buddhist hockey player? Or, on the other hand, all the Buddhist spelling bee winners? Does justice always have to result in an attack on merit?

The Amazing Story of the USS Liberty

 

Private equity firms have tripled in the last twelve years and the opportunities have not. Therefore, competition is up, yields are down.

The Feds have informed Trump he is the subject of classified doc investigation. If political parties are unable to rise above this, American politics will change forever.

              The Amazing Story of the USS Liberty

 

(This is from St. Clair, mostly a summary of "Assault on the Liberty," a first-hand account by James Ennes Jr. whose book of the event is hair-raising story of betrayal by America's presumed friends and its own leadership. On this day in history, June 8, 1967.)

'In early June of 1967, at the onset of the Six Day War, the Pentagon sent the USS Liberty from Spain into international waters off the coast of Gaza to monitor the progress of Israel’s attack on the Arab states. The Liberty was a lightly armed surveillance ship.
Only hours after the Liberty arrived it was spotted by the Israeli military. The IDF sent out reconnaissance planes to identify the ship. They made eight trips over a period of three hours. The Liberty was flying a large US flag and was easily recognizable as an American vessel.
Soon more planes came. These were Israeli Mirage III fighters, armed with rockets and machine guns. As off-duty officers sunbathed on the deck, the fighters opened fire on the defenseless ship with rockets and machine guns.
A few minutes later a second wave of planes streaked overhead, French-built Mystere jets, which not only pelted the ship with gunfire but also with napalm bomblets, coating the deck with the flaming jelly. By now, the Liberty was on fire and dozens were wounded and killed, excluding several of the ship’s top officers.
The Liberty’s radio team tried to issue a distress call, but discovered the frequencies had been jammed by the Israeli planes with what one communications specialist called “a buzzsaw sound.” Finally, an open channel was found and the Liberty got out a message to the USS America, the Sixth Fleet’s large aircraft carrier, that it was under attack
Two F-4s left the carrier to come to the Liberty’s aid. Apparently, the jets were armed only with nuclear weapons. When word reached the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Robert McNamara became irate and ordered the jets to return. “Tell the Sixth Fleet to get those aircraft back immediately,” he barked. The planes turned around. And the attack on the Liberty continued.
After the Israeli fighter jets had emptied their arsenal of rockets, three Israeli attack boats approached the Liberty. Two torpedoes were launched at the crippled ship, one tore a 40-foot wide hole in the hull, flooding the lower compartments, and killing more than a dozen American sailors.
As the Liberty listed in the choppy seas, its deck aflame, crew members dropped life rafts into the water and prepared to scuttle the ship. Given the number of wounded, this was going to be a dangerous operation. But it soon proved impossible, as the Israeli attack boats strafed the rafts with machine gunfire. Nobody was going to get out alive that way.
After more than two hours of unremitting assault, the Israelis finally halted their attack. One of the torpedo boats approached the Liberty. An officer asked in English over a bullhorn: “Do you need any help?”
The wounded commander of the Liberty, Lt. William McGonagle, instructed the quartermaster to respond emphatically: “Fuck you.”
The Israeli boat turned and left.
A Soviet destroyer responded before the US Navy, even though a US submarine, on a covert mission, was apparently in the area and had monitored the attack. The Soviet ship reached the Liberty six hours before the USS Davis. The captain of the Soviet ship offered his aid, but the Liberty’s conning officer refused.
Finally, 16 hours after the attack two US destroyers reached the Liberty. By that time, 34 US sailors were dead and 174 injured, many seriously. As the wounded were being evacuated, an officer with the Office of Naval Intelligence instructed the men not to talk about their ordeal with the press.
The following morning Israel launched a surprise invasion of Syria, breaching the new cease-fire agreement and seizing control of the Golan Heights.
Within three weeks, the Navy put out a 700-page report, exonerating the Israelis, claiming the attack had been accidental and that the Israelis had pulled back as soon as they realized their mistake. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara suggested the whole affair should be forgotten. “These errors do occur,” McNamara concluded.'

What would happen if the Chinese attack and kill unarmed American military men in international waters? 

What value is the support of international friends?

Is loyalty a real element in international relations.

How self-absorbed and dangerous is Israel?

What kind of people can do this and excuse it? Are such people connected at all to the people they influence?

In Webber's "Dreamcoat," "the Children of Israel are never alone." But sometimes it's hard to see why.

Evil Spells

Evil Spells

Dev Shah from Florida spelled "psammophile" correctly to become the 95th Scripps National Spelling Bee champion, beating Charlotte Walsh from Virginia.

Two spellers were eliminated in Round 9, when 11-year-old Sarah Fernandes from Nebraska was marked incorrect on "leguleian" and Pranav Anandh from Pennsylvania on "querken."In Round 10, which is a word-meaning round, Tarini Nandakumar from Texas was out on "chthonic."

Arth Dalsania from California was eliminated on "katuka," Dhruv Subramanian from California on "crenel," Vikrant Chintanaboina from California on "pataca," and Aryan Khedkar from Michigan on "pharetrone."

Shradha Rachamreddy from California missed "orle" in the 13th round, before Surya Kapu spelled "kelep" incorrectly to leave Shah and Charlotte Walsh from Virginia as the final two competitors of 2023.

Kapu, an eighth-grader in his last year of eligibility, ranked fifth in 2022. This year, his correctly spelled words included "nunnari" and "Bloemfontein" on his way to finishing tied for third.

Walsh spelled "daviely" incorrectly before Shah spelled his final word, making her the 2023 runner-up and the winner of $25,000. Her 13 correctly spelled words throughout the competition included "akuammine," "collembolous," "rescissible" and "sorge."

Certainly no one wants to make any generalization here but there is a coincidence that might be noticeable; many of these names may be of Indian origin. Now for the really bad news: Since 1999, the children of immigrants from South Asia have dominated the world's most prestigious spelling bee. In our belief in equality of outcome, this is more than disturbing, this is virtual treason. 

What is going on? What circumstances or series of circumstances has unfairly created this unnatural disparity? We know this kind of imbalance implies injustice. But something of this scope has to be more than simple bigotry. It has to be a conspiracy.

And, as an aside, who the hell is Charlotte Walsh?

D Day