Tuesday Link Encylopedia

~ Clarissa

A Nigerian artist expresses his love for Ukraine in a musical video.

Can you go any lower than this in trying to discredit your political opponent?

It is absolutely ridiculous that huge corporations like Yale and Princeton are allowed to pay no taxes.

There is no gun problem in the US! The real problem we have is with toddlers who need to be banned.

Weirdness at UCLA: “And all calls for university administrators to police the minutiae of campus life rob students of the opportunity to learn how to govern themselves even as they contribute to the spike in administrative costs that render so many unable to afford tuition. The notion that university money is best spent paying someone to sit in an office vetting the themes of fraternity parties sounds like the premise of a SNL skit.”

Putin of Arabia. This was the funniest article I read all week. Highly recommended.

France is stupid.

Have you heard of self-tracking pills? Shit is crazy as all hell.

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Published by Clarissa

50 thoughts on “Tuesday Link Encylopedia”

    1. Gosh, I wish he stayed on the subjects he understands and didn’t try to provide an analysis of Russia. It’s a big and complex country, it deserves to be studied for at least some time before pronouncements made about it.

      It’s moments like these when I actually understand Putin’s rage at the Americans’ refusal to engage with him and not their fantasies of him. The guy literally can’t do anything to get Americans out of their narcissistic self-absorption and hear what he’s saying.

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  2. Nice piece on the insularity of liberal commentators online.

    http://fredrikdeboer.com/2015/10/19/you-can-take-the-villager-out-of-the-village/

    What else to make of this piece by Jake Flanagin or this piece by Amanda Marcotte, both of which have the same absurd idea: that the biggest problem that Bernie Sanders faces, politically, is the online conduct of his biggest online fans. The biggest problem! A Jewish socialist from Brooklyn in the land of Reagan, and his biggest problem is a few dozen people on Twitter!

    Let’s think about some likely Democrat primary voters. Like, say, a white woman who lives in the greater Cincinnati suburbs, who can’t get enough hours at her part-time job organizing records for a oral surgeon, and whose ex-husband can’t pay her child support because his only income is disability payments. Or a black bus driver in Maryland who’s worried about what’s going to happen to his pension in the next union contract negotiations. Or a Hispanic first grade teacher in Florida who doesn’t know if her school’s funding is going to get cut yet again. Or a retiree in Pennsylvania whose economic security is dependent entirely on Social Security and Medicare. Or a Laotian immigrant in the Bay Area who’s struggling to bring her mother into the country.

    Now: which of these people, do you think, is going to vote based on the conduct of Bernie Sanders fans on Twitter?

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  4. I respect Netanyahu in general, but here he is channeling Putin-style propaganda:

    Netanyahu: Hitler Didn’t Want to Exterminate the Jews […] a claim that was rejected by most accepted Holocaust scholars.

    …

    In a speech before the World Zionist Congress in Jerusalem, Netanyahu described a meeting between Husseini and Hitler in November, 1941: “Hitler didn’t want to exterminate the Jews at the time, he wanted to expel the Jew. And Haj Amin al-Husseini went to Hitler and said, ‘If you expel them, they’ll all come here (to Palestine).’ According to Netanyahu, Hitler then asked: “What should I do with them?” and the mufti replied: “Burn them.”
    http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.681525

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        2. \ The UK is as Western as they get but how can Israel be considered Western? The country is located in the Middle East.

          I and many other Israelis want our country to belong to the Western world. Culture / spirit, not geography is what counts here. We are definitely not a part of the Arab world, which hates us and is inferior to the West.

          Right-wing Israelis who say “we are not West”, often mean “Europe is a Jewish graveyard and has always hated Jews. Lets not listen to a word those people say.” It is all about politics, not geography.

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          1. In the absence of the corresponding concepts of East, North and South, the words West and Western have been emptied of all meaning and are now only filled with vagueness. I believe it would be useful to ask ourselves what we mean by “the West “. Is it “rich countries with a developed concept of human rights”?

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      2. “Still comparing Western democracies to North Korea? Tsk, tsk!”

        If that is your takeaway from that post, I pity your cognitive abilities.

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  7. Woman who was filmed tripping refugees as they made their way into Hungary plans to SUE the migrant she kicked for ‘lying’ and Facebook for ‘deleting groups who supported her’
    Petra Laszlo was filmed tripping up migrants on the Hungary-Serbia border
    She plans to sue one of the migrants, Osama Abdul Mohsen, and Facebook
    Laszlo claims Mohsen changed his testimony to the police to condemn her
    Camerawoman also says that Facebook played ‘major role in her situation’

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3282428/Woman-filmed-tripping-refugees-way-Hungary-plans-SUE-migrant-kicked-lying-Facebook-deleting-groups-supported-her.html

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  8. “I and many other Israelis want our country to belong to the Western world. ”

    And I want a pony!

    Let’s start with one person one vote before applying for admission to the ‘western world’. Baby steps.

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    1. That’s why I said we need to define “Western.” Does the concept include a respect for human rights? If not, then what does it include? A high standard of living for everybody?

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    2. \ And I want a pony!

      I am sure you can easily buy it. 🙂

      \ Let’s start with one person one vote before applying for admission to the ‘western world’. Baby steps.

      Israeli Arab citizens may vote. Almost nobody in Israel (except a few extra-extremists) thinks Gaza or all West Bank are parts of the Jewish state. Btw, ask Palestinians whether they want to give up their desire for a country and get this one vote as Israeli citizens.

      That Palestinians don’t yet have an independent state of their own (though PA is partly independent) is another issue. They do vote in PA. And in Gaza, when they voted for Hamas and are currently living with the results of their choices.

      \ I believe it would be useful to ask ourselves what we mean by “the West “. Is it “rich countries with a developed concept of human rights”?

      The West = democracy, human rights (above certain level) and not being as poor as numerous African countries. Being rich is not necessary, but not being too poor is. 🙂 For instance, France, America, Australia.

      \ In the absence of the corresponding concepts of East, North and South, the words West and Western have been emptied of all meaning and are now only filled with vagueness.

      It is the West vs the (Middle) East.

      East = Syria, ISIS, Saudi Arabia, Iran, etc. In short, everything I hate, which makes hearing “Israel is East(ern bazaar) unpleasant. 🙂

      No real democracy, no real human rights, (often) low position of women. A country may be wealthy because of oil, but as long as it’s a totalitarian regime, it’s not the West.

      Africa is its own group. As is Asia.

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      1. Australia is an excellent example of a country that’s definitely “Western” in every aspect except for its geographic location (and very weird fauna).

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  9. I found it very interesting:

    How Texas Teaches History (about slavery)
    …
    some of these books distort history not through word choices but through a tool we often think of as apolitical: grammar.

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    2. In most U.S. states, schoolbook purchases are made at the school district level, but in Texas those books are bought at the state level, making the State of Texas the largest single purchaser of schoolbooks in the country.

      Since the publishers want Texas to buy their books, they adjust their content and tone accordingly.

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  10. Spy game: IDF jets held Iran strike dry run in 2012

    US, Israeli officials reveal the breakdown in ties over Iran, as Israel had to spy to learn of nuclear talks, and US spied on strike plans.
    …
    IDF fighter jets covertly flew into Iranian air space in 2012 in what was thought to have been a dry run for a commando raid at a sensitive nuclear site, according to an extensive report published by the Wall Street Journal on Thursday.
    http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/202333#.VioMS9KrS9I

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  11. This isn’t a link or self-promotion. I just wanted to tell you that the school I’m applying for as a transfer has already made an admissions decision (they just got my application last Wednesday and my transcripts this past Tuesday and Wednesday). I haven’t decided whether that’s good or bad. So nervous.

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    1. Gosh, this must be a very tense moment! These things are entirely unpredictable, so it can go either way. Stay strong, though, and remember that a school that doesn’t want you is not worth going to. You are brilliant and they will be lucky to have you.

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  13. Israel hosts its first Ukrainian film festival
    Cinema events in major cities ‘introduce Israeli audience to Ukrainian filmmakers’ as cultural influence increased from former Soviet satellite.
    …
    According to Feldman, there are more Israeli-Ukrainian cultural exchange events slated for the year, with a Ukrainian fashion event in Tel Aviv and a concert by Ukrainian pop band Frayda, taking place in November.

    Israeli Friends of Ukraine began its cultural activity about a year ago after having first only engaged in humanitarian relief projects following humanitarian crisis in Crimea.

    “Everything started in Maidan, when we brought injured Ukrainians for treatment in Israel. Later we began sending humanitarian packages to Eastern Ukraine,” recounts Feldman.

    “Eventually we realized that cultural and artistic events are also a way to both raise awareness and bring our countries and cultures closer, while at the same time celebrating our own heritage in Israel.”
    http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4716888,00.html

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  14. Poland lurches to right with election of Law and Justice party

    Poland’s opposition conservative Law and Justice party (PiS) has claimed a stunning victory in Sunday’s parliamentary election winning enough seats to govern alone.
    …
    Law and Justice, a Eurosceptic party that is against immigration, wants family-focused welfare spending and has threatened to ban abortion and in-vitro fertilisation.
    …
    Distrustful of the EU and an advocate of a strong NATO stance in dealing with Moscow the PiS opposes joining the euro zone any time soon and promises more welfare spending on the poor.

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    1. Yes, he was a huge anti-Semite. Have you read his stories on the great actress Sarah Bernhardt? Also hugely anti-Semitic. As well as the famous play Ivanov.

      Nobody has yet been able to discover a single Russian writer who was not a huge anti-Semite. Which, by the way, is not true for Ukrainian writers.

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  16. Do you think it’s ISIS or just a bad Russian plane?

    Egypt: Russian passenger plane crashed in Sinai
    Commercial jet carrying 224 people crashes in the Sinai desert; aircraft completely destroyed, most passengers likely died, says security source
    …
    Egyptian authorities said the wreckage was found in area where Egyptian forces are fighting an Islamic militant insurgency. They said the wreckage was found in the Hassana area south of el-Arish.

    An Egyptian aviation official said the pilot had reported technical difficulties before losing contact with air traffic controllers.
    …
    Militants in northern Sinai have not to date shot down commercial airliners or fighter-jets. There have been persistent media reports that they have acquired Russian shoulder-fired, anti-aircraft missiles. But these types of missiles can only be effective against low-flying aircraft or helicopters. In January 2014, Sinai-based militants claimed to have shot down a military helicopter; Egyptian officials at the time acknowledged the helicopter had crashed, but gave no reason.
    http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4718746,00.html

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    1. Horrible!

      This might be the plane malfunctioning. There have been many tragic accidents with Russian planes because they are getting too old and nobody wants to spend any money on modernizing the plane pool.

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    2. The plane was reportedly cruising at 31,000 feet when it started to malfunction. ISIS doesn’t have any weapons that could reach that high. The only group in Syria with weapons that effective are the RUSSIANS.

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  17. Immigrants in Denmark to be taught about sex
    […]
    Hoping to combat the disproportionate number of rapes committed by immigrants and their descendants, a number of political parties are pushing for sexual education to be included in the Danish language courses provided to foreigners, Metroxpress reported.

    Between 2013 and 2014, 34.5 percent of all individuals convicted of rape were immigrants or their descendants despite those groups only accounting for roughly 12 percent of Denmark’s total population.

    The parties supporting the proposal point to the success of a similar programme in Norway, where asylum centre residents are given a voluntary five-hour course aimed at preventing sexual assaults. The class teaches asylum seekers and refugees that when women go out drinking alcohol or dress in revealing clothing, it is not an invitation to sex.
    http://www.thelocal.dk/20151028/denmark-to-teach-foreigners-about-sexual-morals

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      2. \ Yeah. A 5-hour course will totally teach these men to perceive women as human.

        I agree, but what can one do, except not accepting refugees?

        I think deporting back refugees who are involved in (sex) crimes may be a good idea. Deportation may be a harsher punishment than being put in a relatively comfortable European jail.

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        1. Deporting immigrants involved in ANY crimes is a good idea. Who wouldn’t rather live in a West European prison than in Afghanistan or Syria?

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        2. At least, start naming the problem. When I’m trying to discuss the same issue beginning to arise in Canada, all I get in response is a barrage of words from Canadian men who don’t see a problem. And women only dare to whisper to me privately how happy they are that I’m talking about this. But nobody is daring to say any of this in public.

          Denmark is a few years down the road from where Canada is right now. And still, the women are silent and men, I’m sure, have long speeches prepared on how this is not a big deal.

          This is why I keep saying: this is up to us, women. Men will never ever ever show any solidarity with women on this. Ever. Not happening.

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  18. I saw also this:

    In the latest proposal to tighten immigration rules, the government is suggesting an overhaul to Denmark’s family reunification system that would result in two different sets of rules.
    …
    The family reunification plan comes after the government has proposed changes to permanent residency requirements, made it harder to become a Danish citizen and drastically cut the welfare benefits granted to refugees.
    http://www.thelocal.dk/20151023/denmark-to-judge-foreign-spouses-on-integration

    Do you think other EU countries will soon follow suit? How does it go together with accepting thousands of immigrants / refugees?

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    1. Right now the benefits are $1,600 USD per a single person. That is absolutely insane. Of course, the tiny Denmark can’t sustain this. Nobody can.

      I don’t know how much Germany is paying out in benefits but if it’s anything comparable, then I can’t imagine it lasting very long. The Greeks must be feeling extremely rotten over all this.

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      1. Merkel SAYS that German taxes won’t have to be raised to pay for all the immigrants. (The Germans are still paying a “reunification tax” that was imposed in 1991 when impoverished East Germany was brought back into the country, and some of my German friends have been unhappy about that for the last 24 years.)

        If Merkel can’t keep her word on “no new taxes,” her government could well fall to a no-confidence vote. What a pity we can’t do that to American Presidents.

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        1. I have a deep-seated suspicion that many of the Germans who are still unhappy about the reunification tax will not have the same problem with payments to the refugees.

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