There absolutely is a war on Christmas going on. It’s called global warming.
It looks like we’ll spend this Christmas, yet again, mowing the lawn instead of playing snow angels. I read a book on what this town was like back in the late 19th century, and it was all about snow sports, sleigh riding, skating and building snowmen in winter. Today, these activities sound outlandish in this region.
Clarissa's Blog 
OT: The Eu wants to enforce media censorship in the UK.
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/717627/free-speech-crackdown-EU-report-British-press-hate-crime-violence-terror
two notes:
Western Europe media is rapidly losing public confidence like old Warsaw pact media (not as fast and not as bad, but that’s the direction it’s going)
The EU seems to be determined to make Brexit look like a great idea after all. I’m starting to think they want to wreck it on purpose.
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cliff’s comment on Britain reminded me of reading today that:
Controversial plans for the military to opt out from the European convention on human rights (ECHR) during future conflicts will be introduced by ministers, to see off what the prime minister described as an “industry of vexatious claims” against soldiers.
…
The military and some right-leaning thinktanks have long pushed for the move, arguing that a series of court cases focused on the actions of UK troops in Iraq and Afghanistan has cost the Ministry of Defence (MoD) huge sums.
…
The UK is not the first nation to take this step. Ukraine gave notice of a derogation in June 2015, in relation to the fighting on its border with Russia. France signalled it would derogate in the immediate aftermath of the jihadist massacres at the Bataclan nightclub in Paris last November. Turkey lodged a similar notice following the failed military coup in July.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/oct/03/plan-uk-military-opt-out-european-convention-human-rights
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Another off-topic comment. I thought you might like this: http://loweringthebar.net/2016/10/congress-blames-veto.html
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Since this is the designated off topic thread..
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2016/10/262795.htm
Approval of New West Bank Settlement
Press Statement
Mark C. Toner
Deputy Department Spokesperson
Washington, DC
October 5, 2016
“We strongly condemn the Israeli government’s recent decision to advance a plan that would create a significant new settlement deep in the West Bank.
.
.
And this settlement’s location deep in the West Bank, far closer to Jordan than Israel, would link a string of outposts that effectively divide the West Bank and make the possibility of a viable Palestinian state more remote.”
Oh no, Obama’s really upset this time, you guys.
The shining beacon of democracy in the middle east lol.
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The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs commented in reply, “The 98 housing units approved in Shilo do not constitute a ‘new settlement.’ This housing will be built on state land in the existing settlement of Shilo and will not change its municipal boundary or geographic footprint. The units are intended to provide a housing solution for the residents of Amona who must leave their homes in accordance with the demolition order issued by Israel’s High Court of Justice.
“Israel remains committed to a solution of two states for two peoples, in which a demilitarized Palestinian state recognizes the Jewish state of Israel. The real obstacle to peace is not the settlements—a final status issue that can and must be resolved in negotiations between the parties—but the persistent Palestinian rejection of a Jewish state in any boundaries.”
The US, which has repeatedly criticized Israel for such projects, has refrained from imposing consequences for the actions.
On Tuesday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also condemned the plans for the construction near Shiloh, west of Ramallah.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4863254,00.html
Meanwhile on 5.10.16:
Gaza rocket lands in Sderot (Extreme organizationss in Gaza may want for Israel to topple Hamas, thus the rocket.)
Israeli jets strike Hamas targets in Gaza
Palestinian arrested in Jerusalem carrying a tear gas gun, handcuffs and sellotape.
An Israeli F-16 pilot has died after abandoning the aircraft shortly before landing in a base in the Negev. The pilot was ejected after the plane began to catch fire for reasons not yet known.
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I’m sure Obama will express a particularly strong concern on this occasion.
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On the topic of the nation state and migration, I find this approach to be legitimate and common-sense one:
Hungary welcomes wealthy Chinese despite migrant hostility
…
unlike the refugees fleeing conflicts in the Middle East, these immigrants feel very welcome.
“It’s a successful scheme because it brings money into the country and not a penny leaves the country,” Orban told parliament on Monday in reply to opposition questions.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4863048,00.html
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Selling EU citizenship to wealthy criminals from totalitarian societies- what a plan! It’s almost as good as the UK’s eager sale of residencies to Russian bandits.
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Continuing OT terribleness:
Freak (and repressed) professor fails student for following directions:
http://www.redstate.com/brandon_morse/2016/10/05/tennessee-professor-much-porn-knowledge-fails-students-paper-sexual-harassment/
Anti-appropriation means anti-art (more evidence):
http://reason.com/blog/2016/10/05/bristol-university-theater-group-accused
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The professor story is hilarious. What he needs to do is to acknowledge that this was Freudian in the extreme and apologize to the student. This kind of shit happens to everybody but one has got to learn not to take oneself too seriously.
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cliff, this quote was hilarious (explanation below):
\ “It’s quite simple, really: if you are going to put on a production set in a particular place with a particular cultural context, then you need to reflect that with the ethnicity of actors,” one student had complained, according to The Tab.
Somebody should explain this student the implications. After all, in most plays (almost) all characters are white. It is so for Russian culture obviously, but is also true for many American and European plays. Do “Hamlet” or “Tartuffe” have black characters?
It reminded me of the case of casting a black actor to play in some Russian play. So in today’s reality not reflecting with the ethnicity of actors goes both ways. A recent and famous instance: Hermione in Harry Potter books is 100% white, yet a black actress was chosen to play her on a stage.
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“not reflecting with the ethnicity of actors goes both ways”
I’m 100% in favor of colorblind casting as it used to be called. For forty years or so it used to be the norm in international opera. No one cared what color skin the Tosca had as long as she could hit the dramatic and musical notes.
This seems to be breaking down as well and attempt to retain it may be behind the otherwise baffling trend for stage productions of operas to be divorced from any kind of recognizable human reality.
Welcome the private quarters of the Roman chief of police in 1800
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I don’t know what’s more bizarre, hunting down actors’ ethnicities or fretting over a writer’s life story not coinciding with the plot of her novels.
People are very low-cultured.
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A production of Eugene Onegin I saw a few years ago had a black singer play Lensky. He was amazing, his performance was the best of the show. But as you say, I have no idea what parts he’d get if his color were used to bar him from all non-black opera parts.
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It’s Leontyne Price who’s usually credited with breaking the color casting barrier in opera (there were others but she got most of the publicity and credit). The reason was simple; Once people heard her sing they wanted to hear her in lots of roles not just the few in which her skin color would fit.
Here is one of her most famous recordings:
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Exactly. Singers bring their voice, not their skin color to an opera.
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