UGH: Jason Riley reports that according to an annual survey of school leaders “schools saw a 56% increase in ‘classroom disruptions from student misconduct’ compared with a typical school year before the pandemic.”
Instapundit readers know what I think about about all this.
HOW DARE YOU! Greta Thunberg Removed By Police From German Anti-Coal Protest.
UPDATE: Viral Video Of Climate Activist Greta Thunberg Being Detained Is Apparently Staged. “A new video shows Thunberg laughing with men in police uniform in front of cameras before being taken away:”
https://twitter.com/CatchUpNetwork/status/1615471704423424000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1615471704423424000%7Ctwgr%5E379581998c0479d36b0ea9b4ff3e00a6228c4c3e%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdailycaller.com%2F2023%2F01%2F17%2Fviral-detained-climate-activist-greta-thunberg-staged%2F
Like John and Yoko in the late ’60s, Colin Kaepernick after leaving the NFL, and AOC during her Green Nude Eel phase, Greta’s got to keep coming up with ways to generate new headlines now that her initial novelty has worn off.
OPEN THREAD: Enjoy!
QUELLE HORREUR!!! The worry in Davos: Globalization is under siege.
In 2013, WEF organizers hailed the participation of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev as a national leader who understood “global responsibilities.” Of course, Medvedev along with Russian President Vladimir Putin are now all persona non grata in Davos, as well as the coterie of Russian oligarchs and business elites who used to throw some of the most lavish parties on the sidelines of the forum. The war in Ukraine will shadow discussions, with a major delegation from Kyiv, including Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska, in attendance.
A huge part of the forum has little to do with politicians or the doom-mongering of pundits. There will be dozens of discussions and events spotlighting all sorts of examples of innovation and collaboration in the private sector, on issues ranging from food security to youth education to forestry (WEF has pledged restore and plant a trillion trees around the world). WEF organizers speak rosily in technocratic jargon of how the forum’s attendees enable “systems positive change” and are nudging the world toward a happier, more sustainable future.
“There’s a cynicism around Davos, they can say it’s a talk shop,” Penjani Mkambula, who works on fortifying grains with minerals and vitamins in the developing world at the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, told me. “But there are so many positives that emerge. A lot of partnerships get forged, a lot of work gets done and you sometimes only see the results years later.”
A lot of work gets done in a different way as well: Prostitutes gather in Davos for annual meeting of global elite — where demand for sexual services rockets during economic summit.
OF COURSE IT IS. IT’S BASICALLY MEANT TO: Jesse Singal: Diversity Training May Be Doing More Harm Than Good. What’s news is that this is appearing in the NY Times.
BIG MISTAKE. SPEND TOO MUCH TIME “WAITING FOR THE RIGHT MOMENT” AND SOME OTHER ALIEN WILL ASK US OUT FIRST: Why hasn’t E.T. phoned Earth? Maybe aliens are waiting for the exact right moment.
OKAY, GROOMERS: Dallas Kids, Pols at ‘All-Ages’ Drag Show: Learn About Bl**J**s.
The event also had many people gathered outside including some armed ANTIFA, other drag queens and parents with their kids. Most notably were signs that said “protect drag from fascism.”
Antifa, eh?
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS VISIT WHITE HOUSE; BIDEN, HARRIS CAN’T HELP BUT MAKE IT SUPER AWKWARD:
It was time for the President and vice president to take a photo with their guests.
Perhaps because the average height of the Golden State Warriors is somewhere between 6-foot-3.5 and 6-Foot-5, the president and vice president were standing on a stage. The President didn’t want to block them for the class photo.
He could’ve just stepped off the stage, but instead, Joe went rogue — much like he does with the handling of classified documents — and took a knee. For some reason, this drew a reaction from the crowd like he had just conjured several doves of thin air.
Yes. The bar is low.
But the awkward part was that Kamala Harris refused to do the same, and instead had to be helped off the stage backward by some Warriors personnel in the first row.
Clay Travis tweets, “Kind of surprised Kamala didn’t take a knee.”
Also at the same event: Biden forgets how to pronounce ‘Kamala’ Harris at White House event.
IT’S COME TO THIS: New Mexico State legislature candidate arrested for allegedly hiring people to shoot at the homes of his rivals.
This is very high on the list of things not to do when your run for office doesn’t turn out well. Solomon Pena is a 39-year-old Republican who ran for office in the New Mexico statehouse. His bid was unsuccessful and police say after he lost he hired several men to fire guns at the homes of local Democrats.
* * * * * * * *
Pena apparently had a rough run for office after his opponent pointed out that he had a record as a crook.
Pena’s candidacy came under scrutiny over the summer when Garcia filed a court challenge to disqualify him because he had been convicted in 2008 of stealing large amounts of goods from several big box retail stores in a reported “smash and grab” scheme.
Pena served nearly seven years in prison.
District Judge Joshua Allison ruled that a state law barring felons from holding office unless they are pardoned by the governor is unconstitutional so Pena remained on the ballot.
So this guy wasn’t turned into a criminal by the campaign. He was a criminal who ran for office and then reacted badly when he lost. Finally, he was also a Trump fan which will ensure this story gains even more attention.
Guys, let’s not take that “gangster government” meme literally, okay?
MICROBIOME NEWS: Circumcision Appears to Alter The Penis Microbiome, Study Finds. “Some of the bacterial communities that shrank following circumcision have been linked to inflammation and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in other research. That tentatively implies circumcision may reduce a person’s susceptibility to STIs by limiting inflammation in penile tissues and viral targets on the skin.”
I recall studies from the 80s indicating that heterosexual AIDS transmission was much lower in parts of Africa that practiced circumcision.
JOHN PODHORETZ: Compute! Compute!
Well, OK, that’s nice, only explain this: Why were said documents in a manila envelope labeled “Personal”? Classified information is, literally, the opposite of something that’s “personal.” Who wrote “personal” on them? Why were they in this office? We don’t know what they are, and we’re not supposed to know. But someone made the decision to hide them in an envelope marked with a misdirection. Trump faces prosecution because his behavior showed intent. Someone had intent here. Who? Why?
Compute! Compute!
Then it turns out that six weeks after the Archives were informed of these classified documents, Biden officials found some more—in his garage in Wilmington, Delaware. Biden was asked about this and said that, you know what else was in that garage? His Corvette. That answer either indicates that the president’s senility is no longer in question or that he has cleverly decided to deploy the concern that he is cognitively challenged, using the idea he’s senile as another form of misdirection.
Now, like Norman the robot trying to reconcile the paradox and failing, mainstream liberals began to shake and sputter.
Biden did it again yesterday: Oops: Joe Biden Just Torpedoed the Left’s Entire Jan. 6 ‘Insurrection’ Narrative.
That’s doubly true for his nonsense about how the defenders of “our democracy” on Jan. 6, 2021 were “outnumbered and in the face of a brutal attack,” but nonetheless, “our democracy held. We the people endured. And we the people prevailed.” The Jan. 6 protesters were not armed. Was there ever really any possibility that they would actually overcome the combined force of, as Joe enumerates them, “the Capitol Police, the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, the National Guard, and other brave law enforcement officials”? They had no leader (with the highly questionable exception of Ray Epps), no plan, no goal, no weapons. They were let into the Capitol by police officers who held the doors open for them.
If Joe Biden were consistent and honest, and of course, those ships have sailed a long, long time ago, he would admit that there was absolutely no danger of the government falling on Jan. 6, 2021. The protesters didn’t have F-15s, or AR-15s either, for that matter, and now Old Joe has stated openly that without that kind of firepower, patriots don’t stand a chance against tyranny. But if that’s true, then the Jan. 6 “insurrectionists” never had a chance.
Norman coordinate! Norman coordinate!
ANALYSIS: TRUE. Woke Medical Schools Are A Threat To Your Health.
I’LL TAKE HEADLINES YOU WON’T SEE IN THE NEW YORK TIMES FOR $500, ALEX: What’s life like under Hamas? ‘Whispered in Gaza’ offers unique, courageous testimony.
READER FAVORITE: EFAYCRR Steampunk Table Lamp. #CommissionEarned
ROGER KIMBALL: Wheels Within Wheels in the Case of Biden’s Docudrama.
COLOR ME UNENTHUSIASTIC: EPA updates emissions standards for heavy-duty vehicles for the first time in 20 years.
JEFF DUNETZ: Biden’s Rejection Of Martin Luther King Jr’s Legacy. “Yesterday, just by going to a breakfast that claimed to honor the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. but run by Al Sharpton, President Biden advertised that he did not believe in Dr. King’s message of Justice and Tolerance. The breakfast was sponsored by Al Sharpton, a man who built his career on hatred and incitement of violence. Thus, Biden commemorated MLK Jr by supporting a man who disregarded Dr. King’s message.”
DISPATCHES FROM THE LAPTOP FROM HELL: Ex-Intel Official Admits He Knew Hunter Laptop Was Real, and That’s Not the Worst Part.
EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY: Emergency Food Sales Increasing.
I WONDER IF THERE’S A DISPARATE IMPACT ON ASIAN STUDENTS? Number of Virginia high schools who failed to inform students of merit awards rises to 13. Okay, I’m not wondering that hard, it’s virtually certain.
WELL DONE, HARRY — IT WASN’T EASY TO TOP THE TRIUMPH TR7: Prince Harry branded ‘worst British export to the US in 200 years’ in strong outburst.
HE ISN’T PARANOID; THE WHITE HOUSE CABAL JUST UNDERSTANDS THAT THEIR PREFERRED POLICIES REQUIRE A DISARMED POPULACE: Paranoid Biden Worries That 2A Supporters Only Want to Overthrow the Government.
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