OPEN THREAD: Expatiate at will.

THE NEW SPACE RACE: SpaceX reveals EVA suit design as Polaris Dawn mission approaches.

I THOUGHT THE SCIENCE WAS SETTLED: We’ve Probably Been Wrong About T.Rex Again, New Study Says.

WELL, HE’S NOT WRONG: Trump Accuses Democrats Of Running A ‘Gestapo Administration.’

“THEY CAN’T KILL US ALL!” Ten More Boeing Whistleblowers. You’ve got to admire their bravery, considering.

LET’S HOPE IT COMES TO THIS: “At Washington dinner parties, dark jokes abound about where to go into exile if the former president reclaims the White House.”

WELL, GOOD, I TAKE THAT: Scientists Have Discovered Cognitive Benefits of Creatine. “Various studies have already reported improvements in cognitive performance after a long creatine diet. The substance also counteracts the metabolic changes caused by sleep deprivation.”

GET READY FOR SUMMER: Camping Fan for Tent, 15000mAh Rechargeable Battery Operated Fan. #CommissionEarned

VITAMIN D UPDATE: New study challenges one-size-fits-all approach to vitamin D supplementation guidelines. “The first key insight is that ambient UVB emerges as a critical predictor of vitamin D status, even in a place like the UK, which receives relatively little sunlight. The second is that age, sex, body mass index (BMI), cholesterol level, and vitamin D supplementation significantly influence how individuals respond to UVB. For example, as BMI and age increase, the amount of vitamin D produced in response to UVB decreases.”

NEW YORK TIMES OWNER VERSUS PRO-PALESTINIAN HOUSE OF STEPHANOPOULOS: Tom Cotton Calls Out ABC Host For Attempting To ‘Move On’ From Discussing College Protests.

Republican Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton called out ABC host Jonathan Karl Sunday after attempting to “move on” from discussing college pro-Palestine protests.

Cotton appeared on ABC’s “This Week” to discuss the ongoing campus protests across the U.S. as many students have demanded that their schools divest from companies that are connected to Israel. As Karl called out the “vile stuff” going on in “some” of the pro-Palestine campus protesting he asked Cotton if they could both agree that peaceful protests were okay.

“You can protest all you want. If you want to make a fool of yourself and support a terrorist group, you can do that. Now if you are a foreigner, you can’t. Where’s Joe Biden’s administration demanding that universities turn over the names of any foreign students here on a visa, revoking those visas and deporting them? That’s something that Joe Biden can do today. But you are not allowed to violate the rules and policies and break the law,” Cotton stated.

“Where were the liberal administrators and liberal politicians sending in the police on the very first day? We should not have tolerated this for a moment. You have Jewish students who have been assaulted on campus. Jewish students have been told it’s not safe for you to come, go back home. Just blocks from here, Jon, you have one of the biggest ‘little Gazas’ left in George Washington University. Yesterday they called for a guillotine for the beheading of university administrators. Is that non-violent?”

“No, like I said there’s no doubt there’s plenty of vile stuff — there’s lots of vile things going on. There’s no doubt there’s also people legitimately protesting Israeli policy,” Karl responded.

Karl seemed quite perturbed by Cotton calling the college protest sites “Little Gazas” and drifted perilously close to “fine people on both sides” territory during the exchange:

I apologize for confusing propagandists George Stephanopoulos and Jon Karl. They all sound alike when they're reading Operation Mockingbird script

— Eric Abbenante (@EricAbbenante) May 5, 2024

HEY, WHEN DID GEORGE COSTANZA BECOME AN INVESTMENT BANKER? High-flyers leave investment bank after having sex with cleaner.

A US investment bank has parted company with two experienced members of its London team for having sex in the office with one of the cleaning workers.

Stifel, which is headquartered in St Louis, Missouri, launched an internal investigation after allegations over the pair’s behaviour at the bank’s London premises near St Paul’s cathedral. After findings of misconduct, one immediately resigned. The other parted some time after and is said to be in a legal process with the bank.

The pair are understood not to have paid the female cleaner for sex. The bank declined to comment on their identities but the duo are said to have had substantial careers in the City.

In accordance with the prophecy:

IT’S NOT BY ACCIDENT: Digital addiction starts early: 30% of K-2 kids use TikTok.

WELL, IT WAS DEFINITELY ABOUT POWER, YOU KNOW. Did Elon Cut Tesla Supercharging as a Power Move?

GET IN SHAPE: Lightweight Pickleball Rackets. #CommissionEarned

HASN’T THIS BEEN KNOWN FOR CENTURIES? Beer and spirits have more detrimental effects on the waistline and on cardiovascular disease risk than red or white wine.

BRIDGE TO NOWHERE: California is mercilessly mocked for ‘world’s most pointless crossing’ high-speed rail bridge that cost $11 BILLION.

ADULTS IN BLUE: At Columbia University this week, the NYPD demonstrated again why it’s the best—and taught protesters something about individual accountability and character, too.

This year marks the thirtieth anniversary of CompStat, the technology-enabled innovation that turned the gritty New York City Police Department into a modern, transparent, and strategically intelligent public safety force. Every week, commanders from the city’s roughly 100 precincts come in front of top chiefs for a grilling on what’s happening in their command, what they plan to do about it, and if they’re succeeding. It can be terrifying. But the demand for individual accountability—on a podium, exposed under scrutiny—is what created an agency of leaders and the nation’s best police force.

This week, former NYPD captain and current mayor Eric Adams went through a version of this exercise in front of the press as he was grilled on the situation at New York City’s campus protests (especially at Columbia University), how police planned to deal with it, and how it was going. He shared the tactical and strategic planning that went into the arrests of roughly 300 people from Columbia and City College of New York on Tuesday. (An additional 13 from NYU and 43 from the New School were arrested today). He explained the authority granted for these raids by the school administrations—and by the laws allegedly broken, from criminal mischief to burglary.

And, Adams explained: “Young people are being influenced by those who are professionals at radicalizing our children, and I’m not going to allow that to happen as the mayor of the City of New York.” What is the NYPD doing now? “We are processing the arrests to distinguish between who are actual students and who were not supposed to be on the ground,” the mayor said.

It was quite a scene on Tuesday night: NYPD officers entering Columbia’s illegally barricaded Hamilton Hall via an armored vehicle that got them through a second-floor window. Bodycam video illustrates what they encountered inside: physical blockades of furniture, garbage cans, and other objects obstructing their path, which they cut through with electric saws and blow torches. Then they had to deal with the demonstrators, some resisting—“Put it down, you’re gonna get hurt,” a cop told one idiot trying to block him with a makeshift shield—others complying, all amid the steady din of the rioters’ frenzied chanting. Not an easy day’s work: how many of us could handle it, even for a few minutes, without losing our composure? Yet the NYPD accomplished its assignment in an intensely hostile environment without using undue force. And when they were done, they lowered the Arab colors of the Palestinian flag that protesters had raised over CCNY and reinstated Old Glory.

Contrast this professionalism and competence with the squawks of protesters, most of whom have likely never been tested away from the protection of social media, group-based entitlements, and the safety blanket of anonymity. Unlike protesters of earlier generations—Mayor Adams conjured his own participation in bygone demonstrations with Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton—the current crusaders distinguish themselves by cowering. They hide their faces behind pandemic-era masks, sinched hoodies, and keffiyehs wound tightly around their faces as if to keep out the worst Arabian sandstorm.

While it’s understandable that they want to maintain the chic part of radical chic after their protest days are over, there may still be plenty of employment opportunities available, even to those who are identified: “YGTBFKM: Goldman-Sachs Donor Fund Is Underwriting Hamas Protests,” thus completely upending this tweet from last month:

If you watch this video closely you can pinpoint the precise moment his internship with Goldman Sachs is revoked. https://t.co/dsynIlYWP5

— Jarvis (@jarvis_best) April 21, 2024

WELL, THIS IS THE 21ST CENTURY, YOU KNOW: Air Force secretary gets taste of future of aviation combat in AI-piloted craft.

DANIEL GREENFIELD: How Hamas Bought Joe Biden.

But the single most shocking document from James Biden’s relationship with Qatar may be a letter that he allegedly wrote to the Qatari leadership on “behalf of the Biden family.”

“We are not particularly close to this administration and have a different vision,” Biden’s brother wrote, accusing the Trump administration of being “fractured” and “beleaguered by major issues that are not soon to be resolved.” However he promised that the Biden “family could provide a wealth of introductions and business opportunities at the highest levels that I believe would be worthy of the interest of His Excellency.”

“If this is in keeping with the vision of His Excellency, on behalf of the Biden family, I welcome your interest here,” he concluded.

Even while undermining the sitting administration, Biden’s brother was offering the services of his family to an enemy nation. This has wider implications beyond Qatar’s role backing Hamas.

Qatar was also the central intermediary in the Taliban “deal” and had formed an alliance with Iran. It is difficult to know whether the “Biden family” relationship with Qatar played any role in the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan and in the sanctions relief offered to Iran.

We do know there was a relationship between the Biden family and a state sponsor of Hamas, which Joe Biden profited from, and that has disturbing implications for our national security.

“We’ve got people all around the world who want to invest in Joe Biden,” James Biden once bragged. One of those investors had ties to Iran, Al Qaeda, Iran and Hamas.

Earlier: Pro-Palestianian protesters are backed by a surprising source: Biden’s biggest donors.

READER FAVORITE: 5-Minute Core Exercises for Seniors: Daily Routines to Build Balance and Boost Confidence. #CommissonEarned

WELL, GOOD: Treatment for peripheral artery disease as effective for women as men.

AXIOS: U.S. put a hold on an ammunition shipment to Israel.

The Biden administration last week put a hold on a shipment of U.S.-made ammunition to Israel, two Israeli officials told Axios.

Why it matters: It is the first time since the Oct. 7 attack that the U.S. has stopped a weapons shipment intended for the Israeli military.

• The incident raised serious concerns inside the Israeli government and sent officials scrambling to understand why the shipment was held, Israeli officials said.
• President Biden is facing sharp criticism among Americans who oppose his support of Israel. The administration in February asked Israel to provide assurances that U.S.-made weapons were being used by Israel Defense Forces in Gaza in accordance with international law. Israel provided a signed letter of assurances in March.

State of play: The Israeli officials said the ammunition shipment to Israel was stopped last week.

• The White House declined to comment.

• The Pentagon, the State Department and the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office didn’t immediately respond to questions.

Flashback to CNBC in January of 2020: Trump administration broke law in withholding Ukraine aid, watchdog says as Senate prepares for impeachment trial.

WE USED TO MAKE THEM, BUT DECIDED IT WAS SMARTER TO OUTSOURCE THAT TO OUR LIKELY GEOPOLITICAL ENEMIES: America’s War Machine Runs on Rare-Earth Magnets. China Owns That Market.

The American war machine depends on tiny bits of metal, some as small as dimes. Rare-earth magnets are needed for F-35 jet fighters, missile-guidance systems, Predator drones and nuclear submarines.

The problem: China makes most of the world’s rare-earth magnets, with 92% of the global market share.

Now, Washington is doling out hundreds of millions of dollars in grants and tax credits to revive magnet-making in America. Defense manufacturers are on a clock.

A U.S. law in 2018 restricted the use of made-in-China magnets in American military equipment, shriveling the list of potential suppliers to a small number in Japan and the West. By 2027, the curbs will extend to magnets made anywhere that contain materials mined or processed in China, covering nearly all of the current global supply.

After three decades of post-Cold War deindustrialization, rebuilding the industry—against China’s market heft—is an uphill battle, even with government help. Only one company in the U.S. is in production of the dominant type of rare-earth magnet.

“We’re not going to be able to simply flip a switch and get to where we want to be,” said Anthony Di Stasio, a senior U.S. defense official. “The only thing that you can really judge success on right now is how many positive ripples have you made from throwing the rock into the lake.”

The office Di Stasio runs in the Defense Department is diving into supply chains to invest in the pieces and parts that make the military work. Much of what they invest in is processing minerals and making metals, betting that regardless of how, for example, submarine technology evolves, the same building blocks will be needed.

Plus: “In the West, mines and processing facilities face more regulations. There are only a small number of experts left in the field, requiring pricey workarounds such as importing foreign talent, sending Americans abroad for training and automating.”

ROGER KIMBALL: From Idealism to Irresponsibility: Comparing College Protests Then and Now.

One apparently striking difference is the strong current of anti-Semitism. It is ubiquitous now; it was not a factor in the protests of the 1960s and 1970s.

But that difference distracts us from a deeper similarity between the two.  Fueling the anti-Semitism is a profound anti-American and anti-Western animus. Although shot through with radical Islamic verbiage, the overarching ideology is essentially Marxist in aim and origin.  The assaults on campus are not so much political as a snarling repudiation of the political in favor of something more atavistic. As Jean-François Revel noted in The Totalitarian Temptation (1977), such an upsurge is “not simply a new political orientation. It works through the depths of society. It writes the play in which political leaders will act much later.”

Providing a full anatomy of this phenomenon would take a book, or several books.  But as we ponder the emergence of “Gaza Solidarity Encampments” on the quads of our most exclusive universities, it may be useful to note a few things that today’s protestors have in common with their predecessors.

One of the most conspicuous, and conspicuously jejune, features of America’s cultural revolution has been the union of hedonism with a species of radical (or radical-chic) politics. This union fostered a situation in which, as the famous slogan put it, “the personal is the political.” The politics in question was seldom more than a congery of radical clichés, serious only in that it helped to disrupt society and blight a good many lives. In that sense, to be sure, it proved to be very serious indeed.

Our new revolutionaries, like the college revolutionaries of yore, exhibit that most common of bourgeois passions, anti-bourgeois animus—expressed, as always, safely within the swaddling clothes of bourgeois security.  Typical was the spectacle of that Columbia Ph.D. candidate who, having helped smash into and occupy a major college classroom building, stood before microphones, keffiyeh in place, to demand that the university feed the occupiers.  As Allan Bloom remarked in The Closing of the American Mind (1987), the cultural revolution proved to be so successful on college campuses partly because of “the bourgeois’ need to feel that he is not bourgeois, to have dangerous experiments with the unlimited. . . .Anti-bourgeois ire is the opiate of the Last Man.”  It almost goes without saying that, like all narcotics, the opiate of anti-bourgeois ire was both addictive and debilitating.

Like Falstaff’s dishonesty, the adolescent quality of these developments was “gross as a mountain, open, palpable.” Looking at the pampered multitudes agitating on campus, one is reminded that now, as in the 1960s, the actions of the protestors were at bottom an attack on maturity; more, they was a glorification of immaturity. As the Yippie leader Jerry Rubin put it, “We’re permanent adolescents.”

And the song remains the same: ‘Violent’ leader of Columbia University’s anti-Israel protest is unmasked as 4o-year old son of millionaire ad execs who is married to a model and lives in $3.4M Brooklyn brownstone.

THE POLITICO VISITS RICK’S CAFÉ, IS SHOCKED TO DISCOVER GAMBLING GOING ON THERE: Pro-Palestianian protesters are backed by a surprising source: Biden’s biggest donors.

President Joe Biden has been dogged for months by pro-Palestinian protesters calling him “Genocide Joe” — but some of the groups behind the demonstrations receive financial backing from philanthropists pushing hard for his reelection.

The donors include some of the biggest names in Democratic circles: Gates, Soros, Rockefeller and Pritzker, according to a POLITICO analysis.

Two of the main organizers behind protests at Columbia University and on other campuses are Jewish Voice for Peace and IfNotNow. Both are supported by the Tides Foundation, which is seeded by Democratic megadonor George Soros as well as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and it in turn supports numerous small nonprofits that work for social change. (Gates did not return a request for comment, and Soros declined to comment.)

Another notable Democratic donor whose philanthropy has helped fund the protest movement is David Rockefeller Jr., who sits on the board of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. In 2022, the fund gave $300,000 to the Tides Foundation; according to nonprofit tax forms, Tides has given nearly $500,000 over the past five years to Jewish Voice for Peace, which explicitly describes itself as anti-Zionist.

Several other groups involved in pro-Palestinian protests are backed by a foundation funded by Susan and Nick Pritzker, heir to the Hyatt Hotel empire — and supporters of Biden and numerous Democratic campaigns, including $6,600 to the Biden Victory Fund a few months ago and more than $300,000 during the 2020 campaign.

Why is the establishment left such a cesspit of antisemitism?