ROBERT SPENCER: Trump Is Right to End U.S. Aid to UNRWA. “Refugee status is not some heirloom passed from generation to generation.”
Author Archive: Stephen Green
September 10, 2018
DIVERSITY IN EVERYTHING BUT THOUGHT: Resistance fave Benjamin Wittes quits Twitter as libs pounce on his pro-Kavanaugh tweets.
CHANGE: Sweden’s Nationalists Fall Short of Expectations, But Still Make Big Gains. “The vote for Sweden Democrats was big enough that it will deny the traditional left and right parties a majority.”
HEALTH: ‘A drink or two a day won’t kill you.’
In this study, the claim that there’s no safe level of drinking is the weakest part. The authors produce a nice curve showing the relative risk of an alcohol-related problem, which steadily increases for how much you drink. But the bottom of the curve stays very low when you’re drinking one to two drinks a day. Not only that, the authors’ uncertainty interval [margin of error] is just one drink. So the evidence that one drink is harmful, beneficial, or has no effect is statistically weak. The focus on light drinkers and the possible risks to them is therefore inappropriate.
Plus: “Anecdotally, I hear of many people seeing stories like this and then becoming sceptical, if not cynical, about public-health advice.”
THE ANGLOSPHERE: New India-U.S. Arms Agreement, Expanded Exercises Illustrate Growing Security Cooperation.
“We will continue working together to enhance and expand India’s role as a primary major defense partner to elevate our relationship to a level commensurate without closest allies and partners,” said Secretary of Defense James Mattis speaking at a press conference in New Delhi
A visible part of the stronger military ties will be coming next year when India’s and the U.S. ground, air and naval forces will exercise near India.
“To enhance our synergies in this area, we have decided to carry out for the first time a tri-services joint exercise with the United States off the eastern coast of India in 2019. We are also putting in place an enabling framework for closer cooperation between our defense forces,” Nirmala Sitharaman, Indian defense minister, said at the same press conference.
Both stressed the need for continued maritime cooperation to secure the stability of the Indo-Pacific.
Now that’s a pivot to Asia.
LIZ SHELD’S MORNING BRIEF: Obama campaign speech reviews are in, and they’re not good… “The speeches have proven unremarkable, except for the fact that they happened.”
So it’s a dog-bites-man story then.
Tyler O’Neil is filling in for Liz today.
SULTANS GOTTA SULTANATE: Turkey jails filmmaker for movie portraying execution of Erdogan.
Ali Avci was arrested last year after the release of a trailer for his film “Awakening”, based on a failed military putsch in 2016 in which more than 250 people were killed.
The trailer caused public uproar with sequences showing Erdogan’s family, including his son-in-law, Finance Minister Berat Albayrak, shot dead, and an army officer pointing a gun at the back of the president’s head as he prayed.
An Istanbul court sentenced Avci to 6 years and three months in jail for belonging to the network of U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, deemed a terrorist organization by Turkey. Gulen denies Turkey’s accusation that he masterminded the coup attempt.
Yet another example of the differences between a genuine authoritarian and a fake one.
I’M NOT SURE ABOUT THE ACCURACY OF THIS HEADLINE, BUT THE REPORT IS INTERESTING: Tesla “Aggressively” Trying to Offload Model 3 Inventory As Demand Fades.
Tesla is taking their delivery proactivity one step further: they are offering “immediate delivery” of Model 3s on a first come first serve basis. It was also reported that the company was sending out emails to Model 3 reservation holders who have been in line since day one, trying to entice them to come in and take delivery of vehicles that are apparently sitting around with nowhere to go.
According to the report, Tesla is emailing current reservation holders telling them the following:
“We have a limited number of Model 3 Rear-Wheel Drive vehicles on display that are available for immediate delivery.
As a first day reservation holder, you’re invited to take advantage of this opportunity on a first-com, first-served basis.
We will be extending this invitation to addition Model 3 reservation holders on Monday, September 10.”
In other words, Tesla appears to be dealing with the “leftovers” from batch productions and trying to entice reservation holders to take a vehicle that they may not have ordered or want, to help them move stagnant inventory.
Additionally, according to the report, many of the people that received this email from Tesla are people who have been waiting for the $35,000 version of the Model 3. This follows a report that we posted last month highlighting that Tesla’s bottleneck had ominously gone from production to delivery, or from supply to demand.
One major challenge in mass production is guessing the correct product or feature mix to meet market demand. But given that Tesla is still trying to fulfill existing pre-orders for Model 3s, it’s difficult to understand why the company is producing large numbers of cars which aren’t tailored for existing, deposit-paying, and perhaps increasingly impatient customers
HMM: Marijuana-Research Applications Go Nowhere at Justice Department.
The future of the initiative ultimately rests with the DEA’s parent agency, the Justice Department, and officials under Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a longtime critic of marijuana use, aren’t eager to advance the applications, these people said. Mr. Sessions has stated publicly he is open to research on the drug but has offered for no timeline for processing the applications.
The applicants include a variety of entrepreneurs, as well as a university professor and a former Navy SEAL who wants to study how marijuana might help veterans suffering from chronic pain and post-traumatic stress.
Republican and Democratic lawmakers have voiced frustration at the delays, saying Mr. Sessions has repeatedly avoided questions about the status of the applications. The inaction, they say, is stalling much-needed research into the potential health benefits of marijuana as society takes a more tolerant view of its use.
The story goes on to report that 26 research applications have been filed since August, 2016, but not one has “been approved or rejected, and applicants say they have seen little sign of any movement.”
WELL, THIS IS THE 21ST CENTURY, YOU KNOW: It’s Now Possible To Telepathically Communicate with a Drone Swarm.
“As of today, signals from the brain can be used to command and control … not just one aircraft but three simultaneous types of aircraft,” said Justin Sanchez, who directs DARPA’s biological technology office, at the Agency’s 60th-anniversary event in Maryland.
More importantly, DARPA was able to improve the interaction between pilot and the simulated jet to allow the operator, a paralyzed man named Nathan, to not just send but receive signals from the craft.
“The signals from those aircraft can be delivered directly back to the brain so that the brain of that user [or pilot] can also perceive the environment,” said Sanchez. “It’s taken a number of years to try and figure this out.”
In essence, it’s the difference between having a brain joystick and having a real telepathic conversation with multiple jets or drones about what’s going on, what threats might be flying over the horizon, and what to do about them.
The potential applications extend far beyond the military.
STEVE BANNON: Trump Facing a ‘Coup.’
September 7, 2018
ASKING THE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS: Can music change the taste of wine?
A group of foodies gathered on a hot summer evening to learn how music affects the taste of wine under the guidance of Eyal Franco from the Galil Mountain Winery. Using headphones, we tasted four cups of Galil Mountain Wines, and the findings were surprising!
Each one of us found four glasses of wines, numbered 1 to 4, placed on a placemat with a ranking table and a fancy headset of House of Marley. The choice of headphones was not random, since this company is environment friendly and so is the Galil Mountain Winery.
We were asked to taste each wine and rate it, which is a common blind wine tasting activity, but here’s the catch — we were asked to simultaneously listen to a specific playlist of the winery.
Hardly scientific, but any excuse to get together and eat and drink and listen to music in a gorgeous setting will do.
NIKKI HALEY: ‘Clarity and Undeniability’ Of UK Investigation Pinpointing Russian Poisoners ‘Amazing.’ “‘Every one of us in this room and listening around the world should be chilled to the bone with the findings of this investigation,’ says UN ambassador.”
NON-FICTION: Romance novelist Nancy Crampton-Brophy arrested in murder of her chef husband. “Daniel Brophy was fatally shot in June; his wife, whose books include one titled ‘The Wrong Husband,’ was arrested this week.”
HEALTH: Olive Oil May Be More Effective For Erectile Dysfunction Than Viagra, A New Study Says.
The study, led by cardiologist Christina Chrysohoou at the University of Athens School of Medicine in Greece, looked at 660 men who averaged 67 years old. Some ate a Mediterranean diet — eating a robust amount of fish, nuts, fruits, vegetables, legumes, and of course, olive oil — and those who did reduced their incidence of ED by up to 40 percent. That nine tablespoons per day translated to elevated testosterone levels, which can help restore phallic functioning. But that’s just part of olive oil’s penis magic.
On top of testosterone, olive oil consumption appears to be heavily associated with improved cardiovascular health. Researchers suspect that this beneficial fat helped participants achieve and maintain erections by encouraging the dilation of the blood vessels, allowing blood to flow into the penis and surrounding tissue.
Maybe there’s something to this.
A friend of my grandfather’s attributed his good health to a tablespoon of olive oil taken every night at bedtime. And as a teenager, I couldn’t help but notice his girlfriend was much younger and better looking than he was.
DAVID SOLWAY: The University Is Ripe for Replacement. “Higher education is enemy-occupied territory.”
SCRAPPLEFACE: Unknown Township Man: I’m Part of Office Resistance.
ANALYSIS: TRUE. Erdogan has limited options to save Turkey from financial crisis.
Actually, Erdogan has just one big option, but I doubt he’s likely to “Get the hell out of my way!” as the wise man once suggested.
I THINK THIS IS SATIRE… The Babylon Bee Explains: Common Racist Hand Signals.