Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Krugman: The New Plot Against Obamacare (NY Times)
And what this means in turn is that the 2020 election will be another referendum on health care. If you're an American who suffers from a pre-existing condition, or doesn't have a job that comes with health benefits, you should know that if Trump is re-elected, he will, one way or another, take away your health insurance.
Jason Newman: Taylor Swift Brings Spectacle, Avoids Controversy at Amazon Music Concert (Rolling Stone)
Dua Lipa, SZA and Becky G also perform for Prime Day at the only show to feature a crowd cheering the phrase "Free shipping."
Mary Beard: The Signs of Old Age (TLS)
There is something puzzling about getting older. Speaking for myself, I notice it in some bodily ways (if you want to know, toe nails thickening, knees creaking painfully). But by and large I only catch myself out as a senior citizen in odd moments. Mostly I feel inside just what I always felt. But then, did I ever spend time before I was 50 buying plants for my backyard? Did I used to greet the rain, with a smile, as 'good for the garden'?
Mary Beard: Perils in Paris (TLS)
If you get into a cab in Cambridge, you can almost guarantee that within 15 mins the driver will have complained about 'bloody cyclists'. I usually try to defend them (it is, after all, how I get around much of the time), though occasionally someone on a bike does something so stupid that even my defences are punctured.
Mary Beard: What is Horace doing with Lydia? (TLS)
It is a great image for 'Decadence' (this guy is so inured to the pleasures of the flesh that he barely notices the woman clinging to him). But it is a horribly depressing view of Horace's relationship with Lydia, imaginary or not.
Mary Beard: Byron's pen (TLS)
The wonderful game they have at the RSL is that you are offered to sign into 'the book' with an earlier writer's pen. Looking back to earlier years, I think the selection changes a bit. But I was offered the choice of T S Eliot's, George Eliot's or Byron's.
Tom Vanderbilt: Raising the American Weakling (Nautilus)
There are two very different interpretations of our dwindling grip strength.
Naaman Zhou: R Kelly arrested on federal sex trafficking charges (The Guardian)
R&B singer expected to be taken from Chicago to New York to face charges relating to child pornography and obstruction of justice.
Sam Levin: "'I can't bring her back': parents of girl killed by California police speak out" (The Guardian)
Family of Hannah Williams, 17, tells the Guardian the high schooler should be remembered for her kindness and passion.
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Presenting
Michael Egan
took the day off.
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
from Bruce
Anecdotes
• The state of Qi attacked the state of Chu. Chu general Zi Fa did all he could to beat off the Qi attackers, but he was unsuccessful. Fortunately, Zi Fa was skilled at directing the talents of others. Learning that a skilled thief was in his army, Zi Fa decided to put the thief's skills to work. The first night, the thief went to the Chu camp and stole the mosquito netting from the bed of the Chu general, then the thief brought it back to Zi Fa, who had it returned the next day to the Chu general. The next night, the thief stole the pillow from under the head of the sleeping Chu general; once again, Zi Fa had it returned the next day to the Chu general. The third night, the thief stole the hairpin of the sleeping Chu general; once again, Zi Fa had it returned the next day to the Chu general. These thefts made the Chu general afraid that his head would be stolen next, so he gave up the attack and returned home. Because of the skill of a thief - and Zi Fa's skill at directing those talents - the state of Chu was saved.
• The state of Qin decided to invade the state of Chu; therefore, the King of Qin sent an envoy to Chu on the pretext of inspecting its treasures but for the real purpose of assessing its defenses and preparedness for war. However, the King of Chu understood the envoy's real purposes. When the envoy arrived and asked to see the Chu treasures, the King of Chu led the envoy to a room where the Chu ministers were sitting, where he introduced the envoy to the ministers, saying that the ministers were the real treasure of Chu. The King of Chu then invited the envoy to ask any questions he wished. The envoy did ask questions and soon he discovered that the ministers were doing a good job of keeping the Chu citizens healthy, happy, prosperous, and well trained in military matters. Realizing that the Chu citizens would fight hard for their well-governed country, the envoy returned home and advised the King of Qin not to invade Chu.
• The state of Qi wanted to take over the states of Lu and Liang, but did not want to fight a bloody battle. Therefore, the King of Qi decreed that everyone in Qi would wear cotton clothing purchased at high prices from Lu and Liang. The farmers of Lu and Liang stopped growing food and instead started growing cotton, selling the cotton at a high price and buying food. After the farmers of Lu and Liang had sown all their fields with cotton, the King of Qi suddenly decreed that all his people would stop wearing cotton and would instead wear silk clothing manufactured at home. Quickly, a famine started in Lu and Liang, and many of their citizens - including citizens in the military - moved to Qi to avoid starving. The states of Lu and Liang grew so weak that Qi was easily able to take over.
• The state of Han and the state of Zhao went to war against each other, but their strength was equal and the war was at a stalemate. The state of Han sent envoys to the state of Wei to ask for aid; however, the King of Wei replied that he was friends with the King of Zhao and so would not fight against him. Later, the state of Zhao sent envoys to the state of Wei to ask for aid; however, the King of Wei replied that he was friends with the King of Han and so would not fight against him. Because the state of Han and the state of Zhao were so equal in strength, and because neither state could convince Wei to join with it, the war ended. Simply by remaining neutral, the King of Wei had stopped a war.
• King Cao Cao decided to launch an attack against the state of Wuhuan although many of his officials advised against it. Despite many long and arduous difficulties, during which he had to kill thousands of battle horses to feed his soldiers, King Cao Cao conquered Wuhuan and then returned home. After his return, the King asked for a list of the officials who had advised him not to attack Wuhuan. The officials were afraid when King Cao Cao met with them, but he explained that their advice had been correct. True, he had won the war, but only after great difficulty. The best advice had been not to start the war at all. To encourage his officials to continue to give him their best advice, King Cao Cao rewarded them well with treasure.
• General Zhi Bo wanted to attack a fortress in the mountains, but no road went to the fortress. Therefore, he ordered a huge bell to be built. When it was completed, he and his army departed, leaving the bell behind. The general of the mountain fortress saw the huge bell and desired it, so he ordered his soldiers to build a road so that the bell could be taken into the mountain fortress. A few days after the road had been built, General Zhi Bo returned and led his army up the road to the mountain fortress, which he quickly captured.
• House official Dong Anyu was an intelligent man who understood that in times of peace one must prepare for war. Sent to renovate a palace in a strategically located city, Dong Anyu ordered that tree trunks be used in the walls and that solid bronze be used for the pillars. Later, war started. The defenders of the city in which the palace stood began to run out of arrows, so they went to the palace and used the tree trunks to make arrow shafts and the bronze to make arrowheads. With their great supply of arrows, the defenders of the city were victorious.
• Zhi Bo of the state of Jin once gave the King of Wei, a much smaller state, many presents of jade and horses. This aroused the suspicions of Nan Wenzi, an advisor to the King of Wei. He argued that Zhi Bo must have an ulterior motive in giving the gifts, and that therefore the King should beef up its border guards. Nan Wenzi was correct. Zhi Bo had hoped that the gifts would relax the King of Wei's guard, but after launching a surprise attack against Wei, and finding its borders well guarded, he was forced to give up the attack.
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© Copyright Bruce D. Bruce; All Rights Reserved
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Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
JD is on vacation.
Visit JD's site - Kitty Litter Music
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Some kids set off a series of firecrackers in the front yard.
Tilly, the cat who has been velcro-ed to my lap for a couple of weeks, went into full claws-as-staples mode.
Hmmmm - in an office situation one uses a claw to remove staples.
Spanish-Language Reporter Released
Manuel Duran
A Spanish-language reporter who has been facing deportation since his arrest 15 months ago while covering an immigration protest in Tennessee was released Thursday from custody as his case proceeds.
Manuel Duran was released from an Alabama detention center on a $2,000 bail set by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Southern Poverty Law Center attorney Gracie Willis said.
The El Salvador native was arrested while covering an April 3, 2018, rally protesting immigration policies in Memphis. Protesters had blocked a street in front a downtown courthouse on the 50th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King. Jr's assassination.
Protest-related charges were subsequently dropped, but Duran was picked up by immigration agents after he was released from jail and detained. He had been held in facilities in Louisiana and Alabama since his arrest.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has said Duran was taken into custody because he had a pending deportation order from 2007 after failing to appear for a court hearing. Duran has said he did not receive a notice to appear in court with a time and date on it. Immigration activists and journalism organizations have spoken against his detention.
Manuel Duran
Scrambles To Salvage Show
Conan O'Brien
For the first time in his 25 years of late night, TBS host Conan O'Brien found himself without a guest to interview, Thursday night. Stuber star Kumail Nanjiani was unable to make it to the taping because he was stuck on the set of his HBO show Silicon Valley. The cancellation was about 20 minutes prior to taping, so producers were unable to find a replacement guest.
During his opening monologue, Conan informed the audience that he would be winging the show. "We don't really know what's going to happen," said Conan,"We're figuring it out as we go."
Conan ended up interview his longtime assistant, Sona Movsevian. She has made a few appearances during her 10 years of working with Conan. Last year Conan bought her a beat up old car. This year she asked him for a house, and she even got the audience to chant "buy me a house."
Sona was a big hit with viewers at home.
Hopefully there will be more opportunities for her to be interviewed down the road. That's the way viewers can be treated to lines like, "There are times I want to, like, poison your food or where I really think about ways to kill you slowly."
Conan O'Brien
Grandmaster Accused Of Cheating
Chess
The world of elite chess has been engulfed in a cheating scandal after a picture emerged of a top grandmaster sat on a toilet allegedly using a mobile phone to cheat.
Police are investigating after Igors Rausis, who has represented Latvia, Bangladesh and the Czech Republic, was caught "red-handed", the game's governing body Fide said today.
Mr Rausis, aged 58, stunned the chess world by reaching the game's top echelon at an age most players decline in strength.
The former Latvian champion was hailed as an inspiration to older players as he climbed from a Fide rating of around 2500 - the level of an average grandmaster - to the verge of 2700 in six years. Rausis also became the oldest player in the Top 100, reaching number 40 in the live rankings list.
However, his jump in middle age to the level of "Super" grandmaster was unprecedented in a game dominated by younger stars and this led to suspicion.
Chess
Mini Model
Stonehenge
By all accounts, building Stonehenge was bloody hard work, with some of the monument's enormous stones being transported over 200 kilometers (125 miles) from Wales to Wiltshire using Neolithic pulleys and raw muscle power. However, the ancient architects of this enigmatic landmark have reason to be proud of their efforts, as new research reveals that the henge boasted some pretty spectacular acoustics.
Led by acoustic engineer Trevor Cox, a team from Salford University have completed the equally impressive task of building a scale model of Stonehenge as it appeared more than 4,000 years ago. While this might not have demanded the same amount of brawn as the original structure did, it certainly required some brains, as the researchers had to recreate all 157 stones that once stood at the site, many of which are no longer there.
To determine Stonehenge's original configuration, the team used a combination of laser scans from the site and archaeological data, such as the imprints left by stones that once formed part of the henge.
Measuring one-twelfth of the actual size of Stonehenge, the completed model was placed inside an acoustic chamber, and sound recordings were reverberated through it in order to establish what it would have sounded like for those participating in ancient rituals and ceremonies.
However, because of the scale of the model, the frequency of all recordings had to be increased by a factor of 12, pushing them beyond the range of human hearing. Computer modeling was then used to measure how these sound waves behaved as they reverberated through the replica monument, before converting them back into audible sounds.
Stonehenge
Lethal Measures Off Table
Wild Horse Herds
The Trump administration will not pursue lethal measures such as euthanasia or selling horses for slaughter to deal with what officials say is an ecological and fiscal crisis caused by too many wild horses on rangelands in the U.S. West, an official said Thursday.
U.S. Bureau of Land Management Acting Director Casey Hammond told the Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board that those options are not on the table.
The agency is preparing a report requested by Congress on potential solutions for the wild horse problem.
Federal officials say the nearly 90,000 wild horses in 10 Western states are more than three times appropriate levels. Officials estimate that up to 18,000 foals are born each year.
Another 50,000 wild horses are being held in corrals at a cost of $50 million annually, which is more than half of the Bureau of Land Management's budget for its Wild Horse and Bureau Program.
Wild Horse Herds
Race To Track
Rare Earths
The Pentagon is rapidly assessing the United States' rare earths capability in a race to secure stable supply of the specialized material amid the country's trade conflict with China, which controls the rare earths industry, according to a government document seen by Reuters.
The push comes weeks after China threatened to curb exports to the United States of rare earths, a group of 17 minerals used to build fighter jets, tanks and a range of consumer electronics.
The Pentagon wants miners to describe plans to develop U.S. rare earths mines and processing facilities, and asked manufacturers to detail their needs for the minerals, according to the document, which is dated June 27.
Responses are required by July 31, a short time frame that underscores the Pentagon's urgency. The U.S. government's fiscal year ends in September.
The responses will be reviewed by two government contractors, including Northrop Grumman Corp, which did not respond to requests for comment.
Rare Earths
One-Legged General Found
Napoleon
An excavation in a peculiar place - under the foundation of a dance floor in Russia - has uncovered the remains of one of Napoleon Bonaparte's favorite generals: a one-legged man who was killed by a cannonball more than 200 years ago, news sources report.
Gen. Charles Etienne Gudin fought with Napoleon during the failed French invasion of Russia in 1812. On July 6 of this year, an international team of French and Russian archaeologists discovered what are believed to be his remains, in Smolensk, a city about 250 miles (400 kilometers) west of Moscow, according to Reuters.
After his death at age 44 on Aug. 22, 1812, Gudin got star treatment. His name was inscribed on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, his bust was placed at the Palace of Versailles, a Paris street was named after him and, as a sentimental gesture, his heart was removed from his body and placed in a chapel at the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. [Photos: Archaeologists Excavate Battlefield from Napoleonic Wars]
The researchers said that several clues suggested that the skeleton they found under the dance floor belongs to Gudin, who had known Napoleon since childhood. Both men attended the Military School in Brienne, in France's Champagne region. Upon hearing of Gudin's death, Napoleon reportedly cried and ordered that his friend's name be engraved on the Arc de Triomphe, according to Euronews.
Records from the 1812 Russian invasion note that Gudin's battlefield injuries required him to have his left leg amputated below the knee, Euronews reported. Indeed, the skeleton in the coffin was missing its left leg and showed evidence of injury to the right leg - details that were also mentioned in those records, the archaeologists said, according to Reuters.
Napoleon
Oldest Evidence
Head-Shaping
Ancient people in China practiced human head-shaping about 12,000 years ago - meaning they bound some children's maturing skulls, encouraging the heads to grow into elongated ovals - making them the oldest group on record to purposefully squash their skulls, a new study finds.
While excavating a Neolithic site (the last period of the Stone Age) at Houtaomuga, Jilin province, in northeast China, the archaeologists found 11 elongated skulls - belonging to both males and females and ranging from toddlers to adults - that showed signs of deliberate skull reshaping, also known as intentional cranial modification (ICM).
The Houtaomuga site is a treasure trove, holding burials and artifacts from 12,000 to 5,000 years ago. During an excavation there between 2011 and 2015, archaeologists found the remains of 25 individuals, 19 of which were preserved enough to be studied for ICM. After putting these skulls in a CT scanner, which produced 3D digital images of each specimen, the researchers confirmed that 11 had indisputable signs of skull shaping, such as flattening and elongation of the frontal bone, or forehead.
The oldest ICM skull belonged to an adult male, who lived between 12,027 and 11,747 years ago, according to radiocarbon dating.
Archaeologists have found reshaped human skulls all around the world, from every inhabited continent. But this particular finding, if confirmed, "will [be] the earliest evidence of the intentional head modification, which lasted for 7,000 years at the same site after its first emergence," Wang told Live Science.
Head-Shaping
Zion National Park
Condor Chick
A sweeping red-rock cliff at Utah's Zion National Park is now the home of a new California condor chick as the species makes a comeback in the wild three decades after they were on the brink of extinction, biologists have confirmed.
The chick is believed to have hatched in early May on the cliffs just north of Angels Landing, park rangers said. If it survives to flying age in November, it will be the first chick to fledge at the park.
Birds raised in captivity were first released at Vermilion Cliffs near the Arizona-Utah line in 1996, and now more than 88 flying in the two states.
The new chick's parents are the only identified breeding pair in Zion, and are estimated to have been together two years. The female was born in 2006 at the San Diego Zoo and the male hatched in 2009 in Boise, Idaho, before being released into the wild.
They were bred as part of a program that started after the number of California condors were left in the world dwindled to 22. The remaining wild condors were captured and held in captivity to keep them safe and launch the breeding program involving government agencies, private organizations, citizens and biologists.
Condor Chick
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