Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Joe Bob Briggs: Baristas Are Slowly Going Insane (Taki's Magazine)
Six Tempe police officers went into their favorite Starbucks to caffeine up prior to their shifts on the Fourth of July, a day when drunken chaos reigns, and one of the baristas pulled them aside and said that a customer was extremely uncomfortable in the presence of police officers and so could they please either move out of the customer's line of sight or exit the premises. The officers left the building, uncaffeinated, then, of course, talked about it, setting off warring factions on Twitter, with half the people wanting to #DumpStarbucks and the other half saying that "in these days of police brutality…" blah blah blah.
Helaine Olen: What Jeffrey Epstein's crimes say about our era (Washington Post)
The Epstein scandal blows holes through the foundational myths of our time.
Alexandra Petri: Ceci n'est pas un pancake (Washington Post)
If I were really trying to do this right, I would have gotten to this object before we weighed it down with labels and attempted to penetrate its essence. Maybe it is a pancake. Maybe I am being too hard on it. Maybe pancakes and burgers have no independent existence and exist only as forms or ideas in the mind of IHOP? The bill says it's a burger.
Dana Milbank: Remember when conservatives believed no one was above the law? (Washington Post)
Yet again, they eat their own.
Charles Bramesco: "Easy Rider at 50: how the rebellious road movie shook up the system" (The Guardian)
In 1969, Dennis Hopper and friends set out to make one of the last great movies of the decade, changing independent film-making forever.
Luke Buckmaster: Richard Carter, 'absolutely unforgettable' great Australian character actor, dies (The Guardian)
Four-decade career culminates in gasp-inducing Mad Max: Fury Road performance that blows your mind and rattles your bones.
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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
• Ballerina Illaria Obidenna Ladré lived through interesting times. When the Titanicstruck an iceberg in 1912, she saw a huge sign on the main street in Petrograd: "TitanicSunk." She also witnessed the Russian Tsar giving a watch to retiring actor Korgen Krukovskoy on February 18, 1917. It was the last watch the Tsar ever awarded because that night the Russian Revolution started. As Illaria left the theater with her mother, they heard shooting. Life during the Revolution was difficult. Illaria's sister got tuberculosis, so their mother bought a goat for its milk. Because they lived in a third floor apartment, they arranged for another family to take care of the goat. Unfortunately, within three days the goat had disappeared - the other family had eaten it! Illaria and her family survived the Revolution, but at times the only food they had to eat was American kidney beans and Crisco. Sometimes, to get fuel to cook with, they were forced to tear up the parquet flooring from their apartment and burn it in a tin oven.
• Opera singer Leo Slezak was unable to leave Germany and Austria in World War II, although his son Walter, an actor, had become an American citizen. After the war was over, comedian Bob Hope helped convince the Allies to provide protection for Leo Slezak's estate. In addition, Walter got the addresses of nearly 1,000 American servicemen stationed in the Munich area. He sent each of the servicemen a 5-pound package containing necessities and asked them to deliver the packages to his father. Of the 958 packages that he sent, his father received 457.
• Malcolm Glenn Wyer was a librarian who was interested in expanding his library's holdings in the field of aeronautics. Therefore, in 1940, he asked Maggs Brothers, a London book-dealing firm, to ship a collection of aeronautical books to the Denver [Colorado] Public Library, where they could be inspected, and if found suitable, purchased. Maggs Brothers agreed and sent the requested books. Later, Mr. Wyer received a letter from Maggs Brothers, saying that the day after the books had been sent, the warehouse where they had been stored was destroyed by Nazi bombs.
• A Lithuanian farmer once found an ancient lamp in a field. Because it was dirty, he rubbed it - and a genie appeared and granted him three wishes. The Lithuanian thought a moment about his wishes, then said, "My first wish is for China to invade Lithuania. My second wish is for China to invade Lithuania. My third wish is for China to invade Lithuania." The genie asked why the Lithuanian wanted China to invade Lithuania three times. The Lithuanian replied, "Because the Chinese Army will have to cross Russia six times."
• While making a movie with Paramount Pictures, Victor Mature and Jim Backus were dressed as Roman warriors. Mr. Mature had business to attend to away from the movie studio during lunchtime; wanting company, he asked if Mr. Backus would go with him. Having completed his business, Mr. Mature and his guest stopped by a bar to have a drink, but the bartender - not being used to such guests - ignored their orders and stared at them. Mr. Mature then asked, "What's the matter with you? Don't you serve members of the Armed Forces?"
• Charles MacArthur promised Robert Benchley's two sons that he would give them his war helmet. Unfortunately, he had tossed it into the New York bay, so he bought one at an Army-Navy store. For two hours, he and Mr. Benchley struggled to put "battle" scars on it - pounding it, denting it, and puncturing it. In addition, Mr. MacArthur dripped candle wax down its sides, so he could tell Mr. Benchley's sons that he had used it as a candlestand while he wrote letters at night.
• At the beginning of World War II, Anna Russell lived near some retired British colonels, many of whom booby trapped their property in case of invasion by the Germans. One colonel put electrical wiring all over his property. In case of invasion, he was prepared to throw a switch and electrocute the enemy. Another colonel had trenches dug in his property, and then he covered the trenches with plywood and sod, creating tank traps.
• When David Niven enlisted to fight for the British in World War II, his boss, Sam Goldwyn, called him into his office, where he read him a beautiful, sentimental letter he had written. Then, with tears streaming down his face, Mr. Goldwyn buzzed a secretary, to whom he presented the letter and said, "Here's something I've written to Davey. I want you should let it leak out to the press."
• When World War I started, G.K. Chesterton wanted to fight for England, but an injury prevented him from raising an arm very high, thus making it impossible for him to join the infantry. In addition, his imposing weight made it impossible for him to join the cavalry. After taking thought of how he could serve his country in war, he said ruefully, "I might possibly form part of a barricade."
• General Israel Putnam once told his troops during the Revolutionary War that he wanted only willing soldiers: "If there are any of you who are dissatisfied and who want to return home, they can step six paces out in front of the line." General Putnam then added, "But I'll shoot the first man that does step out."
• World War I helped Cambridge University in an unusual way. The university owned some stock in a steel company that rose in value with the war. Selling the stock at a high price, Cambridge University used its war profits to renovate an apartment used by poet A.E. Housman, author of A Shropshire Lad.
• With Ballet Theatre, Alicia Markova toured several Latin American countries that were in the throes of revolution. While Ballet Theatre was in Bogota, Colombia, the British Embassy advised the dance troupe to stay in their hotel because "there is going to be shooting today."
• When comedian Dick Gregory showed up for his Army physical, he was asked what he had been in civilian life. He replied, "Deliriously happy."
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Current Events
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Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
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In The Chaos Household
Last Night
The hot water heater took a dive on Sunday.
Plumber on Sunday-overtime isn't in the budget, so waited til today.
Took the day off, and they were supposed to be here between 2 & 4.
Called to say they'd be late, but never showed.
Today, take 2.
'The Armbands Come Next Right?'
Stephen King
Author Stephen King took to Twitter Sunday to denounce President Don-Old Trump (R-Failure), without naming the White House resident.
"First, you stoke hatred and fear of minorities," wrote King. "Then you round them up and put them in camps.
"Next, you send out raiding parties to get those who have been driven into hiding," he continued. "The armbands come next right?"
This isn't the first time King has spoken out about Trump. Last week, King asserted on Twitter that "The news is real. The president is fake."
Following Trump's Fourth of July flub, when he spoke about defending airports during the American Revolution (which he later attributed to a teleprompter mishap) King criticized the president: "'Took over the airports.' Just when I think I have explored the outer limits of Donald Trump's melting intellect, new vistas of stupidity open before me."
Stephen King
Finally Recognized for His Achievements
Alan Turing
If it weren't for the legendary World War II code-breaker Alan Turing, the outcome for the Allied forces might have looked very different. The mathematician and computer scientist has been widely credited with hastening the end of the war, thanks to his work decoding German naval messages. But only seven years after the end the war, Turing, who was gay, was convicted of "gross indecency" for his relationship with a 19-year-old man. Turing wasn't formally pardoned until 2014. Now, 65 years after Turing's death, the Bank of England is recognizing the trailblazer's contributions to science and technology by featuring his face on the brand-new design of their 50-pound note.
"It was nothing short of a tragedy how a country he had served with such distinction treated him after the war, persecuting him for his homosexuality," said Demis Hassabis, a British artificial intelligence (AI) researcher, at the unveiling ceremony in Manchester. "That's why it's wonderful to see Turing on the note, as a powerful symbol of the long overdue recognition he deserves."
Not only did Turing's contributions to math and computer science aid the Allied war effort, they also laid the foundations for modern computers. In his 1936 paper titled "On Computable Numbers," Turing invented the concept of algorithms, sets of instructions that dictate how computers operate, BBC reported. He was also one of the earliest computer scientists to begin thinking about AI. His 'Turing test' is still used to determine whether a machine is "intelligent" or not.
"As the father of computer science and artificial intelligence, as well as a war hero, Alan Turing's contributions were far ranging and path breaking," Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, said in a statement. "Turing is a giant on whose shoulders so many now stand."
The new banknote won't just feature Turing's face. It will also include a ticker tape of binary code that spells out his birthday (June 23, 1912), a depiction of the machine he used to help break the German Enigma code, and his signature.
Alan Turing
Disney Heiress Visits Theme Park
Abigail Disney
As an heiress to the Disney fortune, anything Abigail Disney says about the brand beloved by millions worldwide garners attention. And she's calling out Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger for his nearly $66 million yearly salary, saying he isn't doing enough to rectify the huge gap between his own earnings and that of other Disney workers.
"Bob needs to understand he's an employee, just the same as the people scrubbing gum off the sidewalk are employees," Disney said during an interview with the Yahoo News show "Through Her Eyes." "And they're entitled to all the same dignity and human rights that he is."
Iger's paycheck last year was more than 1,000 times what the median Disney employee made in 2018, according to Equilar.
To understand the grievances of Walt Disney Co. employees, Abigail Disney said she recently went undercover to Disneyland after receiving a Facebook message from a distressed worker.
"Every single one of these people I talked to were saying, 'I don't know how I can maintain this face of joy and warmth when I have to go home and forage for food in other people's garbage,'" she recalled, adding that this was not the work environment her grandfather Roy O. Disney sought out to create.
Abigail Disney
Landmarks Get Names Back
Yosemite
A company that lost its contract to run Yosemite National Park's hotels, restaurants and outdoor activities has settled a lawsuit with the National Park Service and the park's new concession operator over rights to the names of famous park landmarks.
The National Park Service said Monday the settlement with Delaware North allows the park to restore the previous names of some properties at Yosemite, including the Ahwahnee Hotel, which is now called the Majestic Yosemite Hotel.
The Park Service in 2015 awarded Aramark a 15-year contract and shortly after, New York-based Delaware North filed a lawsuit saying it owned the trademarked names of the Ahwahnee Hotel, the Wawona Hotel, Curry Village and other properties
Delaware North ran the park's concessions from 1993 to 2015.
Yosemite
"Blessed Be The Fruit"
Planned Parenthood
Taxpayer-funded family planning clinics must stop referring women to abortion providers immediately, the Trump administration said Monday, declaring it will begin enforcing a new regulation hailed by religious conservatives and denounced by medical organizations and women's rights groups.
The Health and Human Services department formally notified family planning clinics that it will begin enforcing the ban on abortion referrals, along with a requirement that clinics maintain separate finances from facilities that provide abortions. Another requirement that both kinds of facilities cannot be under the same roof would take effect next year.
The rule is widely seen as a blow against Planned Parenthood, which provides taxpayer-funded family planning and basic health care to low-income women, as well as abortions that must be paid for separately. The organization is a mainstay of the federally-funded family planning program and has threatened to quit over the dispute.
Planned Parenthood and other family-planning providers are suing the Trump administration in federal court to overturn the regulations, but HHS said no judicial orders currently prevent it from enforcing the rule while the litigation proceeds.
The family planning rule is part of a series of Trump administration efforts to remake government policy on reproductive health women. Other regulations tangled up in court would allow employers to opt out of offering free birth control to women workers on the basis of religious or moral objections, and grant health care professionals wider leeway to opt out of procedures that offend their religious or moral scruples.
Planned Parenthood
Empty Nets
Lake Malawi
On the shores of Lake Malawi, a crowd eagerly awaits the arrival of a white and yellow cedarwood boat carrying its haul.
The crew of six deliver a single net of chambo, sardine and tiny usipa fish from the boat, just one of 72 vessels that land their catch every day on the beach at Senga Bay.
But overfishing and climate change have taken their toll.
Bordering three countries -- Malawi, Tanzania and Mozambique -- Lake Malawi stretches across more than 29,000 square kilometres (11,200 square miles) with over 1,000 species of fish.
The 14,000 people living at Senga Bay depend on the lake for food and for their livelihood.
Lake Malawi
Spreading a Totally Unscientific "Paper"
Climate Deniers
Those who persist in denying the reality of human-caused climate change have resorted to scraping the very bottom of the barrel. Last week, climate deniers at several blogs and news outlets jumped on a new "paper" that supposedly "proves" the vast majority of climate scientists are wrong.
Except, according to a scientific review from the independent fact-checking organisation Climate Feedback, the document does no such thing. The widely shared paper, which claims to overturn decades of scientific findings, is not published in a peer-reviewed journal, but can be found on the pre-print website arXiv.
As Climate Feedback's expert summary reveals, the scant PDF is riddled with problems, and doesn't provide any sources to the data it claims to examine.
The manuscript makes the extraordinary claim that human-made climate change does not exist in practice. But scientists who contributed to the scathing Climate Feedback analysis point out that the document cherry picks information and relies on circular reasoning.
Dismissing an entire body of climate science, the six-page document cites a mere six references: four of which are the authors' own and two of which are unpublished.
Climate Deniers
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