Tom Faranda's Folly

Varicose veins? Don't go to Britain to have them removed (or you tonsils!). 17 procedures eliminated.

And they've "axed" arthroscopic knee surgery - which I had 15 years ago (but in Westchester, thank heaven). This from the Guardian (UK).

NHS wields the axe on 17 'unnecessary procedures'. Varicose vein surgery and tonsil removal feature on list of routine operations to be axed

Hundreds of thousands of NHS patients will be refused operations judged futile as part of cost-cutting measures in the health service.

Procedures including injections for back pain, surgery to help snorers and knee arthroscopies for arthritis form part of an initial list of 17 operations that will be discontinued completely or highly restricted by NHS England as many of these problems get better without treatment.

The health service hopes the measures will save £200m a year by reducing risky or unnecessary procedures. It will tell patients they have a responsibility to the NHS not to request useless treatment.

Varicose vein surgery and tonsil removal also feature on the list of routine operations to be axed as part of NHS England’s drive to cease outdated and ineffective treatments.The routine procedures are performed about 350,000 times a year and cost more than £400m. NHS bosses hope to stop at least 100,000 operations, saving £200m.

 

17 treatments NHS England may axe

Four procedures will only be offered at the request of a patient:

• Snoring surgery
• Dilation and curettage for heavy menstrual bleeding
• Knee arthroscopies for osteoarthritis
• Injections for non-specific back pain

A further 13 treatments will only be offered when certain conditions are met:

• Breast reduction
• Removal of benign skin lesions
• Grommets for glue ear
• Tonsillectomy
• Haemorrhoid surgery
• Hysterectomy for heavy menstrual bleeding
• Removal of lesions on eyelids
• Removal of bone spurs for shoulder pain
• Carpal tunnel syndrome release
• Dupuytren’s contracture release
• Excision of small, non cancerous lumps on the wrist called ganglia
• Trigger finger release
• Varicose vein surgery

Protestors and the Trump border policy

I have no problem with protesting and civil disobedience, even when I think their answer "abolish ICE" is foolish. As long as it's non-violent it's OK with me. And the Washington police - and courts - are very used to these sorts of protests . The video is from the Guardian (UK).

From Cardinal Dolan: The separation of children from their families

This is a letter sent this morning by the Cardinal through the Archdiocese flocknote email system. Sorry for the weird formatting - it's the best I could do with a cut and paste job. I was able to move the two embedded pictures; they are at the end. Some good information about what Catholic Charities of NY is doing; and the fact that there are Archdiocese people in Texas now.

From Cardinal Dolan: The separation of children from their families

Fri, Jun 29, 2018 10:29 am

Archdiocese of New York ([email protected])To:you (Bcc) + 1 more Details

Archdiocese of New York June 29, 2018 Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul   Dear friends in the Lord:   I write to you on a matter of serious pastoral, moral and humanitarian concern to our Church, and to me personally: the forced separation of children from their parents.    A week ago on Friday, I visited some of these children – now, for the time being, living safely in the former convent of a Bronx parish and being well cared for by one of our Catholic Charities agencies. My reason: to bring the love of Jesus Christ and the solidarity of his Church to these children, who must deal with the chaos and trauma of have been taken away from their parents.     It was heart-wrenching to see these children without their parents, and heartwarming to meet the compassionate and competent professionals who are providing for them and see the good care they are receiving. I thank God for that. I brought each a cross blessed by Pope Francis and invited them to Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.  Yesterday I visited the Catholic Charities Immigration Center in downtown Manhattan where other services – legal, English classes, civics, and social services – are being provided to immigrant children, adults, and families. I visited a classroom where eight children were receiving instruction on their legal situation and rights. The expertise of the legal services of Catholic Charities is particularly essential at this time, and within the past five years has been provided to more than 10,000 unaccompanied minor children and their families, long before the newly created current crisis of separated children. It is a reminder that the Catholic Church has often been on the scene long before the media and others find an issue topical.   I want to also let you know that a week ago, at my request, a small delegation of priests, religious, and laity from the archdiocese went to McAllen, Texas, on an interfaith mission of prayer, support, and solidarity to those suffering from recent shifts in immigration enforcement policies. I am grateful that Msgr. Kevin Sullivan, Fr. Eric Cruz, Fr. Esteban Sanchez, Sr. Carol Barnes, SC, and Luz Tavarez visited with the children and families at a Catholic Charities respite center a few miles from the border and were an important sign of our accompaniment in a time of anxiety and pain. Our Catholic Church is always there!   My concern and involvement in this crisis is as a pastor, not a politician. I am not an expert on the intricacies of legislation, executive orders, and policies that seemingly change from day to day. But I do know policies that take children away from their families on one pretext or another are both un-biblical and un-American. I also know that damage once done will take much effort over time to undo and heal. We must be vigilant and attentive to ensure the right response. There will be updates on this situation, how the Church is responding, and ways that you might help on the Catholic Charities website.   This archdiocese has long been a welcoming mother to immigrant children who seek New York as their new home. As I visit the parishes and schools in every one of the 10 counties, I see that spirit of welcoming still alive and well and witness the faith and vibrancy of immigrants to our Church and communities. May we always be so!   I ask your prayers for the families who are torn apart, especially for the separated children, and for those faithfully serving the children and families suffering in this crisis. I ask your prayers for our Church and our nation that we might faithfully live up to best of our values.     Faithfully in Christ, Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan Archbishop of New York         111, New York, NY 10011   •   archny.org

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Ex NY Times editor Jill Abramson crushes the paper

Pretty interesting. Maybe she's just bitter? The Times fired her as Executive Editor in 2014.

Abramson, 64, famously held that job for nearly three years—the first and only woman to do so—until she was summarily sacked amid an unseemly public-relations melee in May 2014.

“Kind of pisses me off that @ nytimes is still asking Who Is Ocasio-Cortez? when it should have covered her campaign,” Jill Abramson erupted on Twitter on Wednesday morning—a biting reference to the newspaper’s original headline concerning the 28-year-old socialist’s shocking Democratic primary upset, a landslide actually, over incumbent Joe Crowley in New York’s 14th Congressional District.

Indeed, a quick review of the Times’ coverage of the primary race turned up a scant mention of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in a single news story prior to Election Night, and a few name-checks in editorials—one of which, published in the June 20 print edition, noted that she’s “a challenger [Crowley] is heavily favored to beat.”

“Missing her rise [is] akin to not seeing Trump’s win coming in 2016,” Abramson added in her tweet—an even more biting reference to the Times’ self-acknowledged failings in the paper’s reporting of the presidential campaign.

Rugby: USA v. Canada

The USA 15's has been on a big roll. First defeat Scotland, now Canada. The USA hasn't lost to Canada in years.

Socialist Democrat primary winner aims to be President

It probably helped Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez that her congressional district is 50% Hispanic, as is she. But knocking off the #4 Congressional Democrat is a big deal. And she'll certainly win the congressional election; it's 75-80% Democrat district.

Insurgent Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wants to take her budding political career all the way to The White House, her mother told The Post on Wednesday. “Her aspiration is to be the president,” Blanca Ocasio-Cortez, 55, said at the candidate’s childhood home in the Bronx. “She has been thinking about politics since she was a teenager. She would read historical and political books old and new. She would engage in political discussions passionately.”

Franzoso Contracting and Baked by Susan - best in Westchester 2018

Thanks to Maria for sending me this.

So go here for the links.

FRANZOSO CONTRACTING & BAKED BY SUSAN, BEST OF WESTCHESTER 2018

Or here - Best of Westchester List---2018

Catholic League: "Sotomayor Discovers Religious Bias"

A good press release from the Catholic League showing her astondinging illogic. Justice Sonia Sotomayer is a graduate of Cardinal Spellman HS in the Bronx. I know someone who went to school with her.

Sotomayor Discovers Religious Bias
​

June 27, 2018

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on remarks made yesterday by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor:
 
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor is accusing some of her colleagues of duplicity. She called them out for saying religious hostility was in play against the baker in the Masterpiece Cakeshop decision, but no such bias was evident in the travel ban case. She is right about one thing: duplicity is at work. But it is not her associates who are guilty—she is.
 
The travel ban case was decided on the constitutional right of the chief executive to exercise his duties as commander-in-chief. Critical remarks about Muslim terrorists made by presidential-candidate Donald Trump were not found to be persuasive in overriding the right of the president to protect national security.
 
Sotomayor blasted the majority decision saying it was "motivated by hostility and animus toward the Muslim faith." She did not explain why only some Muslim-run nations were singled out, nor did she explain why nations having nothing to do with Islam—Venezuela and North Korea—were included in the restriction. As the majority of the Justices found, religion was not what motivated the ban; rather, it was the terrorist threat that some nations posed to the U.S.
 
It is Sotomayor who is selectively interested in religious liberty, not her colleagues. In the Masterpiece Cakeshop case, where clearly anti-Christian comments were made by members of the Colorado Civil Rights Commission against Christian baker Jack Phillips, Sotomayor found no religious hostility whatsoever.
 
Sotomayor joined a dissent decision by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg saying the baker case showed no "evidence [of] hostility to religion of the kind we have previously held to signal a free-exercise violation...."
 
So when one member of the Colorado Civil Rights Commission says Christianity is comparable to slavery and the Holocaust, and another member says that no one has a right "to act on his religious beliefs if he wants to do business in this state," these remarks, according to Sotomayor, were not "motivated by hostility and animus" toward Christianity.
 
Sotomayor has set two bars for determining religious hostility: the one for Christians reaches the sky; the one for Muslims is at ground level.​

Rugby: Ireland scrum half Peter Stringer retires

Stringer played 98 times for Ireland and just retired from professional rugby at 40. Last played for Ireland in 2011. One of the few small scrum halves in recent history - about my size (of course vastly better athlete!).

Peter Stringer announces retirement

The Bernie Sanders health plan, as implemented in Great Britain

This is his model. The report is from the very left wing Guardian (UK). I've posted before about the below average outcomes that the UK National Health Service has. For a couple of examples, just go here and here.

NHS 'worse than average in treating eight common causes of death'.  Major study compared UK health service with that of 18 other developed countries

The NHS leads the world at ensuring equal access to treatment but underperforms compared with other developed countries’ healthcare systems in preventing common causes of death, a major analysis has found.

The report, which will fuel further debate about the current state of the NHS, also found that the UK has fewer doctors, nurses, hospital beds and CT and MRI scanners than 18 other comparable countries.

The research was carried out by the Nuffield Trust, the Health Foundation, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) and the King’s Fund. It determined that, with the NHS free at the point of use, the UK had the lowest proportion of people who avoided healthcare due to cost. Just 2.3% did so in 2016 compared with an average of 7.2% across the 19 countries, including France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US.

However, the UK’s health service performed worse than average in the treatment of eight out of the 12 most common causes of death. They included deaths within 30 days of having a heart attack and within five years of being diagnosed with breast cancer, rectal cancer, colon cancer, pancreatic cancer and lung cancer.

The NHS was also the third-poorest performer in cases where medical intervention should have prevented death, and had consistently higher death rates for babies at birth or just after (perinatal mortality), and in the month after birth (neonatal mortality).

Nigel Edwards, chief executive of the Nuffield Trust, said: “Discussion about the NHS is often marked by an unhelpful degree of exaggeration, from those that claim it is the envy of the world to those who say it is inferior to other systems.

 

 

“The reality is a much more mixed picture, but one thing is clear: we run a health system with very scarce resources in terms of staff and equipment and achieve poor outcomes in some vital areas like cancer survival.”

 

Big win for women, babies and Crisis Pregnancy Centers

So the Supreme Court rules pregnancy centers devoted to helping women carry their unborn babies to term don't have to advertise/promote abortion. Seems pretty obvious, right?  So why was the California law implemented anyway (we know the answer to that...) and the vote in the Supreme Court was only 5-4? It should have been 9-0. Ideology.

Here's a PR from the Catholic League.

VICTORY FOR CRISIS PREGNANCY CENTERS

June 26, 2018

In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a California law requiring crisis pregnancy centers to inform women about the availability of abortion and contraception was unconstitutional. The ruling was narrowly drawn and did not decide related issues.
 
Writing for the majority, Justice Clarence Thomas found the law to be an unconstitutional abridgment of the free speech rights of the crisis pregnancy centers. The law was not content neutral. Indeed, it was content based, meaning that it specifically targeted the speech of these abortion-alternative centers.
 
The majority noted that under the law, "licensed clinics must provide a government-drafted script about the availability of state-sponsored services....One of those services is abortion—the very practice that petitioners are devoted to opposing." Thus, the ruling said, "the licensed notice plainly 'alters the content' of the petitioners' speech."
 
Importantly, the majority did not buy the spurious argument made by the Ninth Circuit of Appeals. That court ruled that the California law regulated "professional speech," and not the kind of communicative speech that warrants strict scrutiny under the First Amendment. The Supremes weren't buying it. "But this Court has not recognized 'professional speech' as a separate category of speech." 
 
In a clear rebuke to the Ninth Circuit's creative law-making, the majority said that "Speech is not unprotected merely because it is uttered by 'professionals.' This Court has 'been reluctant to mark off new categories of speech for diminished constitutional protection.'"
 
The majority also ruled that while there was no "persuasive reason for treating professional speech as a unique category that is exempt from ordinary First Amendment principles," it did not rule out the possibility that there may be some future reason to consider it. But the bar has been set high, thus making attempts to clear it exceedingly difficult.
 
The pro-abortion industry has been dealt an important setback. Those who believe in protecting the lives of the most innocent among us have won a significant victory. And those who are principled defenders of free speech also have reason to celebrate.
​

 

 

 

CNBC: "Record economic optimism across the board"

To quote Clinton guy James Carville, "It's the economy, stupid"

 

Even CNN thinks Maxine Waters is nuts

Or, "How to re-elect Trump" as a sub-title.

Dan Ingram

If you're of a certain age - my age - you remember Dan Ingram. He's died at age of 83. "Bye now Kemosabe!"

"77 WABC Remembers the Great Dan Ingram"

Bernie Sanders, socialism, and Venezuela

Good article over the weekend about Venezuela.   Venezuela’s Future — and Ours

Venezuela is what we mean by socialism.

Socialism is defined by central planning, which is to say by the subordination of the economy to political discipline. When U.S. progressives talk about socialism, what they usually mean is those nice democratic welfare-statists in Denmark or Sweden, or maybe Germany if they are particularly interested in industrial policy and labor power....

The Venezuelan case is a textbook example of the evolution of socialism.

Meanwhile here's a Sanders quote from August 5, 2011, off his website - "These days, the American dream is more apt to be realized in South America, in places such as Ecuador, Venezuela and Argentina, where incomes are actually more equal today than they are in the land of Horatio Alger. Who's the banana republic now?"

In 2016 Sanders when questioned about this refused to comment Bernie Sanders Asked About Failures of Socialism in Venezuela and Refuses to Comment

LEÓN KRAUZE, UNIVISION: I am sure that you know about this topic: various leftist governments, especially the populists, are in serious trouble in Latin America. The socialist model in Venezuela has the country near collapse. Argentina, also Brazil, how do you explain that failure?

BERNIE SANDERS, DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE: You are asking me questions…

LEÓN KRAUZE, UNIVISION: I am sure you’re interested in that.

BERNIE SANDERS, DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE: I am very interested, but right now I’m running for President of the United States.

LEÓN KRAUZE, UNIVISION: So you don’t have an opinion about the crisis in Venezuela?

BERNIE SANDERS, DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE: Of course I have an opinion, but as I said, I’m focused on my campaign.

Yes, feel the Bern.

Red Hen restaurant owner tosses Sarah Sanders out

How can these people believe this helps their cause? Don't they get that it hardens people's support for Trump

UPDATE: Here's a longer article on this in the Washington Post

Red Hen Owner Who Booted Sarah Sanders Speaks Out: Would ‘Absolutely’ Do it Again

Wilkinson also said she had her doubts that Sanders would actually be in a restaurant in her small, rural town but once arriving, she confirmed it was true and Sanders was indeed seated at a group table with other adults.

She then huddled with the staff, many who took issue with the White House on a number of issues and some who are gay, and asked them if they thought Sanders should go.

They did, so she asked Sanders to accompany her to the patio.

“I was babbling a little, but I got my point across in a polite and direct fashion,” Wilkinson said. “I explained that the restaurant has certain standards that I feel it has to uphold, such as honesty, and compassion, and cooperation…I said, ‘I’d like to ask you to leave.’ ”

Sanders, who Wilkinson did confirm left without a huff, told her side of the story on Twitter later:

Sarah Sanders

 

✔ @PressSec

Last night I was told by the owner of Red Hen in Lexington, VA to leave because I work for @POTUS and I politely left. Her actions say far more about her than about me. I always do my best to treat people, including those I disagree with, respectfully and will continue to do so.

 

 

The scandal of Cardinal McCarrick

This is really stunning. Takes a few minutes to read, with lots of links which I didn't go to.

With at least two financial settlements on his record for sexual misconduct, how in the world could he have been named a Bishop and then a Cardinal?

The scandal of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and why no major media outed him

On Election Day 2008, I was not following the historic election of Barack Obama to the presidency.

Instead, I was meeting up with a priest. At the time, I was religion editor for the Washington Times.

The documents he gave me were sensational. At first I thought it was about a priest who’d been forced out of the priesthood because he’d been caught fondling two teen-aged boys. Then I read why the priest had done this. In layman’s terms: He said he was an emotional and spiritual mess after having been sexually assaulted in 1987 by none less than then-Newark Archbishop Theodore McCarrick.

Mrs. Clinton on illegal immigrants

Say anything for votes. then the tide changes ...?

"I’m adamantly against illegal immigrants."
— Democrat Hillary Clinton, in a blast-from-the-past quote from 2003,
on “The John Gambling Show"

Charles Krauthammer

Who died yesterday; he'd let people know a couple weeks ago that the end was approaching for him. Charles Krauthammer reveals he is terminally ill with cancer

I liked Krauthammer although I disagreed with much of his thinking. He seems to have never complained about his paralysis from his terrible accident while at Harvard Medical School - he was a noble person.

Here's a nice tribute to him from Brit Hume - the picture above is a much younger Charles then we would usually think of him today.

 

Report: Both Party's deeply divided on how to misinterpret the Bible.

The Babylon Bee, a new source for Faranda's Folly. Thanks to Ed. M. for putting me onto them. Like The Onion but a religious angle.

A new report performed by a coalition of Christian theologians confirmed Monday what many have already suspected: that the nation’s Democrats and Republicans are more divided than ever before over exactly how the Bible should be misinterpreted, misapplied, and misused to support their own political agenda.

The nation’s leftists and conservatives are drifting further and further apart as proponents of both worldviews grapple with how the Bible should be contorted in order to fit one’s political philosophy. While both Democrats and Republicans agree that the Bible should be ripped out of context at will in order to support one’s position, they couldn’t be further divided when it comes to exactly how the Bible should be exploited for political gain.

Illegal immigrant detention center photos from 2014

Detention didn't start last week. Outrage only when it's the Trump Administration.

The media and political class become more and more outraged over the Trump administration’s decision to detain and prosecute immigrants illegally crossing the border. Lost in the debate is any acknowledgment that President Obama’s administration also used detention facilities. Current U.S. immigration laws, when enforced, have the consequence of temporarily separating adults who arrive with children into separate detention facilities in order to prosecute the adults. The policy of prosecuting immigrants for crossing the border illegally has been in place for multiple administrations. The Obama administration prosecuted half a million illegal immigrants and similarly separated families in the process. So did the Bush administration. ––  Personal accounts from immigration lawyers tell a tale of Obama being equally concerned about unaccompanied minors traveling to the border and wanting to create a deterrent. Photos of border detention facilities from the Obama-era, taken during 2014, look nearly identical to the ones taken during the Trump era.

Here are some children, having been issued space blankets for sleeping. Other pix if you hit the link.

Ex-Croton FD chief admits stealing 312K from the department

Wow. This is sad. Hit the link for full story

A former fire department chief and police officer is facing up to 25 years behind bars after allegedly stealing more than $300,000 from the department in Northern Westchester. Gerald Munson, who most recently served as the Croton-on-Hudson Fire Department Treasurer, has been arraigned on several charges related to the theft of $312,925 from the department on Wednesday morning in Croton-on-Hudson Village Court.

People of prayer and faith live longer - another study.

There have been plenty of studies on the health benefits of faith v. no faith. Here's another, based on a study of obituaries!

The study notes that, "people whose obits mentioned a religious affiliation lived an average of 5.64 years longer than those whose obits did not, which shrunk to 3.82 years after gender and marital status were considered."

"The researchers found that part of the reason for the boost in longevity came from the fact that many religiously affiliated people also volunteered and belonged to social organizations, which previous research has linked to living longer. The study provides persuasive evidence that there is a relationship between religious participation and how long a person lives," said Baldwin Way, co-author of the study and associate professor of psychology at Ohio State.

Baseball - who is the best ?

An interesting article which I'm afraid may be true. Astros still the best!? Look at the team pitching ERA comparison. Scary good for the Astros.

The Astros’ 2.91 ERA is first in MLB. The Red Sox and Yankees are second and third in the AL with team ERA’s of 3.41 and 3.42, respectively.

 

Times they are a'changin; Walgreens replaces GE in the Dow Jones Industrial Average

How the mighty have fallen.

GE Drops Out of the Dow After More Than a Century. General Electric is being replaced by Walgreens Boots Alliance, in the latest setback for a troubled conglomerate that once had highest market value of any U.S. corporation

        ... the latest sign of the rise of the global consumer economy and the postcrisis boom in debt issuance that has fueled a worldwide deal-making frenzy.

The decision to drop GE, an original member of the Dow that has been a part of the 30-stock index continuously since 1907, marks the latest setback for a company that once was the most valuable U.S. firm but has been hit hard in recent years by the unraveling of its finance business and competitive problems.

With the departure of GE and the addition of Walgreens, “the DJIA will be more representative of the consumer and health care sectors of the U.S. economy,” said David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, the company behind the Dow. “Today’s change to the DJIA will make the index a better measure of the economy and the stock market.”

GE shares have tumbled 55% over the past 52 weeks, erasing more than $100 billion in wealth, as the company has switched leaders, slashed its dividend payment and pursued a restructuring that could result in a breakup of the struggling conglomerate. It is the cheapest stock of all 30 Dow components.

The ongoing FBI Peter Strzok/Lisa Page debacle

UPDATE: Here's Strzok's bio - another fine Georgetown grad.

From the Daily Mail (UK). Incredible this wasn't handled months and months ago. He was demoted to Human Resources (where he has access to everyone's file!).

FBI lover Peter Strzok is escorted OUT of the agency but still in a job after his 'Stop Trump' message was revealed

FBI agent Peter Strzok, who was revealed to have sent a text to his FBI lover saying he would 'stop' Trump, was marched out of the building Friday, following the release of an explosive Inspector General's report.

But Strzok is still on the job, CNN reported. 

He has been placed in the Human Resources department, following an IG report that revealed him to have made the statement about stopping Trump to his FBI lover, Lisa Page.  

Today: National Watch Day - there was once a Croton Watch Company

That's right - and they still exist, over in West Nyack  Croton Watch Co. Inc. Nice website!

Go here for an index of croton blogspot posts about the company  -https://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2016/02/an-index-to-croton-watch-company-series.html

And here is (I believe) a picture of one of their vintage watches.

As usual, God gets the last laugh; atheist Stephen Hawking buried in Westminster Cathedral

The famed physicist who was confined to a wheelchair. I read his book A Brief History of Time many years ago, and while he said he was an atheist, he wasn't an obnoxious, militant guy. In fact by all account he was a wonderful fellow who bore his terrible disability with grace and dignity. He did have a religious funeral, so perhaps he had a last minute change of heart or some of his family members wanted it? Here is a posting I did about another book he'd written ten years ago trying to prove there was no need to posit a God. The gist of it was, everything just popped into existence of it's own accord - something from nothing. Not very scientific. Really, that was it.

Anyway here's a brief video of the internment service at Westminster.

Trump Gallup approval rating - same as Obama & Clinton at this point in their terms

Trump at 45% approval - same as the other guys

 

Pope Francis on the family and marriage

This is unlikely to be highlighted on CNN. At the end, he doesn't mince any words about aborting disabled children.

Rugby: USA with victory over Scotland!

Scotland ranked #6 in the world. The first time the US has ever defeated a Tier 1 team. Game was played in Houston. Scotland did not have all their top players, but still... great win. It came down to the last kick of the game, in injury time.

 

WSJ on the Colombia election

I didn't even know there was an election in Colombia, but looks like the right guy won - and 54-41, it wasn't close.

Pro-Business Ivan Duque Wins Colombian Presidency. Senator vowed to loosen regulations and fight drug trade, while opponent wanted a bigger role for the state in the economy

Ivan Duque, a 41-year-old lawyer who has spent much of his working life in Washington policy circles, was elected president on Sunday in a vote in which Colombians were presented with two starkly different approaches for modernizing the country.

Mr. Duque, a market-friendly conservative who pledges to loosen regulations for businesses and aggressively fight the drug trade, won nearly 10.1 million votes, or 54% of the total, with 97% of all voting stations reporting. His rival, Gustavo Petro, 58, a former guerrilla and ex-mayor of Bogotá who wanted a bigger role for the state in the economy, took nearly 7.8 million votes, or 41.7%.

 

Media laughed as 3 years ago today "The Donald" announced his run for President

 

So who got the last laugh?

And here's his grand entrance they all were laughing about.

 

Natural gas pipeline explodes in Kansas

And it will "take weeks" to determine the cause. See the video below. This is of some interest (to put mildly) to neighborhoods just north of Croton.

FERC Approves $972 Million Gas Pipeline Expansion Project

And

Stop the Algonquind Pipeline Expansion

 

Trump had a good birthday - 72 yesterday.

Yes all things considered - economy, Korea.

Here's some coverage from the Daily Mail (UK) with some interesting pictures. Trump wasn't always fat.

'I love you very much!' Ivanka and Eric lead tributes to their father Trump on his 72nd birthday with throwback photos from their childhood. Ivanka and Eric lead the 72nd birthday tributes for Donald Trump on Thursday. President's eldest daughter Ivanka posted a series of photos of her and Trump when she was young, saying: 'Wishing you your best year yet'. Trump's son Eric also shared two childhood photos with his father, adding: 'It is amazing how far we have all come!' Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, also took to social media posting a screenshot of a Drudge Report headline declaring, 'TRUMP'S BEST BIRTHDAY!'

The Minnesota raccoon! A good ending!!

Brigid told me about this - she was thrilled with the story.

Here's how the Wall Street Journal reported it -

Minnesota’s Raccoon

A daring climb, an exhilarating rescue.

Much of the planet decided that the best story on the web this week was an epic climb in the downtown area of an American city. The story of one lonely critter’s effort to reach the very heights of international finance captivated the world of social media. It was also a welcome reminder of how much entertainment value the state of Minnesota has bequeathed to the U.S. and to the world.

The drama concluded today. According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune:

Thousands of concerned citizens around the world who watched, waited and hoped for the best for the plucky raccoon that scaled a St. Paul skyscraper Tuesday, woke up Wednesday to news of a happy ending.

He made it.

The scrappy critter completed his climb in the cover of darkness and reached the roof of the UBS Plaza about 2:30 a.m., said Laurie Brickley, a spokeswoman for the city’s Department of Safety and Inspections, which includes Animal Control...

The animal had stopped Tuesday afternoon for a nap just two stories below the UBS Plaza roof, where animal control officials set up traps with food in hopes of luring him in.

Humans were able to trap and then carry the one-year-old female to safety from the roof of the 25-story office building. The Associated Press reports that the animal has now been released back into the wild. A.P. adds:

The raccoon looked a bit bedraggled but healthy after it was caught before dawn atop the UBS Plaza. Technicians took the caged raccoon down a freight elevator to a truck, according to Wildlife Management Servi ces, which provides animal control services for St. Paul.

“It’s definitely a healthy raccoon. It’s in good condition. It’s eating normally,” said Christina Valdivia, the company’s general manager, who accompanied the technicians to the rooftop.

The animal was later released on private property near the Twin Cities suburb of Shakopee.

Perhaps not surprisingly, public broadcasters were all over this story. Minnesota Public Radio, which bro ke the news of the raccoon’s daring ascent and which likely employs a healthy proportion of vegetarians, happily claimed the furry striver as one of its own. On Twitter, the public broadcaster branded the skyscraper-scaling social-media climber as the #mprraccoon.

Minnesota Public Radio reported this afternoon:, “It’s OK, everyone — we can all let out that collective breath we’ve been holding since Tuesday.” Phew!

Millennials - half of them expect to be millionaries. Of course a million ain't what it used to be...

From the Daily Mail (UK)

hMore than half of Millennials expect to be millionaires someday, according to a new study. New study finds that 53% of Millennials believe they will one day be millionaires. Despite that, 25% say they'll never marry and 30% plan on never having children. Nearly 1-in-5 report that they they still rely on their parents for financial support. They expect to retire at 56, though won't start saving for retirement until age 36.

The whole thing is very amusing.

Eunice Gayson, the first Bond Girl

Died at the age of 90. She was in the first two Bond movies, Dr. No and From Russia with Love. Here's the opening to Dr. No.

"Trench, Sylvia Trench."

Cable News ratings race

Wow. An epic blowout. I was channel surfing the news Monday night - the Singapore Summit. Some of the comments on MSNBC were assinine beyond belief. 

CABLE NEWS RACE
MON. JUNE 11, 2018

FOXNEWS HANNITY 5,902,00
FOXNEWS INGRAHAM 4,560,000
FOXNEWS TUCKER 4,222,000
FOXNEWS BAIER 2,788,000
FOXNEWS THE FIVE 2,634,000
MSNBC SPECIAL 2,378,000
CNN CUOMO 2,362,000
CNN TONIGHT 1,790,000
CNN COOPER 1,691,000
MSNBC HARDBALL 1,551,000

Wall Street Journal - "Don and the Dictator"

From yesterday's "Best of the Web" column. The two links to NY Times columns shows how unhinged the columnists are.

Don and the Dictator. How should the media react to Trump’s North Korea deal?

President Donald Trump seems to have given North Korea’s dictator Kim Jong Un a media coup and not received much in return—at least not yet. The joint statement signed by the U.S. President and North Korea’s leading thug says that the two countries will seek a lasting peace and the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. Mr. Trump says he received further disarmament promises beyond the written ones and the world will eventually find out if Mr. Kim fulfills them. In short, the Trump-Kim deal is precisely the kind of vague and well-meaning gesture in foreign affairs that the political left in the U.S. should love.

Tradition holds that such agreements are met with at least respectful coverage in the American media. For example, early in President Bill Clinton’s term the U.S. reached a similar agreement with North Korea’s communist dictatorship.

Twenty-five years ago today, the New York Times published an editorial called, “To Assure a Nuclear-Free Korea.” Given that Mr. Trump was in Singapore this week trying to persuade North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons program, it’s fair to say that the hopes invested by Times folk in the Clinton deal were not exactly realized. But back in 1993, the newspaper’s editorial board expressed admiration for officials in both the American and North Korean governments :

Deft diplomacy by the Clinton Administration has coaxed North Korea back from the brink. The North had threatened to bolt from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and build nuclear arms. It will now allow routine international inspections of its nuclear sites.

Gaining access to its nuclear waste sites will require further negotiation; that could provide more evidence of how much plutonium North Korea might already have produced. But the resumption of routine inspections is a critical first step toward assuring that the Korean Peninsula is truly nuclear-free.

The agreement is a tribute to sensible officials in Pyongyang who chose the path to prosperity over the road to ruin. It’s also a tribute to cool heads in Washington who refused to overreact to North Korea’s bizarre bargaining behavior.

Along with the tip of the cap to the “sensible officials in Pyongyang,” the Times went on to describe U.S. military exercises with our friends in democratic South Korea as “needlessly provocative.” Of course time would reveal that Washington’s cool heads had wildly underreacted.

 

This brings us to coverage of this week’s summit. It presents a particular challenge for pundits on the left who normally can be relied upon to become giddy at the prospect of vague peace agreements but also hate Donald Trump. Acutely aware of the dilemma faced by their friends and readers, the staff at the Nation is leading with an article entitled, “You Can Be a Critic of Trump and Still Root for Diplomacy to Succeed in Korea.”

Over at Vox, some commentary trashes the President’s deal. But Jennifer Williams manages to express the traditional media view on the virtue of negotiating with thugs like Kim Jong Un without also deploring his duly-elected counterparty:

It’s far from a peace treaty or a comprehensive agreement to dismantle North Korea’s nuclear arsenal. Nor does it even clarify what each side means by “denuclearization.” As Vox’s Zack Beauchamp has written, that word means very different things to the US and North Korea.

But it’s still progress.

Less than a year ago, Trump was threatening to rain down “fire and fury like the world has never seen” on North Korea and Kim was calling Trump a “mentally deranged US dotard” and “carefully examining” plans for a missile strike on US military bases in Guam.

But after a day spent talking, laughing, eating, and strolling leisurely with one another, the two men have “developed a very special bond,” according to Trump.

It’s a stunning turn of events. And while it’s just the beginning of what will likely be a long and complicated negotiating process — one that could break down at any time — it’s certainly a positive start.

Still, Vox is one thing. The New York Times is another. How can Times opinion writers manage to cover the Trump-Kim accord in the spirit of ‘93? No matter the editorial board’s traditional affection for agreements like this one, the paper is now home to a columnist who this week is comparing our President to a Nazi collaborator. Meanwhile another Times columnist advances the idea that Mr. Trump is not just doing harm to our country but trying to “destroy the West.”

The Times editorial board is out now with an editorial and perhaps not surprisingly, the tone is very different from the one offered by the paper in 1993. Under the headline, “Trump Gushes Over North Korea,” readers won’t find any gushing about deft diplomacy or cool heads in Washington. But the piece is more clear-eyed than the one in 1993 while still following Times custom and valuing dialogue with a regime that has hardly changed since invading its southern neighbor in 1950. The Times now offers what might be called muscular liberalism:

After months of venomous barbs and apocalyptic threats of war, the meeting between President Trump and the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was unquestionably a relief, with its handshakes and effusive politeness.

Mr. Trump deserves credit for setting in motion a process that for the time being will keep the two adversaries talking to each other. But the statement he signed with Mr. Kim was strikingly spare, with little evidence of any substantial progress despite Mr. Trump’s claim that it was “comprehensive.”

The bitterness of much of the American media toward Donald Trump can be tiresome for many readers. But in this case it may be useful. Members of the press can join many other Americans in demanding a hard bargain for a Pyongyang dictatorship that deserves no other kind.

***

 

Pigs Fly: CNN's Cuomo give Trump some credit

Which he didn't get on MSNBC. Funny line from Cuomo about they're "sitting in chairs because of the height discrepancy."

 

Amazon kindle Chinese factory working conditions - slammed by watchdog group

This is from the Guardian (UK). FULL DISCLOSURE - we have several kindles and I'm a charter member of Amazon Prime. The picture shows wage slips pinned to the wall.

"Underpaid and exhausted: the human cost of your Kindle"

Five o’clock in the morning and the young woman’s eyelids are drooping. All night she has been removing spots of dust from Amazon smartspeakers with a toothbrush. Time seems to crawl. Now she is overwhelmed with exhaustion.

She works on, more and more slowly, until she can do no more. She looks around the workshop. Other workers have rested their heads on the bench. She slumps forward and falls asleep.

Let’s call the young woman Alexa. Alexa, what are you doing here?

The article is very extensive and touches on working conditions in the United Kingdom for Amazon warehouse workers, as well as Chinese Amazon factory workers. Of course, no one is forced to work in any of these warehouses or plants.

Dozens of workers are arriving, casually dressed in jeans and T-shirts. Most are young and there is a good mixture of women and men. Ahead of them lies a 60-hour week, eight regular hours for five days, plus two more of overtime each day and another 10 on Saturday. They will be expected to hit tough targets and must ask permission to use the toilets. The overtime – up to 80 hours a month – is far in excess of the 36 hours stipulated in Chinese labour laws, but companies can and do seek exemptions and workers want the overtime, to boost their basic pay.

These are the people who are making the smart speakers and tablets that Amazon hopes to make a fixture in millions more homes around the world this year: the Echo and Echo Dot – which both spring to life when the user addresses them as Alexa – and the Kindles.

********

Foxconn is China’s largest single private employer, and in March it reported a 4.2% increase in profits, with net income rising to £1.84bn in the last three quarters of 2017. Profits for the first quarter of this year were £605m and its CEO, Terry Gou, has a fortune reported to be about £5.3bn. But it is said to be keen to diversify to reduce its reliance on Apple and it is investing heavily in the Hengyang plant to meet the demand from Amazon.

The Foxconn factory in Hengyang relies on the tried and tested formula of low wages and long hours. But here there is another element: the extensive use of agency workers who don’t have the security of a regular job.

********

Bezos is worth an estimated £102bn, a fortune he acquired against a backdrop of global reports of misery for Amazon’s warehouse workers, exhausted by the demands made on them in return for the most basic of wages. Unions and labour rightsgroups have protested about low pay and harsh working conditions, and three delivery firms used by Amazon are facing a legal challenge from the GMB union, demanding that gig economy delivery drivers receive sick pay and holiday pay.

Last month it was revealed that ambulances had been called 600 times to Amazon’s UK warehouses over the past three years. There have been repeated calls for Amazon to improve the lot of its workers.

But Bezos doesn’t see the need. Collecting an award for “outstanding personalities who are particularly innovative, and who generate and change markets, influence culture and at the same time face up to their responsibility to society” a couple of months ago, he was questioned about the controversies surrounding the way he made his money.

“When you’re criticised,” he said, “first look in the mirror and decide: are your critics right? If they are right, change. Don’t resist.”

But Bezos’s mirror apparently showed him that his critics were wrong. “I’m very proud of our working conditions and very proud of the wages we pay,” he told the audience gathered to fete him.

There's plenty more to this story - hit the link above if interested.  Below is the end of the article

Last year, Bezos announced that he was considering a philanthropy strategy, “helping people in the here and now – short term – at the intersection of urgent need and lasting impact”.

Apparently short of inspiration and unable to think of anything close to home, he took to Twitter to ask for suggestions. Today’s report suggests he might have been better off just asking Alexa.

 

Pope was praying for success of the Summit

The Summit in Singapore which is on right now as I'm posting this.

Rugby: Siya Kolisi, first black South African captain.

And he was brought up by his grandmother in the Port Elizabeth Township. Not exactly the way to get a head start on life. And here's an interesting piece about his wife Rachel.

"Siya running out in front of the team in Johannesburg is an unbelievably pivotal moment in South African rugby history" - Bryan Habana. Since emerging from the depths of apartheid in 1994, well in excess of 50 black or mixed-race players have played rugby for South Africa. However, in 127 years of history, no black man had been entrusted with the ultimate honour in South African sport; to lead the Springboks into battle in a Test match.

It is why figures such as Bryan Habana - a Springbok great, himself of mixed race - believe Siya Kolisi's appointment as captain for the forthcoming series against England, which starts on Saturday at the grand Ellis Park in Johannesburg, is a watershed development for not just South African rugby, but the country as a whole.

"It's a monumental moment for South African rugby, and a moment in South African history," Habana, a World Cup winner in 2007, told the BBC's Rugby Union Weekly podcast.

"From where Siya has come from, from his humble beginnings, having worked unbelievably hard to get to this moment - it's absolutely fantastic. I couldn't be more proud. I texted him last week and told him how important this is."

Born into poverty and raised by his grandmother in the Zwide township of Port Elizabeth, Kolisi's story is a significant one.

"So many people in this country come from a similar background, and he has been able to break the shackles of poverty to get to where he is," said Vata Ngobeni, a journalist and SABC rugby analyst who knows 26-year-old Kolisi well.

"It is extremely inspiring, and one that means more than just him becoming Springbok captain. I don't think a lot of black people thought in their lifetime they would see a black Springbok captain. It brings back the dignity of black South Africans who have been involved in rugby for a very long time."

Kolisi's route out of the townships came courtesy of Grey High School's Outreach Programme, which helps students from disadvantaged communities.

"He was a fish out of water. He came here and couldn't speak English but despite those limitations he was a very likeable kid and had something very special about him," Fenner Barnard, Kolisi's boarding master at Grey, told BBC Sport.

More if you hit the link above.

 

More on Charles Krauthammer's terminal illness - with an interesting comment on his lifelong attitude ...

This is off the Tucker Carlson show & under 90 seconds long. I've already posted this - Charles Krauthammer reveals he is terminally ill with cancer

Prosperity and peace

Well here's the prosperity part, despite the naysayers. Let's hope for a breakthrough regarding peace out of the Singapore summit.

 

Man decides to take a selfie with an injured Bear

In India. Not smart. Bad result. Sound like he may of had a couple of cocktails. This from the AllOutdoor website with the under one minute video mentioned below.

As if to prove that Americans aren’t the only idiots when it comes to wildlife interaction, a man in India was reportedly mauled to death when he tried to take a “selfie” photo of himself with a bear.

According to the article, Prabhu Bhatara was returning from a wedding with some others when they stopped for a potty break. Spying an injured bear, he decided it would be a good idea to get close to it and take a photo.

Although the others in the vehicle cautioned him against doing so, Bhatara came perilously close to the bear which chased him and fatally mauled him. “Bhatara died on the spot,” forest ranger Dhanurjaya Mohapatra said.

There is a video, which I will embed below… use caution, because it shows the bear chewing and shaking this guy. There was quite a crowd there, but I saw only one person attempt to help the hapless victim. If the entire crowd had rushed the bear, chances are good that it would have stopped its attack. The only creature really trying to save this human life was a dog.

 

CT. Senator compares Trump to a terrorist

Sigh. Glad the MSNBC host called him out on it. The interesting thing is - women incarcerated in prison in the United States are separated from their children (UPDATE 2.4 million American inmates separated from their children). So obviously an illegal immigrant arrested in the U.S. is likely to be separated from his/her children.

 

Charles Krauthammer reveals he is terminally ill with cancer

The Washington Post and FOX News columnist. Paralyzed at the age of 22, he's gone on to be a psychiatrist and Pulitzer Prize winning commentator. Here's his announcement and comments from his colleagues.

 

Anthony Bourdain

I just posted this early today Suicide rates continue to rise

and now this -

Anthony Bourdain, a gifted storyteller and writer who took CNN viewers around the world, has died. He was 61. CNN confirmed Bourdain’s death on Friday and said the cause of death was suicide.

You hear how suicidal thoughts can overwhelm the most unlikely people, defying logic, reason, faith, love, and everything else that makes life worth living. You hear it, and perhaps you believe it, perhaps you have some doubts.

And then one morning you wake up and see that the guy who made a good living traveling around the world to the most unlikely places, eating amazing food, who seemed to have friends in every city, and who appeared to be in a happy relationship with a beautiful actress and activist . . . has decided to end it all with no warning.

Was something about Kate Spade’s suicide a trigger? Do people having suicidal thoughts become more likely to act upon them if they hear about someone else doing it?