Einstein's definition applies to Chicago as well

Einstein defined insanity as "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results".  It seems Chicago police are fans of that approach.  The BBC reports:

An attempt to use software to help prevent gun crime in Chicago did not save lives, according to a study.

In 2013, the city's police began using algorithms to create a list of people deemed to be most at risk of being shot dead.

. . .

The so-called "predictive policing" initiative was based on the idea that potential victims of gun crime could be identified by building a social network model ... This resulted in a total of 426 people being identified as "high risk" in March 2013. They were placed on a register called the Strategic Subjects List (SSL).

The researchers said their analysis of the gun crime that followed indicated that being on the list made no difference to people's chances of being shot or killed. Neither was there any impact on overall homicide levels, they added.

But they said the SSL's members became more likely to be arrested for the shootings of others.

. . .

The Chicago Police Department has issued a press release in which it said the findings were "no longer relevant".

The force said it now used a more elaborate model that takes account of additional factors, such as how many times an individual has recently been arrested for violent offences.

There's more at the link.

So . . . if algorithms don't work as expected or required, use more and better algorithms!  Brilliant.  Genius at work.  Trouble is, the article gives no indication of whether or not the 'expanded' algorithms are producing any better results than the earlier ones.

What's more, one can't include human nature in an algorithm, because it can't be quantified and therefore can't be objectively measured.  Nevertheless, IMHO, it's still the major determinant of whether or not someone's going to be a criminal.  "Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man."  Replace 'mouth' with 'soul' or 'mind' or 'conscience' and you've got pretty much the definition of a criminal or a saint, right there.  "You will know them by their fruits" - and there isn't a single algorithm involved.

Peter

Sad news for bagpipers

It seems bagpipes may hold a hidden hazard for their players.  The Telegraph reports:

Playing the bagpipes could be deadly, scientists have warned, after a man died from continually breathing in mould and fungus trapped in the instrument.

Doctors in Manchester have identified the condition "bagpipe lung" following the death of a 61-year-old man from chronic inflammatory lung condition hypersensitivity pneumonitis.

The condition is triggered by the immune system’s response to an inhaled environmental irritants and is often associated with exposure to feathers and bird droppings.

When the unnamed man was first diagnosed in 2009 doctors were puzzled by his condition because he was not a pigeon fancier, his house contained no mould or signs of water damage and he had never smoked.

However, he played the bagpipes daily, and when his condition improved when he left his pipes at home during a three-month visit to Australia doctors believed they had found the cause.

Samples were taken from several areas inside the bagpipes, including the bag, the neck, and the chanter reed protector and were found to contain six types of mould and fungi.

It is thought the that the moist conditions inside the bag allowed mould and fungi to grow, which was then inhaled by the man who experienced breathlessness and eventually could not walk more than 20 yards.

Despite treatment, the man died recently and a post mortem examination revealed extensive lung damage consistent with acute respiratory distress syndrome including lung tissue scarring.

. . .

There have been other reported cases of hypersensitivity pneumonitis, arising in trombone and saxophone players, say the doctors.

In 2013, bagpiper John Shone spent four weeks in hospital with pneumonia brought on by a fungus which colonised inside his instrument which he had neglected to clean for 18 months.

The doctors warn that any type of wind instrument could be contaminated with yeasts and moulds, making players susceptible to the risk of hypersensitivity pneumonitis.

There's more at the link.

Denis Norden, on the BBC program 'My Music', when asked what was his favorite sound in the world, famously (or notoriously) answered that it was "Bagpipes, receding into the distance."  If this sort of fungal infestation becomes more widespread, that may become a sad reality . . .

Peter

Highly recommended reading

I've run into several articles over the past few days that have been fascinating reading:  in-depth investigations, news reports that lay bare important developments that are usually 'under the radar', and so on.  I don't have time to blog about each of them as they deserve, but I wanted to provide links to them so that you can check them out for yourselves.

First, we've discussed the pension crisis in these pages on numerous occasions.  Now comes this devastating analysis from Daily Reckoning.

... many retirees are in for a rude wake-up in the next few years.

That’s because U.S. corporate pensions are woefully underfunded and may have to cut payments to seniors in order to stay solvent.

Forget Social Security (which we all know is a broken system living on borrowed time). Now many corporate pensions are in the same boat and may soon start reneging on the promises made to workers.

To back up what the article says about Social Security, CNBC reminds us that it faces a $32 trillion shortfall.

A projection, known as the "infinite horizon," takes into account all the program's future liabilities, even those beyond the 75-year period that Social Security actuaries typically use in their calculations.

Under the infinite horizon, Social Security will have $32.1 trillion in unfunded liabilities by 2090, $6.3 trillion more than last year's projection.

The infinite horizon calculation is the most important part of the trustees' annual report, said Laurence Kotlikoff, a Boston University economics professor ... "We're not broke in 20 years to 30 years, we're broke now," Kotlikoff said. "All the bills have been kept off the books by Congress and presidential administrations for six decades."

Changing the subject to academic, theological and archaeological skullduggery, the Atlantic has a long, in-depth article titled 'The Unbelievable Tale of Jesus' Wife'.  It traces the origins and provenance of a fragment of papyrus that allegedly spoke of Jesus Christ's wife.  It turns out that the document is (to say the least) highly suspect, and the probable product of a fraud spanning continents and decades.  Very interesting reading - and a reminder never, ever to take such sensational claims at face value.  There's usually a hidden agenda, and sometimes a very strange, twisted one (as appears to be the case here).

Another interesting article comes from Popular Mechanics.  It's titled 'The Write Stuff:  How the Humble Pencil Conquered the World'.  There turns out to be a lot more to the pencil than meets the eye, including some fascinating historical details of how the modern version was developed as a substitute for embargoed graphite during the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars.

Finally, the twisted, far-left-wing, progressive (and dare I say evil?) influence of international financier George Soros is becoming clearer as his network of agents and sympathizers is increasingly exposed.  Two recent articles shed light on the matter:

1. Our World: Soros’s campaign of global chaos
2. Leaked Doc: Soros Open Society Seeks to Reshape Census, Electoral Districts

Both are sobering and very worrying articles.  Basically, Soros seeks to use behind-the-scenes influence and his vast financial resources to undermine democracy and national sovereignty.  If you're not concerned about what he's doing, you should be.  His work has the potential to literally steal elections, including our own.

All the articles I've mentioned are highly recommended reading.

Peter

When foodies lose it

I have to laugh at the excessive sturm und drang unleashed by an Italian chef.

A well-known Italian chef and television presenter has described vegans as a “sect”, declaring “I would kill them all.”

The comments by Gianfranco Vissani were made on an Italian television programme.

The high-profile chef, who often appears on television in Italy and has written numerous books, said: “Vegans? They’re like the members of a sect. They’re like Jehovah’s Witnesses. I’d kill them all.”

. . .

There was a swift reaction to the remarks on social media, even though they seemed to be made largely in jest.  “Vissani has been possessed by mad cow disease! Put him into isolation!” said one woman on Twitter.

“We can discuss whether or not they should be killed, but on the fact that they have become a sect, there’s no doubt, it seems to me,” another Twitter user wrote. A third wrote: “Even famous cooks make stupid jokes.”

. . .

Mr Vissani is by no means the first celebrity chef to be rude about vegans and vegetarians.

Anthony Bourdain, the American chef who wrote Kitchen Confidential and A Cook’s Tour before forging a career as a TV celebrity, wrote in one of his books:

“Vegetarians, and their Hezbollah-like splinter-faction, the vegans, are a persistent irritant to any chef worth a damn.

“To me, life without veal stock, pork fat, sausage, organ meat, demi-glace, or even stinky cheese is a life not worth living.

“Oh, I'll accommodate them, I'll rummage around for something to feed them, for a 'vegetarian plate', if called on to do so. Fourteen dollars for a few slices of grilled eggplant and zucchini suits my food cost fine.”

There's more at the link.

What can one say?

• Clearly, there's more to this than meats the eye.
• Vegetarians would as leaf not hear that sort of thing.
• I don't know about vegetarians being a sect.  After all, if they cut their food with a knife before eating it, isn't that dis-sect-tion?
• I suppose Italian chefs think that vegetarians are im-pastas.

I would say that Signore Vissani's remarks have set the cat amongst the pigeons, but I don't know if there are vegetarian equivalents to pigeons . . .




Peter

It's enough to make you spit in disgust

What happens when bishops forget what they are called to be?

"You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."

It seems the bishops of the Church of England have forgotten that.

Survivors of child sexual abuse have accused the Church of England of “acting like Pontius Pilate” as a previously unseen document revealed that bishops were explicitly instructed only to give partial apologies - if at all - to victims to avoid being sued.

Legal advice marked “strictly confidential” and circulated among the most senior bishops, told them to “express regret” only using wording approved by lawyers, PR advisers and insurers.

The guidance - written in 2007 and finally replaced just last year - also warns bishops to be wary of meeting victims face to face and only ever to do so after legal advice.

It speaks of the "unintended effect of accepting legal liability" for sexual abuse within their diocese and warns them to avoid “inadvertently” conceding guilt.

The paper ... advises bishops to use “careful drafting” to “effectively apologise” without enabling victims to get compensation.

Survivors said it showed there was a culture of denial, dishonesty and “blanking” victims in ways which had heightened their pain and ultimately failed to tackle the roots of the abuse crisis.

. . .

“The approach to survivors is often a corporate model and this document supports that - it shows a church led by lawyers and insurers, you get the impression that these people are really their masters.

“A diocese is deferential to their bishop and the bishop is deferential to a bunch of lawyers.

“The Church will say ‘our hands are tied’ but they are paying the people who are tying their hands.

“They should say we need to stop this nonsense but they wash their hands like Pontius Pilate.

“Every part of this nexus [the bishops, the lawyers and insurers owners] washes its hands of every other part of it but the nexus is joined at the hip.”

There's more at the link.

This is precisely the same behavior exhibited by the bishops of the Catholic Church in dealing (or, rather, not dealing) with the same problem in the ranks of their own clergy.  Cover up, obfuscate, deny, make excuses, utter pious platitudes . . . but never, ever admit anything that might be construed as legal liability.  In fact, order your priests to lie to their congregations.  Tell the people of God that they can trust their modern-day Apostles - the bishops - to "clean house", deal with the problem effectively, even when those bishops are doing nothing whatsoever that will actually accomplish that purpose.  Pious window-dressing will do.

The scourge of child sexual abuse by clergy is still present in every major denomination, and no denomination is taking effective measures to deal with it.  What's even worse, the leaders of those denominations were the ones who permitted a climate to develop within which such abuses could occur.  They defaulted on their duties, and when the inevitable happened, they tried to dodge any blame or responsibility.  They're still doing it.  Nothing's changed.

May Almighty God have mercy on us.

Peter

Leonard Cohen's unique classical guitar style

Following my blog post a couple of weeks ago about the death of Leonard Cohen's former partner, Marianne Ihlen, a reader e-mailed me to ask which of the singer's works best portrayed his particular style of classical guitar playing.  That's a tough question to answer.  His style has evolved over the years, so that the way he plays his earlier songs today is often different to how he played them in the 1960's.  Age has also affected the flexibility of his joints and fingers, of course, so he's no longer so 'fluent' in his style.

Nevertheless, I do have a personal favorite in terms of his guitar work.  It's 'Avalanche', from his third studio album, 'Songs of Love and Hate', released in 1971.  Cohen "acknowledged in a 1992 interview with Paul Zollo that his 'chop', his unique pattern of playing classical guitar, is behind many of his early songs, and this one features Cohen's trademark fast, syncopated classical guitar pattern as the accompaniment on the recording of the song."

Lovely guitar work, and darkly poetic lyrics.  Classic early Leonard Cohen.

Peter

Germany's new "civil defense strategy" and emergency preparations

I note with interest that Germany has announced a new civil defense plan.

Germany will introduce its first civil defence strategy since the end of the Cold War, calling on the population to stockpile enough food and water for several days, according to a report Sunday.

The plan, which makes civilian backing of troops a priority while boosting the resilience of buildings and increasing capacity in the healthcare system, is due to be adopted by the government Wednesday, according to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) daily.

Contacted by AFP, an interior ministry spokesman confirmed that the cabinet was due to adopt a civil defence strategy but declined details about the concept or comment on the newspaper report.

The strategy noted that "an attack on German territory requiring conventional defence is unlikely," but said the country should be "sufficiently prepared in case of an existence-threatening development in the future that cannot be ruled out," according to the 69-page strategy quoted by the FAZ ..

"The population will be encouraged to stockpile food for ten days," it said, adding that five days' worth of water -- at an estimated two litres per person per day -- should also be set aside.

There's more at the link.

So-called 'civil defense' is a field of particular interest to me, because (among many other things) I was once a part-time, volunteer Civil Defense Sector Officer for a large section of the central business district of a major South African city.  The field has changed its focus over the past few decades.  In my active days in the field, we trained to mitigate the effects of military or terrorist attacks.  Nowadays, as Wikipedia points out, "the focus of civil defense has largely shifted from military attack to emergencies and disasters in general".

I was particularly interested to see the German plan's suggestion that civilians stockpile food for ten days, and water for five.  In the USA, FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) recommends at least a three-day supply of food and water.  On the other hand, other agencies of US government appear to be on a different page.  As Survival Blog has pointed out:

No matter what topic the training session concerns, every DHS [Department of Homeland Security] sponsored course I have attended over the past few years never fails to branch off into warnings about potential domestic terrorists in the community.  While this may sound like a valid officer and community safety issue, you may be disturbed to learn how our Federal government describes a typical domestic terrorist ... Based on the training I have attended, here are characteristics that qualify:

    Expressions of libertarian philosophies (statements, bumper stickers)
    Second Amendment-oriented views (NRA or gun club membership, holding a CCW permit)
    Survivalist literature
    Self-sufficiency (stockpiling food, ammo, hand tools, medical supplies)
    Fear of economic collapse (buying gold and barter items)
    Religious views concerning the book of Revelation (apocalypse, anti-Christ)
    Expressed fears of Big Brother or big government
    Homeschooling
    Declarations of Constitutional rights and civil liberties
    Belief in a New World Order conspiracy

A recent training session I attended encouraged law enforcement agencies to work with business owners to alert police when customers appear to be stockpiling items.

Again, more at the link.  Of course, the DHS checklist implies that if you follow the FEMA checklist, you may be "all right" in the eyes of the latter department, but a "potential domestic terrorist" in the eyes of the former!  Big Brother can be schizophrenic sometimes . . .

There's a great deal to think about in terms of what to stockpile for emergencies.  Some so-called "preppers" or "survivalists" take an extreme view, to the point of orienting their entire lives around such activities.  Others, including myself, take a more pragmatic view.  We prepare supplies for likely emergencies, plus a few additional items for unexpectedly long-duration crises.  (Such a view is often forced upon us by economic necessity.  I simply can't afford either the goods or the storage space for a full year's supply of food and water for my family, in the form of a balanced, tasty diet plus all the required accessories - cooking materials and fuel, alternative sanitation techniques and supplies, power generation, etc.)  If you'd like an in-depth look at that sort of thing, here's a handy article.  I've covered several other aspects in my series of articles about emergency preparations, many of which are listed in the sidebar of this blog.  For a real-world example of practical considerations during an emergency, see my article 'Lessons learned from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005'.

We've already seen that a major terrorist attack can shut down parts of a city (including access routes to and from it) for at least several hours, probably a day or two, perhaps even weeks before everything gets back to normal.  Residents may not be allowed to enter or leave until the crisis is over.  It's a very good idea to have sufficient supplies on hand to cope with that - hence the German plan's suggestion of a ten-day emergency supply of food.  I think that's an absolute minimum.  I strongly recommend a thirty-day supply of food, and at least half that of water.  (Remember that your hot water cylinder is a useful reserve supply in an emergency.  Most models hold thirty to fifty gallons of potable water.  Switch off the heating element, and use it sparingly.  Unfortunately, tankless water heaters don't offer that option.)

If you're very short of funds and simply can't afford to invest a lot in emergency preparations, and/or are very short of space to store supplies (such as in a small city apartment), there are still practical steps you can take.  Consider stockpiling some emergency ration bars (I find these the best-tasting of those I've tested - they're available in 1-day or 10-day packs) and a few dozen 20oz. or half-liter bottles of water (the smaller bottles are more easily stored in available nooks and crannies, and can be carried relatively easily if necessary, whereas bigger bottles might be too large and unwieldy).  Such limited supplies aren't ideal, but they'll keep you alive for a week or two in an emergency until something better becomes available.

Peter

Another negative aspect of international aid

Last week we saw the very real dangers of participating in international aid missions in less civilized parts of the world.  However, aid workers and security forces are themselves sometimes the cause of unexpected - and very dangerous - problems.

The United Nations’ wall of denial concerning its responsibility for Haiti’s six-year-old cholera epidemic - and claims of diplomatic immunity regarding the consequences - appears to be crumbling.

In a statement issued Wednesday, a U.N. spokesperson declared that the world body “has become convinced that it needs to do much more regarding its own involvement” in the “initial outbreak” of the vicious cholera epidemic that first exploded in 2010, and has killed more than 9,300 Haitians while infecting at least 780,000 overall.

. . .

Since 2011, the U.N. has hidden behind a report from a hand-picked panel of experts who pin-pointed the source of the ongoing epidemic as infected human sewage from a contingent of Nepalese peacekeepers in Haiti, part of a U.N. force known as MINUSTAH but then maintained the outbreak “was not the fault of, or deliberate action of, a group or individual.”

Some members of the expert panel have since changed their minds, as waves of other scientific researchers have shown that the specific cholera strain in the Haitian epidemic could be linked genetically to a strain in Nepal, and that an outbreak had occurred in that country just before its peacekeepers joined the MINUSTAH force.

Even while hiding behind the panel’s wording, the U.N. in 2013 invoked immunity to  insulate itself from a class action lawsuit launched by Haitians who lost family members or suffered from the disease. The U.S. State Department has backed the U.N.’s immunity defense.

On Thursday a U.S. appeals court dismissed the lawsuit, in effect deferring to the U.N.’s assertion of immunity. The Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti, which has pressed the lawsuit, says it is studying the court decision.

Meantime, the U.N.’s frequent expressions of concern for Haiti’s cholera victims—piggy-backed on pleas for international donors to support an elaborate, multi-billion-dollar water and sanitation development scheme for Haiti—have worn thin, especially in light of its stonewalling attitude on responsibility and troubling signs that nothing else about its behavior in Haiti has changed all that much.

A long-suppressed internal U.N. report examined by Fox News last week has shown that four years after the initial outbreak, U.N. peacekeepers in Haiti were continuing to violate almost all of their own sanitary rules for containing the disease—including the dumping of sewage into public waterways.

There's more at the link.

Sounds like yet another evasion of responsibility by the United Nations.  In Africa, sexual abuse by UN peacekeepers - including overwhelming evidence of the sexual exploitation of children - is a well-known phenomenon.  One wonders whether cholera is the only 'souvenir' of their presence the UN will leave behind on Haiti.

Peter

Parents, show this to your children . . .

. . . particularly those in their teens and with ambitions to go to college or university.

True dat.

Peter

In vino, veritas

For those who don't know the saying, it's a Latin idiom dating back to the Roman Empire meaning "In wine there is truth".

A photographer in London set out to show what wine does to his friends by photographing them at various stages during an evening:  before they began to drink, then after 1, then 2 and finally after 3 glasses of wine.  The results are often hilarious.  Here's just one example.

There are many more photographs at the link. I don't know what I look like after a few glasses of wine, but I hope it's better than that!

Peter

Blood Oranges

I didn't know the music of Tom Russell until a reader, commenting on my post about aid workers in Africa, provided the link to one of his songs about that continent, titled 'Blood Oranges'.  It was a startling, troubling song, particularly because I've met some of the Bedouin tribes in North Africa.  I can confirm from personal experience that their attitudes, as depicted in the song, are real.

The song comes from Mr. Russell's album 'Box of Visions'.  A commenter at the album's page on Amazon.com had this to say about it:

I bought Box Of Visions because it includes 'Blood Oranges', a song based on Paul Bowles' short story 'A Distant Episode'. The short story is one of the most disturbing things I've ever read, and the song manages to capture Bowles' eerie images of Moroccan "random violence/vengeance" so well that it makes me shudder every time I hear it, almost caused me to wreck the car the first time I heard it on the radio. A well crafted song should evoke emotions, and this one can certainly do that for me, goosebump city.

There's more at the link.  Scroll down to find the review.  It's also worth reading Mr. Bowles' story.  It's short, but very punchy.

I have to agree with the Amazon commenter.  This song is truly "goosebump city".  It's dark, tragic, and full of pain.  Nevertheless, the attitudes of many in Africa really are as they're portrayed in the song;  and Mr. Russell, having lived in Nigeria for a year during the Biafran War, probably experienced them for himself.  Those same attitudes towards Westerners have been on display throughout Africa for decades, most recently during events last week in South Sudan.

Here's the song.  Don't listen to it unless you're prepared to be challenged.

Haunting, chilling . . . and very true to life.

Peter

Recycling on a very large scale

It's nice to see life-saving equipment getting a new lease on life.

A New Jersey fire truck recently made a 3,700-mile journey to its new home in Managua, Nicaragua.

The 1982 Mack fire truck was loaded onto a 439th Airlift Wing C-5B Galaxy here Aug. 12, thanks to the combined efforts of Airmen from the Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve and active-duty Air Force, as well as a host of government agencies.

It wasn't an easy task, and it took an individual to recognize a country’s need for that fire truck and pursue it to make it a reality.

Master Sgt. Jorge A. Narvaez, a New Jersey Air National Guardsman with the 108th Security Forces Squadron, was responsible for getting that fire truck sent to Nicaragua.

In 2014, Narvaez traveled to Nicaragua. While he was there, he visited the headquarters of the Benemerito Cuerpo de Bomberos, a group of volunteer firefighters located in Managua, the capital of Nicaragua.

“I saw that they were in dire need of serviceable fire trucks and equipment,” Narvaez said. “I offered to help and get them assistance in the United States. I explained to them that I couldn’t make any promises, but that I would try to do my best.”

Narvaez talked to Ray Wadsworth, the former fire chief of Mercer Engine No. 3 in Princeton, New Jersey, and was able to get some coats, boots and hoses that had been slated for replacement. Like their counterparts in Nicaragua, the Princeton firefighters are also volunteers.

The Nicaraguan firefighters were grateful for the donated gear, but their need for a new truck remained. In 2015, an opportunity presented itself.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration informed Mercer Engine No. 3 members that they would have to replace two of their fire trucks. One of them, a 1982 Mack 1250 GPM pumper truck, could no longer be used because the open cab was considered a safety hazard.

There's more at the link, and also in this report.

Seems odd to me that a fire truck can be perfectly OK to use for decades, then suddenly be 'unsafe' because of the open cab it's had all along!  I doubt the Nicaraguans will have similar bureaucratic scruples.  May it serve them long and well.

Peter

A grim and timely warning

I'm glad to see that even finance industry mavens are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, and recognizing it for an oncoming train.  The Telegraph reports:

The boss of a giant US hedge fund manager has warned his investors he now regards the global bond market as “broken” and expects price falls when they come to be “surprising, sudden, intense, and large”.

Paul Singer, manager of the $28bn (£21bn) Elliott Management Corporation fund, said investors were now facing "the biggest bond bubble in world history".

Prices of both government and corporate debt have been driven to new records as low interest rates and central bank responses, such as quantitative easing, have been deployed.

. . .

In a letter to his investors ... Mr Singer said the situation now “is in many ways the most peculiar period we have faced in 39 years".

He expressed amazement that investors would be willing [to] buy bonds at current prices.

He said: “Everyone is in the dark… Experience doesn't count for much, and extreme confidence may be fatal." He added: "The ultimate breakdown (or series of breakdowns) from this environment is likely to be surprising, sudden, intense and large."

There's more at the link.  You can read more of Mr. Singer's letter at CNBC.

I've been saying it for years, as have many other independent observers of the market.  Mr. Singer's warning comes as no surprise.  Batten down the hatches, folks.  When it happens, it's going to be a wild ride . . . and with the US presidential elections due in November, the markets might deliver an unplanned and very unpleasant 'October surprise'.

Peter

Interesting, if - IF - true

Remember the speech at the Democratic National Convention by Mr. Khizr Khan?  Well, courtesy of Cold Fury, who got it from the Woodpile Report, we note these allegations:

Via email from George Mellinger, a.k.a. Stogramov:

So the Dems had to pay actors to fill up seats at their convention & now we learn they paid Khan?

Khan was paid $25,000 by the Clinton campaign to speak at the DNC, the speech was not written by Mr. Khan, but by two campaign staffers, the copy of the US Constitution that Mr. Khan held up was bought only two HOURS before his speech by a female staffer, to be used solely as a prop and Khan returned the book after speaking.

5 Gold Star families turned down the opportunity to speak before Khan was contacted by the Clinton campaign. All five families were paid $5,000 and signed a non disclosure. Khan’s immigration law firm is in debt $1.7M and owes back taxes of upward $850,000 plus penalties.

CNN paid Khan over $100,000 to tell his “story” and repeated interviews across networks. Khan was given a bonus of $175k by the DNC for his effort in the media. The IRS has since put Khan’s tax file on a “hold” status.

I've seen one attempted rebuttal of these allegations.  In the current heated political climate, it's hard to believe any side without evidence.  Can anyone provide any confirmation of any of those points?  If true, they would vindicate almost everything Donald Trump had to say about Mr. Khan and his wife.  If false, they would indicate a shameful attempt to blacken the name of a grieving family.  I'd like to have greater certainty.

Peter

Taco Bell

Borrowed from Wirecutter, under the same headline:

Y'know, I think I've eaten at that particular franchise myself . . . and the effects on my digestion were just as explosive!




Peter

I want one!

A Russian company has come out with a fold-up motorcycle that can go just about anywhere.  It's two-wheel drive, meaning that both the front and back wheels are powered.  It's low-cost, too:  according to the manufacturer's Web site, it comes in at well under $2,000.  It's only available in Russia at present, but they plan to make it available in the USA too.  If they can do so at that sort of price, I predict they'll sell a shipload of them.

Here's the original, development model - read more about it here.

And here's the current, upgraded version (described here), with uprated tires and frame.

If they bring that here at a halfway decent price, I'll be a customer for sure.  It can fold up into the trunk of a car, making it a great recreation vehicle - not to mention emergency transport under difficult circumstances.

Peter

Remembering a major feat of espionage

On August 16th this year, Israel's Air Force and Mossad secret service celebrated a fifty-year-old achievement that catapulted the nation straight into the big leagues in the intelligence world.

50 years ago today, a MiG-21 fighter jet was brought to Israel in a covert operation that received the name Operation "Yahalom" and as its name states, was the crowning jewel. In the operation, an Iraqi pilot recruited by the "Mossad" (Israeli secret service) defected to Israel with the aircraft and also provided instruction and maintenance material which proved very valuable for the security and reputation of Israel.

Brig. Gen. (Res') Yesha'ayahu (Shayke) Barkat, a fighter pilot who had served as a Squadron Commander and Flight Instructor and who was the Head of the IAF's Intelligence Directorate at the time of the operation, goes back to those days. He recalls the intelligence based operation and how Israel was the only country to succeed where many other countries had failed and acquire the aircraft that intrigued and threatened the west.

"The MiG-21 was the pride and joy of the USSR and after bringing it to Israel we flew it and fought against our fighter jets with it. We had a quiet and comfortable environment to train for 'dog-fights' with it and test its strengths and weaknesses. We learned its speeds, maneuvers, reactions and the field of vision from its cockpit - all of these helped us understand how to shoot it down", he shared. "These were the lessons that decided the 'Six Day' War. Moreover, acquiring the jet granted us an international status as an intelligence system and ushered us into the ‘International Intelligence Market' and to trading intelligence".

There's more at the link, including the story of the operation and more photographs.  Fascinating reading for aviation and military history buffs.

I was particularly interested to read the account of this operation, because I've seen the MiG-21 involved.  It was some time later, of course - in the 1960's I was still in school! - but I had the opportunity to view the aircraft and hear something about the operation from some of those involved.  They were still very proud of it, even years later, and with good reason.  Israeli Air Force pilots told me that they knew exactly where to aim along the fuselage of the MiG-21 to bring it down with just a few cannon shells, and used that intelligence to good effect during the Six Day War.

Peter

Intelligence, international aid workers, and reality

Yesterday evening I wrote an article titled 'Aid workers in Africa learn brutal lessons yet again'.  In it, I described the experience of aid workers who'd been assaulted, gang-raped, etc. in South Sudan, and pointed out that this was reality in Africa, whether they liked it or not.

The article appears to have 'gone viral', with literally thousands of extra visitors to my blog today.  Vox Day linked it on his blog, Mike Cernovich tweeted a link, and a Trump supporters forum also referenced it.  I'm very grateful for all the attention.  Welcome, new readers!  I hope you like it here, and stick around.

However, it's also elicited some hate e-mails, complaining that I'm racist and/or 'elitist' and/or not politically correct (shame, that) for making such claims.  Too bad.  I'm not responsible for the facts - and in the light of such reactions, I'd like to post some additional food for thought about the situation in the Third World.  My experience has been largely limited to Africa, so I'll concentrate on that continent.

I agree with the thesis that average intelligence is a primary factor in the success and/or failure of a society, or a nation, or a culture.  See this Wikipedia article for an overall discussion of the subject.  The thesis was codified by Richard Lynn and Tatu Vanhanen in their seminal 2002 book, 'IQ and the Wealth of Nations', and further developed in their 2006 book, 'IQ and Global Inequality'.  In brief, they argue that the economic and developmental success of nations is directly correlated with the average intelligence of the nation's population.  I find their reasoning convincing, based on my own experience in Africa.

Before going any further, let me provide some additional information.  If you'd like to know what IQ signifies, see this short article.  Briefly, from that article, the ranges are:

Over 140 - Genius or almost genius
120 - 140 - Very superior intelligence
110 - 119 - Superior intelligence
90 - 109 - Average or normal intelligence
80 - 89 - Dullness
70 - 79 - Borderline deficiency in intelligence
Under 70 - Feeble-mindedness

Next, how do countries compare in their level of intelligence?

• See this list of average IQ by country.
• Here's another 'List of Average IQ By Country and American States'.
• Countries Ranked by Average IQ

Based on all the above sources, here are the top 10 entries in country listings by IQ:

1. Hong Kong (Not a country but listed for examination) - 107
2. South Korea - 106
3. Japan - 105
4. Taiwan - 104
5. Singapore - 103
6. Austria/Germany/Italy/Netherlands - 102
7. Sweden/Switzerland - 101
8. Belgium/China/New Zealand/United Kingdom - 100
9. Hungary/Poland/Spain - 99
10. Australia/Denmark/France/Mongolia/Norway/United States - 98

And, also based on all the above sources, here are the bottom 10 entries in country listings by IQ, from lowest to highest score (some are estimated figures, based on a limited dataset):

• Equatorial Guinea - 59
• St. Lucia - 62
• Ethiopia - 63
• Cameroon/Central African Republic/Gabon/Mozambique/Sierra Leone - 64
• Democratic Republic of the Congo - 65
• Guinea/Zimbabwe - 66
• Nigeria - 67
• Ghana - 71
• Jamaica/Kenya/South Africa/Sudan/Tanzania - 72
• Congo/Uganda - 73

Notice anything about the bottom 10 entries?  With only two exceptions out of twenty countries listed, they're almost all (90%) in Africa.  The two exceptions (St. Lucia and Jamaica) are populated almost exclusively by people of African extraction (i.e. former slaves).

Are you still wondering why Africa is such a mess?  Does political correctness prevent you from making the obvious correlation?  If it does, the truth is not in you.

Let me say at once that I don't blame this on African genetic ancestry.  I blame it largely on lack of education.  If you look at Europe as it came out of the Middle Ages and entered the Renaissance, I daresay the average IQ in that continent was probably very similar to what we see in Africa today.  Several centuries of education, plus political, social and economic development and evolution, have produced the higher intelligence levels we see today.  I have little doubt that given the same opportunities, over the same length of time, the average intelligence in Africa would have exhibited precisely the same growth.  This is where colonialism really short-changed Africa.  The colonial powers generally weren't interested in investing in their colonies;  instead, they wanted them as sources of raw materials for their own industries, and markets for their own finished goods.  Educating the locals was a waste of time and resources that could be better spent on exploiting them.  For example, I'm informed that in a major Portuguese colony, when it gained independence after the 'Carnation Revolution', there was precisely one university graduate among its newly free citizens.

(As evidence that intelligence has more to do with education and environment than genetics, consider children adopted into First World families from Third World countries.  In most cases of which I have personal knowledge, provided they join their new families early enough (i.e. during the first year or two of their lives), they generally seem to grow up exhibiting the average education and intelligence levels of the culture and society within which their adoptive families live.  Their blood relatives may have a low IQ, but they will exhibit a substantially higher one, in line with their adoptive relatives.  I think that settles the genes-versus-environment argument as regards IQ.)

Be that as it may, Africa today is a living example of what the lack of education, and the lack of intelligence, can do to peoples and cultures.  I've seen this in action so many times I've lost count of it.  It reveals itself in many, many ways.

• Armed tribes/militias/groups will set up roadblocks, or take over transport hubs, in order to hijack and steal as much aid as possible for their own benefit, even though they know (based on previous experience) that aid will dry up in the face of their depredations, as providers look for more secure routes.
• Armed dittos will terrorize, persecute and exploit local populations, wringing out of them every last cent and everything of value that they can, ignoring the reality that trying to exploit those in the last extremity of poverty (to which they've driven them) is pointless - because there isn't anything worth exploiting.  They can't see that reality, so they go right on acting like rabid animals.  It's usually necessary to stop them by killing them.  Nothing else works.
• Aid workers will try to teach villages, or tribes, or entire regions, how to use better agricultural methods, or how to operate machinery such as well pumps, or how to improve hygiene and personal medical care, ignoring the reality that the locals simply don't have the intelligence or the mental 'equipment' to be self-reliant after the aid workers have moved on.  Several years later, when the aid workers return, they're invariably astonished and depressed to find that their 'good work', and the infrastructure they left behind, has collapsed.  Everything has to be done all over again, starting from scratch.
• Aid organizations will often take a few brighter locals and teach them how to do certain technical or administrative tasks, hoping they'll become leaders in their communities.  They're almost invariably disappointed when those individuals use their new-found knowledge for their own benefit, making themselves indispensable to their people and charging money (or kickbacks in kind) to use that knowledge to help them.  Some become tyrants;  others, warlords.
• I've seen some aid organizations recruit, train and arm guards to protect their installations and programs.  So far, so good . . . but when the aid organizations move on, in every single instance of which I'm aware, the newly trained and armed guards turned into a local gang, terrorizing everyone in the area and using their weapons to benefit themselves alone.  "Might makes right" isn't just a Western concept.

Based on my extensive experience of Africa, I suggest there are two - and only two - ways in which Western aid should be focused in the short term.  The first is education.  Teach people the basics of how to think, how to use their brains - and do so in a way that is tailored to their current levels of intelligence.  Don't expect a teenager with an IQ of 70 to function at the same level as someone with an IQ of 100.  He must be taught things he can do - and at which he can succeed - that are commensurate with where he's at right now.  That way, he won't get discouraged and abandon his studies.  He can be set tasks that grow progressively more complex and more difficult, but not at a level he can't master.  His children will go further, and his children's children further still . . . but he won't.  He can't.  That's the brutal reality of the situation.

The second way in which aid can be useful is in providing basic infrastructure that is operable, and maintainable, and sustainable, by people in the IQ range we've discussed.  Examples:

• It's pointless giving them a complex engine-powered pump to bring up water from a well if they aren't capable of maintaining it.  Rather give them a hand-operated pump, one they can understand, and which they can repair themselves if it breaks down.  It's more and harder work to use it, but it's also more practicable for them.  When it comes to health care, providing mosquito nets and clean water and hygiene education is far more important than providing anti-AIDS drug cocktails.  Sure, without the latter, people will die;  but without the former, many more people will die. Invest limited resources where they'll do the most good for the greatest number.  Yes, that means some people will be condemned to die.  That's economic and cultural reality in Africa.  Live with it.
• I've seen several entrepreneurs in Africa take discarded Western high technology, 'dumb it down', and use it with great success.  Example:  pedal-powered washing machines (which we've discussed here before).  Old, broken-down automatic washing machines are connected to good old-fashioned bicycles mounted on frames, using drive belts made from locally-produced leather or cloth.  Result;  the pedalers earn a living, local women can wash their clothes much faster and more conveniently than taking them down to the nearest river (where they're frequently preyed on by crocodiles), and the entrepreneur who put the whole idea together becomes a Big Man in the local economy - and is able to use his profits for other useful economic ideas.  Moral of the story:  find individuals with that sort of entrepreneurial drive, and help them.  That aid will 'trickle down' into the local community and benefit everyone.
• The corollary to the above is that aid must not - repeat, must not - be given to government officials and bureaucrats who'll siphon it off into their own pockets.  Corruption, nepotism and dishonesty are not just rife in Africa - they're a way of life.  Tragically, too many agencies and large aid organizations (all of which should know better) are willing to let dishonest governments and bureaucrats handle aid money, so as not to offend local sensibilities or be seen as 'neo-colonial' in their attitudes.  Worse, some of them openly bribe governments and bureaucrats, figuring that it's better to do that in order to ensure that at least some of the aid they provide reaches those for whom it's intended.  Often that proportion is ten per cent or less - the rest lines venal pockets further up the food chain.
• Finally, aid must be distributed in a way that is accountable.  Money and supplies must be accounted for when they arrive, while being sent to their final destination, and upon delivery.  The way they're used must be monitored, and any discrepancy must result in disciplinary action - i.e. the withholding of further aid from the miscreant(s) involved.  There can be no blind acceptance of someone's bona fides unless their actions match their words.  There can be no resigned, shoulder-shrugging acceptance of 'shrinkage' without a major effort to minimize losses.  If that isn't done, the venality of Africa will soon ensure that most (if not all) of the aid sent is diverted into fat-cat pockets.  (How do you think Mobutu Sese Seko, President of Zaire, managed to embezzle between $4 billion and $15 billion during his time in power?  It sure wasn't his salary!)

There is a third way in which aid might be profitably spent - but it'll never fly, because it's 100% politically incorrect.  That way would be to hire mercenaries - probably former servicemen from Western armies and their allies - to pacify an area, ensuring that aid workers can operate safely and without coercion.  They can raise and train a local militia if responsible individuals can be found, but that's unlikely at first.  It'll be more important for them to proactively attack local thugs and gangs.  That'll be an object lesson to everybody - "Get with the program, or get dead!"  In an environment where life is so cheap, and atrocities are everyday occurrences, that's probably the only way in which this could work.  However, the reaction to that by liberals and progressives would be so outraged that, as I said, this idea will never fly.  That's a pity, because it's feasible, practical and necessary.  Anyone who's been in the thick of things in Africa will probably agree.  (Witness the very effective intervention by Executive Outcomes in Sierra Leone.  It worked - but was shut down by international pressure.  More recently, as already discussed in these pages, former EO personnel assisted Nigeria to deal with the Islamic terrorists of Boko Haram.)

That's my $0.02 worth, as one who's been there.  Others are free to contribute their own experiences and ideas in Comments.

Peter

Why you can't trust the mainstream media, reason #479

CNN has been caught lying (again), this time by omission, concerning the Milwaukee riots.  NewsBusters reports:

In a classic case of media bias by omission, CNN took extra care Monday to leave out a crucial part of their reports on the Milwaukee police shooting. After a black police officer fatally shot Sylville Smith Sunday, after he refused to put down his gun, riots and violence ensued in the city. Smith’s family was eager to talk to the media and his sister Sherelle had a message that should have been covered and condemned by the media. Instead, CNN decided to air her words but curtail them before they became controversial.

In this video posted by user DeeconX on Twitter, Sherelle Smith can be seen here, in front of several reporters, calling for violence to end ... in the city. What she says next is shocking ... “Burnin down shit ain’t going to help nothin! Y’all burnin’ down shit we need in our community. Take that shit to the suburbs. Burn that shit down! We need our shit!  We need our weaves. I don’t wear it. But we need it.”

But you wouldn’t guess Smith had said anything of the kind based on CNN’s reporting. Both on their website and televised on CNN Newsroom Monday, CNN described Sherelle Smith as “calling for peace.” They conveniently left out the rest of her message, calling for protesters to burn down the suburbs.

On CNN.com, under the subhead, “Residents try to heal,” the article read:  'Smith's sister Sherelle Smith condemned the violence, saying the community needs the businesses affected. "Don't bring that violence here," Neal, his other sister, said while sobbing.'

That was all CNN reported. Again on CNN Newsroom this morning, correspondent Ana Cabrera reported that Sherelle Smith was “calling for peace,” before playing just a few seconds of Smith’s words that left out the most damning part.

There's more at the link.

I've heard CNN called the 'Clinton News Network' for its obvious bias towards her candidacy for President.  After this episode, perhaps it should be re-dubbed the 'Cowardly News Network' for its refusal to report (and confront) the truth, the racial reality, of life in the USA today.




Peter

Doofus Of The Day #921

The video is self-explanatory.

Putting on the brake, and taking the vehicle out of gear before you get out, are useful precautions.  Just sayin' . . .

Peter