hiobsbotschaft

As if to illustrate how foreign policy is superfluous in the face of the almighty mob that can be rallied with the megaphone that is social media (so who needs a State Department or Diplomatic Corps), Dear Leader found his particular style of statecraft under threat by the juxtaposition of a calm and collected German chancellor, meeting for the first time for a joint press-conference. Though there was some discussion of the United States not forgetting its immigrant origins (Angela Merkel did not deign to point out that Dear Leader’s own grandparents first immigrated to America and Canada as economic refugees, fleeing from poverty and then a second time as fugitives from the authorities), the talk at these usually highly scripted and choreographed affairs was decidedly icy and one-sided with Dear Leader dominating the direction.  At least she had her defenses up.
Per his usual modus operandi, Dear Leader belittled the role of NATO and accused Germany and all other member states of making far too little contributions to the alliance and forcing the US to finance the enterprise, bookending the matter with platitudes that claimed he was not an isolationist. This tact took up most of the allotted time and what remained of the awkward exchange was devoted to the serious but groundless accusations that Dear Leader whilst campaigning was wire-tapped by the out-going administration—and that was at least common-ground between himself and the Chancellor. Merkel failed to see the humour in that remark—since, if it wasn’t in jest, it amounts to an admission that US intelligence services did indeed eavesdrop on foreign allies and probably all the other surveillance that no one dared confirm or deny. The other implication being—if Dear Leader really were being bugged, it would be because he or Fearless Leader were in communication with the foreign powers that they disavowed all along. Reporters’ questions were turned back on them, suggesting that they should be interviewing the sources of the story—a news outlet, which never reported anysuch story.

the power of the purse or wait, wait—don’t cut me

Though presidential budgets are more of a publicity stunt to reaffirm policy commitments than working financial plans because it is the legislature that controls spending and many of the programmes and agencies have weathered great austerities of past regimes, Dear Leader may unfortunately get his way and enact the scorched-earth dismantling of bureaucratic protections that his svengalis want. Here is a selection of some the named initiatives targeted for elimination via the Washington Post—though with the caveat that many more, hinted at may be waiting in the gallows:

Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARAP working in close collusion with DARPA) E-branch—funding research into alternative energy
Corporation for Public Broadcasting—helps fund PBS, NPR plus other local, independent and commercial television and radio stations
Endocrine Disruptor Screening Programme—helps ensure that pesticides and other chemicals are not dangerous to humans and the environment
Institute of Museum and Library Services—providing grants for museums, libraries, zoos and parks
McGovern-Dole Food for Education Programme—providing subsidised or free lunches for poor school children
Woodrow Wilson International Centre—a foreign policy think-tank

Find the current, complete list at the link to the Post story above plus find further resources to learn about each programme, whilst they are still around.   

architecture of choice or now for a word from our sponsors

Although we would probably like to fancy ourselves as ever freer agents than we were just a few years with seemingly boundless opportunities and marketplaces with such selections as to pose to many feelings of anxiety and paralysis, there’s still quite a bit of coaxing and nudging that forms the substrate of how we react and participate as consumers of all types of commodities.
No one wants to believe that their decisions, from the trivial and impulsive to the very consequential ones of family and career, are not necessarily our own and subject to design, marketing and context and will produce an impromptu narrative defending and justifying their choice, even if a moment before there was no deliberation and the outcome was guided—manipulated. As various the platforms and customer-engagements come to know us better, the allure will become more irresistible and less transparent (the commercial pitches will be indistinguishable from content), just like the increasingly addictive and obsessive nature of social networking—which can seem like the most fundamentally self-determined, stoical acts of preening.

duck and cover or cowboy juche

Provocatively, and despite the regime’s constant accusation that their opponent was the hawkish one, the oil executive anointed as the USA’s top diplomat visited the Demilitarised Zone that separates North and South Korea and declared that if Pyongyang persists with its sabre-rattling, America is not ruling out pre-emptive strikes with nuclear warheads—that the “strategic patience” of the US has reached its end. That escalated quickly. In return, North Korea affirmed that any attack would solicit a nuclear exchange—as would any attempt seen to undermine Kim Jong-un’s authority.

5x5

i’ve been asked to say a couple words about my husband, fang: the Smithsonian is appealing to the public to transcribe the tens of thousands of jokes and one liners in Phyllis Diller’s card catalogue 

robothespian: a stage play in London pairs human actress with a cyborg protagonist, via Marginal Revolution 

the horsey-set: luxurious, marbled-floored equestrian club outside of Shanghai

nixie tubes: understand how a microprocessor works through this oversized model

moonwalking with einstein: tried and true memorisation technique may cause enduring changes to the one’s neural architecture 

operation rügen

Inviting listeners to draw their own parallels, Fresh Air host Terry Gross reprises her excellent and engaged interview with author Adam Hochschild from last year on the Spanish Civil War, which fraught with all other associations and its native horrors certainly was an evident that stands alone but also could be characterised as the opening volleys of World War II.
One aspect that was new to me was the realisation that the fields of Spain were the training grounds for Hitler’s machines of war, giving the Nazi armies time to perfect their juggernauts before deployment in their own adventures. Though Francisco Franco was grateful for assistance of Hitler and Mussolini, Spain was never fully accepted as part of the Axis powers—possibly because Franco was demanding too many concession and territory in France and England. Contravening the US policy of neutrality and statutes on exports, the CEO of one petroleum company in particular, Texaco, fuelled the fighting, throwing its support to the fascists and cutting off supplies to the Spanish Republicans. Not only was this corporate partisanship dangerous and without precedent, Texaco’s global network of installations acted as spies and provocateurs to ensure that the blockade on the rebellion remained unbroken. As further insult, the decisions and intent that enabled these opening salvos to be fired cast long, long shadows and is illustrative of what happens when Big Oil meddles in the affairs of statecraft.

connect the dots

Public Domain Review features a brilliant ninth century French manuscript called the Aratea that’s one of the earliest known examples of the calligram—the artful arrangement of text to form an image, whose form is part of the message. There are two parallel poems on astronomy, how to chart the stars, track the seasons and the myths behind the gods and heroes transposed, scattered in the firmament, on each page with the upper verse set in the shape of the constellation under discussion. The red dots correspond to the stars’ positions in each figure.

savannahs and toygers and bengals oh my

Bred with the hopes of inspiring cat fanciers to care more for their domestic pets’ wild cousins, Nag on the Lake introduces us to this world of feline hybrids.
These experimental breeds, recognised by most of the professional cat credentialing associations, and who knew that there was one called the United Feline Organisation (UFO)—and included in most registries, contain widely varying amounts of wild blood, with the toy tiger’s stripes the result of careful husbandry of ordinary tabbies. The savannah, however, is a cross between a house cat and the sleek African serval and the Bengal is a generational mix of domestic familiars and Asian leopards. As striking as they are, we’d be happiest with a foundling or one whom chooses us. Visit the link for an informative video presentation and further information.