los tributos o el traje nuevo del emperador

Against the advice of his handlers who, despite how much that they might like focus to be deflected away from the Mueller press conference and Michael Flynn’s turning of states’ evidence, Trump announced a new raft of punitive tariffs against Mexico if it did not quell illegal immigration.
Already betraying his profound, stultifying ignorance of economic principles—tariffs are a kind of tax but a regressive one that US consumers pay, not the Chinese, Europeans or Mexicans—to pander to those who might vote for him a second time by appealing to the lowest common denominator of bigotry and insecurity—a sacrifice owed his base, there’s of course no indication how progress towards satisfying the requirement might be gauged nor who is to impose these sanctions on cross-border trade, nor whether this brash announcement is in violation of the trade deal Trump negotiated to replace the NAFTA accords he withdrew from.

ain’t misbeheavin’

It’s with a heavy heart that we say good-bye to humourist and old-timey, Tin Pan Alley virtuoso Leon Redbone (RIP, *1949 – †2019).
Adopting the stage name for his first acts in Toronto in the 1970s, the Cyprian-born Dickran Gobalian cultivated his signature look of dark sunglasses, a Panama hat and a skinny black tie, Redbone gained mainstream commercial success, though a recipient of critical acclaim by those in the business for quite some time with a cover version of the now problematic Christmas ballad “Baby It’s Cold Outside” and performed the theme song for the 1980s television sitcom Mister Belvedere. Redbone announced his retirement from recording in May 2015, citing health concerns, his eclectic musical tastes and knowledge of past genres making him much older and wiser than his years attested to.

would you like freedom fries with that?

One underestimates the mushy-headedness of the Trump regime and their oil baron cronies at one’s own peril now with the US Department of Energy trying to foist “freedom gas” on world markets—as opposed to Russia (setting the stage for the next fight) or Middle Eastern sourced fuel—since their shipments of liquefied natural gas contain “molecules of US freedom” as a bonus.
No one liked the midichlorians.  Moreover, this push for more exports to Europe is equated with America’s liberation of the continent during World War II and the subsequent Marshall Plan. Secretary Rick Perry stuck with his slogan even after reporters pointed out to him how the name smacked of “freedom fries” and “freedom toast” hurled as dumb insults at NATO partners who were unwilling to commit to what turned out to be a very much trumped up and unjustified pretence to invade Iraq.

thread of discussion

The always captivating Present /&/ Correct direct us to a massive collection of antique Japanese darning thread cards—the pressboard remnant that the thread was spooled around.  We are invited not only to marvel at the abundance of brands and packaging designs but to also reflect on an industry focused on repair and mending (繕い, tsukuroi) whose existence necessarily owes to mass-production and the restorative, therapeutic value (see also) of fixing bashed and worn things. Much more to explore at the links above.

thrones and dominions

Located in the closed research town of Sarov (its original name restored in 1995 by President Boris Yeltsin at the residents’ request from its designation as Arzamas-16, affectionately referred to as Los Arzamas after its sister city, Los Alamos) the Russian Federal Nuclear Centre is receiving some gentle scrutiny and rebuke for the purchase of some icons and other religious material related to native saint Seraphim (*1754 - †1833).
Although the former presence of a monastery at this location does not exactly account for the connection with the popular figure or explain while his holy relics were taken on an October 2016 Soyuz mission to the International Space Station—Joseph of Cupertino (the Italian village in Apulia and not the Apple headquarters its named after) a reported dullard of a priest however with a penchant for levitation and in general the capacity for wonder and awe is the patron of astronauts and cosmonauts (Feast Day 18 October), having met his untimely demise during preparations for another celebration involving fireworks and an accident that launched Joseph into the sky, honouring a local seems like a wise thing to do in any case. Before travelling into space, Seraphim’s mortal remains were feared destroyed in the Bolshevik Revolution until later discovered as an exhibit in a museum of superstition, saved and subsequently repatriated to Sarov.

emphasis added

Thank you for being here. Two years ago, the Acting Attorney General asked me to serve as Special Counsel, and he created the Special Counsel’s Office. The appointment order directed the office to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. This included investigating any links or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the Trump campaign. Now I have not spoken publicly during our investigation. I’m speaking out today because our investigation is complete. The Attorney General has made the report on our investigation largely public. We are formally closing the Special Counsel’s office, and as well I’m resigning from the Department of Justice to return to private life. I’ll make a few remarks about the results of our work. But beyond these few remarks it is important that the office’s written work speak for itself.

Let me begin where the appointment order begins: and that is interference with the 2016 presidential election. As alleged by the grand jury in an indictment, Russian intelligence officers who were part of the Russian military launched a concerted attack on our political system. The indictment alleges that they used sophisticated cyber techniques to hack into computers and networks used by the Clinton campaign. They stole private information and then released that information through fake online identities and through the organization Wikileaks. The releases were designed and times to interfere with our election and to damage a presidential candidate.
And at the same time as the grand jury alleged in a separate indictment, a private Russian entity engaged in a social media operation where Russian citizens posed as Americans in order to influence an election. These indictments contain allegations, and we are not commenting on the guilt or innocence of any specific defendant. Every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The indictments allege, and the other activities in our report describe, efforts to interfere in our political system. They needed to be investigated and understand. And that is among the reasons why the Department of Justice established our office. That is also a reason we investigated efforts to obstruct the investigation. The matters we investigated were of paramount importance and it was critical for us to obtain full and accurate information from every person we questioned. When a subject of an investigation obstructs that investigation or lies to investigators, it strikes at the core of the government’s effort to find the truth and hold wrong-doers accountable.

Let me say a word about the report. The report has two parts, addressing the two main issues we were asked to investigate. The first volume details numerous efforts emanating from Russia to influence the election. This volume includes a discussion of the Trump campaign’s response to this activity, as well as our conclusion that there was insufficient evidence to charge a broader conspiracy.

And in a second volume, the report describes the results and analysis of our obstruction of justice investigation involving the president.

The order appointing the Special Counsel authorized us to investigate actions that could obstruct the investigation. And we conducted that investigation and we kept the Office of the Acting Attorney General apprised of the progress of our work.
And as set forth in the report after that investigation, if we had had confidence that the President clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so.

We did not, however, make a determination as to whether the president did commit a crime. The introduction to the volume two of our report explains that decision. It explains that under long-standing Department policy, a President cannot be charged with a federal crime while he is in office. That is unconstitutional. Even if the charge is kept under seal and hidden from public view, that too is prohibited. The special counsel’s office is part of the Department of Justice and by regulation it was bound by that Department policy. Charging the president with a crime was, therefore, not an option we could consider.

The Department’s written opinion explaining the policy makes several important points that further informed our handling of the obstruction investigation. Those points are summarized in our report, and I will describe two of them for you. First, the opinion explicitly permits the investigation of a sitting President because it is important to preserve evidence while memories are fresh and documents available. Among other things, that evidence could be used if there were co-conspirators who could be charged now. And second, the opinion says that the Constitution requires a process other than the criminal justice system to formally accuse a sitting President of wrongdoing. And beyond Department policy we were guided by principles of fairness. It would be unfair to potentially—it would be unfair to potentially accuse somebody of a crime when there can be no court resolution of the actual charge.

So that was Justice Department policy. Those were the principles under which we operated and from them we concluded that we would not reach a determination, one way or the other, about whether the President committed a crime. That is the office’s—that is the office’s final position, and we will not comment on any other conclusions or hypotheticals about the President.

We conducted an independent criminal investigation and reported the results to the Attorney General, as required by Department regulations. The attorney general then concluded that it was appropriate to provide our report to Congress and to the American people. At one point in time I requested that certain portions of the report be released. The Attorney General preferred to make that—preferred to make the entire report public all at once, and we appreciate that the Attorney General made the report largely public. And I certainly do not question the Attorney General’s good faith in that decision.

Now I hope and expect this to be the only time that I will speak to you in this manner. I am making that decision myself. No one has told me whether I can or should testify or speak further about this matter. There has been discussion about an appearance before Congress. Any testimony from this office would not go beyond our report. It contains our findings and analysis and the reasons for the decisions we made. We chose those words carefully and the work speaks for itself. And the report is my testimony. I would not provide information beyond that which is already public in any appearance before Congress.

In addition, access to our underlying work product is being decided in a process that does not involve our office. So beyond what I have said here today, and what is contained in our written work, I do not believe it is appropriate for me to speak further about the investigation or to comment on the actions of the Justice Department or Congress. And it’s for that reason I will not be taking questions today as well.

Now before I step away, I want to thank the attorneys, the FBI agents, and analysts, the professional staff who helped us conduct this investigation in a fair and independent manner. These individuals who spent nearly two years with the Special Counsel’s Office were of the highest integrity.

And I will close by reiterating the central allegation of our indictments — that there were multiple, systematic efforts to interference in our election. That allegation deserves the attention of every American.

Thank you. Thank you for being here today.

Transcription services courtesy of TYWKIWDBI.

still life with portion control

A Valencia-based design studio and patron of the arts called Quarte Caps has commissioned the re-contextualising of iconic still life paintings, like this ostentatious cornucopia from Dutch Baroque artist Abraham Hendriksz van Beijeren (*1620 – †1690)—with the face of the artist in the original reflected in the silver decanter—in order like the first Delft school of painters executed pronkstillevens that highlighted the affectation and pretension of fine tableware to focus on the excessive and unnecessary packaging (see also) and shuttle diplomacy of convenience food, whose persistence changes the metaphor of the perishable. Can you see yourself in the plastic soda bottle? Learn more and peruse a larger gallery of “Not Longer Life” at the link above.

konzeptfahrzeug

Debuting at the 1970 Geneva Motor Show (Genfer Autosalon), this transalpine-influenced concept vehicle, the 2200 TI Garmisch, designed by the legendary automotive free-lancer Marcello Gandini (the Lamborghini Miura, the Countach and the Lancia Stratos as well as the original 5-series) was seemingly shelved in favour of other projects by BMW—until, that is, its recent revival with a limited-production run at a car show in Villa d’Este, Tivoli.
The minimalistic dashboard and instrumentation panel belies the cutting edge of technology, sleek aluminium frame and namesake of town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, part of the Bavaria Motor Works home state but exotic and a part of that spirit of Alpine exchange evokes adventure. See more at Design Boom at the link above.