Lunch

eat

Purity Of Intentions

It is reasonable to ask why the much-touted sanctions, when the war started, don't seem to have hurt Russia much.

The UK has been accused of “helping Russia pay for its war on Ukraine” by continuing to import record amounts of refined oil from countries processing Kremlin fossil fuels.

Government data analysed by the environmental news site Desmog shows that imports of refined oil from India, China and Turkey amounted to £2.2bn in 2023, the same record value as the previous year, up from £434.2m in 2021.

I get that things aren't entirely simple, but there was a great enthusiasm for sanctions at the beginning - everyone was very proud at the sacrifice, even some rich interests were being targeted - and that enthusiasm, along with (presumably) strong enforcement, faded fairly quickly.

It was all very noble at the beginning, but we're talking about real money here, lads.

Maybe I am diagonising the problem incorrectly, but we were promised that all the sanctions would effectively cripple Russia and what happened to that?

So It's Bladder Cancer Then

Doesn't sound like Charles is doing well.

Overall, however, the British press have observed what seems like a remarkable silence on the matter of Charles’ health and funeral planning.

This is not, as one journalist told The Daily Beast, just out of respect for or collusion with the palace, but rather due to very strict rules and laws in the U.K. governing medical privacy and the publishing of personal information. “Even if you had it copper-bottomed that he had bladder cancer, you couldn’t run it,” the journalist said.

These "very strict rules and laws" are applied to protect the powerful, and not other times, as anyone who has picked up a British newspaper knows.

"Security Concerns"

That's the reason USC is giving for cancelling the graduation ceremony, when everyone fully understands (but won't necessarily tell you), that they have to say that because they'll be sued into oblivion, given California state law, if they admit the real reason. We all remember when these costs were necessary.

Morning

Go go go.

Thursday Night

Rock on.

Vote Blue No Matter Who

 Sure why not.

Happy Hour

get happy

How It's Done

As millions of people - including some respectable ones - have told Jake, this is outside of Columbia and the guy is just a NYC kook fixture, but he won't correct or delete. They're conducting Radio Rwanda against peaceful protesters, including plenty of Jewish students.

Only multiple senators, the Speaker of the House, and the head of the ADL, and John Podhoretz up in Josh's mentions,  have called for the Guard to be sent in to do a little pacification, but apparently this is "wishcasting."

Everyone calling for the Guard to be called in is just saying, wink wink, shoot the protesters.  There's no reason the police can't do anything - including shooting the protesters - all by themselves.  It's just sending a message that they should be shot.  Everyone understands this, especially the people pretending not to.

And how should you treat people who call for the murder of peaceful protesters?  And how should you treat people who are not bothered by those people? The same.

Don't See How...

We'll see!

A federal judge has denied former President Donald Trump's request for a new trial in the civil suit brought by the writer E. Jean Carroll, who was awarded an $83.3 million judgment by a jury that found Trump liable for defamation in January.

The judge also denied a request to strike the damages in the case, which Trump had called "entirely out of proportion" with Carroll's reputational injury.

"Mr. Trump's argument is entirely without merit both as a matter of law and as a matter of fact," U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan wrote in an 18-page decision Thursday.

Law Talk

I have lost all interest in deciphering the sacred songs of the Supreme Court oral arguments. Take it as given that several of them are corrupt hacks. It should be established at this point. Spend your efforts mocking the people who pretend not to understand this stuff.

Lunch

Shop while you eat! (Ad, I get a commission).

Handling The Media

This is British tabloid blackmail shit.

In Sulzberger’s view, according to two people familiar with his private comments on the subject, only an interview with a paper like the Times can verify that the 81-year-old Biden is still fit to hold the presidency. Beyond that, he has voiced concerns that Biden doing so few expansive interviews with experienced reporters could set a dangerous precedent for future administrations, according to a third person familiar with the publisher’s thinking. Sulzberger himself was part of a group from the Times that sat down with Trump, who gave the paper several interviews despite his rantings about its coverage. If Trump could do it, Sulzberger believes, so can Biden.

“All these Biden people think that the problem is Peter Baker or whatever reporter they’re mad at that day,” one Times journalist said. “It’s A.G. He’s the one who is pissed [that] Biden hasn’t done any interviews and quietly encourages all the tough reporting on his age.”

I've seen journalists defend it and that says a lot about what business they think they're in.

America's Mayor

Oh no.

An Arizona grand jury has indicted 18 allies of Donald Trump for their efforts to subvert the 2020 election — including former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Boris Epshteyn.

Imagine trying to explain Rudy-9/11 worship to The Kids Today.

The Academic Calendar

As every university administrator knows, the semester is ending (most places), students will be going home soon, and as is almost always the case with student activities, you can just wait them out for a few weeks and move on. Not doing so is quite the choice!

Morning

Go

Wednesday Night

Rock on.

Happy Hour

At a loss for words, really.

Joe Biden Might Have The Chance To Do The Funniest Thing Possible

I have no idea what the conservative Supremos are really plotting with Trump's immunity case, but there are fascinating possibilities.

Lunch

eat