Since we have perpetually itchy feet, Mrs. Animal and I took advantage of the long President’s Day weekend to fly the Friendly Skies once more, this time to Frankfurt.
We arrived Friday morning, and drove to Heidelberg, where I was stationed briefly (six months or so) when I was reactivated in ’96-97 for President Clinton’s Balkans fracas. I lived in the Rohrbach district in a residence hotel (efficiency apartments, more or less) called “The Residenz.”
Turns out that this place is now a regular hotel, still called The Residenz, and Mrs. A and I booked a room there, two doors down from my old apartment. The U.S. Army is pretty much gone from Heidelberg; the buildings I worked in, which were then the headquarters of US Army, Europe (USAEUR) are now standing empty. Since the Rezidenz catered largely to semi-transient soldiers, it’s not surprising that it’s now converted to serving tourists and local visitors.
Nobody I remembered from my time there was around. My favorite neighborhood bar is now an Ethiopian restaurant, and one of my two favorite German restaurants is now an Indian restaurant. But things are inevitably going to change in twenty-three years, so none of that was too surprising. In three days, I swiftly regained my bearings and was pleased to see how familiar the basic area and its people were to me. Now, as to those three days:
Friday was chilly and rainy, but later in the afternoon the sky cleared and we were able to go walkabout and see some of the old neighborhood:
Saturday was a bright, sunny day. We went for a long drive in the Odinwald, an area of forested hills where I spent a fair amount of time exploring when I was there the first time, and from there along the Neckar River back to Heidelberg:
On Sunday, we went downtown to the famous Bismarckplatz, went from there down to the “Fusseganger” shopping area, saw the Heidelberg castle, the famous Neckar River bridge and some other sights.
Lately I’ve been experiencing a little of the old man’s nostalgic desire to visit places I enjoyed in my younger years. This flying visit to Heidelberg was born of that impulse, and I’m really glad we did it. I would have liked to have stayed longer, but there may well be a time to return and, if the country hasn’t been too wrecked yet, experience a little more of Germany; Oktoberfest in Munich has long been a bucket-list item of mine, and I’d dearly love to explore the Austrian Alps.
One of these days. In the meantime, it was an enjoyable weekend. Little neighborhoods like Rohrbach are, I find, pretty much the same anywhere you go, and I was pleased to see that these old stomping grounds of mine hadn’t changed much.
The roof style of the building on the left of the second row of pictures always makes me think the house has melted.
That’s a mansard roof.
I have to disagree. Mansards have two roof slopes with dormers, this just has one slope with dormers.
Okay.
That roof has two angles – flat and the garret siding. Though, more properly the top should be peaked instead of flat.
Okay, you’re totally right. I’m not interested in getting into a detailed discussion of roof angles. I was just trying to help by supplying a name.
You have entered…the AKTCHUALLY Zone!
Hip roof, fancy “shed” (as opposed to gable) dormers? (If I’m looking at the correct pic.)
This one since I see the vagueness in my text description could be an issue.
Apologies. We were not looking at the same picture. I was looking at this.
Yours is a hip roof.
Not that it matters, but I thought, “Ah ha! A question I can answer today and won’t screw up!”
Sorry for the confusion. I should have just linked the picture. Yes, that one is a classical Mansard.
No need to apologize! It was quite an interesting diversion reading on roof styles. I’m visually familiar with the non-hip style, just didn’t know their names and details. Thank you!
I was unreasonably bitchy with UCS and there was no call for that.
That is a Second Empire style!
.
.
.
I actually have had this discussion in my work life, and yes Second Empire and Mansard are sort of synonymous (and both are types of hip roof)
*sort of because Mansart was long dead by the second empire but the roof became common then and is tied to the style
Ok boomer.
Yep – that’s the one. Don’t know if there’s a specific name for a dormer with curved lines like those.
Eyebrow.
Ooh! I like it! Thanks, T!
It’s the dormers that really give it that melty feel, because the actual roof style is pretty common.
I thinking the other day how flourishes used to be more common sight when I was a kid. Curved rooflines for instance.
Maybe not quite common, but they were around.
Is that feminist-speak for retard?
It’s a tax-evasion roof style designed to allow more usable space under a roof without technically being additional taxable floors.
Oh, are we looking at the same picture? I see there’s a building with a mansard in the second block of city photographs in the second row on the left.
Reminiscent of the Witch’s House in Beverly Hills, IMO.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spadena_House
Love Germany. Too bad so much of its history has been firebombed.
“Love Germany. Too bad so much of its history has been firebombed.”
Ouch.
For reference.
“More than 3,400 tons of explosives were dropped on the city by 800 American and British aircraft. The firestorm created by the two days of bombing set the city burning for many more days, littering the streets with charred corpses, including many children. Eight square miles of the city was ruined, and the total body count was between 22,700 and 25,000 dead”
That sounds relatively unpleasant.
Visit Dresden and Hamburg and you would never guess they had been bombed.
Dresden’s Frauenkirche was a pile of sorted rubble when I first was there in 1994. This is what it looks like now.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dresden_Frauenkirche
The lederhosen survived though.
Praise Allah.
Sick Burn.
The people of Rotterdam and Coventry do not sympathize.
Nor Carthage, Nankin, Warsaw, Tokyo, Atlanta….
I’d dearly love to explore the Austrian Alps.
I spent a little time in and around Salzburg. The lakes district is among the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. My next trip there will definitely include a visit to Innsbruck.
Thanks, Animal. Sounds like it was a fun trip!
I spent a few days in the Tyrol region west of Innsbruck. It had the best mountains of the trip. We had driven up from Venice through Cortina and the Italian Alps. then over to Austria and finishing up through Switzerland (St. Moritz) and back down via Italy’s lake district.
I did a week of skiing in a little valley town near Innsbruck. Just delightful.
Make sure not to meet up with any strangers while you’re in the Alps though.
I lost a windshield that way.
You see what happens, Larry?
SKI SMITH?
Salzburg gets a thumbs-up from me. Beautiful little city, very walkable, obviously lots of money there. We are every dinner at the big monastery with the beer hall (its been, well, many years; don’t recall the name). Excellent beer in liter mugs, and food vendors around the courtyard.
There are some fantastic views from Hohensalzburg
Nice write up!
My stories about tramps abroad are quite different.
Hovered; didn’t click. Maybe next time, old bean.
Maybe Eden is more your speed?
I clicked, blocked at work. I’m probably on the next headcount reduction list now.
I made that mistake a few too many times. I am on the Information Security “Oh no you didn’t” list.
I get thank you notes from IT: “We have added [skeezywebsite.com] to our blocked sites list. Thanks for finding something too obscure for the published lists of inappropriate websites for work!”
Animal, great write-up. I enjoy your writing and your voice.
I’ll be heading up in to Koln this summer, and I know there’s been some rumblings about planning a Glib meet-up at Oktoberfest in the past.
rumblings about planning a Glib meet-up at Oktoberfest in the past.
Yes.
I would still like to do it.
This year is out of the cards for me. Maybe next year?
Next year is a possibility for me. It’ll depend on if the new PTO format sticks at my job or not, and if it doesn’t, then what they replace it with. This year I have to burn up all my accumulated PTO, hence the European trip in the summer.
My PTO situation will depend on if I stay at my current job.
I expect either way I can make a trip to Oktoberfest work.
Lets not make the same mistake again Anyone know what site this is? Partly I’m wondering if that’s a castle or just a deceptive angle of a town.
Looks like it is the castle, Heidelberg Palace is made from red sandstone. If it was the town you’d see more buildings at about the same height, but you can see some smaller buildings through the trees below the main feature of the photo.
This is encouraging – A bunch of Russian “people on the street” being snarky as hell about communism.
that one john lennon guy was awesome
If I didn’t know any better, I would guess he’s a Glib.
So the girl with braces gets capitalism. Quel surprise.
She was great. The other youngsters sound like the dipshits here.
I don’t link good teeth with prosperity. I link it with ignorance or an unwillingness to go to the dentist because bad teeth aren’t necessarily a money issue.
But! I link orthodontia with prosperity. You get orthodontia if you can afford to.
I don’t link good teeth with prosperity.
Think again. I worked with a couple dozen engineers in Moscow that were middle-aged and above. It was not uncommon to return to Moscow after a couple of months and see people missing a couple of teeth that were there before.
Forget about braces, just having all your teeth was limited to the upper echelon in Russian.
Oh, and it was really common to meet 50-something engineers/managers that were missing a finger from an industrial/farming accident.
I said that badly.
To me, only the poorest CAN’T go to the dentist but the upper income people I’ve seen with bad teeth DON’T WANT to go to the dentist. Therefore, I don’t NECESSARILY link that to individual prosperity.
The running joke is that Brits have bad teeth. Is that a cultural thing, a financial thing, or a fear thing?
https://www.newsweek.com/english-peoples-teeth-are-international-disgrace-and-national-health-disaster-769635
Austin Powers jokes aside, dental hygiene is reportedly a very big problem in the UK. In a recent letter to The Daily Telegraph, British dentists warned that their nation’s oral health was on its way to becoming an international disgrace, calling it a “national health disaster.”
The root of the problem does not seem to be simply individual poor oral hygiene. National health service issues also appear to play a major role. The letter states that unreasonable targets and unnecessary red tape regulations have made it increasingly difficult for many dentists to provide the public with the care they need.
Last year, The Guardian reported that twice as many children in England received hospital treatment for tooth decay as those who needed to be treated for broken arms. Although high sugar diets likely do not help the problem, lack of proper intervention allows the decay to progress dangerously. Nearly four out of five children in England between one and two years old had not seen an NHS dentist in the past year, The Guardian reported.
Reportedly, the dental healthcare in the UK is so bad that they are enlisting help from international organizations. For example, last year Dentaid, a charity that normally helps to care for people’s teeth in the developing countries, set up clinics in the UK specifically addressed to help low-income families, homeless people, and migrants who were especially in need of dental care, The Independent reported.
Nearly four out of five children in England between one and two years old had not seen an NHS dentist in the past year, – I would say that at least for some of those the parents afford private care. or fly to romania for some dental tourism.
That’s what I mean. If so, WHY didn’t they get dental care?
Aside: XX just got her braces off last year. XY doesn’t need them, BUT the dentist said he did because of future crowding. Fuck that, his teeth are straight, lucky duck.
Me, I had a few cavities when I was a kid and I needed braces (teeth went back to normal, so no net gain as an adult), but I go to the dentist about every 2 years because that’s all I need to. No cavities in decades, very little plaque, enamel just fine.
Every hygienist ever: We haven’t seen you in 2 years. How do you do it?
Me: Hard-bristled toothbrush.
Every hygienist ever: *gasp in horror* *lecture about how bad that is for your teeth*
Do you know how difficult it is to find hard-bristled toothbrushes in the store? Impossible. I have to get them in bulk on Amazon.
Oh, AND…
I had 4 teeth removed before I got my braces. They did that routinely in the 80s. The hygienist told me it was called “4 on the floor.”
I will never forget that. It was the most disturbing sound I have ever heard, that CRAAAAAAACK bouncing around in my head.
I’m sure it would have been worse if Pat Benatar was not cranked to 11 in my ears.
I had 8 baby and 6 permanent teeth extracted for the purpose of braces. The permanent ones really, really wanted to stay in my mouth.
JD or the other Brit here (whose name escapes me right now) are probably the best people to answer, but I’ve heard that NHS dentists in the decades after the war were fairly brutal and also were paid only for extractions.
Plus tea seems to stain teeth even more than coffee.
Maybe it shows one is aristocratic enough to not care.
To me, only the poorest CAN’T go to the dentist but the upper income people I’ve seen with bad teeth DON’T WANT to go to the dentist.
It’s not clear to me that there’s a link at all between bad teeth and going to the dentist. I think genetics, diet, and daily teeth hygiene habits play a much bigger role.
Last fall, I went to the dentist with at least 8 years, maybe even a solid decade, since my last visit. Dentist said my teeth and gums were perfect. Even told me that they don’t recommend the optional fluoride treatment that I asked for and was willingly to pay cash out of pocket because my teeth were in such good shape. Brush and Listerine 2x daily with no flossing. And I’m on well water without fluoride.
I don’t see the value in twice a year dentist visits for adults unless you have preexisting problems.
I think diet matters as well. My ex was from salt-of-the-earth Thai peasant stock. She, and all her family, including her elderly mother, had a full set of healthy white teeth. A diet low in sugar and high in foods that require a lot of chewing seems to count for a lot. They never had any problems with wisdom teeth either. There is increasing evidence as to why. (Ignore Ehrlich. I’ve read the science from other sources – he’s a stopped clock getting his one out of two chances of being right with this one.)
I think diet matters as well.
I’m sure the Russian diet wasn’t helpful either.
vodka kills plaque
In my research for the WIP, I learned that medieval people’s teeth were also much healthier than thought because of low sugar diets and lots of grit in the bread from the stone milling wheel. Their bigger problem was the wearing-down of their teeth from the grit.
I had braces as a kid but because my parents were careful about such things… I had classmates of equal socioeconomic level with bad teeth and no braces. Then again I as a kid was also more willing to wear the things…
I liked blondie, the vaguely asian Jon Bon Jovi
Yeah, she was awesome!
It’s pretty amazing just to watch Russians out in public speaking on camera.
One of my favorite Russian songs.
The English translation:
In the cultural context, would the listeners understand this as snark or is it a sincere expression of praise for Lenin? Kind of like how the Red Chinese stand in opposition to pretty much everything Dr. Sun Yat-Sen stood for (and fair enough, if they weren’t fighting the Japanese, we’d have no problem identifying Sun and Chiang as the fascists they were) but still accord him the respect of “Father of the Nation” as he organized the republican revolution against autocratic monarchy.
Actually, I would say it’s both. The song was written in the ’80s when praising Communism and the Soviet way of life was an obviously contrarian position in the Russian rock and punk scene. In the ’90s the song writer, Egor Letov, expressed his support for Bolshevik/Communist parties. So, it’s entire possible that he put a significant degree of sincerity into the lyrics. I’d say that in the ’90s it was widely perceived as snark: the lyrics are hilarious in Russian. Since his death 12 years ago, he’s widely considered a Russian cultural icon even by the people strongly opposed to socialism. Most of his songs are apolitical. He’s the kind of artist whose work I enjoy regardless of political differences.
Until my visit to Beijing I had no idea that Dr. Sun Yat-Sen’s widow played a big role in the Chinese politics after 1949 until her death. She was the (vice-)head of the Chinese parliament and was even appointed the Honorary President of the PRC on her deathbed. She was not a member of the Communist party. She was either still considered a member of the left wing of Kuomintang or “independent.” It’s interesting that some non-Soviet Communist regimes liked to prop up a non-Communist party. She was educated in Wesleyan and according to her letters from the ’50s she still thought in English decades after returning to China. Somehow I managed to visit her house in Beijing and Sun Yat-Sen’s house in Shanghai.
that was deceptively edited!!
No One is now at 65% in Five Thirty Eight. Not that things can’t or won’t change…. But a man can dream can’t he? A man can dream. I think a most it goes into the convention with no candidate with a majority of pledged delegates, and the unpledged ones (because of dropouts) push them over.
Yes. A brokered convention is now the most likely outcome, according to their models.
Which would be the most amusing outcome.
A brokered convention – so Hillary?
“loading”
Millennials and Zoomers have no idea what it was like.
The little kids…
*deer in headlights*
Props to the actress going for it without even blinking. That’s some improv game training right there!
Germany is neat. I hear they are good at racing. Masters, even.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063462/mediaviewer/rm3297154816
*narrows gaze*
Clever Germans…. repurposing a guard tower into a playground.
And the photos of the countryside look quite inviting.
I knew that the Germans were into excrement, but do they really need all those lights shining into the baboon’s butt?
Are those lights? I thought they were CCTV cameras.
After Pete and Steyer dropping out, narrowing the field into Super Tuesday: Let us remember those who have fallen. (In order that they announced)
Delany
Yang
Ojeda
Castro
Gilibrand
Harris
Buttiigieg
Williamson
Booker
Inslee
Hickenlooper
Messam
O’Rurke
Gravel
Ryan
Swallwel
Moulton
Bennet
Bullock
De Blasio
Sestack
Styer
Patrick
Highlights from the Race:
– State Senator Ojeda resigned his senate seat, before crawling back to ask for it back. The Republican controlled President of WV senate said no.
– It looks like almost every Democratic Senator ran for president.
– Delany Announced his candidacy in July 2017. The earliest ever.
::takes deep breath, begins to play “Amazing Grace” on bagpipes::
Damnit Klondikebar!!!! I had just made the list!
::takes deep breath, begins to play “Ding Dong, The Witch is Dead” on kazoo. Stops, decides to save it for Warren::
Facebook tells me that Amy K-Bar is dropping out of the race.
Who is left? Sanders, Biden, Bloomberg, and Gabbard? Anyone else?
Oh yeah, Warren. Totally forgot about her.
She’s staying in just to split the loony left vote. Maybe to preserve her viability as a VP candidate.
I think after they rob Bernie, she will be their VP choice to try and mollify the Berniebots.
Google new says nothing. So my friends just might be wrong.
She’s done.
Luckily for her campaign workers she told them over the phone. Less chance of things flying at their heads that way.
Someone, someplace is running interference for Joe The Smoocher Biden.
Or Bloomberg is buying them out of the way and is about to release Biden’s medical files showing advanced dementia.
I think Bloombergs only play is to split the establishment vote so that Biden can’t secure a Majority, and hope that Bernie can’t consolidate more than the 30% that he has.
Sanders is going to win CA and enough other states that Biden won’t get a majority either.
True, but in a Two Way race, someone has to be the winner. I don’t know if Bernie can really put a coalition together that gets more than 40% of the Democratic party.
You are also right, if it gets down to just 2, someone probably secures enough delegates. But it aint going to 2 on Tuesday, there might not be enough left after that.
Yeah. I’m not sure what the DNC rules are for delegates who are pledged to candidates that have dropped out. Do they get to vote free? do the vote for the candidates who dropped? do they vote for whomever the candidates endorsed? Not sure.
I thought they were still pledged for 1 round, but not sure. Maybe it is whether the candidate releases them or not.
According to this it varies from state to state.
https://ballotpedia.org/Democratic_delegate_rules,_2020
Some states, they are still pledged, others they are released if the candidate drops out.
I read the rules on ballotpedia. They are intentionally unclear.
should have refreshed.
A vote for anyone under 15% is effectively a partial vote for everyone over 15%. Eliminated the chaff flattens out the delegate distribution.
But it also means a dominant candidate can get a majority. I don’t see anyone dominating the rest of the way.
Stick a fork in her
Surely you mean a comb?
“Senator Salad Comb”
A second withdrawal within 48 hours of super Tuesday? Someone is pressuring them out and things might get funny to watch here. I’m still sticking with my prediction though. If Sanders has the most delegates entering the convention he gets the nomination.
^^^ This. there is no reason to drop out this close to Super Tuesday other than they have gotten a VP or cabinet place. Or the got a visit from some Clinton Associates.
Or oodles of cash from the Bloompire
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/02/us/politics/amy-klobuchar-drops-out.html
Amy Klobuchar Drops Out of Presidential Race and Plans to Endorse Biden
Ms. Klobuchar made her decision hours before Super Tuesday. She shocked the primary field with a third-place finish in New Hampshire, but ultimately could not compete with better-funded rivals.
VP Klobuchar it is then.
Wow. They’re really going to try to drag Biden over the finish line.
Sad!
He’d be better off picking Bootyjudge.
I was wondering what all the Klomotion was about.
Supposedly she will endorse Senile Joe.
I should go and check if my neighbor removed the “Amy for President” sign from his window.
An inconvenient study.
Researchers from Northeastern University said on Monday that school shootings are not on the rise over the past decade and remain rare events.
James Alan Fox, the Lipman Family Professor of Criminology, Law, and Public Policy at Northeastern, and Emma Fridel, who is currently completing her doctorate at the school, revealed this week that their research indicates school shootings remain “incredibly rare events.” Their findings, which are set to be published later this year, indicate that shooting incidents which involve students have actually declined since the 1990s.
The research team determined that, “on average, mass murders occur between 20 and 30 times per year, and about one of those incidents on average takes place at a school.” They said the rate of students killed in school shootings is only a quarter of what it was in the early 1990s.
David Rutz breaks down the most important news about the enemies of freedom, here and around the world, in this comprehensive morning newsletter.
“There is not an epidemic of school shootings,” Fox said.
I’m sure this will be the leading story on all of the news shows.
Common sense gun safety laws work. Shootings declined after passing the AWB and Brady Bill. We need more of them.
/forthcoming talking points
A true Canadian hero:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/stellarton-man-given-cash-coffee-cannabis-filling-potholes-1.5072477
from 2019
But what difference, at this point, does it make?
A federal judge Monday granted a request from conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch to have former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sit for a sworn deposition to answer questions about her use of a private email server to conduct government business.
Clinton has argued that she has already answered questions about this and should not have to do so again, but D.C. District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth said in his ruling that her past responses left much to be desired.
“As extensive as the existing record is, it does not sufficiently explain Secretary Clinton’s state of mind when she decided it would be an acceptable practice to set up and use a private server to conduct State Department business,” Lamberth said.
The judge went on to recognize that while Clinton responded to written questions in a separate case, “those responses were either incomplete, unhelpful, or cursory at best. Simply put her responses left many more questions than answers.” Lamberth said that using written questions this time “will only muddle any understanding of Secretary Clinton’s state of mind and fail to capture the full picture, this delaying the final disposition of this case even further.”
I guess she has to run for president now.
I’m confused. What standing does JW have in this case?
FOIA litigation, my friends. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.
How does a FOIA request result in ordering Clinton to sit for a deposition? As much as I approve of it, it seems unlikely.
TL/DR – FOIA: WE HAZ ALL YOUR EMAILZ.
Under FOIA, govt officials’ work emails are subject to inspection of We, the People – since we are, ya know, paying their fucking salaries. If your emails were disappeared, then you’ve got some explaining to do when/if someone submits a FOIA request, gets the usual denial or non-response, and then files suit. (Basically, if the dept that has the emails doesn’t respond to a request within 30 days, the requestor “acquires” the right to sue. The bureaucracy never answers FOIA requests within 30 days, but not everyone sues.)
Given the shenanigans that have gone on around Herself’s, she would be the natural, normal person to explain why some 33,000 went missing. Given that the FBI under Comey (intentionally) fucked up that investigation, JW filed a FOIA lawsuit and the FBI and State continued to try to protect Herself. Ultimately, their attempts at covering it up blew up in their faces and so now a federal judge is finally calling her on the carpet to explain why that is.
Interesting, I did not know that.
That’s a backhand way of explaining it, so please don’t give that description searching inquiry.
WRT HRC, the entire point of the outside server was to avoid FOIA. I’ve been screaming this at the top of my lungs since she first posted the “BUT COLIN POWELL DID IT!!!11!!” justification in the media. Buried right in there was the motive: Powell told her that he had avoided FOIA by selectively using outside devices, BUT (and this is in there, plain as day) if she weren’t careful that excessive use of private devices could make them subject to FOIA.
If you can, go find the MSM’s attempted cover up by pointing at Powell. Powell tells her plainly that she’s going to be subject to FOIA using outside devices. Voila! Completely stand-alone server.
This judge has gotten sick of being ignored, including in related suits where she answered written interrogatories and just fucked it off. The Deep State runs cover for politicians and others who are above We, the Proles, in order to insure Top Men don’t have to be bothered to answer peons. FOIA litigation done well can be a giant pain in the ass and given how State is stitll trying to cover for her (and their own gross fuckups) we’re just now getting to a point where the judge’s patience has worn thin. So now JW’s lawyers get to depose Herself and we get to see her at her absolutely bitchy worst without the FBI running cover for her.
Ultimately, their attempts at covering it up blew up in their faces and so now a federal judge is finally calling her on the carpet to explain why that is.
So that she can once again act like a stupid bint who had no idea what she was doing was wrong, and then cackle the way to the bank?
Getting deposed isn’t a good look for any candidate for office. Assuming the video of the depo is released (and I don’t know why it wouldn’t be), that could kill her “candidacy” right there.
I wonder when the depo will be scheduled, anyway?
And why the judge keeps eating endless rations of shit from federal agencies.
What’s so pathetic is that if Clinton hadn’t been a lying, incompetent, influence peddling POS, this suit would have been concluded ages ago.
She and her proxies keep getting caught in lies, which means that honest people no longer want to give her the benefit of the doubt.
She was supremely incompetent, so there were a bunch of loose threads flapping in the wind just begging for this sort of lawsuit to unravel.
She was of course, corrupt, which necessitated the crazy bathroom server to ensure that she controlled all the evidence (as opposed to the State Dept’s IT admins).
I want to believe something will come of this, but my head tells me nothing will. There really is a ruling class protected by the deep state.
Beer made with 5,000-year-old yeast is actually ‘tasty’
8 weeks to ferment, slow activing, but not a surprise considering.
“We were asleep, stop bothering us”
/Yeasties
Oh…sugar? Nevermind, we will get to work now.
Archaeologists also say the beer found in these clay vessels would have likely been produced from several grains, such as millet, corn, sorghum and wheat. – what is corn in this context?
what is corn in this context?
not maize.
Corn is a word in this case meaning journalist who didn’t realize that corn (maize) wouldn’t be considered an ancient grain.
Maize is ancient and contemporary with this recipe. It’s just from the wrong continent.
So, you’re not saying its aliens, but . . . .
It was Mexicans?
Mayan
Last I checked, the Mayans live in Mexico.
*and some parts of central america
Mayans may have lived in Mexico, but if we’re going to be technical, let’s not be arbitrary about it. The Mexica were the Aztecs, not the Mayans.
Well, when they do arrive, they grow maize too.
Oh, and Leon, no need for past tense, there are still Maya in Mexico.
Corn, before the discovery of the Americas, referred to any kind of grain. You often read of corn shipments in ancient Rome or in the middle ages. One of the confusing terms for English speakers studying history.
This is incredibly freaking awesome.
I’d also like to see them do it when cops pack the court room to intimidate witnesses.
when I was reactivated in ’96-97 for President Clinton’s Balkans fracas.
Hmm. I might have just missed you – I went through there on the way to Sarajevo.
I was smuggling petrol to Serbia over the Danube*
*I was not, in fact, involved in petrol smuggling, but it did go on
I prefer to think that you were.
Petrol unfortunately deals with handling dead organic matter, and you could see why that is a problem for Pie….
Wine running on the other hand…
Well, people have started organizing beer 5k’s. I do know of at least two supported bike rides that go through Ohio wine country, most ending at ~100 miles, but having several shorter options.
/watches the oenophiles on this site collapse in laughter
I was there, I think, from late August ’96 until early February ’97.
Yup, missed you 2 months.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/i-will-shoot-you-los-angeles-das-husband-pulls-gun-on-black-lives-matters-activists
After years of demanding Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey meet with her constituents of color, activists took the protest directly to her house and were startled when Lacey’s husband opened the door with a gun pointed at them.
A video, shared by Black Lives Matter Los Angeles and several other high-profile liberal Twitter accounts on Monday morning, shows an older black man who appears to be David Lacey, the husband of Jackie Lacey, pointing a gun and saying “I will shoot you” toward an unseen group of California activists and community members a day before California holds its Super Tuesday primary.
“Get off of my porch!” said the man in the video circulating on Twitter. “I will shoot you, get off of my porch. I don’t care who you are, get off of my porch right now.”
Finger on the trigger.
Yeah.
And those people have zero fear of a loaded weapon. That is downright scary.
He showed remarkable restraint.
Shielded by their righteous purpose I suppose.
Or just idiots.
I would have been screaming “gun” and headed for cover.
Didn’t notice that before. Nice catch.
As agitated as he was, I suspect he came very close to an accidental discharge.
I would laugh and laugh if somebody red-flagged him.
Yeah. That could have ended very badly for someone.
Also has her finger on the trigger
can they stay on the lawn?
an unseen group of
California activists and community memberstrespassersMr. Lacey knew no such thing.
Are you suggesting California’s sensible gun safety laws don’t work to keep guns out of the hands of criminal trespassers?
A story that makes me root for the Coronavirus.
Sounds pretty straightforward under standard epidemiology protocols.
Makes sense to me.
The other possibility is that Murphy infected them at the meeting, working as some soft of double agent (agent and a half maybe?).
*hides dart gun*
But however would Murphy have been infected???
It would be wonderful for corona virus to take out a big chunk of the Iranian leadership.
As I was reading that sentence, I was expecting it to end with ” Congress”
It will take a chunk out of some part of Iran. The pilgrims’ behaviour at the shrines isn’t going to delay the spread any.
This is exactly the gripe my Iranian co-worker (came over as a teen-ager) has. She thinks the shrines are filthy and that the mullah’s don’t care whether half the country dies.
TRUMP!!!!
Also present were Sen. Menendez, Sen. Van Hollen and John Kerry. Hope he got them all – particularly John Fucking Kerry who shows up in all sorts of meetings where he has absolutely no business.
But he was like the Secretary of State, so he should totally get to still meet as a diplomat.
Kerry needs to be put in his place. The sitting senators, if they are meeting Iran without executive branch approval or knowledge, are treading a fine line, but Kerry is way over it.
What if when Trump looses the election he refuses to step down!!!!!!
Remember when that CFPB guy tried to take over after Trump was elected because he said that the guy before him had appointed him as his successor and that Trump had no right to appoint someone in his place?
Sitting Senators? I think they’re well on the correct side. Since it is the Senate’s responsibility to ratify treaties and ambassadorial appointments, communicating with foreign governments would seem almost obligatory. As for Kerry…well, why *can’t* an American citizen meet with anyone he or she chooses? Now, he may be defrauding those foreign folks as to his actual capabilities, but since his (lack of) government position is public knowledge…
Liechtensteinian Servator
Careful there, thats a good way to get the Swiss to bomb your country again….
Did it as a joke during the lynx (Friday I think?). And it’s technically true. If HSH Prince Hans-Adam wanted me fired, it would happen (though he’s not involved in daily operations here by a long shot).
*narrows gaze*
I’ll bet every one of those douchebags thinks Flynn should have been charged with violating the Logan Act.
The Senate’s job is to ratify treaties, yes, but the Executive is charged exclusively with conducting foreign policy. Otherwise you would have Congressional members pushing for treaties, etc. Tell me the last time you remember senators independently – without being emissaries for the Pres – conducting foreign policy on behalf of the US government?
I don’t think they should be *conducting* foreign policy. I think *meeting* with foreign governments isn’t out of line, however. Where do you draw the line? I’m not sure where it should be, just asking in a non-adversarial fashion.
I think *meeting* with foreign governments isn’t out of line, however.
For what purpose?
just asking in a non-adversarial fashion.
:Narrows Gaze: How very… Swiss of you….
Networking, essentially. Getting to know each other, and understand each others’ point of view. Definitely *not* conducting foreign policy, but expecting people to vote on treaties without any communication with the other signatories seems…short sighted, I suppose. And (in an addendum to my response to Ozy) I’m pretty sure Congress critters have been pushing for treaties for a while now.
FWIW, the Supreme Court has read the Presidential powers on conducting foreign policy pretty broadly. I don’t think it is “normal” for Senators or any Congresscritters to visit foreign heads of state without it being the usual CoDels and all of the accompanying dog and pony shows. In a sane world, I think this would be prohibited unless you want to start having various factions of the Senate and House engaged in shadow foreign policy that runs contrary to whatever POTUS is doing as official US foreign policy. Of course, we know that Obama and Hillary put all of Her own folks in at State and we’ve seen what happens when that’s allowed – you wind up with people conducting their own version of FP behind closed doors. And then it leads to a coup when the President decides to conduct foreign policy in the way he wants and that doesn’t go along with the coverup for the prior regime’s FP. See, e.g. Biden, Joseph and Biden, Hunter.
expecting people to vote on treaties without any communication with the other signatories seems…short sighted
Sounds like a recipe for secret side deals, misunderstandings, and bribery to me. Communication with foreign countries is what we have a State Department for, for better or worse. Throwing Senators (literally without portfolio) into the mix just doesn’t seem the least bit constructive.
In fact, the people who are ratifying a signed, sealed, and delivered deal are probably better served by not being involved in negotiations or other communications with the other parties. They are voting on what is on the page, and side conversations can only distract, confuse, or create conflicts about what they are supposed to be voting on.
Networking, essentially. Getting to know each other, and understand each others’ point of view.
Harmless enough, I suppose, but I see only a remote and tangential relevance to a Senator’s Constitutional role.
OK, this may be a first for the entire internet, but I think y’all have convinced me I was wrong. As I said down below, the only other objection I had has an easily arguable counterpoint as well. Thanks for the chat!
I got chased by a dog across Liechtenstein one day.
Well, much less than a day, it isn’t that far.
A Møøse once bit my sister… No realli! She was Karving her initials on the møøse with the sharpened end of an interspace tøøthbrush given her by Svenge – her brother-in-law – an Oslo dentist and star of many Norwegian møvies: “The Høt Hands of an Oslo Dentist”, “Fillings of Passion”, “The Huge Mølars of Horst Nordfink”…
*sacks pistoffnick*
Allahu Akbar?
Devout Iranian Muslims are releasing online videos showing the faithful licking and kissing shrines to show they have no fear of infection during the country’s escalating coronavirus outbreak.
Officials have confirmed 978 cases in Iran and 54 deaths, the highest death toll of any country outside China. But religious leaders continue to reject advice from the Health Ministry to close holy sites to help stop the spread of infection.
Instead the videos, which have reportedly emerged from Iran’s coronavirus epicentre of Qom, show Islamic devotees spreading misinformation about the virus while forcing young children to also take part.
I don’t think that earns you virgins in the afterlife.
If the virus guts the zealots, will we see the modernists take over?
Snakes and strychnine.
Good lord, that’s insanely stupid.
So is the popularity of Justin Bieber, but whatcha gonna do?
The Supreme Court continues their fine record of allowing the 2nd Amendment to be thrown in the shitter (declines to review bump stock case):
https://apnews.com/36d807ad9ea481fc88c7f679dbfa1857
What happened with the case against New York where the NY AG pinky promised not to prosecute people for filling up with gas, even though it is totally within the bounds of the law.
no news yet on NYSRPA v NYC.
Kudos on the avatar!
Damn it. A twenty year record of never having to see a doctor except for catastrophic accidents is being broken today. After three weeks of sinus headaches, being continually stuffed up, and generally feeling like shit, I finally agreed to see someone. Problem is, I had no idea who I put down for a doctor. Took an hour on the phone with y insurance provider, then I found out I had to a patient of a doctor before I could go to urgent care. I can now go to urgent care tonight, but in the process I got strong armed to make an appointment with my doctor.
They’re not magic, What are they going to do? Tel me not to smoke? Drink less? Sleep right and exercise?
I need to start making my own antibiotics.
My doctor wanted to put me on meds that would require me to permanently give up drinking. I laughed at him, and said that’s not going to happen. Now I’m pushing to be off the meds I’m still on.
Ditto condolences.
I lucked into a cool old doctor at a doc-in-box. If you can choose one from a list, perhaps go by age? The retirement possibility is a risk, obviously.
Neph, can you discontinue meds on your own recognizance?
Probably, but I’ll need to check my medical insurance’s most recent documents. I’ve noticed that a couple of my previous providers had provisions in there that if you were not taking prescribed meds, coverage could be terminated. They’re low dose, and no noticeable side effects, last time I saw him he wanted to do another panel of blood tests and agreed to starting to drop the meds if I had lost weight. I had already dropped ~20 pounds at that time, and I’ve dropped more since.
Sorry.
…except for catastrophic accidents…
Yikes! I’d just as soon see the doctor & skip the catastrophic accidents. ::thinks back to last week’s colonoscopy, ahead to impending mammogram:: Nope – I’d still rather not get broken.
Hope you feel better ASAP.
I just hope it’s the corona virus, so I can be done with it, and spend the rest of the spring laughing at other people’s panic.
Sitting Senators? I think they’re well on the correct side. Since it is the Senate’s responsibility to ratify treaties and ambassadorial appointments, communicating with foreign governments would seem almost obligatory.
Analogizing to the business world, it would be a fucking disaster if Board members were to engage in separate talks with third parties that the company is trying to do a deal with. One channel for negotiation is absolutely critical to getting to a decent result. The role of the Senate is to ratify (or not) what is in the four corners of the treaties put in front of it; its hard to see how Senators haring off on some junket to chat with foreign pooh-bahs is a constructive exercise, given the Senate’s actual Constitutional role. If they have questions, they should be asking State or the President, not the counterparty.
The analogy isn’t necessary, but yes, thank you for making the point I was trying to make above with our Liechtenstein Servator.
You can’t have various members of the Senate engaging in their own foreign policy negotiations, nor even the possibility of it. Completely undermines the Executive’s ability to engage in negotiations when Congressional factions are pursuing their own agendas. I haven’t looked, but I imagine there’s probably some case law or historical precedent, or some other regulations/laws, that specifically forbid Congress from doing that.
Totally makes sense from a negotiations perspective, I agree. I’m pretty sure that senators have been doing overseas visits for a long time, but I’m having trouble finding definitive info on the matter. And I suppose that, from a purely rights-based perspective, you can argue that by taking the job, one is voluntarily opting in to a position that disallows certain activities.
Thanks Animal. I like your pictures. Heidelburg is a part of Germany I haven’t been to but would like to go to.
I remember going to Heidelberg as a kid, and at night they lit up the castle with lights to make it look like it was on fire. It was pretty cool.
Every time i look at FiveThirtyEight, Bernie’s projected shortage of delegates widens. If this goes contested and brokered…. I don’t know if there is enough buckets in the world for the tears…
*rubs palms together*
Good. Gooooood!
So with Buttigieg and Klondikebar dropping out… Why hasn’t Warren dropped? she has no chance either. Looks like she’s getting left on the curb, with Bernie not trying to get her out by offering a VP slot, and it looks like Biden has decided to go for some young blood.
That or she turned down Bloomies Money.
That or she turned down Bloomies Money.
Maybe he should offer blankets and firewater.
The DNC thinks that Warren is taking votes from Sanders. She will drop out after the Super Tuesday.
Power brokers and influencers are for Warren, or at-least pretend to be. They hate Bernie, don’t like Biden, and can’t endorse Mike.
You think Bloomberg would trust her to keep her word? And it’s not like he could just take the money back…
And it’s not like he could just take the money back…
Indian giver?
Looks like the fix is in for grabby joe.
Oh no. She’s sticking around for a contested convention. Her campaign already floated that memo. She thinks she’s going to win it that way.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/elizabeth-warren-declares-contested-democratic-national-convention-the-final-play
In a head-turning memo Sunday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s campaign declared that “the reality of this race” is that “no candidate will likely have a path to the majority of delegates” at the July Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee, Wis. — setting out in stark terms the possibility of a bruising convention that party leaders have long feared, and outlining Warren’s strategy for winning the presidential nomination there in a dramatic “final play.”
I actually thought about that, the other day. If it looks like no candidate can get a majority, then the incentive to stay in goes up because it means your hat will be in the ring come convention day, which in turn makes it harder for anyone to consolidate a majority. Really staying in is the smart play if she believes she can get the delegates at convention. I just think she’s off the reservation if she thinks its possible.
Uhhuh. Hmmm, I see what you mean. And how.
Oh geeze…. Klondikebar was polling neck and neck with Bernie in Minnesota. I think she accidentally gave it to Bernie pulling out so close to super tuesday.
“I think she accidentally gave it to Bernie”
*projectile vomits*
Oh, wait…votes.
LOL. :vomits: stop it you’re killing me.
https://fox59.com/news/your-stash-could-be-contaminated-police-in-northern-indiana-offer-to-test-meth-for-coronavirus/
How helpful of them.
IQ test
Look if you can’t trust the cops to test your illicit drugs, who can you trust?
Gale Boetticher?
Poor guy. And he made such excellent coffee.
If they confiscate them, they were good?
Stupid is as stupid does.
Shocking nobody – the health department of NYC is designed to shake down restaurants.
he Terrifying Genius of Restaurant Letter Grades Why the Health Department’s decade-old initiative isn’t what it seems.
Well that’s depressing.
Can confirm. Since only one card holder must be present at any given time; all of the places here in the city I’ve worked considered having a card, a fast track to manager/shift leader roles.
You people are a bad influence on me. I was reading my client’s list of self-care ideas and one of them is “give yourself a daily facial.” A hygiene routine was not the first thing that came to mind.
Are you saying we’re rubbing off on you?
More like rubbing out.
Are you editting their bookake? Or just formating it for the money shot?
Euphemisms aside, if you have the time to do that every day, then you don’t really need any self-care and should just go get a job instead.
Why are you oppressing them by suggesting they get a job?
using their hands?
Everyone aught be anxiously engaged in some kind of work with their hands. It keeps them productive.
“give yourself a daily facial.”
So your client is a yogi?
I went off the rails at “self-care”.
Me too…. Straight to the gutter….
Self-care is when someone stitches their own lacerations waiting for a national health service emergency medic to get around to seeing them.
Oi! You got a loicense for them sutures, m8?
The sad part is, the guy who said he learned to suture his own lacerations continued to argue in favor of the NHS even after that anecdote.
I’d think that when you’ve reached the point where you have to sew yourself back together because the official services can’t treat you, some skepticism might seep in.
Well, it used to be called self-abuse.
You came out on top then.
I think in the 20C the women’s magazines called this pampering, but obviously it’s All Different Now.
True.
This is a dude who does corporate rah-rah-sis-boom-ba-you’re-awesome seminars.
Well, at least you can do your client a solid by pointing that “facial”, at least, has some, err, alternative meanings. Can’t be too careful in the #metoo era of self-editing.
LOL no.
My job is to rain on his parade not jizz all over it.
Brokered convention? Seems Shorty Blomberg is buying (sorry, hiriing) himself some super deligates.
From Baltimore.
https://atlantablackstar.com/2020/02/22/former-baltimore-mayor-stephanie-rawlings-blake-joins-presidential-candidate-michael-bloombergs-campaign/
and Texas and California
https://theintercept.com/2020/02/28/bloomberg-super-tuesday-texas-california-democratic-party-hires/