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January 2017

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 09, 2017 10 Comments
We reported the other day on the escalating campaign by Palestinian leaders threatening and predicting violence if the U.S. moves our embassy to Jerusalem, Palestinian leadership: There will be violence if U.S. moves Embassy to Jerusalem. While Hamas is behind some of the incitement, an important feature of incitement regarding the Embassy is manufactured by the Palestinian Authority, headed by Mahmoud Abbas, through Mosques run by Imams loyal to the PA. Leaders, such as Mahmoud Abbas, then use the violence they are instigating behind-the-scenes to warn that an Embassy move might inspire violence. The Times of Israel reports Top PA imam: Moving US embassy to Jerusalem a ‘declaration of war’ on Islam:

Posted by Mary Chastain on January 09, 2017 15 Comments
The FBI published around 300 pages of documents associated with Hillary Clinton's email investigation on Sunday night when the most of us enjoyed football, hockey, or the Golden Globes. These emails include discussions within Hillary's team about the computer hardware during the FBI's investigation:
At first, Clinton was unwilling to surrender her private server, but hacked emails appear to show her team advised her to let the FBI take control of the materials.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on January 09, 2017 33 Comments
California politicos are going all-in when it comes to squandering taxpayer dollars for social justice causes! Last week it was reported that California has arranged for the completion of expensive sex-reassignment surgery so that a man serving a life sentence for murder has been transformed into a woman, and is now on her way to a woman's prison to complete the full sentence.
California prison officials agreed in August 2015 to pay for the surgery for Shiloh Heavenly Quine, who was convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping and robbery for ransom and has no possibility of parole.

Posted by Mary Chastain on January 09, 2017 33 Comments
Students at University of London have demanded the school drop famous philosophers like Plato and Kant from the curriculum because they were white. Instead, the student union at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) would rather have philosophers from Africa and Asia. The union has started the "campaign to 'decolonise' the university." The Daily Mail reported:
Entitled ‘Decolonising SOAS: Confronting The White Institution’, the union’s statement of ‘educational priorities’ warns ‘white philosophers’ should be studied only ‘if required’, and even then their work should be taught solely from ‘a critical standpoint’: ‘For example, acknowledging the colonial context in which so-called “Enlightenment” philosophers wrote within.’

Posted by Leslie Eastman on January 09, 2017 15 Comments
Details continue to come out about the Fort Lauderdale airport shooter, Esteban Santiago, who appears to have had a history of mental health problems and was under psychiatric care. Slowly, information has also come out about the victims of that horrific attack, which killed five and wounded eight. While not all victim information has been released, it appears at least four couples have been separated by death. Two of the victims were an Ohio couple heading for their 51st wedding anniversary.
Tragedy struck an Ohio family when Shirley Timmons was slain and her husband critically injured during the airport attack. The couple had flown to Fort Lauderdale on Friday to join the rest of their family for a cruise, WILE-FM (http://bit.ly/2iODNWI) reported.

Posted by Mike LaChance on January 09, 2017 44 Comments
At the Golden Globe awards Sunday night, Meryl Streep used her stage time to attack Donald Trump. She lamented the fact that such a vulgarian won the election. The funniest thing about her speech is how she frames the importance of being respectful of other people, a quality she clearly doesn't think Trump possesses. Does everyone recall how respectful movies and TV were to George W. Bush? Streep lives in an alternate reality where everyone has always played fairly with each other.

Posted by MLA17 Attendee on January 08, 2017 5 Comments
As reported extensively on this site, the Modern Language Association held its annual convention this weekend in Philadelphia. At the meeting a resolution to boycott Israeli academic institutions was defeated and a resolution opposing academic boycotts was passed and is now before the general membership. For coverage see here and here. I am an MLA member, and I was there. Unfortunately, for professional reasons, I am not able to write under my own name. Such is the nature of the BDS academic boycott. The under-the-radar boycott is for real, even as pro-BDS faculty push for a formal boycott such at that attempted at MLA. Here's what I observed, and what I think the implications are for the academic boycott movement - and the opposition.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on January 08, 2017 17 Comments
You probably have not heard the names Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom. But I remember those names, and the tears that were brought to my eyes when I heard about what happened to them. On January 7, 2007, the young white couple—Channon was 21, her boyfriend Chris was 23—was abducted, beaten, raped, tortured, and murdered.  Chris eventually shot to death before being set on fire, and Channon left to die with a plastic bag over her head in a trash can.  The perpetrators were all black. If you have not heard their story, it's because the racial nature of that black-on-white crime was uncomfortable for the national media a decade ago. Even now, it's uncomfortable, as the delayed and reluctant coverage of the Chicago tortures showed. Here is their story.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on January 08, 2017 12 Comments
His party completely decimated under his watch, Obama is now signaling that he's going to stick around and help the Democrats still more.  Part of this "help" is apparently his ongoing presence on the national stage as a stalwart warrior against President-elect Trump.  Having long ago anointed himself as the arbiter of "who we are" as a nation, Obama has made it clear that, much to our collective chagrin, retiring from the spotlight is not on the table.

Posted by Mary Chastain on January 08, 2017 39 Comments
Yes, apparently some major Democratic donors have started pushing Hillary Clinton to run for New York City mayor. John Gizzi, the White House correspondent for Newsmax, heard the rumors from unanimous sources and said that her "inner circle" has become "intrigued" by the idea. Not shocking, really, since the Clintons yearn for the spotlight in politics and who really thought she would go quietly into the night after President-elect Donald Trump defeated her on November 8? These rumors have really taken off with the New York Post editorial board urging her to run, even before anyone has confirmed if she would do it:

Posted by Mary Chastain on January 08, 2017 6 Comments
Tsai Ing-wen, president of Taiwan, will make transit stops in the United States when she heads to the Americas, but will not receive a visit from President-elect Donald Trump or from anyone on his transition team:
Trump transition spokeswoman Jessica Ditto said in an email Saturday that the president-elect would not be meeting with the Taiwanese leader while she is in the U.S., nor will members of his transition team.
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