Sunday, June 30, 2019

Retired judge has fought to shed daylight on Jussie Smollett case

John Kass: Retired judge has fought to shed daylight on Jussie Smollett case
Excerpt: Smollett is now the poster child for Chicago’s social justice warrior, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, and her obsequious deference to the Obama Celebrity Friends who wanted to help Smollett. Smollett was a Democratic and media hero for a time, telling the saga of how he fought off those racist, homophobic, Trump-loving thugs — with a tuna sandwich in one hand and his cellphone in the other. It all began to unravel when the thugs turned out to be those Nigerian bodybuilder friends of his, the brothers Osundairo, and Smollett was charged with 16 counts of faking a hate crime. Foxx dropped the charges the Chicago Way, but now a special prosecutor will be named to investigate not only Smollett but also Foxx herself and how she handled things.

Freedom From Consequences Isn’t Freedom

Freedom From Consequences Isn’t Freedom
Excerpt: On Monday, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., desperate to revive his flagging campaign, proposed a far-reaching plan to wipe out all student debt. That plan falls hard on plans by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., his chief far-left rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, to make college “free” moving forward. Sanders’ justification for allocating over $1 trillion of taxpayer money to relieving relatively more well-off people from debt freely incurred: True freedom means living free of consequences.

Syrian man accused of gang raping teenager outside a German nightclub with 10 friends claims the victim, 18, 'demanded' sex

Syrian man accused of gang raping teenager outside a German nightclub with 10 friends claims the victim, 18, 'demanded' sex

Khuram Butt: The partygoer who turned into a killer

UK: Muslim stops partying, starts becoming intensely observant in Islam, murders eight in jihad massacre
Excerpt: Our moral superiors constantly tell us that jihad terror has nothing — nothing whatsoever! — to do with Islam, and that anyone who thinks otherwise is a racist, bigoted “Islamophobe.” But the life trajectory of Khuram Butt and so many others suggests otherwise. The Obama administration, however, in 2011 removed materials that noted a sudden turn to devoutness in Islam could be a sign of a turn toward jihad terror from counterterror training. The politically correct myth conquered the unwelcome reality.
Khuram Butt: The partygoer who turned into a killer

Saturday, June 29, 2019

California

America’s First Third-World State By Victor Davis Hanson
Excerpt: Third World” is now an anachronistic geographical term of the old Cold War. But after 1989, “Third World” was reinvented from a political noun into an adjective to mean more than just Asian, African, and Latin American nations nonaligned with either the West or the Soviet bloc. Rather, the current modifier “Third World” has come to transcend geography, politics, and ethnicity. It simply denotes poor failed states all over the globe of all races and religions. Third World symptomologies are predictably corrupt government, unequal or nonexistent applicability of the law, two rather than three classes, and the return of medieval diseases. Third World nations suffer from high taxes and poor social services, premodern infrastructure and utilities, poor transportation, tribalism, gangs, and lack of security.

Thursday, June 27, 2019

Crack-ups at the Crossroads of Intersectionality by Victor Davis Hanson

Crack-ups at the Crossroads of Intersectionality by Victor Davis Hanson
Excerpt: Progressives do not see the United States as an exceptional uniter of factions and tribes into a cohesive whole—each citizen subordinating his tribal, ethnic, and religious affinities to a shared Americanism, emblemized by our national motto e pluribus unum. Instead, they prefer e uno plures: out of one nation arise many innately different and separate peoples.Progressivism’s signature brand is now tribalism: all of us in different ways are victims of a white male Christian heterosexual patriarchy—or a current 20 percent hierarchy that past and present has supposedly oppressed anyone not like themselves. In contrast, our differences define who we are, and are not incidental to the content of our characters. The salad bowl, not the melting pot, is the new national creed. America is to be a conglomeration of competing tribal parties in the fashion of the Balkans, Rwanda, or contemporary Iraq. (Hanson hits one out of the park this time, really slams every facet of the stupidity and ultimately the evil of this kind of PC madness taken beyond mere extremism. Had the people of the 13 colonies not been able to decide to put aside their many differences, and they had a whole raftful of them, there'd never have been a USA and our history would be an unimaginable series of tragedies and conflicts. The world would be a different place, maybe there'd be a lot more people speaking German and Japanese today, or Russian. Maybe North America would be like South America, with a gaggle of different states scattered across it. And no men on the moon, and not a fraction of the progress made technically over the past century. It is very simple- we are stronger together than we are separately, we all have better rights and prosperity when we are ready to accord to everyone else the same freedom, rights, and opportunities we want for ourselves. Tolerance and compromise are the essential aspects of a free and progressive society, divisiveness, mistrust, and blind aggressiveness towards others are the sure way to condemn everyone to a life of unending conflict. We need desperately to reject and actively fight against the divisiveness, the PC insanity, and reach out to everyone else with open minds and hearts. --Del)

The Steele Dossier Has Been Discredited—Is the IC Report Next?

The Steele Dossier Has Been Discredited—Is the IC Report Next?
Excerpt: Nonetheless, in less than three weeks, the agencies claimed to have collected and verified reports from “multiple sources” to affirm their findings. “To my mind the assessment is very peculiar,” former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy told the House Intelligence Committee earlier this month. “Ordinarily the kind of assessment that you’re talking about there would be something that would take well over a year to do, certainly many months to do . . . seems to me, in this instance, there was a rush to get that out within a matter of days.” The hastily prepared report is akin to a last-minute term paper, carefully formatted with plenty of white space and graphics. (Worth reading and fairly short. Ron P.)

U.S. – China Trade War, Part Two: The Thucydides Trap by Chet Nagle

U.S. – China Trade War, Part Two: The Thucydides Trap by Chet Nagle

Black Professor Blogs About Fantasy of Kicking Homeless White Men – Says They ‘Oppress’ Him

Black Professor Blogs About Fantasy of Kicking Homeless White Men – Says They ‘Oppress’ Him
Excerpt: A State University of New York professor wrote in a blog post this month that he feels oppressed by homeless white men who beg for food and money in his neighborhood, and fantasizes about attacking them. Nicholas Powers, an associate professor of black literature at SUNY Old Westbury, made the confession in a since-deleted essay headlined “Seeing poor white people makes me happy. It was published by the RaceBaitr blog on June 11. (This is where divisiveness and victimology lead us: To where educated, successful, even privileged individuals of color wallow in racism and cannot see how they are falling into the trap of being like the people of the past whom they hate and despise. This is more than sad, it's tragic and dangerous. --Del)

Graves of more than 30 US Marines, sailors from WWII discovered on remote Pacific Island

Graves of more than 30 US Marines, sailors from WWII discovered on remote Pacific Island

A Currency Upheaval Is Coming

A Currency Upheaval Is Coming
Excerpt: Sometimes forces line up in just the right way to mark the end of an era. That era is dollar supremacy. Colin Lloyd has marshalled some impressive evidence that the dollar’s status as the global reserve currency may not last. Indeed, its status is weakening. Should it come to lose its monopoly status, the place of the U.S. on the world stage will undergo a substantial change. The ability to call the shots, as it has done in the entire postwar period, will be weakened. Monetary policy will no longer be able to presume infinite markets abroad for dollar creation. The market for U.S. currency could come into question. All the implications here are impossible to foresee. (This, coupled with the prior post about Facebook’s possible Libra currency seem to fit together well. Worth reading. Ron P.)

Iranian regime's repression of Christians ‘shocks the conscience’

Iranian regime's repression of Christians ‘shocks the conscience’
Muslims persecuting Christians? Ho, mum, been going on for 1300 years. Nothing new here. ~Bob

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

States going ‘too far too fast’ in legalizing pot, U.S. surgeon general tells UC Davis doctors

States going ‘too far too fast’ in legalizing pot, U.S. surgeon general tells UC Davis doctors
https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/health-and-medicine/article231915573.html?fbclid=IwAR1ouUlROOZtS3lKZuGg-z0_32Rv11qMwggR0PMM7idewH4690pDnuNMUfM

Sunday, June 23, 2019

New Documents Released Regarding Rep. Ilhan Omar's Possible Bigamy and Incest

New Documents Released Regarding Rep. Ilhan Omar's Possible Bigamy and Incest

Gun Control is the Root of Socialism

Gun Control is the Root of Socialism

‘Nobody Told Me it Was Illegal!’ – Claim of Migrant Accused of Child Rape

‘Nobody Told Me it Was Illegal!’ – Claim of Migrant Accused of Child Rape
A migrant suspected of raping and sexually abusing a much younger girl claims that he did not know it was illegal in Sweden because no-one had told him. The suspected sexual abuse took place in April of this year at a family home with the young girl, whose exact age has not been revealed. It is alleged she was forced to have sex with the supposedly 17-year-old migrant, newspaper Lokaltidningen reports. When questioned, the migrant reportedly admitted that he had sex with the young girl but said that it had not been a crime and was just something that “happened between two children.”

Human trafficking in America among worst in world: report

Human trafficking in America among worst in world: report

I expect him to be killed by the "Religion of Peace."

EGYPTIAN REFORMIST ISLAM BEHERY: TERRORISM DID NOT BEGIN WITH MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD; ISIS-LIKE IDEOLOGY EXISTED IN ISLAMIC CALIPHATES

Rape Gang Arrests

Police investigating grooming gang arrest 41 men and three women aged between 39 and 81 over allegations of historic child sexual abuse in Kirklees
LONG time coming. ~Bob

Saturday, June 22, 2019

Book Recommendation: Indian Country by Kurt A. Schlichter


Indian Country by Kurt A. Schlichter
This the is the second of a series of three (so far) political thrillers by Schlichter about America after the blue states have split with the red states, forming separate (and hostile) countries. Since it is a “prequel,” it can be read first. I have read “People’s Republic,” the first book and look forward to reading the third. It should be read by progressives because the hyper tension spike will be good for what ails them. I would say that the positions and characters of the blue states, caricaturizes them, except each day progressive leaders, in their race to get as far to the left of Stalin and Mao as possible, caricaturize themselves far more than this novel does. Schlichter served as an Army infantry officer on active duty, and retired as a colonel from the Guard, so his military stuff is believable. He is a very experienced writer, but mostly of non-fiction. I found his characters and fiction writing style both good and enjoyable, though not at the level of, say, a Tom Kratman in “Caliphate” or in the Carrera or Countdown series. I plan to buy and read the third book. (Despite five shelves of unread history books and a few novels.) I think conservatives who like adventure books written as frightening near-future history will like this book.

The Wisconsin State Journal published my letter!

The Wisconsin State Journal published my letter!
Science has been wrong in the past -- Robert Hall

The Top Four Reasons California Is Unsustainable.

The Top Four Reasons California Is Unsustainable. By Thomas Del Beccar

Friday, June 21, 2019

‘YOU’RE NO LONGER SAFE'

‘YOU’RE NO LONGER SAFE' ISIS maniac, 27, disguised ‘lethal’ shrapnel bombs as teddy bears and dumped them in US streets where kids could find them

Liberalism Isn’t What It Used to Be.

Liberalism Isn’t What It Used to Be. The values that made me a supporter of RFK in 1968 put me at odds with today’s progressives. By Michael Blechman

Thursday, June 20, 2019

Chronic Conflict in the Global World: Right at Your Doorstep or on Your Computer

Chronic Conflict in the Global World: Right at Your Doorstep or on Your Computer
Excerpt: Modern warfare as practiced less resembles WWII than the rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel or the shooting up of "Easter worshippers" in Sri Lanka. The goal isn't the capture of geographical features but to gain media column inches, invitations to talk shows, followers on Twitter and the like. The objective is not the conquest of a state but its takeover by means of assisting to power the domestic political force most congenial to the attacker. "Collusion" and political effects are not the exception but the entire point of modern hostile operations. The 2020 election, not Sugarloaf Hill, is the new high ground. In fairness, this is exactly the game America is playing against Iran. The U.S. doesn't want to conquer territory but ensure that a "moderate" or "reformist" faction comes to power in Tehran. It would be silly to think China and Russia are not trying the same stunt on Washington. That's why the cry "sappers are in the wire" is still valid even though it's a different kind of sapper and a different kind of wire: the Internet and 5G. (If the author, Richard Fernandez, is correct in this assessment, we're in for a long slog with little to show for it in the Middle East. Ron P.)

Thriving Glaciers and Doomed Environmentalists

Thriving Glaciers and Doomed Environmentalists by Daniel Greenfield

National Debt: Who Cares?

National Debt: Who Cares?

North Carolina suspect fought off by boy with machete due in court

North Carolina suspect fought off by boy with machete due in court
Story with happy ending. --GS

Why Study War

Why Study War? by Victor Davis Hanson
Excerpt: Try explaining to a college student that Tet was an American military victory. You’ll provoke not a counterargument—let alone an assent—but a blank stare: Who or what was Tet? Doing interviews about the recent hit movie 300, I encountered similar bewilderment from listeners and hosts. Not only did most of them not know who the 300 were or what Thermopylae was; they seemed clueless about the Persian Wars altogether. It’s no surprise that civilian Americans tend to lack a basic understanding of military matters. Even when I was a graduate student, 30-some years ago, military history—understood broadly as the investigation of why one side wins and another loses a war, and encompassing reflections on magisterial or foolish generalship, technological stagnation or breakthrough, and the roles of discipline, bravery, national will, and culture in determining a conflict’s outcome and its consequences—had already become unfashionable on campus. Today, universities are even less receptive to the subject. This state of affairs is profoundly troubling, for democratic citizenship requires knowledge of war—and now, in the age of weapons of mass annihilation, more than ever.

California’s Budget Doubled in 8 Years to $215 Billion.

California’s Budget Doubled in 8 Years to $215 Billion. The Democrat disaster gets even worse. By Daniel Greenfield
Almost Funny. Unless you live there, that is. I just keep wondering how far all this has to go before somehow enough people wake up to start voting differently. --Del

Proves Global Warming. Everything does.

Largest glacier in Greenland is growing for third year in a row, thickening occurring across an increasingly wide area
Excerpt: Jakobshavn Glacier in western Greenland, best known for being world's fastest-moving glacier, is growing for the third year in a row. By the third year, thickening is occurring across an increasingly wide area. The glacier has spent decades in retreat until scientists observed an unexpected advance between 2016 and 2017. In addition to growing toward the ocean, the glacier was found to be slowing and thickening. Data collected in March 2019 confirm that the glacier has grown for the third year in a row, and scientists attribute the change to cool ocean waters, Kathryn Hansen of NASA's Earth Observatory reports.

Feds: Mexican gang flooding Central Valley towns with drugs from inside California prison

Feds: Mexican gang flooding Central Valley towns with drugs from inside California prison

Recent caravans of foreign nationals included more than 1,500 previously deported convicted criminal illegal aliens, nearly 30 of which were convicted of sex crimes, federal officials say.

Recent caravans of foreign nationals included more than 1,500 previously deported convicted criminal illegal aliens, nearly 30 of which were convicted of sex crimes, federal officials say.

Truth about Uncle Ho

The Myth of the Wilsonian Moment
So nice to see actual historical research done and the real history published. Not that anything will ever stop those who want to believe in Ho as a wonderful Vietnamese patriot who really wanted to emulate the USA, but was forced by the blindness and arrogance of American leaders to turn to communism in order to serve his innate nationalism. But that's all crap, he was a dedicated communist all the way, a merciless manipulator for the cause of Lenin and Stalin, who brought more death and misery to Viet Nam than anyone since the Chinese. --Del

7-year-old girl deserved to be raped

'Mother of 7-year-old rape victim on verge of total collapse' 46-year-old Mahmoud Katusa used local family's home to carry out rape. Accomplices likely still working in haredi city where rape occurred.
Excerpt: “I’m going to do something fun for you,” Katusa told the girl. Aided by at least two other Arab workers present in the home at the time, Katusa removed the girl’s clothes, then raped her. The other Arab workers held the girl’s arms and legs, and covered her eyes, while she cried and asked to go home. Haim Bleicher, the attorney representing the girl’s family, later said that the two accomplices mocked the girl during the rape, saying she “deserved it”.

Kenneth Allen McDuff: American Serial Killer

Kenneth Allen McDuff: American Serial Killer
Excerpt: Kenneth Allen McDuff (March 21, 1946 – November 17, 1998) was an American serial killer. He was convicted in 1966 of murdering 16-year-old Edna Sullivan; her boyfriend, 17-year-old Robert Brand; and Brand’s cousin, 15-year-old Mark Dunnam, who was visiting from California.
They were all strangers whom Allen McDuff abducted after noticing Sullivan; she was repeatedly raped before having her neck broken with a broomstick. Allen McDuff was given three death sentences that were reduced to life imprisonment consequently to the 1972 U.S. Supreme Court ruling Furman v. Georgia. He was paroled in 1989. Allen McDuff was given a new death sentence and executed for a murder committed after his release, and is suspected to have been responsible for many other killings.(Merciful and legalistic judges can make mistakes that cost others their lives. This is the worst example I've seen of this. Warning, it's really a depressing story. --Del)

This Marine Captain Figured Out Exactly How Many Pounds Equal Pain in Combat

This Marine Captain Figured Out Exactly How Many Pounds Equal Pain in Combat
Nicely done research on what people can carry into battle and be effective. Interestingly, the recommendation is no more than 30% of body weight for long term movement, and no more than 45% for actual assault situations. This means the average 180 lb man would never get loaded down with more than 80-85 lbs of gear. But now grunts are routinely carrying 100 lbs all the time, and sometimes even more. I've watched videos of combat sequences in Afghanistan and under fire the men are running as fast as they can, but it's not that fast at all, and they're not dodging back and forth either, they're far too weighed down for any of that. Clearly there's a point where the extra weight increases danger rather than increasing safety, and it's time for everyone to understand that and start thinking about it. And of course, this again says you can't have women in the infantry, the most a 120 lb woman would be supposed to carry would be 55 lbs, and that simply can't work. Loading her up with 80 lbs means 2/3 her body weight and nobody is going to be very effective loaded down like that. --Del

When Normality Became Abnormal. By Victor Davis Hanson

When Normality Became Abnormal. By Victor Davis Hanson
EXCERPT: One way is to see this as a collision between Trump, the proverbial bull, and the administrative state as a targeted precious china shop—with all the inevitable nihilistic mix-up of horns, hooves, and flying porcelain shards. But quite another is to conclude that what we recently used to think was abjectly abnormal twenty years ago had become not just “normal,” but so orthodoxly normal that even suggesting it was not was judged to be heretical and deserving of censure and worse. The current normal correctives were denounced as abnormal—as if living in a sovereign state with secure borders, assuming that the law was enforced equally among all Americans, demanding that citizenship was something more than mere residence, and remembering that successful Americans, not their government, built their own businesses and lives is now somehow aberrant or perverse.

NY county clerk says he won't enforce law giving drivers' licenses to illegal immigrants, warns of voter fraud

NY county clerk says he won't enforce law giving drivers' licenses to illegal immigrants, warns of voter fraud
Excerpt: NY county clerk says he won't enforce law giving drivers' licenses to illegal immigrants, warns of voter fraud An upstate New York county clerk says the legislation that lets illegal immigrantsapply for drivers’ licenses not only violates federal law but could also lead to voter fraud and damage national security.

We Hold All the Cards in the Showdown with Iran.

We Hold All the Cards in the Showdown with Iran. By Victor Davis Hanson

Speech by Coleman Hughes on reparations.

Speech by Coleman Hughes on reparations.
Excerpt: I worry that our desire to fix the past compromises our ability to fix the present. Think about what we’re doing today. We’re spending our time debating a bill that mentions slavery 25 times but incarceration only once, in an era with zero black slaves but nearly a million black prisoners—a bill that doesn’t mention homicide once, at a time when the Center for Disease Control reports homicide as the number one cause of death for young black men. I’m not saying that acknowledging history doesn’t matter. It does. I’m saying there’s a difference between acknowledging history and allowing history to distract us from the problems we face today. In 2008, the House of Representatives formally apologized for slavery and Jim Crow. In 2009, the Senate did the same. Black people don’t need another apology. We need safer neighborhoods and better schools. We need a less punitive criminal justice system. We need affordable health care. And none of these things can be achieved through reparations for slavery. Nearly everyone close to me told me not to testify today. They said that even though I’ve only ever voted for Democrats, I’d be perceived as a Republican—and therefore hated by half the country. Others told me that distancing myself from Republicans would end up angering the other half of the country. And the sad truth is that they were both right. That’s how suspicious we’ve become of one another. That’s how divided we are as a nation. (Spoken by a young, Democrat black male with eloquent prose. He was squashed by the Chairman, Cohen (D), who sushed those booing his remarks and said, "The speaker is presumptuous but he has a right to talk." -Barb)

I'm not a public nuisance, I'm a public health service!

Rotten egg gas holds key to healthcare therapies
https://www.exeter.ac.uk/news/research/title_393168_en.html
Excerpt: Scientists in Exeter have already found that the compound protects mitochondria – the “powerhouse” of cells, which drive energy production in blood vessel cells. Preventing or reversing mitochondrial damage is a key strategy for treatments of a variety of conditions such as stroke, heart failure, diabetes and arthritis, dementia and ageing. Mitochondria determine whether cells live or die and they regulate inflammation. In the clinic, dysfunctional mitochondria are strongly linked to disease severity. ... Dr. Mark Wood of Biosciences, at the University of Exeter, added “Although hydrogen sulfide is well known as a pungent, foul-smelling gas in rotten eggs and flatulence, it is naturally produced in the body and could in fact be a healthcare hero with significant implications for future therapies for a variety of diseases.” (I'm not a public nuisance, I'm a public health service! ~Bob)

Supreme Court Defies Atheists: World War I Cross Memorial Doesn't Violate Establishment Clause

Supreme Court Defies Atheists: World War I Cross Memorial Doesn't Violate Establishment Clause
Wow, and it was a 7-2 decision, which says only the two furthest Left (I wonder who they are) were ready to banish the memorial. This is so long overdue, but I am really rejoicing to see it. --Del

This is SATIRE. But funny.

Satire: Ocasio-Cortez Gets Head Stuck In Bucket, Journalists Rush To Explain Why It Was Actually A Genius Move
Excerpt: On Wednesday, New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez somehow got her head stuck inside a bucket. She was heard yelling, “Who turned out the lights?” while repeatedly running full speed into walls. Republicans immediately pounced, using this as proof that Ocasio-Cortez is “kind of a dummy.” Many journalists, on the other hand, leaped to Ocasio-Cortez’s defense, saying her getting her head firmly wedged inside of a plastic bucket was further proof of her being an intelligent and dynamic politician. “Most people don’t have her scientific curiosity and intelligence,” said MSNBC pundit Chris Hayes. “Someone incurious like Trump would never look at a bucket and ask ‘Could my head fit inside that?’ But Ocasio-Cortez dives into such questions head first.” “She is making a bold statement,” said CNN’s Chris Cuomo. “The bucket on her head is from Walmart, and she is saying loud and clear that corporations have blinded us all.”

35 Jihadi Terrorist Cell's "Camps" in America!

3,000 Muslim Mosques - 35 Jihadi Terrorist Cell's "Camps" in America! - YouTube

Second congressional Democrat staffer charged in scheme to 'dox' Republicans amid Kavanaugh confirmation fight

Second congressional Democrat staffer charged in scheme to 'dox' Republicans amid Kavanaugh confirmation fight
Excerpt: Court documents accuse Davis of aiding 27-year-old Jackson A. Cosko, a former Hassan aide who has pleaded guilty to five federal offenses, including two counts of making public restricted personal information, and one count each of computer fraud, witness tampering and obstruction of justice. Prosecutors alleged Wednesday that Davis was persuaded by Cosko to "wipe down" Senate computers he had hacked... Cosko was arrested Oct. 3, 2018, one day after a staffer discovered him working on a computer in Hassan's office, where Cosko was not authorized to be. Records show Cosko sent a threatening email to the staffer the evening he was confronted. “I own EVERYTHING," Cosko wrote, adding, "If you tell anyone I will leak it all." Cosko previously held positions with other prominent Democrats, including former Sen. Barbara Boxer of California and the office of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, also of California and the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. (Important to note other prominent Dems for whom Cosko worked.....Barb)

Wednesday, June 19, 2019

Scientists develop new laser that can find and destroy cancer cells in the blood

Scientists develop new laser that can find and destroy cancer cells in the blood
Excerpt: The new technology, dubbed the Cytophone, uses pulses of laser light on the outside of the skin to heat up cells in the blood. But the laser only heats up melanoma cells — not healthy cells — because these cells carry a dark pigment called melanin, which absorbs the light. The Cytophone then uses an ultrasound technique to detect the teensy, tiny waves emitted by this heating effect. They tested the technology on 28 light-skinned patients who had melanoma and on 19 healthy volunteers who didn't have melanoma. They shone the laser onto the patients' hands and found that within 10 seconds to 60 minutes, the technology could identify circulating tumor cells in 27 out of 28 of those volunteers. The device didn't return any false positives on the healthy volunteers, and it didn't cause safety concerns or side effects, they said. Melanin is a pigment that is normally present in the skin, but skin cells aren't harmed, Zharov said. (They were only looking for a detection method and were surprised that it also killed the cancer cells found. So far, melanoma is the only cancer this works on, but it’s one of the more common cancers. They say there is good  reason to think they may be able to do it for breast cancer within a few years. Coming to a hospital near you in the future.  Ron P.)

Robocalls

Robocalls wreak havoc at hospitals and put patients' lives in danger: report
Excerpt: The hospital, which is a center for biomedical research and the main teaching hospital for Tufts University School of Medicine, received more than 4,500 robocalls in a two-hour period the morning of April 30, 2018, according to The Washington Post. The messages featured a voice speaking in Mandarin and threatened deportation if someone did not provide certain personal information. The scourge of robocalls is well documented. Last year, global spam calls grew by 325 percent to at least 85 billion, according to a report from Hiya. (This has been my #1 pet peeve for the past several years. I likely average between 4 and 6 calls daily between my home phone and cell phone. Virtually all of them are spoofing a local number. Some even leave messages, one of which sounded like Chinese. Most of the rest come through with a prefix of “V”, indicating it is a voice call from outside the USA via the internet.There is virtually no currently enforceable way to stop or prohibit these calls. Most of the problem is that it costs the caller about one tenth of a cent to place the call. The only really effective way to stop these harassing calls is to find a way to raise the price of calling to an amount that would be unacceptable to the callers, perhaps a quarter dollar ($0.25) per call. Even a nickel ($0.05) would likely discourage a lot of them. The phone companies would be thrilled with the new revenue stream and would likely support such a system if they get to keep, say, 40% of the revenue generated; the balance can be credited against our phone bills. If we get to charge the callers by the minute, it would even provide us consumers with an incentive to answer the calls and talk as long as possible. Note that it’s important that there be no exceptions for political or charity calls, half of which I suspect are scams, anyway. Ron P. I never answer Robo calls. ~Bob)

Sunday, June 16, 2019

A Conservative Resistance? By Angelo Codevilla

A Conservative Resistance? By Angelo Codevilla
Excerpt: Leftists in America treat conservative voters, elected officials, and policies as illegitimate. Should conservative Americans return the favor? Could they? Few outside the corporate leftist media took seriously Hillary Clinton’s accusation that Donald Trump might refuse to accept defeat in the 2016 election. Though Americans’ sociopolitical divisions had already become irreconcilable, no one really believed that a major party would rebel against the voters, and hence against our constitutional republic—yet. And yet the Democratic Party and the ruling class that it represents did just that, and decided never again to concede legitimacy to any serious opponents’ victory.

19 killed by gunmen in Burkina Faso: 'There's no Christian anymore in this town'

19 killed by gunmen in Burkina Faso: 'There's no Christian anymore in this town'
Excerpt: Dozens of armed unidentified gunmen killed at least 19 and injured 13 others in northern Burkina Faso on Sunday. A local government official told AFP on the condition of anonymity that the attack occurred between 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and that 19 bodies were found at the time. The official said a search was underway to find others who were killed. Hours before the gunmen attacked, the source said the gunmen stopped three vehicles in the town of Arbinda and set them on fire. The official detailed that one of the drivers was killed. The killing in Arbinda comes as armed groups have spread across the Shael region and committed atrocities in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso. The United Nations reports that the violence has led to the displacement of at least 4.2 million people, 1 million more than in 2018. (But it isn’t “Islamophobia,” so the world yawns. --RS

African migrants pass through San Antonio and swiftly fan out across the country

African migrants pass through San Antonio and swiftly fan out across the country
Excerpt: SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Roughly 300 Congolese and Angolan citizens who arrived in San Antonio the first week of June after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border days earlier have all briskly departed the city for destinations across the country, some with fuzzy plans based partly on hope. The hundreds of family members and single adults from Central Africa first showed up June 4 at the southern border’s Eagle Pass and Del Rio towns in south-central Texas. The migrants surrendered to Border Patrol agents and claimed asylum after crossing the Rio Grande. The agency did not, as it is supposed to, turn families over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Instead, it released families onto the streets of Eagle Pass and Del Rio, according to two government and nongovernment officials with first-hand knowledge of the matter. The African migrants then bought bus tickets to either San Antonio or Austin, according to San Antonio Interim Assistant City Manager Colleen Bridger. “If — a family, the sponsor — it’s been 24-48 hours and they can’t buy the [bus] ticket, then we’ll buy it,” Elizabeth Nemeth, executive director of Catholic Charities' west side center, told the Washington Examiner Thursday. For a family of five to seven looking to travel by bus to New York, it will cost $2,000, she said.