vdare--2020-02-02--Her Name Is Katie Thyne: 24-Year-Old White Police Officer Murdered By Black Career Criminal Feds Wou

Her Name Is Katie Thyne: 24-Year-Old White Police Officer Murdered By Black Career Criminal Feds Wouldn't Lock Up

Earlier by Paul Kersey : Black Cop Killer in Indianapolis SUES White Cop He Killed for $ 2.3 Million White police officers lives don ’ t matter , unless an individual white police officer ’ s life can be used by the corporate media to attack the entire profession as hopelessly racist .
We all know the truth about white police and black criminals , with members of the corporate media still incredulous they do not go out on their beat with the stated of finding innocent black/brown bodies to target .
[ New Study Says White Police Officers Are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , NPR , July 16 , 2019 ] White police officers have thankless jobs , each and every one knowing if they go out and duty and interact with the wrong black/brown person , their career could instantly turn out to be Darren Wilson-ed .
Or , they could also have the fate of Newport News Police Officer Katie Thyne .
She was a 24-year-old white police officer , a mother of a two-year-old daughter .
No one will march in her memory .
No one will dare threaten to burn down a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was a white police officer who was murdered by a black criminal ( who should have been behind bars for his role in a bank robbery the federal government declined to prosecute ) .
Officer Thyne ’ s body cam horrifically captured her final moments , as her body was dragged by the car of the black man she was questioning .
One must wonder if this black criminal wasn ’ t prosecuted by the federal government out of some misguided belief too many blacks were in jail and criminal justice reform truly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ black/brown bodies .
Feds turned down robbery prosecution for man later accused of killing Newport News police officer , by Peter Dujardin , Daily Press , February 1 , 2020 The 38-year-old man accused of dragging a rookie Newport News police officer to her death last week was out on bond in a 2016 bank robbery charge in North Carolina .
The U.S. Attorney ’ s Office in Raleigh turned down a chance to handle the armed robbery prosecution of Vernon Evander Green II , which would likely have caused him to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Newport News , stands accused in the Jan. 23 slaying of Officer Katherine M. “ Katie ” Thyne—the first Newport News police officer killed in the line of duty in more than 25 years .
The top prosecutor for Elizabeth City , N.C. , said this week that the U.S. Attorney ’ s Office in Raleigh told him four months ago that they were not taking the robbery case , although bank robbery is viewed widely as a federal crime .
Their decision to decline prosecution in this case was very disappointing , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attorney who oversees state criminal prosecutions in Pasquotank County and six other northeast North Carolina counties .
If Green was being prosecuted federally rather than in state court , attorneys say , he would likely have been locked up awaiting trial .
That ’ s because , unlike state law in North Carolina , there ’ s a strong presumption in federal law that defendants in armed robbery cases be held rather than getting bonded out .
Womble declined to tell the Daily Press what federal prosecutors told him in turning down the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney ’ s Office in Raleigh , declined to shed light on why his office didn ’ t take the case .
It was 10:13 a.m. on May 18 , 2016 when a masked man walked into Select Bank & Trust , on a main drag in Elizabeth City , holding a handgun and a black duffel bag .
He made off with $ 10,361 in cash .
The local newspaper in Elizabeth City , The Daily Advance , reported that the robber was last seen getting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and a large decal on the rear window .
Investigators traced the 2004 sedan back to Vernon Green in Newport News .
He was indicted in March 2018 on state charges of robbery with a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm as a convicted felon .
In April 2018 , the FBI and Elizabeth City police investigators set up a sting to arrest Green at the Newport News Probation and Parole Office , The Daily Advance reported .
( He was on long-term probation stemming from a 2003 cocaine dealing and gun @ @ @ @ @ @ @ records in Newport News Circuit Court ) .
Green was extradited to North Carolina and posted a $ 250,000 bond a month later , with no condition requiring him to remain in that state , according to Superior Court records in Elizabeth City .
The case was postponed several times over the past year , court records show .
While some delays were for routine plea negotiations , a continuance in early September came because Green was a “ federal target , ” with the FBI looking into the case .
But in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they were not going to take the case , with the case staying in state court .
Four months later , Green is accused of killing the 24-year-old Thyne—the mother of a 2-year-old girl and a former Navy petty officer who graduated from the Newport News Police Academy in June .
Just after 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 23 , Thyne and another Newport News patrol officer were questioning Green on suspicion that he and a woman were smoking marijuana while sitting in the parking lot of Monitor-Merrimac Overlook Park on 16th Street .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ get out of the car , when he suddenly started up the vehicle and took off .
Thyne—standing near the open driver ’ s side door at the time—became “ trapped between the driver ’ s door and frame of the vehicle ” as it fled from the parking lot , court records say .
The car jumped a curb near a tree about a block away , crashing into a small red brick wall in front of a home .
At one point , Thyne was “ pinned ” between the car @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has said .
Thyne , found in the street near the tree , was pronounced dead about an hour later .
The State Medical Examiner ’ s Office in Norfolk said she died of “ multiple blunt trauma.
” A black career criminal who should have been in jail , save for the federal governments inexplicable leniency , murdered a white female cop after he refused to comply with her questions .
Outside of Newport News , Virginia , few will learn of Officer Katie Thyne ’ s fate , or find out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But we will ceaselessly be bombarded with the message from corporate media this Black History Month of the evil of white police officers and how they unfairly target innocent black people 24/7/365 all across this nation .
If the feds refused to prosecute your black murderer ’ s armed robbery charges ( that would have kept in him jail ) over concerns of targeting another black criminal , we can chalk up your unnecessary murder to not just political correctness , but the next frontier of civil rights—a crime entitlement program for black @ @

Earlier by Paul Kersey: Black Cop Killer in Indianapolis SUES White Cop He Killed for $2.3 Million
White police officers lives don’t matter, unless an individual white police officer’s life can be used by the corporate media to attack the entire profession as hopelessly racist.
We all know the truth about white police and black criminals, with members of the corporate media still incredulous they do not go out on their beat with the stated of finding innocent black/brown bodies to target. [New Study Says White Police Officers Are Not More Likely To Shoot Minority Suspects, NPR, July 16, 2019]
White police officers have thankless jobs, each and every one knowing if they go out and duty and interact with the wrong black/brown person, their career could instantly turn out to be Darren Wilson-ed.
Or, they could also have the fate of Newport News Police Officer Katie Thyne. She was a 24-year-old white police officer, a mother of a two-year-old daughter.
No one will march in her memory. No one will dare threaten to burn down a city to avenge her death. She was a white police officer who was murdered by a black criminal (who should have been behind bars for his role in a bank robbery the federal government declined to prosecute).
Officer Thyne’s body cam horrifically captured her final moments, as her body was dragged by the car of the black man she was questioning.
One must wonder if this black criminal wasn’t prosecuted by the federal government out of some misguided belief too many blacks were in jail and criminal justice reform truly means being lenient on these unjustly arrested black/brown bodies.
Feds turned down robbery prosecution for man later accused of killing Newport News police officer, by Peter Dujardin, Daily Press, February 1, 2020 The 38-year-old man accused of dragging a rookie Newport News police officer to her death last week was out on bond in a 2016 bank robbery charge in North Carolina. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Raleigh turned down a chance to handle the armed robbery prosecution of Vernon Evander Green II, which would likely have caused him to be jailed pending trial. Green, of Newport News, stands accused in the Jan. 23 slaying of Officer Katherine M. “Katie” Thyne—the first Newport News police officer killed in the line of duty in more than 25 years. The top prosecutor for Elizabeth City, N.C., said this week that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Raleigh told him four months ago that they were not taking the robbery case, although bank robbery is viewed widely as a federal crime. Their decision to decline prosecution in this case was very disappointing,” said Andrew Womble, the district attorney who oversees state criminal prosecutions in Pasquotank County and six other northeast North Carolina counties. If Green was being prosecuted federally rather than in state court, attorneys say, he would likely have been locked up awaiting trial. That’s because, unlike state law in North Carolina, there’s a strong presumption in federal law that defendants in armed robbery cases be held rather than getting bonded out. Womble declined to tell the Daily Press what federal prosecutors told him in turning down the case in September. And Don Connelly, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Raleigh, declined to shed light on why his office didn’t take the case. It was 10:13 a.m. on May 18, 2016 when a masked man walked into Select Bank & Trust, on a main drag in Elizabeth City, holding a handgun and a black duffel bag. He made off with $10,361 in cash. The local newspaper in Elizabeth City, The Daily Advance, reported that the robber was last seen getting into a black Mercedes-Benz with tinted windows and a large decal on the rear window. Investigators traced the 2004 sedan back to Vernon Green in Newport News. He was indicted in March 2018 on state charges of robbery with a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm as a convicted felon. In April 2018, the FBI and Elizabeth City police investigators set up a sting to arrest Green at the Newport News Probation and Parole Office, The Daily Advance reported. (He was on long-term probation stemming from a 2003 cocaine dealing and gun case from Newport News, according to records in Newport News Circuit Court). Green was extradited to North Carolina and posted a $250,000 bond a month later, with no condition requiring him to remain in that state, according to Superior Court records in Elizabeth City. The case was postponed several times over the past year, court records show. While some delays were for routine plea negotiations, a continuance in early September came because Green was a “federal target,” with the FBI looking into the case. But in late September, federal prosecutors told Womble they were not going to take the case, with the case staying in state court. Four months later, Green is accused of killing the 24-year-old Thyne—the mother of a 2-year-old girl and a former Navy petty officer who graduated from the Newport News Police Academy in June. Just after 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 23, Thyne and another Newport News patrol officer were questioning Green on suspicion that he and a woman were smoking marijuana while sitting in the parking lot of Monitor-Merrimac Overlook Park on 16th Street. Police said Green refused several demands to get out of the car, when he suddenly started up the vehicle and took off. Thyne—standing near the open driver’s side door at the time—became “trapped between the driver’s door and frame of the vehicle” as it fled from the parking lot, court records say. The car jumped a curb near a tree about a block away, crashing into a small red brick wall in front of a home. At one point, Thyne was “pinned” between the car and tree, Police Chief Steve Drew has said. Thyne, found in the street near the tree, was pronounced dead about an hour later. The State Medical Examiner’s Office in Norfolk said she died of “multiple blunt trauma.”
A black career criminal who should have been in jail, save for the federal governments inexplicable leniency, murdered a white female cop after he refused to comply with her questions. Outside of Newport News, Virginia, few will learn of Officer Katie Thyne’s fate, or find out she leaves behind a two-year-old daughter.
But we will ceaselessly be bombarded with the message from corporate media this Black History Month of the evil of white police officers and how they unfairly target innocent black people 24/7/365 all across this nation.
Rest in peace, Officer Thyne.
If the feds refused to prosecute your black murderer’s armed robbery charges (that would have kept in him jail) over concerns of targeting another black criminal, we can chalk up your unnecessary murder to not just political correctness, but the next frontier of civil rights—a crime entitlement program for black people.
[Comment at Unz.com]


vdare--2020-02-02--Parkinson's Law Of Diversity Work

Parkinson's Law Of Diversity Work

Parkinson ’ s Law : “ Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.
” The Diversity Parkinson ’ s Law : “ Diversity work expands to fill the time of the staff added to the diversity payroll.
” Diversity professionals talk about how important diversity is , and since there is never enough diversity and no one can tell you exactly what it is , much less when you ’ ve reached “ peak diversity ” or if you ’ re even close , you can never have enough people to remind everyone how important it is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more the diversity-talk .
The more diversity-talk there is , ergo , the more important it is .
Are you beginning to grasp the circularity in play ?
Since the language of “ diversity ” is so nebulous , abstract and expansive , the work of “ diversity ” is simply the praising of diversity , or as they put it , “ celebrating diversity.
” Notice how much “ diversity ” work contrasts with most other kinds of university employment , a math professor , for example .
A math professor isn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ important mathematics is ; he doesn ’ t have to .
He just teaches people how to do mathematics because it is obvious how important mathematics is .
You only hire as many math professors as you have students who want or need to learn mathematics ; any additional math profs would have nothing to do .
Or , take the custodian who cleans the classrooms and how quickly nasty things get without him : think what would happen to him if all he did was talk about how important it is to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trash cans .

iSteve commenter Stephen Paul Foster of FosterSpeak writes:
Parkinson’s Law: “Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.”
The Diversity Parkinson’s Law: “Diversity work expands to fill the time of the staff added to the diversity payroll.”
Diversity professionals talk about how important diversity is, and since there is never enough diversity and no one can tell you exactly what it is, much less when you’ve reached “peak diversity” or if you’re even close, you can never have enough people to remind everyone how important it is. The more the staff, the more the diversity-talk. The more diversity-talk there is, ergo, the more important it is.
Are you beginning to grasp the circularity in play? Since the language of “diversity” is so nebulous, abstract and expansive, the work of “diversity” is simply the praising of diversity, or as they put it, “celebrating diversity.”
Notice how much “diversity” work contrasts with most other kinds of university employment, a math professor, for example. A math professor isn’t paid to talk about how important mathematics is; he doesn’t have to. He just teaches people how to do mathematics because it is obvious how important mathematics is. You only hire as many math professors as you have students who want or need to learn mathematics; any additional math profs would have nothing to do.
Or, take the custodian who cleans the classrooms and how quickly nasty things get without him: think what would happen to him if all he did was talk about how important it is to have tidy buildings but never emptied the trash cans.


vdare--2020-02-01--Today Is Guadalupe Hidalgo Day: Party Like It's 1848!

It is often repeated that the only way to influence culture is to produce it .
This isn ’ t entirely true : much like solving the current immigration mess , the first step is to use what we already have .
One of the founding principles here at VDARE.com is that America is real .
To quote directly from our “ About ” page : While the Cultural Marxists are busy importing festivals from other cultures irrelevant to American history ( Cinco de Mayo ) or instituting holy days of obligation for their saints ( Martin Luther King ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ celebrating the historic American nation .
The anniversary of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is an obvious choice .
Here are the facts : • The Mexican-American war basically started as a dispute over our southern border .
Mexico fired the first shot in 1846 and the conflict lasted about a year , concluding with American troops ’ capture of Mexico City .
• The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ultimately cut Mexico in half by way of gaining California , Arizona , Nevada , Utah , Wyoming , Colorado , half of Texas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Republic of Texas ) and half of New Mexico .
Despite this enormous land gain , the Treaty was a sore point for American President James Polk , who felt we should have gotten more , including the Baja peninsula .
My guess is that most modern Americans are only aware of the map associated with the Treaty because of groups like Aztlan and others who wave it around as proof of their indigeneity .
In fact , the West was the very thinly settled .
And the of the 70,000 Mexican citizens @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have been American-born .
Residents of the area were given one year to choose whether to swap citizenships from Mexico to American .
And 90 % chose American .
Fast forward to today ’ s celebrations of Guadalupe Hidalgo Day…oh wait , none exist .
That looks like a problem that needs solving !
Here are a few ideas I had to kick things off : • None Pluck the feather off the Mexican eagle • Put an oversized image of the Mexican Eagle on the wall , with some removable feathers .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ hidden on the back , ranging from silly things like “ walk like a dinosaur ” for little kids to “ take a drink ” for the college set .
Players take turns plucking the feathers and following the instructions .
It ’ s like Pin The Tail On The Donkey , except that the players are removing feathers instead of adding tails—and the winner gets 525,000 square miles of valuable land .
• Instead of appropriating Mexican culture only for children 's birthday parties , let ’ s do it when it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In 1847 , we beat you with an army .
Today , I beat you with a stick.
” • Just nine days before the signing of the Treaty , James Wilson Marshall found gold in California .
Within two years , the Gold Rush was at its peak .
Too bad for Mexico .
There are a number of directions you could take this one .
Bake a cake with a gold ring inside .
Whoever finds the ring in their piece of cake gets crowned with a coon skin cap ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ make up a scavenger hunt around the house or yard , each clue written on a gold piece of paper .
Serve golden rock candy at the table , or chocolates with gold shavings , or decorate the edges of your drink glasses with gold sugar…you get the idea .
• Cowboy food is the obvious choice here , but it ’ s hard to go wrong with any foods inspired by Texas and California .
My suggestion : big bowls of red with lots of toppings , chips and guacamole , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no beans ?
That is the question .
• Polk salad .
Not actually “ salad , ” this food that was once ubiquitous on the tables of the rural poor , is about as American as it gets .
Sprigs of pokeweed were pinned to the lapel and stuck to the heads of livestock to show political support for James Polk during his Presidential bid .
He won , and it was during his Presidency that America grew to encompass all the land “ from sea to shining sea.
” The pokeweed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s yard and if prepared correctly can be served as a succulent side dish alone or scrambled with eggs .
If prepared incorrectly , it can kill you .
I ’ m sure that you and yours can come up with more and better ideas .
February is a miserable month anyway , and we could use a cheering up that ’ s a little less sugary than Valentine ’ s Day .
Call up a few friends , gather the kids around and celebrate !
It ’ s the ( second ) @ @ @ @ @ @

It is often repeated that the only way to influence culture is to produce it. This isn’t entirely true: much like solving the current immigration mess, the first step is to use what we already have.
One of the founding principles here at VDARE.com is that America is real. To quote directly from our “About” page:
"America is not a melting pot, or a tossed salad or any other fashionable dietary metaphor that strips our nation of its rightful identity. We founded a country unique to history that has its own philosophies, values, social structure, attitudes, festivals, foods and aesthetic. VDARE.com strives to preserve and celebrate the distinctive culture of America."
(Donate today!)
While the Cultural Marxists are busy importing festivals from other cultures irrelevant to American history (Cinco de Mayo) or instituting holy days of obligation for their saints (Martin Luther King) we need to get busy having FUN— celebrating the historic American nation.
The anniversary of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is an obvious choice. Here are the facts:
The Mexican-American war basically started as a dispute over our southern border. Mexico fired the first shot in 1846 and the conflict lasted about a year, concluding with American troops’ capture of Mexico City.
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ultimately cut Mexico in half by way of gaining California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, half of Texas (depending on how you count the Republic of Texas) and half of New Mexico. Despite this enormous land gain, the Treaty was a sore point for American President James Polk, who felt we should have gotten more, including the Baja peninsula.
My guess is that most modern Americans are only aware of the map associated with the Treaty because of groups like Aztlan and others who wave it around as proof of their indigeneity.
In fact, the West was the very thinly settled. And the of the 70,000 Mexican citizens there, roughly half are estimated to have been American-born. Residents of the area were given one year to choose whether to swap citizenships from Mexico to American. And 90% chose American.
Fast forward to today’s celebrations of Guadalupe Hidalgo Day…oh wait, none exist.
That looks like a problem that needs solving! Here are a few ideas I had to kick things off:
Activities:
Pluck the feather off the Mexican eagle
Put an oversized image of the Mexican Eagle on the wall, with some removable feathers. Each feather is prepared with an instruction hidden on the back, ranging from silly things like “walk like a dinosaur” for little kids to “take a drink” for the college set. Players take turns plucking the feathers and following the instructions. It’s like Pin The Tail On The Donkey, except that the players are removing feathers instead of adding tails—and the winner gets 525,000 square miles of valuable land.
Pinata Instead of appropriating Mexican culture only for children's birthday parties, let’s do it when it actually *means* something. Like, “In 1847, we beat you with an army. Today, I beat you with a stick.”
Traditional donkey shaped pinata, or Mexican Trojan horse? You decide.
Gold Rush Just nine days before the signing of the Treaty, James Wilson Marshall found gold in California. Within two years, the Gold Rush was at its peak. Too bad for Mexico. There are a number of directions you could take this one. Bake a cake with a gold ring inside. Whoever finds the ring in their piece of cake gets crowned with a coon skin cap (remember the Alamo!). Or make up a scavenger hunt around the house or yard, each clue written on a gold piece of paper. Serve golden rock candy at the table, or chocolates with gold shavings, or decorate the edges of your drink glasses with gold sugar…you get the idea.
"Gold Rush" themed mason jars for party drinks
Eat
Cowboy food is the obvious choice here, but it’s hard to go wrong with any foods inspired by Texas and California. My suggestion: big bowls of red with lots of toppings, chips and guacamole, and warm biscuits with honey.
Beans or no beans? That is the question.
Polk salad. Not actually “salad,” this food that was once ubiquitous on the tables of the rural poor, is about as American as it gets. Sprigs of pokeweed were pinned to the lapel and stuck to the heads of livestock to show political support for James Polk during his Presidential bid. He won, and it was during his Presidency that America grew to encompass all the land “from sea to shining sea.” The pokeweed plant grows in just about everybody’s yard and if prepared correctly can be served as a succulent side dish alone or scrambled with eggs. If prepared incorrectly, it can kill you.
Caution: this side dish bites back!
I’m sure that you and yours can come up with more and better ideas. February is a miserable month anyway, and we could use a cheering up that’s a little less sugary than Valentine’s Day.
Call up a few friends, gather the kids around and celebrate!
It’s the (second) easiest way to save America.


vdare--2020-02-01--Do You Know All Coronavirus Victims Appear To Be Chinese? Thought Not!

At the time of writing , 170 people have died of the Wuhan Coronavirus [ Coronavirus Live Updates : Death Toll Rises , as Foreigners are Evacuated , New York Times , January 30 , 2020 ] , though that number is bound to have increased by the time this article is published .
All of these deaths have been in China .
The disease has spread to at least 16 other countries , including Canada , the USA , France , Germany , Finland , Australia , India , Sri Lanka , the United Arab Emirates , and a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is where Wuhan coronavirus cases have been confirmed worldwide , by Eric Cheung , CNN , January 30 , 2020 ] .
The Main Stream Media , in Western countries , is stoking panic with rolling news coverage on the spread of the possibly Apocalyptic new plague [ Corona Virus Outbreak , by Matthew Weaver et al.
, The Guardian , January 30 , 2020 ] .
But what nobody is openly reporting : the race of the victims .
They appear to be all Asians—specifically , the yellow race formerly known ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Oriental.
” Thus two Coronavirus cases were just confirmed in the U.K. [ Coronavirus : UK patient is University of York student , BBC , com , February 1 , 2020 ] , But if you read the article , both turn out to be “ Chinese nationals.
” Similarly a recent headline of The Helsinki Times read “ First case of Wuhan Corona virus confirmed in Finland , ” [ January 29 , 2020 ] .
But it turns out to be a Chinese tourist in Lapland , not a Finn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I can tell , all of the confirmed cases have been of Chinese people .
According to Sri Lankan radio , the case in Sri Lanka was a “ Chinese tourist ” [ Sri Lanka suspends visa on arrival for Chinese travellers after confirmed case of Corona virus , News On Air , January 28 , 2020 ] .
So are the cases in France and the one in the United Arab Emirates [ Coronavirus is spreading as FIVE people in France are now confirmed to have the illness and Chinese traveller from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sam Blanchard , Mail Online , January 29 , 2020 ] .
If it is true that only East Asians are dying of , or even catching , Corona , that would be consistent with long-established race differences in the susceptibility to such viruses .
This has been explored in a fascinating study , by a group of Chinese researchers led by C. L. Chen of Soochow University , entitled : Ethnic differences in susceptibilities to A ( H1N1 ) flu [ African Journal of Biotechnology , 2009 ] .
The authors begin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ perspective , there is every reason to expect there to be ethnic or race differences in the susceptibility to different pathogens .
Races—or , as they call them , “ ethnic groups ” —are breeding populations , long-separated , usually by geography , who are , therefore , genetic clusters adapted to different ecologies .
Because they were exposed to different pathogens in prehistory , there are very likely to be race differences in susceptibility to the pathogens and in how well the immune system can fight them .
Many infectious diseases jumped @ @ @ @ @ @ @ due to our close contact with animals while pursuing agriculture .
For this reason , groups that never innovated agriculture , or who only innovated it in a limited form or only relatively recently took it up , can be decimated by flu-like viruses .
Thus the authors observe that the Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918 was three to 70 times more deadly to “ natives ” in Canada and the USA , as well as to the reindeer herding Saami people in Sweden and Norway , than it was to the rest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is because most white and black people are descended from those who have long practiced farming .
The authors add that the Swine Flu Pandemic of 2009 was five times more deadly to Maori people than it was to other New Zealanders .
The Corona Virus is closely related to SARS ( Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ) [ Coronavirus vs. SARS : Health experts on the key differences between the two outbreaks , by Sam Meredith , CNBC , January 28 , 2020 ] , of which there was a major outbreak in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 2002 .
According to Wikipedia ( which is , presumably , politically neutral on such numbers ) , total of 774 people died across 29 countries .
This amounted to almost 10 % of those who caught it .
Potentially in line with the findings of the Chinese researchers , the mortality rate for SARS in Europe was almost nil .
Minuscule numbers of people caught it and only one of them died , in France ( where there were an , atypically high , 7 cases ) .
By contrast , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ SARS was 17 % .
In Taiwan , it was 10 % .
In Canada , it was 17 % , but it seems pretty obvious that they were all “ Chinese Canadians , ” what with there being so many Chinese people in Canada and documented attempts made to “ help ” them ( specifically ) deal with the virus [ see Beyond SARS : ethnic community organization 's role in public health—a Toronto experience , By W. Dong , Promotion and Education , 2008 ] .
In Singapore , 13 % @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of 238 cases .
Other countries had very small numbers of cases or , as with Vietnam , their medical access would have been sub-optimal , rendering it difficult to make comparisons .
But essentially it can be said the SARS was an East Asian disease which , like Corona , can be traced to bats .
SARS didn ’ t severely impact the rest of the world , despite people definitely catching it .
It disproportionally killed East Asians .
See SARS : The Immigration Dimension II , by Walter Pringle , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This effect was so pronounced that , Wkipedia reports , “ Many Chinese believed that the SARS virus could be a biological weapon manufactured by the United States , which perceived China as a potential threat.
” ( Ironically , the financial website ZeroHedge has just been banned by Twitter for reporting speculation that the Corona virus was developed during Chinese research into bioweapons—a ban that ZeroHedge attributes in a scathing post to U.S. capitalists ’ notorious desire to appease China ) .
The difference between the two strains : the Corona virus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like as deadly as SARS .
Its mortality rate appears to be about 2 % .
It ‘ s mainly taking people with serious pre-existing health conditions [ Coronavirus vs. SARS : Health experts on the key differences between the two outbreaks , by Sam Meredith , CNBC , January 28 , 2020 ] .
So if I wanted to tempt fate , then I ’ d write the following : The Corona virus is a virus that , for whatever reason , East Asians are susceptible to but other races are not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our people are going to succumb to this condition .
The MSM ’ s constant hyping is just a way of making people panic , because people are more susceptible to being indoctrinated when they panic .
By not reporting the race of those who have caught this disease in Europe , unnecessary panic is being fomented among Europeans…so that they can be more easily inculcated with the message than “ race differences don ’ t exist , because race is a social construct.
” But race differences do exist .
Race is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of viruses help to prove that .
Lance Welton [ email him ] is the pen name of a freelance journalist living in New York .

At the time of writing, 170 people have died of the Wuhan Coronavirus [Coronavirus Live Updates: Death Toll Rises, as Foreigners are Evacuated, New York Times, January 30, 2020], though that number is bound to have increased by the time this article is published. All of these deaths have been in China. The disease has spread to at least 16 other countries, including Canada, the USA, France, Germany, Finland, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates, and a number of East Asian countries [This is where Wuhan coronavirus cases have been confirmed worldwide, by Eric Cheung, CNN, January 30, 2020]. The Main Stream Media, in Western countries, is stoking panic with rolling news coverage on the spread of the possibly Apocalyptic new plague [Corona Virus Outbreak, by Matthew Weaver et al., The Guardian, January 30, 2020]. But what nobody is openly reporting: the race of the victims. They appear to be all Asians—specifically, the yellow race formerly known (accurately but now Politically Incorrectly) as “Oriental.”
Thus two Coronavirus cases were just confirmed in the U.K. [Coronavirus: UK patient is University of York student, BBC,com, February 1, 2020], But if you read the article, both turn out to be “Chinese nationals.” Similarly a recent headline of The Helsinki Times read “First case of Wuhan Corona virus confirmed in Finland,” [January 29, 2020]. But it turns out to be a Chinese tourist in Lapland, not a Finn.
In fact, as far as I can tell, all of the confirmed cases have been of Chinese people. According to Sri Lankan radio, the case in Sri Lanka was a “Chinese tourist” [Sri Lanka suspends visa on arrival for Chinese travellers after confirmed case of Corona virus, News On Air, January 28, 2020]. So are the cases in France and the one in the United Arab Emirates [Coronavirus is spreading as FIVE people in France are now confirmed to have the illness and Chinese traveller from Wuhan is quarantined in Finland, by Sam Blanchard, Mail Online, January 29, 2020].
If it is true that only East Asians are dying of, or even catching, Corona, that would be consistent with long-established race differences in the susceptibility to such viruses. This has been explored in a fascinating study, by a group of Chinese researchers led by C. L. Chen of Soochow University, entitled: Ethnic differences in susceptibilities to A(H1N1) flu [African Journal of Biotechnology, 2009].
The authors begin by noting that, from an evolutionary perspective, there is every reason to expect there to be ethnic or race differences in the susceptibility to different pathogens. Races—or, as they call them, “ethnic groups”—are breeding populations, long-separated, usually by geography, who are, therefore, genetic clusters adapted to different ecologies. Because they were exposed to different pathogens in prehistory, there are very likely to be race differences in susceptibility to the pathogens and in how well the immune system can fight them.
Many infectious diseases jumped the species barrier from animals to humans due to our close contact with animals while pursuing agriculture. For this reason, groups that never innovated agriculture, or who only innovated it in a limited form or only relatively recently took it up, can be decimated by flu-like viruses.
Thus the authors observe that the Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918 was three to 70 times more deadly to “natives” in Canada and the USA, as well as to the reindeer herding Saami people in Sweden and Norway, than it was to the rest of these countries’ populations. This is because most white and black people are descended from those who have long practiced farming. The authors add that the Swine Flu Pandemic of 2009 was five times more deadly to Maori people than it was to other New Zealanders.
The Corona Virus is closely related to SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) [Coronavirus vs. SARS: Health experts on the key differences between the two outbreaks, by Sam Meredith, CNBC, January 28, 2020], of which there was a major outbreak in 2003, which also began in China in 2002.
According to Wikipedia (which is, presumably, politically neutral on such numbers), total of 774 people died across 29 countries. This amounted to almost 10% of those who caught it. Potentially in line with the findings of the Chinese researchers, the mortality rate for SARS in Europe was almost nil. Minuscule numbers of people caught it and only one of them died, in France (where there were an, atypically high, 7 cases).
By contrast, in Hong Kong the mortality rate from SARS was 17%. In Taiwan, it was 10%. In Canada, it was 17%, but it seems pretty obvious that they were all “Chinese Canadians,” what with there being so many Chinese people in Canada and documented attempts made to “help” them (specifically) deal with the virus [see Beyond SARS: ethnic community organization's role in public health—a Toronto experience, By W. Dong, Promotion and Education, 2008].
In Singapore, 13% of those who caught SARS died out of 238 cases. Other countries had very small numbers of cases or, as with Vietnam, their medical access would have been sub-optimal, rendering it difficult to make comparisons.
But essentially it can be said the SARS was an East Asian disease which, like Corona, can be traced to bats. SARS didn’t severely impact the rest of the world, despite people definitely catching it. It disproportionally killed East Asians. See SARS: The Immigration Dimension II, by Walter Pringle, VDARE.com, April 24, 2003.
This effect was so pronounced that, Wkipedia reports, “Many Chinese believed that the SARS virus could be a biological weapon manufactured by the United States, which perceived China as a potential threat.” (Ironically, the financial website ZeroHedge has just been banned by Twitter for reporting speculation that the Corona virus was developed during Chinese research into bioweapons—a ban that ZeroHedge attributes in a scathing post to U.S. capitalists’ notorious desire to appease China).
The difference between the two strains: the Corona virus, according to experts, is nothing like as deadly as SARS. Its mortality rate appears to be about 2% . It ‘s mainly taking people with serious pre-existing health conditions [Coronavirus vs. SARS: Health experts on the key differences between the two outbreaks, by Sam Meredith, CNBC, January 28, 2020].
So if I wanted to tempt fate, then I’d write the following:
The Corona virus is a virus that, for whatever reason, East Asians are susceptible to but other races are not, just like SARS. None of our people are going to succumb to this condition. The MSM’s constant hyping is just a way of making people panic, because people are more susceptible to being indoctrinated when they panic. By not reporting the race of those who have caught this disease in Europe, unnecessary panic is being fomented among Europeans…so that they can be more easily inculcated with the message than “race differences don’t exist, because race is a social construct.”
But race differences do exist. Race is a biological reality. And these kinds of viruses help to prove that.
Lance Welton [email him] is the pen name of a freelance journalist living in New York.


vdare--2020-02-01--Nigel Farage Reflects Upon Brexit Success

Supporters of the nation-state form of government in Britain are happy citizens today , now that the Brexit divorce from the European Union has been made official .
It ’ s been a long time coming since 2016 when the referendum passed , because globalist elites resisted stubbornly .
The rich and powerful prefer the distance from troublesome voters that an EU-style bureaucracy provides .
But the best organizational system for representative government is the nation state .
That has been the opinion of Vaclav Klaus , the former leader of the Czech Republic , who remarked in 2018 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the only possible way to have democracy .
Democracy simply can not exist at a higher level , as in continents , let alone global democracy in the world.
” The British leader for Brexit , Nigel Farage ( pictured at right ) , agrees .
He discussed the issue with Tucker Carlson in 2017 : Nigel Farage Cheers Rebirth of Nation State .
Here ’ s a relevant excerpt : FARAGE : Well you say “ nationalism , ” I actually call it “ nation-ism ” — we believe in the nation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ identify with ; that is what we feel part of ; that is what we cheer for in the Olympics ; and if necessary that is what we are prepared to fight for .
It embodies our values , our families , our communities , our heritage , our identity , maybe even our tribe .
And I think what happened in 2016 with Brexit and with Trump , and I believe is going to roll out through 2017 , is a return to normality .
Back to the present , an upbeat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ including one with Lou Dobbs who observed that the United Kingdom is “ finally a sovereign nation once again.
” Farage is hopeful that getting Brexit pushed through will inspire more successful populist campaigns in the near future : FARAGE : It ’ s a funny thing , in 2016 we had the Brexit referendum ; we voted to leave — it shocked everybody .
And then a few months later , guess what happened — Donald J. Trump got elected as president of the USA , and after that we saw shockwaves @ @ @ @ @ @ @ think now the confirmation that Brexit has happened shows you that populism — and it may be mocked and derided by many — but populism is really popular , and I think the portents for Donald Trump ’ s re-election are really good .
In fact I think the whole western world is going through a transformative historical change and Brexit perhaps is the most public example of that , and I ’ m really excited by that because what the globalists want to do — big business , big politics , big @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rights , and this is the people ’ s fight back .

Supporters of the nation-state form of government in Britain are happy citizens today, now that the Brexit divorce from the European Union has been made official. It’s been a long time coming since 2016 when the referendum passed, because globalist elites resisted stubbornly. The rich and powerful prefer the distance from troublesome voters that an EU-style bureaucracy provides.
But the best organizational system for representative government is the nation state.
That has been the opinion of Vaclav Klaus, the former leader of the Czech Republic, who remarked in 2018, “For me, the Nation-State is the only possible way to have democracy. Democracy simply cannot exist at a higher level, as in continents, let alone global democracy in the world.”
The British leader for Brexit, Nigel Farage (pictured at right), agrees. He discussed the issue with Tucker Carlson in 2017: Nigel Farage Cheers Rebirth of Nation State. Here’s a relevant excerpt:
FARAGE: Well you say “nationalism,” I actually call it “nation-ism” — we believe in the nation state. That is the unit we identify with; that is what we feel part of; that is what we cheer for in the Olympics; and if necessary that is what we are prepared to fight for. It embodies our values, our families, our communities, our heritage, our identity, maybe even our tribe. And I think what happened in 2016 with Brexit and with Trump, and I believe is going to roll out through 2017, is a return to normality.
Back to the present, an upbeat Farage has been doing media interviews, including one with Lou Dobbs who observed that the United Kingdom is “finally a sovereign nation once again.”
Farage is hopeful that getting Brexit pushed through will inspire more successful populist campaigns in the near future:
FARAGE: It’s a funny thing, in 2016 we had the Brexit referendum; we voted to leave — it shocked everybody. And then a few months later, guess what happened — Donald J. Trump got elected as president of the USA, and after that we saw shockwaves in Italy and elsewhere, and I think now the confirmation that Brexit has happened shows you that populism — and it may be mocked and derided by many — but populism is really popular, and I think the portents for Donald Trump’s re-election are really good. In fact I think the whole western world is going through a transformative historical change and Brexit perhaps is the most public example of that, and I’m really excited by that because what the globalists want to do — big business, big politics, big bureaucracy — is take away our democratic rights, and this is the people’s fight back.
Here’s the full interview:


vdare--2020-02-01--DHS's Cuccinelli Hires FAIR's Julie Kirchner As "Immigration Detention Ombudsman"—Heads Explode At B

DHS's Cuccinelli Hires FAIR's Julie Kirchner As "Immigration Detention Ombudsman"—Heads Explode At Buzzfeed!

Ken Cuccinelli , whom I style Ken The Knife , the Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Deputy Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security ( DHS ) and Acting Director of U.S .
Citizenship and Immigration Services ( USCIS ) , the number 2 official at DHS , can play Bureaucrat Game with the best and stick a shiv between the ribs of his opponents .
It is sad that it took this long for President Trump to get a senior official at DHS who supports his agenda , save Thomas Homan .
I have had criticism of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have done more for President Trump ’ s agenda than any of the failures he appointed as DHS Secretaries .
For artistic use of the bureaucratic stiletto , no one matches Ken The Knife , a true Sicilian .
And what is the event ?
Congress in the most recent budget required that DHS open a new and additional office , Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman ( OIDO ) , duplicating the work of the DHS Office of Inspector General , which is charged statutorily with investigating fraud , waste , abuse @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and contractors , and which includes investigating claims , and I emphasize claims , of abuse by detained aliens .
This new office is required to investigate allegations of immigration detainee abuse .
This also duplicates the work of the DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties ( CRCL ) .
This new office could have been a potential problem for enforcement and detention of illegal aliens , as it was the plan , but Ken The Knife was able to shiv this potential problem and , to mix metaphors , strangle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Trump administration has named a hardline former leader of an anti-immigration group to help set up a new role created by Congress to oversee complaints of civil rights violations in detention centers and help those affected by misconduct , according to an internal memo obtained by BuzzFeed News .
The Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman was created in the most recent appropriations bill to “ address issues that arise in DHS detention facilities ” and remain independent of Immigration and Customs Enforcement or US Customs and Border Protection .
The office @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Homeland Security .
Ken Cuccinelli , the controversial second-in-command at the Department of Homeland Security , appointed Julie Kirchner , former leader of FAIR , a group that advocated for policies that restrict immigration , to help set up the office , according to the memo .
Cuccinelli also tapped Tracy Short — a former top ICE official who signed memos during the Trump administration to stop the agency from granting reprieves for certain immigrants facing deportation — to also help figure out the plans for the office .
[ The Ex-Leader Of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In Charge Of Fielding Civil Rights Complaints From Detainees , Hamed Aleaziz , Buzz Feed , January 30 , 2020 ] The plan by supporters of illegal immigration was to have the OIDO serve as a battering ram for the illegal immigration lobby and professional grievance mongers in the so-called civil rights movement .
These groups routinely make false allegations of abuse and misconduct against DHS employees and components , and those allegations are routinely found to be without merit .
Ken The Knife apparently knows this , so he appointed someone who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ back , unlike other appointees , such as Kirstjen Nielsen and Kevin McAleenan .
This is bureaucrat game , appointing your people to do what you want them to do , not Deep State saboteurs .
Now , some may point out that I have written against Tracy Short before .
I stand by my criticisms of Short .
However , I have been contacted by patriots in ICE and assured that Short is with the program , though my source has no explanation for Office of the Principal Legal Advisor ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Time will tell if Short will help keep OIDO from becoming an outpost for the ACLU and ethnic lobby types .
One hopes so .
Let ’ s hope Kirchner will do her duty .
If she needs any help , certain people are available .
It is sad though that Ken The Knife still hasn ’ t taken the same action in the area of personnel against other Deep State saboteurs , like the Dirty 19 .

Ken Cuccinelli, whom I style Ken The Knife, the Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Deputy Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Acting Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the number 2 official at DHS, can play Bureaucrat Game with the best and stick a shiv between the ribs of his opponents. It is sad that it took this long for President Trump to get a senior official at DHS who supports his agenda, save Thomas Homan. I have had criticism of both Homan and Cuccinelli, but both have done more for President Trump’s agenda than any of the failures he appointed as DHS Secretaries.
For artistic use of the bureaucratic stiletto, no one matches Ken The Knife, a true Sicilian. And what is the event?
Congress in the most recent budget required that DHS open a new and additional office, Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman (OIDO), duplicating the work of the DHS Office of Inspector General, which is charged statutorily with investigating fraud, waste, abuse, and other misconduct by DHS employees and contractors, and which includes investigating claims, and I emphasize claims, of abuse by detained aliens.
This new office is required to investigate allegations of immigration detainee abuse. This also duplicates the work of the DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL). This new office could have been a potential problem for enforcement and detention of illegal aliens, as it was the plan, but Ken The Knife was able to shiv this potential problem and, to mix metaphors, strangle it in its bed. Bravissimo!
The Trump administration has named a hardline former leader of an anti-immigration group to help set up a new role created by Congress to oversee complaints of civil rights violations in detention centers and help those affected by misconduct, according to an internal memo obtained by BuzzFeed News. The Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman was created in the most recent appropriations bill to “address issues that arise in DHS detention facilities” and remain independent of Immigration and Customs Enforcement or US Customs and Border Protection. The office will report directly to the secretary of Homeland Security. Ken Cuccinelli, the controversial second-in-command at the Department of Homeland Security, appointed Julie Kirchner, former leader of FAIR, a group that advocated for policies that restrict immigration, to help set up the office, according to the memo. Cuccinelli also tapped Tracy Short — a former top ICE official who signed memos during the Trump administration to stop the agency from granting reprieves for certain immigrants facing deportation — to also help figure out the plans for the office. [The Ex-Leader Of An Anti-Immigration Group Is Creating The Office In Charge Of Fielding Civil Rights Complaints From Detainees, Hamed Aleaziz, Buzz Feed, January 30, 2020]
The plan by supporters of illegal immigration was to have the OIDO serve as a battering ram for the illegal immigration lobby and professional grievance mongers in the so-called civil rights movement. These groups routinely make false allegations of abuse and misconduct against DHS employees and components, and those allegations are routinely found to be without merit.
Julie Kirchner, Stiletto For Ken The Knife
Ken The Knife apparently knows this, so he appointed someone who has his and President Trump’s back, unlike other appointees, such as Kirstjen Nielsen and Kevin McAleenan. This is bureaucrat game, appointing your people to do what you want them to do, not Deep State saboteurs.
Now, some may point out that I have written against Tracy Short before. I stand by my criticisms of Short. However, I have been contacted by patriots in ICE and assured that Short is with the program, though my source has no explanation for Office of the Principal Legal Advisor’s (OPLA) behavior in the field. Time will tell if Short will help keep OIDO from becoming an outpost for the ACLU and ethnic lobby types. One hopes so.
Let’s hope Kirchner will do her duty. If she needs any help, certain people are available. It is sad though that Ken The Knife still hasn’t taken the same action in the area of personnel against other Deep State saboteurs, like the Dirty 19.


vdare--2020-01-31--Automation: Smart Warehouse Robots Will Eventually Replace Most Human Workers

Robot arms are getting smart , and that ’ s bad news for human employees who work in warehouses .
The New York Times reports that a new component-sorting machine is capable of performing tasks that formerly required a human ’ s intelligence and dexterity , which “ raises new concerns about warehouse workers losing their jobs to automation ” according to the paper .
The world is changing rapidly , and the workplace will be transformed in basic ways because of scientific advances .
The future will become more technological and automated , so it ’ s crazy for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ immigrants when increasingly jobs require tech-educated people , not illiterate agricultural workers from Guatemala .
Washington should wake up and realize that The Times article explains clearly what the employment outcome for human workers will be because of the increasing abilities of robots .
A Warehouse Robot Learns to Sort Out the Tricky Stuff , New York Times , January 29 , 2020 LUDWIGSFELDE , Germany — Inside a warehouse on the outskirts of Berlin , a long line of blue crates moved down a conveyor belt , carrying light switches , sockets @ @ @ @ @ @ @ came to a stop , five workers picked through the small items , placing each one in a cardboard box .
At Obeta , an electrical parts company that opened in 1901 , it is the kind of monotonous task workers have performed for years .
But several months ago , a new worker joined the team .
Stationed behind protective glass , a robot using three suction cups at the end of its long arm does the same job , sifting through parts with surprising speed and accuracy .
While it may @ @ @ @ @ @ @ robot is a major advance in artificial intelligence and the ability of machines to perform human labor .
As millions of products move through warehouses run by Amazon , Walmart and other retailers , low-wage workers must comb through bin after bin of random stuff — from clothes and shoes to electronic equipment — so that each item can be packaged and sent on its way .
Machines had not really been up to the task , until now .
“ I ’ ve worked in the logistics industry for more than 16 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anything like this , ” said Peter Puchwein , vice president of Knapp , an Austrian company that provides automation technology for warehouses .
Standing nearby at the Obeta warehouse , the California engineers who made the robot snapped pictures with their smartphones .
They spent more than two years designing the system at a start-up called Covariant.AI , building on their research at the University of California , Berkeley .
Their technology is an indication that , in the coming years , few warehouse tasks will be too small or complex for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ master tasks traditionally handled by humans , their development raises new concerns about warehouse workers losing their jobs to automation .
Because the online retail business is growing so quickly — and most companies will be slow to adopt the latest robotic technologies — economists believe the advances will not cut into the overall number of logistics jobs anytime soon .
But the engineers building these technologies admit that at some point most warehouse tasks will be done by machines .
Human workers will need to find other things to do .
( @ @

Robot arms are getting smart, and that’s bad news for human employees who work in warehouses. The New York Times reports that a new component-sorting machine is capable of performing tasks that formerly required a human’s intelligence and dexterity, which “raises new concerns about warehouse workers losing their jobs to automation” according to the paper.
The world is changing rapidly, and the workplace will be transformed in basic ways because of scientific advances. The future will become more technological and automated, so it’s crazy for America to continue admitting millions of low-skilled immigrants when increasingly jobs require tech-educated people, not illiterate agricultural workers from Guatemala.
Washington should wake up and realize that
Automation makes immigration obsolete.
The Times article explains clearly what the employment outcome for human workers will be because of the increasing abilities of robots.


vdare--2020-01-31--Elizabeth Warren Imagines A “Ministry Of Truth” To Stamp Out Badthink

Attentive citizens probably have noticed that Elizabeth Warren has long had a tenuous relationship with the truth .
Most famously , she posed as a Cherokee Indian in order to get a slot as a diverse professor at Harvard , a lie for which she later apologized during her presidential campaign .
She has a lot of crazy left ideas for how she would act as president , one of the worst being gutting the First Amendment with a fascist cadre of speech police .
Fortunately , Warren ’ s poll numbers are falling , so it ’ s unlikely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tucker Carlson opined on Wednesday that candidates tend to become more truthful when they are losing .
Maybe , but I tend to think they are just grasping for something different to say , anything that might perk up unimpressed voters .
Democrats weren ’ t always this horrible — what happened ?
Is it the constant reaction to 24-7 media where candidates have to one-up whatever was just said , making their responses increasingly extreme ?
TUCKER CARLSON : The upside of collapsing political campaigns is they tend to be pretty honest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ losing , a lot of candidates decide to say what they actually think — what the hell ?
Why not ?
That apparently is where Elizabeth Warren is tonight .
With her chances of becoming President having assumed that trajectory of a plane crash , Warren has decided to go full fascist because that ’ s who she is and has always been .
Today , Warren released a plan that demands criminal penalties for anyone who posts “ disinformation online , designed to sway voters.
” Now , try to ignore the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ person who for years posted false claims online that she was a Cherokee Indian to sway voters .
This is the candidate who pretended she ’ d lost a job for being pregnant and their kids went to a public school .
Now , this very same person is threatening to send you to prison for telling tall tales .
The most florid liar in the race , someone the New York Times once euphemistically described as a gifted storyteller , says she ’ s going to criminalize lying .
Paging Dr. Freud @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It ’ s a sickness .
But let ’ s take Elizabeth Warren ’ s plan seriously for a moment .
What exactly is this disinformation she intends to ban ?
If you guess the answer has something to do with Russia , pour yourself another vodka .
According to Warren ’ s press release today , “ The same tactics employed by the Russian government are just as easily accessible to domestic groups seeking to promote or oppose candidates and political or social issues.
” Okay .
But what does that mean @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people say things that Elizabeth Warren doesn ’ t like or that impede her attempts to accumulate power , they should go to jail .
Warren isn ’ t the first person to fantasize about this , of course , all megalomaniacs dream of running their own ministries of truth .
The founders of this country understood that well , and that ’ s why they protected us with the First Amendment .
Warren doesn ’ t care .
As many on the left have explained , the First Amendment is racist .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ up and obey !
As President , Warren would order tech companies to share information about you so that she can determine who has been saying things she doesn ’ t want said , and then they can be punished .
Warren has also promised a Global Summit on disinformation so that other fascist governments could coordinate their efforts against speech more efficiently .
No word yet on whether North Korea has joined Warren ’ s budding coalition .
Of course , they ’ re a natural partner in this .
None of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , at least not soon .
Voters don ’ t like Elizabeth Warren enough to give her more power .
But what ’ s amazing is that the press still takes Elizabeth Warren very seriously .
They love her .
Warren won the New York Times endorsement for President just the other day .
So the question is , are the media on board with her plan to shut down the First Amendment ?
Don ’ t take our word for it , see for yourself .
If the media don ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ days , you ’ ll know they are for it .

Attentive citizens probably have noticed that Elizabeth Warren has long had a tenuous relationship with the truth. Most famously, she posed as a Cherokee Indian in order to get a slot as a diverse professor at Harvard, a lie for which she later apologized during her presidential campaign.
She has a lot of crazy left ideas for how she would act as president, one of the worst being gutting the First Amendment with a fascist cadre of speech police.
Fortunately, Warren’s poll numbers are falling, so it’s unlikely she will be the Democrat candidate.
Tucker Carlson opined on Wednesday that candidates tend to become more truthful when they are losing. Maybe, but I tend to think they are just grasping for something different to say, anything that might perk up unimpressed voters.
Democrats weren’t always this horrible — what happened? Is it the constant reaction to 24-7 media where candidates have to one-up whatever was just said, making their responses increasingly extreme?


vdare--2020-01-31--George Soros in NYT: Zuckerberg Is Conspiring with Trump

George Soros : Mark Zuckerberg Should Not Be in Control of Facebook The social media company is going to get Trump re-elected — because it ’ s good for business .
At a dinner last week in Davos , Switzerland , I was asked if I thought Facebook was behaving more responsibly today than it did during the 2016 presidential election .
“ Not at all , ” I answered .
“ Facebook helped Trump to get elected and I am afraid that it will do the same in 2020.
” … I went on to say that there appears @ @ @ @ @ @ @ operation or agreement developing between Trump and Facebook ” in which Facebook will help President Trump to get re-elected and Mr. Trump will , in turn , defend Facebook against attacks from regulators and the media .
… I believe that Mr. Trump and Facebook ’ s chief executive , Mark Zuckerberg , realize that their interests are aligned — the president ’ s in winning elections , Mr. Zuckerberg ’ s in making money .
Let ’ s look at the evidence : In 2016 , Facebook provided the Trump campaign with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ advertising program .
( Hillary Clinton ’ s campaign was also approached , but it declined to embed a Facebook team in her campaign ’ s operations . )
Brad Parscale , the digital director of Mr. Trump ’ s 2016 campaign and now his campaign manager for 2020 , said that Facebook helped Mr. Trump and gave him the edge .
This seems to have marked the beginning of a special relationship .
More recently , direct contact between the two men has raised serious questions .
Mr. Zuckerberg met with Mr. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 19 , 2019 .
We don ’ t know what was said .
But from an interview on the sidelines at the World Economic Forum on Jan. 22 , we do know what Mr. Trump said about the meeting : Mr. Zuckerberg “ told me that I ’ m No .
1 in the world in Facebook.
” …

George Soros: Mark Zuckerberg Should Not Be in Control of Facebook
The social media company is going to get Trump re-elected — because it’s good for business.
By George Soros
Mr. Soros is a philanthropist.
Jan. 31, 2020, 10:40 a.m. ET
At a dinner last week in Davos, Switzerland, I was asked if I thought Facebook was behaving more responsibly today than it did during the 2016 presidential election.
“Not at all,” I answered. “Facebook helped Trump to get elected and I am afraid that it will do the same in 2020.” …
I went on to say that there appears to be “an informal mutual assistance operation or agreement developing between Trump and Facebook” in which Facebook will help President Trump to get re-elected and Mr. Trump will, in turn, defend Facebook against attacks from regulators and the media.
… I believe that Mr. Trump and Facebook’s chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, realize that their interests are aligned — the president’s in winning elections, Mr. Zuckerberg’s in making money.
Let’s look at the evidence: In 2016, Facebook provided the Trump campaign with embedded staff who helped to optimize its advertising program. (Hillary Clinton’s campaign was also approached, but it declined to embed a Facebook team in her campaign’s operations.) Brad Parscale, the digital director of Mr. Trump’s 2016 campaign and now his campaign manager for 2020, said that Facebook helped Mr. Trump and gave him the edge. This seems to have marked the beginning of a special relationship.
More recently, direct contact between the two men has raised serious questions. Mr. Zuckerberg met with Mr. Trump in the Oval Office on Sept. 19, 2019. We don’t know what was said. But from an interview on the sidelines at the World Economic Forum on Jan. 22, we do know what Mr. Trump said about the meeting: Mr. Zuckerberg “told me that I’m No. 1 in the world in Facebook.” …


vdare--2020-01-31--Day of Brexit, Year of the Rat, Etc.

Day of Brexit, Year of the Rat, Etc.

01m18s Year of the Rat .
( He showed up right on cue . )
09m59s Control-freakery in the managerial @ @ @ @ @ hate the EU . )
16m54s Brexit came too late .
( The lesson from @ @ @ @ @ was right .
( He saw it 70 years ago . )
26m42s My favorite @ @ @ @ @ oldie but goodie . )
28m07s Well done , Your Majesty !
( QE2 overtakes @ @ @

01m18s Year of the Rat. (He showed up right on cue.)
06m13s Brexit Day. (Sorry, macushla.)
09m59s Control-freakery in the managerial state. (Why Brits hate the EU.)
16m54s Brexit came too late. (The lesson from Britain.)
24m57s Attlee was right. (He saw it 70 years ago.)
26m42s My favorite Clem story. (An oldie but goodie.)
28m07s Well done, Your Majesty! (QE2 overtakes FJ1.)
30m06s Naturalization, Swiss style. ("Uh" is the wrong answer.)
32m36s The death of true multiculturalism. (Goodbye, SOAS.)
35m31s Signoff. (With Joyce DiDonato.)
01 — Intro. And Radio Derb is on the air! Welcome, listeners. That was one of Haydn's Derbyshire Marches and this is your multiculturally genial host John Derbyshire bringing you news of the hour.
And yes, you heard me right: This week's adverb was "multiculturally." You'll have to wait until near the end of the podcast to learn why.
Last Saturday was, as I told you last Friday, Chinese New Year's Day. Mrs Derbyshire and myself went round to some Chinese friends for a magnificent New Year's banquet. It was delicious. The bat soup was especially good!
And then, the very next day … Well, let's start with the news.
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02 — Year of the Rat. This New Year is, as I told you, the Year of the Rat.
Sure enough, the rat showed up the very next day. The New York Times went to press Sunday night with a story about John Bolton, who was President Trump's National Security Advisor for a year and a half until Trump dumped him last September. Apparently Bolton has a book coming out, and some passages from the book were leaked to the media.
In particular, Bolton says in the book that Trump told him he was holding up military aid to Ukraine to pressure them to investigate the business dealings of Joe Biden and his son over there.
That has been a key point in the impeachment trial of the President, although it's not clear why it should be. It's pretty clear that the Bidens were playing dirty pool in Ukraine, and the Ukrainian authorities should be pressed to investigate. Our President does have discretion over military aid.
So there doesn't seem to be anything actually illegal here, certainly nothing that rises to the standard of "high crimes and misdemeanors." It's all just politicians deranged by the 2016 election having been won by a guy from outside the Establishment.
Trump's denied the quid pro quo charge — we'll give you aid if you'll investigate the Bidens — but nobody much believes him. The circumstantial evidence is strong that there was a quid pro quo, and political insiders I've asked, including pro-Trump ones, all assume there was. It's just that no-one thinks the proposed deal was illegal.
And Ukraine got the aid anyway, so it's all kind of moot. That threatened quid pro quo was just another bit of empty bluster from our Blusterer-in-Chief.
So nobody's astounded by John Bolton's accusation; and as a political insider himself, he surely knew no-one would be. So why did he leak it — it's fair to assume it was him that leaked it — while the Senate impeachment trial is going on?
The only answer I can come up with is spite. Trump's dismissal of Bolton last September was not cordial. Bolton's a difficult employee — George W. Bush got fed up with him, too.
One should of course be wary when passing comments on the character of someone you don't know personally. Here on Radio Derb I've had some fun mocking John Bolton, his over-the-top hawkishness towards Iran for example.
Still, I'm sure a case can be made for him. No doubt he's a good husband and father, kind to small animals. Heck, I bet he's a jolly companion down at the pub over pints of ale, with a fund of witty anecdotes to charm and amuse you as you try not to watch him suck the ale-froth from his mustache.
Even in matters of ideology, there are points on which I think Bolton gets it right. Yes, I agree: the United Nations building would do more good for our country, and less harm to the world at large, if it were converted into a parking garage and its non-American employees summarily deported with bans on re-entry. Bolton's not wrong about everything.
Where this week's too-timely leaks from his book are concerned, though, I smell a rat.
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03 — Brexit Day. Across the Pond in the Mother Country, today — Friday the 31st — is Brexit Day. The U.K. officially leaves the European Union at 11 p.m. local time. It should really be midnight, but those fool Continentals can't even get the time of day right. They are insisting that Brexit happen at their midnight, which is one hour ahead of the far more ancient and honorable Greenwich mean time.
Well, the hell with them, with their garlic and fascism and watery beer. The Brits can permit them this one last little flourish of power over Albion's sons. Then Britain is free — free at last!
Nigel Farage, who is undoubtedly the hero of the hour, made a fine triumphant speech to the so-called European Parliament.
[Clip: There is a historic battle going on now across the West; in Europe, America, and elsewhere. It is globalism against populism. And you may loathe populism, but I tell you a funny thing: It's becoming very popular.]
Farage's fellow Brexiteers — there are twenty-odd in the fake parliament — then stood up and waved the Union Jack. It's against rules in the pseudo-parliament to wave national flags, so the chair-critter, a fair colleen named Mairead McGuinness, did the angry-nun headmistress thing: banged her ruler against the desk and told them to stop.
That's the Irish for you: always yearning to belong to something big and international so they can boss the British around. They've given up on the Roman Catholic church, but there's still the EU. And tomorrow there will still be the EU, but minus Britain. Sorry, macushla.
Are my ancestral prejudices showing? Make allowance, please. I'm an American; my attachment to Britain is entirely sentimental. Something is due to sentiment, though; and for those particular sentiments, this is a great day indeed.
As Nigel Farage pointed out, the Brits were swindled into the EU by their boss class, under the lie that it was merely a free-trade zone. All through my youth and young adulthood it was referred to as "the Common Market," and that's what people assumed it was. That's what they were told it was.
They were told a lie. The EU was a political project, a bureaucratic extravaganza to feed managerial elites with power and money. Now the Brits are out of it. This ex-Brit offers his hearty congratulations.
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04 — Control-freakery in the managerial state. The British Daily Express newspaper celebrated Brexit Day by listing eight examples of EU control-freakery — stupid rules that the EU has imposed, but that the Brits can now drop … although not until the end of this year, under the terms of the Brexit deal. Here are the eight, in brief summary.
One. Bananas sold in the EU can't be too bendy. Precisely, bananas must be, quote "free from malformation or abnormal curvature of the fingers," end quote.
Two. The village of Stilton in Cambridgeshire is famous for its ripe, tangy, soft cheese. Stilton cheese was a favorite of George Orwell's. I have always thought, although the author doesn't tell us, that the cheese in Chapter Four of Jerome K. Jerome's Victorian humor classic Three Men in a Boat must have been Stilton. Quote from that book:
Splendid cheeses they were, ripe and mellow, and with a two hundred horse-power scent about them that might have been warranted to carry three miles, and knock a man over at two hundred yards.
End quote.
Yeah, that sounds like Stilton all right. And if you belong to the zero point one percent of English-speaking people who know the name Jerome K. Jerome, be aware that there is an even more select Inner Party: the zero point zero one percent of us who know what the "K" stands for.
Well, whether Stilton cheese actually did originate in this Cambridgeshire village is one for the scholars. For the longest time it has actually been made in different places in other counties: Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, and — yes! — Derbyshire.
So the manufacturers in those other counties got the EU to make a rule that only they could call their cheese "Stilton." If the actual village of Stilton tried to market a cheese named "Stilton" the EU's legions of lawyers would come down on them like a ton of … cheese.
Three. Nine years ago EU officials, after a three-year study of the matter, concluded there was no evidence to prove that drinking water prevents dehydration. Quote from the Daily Express:
Producers of bottled water are forbidden by law from making the claim and will face a two-year jail sentence if they defy the edict.
Four. Under EU rules, female sanitary products pay a five percent value-added tax when sold — popularly known, of course, as the Tampon Tax. This tax is unpopular with the Brits, I don't know why and really don't want to know, but now they can dispose of the Tampon Tax — with appropriate regard for hygiene, one hopes.
Five. EU fisheries policies prescribe strict limits by species on the fish that can be caught. If your net contains too many black gobies, you have to bring them ashore and hand them over to the nearest Commissar of Fish. Presumably the Brits will now be able to eat them with their chips.
Six. Halogen light bulbs are banned. Gotta buy LED bulbs. Another quote from the Express:
But since the halogen ban was introduced, scientific studies have found LED lights can permanently damage eyesight and disturb natural sleep rhythms.
End quote.
Seven. The fine old imperial units of measure — feet and inches, pounds and ounces, pints and gallons — were forbidden for selling purposes under EU rules. The Brits have had to use metric. There went our traditional way to remember the speed of light: One point eight billion furlongs per fortnight.
Eight. After another investigation, the EU decided that prunes are not actually a laxative, so they forbade marketers of prunes from saying so.
That's Number Eight; although it would more aptly be Number Two, I guess.
There has been plenty more control-freakery where those came from. Liberated from it all, the Brits will no doubt develop some pettifogging idiot rules of their own.
That's the point, though: the rules will be theirs, subject to scrutiny and revision by their own parliament in London, not imposed on them from outside by gibbering foreigners who sport waxed mustaches, wave their hands when they talk, can't play cricket, and drive on the wrong side of the road. Rule Britannia!
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05 — Brexit came too late. I've been taking a light-hearted approach to Brexit there, but there are deep and serious issues still to be sorted out. What exactly will be the rules for trade between independent Britain and what's left of the EU? Will Scotland want independence? What exactly will happen at the border between the Irish Republic — still in the EU — and Northern Ireland, which remains in the U.K.?
Good luck to the Brits for getting good terms on all that. There's a deeper issue, though, not much resolved by Brexit, although every survey has shown it was a major driving force of the 2016 vote for Brexit. That issue is of course immigration.
Brexit does mean an improvement in Britain's control of who comes into the country. EU nationals, except for the Irish, will now be treated like other foreigners. If that means fewer Romanian gypsies and Albanian gangsters, the crime rate should take a dive.
There are mighty forces arrayed against any real immigration restriction, though. Some of them are the same as in America. Quote from a editorialist in the Financial Times:
Can the UK wean itself off cheap labour and if so, how quickly? Food manufacturing and agriculture have become highly dependent on eastern Europeans. ["Brexit gives Britain a chance to fix its immigration policy" by Camilla Cavendish; FT, January 31st 2020.]
Given the huge numbers of Third Worlders currently settled in Britain, I would have thought that chain migration would be a big talking point too, but I haven't seen anything about it in the British press. Possibly that's because the wells have run dry: Entire villages in Pakistan and Bangladesh have well-nigh emptied out, their inhabitants all settled in Britain.
On the other side of the balance sheet, entire towns in England have been taken over by Third Worlders, most famously the old textile-mill town of Savile in Yorkshire. The 2011 census recorded that of the 4,033 people living in Savile, only 48 were white British. All the rest were Muslims from Pakistan and India. I can't find a more recent number, but it is surely even less than 48.
It's the same in London: in the East London borough of Newham, for example, where I bought my first house just fifty years ago next month. Wikipedia gives the 2016 population of Newham as only 27 percent white, and only half of that was white British. I hope someone's looking after my garden there …
There is not much to hope for from Britain's current government. Boris Johnson, the new Prime Minister, is an open-borders neoliberal. He's already twittering about a "points-based" system. He has business lobbies to feed, though, and huge ethnic blocs to appease; so any system he comes up with will be gamed nine ways to Sunday.
It's hard not to conclude, in fact, that Brexit has come too late to preserve Britain as a coherent nation. Decades of mass immigration have not yet destroyed Britain, but they have destroyed Britishness.
The other day I was reading about a gang war in North London. In recent news about this, five men aged 17 to 21, were convicted of a murder they committed last February. They had chased two members of a rival gang into a hairdressing salon and hacked one of them to death with machetes. The other was stabbed eight times and shot but survived.
As the judge passed sentence last week, gang members screamed abuse from the court spectators' gallery. One jumped down into the well of the court and lunged at the prosecuting counsel, but was arrested. You can inspect pictures of the five perps and their victim in last week's British newspapers. All of them are black.
That was shortly after reading my umpteenth article about Pakistani "grooming" gangs abducting and gang-raping underage white English girls while police and public authorities look the other way for fear someone will call them racist if they interfere.
This isn't Britain in any way that I recognize. Sure, Britain had crime gangs before the Great Replacement: I refer you to the novels of Jake Arnott, as advertised in my December Diary. Those were British people, though, whom Britain understood and knew how to deal with. These people I'm reading about in the newspapers are alien savages who loathe and despise the white British, and prey on them without scruple.
Fifty years ago the British ruling classes seem to have decided that to be a fully up-to-date modern country they should have a race problem — like America! They seem to have thought that having a race problem was an emblem of modernity, like decimal currency (which came in about the same time) and yoking the nation to a bureaucratic European superstate.
That is too much insanity — to much for Brexit alone to cure. Britain is finished, holed below the water-line. Those of us who can remember the place when it was a real nation can only mourn what has been lost, as we shuffle off the stage.
Yes: Post-Brexit Britain will have some semblance of sovereignty back, but it will still be a multicultural slum, noisy with racial grievance and riven with ethnic rancor.
We can only hope that other nations, seeing Britain's slow suicide, will hold on firmly to their own nationhood.
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06 — Miscellany. And now, our closing miscellany of brief items.
Imprimis: Just a final follow-up on the Brexit news, a little historical titbit. Someone, according to the Daily Express again, has unearthed a report from three years ago in a French periodical, the Journal of British Studies — actually, I suppose, Le Journal d'Études Britanniques, although I can't find anything with that exact title.
Well, this study is about euroscepticism, that's opposition to Britain entering the EU, from the very earliest years of the union. It quotes Clement Attlee, who was Prime Minister of Britain from 1945 to 1951 — my second Prime Minister. In 1950, when the euro-project was in its infancy and people were just starting to talk about Britain joining, Attlee said the following thing to the House of Commons, quote:
We are not prepared to accept the principle that the most vital economic forces of this country should be handed over to an authority that is utterly undemocratic and is responsible to nobody.
End quote.
Attlee was of course right, further fortifying my suspicion that the Western world has been getting collectively stupider throughout my own lifetime.
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Item: Attlee was right about most things. He's one of my favorite Prime Ministers. Can I resist re-telling my favorite story about him? Of course I can't. I'll just read it from my March 2017 monthly Diary. Quote:
After Attlee retired from government it was felt proper that a biography should be written. A biographer, Kenneth Harris, was duly assigned. He hiked out to Attlee's house in Buckinghamshire with a tape recorder to interview his subject.
Attlee didn't give away much about himself. Harris found it particularly difficult to get him to talk about his religious beliefs, a thing readers were much more interested in fifty years ago than they would be today. He was finally reduced to asking: "Would you say you are an agnostic?"
Clem (after, one can't help imagining, a long pause for thought): "I don't know."
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Item: Also from across the Pond, some monarchy news. No, nothing to do with Harry and Meghan. If you give a fig about that couple, you're listening to the wrong podcast. Anyway, Harry and Meghan have taken up domicile on this side of the pond, curse them. What would have been wrong with Australia, guys? Or the Falkland Islands? Not enough money to be made there, I guess.
No, this news concerns Her Britannic Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, whom God preserve! On January 25th Arad Benkö, who lists himself as the Austrian Ambassador to Georgia, tweeted that the following day, January 26th 2020, Her Majesty would overtake Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria and Hungary in length of reign: 24,826 days.
I haven't checked Ambassador Benkö's numbers, but they look to be about right. Well done, Your Majesty!
And Franz Joseph is up there with Clem Attlee in the ranks of statesmen I admire. Uh-oh: Am I going to quote myself again? I certainly am, although very briefly. In a book review three years ago I referred to the Emperor-King as, quote: "Franz Joseph of the house of Habsburg, a sensible and effective ruler, one of history's great reactionaries." End quote.
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Item: West of Austria there is of course Switzerland. Here's a story to warm your heart from the land of cuckoo clocks and bankers. To warm your heart and excite your envy, if you favor sane, democratic immigration policies.
An Italian man who has lived in Switzerland for 30 years applied for citizenship. His application was denied because he didn't know that bears and wolves shared an enclosure at his local zoo.
For Swiss citizenship, you see, you have to prove to something called the Naturalization Commission that you are well-integrated into the area where you live. Knowing which animals share enclosures with which others was one of the test questions.
This story may have an unhappy ending, it's not clear. Apparently the guy appealed the decision, and a court has ruled that the Naturalization Commission was too strict. Pussies!
At least the Swiss have the right idea. Faithful listeners will recall our item two years ago about the Dutch woman who'd been living in a country district of Switzerland her entire adult life and spoke fluent Swiss German, but who had annoyed her neighbors by complaining about the sound of cow-bells. Citizenship denied!
And in a footnote to this week's story we read about an Iraqi woman, resident in Switzerland more than twenty years, who was denied citizenship after answering "uh" over 200 times in her naturalization test.
Far be it from me to second-guess the Swiss authorities' decision, but could it be that this Iraqi lady just has a really bad stutter?
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Item: One more from the Sceptered Isle, this one concerning academia.
In London there is a college named the School of Oriental and African Studies, referred to by everyone as SOAS. They have a magnificent library, to which I had a reader's ticket when I myself was studying Chinese at a different London college forty years ago.
Back then SOAS was an open and hospitable place. English people went there with an earnest desire to study the languages, literature, history, and culture of Asia and Africa. There were foreign students and teachers from Asia and Africa, too. It was all very collegial and scholarly.
Nowadays, according to a story at the Spectator last week, SOAS is a snake pit of anti-white and anti-semitic agitation. Sample quote:
It was in [2015] that [Valerie] Amos was appointed as director, following an illustrious career as a diplomat, UN official, and now Labour peer. For this she was described in the SOAS student newspaper as a [inner quote] "cog in the colonial machine" [end inner quote] and resistance to her management began immediately, with rubbish reportedly thrown at her office door by students who considered her to be a "Neo-Conservative" stained by her association with Tony Blair's government. ["The strange world of the radically left-wing SOAS university" by Louise Perry; Spectator, January 29th 2020.]
Saddest of all, SOAS is in financial difficulties, with falling enrolments. If, as seems possible, the place has to shut down, that will be a tragedy; part of the larger tragedy of modern multicultural Britain. I just hope some kind billionaire rescues that wonderful library.
The paradox is of course that the older SOAS, the one I remember, was multicultural in a genuine and positive way, full of young English people curious to learn about cultures very different from their own. That all seems like a long time ago now.
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07 — Signoff. That's it, ladies and gents. Thank you very much for listening, and a serene weekend to all.
My own weekend will be spent in anticipation. Monday morning, February 3rd, I'm going to watch a dress rehearsal at the New York Met, with superstar soprano Joyce DiDonato singing the lead role. Now that is something to look forward to.
The actual opera Ms DiDonato is singing in is Handel's Agrippina, which is about the last years of the Roman emperor Claudius and the scheming of the title character, who is his wife, to have her son Nero succeed to the throne, which of course he eventually did. This was the nastiest kind of imperial court intrigue. Fans of historical fiction will know all about it from reading Robert Graves' Claudius novels.
I got a chuckle from reading the Met's advance flier for the production. Bear in mind, please, that these things are written by some minimum-wage drudge fresh from his college's latest Diversity and Inclusion seminar. Quote:
Handel's tale of intrigue and impropriety in ancient Rome receives its first Met performances, with star mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato as the controlling, power-hungry Agrippina and Harry Bicket conducting. Sir David McVicar's production ingeniously reframes the action of this black comedy about the abuse of power to "the present," where it should loudly resonate.
End quote.
Ah yes: a "controlling, power-hungry" woman … the abuse of power … What comes to mind? What comes to my mind is not, I'm quite sure, what the author of that flier intended.
Well, well. Here to see us out is Joyce DiDonato singing Handel, although from a different opera. In this one, the heroine has been spirited away from her lover into the hands of a stranger. Naturally upset about the turn of events, she sings: "Let me weep over my cruel fate, and let me sigh for liberty."
I am at liberty to tell you that there will be more from Radio Derb next week.
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[Music clip: Joyce DiDonato singing Handel's "Lascia ch'io pianga."]