Tariffs

Trump in the Rose Garden yesterday, showcaed his tariffs. They seem nonsensical at best.

One of the places upon which he's imposing tariffs is a small island that is populated mainly by penguins. Isn't life hard enough for these little guys without having to now pay tariffs? ...

Penguins are capable of defying the harshest conditions, and they have plenty more secrets to share—as @bertiegregory discovered 🐧#SecretsOfThePenguins premieres April 20 on @natgeotv. Stream next day on @DisneyPlus and @hulu. #ourHOME pic.twitter.com/Iukx8YrXt9

— National Geographic Animals (@NatGeoAnimals) April 2, 2025

But his tariff plan is not just insane, it's also unfair. Take his tariffs on Israel ...

This is...an unwise move, America.

Israel cut tariffs to zero, as asked, and still faces a huge 17% tariff.

Because it's not really a "reciprocal tariff." That's a stupid lie. It's a punishment for our trade deficit.

But here's the thing, America. We literally can't prevent… pic.twitter.com/kRFXd58wJR

— Haviv Rettig Gur (@havivrettiggur) April 3, 2025

Why would anyone continue to support Trump?

Devil's Advocate Unit

There's a story in Bloomberg today about the IDF's Devil's Advocate Unit ...

The October 7 Massacre happened because Israel succumbed to groupthink: we underestimated our enemy Hamas and overestimated our deterrence.

The IDF is now upgrading its "devil's advocate unit" to challenge conventional thinking. https://t.co/MuzIeIfP91

— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) April 2, 2025

But I'm not a subscriber so I couldn't read it. Wikipedia has a page on the unit, though.

What made me notice the story was actually a zombie movie. Remember World War Z starring Brad Pitt? I really liked it, enough to buy it, but hated the book.

But anyway, there was a part in the movie where Pitt's character, trying to discover the origins of the zombie apocalypse, visits Israel, the only country that seemed to anticipate the coming nightmare, and speaks with a high ranking member of the Mossad (played by Ludi Boeken). The Israeli tells him about "the 10th man theory". Until I saw the story about the Devil's Advocate Unit today, I thought that was a made-up thing. Apparently not. I think every country could use a unit like that.

Richard Chamberlain: RIP

- Richard Chamberlain as John Blackthorne (based on William Adams) and Damien Thomas as Jesuit Martin Alvito (based on João Rodrigues Tçuzu SJ) from the mini-series Shōgun

Sad to see that actor Richard Chamberlain has passed away.

I first noticed him when he was on tv as Dr. Kildare in the early 60s.

He went on to star in a number of mini-series. He was in films too. Here are a few of his tv series and movies that I remember and liked ...

- Julius Caesar (1970)

Yes, I was interested in ancient history back then in the college years, and I also liked Charlton Heston, who starred in the film, so I had to see it :) Based on Shakespeare's play, of course.

- The Three Musketeers (1972) and The Four Musketeers (1974)

I really likd these two films directed by Richard Lester. For those familiar with the novel on which they were based, Chamberlain played Aramis.

- The Count of Monte Cristo (1975)

Really liked this movie about the novel by Dumas. I can still remember him being a prisoner in the Château d'If .

- The Last Wave (1977)

This film was pretty interesting. Directed by Australian film maker Peter Weir, it was a mystery that included mystical Aboriginal religious beliefs.

- The Man in the Iron Mask (1977)

As you can see by now, I was a big fan of both Dumas and Chamberlain ;)

- Shōgun (1980)

- Hugely popular mini-series based on the novel by James Clavell. I had read the book, so looked forward to seeing this. The novlel had some icky parts ... you will never think of the slowly boiling frog metaphor the same way afterwards :( Also some interesting religious stuff ... the history of Japan at this time, the struggle between the Catholic chuch missionaries (Jesuits) and Protestants who visited Japan, all very fraught. Here Chamberlain's character explains the religious and political realities ...



- The Thorn Birds (1983)

A higely popular mini-series based on the novel of the same name. Read the book - both it and the tv series were ultimately pretty sad, and yet also compelling. A lot of good actors, interesting locasions, and it raised some questions about the Catholic priesthood.

- Dream West (1986)

Historical mini-series about John C. Frémont, from a novle by David Nevin. I liked it - Freemont is a pretty big figure in California history.

- The Bourne Identity (1988)

Yep, before Matt Damon starred in the Bourne films, there was this tv movie. I had read the book by Robert Ludlum and so had to see this tv adaptation.

He was a good actor. I will miss him.

A third term

Rufus Gifford

Rufus Gifford, former U.S. ambassador to Denmark, talks about VP Vance's remarks on Denmark and Greenland.

Pete

Pete Buttigieg weighs in on Signalgate with journalist Jim Acosta.

Signal

It is tooooo late for Trump officials to ptetend that the conversation on Signal about the attack on the Houthis wasn't "classified" or in any other way wasn't a terrible intelligence mistake. It seems likely that the reason they did this on their own private phones through Signal is that they didn't want it to be archived and reviewable by Congress.

Here's John Bolton and General McCaffrey to explain why this is so bad ...

I think the officials involved in the war plans leak are very nervous, which explains why they are splitting hairs over classification vernacular. It's disappointing that those who were so careless with American lives won't be held accountable by Donald Trump unless he feels the… pic.twitter.com/Zk0t6kqVXg

— John Bolton (@AmbJohnBolton) March 25, 2025

If you listen to nothing else today, listen to this. @mccaffreyr3 explains we must assume Signal had been penetrated by foreign intelligence services, that everyone on that chat knew it was wrong, and the risks imposed on our soldiers by this egregious arrogance. pic.twitter.com/TLiFiWNqLg

— John Jackson (@hissgoescobra) March 24, 2025

I Dreamed a Dream

Doing my chores. Sweeping the house. Listening to music makes it not so dreary. One song I listened to always makes me cry - I think because we are all so happy when the underdog succeeds ...

The pickup trucks

Stuff in the news about Israel stepping up operations in Gaza, targeting members of Hamas. They have also been targeting pickup trucks, like the one used to kidnap Shani Louk on October 7 and parade her dead body through the streets of Gaza to cheering crowds.

Wave of IDF strikes in Gaza targets pickup trucks used by Hamas terrorists

The IDF destroyed 100+ pickup trucks that Hamas used in its October 7 invasion. I hope this one was one of them. pic.twitter.com/O743iE41wA

— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) March 24, 2025

Old photos

Looking at old photos again. Most of them are not in the greatest of shape, but ...

Here's my grandfather on the far left, next to his father, and his two brothers, Claude and Verdier ...

Here's me, 25/26, sitting on a bench. I can remember that shirt - weird how I can remember clothes from decades ago, but not my email password ...

Me (L) and my sister (R) playing cowboys and indians at our gandparents' house. Lots of westerns on tv back then. We were always on the side of the Native Americans :) ...

This is one of the few photos we have of our dog Tony. Tony was half Collie, half German Shepherd, and she just showed up when we were kids living in Bermuda. When we came back here, we brought her with us. She lived with us for many years, and then, can't remember why, she went to live with my grandparents, only a few blocks away - we still saw her almost every day. She was a wonderful friend ...

Social Security check

Oh, if I didn't get my Social Security check, my only source of income, I wouldn't just wait for the next one and hope for the best like Lutnick's mother-in-law ... because that would mean that I would not be able to pay the gas bill, the electric bill, the phone bill, the internet bill, the garbage bill, the water bill, the credit card bill, the Medicare drug plan bill, and of course the grocery bill.

What a creep.

Naftali Bennett

Former PM of Israel, Naftali Bennett, on the BBC ...

ראיון לא פשוט ברשת BBC הבריטית. צפו: pic.twitter.com/t1Ea2Cpynt

— Naftali Bennett נפתלי בנט (@naftalibennett) March 19, 2025

Schumer and the almost shutdown

I think Senator Schumer did the right thing by voting to keep the government open. The other Democratic Congressmen and Senators lashed out at him, saying that they were not afraid of a shutdown. Of courae they aren't ... their lives would continue on as normal during a shutdowm. But their vulnerable constituents may well have been doomed by shutting down the government.

Chris Hayes argues that the pain of the shutdown for voters would be a good thing, showing voters how really bad the situation really is. 'Cuz we stupid voters don't realize yet that a dictatoeship will be a bad thing. I guess this is the "let the kid slap his hand onto the acrive stove burner" method of teaching. I prefer not to destroy people in order to show them the light.

The Democrats in Congress are so desperate to prove, both to their voters and to themselves, that they haven't been neutered, that they have some power. They want to show they can fight, that they aren't useless. But where was all this fighting spirit when Trump's Cabinet was being confirmed? Instead of obstructing the votes, some Democratic Senators actually voted for Trump's picks.

Democrats in Congress just do not really have the power to do much of anything right now, aside from obstruction, being in the minority. That is the truth they must accept in order to figure out what they still can do, not for themselves, but for their voters and for the country.

Let the hostages go

Israel resumes Gaza strikes, says Hamas collapsed truce by refusing to free hostages

It's day 529 of the October 7 Hostage Crisis, and there are still 59 hostages trapped in the dungeons of Gaza.

24 are presumed alive, but they're at imminent risk of death.

The Hamas terror state must #LetThemGoNOW🎗️ pic.twitter.com/mi4Bxq8JF6

— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) March 18, 2025

Saint Patrick's Day

- My mother and my stepfather

My stepfather was born on St. Patrick's day, so everyone called him Pat instead of his real name. Remembering him today. Happy birthday, Daddy.

Pre-Raphaelites

This Pre-Raphaelite painting I saw today at the Tate remined me of happy times as an art major in college. The Pre-Raphaelites were among my favorite artists.

One for the Shakespeare buffs 🎭 📜 🎨

This painting by John Everett Millais is of Mariana, a character from Shakespeare’s play Measure for Measure. The story goes that Mariana’s fiancé Angelo leaves after her family’s money is lost in a shipwreck. Still in love with him, she… pic.twitter.com/igXhHasysE

— Tate (@Tate) November 13, 2024

Fries

Ah, yes. Beef tallow, the healthy alternative to those pesky seed oils! Health advice from the former heroine addict, brain-worm host, and road-kill bon vivant, who looks like he's been dead for a week. What could go wrong?

America Stopped Cooking With Tallow for a Reason

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s latest spin on MAGA, “Make frying oil tallow again,” is surprisingly straightforward for a man who has spent decades downplaying his most controversial opinions. Last month, Kennedy argued in an Instagram post that Americans were healthier when restaurants such as McDonald’s cooked fries in beef tallow—that is, cow fat—instead of seed oils, a catchall term for common vegetable-derived oils including corn, canola, and sunflower. Americans, he wrote, are “being unknowingly poisoned” by seed oils; in his view, we’d all be better off cooking with solid fats such as tallow, butter, and lard. In a video that Kennedy posted on Thanksgiving, he deep-fries a whole turkey in beef tallow and says, “This is how we cook the MAHA way.”

Cardiologists shuddered at the thought. Conventional medical guidance has long recommended the reverse: less solid fat, more plant oils. But in recent years, a fringe theory has gained prominence for arguing that seed oils are toxic, put into food by a nefarious elite—including Big Pharma, the FDA, and food manufacturers—to keep Americans unhealthy and dependent. Most nutrition scientists squarely dismiss this idea as a conspiracy theory. But the movement probes some unresolved, fundamental questions about nutrition. Are saturated fatty acids—the kind in animal fat—actually dangerous? And are polyunsaturated ones—found in plant-derived oils—really all that great for your heart? The fact that these debates remain unsettled does not validate Kennedy’s view on fats, which represents a complete reversal of conventional health beliefs. But it does leave plenty of room for his philosophy to proliferate ...

Wish I could read to the end of The Atlantic article but I'm not a member. BTW, I have had french fries in Paris and also in Cologne ... don't know if they were cooked in animal fat, but I thought they were only so-so.

Puppies

We need some puppies to cheer us up ...

Among African wild dogs, the responsibility of raising young pups is shared by the entire pack—so there's never a need to worry about calling a babysitter! #GrowingUpAnimal is now streaming on @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/MVej4pYGoE

— National Geographic (@NatGeo) March 9, 2025

Mark Kelly and Ukraine

And now Trump is blackmailing Ukraine for even more swag ...

Trump wants to see more than just a minerals deal to restart aid and intel to Ukraine