Open thread 11/17/22
A tiny glimpse of one of my favorite ballets of all time:
The female soloist is a dancer I’ve not seen before. But as soon as she began to move, I recognized that she’s a dancer of a type I like. Unlike many, she dances from a very strong central core in her torso rather than emphasizing the strength of her legs or feet or arms – although they’re plenty strong, too. She dances as a unified and harmonious whole.
Amazing what one can achieve when one’s goal is to help humanity…
‘ “This Is Unprecedented”: Enron Liquidator Overseeing FTX Bankruptcy Speechless: “I Have Never Seen Anything Like This” ‘—
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/worse-enron-new-ftx-ceo-slams-unprecedented-failure-corporate-controls
(Or, for that matter, “…to try to make life better for the American People…” )
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2022/11/09/remarks-by-president-biden-in-press-conference-8/
Thanks for the link, Barry. That first day affadavit on FTX is fascinating.
neo,
I agree on the dance, very beautiful! Nice hearing the soloist’s comments as she watches the recording. It’s always interesting to learn what artists “think” as they perform.
Unlike many, she dances from a very strong central core in her torso rather than emphasizing the strength of her legs or feet or arms – although they’re plenty strong, too. She dances as a unified and harmonious whole.
–neo
Don’t know if I’m just suggestible, but I can see that core working. Also, her core looks quite solid compared to the lean, lithe image I have of ballerinas. I like the look.
Core is what we’re shooting for with kettlebells. I can’t believe how much more solid I feel now.
Used to be every couple years I would torque my back somehow then be out of action for a week. Even when uninjured I could sense weakness there and on guard to protect myself.
Years ago I spent a summer doing Pilates to build core. But lord, the exercises were so many and complicated and you often needed special equipment. It seemed to me the Pilates people were on to something, but it wasn’t something I had the patience to bring into my life.
Since Obama, the left/D policies have increasingly come downstream from academia. Look what Notre Dame is requiring for NEXT academic year…fully 10 months from now:
https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=20626
Be prepared for similar mandates from your favorite local D government.
In other places, McConnell now is saying he wants to find common things to agree on and pass with Biden. I know Neo doesn’t believe in a uniparty as a formal thing, but I can’t tell the difference between the GOPe and the Ds when such statements come up.
@physicsguy:In other places, McConnell now is saying he wants to find common things to agree on and pass with Biden.
He’ll have trouble getting the appropriations that benefit his corporate cronies (such as the ones his wife sits on the boards of) if he doesn’t.
And as I pointed out in the other thread, 12 Republican Senators just voted with all the Dems to fully legalize same-sex marriage. Even Mitt Romney (or should I say especially Mitt Romney).
For anything that matters to the R base, these guys will screw them every time. But if you don’t vote for the lizard, a bad lizard might get in.
Thank you for publishing these ballet clips, you’ve shown many i haven’t seen before. After you showed us clips of Fonteyn in Cinderella and Makarova in Giselle i bought the dvds from Perdomo for my granddaughter. After we watched them i bought copies for myself.
I’ve been enthusiastic about Ron De Santis based on his actions and words. So I was surprised and a bit distressed to see Trump’s attack upon De Santis.
Then this article gave me a bit of pause about Ron De Santis.
“President Trump Fires Back Against Ron DeSantis, Con Inc and Coordinated Narrative Midterm Effort”
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2022/11/10/president-trump-fires-back-against-ron-desantis-con-inc-and-coordinated-narrative-midterm-effort/
I did a bit of brief research into De Santis’ 10 biggest donors but only found clear negatives about venture capitalist Ken Griffin.
This morning however I ran into this much more extensive exploration of De Santis’ big donors.
“Meet the Globalist Billionaires Behind the Presidential Ambitions of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis”
https://bigleaguepolitics.com/meet-the-globalist-billionaires-behind-the-presidential-ambitions-of-florida-governor-ron-desantis/
In fairness, De Santis’ actions so far do not align with the preferences of his biggest donors* and hopefully, he’s stringing them along. But to do that, he’s got to be lying to them, at best through omission, which raises questions of character.
That said, if De Santis’s political ambitions extend to the WH (and liberal billionaires are not donating millions of dollars to keep Florida red) he cannot afford to piss off the MAGA base before the 2024 election. Saying the right things while running but once elected, then slipping the knife into the back of the base is the standard M.O. of RINOs. Like “Read my lips, no new taxes!” and “It’s the ol’ Potomac two-step, Jack.” Jack Ryan responds, “I’m sorry, Mr. President, I don’t dance.”
America can’t afford to find out after the 2024 election, whether De Santis ‘dances’ or not. I for one am going to be keeping a closer eye upon De Santis rather than taking him at face value.
*The article lists the positions of the major donors it covers where they are in disagreement with De Santis’s actions to date.
Barry Meislin– Not that any of us are surprised, but a certain rotten apple didn’t fall far from the parental tree:
On the maternal side: “Nine years ago, when crypto-fraudster @SBF_FTX was 19, his mother, a Stanford [law] professor, wrote a very long article making the case that free will is a myth and that we should not blame people for committing crimes.”
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1593113768980275201.html
And on the paternal side: “Sam Bankman-Fried’s father drafted tax legislation for Elizabeth Warren, donated thousands to Dems.”
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/sam-bankman-frieds-father-drafted-tax-legislation-elizabeth-warren-donated-thousands-dems
the dogs return to their..,you know, seriously people trusted this guy who is either discount jack black or seth rogen, and all the key players from maxine walters to john boozman? do their best major renault impression,
Just loved the dance video posted today – and agree with huxley that the dancer’s core is a bit more solid and pronounced than the normal body type that is the standard in ballet these days… but, what a wonderful dance! … and my latest ballet grumble – after the years of no-ballet due to covid… now we have demonized Russia (evil,evil) to the point our local ballet company and orchestra will do no Russian music or dance at all… not sure if this is happening all over the country – but it sucks… Really miss Swan Lake!
GB, I understand your skepticism, but after watching DeSantis close up here in Florida, he’s doing a superb acting job of imitating a conservative by his actions. Trump seems to be a rare person in that after arriving in DC he was not taken in. I’m sure it helps he had a huge fortune already, so money coming his way meant nothing. Will that be the same with DeSantis…who knows?
kimo:
More madness from cancel culture, to cancel Tchaikovsky.
it’s an outrage, Russian education for all it’s other failing, provides theirstudents with a thorough grounding in western literature and culture,
the things that are sublime in the world, are those that matter, the baser things we are inundated with,
Geoffrey Britain:
See this on DeSantis.
See this article by Christopher Rufo on how DeSantis operates. He researches, chooses his battles, and delegates. This is good management.
https://www.city-journal.org/how-did-ron-desantis-outperform-the-gop
On another front, an opinion piece at the WSJ reminds me this morning that DeSantis vetoed a racially gerrymandered redistricting plan from his own legislature, and offered, and implemented, one which is not racially gerrymandered. Result: Four more GOP congressional seats, and it is NOT true that this disadvantaged black candidates. For Congress, and state races, several black Republicans were elected in majority-white districts.
The sniping really should stop.
Compliments are fine in public.
If Trump has any complaints about DeSantis, he should deal with it privately with DeSantis.
For everyone’s sake.
And the country’s.
SHOCKA!!
A company that helped “Biden” hijack the country in 2020 turns out to be entirely corrupt—Gosh! Now who’d a guessed THAT??—this on the tails of the FTX cesspit…and reports that twitter employees were also on the take.)
Why of course they support the Democrats…
“…Fired Facebook Employees Took Bribes To Hijack User Accounts”—
https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/facebook-fires-dozens-employees-contractors-hijacking-user-accounts
“Dozens”, they say…
(What they don’t say is to which power…so let’s assume it to be 12 to the 12th. Probably a low-ball estimate.)
Neo says, “More madness from cancel culture, to cancel Tchaikovsky.”
Does that mean no Nutcracker anywhere this year? Or just kimo’s local ballet company?
Peter Navarro listed different methods of fraud during the 2020 election. Here are the illegal methods that were most likely used in 2022. The list is smaller. Some voter fraud is continuous, but probably is more effective in state/local elections.
Since we saw more reports on the voting process in Arizona, how many of these were used in there, and is it possible to prove them?
Outright Voter Fraud
1. Bribery (There was video evidence of this occurring in 2020. Very likely there was some of this in 2022 and will be in 2024. There were complaints that authorities did little/nothing to investigate.)
2. Ineligible voters (Arizona allows voting in federal elections by anyone that can provide two sources of non-photo identification such as utility bills, bank statements, etc. Arizona makes it relatively easy for non-citizens to vote.)
3. Out of state voters (Lots of snowbirds that could register in Arizona and their other state of residence. Is there a national database to catch potential double-dippers?)
3. Dead voters (If it happens in Illinois, it’s happening in Arizona. Voter roles aren’t purged often enough.)
Ballot Mishandling
1. No picture ID check/ reduced standards (This is a problem across the country. With two non-photo pieces of “id”, you’re eligible. Don’t even actually have to be the person on the “id”.)
2. Signature match check abuses (This is a problem anywhere mail-in voting occurs. If the election worker comparing signatures has an unusually broad definition of a “match”, almost any ballot can be accepted. Since there is some correlation between address and political affiliation, it would be relatively easy to add ballots for your favored political party. Very difficult to prove. And once the signature is “verified” that ballot becomes unidentifiable and is a “legal” vote.)
3. Broke chain of custody & unauthorized ballot handling (Arizona uses Runbeck printing services. Ballots go to Runbeck to have the ballot envelopes scanned, and are stored there until they are delivered to the voting center for tabulating. How secure are the ballots? Would it be possible to switch ballots, since I believe the signature matches are between the scanned envelope image and the voter registration signature. )
4. Ballots accepted without postmarks & backdating of ballots (No doubt this is being done. It’s being done in Washington, and no doubt it’s justified in the mind of the election worker as just “counting all the votes.”)
Contestable Process Fouls
1. Abuses of poll watchers (I didn’t hear of any of the abuses that occurred in the 2020 election.)
2. Mail-in & absentee ballots rules violated contrary to state law (This is part of the problem addressed earlier).
3. Voters not properly registered allowed to vote (Same day registration is given provisional ballots. A few no doubt get into the system.)
5. Ballots cured by poll workers or voters contrary to law (This is happening.)
Equal Protection Clause Violations
1. Different standards of ballot curing (Don’t know how much this might affect the ballot totals)
Voting Machine Irregularities
1. Voting printer irregularities (In 2020 the issue was machines improperly programmed during the counting. This was more voter suppression where machines printing ballots malfunctioned. The registration marks printed are critical in the process. During 2020 there was a problem with preprinted ballots having registration marks improperly printed. Because this was done in Republican areas, not expect the judiciary to have much sympathy. Had it occurred in Democrat precincts– well you get the picture.)
Arizona passed laws make the registration/voting process more “secure.” But none of the changes take effect until after the 2024 election.
Here in Washington state, the SoS did an audit of counties process– looking for bias in voter rejection. While not looking for to lax signature verification– it did show an anomaly between the rejection rate of ballots vs. the rejection rate when using automatic signature verification software.
The audit also noted that some of the larger counties didn’t have any rejected ballots from late/non-dated ballots– which historically is one of the major reasons for rejection. The audit did not there is no law defining a cutoff for counting late ballots.
The problem of proving this to the satisfaction of the judiciary is unsurmountable. It’s just the process inherent in mail-in ballots.
Thinking that blue states are going to move away from a system that works (for them), it’s magical thinking to think they’re going to change the process. As other blue states see the benefit– they’re moving to mail-in ballots. Democrats were trying to federalize the voting mechanics with HR1– the only way Republicans could do something similar is when they have both houses of Congress and the Presidency.
Here’s an interesting take, or perhaps just a counter-intuitive musing….
Still, one can learn a lot from it—in many cases, learn things one would rather not…
But the a central problem with the thesis presented here (at least as far as I can understand it…which I probably don’t) is that the MEGA-creep that ran FTX KNEW—and admitted—that his baby was a ponzi scheme all along…which leaves one where, exactly?…
“An Alt-Take On FTX – What If It Was Built For This?”—
https://www.zerohedge.com/crypto/alt-take-ftx-what-if-it-was-built
By inference, then, does it mean ALL cryptos are essentially ponzi schemes?—that is, ponzi schemes just waiting to “happen”?—and FTX’s MEGA-screw up was in fact that it let the cat out of the bag just a mite too quickly (in which case, maybe they DID—overall—help humanity even as they royally screwed scads of individual humans)???
Well, it’s entirely possible we’ll find out the answer to that …sooner rather than later… (i.e., how does one spell, “imminently”?)
Thanks Brian E. for that comprehensive, if nauseous, run down.
(Which is “by design” BTW. AKA “Ensuring everyone’s right to vote(TM)!!”…Early and often, as the saying goes. Even if you’re dead. Maybe even especially if you’re dead.)
One might even get the impression that the US is a fifth-world country.
(Wouldn’t want to give fourth-world countries a bad name now, would we?)
kimo:
I’m pretty sure it’s just a local thing.
Although beware – PETA might get into the act, to protect swans.
Do Democrats have anything to worry about in 2024? No.
Lets be honest, if you can find 81-million votes (for Biden in 2020)…..then Trump loses, end of the story.
Now, if you bring up that the combined vote in 2020….had around 35-percent more votes than any election of the past forty years? Well….yeah, that’s a fact.
What you need to worry about is if those stupid Republicans figure out all the drop-box gimmicks and suddenly find another fifteen-odd million votes out there that didn’t exist before. http://ripleyporch.blogspot.com/2022/11/ten-thoughts.html
PA cat… and Neo:
i stand (or sit) humbly corrected… Our ballet company will be performing 6 shows of Nutcracker at the ballet hall in mid-December. My grumbles have crumbles… Alas – looking out into the coming season – no Swan Lake.. PETA may have won this round… LOL
All,
I am by no means asserting De Santis to be a RINO in disguise. I deeply hope he is as he presents himself. But I will pay closer attention to both his actions and the people with whom he surrounds himself.
neo:
Don’t tell PETA about the mice in The Nutcracker.
well that’s different
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/11/17/meet-election-denier-hakeem-jeffries-front-runner-for-house-democrat-leader/
om: That’s right … tho’ they are pretty big mice!! Weaponized as well…
physicsguy,
My guess is Notre Dame will face more than a few challenges from that requirement. I know many Catholics who refused the shot because the development process involved stem cells from aborted feti.
There is much I cherish about Notre Dame*, but they still manage to break my heart with occasional woke nonsense. An institution built on a 2,000+ year tradition ought to be a bit slower to adopt cultural fads.
*Students cannot choose their dorm, nor roommate (your roommate is guaranteed to NOT be from your zip code).
Single sex dormitories.
All male dorms run by a Priest, living in residence.
Every dorm has daily mass on premises.
Over 80% of all students stay in dorms four years.
The University emphasizes four year graduation for Undergrads (not five or six like many other schools).
Until about two years ago all Freshman had to pass a basic test of swimming skills and water survival.
neo:
By all means continue these “What to look for in dance” posts.
If one is in the corps de ballet–which I presume is the dozen or so dancers crossing early in the piece–is it possible to be a good team player and at the same time draw sufficient intention to promote one’s career?
Richard Aubrey:
It very much depends – on the structure of the company, whether it has its own school, the director, and other things as well. If the company has a school, for example, sometimes teachers and the company director are already aware of who is a standout and sometimes those people bypass the corps or only stay there a very short time. In addition – as you seem to have guessed – sometimes people who later become soloists find it hard to blend into the corps. However, it’s certainly possible for a corps dancer to be noticed by a director or a choreographer and to be given a chance at a solo role, and if that person shines, then more soloist parts can open up.
In the traditional Russia state companies with state schools, as well as the School of American Ballet (Balanchine’s school), there’s a performance at graduation time, and at that point the soloists-to-be are often asked to join the company, sometimes for brief stays in the corps and in some cases even as soloists right off the bat. Other graduates go on to other companies. Some become soloists in smaller, less well known companies, too.
Need more bossa nova on this thread:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXZpFOq0JOc
neo. Thanks. Can’t very well try to show off when in the dozen or whatever it is being synchronized in the background. So you make your point(s) elsewhere. Lots of opportunity.