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Home » It’s another roundup

It’s another roundup

The New Neo Posted on by

(1) Is the Ukraine War finally nearing the end? I’ll cut to the chase and say that I don’t think so, although I’d be more than happy to be pleasantly surprised.

But here’s the story:

Donald Trump said security guarantees to end the war in Ukraine were “95 per cent done” as he hosted Volodymyr Zelensky at Mar-a-Lago for peace talks.

Speaking at his Florida holiday home, Mr Trump said a deal to end the conflict was “a lot closer” after an afternoon of negotiations with the Ukrainian president and a call with Vladimir Putin, the Russian leader, on Sunday.

The US president suggested it could take a “few weeks” to get the deal over the line and that some “thorny issues” remain, likely referring to Ukrainian territorial concessions.

As thorny as a briar patch.

(2) Somalia will head the UN Security Council in January. No, that’s neither a joke nor a typo:

The great nation of Somalia is set to assume the rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council on January 1 for a period of one month. Somalia is currently serving as a non-permanent member of the Security Council for the 2025–2026 term. As president, the nation’s representatives “will chair council meetings, help shape the agenda, and represent the Security Council throughout the month.”

(3) The J5 pipebomber’s motive is revealed:

But…for those willing to accept what the current DOJ has to say about it at face value:

Cole acted alone
Cole was upset about the 2020 election
Cole blamed both of the parties
Cole planted the bombs, intending for them to go off on the night of January 5

This makes sense to me, particularly since the bombs were placed at both the RNC and the DNC.

(4) Brigitte Bardot has died at the age of 91. She quit movies while still young, and devoted the rest of her life to animal rights causes. But she also spoke out against what she saw as the Islamic practices that she viewed as cruel to animals, and was fined many times for her statements on the issue.

Bardot was very much a sex symbol, and I never saw any of her films. She apparently didn’t think too much of them:

With the exception of 1963’s critically acclaimed “Contempt,” directed by Godard, Bardot’s films were rarely complicated by plots. Often they were vehicles to display Bardot’s curves and legs in scanty dresses or frolicking nude in the sun.

“It was never a great passion of mine,” she said of filmmaking. “And it can be deadly sometimes. Marilyn (Monroe) perished because of it.”

Bardot retired to her Riviera villa in St. Tropez at the age of 39 in 1973 after “The Woman Grabber.”

That’s quite a title; perhaps it loses something in translation?

RIP.

(5) This video on the empty Somali daycare centers of Minnesota has gone viral:

Comments

It’s another roundup — 22 Comments

  1. J6 pipebomber’s motive was … he’s a nut. I’m still a bit skeptical about this whole narrative.

  4. Commentator “Cynical Publius” on the Minnesota frauds:

    I’m not sure that most Americans understand that in large swathes of humanity, there is no actual concept of “fraud,” particularly fraud against the government. Instead, there is a belief in the virtue of getting away with what you can to help yourself and your tribe.

    I spent a lot of my life in the Middle East and Central Asia, working closely with foreign contractors and foreign governments to provide support to American military operations. As a US Army officer with a big checkbook courtesy of Uncle Sam, I can’t really count the sheer number of times I was offered bribes to award a contract, or falsify records to do things like create larger (fake) headcounts at places like dining facilities, or to just simply be on the take for future illegal requests.

    Of course I had enough sense to never comply with such requests. Moreover, they were never explicitly structured as “bribes”; instead it was usually along the lines of “Here I have these Rolexes as gifts for you and your wife to show our friendship.” (Unfortunately, too many US officers and NCOs succumbed to this siren song and ended up breaking rocks in Leavenworth.)

    The weird thing about this to me was that whenever I turned down such an offering, it was treated as a grave insult. I was the one in the wrong, and not the fraudster trying to bribe me. They considered it rude that I was in their country and refused to accept how things got done. After all, why did I not want to help my tribe by helping their tribe?

    Let me repeat: in these cultures, FRAUD IS NOT EVEN A CONCEPT. There is only what helps your tribe.

    Such thought processes are so alien to Americans and much of the West. We are raised on the presumption that our institutions are valid, that the rule of law always prevails, and that integrity is universal. We need these presumptions to have working governments and economies, and without those presumptions—without the mental barrier that causes us not to accept outright fraud—our nation would quickly descend into the economic and social hellscape of countries like…. ummm… you know…. SOMALIA!

    So when we import people en masse from cultures that accept bribery and fraud as routine, acceptable ways to advance one’s tribe, we should not be surprised that things like the $8 BILLION fraud schemes of the Somali population in Minnesota happen so easily.

    Introducing a fraud-based culture based on tribalism into America is like introducing some sort of lethal virus into a population that has no natural immunity. The virus will spread and grow, unchecked, because it is so alien to the host. Similarly, a culture of fraud is anathema to American thinking, and it must be cut out before it consumes the host.

    So when you see and hear patriotic Americans decrying what is happening in Minnesota or elsewhere, and when they seek deportation of the offenders, it is not “racism,” it is not “bigotry,” it is not “xenophobia”; instead, it is preserving the American tradition of responsible institutions and national integrity.

    https://x.com/CynicalPublius/status/2005030256382464493

  5. Kate,
    Thanks for that repost. So based on his analysis it would appear that the Democrats have aligned themselves with 3rd world culture and abandoned the culture of the US.

  7. No 1 – Don’t think the Fat Lady is ready to sing just yet.

    Movie Recommendation: “The Train”. 1968 (I think) film with Burt Lancaster. Filmed in B&W, very effective.
    Been watching movie lately. The Great Race, Great Escape, Kelly’s Heroes, The Thin Man

  8. What Cynical Publius describes is Western Civilization built on the moral foundation of Christianity… But y’all knew that already.

  9. #5.

    To recap (at least thus far):
    https://instapundit.com/765442/

    One tidbit:
    ‘…Ohio attorney Mehek Cooke CONFIRMS MASSIVE fraud in Ohio, another hotbed for Somalis

    ‘They run fake “home health” and bill $250,000 PER YEAR, per FAMILY, when no work is actually being done

    ‘She says it also happens in PENNSYLVANIA

    ‘”Audit America. Audit Ohio now. And I’m pushing for that in every single state!”

    ‘”The state will, as long as the doctor has approved it, continue to pay you. It could be for 10 hours, 12 hours, up to 24 when it’s critical care.”

    ‘”So you could sit at home without caring for an elderly parent who really doesn’t need it, make about $75,000 to $90,000 a year. Now you add two parents, that’s $180,000. Now you add your in-laws $250,000.”…’
    etc., etc., etc., (but in HOW MANY states might that be?)….

  10. SHIREHOME,

    “The Great Race” was one of our family’s favorites when the kids were still in the nest.

    “Push the button, Max!”

  11. (2) It’s a true shame the major nations of the world can’t take six months and dissolve and/or reconstitute the UN. In its current state so much of it is absurd, even harmful. Whatever components of it individual countries find beneficial and worth the cost of their contributions can continue on without it all residing under one entity, one roof. Nations should just participate in the various organizations within the U.N. to whatever level they choose, when they choose.

  12. (4) Contempt is the only film with Bardot that I’ve seen. And probably the only Godard film too (shame on me). There is quite a bit of commentary on the filmmaking process in it. Rather than striving for the “suspension of disbelief” it goes in the opposite direction. Showing us how artificial or constructed films are, including the one you are currently watching.

  14. You know what’s amazing? The amount of time it took to track down the Jan 6th bomber – considering all the evidence was in front of their nose, the whole time.

    If you want to stop the fraud, stop the payments and force everybody to re-apply for benefits. It can be done.

  16. Kate: to follow up/agree with that post, I remember while living overseas an American friend one day made the comment that “laws here (meaning in the developing world) are more like suggestions instead of hard and fast rules.”

    Yup, sometimes there are places where they do not have the same concepts that we have.

  17. In reference to “Cynical Publius” on the Minnesota frauds and the lack of even a concept of fraud:
    I just came across something similar: a book review discussing the relative successes of The West vs. China in their respective paths to prosperity and “prosperity”.
    https://lawliberty.org/book-review/the-winding-road-to-prosperity/

    It examines some of the roles of tribalism-like culture in hindering innovation, etc., whereas the lack or (or reduction of) tribalism in Europe and via the Church helped establish a culture with a wider circle of trust (beyond the extended family). But the “help my tribe” mentality also fostered a strong motive to steal IP from Western companies and sources.

    What mechanisms are there to recover some of the fraudulently obtained money in MN or elsewhere? Can we avoid letting even deported Somali’s keep their ill gotten gains?
    Is it even worth the legal and time effort to try?

  18. Rufus,
    The Great Race – one of the all time great comedies! I was about 10 when it came out and it’s been a favorite ever since. Can’t remember when I first showed it to my kids, and I’m now wondering at what age it will appeal to the grands.
    And become part of the family
    repartee;
    ‘Capitulate Henry!
    Never!
    Well, don’t forget, we’re having the Simpsons for dinner at 7.
    Yes, Dear.’
    Natalie Wood has never been more beautiful, Tony Curtis more charmingly self deprecating and Jack Lemmon deserved an Oscar for pulling off his over the top Professor Fate.
    Oh well, you know what they say, ‘Dying is easy, comedy is hard.’

  19. R2L:
    “What mechanisms are there to recover some of the fraudulently obtained money in MN or elsewhere? Can we avoid letting even deported Somali’s keep their ill gotten gains?
    Is it even worth the legal and time effort to try?”

    Is it worth it try? Reasonable question. I hope it is done, at least for the worst fraudsters. That could possibly stand as a lesson or reason for others to consider another lifestyle or career.
    Though maybe I’m fooling myself. I wonder how long it takes for tribal norms to evolve.
    … Generations?!
    English should be America’s official national language.
    Ballots should only be provided in English.
    No citizenship granted to people who can’t speak and write English! (I think that’s already the law. Enforce it, for goodness sake!)

  20. 5)

    This morning no mention of the MN fraud cases at all on Drudge or MSNow; not surprising. However, CNN has put out a thinly veiled hit piece on Nick Shirley and, in their words, “alleged fraud”. Yep, that will do it. Smear the messenger. So the Ds really are taking the side of the fraudsters and this may be their opening memo to their minions. I’m sure we’ll hear similar lines of talk now today and in the following days from the Democrats.

    https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/29/us/minnesota-day-care-fraud-what-we-know

  22. This daycare scandal may spread to a blue state near you. I read on my Facebook feed there are over 500 registered daycares in Washington state that list Somali as the principle language. I haven’t tried to verify the claim, but it wouldn’t be surprising.

    I did see another (verified) post that governor Ferguson met with Somali leaders to demonstrate solidarity because of the terrible things the Trump administration is saying about Somalis.

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