Pointe shoes were only very lightly blocked back then, which gives a different look and technique entirely – the dancer merely poises, alighting for a moment:
Price herself was apparently the model for the statue of The Little Mermaid in Copenhagen.
This video, also from the early 1900s, illustrates the same thing about the pointe shoes. This dancer has a very strong jump:
Yes, I’m well aware that Jack Smith wasn’t meaning this filing as a joke. But it certainly reads like one:
The 20-page motion also argues that Trump shouldn’t be allowed to complain that the trial would interfere with his presidential campaign and that any arguments of this type should be forbidden.
“In addition to being wrong, these allegations are irrelevant to the jury’s determination of the defendant’s guilt or innocence,” Smith wrote, “would be prejudicial if presented to the jury, and must be excluded.”
Smith’s prosecution of Trump is obviously political and has obvious effects on Trump’s campaign schedule if it’s allowed to start when Smith would like: March 4, 2024. But Smith is doing what lawyers do – asking for the moon and hoping to get some of what he asks. With a friendly judge, he may get quite a bit of it.
Smith is also afraid that Trump will use the trial as a bully pulpit to point out the obvious discrimination against him, and that this will backfire on the anti-Trump forces. Maybe Smith should have thought of that in the first place.
There is no better illustration of the extremity of Harvard’s double standards based on identity politics than the difference between the school’s treatment of Harvard presidents Larry Summers and Claudine Gay. Summers probably could never even be chosen as Harvard’s president in the post-Floyd post-COVID world – a white Jewish male with strong scholarly credentials who, although not on the right, couldn’t be said to be on the left, either. And yet from July 2001 until June 2006 – seems like long ago, doesn’t it? – he was indeed the president of Harvard.
Summers left under a cloud. One of his moves that offended the left, even before the incident that caused his downfall, was that he attacked one of Harvard’s third rails – black professor/celebrity Cornel West:
In an October 2001 meeting, Summers criticized African American Studies department head Cornel West for allegedly missing three weeks of classes to work on the Bill Bradley presidential campaign and complained that West was contributing to grade inflation. Summers also claimed that West’s “rap” album was an “embarrassment” to the university. West pushed back strongly against the accusations.”The hip-hop scared him. It’s a stereotypical reaction”, he said later.
So West was accusing Summers of being a typical white person, even before Obama perfected that sort of accusation and its acceptability when it came from a black person.
Summers was not fired, but a no-confidence vote from the faculty convinced him to resign. Among the reasons was the West incident, plus:
… financial conflict of interest questions regarding his relationship with Andrei Shleifer, and a 2005 speech in which he offered three reasons for the under-representation of women in science and engineering, including the possibility that there exists a “different availability of aptitude at the high end”, in addition to patterns of discrimination and socialization.
It was really that latter incident – his speech about the paucity of women at the very highest and most rarified levels of science – that sealed his doom. I wrote two long posts about the brouhaha at the time, and I urge you to read them if you’ve forgotten some of the details (see this as well as this). From the latter:
… [T]his [the outraged reaction to Summers’ remarks about women in science] is a case where feelings seem to have triumphed over reason. That academics – and scientists, at that – would allow this to happen is not a good sign. Whatever happened to the Enlightenment? If Galileo were to return at this point, he might be in grave danger again – at least, if he were to suggest that the earth didn’t revolve around women.
In my own experience in an academic environment during the ’90s, after decades of being away, I was shocked at how far the PC police had come in stifling academic freedom. It seemed the new criterion for censure was whether a remark had offended someone. However careful the professor might be to couch the remark with qualifications, however delicately it was stated, if it offended the tender sensibilities of anyone in the audience, the professor was in trouble. …
The first reports of the reaction to his remarks contain the following gem from MIT biology professor Nancy Hopkins, “I felt I was going to be sick…My heart was pounding and my breath was shallow. I was extremely upset.”
I assume that, as a scientist, Ms. Hopkins had other, more rationally-based objections to Summer’s remarks. But I have yet to read any that make sense. How could anyone have a rational objection to Summer’s call for research into this question? Unless that person were afraid of the truth.
As far as Claudine Gay goes, you might say that she is the un-Summers – not much of a scholar (as well as probable plagiarizer), leftist, black, and a woman. The very reasons Summers had to go were the reasons she got the job. But unlike Summers, Gay has been strongly supported by the Harvard faculty, despite the fact that her academic work seems at least partly bogus, and her offensive remarks were far more offensive than his. All of a sudden, Harvard is interested in free speech – but it very much depends on the identity of the person doing the speaking and the group the person is referencing.
Quite some time ago, the left established – first in academia, but then it spread – that a member of a favored identity group (such as a black person) could not be racist no matter what that person said. Claudine Gay is protected by that sort of “reasoning.”
One of the most interesting things about what’s happening (or not happening) to Gay now is how clearly it reveals to the American public the academic rot that was noticed long ago by those of us who’ve been paying special attention. Harvard is in a bind, and it must choose. If it keeps Gay, its reputation with the general public sinks. If it fires her or encourages her to resign, it betrays its leftist principles.
[NOTE: Gay’s predecessor was also a white Jewish male, but he seems to have been a conventional leftist and he resigned, perhaps to make way for someone more in line with identity politics like Gay. That’s speculation on my part, but I’ve not yet read anything that explains his resignation except the boilerplate line that he wanted to spend more time with his family.]
Of course, Iran has been up to no good since the theocracy began. Thanks, Jimmy!
But here’s the latest:
IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in the report that Iran “in recent weeks had increased its production of highly enriched uranium, reversing a previous output reduction from mid-2023,” according to an IAEA spokesperson Sunday. …
In January, Grossi had warned that Tehran already had enough nuclear material for “several” weapons. “They have amassed enough nuclear material for several nuclear weapons — not one at this point,” he said, listing 70 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% purity and 1,000 kilograms at 20%.
That has to refer to last January, since we’re not in January of 2024 yet.
“The picture is pretty bleak, but the fact at the moment is that there is no appetite to provoke a reaction in Iran in the context of the war in the Middle East,” a senior diplomat told AFP in November about the current deadlock on Iran’s nuclear activity.
In the context of that war, does anyone doubt that Iran is pulling at least some of the strings? Is there any doubt that the Biden administration’s financial largesse towards Iran has facilitated that generosity on Iran’s part? And, most importantly, is there any doubt that Iran would be willing to use nuclear weapons on Israel?
It’s that last question that probably has some people saying, “Yes, of course there’s doubt on that, because it would be suicide for Iran.” I submit that it would only be partial suicide, and the mullahs are more than willing to accept that if it means destroying Israel. Plus – although in a quick search right now I can’t find the quote, but it’s from years ago and I’ve written about it before – an Iranian leader once pointed out that the country has a large population and even though a huge number of Iranians would die from Israeli retaliation to a nuclear attack, enough would survive that Iran would not be destroyed although Israel would cease to be. It seemed like a favorable and acceptable calculus to him.
Perhaps he’s wrong, of course. Perhaps Iran would be utterly wiped out. But perhaps the mullahs, with their focus on the next world, would accept even that possibility.
If October 7 told us one thing, it’s that jihadis are more than willing to wipe out the Jews. They are in fact eager to do so. In addition, they are more than willing to sacrifice their own people in the great cause of eliminating the little Satan (Israel) – or the big Satan (the US), if possible, although they can’t accomplish the latter yet. One of the strangest things that the war in Gaza illustrates is that one side – Israel – is trying its best to prevent civilian casualties on both sides, while the other side – Hamas – is trying its best to amass civilian casualties on both sides.
Iran is not Gaza. However, it is presently allied with Gaza, and it shares its genocidal intent and its willingness to sacrifice at least some of its own people in the glorious pursuit of killing the Jews and finalizing the Final Solution to the best of its ability.
[NOTE: Also please see this.]
I’ve noticed a lot of this among my friends, so here are some tips:
(1) How are you feeling, post-Christmas? Are you ready for 2024?
(2) The NY Times continues its trajectory as a pro-Palestinian pro-Hamas anti-Israel propaganda organ by publishing an op-ed by Gaza’s mayor. So much better than publishing something by Tom Cotton!
(3) Carol Swain – the black scholar from whom Claudine Gay plagiarized – weighs in in the NY Post:
I am fervently committed to advancing diversity, equal opportunity – not equity – and inclusion, resulting in a policy that can promote true integration and respect of individuals in American institutions and society. True diversity comes through the practice of nondiscrimination, outreach, and compliance with existing civil rights law and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
Honoring the First Amendment freedoms of speech and religion can and should result in diversity of thought and goodwill among diverse groups of people. Institutions can and should abide by the First Amendment. Institutional leaders should encourage and promote the simple but enduring tenets of the Golden Rule: treat others how you would like them to treat you.
This approach truly does work. I speak as a person who started life in poverty, dropped out of middle school, married at age 16, and had three children before I turned 21. And yet I found success.
Maybe Swain could be elected president of Harvard. Ah, but there’s a problem – she’s not on the left.
(4) As if California didn’t already have enough money troubles, now Newsom has announced that “the last hole in universal [Medi-Cal] coverage, people aged 26-49, is being filled in the New Year, and the expansion is being aggressively marketed, Medi-Cal will soon be open to all, ‘papers or no papers.’” Medi-Cal is basically California’s Medicaid.
(5) Israel has killed a senior officer in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard in a strike on Syria, and Iran “vows revenge.” Hasn’t Iran already vowed Israel’s destruction? Hasn’t it done so for about as long as the Iranian theocracy has been in power?
To whom is this sort of “protest” supposed to appeal? I’m referring to disruptions of Christmas events by pro-Hamas groups (see the link for details; there are plenty).
I don’t think the demonstrations frighten anyone for more than a moment, and they probably make enemies of some people who might ordinarily be more sympathetic. I suppose the disruptions appeal to those who are already onboard with support for the genocidal jihadis, but is there anyone else who might be moved towards support? I really can’t think of any group.
Or maybe the point is merely “performative.” That is, perhaps the people doing this get off on it, and that’s the most important thing of all. It makes them feel powerful and active and as though they’re changing the world. As best I can recall from my formative years in the 1960s, that was always a big draw for a lot of activists.
This poll is of our supposed allies, the Saudis. The leaders have been instituting some reforms in recent years in terms of education and cutting out some of the hatred. But it doesn’t seem to have borne fruit, if the poll is accurate:
A Washington Institute poll conducted from November 14 to December 6, a nationally representative sample of 1,000 Saudi citizens measured how Saudi attitudes have shifted due to the Israel-Hamas war. According to responses, the Saudi popular attitude towards the outcome of the war is clear: the overwhelming majority (91%) express agreement with the statement that “despite the destruction and loss of life, this war in Gaza is a win for the Palestinians, Arabs, and Muslims.”
A win? And lest you think that maybe, just maybe, many of the respondents think it’s a long-term win because it will lead to the destruction of Hamas – not an illogical thought to have – take a look at the next sentence in the article:
And as for the role of the broader Arab world, almost all (96%) agree with the proposal that “Arab countries should immediately break all diplomatic, political, economic, and any other contacts with Israel, in protest against its military action in Gaza.”
Ninety-six percent?
And yet, as is true in so many polls lately, the results are somewhat conflicted. For example:
While Hamas as a movement remains unpopular among the majority of Saudis [although the poll says that Hamas’ popularity has risen even among the Saudis] — in contrast to a new trend of widespread popular support in countries like Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt — just 16% of Saudis say that “Hamas should stop calling for the destruction of Israel, and instead accept a permanent two-state solution to the conflict based on the 1967 borders.”
The way I interpret that is that the Saudi population doesn’t approve of Hamas, but they think the destruction of Israel is just fine.
But I think the most important part of the survey is this:
Nor do most believe that Hamas’s attack on October 7 targeted Israeli civilians — the overwhelming majority of Saudis (95%) responded that Hamas did not actually kill civilians when asked about whether they believed the Hamas killing of civilians was against Islam. This view is widespread across the eight countries polled by TWI, and similar results appear in a recently released poll of Palestinians from PSR. There, the overwhelming majority reported that they had not seen any videos of Hamas members committing atrocities, and only 10% of Palestinians (17% of Gazans and 5% of West Bankers) stated that they believed that Hamas committed war crimes in the current war in comparison to 95% who say the same about Israel.
Is the news being kept from them in terms of blocking on the internet and by their own MSM? Or are they in denial, as so many are around the world? Whatever the reason, it makes far more sense that they hold the other opinions they do if they actually truly think that Palestinian hands are clean and Israel is killing so many civilians with far less provocation.
Hamas’ increased popularity in this poll parallels similar increases in polls there when there are conflicts in the Palestinian/Israel theater. Interestingly, these spikes have been short-lived in the past. A huge majority also think that Israel is weak and divided and can be defeated “some day.” As for attitudes towards Jews, they haven’t really changed since the war – but they were absolutely awful prior to the war:
When Saudis were asked in August whether they agreed with the proposal that “We should show more respect to the world’s Jews, and improve our relations with them,” just 5% agreed. This is much the same from when the question was posed in 2021, and stands in marked contrast to attitudes on a similar 2021 question about Christians, where Saudi attitudes were split.
But here’s another contradiction, at least as I see it:
Three quarters express support for Arab diplomatic involvement in “Palestinian-Israeli peacemaking, offering both sides incentives to take more moderate positions” (75%), and all the more so to provide humanitarian support to Gazans. Moreover, when posed with the suggestion “Regardless of what’s right, there’s no military solution to the conflict with Israel, so there will have to be political negotiations for a Palestinian-Israeli agreement some day,” an even larger majority (86%) agree.
The good news about polls such as this one and others is that it becomes clearer and clearer what we’re up against. That also is obviously true regarding the events of October 7, which have clarified things both for many in the US but for even more people in Israel. And what’s become even more clear than ever isn’t just the genocidal nature of Hamas and other jihadi groups; but also the lies, bluster, and hatred in the Arab world, and the growing decadence and Leftism in Europe and the US.
Almost a cuteness overload:
[NOTE: This small poetic effort of mine has become somewhat of a holiday tradition at the blog. I forgot it last night – the true “night before Christmas.” But here it comes again – just like the holiday itself.]
‘TWAS THE BLOGGER’S NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS
‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the ‘sphere
Bloggers were glad to see Christmas draw near.
Their laptops were turned off and all put away
The bloggers were swearing to take off the day.
Their children were nestled all snug in their beds
While visions of extra time danced in their heads
With a father or mom not distracted by writing
No posts to compose, and no links to be citing.
But we all know that vows were just meant to be broken
And the vows of a blogger can be a mere token.
There’s always a chance that some sort of temptation
Will rise up to make them of fleeting duration.
For instance, there might be found under the tree
A sleek Mac; well, what better sight could there be?
And who could neglect it and wait the whole day?
It cries to be tried out, one just can’t delay.
Or maybe somewhere there’s a fast-breaking story
Important, and possibly leading to glory.
It can’t be ignored, there’s really no choice,
So add to the din every blogger’s small voice.
And then there are some who may just like to rhyme
(I’m one who at times must confess to this crime),
And it’s been quite a while since Clement Clarke Moore
Wrote his opus (though authorship’s been claimed by Gore).
So it seems about time it was newly updated
And here’s my attempt – aren’t you glad you all waited?
Forgive if it sounds a bit awkward to read.
In writing, I set a new record for speed.
I had to get under the wire and compose it
Before Christmas Day. Now it’s time that I close it.
But let me exclaim (or, rather, I’ll write)
Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!
Here’s a video of the original, with some 50s-type nostalgia for those who remember. There are a few odd anomalies (“safe in their beds” instead of “snug in their beds”). But it brought back memories of pincurls, and the days when parents were assumed to sleep in twin beds (even though I don’t recall that most people did).
I’m pretty sure I had the book on which this is based. The illustrations look very familiar: