Those fouettés

The New Neo Posted on by

You might say that the turns in ballet known as fouettés are a sort of parlor trick. They’re neither beautiful nor interesting – at least, not to me – and are mostly a physical feat that requires great skill. In that sense, I admire modern-day ballet dancers who not only can do them in abundance but casually throw in doubles and triples, something you never used to see when I was a child. Now they are almost routine.

In this clip of many segments of fouettés done by different dancers, you can not only see the doubles and triples, but variations on the arms, some of which make the whole operation more and more difficult. The closer to the body the arms are held, the easier the turns are; not that they’re ever easy. But whenever you raise the arms or place them away from the body, it slows down momentum and becomes even more difficult. There is also one dancer who varies the direction in which she looks or “spots” as she turns, and some dancers turn faster than others.

Enjoy:

Roundup

The New Neo Posted on by

(1) Biden met with Hunter’s Chinese business associates, and it’s being treated as news – at least by media on the right, although I really think we already knew this. On the left, as far as I can see, it’s being pretty much ignored.

(2) The MSM is happy to report that there’s a “feud” or a “war” between DOGE and MAGA on the subject of H-1B visas. There’s certainly a heated disagreement:

-President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday sided with key supporter and billionaire tech CEO Elon Musk in a public dispute over the use of the H-1B visa, saying he fully backs the program for foreign tech workers opposed by some of his supporters.

Trump’s remarks followed a series of social media posts from Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, who vowed late Friday to go to “war” to defend the visa program for foreign tech workers.

Trump, who moved to limit the visas’ use during his first presidency, told The New York Post on Saturday he was likewise in favor of the visa program.

“I have many H-1B visas on my properties. I’ve been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It’s a great program,” he was quoted as saying.

Musk, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in South Africa, has held an H-1B visa, and his electric-car company Tesla obtained 724 of the visas this year. H-1B visas are typically for three-year periods, though holders can extend them or apply for green cards.

(3) Another person on fire in NYC, this time in Grand Central Station. This time the person was burned but is still alive. In this case, the man is believed to have set himself on fire.

(4) Meanwhile, the illegal alien who is believed to be the person who set a woman on fire in the NYC subway has been indicted for her death.

(5) Dave Barry’s year in review.

Biden’s Christmas message

The New Neo Posted on by

I very much doubt that this message, which purports to come from Biden, actually was written by him. But whoever composed it has no sense of irony. Here’s the section to which I’m referring [emphasis mine]:

Yes, even after 2000 years, Christmas still has the power to lift us up, to bring us together, to change lives, to change the world. It speaks to all of us as human beings who are here on this earth, to care for one another, to love one another.

And too often we see each other as enemies, not as neighbors, not as fellow Americans. So my hope this Christmas season is that we take a few moments of quiet reflection, find that stillness in the heart of Christmas and look at each other as who we really are, fellow Americans, fellow human beings, worthy of being treated with dignity and respect, because there’s so much that unites us as Americans, so much more that unites us than divides us.

Biden’s campaign and Harris’ campaign conveyed the antithesis of that sentiment.

Hamas won’t give Israel a list of living hostages

The New Neo Posted on by

You would think it was the very least Hamas could do: provide a list of living hostages who might be freed in any deal with Israel. But apparently even that is too much, according to Hamas:

On Wednesday, Israeli officials charged that Hamas had backed away from a softened stance that could have enabled a deal, and instead returned to a position that is holding up progress. The allegation came after the terror group accused Israel of making new demands in the negotiations and causing a delay.

An unnamed Hamas official told the Qatari-owned Al-Araby Al-Jadeed outlet on Thursday that Hamas has provided a partial list of living hostages to negotiators, but is unable to communicate with all the groups holding captives.

The terror group will be in a better position to provide information on the hostages once a ceasefire has begun and communication in Gaza becomes easier, he said.

What complete garbage. “Oh, just let’s have a ceasefire and we’ll find out for you, because your nasty little war is all that’s holding us back from perfect communication with our minions holding people captive.”

Of course, Hamas knows that it works to blame Israel for everything that goes wrong. It works both on the international stage and also with Israel’s left, and with many of the hostage families who have suffered terribly all this time. They want answers and they want their loved ones back, and who can blame them?

But at what cost? That has always been the question. Hamas wants the cost to Israel to be exponentially high. The hostages are their final trump card and they are playing it for all it’s worth.

Do they actually not know where all the hostages are and who is alive and who is dead? I think that is probably one case in which they are telling the truth – there are some hostage-taking freelancers and there is also some disorganization. That does not excuse Hamas in any way. They are 100% to blame for every casualty and injury in this war that began with mass murder on 10/7.

And then of course there is the ever-present question of how many hostages remain alive. I do not think the answer is zero, but the true figure is completely unknown. If I had to guess, I’d say somewhere in the thirties, but that is a complete guess.

When is an insurrection not an insurrection? When the left does it

The New Neo Posted on by

And notice that to these two lawyers, “our democracy” isn’t so very precious:

Evan Davis, the former editor-in-chief of the Columbia Law Review, and David Schulte, the former editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Journal, argue in a joint column in The Hill that Congress not only has the power to block Trump from taking office but should.

Their column doesn’t cover much new ground. It references Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which disqualifies individuals who have engaged in insurrection from holding office, despite the fact that Trump did no such thing. Heck, he hasn’t even been charged with such an offense, and when you consider the fact that rogue left-wing prosecutors have charged him with all sorts of made-up crimes, that says something. …

Not only is the foundation of their argument weak, but they’re relying on partisan cases that all failed. They’re calling on Democrats to do exactly what was once considered an unprecedented attack on democracy, which not only undermined the will of the voters but also subverted the entire electoral process. The authors insist that it’s not okay to have doubts about an election where the Democrat was declared the victor, yet it is more than okay to use bogus arguments to prevent a Republican from taking office.

“The unlikelihood of congressional Republicans doing anything that might elect Harris as president is obvious,” they write. “But Democrats need to take a stand against Electoral College votes for a person disqualified by the Constitution from holding office unless and until this disability is removed. No less is required by their oath to support and defend the Constitution.”

Actually, I don’t think “insurrection” is the proper word for their suggestion. I think “coup” is – but then again, there have been so many coup attempts against Trump ever since he won the 2016 election that I’ve lost count.

Not to mention the successful coup against Joe Biden, the rightful Democrat nominee as selected in the primaries, running for the presidency in 2024.

Coup, schmoo. The left wants what it wants and will bend the rules till they break in order to get it. However, it’s pretty easy to predict that the suggestions of these law professors won’t be carried out, as they themselves admit. I’m not really sure why they wrote the article, except to give succor to the voters still grieving for Kamala’s loss, and to keep moving that Overton Window.

It occurs to me that …

The New Neo Posted on by

… the 25th Amendment is crying out for revision. It clearly doesn’t work in its present form. Despite the amendment and despite Joe Biden’s obvious mental decline and inability to discharge the duties involved in being President of the United States, it hasn’t been invoked and that has allowed a nameless and faceless bunch of unelected aides to run the country.

Why? Because that’s the way the Democrats wanted it.

Let’s look at the relevant elements of the amendment. First we have Section 3:

Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.

This part is fairly straightforward and is about voluntary relinquishment on the part of the president. It was never activated by Biden – either because he refused or because those in power wanted him to remain in place as a convenient figurehead.

Then there is Section 4. It’s more complex and involves actions by a president and actions by the Cabinet and Congress:

Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.

Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.

But during the Biden administration, despite the Cabinet and Vice President knowing of his disability, nothing was done. In fact, there was a huge effort by the Cabinet, Harris, and the MSM to cover up the entire situation. It’s really quite extraordinary; politics, in the sense of “what’s good for the Party and bad for Trump?” took precedence over everything else.

It’s an example of the truism that laws are only as good as the people executing them. That’s why, even though I started out this post by saying the 25th Amendment needs improvement, I can’t think of a way to do it that wouldn’t fall prey to the same basic problems. I doubt very much that the amendment’s drafters ever thought of the particular situation we’ve found ourselves in during the Biden administration and particularly in this lamest of lame-duck periods since the 2024 election.

Did they or didn’t they?: Russia and the Azerbaijani airplane

The New Neo Posted on by

I haven’t written anything about the Azerbaijani airplane crash and Russia because I’ve been waiting for more clarity on the story.

But so far, clarity hasn’t come. So I’ll link to this:

Early indications suggest a Russian anti-aircraft system may have downed the passenger jet that crashed in Kazakhstan on Christmas Day, a US official told CNN, as authorities recovered a second black box that they hope will shed light on the cause of the disaster that killed dozens of people.

The signs point to a Russian system striking Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 before it crashed near the city of Aktau, the US official said Thursday.

This is the first time the US has offered an assessment of Wednesday’s crash, which killed at least 38 of the 67 people aboard the plane.

If the early indications are ultimately confirmed, it may have been a case of mistaken identity, the US official said, in which poorly trained Russian units have fired negligently against Ukraine’s use of drones.

Officials from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia urged people not to speculate about the crash until investigations have concluded.

Of course people are going to speculate. There are all sorts of conflicting stories and possibilities; read the link for more of the details.

There are some survivors:

At least 38 of the 67 people on board the plane were killed in the crash, Kazakh authorities confirmed, including two pilots and a flight attendant.

Some 29 survivors, two of whom are children, were pulled from the wreckage, Bozumbayev said.

RIP.

What was Kamala Harris thinking?

The New Neo Posted on by

My guess is that Harris was so unused to being expected to answer hard questions on her way from high position to high position that she thought the ultimate high position – the US presidency – would be hers if she just continued along that path.

And you know what? She came way too close to winning the 2024 election, considering her abysmal performance.

Anyway, here’s the story that sparked these reflections of mine:

Vice President Kamala Harris stormed out of a meeting with powerful Teamsters President Sean O’Brien while campaigning, arrogantly telling him she didn’t need his support because she’d “win with you or without you” — just before her crushing loss to Donald Trump.

O’Brien recalled the episode on “The Tucker Carlson Show” on Monday as he discussed his union’s historic decision not to endorse a presidential candidate for the first time in nearly 30 years.

O’Brien said Harris finally agreed to sit with the Teasmstars for a roundtable after President Biden dropped out of the race, just to only answer a quarter of their 16 questions. Other candidates, including Trump, answered them all.

Harris apparently didn’t even think she needed to court unions, which used to be a stronghold of Democrat sentiment. No more.

Also, here’s a one-minute segment from the interview:

I don’t think Harris had ever before had to face the consequences of conveying an obnoxious attitude of entitled arrogance. Finally, she has. Of course, she’ll probably land on her feet anyway, with some sort of cushy position and lots of money. Hey, maybe she’ll even be the Democrats’ presidential nominee again, but I don’t think so.

Happy Chanukah, and some reflections

The New Neo Posted on by

[NOTE: This is a slightly edited version of a previous post.]

This is the second night of Chanukah, and I wish everyone a happy one. Chanukah is about a successful revolt and a miracle of light:

The miracle of the one-day supply of oil miraculously lasting eight days is first described in the Talmud, committed to writing about 600 years after the events described in the books of Maccabees. The Talmud says that after the forces of Antiochus IV had been driven from the Temple, the Maccabees discovered that almost all of the ritual olive oil had been profaned. They found only a single container that was still sealed by the High Priest, with enough oil to keep the menorah in the Temple lit for a single day. They used this, yet it burned for eight days (the time it took to have new oil pressed and made ready).

The words of this Chanukah song are in Yiddish—written by Morris Rosenfeld in 1924 before the Holocaust and before the establishment of Israel—and they are not happy. But I didn’t know that when I first heard it, and I post it anyway because I think it’s a very beautiful song:

Here are the lyrics, loosely translated by Theodore Bikel:

O little lights of mystery
You recall our history
And all that went before
The battles and the bravery
And our release from slavery
Miracles galore.

As my eyes behold your flames
I recall our heroes’ names
And our ancient dream:
“Jews were learning how to fight
To defeat an awesome might
They could reign supreme”

“They would rule their own domain
When the enemy was slain,
The Temple cleansed and whole.
Once there was a Jewish land
And a mighty Jewish hand.”
Oh, how it moves my soul!

O little lights of mystery
You retell our history
Your tales are tales of pain.
My heart is filled with fears
My eyes are filled with tears
“What now?” says the haunting refrain.

Written in 1924, and it seems prescient.

Bikel translated the song that way in order to make the rhymes come out in the English version. But a more literal translation of that last verse might be this [NOTE: that link isn’t working anymore, but here’s the translation I had found there]:

Oh little candles,
your old stories
awaken my anguish;
deep in my heart there
stirs
a tearful question:
What will be next?

You can find another translation here.

Last year the words of the song had an extremely ominous quality. Chanukah that year came only two months after 10/7, and Israel was struggling to recover from the terrible blow as well as to fight back on many fronts and against rising worldwide anti-Semitism. The anti-Semitism is still there, but Israel has experienced not only “battles and bravery” but “miracles galore.” The future remains uncertain, but things have certainly been looking up, particularly since this past September.