Watch: Trump administration writes new travel ban
The Trump administration writes a new executive order, dropping Iraq from the original Travel Ban.
Month: March 2017
The Golem, a film by Carl Boese, Paul Wegener, 1920
The Golem, 1920
A film by Carl Boese, Paul Wegener
“In 16th-century Prague, a rabbi creates the Golem – a giant creature made of clay. Using sorcery, he brings the creature to life in order to protect the Jews of Prague from persecution.” (IMDB)
Bees in Paradise, a film by Val Guest, 1944
Bees in Paradise, 1944
A film by Val Guest
“During WWII, a plane crashes on an island full of dominating females, and the antics begin!”
Coney Island, starring Buster Keaton & Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle, 1917
Coney Island, 1917
A short film by Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle (uncredited)
“Roscoe tries to dump his wife so he can enjoy the beach attractions. Buster arrives with Alice who is taken away from him by Al who loses her to Roscoe. Bathing beauties and Keystone Kops abound.” (IMDB)
Book Review: Building Heaven, a novel by Andrew Osborne
Our latest volunteer, Jenny, offers a brief review, and hearty recommendation, for Andrew Osborne’s debut novel, Building Heaven, which has received 5 star reviews on both Amazon and the San Francisco Book Review. Osborne is an Emmy Award-Winning writer screen writer, who’s just published his first novel, an existential romp through the after life. Jenny is a lover of the arts, especially music, a hopeless liberal, existentialist, wife and Mom:
Building Heaven by Andrew Osborne is an existential thriller which explores the afterlife. The main character, Peter Herlinger, lies in a coma five years after a car crash in which his whole family was killed. In this state he experiences the afterlife and leads the reader on an amazing journey. If you wonder about what happens after death, is there a soul, or is there a heaven this unusual novel might be for you!
Time Table, a film by Mark Stevens, 1956
Time Table, 1956
A film by Mark Stevens
“As a train speeds through the Arizona night, a man posing as a physician holds up the baggage-car crew and escapes with a $500,000 payroll. The fake doctor, Paul Bruckner, leaves the train with his “patient” and the “patient’s wife”, who is really Bruckner’s wife Linda. The insurance company puts its best investigator, Charlie Norman, on the case to work with the railroad’s investigator, Joe Armstrong…” (IMDB)
Shock, starring Vincent Price, 1946
Shock, 1946
A film by Alfred L. Werker
“A psychologically distraught woman is committed to a private sanitarium by the man she witnessed commit a murder.” (IMDB)
Breaking World News
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan: ‘Germany is aiding and abetting terrorism’
“Relations between Turkey and Germany have lurched further into crisis after the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, accused Berlin of “aiding and abetting” terror in an increasingly acrimonious row over the arrest and incarceration of a German-Turkish journalist in Turkey…” (The Guardian)
Mass grave of babies and children found at Tuam care home in Ireland
“A mass grave containing the remains of babies and children has been discovered at a former Catholic care home in Ireland where it has been alleged up to 800 died, government-appointed investigators said on Friday….” (The Guardian)
Why Europe fails to learn
“As Benjamin Franklin remarked, ‘Experience keeps a dear school, yet fools learn in no other.’ He was brilliant enough to invent the lightning conductor but could not predict the formation of the European Union, where no one learns by experience…” (Le Monde diplomatique)
Financing a basic income
“Socialist presidential candidate Benoît Hamon is wooing French voters with the promise of a basic income for all. The idea has sparked debate across the political spectrum…” (Le Monde diplomatique)
Change of policy? PM Modi will visit Israel, but skip Palestine
“NEW DELHI: PM Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit to Israel in July, the first by an Indian Prime Minister, will not see him travelling to Palestine, a decision that underscores the “de-hyphenation” of India’s relations with the two West Asian states.
..” (The Times of India)
Army to get self-reliant, autonomous robots soon
“BENGALURU: Robots occupying forward areas with weapons may still be a far-fetched thought, but India doesn’t want to be lagging behind in providing its armed forces up-to-date artificial intelligence (AI) and robots…” (The Times of India)
Human-wildlife conflicts rising, KWS warns
“Conservationists and stakeholders have raised concerns over the increasing cases of human-wildlife conflicts in several parts of Kenya, because of the drought…” (The Standard – Kenya)
Water shortage hits Kisumu as hyacinth rots
“Residents of Kisumu now face water shortage as the water hyacinth which has carpeted Lake Victoria starts to rot, affecting quality…” (The Standard – Kenya)
Forget What You Know, You Actually Can Get Pregnant While Pregnant
“In a disturbing twist that goes against everything we learned in sex education, a recent New York Times Q&A confirmed that it’s actually possible for a woman to get pregnant… while she’s already pregnant…” (Science Alert)
Scientists Explain the Depressing Reason Why Pandas Are Black and White
“With its trademark patches of black and white fur, there’s no mistaking the giant panda for any other bear.
Now scientists have a better idea of why pandas have this distinctive pattern, and it could all come down to the lengths the poor old animal has to go to just to get enough to eat…” (Science Alert)
Tom and Jerry: Barnyard Bunk, an animated short by John Foster, George Rufle (as Geo. Rufle), 1932
Tom and Jerry: Barnyard Bunk, 1932
An animated short by John Foster, George Rufle (as Geo. Rufle)
“An old farmer has let his entire farm go and it is falling down around him, with mice taking over. Tom and Jerry (the human versions, not the cat and mouse) show up with magical saxophones, and the music has amazing effects on the farm. A chicken lays dozens of eggs, a cow gives gallons and gallons and gallons of milk, and two woodpeckers don’t just peck a tree, they cut it down and split it into firewood…” (IMDB)
It’s too early to ask for the resignation of Jeff Sessions
The Trump administration, in the eyes of many, is guilty of one scandal and indiscretion after another. The latest controversy involves the Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, long held in disdain by liberals for his poor record on Civil Rights, who had denied under oath speaking with the Russians during the 2016 campaign, but recently admitted that he’d spoken to a Russian government operative during that time frame. As a result, in a press conference on Thursday, Sessions recused himself from the Justice Department investigations into the Trump campaign’s controversial Russian dealings.
The question now is, what should we do about this revelation? Sessions’ recusal is clearly warranted, but is it enough? Nancy Pelosi and other prominent democrats have called for Sessions to resign, or be removed from office, since he apparently lied under oath. Indeed, the recent developments are of great concern, and Pelosi and others are right to raise the alarm and investigate further. But calling for his ouster is premature. Often, when we see smoke, there is a fire, but we should remember, that’s not always the case. We need to establish the facts, and a time line of what actually unfolded, in order to make prudent choices.
It is paramount that we learn everything that happened, and make level-headed decisions based on evidence. It is critical that we make this process as bipartisan as possible (a genuine challenge in these divided times) and leave no doubt in the minds of reasonable Americans that justice, not partisan revenge, was the true goal. The guilty should be punished, but we must not forget, in our zeal to do justice, that due process is the key to making fair and reliable decisions that best serve our democracy, and the American People.
The American People deserve to know exactly what happened, who is responsible, and for what reasons these events transpired. If Attorney General Jeff Sessions transgressed, then we should understand the circumstances, and the extent of his transgression(s) in order to act appropriately. And the only way to achieve that goal is via a thorough investigation. After all the facts are gathered, weighed for relevance and assessed by legal experts, we will be able to determine, with reasonable confidence, the correct course of action.
Photo: By DonkeyHotey (Jeff Sessions – Caricature) CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
