Ah the conveniences of modern life.

… Read the rest

The Post reports:

A woman who falsely claimed to The Washington Post that Roy Moore, the Republican U.S. Senate candidate in Alabama, impregnated her as a teenager appears to work with an organization that uses deceptive tactics to secretly record conversations in an effort to embarrass its targets.

In a series of interviews over two weeks, the woman shared a dramatic story about an alleged sexual relationship with Moore in 1992 that led to an abortion when she was 15. During the interviews, she repeatedly pressed Post reporters to give their opinions on the effects that her claims could have on Moore’s candidacy if she went public.

The Post did not publish an article based on her unsubstantiated account.

Adam Hochschild reviews two books on the Ku Klux Klan.

Most of us who grow up in the United States learn a reassuring narrative of ever-expanding tolerance. Yes, the country’s birth was tainted with the original sin of slavery, but Lincoln freed the slaves, the Supreme Court desegregated schools, and we finally elected a black president. The Founding Fathers may have all been men, but in their wisdom they created a constitution that would later allow women to gain the vote. And now the legal definition of marriage has broadened to include gays and lesbians. We are, it appears, an increasingly inclusive nation.

Some of us are, and others of us prefer Trumpworld.

But a parallel, much darker river runs

Originally a comment by Bruce Gorton on Efficiency drive.

It kind of reminds me of something I read on Cracked once, they were interviewing someone from the military who had to brief GW Bush on something.

What the guy found was that he had basically one sentence to give the information the president wanted, which he chalked up to the president having so much to do that he couldn’t afford to waste any time. The president was surprisingly sharp you see!

This in turn reminded of another report in which somebody was supposed to brief the president on tax and the president cut him down a peg or two – and this showed how smart Bush was. Nevermind that … Read the rest

The BBC on Islamists attacking mosques.

The intensity of this Friday’s attack in Sinai is unprecedented in modern Egyptian history – never before have so many people been killed in such a short time by any terrorist group.

Regrettably though, this is not the first time that a mosque has been targeted by radical extremists. Iraqis know this; Syrians know this; as do many other populations around the world.

The scourge of radical Islamist extremism has been felt far more by Muslims than any other population. Muslims, by far, are its most numerous victims. And Muslims, most of all, are the ones fighting it.

Donald Trump please note.

Until now, radical groups have been trying to recruit in Egypt,

Pete Souza: “Someone has a lot of catching up to do.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bb7qkS5lAXw/?hl=en&taken-by=petesouza… Read the rest

I saw this

Written by someone with a PhD: "I urge you to…demonstrate public support for Prof. Rambukkana and his brave stance against hate speech in the classroom."

These people have lost their minds.https://t.co/4JmITn6BDQ via @torontostar

— Lindsay Shepherd (@NewWorldHominin) November 26, 2017

So I read the letter. It does indeed show a mind gone astray.

Under the guise of protecting free speech, you published content that bullied Prof. Rambukkana, as well as the university at large, into apologizing for an act of intervention that was neither unfair nor unwarranted. Instead of taking a stand against hate speech, you have given dangerous credence to the views of (University of Toronto Prof.) Jordan Peterson and his supporters, flying in the