Diana biographer issues withering Meghan Markle verdict: ‘She’s flawless about getting it all wrong’ - "The former editor-in-chief of Vanity Fair has given a withering assessment of Meghan Markle, claiming she is “flawless about getting it all wrong”. Tina Brown, who led the magazine from for eight years until 1992, is no stranger to ranting about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, having previously dubbed the couple as being “addicted to drama” and branding their exit from the royal family as a “disaster”. She has now continued her tirade as she laid into Meghan’s judgement on The Ankler podcast. “The trouble with Meghan is that she has the worst judgment of anyone in the entire world,” she told podcast host Janice Min. “She’s flawless about getting it all wrong.” She added: “All of her ideas are total crap, unfortunately.” The journalist, who has also worked as the former chief of Tatler and The New Yorker, went on to say describe Harry as “the lamb to the slaughter in this situation,” adding: “And he just sort of blindly followed her like a child, really.” Ms Brown has previously written books about the royals, including her latest work released in 2022, The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor, the Truth and the Turmoil. Her Princess Diana biography, The Diana Chronicles, became a New York Times bestseller upon its release in 2007. In 2022, she labelled Harry as “fragile” and “combustible” as she said palace advisers reportedly “always thought he would leave”. She added that his exit from the royal family was a “disaster all round” and that the couple could have left the UK on better terms if they weren’t as “hot-headed”... Her latest comments come after Meghan spoke candidly to a group of teenagers about her experiences of online bullying at a recent event... Meghan told the group how she is “one of the most bullied people in the world”."
Damn racist!
Meghan Markle releases statement after solo Thanksgiving appearance without Prince Harry - "The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are reportedly in the midst of a professional separation, with reports suggesting that their work relationship is “in a very bad state.” Indeed, over the last few months both the “Suits” alum, 43, and Harry, 40, have been seen attending various events solo... The pair did, however, appear in a joint video in honor of Veteran’s Day earlier this month — with Harry admitting the pair had been “at a crossroads” with work in recent weeks. In their joint video appearance, the pair discussed prioritizing children’s safety online through their Archewell Foundation. It was the first time they were seen together in months."
This took longer than I and many others expected. Soon she will accuse him of abuse
Meghan Markle Divorce: Amid divorce rumors, Meghan Markle seeks more time from US authorities to correct this - "Harry and Meghan are in the middle of a professional separation which means they will not work together. According to their aides, this is a decision they have jointly arrived as their joint brand 'Harry-Meghan' or the 'Sussexes' has been losing popularity. It has been decided that Meghan will be focusing on her Hollywood projects and home goods brand while Harry will be doping his charity works. But whether this arrangement is to cover up their personal separation as well is not yet known. They have rarely made joint appearances and according to reports, they are rarely together in California either."
Meme - ɖʀʊӄքǟ ӄʊռʟɛʏ 🇧🇹🇹🇩 @kunley_drukpa: "HARRY - CHOOSE YOUR FUTURE Do you choose to marry?
• English Rose Socialite Cressida Bonas
• American TV Actress Meghan Markle
This is a very easy choice - it is almost impossible to fumble this Harry"
Bouchard must build trust as next CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada CEO, say observers - "Marsha Barber, a former senior producer for the CBC's flagship newscast, "The National," said Tuesday that morale has been "extremely low at the CBC," especially after millions of dollars in executive bonuses followed a round of layoffs... Peter Menzies, a senior fellow with the Macdonald Laurier Institute and a former vice chair of the CRTC, said Bouchard's biggest challenge will be "building trust" both within the CBC and the broader public. "Public trust has been an issue in recent years for media generally, but it's been particularly challenging for the CBC on the English side because it's somehow managed to allow itself to become a political football," he said... "The CBC is notorious for having layers of management, and that's where the bonus controversy comes in," he said. "That's one action that would really get people's attention: 'CBC lays off 500 managers.' Or maybe there's a new way of funding that the government and the mandate come up with that catches people's attention.""
Legault 'shocked' by Montreal teacher scandal, pledges to toughen secularism measures - "Quebec Premier François Legault promised on Tuesday to toughen secularism measures in schools, saying he was "shocked" by revelations about a Montreal public school where a group of teachers had tried to introduce what the premier described as "Islamist" beliefs... the teachers — many of whom were of North African descent — were allegedly influenced by the local mosque and subjected children to physical and psychological violence. They either refused to teach — or paid little attention to — the science and sex education curriculum. The evidence gathered suggested some teachers didn't believe in learning disabilities and neurodevelopmental disorders and refused to let specialists in the classroom, believing instead that discipline — with the idea of "breaking" the student — would put them on the "right path." Witnesses told the government investigators that local religious leaders exerted a “strong influence” on several school staff and a mosque representative underscored to school officials the importance of having good relations with the place of worship. The report mentioned that there were staff members of North African descent who were part of the opposition to the methods of the "dominant clan.""
Damn racism and Islamophobia!
Chris Selley: Latest outrages over Muslims give a preview of Quebec's next referendum - "Anglophone media have reported on the suspension of 11 teachers from Bedford elementary school , in the very multicultural and immigrant-rich Montreal neighbourhood of Côte-des-Neiges... anglo media either soft-pedalled or (in CBC’s case, amazingly) completely ignored what has made the story so politically relevant : The allegedly “toxic” teachers were apparently Arab Muslims... witnesses reported “a strong influence on the community environment” exercised by teachers who “reportedly frequent a community centre and a mosque located in the neighbourhood.” It said that members of the mosque sometimes intervened on occasion to ensure the school’s education model was in line with their preferred “cultural model.”... The investigation mentions in particular stories that “many teachers at Bedford School … speak Arabic among themselves.” (This affair activates Quebec nationalists’ concerns about Islam and languages other than French in almost equal measure.) “According to the witnesses, it is difficult to integrate into the (Arabic-speaking) group, particularly because it is impossible to understand conversations between some members of staff,” the report found. The report accuses teachers in the school’s “dominant clan” of serial dishonesty. “Protecting their honour is a priority and is done to the detriment of honesty,” it finds. “Investigators were able to observe on several occasions that some teachers use lies to get out of embarrassing situations, even in situations where the lie is blatant.” Witnesses spoke in particular of “lies” deployed “during interventions on the language spoken in the school. Teachers deny having spoken Arabic or Kabyle (a Berber-Algerian language) when they are caught in the act.” From the students’ perspective, features of this toxic environment allegedly include severe neglect of special-needs pupils, what you might call old-school teaching methods (belittling and yelling at kids, slamming rulers on desks, etc.) and just a crummy overall experience, at best. This all backs up reams of reporting by Montreal radio station 98.5 FM, which broke the story back in 2022 . Why it took so long for everyone from the school board to the minister to respond is one of the key questions in play. Whatever was happening at that school — and other schools are now implicated in similar fashion — the “toxic environment” allegations have been more than borne out."
CBC media bias is a myth
Left wingers only object to religious indoctrination when it's by Christians
Meme - Borys Waluszko @WaluszkoBorys: "Economic historians love to confidently calculate the GDP of Babylonia under Hammurabi"
for good things, against bad🏳️🌈🌐🇺🇦 @captgouda24: "We did, and it’s one of the coolest papers ever. Because ancient scholars included astronomical data, we were able to exactly date clay tablets, and found inflation due to state collapse. Go read it! (Link below)"
"Price Behavior in Ancient Babylon. Peter Temin. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
This article analyzes the longest continuous price data from the ancient world, which come from ancient Babylon and stretch from almost 500 BCE to beyond 100 BCE. The analysis confirms the interpretation in Slotsky (1997) that they are market prices. It shows that the prices of agricultural goods moved in a random walk. They rose sharply after the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE and more gradually toward the end of the period. The author suggests that both price rises resulted from breakdowns in the ruling government,"
Meme - "Only DIN B125"
Simon: "Today I learnt that a German complained that #cyberpunk2077 used the wrong manhole standardisation. It's beautiful."
"C'mon @CyberpunkGame, of all the bugs, this is the worst! There may be some canon reason why German manhole covers are used in Night City. But, please, DIN B125 is only allowed approved for pedestrian walkways. On roads, it should be a Begu D400 to support the weight!"
Richard Hanania on X - "Lina Khan fines Lyft $2.1 million. Among the complaints: Lyft advertised that drivers could make “up to” a certain number, but that number only reflected the top fifth of workers! Does she even know what “up to” means? Another complaint: Lyft advertised an “earning guarantee,” which involved…actually fulfilling that promise? I read this five times to make sure I understood. Lyft said you would have an earnings guarantee of $975 a week, and then made sure everyone brought home $975. I hope this helps you understand that the modern antitrust movement is little more than a vehicle for anti-market sentiments."
Meme - "We Proudly Serve Halal Meat. Pork Ham Whole (Fresh). Pork Spare Rib (Whole)"
Ruin value - Wikipedia - "Ruin value (German: Ruinenwert) is the concept that a building be designed in such a way that if it eventually collapsed, it would leave behind aesthetically pleasing ruins that would last far longer without any maintenance at all."
Catullus 16 - Wikipedia - "Catullus 16 or Carmen 16 is a poem by Gaius Valerius Catullus (c. 84 BC – c. 54 BC). The poem, written in a hendecasyllabic (11-syllable) meter, was considered to be so sexually explicit following its rediscovery in the following centuries that a full English translation was not published until the 20th century. The first line, Pēdīcābo ego vōs et irrumābō ('I will sodomize and face-fuck you'), sometimes used as a title, has been called "one of the filthiest expressions ever written in Latin—or in any other language"."
Leonard v. Pepsico, Inc. - Wikipedia - "In 1996, PepsiCo began a promotional loyalty program in which customers could earn Pepsi Points which could be traded for physical items. A television commercial for the loyalty program displayed the commercial's protagonist flying to school in a McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II vertical take off jet aircraft, valued at $37.4 million at the time, which could be redeemed for 7,000,000 Pepsi Points. The plaintiff, John Leonard, discovered these could be directly purchased from Pepsi at 10¢ per point. Leonard delivered a check for $700,008.50 to PepsiCo, attempting to purchase the jet. PepsiCo initially refuted Leonard's offer, citing the humorous nature of the offer in the advertisement. Leonard then sued PepsiCo, Inc. in an effort to enforce the offer and acceptance perceived by Leonard to be made in the advertisement. In her judgment, Wood sided with PepsiCo, noting the frivolous and improbable nature of landing a fighter jet in a school zone that was portrayed by the protagonist. PepsiCo would re-release the advertisement, valuing the jet at 700,000,000 Pepsi Points."
Arabic and Islamic themes in Frank Herbert's "Dune"
A popular claim is that Dune is plagiarised from The Sabres of Paradise because both are inspired by the Caucasus, but clearly there's more to Dune than that
Leonarda Cianciulli - Wikipedia - "Better known as the Soap-Maker of Correggio (Italian: la Saponificatrice di Correggio), she murdered three women in the town of Correggio, Reggio Emilia, in 1939 and 1940, and turned their bodies into soap (using caustic soda) and teacakes... In 1939, Cianciulli learned that her eldest son and favourite child, Giuseppe, was going to join the Royal Italian Army in preparation for the Second World War. She was determined to protect him at all costs and came to the conclusion that his safety required human sacrifices. Cianciulli found her victims in three middle-aged women, all neighbours"
Sukihana Explains Viral "Musician" Moment With Bobbi Althoff - "Sukihana has doubled-down on her hilarious response to Bobbi Althoff, who called her a “musician” during a viral recent episode of The Really Good Podcast. The rapper and reality star sat with the dry-humor host, who asked Suki if she considers herself a “musician.” Taken back, Suki asserted that she is not, and began a back-and-forth with Althoff over the label — even assuming that the aspiring comedian meant “magician.” “You’re a musician, that’s why I’m interviewing you today to get to know you,” Althoff started before Suki jumped in with, “What the f**k that mean? Make magic or something? What is a musician? I’m not no musician, I make music. That’s not all I do. I act, I’m a TV star too.” “I’m not confusing nothing because you thought that’s all I was, was a magician or whatever the f**k you said,” she continued."
When you're just stupid
Patrick Luciani: Who will save us from the autocrats? - "Pulitzer Prize winner Anne Applebaum’s recent book Autocracy, Inc.: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World. Applebaum is clear that China and Russia are determined to bring down the rules-based liberal world order established after 1945 and replace it with a new multipolar world. They aren’t working alone. For example, President Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela—himself hanging dubiously on to power following an election overshadowed by allegations of overwhelming fraud—is laundering drug money to support Hezbollah’s war against Israel, while autocratic leaders in Iran, Syria, and North Korea use social media and financial corruption to help each other’s kleptocracies undermine liberal democracies worldwide. The Western response has been generally anemic. Gone are the intellectual and policy giants of the past who understood the stakes—President Reagan had George Schultz, James Baker served under George H.W. Bush, and Henry Kissinger guided Richard Nixon. Under Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken seems outmatched when confronting his Russian and Chinese counterparts. Coincidence or not, Russian and Chinese fighter bombers tested U.S. airspace near Alaska in recent weeks. In the free world’s capital, it didn’t help that the Israeli prime minister was publicly snubbed, as both the president and vice president avoided being seen with Netanyahu during his recent visit to Washington. At the same time, Iranian-backed Palestinian protesters burned the American flag and desecrated Washington monuments."
Patrick Luciani: Is populism destroying European democracy? - "those on the political Right aren’t the only ones dissatisfied with liberal democracy. Those on the progressive Left are perhaps even more disappointed with democratic liberalism’s very roots, which entrenched individual rather than group rights based on identity politics. Ireland’s recent rejection of a change in its constitution’s wording to incorporate group rights is a case in point. What was supposed to be an easy victory for Ireland’s political elites in redefining the meaning of relationships and the role of women in the home was solidly rejected by a public suspicious of an attack against traditional values. Though parties on the extreme Right in Europe have increased their vote count, they have yet to see their support garner more than 10 to 20 percent of the popular vote in most countries. In his new book on the erosion of European democracy entitled Democracy Erodes from the Top, Larry Bartels, a political science professor at Vanderbilt University, challenges the prevailing notion that the public is the catalyst for radical reform. He is one of the rare thinkers who goes against the prevailing wisdom that the public is driving radical change in Europe. His extensive research, covering 23 European countries over the last 15 years, reveals a stark contrast between the perceived crisis of democracy and Europeans’ actual attitudes. Contrary to popular belief, support for democracy as a system of government has not weakened, and trust in national parliaments and politicians has remained virtually unchanged. Both go against conventional wisdom and general perception. The real culprits for the turmoil and European political troubles, or what Bartels calls “political backsliding,” lie not with ordinary citizens but with political elites. The author doesn’t conclude that citizens are passive agents in the demand for political change and play no role in demands for democratic reforms. He observes that we tend to exaggerate the threats of populism and the alarmism that comes with it. He reminds us that the financial collapse of 2008 was routinely compared to the crisis in the 1930s, yet by 2014-15, average satisfaction with the economy in Europe was higher than before the crisis and continued to improve until COVID-19 hit in 2020. Public support for European integration held steady during the Euro crisis in the early years of the 21st century, and even under the threat that Greece would leave the Eurozone. What about the highly contentious problem of immigration? Where one would expect a deep deterioration of support and demand for more restrictions, Bartels sees little evidence in public surveys that immigration and asylum-seeking have produced “any significant erosion in public attitudes toward immigrants.” The author reminds us that warnings about the collapse of democracy are hardly rare. Popular and scholarly writings about the crisis of democracy have a long history and can be found in articles in Foreign Affairs from the 1930s"
‘Very Sensitive’ citizens, ‘Bizarre’ politicians: What a British ambassador’s secret report on Canada reveals 40 years later - "The Wilson letter is a treasure trove of observations made by an outsider looking in. It is complimentary, but also, at times, condescending, rude, and even offensive. It describes Canada’s international exceptionalism, but it also exposes our mediocrity. It is worth revisiting because it tells us things we need to hear about ourselves. Wilson’s parting words (and shots) show us how much Canada has changed in the last four decades, how much it has stayed the same, how history repeats, and how much we have yet to achieve... “Canadians are a moderate, comfortable, people”, Wilson asserted in his letter. “[They] are mildly nationalistic, (but perhaps less shrilly so than Australians), very sensitive, especially to any expressed or implied British sneers about Canada as ‘boring,’ and perhaps somewhat lacking in self-confidence.”... “Although I like him personally…he has never entirely shaken off his past as a well-to-do hippie and draft dodger,” the ambassador confessed. “He is an odd fish and his own worst enemy, and on the whole I think his influence on Canada in the past sixteen years has been detrimental.” Similar to criticisms Justin Trudeau has faced, Wilson called out Trudeau senior for seeking to strengthen ties with authoritarian countries like China. He found Pierre Trudeau’s “views on East-West relations” to be “particularly suspect”. Like his son, and many other Canadian prime ministers determined to centralize power, Pierre Trudeau was seen as not paying enough attention to provincial leaders. “He treated provincial premiers with contempt and provincial governments as if they were town councils,” wrote Wilson... According to High Commissioner Wilson, Canadian politicians, on the whole, were underwhelming. The diplomat thought corporate executives could probably run the country better. “[T]he calibre of Canadian politicians is low. The level of debate in the House of Commons is correspondingly low: the majority of Canadian ministers are unimpressive and a few we have found frankly bizarre”, he observed... “The Canadian public expects very little of politicians and tends to shrug its shoulders when the press or television report yet another scandal,” he wrote. This may ring even more true 40 years later, with only 32 percent of Canadians now reporting they have a good or great deal of confidence in their federal parliament. Meanwhile, the federal government still has yet to name a permanent ethics watchdog to monitor its (mis)behaviour. The High Commissioner was particularly struck by a lack of varying ideologies in Canadian politics. Back home in the U.K., he saw a Conservative and Labour Party offering vastly different ideas for the societies they wanted to create. Yet, “In Canada the philosophic differences between Liberals and Progressive Conservatives are scarcely perceptible,” Wilson concluded... Wilson reserved some of his harshest criticism for what he saw as Canadian mediocrity and a lack of talent. “Anyone who is even moderately good at what they do—in literature, the theatre, skiing or whatever—tends to become a national figure,” he observed in 1984. “[A]nyone who stands out at all from the crowd tends to be praised to the skies and given the Order of Canada at once.” In 2023, the Governor General awarded 163 Orders of Canada, including one for improving “standards in accounting” and another for advancing “rug hooking as an art form”... Wilson expressed similarly derogatory views of Indigenous Peoples, claiming the population “will be a headache for years to come.” He describes how Indigenous people fill Canadians with feelings of guilt. He decries the thinking behind the Indian Act and the “special privileged status”, “vast subsidies,” and unemployment he claims it has allowed. Instead, he recommends spending more government money on integration, encouraging Indigenous people to “adapt to the modern world.”... The British High Commissioner urges readers and future ambassadors that, if they want to find the friendliest Canucks, they should visit Alberta, Saskatchewan, or the Atlantic provinces (still true today). He says he will miss the call of the loon. And, having crisscrossed the “vast and disunited” country numerous times, he regrets having never stopped in Flin Flon, Manitoba."
Beijing professor builds illegal mountain villa on apartment rooftop - "A bizarre mountain retreat built on top of a 26-floor Beijing residential building faces demolition after complaints by residents. The rooftop structure is covered by fake rocks, trees and bushes, and can be clearly seen from one of Beijing’s busiest commuter roads in one of the city’s more upmarket areas... The owner of the rocky outcrop has been identified as Professor Zhang Biqing, a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine who owns a national chain of acupuncture clinics, and is a former member of a district People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC)... CNN spoke to a number of people on the street who sympathized with Zhang’s neighbors and suggested the professor was allowed to build with impunity because of his links to influential officials."
I spent six years building a cave penthouse in the most bizarre place - my neighbours hate me but I don’t care
From 2013
“That’s So Scary”: Women Terrified By “Tight Men” Dressed In Female Bodysuits, Taking Their Photos - "A new phenomenon in Japan, where men wear silicone bodysuits and lifelike female masks, is raising safety concerns, particularly among women. Known as “tight men” for their tight-fitting bodysuits, these individuals have been accused of engaging in inappropriate behavior in public spaces. The trend appears to be inspired by animegao kigurumi, a cosplay style rooted in Japan’s anime culture. Animegao kigurumi enthusiasts wear bodysuits and anthropomorphic masks to cosplay as their favorite anime characters. In this case, the tight men’s intentions are not to display their creativity or gender identity but to approach women with perverted motives... Yuichi Sato, a representative of Japan’s Suspicious Persons Information Centre, said that identifying these individuals based on their appearance alone is challenging due to their costumes. Additionally, in Japan, wearing a costume in public isn’t illegal unless the wearer conceals their identity to commit a crime."
Woman Hospitalized After Liposuction Procedure Using AliExpress Dental Phlegm Suction Machine - "A woman is said to be in “critical care” after being subjected to a liposuction performed by an aesthetician who allegedly used a dental phlegm suction machine from AliExpress. Taking to her Facebook page on Sunday (September 22), Louise Belle shared an alarming post warning people against a certain “Joline Aesthetics” in Milton Keynes, UK... Louise included a photograph of the device Joline Anderson, the beautician who owns Joline Aesthetics, allegedly used on her daughter and another person who is said to be currently hospitalized. A screenshot showed that the machine in question was an “18 liters per minute air flow electric portable suction unit,” which is sold for a couple of hundred dollars on Chinese online shops... Louise further shared a screenshot that indicated that Joline Aesthetics was insured with a British insurance company, Insynch Insurance. The company has since blocked Bored Panda upon being asked to comment on the issue... Joline Aesthetics went on to affirm that none of its clients had been hospitalized, “let alone admitted to the ICU or died,” as a result of “any treatment or procedure” performed by them. It went on to refute any association with the images Louise had shared, claiming that they had been sourced from Google... Bored Panda conducted a reverse image search on Louise’s photographs, and the results came back with zero matches, indicating that her images are entirely original."
Woman Gets Stood Up On A Date, Finds Out The Restaurant Tricked Her Into Eating Dinner Alone - "“And it wasn’t until I got home and I was scrolling Facebook and I saw a very similar story from a girl, that same restaurant, who also got stood up” “She found out that there are restaurants now posing as people on dating apps, just so you go to their business. And once you get stood up, they know that probably 9 times out of 10 you’re going to buy something from them.” “And that just blew my mind. The fact that we have stooped this low…”... The restaurants that take part in this scam are called food diggers. It is a pun on the phrase “gold digger.” These establishments tend to partner with bot apps. And these partnerships let them create bots on dating apps to lure people to their restaurants. There people, just like Taylor, get stood up, and so, order food on their own. Essentially, the restaurants are exploiting people who are looking for love and/or fun."