Overnight Open Thread (7-24-2016)

Quote of the Day I

Ticino is one of Europe's loveliest places, combining a very Italian dolce vita with trademark Swiss efficiency. Things work here in a timely fashion as they don't always in neighboring Italy. It's a minor miracle that Switzerland has made Italians work like Germans - while losing none of their fine food, wine and culture. Locals aren't excessively fond of Swiss Germans - they find them stodgy - but they look down a bit on Italians across the border too, who never can quite seem to make their trains run on time. As they do in Ticino.

That said, not much exciting happens in Ticino. The canton seldom makes Swiss headlines - much less beyond this small country. About the only noteworthy thing that happens in Locarno, the canton's second city, situated on lovely Lago Maggiore under the Alps, is the annual international film festival every August. Since 1946, that draws movie stars and therefore press. Not much else gets the international media to Locarno.

Suddenly, that's changed. And the issue is one of the most hot-button ones in all of Europe, indeed across the West right now: the role of Islam in public life.

-- from Swiss Italians Say No to the Burqa

Quote of the Day II

And yet one thinks of the aphorism of the Roman poet Horace: Naturam expelles furca, tamen usque recurret - "You may drive out nature with a pitchfork, but she keeps on coming back." The issue of transgender bathroom integration in public schools may well come to resemble the debacle of forced bussing 40 years ago, where compulsory liberalism was forced into headlong retreat by a ferocious public backlash.

It is ironic that liberals who otherwise champion the sanctity of nature when it comes to global warming or endangered species or pristine forests draw the line when it comes to human nature.

-- Steven Hayward in The Genderfication of U.S. Politics

Quote of the Day III

Because her husband was intestate, she sought to dilate her fungible assets; despite cunctation for titivating, she managed to masticate and lucubrate far into the night.

Wasserman Is Out, Also in 'Quarantine'

Wait What - Almost Half of All TSA Employees Have Been Cited for Misconduct?!

Hillary's First Priority If She Wins

Dealing with the VRWC.

The Russian Olympic Team Gets Hillary Justice

Russia Bombed Base in Syria Used by U.S.

A contingent of about 20 British special forces pulled out of the facility less than 24 hours before the U.S. tracked Russian aircraft on June 16 flying across Syria to the garrison, according to U.S. military and intelligence officials briefed on the strike. The aircraft dropped cluster munitions on the target, according to U.S. officials and rebel commanders.

After that first Russian strike, officers with the U.S. military's Central Command air operations center in Qatar called their counterparts in Russia's air campaign headquarters in Latakia, Syria, U.S. officials said. The American officers told the Russians that the garrison was part of the U.S. campaign against Islamic State and shouldn't be attacked.

Roughly 90 minutes after the U.S. warning was delivered, U.S. aircraft circling nearby watched as the Russians launched a second wave of strikes against the garrison.

A U.S. military surveillance aircraft overhead tried to hail the Russian pilots directly using the frequencies which the U.S. and Russian governments had agreed to use in emergencies.

The Russian pilots didn't respond.

Their Interest In Children Is Not Benign

I've never understood why people (especially those on the left) give so much weight to anything kids say. Kids don't know much and don't have any particular insight - because kids - yet we're supposed to swoon over their innate wisdom whenever they spout back what are clearly propaganda points that they were indoctrinated with by adults in charge of them.

The EU Commission Knew About Diesel Emissions Cheating for Years

Not really shocking at since the cheating let the commission feel good about passing ever more strict emissions requirements while letting the car companies still sell cars with the performance that consumers wanted. Win-win for everyone until they got caught.

Germany Once Again Expanding Its Territory

It's not like the Czechs were really using that land anyway.

Why Jet Lag Is Worse When You're Traveling East

The two weeks to fully recover after traveling 9 time zones or more east matches my experience coming back from Asia.

Japan Will Make Its Last-Ever VCR This Month

MST3K is Back

Weekly Commenter Standings

Top 10 commenters:
1 [613 comments] 'Jane D'oh' [86.05 posts/day]
2 [566 comments] 'artisanal 'ette'
3 [504 comments] 'Bruce With a Wang!'
4 [471 comments] 'J.J. Sefton'
5 [462 comments] 'AlaBAMA'
6 [451 comments] 'Skip'
7 [446 comments] 'Ricardo Kill'
8 [387 comments] 'iforgot'
9 [385 comments] 'Insomniac'
10 [382 comments] 'Mr. Peebles'

Top 10 sockpuppeteers:
1 [138 names] 'SMOD/Orbital Nukes 2016! -- It's never too late to be sure' [19.37 unique names/day]
2 [47 names] 'Corrupt Media'
3 [45 names] 'The Political Hat'
4 [39 names] 'Bertram Cabot Jr.'
5 [38 names] 'Mike Hammer, etc., etc.'
6 [34 names] 'Ready For Hillary!!11!!'
7 [31 names] 'FaCubeItches'
8 [30 names] 'Insomniac'
9 [29 names] 'Cicero (@cicero)'
10 [26 names] 'MTF'

The group. Banned on 12 universities.

Where it's at - the Twitter

Tonight's post brought to you by American pilots a few hours before the start of Operation Rolling Thunder, March 2, 1965:

Notice: Posted by permission of AceCorp LLC. Please e-mail overnight open thread tips to maetenloch at gmail. Otherwise send los tipos to El Ace.

posted by Maetenloch at 11:28 PM

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