www.bbc.com/news/article... The winning doesn’t stop for Trump …
www.bbc.com/news/article... The winning doesn’t stop for Trump …
How stunningly is The New York Times compromised? It seems to believe we're living in a simulation. "Mr Trump is already relishing the idea." Nothing about Trump's lack of economic qualifications, nothing about the economic disaster he presided over during his first term.
Via @hcrichardson.bsky.social Former National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases director Demetre Daskalakis: “The CDC you knew is over. Unless someone takes radical action, there is nothing there that can be salvaged.”
Sleeker, Comfier, a Tiny Bit Faster: Riding Amtrak’s New Acela www.nytimes.com/2025/08/29/t... "Curves, outdated signal systems, track congestion, and bridges and tunnels in need of repair keep Acela from reaching its top speed on all but about 35 of the route’s 457 miles, according to Amtrak."
BOOM. The federal appeals court rules Trump's tariffs illegal, because they are. There's no national emergency, and so the power to tariff a country rests with Congress. Trump admin has lost at every stage of the process, but stay tuned for the Supremes to chime in.
Oh, NPR ... 🤦
Scientists Perform First Pig-to-Human Lung Transplant www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/h... Not a mention in this story about ethics. These "brain-dead" patients, who has provided permission for them to be experimented on?
🤯🤯🤯
Hong Kong Denies Visa Renewal for Senior Bloomberg Journalist www.nytimes.com/2025/08/23/w... Subhead: "The unexplained decision raises new concerns about the erosion of press freedom in a city transformed by Beijing’s national security law." Raises new concerns??? Please, New York Times ...
More fun from the Japan Times ...
My god, the stupidity (and sycophancy) of the media is stunning ...
Over at The Jaded Cynic, I've written about friendship ... thejadedcynic.substack.com/p/the-last-f...
Says the guy who travels the world on taxpayer-funded holidays and MAGA junkets and gets yelled at everywhere he goes.
Unfortunately, the Times – which has plenty of Chinese-American reporters – didn't assign one to this story. The distribution of "lai see" (red packets) is (as noted at the end of the story) commonplace in China, and (as noted) most newsmakers know not to give them to non-Chinese media outlets.
thejadedcynic.substack.com/p/white-men-... I've written something about the U.S. Navy's Officer Candidate School class of 1956 ...
LOL, as always unintentionally comical, here's The Japan Times pretending Donald Trump is a statesman ...
The media is failing voters in Texas. They didn’t just make new maps that ‘favor Republicans’, they made new maps without the voice of the voters that further disenfranchise large communities of Black Texans. These are racist maps through and through.
dinalitovsky.substack.com/p/behind-the... Advice for politicians sitting for portraits: "It’s better to come off as an asshole than a wax figure."
Some incredibly good news: One year ago this week, The Onion returned to print. In that one year, we’ve grown to the 13th largest print newspaper in the United States, just ahead of the Boston Globe, and growing fast. In short, it’s working. So… thank you. Thank you for helping save this thing.
Trump: "... she is an old woman ..." Dude ... she's a youngster compared to you.
One of my favorite "Reason for Delay" notices from Japan Railways. Shot a few years ago. 🦌💥🚅
"... and the family histories of colon cancer among the marathoners were not entirely known."
Are Marathons and Extreme Running Linked to Colon Cancer? www.nytimes.com/2025/08/19/h... Great example of poor data journalism. A non-story, with a scary headline. Here's the problem: "[The study] lacked a control arm consisting of similar young adults who were not long-distance runners ..."
Yes to solar (and wind, especially in those places where solar yields are not optimal) You'll probably want to read this. You know McKibben from his occasional writings in The New Yorker (and perhaps from other channels). I appreciate your work! billmckibben.com/books/here-c...
www.theguardian.com/football/202... Fantastic. ❤️
Morecambe appoint first Sikh manager in British professional football www.nytimes.com/athletic/656... I'm wondering why the New York Times thinks his religion is noteworthy. Seems to run against the "No Room for Racism" slogan the Premier League pretends to want to promote ...
Well, and Italian and Spanish football would be on the ropes. Eastern European also, or more so.
All they’re doing is rebutting her op-ed. And warning British citizens against lining up with her. As in so many other areas, their need to be seen to be “proscribing” bites them in the ass by giving additional oxygen to her position.
Rooney: Fines, points deduction can tackle racism Rooney is right, but FIFA doesn’t care (it’s run by old school racists) and the PL doesn’t have the cojones to go up against the billionaire owners and millionaire players.
LOL, no, there is not a Terence Stamp, Virginia ...
I don't know why we act like the Constitution is an actor in politics, as if it's going to step in on its own to reestablish order. It is a tool of politics that can and must be used by political actors in defense of the Constitution and its values.
Such a great film.
Pwned … such sad energy
I had never heard of Blake Treinen before I arrived at Dodger Stadium on Blake Treinen Bobblehead Night, and I’ve been treated to an interview full of Christian proselytising … 😏
www.npr.org/2025/08/09/g... “sudden and unprovoked” 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 Buffaloes 1 Hunters 0
86th Street Station
Monty Python said it so well: "Run away!!!"
chinabooksreview.com/2025/08/07/s... "By 2010, China Daily, the Party’s official English-language newspaper, estimated that between three and ten million women were engaged in sex work. Unofficial estimates put the number twice as high." Sex workers are also a significant Chinese export, FYI.
www.politico.eu/article/dona... Pathetic.
“They’re eating the subs, they’re eating the heros.”
LOL
Love this image for an old story in The New Yorker.
More nonsense content from the Japan Times. The Japanese population declined by over 900,000 last year, the 16th consecutive annual decline. If you want the work done, you facilitate immigration. If you don't, you don't.
www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/... "I was nervous," Woodruff said. "There was a little bit more at stake today. I wanted to win those burgers bad. Who doesn't want a free burger?"
Here we go … the Neville Chamberlain of his time.
The DC sandwich guy has been charged with assault for shouting at a CBP officer, throwing a sub into his chest, and then running off. "I did it. I threw the sandwich," he said while he was being processed.
This former model, with no background in history, has been put in charge of curating what is "appropriate" at the National Museum of African American History.
Vance Meets Farage, Another Right-Wing Populist, in Britain www.nytimes.com/2025/08/13/w... Of course he did.
Jim Thompson House, Bangkok ... I have been here so many times; always worth it
We are living in the Age of Stupid (and Stupid Media) www.nytimes.com/2025/08/12/t...
Ludicrous story framing ...
U.S. Government to Take Cut of Nvidia and AMD A.I. Chip Sales to China www.nytimes.com/2025/08/10/t... The clown show continues. Either the sale of sophisticated semiconductors to China is a national security "risk" or it isn't. Sales should be permitted, or they shouldn't.
Trump Administration to Put F.B.I. Agents on Night Patrol in Washington www.nytimes.com/2025/08/10/u... Imagine you join the FBI, one of the most storied investigative law enforcement agencies in history, and you end up as a beat cop on the night shift. THAT won't have an impact on morale ...
Sunday morning football ⚽️ Randall’s Island, New York (from the Triboro Bridge)
In the context of Ukraine and Russia, history will see Trump as the Neville Chamberlain of his time.
New York …
thejadedcynic.substack.com/p/the-bespok... I've written about growing up as the son of an architect. #architecture
jeremybenami.substack.com/p/half-the-s... Worth reading. Jeremy Ben-Ami of J Street, the U.S. lobbying organisation that advocates for a 2-state solution. #israel #palestine @jeremybenami.bsky.social
Eric Adams ran for mayor saying he would be tough on crime, even though crime in New York City is at almost historically low rates. And yet, out running in Queens this morning, I saw this. There are guns all over the streets. 🤔 @landericus.bsky.social for mayor. ✊🏼
200 days into Trump's term, where are we? In the race between Trump's authoritarianism and efforts to resist it, authoritarianism is ahead. And while there are hopeful signs from the public, the chance of effective resistance is, for now, being fatally undermined by the capitulation of the elites.
You're presenting the fare difference waiver like it's a gift to me. Also, I'm pretty sure that in this case, any other day would be cheaper than the one I'm already booked on. And $25 is not going to cover any change of plans for anyone.
How to NOT make a compelling offer to customers when you've overbooked @alaskaairlines.bsky.social "We’re able to temporarily waive any fare difference between flights as well as issue a total credit of $25 if you’d like to switch flights. Limited time offer. See eligible alternate flights below."
www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/... Yay!
From what I can see, many journalists today don't appear to know what they don't know (Rumsfeld's "known unknowns"), and worse, don't seem to have any understanding that they can and should ask someone with subject matter expertise.
Devin Williams: "It's pretty simple. I stink right now." www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/... Even Williams knows it., but who's gonna tell Aaron Boone? 😏🤔
In other words, the "plan" is exactly the same as "the plan" that has been in place from the start. Tell me you're not succeeding without telling me you're not succeeding ...
"... the U.S. made a clerical error ..." LOL 🤡🤡🤡
That’s a Lot of Needles in Your Face www.nytimes.com/2025/08/07/s... “In the age of #notox, can cosmetic acupuncture be the new Botox?” Ludicrous, New York Times …
www.newyorker.com/news/as-told... “I don’t think I’m being paranoid. I think I’m being cautious.” Not wrong. 🥲
Central Park Reservoir … 🌅🏃🏻♂️
I was talking about him with another schoolmate the other day. Props to him for even trying for the past 10 years. He’s been on the receiving end of a lot of hate.
Absolutely.
I went to school with Jeremy, and we've known each other for over 50 years. Unfortunately, J Street is a small player in the American Israel policy debate. So the "Ben-Ami’s position could influence US policy debates ..." line is not all that realistic, I'm afraid.
www.newyorker.com/culture/infi... Number 1, the writer doesn't seem to know what "ennui" means. Number 2, young 'uns are just incredibly lame. Afraid to post on social media, afraid to not post on social media. Spectacularly afraid to be themselves and be judged.
thejadedcynic.substack.com/p/the-bigges... I wrote about a really, really big tsunami.
“We’re essentially talking about swapping out a twenty-first-century technology and replacing it with a nineteenth-century technology.” – Dhruv Khullar, Cornell Health Policy Center, on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services cancellation of funding for mRNA vaccines
Trump Weighs Getting Involved in New York City Mayor’s Race www.nytimes.com/2025/08/06/n... LOL, a Trump endorsement in New York City ... yeah, that wil work out well for Cuomo or Adams.
A lovely place with a terrific culture, but not a global heavy hitter economically. I think this IS Japan's future, but few Japanese seem to have reconciled themselves to it.
And yet Japan is not content. Japanese were stunned to be overtaken by China as the world's number 2 economy, and Japanese are now tearing out their hair about future competitiveness due to the declining population. For a long time I have thought that Japan's future is as a north Asian Australia ...
I loved this. youtu.be/mbcvVYobCXI?...
She knows her lines.
Sadly, that ship has sailed. The nuclear toothpaste will never go back into the tube. The path forward is regulation and monitoring.
That hisui-kazura, wow! And yeah, as a resident of Southeast Asia, tropical flowers are astonishing. This is an incredible resource, and there's a nicely produced book, not too expensive. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William...
www.asiasentinel.com/p/china-gian... Evokes, not Invokes ...
The billionaires live in Connecticut.
One hundred years ago, Tony and Carmela are living in Brooklyn, not New Jersey. So again, yes to affordability, especially home ownership (not just a NYC issue), but also, this study notes COVID was a big factor, and I bet the migration data looks similar going back decades.
Final note: Lower-income New York residents have ALWAYS migrated from the city at higher rates. Non-home ownership means ties are weaker. Increasing incomes drives desire to move from apartments to houses with more space (e.g. for couples having children), which is why "The Sopranos" was in NJ. -->
Not arguing the affordability issue, but the study notes that COVID has been a significant factor. COVID drove de-urbanisation in many municipalities, and there has been a long tail. Also, NYC retail and F&B suffered during COVID, with resultant quality of life consequences for residents. -->
“The peril…isn’t a potential recession; it’s losing highly reliable, accurate and transparent data on the health of the world’s largest economy.”
Or 2:13, like the Kenyan “championships” last month
If you’ve got the legs to run three rounds, absolutely. And the pace of those “almost everyone qualifies” heats was surprisingly fast, but they could easily have all gone 2:10 …
As it turned out, only 31 started, so the first round eliminated four. I hate when organizers can't summon the courage or will to amend a schedule to eliminate a round when there's almost no need for it. How many athletes would object to sharing a lane for 100m in order to avoid running a round?
Hahahaha, the New York Times makes me laugh ...
Exiled Hong Kong journalists to launch new global outlet https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Hong-Kong-security-law/Exiled-Hong-Kong-journalists-to-launch-new-global-outlet
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/31/w... I have spent a lifetime as a runner, and I have been asked a million questions by a million people who want to get fitter, or healthier. The thing is to find a routine your lifestyle (and schedule) can support, then find an activity you like (or don't hate).
Japan High School Track & Field Championships
One for @betteridgeslaw.bsky.social
Yeah, I figured you were no longer there. But the truck itself, and its story, is great. I’ve actually seen it driving around in the Bay Area. 😍
Hiroshima …
