Category Archives: History

“History will judge Trump, and it will not be kind.”

Vox: “The fish rots from the head“ : a historian on the unique corruption of Trump’s White House. “Politicians lie, but this is different.” Interview with Robert Dallek.

“[T]he examples of corruption are numerous: Trump refused to divest from his business interests; there are questions about whether he’s violating the emoluments clause by running Trump International Hotel in DC; there’s the indictment of his former campaign manager Paul Manafort; there’s the looming indictment of his former national security adviser Michael Flynn; Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, failed to disclose $1 billion in loans connected to his real estate company; and of course several of his Cabinet heads are being investigated for profligate travel expenses.

But here’s what I think is unique: Often you see a lot of corruption result from a lack of oversight, but I think this administration is quite different in that Trump really sets the tone for all this. He encourages it, really. The fish rots from the head, and the stench of this administration starts at the very top.”

Catheter Cowboy: “There’s no shame in quittin’.”

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO): The Trump Presidency. (YouTube, 23:50min)

John Oliver talks about three tactics used by Trump that some other politicians and certain media outlets are picking up as well:

  • Deligitimizing the media
  • Whataboutism
  • Trolling

“Look, Tuesday’s results should not make you complacent, they are absolutely no guarantee that the midterms will turn out at all well. That is why, though, you should take these moments of encouragement to help you keep going. Because the Trump presidency is basically a marathon. It’s painful, and it’s pointless, and the majority of you didn’t even agree to run it, you were just signed up by your dumbest friend. And the fact is, we’re not even at mile six right now, or possibly even mile three, so there is a long way to go, and though you’re exhausted, and your whole body is screaming for you to give up and your nipples are chafing for some reason, the stakes are too high for any of us to stop.”

“Jeder einzelne hat eine Stimme”

Deutsche Welle: Emilia S.: Mut zum Widerspruch. “Sie hat sich gegen Antisemitismus an ihrer Schule in Dresden stark gemacht: Mit nur 15 Jahren erhält eine Schülerin einen Preis für Zivilcourage.”

Dazu gibt es auch ein Video: Schülerin aus Dresden geht gegen antisemitische Hetze vor.

“Eine Schülerin aus Dresden wollte den wachsenden Antisemitismus an ihrer Schule nicht mehr hinnehmen und erstattete Anzeige gegen einen Mitschüler wegen Volksverhetzung. Für ihre Zivilcourage wurde sie nun mit einem Preis ausgezeichnet.”

“The good news is the void is there.”

NPR The Two-Way: Scientists Say They’ve Found Hidden Space In Great Pyramid Of Giza.

“Tayoubi explains that his team installed sheets of muon-detecting film in a lower-level room of the pyramid known as the Queen’s Chamber. The goal was to test whether they could use muons to accurately discern two well-known rooms located above: the King’s Chamber and Grand Gallery.

They saw those rooms but, to their surprise, they found an additional large space as well.”

Deutsche Welle: Hohlraum in Cheops-Pyramide entdeckt. “Seit zwei Jahren durchleuchten internationale Forscherteams mit Strahlungsdetektoren die Cheops-Pyramide. Jetzt feierten sie den Durchbruch: Sie entdeckten einen riesigen Hohlraum in der größten Pyramide in Gizeh.”

The last of Earth

The Economist: Joseph Schmitt died on September 25th.

“He was there when Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in 1947; when Alan Shepard made America’s first manned space flight, in 1961; when John Glenn first orbited Earth, in 1962; when Apollo 8 went round the moon in 1968, and when Apollo 11’s module landed on it in 1969, for him the most mind-boggling moment of all. The team had never worked so hard at anything. But he went on for many years yet, to suit up men for the first Skylab flight and the first Shuttles, before in 1983 he left to get on with all the stuff at home that needed fixing.”