The UK’s EU elections as a second Brexit referendum

Under normal conditions, the elections in the UK for their allocation of 73 seats in the 750-seat European parliament would not command much attention. But these are not normal times in the UK as it struggles to find a way out of the mess following the Brexit referendum, where they cannot seem to find a way to leave but also cannot agree on whether to stay. Calls for a second referendum abound but both major parties have been ambivalent on the issue, reflecting the ambivalence of those parties on whether leaving the EU is a good idea or not.
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The incorrigible Madame Nhu

A few nights ago I watched the 1968 documentary In the Year of the Pig by Emile de Antonio that recounts the story of the Vietnam war up to that year. It uses archival footage and since de Antonio is French, the documentary understandably spends more time on the French antecedents to US involvement than American documentaries usually do. For those of us who remember the history of that brutal war, the key landmarks are the 1954 Geneva accords, the 1956 defeat of the French at Dien Bien Phu, the self-immolation of a Buddhist monk in 1963, the 1968 Tet offensive, and the final defeat of the US in 1975.
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The coming generational divide and progressive generational alliances

An article in The Atlantic magazine sees a major generational divide opening up.

As a liberal graduate student and a conservative professor, we rarely see eye to eye on politics. Yet we agree that the generation war is the best frame for understanding the ways that the Democratic and Republican parties are diverging. The Democrats are rapidly becoming the party of the young, specifically the Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) and Gen Z (born after 1996). The Republicans are leaning ever more heavily on retirees, particularly the Silent Generation (born before 1945). In the middle are the Gen Xers (born between 1965 and 1980), who are slowly inching leftward, and the Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964), who are slowly inching to the right.
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An honest political ad from the Australien government

It comes from a political satire group in Australia on the eve of their elections to be held on May 18. It is part of their series called Honest Government Adverts. Hard as it is to believe, it looks like the Australian political leadership is as bad as the one we have here in its corruption, devotion to the oligarchy, climate change denials, lying, and religious pandering. (Language advisory)

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With Democrats like these, who needs Republicans?

Ryan Grim profiles New Jersey Democratic congressman Josh Gottheimer, who seems to see himself as a Democratic ‘centrist’ (which really means ‘right winger’) enforcer to keep the new young progressives in line, especially when it comes to their criticisms of Israel and Saudi Arabia and the big banks from whose lobbies he has received plenty of money. He is also disgustingly condescending towards the new crop of women progressives. He is closely associated with the ‘Problem Solvers Caucus’ and the dark-money group ‘No Labels’, all of whom are deep-pocketed neoliberal groups seeking to maintain the status quo by pretending to be above politics and only interested in pragmatic solutions.
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Poetic justice

A Kentucky teen who sued his school because they required all students to be vaccinated has now been diagnosed as having chicken pox.

A US teenager who took legal action against his school after he was banned for refusing the chickenpox vaccination now has the virus, his lawyer says.

Jerome Kunkel, 18, made headlines last month after he unsuccessfully sued his Kentucky school for barring unimmunised students amid an outbreak.

His lawyer, Christopher Weist, told US media that the teen’s symptoms developed last week.
The student had opposed the vaccine on religious grounds.

His lawsuit argued the vaccine is “immoral, illegal and sinful” and that his rights had been violated.
…

“These are deeply held religious beliefs, they’re sincerely held beliefs,” Mr Wiest said.

Just because a belief is ‘deeply’ and ‘sincerely’ held does not make it reasonable. People can deeply and sincerely believe all manner of absurd and even harmful things.

These are the new American heroes

Donald Trump has used his pardon power on a US soldier who was convicted of murdering an Iraqi man in 2009 while he was in US custody.

First Lt Michael Behenna was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the murder of Ali Mansur, a suspected Al Qaeda terrorist shot during questioning.

Mr Trump signed a full pardon of Mr Behenna, who has served five years for unpremeditated murder in a combat zone.

Mr Behenna, released on parole in 2014, has said he acted in self-defence.

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How train wheels work around corners

Some time ago, I discussed how a car’s differential works to allow the outer and inner wheels to rotate at different speeds when going around curves. Along with that I discussed how trains manage to go around curves even though they do not have differentials and the two wheels rotate at the same rate. Via Mark Frauenfelder, I came across this video demonstrating it even more clearly.

Aasia Bibi has left Pakistan

Many readers will remember the case of Aasia Bibi, the Pakistani woman who went through hell as a result of that country’s infamous blasphemy laws and was given the death sentence. That sentence was overturned but the vindictive religious mobs demanded her public execution and opposed any attempt to get her out of the country. Today comes welcome news that she has finally left that country and gone to join her family in Canada where they will live under assumed names with security.
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