The New Eastwood Film Will Make My Day

A review of Eastwood's new film on the three Americans who thwarted a terror attack on a train in Europe. Spoiler alert - the good guys win.

Things I did not know - the three leads are played by themselves, although the supporting cast includes professional actors. Between this and Black Panther I might actually see some movies this month.

Comments

[Porchlight]

Is it this one?

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/07/books/plagiarism-software-unveils-a-new-source-for-11-of-shakespeares-plays.html

It's interesting, but "digital humanities" (which no one can really define) sets off similar reactions in my brain as "social justice."

The entire traditional library field (and the traditional humanities with it) is being systematically dismantled from within to fund "digital humanities" boondoggles. I could spend hours on this but I'll spare you.

Basically, no one think it's worthwhile anymore to study print texts, unless you're going to something exotically digital with it. Reading and talking about and writing about print is no longer worthwhile.

Anyway, just remember, when the last librarian turns off the lights, we did it to ourselves.

[Old Lurker]

Exdem "...these may be internal procedures, but their violation impacts the civil rights of US citizens. what is the remedy for that?"

Hmmm. Let's ask Lois Lerner then start from there. She should be easy to locate since she is still in jail, right?

[Dave (in MA)]

"Former President George W. Bush says there's "pretty clear evidence that the Russians meddled" in the 2016 U.S. election."

Maybe he can get Powell to put together a PowerPoint presentation of the evidence.

[anonamom]

OL, was the GS guy the same guy who said this internet thing isn't ever going to amount to anything?

Better hurry on that Crypto Currency Rich. GS guy yesterday predicted they will all go to zero.

[henry]

Crypto Currency... I have my doubts. But what do I know? Here is a brader look at usefulness of block-chain (the latest magic word for funding):

http://www.theagileelephant.com/blockchain-economics-revisited-can-your-application-afford-the-transaction-costs/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

[Infinite Loop]

Did anyone see that Eastwood movie review?

http://justoneminute.typepad.com/main/2018/02/the-new-eastwood-film-will-make-my-day.html

[Old Lurker]

When I was Downunder and could log on, because of the time difference I was on during the overnight shift.

You would not believe what GUS and Rich and the others do in those hours after midnight!

[Threadkiller]

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/rep-tom-mcclintock-weve-heard-the-sirens-song-of-earmarks-before/article/2648195

[Jim Eagle]

Eeeewwww!

Marlon Brando and Richard Pryor were lovers. According to sources "Brando would f**k anything".

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/richard-pryors-last-wife-confirms-he-was-brandos-lover-f0tt6sxrm

[jimmyk]

Does TM not give hat tips?

Didn't you sign the waiver form before posting here? It's all there in the fine print.

[Dave (in MA)]

I wonder if butter was involved?

[Old Lurker]

Porch I found it interesting because I always reflect on what writers of old were reading themselves as they put their own words into print. That long ago, writers could only be reading a finite number of books, they would be listening to their preachers, and they would be listening to their pals at the pub.

I often marveled at how much the Founders knew since I know so much less, but then I recall that the entire library available was small even when you throw in the other languages they knew.

Same comment could be made about ancient men knowing so much about the stars, except a) they could see them, and b) what else were they going to look at at night?

:-)

[henry]

has Congress voted on this shut down avoidance bill yet? (The need to do so today)

[Jim Eagle]

Mean't to mention that other's who were on the train also played themselves.

I think the train crew and some English travelers play themselves.

[magic juan'd]

h/t Obama?

"U.S. jobless claims drop to near 45-year low"

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, dropping to its lowest level in nearly 45 years as the labor market tightened further, bolstering expectations of faster wage growth this year.

The second straight weekly decline in claims reported by the Labor Department on Thursday also pointed to strong job growth momentum, which could further drive the unemployment rate lower.

“The extremely low level of claims is a sign of tightness in the labor market and suggests that February is shaping up to be another solid month for job creation,” said John Ryding, chief economist at RDQ Economics in New York.
"

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy/u-s-jobless-claims-unexpectedly-drop-to-near-45-year-low-idUSKBN1FS23K

[Dave (in MA)]

A Howie Carr texter wanted to know if Mike Dukakis gets to drive a tank in the parade.

[Captain Hate]

Maybe he can get Powell to put together a PowerPoint presentation of the evidence.

Fatboy Armitage has nothing better to do than financially stress the all you can eat buffets.

[Jim Eagle]

"Porch I found it interesting because I always reflect on what writers of old were reading themselves as they put their own words into print."

OL,

Passed this on to catsmeat yesterday but The New York Society Library has digitized its borrowing records by reader most of which are famous authors. Society Libraries still exist. I think there at least a dozen in the US. What libraries were like befor Carnegie.

Scroll down to Cityreads section on the middle right. You can find borrowing cards for some founding fathers like Hamilton, Jefferson and Burr. The card will reveal what they borrowed and presummily read.

https://www.nysoclib.org/

[cathyf]

these may be internal procedures, but their violation impacts the civil rights of US citizens. what is the remedy for that?

If some scumbag government agent violates your civil rights, then you get to sue the US government (i.e. us) and if you win you get the taxpayers' (i.e. our) money.

[Rocco]

I was only going to buy $100 worth of Tron but I hit the buy button twice so I ended up with $200 worth. This is why I bought it.

https://www.financeminutes.com/tron-trx-price-forecast-future-prospects/

[Old Lurker]

Magic juan'd...I noticed that Food Stamp rolls are down ten million from Obama's peak too. (41 now v 51 a few years ago).

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

--WATCH: Chuck Schumer Called For Military Parade In 2014--

While I still don't believe in n dimensional chess I do believe to an almost certainty that Trump was aware of Schmucky's call before his own.

[Old Lurker]

cathy, don't forget that the government also gets to use your money to defend themselves from you.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Here's another link to that supposed sexual assault Extraneous linked.
There's a law that criminalizes sex between a teacher and student even if they're both consenting adults.
She was a part time track coach, 22, and he was an 18 year old student who initiated the relationship. This is a crime, but the Folsom Street Fair is not? WTH?

[cathyf]

I often marveled at how much the Founders knew since I know so much less, but then I recall that the entire library available was small even when you throw in the other languages they knew.

I read somewhere that Thomas Paine's Common Sense had a print run of over 1 million copies, and the colonial population was roughly 3 million at the time. One of the things that the Founders had in common with the commonfolk of the era was that they were all extraordinarily well-read compared to us.

[exdemocrat]

"If some scumbag government agent violates your civil rights, then you get to sue the US government (i.e. us) and if you win you get the taxpayers' (i.e. our) money."

true, and a tough case to win (esp. as i think punitives are not available even for intentional torts)

more interesting would be a criminal charge for deprivation of rights

[Extraneus]

She was 21 at the time, too, Ig. He was 18. His parents asked the DA to drop the charges, says they're in love, yet she goes on the sex offender database and possibly to the slammer.

[cathyf]

More interesting is Trump's brand-spanking-new EO that lets them confiscate the ill-gotten gains of corruption. On the one hand, this is civil asset forfeiture on steroids, but on the other hand it's fun to dream about Soros and the Clinton Foundation and Obama having all of their money taken away. Think of it as a down payment on the Obamadebt.

[Threadkiller]

A concerned parent notified school officials about an inappropriate relationship between a former student teacher and a Conard student,...

The busybody "concerned" parent probably wanted to bang the rapist but was rejected.

[JimNorCal]

OK, agree with opportunity and motive for all the FIB, Dem, etc conspirators. The more you read, the less these people seem to get along. Could they really cooperate enough to run the conspiracy?
In this article a key player leaves his job "for personal reasons". But if you read it, note the relationship of Laufman and Strzok.

http://dailycaller.com/2018/02/08/laufman-leaves-fbi/

[Clarice Feldman]

Have you any idea how much dreck you have to read before you graduate from college in order to get the knowledge you'd have received 250 years ago from a few classic book?

[Jim Eagle]

An example of what you will find at City Readers section of the New York Society Library. Aaron Burr's borrowing list:

http://cityreaders.nysoclib.org/Detail/entities/164

[Old Lurker]

Clarice I often wondered exactly that.

[Dave (in MA)]

Do they have Bork's Blockbuster rental list?

[Buckeye]

Just spent 2 hours at the local Social Security office attempting to get a simple Medicaid form initiated.

Needless to say, was a total clusterfuck.

What pissed me off the most was it felt like I had left the United States. Might as well have been sitting in a bus terminal in Guadalajara.

[RattlerGator]

I can't hangout right now and I'm driving to Carolina tomorrow, but . . . I'm pleased to trumpet my latest opinion piece at American Greatness:

https://amgreatness.com/2018/02/08/ooda-loop-president/

Back in December of 2015, Dan McLaughlin wrote an excellent piece in The Federalist on the then-upcoming Republican primary race. It offers quite the window into the political decision making of Donald J. Trump. In it he accurately outlines Trump as the candidate employing the Observe, Orient, Decide, and then Act principles (the OODA Loop) of famed American fighter pilot and strategist John Boyd.

Unfortunately for McLaughlin, at the time of that writing he, like many, rather spectacularly misunderstood who Donald Trump is in actual fact. His entire piece examines as real the strategically erratic character Trump has clearly created for social, business and media consumption purposes.

* * *

Click the link, read the rest!

It's a good read, I promise.

[Old Lurker]

Aaron Burr was either a very fast reader or a darn good skimmer judging by his in & out dates.

[Buckeye]

Medicare form, not that it would have made any difference.

On second thought, if I was applying for Medicaid, probably would have gotten quicker, preferential treatment.

[Old Lurker]

Wonder when RG is going to forget he ever knew us.

[Janet 🚬]

Might as well have been sitting in a bus terminal in Guadalajara.

Hahhaahahaa! Too funny!

We've got that bus terminal here too...& one from Jalalabad.

[Clarice Feldman]

If RG wrote it I guarantee it'll be a gone one!

[Jim Eagle]

Buckeye,

I will wager that 80-90% of the crowd at SS office are applying for disabiliity.

RG,

Bravo Zulu, soldier. If I could think and write like that, I'd be giving Fernandez, Nolte and Lifson a run for their money. But a long way to go to get in fron of our Clarice:)

[Clarice Feldman]

And I was right! Trump kills the euro method of governance and economics set by Europe and initiated by FDR.Heh, JIB--Rg is a master.

[exdemocrat]

just watched the unctuous Trudeau squeezing $2billion out of Salesforce across the street.
The cavalcade cheered away by rapturous SF techies, natch.

[Jim Eagle]

OL,

Founding Fathers like Burr where very fast readers. No internet, no TV, no radio, no Gramaphones, etc. When they took a book out, they read it right away, making notes as they proceeded.

I think I read somewhere that Jefforson could read a book in one day and did it often, sometimes in Latin, Greek and French.

[Clarice Feldman]

*gone* s/b GOOD one.

[Appalled]

RG:

If you can work Omarosa into your continuing theories of Donald Trump, I would be most impressed.

[Old Lurker]

Heck Jack, I can't finish the drivel I read that fast!

RG da Man! That was a great piece he linked.

[Clarice Feldman]

http://thegatewaypundit.com/2018/02/fbi-withheld-notes-interviews-christopher-steele-senate-judiciary-committee/?omhide=true&utm_source=TGP+Communications&utm_campaign=ae5b721059-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_02_08_2018&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b3f16dae4d-ae5b721059-

CTH hinted as much about the Grassley referral--it was to smoke out the liars at the FBI who claimed Steele had lied to them about the media contacts--they knew he had had them.

[lurkersusie]

Wow!

Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi
@NancyPelosi
Just seeing all of these #GoNancyGo messages. Truly very moving. But let's not lose focus of who really matters here. Thank you to our #Dreamers. And thank you to your parents for allowing us all the pleasure of having you be a part of our American family every day. #DREAMActNow

[Buckeye]

At the Social Security office they had a TV playing "public service" type announcement.

They were pushing benefits for same sex couples pretty hard.

And you will be happy to know they provide translation services at no charge.

But of you are a hetero English speaking citizen, Eff You, nothing but rude, shitty service. But have no fear, there is a rent a cop with a holstered Glock to keep the peasants in line.

[fdcol63 🇺🇸]

RG ... have a safe and good trip!

[WTF]

nice racism appalled

[maryrose]

Buckeye:
My social security office is very efficient and helpful.
RG: Great article.
I agree that President Trump continues to be an enigma to the Left.

[Dave (in MA)]

#GoNancyGo

I'd be happy if she went.

[Jim Eagle]

Buckeye,

Those are not rent-a-cops but rather SSA Security. Every SS office has one or two or more depending on how many disability benefit seekers there are. In Florida, we had to go for Mrs. JiB's permanent resident green card application. It was in Orlando and there were 4 security types. There were alos hundreds of people waiting. We had an appointment, thank God.

[lurkersusie]

Lee Zeldin
@RepLeeZeldin
·
TY to @TGowdySC @RepRatcliffe & @DevinNunes for helping explain FISA abuse that took place. No disclosure to court of DNC & Clinton campaign funding of unverified dossier & improper use of bad, compromised source (Steele), etc. Public deserves the truth!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EBqnVlFDotc

[Extraneus]

@NancyPelosi

Thank you for jumping over my fence and diving into my pool before raiding my refrigerator! Thank your parents for dropping you off at my house!

[Jim Eagle]

Lee Zeldin is our Congressman in The Hamptons but that is not his voting constituency. Hamptons are all in Dems. They know their vote in the City is redundant so they transfer their domicile to here.

However, his district is a lot more populous and expansive then our little slice. Those trades people, landscapers, medical personnel and others that commute here everyday from Patchogue, Commack, Riverhead, et. al. are his voting bloc. And no Dem can challenge his pro-defense, pro-border protection, pro-growth agenda.

We have other more important problems here like have a VC guy buy one of our more historic homes and converting its iconic architecture into an iconic Coral Gables masterpiece.

[Extraneus]

Dem Rep Whips Out A Gun On State House Floor

A Mississippi state lawmaker pulled out a gun on the state’s House floor to make a point Thursday during a debate on a gun bill.

Democratic Rep. Charles Young took out an unloaded pistol and held it over his head, reports WAPT. Young said he pulled out the pistol because he wanted further explanation as to whether people can carry guns in the state capitol building.

Brandishing is a crime.

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

RG,

WHAT a great article! I really enjoyed it! Thanks for letting us know about it!

[exdemocrat]

buh bye

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/02/08/another-longtime-comey-aide-leaving-fbi.html

[Bunky]

Holy carp: am I the only one who thinks McArthy is using pretzel logic in drawing a distinction between criminal investigation vs counterintelligence inv within the bizarro world of Russiagate? There is no difference when the same people and agencies were running both. What am I missing here? If the Prez wanted to know everything, he wanted to know everything.......

[Extraneus]

Kortan more recently surfaced in text messages released between FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page.

While those texts have drawn attention for their anti-Trump sentiments, Kortan also seemed to surface in a message warning about the contents of 302s, which were FBI interview summaries from the Clinton email case, that weren’t given to Congress up-front. In the September 2016 text, Strzok wrote that “there are VERY inflammatory things in the 302s we didn’t turn over to [Congress]…that are going to come out in FOIA and absolutely inflames Congress. I’m sure Jim and Trisha and Dave and Mike are all considering how things like that play out as they talk amongst themselves.”

Probably a head leaker, too, exdem.

[Account Deleted]

1000 point loss on the DOW. When the casino pumped full of hot money goes berserko (and 26,000 IS berserko) it is bound to go bust when that hot money gets reeled in.

It was a magnificent day for Chez Kev. It's just how it is when fund managers/state/private sector retirement funds try desperately to make up ground based on the excesses of the past----- a good bet that they are stuck on stupid.

The trading machines play a role. But there are positions being gripped like lifelines tossed from a sinking ship. And that is management. That's clenching one's buttcheeks together waiting for a POP! to send one to Nirvana.

There are so many companies out there with senior employees (e.g. Waste Management) whose pensions are under 50% funded for this very reason.

Yes, there are little old ladies who took some money out of mattresses to invest in "a hot hedge fund with great returns" (and hefty annual fees). But the lion's share of this casino behavior are gamblers and their secret desire to lose.

I can back this up. In '98 when we rode to the top, the exact top of a 4 cent internet stock (the company's tech was bought by the publisher of Web MD at $32.) My guru at the time and to this day is James Dines (the literal inventor of "technical analysis" for which he was tossed out of Wall Street in the 60s).

His book "Mass Psychology" (hefty price, not many used copiess available) but worth every dime.

His theory is that the stock market charts are mass encephalograms of American society and market participants. We are witnessing the intersection of mass psychology with federal manipulation. And the mass psychology principle which holds in this situtation today is "The Secret Desire of All Gamblers to Lose."

Learning to short at the right time changes lives. And it angers some. But the anger is misplaced. The anger should be against "the captains" at the helms of these funds who will be paid whether their funds do well or not. Yes, a handful are changing their ways---- but for so many small investors it's "Pay me!" Market corrects? "Fuck you! Pay me!" (in my best Ray Liotta.)

My fellow JOMers, this is all based on a cancerous CENTRAL BANK which has become an accepted institution created in the darkness of Woody Wilson's administration. The debate over the Federal Reserve must be rekindle---- our Nation's wealth is at stake.

I'm not sure what DJT's position is on all of this. He has been cheering on the stock market run. That's disappointing to a degree.

A President cannot pooh poo the stock market and create pandemonium. Nor is it his business what we do with our money. But he's survived booms and busts himself--- and felt the bite of the market on his own fortunes coming up.

So he does know about this laborious point I'm making. The market exists to make money, real money whether it is going up or down. Futures markets are for producers in order to ride out price fluctations in their inputs and their outputs. They are ingenious mechanisms for wealth preservation and wealth creation.

May we learn from this race to the bottom. Corrections suck when one's money manager is white knuckling her way through "the storm."

Hogwash.

Like the old Staples singer tune: "...respect yourself."

Radio Free Kev out.

PS: working my gardoonz off again. Barely have time to read before I go to bed at 5am. The coverage and detail of the current shenanz is unrivaled *ANYWHERE*.

MAGA!

[jimmyk]

Congrats, RG!

[Dave (in MA)]

New thread

[Captain Hate]

Just spent 2 hours at the local Social Security office attempting to get a simple Medicare form initiated.

Needless to say, was a total clusterfuck

I might be forgetting something, being a codger, but I think I did all that online and it was easy. Definitely avoid the Social Security offices whenever possible {{shudder}}.

[jimmyk]

Dem Rep Whips Out A Gun On State House Floor

Did he at least say "Excuse me while I whip this out"?

[Jim Eagle]

Bunky,

Like RG, I think Trump knows everything, not just everything but EVERYTHING.

I know honorable military like Rogers and Kelly. He has been briefed before the inaguaration and everyday since then. You can bet the NSA is letting him know what is going on and who the bad actors are. This is no time to spring the trap. Let Grassley, Gowdy, Goodlatte do the digging. Then spring the big reveal.

I have always been convinced that the narcisstic, paranoid phony could never keep his anti-American values from being exposed.

[jim nj]

Shadow banking - Pt. 1

I've been working on this for a little while. I think it's something that many of you may be aware of, but, perhaps, not in the full context. It's important to understand just how bad the 2007-2008 financial crisis was.

If you've ever heard of the term "repo", you may associate it with cars being picked up in the middle of the night and returned to the custody of the banks who made the loan.

But it also occurs in another connotation, a "repo" also refers to a financial product/transaction known as a "repurchase agreement", or "repo", for short. A "repo" is an agreement between a bank/securities firm and a customer. The customer proffers a bond/collateral to a securities firm which then loans money to the customer. The "repurchase" part of the agreement is that the customer agrees to buy back the collateral the next day at a price agreed to in the "repurchase agreement." That price will include an imputed interest rate. If agreed by both parties, it can be rolled over to the next day.

This not a new financial product. It's been around for more than a hundred years. Kind of a backwater. The market did grow much larger when things like home loans, car loans, credit cards, and other things were securitized into bonds back in the 80's. More bonds = more collateral = more "repos".

"Gorton: In the last 30 or 40 years, there have been a number of fundamental changes in our economy. One of the most fundamental of these has been the rise of institutional investing. The amount of money under management of institutional investors has just been exponentially increasing. These include pension funds, mutual funds, large money managers. And these institutions basically have a need for a checking account, if you will. So if you’re a large institutional money manager, you may need a place to put $200 million, and you want it to earn interest and to be safe and accessible. That led to the metamorphosis of a very old security: the sale and repurchase (or “repo”) market. Like a check, repo had been around for perhaps 100 years, but it was never very large."

So we have lots of institutions that are willing to loan overnight. But they want great collateral - in olden days that meant US government bonds which limited the size of this grey market. Now add in the new-fangled securitized debt bonds rated AAA or BBB and we have more available collateral. More money, more collateral and the market expands.

"Gorton: Right. Let’s just review how repo operates. For repo to work, firms that want to borrow cash (to finance their activities) must hold a sufficient amount of bonds on their balance sheets to be used as collateral when depositors (effectively lenders: money market mutual funds, other institutional investors or corporations seeking a place to save large quantities of cash in the short term) arrive to put their money in the “bank”—the firm wanting to borrow cash. In the example I used earlier, the “bank” was Lehman Brothers, but most financial firms using repo didn’t collapse as dramatically as Lehman did."

end part 1

[cathyf]

am I the only one who thinks McArthy is using pretzel logic in drawing a distinction between criminal investigation vs counterintelligence inv within the bizarro world of Russiagate? There is no difference when the same people and agencies were running both. What am I missing here?

I think the point that he is making is that a special prosecutor is a prosecutor, and his job is investigating crimes for criminal prosecution. He's not a "special counterintel agent" or even a "special FBI agent" with a mandate to do everything that is in the purview of the FBI and the DoJ. His job is to look for crimes, not to spy on the Russians -- spying on Russians is a different department.