Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Krugman: The Populism Perplex (NY Times Column)
What does the white middle class want?
Rebecca Schuman: "Oh Good, a 'Professor Watch List'" (Slate)
The timing of a new website meant to identify liberal academics is grotesque.
Pagan Kennedy: The Thin Gene (NY Times)
Abby Solomon suffers from a one-in-a-billion genetic syndrome: After just about an hour without food, she begins to starve. She sleeps in snatches. In her dreams she gorges on French fries. But as soon as she wakes up and nibbles a few bites, she feels full, so she ends up consuming very few calories. At 5 feet 10 inches tall, she weighs 99 pounds.
Peter Bradshaw: Never mind the baubles: why the best Christmas films are darker than December (The Guardian)
Festive tales about the comforts of family don't work unless the joy is spiked with pain - from Dickens to Elf and It's a Wonderful Life.
Rachel Cooke: What has the Turner Prize ever done for us? (New Statesman)
Waldemar Januszczak thinks it was responsible for turning the British into a nation of modern-art lovers. Rachel Cooke disagrees.
Amelia Tait: Reddit's CEO edited comments on a pro-Trump thread and everyone should care (The Guardian)
Even those who don't frequent "the front page of the internet" should worry about the implications of this act.
Rachel Cooke: Unnerving prescience aside, is Black Mirror really as smart as it seems? (New Statesman)
I get all the references and recognise the cleverness of its tricksy plots - but Charlie Brooker's new series is patchier than its fans would admit.
23 Brilliant Pieces Of Foreshadowing You Probably Missed (Cracked)
For all the shit we like to give Hollywood for pumping out the same movies, reinforced by the same tropes, acted out by the same movie stars, we should actually separate the producers from the filmmakers. Because the filmmakers are actually doing some pretty cool shit when it comes to telling a story.
David Bruce's Amazon Author Page
David Bruce's Smashwords Page
David Bruce's Blog
David Bruce's Lulu Storefront
David Bruce's Apple iBookstore
David Bruce has over 80 Kindle books on Amazon.com.
wrote:
took the day off.
has returned to semi-retired status.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
from Marc Perkel
Patriot Act
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
THE THIRD ROUND OF 'ARROGANT FROG'.
PUTTING THE INMATES IN CHARGE OF THE ASYLUM.
"THIS IS NOT A DRILL"
A GWP!
"AND THEN IT WAS DONE."
Visit JD's site - Kitty Litter Music
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Supposed to rain.
Boston Provider Denies Porn
CNN
More than a dozen news outlets picked up a story on Friday claiming that CNN accidentally aired 30 minutes of pornography instead of Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown to Boston viewers via cable provider RCN.
Those web news stories appear to just be based on a Twitter user, @solikearose, who claimed that the content was aired on Thursday evening. The CNN local network provider denied that adult content was aired.
"We are in the process of researching this incident but see no evidence our CNN network feed was compromised last evening in Boston," Jeff Carlson, svp and general manager, RCN Boston, said in a statement to THR.
Barbara Levin, vp communications at CNN national, said in a statement: "Despite media reports to the contrary, RCN assures us that there was no interruption of CNN's programming in the Boston area last night."
The apparent claim arrives at a time when there's been a rare national conversation surrounding dissemination of fake news stories, primarily through social media networks like Twitter and Facebook.
CNN
Serves Thanksgiving Meals
Jane Fonda
A welcome break on Thanksgiving day for protesters standing against the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Not only did they get something to eat, they got to meet an Academy Award winning actress and pipeline opponent.
A day of music, food, and ceremony joined by well known Hollywood actress and advocate Jane Fonda.
"It's been centuries since this many tribes have joined together in prayer in peace in non-violence to protect their sacred land and their water, said Fonda."
She traveled from Los Angeles Thursday to help serve a meal to a mixed crowd of mostly water protectors.
Jane Fonda
'Shocking' Temperatures
Svalbard
The Arctic archipelago of Svalbard has seen such extreme warmth this year that the average annual temperature could end up above freezing for the first time on record, scientists said Friday.
Ketil Isaksen of the Norwegian Meterological Institute said that the average temperature in Longyearbyen, the main settlement in Svalbard, is expected to be around 0 Celsius (32 Fahrenheit) with a little over a month left of the year.
The normal yearly average in Svalbard, an island group midway between the North Pole and continental Norway, is minus 6.7 C (20 F) and the warmest year until now was 2006, when the average temperature in Svalbard was minus 1.8 C (29 F), Isaksen said.
The rising temperatures in the Arctic are affecting permafrost and snow cover as well as the amount of sea ice, which this year was the second-lowest on record. Isaksen said the sea ice is building up much slower than normal as winter approaches.
"There are still huge areas in the Barents Sea and Kara Sea to the east of Svalbard that are free of ice," he said. "They should normally be ice-covered."
Svalbard
Corona Founder Leaves Spanish Village $210M
Cerveza Corona
Residents of Cerezales del Condado, a tiny village in the northwestern Spanish province of Leon were in for a life-changing surprise when the founder of Corona beer left each of them with almost $2.5 million each in his will.
Antonino Fernández, former Chairman of the Grupo Modelo group in Mexico, died at the age of 99 in August this year. Even though he was a billionaire at the time of his death, the initial part of his life was spent battling poverty in Cerezales del Condado.
Born in 1917, Fernández was forced to leave school at the age of 14 as his parents could not afford the fees. In 1949, at the age of 32, Fernández moved to Mexico to work at his wife's uncle's company, Grupo Modelo. Starting off as a warehouse worker, he climbed up the ranks slowly, becoming the CEO in 1971, a position he held till 1997.
Fernández remained the Chairman of the Board until 2005 and the Honorary Life Chairman of Grupo Modelo, which manufactures the Conona Extra beer, until his death.
The billionaire remained close to his roots in Spain and after his death, left $210 million to the residents of Cerezales, with each villager inheriting over $2 million.
Cerveza Corona
Killer Gets More Lenient Sentence
Dr. George Tiller
The man who seven years ago ambushed and fatally shot one of the few U.S. doctors performing late-term abortions was given a more lenient sentence Wednesday of at least 25 years in prison before becoming eligible for parole.
At a surprise resentencing hearing, prosecutors withdrew their request that Scott Roeder serve at least 50 years before parole eligibility. Roeder also was sentenced to an additional two years for aggravated assault for threatening two church ushers as he fled.
Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett said that the decision not to seek the added time was reached by prosecutors after examining Roeder's health, his expected life span and the likelihood of whether he would ever be released from prison alive. The family of victim Dr. George Tiller also was consulted, he said.
Roeder was convicted in January 2010 of premeditated first-degree murder for the shooting death of Tiller as he was serving as an usher in the foyer of the doctor's church in Wichita on May 31, 2009.
Tiller's murder was among the most notorious acts of violence since the U.S. Supreme Court legalized the procedure nationwide in 1973. It alarmed the abortion rights community and came as numerous conservative states, including Kansas, passed restrictions making it harder for women to obtain abortions.
The hearing Wednesday came just days before Roeder was set to go before a jury on Monday for what had been anticipated to be a two-week sentencing hearing. Roeder's original life sentence with no chance of parole for 50 years was among many vacated after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2013 that juries, not judges, must decide whether to increase punishment.
Dr. George Tiller
Renting Floor At Trump Tower
Secret Service
The US Secret Service is considering renting one floor in Trump Tower to protect President-elect Donald Trump and his family by turning it into a 24-7 command post, a law enforcement official told CNN Friday.
According to Jared Horowitz, who is with Newmark Grubb Knight Frank and responsible for available commercial space at Trump Tower, the floors available to rent with the average floor office space running between 13,500 square feet to 15,500 square feet cost about $1.5 million a year.
The law enforcement official says the current plans for security at Trump Tower would differ if the future first family were living at the White House full time and Trump's wife Melania and their son Barron were not staying behind in New York City through the Spring.
Once the Trumps live at the White House full time the USSS will have to reassess what kind of a security presence will be needed at Trump Tower, depending on how often Trump and his family return to New York City.
What is also unprecedented is that the building is owned by the Trump Corporation so the USSS would be renting the space from Trump's company for protecting him and his family.
Secret Service
Putin Gives Russian Passport
Steven Seagal
President Vladimir Putin has given a Russian passport to U.S. action film star Steven Seagal, calling it a sign of a thaw in relations with the United States.
The 64-year old actor has been a regular visitor to Russia in recent years and has accompanied Putin to several martial arts events.
Seagal also has vocally defended the Russian leader's policies and criticized the U.S. government.
After awarding Seagal citizenship through a presidential decree earlier this month, Putin hosted the actor at the Kremlin on Friday and handed him the passport.
Putin told Seagal he hopes the ceremony, which was shown on Russian state television, is "also a sign of a gradual normalization of the relations between the countries."
Steven Seagal
Shocking! Tax Increase
Middle Class
President-elect Donald Trump's (R-Liar) proposals would modestly cut income taxes for most middle-class Americans. But for nearly 8 million families - including a majority of single-parent households - the opposite would occur: They'd pay more.
Most married couples with three or more children would also pay higher taxes, an analysis by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center found. And while middle-class families as a whole would receive tax cuts of about 2 percent, they'd be dwarfed by the windfalls averaging 13.5 percent for America's richest 1 percent.
Trump's campaign rhetoric had promoted the benefits of his proposals for middle-income Americans.
Unlike Trump's polarizing proposals on immigration and trade, his tax plan is in line with traditional Republican policy. His steep tax cuts in many ways resemble those carried out by Presidents Ronald Reagan (R-Red Ink) and George W. Bush (R-Cheney's Hand Puppet), and the Republican-run Congress is expected to welcome them.
Middle Class
Top 20
Global Concert Tours
The Top 20 Global Concert Tours ranks artists by average box office gross per city and includes the average ticket price for shows Worldwide. The list is based on data provided to the trade publication Pollstar by concert promoters and venue managers.
1. Guns N' Roses; $6,052,392; $119.70.
2. Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band; $5,395,589; $113.83.
3. Beyonce; $4,925,992; $104.19.
4. Adele; $4,121,814; $109.71.
5. Coldplay; $3,568,641; $107.83.
6. Justin Bieber; $3,036,819; $83.14.
7. Kanye West; $2,182,858; $90.78.
8. Drake; $2,117,766; $111.19.
9. Luke Bryan; $1,527,962; $57.62.
10. Zac Brown Band; $1,213,049; $57.54.
11. Jason Aldean; $1,082,673; $49.61.
12. Dave Matthews Band; $1,032,014; $53.10.
13. "Bad Boy Family Reunion Tour" / Puff Daddy; $936,274; $82.88.
14. Dixie Chicks; $860,114; $72.93.
15. Carrie Underwood; $698,887; $70.65.
16. Florida Georgia Line; $691,008; $44.30.
17. Dolly Parton; $644,217; $80.05.
18. Journey / Doobie Brothers; $634,881; $60.20.
19. Def Leppard; $606,266; $61.46.
20. Keith Urban; $560,403; $55.70.
Global Concert Tours
In Memory
Fidel Castro
Former President Fidel Castro, who led a rebel army to improbable victory in Cuba, embraced Soviet-style communism and defied the power of 10 U.S. presidents during his half century rule, has died at age 90.
Castro's reign over the island-nation 90 miles from Florida was marked by the U.S.-backed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 and the Cuban Missile Crisis a year later that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. The bearded revolutionary, who survived a crippling U.S. trade embargo as well as dozens, possibly hundreds, of assassination plots, died eight years after ill health forced him to formally hand power over to Raul.
Castro overcame imprisonment at the hands of dictator Fulgencio Batista, exile in Mexico and a disastrous start to his rebellion before triumphantly riding into Havana in January 1959 to become, at age 32, the youngest leader in Latin America. For decades, he served as an inspiration and source of support to revolutionaries from Latin America to Africa.
His commitment to socialism was unwavering, though his power finally began to fade in mid-2006 when a gastrointestinal ailment forced him to hand over the presidency to Raul in 2008, provisionally at first and then permanently. His defiant image lingered long after he gave up his trademark Cohiba cigars for health reasons and his tall frame grew stooped.
He survived long enough to see Raul Castro negotiate an opening with U.S. President Barack Obama on Dec. 17, 2014, when Washington and Havana announced they would move to restore diplomatic ties for the first time since they were severed in 1961. He cautiously blessed the historic deal with his lifelong enemy in a letter published after a month-long silence.
Fidel Castro
| CURRENT MOON lunar phases |
