‘1,200 Years of History Can’t Make Germans Trust French’

And two world wars in 26 years should make the French trust Germans?

A German: “Europe wants, I think, Germany to be strong; it also needs other countries to be more sensible.”

Just be sensible, necessarily strong Germany tells the rest of Europe.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-02/1-200-years-of-history-can-t-make-germans-trust-hollande.html

Link at gatesofvienna.net

This ain't the Army

Going on 25 years ago, not long after the Army said “Check’s in the mail. Don’t call us, we’ll call you. So long. Been good to know you. Don’t let the door hit you in the a$$,” my wife, who had a job to go to (and it wasn’t like I hadn’t tried – written dozens of letters listing the abilities and experience gained since leaving high school, but for some reason demand was not high for a 44-year-old Army infantry/cavalry/MI sergeant), handed to me a list. She said, “Do you think you could get to these today?” Just like Robert E. Lee often said to a general, “If you find it in your abilities, I would appreciate it if you could remove those people from that hill,” which every general before Gettysburg knew meant, “Get you’re a$$ up that hill,” although Marse Bob would never say those words. So after Gen. Wife left, I looked at the list, and I said, “If I were still in the Army, I could get this and this done, half of these two, and start on this one, but no way do I get these last two done.” But then I realized I was no longer in the Army, and prioritizing the tasks meant all held No. 1 position. Welcome to Civilianness.

Letters from the jihadist front

"I've basically done nothing except hand out clothes and food. I also help clean weapons and transport dead bodies from the front. Winter's arrived here. It's begun to get really hard." (Tom Paine warned about the sunshine jihadist.)

"I'm fed up. They make me do the washing up." (You’ve got water?)

"My iPod doesn't work any more here. I have to come back."

"They want to send me to the front, but I don't know how to fight." (That’s all right, son. You’ll learn. Or …)

One Frenchman was rumoured to have been beheaded when he explained to the emir that he wanted to follow his friend who had already left. (And you thought the draft board was unfeeling.)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/islamic-state/11268208/Jihadists-in-Syria-write-home-to-France-My-iPod-is-broken.-I-want-to-come-back.html

Link at gatesofvienna.net.

Cops

Alabama grand jury declines to indict black policeman who killed unarmed white teenager.

http://nation.foxnews.com/2014/11/29/white-teen-killed-black-police-officer-alabama-mirrors-ferguson

Searches bring other hits. You would think racist black/white cops are killing white/black “teenagers” all over the country.

Reaction by police varies from neighborhood to neighborhood. Poor folks do not get the same treatment as do middle class and up.

Law schools fighting for students

“Now, financially wobbly law schools are facing plunging enrollment, strenuous resistance to five-figure student debt and the lack of job guarantees — not to mention the need to balance their battered budgets. To entice new students, some middle-tier schools [Arizona, Penn State, Roger WIlliams, Wayne State] have reduced tuition. ...

“The number of first-year law school students fell 11 percent in the fall of 2013 from the fall of 2012, part of a 24 percent decline in just three years, according to the ABA. The incoming class in 2013 stood at 39,675 students, the smallest first-year class since the 1970s, when law school enrollment began to rise substantially. About two-thirds, or 135, of the association’s accredited law schools, registered a drop in first-year enrollment that year — and little has changed this fall.”

http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2014/12/ny-times-law-schools-engage.html


Link at maggiesfarm.

(I’m trying to come up with a good Henry 6 comment. “The first thing we do, let’s impoverish the law students.” Not very good.)

‘Jihad’ means latrine duty?

“An Indian student who travelled to Iraq to join the Islamic State group has returned home disillusioned after jihadists made him clean toilets and do other menial jobs, according to media reports.

…

Areeb “Majeed told NIA officers he was sidelined by the jihadists for whom he fetched water and performed other lowly tasks such as cleaning toilets, instead of taking part in the deadly offensive like he wanted, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.”

The father of a friend of Majeed’s reported his son was offered a job in Kuwait, but chose ISIS instead.

“He had got a job offer from Kuwait with a salary of three lakh rupees ($4,800) but he ignored that and instead took up arms. Now what happens to his future?” Sheikh told the Indian Express newspaper on Monday.

“I feel let down by my son. He had a bright career ahead of him but he took advantage of our love and betrayed us.”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/12/indian-is-recruit-goes-home-after-hes-assigned-to-toilet-duty-instead-of-holy-war/

(Not only that, but his mother said, “And he never calls. What’s a mother to do?”)

The nutcracker survived the move

It is a nice nutcracker, 33.5 inches tall, black trousers and black boots, a red and green jacket, black Guards helmet.

I wrapped it like Cleopatra's delivery to Caeser.