Pages

Thursday, April 6, 2017

April 6, 2017 -- A Quick Run Around the Web

"Homemade 9mm from Plumbing Pipe"--Royal Nonesuch (12 min)


       If competition among federal units complicates the restoration of security to Mosul, the entrance of a host of pro-government militias has added yet more armed actors to an already-volatile situation. Predominantly Sunni paramilitary units, including Jeber’s Mosul Gallant Force, have been assigned a large share of responsibility for Mosul’s day-to-day security, but lack the manpower to effectively police the city.
           Shiite Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), meanwhile, have established a presence in Mosul. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi initially said these Shiite militias would be excluded from the offensive to retake Mosul city. While the bulk of Shiite PMF are stationed in the desert west of Mosul to prevent Islamic State fighters from fleeing into Syria, a number of groups, including the Badr Organization, al-Abbas Forces, and Kata’ib Hezbollah, have opened offices in east Mosul.
             Ethnic Shabak militias operating in east Mosul are also believed to have been bolstered with members from Iranian-influenced Shiite militia groups. ...
      •  "Why Is Big Business So Liberal? The Pepsi Case"--Powerline Blog. The article looks at Pepsi social justice warrior CEO, and its recent commercial co-opting Black Lives Matter. The author concludes that the explanation, to the extent that their can be a single one, is globalism. 
             I have often wondered–likely you have too–why large corporations are almost always liberal. Warmed-over Marxism offers no explanation, but I wonder whether part of the answer, at least, may be found in globalization.
               Let’s start with Hollywood: why are most of its films so mind-numbingly stupid? Why do most have no dialogue above a grade-school level? Why are they mainly about explosions, superheroes, car chases and so on? And why are American movies no longer patriotic? A big part of the answer is that the Hollywood studios don’t care much about Americans anymore. Their biggest market is China, and foreign sales overall dwarf U.S. sales. American movies are made mostly for Chinese and Indian film-goers. If you think about it, that explains a lot.

        No comments:

        Post a Comment