20. Just been absorbing the Iranian news leaking out
US does have assets in the area, not quite prepared, esp. against the expected retaliation. Senior officers saying not ready. Israel says, “We’re not doing it.” Main IRGC leaders taken out, some small towns retaken by regime, people outdoors in Tehran again.
Some so called US nationalist blogger just attacked me on X for shilling for Israel … what a non-comp, blocked him.
19. Moosh corner
18. Steve at 1260 and war room
Mike Benz on What’s Next for Iran: Expect Fresh Rounds of Sanctions and Military Encirclement, If Not Outright Military Strikes
Mike Benz: I Suspect That Many Of These NGOs Are Training The Somali Immigrant Population On How To Do These Scams
Debbie Georgatos: The Civilization Jihad & Islam Conquest Of America, Sharia To Rule America
Aaron Reitz: Islam is Incompatible With Western Civilization And Spelling Doom For Our Country
“”The Reckless Moment” is a domestic melodrama which features blackmail, the violent deaths of three of its characters and a number of unexpected plot developments.
Most of all however, it’s the story of a mother who is prepared to go to extreme lengths to protect her family and the lifestyle that she values so highly.
Lucia Harper (Joan Bennett), a middle class housewife whose husband is away on business, could not have imagined the events that would follow when she decided to confront her daughter’s boyfriend about their relationship.
Ted Darby (Sheppard Strudwick) is a man of dubious character who is significantly older than Lucia’s daughter Bea (Geraldine Brooks) and he soon makes it clear that he’d be perfectly willing to stop seeing Bea for an agreed sum of money. Lucia doesn’t pay up because she’s confident that Bea wouldn’t want to continue seeing a man whose feelings for her are so shallow. Lucia’s judgement turns out to be wrong as Bea makes it clear that she doesn’t believe what her mother says about Ted and also has no intension of ending their relationship.
When Ted and Bea meet next in the Harpers’ boathouse, their discussion of what transpired in Ted’s meeting with Lucia triggers an argument which culminates in Bea striking him with a torch and him accidentally falling to his death.
When Lucia discovers what’s happened, she disposes of his body in the nearby harbour and returns to her normal domestic routine.
Unexpectedly, after Ted’s body is found the police don’t establish any connection between him and Bea but a threat to the tranquillity of the family’s life comes from a blackmailer called Martin Donnelly (James Mason) who surprisingly turns out to be a charming, generous and completely unthreatening person who gradually falls in love with Lucia.
Lucia finds it impossible to raise the full amount of money that she needs to pay the ransom without the signature of her husband and this leads to the intervention of Martin’s violent partner called Nagel (Roy Roberts) and an unpredictable series of incidents follow which gradually lead to a resolution of Lucia’s problems.
Events show Lucia to be someone who had a fierce compulsion to protect the social standing, lifestyle and perceived respectability of her family at all costs and this made her prepared, without hesitation, to dispense with all moral or legal concerns about what she needed to do to achieve her aim.
When it also becomes apparent that she suffers from feelings of being suffocated by the demands and constraints of her family life, the presence of this ambivalence serves to illustrate just how strong her protective instincts really are.
Joan Bennett and James Mason’s excellent performances, the elegant and effective direction by Max Ophuls and some wonderfully stylized photography by Burnett Guffey all contribute strongly to the success of this subtle and intriguing movie.”
This is why I’m firmly non-denominational … how better to destroy a belief system in people’s eyes than seeing fanatics in each cult excommunicate one another, talking like madmen possessed?
… otherwise described as our female fix for the day:
The second lot I relate to far more, having experienced them, “language experience lessons” at university. The Russki guys were nice, if quite direct, usually fit and strong. The girls … there are no words, the guys and I were flooded with them. I’ve already mentioned my classes … very much this type, usually a dozen girls, now and then a couple of guys.
Though there was a roll, I never submitted it officially, the students knew it, so I had to make the lessons interesting … one per week for each group. You were only as good as your previous lesson … that’s how teaching perhaps should be. Seldom had to come the heavy. Rare it was.
Twice I was “kidnapped” by a gang of girls. To explain “kidnapped” … it means by the chivalry/gallantry code. Two girls approached, were going on their annual group celebration, they wanted me there. Wot, alone? No, our teacher is going (female but reporting to the faculty head). There was no such thing as saying no in those circumstances … it would go viral, just as anything untoward would … it was entrapment by the code.
Eight girls, 26 year old teacher and I went by train to the forest, into an 8 x 6 hut, had a bbq made by one girl and I, all very nice.
A second kidnapping I’ve told you about. Girls locked the door, made me sit down and told me I wasn’t getting out until I’d chosen one as my bride. They knew of my gf back home. I did escape that time. So I’ve had an interesting life at times. Russian hospitality is legendary. The lesson is though if you’re male and not gallant, you’re nowhere. In fact … in some danger.
Now, let’s say Vlad does harbour these Iran crims at the top. Obviously I must support the Iranian people first, then the US forces if they go in and stop the killing, plus the Russian people themselves, plus Uke people, but our own here first. I have zero interest in killing any ordinary people but have no qualms about taking down baddies … sign me up tomorrow.
I’m thinking most of us are like that. What those loony lefties in Minneapolis are doing is bolstering the regime ripping off the ordinary American … and I’m on the side of the ordinary American. Plus us.
(0801) Morning all, just getting sort of light, heavy dark 8/8 cloud. (0845)
10. Moosh corner
I mentioned to Moosh how the trams/trolleybuses had gone down well with us.
9. Today’s TDS (link in brolls)
On a young man dying … had been drinking some but low levels, no previous heart issue, had been vaxxed previously. Excerpt:
“On whether the possible myocarditis in Kieran’s heart could be traced back to the vaccine, Dr Craig pointed out that the unvaccinated were not at risk of myocarditis after infection and that the risk was increased in the vaccinated especially after contracting Covid and that some patients had to increase medication every time they were exposed to COVID-19.
Dr Craig concluded that Kieran had died of a cardiac event due to myocarditis, probably an arrhythmia. An arrhythmia could be exacerbated by dehydration but there was no evidence of dehydration, and the death could not be attributed to alcohol.
Peter Todd was admonished for using the cross questioning to raise the question of testing heart tissue for spike protein. Kieran’s mother pointed out that such testing had been requested in writing some time before with no response. However, the coroner felt he had all the information required to draw a conclusion.”
8. Liverpool Echo’s main headline
“Woman left to die alone on corridor trolley in ‘horrific & broken’ Merseyside hospital A&E.” NHS, yes.
7. And yet another, this time downunder
Her profile blurb: “Melbourne Mum..western bulldogs member.. loves footy, cricket and tennis. Loves God. Keeps getting booted off X, this was the only account I could log back into.” Look at the surname … longtime Italian family, the Doggies (football) are just up the hwy from the Cats, friends really.
Chicago Police Superintendent Reminds the Public ICE Is Law Enforcement and Has Authority Over Citizens
USDA Suspends all Federal Financial Rewards to Minnesota
Disgraced Former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s Team Paid 20K to Informant to Snitch on Trump During Arctic Frost Case
Medvedev Says West Wants War Russia Ready; Oreshnik Hit Military Base Used By West; More Blackouts
Scotland’s largest wind farm wastes 77% of its power as grid fails to keep pace
UN is targeting homeschooling through national governments
Much more.
3. Lady called Mila Joy, watching this closely
I didn’t look all that closely but now she has a new one … Soros funds Newsom, no wonder he wants LA destroyed:
There’s a type of guy who finds things out and gives url. There’s a type of girl who gets into minutiae but then lacks the tech skills to bring it. Both are highly dangerous to Granny Harmer, Carnal, Alatross types.
2. DAD (0700 exactly) at 1259
a) France. A vote of no confidence against the government is now a possibility and could this time lead to the dissolution of the National Assembly. The government, currently facing a budget impasse, is confronted with two motions of no confidence following the adoption of the Mercosur agreement….
b) Brussels abandons Farmers, patriotic politicians warn of agriculture crisis over Mercosur deal.
c) “Germany invested half a trillion dollars, more than doubled the capacity of its electricity grid — and today produces 20% less electricity than before that investment, selling it at three times the price.”
d) [As a result of c)] Mercedes relocates production to Hungary, 20,000 Germans set to lose their jobs.
Regime has called martial law, 6 p.m. curfew, anyone out will be shot
Army called out to replace police to stop burning of buildings
People still out in numbers, about 200 dead at this point.
20. Not going to live blog Iran tonight
… these are as current as we have just now. Anything major … hope I wake up for it. US does seem to be moving.
This was this morning:
19. Moosh corner … have we already had this one?
18. One argument made for X, not against
… is that it’s most sociable, with a fairly equal proportion male-female … well actually, about 60% female, which suits me fine for one. It matters not what the response is, it’s just “nice”, easy on the mind.
An example:
17. This was at 0720 (this morning)
16. Harry Rag is an important person for me, like Vicky
… also Stop the EU … their sense of relevance is very high.
15. I say nuffink
14. Steve at 1259 with war room
Julio Rosas: These New Protests In Minneapolis Are Basically Just A Continuation Of What Happened In 2020. The Left Is Trying To Activate Their Street Activists To Get Out And Cause Mayhem
Bannon: The Illegal Alien Invasion Of Our Country Is Our Biggest National Security Issue Ever! They Do Not Want To Assimilate. They Do Not Believe In Our Values. They All Have To Go
Wade Miller: We Have To Stop Hiding Behind This False Notion That We Can’t Stop Radical Islam From Fundamentally Reshaping Our Entire Culture And Constitutional Order
Rep. Chip Roy (R): The Radical Left Is Not Only Engaged In Massive Fraud But Also In An Effort To Pack America With Non-Citizens So They Can Take Our Country Over
13. Housekeeping
Partly because many of us are not 100% well just now … I’m not, Steve, IYE perhaps, other chaps and chapesses … and partly because there do seem inconsistencies as to how some incoming gets expanded youtube or Xclip, while others get url or just a summary and no url, some must stay in situ in comments … there IS reason, if not rhyme to it.
The very first point to make is that distribution decisions, afap in original form unless it’s an HQ summary, depend on the material plus original source, not our chap(ess) bringing it.
But there’s also an aesthetic requirement too … early day output tends to be very text heavy, then in come the youtubes, then things go quiet. By late afternoon, the occasional Xclip is ok but mainly screenshots thereonin.
Thing is that there is no size reduction function on youtubes on this WP site theme, not even in html, given the backend … small price imho for the advantages. Ditto with Xclips but at least they’re a reasonable size. Youtubes are more for films or features here.
If an expanded YT is important in order to ustd the topic, NOWP is the place for that … it often expands. With Andy’s tonight, it’s important, the youtube, yet we can’t run it openly here, nor at NOWP, because of Granny Harmer himself and Ofsted … we don’t want HQ or NOWP hit. That still leaves us with three options but not all run YTs or Xs.
And so it goes on … partly it’s the provocation level to those who can actually harm us, partly it’s an aesthetic thing over the course of the day. It’s never for patron personal reasons … I do hope that’s a known-known.
As for illness, chaps and chapesses … please take care of your health … get yourselves back up to scratch first.
12. Steve at 1259
Steve Bannon Speech – Save Texas From Radical Islam.
Fell asleep, missed lunch today. Never mind, here’s a flawed film … I’ll have late lunch now.
“Among titles that have been included in Fox’s Studio Line classic DVD series, Edmund Goulding’s “The Razor’s Edge” is a leviathan of powerhouse entertainment. At 146 minutes it’s certainly one of the longest films Fox ever made especially during its golden period.
Based on the novel by W. Somerset Maugham, the film stars then reigning heartthrob, Tyrone Power as wealthy Chicago playboy, Larry Darrell.
Without much cause, except that he’s bored with life in general, Larry breaks his engagement to Isabel Bradley (Gene Tierney) in favor of becoming a world traveler. Eventually, his trips abroad lead to India, to the very seat of spiritual enlightenment under the tutelage of a guru.
Meanwhile, back in Chicago, the impatient Isabel decides to marry Gray Maturin (John Payne). After the stock market crashes, Isabel leaves Gray to go continent tripping with her social climbing, egotistical Uncle Elliot Templeton (Clifton Webb at his usual acerbic best).
Eventually, all this intercontinental head bumping leads straight to a reunion of sorts for all concerned; one that is made bittersweet when it is discovered that an old family friend, Sophie Macdonald (Ann Baxter), after having lost both her husband and child in a terrible accident, has succumbed to a life of spousal abuse and drug use.
Having awakened his moral center, Larry makes a vein attempt to reform Sophie. But Isobel’s jealous need to have Larry all to herself even though his interest in her has never been rekindled leads to a bitter and tragic end.
Goulding’s direction on this magnum opus of a motion picture is slick, stylish and polished. Around every turn he imbues the staging of events with an overall sense of foreboding tragedy that, like the final flowering of the old south in Gone With The Wind, simply reeks of a time far removed from the currency of life in which his characters ultimately find themselves living.
Only the central, world-weary performance of Tyrone Power seems to hit the high notes acting wise. For the rest, but especially with Gene Tierney, the cast seem to be going through the motions, albeit with considerable flair and panache as is befits classically trained actors from Hollywood’s golden age.
There is also something to be said for Herbert Marshall’s characterization of the author, Somerset Maugham. Though probably inaccurate as to history, it is nevertheless one of the great bits of character acting ever put on film.
