Meme Scholar with Madness (PhD)

[EndtheMadnessNow]

Plenty of scuttlebutt from our austere media coming out of the Middle East.

May 14, 1796: Edward Jenner became the first British doctor to carry out a successful vaccination against smallpox. It was the first vaccine to be developed against a contagious disease. Its great strength was that it prevented infection thereby helping to eradicate the disease. Jenner is often called "the father of immunology", and his work is said to have saved "more lives than any other man."



The life of Edward Jenner, M.D with illustrations of his doctrines, and selections from his correspondence. By John Baron M.D. vol. 2, 1838

More info on the Puck comic: The Cow-Pock—or—the Wonderful Effects of the New Inoculation! The Publications of the Anti-Vaccine Society Print (color engraving) published June 12, 1802 by H. Humphrey, St. James's Street. In this cartoon, the British satirist James Gillray caricatured a scene at the Smallpox and Inoculation Hospital at St. Pancras, showing cowpox vaccine being administered to frightened young women, and cows emerging from different parts of people's bodies.

The cartoon was inspired by the controversy over inoculating against the dreaded disease, smallpox. Opponents of vaccination had depicted cases of vaccinees developing bovine features and this is picked up and exaggerated by Gillray. Although the central figure is often assumed to be Edward Jenner circumstantial evidence suggests this may not be so. Although the director of the Smallpox Hospital William Woodville had originally supported Jenner, he and his colleague George Pearson, were in dispute with Jenner by the time the caricature was published. 

It is unlikely they would have met Jenner and it has been suggested that the central figure represents Pearson. Gillray often included clues to identify individuals who were not easily recognizable, but the only clue here is the badge on the arm of the boy which identifies his connection with Woodville's hospital. The boy holds a container labeled "VACCINE POCK hot from the COW" and papers in the boy's pocket are labeled "Benefits of the Vaccine". The tub on the desk is labeled "OPENING MIXTURE". A bottle next to the tub is labeled "VOMIT". The painting on the wall depicts worshippers of the Golden Calf.

More illustrations at
“The Mark of the Beast” Georgian Britain’s Anti-Vaxxer Movement


May 14, 1938: Football as soft power: England’s football team were pressured by the FA, the British Foreign Office and British ambassador to Germany, Nevile Henderson to give the Nazi salute in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium to assist the policy of appeasement before their game against Germany in Berlin.

Despite modern rhetoric that the Nazi salute was an embarrassment to the English nation, contemporary views were much more complicated. For English newspapers, politicians and football officials, the salute was a gesture and nothing more. It was a far cry from what the BBC labelled in 2003, “one of the darkest moments in the sport”.

For English players the salute was arguably a much bigger problem but unfortunately it is difficult to know how far their anger extended. Those players present for the decision only wrote their memoirs decades after the fact at a time when anti-German sentiment was at its highest. As Simon Kuper argued many years ago, for contemporaries it’s likely that the salute was much ado about nothing.

So why do we as modern fans struggle with the image? Why do newspapers constantly use it as a source of English shame in sport? The answer, perhaps unsurprisingly, lies in the historical perspective. For us, the Nazi salute is a sign of support for a regime that by September 1939 would drag Europe into one of the bloodiest wars in modern history. For us, the gesture is an affirmation of a regime that committed unspeakable acts of violence.

This knowledge was not available to Henderson, Rous or the England players. For them, the salute was a gesture towards their hosts. A piece of footballing admin. For them it was an unimportant side element to the game at hand. For them, the real business was football. Though football is often politicised, the incident should be a stark reminder that football can only be politicised if we allow it to be. Through continuous re-telling of the event, we have forgotten the most important element of the game: England won 6-3. As a neutral to English football, that seems an altogether more important story.

The hand of Goebbels: England, Germany and the Nazi salute

May 13, 1997: The bronze Crazy Girls statue, with its soon-to-be-set-of-hand-buffed bottoms, was unveiled at the Riviera Hotel & Casino on the Las Vegas strip. It was removed on Riviera closing day, May 4, 2015 to make its way to Planet Hollywood. The statue is known for its "hand-buffed bottoms" due to the many tourists who have rubbed (not smack!) them for good luck. But, Butt, Bronze BUTTS!

Bronze bottoms prompt bothered brows on Strip (May 14, 1997)

It looked like some sort of Hollywood affair.

The front of the Riviera hotel-casino was crammed Tuesday with people eagerly awaiting the unveiling of what's without a doubt one of the community's most controversial pieces of public art.

Seven statuesque showgirls sauntered out dressed in sequinned red evening gowns. They lined up near a covered item attached to the front of the hotel. On a cue from a hotel executive, they dropped the drape.

There, in all its glory, stood life-size bronze nude backsides of the "Crazy Girls" showgirls in their trademark "No Ifs Ands Or ..." pose.

"We at the Riviera think showgirls are synonymous with the glamorous side of Las Vegas," said Bob Vannucci, vice president of marketing. "We feel this is as much a part of Las Vegas history as the million dollars on display at Binion's."

But not everyone is heralding the Riviera's contribution to the city's public art collection. Several members of the National Organization for Women were on the sidewalk Tuesday protesting.

"Now that I looked at it, it's as sexual as I thought it would be," said Anne Golonka of NOW. "It's kind of soft pornography because these statues are faceless."

Golonka is concerned that women and children walking on the sidewalk will be exposed to the bare buttocks. She wants the hotel to move the 11-by-6-foot, 1,540-pound bronze inside.

"They just cleared all the hardcore (smut peddlers) off the Strip," she said. "The hotel just felt this was great publicity."

Golonka is upset that the women's faces aren't shown, and that their sexuality is being exploited. Bettina Best, a Marilyn Monroe impersonator from the "Legends in Concert" show at the Imperial Palace Hotel, agreed.

"Whatever they do inside is up to them, but outside there are kids," Best said. "They are advertising this as patting the women on the butts for good luck. This actually induces sexual harassment because some people can't separate fantasy from reality."

The Crazy Girls, to no surprise, take exception to these views. Having spent two days last summer in 100-degree temperatures in a warehouse posing, they've come to appreciate the artistry of sculptor Michael Conine.

"I think it's exciting to go down in history," Kim Barranco said of her bronze image. "It's more definite than a poster."

"We are proud to be immortalized on the Strip," Karen Raider added. "We all have day jobs, and some have children. Every girl here is more than just body parts."

Conine, from Santa Fe, N.M., said the project was one of the most challenging he has ever undertaken. Each girl had to pose for three 20-minute sessions until full backside plaster body casts were made in three sections. Then they had to pose with the other women again to cast the arm-in-arm sections.

Twenty-two plaster pieces were cast, weighing a total of 400 pounds. The casts were then shipped to the Shidoni Foundry in Tesuque, N.M.

"Nudity has been in art since the beginning," Conine said. "Using the female nude in art is nothing new."

But Golonka said Conine's sculpture is not like fine art. She said the statue of David in Caesars Palace is a good example. It doesn't flaunt his sexuality, she said, and doesn't portray him in a controversial pose like the Crazy Girls.

Las Vegas Sun

And in 2021...

‘Crazy Girls’ statue hauled away with show’s future uncertain

The topless show’s famous bronze statue was effectively evicted Tuesday morning from its position near Planet Hollywood’s Strip-facing entrance. This historic civic project required a heavy-duty fork lift, brought in after the original fork lift didn’t have enough “lift” to carry the ladies off the casino carpet.

The sculpture has since moved along with the show. A popular tourist attraction, producer Norbert Aleman’s prized visage would draw millions of visitors over the years. More than 1 million casino guests rubbed the statues’ rear ends at the Riv — Aleman had a counter set up to keep track — for “good luck.”

Those rear ends have been rubbed to a shine, further adding to the statue’s provenance.

The show’s producer says he is unsure of the statue’s monetary worth today (though the amount of bronze on the piece alone is likely worth $100K). But the original cost $325,000 in ‘97.

Aleman is poking around town, on and off the Strip, for a new home. He wants the right type of stage (especially a curtain), prefers a venue with a topless license (he’s not interested in taking his legendary topless show to pasties) and is determined to maintain the show’s historic integrity.

May 14th: As far the public are concerned, Capricorn One lands, and footage is broadcast of the astronauts walking on the surface of Mars. In reality, they are still on earth and filming from the desert.




Local news story with the indefatigable Robert Friedrichs - the man who solved the Miss Atomic Bomb MIA Mystery.


Las Vegas historian uncovers identity of 'Miss Atomic Bomb' after 25 years



From a soldier in the Islamic State to Al-Qaeda leader to shaking hands with POTUS Trump. Jolani’s coup and capitulation have rewarded Syria’s enemies by achieving all the objectives they set when they instigated a proxy war for regime-change, enforced crippling sanctions, and stole Syria’s oil and wheat.

The sanctions are no longer needed. They served their purpose.

Everything about the Syrian president & his story is mind-boggling. Take this, for example:

Exactly 20 years ago today, he was captured by the Americans in Iraq & jailed at Camp Bucca, a U.S.-run prison in Iraq. He was released March 13, 2011, and shortly after became a commander of al-Qaeda forces in Mosul. What he did exactly we don’t know, but two days later the Arab Spring came to Syria.

His life reads like a ready-made Hollywood script.

This is the man whose militancy once killed US troops in Iraq & who oversaw Syria's bloodiest sectarian massacre since the civil war began. You can just be the commander of Al-Qaeda in Syria and get the blessing of the President of the United States as long as you promise to kneel before Israel. Apparently, this completes Hillary Clinton's project when she was running the State Dept.

Welcome to the New Middle East...




So, is this part of a wider US security strategy or merely a protection racket?
I guess he's our bad guy now. Foreign policy Hells Angels style.

The pragmatic jihad...


Jolani reportedly offers Trump ‘Ukraine-style’ mineral deal for Syria

In a few years maybe ten we'll back to war with one of these same factions (with a new name of course) that refused to kneel. Round & round we go. They don't call it forever wars for nothing.

This is how the cynical game of international alliances works.

But what is an alliance?

A temporary contract. A convergence of interests. Nothing more.

Popular narratives suggest alliances are based on shared values, common morals. The truth is colder: alliances are merely pragmatic calculations.

And this cynicism isn't limited to relationships between states.

The "Billiard Ball" theory in International Relations was introduced by political scientist Arnold Wolfers. It states that each state behaves like a solid, uniform billiard ball. These "balls" interact purely through collisions driven by their individual interests, just like when playing pool.

No morality, no emotion. Just trajectories and collisions.

On a macro scale, states constantly shift alliances based on strategic interests.

Notable examples:

- The U.S. and USSR alliance during World War II, ideological foes united temporarily against a common enemy. Late 1946 the Cold War begins. We got a temporary reprieve from the centuries old Russophobia in the 90s through early 2000s, but then it restarted in 2014 and now it's on nuclear steroids.

- Fragile Middle Eastern alliances today, where former adversaries collaborate against common threats like Iran or ISIS, AND peeling away Russian alliances until the only one left is Persia.



Donald Trump slashes federal executive power.

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:

Section 1.  Purpose.  The United States is drastically overregulated.  The Code of Federal Regulations contains over 48,000 sections, stretching over 175,000 pages — far more than any citizen can possibly read, let alone fully understand.  Worse, many carry potential criminal penalties for violations.  The situation has become so dire that no one -– likely including those charged with enforcing our criminal laws at the Department of Justice — knows how many separate criminal offenses are contained in the Code of Federal Regulations, with at least one source estimating hundreds of thousands of such crimes. Many of these regulatory crimes are “strict liability” offenses, meaning that citizens need not have a guilty mental state to be convicted of a crime.

This status quo is absurd and unjust. It allows the executive branch to write the law, in addition to executing it. That situation can lend itself to abuse and weaponization by providing Government officials tools to target unwitting individuals. It privileges large corporations, which can afford to hire expensive legal teams to navigate complex regulatory schemes and fence out new market entrants, over average Americans.

The purpose of this order is to ease the regulatory burden on everyday Americans and ensure no American is transformed into a criminal for violating a regulation they have no reason to know exists.

FIGHTING OVERCRIMINALIZATION IN FEDERAL REGULATIONS

Trump Secures Historic $1.2 Trillion Economic Commitment in Qatar

The landmark deals celebrated today will drive innovation and prosperity for generations, bolster American manufacturing and technological leadership, and put America on the path to a new Golden Age.

Since President Trump took office, his commitment to American manufacturing and innovation has attracted trillions of dollars in investments and global commercial deals. Allies like Qatar are partnering in the United States’ success.

The following represent just a few of the many groundbreaking deals secured in Qatar:

Boeing and GE Aerospace secured a landmark order from Qatar Airways, a $96 billion agreement to acquire up to 210 American-made Boeing 787 Dreamliner and 777X aircraft powered by GE Aerospace engines. This is Boeing’s largest-ever widebody order and largest-ever 787 order. This historic agreement will support 154,000 U.S. jobs annually, totaling over 1 million jobs in the United States during the course of production and delivery of this deal.

McDermott has a strong partnership with Qatar Energy in advancing critical energy infrastructure, with seven active projects worth $8.5 billion. As the sole provider of offshore components for Qatar’s major LNG expansion, McDermott’s work directly supports thousands of U.S. energy sector jobs.

Parsons has successfully won 30 projects worth up to $97 billion. These high-value engagements have fueled significant company growth, supporting thousands of jobs across the United States and reinforcing American leadership in cutting-edge engineering and innovation.

Quantinuum finalized a Joint Venture Agreement with Al Rabban Capital, a prominent Qatari company. Qatar will invest up to $1 billion in state-of-the-art quantum technologies and workforce development provided by the Joint Venture, supporting U.S. and Qatari jobs and leadership in this critical emerging technology.

Today’s signings mark President Trump’s intent to accelerate Qatar’s defense investment in the U.S.-Qatar security  partnership—enhancing regional deterrence and benefitting the U.S. industrial base.

The defense deals secured today lock in Qatar’s procurement of state-of-the-art military equipment from two leading U.S. defense companies.

Raytheon, an RTX business, secured a $1 billion agreement for Qatar’s acquisition of counter-drone capabilities, signed by the U.S. and Qatari governments. This deal establishes Qatar as the first international customer for Raytheon’s Fixed Site – Low, Slow, Small Unmanned Aerial System Integrated Defeat System (FS-LIDS) designed to counter unmanned aircraft. The deal directly supports high-skilled manufacturing and engineering jobs in the United States and reinforces America’s leadership in innovative defense technologies.

General Atomics secured a nearly $2 billion agreement for Qatar’s acquisition of the MQ-9B remotely piloted aircraft system, signed by the U.S. and Qatari governments. This deal will strengthen the U.S.-Qatar bilateral relationship and provide the Qatari Armed Forces with the most advanced multi-mission remotely piloted aircraft in the world, powered by U.S. products made in America.

The United States and Qatar also signed a statement of intent to further strengthen our security partnership, outlining over $38 billion in potential investments including support for burden-sharing at Al Udeid Air Base and future defense capabilities related to air defense and maritime security.

These new agreements and instruments aim to drive the growth of the U.S.-Qatar bilateral commercial relationship, create thousands of well-paying jobs, and open new trade and investment opportunities for both countries over the coming decade and beyond.

Trump Secures Historic $1.2 Trillion Economic Commitment in Qatar

Boeing Marks Comeback From Crisis With Record Qatar Air Deal

Given the geostrategic importance of Saudi and Emirati moves happening now to play East and West off each other to leap to the frontier in AI, chips, space, and nuclear. Europe should pay close attention to Saudi Arabia and UAE's massive AI investments. What's striking is how these Gulf state commitments completely dwarf Europe's AI investment. It appears the UAE is already positioned to become #3 globally in AI, behind only the US and China.


Wednesday words...




Possibly the first country song about this topic...