Category Archive for "Political Correctness"

ZipDialog Roundup for Monday, August 14

By Charles Lipson
Monday, August 14, 2017 0 Anti-Semitism, China, Chinese Economy, Chinese security and military, Crime, Donald Trump, Homeland Security, Identity Politics, Islamic terrorism, Kim Jong Un, North Korea, Nuclear Proliferation, Political Correctness, Race Relations, Technology, US foreign policy, ZipDialog Roundup of News Beyond the Front Page Burkino-Faso, Charlottesville, Google, Virginia Permalink 0
Articles chosen with care. Your comments welcomed.
Linked articles in bold purple

◆ Quick Update on Charlottesville, which remains the top story.

Neo-Nazis and white supremacists are now facing a federal investigation for violating civil rights.

The driver of the deadly car, to be arraigned today, will be looked at closely to see if he was part of a conspiracy

Pres. Trump still being excoriated (across the political spectrum) for his failure to single out the neo-Nazis and supremacists in his statement condemning the violence

National Security Adviser McMaster calls the act “terrorism,” and Ivanka Trump condemns the supremacists in clear language, at the outset

More attention is now focusing on the failure of the police to intervene and stand between the opposing groups. They appear to have “stood down,” much like the police in Baltimore.

We need to know why

We need to have a clear set of “best practices” for police in these dangerous confrontations

Comment: It is shameful that the President did not speak out as clearly as his daughter. Yes, the left-wing and anarchist Antifada was there and did fight, but the main responsibility for violence belongs to the extreme right in this case. In other cases, when the responsibility belongs elsewhere, the President should condemn that, too, and do so in clear language.

◆ Today in Islamic terror: 18 killed in attack in West African state of Burkino-Faso, at restaurant frequented by foreigners (CNN)

◆ As part of UN sanctions, China bans North Korea iron, lead, coal imports (Washington Post)

But China also warned the US:

In an editorial, the state-owned China Daily newspaper said Trump was asking too much of China over North Korea….

Trump’s “transactional approach to foreign affairs” was unhelpful, it said, while “politicizing trade will only exacerbate the country’s economic woes, and poison the overall China-U.S. relationship.” –Washington Post

Comment: China is doing the minimum to avoid becoming the focus of international pressure, but not enough to really change North Korean policy.

◆ Ooooops! Next shoe drops in Google’s controversy over women in tech, and that shoe is polished with irony:

Google’s international competition for computer coders–“Google Code Jam”–has all-male finalists for 14th year in row (Daily Caller)

Google uses the event to identify candidates for potential employment, recruiting tech wizards from all over the world—from the Philippines and Japan, all the way over to Russia, Sweden, and across the ocean to Latin America and the United States….

Every year, tens of thousands of would-be programming masters sign up for the competition—solving programming puzzles in record time. Only the best of the best make it to the final stage…..

Based on merit alone, the Code Jam does not make any considerations to contestants’ race, gender, political affiliation, or social status. It’s a test of pure skill. –Daily Caller

Comment: One of the great achievements of the Enlightenment was the shift in how people are selected for top jobs and prizes–away from status and caste (are you an aristocrat? a member of the dominant race or religion?) and toward merit-based selection.

That achievement is now being challenged without intellectual clarity. That is, some favor affirmative action because it will “level the playing field” and so allow true merit to shine. Others think of it as a benefit that is owed to groups formerly discriminated again; that approach is inherently opposed to merit-based selection. So is retaining preferences well into a person’s career, by which time merit should have already been apparent.

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ZipDialog Roundup for Friday, August 11

By Charles Lipson
Friday, August 11, 2017 0 Arts and Culture, Donald Trump, Feel Good Story of the Day, Identity Politics, Kim Jong Un, Mitch McConnell, North Korea, Obama Administration, Political Correctness, Senate, Social Commentary, Sports, Trump Tweets, US foreign policy, ZipDialog Roundup of News Beyond the Front Page Susan Rice Permalink 0

Articles chosen with care. Your comments welcomed.
Linked articles in bold purple

◆ Best story of the Day: Tim Tebow stops warming up to shake hands with an autistic child, then walks to the plate and hits a home run (Fox News)

“And then Tim hit the homer. I started crying, too. How does that happen? I think God brought Seth and Tim together.” –Fox News

◆ Susan Rice op-ed on North Korea: “History shows that we can, if we must, tolerate nuclear weapons in North Korea” (New York Times)

Most amusing response: Cheryl K. Chumley

[Rice’s] opinion piece in the New York Times is titled, “It’s Not Too Late on North Korea.” A better title, though, is this: “Why America’s So Happy Barack Obama’s Gone.”

Delusion is her middle name. Rice was the lady, after all, who kept trying to sell America, post-Sept. 11, 2012, fatal attack on America’s compound in Benghazi, that the radical Muslim uprising that left U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stephens and three other brave U.S. officials dead was due to a 14-minute YouTube video on the truths of Islam. Delusion then, delusion now. –Chumley in the Washington Times (link here)

◆ Trump jabs at Mitch McConnell’s inability to get legislation through the Senate (New York Times)

◆ Trump says it his own way:

Comment: Washington insiders are appalled. I am not.

They ask: How can two leaders from the same party fight? After all, they note, Harry Reid did whatever President Obama asked and, if he needed to blow up the Senate to do it, he did.

My view: Trump’s prodding of McConnell is perfectly reasonable for two reasons.

First, the American system, as designed by Madison and the Founders, hinges on the separation of the Congress and President. The presumption was–and is–that they have institutional stakes in preserving their own separate powers. If either could monopolize power, the path to tyranny would be open, or so the Founders thought. With that logic in mind, we should expect–indeed, we should desire–some clashes between the Executive and Legislative. The trouble, really, has been its steady erosion of this separation by an increasingly powerful presidency, as well as the growth of a poorly-controlled fourth branch of government, federal bureaucracies.

Second, Trump is right in highlighting the Senate’s inaction and hypocrisy. They voted for big items like “repeal and replace” only when they knew Pres. Obama would veto the bill. When they finally had a president who would sign the bill, they seized up. Trump did not ram a particular healthcare bill down their throats. Congress was largely free to write the bill by themselves. And they failed.

If they think voters aren’t furious about this mess, they are sadly mistaken. I share that disgust.

◆ Writing Conference Canceled Because Of Too Many White People (Daily Caller and Minneapolis Star-Tribune)

The organizers of the Loft Literary Center’s conference, aimed at teaching people how to write young adult novels, scrapped their plans when they learned that all the speakers but one were white, reports the [Minneapolis] Star Tribune.

“We have set a goal for ourselves to be inclusive and to work toward equity, and we didn’t think the conference would live up to that mission,” Britt Udesen, executive director of the Loft, said Wednesday. “We made a mistake.” –Daily Caller

Comment: Makes perfect sense. Why in the world would you want to teach people to write novels after the horrifying discovery that the teachers were white?

No, it is far better to cancel this abomination and toss the students out onto an ice flow.

But that is not sufficient. Are the organizers to waltz away scot-free? Nay, I say.

They should be sent to labor in the rice fields and learn wisdom and humility from the peasantry. Only then will our Cultural Revolution be complete.

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Fancy Names for Left-Wing Anti-Semitism (my latest at Real Clear Politics)

By Charles Lipson
Tuesday, June 27, 2017 0 Anti-Semitism, BDS Boycott, Chicago and Illinois, Free Speech, Gay LGBTQ, Gay Politics, Israel, Palestinians, Political Correctness, Progressive Activism Chicago Gay Pride, Dyke March Permalink 0
The celebrations in this weekend’s Chicago Gay Pride festival were marred by one mean-spirited moment. The organizers of the “Dyke March” blocked Jewish women from participating because they carried a gay-pride banner that included a Star of David.

“It made us feel unsafe,” the organizers actually said, before launching into their rant against Israel and those who support it.)

This episode is not only noxious in its own right, it highlights several problems that are now pervasive on the left and increasingly pollute America’s public life.

The most important is the growing public expression of anti-Semitism, much of it fueled by the strange alliance between progressives (such as the Dyke March organizers) and rabid anti-Israel activists, led by Palestinians.

In this column (link here), I

explain the logic behind this alliance,

decode the fancy words used to hold it together (such as “intersectionality”), and

highlight their penchant for suppressing dissent rather than engaging it.

These larger problems deserve exposure.

They deserve censure, too, when they violate our democratic norms of tolerance, free speech, and open debate. That’s what this column does.

To continuing reading at Real Clear Politics, click here.
An Islamic Terrorist by Any Other Name: My Latest at Real Clear Politics

By Charles Lipson
Monday, June 12, 2017 1 Islamic terrorism, Political Correctness, Real Clear Politics Clear language, Plain language Permalink 1

My latest article at Real Clear Politics is here (link)

What should we call the vile killers of London, Manchester, Fort Hood, Boston, Nice, and Paris?

For years, our leading politicians have danced gingerly around that question, preferring to call them simply “terrorists.” No modifiers.

That, I think, is not only an evasion.

It blocks a serious, honest discussion of the problem and the best ways to stop it and stop the killing of innocents.

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Our language needs to distinguish clearly between those who murder in the name of Islam and those who follow the same religion peacefully.

Terms like Islamist, jihadi, Muslim extremist, or Muslim terrorist do distinguish. They are clear, accurate, and not overly broad.

They properly underscore the terrorists’ motives. They rightly exclude peaceful, law-abiding Muslims.

That separation is crucial because the fight to stop Islamic terror cannot be won without support from Muslim communities across Europe and North America.

It cannot be won with evasions and half-truths, either.

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To read the full op-ed at Real Clear Politic, click here
The Language Police Troll Me After the London Attacks. Here is My Response

By Charles Lipson
Sunday, June 4, 2017 3comments Al Qaeda and affiliates, ISIS, Islamic terrorism, PC Language Police, Political Correctness, Terrorism in Europe, Terrorism in US homeland No tags Permalink 0
After my plain-langue posts on the London attacks, the language police tried to collar me with a Citizens Arrest.

Here’s the comment, in its full glory.

Stop saying “Islamist”. It’s a made-up, racist term only used for hate. Usually by hateful, right-wing “Christist” bigots, but sometimes by “Judeists”, too.

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Why did I refuse to approve this comment?

I like dialog. I put it in the blog name for a reason.

I like intelligent, reasoned views, whether I agree with them or not.

I loathe ad hominem attacks.

I loathe moral poseurs, virtue signaling and trying to shut down arguments simply by saying “you are wrong,” “you are hateful,” etc.

This comment fell firmly into the “I loathe” category.

I wouldn’t stop them from broadcasting their views.

But I won’t publish them as a “comment,” either. Set up their own “language police” page, if they wish.

They don’t add to the discussion on ZipDialog. They attempt to shut it down

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ZipDialog Roundup for Sunday, June 4

By Charles Lipson
Sunday, June 4, 2017 0 Bad News in Higher Education, Britain, Campus Crazies, China, Chinese security and military, College Witch Hunts, Europe, Healthcare, Higher education, Homeland Security, Identity Politics, Islamic terrorism, Japan, Media and Reporting, Media Bias, Mitch McConnell, North Korea, Political Correctness, Progressive Activism, Race Relations, Religion, Republican Party, Sports, Surveillance, Taxes, Terrorism in Europe, US foreign policy, ZipDialog Roundup of News Beyond the Front Page No tags Permalink 0

Articles chosen with care. Comments welcomed. Linked articles in bold purple

◆ England’s third major terror attack in 10 weeks raises fundamental questions about how to prevent these assaults

Comment: Kudos to the London police for their immediate response. It was swift, sure, and effective. 8 minutes from first incident to squads arriving in force. Their swift action prevented countless additional casualties.

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The problem is how to prevent these attacks, both in the short run (surveillance, arrests, etc.) and long run (tougher restrictions on immigration and rethinking the obvious failure to integrate the communities into the liberal west).

All Europe is facing a high threat from Islamic extremists, many (like the Manchester bomber) born in the very Western countries they are terrorizing.

As ISIS is squeezed abroad, they will try to revive their organization by killing in Europe.

Ordinary Europeans will refuse to live in perpetual terror and demand answers from their failing political leaders.

◆ US media reported the London attack, wall-to-wall, but buried one aspect of the story. Any guesses? You are correct.

I explain the MSM’s fecklessness, and illustrate it concretely, in a separate post, here. I call it PC BS.

◆ In happier news, one of baseball’s all-time greats, Albert Pujols become the 9th player to hit 600 homers. (ESPN) The cherry on top: it was a grand slam. Another cherry: it comes in the post-steroid era. His head and arms actually look human.

◆ Japan holds evacuation drills as North Korea’s nuclear program advances (Reuters)

Comment: The Japanese navy is also conducting joint exercises with the US fleet.

My sense is that the Chinese are playing rope-a-dope, doing a little to slow down Pyongyang but not nearly enough. That is simply unsustainable for the US and Japan.

◆ Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell hopeful on tax cuts, less so on healthcare (Reuters)

Comment: Tax reform is essential, and the Republicans know it, not just for the economy but for their reelection.

On healthcare, the pressure in late autumn, when next year’s premium notices go out, will be enormous. Obamacare is melting down, and that means suffering. The Republicans will point at Obama and the D’s. But that won’t cut it. People elected the R’s to fix it.

◆ California progressives really, really want single-payer, and they want their state to provide it. (Fortune)

The state Senate, with a big Democratic majority, passed it easily. They skipped over the pesky problem of paying for it. (Honestly, they did absolutely nothing about funding it.)

How expensive would it be? $400 billion. That’s huge. More than twice as big as the entire state budget today.

No one knows if the State Assembly will pass it or if Gov. Jerry Brown will sign it.

Naturally, they would need to heft tax hikes to pay for it, but economic studies show there is still a big shortfall. (ABC News)

Comment: The leading Democratic contender for Governor, Gavin Newsom (former mayor of S.F.), put on his tin-foil hat and strongly backed the single-payer plan.

◆ Another “can you top this” in college crazies: Black students at Evergreen State U. in Olympia, WA, demand all white people leave the campus for a day. (Washington Post)

Their demands managed to close the entire school for a day.

For some reason, not everyone thought this white-leave-campus thing was a good idea.

One long-time progressive, Prof. Bret Weinstein, did not favor it. And he didn’t like the students’ demands that new academic hires deemphasize academic ability and focus on race/gender/undocumented/social justice/etc.

As you can imagine, those opposed to Weinstein were not looking for a debate.

The were looking for blood.

In fact, the other professors at Evergreen State also turned on Weinstein. (National Review Online)

It’s so nasty, so crazy that even the NYT’s Frank Bruni writes a column against it. Naturally, he begins by condemning the US, thus establishing his bona fides as a morally superior person, but he still doesn’t like the ideas out in Olympia. It’s a strong column–and one the NYT readership needed to see.

There are names for people like Frank Bruni. Fascist. Racist. Sexist. Columnist.

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♥ Hat Tip for helpful suggestions:
◆ Richard Siegler and Tom Wyckoff for the Frank Bruni column.
London attacks: Media buries the religious motivations. It’s just “terrorism” of some sort

By Charles Lipson
Sunday, June 4, 2017 0 Fair Media, Media and Reporting, Media Bias, New York Times, Political Correctness, Washington Post No tags Permalink 0

First, some background.

News organizations can bury entire stories or part of them.

That’s not always bad. It may represent solid news judgment that the story or some part of it does not deserve much coverage.

Too often, though, it represents news bias, in effect editorializing by downplaying what is really significant.

The reverse also happens. The media can overplay or hype stories, as when CNN played the “lost Malaysian airliner” story for weeks on end.

To consume news intelligently, it helps to look for these biases, which nudge you in one direction or another.

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I had a hunch that would happen with the London Bridge attack. The story itself is huge news.

What I wanted to know was whether the major news organizations would downplay the religious fury behind the attacks, which was known almost immediately.

Here’s the answer.

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New York Times lead story is here. At the bottom of paragraph 8, the Times slips this in:

The police treated that attack, in which 50 were injured, as “Islamist-related terrorism.” –NYT

That is the first mention of any motivation.

The Times mentions a related point in the 10th paragraph.

Then, way, way down in the story, it quotes an eyewitness telling the BBC the terrorists were shouting: “This is for Allah.” (I understand eyewitness testimony may not be accurate so you might be cautious about that in the early going. Turns out there were several witnesses and the motivations were not in doubt–except to the NYT and its readers.)

And that’s it. Two mentions of Islamic radicalism in the entire story, both in lower paragraphs. That’s the only context the give for this story, other than saying it is “terrorism.”

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NBC News, predictably, skips all mention of the Islamist motivations until it includes the quote, “This is for Allah,” in paragraph 9. The story makes no other mention of the apparent religious motivation of the attackers. None.

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SHAMEFUL: The Washington Post tops ’em, an impressive feat. Their lead story has no mention of Islamic terrorism at all, and only one glancing mention of that “This is for Allah” quotation somewhere around paragraph 30! (I confess I gave up counting somewhere after paragraph 20.)

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Fox News also mentioned the ubiquitous quotation in para. 9, but it did something the others did not. It added further information immediately.

Witnesses told Sky News and the BBC that the attackers shouted “This is for Allah.”

The attacks came just over two months after the car-and-knife attack at British Parliament and less than two weeks after the suicide bombing at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester that killed 22 people. Britain just recently lowered its official terror threat from “critical.”

The threats targeting Europe have been among the worst that American intelligence officials have seen in a decade, a U.S. government official told Fox News. Both London Mayor Sadiq Khan and U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert described the attacks as “cowardly.” –Fox News

Notice that the Allah quote is now attributed to several witnesses, not one. That’s important confirmation. Second, it notes that this attack comes after two other recent terrorist attacks, though it refrains from calling them “Islamic terrorism.”

Finally, Fox features another major story on its front web page, devoted to their larger meaning of this string of attacks, calling them a “bellweather of assaults on Western civilization.”

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My conclusion is straightforward.

The MSM, like European politicians, does not want to report awkward facts than undermine their political preferences.

If they can’t bury the whole story, they at least bury those inconvenient truths.

My view: Put your political preferences on your editorial pages. Report the news and the crucial context, and cut the PC BS.
A two-fer: Smacking down PC Language AND Kathy Griffin

By Charles Lipson
Saturday, June 3, 2017 0 Humor, Political Correctness, Post of the Day Cultural Appropriation, Kathy Griffin Permalink 1
ZipDialog Roundup for Thursday, May 25

By Charles Lipson
Thursday, May 25, 2017 0 Britain, China, Chinese security and military, Donald Trump, Election 2016, Europe, Health Insurance, Immigrant Crime, Immigration from Middle East and North Africa, Intelligence agencies, ISIS, Islamic terrorism, NATO, Obamacare and Repeal-Replace, Political Correctness, Russia, Surveillance, Terrorism in Europe, Trump-Russia Investigation, US Constitution, US Healthcare System, ZipDialog Roundup of News Beyond the Front Page Circa, Congressional Budget Office, Mike Flynn, Paul Manafort Permalink 0

Articles chosen with care. Comments welcomed. Linked articles in bold purple

◆ Now, the Brits are hunting in Libya for some members of the Manchester terror cell.

They’ve already made a half-dozen arrests, including the bomber’s brother, in the UK (New York Times)

Officials were looking into reports that people who knew Mr. Abedi — including an imam at his mosque — had contacted the authorities as early as 2015 with concerns that he may have been recruited by extremists. –New York Times

Comment: The police, overwhelmed with tips, sometimes drop the ball. That’s always disturbing, but it would be more disturbing if they shied away for PC reasons. That’s been a problem for UK police. Here, for example, is the Manchester police apologizing for a 2016 training exercise that resembled an Islamist attack.

◆ Meanwhile, UK officials are furious that the NYT published secret information about the crime (BBC) The UK had shared it with the US. The Brits believes the leakers were US police, not the White House.

◆ Circa’s John Solomon and Sara Carter running circles around the MSM, this time on Obama Administration illegal spying on Americans

How bad was it? Bad enough that the lap dog FISA court judges were infuriated by the deceit and illegal action.

◆ Congressional Budget Office says Trump-Ryan health plan will be budget neutral but leave 23 million more uninsured over a decade (Associated Press)

The report said older people with lower income would disproportionately lose coverage. Over half of those becoming uninsured, 14 million people, would come from the bill’s $834 billion in cuts to Medicaid, which provides health coverage to poor and disabled people, over 10 years. –AP

Comment: These numbers are disturbing but it compares this bill to Obamacare on the assumption that the ACA will survive. It won’t. It’s melting down and to save it would cost trillions.

◆ Mike Flynn has clammed up, but Paul Manafort has given Congressional investigators his documents related to Russian contacts (Washington Post)

◆ Richard Friedman on NATO’s purpose today (ZipDialog post)

◆ Who controls the South China Sea? China claims it, but it is an international waterway, and the US ensures it. The US navy sends occasional ships through to make sure it is open. Now, the US navy is conducting its first such operation of the Trump presidency. (CNN)

◆ Today in PC lunacy: White women’s burrito shop is forced to close after being hounded with accusations it was ‘culturally appropriating Mexican food and jobs’ (Daily Mail) In Portland, naturally.

Comment: The city will give up Hindu-Arabic numerals when they discover they were invented in South Asia in the 6th or 7th century and stolen from those poor folks. (Britannica)

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♥ Hat Tip for helpful suggestions:
◆ Fred Lawson for the Manchester police apology
◆ Tim Favero and Tom Elia for the burrito story; they clearly know me!
ZipDialog Roundup for Tuesday, May 23

By Charles Lipson
Tuesday, May 23, 2017 0 Anti-Semitism, Anti-Semitism on Campus, Bad News in Higher Education, Betsy DeVos, Britain, Campus Crazies, Chicago and Illinois, College Witch Hunts, Donald Trump, Good News in Higher Ed, Higher education, Immigrant Crime, Immigration, Immigration from Middle East and North Africa, Islamic terrorism, K-12 Education, PC Language Police, Political Correctness, Race Relations, Robotics, School Choice, Charters, and Vouchers, Terrorism in Europe, ZipDialog Roundup of News Beyond the Front Page Dartmouth, Duke, Manchester Terror Attack Permalink 0

Articles chosen with care. Comments welcomed. Linked articles in bold purple

◆ My comment on the vile terror bombing in Manchester is posted separately (here).

May the innocents rest in peace.

May the wounded recover fully, in body and mind.

May the police be safe as they root out the terrorists who prepared and executed this heinous act.

These prayers have been said far too many times. And we fear this will not be the last time.

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

◆ Academic malpractice: Highly-esteemed professor at Duke Divinity School resigns after being attacked for not attending the university’s re-education and training camp for diversity.

The story is here at The Weekly Standard.

When Prof. Paul Griffiths refused to attend the “Racial Equity Institute Phase I Training” (it must have been named by Orwell) and explained his reasons, the Dean of the Divinity school attacked with full fury. According to Griffiths, Dean Elaine Heath

initiates financial and administrative reprisals against Griffiths. Those reprisals ban him from faculty meetings, and, thereby, from voting in faculty affairs; and promise (contra the conditions stated in his letter of appointment) to ban him from future access to research or travel funds. –The Weekly Standard

The faculty member who runs the re-education and peasant labor camp “launched her own disciplinary proceeding against Griffiths with Duke’s Office of Institutional Equity (OIE).”

Griffiths’ refusal to attend and his explanation made her workplace “hostile,” naturally. If the PC deans and faculty had their way, Griffiths would be sent to the countryside to plant and harvest rice and learn from the honest peasants.

The article concludes with a powerful comment by the author, Charlotte Allen:

It’s hard to figure out what’s more appalling about this episode: the ease with which powerful faculty members can strip their colleagues of their ability to do their jobs just because those colleagues exercise free speech and don’t sign on to their ideological priorities—or the increasing power of bloated university bureaucracies, especially “diversity” bureaucracies over every facet of existence at a university that is supposed to be devoted to the life of the mind. –Charlotte Allen in The Weekly Standard

Peter Berkowitz, another acute observer of academic follies, has an excellent piece on this Duke fiasco at the Wall Street Journal.

Comment: Shame on Duke, a school repeatedly cloaked in politically-motivated misdeeds. They seem to learn nothing from their mistakes.

Bravo to Paul Griffiths, distinguished professor of Catholic theology, who deserves a badge for his intellectual courage. I hope he retains counsel and goes after the malefactors.

◆ At Dartmouth, somewhat better news

First the bad news: the university selected as its new dean of the faculty a professor (N. Bruce Duthu) who helped lead his professional association to boycott and sanction all Israeli universities and the professors who work there.

This sort of thing passes virtually unnoticed among university administrators, who probably missed it when they reviewed Duthu’s qualifications.

But outside the ivied walls, people did notice it. The university defended him, said he was a swell fellow, and, after some hesitation, he eventually said he had changed his mind about boycotting and sanctioning everything from Israel.

The good news: after national publicity about his anti-Israel views, Duthu has decided that he shouldn’t take accept the Deanship after all.

Here’s the story at the Observer.

Comment: Kudos to Paul Miller and Haym Salomon Center for publicizing Duthu’s role in the BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanction) movement. Ultimately, what Prof. Duthu did behind closed academic doors couldn’t be justified to a larger audience of Dartmouth faculty, alums, trustees, donors, and others.

◆ World’s first operational robot-cop has started work in Dubai. They want them to make up about 1/3 of their police force by 2030. (Daily Mirror, UK)

Fox News also has a report:

The Robocop, five feet five inches tall and weighing 220 pounds, speaks six languages and reads facial expressions.

“He can chat and interact, respond to public queries, shake hands and offer a military salute,” Brigadier-General Khalid Nasser Al Razzouqi, Director-General of Smart Services with the Dubai Police told the Mirror.

Residents can use the Robocop to pay fines or report crimes, and it also can transmit and receive messages from police headquarters. –Fox News

◆ Chicago clinches spot as great food city: America’s first Nutella Cafe to open in City of Big Stomachs next week (Chicago Eater)

◆ Metaphor alert: Huge sinkhole forms near Trump’s Mar-A-Lago (Forbes)

◆ The headlines about Betsy DeVos’ speech focused on her promise that “more school choice is coming.” That’s big, if vague.

But she said something equally important: education should not be run from Washington (USA Today)

Comment: Exactly right, she, Trump, and the Republicans are beginning to turn around decades of increasing centralization of educational decisionmaking in DC.

Washington can help by allowing all kinds of experimentation. Let cities and states figure out what works and what fits best in different locales.

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