Welcome back to Laura's Links, and to a whole new crop of stories, essays and ideas for your consideration. There was a lot of terrible and heartbreaking news from America over the weekend. I'm sure you've all read it, so I won't be linking to those stories. There is clearly a mental health component to these mass shootings, and certainly in most countries mental health is inadequately understood and supported. I think there is an even deeper spiritual component to much of this as well, a generalized and dangerous decline in reverence for human life and for the sanctity of life. Do spare a prayer, an extra good deed, an extra act of kindness for those around you at this time and all times, as we humans continue to muddle through days filled with the tragic, unfathomable and inexplicable mixed in with the mundane and the good.
Some really good news this week is buried so cleverly and craftily inside the eighth installment of Mark's reading of Jerome K Jerome's Three Men and a Boat. Speaking of good news, the great prophet himself, Mark Steyn, PBUH (Pocket squares Be Upon Him), made his triumphant return to American telly this week, and will be on Canadian radio tomorrow. All is right in the world again.
Now let's begin!
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Jews and Israel:
Better late than never? Alfred Dreyfus may be posthumously promoted a mere 120 years after his trial.
Ancestry digitizes Holocaust records.
A peek at the utter corruption at the UN's Palestine Agency. Imagine my surprised face. More about it here. And an excellent comment from Ruthie Blum here. Can you believe it? Jew-hating Europeans spending Western taxpayers' money on Palestinian terrorists turn out to be amoral scumbags. Shocking!
Some insight into why activists and intellectuals hate Jews. I mean WHOOPS, Israel.
Meanwhile, analyst says Trump is the most pro-Israel President since Truman. Worst anti-Semite ever, ever EVAH EVAH.
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North America:
Al Sharpton is not a lifelong fighter for justice. This is really good essay and the lede is killer. This is something that goes into my growing "uchhhhhh, how I wish I had thought of that first" file... Per Seth Mandel: "President Trump has perfected the art of the undorsement, the ability to get his opponents to beatify whoever and whatever he denigrates. Whether a first-term congresswoman, a quarterback or the city of Baltimore, #resistance to his targeting is futile." So good!
Gilette loses 8 BILLION following their woke commercials. The CEO says it's like totally worth it, you know?!?! No doubt shareholders agree...
Higher education is full of morons, and many young people who borrow and waste money on useless degrees. Behold, the new "academic" field of Marijuana Studies. Do you think the course fees covers snacks, too? 'Coz I hear you can really get the munchies with this stuff.
Bill "Zero Percent Popularity" de Blasio makes a planeload of travellers wait on tarmac because of an appearance on The View.
Parks Canada celebrates cultural diversity.
A strange twist in the Jeffrey Epstein tale, but nobody's spermfit, right?
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Europe:
Dear Rabbi, don't hide, just pack your bags. Jews have got to leave Europe with suitcases while they can and not in coffins.
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United Kingdom:
Diversity of human bowel movements and urinary habits celebrated in London, England.
The wonderful Douglas Murray tears the Duke and Duchess of Woke a new one. It's savage. I love it. Read the whole thing. Her Majesty must be freaking out trying to figure out how to reel these two in.
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Free Speech, Wokestapo, Social Media Mobsters and General Insanity of the Left:
Bill Maher: all the left needs to do to win is not be crazy, and they are screwing that up.
The great Douglas Murray says society cannot be run by Twitter mobs. Endorsed.
From the "trans issues are kryptonite to normal thinking" file, Mario Lopez cancelled. A British PhD student is to be investigated for "transphobia". The Yaniv case shows how "human rights" tribunals undermine those they should serve (I say they should cease to exist).
Comrade, you're triggering me!
The war on babies and motherhood.
VDH on Woke Racism.
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Human Grace and Miscellany:
Miracle baby born in Iowa weighing 13 ounces. We say baby, they say clump of cells.
When goats are more tolerant than humans but parents brush off the haters.
Jon Voight's message for America.
Couple keeps six siblings together by adopting them all.
Great news! I found my spirit animal.
Lastly, hey buddy - I'll be your friend, too. Good kid. Good breeding. Well raised.
Now comment away!
As always, Laura's given us lots to chew on. Remember her weekly feature also serves as our open thread, wherein we suspend the "no going off-topic" rule of commenting. Have at it, but be civil and, as always, avoid excessive linkage (we leave that to the pros like Laura.) Commenting is, of course, one of the many benefits of membership in the Mark Steyn Club. If you enjoy the camaraderie and revelry of the comment section, you'll love the annual Mark Steyn Cruise. Our sold-out voyage to Alaska sets sail in just a few weeks, though we're still taking bookings on next year's Mediterranean confab. You can get all the details you need here.
