Former Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) started researching how to interact with people with narcissistic personality disorder after President Trump's win in 2016, a new book by journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa reportedly reveals.

Business Insider obtained a copy of their book, "Peril," and reported that Ryan was caught off guard by Trump's win against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. But, realizing that he was going to need to work with Trump and since the GOP control both the House and the Senate, Ryan started to research how to work with someone "amoral and transactional," according to the book.

Ryan was also reportedly told by a wealthy doctor, a Republican donor, that he needed "to understand what narcissistic personality disorder is." The doctor explained his "thoughts on how to best deal with a person with anti-social personality disorder" in an email, with links to articles and information about the disorder, according to the book.

"Ryan studied them for weeks, convinced Trump had the personality disorder," Woodward and Costa write.

https://thehill.com/homenews/news/572531-paul-ryan-researched-narcissistic-personality-disorder-after-trump-win-book

Simon was discovered in March 1948 poking around the docks of Stonecutters Island in Hong Kong. Thought to be about a year old, the scrawny black and white tomcat was scrounging for food when a British sailor spotted him. Seventeen-year-old Ordinary Seaman George Hickinbottom decided a cat was just what the ship needed to get rid of its rats. The rodent infestation posed risks to onboard foodstuffs—and to the crew’s overall health. So George tucked Simon inside his jacket, smuggled him aboard the Amethyst, and hid the tomcat in his cabin.

In April 1949, the Amethyst was ordered to sail up the Yangtze River from Shanghai to Nanking, then relieve the HMS Consort of her duties. China was in the midst of a bloody civil war between the communist insurgents of Mao Tse Tung’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the ruling nationalist (or Kuomintang) Party of Chiang Kai-shek, and the Consort was long overdue for relief, having guarded the British Embassy for some time in case Mao’s army took the city and forced an embassy evacuation.

Because Britain had not taken a side in the Chinese conflict, no trouble was expected, and British officials believed the Amethyst could reach Nanking before the cease-fire ended. But, on the morning of April 20, the Amethyst was still about 60 miles from the city when communist fire resumed from the north shore. Explosions rocked the ship, with the bridge, wheelhouse and low power room hit first. In all, the ship sustained more than 50 hits. Nineteen men, including its captain, were killed in the April 20 attack; 27 more were wounded. Eventually, the Amethyst took shelter in a creek a little way upstream. Negotiations with the communists soon began for the release of the stricken, cornered Amethyst and its crew.

Where was Simon during the chaos and carnage? No one knows for sure, but when the shelling began, he likely was in the captain’s cabin curled up in his cap. A Chinese shell blasted a huge hole in the nearby bulkhead, and four shards of shrapnel hit the defenseless cat in the back and legs as he bolted or was thrown by the force of the explosion. Simon’s face was also burned, and his whiskers and eyebrows singed. The stunned cat apparently crawled into a corner, out of the way, and passed out.

https://time.com/5396568/simon-cat-war-medal/?xid=tcoshare

I love cold war history & just learned about it so wanted to share it. MIT has a great article about it but a paywall so here is another:

In the early days of the Space Race, the Soviet Union was making bold moves putting itself far ahead of the United States. With the successful launch of the first satellite—Sputnik 1—in October of 1957 followed up by the launching of the first animal into Earth orbit a month later—Sputnik 2—the United States was in trouble of falling further and further behind with each successful Russian launch.

However, an opportunity in late 1959 presented itself that the United States government could not resist. The Soviet Union, flexing its muscle for the world, put on a traveling exhibition of its hardware and vehicles that included the Sputnik and Lunik satellites. American operatives gathered whatever limited intelligence they could throughout the exhibition, but it was determined that a closer look was needed at the Lunik satellite and its launching vehicle.

After a bit of reconnaissance, a plan was devised. Like something out of Ocean’s 11 (or 8 depending which Ocean you prefer) CIA operatives decided that they were going to “kidnap” the Lunik on its route from one destination to the next. The plan was simple enough, hijack the truck carrying the satellite, pull it over to a nondescript location, dissect it, then return it back to the tour the next day before the Soviets ever found out.

The whole plan was recounted by Sydney Wesley Finer in redacted CIA documents made public in 1967. In those documents, CIA operatives determined the most opportune moment to hijack the satellite. On a particularly non-descript evening, the Lunik, packed in a crate 20 feet long, 11 feet wide, and 14 feet deep, was loaded onto a truck to make the trek to the next location on the tour. Shortly after leaving the fairgrounds, when it was determined the coast was clear, disguised CIA agents pulled the truck over, switched drivers (escorting the original Russian driver to a local motel) and took the now hijacked satellite to a local salvage yard, they had rented for the occasion.

https://www.ripleys.com/weird-news/satellite-hijack/

Big Stick diplomacy was used from about 1901 to get our way with other countries, mostly with South & Central America. It worked to a degree but left countries damaged, both politically & economically. Fast forward to 2001 & the Big Stick diplomacy mutated, bypassing the carefully mediated negotiations & went right for the big stick.

We have been using that mutated version for the last 2 decades, it doesn't work, it never will work. Carrot diplomacy will but its too late for US. China, Arab Emirates & other will use the carrot to do their version of nation building & I hope it works out for both them & Afghanistan.

https://twitter.com/spann/status/1432012347468615683

JERUSALEM—The massive surge of COVID-19 infections in Israel, one of the most vaccinated countries on earth, is pointing to a complicated path ahead for America.

In June, there were several days with zero new COVID infections in Israel. The country launched its national vaccination campaign in December last year and has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, with 80 percent of citizens above the age of 12 fully inoculated. COVID, most Israelis thought, had been defeated. All restrictions were lifted and Israelis went back to crowded partying and praying in mask-free venues.

Fast forward two months later: Israel reported 9,831 new diagnosed cases on Tuesday, a hairbreadth away from the worst daily figure ever recorded in the country—10,000—at the peak of the third wave. More than 350 people have died of the disease in the first three weeks of August. In a Sunday press conference, the directors of seven public hospitals announced that they could no longer admit any coronavirus patients. With 670 COVID-19 patients requiring critical care, their wards are overflowing and staff are at breaking point.

“I don’t want to frighten you,” coronavirus czar Dr. Salman Zarka told the Israeli parliament this week. “But this is the data. Unfortunately, the numbers don’t lie.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/ultra-vaccinated-israels-debacle-is-a-dire-warning-to-america

Grocery-store chains are still battling supply challenges that some executives said are as bad as what they saw in spring 2020, when hoarding left holes in stocks of some staples.

Industry executives say new problems are arising weekly, driven by shortages of labor and raw materials. Groceries including frozen waffles and beverages remain scarce as some food companies anticipate disruptions lasting into 2022. A wider range of products is running short and logistical challenges are compounding for many retailers.

Donny Rouse, chief executive of Louisiana-based Rouses Markets, said he is struggling to fill shelves as his company runs low on everything from pet food to canned goods. The chain of more than 60 supermarkets is sometimes receiving as little as 40% of what it orders, prompting Mr. Rouse and his staff to try to secure products earlier and more often. Before the pandemic, Rouses received well over 90% of its orders.

“It is difficult for customers to get everything they want to get,” said Mr. Rouse, grandson of the chain’s founder.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-you-cant-find-everything-you-want-at-grocery-stores-11629633601

Let me take a moment to thank all the hard workers who produce our food, staff the stores, warehouses, shipping, without them we would be FUBAR.

I stole that quote from a friend, she is much more clever than I.

@matthewjdowd
on this day in 1619, slaves were first brought to America: 20 or so Angolans, kidnapped by the Portuguese, arrive in the British colony of Virginia; then bought by English colonists. This marks beginning of centuries of slavery in N. America. Let us know all our history.

https://twitter.com/matthewjdowd/status/1428679775795781636

https://twitter.com/tomiahonen/status/1428427184536969224

Donald Trump released 5,000 Taliban warriors & Mullah Baradar from prison. Baradar is now ruler of Afghanistan

New meaning for MAGA

MAGA = Make Afghanistan Great Again