Trump Bible denounced from pulpit
“Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s,
and unto God the things that are God’s”. – Jesus
Pastor Loran Livingston of Charlotte North Carolina is going viral for his comments about the Trump Bible.
MSNBC:
This one I think is a little longer, almost 4 minutes, and is probably popcorn-worthy on its own, although I don’t think I could watch a whole hour of this.
This is probably what it would sound like if Crowsnest decided to come to Jesus.
BTW, “of the people, by the people, for the people” is not the constitution, it is Abraham Lincoln.
Blinken and Romney at the McCain Institute
The comment about TikTok is being retweeted by Islamists, but this might be worth watching in its entirety. These are some smart people and they are not going to dumb it down when they are talking to each other. There is also a two and a half hour livestream version, also by Department of State.
The event was organized by Cindy McCain.
“Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken participates in a keynote conversation with U.S. Senator Mitt Romney at the McCain Institute’s 2024 Sedona Forum in Sedona, Arizona, on May 3, 2024.”
Israeli song “Harbu Darbu,” in translation
“Some counterprotesters blared music, including Israel’s national anthem,
a Hebrew children’s song and “Harbu Darbu,” an Israeli song
about the Israel Defense Forces’ campaign in Gaza.”
= https://web.archive.org/web/20240505011603/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/05/03/us/ucla-protests-encampment-violence.html
omg
Townshend’s “Terrorism”: what protesters are reading
In the aftermath of the recent campus occupations, a photograph of items left behind by the protesters included the book Terrorism, a very short introduction, by Charles Townshend.
There was some back and forth on the internet about whether it was legitimate for police to find such a book or to photograph it and comment on it, since it’s supposedly on the syllabus for some course they are offering. I can’t comment on that. I have never brought homework to a protest, not even during finals week, but maybe the zoomers are different. And we don’t know if the book was even left by a student — a lot of the protesters were not students. It might have even been one of the administrators, although it’s even harder to imagine administrators having time to read up on terrorism at work.
But the book was there, and we have pics to prove it, so let’s find the book.
Here it is, at least the first 16 pages. https://books.google.com/books/about/Terrorism.html?id=TVZYDwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0#v=onepage&q&f=false
It starts off slow, trying unsuccessfully to find some common element in modern terrorism, but by page 16 states its thesis: the purpose of terrorism is to shock and awe.
Tracking down the author is a little harder.
The best bet might be British author Charles Townshend, professor emeritus of Keele University. https://www.keele.ac.uk/humanities/ourpeople/charlestownshend/#publications But they list his books up to 2013, why would a book published in 2002 not be in his list of publications. [Now answered, it was part of a “Very Short Introduction” series.]
There was also Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend (1674 – 1738), a British politician who did something with turnips and crop rotation. There was Charles Townshend (1725-1767) another British politician and Chancellor of the Exchequer, of Townshend Acts fame. Oh, here is the disambig page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Townshend_(disambiguation) Still ambiguous tho. This is him, the historian, born 1945. https://viaf.org/viaf/39397357/
Reviews:
- “In particular, his Terrorism. A Very Short Introduction, drawing on this extensive research, has sold widely and been translated into eight other languages. Its broad impact on public discourse and official practice concerning terrorism is demonstrated by its use in the British Government’s CONTEST (counter-terrorism) strategy and in the training of professionals involved with counter-terrorism in the United States.” https://impact.ref.ac.uk/casestudies/CaseStudy.aspx?Id=26412 “Townshend acted as an advisor to the Prevent training programme, providing a crucial historical perspective and highlighting that the greatest hazard inherent in responses to terrorism is the impulse towards imitation, often heightened by official over-reaction. A videoed interview with Townshend was used in training for professionals… The resulting DVD was distributed to universities, and to all local authorities and police authorities in the UK…. The DVD is still used by some police and local authorities and by some universities….” Hint: this is about Daesh/ ISIS. https://youtu.be/Otc2eaRY32s?feature=shared
- Librarything: “This book charts a path through the outpouring of efforts to understand and explain modern terrorism, … It examines the historical, ideological, and local roots of terrorist violence, and the success of specific terrorist and anti-terrorist campaigns in the more distant as well as the recent past.” https://www.librarything.com/work/384879
- a blog: “…an introduction to the history, politics and sociology of terrorism, not a practical how-to guide….rather dull reading…a rather melancholy book. There are two very different kinds of good news one might hope to hear about terrorism: it might sometimes achieve something worthwhile, or it might be possible to stop it happening. Townshend offers little cause for optimism on either front: terrorism seldom achieves anything its perpetrators hope for (for good or evil) but often results in reduced liberty and security for everyone, and much the same can be said about the measures one can take against it…Physically, the book is just like all the others in the Very Short Introduction series…The only other book on terrorism that I own is Robert Pape’s much longer “Dying to Win”. [Wikipedia has an extensive description.] [Preview.] I found Pape’s book more enjoyable…” https://www.mccaughan.org.uk/g/books/terrorism.html
Hmm, “terrorism seldom achieves anything its perpetrators hope for (for good or evil) but often results in reduced liberty and security for everyone.” No wonder they didn’t keep the book.
The lip gloss protester
The lip gloss protester is from Georgia, as in Tbilisi.
She is protesting Russian influence in Georgia.
Code Pink has put her in Palestinian context, for instance watermelon earrings, a symbol of the Palestinian flag.
I have noticed this more and more, that the “Free Palestine” protesters are not really able to articulate what they are protesting about. Sooner or later, someone will “follow the money” and we will know more, for instance who is buying all those tents and abandoning them. Surely they did not think they would be allowed to stay there through commencement ceremonies.
The NYT did a piece a while back about Code Pink’s financial ties with China, there is a non-paywalled thread here
More Tbilisi protest video
A theme song for Christian nationalists?
Ha ha:
“Ironically, said Taylor, the same folks who love ‘How Great Is Our God’” would be aghast if protesters began shouting out ‘Allahu Akbar’ — an Arabic phrase that means the same thing for Muslims.”
I don’t really like this contemporary religious music stuff, but I can understand how ordinary hymns might be difficult to play, especially with modern instruments.
“Twenty years later, the song, co-written by Chris Tomlin, Jesse Reeves and Ed Cash, remains a hit — currently No. 4 on the CCLI worship chart, popular in small groups and stadium worship concerts.
“It’s also become the theme song for Christian nationalists.
“’How Great Is Our God’ was sung by protesters during the Jericho marches that preceded the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and has been a staple at Christian nationalism conferences in recent years. And last week, when MAGA activist and worship leader Sean Feucht stood at the gates of Columbia University to oppose pro-Palestinian protesters and to demand that the school’s president resign, “How Great Is Our God” was on his lips.”
How a beloved worship song became the theme song of Christian nationalism
FWIW, and so you can recognize it in the wild, here it is:
Footnote: According to this, you can add “Our God Reigns” and “[Our God Is an] Awesome God” to the list. See “Our God Is Red Hot — Your God Ain’t Doodley Squat” for some more comment about hymns, Rapture prophets, and support for Israel. (Spoiler: according to this prophecy, we’re supposed to support Israel so the Temple will be rebuilt more quickly, the antichrist will arise, and all the Jews will be destroyed in the End Times.) https://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/2024/05/02/our-god-is-red-hot-your-god-aint-doodley-squat/
Columbia 1968: the Strawberry Statement
In 1968 students occupied some buildings at Columbia college in NY.
Some people are comparing the current demonstrations to that time.
Here is a contemporary account, a few pages of The Strawberry Statement by James S. Kunen, https://digitalcommons.lasalle.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1103&context=vietnamgeneration
- The Strawberry Statement_ Notes of a College Revolutionary (PDF)
This is what he looked like then.
This is what he looks like now.
Note, when the text says someone is “straight”, in 1968 it means they don’t smoke pot. If they have long hair, it probably means they do smoke pot.
Saudi view of Palestine conflict
The U.S. and Saudi Arabia are about to sign a bilateral agreement, mostly about Palestine.
Blinken‘s travels are all over the place, so I didn’t realize how often he was visiting Saudi Arabia, but it looks like they do desire a formalized relationship with Israel, and the Hamas attack ruined their plans.
Here is a column by Tariq Hamid/ Hameed/ al-Hamid/ Al-Homayed (طارق الحميد) in Asharq Al-Awsat, which couldn’t get much closer to the official Saudi viewpoint.
A few things still need to be finalized, reading between the lines, the “final touches” must be about the future existence of Hamas. Bibi will surely want them completely out of the picture, he has sacrificed what little is left of his political career for it. If so, where can they go with their billions.
Will Noel
What do you personally collect?
Recordings of Bach’s Cello Suites.
William Noel (c 1966 – April 29, 2024) (Age 58) was an art historian specializing in the application of digital technologies to manuscript studies.
Someone needs to write this.
ANOTHER UPDATE: Some more official sources. PBS: https://whyy.org/articles/william-noel-obituary-death-philadelphia-librarian-open-data-advocate/ https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2024/05/princeton-news-broadfocus-faculty-librarian-accident-research-scholar-edinburgh-scotland-medieval-studies https://www.hoart.cam.ac.uk/news/department-deeply-regrets-note-death-dr-william-noel-following-road-accident-edinburgh-april-10
Still no Wikipedia article.
UPDATE: The medievalists have weighed in. This has some good links to his articles. https://www.medievalists.net/2024/05/will-noel-passes-away/
Also the Italian department of his former employer. https://italian.sas.upenn.edu/news/2024/05/02/memory-will-noel His wife was Lynn Ransom, probably this one, the PhD manuscript specialist https://wolfhumanities.upenn.edu/fellows/lynn-ransom.
The best profile so far is this from his last employer : https://library.princeton.edu/news/general/2020-01-10/william-noel-appointed-associate-university-librarian-special-collections
Notices from Scotland about the accident
The story is he was a tourist in Edinburgh and was hit by a van on April 10th while walking, later died in the hospital on April 29..
An official notice, as of two hours ago (paywall): https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/renowned-us-historian-dies-after-being-hit-by-van-in-edinburgh-85w7f8qbw
“Renowned US historian dies after being hit by van in Edinburgh. Dr William Noel was recognised by the Obama administration for his work in medieval manuscript studies…”
more from Edinburgh https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/edinburgh-news/edinburgh-pedestrian-58-dies-hospital-29084179 https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/12575338/american-doctor-dies-being-hit-van-edinburgh/
The BBC has now picked up the brief police announcement. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2vw8jnw7xeo
google is now showing his (somewhat sparse) author panel from google books, but with the wrong age
He seems to have been very well known in the medieval manuscript world.
Profiles. bios, social media
lecture series https://www.library.upenn.edu/news/penn-libraries-dr-will-noel- https://centerforthehumanities.org/programming/participants/william-noel
- interview July 2015 https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/fine-books-news/bright-young-librarians-william-noel
- profile Princeton https://marbas.princeton.edu/people/will-noel
- https://library.princeton.edu/news/general/2020-01-10/william-noel-appointed-associate-university-librarian-special-collections
- https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/champions/open-science/william-noel%2C-ph.d.
- https://twitter.com/willnoel
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-noel-2512131/
- lead the Archimedes Palimpsest project.
- TED talk about Archimedes palimpsest project https://www.ted.com/talks/william_noel_revealing_the_lost_codex_of_archimedes?language=en
- book list and short bio https://www.alibris.com/search/books/author/William-Noel?aid=3663651
- https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/noel-william
the lost Archimedes codex
This is the thing he was known for, the ten-year Archimedes project:
the Archimedes codex project: http://www.archimedespalimpsest.org/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archimedes_Palimpsest book https://www.world-archaeology.com/books/archimedes-codex/ google books preview https://books.google.com/books?id=fB8jplaq6WwC&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:%22William+Noel%22&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi2–Th_e-FAxUL4skDHYgUAqsQuwV6BAgEEAg#v=onepage&q&f=false
lecture at Smithsonian https://youtu.be/x-YyhcbKrFo?feature=shared
Profile
Curator of Manuscripts and Rare Books at the Walters Art Museum since 1997
Rare Book School faculty (University of Virginia) 2009 https://rarebookschool.org/2009/faculty/noel_william/
Taught at Johns Hopkins University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Rare Book School (University of Virginia).
University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Associate Vice Provost for External Partnerships, Director of the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, and Director of the Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies.
Directed the ground-breaking digital humanities project: The Digital Archimedes Palimpsest
*Princeton University Library. Associate University Librarian for Special Collections, 2020. https://library.princeton.edu/news/general/2020-01-10/william-noel-appointed-associate-university-librarian-special-collections
Education
B.A. in Art History and a Ph.D. in medieval manuscript studies at Cambridge University. British Academy Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in the Department of History of Art, University of Cambridge;
Honors
White House Open Science Champion of Change award from the Obama administration ( 2013)
Neuman Prize for co-authored book, The Archimedes Codex
Books
The Harley Psalter (1995)
The Oxford Bible Pictures (2004)
The Archimedes Codex: How a Medieval Prayer Book Is Revealing the True Genius of Antiquity’s Greatest Scientist (Neuman Prize)
Authority control
- VIAF ID: 14884360 ( Personal ) http://viaf.org/viaf/14884360
Recording of Bach’s Cello Suites.
Another Hunter Biden lawsuit
It’s raining lawyers.
“A former Secret Service agent sued two news organizations for defamation Tuesday and accused them of publishing stories based on fabricated text messages that he says falsely linked him to Hunter Biden.
“Robert Savage, a 25-year veteran of the U.S. Secret Service and the Special Agent in Charge of the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office from 2015-2017, filed the lawsuits in New York against the New York Post and two of its reporters, and the owner and publisher of the Daily Mail.” https://www.nbcnews.com/investigations/former-secret-service-agent-sues-new-york-post-daily-mail-hunter-biden-rcna150010
Robert Savage is a red link. Is this the guy? https://savageiii.com/lorenzo-robert-savage/
Lorenzo Robert “Rob” Savage III:
Savage’s attorney is Mark Goidell, I suppose this one, “law office of Mark E. Goidell: https://goidell.com/
Gender Desk 