Wednesday Link Roundup - 24 April

Pirate's Cove is first with Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup

13. Moonbattery discusses the Lincoln Center cancelling Mozart
14. Outside The Beltway wonders if a Tik Tok ban is Constitutional

The DaleyGator - Weekend Assortment

Bunkerville loves Passels
Busted Knuckles has a drinking problem? Or a problem drink

Political Hat - News of the Week (April 21st, 2024)

Major 2nd Amendment Victory In California
AUS district court judge in California granted summary judgment against the state’s one-gun-a-month (OGM) law, finding it unconstitutional.

Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 04.22.24

Cafe Hayek: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: “Council of Political Enablers”
CDR Salamander: Israel’s Measured Response
Chicago Boyz: Ukraine, and the World Outside US Borders

EBL - Supreme Court Rule 9-0 in Support of Reverse Discrimination Lawsuits

Instapundit: Leftists freak over 9-0 SCOTUS ruling
AoSHQ: Morning Report 04.19.24

A View from the Porch - Flotsam and Jetsam - DIY Done Come On Tuesday

Baltimore city accuses Dali owners of negligence in Key Bridge disaster
Companies behind cargo ship that destroyed Baltimore’s Key Bridge seek exemption from legal liability – Baltimore Sun

Gates of Vienna - News Feed 4/22/2024

Bill Gates Unveils Plan to Fight ‘Climate Change’ by Targeting Food Supply
Billionaire Bill Gates has unveiled his latest plan to wage war on the food supply as part of an alleged effort to “fight climate change.”

Wombat-socho again - In The Mailbox: 04.23.24

Baldilocks: A Few Changes, Coinages, also, On Payback
BattleSwarm: Texas Election Roundup For April 23
Behind The Black: Voyager-1 back online after software patch works

Vlad Tepes - Australian Senator not only doesn’t want Ozzies to know the truth about the stabbing of an orthodox priest, she wants people who allow it to be known to be jailed: Links 2, April 23, 2024

2. New survey on Islamic attitudes about the West within Germany won’t surprise anyone here. But it’s still worth knowing.
3. Please read Mark Steyn’s column on the fate of the Jewish people in the UK.

Tam at View From The Porch - Tab Clearing...

John Hearne writes about Understanding Criminals and Their Motivations.
Bobbi on troubleshooting a mysteriously malfunctioning door.

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 21 April 2024: Oops Edition

Workers installing a light pole in Missouri dug into a fiber cable and cut off 911 services in Nebraska - I forgot Missouri has a border with Nebraska, South Dakota, which borders on Nebraska, and, somehow, Nevada.

Don Surber - Highlights of the week

ITEM 5: From the Island of Misfit Never Trumpers comes this dispatch: “The Economy Is Awesome and Here's Why That's Bad for Biden.”

Bacon Time!!!! - Sunday Linkage

The Air Vent - The Communist Gaian’s Aren’t Even Trying To Hide Their True Agenda
Watts Up With That? - Evaluating The Model Projections

Cafe Hayek - Some Links

“Why turn off lights for Earth Day when California is already growing dark?”
In the video here, Johan Norberg makes the case that the best economic system for the earth (and for humanity) is capitalism.

Small Dead Animals - Tuesday On Turtle Island

Dementia Joe’s America: Biden’s corrupt judges. A howl of rage. The Neo-Nazi Left.
Blackie’s Canada: Don’t upset the Indians. Promoting terrorism in the Ontario Legislature. Singh spreads false claim about Poilievre.

Maggie's Farm - Saturday morning links

Equitable Grading?
Student Suspended After Anti-Israel Protest Complains About Facing Consequences for Her Actions

J.J. Sefton at Ace of Spades HQ - The Morning Report — 4/23/24

“For those of us who remember Soviet totalitarianism, it was a déjà vu.”
How the West Suppresses Dissent

Doug Ross - Larwyn’s Linx: War By Affirmative Action?

• How Do You Solve a Problem Like Mike Johnson? - Brian C. Joondeph • Consequences? Ilhan Omar's Daughter Faces a Few - David Strom

I leave you with Bookworm Beat 4/19/24: Get yer red hot memes here!, Quick Hits Of Wisdom, Knowledge And Snark #1736 from 90 Miles From Tyranny, and Tuesday's memes from Wirecutter.

Neighbors Were Shocked

‘It’s very shocking:’ Police investigating after homeowner shoots carjacking suspect in Herlong area

He was in a stolen car when police tried to stop him. He abandoned that car and fled to a neighborhood, where he tried to steal another car.

Then she said her neighbor, Don – the homeowner who the suspect is accused of attempting to carjack– shot him.

“So, when he starts coming towards him, Don says ‘Stop’ because the guy already told him he was going to kill him and so Don shot him.”

He only shot the (alleged) bad guy in the leg, but that did let the cops take him into custody.

As for the neighbors...

“It’s very shocking,” neighbor K.P. Lancaster said.

“It’s been a day and I’m sorry that it happened, and I’m sorry it happened it here,” neighbor Sheryl Anglin said.

No matter how nice your house is, you are not protected by your zip code from crime. It must shocking to realize that you do live in The Real World™ where crime can, and often does, happen.

The cops are continuing to investigate, and then the DA will make any determination on charges. I have no idea what the DA in Jacksonville is like when it comes to questions of self defense. If you know, please leave a comment.

The New Upgrade to the FGC-9 Build Process

From Impro Guns - The FGC-9 is about to get a whole lot easier to build. (Click thru for the photo of the new bolt.)

The ‘Nutty 9’ is an ingenious new and improved bolt design for the FGC-9 which consists of nothing more than four nuts and two bolts screwed into a printed connector piece. The only thing left for you to do is simply drill a hole for the firing pin

In case you haven't figured it out, FGC-9 stands for F#@K Gun Control - 9mm. The bolt is a hunk of metal, now literally a bolt and some nuts. The barrel is typically a length of tube, with an appropriate inside diameter. There is even a way to create rifling using electrochemical machining, which is sort of the opposite of electroplating.

I'm almost tempted to build one to see what all the fuss is about. That's a maximum almost.

Cat People (Putting Out Fire)

It is Giorgio Moroder's birthday this week. For people who don't know, he is generally regarded as the father of Disco. Disco started in Germany, and in particular West Berlin, discotheques of the late 1960s (in particular, 1969) and the early '70s. Of course by the time Disco came to the US the suits running the American music industry had squeezed most of the life out it. By the late 1970s it was easy to hate Disco. Anyway, Moroder went on to have some success in movie soundtracks, including today's song.

This is "Cat People (Putting Out Fire)" by David Bowie from the soundtrack to the 1982 movie Cat People. It was written and produced by Giorgio Moroder. Bowie was apparently not happy with the soundtrack version and rerecorded it for his 1983 album Let's Dance. This is the original from the movie soundtrack. Most reviewers liked the original more than the remake; I agree. You are probably more familiar with the remake.

Zack Snyder's Attempt to Make Star Wars

I don't know why people think Zack Snyder is 2024's answer to Steven Spielberg or Nicholas Meyer. He's not.

His first Superman movie, Man of Steel, was OK, not great. The 2 movies of his that have stood out were 300 and Watchmen. And Watchmen failed to make its money back, being darker than your average superhero movie, and not finding an audience as a result. In both of those cases, which are good, genre movies, based on solid graphic novels, someone else was responsible for the writing.

His latest effort is a ripoff of (or homage to) Star Wars. I could tell you what I thought, but I haven't bothered to see all of it. Part one really wasn't worth finishing. It came in 2 parts, because he needed 6 hours to do what George Lucas did in 2. And he failed to do that.

So here is what Will Jordan (The Critical Drinker) has to say. He watched the movie so you don't have to.

It all adds up to a big pile of pretentious, dull, unimaginative dog shit, without an ounce of energy or creative imagination. A film that was an absolute chore to get through, that has nothing to say, and seems to have no particular reason for existing. I mean, don't get me wrong. I totally get why people wanted these movies to be good. I know we need to start creating new things to replace the tired, old franchises that are being slowly bulldozed into the ground, but while it pains me to say this, Rebel Moon isn't the answer, and Zack Snyder isn't the man to provide it.

This is The Critical Drinker video Rebel Moon Part Two - Please Make It Stop!

Tuesday Links - 23 April

Legal Insurrection starts us off with the latest insanity from the Biden Administration. Biden’s Title IX Protects Biological Males in Female Sports and Spaces

Let’s say the quiet part out loud: This is all about males in female sports and spaces. A little itty bitty tiny bit involves females in male sports and space.

Professor David Yamane at Gun Culture 2.0 - Without: Guns

Omar is an admitted skeptic about civilian ownership of firearms. I credit him for seeking me out as someone who is not. We need more civil dialogue across our differences on this issue.

The Other McCain - Max Azzarello: ‘Just Another American Driven Insane by the Past Few Years’

Despair is the essence of the kind of radicalism that leads people to engage in suicidal gestures (Azzarello died late Friday night). And despite my general cynicism about politics, I consider it my duty to remain hopeful

The Ultimate Answer to Kings - Bread recipe, desert hermit style

Keep in mind that bread in the developmental stage is very sensitive to environmental stuff, like altitude and humidity. I’m at 6000 feet with really low humidity and this is how I do it after seventeen years or so – your efforts may not work perfectly if you follow these instructions slavishly. Be prepared to adapt to your own circumstances.

Again from The Other McCain - Crazy People Are Dangerous

Got that? No more traffic stops in Chicago. This is insane — a demand to end enforcement of traffic laws, because Dexter Reed got killed after he shot first in a confrontation with five police officers.

Wombat-socho - FMJRA 2.0: Home For Tax Day

Both of these things happened, and oddly enough I wound up putting in the kind of hours at home the last weekend of the season that I had the last two years at the Damonte Ranch office in Reno. I haven’t checked to see if I brought in enough revenue to earn a post-season bonus, but by God I certainly worked hard enough on some complicated returns that I’m sure I came close.

Divemedic at Area Ocho - Warning Signs

Joe Biden’s economy is claiming more victims. I have been saying that restaurants don’t just compete against each other, they compete against home kitchens. When it becomes too expensive to dine out, people begin cooking more at home. That is what it looks like is happening.

Juliette Ochieng - Strategic Assault

In one of Mr. Gatto’s interviews, he cites a 19th century directive from a Cambridge organization, which I will paraphrase. Public educational systems were to begin emphasizing the memorization of personalities, events and dates without teaching context - that is explaining the connections between such items and/or teaching students how to make those connections themselves.

I leave you with a poem from Smitty - Para-Dogs

The thing about the Para-Dogs
Is: they are rooted in a ruse
That people are just pollywogs
Livestock for elite to use

Journalists and the Concept of Self Defense

It is not a concept that journalists seem to be able to wrap their minds around. Two killed in homicide police are investigating as 'justifiable'

All murders are homicides, but not all homicides are murder. Murder is a crime. Homicide may be a crime and it may not be a crime, depending on the totality of circumstances.

Two people are dead, and a third was wounded in a shooting that took place in an apartment complex in Indianapolis. They are not providing many details, or any really. But there is an examination of what is self defense, and a note that self defense is increasing in central Indiana since 2023.

Attorney Guy Relford gives an overview of the self-defense laws in Indiana, but I get the impression that something was missed in the editing. Be that as it may, click thru for those details.

“It's becoming quite normal for a lot of people in Indiana, to have the means to defend themselves,” shared Relford. “Unfortunately, given the amount of crime that we have in Central Indiana, people are called upon to defend themselves, but where they do, and that's legal, and that's justified.”

Legal self defense may be bad for the bad guys, but it is good for the law abiding citizens. The "professional journalist" in this instance doesn't really seem to grasp that. But then I wouldn't expect them to understand.

Cops Threaten to Arrest Man for Being Jewish in London

Because the cops in London don't hate Jews. Police threaten to arrest ‘openly Jewish’ man for walking near pro-Palestine protest

Scotland Yard are allowing no-go zones for Jews in London, a man has claimed, after officers threatened to arrest him for “antagonising” pro-Palestinian marchers.

Gideon Falter, head of the Campaign Against Antisemitism, was wearing a kippah skull cap when he was stopped by officers last Saturday in the Aldwych area while on a walk with friends after attending synagogue.

What was Gideon Falter doing to "antagonize" the protestors? He was walking in London. He wasn't protesting. He wasn't carrying a sign. He was wearing a yarmulke.

The police sergeant told him: “You are quite openly Jewish. This is a pro-Palestinian march. I am not accusing you of anything but I am worried about the reaction to your presence.”

In another exchange a short time later he was told if he did not leave the area he would be arrested.

The point of the story is that it is basically illegal to be Jewish in London during certain times.

There is a bit of Irony in this story, because Gideon Falter is a member of the Campaign Against Antisemitism, and that organization had said that Tommy Robinson was not welcome to be in the vicinity of one of their gatherings just 4 months ago. Tommy Robinson not welcome at march against antisemitism, say leaders.

Organisers of a march against antisemitism billed as Britain’s biggest since the second world war have demanded that the far-right leader Stephen Yaxley-Lennon stay away.

Yaxley-Lennon, who uses the name Tommy Robinson, has claimed to support the aims of the march through central London due to be held this Sunday.

To be clear, my position is that both incidents were wrong. The cops should not be excluding Jews from London today, or any day, and the Campaign Against Antisemitism should also not be excluding people from London based on their views, religious beliefs, race, etc. Both can be wrong at the same time.

Still, I am going to miss civilized society.

The Trans-Atlantic Race

A single-handed sailboat race across the North Atlantic Ocean. The North face of the Atlantic.

Known as the Transat or Transat-CIC, the 15th edition of the race is set to start on Sunday, 28 April 2024 at 13:30 local time, or 11:30 UTC, from Lorient, a seaport in Brittany (Western France), to New York City, with the finish line being slightly south of Long Island. That's a distance of roughly 3500 miles. It takes the fastest boats about 8 days to complete the race.

"The Transat CIC, whose course is open to the Atlantic, is the most complicated single-handed transatlantic race, because at the end of April - beginning of May, there may be a series of low-pressure systems over the North Atlantic generating headwinds," explains Francis Le Goff, Race Director of The Transat CIC. "The competitors may have to do a lot of upwind sailing in fairly difficult and uncomfortable conditions for several days", he continues. In fact, unlike other transatlantic races that run from east to west, such as the Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe, the second part of the course is not downwind. "The sailors won't be going downwind in search of the Tradewinds. The Transat CIC doesn't head for the sun. There could be fog, rain and wind. The most direct route (great circle route) is via the North, heading up towards Newfoundland, but that's not necessarily the fastest. It depends on the weather conditions".

This is a race for professional sailors, sailing relatively large boats like the IMOCA 60 monohull or the ORMA 60 racing trimaran class, and more. The boats are expensive to build and maintain, and so there are a lot of corporate sponsors involved.

This serves as one of the qualifying races for the Vendée Globe (around the world, nonstop, alone) race, which will be run staring in November of this year. That race starts in France, ends in France, scheduled to catch (somewhat) better weather in the Southern Ocean.

If you are curious about the Transat race, you can find more information at the link at the top of this post. Some about the race, the 48 skippers who are entered, and a race tracker that will have real-time tracking of the boats once the race starts on Sunday.

The party starts today, the 23rd, in the ramp up to the start of the race. Bands, parties, boat tours, etc. You didn't think there would be boating, and not drinking, did you? You haven't been boating much, I see.

I know most of you don't follow sailing, but it reminds me of a time in my life that I miss, though I never had the desire to sail in waters as cold as the North Atlantic.

While this video is taken from the 2020 Vendée Globe, it shows the Imoca 60 monohull in action. Vendee Globe 2020 and the insane IMOCA 60 foiling yachts. The video is about 2 minutes.

Which Hunts - 2024 Edition

From The Other McCain - Is New York City in 2024 Better or Worse Than Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692?

There was less crime in colonial Salem than in Alvin Bragg’s Manhattan, and certainly more justice than Donald Trump is likely to get with Judge Juan M. Merchan presiding over this 21st-century witchcraft trial.

Click thru for details, analysis and a bit of snark.

The Grey

I have been sampling a few songs from TesseracT since I tripped over them on social media recently. While I was unsure about the first song I featured, this is definitely appropriate for Metal for Mondays.

Here is a link to the lyrics for today's song.

This song is "The Grey" by TesseracT from their 2023 album War of Being .

Felony Murder and Self Defense in California

I'm beginning to feel like I've stumbled thru the Looking Glass. An Oakland man opened fire on two home invaders, killing one. The other is facing the murder charge

Two guys broke into a home in east Oakland, California. The mistake they made was that the home was occupied, and the homeowner was armed.

After an exchange of gunfire, one of the men, Charles Calloway, was dead. His alleged accomplice, David Washington, took off, only to be arrested 10 days later.

Now Washington, 38, faces a murder charge in Calloway’s death, even though police don’t believe he fired the fatal shot, court records show. Washington is expected to enter a plea during a hearing in Alameda County Superior Court on Friday.

That is what most of us non-lawyer types call Felony Murder. Someone died as a direct result of a crime you were committing, so you're responsible. Or in this case David Washington is responsible. Allegedly. That is what the courts will decide I guess. The crime has different names in different jurisdictions, but they all share one thing in common; The Left believes that it is unfair to hold people accountable for the perfectly foreseeable consequences of their actions.

And since we are dealing with California, the journalist in question is either confused, or sure that his readers are confused, about self defense.

In the exchange of gunfire at the East Oakland home on March 15, the homeowner was shot in his foot and was hospitalized, police said. He was not charged with any crime. Under state law, homeowners are allowed to use deadly force to defend themselves against intruders if they fear for their safety, legal experts said.

And as for the Left REALLY not liking Felony Murder, click thru for the restrictions placed on its use by prosecutions in that state. It is quite frankly, insane.

In the meantime, self defense is a human right, and even in The People's Republic of California, it might be your legal right.

“Just Call 911” They Say

The don't say what you should do when you can't dial 911. 911 outage reported across multiple US states, officials say

Several U.S. states experienced a 911 emergency services outage late on Wednesday, including the entire state of South Dakota and portions of Nevada, Texas, and Nebraska, according to local officials.

It was not immediately clear what was causing the outages.

Calling 911 is a fine thing to do. Better hope that system never goes down, or your someplace where you can't call 911, or your phone didn't get destroyed, or ...

So what caused the outage? Company with $36 million SD 911 contract says outage caused by Missouri light pole installation

A 911 outage affecting hundreds of calls for emergency services throughout South Dakota on Wednesday night was caused by a company installing a light pole in Kansas City, Missouri, according to South Dakota’s 911 telecommunications provider Lumen, formerly known as CenturyLink.

They are not providing details, so all I can do is guess, but I would guess that someone installing the light pole cut a cable while digging. That the 911 systems for 4 states can collectively have such an obvious single point of failure just reinforces something I've been saying for a long time. No one does proper systems design anymore.

Hat tip to Cam Edwards at Bearing Arms: What Happens When You Can't Dial 911?

"You don't need a gun. Just call 911."

I've lost track of how many times I've heard a gun control activist say something along those lines over the years. But what happens when calling 911 isn't an option?

Mary Jo Kopechne Was Not Available for Comment

From Red State we get the following story about Kennedy family hubris. Nope: Kennedys Extol the Supposed 'Values' of Kennedy Family in Biden Endorsement, Leave Some Things Out

The Kennedy family hates Donald Trump and despises one of their own, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., in his third-party quest to be the next president.

So who is left for them to support in the presidential race? President Joe Biden, who they formally endorsed Thursday during an event where several members of the Kennedy family were present, and where Biden also spoke.

Kerry Kennedy, as the spokesperson for the clan, talked about how Joe Biden shares Kennedy Family Values.

What are those values?

There was Rosemary Kennedy's lobotomy, the murder trial for Michael Skakel in the Martha Moxley case, President John F. Kennedy's numerous affairs (not to mention affairs other Kennedy men had), the infamous Chappaquiddick incident in 1969 where Sen. Ted Kennedy left Mary Jo Kopechne to drown, Ted Kennedy's sexual mauling of a helpless waitress in the mid-80s along with Sen. Chris Dodd in what has been referred to as the "waitress sandwich," the mafia connections, and more.

Anyway, the idea that I care a rat's ass for what anyone in that family thinks, or that what they think would impact how I would vote, is laughable. ("Sheer Fucking Hubris.") Click the link at the top for more details.

Supreme Court Rules 9-0 That DEI Is Cause for Lawsuit

As usual Ace has a good take on the situation. Supreme Court Rules 9-0 That Reverse Discrimination Is Good Cause for Lawsuit; Left Frets That This Ruling Will "Complicate" Their Desire to Discriminate Against Straight White Men

Let me clarify this confusion for you: It's illegal to discriminate against someone based on their race. Even if the race being discriminated against is white (spit!).

And even if your justification is "equity."

This lawsuit was actually about sex discrimination against a woman. So, the standard sort of discrimination suit.

Leftist tears deluge has already begun of course. "But what will happen to my diviersity programs?"

These people are insisting that there's "good discrimination based on innate characteristics" and "bad discrimination based on innate characteristics."

There is no such distinction in the law. All discrimination based on innate characteristics is unlawful.

As was noted on Twitter, don't expect the media to talk about this. They don't want to advertise the fact that their whole DEI push is illegal. Imagine that. Discrimination is illegal in 2024.

A Bridge That Didn't Fall Down

Maybe that should be, "It didn't fall down yet." It will still be closed for months due to a crack that was found. Gunnison bridge failure means 300 mile detours, with no estimate for repairs, reopening

Inspectors don't yet know the extent of damage to a bridge on U.S. Highway 50, when repairs might begin or how long local residents will have to wait to regain use of this critical route between Gunnison and Montrose, transportation officials said on Friday morning.

300 miles is a long way for a detour. Even more problematic is the interuption to emergency services. It is a heavily used route for truck traffic in and through that area, but most of that can be rerouted easily.

A crack near the midpoint of the bridge, which was built in 1963, was first observed during an inspection last week. A more thorough inspection found the visible crack extended 3 to 4 inches, but ultrasonic testing on Thursday showed the crack extended through the steel.

At this point it isn't even clear when inspections will be complete, let alone what it will take to fix the bridge, or whether it will need replacing.

Chicago Public Schools and the Sexual Abuse of Students

Chicago Public Schools sued by former student, claiming district failed to protect her from Lawndale High dean, Brian Crowder - ABC7 Chicago

A former student filed a sexual abuse lawsuit against Chicago Public Schools, claiming the district failed to protect her from a former dean of students.

The one-time dean of Little Village Lawndale High School, Brian Crowder, was charged with assaulting the woman while she was in school. Those charges came down in 2022.

South Lawndale is one of the 77 neighborhoods in Chicago. Little Village is an area in South Lawndale that is sometimes called the Mexico of the Midwest. South Lawndale is home to the largest number of foreign-born Mexican people in Chicago. (That last bit is from the Wiki, but still probably not far off, even if you can't really trust the Wiki.)

The now 25-year-old claimed Crowder sexually abused her from 2013 to 2016.

The lawsuit also alleges that Crowder subjected the victim to two pregnancies, coerced her to have two abortions and posed as her parent to sign off on the procedures while she was still a student.

The suit basically says that Chicago Public Schools knew what what was going on, and did nothing.

The student said she reported the abuse to a teacher at the time, who is required by law to report it, but the teacher did nothing.

How many times have people said that the schools, and the unions, look out for themselves and their own, and not students, and then been shouted down? Well, here we have a case of exactly that. A teacher was told of the abuse, but did not report it. Teachers in the State of Illinois are required BY LAW to report such abuse. Apparently teachers in Chicago don't believe the law applies to them if it means ratting out their union brothers. The abuse was never reported. Why is that? Could it be because teachers and the the unions look out for their own and not the welfare of the students? No. I'm sure that's not the case.

Hat tip to Second City Cop - Teach Teachers Not to Rape

No wonder the Teachers' Union wants to keep parents in the dark about pronouns, transitioning kids to the genital choppers, and having CTU employees escort minor children to abortion centers. It's to cover up crimes.

Knowledge Discovery versus Money Making

Academia is no longer about discovering how the universe works. It is about writing grant proposals and obtaining funding.

Sabine Hossenfelder has a Ph.D. in physics. She worked in academia for a long time, but she had to give it up because she came to realize that there is something really wrong with the modern research industry.

The moment you put people into big institutions the goal shifts from knowledge discovery to money making.

She calls this a paper production machine. Research papers. Grant proposals. Round and round.

This shows up in a couple of ways. Studies and research papers that cannot be reproduced. An entire area (high energy physics) that is just plain stuck, and hasn't made progress in decades.

... Normal academic procedure, but I knew it was bullshit. Just as most of the work in that area is currently bullshit, and just as most of academic research that your taxes pay for is almost certainly bullshit.

This is the video My dream died, and now I'm here: Why academia sucks from Sabine Hossenfelder. While she has a Ph.D. in physics, this video - at 13 minutes - is very accessible.

Disney Buying Lucasfilm Was a Bad Investment

From Forbes we get a review of the cost of Lucasfilm and the profits generated. Or not generated. Disney’s Star Wars Box Office Profits Fail To Cover Cost Of Buying Lucasfilm

Last month, ahead of Disney's earnings call, the company released a 67 page presentation saying what a great deal they got on Lucasfilm, and how great the return has been. But there is a problem.

However, buried in the fine print is the revelation that the purchase price of Lucasfilm isn't even included in the ROI calculation. Instead, it is purely based on the box office performance of Disney's Star Wars trilogy, its two spinoff movies, merchandise, DVD and Blu Ray sales.

This is beyond a PR-move; this borders on lying to investors.

Forbes then goes into the cost of all the Star Wars movies, and the revenue those movies generated, taking into account the fact that theaters get roughly half of the box office. When it comes down to it, the reason that Disney ignored the cost of purchasing Lucasfilm is that they have not made money on the deal.

Bearing this in mind it's little surprise that Disney's presentation didn't work out the return on its acquisition of Lucasfilm by using the profits of the movies as it has still got a long way to go just to break even.

Of course, the calculation above doesn't include the huge profits Disney makes on the Star Wars merchandise, DVDs and Blu Rays. However, it also doesn't include the massive marketing costs of the movies as well as the costs of the Star Wars streaming shows and theme park attractions which also don't have revenue streams directly connected to them as visitors get access to all of the rides for the price of a single ticket.

Read the whole thing.

And it should be noted that any numbers don't include the money lost on the Disney Star Wars hotel, which closed after 18 months. And while Forbes does talk about a couple of Disney+ shows, notably The Mandalorian, they don't focus on the fact that the budets for these shows are huge, and the payback is nebulous. Did Disney+ see a subscriber growth because of The Mandolorian? How much, and what were the monthly fees relative to the cost of the series. And what about the Obi-Wan Kenobi series that was universally hated, or Andor, which was ignored, or the others?