What's in the news?

[Sara Nilsson]

230 killed in attack on Mosque in Egypt. :(

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/militants-kill-more-than-230-at-mosque-in-egypts-north-sinai/ar-BBFzF2B?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=HPCOMMDHP15

And seeing all the comments about how that is a good thing on FB and other places is heartbreaking.

[Lustful Bride]

And seeing all the comments about how that is a good thing on FB and other places is heartbreaking.

To be fair FB and social media are part of the problem in my mind, just fostering extreme ideals in echo chambers and letting people glorify the most horrible things.

[Lustful Bride]

Tillerson proves a new level of incompetence.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/diplomats-sound-the-alarm-as-they-are-pushed-out-in-droves/ar-BBFBI7T?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=HPCOMMDHP15

[Deamonbane]

230 killed in attack on Mosque in Egypt. :(

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/militants-kill-more-than-230-at-mosque-in-egypts-north-sinai/ar-BBFzF2B?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=HPCOMMDHP15

Holy shit...

[Deamonbane]

Holy shit...

No pun intended. Just really sobering news.

[Trieste]

Tillerson proves a new level of incompetence.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/diplomats-sound-the-alarm-as-they-are-pushed-out-in-droves/ar-BBFBI7T?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=HPCOMMDHP15

Blech.

I know it sounds really tinfoil hat-y but the only way that most of the cabinet appointees make sense to me is under the theory that they’ve been appointed to dismantle their individual agencies. The party in control of the government right now has a vested interest in demonstrating that the government is inefficient and bloated because that’s their narrative to the voters.

It’s disturbing.

[Lilias]

Baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky has died, aged 55.

[Sara Nilsson]

Baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky has died, aged 55.

:( ouch.. noo.. always loved him.

[gaggedLouise]

Baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky has died, aged 55.

Oh, no! Such a great singer and stage presence. I've seen him several times in opera performances from the Met and in telecast shows from Russia - often in tandem with Anna Netrebko whom he evidently loved to be on stage with, My mum is a big fan of both of them, too (and so is Dasha).

He is gone many years too early. 

[gaggedLouise]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85kFY4D55oE

This one's from Moscow, of course, from an open-air concert he and Anna Netrebko did in Red Square:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAjR0GoAEw8

[PhallusOperandi]

Trieste:

"I know it sounds really tinfoil hat-y but the only way that most of the cabinet appointees make sense to me is under the theory that they’ve been appointed to dismantle their individual agencies. The party in control of the government right now has a vested interest in demonstrating that the government is inefficient and bloated because that’s their narrative to the voters."

No tinfoil hat required for that. "Starving the beast" is a cornerstone of Tea Party-style Republican "governance," and there is no way that Trump hand-selected the people in his cabinet- rather, conservative/foreign donors provided names. The only exceptions are a few throwaways like Chao and Carson, probably because Transportation and HUD aren't on the radar for conservative philosophy.

[Trieste]

No tinfoil hat required for that. "Starving the beast" is a cornerstone of Tea Party-style Republican "governance," and there is no way that Trump hand-selected the people in his cabinet- rather, conservative/foreign donors provided names. The only exceptions are a few throwaways like Chao and Carson, probably because Transportation and HUD aren't on the radar for conservative philosophy.

I assume Elaine Chao is in the cabinet because the Trump administration wanted to kiss up to Mitch McConnell (and also because she has prior experience in administration under George the Second).

Carson ... eh. *shrug*

[TheGlyphstone]

I assume Elaine Chao is in the cabinet because the Trump administration wanted to kiss up to Mitch McConnell (and also because she has prior experience in administration under George the Second).

Carson ... eh. *shrug*

I've mentioned before that Carson still baffles me, at least as the HUDSec. He would have been a shoe-in for HaHS, being a literal brain surgeon with decades of experience as a medical administrator. Putting him in HUD felt like the sort of blindly racist thing Trumpian 'logic' would demand.

[TheGlyphstone]

Addendum that the presence of Carson in the cabinet isn't a surprise - there's long precedent and tradition of winning candidates offering Cabinet positions to rivals they beat out in the primary. It's where he ended up that is confusing.

[gaggedLouise]

I assume Elaine Chao is in the cabinet because the Trump administration wanted to kiss up to Mitch McConnell (and also because she has prior experience in administration under George the Second).

Carson ... eh. *shrug*

Just read this weekend at CNN about how Tillerson has basically antagonized much of the upper levels of the US diplomatic service by firing career diplomats, downsizing diplomatic offices (or planning to do so) and refusing to speak to government people who wanted to alert him of the damage he might be doing. Tillerson has made no secret of his buying into the idea that much of the diplomatic service is a bloated and overpaid Behemoth that needs to be cut down and clipped, and which doesn't do much that's useful for America .

[Lilias]

Oh, no! Such a great singer and stage presence. I've seen him several times in opera performances from the Met and in telecast shows from Russia - often in tandem with Anna Netrebko whom he evidently loved to be on stage with, My mum is a big fan of both of them, too (and so is Dasha).

He is gone many years too early. 

His Onegin with Nuccia Focile was my first taste of his work, that got me hooked. I was glad it grew into his signature role.

[Iniquitous]

Prince Harry to marry American actress Meghan Markle

Between Kate and now Meghan, the British royal family is getting a much needed injection of fresh DNA into the gene pool.  And Meghan is the first biracial to marry into the royal family (at least that I could find).

[Lilias]

Prince Harry to marry American actress Meghan Markle

Between Kate and now Meghan, the British royal family is getting a much needed injection of fresh DNA into the gene pool.  And Meghan is the first biracial to marry into the royal family (at least that I could find).

The Spectator has already griped that Markle is unsuitable as a royal wife for the same reason Wallis Simpson was (being divorced). Too bad they didn't factor in the four (or five?) extra steps away from the throne in this case. Nor that the divorce didn't seem to hinder Camilla Parker Bowles at all.

[Iniquitous]

The Spectator has already griped that Markle is unsuitable as a royal wife for the same reason Wallis Simpson was (being divorced). Too bad they didn't factor in the four (or five?) extra steps away from the throne in this case. Nor that the divorce didn't seem to hinder Camilla Parker Bowles at all.

Honestly, divorce shouldn't matter at all these days.  As you pointed out, it didn't stop Charles from marrying Camilla (though my understanding is that he had to agree that she could not be Queen to his King in order to get approval for the marriage).  And, as you also said, Harry is currently 5th from the throne (is that counting the unborn baby as well?).  It's extremely unlikely Harry or any of his potential offspring will ever touch the throne.

[Lilias]

Honestly, divorce shouldn't matter at all these days.  As you pointed out, it didn't stop Charles from marrying Camilla (though my understanding is that he had to agree that she could not be Queen to his King in order to get approval for the marriage).  And, as you also said, Harry is currently 5th from the throne (is that counting the unborn baby as well?).  It's extremely unlikely Harry or any of his potential offspring will ever touch the throne.

Sixth, if you count the unborn (with Charles, William, George and Charlotte ahead of him already). And that throwback law states that if a prince marries a divorced woman, he can't become king, which makes her own status as queen or not rather moot. In 1936, all this was a great scandal, but it's 2017 now, and all that the moan has elicited so far has been eyerolls and chuckles. Someone on Twitter called TS 'The Sun for people who watch University Challenge'.

[gaggedLouise]

Honestly, divorce shouldn't matter at all these days.  As you pointed out, it didn't stop Charles from marrying Camilla (though my understanding is that he had to agree that she could not be Queen to his King in order to get approval for the marriage).  And, as you also said, Harry is currently 5th from the throne (is that counting the unborn baby as well?).  It's extremely unlikely Harry or any of his potential offspring will ever touch the throne.

That ungainly somersault will likely go out the window very soon after Charles actually does become King. Which cannot be many years away by now, perhaps just one or two...

[Orval Wintermute]

About the royal engagement, on one hand best of luck to the pair of them but really who cares?

What I find interesting is the politics of it all. They couldn't announce the engagement earlier because it would have clashed with the Queen's platinum wedding anniversary. But they've announced a spring 2018 wedding which has the potential to clash with Harry's demotion to 6th in line, the Royals do like to control the story as best they can so having two big events at the same time seems bad planning. Also it's been mentioned that 18 months is a short time from the couple meeting to the engagement and the engagement is going to be very short by traditional standards. The only thing I can think of is that the pair didn't want to wait until 2020 for a spring wedding and that 2019 was off the cards as a royal wedding in the middle of the final days of the Brexit process would be a PR nightmare, so everything has been brought forward.

[FeveredDreams]

Blech.

I know it sounds really tinfoil hat-y but the only way that most of the cabinet appointees make sense to me is under the theory that they’ve been appointed to dismantle their individual agencies. The party in control of the government right now has a vested interest in demonstrating that the government is inefficient and bloated because that’s their narrative to the voters.

It’s disturbing.

Thank you for making me feel a little less insane.

[Missy]

It's not my intention to be rude to anyone at all, but I really do want to brutally frank: British people seem weird and silly to me. You have to make a big scene over it because of whose long ago ancestor you have. Actually I would probably bear the same ridiculous conception of any monarchy or monarch really. I'm sorry, but it's just so last millennium, seriously just let people be people and get over it, making a symbol of a being on account of birthright just sounds ridiculous and utterly problematic to me. Just make them all ordinary citizens already and you can be like me and treat your ancestry like a social gathering fun fact about yourself. (also whine about how Scotland doesn't repatriate members of the royal family )

[RedRose]

I can't be bothered with knowing my own President's family... I don't understand the big deal with this wedding, and while I do like old school monarchs, the new generation isn't dream material to me at all...