Wednesday, December 17, 2025
The West’s Stockholm Syndrome: When Societies Sympathize with Their Attackers
The West’s response to rising anti-Western violence has become grimly predictable: capitulate to antagonists and silence those who resist. - Michael SmithA recent incident at a vigil for victims of the Bondi Beach terror attack crystallized this dynamic.
- Michelle Berkon, a serial protester, disrupted the memorial with pro-Palestine slogans and demands that Israeli flags be removed.
- Police escorted her away as she shouted accusations that others were “politicizing” the tragedy.
- Berkon is Jewish, so represents a striking case of projection from someone who had just politicized a moment of mourning for victims of her faith who were murdered by the people she supports...
This episode reveals a broader pattern across the Anglosphere: when confronted with violence, authorities increasingly treat public opposition as the problem rather than the violence itself.
- The message to citizens is clear—sit down, be quiet, and perhaps the attacks will stop...
Accommodation Nation
Administering an exam used to be straightforward: All a college professor needed was an open room and a stack of blue books. - Rose Horowitch
At many American universities, this is no longer true...
Over the past decade and a half, however, the share of students at selective universities who qualify for accommodations—often, extra time on tests—has grown at a breathtaking pace...
The increase is driven by more young people getting diagnosed with conditions such as ADHD, anxiety, and depression, and by universities making the process of getting accommodations easier.
The change has occurred disproportionately at the most prestigious and expensive institutions.
- At Brown and Harvard, more than 20 percent of undergraduates are registered as disabled.
- At Amherst, that figure is 34 percent. Not all of those students receive accommodations, but researchers told me that most do.
The schools that enroll the most academically successful students, in other words, also have the largest share of students with a disability that could prevent them from succeeding academically...
DC police chief manipulated crime stats to make city look better, report claims | Blaze Media
DC police chief manipulated crime stats to make city look better, report claims | Blaze Media:
Resigning Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith deliberately manipulated Washington, D.C., crime data to appear lower, according to a new report.
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform's majority staff released an interim report on Sunday as part of its ongoing investigation into allegations that MPD leadership pressured commanders to alter crime stats. The committee launched the probe into the department in August.
Waste of the Day: Plan Would Give NYC Officials Raise | RealClearInvestigations
Topline: New York City Councilwoman Nantasha Williams introduced a bill on Nov. 25 that would give a 16% pay raise to city council members, the mayor and other top NYC officials... - Jeremy Portnoy 
Key facts:
- NYC’s 51 council members currently make $148,500, which ranked fifth-highest out of America’s 15 largest cities as of 2024, according to the Pew Charitable Trust. The proposed raises would bump their pay up to $172,500. That would make New York rank third, with only San Diego and Los Angeles paying more...
- The NYC mayor earns $258,000, which ranks third in the country behind San Francisco and Los Angeles, according to Prestige Magazine. A 16% pay raise would make Mamdani’s salary nearly $300,000, which would still rank third...
'Conflicts of interest': Democrat-led federal agencies allegedly blocked efforts to investigate Clinton Foundation | Blaze Media
'Conflicts of interest': Democrat-led federal agencies allegedly blocked efforts to investigate Clinton Foundation | Blaze Media:
On Monday, Grassley announced that new “behind-the-scenes” records revealed “how top leadership during the Obama-Biden administration repeatedly interfered to prevent DOJ prosecutors and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents from investigating the Clinton Foundation’s financial dealings.”
Grassley stated that records revealed that FBI leadership “obstructed investigative activities.”
𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐌𝐏 𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐃𝐑𝐎𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐑
President Trump just announced a 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐛𝐚𝐧 on Palestinians — 𝐩𝐥𝐮𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 — with 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 slapped on 15 more, mostly in Africa. - M.A. Rothman
This is what 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 actually looks like.
- Borders secured.
- Risks reduced.
Period.
According to the White House, the proclamation expands the existing 12-country travel ban and adds people holding documents from the Palestinian Authority.
- The reason is blunt and overdue: 𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐮𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐮𝐝, and 𝐮𝐧𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 coming out of those regions...
The global shadow economy behind Trump’s latest move on Venezuela
Following this week’s seizure of a sanctioned ship off the coast of Venezuela, the Trump administration says it will be targeting more oil tankers off the Venezuelan coast. - Joshua Keating
But it’s also the latest salvo in a campaign by Western governments to crack down on the so-called shadow fleet that has allowed countries like Venezuela, Russia, and Iran to continue participating in the global oil trade, despite international sanctions...
As Vox reported last year, the shadow fleet has been operating for years.
As Vox reported last year, the shadow fleet has been operating for years.
- Shadow fleet vessels tend to have opaque ownership; the nominal owner is often little more than a PO Box in the Seychelles or Dubai.
- The ships operate without standard insurance, are often older and less well-maintained than their above-board counterparts, and frequently manipulate their transponders and navigation system to avoid detection.
- They frequently change names and what country’s flag they sail under...
Case in point, the vessel seized by the US this week was sailing under the name Skipper and the flag of Guyana — but it had been sanctioned by the Biden administration in 2022 when it was known as the Adisa and flew the flag of Panama.
- As the Washington Post reported, the ship allegedly made several trips in and out of Iran last year along with stops in China and Syria, but it frequently turned off its data location transmission to prevent tracking...
What's worse? The judges and liberals are buying it!-----Just Wait Until You Hear the Left's Newest Talking Point Used to Dismiss Migrant Sexual Assaults
Their defense? Those "asylum seekers" raped a girl because of "cultural differences," and they weren't "used to a society where women are free and deemed equal to men," according to their lawyer. - Amy Curtis
That's the case in the U.K., where Reform leader Nigel Farage is pointing to the case of two Afghan "asylum seekers" charged with raping a 15-year-old girl in Warwickshire.
Their defense?
That's the case in the U.K., where Reform leader Nigel Farage is pointing to the case of two Afghan "asylum seekers" charged with raping a 15-year-old girl in Warwickshire.
Their defense?
Those "asylum seekers" raped a girl because of "cultural differences," and they weren't "used to a society where women are free and deemed equal to men," according to their lawyer.
Stanford Researchers Confirm COVID Vax Can Cause Fatal Myocarditis
Stanford Researchers Confirm COVID Vax Can Cause Fatal Myocarditis:
A Stanford Medicine research team has confirmed that mRNA-based COVID vaccines can cause inflammation of the heart muscle, known as myocarditis, which can be fatal.
The study, recently published in the journal “Science Translational Medicine,” concludes that these mRNA vaccines can trigger certain immune cells to produce inflammatory proteins, specifically CXCL10 and IFN-gamma, which can cause heart issues.
More Hospital Tips - by Glenn Harlan Reynolds
From an insider - Glenn Harlan ReynoldsLast night’s “hospital tips” post brought this from a physician at a fancy hospital who doesn’t want me to use his name. (See the final, sad, sentence.)
Lots of good stuff here:
2. Get a pen/pencil and a pad of paper (I used to hand these out before the electronic medical record). Write down your questions whenever they occur to you. Most people think of their most important questions about five minutes after I have left. They should write down their questions whenever they occur to them...
- I have been an ICU doc for over 30 years. When it is clear to me that a patient is going to be in the ICU for more than a few days, I have talk with the family member who has been around the most (this person is often NOT the power of attorney).
2. Get a pen/pencil and a pad of paper (I used to hand these out before the electronic medical record). Write down your questions whenever they occur to you. Most people think of their most important questions about five minutes after I have left. They should write down their questions whenever they occur to them...
History for December 17
History for December 17 - On-This-Day.com 
William Safire 1929 - Newspaper columnist
- 1777 - France recognized American independence.
- 1791 - A traffic regulation in New York City established the first street to go "One Way."
- 1903 - The first successful gasoline-powered airplane flight took place near Kitty Hawk, NC. Orville and Wilbur Wright made the flight.
- 1969 - Television history was made when Tiny Tim and Miss Vicki Budinger were married on "The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson.
- 1973 - Thirty-one people were killed at Rome airport when Arab guerillas hijacked a German airliner.
- 1976 - WTCG-TV, Atlanta, GA, changed its call letters to WTBS, and was uplinked via satellite. The station became the first commercial TV station to cover the entire U.S.
Tuesday, December 16, 2025
FDA Set to Give COVID Vaccines Serious 'Black Box' Designation: Report
FDA Set to Give COVID Vaccines Serious 'Black Box' Designation: Report:
A black box warning is the most serious safety designation the FDA can require — appearing in bold at the top of a drug or vaccine’s prescribing information to alert doctors and patients to potentially serious risks.
According to CNN, the FDA’s proposed action would highlight major risks such as serious side effects and usage restrictions that should be weighed against benefits before administering the shots.
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