Not The Onion

The head of the US Airforce's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Branch has been arrested on sexual assault charges:

A key point in last year’s Academy Award nominated documentary “The Invisible War” was that the military was structurally incapable of adequately policing sexual assault in the armed services. As if to bolster the filmmakers’ case, the Air Force officer in charge of its Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Branch has been arrested and charged with sexual battery.

“The DoD estimates that, on average, there are more than 50 sexual assaults involving military personnel each day. The only thing unusual about this particular assault is that the accused was actually arrested and charged, and that senior officers in his chain of command cannot intervene to prevent his prosecution,” Kirby Dick, the director of “The Invisible War,” told CQ Roll Call. His film’s key tenet is that the military does not follow standard criminal justice procedures in sexual assault cases, keeping them within the chain of command, and that this has helped lead to an epidemic of sexual assault in the armed forces.

Lt. Col. Jeff Krusinski was arrested by Arlington County, Va., police on Sunday in a Crystal City, Va., parking lot, as first reported by ARLnow. According to the police report “a drunken male subject approached a female victim in a parking lot and grabbed her breasts and buttocks. The victim fought the suspect off as he attempted to touch her again and alerted police.” Krusinski was arrested, charged and held on a $5,000 unsecured bond.

I am not particularly surprised.

The US military has long history of (at best) indifference to issues of sexual assault, as evidenced by the recent spate of get out of jail free cards issued by senior officers.

Niall Ferguson's Apology for His Homophobic Screed Ignores Decades of Homophobic Screeds

Niall Ferguson recently made headlines by equating John Maynard Keynes sexuality with his positions, and using his homosexuality and childless state to condemn his policies.

When a firestorm brewed up over this, he quickly apologized, and while this apology seems sincere, the fact that he has a long history of making this statement:

Earlier Cambridge Professor and economist Michael Kitson tweeted out that he had heard Ferguson make the comments in the past:

Niall Ferguson’s empty apology niallferguson.com/blog/an-unqual… These were not ‘off the cuff’ remarks. I heard him make the same over 20 years ago.
— Michael Kitson (@MichaelKitson) May 4, 2013

Niall FergusonHarvard professor Niall Ferguson kicked off a storm yesterday, after it was reported that he had linked John Maynard Keynes' economic philosophy to a lack of concern for future generations.

This was a result, Ferguson reportedly told an investment conference, of Keynes' own lack of children and homosexuality.

Ferguson issued a swift — and seemingly sincere — apology, but it may already be too late. Critics of the noted historian are now going over his history to find more evidence that he truly believes in what he has now admitted to be "stupid and tactless" comments.

Earlier Cambridge Professor and economist Michael Kitson tweeted out that he had heard Ferguson make the comments in the past:

Business Insider reached out to Kitson, who offered more detail (emphasis ours):

I was at history seminar given by Niall Ferguson over 20 years ago. I am not good at dates but I think it was around 1990/91. I am better at locations - it was held in the Rushmore Room at St Catharine's College, Cambridge. Ferguson gave a paper, my recollection is that it was on German hyperinflation in the 1920s. But I remember distinctly his response to a question about Keynes: he stated that Keynes and his economics was completely short-termist and that he (Keynes) did not care about the long term or future generations because he was homosexual and did not have children. He elaborated at length on this point - it did not seem as off the cuff remark but a deeply held conviction. I remember being stunned at the time: because of the bigotry and because it showed a complete lack of understanding of Keynes's work. So, it was with a sense of déjà vu that I read the comments that Ferguson has made recently about Keynes.

(Business Insider has asked Ferguson for comment on Kitson's allegation. At the time of writing he has not responded.

Of course, Ferguson has a long history of being offensive, and being wrong about pretty much everything, so this should come as no surprise.

What is depressing that this guy has achieved an unusually level amount of professional credibility despite his record.

Natalie Fulfilled a Bucket List Item

She managed to keep her eyes open throughout our ride on the Coal Cracker (Floom).

She is not good with heights.

The fat bald guy pushing his glasses up his nose is me.

Posted via mobile.

Whee!

About to enter Hershey park.

Charlie's band is doing a regional competition, and we get discounted admission.

This year, Charlie wants to game with his band mates, so he's with the chaperone instead of us, so its just Natalie, Sharon, and me.

I don't get to hear him screaming like a little girl on the rides, and Natalie is more stoic.

Posted via mobile.

Grumpy Cat Meets His Match!

Seen on Facebook.

Holy Crap!

Israeli airstrikes in Syria.

It appears that they are targeting arms shipments to Hezbollah in Syria:

The United States believes Israel has conducted an airstrike into Syria, CNN reported on Friday, citing two unnamed U.S. officials.

CNN quoted the officials as saying Israel most likely conducted the strike "in the Thursday-Friday time frame" and that Israel's warplanes did not enter Syrian air space.

It said the officials did not believe Israel had targeted a chemical weapons facility.

There was no immediate confirmation. A White House spokeswoman referred questions on the CNN report to the Israeli government.

The Israel Defense Forces had no comment on the officials' remarks, but a source in the Israeli defense establishment told CNN: "We will do whatever is necessary to stop the transfer of weapons from Syria to terrorist organizations. We have done it in the past and we will do it if necessary the future."

It is possible that the strikes were in Syria, but Israeli aircraft were operating from over the Golan or Lebanon, but that is just speculation on my part.

Monthly Jobs Numbers are Relatively Decent

176,000 jobs added to the non-farm payroll in April, which is somewhat better than natural growth in the labor force, and additionally, the adjustments to February and March added 100,000 to the NFP.

It should be noted thought, that this really is only a bit better than treading water:

The American economy continues to add jobs in proportion to population growth. Nothing less, nothing more.

The share of American adults with jobs has barely changed since 2010, hovering between 58.2 percent and 58.7 percent. This employment-to-population ratio stood at 58.6 percent in April. That is about four percentage points lower than the employment rate before the recession, a difference of roughly 10 million jobs. In other words, the United States economy is not getting any closer to recreating the jobs lost during the recession.

And here is the scary quote:

Furthermore, the projections were wrong. Participation has actually risen among people older than 55. The decline is entirely driven by younger dropouts.

So, better, but our economy still sucks wet farts from dead pigeons.