Besides which, if you use thumbs-up in the Middle East, that’s a very rude gesture, sort of our middle-finger. Gestures are very much not universal.

Besides which, if you use thumbs-up in the Middle East, that’s a very rude gesture, sort of our middle-finger. Gestures are very much not universal.

It’s not the OK gesture. The OK gesture palm forward and hand raised, three fingers pointed more-or-less upwards. This has the hand down at torso height, three fingers pointed to the side. Yes, it’s a weaselly passive-aggressive ploy, designed to provide transparently dishonest deniability.

I think dog-whistles are a big part of the alt-right game plan. But also, what about the two handed-one Stephen Miller does, or the sideways under the arm one?

But do that in Italy and you’ll get beaten up. The same gesture in different contexts means different things.

And we should remember - it’s never a problem for a well-off woman to get an abortion, only for the poor. So the folks (judges, politicians, etc.) who make it hard to get abortions have nothing to worry about for their own families.

Not an expert on the Arab conquests, but that story of “moors kicking ass” might be problematic for a number of reasons: Lighter-skinned Arabs dominated, conquered, and converted, often forcibly, darker-skinned Africans, so they’re not a terrific example of racial okayness. Also, they were conquerors. If you’re going…

No fondness for Netanyahu, but over 1/3 of Israel’s Jews are Mizrahim - that is, Middle-Eastern. They were either indigenous Israeli or were expelled from Iraq, Iran, etc., and settled in Israel. European and Russian Jews are not the most numerous faction. Also, the European Ashkenazim tend to be more left-wing, and…

Is it an Apple iPen?

Two copies - one in your pocket and one in the outer pocket of your luggage. It’s not only a backup copy, but if your luggage is lost it helps identify you and your flight.

Hm. I thought that meditation opened the mind to let Satan in. Kind of surprised they’re recommending it.

You’re absolutely right. We need a variety of funding mechanisms - civic, corporate, personal... They each have +es and -es and should balance each other out.

But what’s the reason more people read them than ever before? NYTimes is doing great. See

CBC, BBC, whatever the French and German ones are called... These all are fine, professional organizations. The problem comes when our gossip, amplified 10^6-fold by social media, becomes so much more compelling and self-affirming than long articles that keep telling us that our primal fears are not perfectly correct…

I always thought a curt little nod would do the trick.

I wonder about this too. I remember when “Have a nice day” started (ca 1970). One day to the next, every supermarket checkout person started giving you your change, bills and coins, and the receipt in a single pile, and said “Have a nice day”. Before that, they’d give you your bills, then your coins, then your…

*gasp* I want one. I WANT ONE!

My father was German, and my family ate out a lot. My sister and I were expected to dress well (i.e., a tie for me, a dress for my sister), and generally be quiet. We were allowed, after ordering, to walk around the restaurant to “explore”, the understanding being that this was a quiet, moderately-paced activity (no…

That would be a funny 3-character one-act play.

It’s true! The “have you been here before” question really bothers me. If it departs too much from, I order food from a list, you bring it to me, and I pay what it said on the list, then I don’t want to be there.