Chit Chat

By Ted Belman

From now on comments on every post must relate to the content of the post.

Comments that don’t relate to the post must go here.

Any person who contravenes this demand will be put on moderation. Also their offending comment will be trashed.

The reason for this demand is so that people who want to read comments which pertain to the post, don’t have to wade through the chatter.

Everyone will be happier.

April 16, 2020 | 7,631 Comments »

Leave a Reply

50 Comments / 7631 Comments

  1. @Ted, Adam is correct we in the world have seen pictures Zelynskyy in Kiev.

    You are so wrong about all this to do with Russia and Ukraine!! Defending Putin now is baseless and wrong!

    NATO only went into countries where they were requested. Why where they requested because they wanted to make sure Putin did NOT attack them because they do NOT want to live under Russian Rule.

    You blame the victim for being attacked. Do you also blame a woman when she raped or her raper??

    Negotiations are under way now.

  2. “I chose to put the spotlight on the US rather than on Russia to counter the spin put on the Ukraine conflict by the west. In doing so we all got educated more fully on the facts and realities. That’s a good thing.

    Other stalwarts for the west have chosen to do the same thing. Look at recent posts on Israpundit by Spencer, Lee Smith, and Markovsky.

    By the way, Arutz Sheva posted my article, The pot is calling the Kettle black, yesterday. That article mentions nothing about the nefarious activities of the US in Ukraine by installing their own puppet regime there and turning a blind eye to the Nazis and the killing of 14,000 Ukrainians in the break away provinces in eastern Ukraine since 2014. Nor the bioweapon labs they finance and oversee.

    The US only got the support of 87 nations so far to their resolution condemning Russia. Among those abstaining or staying neutral are China, India, Brazil, Israel and UAE.

    From where I am sitting Russia has been hard done by the US whose policies in Ukraine have pushed Putin to these actions in self defense. Russia is no threat to the US but the US has shown itself to be a threat to Russia.

    Before the invasion, Putin demanded that NATO unwind its relentless eastward expansion. NATO refused. So we must ask, was the Russian demand reasonable or understandable? Should NATO have agreed at least in part? NATO was totally against doing so. The inevitable result was the invasion..

    Israel National News reported that Zelensky said “Russia initially demanded preconditions to talks that were tantamount to full surrender, including a halt to all fighting by Ukrainian forces, a demilitarized Ukraine, and the “deNazificiation” of the country. Ukraine refused to negotiate under such conditions, and also objected to Russia’s proposal to hold talks in Belarus,” Zelensky said they were non starters. To me they are reasonable.

    Did the eastward expansion of NATO bring peace or war? Had NATO stayed put, would Russia have moved westward? Maybe, maybe not. If the US had not turned Ukraine against Russia , would there have been an invasion? I think not.”

  4. @Ted. You have the facts completely wrong. Zelensky is in Kyiv. He has been filmed there on the street making speeches and holding press conferences over the past few days. There is no deal between Russia and the Ukrainian armed forces, which are resisting the invasion fiercely. There are no indications that the Russians are proparing to leave Ukraine anytime soon.

    It is terribly sad to see someone who possesses so much knowledge and insight about so many matters, and who written intelligently about so many matters over the years, becoming a naive, uncritical disseminatorr Putin’s lying propaganda. “How are the mighty fallen, the weapons of war laid low.”

  7. @freeman

    Did anyone seriously really expect Russia to be passive as Ukraine proceeded into the Nato alliance?

    But of course!

    When the US bombs some Untermensch country into smithereens to teach it democracy and freedom, the Untermenschen are supposed to enjoy it and keep screaming “Give me more!!!”

  8. russia has legitimate security concerns. NATO is already encircling Russia.
    Remember how the USA reacted to the Cuban nuclear crisis? without a guarantee of ukrainian neutrality then Russia has no choice but to secure it’s borders. Did anyone seriously really expect Russia to be passive as Ukraine proceeded into the Nato alliance?

  9. @Ted thanks for assuring me you have not censored me. Then twice now after editing partial comments or whole comments have vanished. So perhaps something with the edit function is malfunctioning.

  14. From Patrick Byrne on Washington Convoy:

    Slow Thoughts on Convoys: Don’t Do It

    Myself and the America project are respectfully stepping away from support or endorsement of any convoy. It is my belief that they are thoroughly penetrated by the Left, people who are licking their chops about the possibility of creating another J6 but this one with trucks.

    In the meantime, I think we win the information war over the next eight weeks. This we have everything to lose, and nothing concrete and specific to gain. Don’t fall into the trap.

    At the very least, do not converge on Washington DC. Not even the beltway. I encourage people to disband that plan entirely, at the very least, and consider other rallying points.

    But what I really suggest is that everybody understand these convoys are heavily penetrated by the Left, who want to turn them into disasters for us.

    https://patrickbyrne.locals.com/upost/1747651/slow-thoughts-on-convoys-don-t-do-it

  17. @Bear Reader is right. The headline just says, “Billionaire,” as do a few other sites. Everybody is covering this from cbs new to the bbc to the Guardian and the NY Post. France24 has the same headline and makes the exact same points as RT. Everybody talks about his humanitarian motivation; he said his daughter was a vegetarian who had worked for an animal rights group. but the RT and France 24 articles quote McDonalds’ reply in which they question why he did not make the same demand of Vikase which buys the same cruelty products but in which he is a majority shareholder, while he only owns 200 shares of McDonalds. A valid question, I haven’t found his reply. I see no reason to assume antisemitic intent. It is a very unusual event and one in which most articles just laud his good philanthropy. He is also trying to put 2 people on the McDonalds board, to accomplish this reform. But, what about Vikase?

    https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220221-billionaire-icahn-steps-up-campaign-against-mcdonald-s-pig-farm-practices

  18. Israel has moved its embassy to Lviv right after the Americans moved theirs which is kind of ironic because Lviv had a huge bloody pogrom right before the Germans showed up in WWII, and the Western Ukraine is hugely antisemitic and Nazi-loving (and Russia-hating).

  19. Russia is now invading Ukraine.

    Hopefully Israel threads the needle and stays on the sideline of this conflict which if errors happen could escalate very seriously and towards a far wider conflict.

  20. RT never said “Jewish billionaire”.

    I said that the [notes are MINE].

    I checked, and found out he was Jewish.

    LEARN TO READ!!!

    1

  21. RT is using this as an anti-semitic commentary (

    Jewish Billionaire)

    . When they easily could have said Carl Ican.

    That is their main reason for publishing this!

  25. @SEBASTIEN-

    It was really more of a rhetorical question. I’d already known that he did, but was really expressing my surprise that he didn’t know English. So talented a person often has several attributes, amongst them facility in learning other languages. And especially since he was such an eminent actor.

    Just my idea.

  26. @Edgar Well you asked if he learned his lines phonetically and that wad in the Wikipedia article. Maybe there are othet tidbits you didn’t know. Fascinating that Olivier copied his cental European persona from him. Kenneth Branagh did a terrific impersonation of Olivier doing that (in Rebecca) in Dead Again.

  27. @SEBASTIEN-

    I think something is being misunderstood. I KNOW about Bassermann, I have read the Wiki article years ago already. I knew that he was a favourite actor of Hitler who wanted him to divorce his wife and come back to Germany.

    I could never understand why an actor of such great eminence could not speak English In those pre war years when there was much friendly traffic between Germany and England. Very often German actors and other theatre folks would perform in England, and most of them knew at least some English.

    I recall Conrad Veidt very well and often saw his films . He was always good in his roles. That reminds me. There is what I call an excellent film about pre-war England and Germany. It’s called “Man Hunt”, and stars famous Big Game hunter Walter Pidgeon and Joan Bennett, plus George Saunders complete with monocle (my uncle used to wear one too). She played the part of a little Cockney tart, and although good enough, she rather over acted. I could never understand why they didn’t pick an English actress for the part. I think Roddy MacDowell as a sharp young kid was in his first good part.

    I recommend it.

    I’ve seen it a couple of time in the past few years, and saw it years ago as well. Always remembered it. Having Hitler in his gun sights, reminded me of one of Meinertzhagen’s stories.

    “The Most Dangerous Game”, has Joel McCrea also playing a world famous Big Game hunter. ( I think a bit better than the way Pidgeon played it)

    In fact I’ve just decided to watch it again, if it’s still on Youtube.

  28. @Edgar Phonetically. Look at Wikipedia article. Quite comprehensive. He worked with Max Reinhardt in theater and Ernst Lubitsch in silent films among others. He was one of the first German actors to work in film. He chose to remain with his Jewish wife rather than return to Germany at Hitler’s invitation and gave a big career. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Bassermann

  29. @SEBASTIEN-

    Another comment on your excellent “find”….particularly poignant was the sight of this very old man, positively far beyond military age, dressed in a military coat down to his heels, trudging along, and dragging that huge sabre along the cobblestones.

    And the way everybody jumped to attention in his presence, and when giving orders in his quavering voice. A really excellent performance… More amazing in that he didn’t speak English. Did I understand properly, that he was reading his lines phonetically from off stage Or was it someone else’s voice dubbing it in??

    I think I feel a huge draft of hot air..or gas, coming up from somewhere.

    To negatively paraphrase Rocky Graziano..”Somebody (up there) doesn’t like me”..

  30. Is this true?

    …MK Bezalel Smotrich voted with Ayman Odeh for the establishment of a new Arab settlement. Due to political activity, he forgot his values,” the source said.

    Today’s Arutz Sheva News Briefs

  31. Gantz involved in Real Estate Scam in Judea/Samaria

    Israel’s Defence Minister, Benny Gantz, is cooperating with the biggest real estate scam this country has ever seen. He does this in two ways: first, by taking advantage of the current make-up of the coalition government and making moves to legalize a number of illegal Arab outposts in Judea-Samaria, the heartland of the ancient Land of Israel. And secondly, by continuing his policy of ignoring illegal Palestinian construction and agricultural activity in Area C that he began as Defence Minister in the previous government

  32. @Ted belman
    @Sebastien Zorn
    @Edgar

    I have an idea.

    How about moving Chit Chat to a separate webpage so you would have to click on the title to get out of the regular comments screen and into Chit Chat ONLY where you can converse to your heart’s content without interrupting the flow of the comments under the articles?

  33. @Sebastien Zorn

    We are all anonymous here, there are no personal emails. Cit Chat was set up for just that.

    It wasn’t set up to be abused for endless personal conversations which don’t interest anybody else on the site and overwhelm the screen.

    I am sure that Mr. Belman will let both of you exchange your E-mail addresses through him for continuing your personal chats.

  34. @SEBASTIEN_

    Yes the”other “Edgar WAS me, I said so just below. And another thing.,That review about Bassermann is very good and interesting to read. I knew much of it but I saw a few new things I don’t know about . A good pickup. But Bassermann was not Jewish, his wife was. and it was because of her they left Germany I think as soon as Hitler came to power.

  35. @Edgar Also seems unavailable but found this fascinating user review at IMDB:

    The Beginning of the End of the Image of German Military Efficiency
    theowinthrop17 June 2006
    As pointed out on the other comments on this thread, I WAS A CRIMINAL (a.k.a. PASSPORT TO HEAVEN and CAPTAIN FROM KOEPENICK) used to be shown fairly frequently on television. But that was in the 1950s and 1960s. By 2006 it has vanished from the face of television and movie screens. This is a pity, as not only is the story an interesting comic tale (based on truth), but it is important as a record of one of Middle Europe’s best actors of the first half of the 20th Century: Albert Basserman.

    I suppose that most of us think of two names in movies from Middle Europe (i.e. Germany and the countries surrounding it) from 1920 – 1945 in American/English films: Emil Jannings (in the silent period) and Conrad Veidt. But in the aftermath of Hitler’s rise to power, Albert Bassermann joined Veidt in exile. He was Jewish, and found it definitely unhealthy to stay in Nazi Germany (where he had been a leading stage star). Unlike Veidt (but like Jannings) Basserman could not speak English. But there were ways around that.

    In 1940 Alfred Hitchcock was casting the role of Van Meer, the “strong man” from Holland, who’s kidnapping is at the center of events in FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT. Hitchcock was aware that Bassermann was available for the role, and decided to cast him. Problem was he still did not know English. Like John Barrymore in MIDNIGHT, Basserman’s lines were written out of sight on a blackboard. But Bassermann’s performance was extraordinarily good. He is the spokesman for the common people in the film, talking about people who feed the pigeons. He refuses to give up the secret clause to the Nazi agents in the film, but they proceed to torture him a bit, and he starts giving the clause in the treaty when the police show up to rescue him. Joseph Goebbels was to later reveal he liked the film, especially since the Dutch statesman did cave in. Bassermann, despite the language problem, was nominated for the best supporting actor Oscar in 1940, only to lose. But he was now established as a good character actor.

    In the next decade he would appear in many films – and imprint himself on his contemporary actors: Laurence Olivier would pattern his middle – European German accent on Bassermann’s through his last films. Olivier even copied some of Bassermann’s body language (his little shrugs).

    I WAS A CRIMINAL is based on an incident that happened in the Second German Reich of Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1906. Bassermann plays Wilhelm Voight, a small time ex-con, who wants to return to his old home (in his German state). At the time the German Empire was made up of German petite kingdoms (Prussia, Bavaria, Wurtemburg, Hanover), and principalities (Hesse Cassel, Baden, etc.) and you required special permission to travel back to your native state. But ex-convicts could not get it (for obvious reasons concerning keeping track of them).

    Voight was determined. Sitting across from the municipal offices of the local city, he noticed the citizens blind (really blind) devotion to the military – and blind obedience to military orders. He came up with a plan. He went to the small nearby town of Koepenick, dressed in a military uniform of a Captain (which he rented). Within 20 minutes he had the town dancing to his tune, as he tried to get the document he needed to get home. But though everyone was jumping to attention, running at his first rapid orders, none of them had the authority to give Voight the paper. They did give him a sizable amount of money that had to be taken to Berlin. He willingly took it – a mistake as it turned out. To all questions he said he and he alone would be responsible.

    Eventually the theft of the money led to the arrest of Voight, but it was not a triumph of German police or justice. For the story showed the worst side of Wilhelmine Germany – the slavish devotion to the army by the people. It held up the nation and the army to ridicule. Within a few months the town’s name was briefly a verb, “to koepenick” (meaning to replace authority figures and fool people), and was the subject of a short story by “Saki” (H.H.Munro) in THE CHRONICLES OF CLOVIS. Voight was tried and sentenced to a brief prison sentence, and then deported to his native state – the government had been embarrassed by the scandal. Although it did not end German militarism (it would take two world wars to do that), it lessened the awe most of Europe felt for Germany’s army and bureaucracy.

    This film follows the story closely, perhaps making Bassermann’s character more comic than the real Voight was. But he gives a first rate performance, ably backed by a cast of good character actors. He never starred in another movie (as far as I know) made in Hollywood, so this one has to stand as his best work. One hopes it resurfaces soon.

  36. @Edgar I was wondering if that other Edgar who commented in annoyance that they shouldn’t ask for a review from you of a book they haven’t got was you.

  37. @SEBASTIEN-

    All the ones you checked before you posted, are readily available on Gutenberg Project, as well as some other sites. But not the only one I really want.

    P.s.

    I just saw that Goodreads now has “E in J” as being by FS Stuart.

  38. @SEBASTIEN-

    Yes I know about all the other books, seals included. Wild life is O.K. for birdwatchers, but not for me.

    That’s what I meant when I said that there are reports of 2 authors of the same name, When I first keyed in “Elephant in Jet” I got “Goodreads”. iI was they who warned not to mistake the author of “Elephant” with the other guy That the “Elephant in Jet” guy was Frank Stanley Stuart, and the “City of the Bees ” and other wild life was F.S. Stuart, sometimes Frank S. Stuart.

    Goodreads then said “out of stock”…So I sent them a nasty letter, which I believe is on their “comments”…

    As for my deduction about being a recent convert. Until very recently he-who-shall-not-be-named (which reminds me that some of my all time favourite books are Haggard’s “SHE” series) was just arguing about EVERYTHING -no discrimination., Lately is only concentrating on preaching doom and gloom and urgin instant aliyah, and Lo and Behold, it turns out that there are “serious” thoughts of “returning to Zion”.

    Which is why I made the comparison with a recently reformed dipso fervently preaching against alcohol, and a recently converted Crusader, etc.
    Nothing harmful to anyone.
    You are nearly always very quick on the “uptake” but seemingly not this time.. .

  40. @Edgar No, just what I said but more detailed. Aah. I thought you were referring to me. What makes you think he’s a recent convert?

  41. @SEBASTIEN-

    Seb I don’t quite follow….. replies to what have been automatically deleted…and why….do you know?? I’ve seen some pretty dreadful things on here before, which were not deleted and I’m more than sure, that yours have never been in any way repugnant.

    Maybe the computer is suddenly being over-zealous…

  42. @SEBASTIEN-

    I did just that a couple of years ago, and as I mentioned it resulted in volunimous exchanges that went on for months- maybe over a year. The Edinburgh Uni. Librarian in particular wrote to months holding out hopes and showing me the results of her own researches in worldcat and others, quoting dates for potential access but have heard nothing for a year.

    Trinity Coll Dublin offered to scan for me at so much a page total over 750 EUROS.. And etc. British Libraries gave me the leads to the other places and said they had a copy in their Yorkshire branch but a huge waiting list. and so on and on. I’ve tried. Your instructions re Archives seem simple, but not to me. I’ve tried there , emailed them and they sent me a few links more puzzling that the “videos”…that didn’t work.

    Just sent an email to Gen enquiries at the Library of Congress, ,no answer yet.

    As for our complainant, “He Who Shall Not Be Named” (I wish there was a term much stronger than CHUTZPAH,) who has been filling our
    site with reams of deceptive and pseudo-rational dogmatic argument for weeks and months, like a recently “converted” Crusader…..I mentioned this earlier you may recall, but in more veiled terms. .

    Anything on that mysterious movie??

    Thank goodness for Chit-Chat…….Couldn’t get out to a Library anyway. Strict Isolation I’m afraid. MY card must have expired 10 years ago.

    PSHAW (I’d like to change the last 3 letters but have been too well brought up).

  43. @Edgar Elephant Jet is only available in a few libraries in England, Scotland, Ireland and Australia. Ask your local librarian to arrange an interlibrary loan. Click on the links in my previous post for those books and then on the cover of the 3dition you want, they are not videos.

    @Reader We are all anonymous here, there are no personal emails. Cit Chat was set up for just that. Relevant posts remain under the articles they refer to, which I read, anyway, if the topic interests me.

  44. @Edgar
    @Sebastien Zorn

    I have a suggestion.

    Why don’t you exchange your E-mail addresses and chat through E-mail because your conversation pushes everybody else’s posts out of the screen.

    Thanks

  47. @Edgar Wrote long reply but it disappeared. Click on my links to find those books. at archive.org or for other books just type in box and hit enter. Ignore everthing else. You can also find address by googling internet archive if you forget. We discussed Elephant Jet. It is completely unavailable except for a few libraries in the UK, Dublin, and Australia according to Worldcat. You could get an interlibrary loan. Ask your local librarian.

    The pages my links send you to show you the front covers of the different editions it has. Click on one.

  48. @Edgar just click on the links in my last post. We talked about Elephant in Jet. Nobody is selling it. You have to look at Worldcat to find any libraries that have it and do an interlibrary loan. I just found a copy at Trinity College LIbrary, Dublin. Here’s some more, National LIbrary of Scotland, Edinburgh. British Library, St. Pancras, London. University of Oxford. University of Newcastle Auchmuty Library, Newcastle, Australia.

    https://archive.org//

    https://www.worldcat.org/

  49. @SEBASTIEN-

    Tried Archives etc. wasn’t able to negotiate it, Nothing I pressed worked. Was faced with a whole page of what looked like tiny videos. So just sent my query to Info.

    Maybe you can do better. I’m looking for a book “Elephant In Jet” by Frank Stanley Stuart, Pub Paternoster House London 1940. (Maybe also later by Paul and Sons( ???) There seems to have been 2 authors of the same name the second being the author of “City of the Bees”, and other wildlife subjects. MY Stuart also wrote “Caravan to China”

    About 4-5 copies are found in worldcat, but all are in universities, except for one in British Library.

    Have had extensive exchanges with them all, over the past couple of years. I mentioned it on this site a few months ago.