Beyond Noto

Heading out of Noto found us on the way to a winery owned by the Mazzei family of Tuscany. Long lost relatives of Georgia and Mary, perhaps?

After a short tour of the vineyard and facilities we found ourselves sitting in the shade under the trees and testing the product

Our next stop was the farmhouse of "the contessa" for a sunset dinner.

 

Great food, more wine, and good company.

Noto and Beyond

Today the toe loaded us on the bus and drove to Noto an important town in Southern Sicily. But first another shot of Etna from the roof of the hotel.

The arch celebrating the recontruction of Noto in new location after the original was destroyed in an earthquake in1693.

Many tourists

The town council?

The cathedral at Noto, rebuilt after collapse in 1990.

Georgia's salad at a Bistro in Noto. My fried sardine burger was surprisingly good. And Sicily has a tolerable IPA.

John found this in the street

Catania Day 2 Part II

After the fish market we visited a Byzantine era chapel.

A war museum

Had lunch

Visited the open air market

Window shopped.

And had drinks and snacks on the hotel roof restaurant overlooking Cantania and Mt. Etna.

Catania Day 2

A walking tour of the city center, head 'em up, move 'em out!

A typical black building made from lava

A great day for a white wedding.

A guardian at the Cathedral of St. Agatha.

The great open air fish market.

Fresh Swordfish.

Rule 5 Saturday - The Perfect Canvas - Kenza Fourati

 This week's Rule 5 special is dedicated to Tunisia's main contribution to the world, Kenza Fourati, subject of many body painting photo shoots by SI:

Fourati was born in Lille, France on May 13, 1987. She moved to her native Tunisia with her family when she was two months old, growing up in the coastal town of La Masra in Tunisia.

Fourati's mother, Dora Bouchoucha, is a Tunisian film producer and her father, Kamel Fourati, is a radiologist in Tunisia. Her paternal grandfather, Mohamed Fourati, was a cardiologist and a pioneer of heart transplant surgery in Tunisia. Her paternal grandmother, Michèle Roly, is French and a native of Lille in northern France. Fourati has a younger sister, Maleke Fourati, who is a PhD candidate in Development Economics at the UNSW Business School, in Australia.

As the first Arab Muslim model to be featured in Sports Illustrated, she raised debates in Tunisian society and abroad about what it means to be Muslim and about variety within the religion. In August 2011, during the Muslim month of Ramadhan, Fourati appeared in a bikini and body paint on the cover of Tunivisions, which created controversy.

In a 2012 interview, Fourati was critical of the magazine, saying:"Last year I shot a cover for a magazine wearing a bikini and my body was covered by a Victor Hugo poem. I loved the idea and the poem preaching love and tolerance, but the magazine edited it in an aggressively provocative way and it delivered the wrong message. So yes, that would be the only thing I would do differently. I was too naive back then."

Her home page, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Who says all Muslims are stuck in the 12th century? Some NSFW material here.

I'm preparing  this too early see what GOODSTUFF is up to this week, so go check it out yourself.

Catania

Mt. Etna in the background as we taxi into the airport at Catania.

The view out of our hotel window.

Georgia on the steps of one of the impressive city gardens here.

The Muses seem to be a thing here.

Some real live ones.

Fish Pic Friday - Bad to the Bone - Bonefish

The bonefish (Albula vulpes) is the type species of the bonefish family (Albulidae), the only family in order Albuliformes.

The bonefish weighs up to 19 lb (8.6 kg) and measures up to 90 cm (35 in) long. It is silvery in color with dusky fins. The bases of the pectoral fins are yellow.

An amphidromous species, it lives in inshore tropical waters and moves onto shallow mudflats to feed with the incoming tide. Adults and juveniles may shoal together, and they may be found singly or in pairs.

The bonefish feeds on benthic worms, fry, crustaceans, and mollusks. Ledges, drop-offs, and clean, healthy seagrass beds yield abundant small prey such as crabs and shrimp. It may follow stingrays to catch the small animals they root from the substrate.

Fly fishing for bonefish, called bonefishing, is a popular sport in the Bahamas and southern Florida. Since bonefish live in shallow inshore water, fishing may be done by wading or from a shallow-draft boat. Bonefishing is mostly done for the sport, so the fish are released, but they may also be eaten. A typical recipe is a split fish seasoned with pepper sauce and salt, then baked.

I tried for them once, but no luck.

When in Rome

We left Skye at Lori's at 9 AM Thursday headed for BWI and the start of our journey to Italy, where we are taking a 10 day tour of southern Italy and Sicily. The tour had us fly to Detroit to catch a plane to Rome, and connect there to Catania, Sicily.

The flight to Motor City was humdrum, an ordinary domestic flight, full, and too tight, but mercifully short. The flight to Rome, however, was a huge full plane sitting in the smallest space imaginable. The tray table was the size of a sheet of 8x12 paper, and I couldn't move without hitting Georgia with an elbow. The food was poor at best, and it was almost impossible to take even a short nap. Thanks Delta.

But eventually, 9 or so hours later, we arrived in Rome, around 9 AM the next day, where we have a 3 hr layover. And to top it off, I left my hat scrunched in the seat, and, after deplaning, had to go back to the gate and beg a cute gate agent (it's a job requirement here) to go and get it. Which she did. Next, we stopped to get a SIM card for the IPad so we can use it for email and blogging. This went well despite the language barrier.

So, now we're waiting in the Rome airport, our passports all stamped, for the flight to Catania. More later. . . 

The Beginning of the End of Obamacare Schadenfreude?

Republican Obamacare replacement bill passes House. Now it's in the Senate's hands. God help us all.

Reason #5539 That Trump Was Elected

DoJ releases first figures for illegal aliens currently in prison

You may recall one of President Trump’s earlier executive orders dealing with Public Safety in the Interior of the United States. Part of that order directed the Department of Homeland Security and the Attorney General to begin compiling data on illegal immigrants who are incarcerated, detailing the immigration status and possible detention or deportation orders for each. The first round of data compilation in accordance with that order has been completed and the DoJ sent out a news release today with the figures. It will probably come as no surprise to at least some of you that the figures are described as “significant.”

There are 45,493 foreign-born inmates currently in BOP custody, of which 3,939 are U.S. citizens (either naturalized or derivative). Of the remaining 41,554 foreign-born inmates (aliens):

• Approximately 22,541 (54.2 percent) are aliens for which final immigration orders have been issued for their removal;
• Approximately 13,886 (33.4 percent) are aliens who are under ICE investigation for possible removal;
• Approximately 5,101 (12.3 percent) are aliens still pending adjudication (in other words, ICE has charged these aliens as removal cases, but a final disposition has not yet been reached); and
• Approximately 26 (0.1 percent) are aliens who have been granted relief on the basis of asylum claims.

Jeff Sessions provided introductory comments in the report, noting that, “Illegal aliens who commit additional crimes in the United States are a threat to public safety and a burden on our criminal justice system.” This will undoubtedly have a number of liberal activists setting their hair on fire, but this really just comes down to math. . . .

And that's just federal prisons. Add all the state and local prisons, and the problem off criminal aliens, legal and illegal represent a huge drain on the United States.

Full-on Wacky Cousin Katy Mode

Met Gala 2017 After-Party: Katy Perry Explodes in Cray

You know what we love? Like, really love; top-ten-things-we-love kind of love? When high fashion meets high attention-seeking in the most hilarious of ways. She looks like she’s modeling the Little Edie Beale Haute Couture line.

We had to restrain ourselves from calling this pretentious because really, what’s the pretense here? This is Katy in full-on Wacky Cousin Katy mode. It’s flipping ridiculous, TOTALLY unfabulous, and yet entirely on point for the who, where and when.

To be fair, the sequined cloak is kind of fabulous, so long as we stop thinking that it looks like something Buffalo Bill would wear in his basement while lowering that basket.

Nice shower curtain. God, that's ugly. It's not even fashionably ugly. Why do women do that?

Found at Althouse, who also has a thing about Katy Perry.

Last Minute Obamacare Schadenfreude

Blowing town for a while, and I need to get rid of these links before they wilt:

Obamacare itself continues to spiral away: Last major insurer in Iowa likely to exit Obamacare exchange, just because it's sooooo good. THAT MEANS IT’S WORKING: Oregon lawmakers consider ending Medicaid expansion to shore up budget. Remember, most of O-cares new insurance coverage came from the Medicaid expansion. But even a liberal stalwart like Oregon can't afford it. Ouster Of Molina Family May Be Bad For Insurer's 1M Obamacare Patients

The surprise ouster of the top two executives at family-run Molina Healthcare could bring to an end the commitment the insurer has had to the individual business under the Affordable Care Act.

About 9% of all Americans enrolled in the ACA’s public marketplaces are enrolled in Molina health plans, and departing chief executive Dr. J. Mario Molina was outspoken for the business, most recently chastising Congress and the Donald Trump White House for not funding cost-sharing reductions for ACA patients.
. . .
“In light of the Company’s disappointing financial performance, the Board has determined to change leadership in order to drive profitability through operational improvements,” said Dale B. Wolf, a board director who was named non-executive Chairman of the Board on Tuesday.

To summarize, from the New York Post, The health care industry is bound to collapse soon, experts say. Thanks, Obama!

House delays Obamacare vote, denying Trump 100-day win. Why Byron York asks, then answers Why can't House repeal Obamacare? Because a lot of Republicans don't want to. It's hard to take back benefits, even for people who don't vote for you. And right on schedule Here we go: New House GOP health-care bill on verge of failure as moderates balk. Maybe if we bribe them with more money? Republicans push new health-care tweak in effort to protect preexisting conditions — and to garner votes, 17 Moderate Holdouts Offered $8 Billion Extra for Stability Fund to Get Their Votes on Health Care Is it working? Ryan: “We’re getting extremely close” on AHCA.

Coming next? Cohn says health care legislation will go to a House vote this week. But, No good GOP options if Obamacare repeal fails. You ran on it. You need to do it. But take the time to get it right.

Reason #5538 That Trump Was Elected

A daily double. Hillary Clinton was a loser: Via Wombat-socho's "In The Mailbox: 5.02.17", Donald Douglas at American Power explains that "Democrats Know Why Clinton Lost"

Many Democrats have a shorthand explanation for Clinton’s defeat: Her base didn’t turn out, Donald Trump’s did and the difference was too much to overcome. But new information shows that Clinton had a much bigger problem with voters who had supported President Barack Obama in 2012 but backed Trump four years later.

Those Obama-Trump voters, in fact, effectively accounted for more than two-thirds of the reason Clinton lost, according to Matt Canter, a senior vice president of the Democratic political firm Global Strategy Group. In his group’s analysis, about 70 percent of Clinton’s failure to reach Obama’s vote total in 2012 was because she lost these voters.

In recent months, Canter and other members of Global Strategy Group have delivered a detailed report of their findings to senators, congressmen, fellow operatives and think tank wonks – all part of an ongoing effort to educate party leaders about what the data says really happened in last year’s election.

“We have to make sure we learn the right lesson from 2016, that we don’t just draw the lesson that makes us feel good at night, make us sleep well at night,” Canter said.

His firm’s conclusion is shared broadly by other Democrats who have examined the data, including senior members of Clinton’s campaign and officials at the Democratic data and analytics firm Catalist. (The New York Times, doing its own analysis, reached a similar conclusion.)

So the ex-Obama voters became racists, and voted for Trump? I wonder how that happened?

In the meantime, Hillary took "responsibility" for losing the election, but blamed the loss on James Comey, the Russians, sexism, and insufficient turnout among illegal aliens. I might have added that last one, but you know she was thinking it.

Reason #5537 That Trump Was Elected

We know how the world really works and your efforts to tell us otherwise in an attempt to destory western civilization offends us: Surprised? Feminists Who Hate Babies Declare Breast-Feeding Is Not ‘Natural’

Feminists condemn motherhood as oppression, imposed on women through male violence enforcing heteropatriarchy. All feminists hate babies, and support abortion to kill as many babies as possible, because the road to feminism’s idea of “equality” is paved with dead babies.

Once you understand that feminism is a death cult — like Heaven’s Gate or Jonestown — you cease to be surprised by the insane arguments made by the deranged adherents of this lunatic movement. Insofar as insanity is not a cause of feminism, it’s always a predictable result:

It’s “ethically inappropriate” for government and medical organizations to describe breastfeeding as “natural” because the term enforces rigid notions about gender roles, claims a new study in Pediatrics.“
Coupling nature with motherhood… can inadvertently support biologically deterministic arguments about the roles of men and women in the family (for example, that women should be the primary caretaker,” the study says.
The study notes that in recent years, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the World Health Organization, and several state departments of health have all promoted breastfeeding over bottle-feeding, using the term “natural.”
“Referencing the ‘natural’ in breastfeeding promotion… may inadvertently endorse a set of values about family life and gender roles, which would be ethically inappropriate,” the study says.
Unless such public-service announcements “make transparent the ‘values and beliefs that underlie them,’” they should quit describing breastfeeding as “natural.”

But the study’s authors, Jessica Martucci and Anne Barnhill, clearly have in mind an alternative set of “values and beliefs,” about which which they are not transparent.
It’s unclear whether they’re worried about how traditional female gender roles may limit women’s progress in the workforce, or whether this is part of the discussion about whether conventional views about motherhood exclude transgender people. Or perhaps this is just another example of how the progressive obsession with gender and sexuality has permeated all fields of academic study.

By the way, neither Martucci nor Barnhill have medical degrees. Barnhill is a Princeton alumna with a Ph.D. in philosophy from NYU, while Martucci is an Oberlin alumna who got her Ph.D. in “History and Sociology of Science” from Penn in 2011. Like all feminists, Barnhill and Martucci hate Jesus, America, capitalism and heterosexuality — not necessarily in that order — but more than anything else, they hate babies. They are death-cult fanatics who want you to kill your babies. Once your baby is dead, “biologically deterministic arguments” about breast-feeding and “gender roles” don’t matter, because dead babies don’t have to be fed. This is the conclusion toward which feminist theory logically leads.

Breastfeeding is the quintessential feminine act. It's no surprise that feminists are trying to divorce it from being female.

Mermaid Wednesday

Alexa Ray Joel is the daughter of singer Billy Joel and model Christy Brinkely.

Eyes Don't Work

In fact, they may encourage the Magpie to attack:

Oysters are Yummy, But NIMBY

Not in my back yard: Wealthy homeowners take on oystermen in war for the coast

Over the past five years, oyster production has doubled on the East Coast, driven by new farming methods, cleaner water and Americans’ growing taste for orders on the half shell. The resurgence has led to unprecedented resistance from coastal Virginians who want to maintain picturesque views from their waterfront homes and has fueled a debate over access to public waterways.

“These people can’t have it all,” said Chris Ludford, an oysterman in Virginia Beach who sells to nearby farm-to-table restaurants.

Ludford said he faces fierce pushback along a Chesapeake Bay tributary from people with “a $2,000 painting in their house of some old bearded oysterman tonging oysters.

“But they don’t want to look out their window and see the real thing,” he said.

Now that was funny. And true.

Homeowners say the growing number of oystermen — dressed in waders and often tending cages of shellfish — spoil their views and invade their privacy. Residents also worry about less access to the water and the safety of boaters and swimmers.

Low tides often expose oyster cages, usually accompanied by markers or warning signs that protrude from the surface. In some places, cages float.

“All of sudden you have people working in your backyard like it was some industrial area,” said John Korte, a retired NASA aerospace engineer in Virginia Beach who’s among residents concerned about oyster farming’s proliferation. “They may be a hundred feet away from someone’s yard.”

It's a lot like moving to the country, and then complaining about the smell of pigs. . .

Reason #5536 That Trump Was Elected

Hate speech from the left: Student penalized for using word ‘man’ on his essay

At the University of Florida, a student was recently penalized for writing “man” instead of “humankind” in a class paper.

History major Martin Poirier wrote “Water is a thing prior to man” on a paper for a history class called “History of Water.”

“Thoughtful paper, although the writing-mechanics errors are killing you,” Professor Jack Davis wrote at the bottom of the paper. He gave the student a B minus, according to a copy of the essay published in the student news outlet the Daily Nerv.

Davis circled “man” and referenced his Writing Mechanics Exercise #20, which draws a distinction between “mankind” and “humankind.”

Davis defended the penalization in an email to The College Fix. He explained that the “exercise and inclusion of ‘humankind’ are consistent with the Chicago Manual of Style, the style and the usage guide followed in the discipline of history.”

Ze is so cute.

That's Why They Call Them "Rub Rails"

Annie tries leaving and getting back to the dock, with mixed results



Not so bad.

When Environmentalists Go Bad

Fire near Dakota Access Pipeline site ruled arson

You wouldn’t know it from the coverage by the major media but there have been numerous acts of sabotage including arson directed at the Dakota Access Pipeline over the past year. The lastest one happened Thursday in Newell, Iowa. The Pilot Tribune reports it caused nearly $150,000 in damage:

A fire on a Dakota Access pipe-line site near Newell Thursday night has been ruled an arson.
About $70,000 damage was done to a contractor-owned skid loader that was set on fire, and $75,000 to pipeline equipment. The fire, in a field near 180th Avenue north of Highway 7, was reported around 9:20 p.m. Newell firefighters responded, sheriff’s officials were immediately called in to investigate.

Last year, a similar fire caused up to $2.5 million in damage. The Pilot Tribune reported last November:

Six different pieces of heavy equipment were set on fire at 640th Street, a short distance off Highway 7. Investigation is continuing – no arrests have been made yet, but local and FBI officials are looking into whether there may be ties to other Dakota Access arsons elsewhere in the state, Buena Vista County Sheriff Kory Elston said.
Four excavators valued at approximately $400,000 each were considered a total loss, and a $600,000 bulldozer and $400,000-$600,000 side boom were also damaged.

The incident was determined to be arson and the FBI was involved in the investigation, but no one was ever arrested or charged in the case. The November arson took place about 4 miles from the one that happened last week.

These are not the only incidents of arson connected to the pipeline project. Last October, fires were also set near Reasnor, Iowa, causing up to $2 million in damage. At the time, the company behind the pipeline offered a $100,000 reward for information on the arson. There had also been a previous arson incident in the same location in August.

In March of this year, the company that built the pipeline reported two incidents of sabotage in which someone used a blowtorch to burn a hole in a shut-off valve. One of the incidents happened in Iowa, the other in South Dakota.

There's a certain irony in using gasoline to start fires to protest carbon emissions.

But, But, But Baltimore!

Some Baltimorons in the news: Baltimore warns prosecutors to “think twice” before charging illegal immigrants

We’re once again veering back to the ongoing saga of so-called sanctuary cities figuring out ways to not cooperate with immigration officials in matters of law enforcement. One of the key sticking points for these liberal municipal leaders is that ICE is already deporting some illegals who are only guilty of “minor crimes.” Never ones to be short of outside the box thinking when tackling problems, the city’s State’s Attorney Office has come up with a real brainstorm. ICE won’t be able to pick them up if we don’t charge them with the crimes in the first place. Nope.. this isn’t even a joke. (Baltimore Sun)

The Baltimore State’s Attorney’s Office has instructed prosecutors to think twice before charging illegal immigrants with minor, non-violent crimes in response to stepped up immigration enforcement by the Trump administration.
Deputy State’s Attorney Michael Schatzow, in a memo sent to all staff Thursday and obtained by The Sun, wrote that the Justice Department’s deportation efforts “have increased the potential collateral consequences to certain immigrants of minor, non-violent criminal conduct.”
“In considering the appropriate disposition of a minor, non-violent criminal case, please be certain to consider those potential consequences to the victim, witnesses, and the defendant,” Schatzow wrote.

Maryland State's Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby

In other words, don't bust the illegal aliens for minor crimes that might bring them to the attention of La Migra. Focus on the native born criminals instead.

There’s a fairly clear line between “defiant resistance to Trump” and going completely around the bend. Baltimore is boldly striking out into uncharted territory in the latter category. It’s one thing to refuse to cooperate with ICE in matters of detainers, sharing information and all the rest. It’s an entirely different ball game to decide that you can avoid attracting the attention of federal immigration officers by deciding not to prosecute criminals, no matter how “serious” the crimes may be. And who thought this up? The article cites the Deputy State’s Attorney as having written the memo but you know this didn’t happen without the seal of approval of Marilyn Mosby.

Baltimore City Mayor Catherine Pugh

But that doesn't stop them from asking for mo' federal money:  Mayor Asking FBI For Help With Investigating City Crime, Rising Murder Rate

Baltimore’s mayor is asking for help from the FBI, as the city struggles to contain a soaring murder rate. But will bringing in the feds stop the killings?

The mayor pulled no punches earlier this week when she said the murder rate is out of control. She wants to bring in the FBI to the city, but will it make a difference? Some people are skeptical of that.

Violence in Baltimore has reached a crisis level, with the number of killings shattering a 20-year high this early in the year, Baltimore’s mayor was blunt.

“I’m calling on all the assistance we can possibly get because I can’t imagine going into our summer months with our crime rate where it is today, what that’s going to look like by the end of the summer,” says Mayor Catherine Pugh.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions should just say "No, hell no."

Reason #5535 That Trump Was Elected

Poll: Americans Say Trump More Trustworthy Than The Media

Ohhhh.... that's gotta sting.

President Donald Trump, a frequent public antagonist of the press and the first president in 36 years to skip the confab, is also slightly more trusted than the national political media. Thirty-seven percent of Americans said they trusted Trump's White House to tell the truth, while 29 percent opted for the media.
Saying Trump is "slightly more trusted" than the media is a bit of a soft sell. Trump's trust rating represents a 27.5% increase over the media rating. If this were a political race, it'd be a landslide.

Donald Trump: 27.5% more trusted than the media. Don't let them forget this, ever. No matter what they say about President Donald Trump, Americans trust HIM more than we do THEM.

You should never trust anyone except family, and even then. . . Still, the media has gone crazy on Donald and are less trustworthy than ever.

Monday Morning in Madagascar