Rule 5 Saturday -The French Triple Threat - Joséphine de La Baume

This week's Rule 5 special guest is Joséphine de La Baume (born 8 October 1984), a French actress, singer and model. 

De La Baume was born in Paris, France to Baron and Baroness de la Baume. Her French father, François, is an investment banker and the owner of the Théâtre de la Pépinière. Her Swiss mother, Anne (née Salmanowitz), is the executive director of the Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet Foundation.

Yeah, she's royalty, too.

De La Baume has been acting since 2003. In 2010 she appeared in Our Day Will Come by director Romain Gavras. She has also appeared in Johnny English Reborn, Kiss of the Damned, The Locust, and Ron Howard's Rush.

Most recently, she appeared in Abner Pastoll's Road Games (Fausse Route) in which Dread Central described her as "sultry and enigmatic." The film was released theatrically in the US by IFC Films.

Did I mention she's a ginger?

De La Baume is member of French indie band Singtank with her brother Alexandre de la Baume and drummer Alberto Cabrera. Their debut album In Wonder was met with critical success.

Her grandfather is Grégoire Salmanowitz, owner of the world’s largest freight-inspection company SGS.

Some NSFW work.

Linked at Pirate's Cove in the weekly "Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup" and links. Wombat-socho has "Rule 5 Sunday: Thanksgiving Edition" and "FMJRA 2.0: Teen Angst" up and ready for action.

Dominion Seeks Sturgeon Kill Permit

Endangered sturgeon’s return to James River could be hurdle for industry - Dominion seeking federal permit to ‘take’ protected fish after dead ones found in power plant’s water intake

In the James River south of Richmond, endangered Atlantic sturgeon have become so common that observant spring and fall boaters are nearly guaranteed to see one breach. It’s hard to miss — a 6– or 7-foot fish exploding out of the water, as if shot from a cannon, wiggling for a split second in midair, then belly-flopping back into the river with a theatrical splash.

Long-lived and enormous — in its 60-year lifespan it can grow to 14 feet and weigh as much as 800 pounds — the Atlantic sturgeon was harvested to the brink of extinction in the late 1800s. But after a century of marginal existence, this prehistoric-looking fish, with its flat snout and rows of bony plates covering its back, is staging a steady but still fragile comeback in the Chesapeake Bay.

The sturgeon’s increased presence could complicate matters for industrial facilities that draw water from that same stretch of river. In one case, it already has.

After finding two dead sturgeon larvae and one adult in its water intake system in the fall of 2015, Dominion Virginia Power’s Chesterfield Power Station began seeking an “incidental take” permit from the National Marine Fisheries Service, which would allow the company to continue operating despite a potential impact to the endangered fish. In its application for the permit, Dominion estimated that up to 846 sturgeon larvae and maybe two adult fish per year could be trapped or killed in the intakes over the next decade.

The fisheries service, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, will determine in the coming months whether to grant Dominion’s Chesterfield plant a federal permit under an Endangered Species Act provision that allows private entities to “take” a given number of an endangered or threatened species in the process of conducting otherwise lawful operations.

The sturgeon was added to the federal endangered species list in 2012. And this August, NOAA designated several areas in the Bay as critical habitat for the species, including the James River from above Richmond all the way to the Chesapeake. The designation does not impose any new restrictions on fishing, but it requires federal agencies to give additional scrutiny to the habitat impacts of government projects or permit requests.

Power plants that use water for cooling use a lot of water. Ask me how I know. Invariably, some fish death occurs; either fish that died naturally  get sucked into the intakes, or fish get into the intakes and are killed. But three fish isn't an indication of much of a problem.

Reason #5775 That Trump Was Elected

More than 200 MS-13 members were arrested in a major Trump administration gang sweep

The Trump administration announced a major gang sweep Thursday, with the arrest of more than 200 members of the violent street gang MS-13.

Officials from the Department of Homeland Security and Justice Department said "Operation Raging Bull" was conducted across the United States from Oct. 8 to Nov. 11, and concluded with the arrest of 214 members of MS-13.

"We will not rest until every member, associate and leader of MS-13 has been held accountable for their crimes," said Thomas Horman, director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

This was the second phase of a federal effort to target MS-13. The first phase involved 53 arrests in El Salvador in September after an 18-month investigation.

In a statement, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said more than 1,200 gang members have been convicted so far this year, and about 4,000 have been arrested and charged. He said the arrests will help make the country safer "by taking MS-13 off our streets for good."

The Obama administration would have been targeting them for a voter registration drive instead.

From Breitbart: One-Third of 214 Arrested MS-13 Gangsters Were ‘Unaccompanied Alien Children’ invited to stay in the United States by Preznit Obama.

Sixteen of the 214 arrestees in the United States are U.S. citizens. Five were legal immigrants.

Ninety-three of 214 arrestees are charged with federal or state criminal offenses and will face prison time in the United States, said Derek Benner, the deputy executive associate director of the Homeland Security Investigations division.

The group of 214 include 193 illegal aliens, including 121 arrestees who will be deported but will not face criminal charges.

Sixty-four of the 193 illegals – nearly one in three – are would-be “dreamers” because they illegally crossed the border while claiming to be minors. Their unscreened claims to be children — not adults — won them the legal status of “Unaccompanied Alien Children,” which allowed them to claim federal aid and be released into the United States.

The status was provided by Obama’s administration, which was seeking ways to welcome migrants from Central America into the United States. That invite spiraled out of control, resulting in a huge wave of migrants in 2014, which helped Donald Trump get elected.

If I were a little more evil, I would encourage Trump to lay off MS-13 in solidly blue states, and focus my efforts in red and purple ones. Virginia springs to mind as a state where vigorous enforcement of gang related immigration violations could turn the tide.

Linked at Pirate's Cove in the weekly "Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup" and links.

Al Franken Must Resign

And if he doesn't resign, the Senate must vote to unseat him.

"Senator Al Franken Kissed and Groped Me Without My Consent, And There’s Nothing Funny About It."

"In December of 2006, I embarked on my ninth USO Tour to entertain our troops, my eighth to the Middle East since the 9/11 attacks," writes Leeann Tweeden, a morning news anchor on TalkRadio 790 KABC in Los Angeles, writing on the TalkRadio 790 KABC website.

Leann Tweeden

When I saw the script, Franken had written a moment when his character comes at me for a ‘kiss’... On the day of the show Franken... said to me, “We need to rehearse the kiss.” I laughed and ignored him... He continued to insist, and I was beginning to get uncomfortable.... I said ‘OK’ so he would stop badgering me. We did the line leading up to the kiss and then he came at me, put his hand on the back of my head, mashed his lips against mine and aggressively stuck his tongue in my mouth. I immediately pushed him away with both of my hands against his chest and told him if he ever did that to me again I wouldn’t be so nice about it the next time....
Not long after, I performed the skit as written, carefully turning my head so he couldn’t kiss me on the lips. No one saw what happened backstage. I didn’t tell the Sergeant Major of the Army, who was the sponsor of the tour. I didn’t tell our USO rep what happened. At the time I didn’t want to cause trouble.... Other than our dialogue on stage, I never had a voluntary conversation with Al Franken again....

It wasn’t until I was back in the US and looking through the CD of photos we were given by the photographer that I saw this one:

SLATE: Al Franken Should Resign Immediately: Democrats’ credibility on sexual harassment is at stake.

The hypocrisy of Franken’s reaction is galling. Following the Harvey Weinstein scandal, the senator wrote an impassioned Facebook post declaring that sexual harassment is “appalling” and “far too common.” He added that it “takes a lot of courage to come forward, and we owe them our thanks.” Franken then praised Gretchen Carlson for writing about “the disappointing responses women often face when they go public both embolden harassers and encourage victims to stay silent.”

Now Franken has issued the exact kind of “disappointing response” that Carlson bemoaned, attempting to dismiss the accusation against him as a botched joke that his victim misremembered. Is anyone surprised? Yet another self-proclaimed defender of women’s rights has revealed himself to be a misogynistic fraud. Franken’s ardent promotion of gender equality on the Senate floor is rendered meaningless in the face of his disgusting conduct.

You should be suspicious of all men who engage in “ardent promotion of gender equality” in public settings.

UPDATE: Melanie Morgan: After TV appearance, Al Franken harassed me too.

The victim (I don't think we need the obligatory alleged since Franken directed the photography of the assault), former Playmate Leann Tweeden, has accepted his second apology, which was more abject.

Wombat-socho has "Rule 5 Sunday: Thanksgiving Edition" up and ready for action.

Giffords Gun Grabbers Focus on the Big Problems

Too good to fact check

Gabby Giffords’s Gun Control Group Releases Report Warning of Muzzleloaders, Other Firearms

Former congresswoman Gabby Giffords's gun control group released a report on Wednesday warning of the dangers of muzzle loading rifles, a number of other firearms, and some firearms accessories and calling for new gun control measures targeting the devices.

The group, which recently changed its name from Americans for Responsible Solutions to Giffords, said in a release its report was intended to identify "extremely lethal firearms and devices" that it believes skirt current firearms laws. "Giffords—the gun violence organization founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, combat veteran and retired NASA astronaut, Captain Mark Kelly—are calling on Congress to update federal gun laws so these accessories can’t turn a firearm into a military-style weapon," the group said in a statement.

The report includes nine examples of firearms or firearms products the group feels are a danger to society. The list includes certain kinds of ammunition, trigger devices that increase the rate of fire of a semi-automatic rifle, what the group describes as "high capacity shotguns," AK and AR style pistols with stabilizing braces, and muzzleloaders. The group said the gun industry is attempting to circumvent the National Firearms Act (NFA) and other federal gun laws through the manufacture of each of the products.

Muzzleloaders, the group said, are dangerous because they are specifically exempted from the NFA and it accuses the gun industry of trying to exploit that exemption.

I'm sure a lot of muzzle loaders are responsible for the ongoing blood bath in Chicago.

"These laws prohibit convicted felons and other dangerous people from possessing guns, require gun retailers to be licensed, and require licensed retailers to conduct background checks on purchasers," the report said. "There is one blanket exception to these laws, however: the exception for antique firearms, including muzzleloaders. The gun industry is determined to exploit this exception."

Huh? Hunters exploit the laws which permit hunting with antique (muzzleloader) weapons outside of the normal gun season. Companies make modern looking muzzleloaders to exploit these hunters. They're very powerful and accurate, but still difficult to load and fire rapidly.

Muzzleloaders, which require gunpowder and a projectile to be manually loaded down barrel of the firearm before each shot, and other antique firearms are exempt from the NFA. The antique firearm exemption applies to "any firearm not intended or redesigned for using rim fire or conventional center fire ignition with fixed ammunition and manufactured in or before 1898 and also any firearm using fixed ammunition manufactured in or before 1898, for which ammunition is no longer manufactured in the United States and is not readily available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade," according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

One of the common arguments gun grabbers make is that the 2nd amendment didn't anticipate firearms technology beyond the muzzleloader, so that they should be permitted to ban anything more advanced. Now they ignore that argument, and go for the muzzleloader, Revolutionary War technology, common among the populace of the time.

 "Cue the .50 caliber muzzleloader, which delivers a particularly lethal .50 caliber round," the report said. "This weapon is designed with a built-in device to suppress its sound. If any other firearm were built with such a device, it would be subject to the NFA as a silencer. But since this device is designed to suppress the sound of something that is exempt from federal firearms laws, it is not considered a silencer and not subject to the NFA. In fact, it is not subject to any laws at all and can be bought online."

So, they have a big slow bullet, and some of them have built in sound suppression to help protect hunters from their deafening blast. Please convince me that with a 2 round per minute firing rate, they present any kind of problem. By going after muzzies, the grabbers have proved they're not really after "sensible" gun laws, they're after gun elimination.

Wombat-socho has "Rule 5 Sunday: Thanksgiving Edition" up and ready for action.

Oysters Need PhD

Piled Higher and Deeper: Study identifies tipping point for oyster restoration

. . . a study by researchers at William & Mary's Virginia Institute of Marine Science identifies a tipping point in oyster restoration efforts, wherein reefs rebuilt to reach a foot or more above the bottom develop into healthy, self-sustaining ecosystems, while those rebuilt at lower heights are quickly coated and then buried by sediment.

The study, the feature article in the November 6 issue of Marine Ecology Progress Series, is co-authored by former VIMS Ph.D. student Allison Colden along with VIMS professors Rob Latour and Rom Lipcius. It is the second featured article by VIMS researchers in the prestigious journal in the last month.

The researchers say their findings can help explain oyster loss and enhance oyster restoration efforts not only in the Bay but worldwide. Native oyster populations have declined around the globe during the last century due to overfishing, nutrient pollution, disease, and degraded habitat, with major economic and ecological impacts.

The team's research builds on several recent studies that identified reef height as a key predictor of restoration success or failure. But, says Lipcius, "no one had quantified the threshold elevation at which a reef's trajectory diverges, or identified the mechanisms involved."

To answer those questions, the scientists used oyster shell to build 24 experimental reefs across 4 sites in the Great Wicomico and Lynnhaven rivers, tributaries of Chesapeake Bay in Virginia. They built the reefs at 6 different heights, from 5 centimeters to half a meter above the bayfloor—a range of elevations typically used in oyster restoration or repletion activities in the Bay.

"Our video sampling showed that reef condition diverged almost immediately— within 2 months of construction," says Colden. "On the lower reefs, sediments quickly buried the shells, particularly around the reef margins. On the taller reefs, we saw emergent shell, lots of young oysters, and lower levels of sedimentation."

The tipping point or threshold between these two states was 0.3 meters, about a foot. Reefs built to this height or higher had oyster densities 3.5 times greater than lower reefs, and densities on the higher reefs generally increased through time. Densities on the lower reefs tended to decrease under a range of sedimentation rates, with most of these reefs eventually disappearing beneath a blanket of sediment.

"We found that the relationship between oyster density and reef height was non-linear," says Lipcius. "Rates of sediment deposition declined exponentially with increasing reef height, while rugosity increased."

The ability of oyster to filter water, and deposit sediment around them in tremendous, but with enough relief, the current will sweep away the feces and psuedofeces, and leave the oysters unburied.

Of course, this means that properly prepared oyster restoration sites need to be left unharvested, since harvesting knocks down the relief. This will not make watermen happy.

News You Can Use

Don't rake your leaves, scientists say

Here's an excuse to use the next time someone asks you to rake the leaves: Science.
The National Wildlife Federation is encouraging people to leave the leaves.

On its website, the NWF says dry, dead leaves are important habitats for all kinds of critters, reports KING.

Butterflies, salamanders, chipmunks, box turtles, toads, shrews, earthworms, and other creatures live, lay eggs in or eat from leaves, according to NWF's plea with the public to let the leaves stay where gravity left them.

"I care about the lifer cycle of all the insects that live in my yard," said Sarah Moore of the Pacific Science Center's indoor butterfly garden. "I want to be a habitat."

Butterflies begin in leaves as larvae. Moore says she never rakes her leaves at home.

Another scientist at the University of Washington Arboretum says he rarely rakes.

"It changes the habitat," said Randall Hitchin, who showed us all the insects that live in a pile of leaves. "It makes it unfriendly for them."

I'm gonna show this to Georgia, but I'm sure it won't work. Besides, we have 2 acres of trees behind the house that never get raked. Let the "butterflies, salamanders, chipmunks, box turtles, toads, shrews, earthworms, and other creatures" use those.

Wombat-socho has "Rule 5 Sunday: Thanksgiving Edition" up and ready for action.

The First Christmas Underwear Ad

Swiped from Theo's. Wombat-socho has "Rule 5 Sunday: Thanksgiving Edition" up and ready for action.

More Eliza Cummings:

More Bad News for Menhaden

This wasn't in the article I cited yesterday: Menhaden quota will increase across East Coast

While menhaden will continue to be managed as they currently are for the time being, Delaware and other states across the East Coast will be able to catch more of the oily fish from 2018 to 2019.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission voted to raise catch limits for menhaden along the East Coast to 216,000 metric tons — an 8 percent increase from last year.

I maintain that the stock estimates have at least a 10% error term, so I regard this as a de minimis increase.

The decision was based off of current menhaden mortality and spawning stock. In upcoming years, the board expects to increase the catch limits based off of how many menhaden are in the ocean and the role the species plays as a forage fish.

Limbo Voss uses menhaden as bait for blue crabs. He says he’s satisfied with the increase.

“The fact that they raised the quota indicates to me that the menhaden is not being overfished and they’re in pretty good shape,” Voss said.

Or that they listened to commercial watermen, who always want larger quotas, regardless of the population health.

But Voss says he’s still dissatisfied with terms in the new amendment allowing scientists to re-evaluate menhaden management in two years based on the health of other species. On Monday, the commission voted to continue to manage menhaden without considering their role in the ecosystem; meanwhile, scientists will come up with a benchmark in two years that measures the fish's health and abundance alongside the health of the cosystem.

But there is good news for the Menhaden in Chesapeake Bay:

Also part of the decision Tuesday – the commission chose to limit the amount of menhaden that can be caught in the Chesapeake Bay to 51,000 metric tons, down from 87,000 metric tons. Menhaden caught there are used as fishmeal or fish oil.
The commission acknowledged the bay as a nursery ground for many species that rely on menhaden for food.

So while they may not be officially managing Menhaden for their ecological value, they are at least considering it. A bit of progress.

Getting the Lead Out of Eagles

Bald eagles are dying from lead in hunting, fishing products: 'This is starting to be an epidemic' 

. . . The Pennsylvania Game Commission responsibly issued a news release last month under the heading, “Lead poisoning in Pennsylvania bald eagles on the rise.”

In the past year alone, 12 bald eagles have been treated by licensed wildlife rehabilitators around the state with confirmed cases of lead poisoning. Only one of them survived.

One of the dead was a 30-year-old eagle that was one of the first brought here from Saskatchewan, Canada, to launch Pennsylvania’s riproaringly successful eagle restoration effort.

Aside from the poisoned eagles that have died in the hands of licensed rehabbers, the Game Commission has performed necropsies and tested for lead on 202 dead eagles since 2006. An unsettling 30 percent have had severe levels of lead.

A bald eagle from Lancaster County

 suffering from lead poisoning. 

The eagle was treated by a wildlife 

rehabilitator and was eventually released

 back into the wild.

That's quite a lot. I note that this article is from Pennsylvania where hunting with a rifle, which causes the kind of splatter seen on the right, is common. In most of Maryland, except for a couple of counties, deer hunting with rifles is forbidden, and shotguns with large buckshot and rifled slugs, which rarely fragment, are used instead.

Most dead birds are never found.

“Certainly, we do see some cases that coincide with big-game hunting in the fall,” says Dr. Justin Brown, the Game Commission’s wildlife veterinarian.

But lead-poisoned eagles also are showing up at other times of the year. Where is the lead coming from?

Lead from fishing sinkers or lures is one possibility. More likely, though, they ate the bodies of varmints, groundhogs or upland game birds and animals that were shot with shotgun pellets or rifle bullets and left exposed.

The vast majority of the lead that I lose fishing (and God knows I've lost some lead) is in half ounce or greater lumps, with huge hooks embedded. The eagle that swallows one of those has more immediate problems than lead poisoning. They were also mostly lost in water more than 10 feet deep, well out of the range of most eagles.

But an unsettling number of dead eagles are showing up right after deer-hunting seasons.

Studies have shown that lead bullets on impact throw out tiny fragments.  As much as 30 to 40 percent of a lead bullet can remain in the animal after the bullet passes through and the tiny fragments can be pushed into tissue up to 18 inches from impact, the Game Commission release notes.

Being part of the solution involves switching to lead-free ammo and fishing gear. Or, at least not leaving carcasses of animals in the open, and burying gut piles or covering them with leaves and sticks.

Demand for lead-free bullets — copper or copper alloys — is growing. Ballistic tests show they perform well, and are more likely to pass through an animal than lead bullets, increasing stopping power.

Clearly written by a typical gun illiterate journalist. The idea of a bullet is to transfer the energy of the gun powder into tissue damage.  A bullet that passes through has wasted energy. Hunting rounds are carefully calibrated to do the maximum damage in a typical kill shot. And this is the reason that the laws of war outlaw dum-dum (fragmenting) bullets.

Yes, copper bullets cost a little more. My cursory check online showed a box of 20 lead rifle bullets ranged from $23-$42, while lead-free bullets went for $30-$41.

The cost of the alloy is of little consequence, but the idea is that high density is ideal from a ballistic standpoint. Lead is easy to work and cast, and is the most dense metal commonly available. The military uses denser metals like tungsten and depleted uranium of certain purposes. The density of copper is 8.9 g/cc, the density of lead is 11.3, the density of uranium is 18.8, and tungsten 19.6. Osmium is the heaviest, at 22.6, but too expensive for throwing down range.

Gold, at 19.3 g/cc, is nice and tarnish free, but $1270 for a one ounce jig head is out of my price range. I often lose five or six of those a day fishing the rips in spring.

A Stake to the Heart of Obamacare Schadenfreude?

Yet  another  reminder of why Obamacare sucks: The Healthiest State In The Country Has Some Of The Steepest Premiums

Via Wombat-socho's "In The Mailbox: 11.14.17", the ever sensible Megan McArdle reports that Surprise! Obamacare Enrollment Is Actually Rising. Is there nothing Trump can't fix?

On the other hand, the Wall Street Journal opines that The Individual Mandate Is The Worst Tax Ever
"It doesn’t even further the ACA’s core goal of helping people with pre-existing conditions get coverage."

If you were deliberately trying to design the most arbitrary, painful and pointless tax possible, how would you go about it?

First, you would structure it to inflate the cost of an essential product. Then, you’d create exemptions so vast that only 5% of taxpayers were subject to it. You might even ensure that it hit people only when they were particularly vulnerable—like when they’d lost a job. Finally, you would use it to drive enrollment in entitlements, so that it increased the federal deficit by $338 billion.

and Killing the individual mandate can serve the cause of tax and health-care reform. The CBO estimates that Repealing Obamacare’s Individual Mandate Would Reduce Deficit By $338 Billion, not that anyone seems to care.

The budget office predicts that eliminating the mandate would reduce the deficit by $338 billion from 2018 to 2027 and would decrease the number of those with health insurance by 4 million in 2019 and by 13 million in 2027. Even with this loss, the report says that markets would remain stable in almost all areas of the United States over the next decade.

"We're seeing with the CBO report that repealing the mandate would reduce the deficit by nearly $340 billion over 10 years," says Sally Pipes, president of the Pacific Research Institute. "The report estimates that by 2027, about 13 million fewer Americans would enroll in ACA-compliant plans."

Which is because a lot of people don't actually want to by an "ACA-compliant" plan.

Today I am announcing my intention to amend the Senate tax bill to repeal the individual mandate and provide bigger tax cuts for middle income taxpayers.

The mandate repeal is a promise we all made and we should keep. It also allows an additional $300 billion+ in tax cuts.

— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) November 14, 2017

The Washington Post reports that Senate GOP changes tax bill to add Obamacare mandate repeal and the usual suspects are hemming and hawing:

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), one of the Republicans who opposed earlier attempts to roll back the health-care law, said Tuesday that including the repeal measure “complicates” the tax effort. But she suggested she might be able to support it if the Senate also passes a bipartisan bill to preserve other aspects of the Affordable Care Act.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who along with Collins and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) voted down an Affordable Care Act repeal effort this summer, declined to say whether he would back a tax bill that included repeal.

The Hill: Senate GOP tax bill will include repeal of ObamaCare mandate.

Sen. John Thune drops the mic on Dems objecting to adding individual mandate repeal to tax bill

Dems object that Rs are inserting health care into the tax bill with individual mandate repeal.

"My understanding is the individual mandate is a tax," Thune responds, referencing SCOTUS decision

— Joseph Lawler (@josephlawler) November 14, 2017

The mandate is the heart of Obamacare. Without it, it's really just zombie entitlement.

Harveygate Hits Rock and Roll

This is art?

Lindsey Buckingham’s abuse of Stevie Nicks detailed in new book

Stevie Nicks was nervous. It was 1973, and the then-25-year-old singer and her guitarist boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham were posing for the cover of their first album, “Buckingham Nicks.” Their record label had asked the duo to look “sexy,” and the bookish Nicks was already feeling self-conscious when the photographer told her to remove her diaphanous white blouse.

She didn’t want to do it. Buckingham lost it.

“Don’t be a f–king child,” the then-24-year-old guitarist snapped. “This is art!”

A young man talked a young women into something! It must be abuse!

Stevie Nicks, now 69, is often referred to as the “Queen of Rock ’n’ Roll,” with more than 40 top-50 hits to her credit, both as part of the supergroup Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist. But according to “Gold Dust Woman” (St. Martin’s Press, out Nov. 21) — a new biography by Stephen Davis — she did it all despite Buckingham’s bullying and abuse.

Nicks and Buckingham met in high school in San Mateo, Calif. They were in a band called Fritz when they decided to move to Los Angeles and launch a career as a duo in 1971. Yet while Nicks hustled to make rent, cleaning houses and waiting tables, Buckingham, who said he couldn’t work because he had to devote himself to music full-time, would spend most of the day smoking hash with his friends.

Dude(tte), It was the 70s! What did you expect?

And I'm honored that she named her first band after me!

“I’d come in every day and have to step over these bodies,” Nicks later recalled to Rolling Stone. “I’m tired; I’m pickin’ up their legs and cleaning under them and emptying out ashtrays.”

Nicks felt violated after the album-cover incident and when their debut bombed, she almost quit music. But in January 1975, the duo received a call: Drummer Mick Fleetwood wanted them to join his band Fleetwood Mac.

The opportunity would launch the pair to superstardom but further strain their relationship.

“When they first joined the band, Lindsey had control [over Nicks],” Mick Fleetwood said. “And, very slowly, he began to lose control. And he really didn’t like it.”

I'm not really hearing abuse here. It sounds like Lindsey was an asshole, a talented asshole. But wait, there's more!

Things went further downhill during their 1980 “Tusk” tour. At a concert in Wellington, New Zealand, Buckingham tried to trip Nicks onstage and began imitating her moves. While Nicks was singing “Rhiannon,” the guitarist stopped playing and attempted to kick her.

The rest of the band was shocked, but only singer Christine McVie confronted him about it. Buckingham, who reportedly never apologized, has stated that he doesn’t remember the incident.

Nicks continued to play with Fleetwood Mac, even after launching her own record label and putting out her own No. 1 album, “Bella Donna,” in 1981. She would grit her teeth as she and Buckingham would pretend to kiss after performing “Landslide” every night on tour.

One time, during a heated argument in front of the band in 1987, Buckingham, the book says, “manhandled Stevie, slapped her face and bent her backward over the hood of his car. He put his fingers around her neck and started to choke her.”

Nicks said: “I thought he was going to kill me.” This time, her band stood up to him. He wouldn’t lay a hand on her again.

Wombat-socho has "Rule 5 Sunday: Thanksgiving Edition" up and ready for action.

Menhaden Lose Battle Over Ecological Value

Fishery managers reject - for now - bid to manage menhaden for their ecological value

East Coast fishery managers Monday rejected a proposal backed by conservation groups to start setting harvest limits for Atlantic menhaden based on their role as food for other fish and wildlife, not merely their commercial value.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission received nearly 160,000 public comments, more than 99 percent of which urged it to adopt the new harvest guidelines, or reference points, that would take the ecological role of the fish into account when setting catch limits. If adopted, the guidelines would almost certainly have required a reduction in the current coastwide menhaden catch limits of 200,000 metric tons.

While menhaden are not considered overfished — their abundance appears to be increasing along the East Coast, scientists say — conservation groups contend that current management does not adequately account for the importance of the small, oily fish as a food source for marine mammals, many birds, and a host of other fish, such as striped bass.

But critics — which included ASMFC’s own scientific advisors, as well as the commercial menhaden industry — said the reference points under consideration were based on studies of other species in other places and may not be applicable to menhaden.

The ASMFC has assembled a panel of scientists which is working to produce its own recommendations, tailored specifically to menhaden, which will take into account the fishes’ role as a food source. Those recommendations are not expected to be ready until 2019, though, and efforts in the past to account for the ecological role of menhaden have failed to meet deadlines.

Well, that was quick. Maybe next time.

So Did You See the One About the Politician and the Little Girl?

No, not  Judge Roy Moore, Senator and Vice President Joe Biden. Via Wombat-socho's "In The Mailbox: 11.13.17", Twitchy presents Joe Biden's finest moments:

‘No woman is safe’: Why hasn’t THIS political perv been blacklisted? [pics, video]

Just a sample; visit Twitchy for a disturbing series:

In this clip, former Vice President Biden uses a candid moment to fondle the chest area of a little girl -- in front of her entire family. Her visible discomfort is extremely obvious. pic.twitter.com/PXZx68KEGe

— Richard Armande Mills (RAM) (@RAMRANTS) November 13, 2017

Because it's different when they do it, right?

He really likes to sniff girls hair.

DeBlasio Must Evacuate Manhattan!

Only 6 weeks left until Christmas Manhattan is inundated by rising seas! NASA : Arctic Ice Free And Manhattan Underwater – In Six Weeks!

NASA’s top climate expert, James Hansen, predicted that by 2018 the Arctic would be ice-free, and Lower Manhattan would be underwater. Democrats call him a “climate prophet.” Only six weeks left to go!

No, the ice cap has not disappeared:

And Manhattan, of course, is getting along just swimmingly, getting bigger, while the sea slowly rises:

But still, I think we should depopulate Manhattan, and return it to the Indians.

Wonder Woman No Victim

Gal Gadot won't make 'Wonder Woman' sequel unless Brett Ratner is out

"Wonder Woman" star Gal Gadot is continuing to battle accused Hollywood sexual harasser Brett Ratner by refusing to sign for a super­hero sequel unless the movie-maker is completely killed from the franchise.

A Hollywood source tells Page Six that Gadot — who last month backed out of a dinner honoring Ratner, where she was due to present him with an award — is taking a strong stance on sexual harassment in Hollywood and doesn’t want her hit "Wonder Woman" franchise to benefit a man accused of sexual misconduct.

Ratner’s production company RatPac-Dune Entertainment helped produce "Wonder Woman" as part of its co-financing deal with Warner Bros. The movie has grossed more than $400 million internationally, and Ratner’s company will take a healthy share of the profits. A Warner Bros. insider explained, "Brett made a lot of money from the success of 'Wonder Woman,' thanks to his company having helped finance the first movie. Now Gadot is saying she won’t sign for the sequel unless Warner Bros. buys Brett out [of his financing deal] and gets rid of him."

The source added of Israeli-born Gadot, "She's tough and stands by her principles. She also knows the best way to hit people like Brett Ratner is in the wallet. She also knows that Warner Bros. has to side with her on this issue as it develops. They can’t have a movie rooted in women’s empowerment being part-financed by a man ­accused of sexual misconduct against women."

This past week, Warner Bros. announced it was severing ties with Ratner amid multiple sexual-harassment allegations leveled against him by actresses including Olivia Munn and Natasha Henstridge. Ratner has vehemently denied the allegations through his attorney, Marty Singer.

Both dear departed GOODSTUFF and EBL have done Gal Gadot posts, not to mention my own Rule 5 special. Wombat-socho has "Rule 5 Sunday: Thanksgiving Edition" up and ready for action.

Menhaden Deadline Looming

Future of menhaden management to be decided this week

It’s a fish that almost never ends up on dinner plates and isn’t widely known among the general public.

That didn’t stop 127,000 people who care deeply about the future of menhaden from writing to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission to tell members how they should vote when they meet in Baltimore on Monday and Tuesday to decide how to manage the fishery for the oily, bony fish along the East Coast. The vote could set a future course that dictates who gets to catch menhaden.

That would be good. Menhaden are mismanaged currently.

 . . . fisheries scientists, like Houde, argue that the health of the whole ecological system needs to be considered.

Models that he and a group of other scientists have worked on recently show that some species, including striped bass and tuna, might be more abundant if the menhaden population was allowed to grow. Menhaden don’t grow to more than 10 inches long and, like sardines and herring, are a forage fish.

“All these big predator fish and eagles and ospreys all have a high percentage of menhaden in their diets,” Houde said. “People are concerned about the overfishing of menhaden.”

Large quantities of menhaden have been taken from the coastal waters and estuaries along the East Coast since 1850. As a result, Houde said, it’s hard to know whether valued species of fish and birds might become more abundant if menhaden catches were more restricted.

A recently released paper by Houde, Tom Miller at the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, and Andre Buchheister, now at Humboldt University, outlines their findings — based on computer modeling — that fishing on menhaden can take a toll on some of the bigger fish, although not bluefish.

Ware said there are several alternative fishing guidelines the commission will vote on that for the first time would begin to regulate menhaden catches based on the needs of the ecosystem.

 Ecosystem based management isn't rocket science, it's more complicated. I wouldn't expect them to get it right the first time, or maybe even the second, but consideration of something besides human wants is important.

For the commercial fishing industry, though, the jobs that involve processing menhaden are important to preserve. Omega Protein Inc., which has a plant in Reedville, Va. — located on the aptly named Menhaden Road — consumes more than 100,000 tons of the catch each year. That represents nearly three quarters of the total catch of menhaden.

Omega Protein employees sent a petition to the commission earlier this week, urging it to protect the jobs connected to catching and processing menhaden at their plant just off the Chesapeake, south of the Potomac River.

The Houston-based company issued a statement Friday calling for the fisheries commission to maintain current menhaden management measures until more research is done on the fishery. It noted that the fisheries commission’s own menhaden assessments have not found them overfished.

They just need to share a little more with our finned and feathered friends.

Hollywood Victim du Jour

Jessica Barth

3 More Women Accuse ‘Atomic Blonde’ Producer David Guillod of Rape: ‘I Was Covered in Blood’

Three more women have come forward to say Hollywood manager and “Atomic Blonde” producer David Guillod raped them, including an assistant at his former management company who said he took her from her bed at a 2014 company retreat and raped her.

The other two women said he drugged and raped them at his home in 2015 — and that they woke up covered in blood.

Guillod denies all of the accusations. The new accusers, who do not wish to be identified, join “Ted” actress Jessica Barth, whose public accusation that Guillod drugged and sexually assaulted her in 2012 sparked his recent resignation from Primary Wave Entertainment, his management company.

A person close to the former assistant confirmed to TheWrap that she spoke to the LAPD this week, and that person and three employees who were at the 2014 retreat in Santa Barbara County corroborated that Guillod had raped her.

“Consent was not possible. It was beyond that,” said one of the employees, who saw the woman moments after her time alone with Guillod. “She just started bawling and was like, ‘I think I had sex.’ It was so clear that this had not been consensual.”

One of the two 2015 accusers has also spoken with police. The LAPD declined to comment, citing confidentiality rules, except to say there is an open report about Guillod.

Kneel before your betters, peasants!

Wombat-socho has "Rule 5 Sunday: Thanksgiving Edition" up and ready for action.

Another Double Bay Day

 Skye and I headed off to the beach before noon, at her insistence. Our local GBH was fishing back in the harbor. Georgia met us down at the beach

Although it was cool, in the low 40s, it was dead calm. The peeps were hanging out on one of little groins today.

 Do you see it? (Click to enlarge).

 There it is.

Another low wind day hobby. (Not for me!)

After lunch, I decided to take advantage of the calm seas to do some fishing. The Speckled Trout have made their expected Fall appearance at "Location X". Several boats were in there taking their opportunity. The first was only 16 inches or so, but . . .

The second was a whopping 24 inch specimen.  Skye appreciated the scraps when I cleaned them.

Linked by EBL in "Capucine."

The Obligatory Judge Roy Moore Post

I don't know whether Judge Roy Moore accosted a 14 year old girl in a parking lot or not, and it seems likely that no one knows except Moore and the woman in question. That being said, I suppose we will mostly line up on the usual sides, conservatives at least holding out hope for his "innocence" (at the very least, he liked to date teenage girls while in his 30s).

Could the charges be bogus? Sure, from the Duke lacrosse team rape allegations, to the Rolling Stone's rape story, bogus charges are a news staple by now. One simply cannot assume that women will not lie about sexual harassment and rape. Ask Smitty how that works. But would a supposedly reputable news organization like the Washington Post pay a woman to lie about Moore?

WaPo paid the women to smear Moore. pic.twitter.com/4Xy2RPT22X

— L Butler (@LauraButler6) November 11, 2017

After the Fusion GPS information that has come to light, it's not even necessary to conclude that. It could easily by a set up by a Democratic operative, to find a willing liar, pay her for her statements, and provide an introduction to the media. It's what they are; it's what they do.

So, in the absence of convincing evidence one way or another, I'm glad I don't have the obligation to vote in Alabama's senatorial election.

The Smallville Horror

Allison Mack

Former Smallville actress is 'second in command of sex cult under investigation for extorting, beating and branding its members

To outsiders, NXIVM is just a run-of-the-mill self-improvement group, offering classes that teach the answers to living a successful and fulfilling life.

But ex-members told the Times that NXIVM functions as a cult for people at the high levels of the group, who have dedicated themselves full-time to founder Keith Rainere and his teachings.

On Wednesday, a former spokesman for the group, Frank Parlato, told The Sun that an 'Emmy Award-winning actress' is a 'key recruiter' for DOS.

While The Sun did not name the actress, DailyMail.com can reveal that she is Allison Mack, who played Clark Kent's sidekick Chloe Sullivan on the long-running CW series Smallville.

Parlato goes into further detail about Mack's role in the group on his blog, The Frank Report, which has been publishing information on the group's inner-workings.

(Parlato says he was fired after one year when Raniere caught him investigating the company's financial records. He has been locked in a legal battle with both Raniere and two Bronfman heiresses who are members of the group, the later of whom claim he defrauded them).

That makes me a little suspicious. Is this real, or is Parlato making this up to  cover up his own crimes? I wonder how much money is involved?

The Frank Report claimed that Mack created DOS with the intention of turning it into a worldwide organization that would be a 'force for good and a female force against evil'.

Well sure, then branding and 500 calorie diets make eminent sense . . .

 DOS operates as a master-slave hierarchy, with Raniere at the top and Mack as his immediate subordinate. From there, Mack has several slaves of her own who are then ordered to recruit a group of slaves themselves, and it spreads down from there like a pyramid scheme.

Mack has not been secretive about her work with Raniere.

On her personal website, she details how Raniere 'mentored [her] in her study of acting and music' over the course of several years.

'As such, she has developed a deep connection to the nature of humanity as it relates to acting as an art form, and a tool for personal evolution,' the website states.

She also boasts that they partnered together in 2013 on a project to develop a curriculum taught in a private arts academy.

In a widely-circulated interview with Raniere, Mack is actually the woman asking the questions. In the video, she beams at Mack as he espouses his ideas.

Wombat-socho has "Rule 5 Sunday: Thanksgiving Edition" up and ready for action.