On Venezuela, Israel, China, chess, Alain Delon, Chi Chi Rodriguez, and more
Some years ago, a colleague taught me a phrase: “loser’s consent.” Every democracy must have it, else it is not a democracy. If you are the incumbent and you lose an election — you must go. But what if you have guns on your side — violence — and won’t go? Then you may be the dictator of Venezuela.
On July 28, Venezuela held an election. Beforehand, the dictator, Nicolás Maduro, had suppressed the opposition. He had barred several candidates from running, for example. But Edmundo González, a former diplomat, ended up on the ballot, representing the opposition, broadly speaking. On July 28, he won by a wide margin. All credible international observers agree on this.
Maduro? He basically laughed — and cracked down viciously on dissent and protest.
“Loser’s consent” must be very rare in history. Same with democracy at large. As for the Venezuelan people: They have been amazingly brave, for years now, standing up to the dictatorship that rules them.
• Earlier this month, Donald Trump gave an interview to Adin Ross, who is one of these “influencers” — age 23. Ross arrived for the interview bearing gifts: a gold Rolex watch and a cybertruck. (To read about this, go here.) He is a very wealthy young man, Mr. Ross.
He asked Trump about Venezuela. Said the candidate:
“Venezuela was going to collapse, and people could have gone back to Venezuela. They’re in our country now. They’ve released tremendous numbers of criminals into our country. If you look at Caracas, it was known for being a very dangerous city, and now it’s very safe. In fact, the next interview we’ll do, we’ll do it in Caracas, Venezuela, because it’s safer than many of our cities.”
Adin Ross said, “I’m down,” meaning, “I’m eager to do an interview with you there.”
As this article points out, Venezuela has the highest crime rate in the world. (Haiti trails at No. 4.)
• A Venezuelan journalist, Beatriz Adrián, noted something ominous. (That was José de Córdoba’s word, commenting on Adrián’s report: “ominous.” De Córdoba is a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal.) Pro-government paramilitary groups, known as “colectivos,” are going around putting a black X on the houses of people who support the opposition, or who are suspected of doing so.
• “Israel Says It Recovered Bodies of 6 Hostages in Gaza.” That is a headline from the New York Times. (To read the report, go here.) Let’s get very simple: Hamas must be destroyed, so that innocent people — not just of one nationality — can live. (Bear in mind that “simple” does not mean “simplistic.”)
• Do you know who Rachel Zegler is? A singing actress, a great talent and beauty. She was Maria in the Steven Spielberg–directed West Side Story. You know who Gal Gadot is: the Israeli actress and all-time beauty.
Gal and Rachel have made a movie together: a Snow White. Rachel is the title character and Gal is the Evil Queen. Apparently, plenty of people think that Gal herself is evil.
The movie is not out until next March, but the trailer has been released already. Anti-Israel people promise a boycott, and Gal Gadot has been hit with a wave of online hate (as Commentary’s Seth Mandel pointed out).
Gal’s co-star did a little “distancing,” let’s say. Have a look:
Two comments from me, please: The tiger would eat Rachel shortly after it ate Gal. And I imagine that Rachel, when she is older, will be ashamed of this little distancing act.
(We all need time and room to grow. Few of us have to do it in public.)
• Josh Rogin is a columnist for the Washington Post. He knows a great deal — a great deal — about China. Admiral Samuel Paparo is the recently named head of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. And he told Rogin rather a lot.
This was back in June — but I focused on it only this week.
Admiral Paparo: “They want to offer the world a short, sharp war so that it is a fait accompli before the world can get their act together.” He was talking about China and its expected lunge at Taiwan. “My job is to ensure that between now and 2027 and beyond, the U.S. military and the allies are capable of prevailing.”
What’s the plan? “I want to turn the Taiwan Strait into an unmanned hellscape using a number of classified capabilities, so that I can make their lives utterly miserable for a month, which buys me the time for the rest of everything.”
The relevant column by Rogin is eye-popping. Find it here.
• Miriam Adelson is a major Trump donor, the widow of Sheldon Adelson. Trump was talking about her, and hailing her, last week:
“I watched Sheldon sitting so proud in the White House when we gave Miriam the Presidential Medal of Freedom. That’s the highest award you can get as a civilian. It’s the equivalent of the Congressional Medal of Honor, but civilian version, it’s actually much better, because everyone gets the Congressional Medal of Honor, they’re soldiers. They’re either in very bad shape because they’ve been hit so many times by bullets, or they’re dead. She gets it and she’s a healthy, beautiful woman.”
I can guarantee you: If a Democrat made such a statement, every Republican in the country would deem the statement disqualifying — disqualifying for higher office, or even lower office. And every Republican in the country would be right.
• An old lesson: People often accuse others of doing what they themselves do. You perhaps remember this one, from a week or two ago:
An Associated Press report from last Tuesday is headed “Trump’s post of fake Taylor Swift endorsement is his latest embrace of AI-generated images.” Very interesting, and revealing.
• I myself don’t play chess. Never learned it. But I am aware of how much the game means to many people all over the world — people of various types. I’m touched by it, too.
“A chess club for kids thrives in a Congo refugee camp. It’s about more than the game.” A moving article, here.
• Do you know what newborn giant pandas look like? Pink, tubular things. Extraordinary. Have a look.
• “Ross Terrill, Insightful Expert on Communist China, Is Dead at 85.” That is the heading over an obit in the New York Times. “In the 1960s, he was among the first Westerners allowed into the country, and for decades he helped the rest of the world understand it.” Yes. I learned a lot about China from Ross Terrill. Grateful for him.
• “Chi Chi Rodriguez, the Golf World’s Swashbuckling Champion, Dies at 88.” (Obit here.) I met him once, at a reception. A week or two before, Jack Nicklaus had won a tournament. (This was on the Senior Tour.) I said to Chi Chi, “Wasn’t it good to see Jack win?” Stone-faced, he said, “I like it when I win.” Then he broke into a grin and said, “Yes, it was great.”
I also said to him, “Everyone says that Lee Trevino has a weird, funny swing. But no one hits the ball better. Instead of laughing at it, shouldn’t people be trying to copy it?” Chi Chi said, “Swing like Lee, and you’re going to play great golf.”
I loved my minute or two with Chi Chi.
• “Alain Delon, Smoldering French Film Star, Dies at 88.” (Obit here.) President Macron issued a statement: “Wistful, popular, secretive, he was more than a star: a French monument.” Well put.
In his last years, Delon was a great and outspoken supporter of Ukraine, in its effort to save itself. He had an exchange on television with President Zelensky. Also on television, he recited a poem by Taras Shevchenko, Ukraine’s national bard. That poem is “Testament.” To see and hear Delon do this, go here.
Last April, when the actor’s health was failing precipitously, Ukraine awarded him its Order of Merit. (See this news article.) More than a pretty face, Alain Delon.
• Care for some music? I will throw a few reviews from the Salzburg Festival at you: Riccardo Muti conducting the Vienna Philharmonic in Bruckner (here); Andrew Manze conducting the Mozarteum Orchestra in an all-Mozart concert (here); a performance of The Gambler, the opera by Prokofiev (here).
• I regard this as a sign of civilization, this civic band:
That comes from a village on Long Island (New York). I regard this as a sign of civilization, too — the village’s old schoolhouse for kindergarteners, erected in 1818:
Finally — is there a better sight in all the world than a father teaching his son how to play golf?
Thank you for joining me today, everybody. See you soon.
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