Books Five Books Five Books About Imposters, Swindlers, and Con Artists Beware of smooth-talking hustlers, frauds, scammers, and charlatans! By James Davis Nicoll | Published on May 19, 2025 Going Postal cover art by Paul Kidby Comment 0 Share New Share Going Postal cover art by Paul Kidby Truth is so often inconvenient, particularly for enterprising individuals intent on taking money from other people’s pockets and putting it into their own. In such cases, it’s only reasonable to replace cruel truth with a version of the facts that would have been the case if only providence had been more considerate. Such schemes do make for good plots. Herewith, five such works: Oliver VII by Antal Szerb (1942) Thanks to the bold modernization program mandated by Alturia’s late King Simon II, Alturia is on the brink of economic and political disaster. Worse, the proposed arranged marriage between Simon’s son, Oliver VII, and Princess Ortrud of Norlandia, which was to have saved the troubled kingdom, only inflamed public anger. Revolutionary fervor is rife. The Nameless Captain’s bloodless coup is swift and efficient, a usurpation greatly aided by the fact Oliver VII is the Nameless Captain. Freed from the monarchy, Oliver can reinvent himself as Oscar the (not especially successful) con man. Fortune smiles on Oscar. Illicit wealth could be his… if he can somehow pass himself off as King Oliver VII. Whoever that is. Oliver VII is not as well known in l’anglosphere as it should be for a number of reasons. The author died young, murdered by Nazis. The novel was not translated from Hungarian into English until Len Rix’s 2007 translation. Pity, because Oliver VII is quite funny. The Continent Makers and Other Tales of the Viagens by L. Sprague de Camp (1953) The Interplanetary Council regulates technological transfer, thus ensuring that warlike societies on worlds such as Krishna, Vishnu, and Kukulkan do not prematurely obtain nuclear weapons and starships. The Council is less effective at protecting worlds such as Krishna, Vishnu, and Kukulkan from Earth’s many truth-adjusting entrepreneurs. Not every ambitious Terrestrial featured in this collection is a confidence agent. There are legitimate salesmen, not to mention the odd honest functionary. However, neither Felix Borel or repeat protagonist Darius Koshay are in any way inhibited by truth or honesty… or really, anything but the profit motive. Of particular note: Borel’s defense against accusations that he broke the technological transfer embargo regulations is that he was selling a perpetual motion machine and since those are impossible, he was simply bilking gullible Krishnans. As Krishnans are a proud, violent people, Borel’s choice of career was very bold. Going Postal by Terry Pratchett (2004) Moist von Lipwig’s talent for remunerative prevarication wins Moist a personal audience with Vetinari, Patrician of Ankh-Morpork. By rights, Moist should be hanged. Luckily for Moist, the Patrician’s need for a person with a very specific set of skills is greater than his need to make an example of a habitual con man. Newly appointed Postmaster von Lipwig soon discovers that the Postal Service is run down, poorly staffed, underfunded, and opposed by powerful interests who murdered previous postmasters. Flight is not an option, thanks to von Lipwig’s ever-present parole officer, Mr. Pump. Von Lipwig’s new task may simply be an ornate death sentence by other means. Going Postal made this list for two reasons. One, I am sure readers would have been outraged had it been omitted1. Two, Mr. Pump’s memorable diatribe about the human costs of von Lipwig’s “non-violent” crimes: You Have Stolen, Embezzled, Defrauded, And Swindled Without Discrimination, Mr. Lipwig. You Have Ruined Business And Destroyed Jobs. When Banks Fail, It Is Seldom Bankers Who Starve. Your Actions Have Taken Money From Those Who Had Little Enough To Begin With. In A Myriad Small Ways You Have Hastened The Deaths Of Many. You Did Not Know Them. You Did Not See Them Bleed. But You Snatched Food From Their Mouths And Tore Clothes From Their Backs. For Sport, Mr. Lipwig. For Sport. For The Joy Of The Game. The Path of Thorns by A.G. Slatter (2022) The Morwood family’s vanity and comprehensive dysfunction have grown without bounds because the Morwoods can evade consequences thanks to wealth, power, and reclusiveness. That wealth allows the Morwoods to entice skilled workers to their isolated estate. The latest arrival is governess Asher Todd. Asher’s credentials are as glowing as they are fraudulent. Asher is a witch wearing a dead woman’s face. While her purpose in accepting the position might be said to be educational, the education she intends to provide is not the one the Morwoods had in mind when they hired her. Revelations await! The Morwoods are terrible at many commonplace tasks, thus the need for servants. As the novel makes clear, they are exceptionally good at turning their offspring into more Morwoods… which raises a question. Will Asher will see her youthful charges as innocents to be saved from corruption? Or see them as Morwoods who are only not guilty of terrible transgressions for the sole reason that they haven’t yet had sufficient time to commit them? Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang (2023) Desperate to earn enough money to buy her way back into the US that has closed its borders and considers her an undesirable, an unnamed Chinese American chef pads her CV in a bid to win a lucrative position with a wealthy oligarch. Lies win the chef an interview. The chef’s cooking skills pass muster. Financial security seems guaranteed. But the oligarch is not quite the dupe he appears. The skill he needs is prevarication, not cooking. The oligarch needs an Asian woman to pose as his missing wife Eun-Young, which will keep wealthy investors complacent. The plan can hardly go wrong… Unforeseen complications ensue. Readers might wonder whether the investors, whose good will is dependent on their faith in visionary Eun-Young, would notice that Eun-Young has been replaced by someone who does not look like Eun-Young. They will not, the novel assures us, because they are as racist as they are rich and cannot tell Asian women apart. Confidence agents being so very plot-friendly, they abound in science fiction and fantasy. No doubt you have favourites I’ve missed. If so, please mention them in comments below.[end-mark] I reserve the right to get quite cross if someone, not having read past the title, berates me for not mentioning Going Postal. ︎The post Five Books About Imposters, Swindlers, and Con Artists appeared first on Reactor.

Israel has begun a new aggressive operation in Gaza aimed at controlling Gaza.   “There is huge fighting going on, intense and huge, we are going to control all parts of Gaza,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video message Monday.  Netanyahu’s goals remain twofold—the release of the remaining 58 hostages being held in Gaza, and the total elimination of Hamas.   Under Operation Gideon’s Chariots, which officially began over the weekend, the Israel Defense Forces will not retreat from any area troops gain control of but will assume control of conquered territory.   During the first day of the operation, Israel “struck over 160 terror targets in Gaza including an operations center and an anti-tank missile post,” the IDF announced on X Monday. Struck targets included terrorist cells in northern Gaza, weapons storage and underground infrastructure in central Gaza, and military structures in southern Gaza.   Under the new operation, the IDF plans to “give advance warnings to uninvolved civilians to make sure they get out of harm’s way, control the battlefield, protect Israeli civilians, and dismantle Hamas’ leadership and capabilities,” IDF International Spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said in a video shared on X Sunday.   The start of Operation Gideon’s Chariots: Operating to free our hostages, stop Hamas and protect our people. pic.twitter.com/R5fEmKoHDK— LTC Nadav Shoshani (@LTC_Shoshani) May 18, 2025 Aid trucks carrying food are reportedly being allowed into Gaza on Monday to prevent a starvation crisis. Israel’s approval of the aid comes after President Donald Trump has said Palestinian civilians are starving in Gaza. Negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage deal did take place between Israel and Hamas in Qatar over the weekend, but a deal has yet to be agreed upon. Axios reports that White House special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff has presented Israel and Hamas with an updated ceasefire and hostage deal that would include the release of 10 hostages in exchange for the release of some Palestinian prisoners and a 45 to 60-day ceasefire.   Sources tell Axios that Netanyahu likes the deal but has additional conditions and some reservations about agreeing to it, and Hamas has not given a positive answer. In the meantime, Israel’s new operation in Gaza is advancing rapidly.   Israeli strikes last week in Gaza were reported to have killed de facto Hamas leader Muhammad Sinwar, the younger brother of former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. The Times of Israel reports that Muhammad Sinwar’s body was found in a tunnel in Gaza. There are also reports that Zakaria Sinwar, another brother, was killed Saturday in an Israeli airstrike.   Netanyahu remains committed to accomplishing “all of Israel’s war goals, including the release of all our hostages, destroy Hamas’ military and governance capabilities and ensure that Gaza will never again pose a threat to Israel,” the prime minister’s office said in a statement last week.   The post As Operation Gideon’s Chariots Begins, Netanyahu Pledges Israel Will Control Gaza appeared first on The Daily Signal.

The world has lost a towering intellect, a fearless thinker, and a deeply principled man. Michael Ledeen’s passing on May 18 marks the end of an era in which ideas were not just debated but lived, tested, and acted upon.   The list of problems Michael solved over his 83 years was impressive, but it pales in comparison to the list he could have tackled had he been granted more time. International, domestic, personal—Michael engaged with the world on every level, and he left it better than he found it.  I first met Michael, Freedom Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, in 1993, shortly after I joined AEI. From the beginning, he stood out, not just for his brilliance, but for his generosity. He was a mentor to young scholars, a sounding board for seasoned experts, and a constant source of insight and encouragement. “Just because it’s in the newspaper doesn’t mean it’s true,” he told us.  Every Friday, he joined AEI’s intellectual luminaries—Judge Robert Bork, Ambassador Jeanne Kirkpatrick, Irving Kristol and Michael Novak—for lunchtime lectures that were as enlightening as they were wide-ranging. From Iran to Israel, China to Africa, and always Italy, Michael spoke with the authority of someone who had not only studied history but lived it.   Subsequently Michael left AEI to join the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, keeping his title as Freedom Scholar. By then I was fortunate to be his neighbor. I would walk our dogs at night and see the light on in his converted attic study, where he worked away on topics ranging from Machiavelli and Tocqueville to terrorism and U.S. foreign policy.  Michael wrote almost three dozen books. He was adamant about Iran’s role in funding terrorism around the globe, no matter how unpopular that view made him. Threats to his life meant that our neighborhood was regularly patrolled by police cars. His books on Iran include?“Debacle: The American Failure in Iran”;?“Perilous Statecraft: An Insider’s Account of the Iran-Contra Affair”;?“The War Against the Terror Masters”; and?“The Iranian Time Bomb: The Mullah Zealots’ Quest for Destruction.”  It always seemed to me that Michael’s heart was in Italy. His history dissertation from the University of Wisconsin–Madison became the renowned book?“Universal Fascism: The Theory and Practice of the Fascist International, 1928–1936,” a foundational text in the study of Italian fascism. He later wrote?“The First Duce,” a study of Gabriele D’Annunzio, and collaborated with Italian historian Renzo De Felice on “The Jews in Fascist Italy: A History.” In 2014 he wrote “Virgil’s Golden Egg and Other Neapolitan Miracles,” about why Naples is a small-scale version of European history.   Italy was more than a subject of study for Michael; it was a second home. It was there he met his priceless wife, Barbara, and together they immersed themselves in Italian life and culture. Both fluent in Italian, after returning to Washington, they made annual pilgrimages to Italy, often with friends and their three children.   Three years ago, I had the privilege of accompanying Michael and Barbara to Sicily, where they donated a Torah—the Old Testament handwritten in Hebrew on parchment, the core of Jewish religious services—to the city of Catania so that Jews there could open a synagogue.   It was a historic moment—the first Torah and the first synagogue established in Sicily since the expulsion of Jews in 1492. Michael’s passion for Jewish history and identity was not academic alone; it was deeply personal. He worked closely with the small but determined Jewish community of Catania, helping them acquire the building for the synagogue, and laying the foundation for a spiritual and cultural rebirth.  “The Jewish community which is being reborn in Catania is a beautiful development,” Michael said. “We are privileged and grateful to have had the opportunity to help make the dream real. The community is resolved to continue building the Jewish infrastructure here.”  Michael’s influence extended beyond the public sphere into the personal lives of those who knew him. He was godfather to my youngest son, Richard, and took that role seriously.   Michael encouraged Richard’s entrepreneurial spirit, even when it took unconventional forms such as acquiring a collection of BB guns to protect our garden from squirrels and deer or opening a bicycle wheel factory. “Richard is perfect,” he said with a smile. That was Michael: supportive, unflappable, and always ready to champion the people he cared about.  (Courtesy of Andrew Hale) Michael Ledeen was scholar, strategist, champion bridge player, cigar smoker, storyteller, and friend. He leaves behind a legacy of intellectual courage, moral clarity, and boundless curiosity, with the constant request to move “faster, please.” The world is poorer for his absence—but infinitely richer for his presence. The post With Michael Ledeen Gone, the World Lost One of Its Great Minds appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Fiscal conservatives hope to meet with President Donald Trump before Wednesday to continue negotiations on the “big, beautiful bill,” Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., told The Daily Signal. Reps. Norman, Chip Roy, Andrew Clyde, and Josh Brecheen voted “no” on the reconciliation package Friday, but they changed their votes to “present” on Sunday night. The Daily Signal asked White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt if Trump was involved in the conservative members’ change of vote. She said the president “has been engaged in this process.” Did President Trump confer with fiscal conservatives who were hesitant to vote for the "big, beautiful bill"?White House @PressSec Karoline Leavitt answers The Daily Signal ? @TheElizMitchell pic.twitter.com/OMrNVf43pp— The Daily Signal (@DailySignal) May 19, 2025 “He spoke to the Speaker of the House,” Leavitt told The Daily Signal at a Monday morning briefing, “and he will continue to make those phone calls if it’s necessary for him.” Norman said fiscal conservatives have been in conversations with White House staff about the bill, and he hopes to speak to the president about the bill’s provision on Inflation Reduction Act tax credits ahead of Wednesday’s Rules Committee meeting. “We’re going to try to hopefully meet with him and say, ‘Can he help us between now and Rules on Wednesday, to get some more of these IRA credits,” Norman said. “The lobbyists are winning on this, and we stopped a lot of it, but we need to stop more.” The budget gives clean energy developers and producers until 2028 to claim the full 45Y and 48E tax credits for clean energy investment and production. The credit values step down to 80% in 2029, 60% in 2030 and 40% in 2031 before zeroing out in 2032. The president campaigned on zeroing out IRA credits on day one, not by 2032, Norman said. “We weren’t gonna kill it, there’s a time, but we just needed some changes that would financially help young people like you to avoid a disaster in this country,” Norman said. “And we got the work requirements, we got a lot of the IRA credits scaled back. Is it enough? No, but we weren’t going to kill the bill.” Norman hopes his “present” vote sends the message of “let’s keep working” on the budget. “Let’s get the changes, and let’s hopefully avoid the disaster that’s coming if we don’t,” he said. The House Freedom Caucus released a statement after the vote, saying that the bill “does not yet meet the moment.” “As written, the bill continues increased deficits in the near term with possible savings years down the road that may never materialize,” the caucus said on X. Still, Norman says today is “a good day for the country.” “We fought,” Norman said. “I never thought I would have had to fight to stop your tax dollars and my tax dollars from going to illegals. I never thought I’d have to fight to stop healthy Americans who choose not to go to work and eat Cheetos on their couch from collecting the government paycheck, but we won on it and that’s the good news.” The post Fiscal Conservatives Hope to Meet With Trump Before Wednesday to Iron Out ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Hesitations appeared first on The Daily Signal.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Israel has endorsed a new aid distribution framework in Gaza that places facial recognition technology at its center, triggering widespread alarm over privacy concerns. The system, still without external funding, would restrict food access to those who do not undergo biometric screening. As outlined by journalist Daniel Estrin, Palestinians would be required to register at specific collection points and submit to facial scans before receiving food parcels. “Palestinians would be coming to these places, registered and screened through facial recognition technology. They’d pick up parcels for their family,” Estrin said. Israeli officials frame the move as a way to prevent humanitarian supplies from being seized by Hamas. More: Israeli Intelligence To Be Granted Full Access to National Biometric Database The proposal comes amid broader biometric expansion across Israeli-controlled areas. Over the past year, facial recognition tools have been integrated into border operations in the West Bank. In Gaza, similar surveillance systems developed by companies such as Corsight and leveraging Google Photos, have already been used by the military. Which firm would implement the new aid-related surveillance remains unknown. The UN has expressed opposition, warning that the planned rollout of aid checkpoints, restricted to as few as four in the entire southern region of Gaza, would weaponize hunger. UNICEF’s James Elder stated the approach “contravenes basic humanitarian principles” and appears constructed to “reinforce control over life-sustaining items as a pressure tactic.” Israel’s hope to finance the biometric infrastructure has also hit roadblocks. A request to the United Arab Emirates for funding has been rejected, leaving the future of the initiative uncertain. If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post Israel Proposes Gaza Aid Distribution Tied to Biometric Facial Recognition appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

Weekend Elections: EU Holds on in Romania, But Got a Wicked Surprise in Portugal

Patel and Bongino: Epstein DID Kill Himself

The experiment shook the field of psychiatry in the early 1970s, but some have questioned its validity.

Sometimes all it takes is one monkey to start a trend, but that’s not always a good thing.

A statement from his personal office called it “a more aggressive form of the disease”.